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Alaska Airlines Flight Loses Window Panel After Take Off; Oral Arguments Set for February 8 In Trump Ballot Case; Biden Stresses Importance of Democracy in Campaign Speech. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired January 06, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:45]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN this morning. It is Saturday, January 6th. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. Thank you for being with us.

Here's what we're watching for you this morning. An Alaska Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing after a window appeared to blow out mid-flight. We're hearing from passengers about that moment, plus how the airline is responding to the incident.

WALKER: Donald Trump's fight to stay on the ballot in Colorado was headed to the Supreme Court, what that means for the state's primary and the ripple effects for other states trying to keep Trump off the primary ballot.

BLACKWELL: President Biden makes his reelection pitch to voters warning that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy as Trump's GOP rivals are sharpening their attacks against the front runner ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

WALKER: And a major winter storm will bring freezing rain, ice and snow to millions of people across the country today, the timing, impacts and how cities are preparing just ahead on CNN this morning.

BLACKWELL: We're starting with the Alaska Airlines flight. Passengers say a window popped off the plane just after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. The 737 Max 9 was bound for Ontario, California.

WALKER: Now according to FlightAware, the plane was only in the air for about 20 minutes before returning to the Portland airport for an emergency landing. Passengers describe just a lot of confusion. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMA VU, PASSENGER, ALASKA AIRLINES FLIGHT 1282: I woke up to the plane just falling and I knew it was not just normal turbulence because the masks came down. And that's when the panic definitely started to set in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All the airline has 65 Boeing 737-9 planes in its fleet. They've all been grounded until they can be inspected. Jeffrey Lindblom, from CNN affiliate KPTV reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

JEFFREY LINDBLOM, KPTV REPORTER (voice-over): Flight Crew and Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 declaring an emergency has these photos show the aircraft appearing to be missing a panel.

EVAN SMITH, ALASKA AIRLINES PASSENGER: It was about as wide as a refrigerator and about as high as two thirds of a refrigerator in height.

LINDBLOM (voice-over): Evan Smith says he was among the 174 passengers aboard the flight heading to Ontario says they've just reached cruising altitude at around 10,000 feet as disaster struck.

SMITH: There was a really loud bang towards the left rear of the plane. I mean a whooshing noise and all the air masks dropped.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. We need to have turn back to Portland, if we can get one.

LINDBLOM (voice-over): Flight crew made the call to return to Portland while Smith says he looks back about six rows and saw what he believes is a missing side panel in the aircraft.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We needed to circle. We declared an emergency.

SMITH: Just kind of sit there, it's not anything I have any control over. I mean it's just wait and see what happens.

LINDBLOM (voice-over): Smith says he spoke with another passenger who said they were a row behind where the incident occurred.

SMITH: And they said, there was a kid in that row who his shirt was sucked off in and out of the plane. And his mother was holding on to him make sure he didn't go with it.

LINDBLOM (voice-over): He believed some cell phones and other items may have blown out too. And he says it's fortunate they weren't higher in the sky. He also credits the cabin crew for doing what he calls a good job. As he says he watched crew members help some women who were fearful move to a different spot on the plane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Portland tower, (INAUDIBLE) am I allowed to declared landing emergency aircraft.

SMITH: He says something that a plane -- those planes can take that kind of a hit and still go ahead and land safely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right, Jeffrey Lindblom, thank you very much for your reporting. Joining me now is Mary Schiavo, a CNN transportation analyst and former inspector general with the Department of Transportation. Mary, I'm floored just looking at this picture. We're not just talking about a window here. I mean, it's an entire panel, the passenger said it was as wide as a refrigerator. What are your thoughts when you see this image of this gaping hole in the fuselage?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, we're actually not talking about a window, you're correct. We're talking about a door and that is also what makes this a very big issue for Boeing and for airlines who operate this aircraft. So on this aircraft, this model aircraft and others in this line of aircraft in the Max line, the airlines can order it with this door which is really a door blocked off on the inside and looking like a window and you can increase capacity.

[06:05:01]

So what has happened is this door panel has blown out. And that's a really big deal not only for Boeing in this model but in history because loss of a door in flight can lead to what's called rapid decompression, which the FAA and the NTSB, everyone, warrants could cause loss of the aircraft itself. And what that means is a major part of the aircraft has blown out, and it rapidly decompressiorizes (ph) the aircraft.

And previous incidents where you have lost the door and flight, in some cases have brought down the plane. A Turkish airliner, for example, came down because of it. So it is a very big deal. And the passengers are fortunate that they were belted in and no one went out. But on other flights with rapid decompression, parts of the aircraft have been lost and passengers or crew have been lost as in Aloha airlines, which was not a door, it was part of the roof of the plane back in the 80s. So it's a very big deal for Boeing, for the airline and for all operators with this aircraft.

WALKER: I'm taken by what you just said that this has happened before, including with the Turkish Airlines. I mean, tell us the worst-case scenario here, then because as I understand it, there was no one thankfully sitting at that window seat. I think "The New York Times" is reporting that there was a teenage boy and his mother in the middle of the aisle seat. I'm assuming they had their seatbelts on. But what could have happened in the worst case?

SCHIAVO: Well, in the worst-case scenario and it's, you know, well- documented in an aviation accident investigations that when the aircraft suffered was called a rapid decompression. And it can be from loss of a door or window. In some cases, it was a loss of an aft bulkhead, failed, et cetera, throughout history, these events have happened. And often it can bring down the plane because for many reasons, it makes a plane uncontrollable. It causes other systems in the aircraft, to have difficulty. But, you know, because everyone was belted in and I can guarantee you that teenager and his mother had their seatbelts on. Otherwise, they could go on out that hole. But because of that, because there's always a warning with rapid decompression, you could lose the aircraft. It's a very big deal.

Now, Southwest a few years back had an incident where a window blew out, and the passenger next to the window did go out the window. But there can be loss of life, there can be injuries, or there can be loss of the aircraft. That's what could have happened. So they're very fortunate and they got the plane on the ground. And they weren't 16,000 feet were passengers while they're getting there --

WALKER: So the NTSB, got you, so Mary, the NTSB, the FAA is investigating. As I understand it, last month, Boeing they urged airlines to inspect 737 Max airplanes for possible loose bolts in the rudder control system, it was announced by the FAA recently. Could this have something to do with what happened?

SCHIAVO: No, I don't think this would have anything to do with the rudder control bolts. But what the signals overall is, what is the quality control on the manufacturing, on the assembly of these aircraft, if you've got loose bolts in the door panel, if you've got loose bolts in the tail, if you've got issues with assembly, this is something the FAA should get on top of and get on top of fast because in the back of everyone's mind, is a loss of two 737 Max 8 aircraft. This was a Max 9. And that is going to be running through everyone's mind as they say, what do we need to do once again with Boeing? And that's what the FAA should be doing this morning. And every morning for the next, you know, several weeks, months or years.

WALKER: Is there a difference between the 737 Max 8, of course, I'm thinking to the Lion Air crash where, you know, they took off and immediately plunged into the ocean and all the souls on board died. What's the difference between the 737 Max 8 and the Max 9 in this particular case?

SCHIAVO: Well, in a nutshell, in layman's terms, it's the Max 9 can carry more passengers. But there were changes after the Max 8 disasters that were ordered in inspections on all the planes. So no, the Max 9 is not exactly the same as the Max 8. They're very similar. The Max 9 seats more.

WALKER: Got you. And lastly, because you know, Alaska Airlines announced after this incident that they're grounding its fleet of their Boeing 737-9 aircraft. Do you expect and should other airlines at the same fleet follow?

SCHIAVO: Yes, I think United has a large number of these planes. China has purchased a number of these planes. But yes, when an airline -- when an aircraft has lost a door, it's a very big issue. And I think all airlines should ground them until they're inspected. And I think they will. It's the smart and safe and sensible thing to do.

[06:10:00] WALKER: Just so unnerving. Mary Schiavo, great to have you this morning, thank you.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump's political fate in part is now in the hands of the Supreme Court. The nine justices will decide whether the former president can be disqualified from running for office again, due to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. This decision has the potential to significantly impact the upcoming presidential election and the justices acknowledge the urgency to reach a decision soon. CNN's Paula Reid reports.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, good morning, Victor and Amara. This is the biggest election related case that the court will hear since the Bush v. Gore. They have granted this petition from former President Trump's lawyers to review whether the Colorado Supreme Court made a mistake when it decided to remove Trump from the ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That is a so-called insurrectionist ban that bars anyone who engages in an insurrection from holding future office.

Now it's unclear exactly which questions and issues the court will consider and rule on. But the overarching issue here is whether that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment applies to presidents. This is an issue that has actually divided judges even within the state of Colorado. And Trump's lawyers are framing their case, as a request to return choice to the voters. They insist that if they rule against Trump, then the court will for the first time be taking away the choice that voters should have to vote for a party's primary candidate.

They say this would be the first time in the history of the country, that the judiciary would make that decision. But the challengers insist that Trump engage in an insurrection, and that he should be barred from holding future office under this post-Civil War part of the Constitution. Now, here's how this is all going to play out. They're giving it what one source calls The Full Monty, there will be briefings. There's a briefing scheduled. It's pretty expedited for the high court. There'll be oral arguments on February 8th, and then the justices will have to make a decision.

This is probably the biggest test of Chief Justice John Roberts career, he's going to be under enormous pressure to build consensus behind the scenes, so that this decision, whatever the balance is, the vote, does not appear in any way a partisan so this is an enormous test for a court that has been battled by scandals and controversial decisions like overturning Roe v. Wade. And I think it's going to be the mantra for 2024. All eyes on the Supreme Court in the first of what could be many decisions related to the 2024 election. Amara, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Paula Reid, there for us, thanks so much. Let's bring in now CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson. Joey, first, the question of reaching broad consensus on a question like this, considering the diverse opinions and perspectives on the court, how difficult will that be?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Victor, good morning to you. I think it will be quite difficult. Nonetheless, that is their duty, right? You have a Supreme Court of the United States for a reason. I think that they understand the magnitude of and gravity of this decision. Hence the expedited schedule, look at what they're doing, Victor. They're making a determination, they being the Supreme Court of the United States, consisting of nine justices, six of which we know to be conservative, right, to expedite this case, February 8th will be oral argument on the case.

Wow, Super Tuesday being March 5th, unbelievable. And so I think they understand the nature of what's happening here. Yes, this case is about Colorado, and whether Colorado Supreme Court that state court erred in its determination to bar Trump for the ballot. But more broadly, this was about challenges throughout the country, those that are pending, right, those that are cropping up regularly. We know Michigan, right, in terms of what's happening there. We know about Wisconsin. We know about the issues in terms of Maine and the Secretary of State.

We know about Massachusetts just recently, and what they're doing. We know about Illinois. I can go on. And so the essence of what I'm saying is the gravity of that decision will affect every state in the 50 states of the country, give some uniformity and consistency with regard to how the President gets on the ballot, former president, whether he stays on the ballot, and what the role of the state's courts will be moving forward.

BLACKWELL: You know, what's your expectation? We know that Chief Justice Roberts has wanted to at least make this court appear to be a political at his time at the helm there. What are you expecting will be the outcome here?

JACKSON: You know, Victor, it's always hard to say but to your very good point, I think the court wants to and needs to really give a legal opinion that does not appeal here to be partisan does that -- does not appear to be taking sides. Everybody remembers Bush v. Gore, right, President Bush, Al Gore. The decision made in 2000 with respect to that election, and the reputational damage and of the institution of people believing that we had a partisan court that gave the election to George Bush.

[06:15:20]

I think there'll be efforts to avoid that. How do they do that? I think how they'll do it is there's always a maximum of court, Victor, is you decide a court, you decide a case in those narrow fashion possible. What will that mean here? Will it mean that the Supreme Court says that, listen, it's not a state's issue, it's up to the federal government, and until Congress passes a law, which indicates how this is resolved, that we're going to stay out of it? Will they say that we conclude that the 14th Amendment should be more definitive? And until or unless it is, right, we'll stay out of it again. So I don't know that they're going to reach a conclusion as to whether the President engaged in an insurrection, right, whether there was an insurrection. And so my expectation is that they will try to resolve this case in the most narrow, nonpartisan grounds that are permissible under these very political circumstances.

BLACKWELL: Do you believe that this will put, I mean, this is specifically about Colorado's decision. But does this press pause on other states, in which we are waiting for a decision from those courts, that they will hold off until there is a decision from the Supreme Court, or they will rule and then just stay those decisions until the Supreme Court decides.

JACKSON: Yes, Victor. What I believe will occur is that various states will proceed as planned with regard to any election challenges in those specific states. And that's as it should be. I do believe, however, that when the Supreme Court issues with a determination at that point, depending upon what that ruling is, it could pause or otherwise alter or impair the decisions moving forward.

So I don't know that other states simply because the Supreme Court is hearing this on an expedited basis, we'll then decide, hey, let's back up until we get definitive guidance. I think they will move forward. And then when that decision comes, it will guide their views as to what they do, right, as a result of the Supreme Court decision. In my view, I think that's how it'll play out. And that's the way it should plan.

BLACKWELL: The former President Trump referenced the decision, the announcement from the court that they will take up this case. He was in Sioux City, Iowa last night. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All I want is fair. I fought really hard to get three very, very good people. And they're great people, very smart people. And I just hope that they're going to be fair, because, you know, the other side plays the ref.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The I put three of them their statement, in addition to what we heard from one of his attorneys talking about Brett Kavanaugh specifically and how the President worked to secure his appointment to the court. What's your reaction to that, I guess strategy from Team Trump?

JACKSON: Yes, I think and to your point, Victor, that attorney of Trump said that the President fought like hell to get, I think, Kavanaugh onto the court. And so I think, you know, they're speaking to the justices. Hey, we had your back, now have mine. That seems to be him playing the ref by saying the other side seems to play the rep. At the end of the day I think everyone wants fairness. I think it's an institution, that Supreme Court that if you're going with your respect moving forward, we know the magnitude and gravity of this decision. We know, Victor that at some point not yet. They'll get to the immunity question is my view in terms of what the President has immunity from prosecution? I think that we're seeing the court playing outsize role in an election process. And we do want fairness and we want a decision that's predicated upon constitutional authority or the lack thereof, and not partisan politics. I think that's the way the institution preserves itself moving forward.

BLACKWELL: Joey Jackson, thank you.

Still to come in his first campaign speech of 2024, President Joe Biden described Donald Trump as a dire threat to democracy. This was in a blistering attack on the Republican front runner, more on his pitch to voters for a second term.

[06:19:14]

Plus, a one-two punch of winter storms and the first arctic cold outbreak of the season, it will impact millions of Americans through next week.

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WALKER: It will be a busy weekend for Republican presidential hopefuls as they are in the final stretch before the Iowa caucuses on the 15th. Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson are crisscrossing the state today speaking in multiple cities to convince voters to participate and they made their case to voters on Friday too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Our country is really in trouble. It's in trouble like it's never been before in my opinion. We have a man who's grossly incompetent dealing about -- dealing with nuclear war.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm the only one running for president that has beaten these people time and time and time again. We beat the teachers unions when it came to universal school choice. We beat Fauci on COVID. We beat George Soros on crime removing two of these radical prosecutors down in the state of Florida.

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We should want to win the majority of Americans. But in order to do that, you don't do that by demonizing a group of people. You don't do that by pushing another group away. You do it by inviting everybody in to understand how you think the country should go forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: President Biden officially kicked off his reelection campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania on Friday, fiery speech he made their marking the anniversary of the Capitol insurrection. He focused on the value on democracy. He said just the most urgent question of our time. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us from Washington. The president also had some strong words for former President Trump. The Republicans are going into their first primary votes. President Biden is already talking like he's going into the general.

[06:25:23]

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, that has been what campaign officials said was going to be the message going to 2024, that the American democracy is at risk. And in his remarks yesterday, near the site of the Revolutionary War site of Valley Forge, so there was some historical significance with this, too. He repeatedly named Trump oftentimes in other speeches, he remarks about his predecessor or the former president, but this time, he leaned in on Donald Trump and talked repeatedly about how the former president is only thinking about himself that this is about revenge for him, and that he's pro insurrectionist because, of course, these are remarks that came on the eve of the anniversary of January 6th.

And so campaign officials said that going into these remarks, it wasn't just about noting the importance of this election for American democracy, but also reminding voters from the outset, what happened in January of 2021, and warning of the chaos that could ensue if the former president takes a second term. And President Biden in his remarks making that clear, by posing what he said is the urgent question of this election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Today, we're here to answer the most important questions. Is democracy still America's sacred cause? I mean it. This is not rhetorical, academic or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America's sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time. And that's what the 2024 election is all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, President Biden also invoked George Washington who after two terms of prep -- as president stepped down, and he made that a contrast to former President Donald Trump, who wouldn't accept the 2020 results. Now the campaign will be leaning into this theme over the course of the year and today, they're going to release a campaign ad with images and videos of January 6th and condemning the former president during that time and now, and that'll be today, again, in key battleground states.

But also, Vice President Kamala Harris will be heading to South Carolina, another important state for the Biden-Harris ticket, where she too will talk about January 6th.

WALKER: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, thank you very much.

Let's bring in CNN political commentator Errol Louis now to take a look at where all the campaigns are headed. Hi, there, Errol. Good to see you this morning. Let's start with President Biden's campaign in his first campaign speech of 2024. It had a darker tone than we're used to hearing from the President, also an urgency to it. How effective do you think his speech was in terms of timing, right, on the eve of the January 6th riots anniversary, the backdrop of Valley Forge and his messaging that democracy is at stake.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning. It's a great speech. And it's a great opportunity for Joe Biden that he wasn't going to pass up to show his powers as the President of the United States to speak out on behalf of democracy and then politically speaking to really galvanize his base. The polls show that while Democrats disagree with each other, it's a very turbulent coalition in a lot of ways, you've got environmentalists and civil rights activists and lots of different union activist different movements, all that sometimes collide, where they all come together in the 90 plus percent range is around this question of whether or not democracy is under attack and whether or not Biden is the best person to defend that democracy.

So politically speaking, and as a commander-in-chief, as well as his personal beliefs, I think it comes through his sincerity when it comes to these issues. All of this lines up for imperfectly and this was an opportunity he wasn't going to pass up.

WALKER: Yes, it definitely wasn't impassioned speech. And I want to take a listen to a little bit more of it because Biden gave a visual and a really detailed reminder of what happened three years ago to the day, you know, when rioters inspired by Trump, they attack the U.S. Capitol. People were killed over this, over an election that Trump still basically claims was stolen from him. Here's Biden again in Pennsylvania yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:29:40]

BIDEN: Three years ago, tomorrow, we saw their own eyes. The violent mob stormed the United States Capitol. Some almost in disbelief as you first turned on the television. For the first time in our history, insurrections had come to stop a peaceful transfer of power in America, first time, smashing windows, shattering doors, attacking the police. Outside, gallows were erected, as the MAGA chanted "hang Mike Pence". Inside, they hunted for Speaker Pelosi. The House was chanting as they marched through and smashed windows, "where is Nancy?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: I think it was important to detail, you know, those events and what exactly happened that day for those who may have forgotten all those details. But you mentioned, Errol, that this could be a galvanizing moment for the Democrats, but what about the independents? I mean, I'm sure this is also the strategy to appeal to those who are not exactly enthusiastic about Biden's age, the economy, and so on.

LOUIS: Well, that's exactly right. I mean, look, all of the polling shows that independents really think that this democracy business, this question about whether or not the future of our political system is at stake, is one that leads them towards Joe Biden. And that's why he won back in 2020. I mean, this is -- this is exactly

what we could have expected. It's coming a little sooner than you might have thought. But he's already signaling that he wants those independents, he wants to remind them that it is not safe to get behind Donald Trump, that whatever they might think about the economy or any other issue, that the right to have rights, the right to have a free and fair election has to really take precedent.

And that is, again, part of the coalition that got him elected. So, I think we're going to hear a lot more about this. Maybe not quite as stridently, not as much in your face as this anniversary gives you an opportunity to do, but on the campaign trail, I think it's going to be in the background again with a straight pitch to independents.

WALKER: Let's listen to how Trump reacted in Iowa. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By the way, I think J6 had an equal amount of people. It's the biggest crowd I believe I ever spoke to. You never hear about that. Do you? You have the hostages, the J6 hostages I call them. Nobody has been treated ever in history so badly as those people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: We do have a few seconds left, but Errol, I think you just remind our viewers what Trump has promised to do in terms of pardoning multiple times the January 6th rioters and also the stuff that he's explicitly promised to do while in the Oval Office.

LOUIS: Yes, he's promised to pardon all of them. He's promised to use the Department of Justice to go after his political opponents. And keep in mind, this January 6th, this riot, this insurrection led to the largest FBI investigation in U.S. history. Hundreds and hundreds of people have been investigated, many have been arrested, many have been convicted and served sentences.

This is -- this is what he is offering as the basis for his campaign. I think it's a very troubling place to start your campaign from, but that's the Trump campaign at this point.

WALKER: Let's not forget, more than 1,200 people have been charged with federal crimes for participating. Errol Louis, thank you very much. And make sure to tune into the Republican presidential debate moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash live from Iowa on Wednesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

BLACKWELL: Coming up, it is wintertime for real in some communities. Heavy snow, treacherous ice and the forecast in the next few days. Details of where this powerful storm is headed, that's next.

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[06:35:00] WALKER: More than 40 million people from Georgia to Maine are under

Winter weather advisories this weekend. The storm system dropped heavy rain across parts of the south yesterday, and it was slow going in Galveston, Texas, as the rain caused streets to flood.

BLACKWELL: And this is what the snow, the heavy snow gets you in Arkansas. Several cars and 18-wheelers stuck --

WALKER: Wow --

BLACKWELL: At the crashes on I-49. Well, now that system is moving east, threatening to bring up to a foot of snow to parts of the northeast and heavy rain to the Mid-Atlantic. CNN's meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the system. We're beginning with CNN's Gabe Cohen in Pennsylvania, though. Gabe, what are you seeing there?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, look, Victor, the real storm watch starts late this morning, but we expect by about 8:00 a.m., it's going to be all hands on deck here, really across Pennsylvania, certainly here in the Harrisburg area. We're going to see crews arriving, loading up these plows and getting ready, heading out on the street because they're expecting to be clear -- to clear potentially 1 to 2 inches of snow every single hour, up to 8 inches of snow in a lot of parts of the state.

And, look, just to give you a sense of the resources they have available, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation alone will have more than 2,000 of these plows spread out across the state, plowing interstates and major roads, which speaks to the many thousand more on the local and state-level that will be out across the region as we see this first major snowfall of the year.

And look, a lot of preparation went into this storm. It's not just today. They've been pre-treating roads here across Pennsylvania. What you see behind me here, that's their salt dome. They have hundreds of thousands of tons of this stuff spread across the state.

It gets mixed into a salt brine, that's what those tanks are behind me there. And these trucks have been out, they were treating roads yesterday. They're trying to prevent those slick, hazardous roads that many are expecting later today as this storm really gets going.

They want people to be prepared for fallen trees, for power outages. It could be very dangerous out here. And, look, these crews, Victor, they know Winter storms, they often -- in a typical year, they'll get a couple feet of snow here in central Pennsylvania, but a lot of parts of this region haven't seen real snow in a couple of years.

[06:40:00]

They haven't seen a storm like the one that's forecast for today in around three years here in south central Pennsylvania. But I spoke to the team here at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation yesterday. They said they are itching to get out there and plow. This is what they do, this is why they come to work. But they're expecting a significant storm and they want people to pay attention and stay off the roads.

BLACKWELL: All right, good to hear that they're ready there in Harrisburg. Gabe Cohen, thanks so much. Let's go now to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar in the CNN weather center. Allison, it's been raining all night here in Atlanta. But we're not getting the worst of it, I assume, when you look at what Gabe says they're preparing for. Who is going to see that significant snowfall?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: Right, you're right, but you're also not too far away. You have areas of northern Georgia that are going to experience some of that mixing. That's why you've got these Winter weather alerts that stretch from northern Georgia all the way up through Maine and pretty much everywhere in between.

But the type of precipitation is going to vary. Now, on the extreme southern side, now you're talking heavy rain and some strong thunderstorms, off to the north, it's all going to be snow. But in the middle, that's where you're going to get a little bit of everything in some of these locations, especially in places like Asheville, North Carolina.

They're going to have rain, they're going to have ice, and they're going to have some snow. And it's going to be the same for similar areas. You're already starting to see that icing take place between Asheville and Roanoke. You've got some snow across portions of Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio.

With all of this moisture, it's going to continue to surge off to the north and east. So, by the time, we get to later on this afternoon and especially into the evening hours, now it's becoming more a concern across portions of the Mid-Atlantic. Then by the time we get overnight and especially into Sunday morning, now the focus becomes the northeast.

Especially for some of that extremely heavy snow across areas of Pennsylvania, Upstate New York, as well as New Hampshire and Vermont. Then the system finally pushes out to shore. But you've still got quite a few lingering snow showers. So, for a lot of these places, you're going to have some pretty big impacts from the wet snowfall, those gusty winds, and then yes, even the potential for the ice accumulation in some of these spots, which could be, Victor and Amara, as much as a quarter to even half an inch in some locations.

WALKER: Right, it's even snowing on you. I see the snowflakes on your sweater --

BLACKWELL: I mean, Allison Louis Chinchar, I don't know if that's your middle name.

WALKER: I was like --

CHINCHAR: It should be --

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: But the earrings, too? CHINCHAR: Everything. Manifesting it in some areas.

BLACKWELL: All right --

WALKER: I love that. Allison Chinchar, thank you very much. It's still festive.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WALKER: Still ahead, authorities say the morning the Iowa shooter opened fire in a school, he posted a video on social media. The chilling details of what he wrote is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

BLACKWELL: Perry, Iowa, is still recovering after a 17-year-old student shot and killed a sixth grader and wounded seven others at his school this week. Authorities have now identified the 11-year-old victim as Ahmir Jolliff, and they say he was shot three times.

WALKER: And new details are also emerging about what the shooter did before he opened fire. CNN's Veronica Miracle has the latest from Iowa.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authority is telling us seven people were injured in this shooting, as of now, two students and one faculty member remain in the hospital. That faculty member has been identified as the principal of Perry High School, Dan Marburger, who is in critical condition. Police saying that he acted selflessly.

They're hailing him as a hero and saying that he put himself in harm's way to protect his students. Here is what the superintendent of the Perry Community School district had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARK WICKS, SUPERINTENDENT, PERRY SCHOOLS: Mr. Marburger, he was a hero, and I know that it helped, the way that he approached that situation, and it saved some lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Another victim who remains in the hospital, a student, has been identified by his mother on Facebook, Megan Jeffries(ph) says her son Sage(ph) was shot a total of 12 times. She says he is in pain and recovering in the hospital. She also said, quote, "he's terrified to go to sleep, terrified to be left alone, and said he is in a complete disbelief that this is even real.

Now, a big part of this investigation is from social media. Authorities are looking at social media posts made by the shooter before the incident, and also during. A TikTok video is believed to show the shooter inside the school in a bathroom posing next to a blue duffle bag with the caption, "now we wait". The shooter, a 17-year-old student, later died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound according to authorities.

Now, the part of this investigation is interviewing students, witnesses and victims as this community tries to heal. Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: Veronica Miracle, thank you. We'll be right back.

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[06:50:00]

WALKER: We've heard that cliche before, the dog ate my homework. But that pales in comparison to what one Pittsburgh Goldendoodle did. Cecil ate $4,000 in cash off a kitchen counter.

BLACKWELL: OK, here is where the story gets -- I don't know, a little nasty. They got most of the money back. How? You ask. Well, here is CNN's Jeanne Moos with a look at how they did it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is sorrowful, he is noble, he's a --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good boy.

MOOS: As his owners put it, this is Cecil, he has never done anything bad in his life, until he ate $4,000.

CLAYTON LAW, CECIL'S OWNER: And I was like, oh, my gosh, and I saw all this cash just strewn on the floor. And then Cecil was just standing there like --

MOOS: Clayton Law arrived at his Pittsburgh home from the bank and laid an envelope with 4,000 bucks in it on the counter, the money was intended for workers who built a fence. But half an hour later, Clayton found it in bits, and in the middle of the night, Cecil made like an ATM.

CL. LAW: He throws up, and I was like, wow, there's a lot of hundreds.

MOOS: This is a Goldendoodle that wouldn't touch a steak if you left it on the table. But there was something about the smell of money.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Money makes all things go round --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go around!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All things --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go around!

MOOS: That Cecil couldn't resist. Clayton and his wife Carrie(ph) began taping the bills together, but first, they had to gather Cecil's deposits he left in the yard, queue the jokes about money laundering. [06:55:00]

How bad a job is it to kind of have to launder your dog's poop?

CL. LAW: It's rough. The first time we did it, it was like -- it kind of gag-worthy.

MOOS: But they persevered, piecing together bills like the puzzle no one wanted to complete this Christmas.

(on camera): The bank knows this is coming?

CL. LAW: Yes --

CARRIE LAW, CECIL'S OWNER: Oh, yes, we -- our bank was really nice about it.

MOOS (voice-over): So far, they've resurrected --

CL. LAW: That's another 50 bucks.

MOOS: A total of $3,550. People think Cecil looks like a human is trapped inside.

CA. LAW: We joke around that he has a civil war veteran stuck in his body.

MOOS: Not to mention 4,000 bucks. Talk about a treat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Money --

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes our world go round --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes our world go round --

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: OK, Cecil's eyes are super cute though, I mean, you just get drawn in.

BLACKWELL: He is an adorable dog.

WALKER: Very cute. You know what, I am glad to hear that, that cash is not going to go to the fence workers. I'm glad that they took the cash to the bank.

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WALKER: Right? They won't be paying anyone with that stinky money.

BLACKWELL: That is love and patience and forgiveness.

WALKER: Yes, they really do love their dog --

BLACKWELL: That you just hug them, and you know, at least that's what they're telling us.

WALKER: Yes -- no, that was so cute --

BLACKWELL: And they loved him and just --

WALKER: Yes --

BLACKWELL: Washed the money, washed the poo out.

WALKER: I would have been gagging in the whole way through though.

BLACKWELL: He's a civil war veteran in there.

WALKER: Apparently.

BLACKWELL: Which side? We're seeing some more --

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: Cecil.

WALKER: You can talk about that in the 8:00 a.m. hour.

BLACKWELL: Why didn't anybody tell me where to go. They said it was in the civil war. All right --

WALKER: Next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts after a quick break.

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