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Piers Morgan Live
Storm Coverage; LAPD Training Video of Rogue Cop; Interview with Mayor Menino; Interview with Mayor Booker
Aired February 08, 2013 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Our thanks to everybody. It's truly an honor to join the CNN team. Thank you for the coat and the hat somewhere as well.
And I've got my first big explosive for you. Piers Morgan, he's OK. He's landed in London safely.
We have new information for you tonight on the two big stories. New insight into that rogue ex-cop turned alleged killer that could help lead to his capture. Plus, reports on the restraining order his girlfriend took out against him.
We'll have all that in a moment.
But, first, we're going to deal with the story that's literally all around us, this potential record-setting blizzard. Predictions have been terrible. Up to three feet of snow, as many as 40 million are in its path.
A blizzard earns its name, however, not from snow but from winds. Reports 70-mile-per-hour winds, near hurricane force, literally turbo- charging snowfall making conditions for potential damage and power outages much worse. So far, more than 130,000 outages have been reported.
So, let's get to our correspondents who are all around the most vulnerable areas. We're going to start with Jason Carroll in Boston -- we're going to go to Ali Velshi, I'm sorry, in Cape Cod.
Now, we're talking about wind, we worry about storm surge. Cape Cod is a place that is targeted for that. Ali, what is the situation now?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Chris, I'm losing you because we've just had a major, major intensification of this storm. Much heavier wind gusts coming in. I'm guessing that 10 minutes ago, I was saying about 30 miles an hour sustained. Maybe Chad can give us more information. But something has happened in the last five minutes that has become substantially stronger. I don't know whether it's affecting our signal to you.
Take a look at the surf behind me. This has become much more serious. I'm on the southern side, Chris, of Cape Cod, halfway down that bottom, the south side of Cape Cod. For our viewers, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard are over there, Chatham, Cape Cod, the other corner, the eastern corner is over there. Providence, Rhode Island, is over there, and Jason is over there.
This has become worse. But all along the coast, from north of Massachusetts, all the way around Cape Cod, to the South and then down to New York, we're in a flood zone. There is a severe flooding alert around those areas. That's problem number one.
Chris, problem number two is this wind. You said it a few minutes ago. A blizzard is not made by the snow. I'm getting all sorts of tweets from people in the Midwest and in Canada saying, what are you complaining about? We get more snow all the time.
You don't get it with this speed. You don't get it with this velocity. So, we've got that going on. Just about a half hour ago while I was on with Anderson, a transformer blew nearby. We know there are power outages. We now have 130,000 customers across the Northeast without power. Roads are blocked. Trees are taking out power lines. So, that's the problem we've got.
Here on Cape Cod, as you know, Chris, probably about a quarter million people residing here in the winter. Some of them may have left.
CUOMO: All right, that is -- Ali was right, they did have trouble with their signal. You see the wind whipping around, driving the tide toward him. Another problem with the two fronts that are converging to make this massive blizzard is you're going to have supersized snow. It accumulates quickly. It can really damage quickly as well.
With that, Jason Carroll is in Boston. It may get record snowfall there.
The record, Jason, is about 27 inches. They could get up to three feet, right?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It feels like all of these three feet are falling on us right now, Chris, as we speak. The conditions here are extremely severe. White-out conditions. We're in south Boston.
Chris, take a look up the street here. You can see, if -- you can barely see 20, 30 feet in front of you. As you can see, the white-out conditions, you can get a better look when you look behind me. Maybe we can get some light down the street where you can get an idea of just how severe the wind gusts here, the wind blowing, the snow blowing, the soft powder like snow, as you can see, blowing all around, which is making conditions here extremely, extremely severe.
As you may have already heard and seen in the last hour, one of the snow plows that came into this particular parking lot here, tried to come through here, got about this far, and then got stuck in this direction there, was there for about an hour and finally managed to get himself out. That gives you an idea, if an emergency vehicle gets stuck, that's an indication that no one should be on the road. In fact, the governor, as you know, issued -- just one moment.
At one point, he issued an order basically banning all cars that are non-emergency from being out on the street. That seems to be working. They learned a lesson in 1978, as you know, Chris, when many cars ended up stranded on the streets in Boston. People were trapped in their cars.
They didn't want to see a repeat of that. That's why you have that order that's in effect. People seem to be following it. We have not seen a lot of passengers out on the streets, only emergency vehicles. On side roads like this out here plowing. The conditions are sure to get worse, as the hours continue -- Chris.
CUOMO: Well, Jason, much respect to you for staying out there to bring people the story.
Please heed Jason's warning. You know there's an emergency order in effect. Don't be out if you don't have to. You don't want to be going through what Jason is right now. It could be very dangerous.
We're going to be talking later to the mayor of Boston to find out how bad the damage is as we move through the night.
Another part of this is to get you to Poppy Harlow. She's in Rhode Island. Now, that state is under an order of emergency already. We have been talking to the governor throughout the day.
Poppy, what is the current condition?
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, it's under a state of emergency. We just got word, Chris, there's about 45,000 homes already in Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island that are out of power.
The wind gusts here are phenomenal. They blow you over. When I'm not on camera, I have to turn my back. That's how bad it is.
What I'm feeling now that has changed in the last hour is pellets, these icy pellets. This is the real problem in Rhode Island. It's that right now it's about 34 degrees.
So you've got this thick, wet snow. It's landing on power lines, and that's a big concern. I want to walk our viewers over to show them we're in the middle of downtown Providence, right in front of city hall. There has not been a soul in sight in the last four hours that I have been here. That's how abandoned it is.
An emergency vehicle drove up to see if we were doing all right here. I spoke to the governor today. I was with the mayor. I was in the emergency command center tonight, Chris.
Their real concern, they said we know we're going to have power outages. The issue is how many. If the snow doesn't get more dry, if it doesn't get colder, frankly, they're expecting many power outages.
They say a prolonged storm is what they fear. Not only afterwards do they have the plowing issue. They have the snow removal issue.
I'll tell you one thing, though, that makes this very different than 1978, the governor told me that technology today is so much better. I saw the GPS they have on their plows now. The technology is so much better that they are able to prepare in advance, get those plows exactly where they need to be, get the cars off the roads in advance, that they're not going to have the same issues. You had 26 deaths here in 1978 during that blizzard.
And here you go, another gust, Chris. This is what you get.
Welcome, by the way, to CNN. Nothing like anchoring your first show in a blizzard, right?
CUOMO: Poppy, thank you very much. Please try and stay out of the wind. Everything can change very quickly there.
HARLOW: Yes.
CUOMO: Now, one of the things we're going to do throughout the program to show you just what it would be like if you're outside, and hopefully it's a reminder to not be outside is the blizzard cam. Do you see that camera there? It's in a car, it's moving around Boston, just to give you a sense of the atmospherics that are going on inside that city now.
It's so white because the wind is whipping snow around. You could have drifts of 5 to 6 feet. And right next to it, almost nothing. Now, as we have been saying here, when you have wind and you have water, the ultimate fear is power outage because of the weight on power lines.
In Connecticut, especially vulnerable, the prediction is 30 percent of customers could lose power.
So, we're going to go from Boston to Ashleigh Banfield in Greenwich, Connecticut, who has been monitoring the situation there.
Ashleigh, what's the latest?
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In fact, it's already happened, Chris. The governor said, look, expect 30 percent of the customers in Connecticut. That's 3.6 million people in the state, to lose power.
We just got a report, 17,600 people already without power. All of those customers in the southeast area. So right between, you know, New York, Greenwich, Stanford, Norwalk, all of these towns, all of those commuters who go in and out of New York to work, guess what. I hope they're back out of the city because Metro North has suspended all of their trains in and -out of city as of 10:00.
You know, it's funny, I was listening to Poppy Harlow and Ali Velshi and they're getting hammered up the coast from where I am, and it seemed calmer here. It seems like a little less snow than earlier on. I have been watching the snow fall behind me. And, listen, it is quiet in this area. People are really heeding the travel ban. Four o'clock today, Governor Malloy said everybody off the road. And that's that. We're one of the four states in a state of emergency.
So, if you're on the road, it's a misdemeanor and you could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Probably you're going to pay unless you do something really naughty and that for somebody that causes problems.
I want you to see what Greenwich in this beautiful party area on a Friday night looks like when there's a blizzard. Just a plow, one plow. That's what we see. A lot of these contractors have been coming down the street and trying to keep up with the snow. Three to five inches per hour expected.
And, Chris Cuomo, welcome to CNN. This is how we measure the snow at CNN. We use the president ruler. It's the second graders version.
So, I have been watching it all day. Poking it in the same spot so it's accurate, so we're officially just hitting beyond Polk. That's where we are now. You can bet your bottom dollar I think we'll be up to Cleveland by tonight.
CUOMO: Well, that is true. We have a long way to go. Thank you for the welcome, Ashleigh. Always good to work with you.
And one of the considerations again is that winter wonderland where Ashleigh is, but with that wind and as the storm's bands move, you could have much more extreme weather not that far away.
So let's figure out what the track of the storm is with chief meteorologist for CNN, Chad Myers.
You're in the severe weather center.
Chad, what do we understand, first? Help us give us a sense of why this blizzard is a concoction of these two fronts, what it means and where it's moving?
MYERS: One low pressure center, Chris, brought the cold. One brought the warm and wet.
And the one here from Michigan came across, a little bit slower than it maybe could have been. And then the one came up from the South, and that's what made the moisture. They are now together. They are one storm.
And that was the accelerated wind that Ali Velshi was feeling just about 15 minutes ago in that live shot.
This is now going to be a significant weather maker for anywhere from New York City, and just east of the city, all the way up into Maine. Now, we're not probably going to see a lot more snow in New York City, maybe 4, 6 more inches, but the big snow totals are going to be Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, because that's where the low is centered. The low is off the coast here. The closer you are to the low, the more snow you'll get. That's what we've got right now. That's where the snow is.
The snow is filling back into New York City, and Ashleigh will get more snow tonight. Not that much, but she will, and then this wind will be the event for tomorrow as that storm, we call it bombs out. It literally becomes so deep and so intense, it will almost be the same strength, the same depth at what hurricane Sandy was as it made landfall.
The good news with this is that this storm is not going to make landfall. It's going to continue out into the ocean and move away. So maybe six to 10 more for Albany.
Everywhere you see this pink, this is all the way from Maine, even into Nova Scotia, back down to, that's about maybe New Haven. That's a foot of snow or more, still to come. And then 20 to 30 for Boston, Providence, and that's just the snow total, four to eight for New York City.
More to the North. It's been colder up there. There's more snow in Westchester right now than there is in the Amboys. And that's going to continue to be that way for the rest of the night. But then that's the bomb. That's the bull's eye, right over Boston.
And in case, you didn't know, if you didn't know that spot right there, guys outside, that's where Ali Velshi is, and just about 10 miles north of that, that's Buzzards Bay. Wind gusts last hour is 71 miles per hour, Chris.
CUOMO: Near hurricane.
MYERS: Yes.
CUOMO: Chad, thank you very much.
We're going to keep that map up from time to time throughout the evening so you can watch the tracking of the storm, see where you are in its path. Take the necessary precautions.
Now, you heard Chad talking about Sandy and the unique mix of wind and water that created such devastation. At the end of the day, these storms are not about the data. They're about the people who lie in its way, and the people who are still recovering from Sandy, last thing they need is another storm like this.
Gary Tuchman is with one of the families in Staten Island who lived through Sandy and is now hoping to make it through this -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, the snow storm in New York City is not as bad as Connecticut or Rhode Island or Massachusetts but it's bad enough because this was the epicenter of hurricane Sandy. This is Staten Island, hundreds of homes were destroyed and damaged during the hurricane.
You can look here. This was a home that is now completely rubble. There are still about 140 homeless people here in the borough of Staten Island. Staten Island is only about 5 percent of the population of New York City, but it had more than half of the deaths from hurricane Sandy three months ago.
About 23 people died here. This home was damaged. Right now, they're rebuilding it.
This family was planning to move in this week. It may be delayed because of the blizzard. We want to give you a chance to hear what they have to say. We're just going to walk in the house because we have already gotten the OK to do that.
Hello? Hello, everybody. Fareed (ph), could you come over here with your kids.
Fareed and his wife and two daughters and a cousin is here. And you can see, they're redoing the house. They have done a great job.
Can you believe the bad luck you have had, Fareed, with the blizzard, with the hurricane? How are you managing right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a little worried about they say coastal flooding right now, but the mayor, he said, no, it's only going to be two feet.
TUCHMAN: Right. The mayor said it's not going to be as bad as expected.
But, meanwhile, here you are getting your place ready. When did you expect to move back in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a matter of a week.
TUCHMAN: OK. Do you still expect to do it on time? We're expecting a few more inches of snow. Winds are supposed to pickup.
Are you concerned about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very concerned right now, but so far, it looks good.
TUCHMAN: So far. It certainly isn't as bad as we thought it could have been. But it's more to come.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for letting us into your house. I wish you a lot of luck, OK?
It's nice meeting you, Fareed. Thank you very much. I want to show you one more thing.
Bye, everybody.
We just barge into people's houses. We always do that, to cover stories.
I want to show you one more thing before we go back to you, Chris. That's something really interesting. Ever since hurricane Sandy came three months ago, a local woman here in Staten Island set up these tents on her own. She's gotten help from the government since then, feeding homeless people who are hungry. Even today, people who are homeless from the hurricane have been inside the tents eating during the blizzard.
Back to you.
CUOMO: I'll tell you, Gary. We've been all out there so much. That community banded together like none other. And the worse times, we see people -- let me ask you something, though. Have you heard of any hardships since you have been there? Anybody coming out saying they lost power, or so far so good?
TUCHMAN: Yes, about six hours ago, even before the snow started coming down, Chris, we were told that 800 customers were without power. I tell you, these people are used to being without power. They were without it for so long. It all came back about a month and a half ago.
But right now, we're hearing most of the power is back on that was off a few hours ago, but this isn't done yet. So, we'll wait and see what happens in the borough on Staten Island.
CUOMO: Gary, stay safe out there. Thank you very much.
We're going to go to break now. When we come back, we're going to have the latest on a different type of disaster. This one manmade, the search for a cop gone bad. CNN's exclusive video of the mad man's training and key information that will hopefully help bring him to justice.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: Welcome back.
We're covering two breaking stories tonight. The massive historic storm, of course, and the search for an alleged cop-turned- alleged killer. This ex-cop's name is Chris Dorner. He's already wanted for murdering three people. He vowed that he is going to take more lives before he's done.
And, of course, we're hoping he is brought to justice before any of that can happen.
The manhunt for him is spreading across California. The question is, how close are they to catching him?
Kyung Lah has the latest -- Kyung.
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, from what we understand, as of dark, they have suspended the search in the mountains. And what they're looking at tomorrow is starting that search again because they're not quite sure if he's still in the mountain area or if he has left.
But what CNN has obtained, is we have learned a little more about Dorner and what got him to this point. In 2005, we obtained this video. And you can look at here, where you see how he was trained as a cadet at the LAPD.
This is video that CNN did obtain from someone who followed this cadet class for several months. You see how he doesn't flinch, he leans forward. He is, according to the man who has had this videotape for several years now, clearly an expert marksman from day one at the LAPD.
He did not ever shy away from the weapons. That he is incredibly large. He is incredibly strong. He was able to pick up a 300-pound mannequin with ease. Almost like a bag of apples.
And that he did have trouble, though, keeping up, you know, on some of the things like running around the course, and that when that happened, he did get teased by some of the other cadets, and he did not respond to that well.
So, we are learning a little more about him, certainly, the reason why this video was given to us is that this man who did hand it to us wanted people to know exactly what the LAPD is facing, certainly, not going to be easy in trying to coral this man, Chris.
CUOMO: Well, Kyung, we're hoping that the advantages of his training are offset by him presumably being not in his right mind.
Now, let me ask you something about some of the last evidence we have about where he may be. His truck was found burned out, had a broken axle. Maybe some proof of weapons having been burned inside.
What do we know?
LAH: Some guns. That broken axle you're referring to is the truck. Looks like it had a broken axle so it wouldn't move. Perhaps that's why the truck was set on fire. At this point, investigators are looking at that.
But you mentioned guns inside. There are some guns police did find inside. They were burned.
But here's the important thing. Law enforcement sources telling CNN that there is a concern he may have up to 30 weapons on him. So that is what officers are looking at. A trained marksman who is heavily armed who is hunting the hunters.
CUOMO: Kyung, thank you very much for the report.
Important to note: 30 weapons is what Kyung Lah just said. These are suspicions, but also words to the wise. We know everyone wants to help find this man.
Do not approach him yourself, leave it to the authorities. Give the information you may have out there in California to right men and women who are looking for him now.
That leads us to the question of how do you find someone like this, with this training? Is this evidence going to be helpful?
Let's bring in Chris Swecker right now. He's a former FBI assistant director of Criminal, Cyber, Response and Techniques.
Chris, thank you very much for joining us.
Give me a sense of what his training will mean as an advantage in surviving this manhunt.
CHRIS SWECKER, FMR. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE FBI: Well, he's sort of the triple threat, Chris. He's a cop killer. He's a former police officer. And he's got military training, and he's heavily armed. So he has all of the knowledge of trade craft and all of the techniques that would be used to locate him and track him down.
And he said in his manifesto he's going to be engaged in misdirection and counter measures. So, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if the burnt-out car is a very large red herring and he's nowhere near that area.
CUOMO: But, on the flipside, Chris, he knows what the authorities know, but the authorities also know what he knows. How will that play into how they strategize in this manhunt?
SWECKER: Well, in many ways, this is -- this is going to be a traditional fugitive hunt. They're going to look at his social network, his friends and family, but, also, you know, he's obviously a Facebooker. They're going to do forensic work to see who he's been in contact with and work out from his social network. They're going to look for choke points like transportation, hotels and motels. He's got to be staying somewhere.
Any criminal activity that's reported in the areas where he's suspected of being -- I mean, In many ways, this is no different than any other fugitive investigation.
CUOMO: Now, today in America, we're always hearing about how hard it is to hide. Even with the training that he has. All of the ability to be online, eyes everywhere.
How does that play into making this a difficult task for Mr. Dorner, hopefully?
SWECKER: Well, this case obviously is getting national media attention. Anywhere he moves, he's at risk. So, I mean, my guess is he would be indoors somewhere, and he's going to stay put for quite a while, knowing that anytime he moves, he's at risk.
CUOMO: Also, the authorities are going to play to their advantage that this man can't be in his right mind, right? So it's not like he's on exact equal footing with the men and women looking for him just by his decision making up to this point. Isn't that a fair assessment? SWECKER: It is a fair assessment. As time goes by, he loses the initiative. Fatigue sets in. He is at a disadvantage.
I wouldn't describe any superhuman qualities to him just because he has some police training.
CUOMO: And also interesting to note, the weather that we're dealing with here on the West Coast, which is such a burden, authority are hoping it may be a blessing to them in the manhunt. Maybe it's not something that Dorner thought about or prepared for so that he's having to improvise and that will hopefully work to their advantage.
Chris Swecker, thank you very much for the insight. Hopefully, the authorities get this job done very quickly. Thanks again to you.
We're going to take another break. When we come back, you have heard about this manifesto that Mr. Dorner put out. Well, the next guest is actually seen the case file on what led to Christopher Dorner being fired. And a new profile emerges of what seems to be a madman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: The storm is continuing here in New York and all throughout the East Coast. There's convergence of these two big storms, bringing snow and wind, and we'll be keeping you up to date all throughout the evening.
Right now, we're going to turn into our new insights of the ex- L.A. cop accused of gunning down three people. Now, we mentioned the manifesto before. There's been a lot of talk about what this Mr. Dorner wrote online, and you could argue it should all be dismissed because one, there's no need to glorify somebody seeking out this type of violence, and there's very little insight into why this happened because it doesn't really matter or however, that manifesto and the emerging profile is important in understanding how to bring this man to justice.
So, we're bringing in right now, Dr. Xavier Amador. Not only does he have insight into Dorner, he's reviewed the entire case file of what led to his dismissal.
Thank you very for being with us.
Let's just dispense with this manifesto once and for all. You have reviewed the court documents. Is there anything in there that fuels this sense of revenge that Dorner says he has?
DR. XAVIER AMADOR, LEAP INSTITUTE, PSYCHOLOGIST: There's absolutely no basis in reality for his complaints that he was mistreated, that there was any kind of police corruption.
I went through this in great detail. This was a very fair, five- month investigation by the LAPD.
What was really striking, Chris, is they concluded that he lied when he said that his partner kicked a mentally ill suspect. And the only motivation that they cite in the report, which was very striking to me -- it wasn't that there was a vendetta against his partner, that he was angry with her. What they said was, quote, "Dorner was struggling to reintegrate to the department upon his return from a year of military duty."
Whether that in some way created the motivation for him to make this complaint is not known. They were aware. And there's quite a bit more information in the records that CNN obtained from the Freedom of Information Act, showing that he had major problems, crying with his partner, asking for reintegration training, not getting reintegration training from the LAPD, because apparently, according to the records, he was on probation at the time.
But clearly, was disturbed. His partner was reporting he was not functioning at a level that was appropriate, endangering himself in his police work by standing out, in one instance, on the sidewalk, completely unprotected, talking to a suspect who they believed to be armed. That's one of some of the examples cited in the report.
So I was very struck by how that fits with his manifesto. His manifesto was pure, frankly, delusion. It's not based in any reality that I can see. This is a very, very thorough, carefully done investigation, from my reading of it.
CUOMO: Doctor, another bid of insight. Reports of a restraining order that may have been filed by a girlfriend. Do you know anything about that?
AMADOR: Yes, I did read about that. Actually, I think he tried to file the restraining order against her. And you know that her comment on the record was that he was, quote, "severely emotionally and mentally disturbed," end quote.
You know, that's one person's -- a lot of us have breakups. But from my position as a psychologist, working on a lot of cases like this, you have to look at a lot of information. And there's a tremendous amount of information here, including thousands and thousands of words that he's written, as well as this complaint, and THE finding in the complaint, his being dismissed from the LAPD, and asking for help, desperately asking for help after -- all this happened one month after he returned from Iraq, by the way.
CUOMO: Which is -- you know, could be helpful to understand what kind of breakdown this man was having. But that's all to the side now because of the actions he's decided to take. By doing that, he is a man who needs to be brought to justice.
And how is what we are learning going to be helpful in that regard. If he is delusional, if he does have this need to blame others and to hear his word get out to the public, how can the authorities use that to their advantage.
AMADOR: Chris, I'm going to answer your question, but let me disagree with you. I don't think the immediate concern is bringing him to justice. The immediate concern, and I think you'll agree, is getting him in custody, getting him off the street, out of the woods, wherever he is.
CUOMO: We're saying the same thing. I agree with you, doctor. I agree with you.
AMADOR: I knew you would. I just wanted to -- justice is a trickier thing. We don't know how mentally ill he is, if he's -- how much this played a role, if at all. Let's put that aside.
CUOMO: So how do we catch him?
AMADOR: We do know that he's paranoid. We do know -- here's the bottom line. What is very clear is that Christopher Dorner believes he was mistreated, that he was -- his name was tarnished. He wants to vindicate and clear his name. And it's very irrational. He does have a motive. I was watching CNN earlier. There's no motive. There is a motive. He's clearly stated what the motive is. He wants to clear his name.
And that's going to be helpful. What we need to do is find who it is that he's talked to in the days, weeks, or months prior to the first shooting. And that person -- I'm sure the police are already doing this -- should be working closely with the police so that if there's an opportunity for contact, if there's an opportunity to talk with him, that they can utilize that person's information about Mr. Dorner's state of mind.
What is it he really cares about? And frankly, I think we may know what he cares about most.
CUOMO: All right, doctor, thank you very much. I should mention that Dr. Amador is in the storm himself. He's coming to us via Skype. Thank you for sharing some of the evening with us. Hopefully you stay safe there and thank you for the insights.
One thing the doctor and I would also agree on is that if this man is watching CNN, as may be the case because he did send a package to one of our anchors, certainly he will never be believed if he keeps doing what he's doing. And only by coming in and telling his story can he ever have any hope of getting a fair hearing.
We're going to take another break. When we coming back, we're going to get back on this historic blizzard. How close are we getting to it being historic? We're going to check in with the mayor of Boston. We're going to check in with the mayor of Newark, and see what's going on there right when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: All right, what you're watching is our Boston blizzard cam. That's what we're calling it here at CNN. This is what you should not be doing right now. You should not be on the roads. But we wanted to show you what is it like in Boston right now, the blizzard effect. Comes from the words blind, it's all about the wind whipping snow around. That's what makes a blizzard, not just snowfall, but the wind. And the concerns about wind and storm surge are relevant nowhere more than on Cape Cod. That's where our Ali Velshi has been battling it out all day. It's taking a turn for even the worse there now. Ali, what's the latest? Can you hear us?
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Chris, when we started the show, you lost a signal because something strange happened around here. Big pickup in wind, and then after that, we were all standing around, and we felt our ears pop, the way you would if you were descending. I have been talking to Chad about that to find out what happened, because something has happened above us.
Seems -- Chad can obviously explain this better than I can, but it does seem there has been a change. Right now, as I'm talking to you, almost no wind. Then heavy gusts. We're now up to about 40 miles per hour sustains winds and we're gusting well above 60 miles per hour.
Chad says in parts of Cape Cod, much higher than that. Also, the tide, as you can see, has now reached the point that high tide would have been at last night. We should be at high tide right now, anyway, but the surf still pretty fierce. Something is going on here, the personality of the storm, once again -- and this has been several times today -- the personality of the storm is changing once again. The snow flakes are not flakes. They're almost like ice pellets.
CUOMO: Ali, thank you very much. I know you're aware of the situation up there, but because things can change so quickly, please make sure you guys are safe. That's what matters most. Thanks for the reporting.
All right, let's go to another area that is supposedly the bull's eye of this storm, Boston. It's expected to get the worst of it. Could be record snowfall. We're fortunate to have the city's mayor, Mr. Thomas Menino, on with us right now.
Mr. Mayor, thank you for joining us. What is the current situation for you there?
MAYOR THOMAS MENINO, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Current situation is we have blowing snow and heavy snow coming in Boston now. We have our plows out. We have over 600 plows on the streets of our city right now. And we put a parking ban at noon time today. The people of Boston have adhered to that warning. And we only have towed 35 cars. Usually during a storm, we have over 200.
And we have 43,000 tons of sand ready to go. My message to the people of our city is just look after your neighbors and when you shovel your snow, don't throw it in the streets.
CUOMO: What are you hearing so far about responsive need? How many people? What kind of flow is there? What has the response been like?
MENINO: We have a 24 hour service at city hall, 635-4500. And since noon time, we have received 2,200 calls pertinent to the storm and the blizzard. And we answer those calls with individuals who have the expertise to answer them.
The calls were when the governor said that traffic -- no cars were allowed on the roads at 4:00. What did that mean? Who did that pertain to and things like that. Also, people wanted to know where are the main arteries of the city, can they park and where they can't park.
And also we have our shelters open in the city of Boston. They're available for the homeless. We have vans out there picking them up and bringing them to different shelters within our city.
CUOMO: Mr. Mayor, do me a favor, give me the number again for people to call, just in case they're in harm's way there and they need help. We'll try to get it on the screen.
MENINO: This is Boston residents, 617-635-4500.
CUOMO: All right, Mr. Mayor, thank you very much. Please stay safe yourself. And we wish you the best up there in Boston.
MENINO: Thank you.
CUOMO: Now, another area of vulnerability is Newark. Sandy blew all through there. Mayor Cory Booker is with us now. He's been out on the streets helping his citizens with the storm, as he's known to do.
On the phone with us, Mr. Mayor, what is the latest for you?
MAYOR CORY BOOKER, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Well, it's obviously a very serious storm. Our thoughts are with the people further in the northeast. We're looking at about a foot of snow accumulating over the night. Road conditions are deteriorating. We're seeing across the state, we're getting alerts about cars beginning to be stranded, difficulties getting up hills.
So we're just asking everybody to stay indoors. Here in Newark, we're blanketing the city with dozens and dozens of plows and trucks to help remove the snow and the mess. But it's going to be a very difficult night. And the biggest thing we're asking folks now is to help us help the city by staying off the streets, staying indoors, and to also make sure you are prepared for potential power outages with which -- with this kind of wind, it's very possible.
CUOMO: A great point, Mr. Mayor, because during Sandy, you had 90 percent of the city's residents -- that was the high mark of how many may have been without power. What reports are you getting so far?
BOOKER: You know, I just finished the command staff update, and we have no power outages whatsoever. We're very pleased with that. Not that many motor vehicle accidents, as we would have expected. So it sounds like people are using common sense.
But I go around the city, still too many cars out there. And really not much more reason to be on the road. Many stores in the city have closed already. So we just need people to use common sense, stay off the roads, to really prepare themselves, take precautions, charge your cell phones, keep your fridges turned on high and closed, because it could be -- end up being a very long night with the potential power outages.
CUOMO: Coming out of sandy, to the extent there is any silver lining, what did you learn there that helped prepare for this one?
BOOKER: Look, I'm really proud of the state of New Jersey as a whole. The resiliency of New Jersey has been incredible. Just every one of these major weather events, we get better and better in our coordination, in our communication, in the sharing of assets and how we work together inter-governmentally.
So there's a lot of lessons to be learned, but perhaps the best one is preparedness, preparedness, preparedness. The loss of life that happened in Newark during Sandy was avoidable, if people had used common sense and not do the things that will endanger their lives. For example, going out in storm conditions, even like the ones we're seeing now, is very perilous. And it's senseless unless there's a real reason you need to go.
Number two, we see a lot of problems in conditions like these, as well as people in Sandy, with people using artificial heating apparatuses in their homes, whether it's ovens or what have you. We lost two people during Sandy because of that. We are asking people please, if their heat goes out, their electricity goes out, to be very careful because carbon monoxide poisoning -- we got dozens of calls during Sandy for that and had to deal with everything from fires to even two deaths that were caused by artificial heating resources.
CUOMO: Mr. --
BOOKER: We're asking everyone to stay safe and call 911 if you have an emergency, because there are hundreds of us out here ready to help you.
CUOMO: Mr. Mayor, thank you very much for joining us. Stay safe. I hope it's not too long a night for you. And I hope we don't have to hear any stories of you needing to take it on yourself to rescue people. Hopeful it's uneventful that way for you tonight. Thank you for joining us.
BOOKER: God willing, we'll stay safe. Thank you.
CUOMO: And just for all of you out there living in the New Jersey area, non-emergency hotline number, 973-733-4311. Use it if you need help. We're going to go to break. When we come back, the survivors of Hurricane Sandy are bracing for more devastation. We'll have some of them joining us live coming up. See you then.
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CUOMO: The snow continues to come. The wind continues to blow. We're going to be tracking the storm throughout the night. It's fair to say the worst has not come yet, especially for those who are still reeling from what happened during Hurricane Sandy. What can happen if there's more wind, if there's more water for them?
We're joined right now by someone who is trying to make it through out in Staten Island, a place that was very hard hit by Sandy. Scott McGrath, are you with us? There you are. You're looking OK so far. Tell me about what happened to you in Sandy. What are you recovering from already?
SCOTT MCGRATH, STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK RESIDENT: Well, I lost a lot of stuff in my house. I had 11 feet of water in my home. My whole entire first floor was wiped out. And we lost sewage. We lost all of the plumbing, electric, heat. We just had finally got heat back in the beginning of January. But with no walls on our house, the heat is just escaping, so we're using electric heaters at the same time.
(CROSS TALK)
CUOMO: You have to be careful with those electric heaters though, right? You know all this, especially with everything you have exposed in the house. I'm sure you're taking the precautions you need to. What are you hearing about people in and around your area? Is everybody OK so far?
MCGRATH: Well, everybody has fear, you know. You have seen the gas lines this afternoon. People were on -- gas stations were running out of gas because people were getting their generators full. They were getting their cars full. Because you know what? It was a hard hit. If this tide is high like they're expecting and the high winds, we're in for a long night.
CUOMO: Well, look, hopefully the water doesn't come as high as it did last time. And hopefully everybody is out there and ready with assets if we need to come and help again.
Mr. McGrath, please get inside. Thanks for joining us. I hope you have a very uneventful night. All the best in the recovery out there, OK?
MCGRATH: Thank you. thank you very much.
CUOMO: God bless. God bless all the people out there in Staten Island. Now we're going to be joined by Pastor Scott Boswick. His home in Bayhead, New Jersey was destroyed in Sandy, but that's not stopping him and his church from feeding the community. I got you on the phone, pastor?
PASTOR SCOTT BOSWICK, BAYHEAD, NEW JERSEY: Yes, Chris. How are you doing this evening?
CUOMO: I'm doing well, thank God. Let me ask you, how is everybody dealing with the anticipation of what may come with this blizzard?
BOSWICK: Everybody is really nervous. And it's not so much the snow and latest reports of that. We'll probably only get three to five inches of snow. But what really worries folks are the coastal flooding effects and the high tides. And even at the earlier high tide this evening, a few hours ago, there was a breach down in Ortney Beach, part of the island, and the water rushed over the dunes, shutting down the main artery going through the island, Route 35.
But that has since receded and we're anticipating what the morning high tide will bring at this point.
CUOMO: We're looking at what the water did to your area during Sandy. And obviously, it completely changed the complexion of the neighborhood. Have people left in preparation for this storm or is everybody still there?
BOSWICK: Some people did evacuate. And earlier today, when there were mixed predictions about what the storm would bring, especially those along the low-lying areas and where there's still significant damage, a lot of folks just kind of left there, moved to higher ground, moved their vehicles.
A lot of us are still in the rebuilding process. I know, even for myself, a lot of the new flooring and appliances I'm waiting to have installed are sitting in my garage. And you know, we need to move all that up in case it did flood again. So we were very nervous about that.
CUOMO: Hopefully everything goes through tonight and it's not as bad as it could be. Let me ask you this, pastor. We know through your church you're helping feed the community, that food is still a necessity there. This is going to create more need, any way you look at it. How are you with your resources right there now, if the people watching want to help out the people in Bay Head? What do you need?
BOSWICK: The things we need right now are mostly proteins and food. We're still open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and have been so since November 1st. We're still feeding folks as they have the need, while some people are moving back into the community. They still have no kitchens and no way to feed themselves.
But we have been blessed with some -- groups from all around the country, really, and church groups around the state. Omcorp (ph) has helped us a lot. The long term recovery groups with the county, even corporations such as Toyota Motor Corp has jumped in just today to offer to help us with the project of feeding the people in our communities.
CUOMO: Great. The need is going to continue, so the help for you should as well. It's a beautiful thing that you're doing there, helping out the community. And we want to help you do that. Thank you for joining us. I hope tonight is uneventful for you, God willing.
Pastor Scott Boswick, his church is St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Bay Head, New Jersey. We'll try to put some information on the website for people who want to help out and make sure they have enough food to feed their community.
CUOMO: We have one more break to go. When we come back, we're going to check in with Chad Myers. He's tracking the storm. And everybody in its path needs to know when it's coming and how bad it can be. We'll give you the details when we come back.
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CUOMO: We've been showing you pictures of the worst of it all night. In truth, the worst has not yet come yet. This is a storm that will affect the northeast overnight. So let's check in with Chad Myers for the latest on this storm's path. What do we know now?
MYERS: Chris, it's about halftime. And the second half is about to get more important than the first half, because the pressure is getting deeper. The winds are going to get stronger. And in some spots, the snows are going to get significantly deeper.
North Brandford, Connecticut at 13 inches, the same with Lisbon. We're talking about a foot of snow in a lot of places in Connecticut, parts of eastern Massachusetts and even into New York. The snow continues all night long. We'll keep watching it for you. Chris?
CUOMO: Chad, thank you so much for that. Everybody, stay aware and stay indoors and hopefully everybody has what they need. That's all for tonight. I'm Chris Cuomo in for Piers. Anderson Cooper starts right now.
