Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Security High in NYC and Sochi; U.S. Puts Final Touches on Sochi, NFL Hall of Famer Helps Troops; NYPD to End "Stop and Frisk"; Best Gear for Cold-Weather Super Bowl; Former TSA Screener Telling All

Aired February 01, 2014 - 17:00   ET

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

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everyone. Good evening from New York City. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow. This weekend on CNN, we are all about two of the world's most definitive, most over the top and most eagerly awaited events in the lives of sports lover. One belongs to the United States. The other belongs to the world.

This time tomorrow Super Bowl Sunday of course fans will already be packed inside. What you're looking at right there live shots of MetLife Stadium. They will be getting cold as well while a massive security team works to make sure that the game, and the fans are all safe. At the same time half way around the world, it is one week and counting to the start of the 2014 winter Olympic games. And talk about security over there.

Our Ivan Watson is in Sochi, Russia, we'll hear from him in a couple of minutes. But out on Super Bowl Boulevard, Time Square in New York City, Don has by far the better assignment of the two of us down there. I was there yesterday. It is a blast. All the fans behind him practicing their cheers saying this is CNN. Don has been working on that.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There they are.

HARLOW: There they are.

LEMON: Hey, OK, are you guys ready? Poppy, watch this. Watch this, Poppy. Are you guys ready? Three, two, one. Did you hear them? They all said their name.

HARLOW: I love that. I love that.

LEMON: And this is CNN. One more time. Three, two, one. You got to love it. And you know, what?

HARLOW: Nice job, guys.

LEMON: This is CNN, Poppy. And this is the world -- the world will be watching the Super Bowl. The world is watching Super Bowl Boulevard today. And we want to make sure everyone is safe and everyone will be safe. There's so much security here that you see and that you don't see. Joining me now is our Alexander Field. She has been out, she's taking a tour of this secret command center that they have set up. Tell us what you saw. Tell us about it.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You can see so many people out here enjoying themselves because they know that, you know, so many efforts are going on behind the scenes to keep people safe. Of course, the effort transitions tomorrow to MetLife Stadium. That's where the focus will be. We were able to see the Secret Command Center where they will be watching all aspects of what's happening tomorrow. We have been telling people that there are 100 different agencies that are working together to make sure that the game and all the surrounding events are safe.

LEMON: Thousands of officers. Right? There's undercover officers. Members of the --

FIELD: Four thousand people will be, you know, on the ground tomorrow. These are security officers, these are law enforcement officials, they will be on ground, they will be up in the air. While Americans are watching their TV screens inside this Secret Command Center. They'll be watching a lot of other screens that are showing cameras, that are placed all over that stadium and beyond. And really, the preparations have been going on all week. This is what the incident commander told us about what will be happening today and into tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. ED CETNAR, NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE: We'll be making sure that nothing is going to be disruption on the rail lines. You know, our -- will be fine with infrared capability while night vision capabilities, you know, 24 hours a day to make sure that nobody is trying to penetrate our perimeter right now around the stadium.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: And Don, this is what we're calling the mass transit Super Bowl. It's just another layer really of concern that law enforcement officials have to look at, they have to prepare for. And it just adds really to the screening process that so many people --

LEMON: And several layers of security here. In order for us to get around, we have to show a couple of our different badges, you know, CNN, they get behind the scenes, people check our identification. And if you look around, there's cameras everywhere. New York City, one of most photographed videotaped cities in the world. You have cameras everywhere. After that false alarm they had yesterday.

FIELD: Sure. And, you know, we are being told that law enforcements sources and officials that a lot of the security measures are things that we don't see. But at the same time, they really do work hard to make sure that a lot of the law enforcement measures are visible. Because it does give people a little bit of peace of mind. They do want to see police, they do want to see some of these barricades, and they do want to see some of the canines just to know that when they gather, you know, in a place like Times Square that they are at event, that is being kept safe and open to them to enjoy.

LEMON: Can you tell us about, you went up in a black hawk helicopter. Correct? Were you looking at security measures?

FIELD: Absolutely. This is a big part of the plan. You know, we're going to have 80,000 people who work inside of MetLife Stadium. In order to keep them safe, we have this perimeter that's going to be happening in the air. Black hawk helicopters will be patrolling and enforcing a 10-mile no fly zone really to keeping everyone away from that stadium.

LEMON: All right. Very good reporting. Thank you very much. Alexandra Field, we'll be back with us. Are you guys having a good time? Do you feel safe? Who is going to win? Watch this. Where are you from? Oh, my gosh. You got to love it. You got to love it.

<17:05:15>

FIELD: I love it. I love it.

LEMON: One more time. Before I throw it back to Poppy Harlow, one more. Three, two, one. Poppy, they are ready for the game. I'm ready for the game. We're enjoying this. I'm so glad. At first I was a little bit -- about this Super Bowl Boulevard but now I'm enjoying it. I love it

HARLOW: I love it. I have no one behind me, Don. You have a lot more friends there than I do here. And by the way, Alexandra, awesome reporting up in the traffer. Great words said. Thank you for that. We appreciate it.

Let's take you over to Russia now. One week ahead of the Olympics. The second U.S. warship left Italy for Russia today to provide support if needed for the winter Olympic game. This comes as a U.S. military puts its final touches on plans for evacuations should they be necessary. According to U.S. officials, transport aircraft and medical crews will be on standby at a base in Germany and would be able to get to the games within six hours if they get that call. In Sochi, guards can be seen on nearly every corner. Very tight security there.

Ivan Watson has more on what people living in Sochi thin about the spotlight and all the security coming along with the Olympics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia is tightening its ring of steel around the upcoming Olympic Games. Security barriers include warships patrolling Sochi's black seacoast. Tens of thousands of Russian security forces have been deployed here to stop terrorists who have threatened to target the more than two weeks of pageantry and sports when many of the world's eyes will be on Russia.

(on camera): It's clear that there's some extra security measures in place here, but most of the Russians we have been speaking to here in the sleepy ports of Sochi, they tell us they are not really worried about terrorism. They are simply excited about the eminent launch of the winter games.

(voice-over): Vladislav (ph) and Yadislav (ph) both 21 years old, they came here from the Russian city of Yekaterinburg two weeks ago to work at a hotel.

"We're not afraid of any threats," the young man tells me. "Security is at a much higher level and there are many police at places like the train station."

"Nyet," Sit Lamiyashimyev (ph) says when I asked her if she's afraid of terrorist attacks. "The Olympic park is the safest place in Sochi," she says. "Look how many police officers and cossacks we have on the streets."

She's right. You can spot those Cossacks wearing tall fur hats outside many Olympic venues walking alongside uniformed police. One week before the games, anticipation is clearly building though we also find some residents of Sochi who just can't wait for the Olympics to be over.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Three different forms of identification are required just to get to work and back. Even though he's native to Sochi. So, you understand how much security is ahead of these games. Absolutely. Of course, the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games are next Friday.

All right. Ahead here on CNN, two big questions for Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey. What did he know and when did he know it? The New Jersey governor facing more questions about those lane closures that snarled traffic on one of the busiest bridges in the entire country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<17:12:10>

HARLOW: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is disputing new claims about what he may have known about the now infamous shutdown of traffic lanes on the George Washington Bridge. One of the busiest in the entire country. The latest accusations come from a lawyer for a one-time Christie ally. Our Erin McPike has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chris Christie wasn't answering questions on his way to Howard Stern's 60th birthday party where instead he posed with a New Jersey icon.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Ladies and gentlemen, Jon Bon Jovi. MCPIKE: Not talking about the latest shooter drop in scandal threatening his political future. This one from former Christie appointee David Wildstein. He's the Port Authority official who replied "Got it" to the Christie's staffer who e-mailed him time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee. And then shutdown two lanes to the George Washington Bridge snarling commuters for four days last September.

REP. FRANK PALLONE (D), NEW JERSEY: I think, you know, he's looking for some sort of immunity.

MCPIKE: In this letter Wildstein's attorney warns evidence exists. Tying Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures while they were closed.

PALLONE: I think that we don't really know that Wildstein is saying that he has evidence or that he's going to indicate that the governor knew the motive or actually gave the order to close the lanes.

MCPIKE: As for that reported evidence --

PROF. ALAN DERSHOWITZ, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: He should be subpoenaed. He has no Fifth Amendment right not to disclose physical evidence that exists. They can get that without giving him broad immunity.

MCPIKE: But Christie's team is doubling down. Mr. Wildstein's lawyer confirms what the governor has said all along. He had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened. And whatever Mr. Wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with. The Christie statements cites him from December 13th.

CHRISTIE: The first I ever heard about the issue was when it was reported in the press.

MCPIKE: And this January 9th news conference where Christie asserts he didn't learn the back story that the lane closures may have been political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee until the morning before.

CHRISTIE: And I knew nothing about this until it started to be reported in the papers about the closures. And even then, I was told this was a traffic study.

MCPIKE: All this comes just as Christie was expected to get some positive national attention hosting the Super Bowl.

Erin McPike, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Let's talk about the political impact of this new twist in the Chris Christie saga. Professor Julian Zelizer is here. He's the historian of Princeton University. We have been talking about this for awhile before you came on set here. And I wonder big picture here. Right? We don't know what this reported evidence is. We don't have it yet. Monday would be the first that sounds like we might see what it is.

<17:15:02>

But even if Christie is vindicated in this and it's proven that he had no prior knowledge, as he has said. Reputationally, what has been done to him?

PROF. JULIAN ZELIZER, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY HISTORIAN: Reputation matters in New Jersey and obviously for 2016. This fuels the story that he's hiding things and it also brings us back to the original story of why these bridges are closed. This might be the last news some people read about it. And so it's very damaging just to have it out there.

HARLOW: Especially when you're talking about someone who is a likely presidential candidate in 2016. This is the day the weekend that Governor Christie is supposed to be celebrating. The Super Bowl in his home state. Yet he woke up this morning to an editorial in the New Jersey Star-Ledger, the editorial board wrote -- an editorial saying in part, "If this charge proves true, then the governor must resign or be impeached." It went on to say, "by the governor's own standard, lying is a firing offense." Give me some perspective here as a historian what you would relate this to.

ZELIZER: Well, it's hard. At this point, we're still talking about a rather small, petty act in terms of the actual closure from what we know and lying.

HARLOW: But we do know it that I mean, even snarled traffic so much that EMT's emergency vehicles couldn't get where they needed to fast enough.

ZELIZER: That's true. But that's not necessarily an impeachable offense. We're not talking about as what the Watergate covering up an investigation by one branch of the executive branch. So even that on the face of it doesn't necessarily mean it's a crime. And the lying right now, but the timing, we're not sure exactly what this letter is referring to. And I think we need to give it a little time before we reach the conclusion that he has to step down. So, there's time still for the governor to respond, to react and for us to sort through the material.

HARLOW: And we have a statement -- you know, the governor's office came out with a statement in response to this thing, this is absolutely not the case. The governor had no idea about the lane closures until afterwards. He found out from the press, et cetera. How important is it for us to hear from Governor Christie in person on camera, press conference responding to this?

ZELIZER: It will be important. Ultimately, this timing issue, it's not about the motivation for closing the lanes. The issue is did he go in front of the cameras, lie to the press and lie to his voters. That speaks poorly about his character if it was true, and that's why it's important to hear from him what the true story is.

HARLOW: And we still absolutely do not know. Is this is bombshell? Is this not? We don't know. All that the letter said from Wildstein's lawyer as their evidence exists. What is that evidence? We cannot rush to judgment until we know that. But talking about Chris Christie, such an internationally known political figure heading into the 2016 presidential race. Whether he runs or not, we don't know. But many, many eyes are on him as a potential candidate. What does this do even if everything is unfounded to someone who may want to be the leader of the free world?

ZELIZER: It's going to raise doubts about his strength as a candidacy. A lot of donors are going to get a little nervous about investing in him for 2016. And finally, it might lead to some other candidates, high profile candidates to get into the race.

HARLOW: Who are you talking about?

ZELIZER: Maybe Jeb Bush.

HARLOW: Right.

ZELIZER: Before they wanted to step back.

HARLOW: We're going to get into that, more of the discussion with Jeb Bush, et cetera, we'll do that later on in the program. But we're still a long ways away from the 2016 race.

ZELIZER: Absolutely.

HARLOW: Time changes everything. Appreciate you coming many. Thank you so much.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

HARLOW: Thanks for being us. All right. A quick programming note for you. Make sure to tune in tomorrow morning to "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY." Our Jake Tapper sat down exclusively with President Obama this week. A very interesting one on one interview. Everything from immigration reform to marijuana. You can see the entire interview tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern only right here on CNN.

All right. Time to head down to the party zone. Don Lemon there in Super Bowl Boulevard hanging out with all of his friends behind him. What do you have coming up, Don?

LEMON: My new best friends have hanging them on. Hey, look, before we go to the video, did you see that signature right here? That signature is Roger Staubach. Right? He's going to show me some moves coming up. You don't want to miss it. You don't want to hear what he had to say about me. We're catching some passes out on Super Bowl Boulevard right here in New York City.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<17:18:07> LEMON: These guys behind me keep telling me to do this. Are you guys ready? Psych. I can't do it. I can't do it because Roger Staubach signed this football. I can't do it. My producer will kill me. He bet a lot of money. The Super Bowl is just a little more than 24 hours away. And fans and players, they can't wait for kickoff. I can't wait either. And walking along Super Bowl Boulevard here in Times Square, it feels like just about anyone who ever starred in the NFL is right here in New York.

I got a chance to play catch with one of the game's great quarterbacks. Former Super Bowl MVP Roger Staubach but more of the football -- I want to show you this, as a naval academy grad, he has long been active in helping our troops through USAA. That's the group with the NFL that shows appreciation for the country, our troops overseas and at home. Here's what he said to me about his partnership with them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: How are you doing?

ROGER STAUBACH, FORMER STAR BFL QUARTERBACK: New York is very excited. You can feel it all over the city today. Yes.

LEMON: Don't you need a bigger coat today?

STAUBACH: It's cold, but even colder. And it's not windy. So, the wind for a quarterback, you hate the wind.

LEMON: Yes. Tell me about the salute to service award that you're involved in.

STAUBACH: I have been involved with the USAA for the last few years. And we're partnered with the NFL. We're still in a crazy world. It's very unstable. And we have men and women coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq, and to honor them and show them, we love them, that we care about them, it means a lot. And they pass that down to their kids. And today, you know, we are appreciative. The Vietnam veteran, we lost a lot there as far as how the Vietnam veteran was treated. And we have turned that around, totally turned it around as far as realizing these men and women are fighting for you and me and our kids, our grandkids. And so it's really important that we continue to support our veterans and they deserve it. Every day they are out there protecting us.

<17:25:11>

LEMON: Yes. Thank you. You're amazing. Are you going to show me how to do --

STAUBACH: I'm going to have -- you guys gave me this ball here. I haven't thrown for a couple weeks now.

LEMON: A couple of weeks? You're probably still better than --

STAUBACH: I played in a flag football game on Thanksgiving Day. LEMON: How much I supposed to learn all this stuff --

STAUBACH: Well, when you throw a football, when you see a spiral, you turn this way. You know, if you turn this way, that's when you get -- actually Sherman said Peyton Manning throws some ducks now and then.

LEMON: Did you see that?

STAUBACH: Yes. What is that? The guys thrown 55 touchdown passes. You know, when you release the ball, you learn how to release it. You have to have your fingers turning out like that because it's far.

LEMON: It's got to go that way.

STAUBACH: Yes. It will turn this way. That's right. It will spin off your hand that way.

LEMON: Right.

STAUBACH: If you'll throw it, it will come that way, so.

LEMON: Do you always want to throw spirals?

STAUBACH: Well, you'd like to. It's easier to catch a spiral.

LEMON: All right. Let me go. Which way would I go? This way? I'm going to go this way. Are you ready?

STAUBACH: Yes. You want to go deep or --

LEMON: I want to go deep --

STAUBACH: See that? That was a little bit of a ducky.

LEMON: Like this?

STAUBACH: Yes.

LEMON: That was a spiral. That was good.

STAUBACH: Yes. You got good hands too.

LEMON: Am I pretty good?

STAUBACH: Yes.

LEMON: I got it. I got it. Not bad, right?

STAUBACH: You want to go deeper than that? Pretty good, huh?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Nice. Not bad. Not bad. It was pretty cold out too. I can't concentrate when you're screaming. Who wants it? Those are my co-hosts back there. So, that was Roger Staubach. That wasn't the only Hall of Famer I had the chance to speak with. Also this signature right here, Joe Montana. Next hour, my conversation with that legend. One of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game for four Super Bowl rings. That's next hour.

New York police I should tell you, are working to keep everybody safe during this big weekend. They are saying "throw the ball."

(Audience chanting): Throw the ball! Throw the ball! Throw the ball! Throw the ball!

The mayor is getting ready for a big change. The department's controversial stop and frisk policy. But the big question is, is he making a mistake? Some answers right after this break. We come back right here at Super Bowl Boulevard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<17:31:04>

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Don lemon, live here on Super Bowl Boulevard. This is one of 13 city blocks in the middle of Manhattan jam-packed with tens of thousands of football fans pumped up for Super Bowl XLVIII. Given the size and scope of it all, you can imagine the security challenge this is posing for law enforcement. I'm having to show my media I.D. And also seeing both uniformed police and military. There are undercover officers on the streets as well. And there are officers on every street corner, just about every inch of city here, and in the skies above me.

Let's talk more about New York City security and about crime. The NYPD, while they will stop at nothing to prevent an attack, they are getting ready for a huge change in how they keep New York safe. The new mayor is doing a 180 on the controversial tactic of Stop and Frisk and making good on a campaign promise to, in his words, "turn the page on one of the most divisive problems in our city." It's a major departure from his predecessor's position on this issue. Michael Bloomberg refused to back down on Stop and Frisk.

We are joined by a former president of Glenn E. Martin, back with me, a former prisoner and president of Just Leadership USA; and Lou Palumbo, a retired law enforcement agent with the Nassau County Police Department.

Thank you for joining us.

We talked about this before when the new mayor was coming in, and said he would put an end to the policy.

Do you think, Lou, this is a mistake by the mayor? He's not stopping the policy, but he's making major changes.

LOU PALUMBO, RETIRED NASSAU COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT: I think, Don, what we're going to have to find out is exactly what the changes translate to. It was reported today that we've already experienced a spike in the shootings. So what I would say to you is that I want to see what they put in practice.

LEMON: Glenn, what do you think of the move by the new mayor?

GLENN E. MARTIN, FORMER PRESIDENT, JUST LEADERSHIP USA & FORMER PRISONER: I think it's absolutely the right move. In the best case scenario, Stop and Frisk has been a policy that hasn't worked and wasted taxpayer resources, public safety resources. A worst scenario, it has been data-driven racial profiling.

LEMON: What do you think about what Lou said? He said it's been reported there's been a 30 percent spike in gun violence. What do you think of that? Is that because of Stop and Frisk and the policy change?

MARTIN: I think, through the entire life of Stop and Frisk as a policy in New York, we haven't been able to draw any sort of correlation between increased Stop and Frisk and reductions in crime.

PALUMBO: I would have to argue that point. If I could revisit history, about 20 years ago when Bill Bratton was the first police commissioner, we had over 2200 homicides in the city every year. It's through the use of Stop and Frisk that these shootings and these homicides were so dramatically reduced to approximately 500. It was done through the implementation of Stop and Frisk.

LEMON: What's the disconnect here? Glenn is saying there's no data that shows. Stop and Frisk works. You're saying there is data. You don't think there's a more effective form of police Stop and Frisk?

Lou, you don't think there's a more effective way of community policing ---

(CROSSTALK)

PALUMBO: To be honest with you, Don, what has to happen is there has to be a revision in the approach, the implementation. Herein lies the problem. When you have a crime statistic of 2200 homicides, you can pretty much justify almost any program that will stop these homicides. Once the homicides roll back, you then have to come back and readdress the implementation of the program. When a police agency, whether it's New York City, Chicago, Boston, Philly, L.A., whomever it may be, elects to implement this program, it's based on statistics.

<17:35:10>

For example, if you go into one particular area in a community that has a heightened number of shootings, clearly you're going to implement that policy in that neighborhood. And it is effective. It's been proven statistically to reduce our homicide rate.

MARTIN: Don, Stop and Frisk is the equivalent of fishing with a machine gun. The fact of the matter is you're going to catch fish, but you're going to destroy the community. Young men and women of color, at a point in their lives where they are trying to determine their identity, are being sent the wrong message by our police department. The only reason we were able to do this is we're so good at watching the data. Stop and Frisk happens all over this country. Luckily, we had a mayor that was very wedded to data and allowed us to crystallize exactly what was happening on the streets of New York, but the same thing is happening around the country.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Stop and Frisk is pretty much a part of every single police department. But the extent to which they were doing it in New York City, that's what got the nation's attention.

(CROSSTALK)

PALUMBO: Don, I actually spoke to that though. I acknowledged the fact with the crime statistic of over 2200 homicides, you have a lot of justification, you have a lot of support for a program of this type. When the homicides are reduced, you then have to come back and revisit how you're going to implement. The policy needs to stay in place. Maybe it needs to be implemented more judicially --

(CROSSTALK)

PALUMBO: -- more tactically, more surgically. Perhaps that's the approach as opposed to going from one extreme to the other. Now we --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Go ahead. Go ahead.

Glenn, before you jump in, it appears that the mayor is agreeing with what Lou is saying because he's not getting rid of the program. He's making sure there's oversight to the program and making sure it's done correctly, if done.

MARTIN: I have always agreed that Stop and Frisk should be used like a surgeon's scalpel. But instead, it's being used like a blunt ax here in New York. So the idea of turning it back into a tactic that the police instead of the policy for policing, it's something that sits well with me and most of the people from the community that I know.

PALUMBO: And I think that's exactly what's going to take place. We have Bill Bratton, the most talented law enforcement official in the business, spearheading this problem. This is a very, very sensitive problem.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Wasn't he the one that put Stop and Frisk into place in the beginning in the '90s?

(CROSSTALK)

PALUMBO: That's right, Don. I spoke to that 20 years ago. I spoke to that 20 years ago, Don.

LEMON: Thank you, guys. Thank you. That's going to have to be it. We appreciate you being on CNN. We'll talk about it again once we see what happens with the new policy. Over the last few weeks, the Broncos and the Seahawks haven't just prepared to play the Super Bowl. They have also had to get ready for these frigid temperatures in New York City. A little bit warming today. It's going to be a little warmer tomorrow. Up next, we'll take an inside look at how the teams are gearing up to stay warm during the big game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<17:41:15>

LEMON: We're back on Super Bowl Boulevard. I finally got a football that I can throw. It's for little LaShawn (ph) from Long Island.

There you go, brother.

(SHOUTING)

(CHEERING)

LEMON: I hit that lady right in the face. Whoops.

There's little LaShawn (ph) right here.

There you go, little fellow.

From the minute the Denver Broncos and Seahawks knew they made it here to Super Bowl XLVIII, it was game on to find the best gear for the players, anything to give them an advantage over their opponent in New York's freezing conditions.

CNN's Ted Rowlands gives us an inside at some of football's got-to- haves for the game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENNIS RYAN, MINNESOTA VIKINGS EQUIPMENT MANAGER: Stocking hats, a heavier one, a lighter one. Players like these dog-eared hats.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Minnesota Vikings equipment manager, Dennis Ryan, is showing us all the things he uses to keep players and coaches warm -- long underwear, hand warmers, ponchos, masks and gloves.

RYAN: Just a very thin glove that's battery operated.

ROWLANDS: Ryan has been with the Vikings for 30 years. He said, back in the old days, when the team played home games outside, coach bud grant outlawed heaters forcing players to improvise.

RYAN: If the rock is hot, throw them in a towel, bring them out to the sideline, lay them on the ground and guys would huddle around the rocks.

OVIE MUGHELLI, FORMER NFL RUNNING BACK: I hated it. ROWLANDS: Former NFL running back, Ovie Mughelli played with Baltimore and Atlanta. He's one of those guys who never wore sleeves no matter how cold it was.

MUGHELLI: When you wear sleeves, you have that nylon or whatever material on you, when you're holding the ball, it gets slippery.

RYAN: Warm Skin is a huge hit with most of the guys. Everybody likes to wear bare arms.

ROWLANDS: Warm Skin is a cream that players put on when they don't wear sleeves like San Francisco quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, during this year's frigid playoff game in Green Bay.

DAVE SCHANFIELD, AURORA HENNA COMPANY: They love it. They have used it and all the teams utilize it.

ROWLANDS: Dave Schanfield and Kathryn Frommer make Warm Skin in this small production facility in Minneapolis. Unlike Vaseline, which the NFL frowns on, Warm Skin forms a non-slippery barrier on the skin. They sell lots of it to people who work outside but their best customer is the NFL. Ad it's likely that some of the players will be using it Super Bowl Sunday.

SCHANFIELD: We imagine they are. We don't know for sure, but I assume they are.

ROWLANDS: This Sunday, the players will have lots of things to keep warm.

RYAN: It's an insulated boot to keep the foot warm.

ROWLANDS: But Dennis thinks, no matter how cold it gets, all they need is for the game to start.

RYAN: They have to be tough mentally and physically and just block it out and play.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: I know everybody here at CNN has our fingers crossed because we're going to be outside the stadium and we want it to be warm. It's going to be cold for the Super Bowl, but it's going to be dry. That's good news. Is it going to be dry?

Let's ask our weather expert, Jennifer Gray -- Jennifer?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: As we look forward to Sunday, the forecast couldn't be better. Only a couple of offshore showers as we go through the morning on Sunday. By the afternoon, things look nice and clear. Temperatures will be chilly, but not as cold as they could be. We all know that. 47 degrees for a high temperature in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Not that bad. Winds out of the west at six miles per hour. Kickoff, Seahawks and Broncos, 43 degrees. Feeling like 37, with winds out of the northwest at five to 10 miles per hour. A lot of folks heading to the game say, well, they will take it -- Don?

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: We'll take it.

Thank you very much, Jennifer Gray.

Hey, Poppy Harlow, back in the studio. Check it out.

<17:45:03>

I told them that you were anchoring, and they said --

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah?

LEMON: -- we're going to make it like Hollywood. And they put some flashing spotlights up for you.

(SHOUTING)

LEMON: Look at that. It's just for you.

HARLOW: Look at that. Yeah, I got a feeling it might be for you, Don Lemon. But thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

I will take it.

So wonderful to see you guys down there.

We have a crazy story coming up. Don, you travel a lot, I travel a lot. Listen to this. A former TSA screener telling all, and what he has to say may shock you. We'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: People in Columbia, Maryland, stopped what they were doing to remember last weekend's deadly shooting at a busy shopping mall. It was a moment of silence at 11:15 a.m. That was the exact time, a week ago today, that a 19-year-old man walked into the mall and started shooting. Two people were killed and then the gunman killed himself. Police still do not know what the motive was for the shooting.

And also tonight, a Florida department of law enforcement chemist is accused of tampering with evidence, and it may have affected -- get this -- more than 2600 cases. I want to show you the counties where the suspect worked in Florida. And also police noticed that -- right there, all of the yellow counties is where this suspect worked. Police noticed that something wrong when they found prescription pain pills missing from the evidence locker room last week. The suspect is on paid leave until police can finish that the investigation.

<17:50:09> Meanwhile, two Boy Scout leaders who videotaped themselves knocking over a boulder at a Utah state park have been charged with a third- degree felony. Glenn Taylor and David Hall are charged with criminal mischief and destroying property. This video was shot of the incident and posted on the Internet. It went viral in October. So you may remember seeing this. But the men said at the time, hey, the boulder could have fallen and killed people, so we were protecting them by knocking it over. And we will follow what happens there.

And actor, Maximilian Schell, has died. He was one of the most famous German-speaking actors in Hollywood history. He won the Oscar for best actor in 1961 starring in "Judgment at Nuremberg." He had been reportedly sick for some time and died in a hospital in Australia. Schell was 83 years old.

And to Indonesia today, where a volcano erupted today, sending people literally running for their lives. We have to warn you, these images are very difficult to watch. Just devastating. Scorching ash spewing out of Mt. Sinabung (ph), on the western island of Sumatra. It engulfed villages, where at least 14 people were killed. But authorities believe the death toll will be much higher. And adding to the heartbreak, some of the people who had evacuated the area due to the volcano had just returned to their homes yesterday.

Ever wondered what the TSA screeners are looking at when you're in line and waiting to go through security at the airport? Well, there is a shocking article in "Politico," and it may confirm your worst fears. And some of them may be laughing at us. This is no joke.

Our Renee March has more on what the former screener, who penned this tell-all, has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENEE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A former TSA officer calling out the agency that he once worked for, stirring up fears and suspicions that flyers already had. Jason Herrington says the agency uses ineffective anti-terrorism security measures at the expense of the public's health, privacy and dignity. And he's just getting started. Adding, "Officers would pull a passenger's bag or give a pat-down because a flyer was rude."

Those body scanners that gave the flyers a virtual strip search and produced graphic images, Herrington described as entertainment. Officers gawking at images of overweight people and genitals, their every fold and dimple on full awful display. And piercings of every kind were visible.

He adds that the rapid scanners could not distinguish classic explosives from body fat. And guns were practically invisible if turned sideways.

TSA says many of their procedures and policies referenced in this article are no longer in place or are characterized inaccurately. For example, scanners that show graphic images are no longer in airports. MARC ROTENBERG, PRESIDENT, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER: For them to say today it is not a big deal because they have been removed, after all of the years they resisted removing them from the airports, is a little hard to take at this point.

MARSH: When it came to profiling, Herrington says, until 2010, officers had a list of 12 countries that were automatically going to receive enhanced screened. To that, TSA says no comment.

(on camera): In a statement, the TSA tells us they don't tolerate unethical or unacceptable behavior. They quick action when discovered.

We did reach out to the former TSA employee, who penned this article, but we got no response.

Renee Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Thank you, Renee. Wow.

Let's go back to Super Bowl Boulevard.

Don, having fun?

LEMON: No, not at all.

(LAUGHTER)

And I hate this gig. Listen, when the bosses are away, the kids will play.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: It is a new year.

LEMON: Absolutely. This is some of the fun we've been covering as we cover the big Super Bowl weekend, a toboggan race.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<17:57:40>

LEMON: Here in New York, Times Square has been transformed into a sports fan's paradise for the game tomorrow. So in some of the downtime, some of the CNN crew hit the boulevard for friendly competition. I was late in the traffic. But check it out anyways.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, guys, this is so exciting because I have covered the World Series and NBA finals, Olympic Games, but it is nothing compared to the great toboggan race 2014.

What have you been doing to train, Christine, for this? CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: All of my life, and it is all mental.

NICHOLS: And how about you, Anthony?

ANTHONY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have been eating New York pizza every day, getting ready, because weight is a big deal.

NICHOLS: What about, Reese?

REESE WATERS, CNN BLEACHER REPORT CORRESPONDENT: I'm the best in the league. I'm the best in the league. When you put me next to a sorry tobogganer like Andy Scholes, that's what's going to happen.

NICHOLS: Well, a little Richard Sherman for you guys. You never know what you'll get here in at CNN.

What about you, Bob.

BOB VAN DILLEN, HLN WEATHER: It's all about that grease in the bottom. But some baby oil on your butt, you'll slide all of the way.

NICHOLS: We're going to send these guys up to the top.

OK. In the starting gate up there, and they are looking nervous. One, two, three! Go!

Bob Van Dillen from HLN, you are the winner.

VAN DILLEN: It is because I weigh 205 pounds, and these guys are lightweights.

NICHOLS: The pizza training has paid off.

How does it feel to win the prestigious event?

VAN DILLEN: Well, I feel like I have just won the Super Bowl, and it is the best.

NICHOLS: And now we have to talk to losers.

Sorry, Christine. How did you feel going down like this.

ROMANS: Well, we need a little investigation of the gender bias, because it felt good. And it was super fun. And did I mention that I'm afraid of heights. I don't like to be cold and go fast. And other than that, it was awesome.

NICHOLS: Should we open up a special investigation?

Tobogganing is about to happen.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A couple of deep knee bends.

(SHOUTING) TURNER: Oh, baby.

NICHOLS: One, two, three.

The drama of Hollywood --

TURNER: The drama of Hollywood still went out in style. That's it.

(LAUGHTER)