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Wicked Winter Busts Budgets; Bus Driver Fights with Passenger; Bus Driver Fired after Fight with Passenger; "House of Cards" Fans Beg for Early Release

Aired February 13, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know the price of a movie these days or going out to dinner in a nice restaurant?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE). Cutting the cord, too.

COSTELLO: Maybe.

ROMANS: There's a lot of trends. A lot of fast-moving trends in the cable space.

COSTELLO: Christine Romans, many thanks.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, paralysis in Washington. And today you can't blame politics. CNN's Erin McPike is out and about.

Good morning.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.

Well, because this winter has been so rough, states on the East Coast are blowing through their snow removal budgets. More on that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

It is a struggle just to cope today across much of the southeast. Almost an inch of ice in Atlanta. Close to a foot of snow in the Carolinas. And for a while Wednesday, roads turned into parking lots in places like Raleigh. This is a different scene today. And this is a live look at the interstate in Raleigh. You can see people learned their lesson. No one is on the road today and that is a good thing.

Let's take you to snow plow pan (ph) in Baltimore. This is one of my favorite features this morning. There you go. You can see they're doing a good job with the roads in Baltimore because about, oh, seven or eight inches of snow fell overnight in Baltimore and then it started to rain in the morning. So those snow plow crews have been out for a long, long time. And they're still going this morning. As you can see, they're doing a pretty good job, although dropping temperatures later this afternoon could make things very difficult for all of the snow removal crews out today.

That snow removal effort does not come cheap. And this winter's unrelenting assault comes at a steep cost. In Maryland, the state came into the season with $48 million in its snow removal budget. Look at how much it has actually spent. More than $82 million. And that's as of yesterday. Keep in mind, we still have several weeks of winter left. We certainly are not forgetting that in Virginia. That state's snow removal budget was $157 million. Officials are still tallying just how much they spent, but they are confident they've already blown the budget.

In Washington, the usual budget talk is largely muted today. The government has shut its federal offices. CNN's Erin McPike is standing -- oh, that's so beautiful, Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, Washington, D.C., is really, for the most part, shut down. Even the White House briefing has been canceled for today. But the federal government is completely closed. And you can see here the Capitol is behind me. Because the federal government is closed, it means all of the hearings that were supposed to go on in the Capitol today also are off. And that means all of these people who have come to Washington for business throughout the week are stuck here because also the Dulles Airport is shut down. Washington Reagan Airport is shut down. All the runways are closed there. Baltimore-Washington International Airport, the runways are open, but most of the flights have been canceled.

I want to show you real quickly just how much snow we have. Look how deep this is and how heavy it is. Also maybe you can see over there, we have a big snowman. But we've got thick, heavy snow and it's going to get worse throughout the day, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, be careful out there. Erin McPike, thanks so much.

Of course, that nasty winter storm is, well, it's interrupting a lot of people's lives today. So let's go up the East Coast, shall we, and head into New England. Actually, we'll head into New York because snow was falling there, too. Eight inches of snow possible by the end of the day. Ashleigh Banfield is there.

Good morning, Ashleigh.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. How did you get your assignment? How did I get this one? I'm just asking.

COSTELLO: You are prepared. You have goggles.

BANFIELD: Can I - you know, can I tell you, I am prepared because I actually did come out in this earlier this morning and it hurts. This is the poor man's exfoliator, I'll tell you. It does hurt. The snow is really going sideways. I don't know if you can really see it through the camera lens, but when you're out here in New York City and there aren't as many commuters here on Columbus Circle as you would normally see at this hour, I don't know whether it's they're just smart enough to look out their high-rise windows and say, forget about it. I also heard as I was walking over one of those subway grates, one of those awesome announcements. To most people not from New York it sounds like (INAUDIBLE). But to me, I actually could decipher it and it was, "the trains are really running slowly." So everybody, obviously, knows what the deal is in New York City.

OK, so I usually bring my president's ruler out, but there's not a whole lot of point because I'm in a plowed area. I did dip over there and I was up to Milliard Fillmore. But like you said, we're expecting around 15 inches in New York City.

Here's what I don't get, Carol. Why are the kids going to school? They didn't cancel school today. I'm like - I'm perplectic (ph). But my kids are canceled up in Connecticut. We're expecting a lot of snow up there, too.

And I will tell you this. Carol, you know New York City. You lived here. And you know it's not normal for some stranger to walk up to you and say, hi, can I give you a free cup of hot chocolate.

COSTELLO: Oh.

BANFIELD: But just, Greg (ph), follow me if you will over here. Across -- I know, right? Across here, across Broadway, the guy in the red truck is handing out hot chocolate. It's a store I think called Modell's (ph). Handing out hot chocolate to complete strangers.

COSTELLO: Oh.

BANFIELD: And I thought, how delightful. (INAUDIBLE). How do you like those apples.

COSTELLO: Oh, it's someone from New York City. It takes a snowstorm to warm the hearts of New Yorkers. Now we know.

Ashleigh Banfield.

BANFIELD: Yes. Yes. It doesn't really warm anybody's (INAUDIBLE), I'll tell you that, but it's a nice gesture.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, I'll let you get out because you're armed with your goggles and your ruler and I'm sure you're in search of stories. Ashleigh Banfield.

BANFIELD: Oh, thank you. That's really big of you, Carol Costello. Thanks a lot for letting me go. That's nice.

COSTELLO: Any time. Any time. You'll be back in a minute with another story that I love, so stick around. And thank you very much, Ashleigh Banfield.

BANFIELD: (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: Also to come in the NEWSROOM, a Wisconsin bus driver is trying to get his job back after he's caught on tape beating a teenaged passenger while he's driving the bus. We'll talk more about this next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Shocking video from Wisconsin this morning. A Kenosha transit bus driver is caught on tape beating a teenaged driver while the bus was full of people. And, get this, the bus was still moving while that fight was going on. Now the driver is in a whole world of trouble. Jean Casarez live in New York with the story.

Good morning.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning.

And the student is facing criminal charges. You know, I just got off the phone with the Kenosha, Wisconsin, police department. They confirm with me the student is 16 years old. And I don't think anybody would imagine it was all caught on video, but it sure was. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ (voice-over): A Wisconsin bus driver is out of a job after a violent fight with a passenger on board his bus. The whole thing was caught on tape. The shocking video shot inside a bus packed with high school students. Shows the heated moments before a violent altercation between Kenosha transit bus driver Scotty Wells and a teen passenger last month. The video seems to show the testy encounter was not the first time the two had exchanged words.

SCOTTY WELLS, BUS DRIVER: I know it's you. I've been waiting to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, STUDENT: What's that for?

WELLS: That's for your mouth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

WELLS: No, when you got off the bus the last time.

CASAREZ: Reportedly, Wells told authorities he asked for the teen's information after allegedly experiencing issues with him on previous rides. The teen is seen in the video taking a seat. But a few moments later, he approaches the front of the bus and pulls the first punch.

WELLS: When that border goes, that bus pass is no longer any good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED) man.

WELLS: You little punk. Get the heck outta here.

CASAREZ: But perhaps more shocking, watch here. As the bus, still moving, with no one behind the wheel, crashes into three parked cars, one with people still inside.

The teen is facing felony charges for assaulting Wells and reckless endangerment. Wells declined to comment. WELLS: You can talk to my union representative.

CASAREZ: His union rep is fighting for him to get his job back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My issue with the bus driver is that when he defended himself, he puts others at risk. And he puts them in peril (ph) by defending himself while the bus wasn't in park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And I was just able to confirm with the Kenosha School District that this is in fact, a city bus driver. And the school district was using him. They do contract out with all of that.

You know I think, Carol, we have to look at the facts here because the students had just gotten on to the bus. The bus driver must have put the car in drive, the bus, to start to drive and then he was attacked. And we know his glasses were broken as the student began to punch him. And then he, as the bus driver, has the duty for the safety of the kids.

But I think that he felt a momentary reaction he had to subdue the student but then the bus kept moving. And we did confirm that there was one occupied car that that bus just sort of coasted into, but minor injuries but nothing serious.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That is a crazy story. So the teenager in this case has been charged. What about the bus driver?

CASAREZ: The bus driver, no charges at all, but as I just spoke with the school district, they believe that he in fact, had been fired but they said you need to confirm with the bus company because they were his actual employer.

COSTELLO: Wow. Jean Casarez thanks so much.

CASAREZ: Thanks.

COSTELLO: We'll take a break. We'll be right back with more in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Wall Street looking at a down day of trading. The Dow dropped shortly at the open you see it's down 72 points now. This is after the Commerce Department said retail sales dipped slightly in the month of January.

Of course, the chilly weather has kept shoppers at home with their wallets shot.

Checking other "Top Stories" at 50 minutes past at least one person was hurt in three home set on fire after what authorities say may have been an explosion at a ruptured gas line in rural Kentucky. Fire crews now on the scene. According to witnesses, several structures reportedly have been leveled. Comcast has agreed to purchase Time Warner Cable in a deal worth $45 billion. The sale will join two of the nation's largest cable providers and it would mean that more than a third of U.S. pay TV subscribers get their service from one company Comcast. The deal is expected to face tough scrutiny by regulators.

Let the binge watching begin -- as if. Political junkies in D.C. are begging Netflix to release the new season of "House of Cards" one day early you know so they can sit at home and watch during the snow storm. So far, no go. Before we talk about that though a word about the plot of "House of Cards"; it has long been rumored that the smooth talking Senator Frank Underwood and his wife steely wife Claire are actually modeled after Bill and Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that your marriage may be a bit more calculated than you let on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh I wanted it to go longer. Anyway it was a cool promo. Kevin Spacey who plays Frank Underwood denies his character is based on Bill Clinton. And by the way, Bill Clinton loves "House of Cards" and it appears he absolutely loves Kevin Spacey.

I don't know if you caught the "actress" in quotes, who portrayed the reporter in that clip. It was CNN's very own Ashleigh Banfield. She joins me now along with entertainment correspondent Nischelle turner. Good morning to both of you.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning hey Carol I was going to give --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Yes top of the morning to you.

TURNER: I was going to put my specs on to give you some Ashleigh Banfield so I can look like the both of you. But Ashleigh has the futuristic goggles on outside so --

COSTELLO: I know.

BANFIELD: Well I know I'm at Sundance filming the next big ski movie. So that's why I have the goggles.

COSTELLO: Because your acting was primo. So tell us about that. How did -- how did it feel to be in a show that everyone loves?

BANFIELD: Well I'll tell you what, I love it when someone else writes the stuff and you just have to say it. I thought it was going to be a total breeze. But it turns out acting is really hard especially when you're trying to act as yourself.

It was a blast though. I had a 12 hour day on the set. And I spent the whole day in a scene which I'm not allowed to tell you about. I signed a deal with Robin Wright who is just one of the nicest, coolest, smartest people. And clearly one of the best actresses not by my judgment but by the Golden Globes and all the other accolades she's been getting. But man, was it ever cool.

COSTELLO: It was cool.

TURNER: Carol you know Ashleigh's being a little bit humble there. She didn't just have a line or two. She had some lines, she had pages. She did some work. So I'm so excited to see her in this role.

BANFIELD: I do.

COSTELLO: I was excited too.

BANFIELD: I am too.

COSTELLO: Ok so let's talk about this, this movement that's going on to get Netflix to release the series a day early so people who were like trapped in their homes by snow could binge watch.

TURNER: Well I blame Brian Stelter our own Brian Stelter for this because he was one of the people on Twitter that was calling for them to release early. But Netflix is saying no they can't give up the goods any earlier, they can't move it up Carol. So they -- so you know it seems like we've got to do some other things to -- to give us a little binge watching. Because we won't get the "House of Cards" series until tomorrow, on Valentine's Day even though it's only 24 hours left to watch.

So here's what I say. I say if you watch -- if you're trapped in the house and you want to do some binge watching, watch "Scandal". Catch up on "Scandal" because you can get that on Netflix, you can get it on Hulu, I came to that party late but I watched all of season one and all of season two in one seating.

BANFIELD: Nischelle are you crazy?

TURNER: What?

BANFIELD: What about "Walking Dead"? Because clearly we're living "Walking Dead" right now. We're living the images of "Walking Dead". I think people should binge watch that.

COSTELLO: Ok so hold on for just a second. Because we do have a surprise for Ashleigh Banfield; it's about her acting skills. And some experts weighed in. So let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST: Let's talk about my dear friend and colleague Ashleigh Banfield. Ok. She comes up to me in the hallway one day and said, "I got a call? Kevin Spacey's office is on the line? That's not true. Bull." She didn't buy it for a second. She's in season two of "House of Cards". KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: She does -- as many of the correspondents or journalists in Washington and cover it. Ashleigh did a very nice job. And I know her personally. And she's a lot of fun.

ROBIN WRIGHT, ACTRESS: She's great. You might lose her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I can't believe it. That was Kevin Spacey.

TURNER: Nice.

COSTELLO: And Robin Wright.

BANFIELD: Yes. Well, I call him K Space but that's just me. Funny thing happened on the way to the grill here. When I was doing the live shot, months and months ago the audio engineer who was working with me does one of these, "Look behind you." And it was Kevin Spacey. So I just sort of called out to him, "Hey, come on over and chat."

COSTELLO: Because you're so shy.

BANFIELD: And there began this odyssey of fun. I know. I have that in me. But yes we became buddies. And I like to say best friends, you know, forever, but yes. So he asked me to do the "House of Cards" gig, and I've done a few other things for him as well. It's been a lot of fun.

COSTELLO: Well, that's terrific.

BANFIELD: Well look at this. You've got a little weather story behind you as we go. Look at that. Hey guys. Thank you Central Park. We're live reporting for you.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Ashleigh Banfield, Nischelle Turner, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a quick break.

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