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Winter Storm Pounds 80 Million Americans; Northeast Faces Heaviest Snow of Season; New Olympic Threats; Deadly Plane Crash; CNN Crew Gets Roughed Up; New Video Shows Toronto Mayor Inebriated

Aired January 22, 2014 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

This morning some 80 million Americans are waking up in the icy grip of a winter storm. High winds and heavy snow creating the swirling mess for drivers in Cape Cod. We'll get to it in a second.

This is the view from CNN affiliate WHDH. We lost the video but trust me it's nasty there. Blizzard warnings and as much of -- a foot of snow will blanket parts of Massachusetts.

In Philadelphia, double-digit temperatures and double-digit snowfall. As much as a foot of snow has fallen and with a high today of about 14 degrees. It ain't going anywhere.

We're going to show you around the region. We promise. Beginning with CNN meteorologist Indra Petersons. She's in Boston.

Hi.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Carol, once again we are definitely talking about the chill here in Boston. Talk about a city that has been so hit hard over the last several weeks. And we were here just a few weeks ago. Once again today they're talking about heavy amounts of snow.

Now Boston saw about five inches. But just south of here, they're talking wind drifts or snow drifts, but a good 18 inches high. And you know what, we're not alone. New York City getting almost a foot of snow. We're talking about record breaking snow. Places like Philadelphia seeing 13 inches. And all of this happened in 24 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS (voice-over): Snow and bitter cold temps impacting millions from the Carolinas to New England.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden boom, snow everywhere.

PETERSONS: More than a foot of snow piling up along parts of the heavily populated I-95 Corridor making it challenging for plows to keep up. At the storm's peak the white stuff falling a rate about two inches an hour. Central New Jersey hit the hardest with over 15 inches. MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK: If you have any option not to go out, stay home. The safest thing do tonight is stay home.

PETERSONS: Around D.C. icy roads sent this car spinning out of control. The Washington Monument barely visible by the snowfall as around six inches covered our nation's capital.

The heavy snow putting federal offices under a two-hour delay and causing the president to scale back his schedule.

In Massachusetts blizzard-like conditions blanketing eastern Massachusetts with up to 12 inches of snow. Governors in several states declaring states of emergency. This morning school districts in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Boston closing their doors while New York City opting to remain open.

Some kids using their snow day to turn the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum into a sledding frenzy. But the dangerously cold temperatures continue to fall fast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got double layers on today.

PETERSONS: Much of the East Coast 25 degrees below normal through this weekend.

GARY SCHENKEL, CITY OF CHICAGO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Wind chill factors will be dragging temperatures into the negative teens. These are extremely dangerous conditions.

PETERSONS: In Chicago officials are using tugboats to break up the ice covering 60 percent of the Great Lakes.

And the frigid cold isn't going away any time soon. At least five states are forecast to stay below freezing through the end of the month.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS: Now I have a little bit of good news, Carol. That is that the low is pulling offshore. But Massachusetts where I'm here in Boston one of the few places still seeing some of this light snow.

Here's the problem, though. As that low makes its way offshore it's still going to be strengthening. What's so unusual again is this cold air above us is so cold that there's a temperature difference between that and the ocean so places like on the Cape just south of us here are going to be having something called ocean effect snow.

Take everything you know about lake-effect snow, same concept. The wind is going to go over to the ocean and they're still going to be seeing snow and blizzard conditions here until about 1:00 p.m. So that's the concern.

For everyone else that has snow on the ground it's cold. You know that. So the snow, it's staying there. But these winds are going to be picking up. So now what do you have? You have the snow still blowing around. That's going to be the concern as we go through the next several days and this snow does not melt.

Not to mention another system behind us is going to reinforce this cold air. We're talking about this chill. Everyone still got to walk around, get to work, live daily life in these subzero temperatures in the morning and only single-digits and teens in the afternoon, Carol.

Does 23 feel a lot better to you now?

COSTELLO: Yes, it does.

Indra Petersons, try to stay warm. Thanks so much.

In light of what Indra said, you -- this is expected for us in New York, also are taking a pounding as much as 15 inches of snow fell in the metro area.

CNN's Pamela Brown is in Islandia, New York. That's on Long Island.

Good morning.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol, good morning to you. You know the fact that the snowfall peaked here in New York around the evening commute was really a recipe for disaster. It was truly a nightmare trying to get out of the city last night. In fact we left at 6:00 p.m. trying get here to Islandia in Long Island.

We left at 6:00 p.m., got here at 11:00 p.m. It normally only takes a little bit more than an hour. Officials say that a surge in car travel delayed clean-up efforts so that caused a chain effect, a gridlock traffic, angry motorists.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Well, New York City is no stranger to snowstorms. Two back-to-back storms are unusual. Snow and ice making streets slippery causing gridlock at every turn. Commutes that normally take 30 minutes taking hours. And backups for miles as far as the eye can see.

Officials say an unexpected surge of car travel delayed cleanup efforts in and around the city, triggering a chain effect, angering motorists with standstill traffic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So back live here, Carol, you see this light fluffy snow. This is really the scene all over Long Island. The issue we've been seeing here this morning is the drifting snow with these winds kicking up 25 to 30 miles per hour. So drivers are urged to still exercise caution today especially on those back roads that perhaps haven't been plowed yet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Good advice. Pamela Brown, thanks so much.

New e-mails this morning threatening attacks at the Olympics. Germany, Italy and Hungary Olympic officials say they got these threatening e-mails warning of a terrorist threat and with just 15 days to go before the games start it's raising anxiety about security at the games.

CNN's Phil Black joins us now from Volgograd, Russia with more.

Good morning, Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes there's a list of national Olympic committees from countries including Slovenia, Germany, Italy, and so forth who say they have received this letter and also they were concerned about it. They're taking security seriously enough.

To pass these e-mails on to the International Olympic Committee, to Sochi organizers and the response back from the International Olympic Committee is they do not believe this is a threat or a specific threat. In the words of the IOC they say it appears to be a random e- mail from a member of the public.

Now even if this is what they believe it is, just some sort of prank and it's interesting to note that Olympic officials in various countries are all talking about this publicly today and it is another indication of just how concerned people are about the issue of security at these imminent Sochi Olympics -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Any word from the Russian government about this latest threat? I guess pseudo threat.

BLACK: Not this specific threat. Yes, no, not this specific. Not these e-mails. We should point out the International Olympic Committee says it does not believe is a threat. And indeed Russian authorities are not commenting specifically on any specific threat as such. They are maintaining this consistent line which says they are ready to do this and to protect these games.

That said, we know about a couple of terror plots that they belief they have detected including two terror plots involving black widows or suicide bombers. One in Sochi, another one in a city called Rostov-on-Don, not far from here which is suspected to be targeting the Olympic torch relay, which is there today. So the suspected window on that possible plot is in fact today.

But as I say Russian authorities aren't talking about this. The only reason we know about it is because they have spoken to people on the ground in an effort to try and find the women they believe are behind these threats -- Carol.

COOPER: Phil Black live from Russia this morning.

Those terror threats are prompting one U.S. Olympian to tell his family to stay home. Twenty--nine-year-old skater Tucker Fredricks is probably competing in his final Olympics but he wants his wife and his parents to stay at home in Wisconsin and not travel to Sochi to cheer him on.

Fredricks tells the "Janesville Wisconsin Gazette," his son is worried about the family security so they will stay home to allow their son to focus on his skating.

Also this morning we have shocking new video of a private plane crash in Aspen, Colorado, earlier this month. I got to warn you, this footage may be disturbing to some of you. The video was captured by infrared surveillance cameras at the airport. You see it there. One person died. Two others seriously hurt when the small plane flipped, hit the runway and burst into flames after making a second landing attempt.

CNN's Ana Cabrera is following the story for us from Denver.

Good morning.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. There's still an ongoing investigation into why this plane crashed. But given that surveillance video we now have a better understanding of what happened and it provides a look into how the tragedy unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA (voice-over): Chilling new video shows the terrifying moment this private jet crashes into the runway of the Aspen, Colorado, airport earlier this month, bursting into flames, sending a plume of smoke rising into the air.

Surveillance cameras positioned around the runway capture each harrowing moment of the plane's failed landing. The small plane first approaches the runway then aborts the landing because of difficult conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missed approach, November 115, Whiskey, Fox. It's 33 knots of tail wind.

CABRERA: Minutes later in the eerie black and white video, the pilot appears to attempt to abort the second landing as well. But tragically he's too late. The plane nose dives, flipping upside down on impact and skids down the runway.

STEVE COWELL, PILOT AND AVIATION SAFETY CONSULTANT: These pilots were attempting to land at a high altitude mountainous terrain airport with a tailwind, which is very, very challenging.

CABRERA: Ground workers race to the scene, watching in horror as the plane burns in the distance. One kicks a box, perhaps in frustration. Three people were on board the Bombardier Challenger 600. One injured co-pilot was just released from the hospital last week while one remains hospitalized. The third man was killed at the scene of this horrific crash.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: It's still going to be a while before we know the official cause of that plane crash. But a new preliminary NTSB report does confirm that the plane was dealing with those tail winds gusting up to 25 knots.

Carol, it will be now 12 to 18 months before the final report is complete.

COSTELLO: Ana Cabrera, reporting live this morning. Thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a CNN correspondent and its crew are roughed up in China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are physically manhandling me. This is a public space. I'm allowed to report. I'm allowed to report.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Find out what the Chinese do not want journalists reporting on next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 14 minutes past the hour.

Three activists have been killed in violent clashes between anti- government protesters and police in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Local medical officials tell CNN two people were shot. Cause of death for a third person is still being investigated.

The latest violence is in response to the government's crackdown on largely peaceful protests sparked after the Ukrainian president cancelled a planned trade deal with the European Union.

NSA leaker Edward Snowden is calling claims he's a Russian spy, quote, "absurd and clearly false." In an interview with "The New Yorker" Snowden stressed that he acted alone without assistance from anyone including any foreign government.

Earlier this week, Congressman Mike Rogers implied that Snowden had help from the Russian government when he stole all of those American secrets.

A grand jury in North Carolina has decided not to indict a Charlotte police officer after he shot and killed an unarmed man last September. You might remember former college football player Jonathan Ferrell was killed after being shot 10 times by officer Randall Kerrick. Ferrell was looking for help after being involved in a car crash. A neighbor called 911 after he knocked on her door. State attorneys are hoping to resubmit the case saying the grand jury that ruled Tuesday was missing jurors.

Chinese authorities are desperate to strict media coverage of a controversial trial. They are not afraid to get physical.

Watch as police rough up CNN's David McKenzie and his crew as they walk near a court building in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're heading towards a court where an activist goes on trial today. What? This is a public space. No need to shout at me.

The name of the activist is Xu Zhiyong. And the reason he's in trial is because he had a gathering of people several times and with one of the founders of the new citizens movement. That's why all these police surrounding me here.

We're going to try to look at the entrance of the court which is just -- sorry, you can't stop me.

(voice-over): Soon the situation violently escalated. Police in plainclothes, men targeting us, taking away our phones and ID and breaking the camera.

(on camera): You can't physically -- they are physically man handling us. They are physically man handling me. Is this a public space? I'm allowed to report. We're reporters. We're reporting in a public space.

Hey, hey, hey, do not, do not, do not physically manhandle.

(voice-over): Other international journalists were roughed up during the trial. One policeman told me they were following orders.

(on camera): They moved us from the van into a police car.

(voice-over): A government spokesman said they will investigate the incident but that without law and order, there will be chaos in China.

(on camera): The police and plain-clothes guys drove to us a street corner several blocks away from the court and dumped us on the side of the street. We would be shooting this with our camera. But they entirely tore off the front section of a view finder. Charlie can't use it at all.

This really shows how much China wants to manage the message but in doing so the irony is they betray some of the strong arm tactics they use against journalists including us, and often it's far worse for Chinese nationals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: David McKenzie is live in Beijing now.

David, I just want to ask you when you were in that van did you know where you were going?

MCKENZIE: No, we didn't know where we were going. In fact, it's quite unusual. One could explain this away as just individuals who were taking the law into their own hands or in this case it's not even the law, they were acting in a way that's not part of the Chinese law.

But with other journalists targeted today here in China, it indicates that it's somehow an orchestrated event, I have to believe. This crackdown on foreign reporters trying to get the word out on this trial, of this activist who himself refused to speak through proceedings because he said he wasn't getting justice here in China -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Will reporter go back and try to cover the trial despite what happened?

MCKENZIE: Well, this is a one day event and there will be other activist from this movement who will be there and in that court in the next few days on trial. So, certainly, if they can clarify that we're not going to get dumped in a van and detained and dumped elsewhere -- yes, I'm sure they will continue to cover this including us.

The issue here is the irony of this, the activist was calling for transparency in the wealth of officials, anti-corruption. These are some issues that have been taken up by the Chinese leadership themselves.

But they obviously don't want activists and groups of people taking it upon themselves in this case to push for change. They want to manage the message and manage that process. So certainly some people saying that this is, particularly Amnesty International, that this is an unfair procedure against someone who is only helping to improve China live up to its own laws.

COSTELLO: CNN's David McKenzie, thanks so much.

Still to come on the NEWSROOM: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford caught again, drunk on camera. Some are saying he needs some serious help.

Paula Newton is following the story from Toronto.

Good morning, Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

You know complaining about the police, expletives, putting on a Jamaican accent, very offensive to some. We'll have all the details, Carol, straight after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: After vowing to lay off the booze, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been caught on tape again clearly drinking. He was swearing and attempting to imitate a Jamaican accident -- accent, rather. It's quite sad to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB FORD, TORONTO MAYOR: (INAUDIBLE) trying to tell me, with total civility. He's hiding here. I'm hiding here. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now, Ford admits he was drinking but says there were no drugs involved and he did not drive home. CNN's Paula Newton is live in Ottawa this morning. And it seems his supporters are enabling him now.

NEWTON: It's sad, Carol. As you said, we did this late last year, and many people in his family were worried about whether or not he could drink.

Carol, just hours before the mayor admitted that he was drunk, that he was with friends, that it was him on the video just on Monday night. His brother said look he hasn't had a drink since November, everything seems fine, that video couldn't have been from just the other night. Extraordinary here that the mayor himself seems to be in denial of what is his personal life and what is business, business for the city of Toronto that's really affecting the city.

More papers this morning, Carol, talking about him having to quit, having to step down and in about five minutes, they are going to have a budget meeting in Toronto. He's supposed to show up at city hall.

Again, you're talking billions of dollars on the line and many wondering if really he should thereabout at the table right now and he shouldn't just take a break and get some help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mayor Ford, where is that video from?

FORD: Last night.

REPORTER: Were you drinking last night?

FORD: Yes I was.

REPORTER: So, you were drinking last night?

FORD: A little bit, yes

REPORTER: Do you think that video was offensive to people?

FORD: No, I was with some friends and what I do in my personal life with my information friends. Has nothing to do with you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: You know, he's trying to say that look, this is my personal life it has nothing to do with city business and of course that isn't true. Carol, many people are saying, look, it does affect city business and affects the reputation of the city and beyond that he's a man who needs some help with substance abuse -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Paula Newton reporting live from Ottawa this morning, thanks so much.

Still to come on the NEWSROOM, the snow falls and the flights stop. Rene Marsh will have the latest on traffic snarls in the sky. RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the bad news is the cancellations and delays will continue today. But, we do have some good news and we have that for you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Dangerous cold, howling winds and heavy snow on the northern half of the Atlantic Coast is dig out from as much as 15 inches of snow. Treacherous conditions sliding all the way south to the Carolinas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing 180s down the road earlier. We got behind a scraper that let us go for a little bit but didn't work after that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Nothing does after a time, right? The worst snow of the season has snarled travel across the Northeast and that includes the airlines, more than 1,400 flights cancelled today and counting. That's on top of the 3,000 cancelled flights yesterday.

CNN's Rene Marsh live at Reagan National this morning.

Tell us more, Rene.

MARSH: Well, you know, we've been talking a lot about JetBlue.