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CNN Sunday Morning
Snow Storm Hits Midwest
Aired December 02, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Been out in this all day, pulling people out of ditches, off curbs, out of snow banks. It's terrible. Stay home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CO-ANCHOR: A lot of folks might want to take his advice. Roads are icy. More to come and some places are without power right now. Is it winter? Just about. Kind of, sort of, maybe. We have all the information you need from the Severe Weather team, this morning.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Yeah, we'll clear that up with Reynolds.
In the meantime though, presidents seeking more power? Yeah, that's why people in two key countries are going to the polls right now.
From the CNN Center, right here in Atlanta, Georgia, bringing you the news from around the world. Good morning, everybody, on this Sunday. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes. It's Sunday, December 2. Let's get you caught up on what's happening.
A first here, that early blast of winter weather is just jacking up traffic all over the place. Travel is a mess through the nation's midsection.
NGUYEN: Snow and ice are making for treacherous roads. Detroit's famed Motor City is it left spinning its wheels. And the skies, well, they also grounded to a halt. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the Midwest, and in Minnesota winter-hardy folks are digging out of their first storm of the season.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELISSA GOVRIK, MINNEAPOLIS: I went to target and got my gloves and my hat, so I wasn't ready for it at all.
EVAN COOK, MINNEAPOLIS: Everybody is always shocked at first when it actually happens, but I think we get used to it pretty quick.
MIKE HARLANDER, CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA: Beautiful snow. Not going to be that fun to get around, but I think this is what we live for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Really? Others live for sunshine and things of that nature.
NGUYEN: And the beach, something like that.
HOLMES: Well, the first winter storm always takes some people some getting used to, even those folks in the northern states that are kind of used to snow anyway. CNN's Susan Roesgen watching the weather in Bloomington, Minnesota for us this morning.
Good morning to you, kind ma'am.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J. Yeah, you'd think they would be used to it, but here in Minneapolis area, you know, in all of last December, all of last December, they got just four inches of snow in the entire month.
They say they're snow-starved so, yesterday they got between four and eight inches, here in Minnesota, and they are loving it. Got some snow, I'm trying to pack a good snow ball here, but you know, I think this is what they call the powdery snow, the kind that skiers like. It's a good day to get around for skiers, cross-country, or downhill.
It's a good day on the interstates. Traffic is moving pretty smoothly, and we checked just a few minutes ago at the airport. The planes are running again today, we saw just a handful of cancellations. Things seem to be moving again through the skies over Minnesota, at least. So, there may be some late arrivals from some of the other cities that got socked here.
Seven Midwestern states got this winter storm, and it was rough getting around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): This is what worries people a lot more than snow -- ice. Ice on cars, ice on roads, and ice on power lines. Fourteen- thousand people, at least, lost power when the lines went down. It was even too icy at airports, planes slid off the runways in Des Moines, Iowa, and Madison, Wisconsin. Dozens of flights were canceled. And driving in some spots wasn't much easier. How could people who always get snow forget how to drive in it?
GOVRIK: You know how us Minnesotans drive. We act like we don't go through this every year, but everybody is driving so slow and the cold. I just went into target and got my gloves and my hat, so -- I wasn't ready for it at all.
ROESGEN: from Minnesota to the wind-swept roads of South Dakota. For some driving was just a hassle. For others, like it was for drivers in Detroit, it was treacherous. More than 100 car crashes in Wisconsin Saturday and at least one person was killed there.
The first winter storm of the season in the Midwest came in fast and furious and only guys with big shovels felt superior to the snow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went through blizzards of 1976.
ROESGEN (on camera): So this is nothing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing. We're used to this.
ROESGEN: But it is rough for drivers out there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was one of them. Trust me, it was really rough.
ROESGEN (voice-over): It could be rough for a while. It is only the start of December.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
So, time to get some marshmallows and make hot chocolate to stay warm here in Minnesota. Betty and T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: All right, well Susan, enjoy your marshmallows and your hot chocolate, today. We'll see you.
NGUYEN: She can get out of the cold, there. And, you know Reynolds, she was talking about that powdery kind of snow. That's the good stuff that you want, right?
REYNOLDS WOLF, METEOROLOGIST: That is the good stuff. I mean, that's the -- that champagne powder, there's nothing better if you want to go skiing. It's also a little bit easier to clean up. It's the wet snow you really have to watch out for, not just in terms of shoveling off your walkway, but that's the stuff that also causes avalanches in much of the Rockies or the Sierra. It's kind of a scary thing, much harder to deal with.
In terms of snow, here are the heavy hitters, the places that got the most: Minnesota, take a look, as I step out of the way, you had over a foot of snowfall -- Park Rapids, Minnesota, eight inches of snow. In Appleton, and Madison, Wisconsin, you had about half of a foot in some spots. And Milwaukee, 4.2 inches of snow.
At this point, we're seeing more of that snow, more of that rain, more of that freezing rain now moving a bit more to the northeast. Although we still have winter storm warnings in effect for parts of Michigan, most of the action, as I mention, is pushing to the east, much of it in the form of rainfall, not freezing rain, but regular old raindrops throughout much of Ohio. Cleveland be to Ashtabula things getting much better for you.
However, as you make your way farther north, you're going to leave the umbrellas behind and pick up the snow shovels especially in places like Buffalo back into Rochester. Could see one to two inches of snow in these locations today, but in upstate New York could be a different matter altogether where some spots could see from six to eight inches of snowfall. From New York City, though, light accumulation, maybe one to two, and then as we get to tomorrow, you can have some issues in terms of traveling at major airports; however, it will get better as you make your way through the rest of the day. And then as we get to the afternoon hours, should not be much of an issue at all. That's a look at your forecast, let's send it back to you.
NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds, we thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: Well, neither the sleet nor the snow could keep the Democratic presidential candidates out of Iowa. No, there's too much at stake right about now, the race is too close. They managed to make their way to a forum focusing on black and Latino concerns, and one of the lighter moments much the Brown and Black Forum, as it's called, it came from Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
The candidate that I have a question to is Congressman Kucinich.
(LAUGHTER)
Congressman -- Congressman Kucinich.
(APPLAUSE)
DENNIS KUCINICH (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah. I thought I would get him in the question period here. And Congressman Kucinich, is it true that you're the only one sitting up here -- oh, yeah -- is it true that you are the only one sitting up here who advocates a universal single-payer not-for-profit health care system which would result in all 46 million Americans who are not insured and another 50 million Americans who are underinsured from being -- for being covered, and the answer to that question is...
It is true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK. He's making light there. The way this forum was set up, they could ask each other questions, and, of course, he is someone who, he would say, doesn't get a lot of time to speak at the debates and forums and whatnot, so he took advantage of that period where he could ask a question, and asked it to himself. We're going to have more on the Brown and Black Forum in the live report from Iowa coming up in a half hour.
NGUYEN: I guess that's one way to do it.
HOLMES: That's one way to do it.
NGUYEN: Well, a crucial vote going on right now in Venezuela, and it could expand President Hugo Chavez's power. Voters are deciding on constitutional changes that would do away with term limits and possibly allow Chavez to stay in power indefinitely. Meanwhile, Chavez has been on a rant about CNN, and he goes at it yet again. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): CNN has been instigating my assassination, and I am going to sue them, of course, I am going to sue them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Of course, he is going to sue us. We're waiting. Chavez was angry about an on-screen caption in our Spanish language network, last week, that read "who killed him." Well, it was referring to a story on Washington Redskins football player Sean Taylor who was shot on Monday. And CNN has apologized for that error. Here's what Chavez says now about CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAVEZ (through translator): I watch CNN a lot, Patricia, I watch CNN, and I respect the good reporters. They are independent of their opinions. I think it's the channel that I watch the most. CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, thank you, and good morning, Chavez. Back to the elections, though. CNN's Harris Whitbeck is in Caracas and bring you live reports and results throughout the day.
In the meantime, though, Russians also going to the polls, they're voting in parliamentary elections. The results could pave the way for President Vladimir Putin to stay in power after his term expires in the spring. By law he can't run for a third consecutive term as president, but Putin has raised the possibility of becoming prime minister if his party wins by a landslide.
And that man who took the hostage situation to a heightened extent there, at Hillary Clinton's campaign offices, well, he faces a judge tomorrow.
HOLMES: Yeah, authorities say Leeland Eisenberg will be arraigned in New Hampshire on charges of kidnapping and reckless conduct. Also learning a bit more about him Eisenberg, now. In 2002, he filed a lawsuit against the Boston Archdiocese claiming he was raped by a parish priest.
Well, Don Imus, the I-Man, ending his silence and returns to the airwaves tomorrow. But, will the controversial talker be contrite or will he be defiant? It's been nearly eight months now, since Imus was canned for making comments that critics call racist and sexist. His new show's format will include at lease one African-American participant who will take part regularly. Imus' week day show will air on Citadel broadcasting stations around the country. So, we'll wait and see.
NGUYEN: Yeah, we will.
Well, OK, baseball season's over, so why are the candidates still talking about it, and will what they say about the sport change voters' opinions? You might be surprised.
HOLMES: Also, gays and lesbians serving in the military. "Don't ask, don't tell," still a hot political hot potato. But, will the policy ever be changed?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It's about a quarter past the hour on this Sunday morning. Our "Quick Hits" give you more news in less time. First up, two British lawmakers are meeting with officials in Sudan. They're working to win the release of British teacher Gillian Gibbons. She was jailed for allowing her students to name a teddy bear, Mohammed. Lawmakers hope for reach a deal that allow Gibbons to leave Sudan tomorrow.
HOLMES: Oh, cold weather in Illinois forced volunteers to call off the search for Stacy Peterson. More than 200 people scoured parts of Romeoville, Illinois, yesterday before giving into the cold weather. Peterson disappeared over a month ago from her home in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Former police officer, Drew Peterson, suspected now, in his wife's disappearance.
NGUYEN: Listen to this story, Salvation Army bell ringer, Paul Tucker, is set to lose his spot in a Vermont homeless shelter tomorrow. Rules of the Good Samaritan shelter say residents must spend their days looking for work and permanent housing, but Tucker spends 10 hours a day outside a supermarket raising money for the Salvation Army. Shelter officials say they have to take that action because Tucker is not looking for permanent housing.
HOLMES: Well, of course, baseball and politics, both can ignite strong passions. And in the race for the White House, candidates in both major parties have won and maybe have lost votes based on their team picks. CNN's Richard Roth has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The sport of baseball has been called America's national past time. And now baseball has become the sport of United States presidential wannabes.
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm an American League fan.
ROTH: The latest debate in the Republican Party ended with a debate about baseball, elevating the country's hottest sports rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on a par with Iraq and immigration.
GIULIANI: I do point out that when I was mayor of New York City, the Yankees won four world championships.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to tell you that, like most Americans, we love our sports teams and we hate the Yankees. ROTH: The baseball face-off was ignited by a YouTube viewer who asked candidate Giuliani to explain why, as a Yankee fan, he supported the usually hated Red Sox in baseball's World Series. New York tabloid headlines had accused Giuliani of sports treason.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's a big-time traitor. So, to me, I think he's a traitor to New York and the New York fans and especially to the Yankees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like Rudy, but when he went with Boston Red Sox, after that he's off my list. Absolutely off my list.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than root for the Red Sox.
ROTH: Giuliani is not the first New York politician to face the flip- flop charge when it comes to baseball.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Have to set the record straight, Cubs and Yankees, those were my teams and remain my teams growing up and now in my more mature years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She disgraced the Cubs.
ROTH: In this race, the candidates keep trying to tag the other runner.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't like the fact that he either likes the Yankees or the Red Sox, but doesn't apparently like the White Sox and we're having a tough time this year.
ROTH: Why are candidates scrambling to put on the right sports cap?
JOSH TUCKER, PROF. OF POLITICS, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: One would think that perhaps politicians are trying to tap into this by showing that I'm a person like you, in that I'm a baseball fan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it says something about him that he flip- flopped on them.
ROTH: If you think there is no link to baseball and the White House, remember, George Bush used to own baseball's Texas Rangers. They have never won the World Series.
Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, CNN's Jessica Yellin, member of the best political team on television, we'll ask her about her political and her social and her sports leanings. No, just kidding, Jessica. Just ask her about the sports, really. We'll see who she's rooting for, and she's gong to help us talk about all of this presidential politics and what's been happening in Iowa, especially at the Black and Brown Forum and some of the lighter moments they had there and serious talk, as well. She's going to be with us 15 minutes to talk from Iowa. NGUYEN: Looking forward to that, in the meantime, though, thousands of soldiers leaving the military when the military says it needs more recruits. Sol, why? Well, apparently because they're gay.
HOLMES: Yeah, these men and women told to sort of silently, but now some in Congress listening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet a man who takes the hotel business to a whole new level.
Ian Schrager makes it his business to impress.
IAN SCHRAGER, HOTELIER: Every time I step up, you know, I want to hit a home run, and I want to do something better than I've done before. The success is measured in terms of reaction of the people, and whether it's embraced.
HILL: The former Studio 54 nightclub co-owner has been credited with revolutionizing the hospitality industry with boutique hotels and an electrifying sense of art direction. He currently heads up his own company and is a force behind the lavish design of Gramercy Park Hotel and the 40 Bond residential project in the Big Apple. And he recently partnered with Marriott International to design their worldwide properties.
Shrager says determination is the key to success.
SHRAGER: Don't be afraid of failure and be relentless in the pursuit of your dreams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG GEN KEIGH KERR (RET), U.S. ARMY: American men and women in the military are professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians in the military. For 42 years I wore the Army uniform on active duty in the Reserve and also for the state of California. I revealed I was a gay man after I retired. Today "don't ask, don't tell" is destructive to our military policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, after the debates, CNN learned the General Kerr is, in fact, a member of Hillary Clinton's gay and lesbian steering committee.
NGUYEN: Yeah, and the policy that he is criticizing, don't ask, don't tell, does stirring new anger and new protest. CNN U.S. affairs editor Jill Dougherty explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN U.S. AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): Antonio Agnone says for a while "don't ask, don't tell" worked for him. ANTONIO AGNONE, FMR MARINE: No one would ask me anything. I wouldn't say anything, and I'd be allowed to serve my country as anyone else is.
DOUGHERTY: Then this gay Marine, a first lieutenant, met his partner, Brandon, also in the military. Agnone deployed to Iraq as a combat engineer leading a platoon that dismantled deadly IEDs, improvise explosive devices. Amidst the danger, he says he couldn't accept keeping his relationship with Brandon a secret.
AGNONE: Well, he wouldn't have been notified if I would have been injured or shot at.
DOUGHERTY: Agnone resigned from active duty, volunteered with a gay organization, the Human Rights Campaign, and he began working against "don't ask, don't tell." The policy, approved by President Bill Clinton in 1993, was a political compromise. Some wanted gays to serve openly, others called that a threat to unit cohesion. Since it began, more than 11,000 service members have been discharged, 800 in mission critical jobs, including some with knowledge of Arabic.
Now, in the U.S. Congress, opponents of don't ask, don't tell, almost all Democrats, are pushing to replace it with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It's a hot issue in the presidential campaign.
SEN JOHN MCCAIN (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, it would be a terrific mistake to even reopen the issue. It is working, my friends. The policy is working.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our allies, the British, the French, all our major allies, gays openly serve.
DOUGHERTY: The military says it will follow the law.
GEN PETER PACE, FMR JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I support the "don't ask, don't tell" because it allows those who are homosexual to serve this nation if they so choose. It makes no judgment about their morality.
DOUGHERTY: This week, several gay rights organizations are planting American flags on the national mall in Washington symbolizing the service members discharged due to "don't ask, don't tell."
(on camera): They want the policy to change, and a CNN poll shows 79 percent of Americans say gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military. But for supporters and opponents of "don't ask, don't tell," the battle rages on.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, a sneak attack, cyber crooks turning your personal computers into zombies.
HOLMES: Zombies. The FBI says it's called a "botnet." We'll tell you how to fight it. That's coming up.
WOLF: And we had over a foot of snowfall in parts of the Midwest just yesterday. Now that storm system is pulling its way to the east. What is that going to mean for millions of people? Well let you know coming up in a few moments. Keep it here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's not good when we have to throw that graphic up there, you know what's up. A lot of folks waking up on the second day of a winter mess.
NGUYEN: What a mess it is. We are tracking our storm. Susan Roesgen was out and about a bit earlier in Minnesota. But, now we want to turn to you, our i-Reporters. Show you this from Mike Lehman in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It shows the ice storm that hit the area. He says it was 30 degrees, freezing rain, sleeting outside. The roads were icy, and the state Department of Transportation was advising people not to travel, apparently he took that advice and stayed indoors and shot some pretty pictures.
HOLMES: And we appreciate it. We also appreciate this from Giovanni Sanchez, took this outside his house in Murray, Utah. He says it's still snowing steadily, about 30 degrees out. It's been really cold for a while, and the mountains have lots of snow. Giovanni says this is the first real snow in the valleys, I guess, this year.
NGUYEN: Well, if you get caught in this winter storm, do stay safe, but if you do have a chance, send us an i-Report. All have you to do is download pictures or a video and send it to cnn.com/ireport.
HOLMES: And we appreciate it. We can always use it. We have our Reynolds Wolf to help tell the story, back there in his graphics, as well, but we could use the pictures, as well, helps to tell the story.
WOLF: Yeah, and that really does tell the story better than any, any, any computer graphic could ever have. People just going out there and just taking quick snap and sending it to us and it makes all the difference.
Hey, I'll tell you, the snow yesterday made a world of difference for people in Minnesota. It was just going in a quick transition from fall to winter in a big way, over a foot of snowfall in Minnesota, Park Rapids, you had quite a bit of snowfall, even parts of Wisconsin, Milwaukee at 4.2 inches of snow.
But if you think that's a lot, go West, young man, or young lady, whoever you happen to be. We had some heavy snowfall there in parts of the Rockies. It was just ridiculous. Lands Echo in Colorado, over two feet of snowfall. Skyway, Colorado up to Snowbird, Utah, we had over a foot, there. Salt Lake City, again, just moments ago, Mr. Sanchez sent in those pictures, and sure enough, you see there, just a half of a foot of snow and still it continues. Right now the main focus, though, in terms of that wet weather, that icy weather is going to move into parts of the northeast. As we speak, we have a combination of rain, freezing rain, even some snowfall, which is no big surprise with this system, although in parts of the Ohio Valley it's mainly a rain event because you've got temperatures that are well above the freezing point. However, when you go more to the north and the northeast you're going to see that transformation from the raindrops to the snowflakes. That's going be the case today in places like Buffalo where you could see one to two inches of snowfall, same story in Rochester.
We're going to talk more about the big picture of what this weather event means to so many people. It's coming up very soon. T.J., let's send it back over to you.
HOLMES: All right, thank you kind sir, we'll see you again here shortly.
Well, turn to some politics now, and good news for John McCain's presidential campaign. And that news landed on the doorstep, this morning. New Hampshire's largest newspaper's officially endorsing the Arizona Republican, this morning. The union leader's endorsement won said Republicans in the race for the White House, really go after, they really, really want to get. So, McCain, who some people though was down and out in this campaign during certain parts over the last couple of months, has continued to fight, and there he is now picking up a very important endorsement, there in New Hampshire. Again, the New Hampshire union leader endorsing officially, John McCain.
Well, the weather is cold, but the race for the white house red hot in Iowa. Iowa caucuses just over a month away. CNN's Jessica Yellin joins us now live from Des Moines to talk about politics and the importance of Iowa this Sunday morning.
Jessica, good morning to you. We're talking Iowa, but please, let's tell us how crucial -- how important is that endorsement that McCain just got. How big of a deal is that?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It is a very big deal. That is a newspaper that conservatives in the state take quite seriously, and McCain needs all the help he can get. Right now, he is not ranking even among the top three among the Republicans in a brand new poll out this morning from the Des Moines Register. So, that endorsement -- I'm sure his campaign is hoping this morning that it could make a lot of difference for him -- T.J.
HOLMES: Heating up there, in Iowa. Tell us the Black and Brown Forum, the Democrats just participated in it, focusing on issues that affect blacks and Latinos. How was this forum set up in the first place? It was set up in kind of a unique way for the candidates to interact with each other.
YELLIN: It really was. It was unusual. The candidates were allowed to pose questions to one another. We were expecting some fireworks. There was one very tense moment when Chris Dodd, senator from Connecticut, posed a question to John Edwards saying: sir, you have said you stood for fighting poverty your whole life, and, yet, you voted three times on an issue that actually hurt the working class, and John Edwards said: you know what, you're right. I was wrong. I was wrong on that vote, and I apologize.
And then from there it got increasingly amusing. Dennis Kucinich, who always complains that he's never asked enough questions and doesn't get to participate, he said: Well, I'm going to use this opportunity to ask myself a question. Which he said: Dennis Kucinich, do you believe this, and, then he said, yes, I do. It was hysterical, as you can imagine, the audience broke out in laughter.
And then Governor Richardson asked Senator Clinton if she doesn't agree that governors, like her husband, make excellent presidents. Richardson, of course, being himself a governor, and Hillary Clinton's answer was, yes, they also make excellent vice presidents.
So, there was a lot of amusement. I'll say the one note that many reporters came away with was Edwards and Obama, neither of them asked Hillary Clinton a question. In large measure, the candidates seemed to try to do the best they could to minimize Clinton's participation, really not bringing her into the debate as much as possible -- T.J.
HOLMES: Oh, wow. That's an interesting strategy, there. And like you said, it was serious kind of subject matter here and there, but it got goofy at times, as well.
Of course, some people, the big political players, we can name by one name. Some people refer to Obama, some people say Hillary. Well, there's another big name: Oprah. Oprah is coming to town at some point there in Iowa. Also, I'm sure, Bill Clinton, we'll see him at some point. How important will those big names be to the campaign, which is the race that's so tight there still?
YELLIN: It's really a big unknown and an excellent question because, in general, the theory is that voters in Iowa like to make their own decisions based on their own interactions with the candidates and their understanding of the policies. Big name celebrities aren't typically the kind of thing that sways votes, here. But Oprah, she's not your typical celebrity. She is so nationally, internationally influential and so popular, especially among key demographics, here -- women and young people.
And frankly, you know, all these different people in different areas who are undecided have taken tips from Oprah on things like books and consumer goods. Will they take tips on political issues? I've put that question to one of Hillary Clinton's most senior advisers last night, and this person responded: well, Bill Clinton is also a very effective campaigner and a celebrity. These people tend to get out the crowds, this person said, but we have yet to see if they'll actually sway votes. So, it's a big question mark around Oprah.
HOLMES: Yeah, Bill Clinton has been known to be a pretty good campaigner in his day, as well. Finally, let's talk Republicans, an interesting race. Who knew Mike Huckabee would be the guy we'd be talking about, that Mitt Romney would be duking it out with him for the Republican race there in Iowa. Is he the man right now in Iowa, and is he certain to give a serious challenge to Mitt Romney?
YELLIN: That's the way to put it. He is the man. He has just surged from behind in the pack to No. 1. This Des Moines register poll this morning shows him ahead of every Republican candidate, and this is a man who is not spending significant money here, who is not spending even significant time in the state, right now, because he's trying to fundraise elsewhere.
He just has clicked with the state's conservative voters. Now, I should say statistically he's in a tie with Mitt Romney, but the fact that he has come ahead so far so fast is promising for this one candidate, Mike Huckabee.
HOLMES: Mike Huckabee, yes, former Arkansas governor, Baptist minister. Mike Huckabee, like you said, the man, now. Jessica Yellin, thank you so much.
And of course, Jessica Yellin, part of the best political team on television. And remember, you can get political news anytime you want to by logging on to cnn.com/ticker.
Well, weather, is still a big deal. You saw Jessica. Hey there, Betty.
NGUYEN: Hey there. Good morning.
HOLMES: How you doing? We're talking some Midwest weather this morning, which is an absolute mess.
NGUYEN: Yes, it is, the storm that everybody expected, but not everyone was ready for. We're going to check in on Detroit and see how things are shaping up there, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Time to see what is coming up tomorrow morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
HOLMES: Yeah, Kiran Chetry here now with a preview.
KIRAN CHETRY, AMERICAN MORNING: Hi Betty and T.J. Monday on AMERICAN MORNING, we're one month away before the first votes are cast in the primaries for president. And the rush is on in Iowa. The race is really up for grabs on both sides and getting hotter as we saw in the CNN-YouTube Debate.
Republican Mike Huckabee gaining ground in his quips in the debates always seem to score well with audiences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The first thing that I would get rid of would be the Internal Revenue Service.
(APPLAUSE)
We'd have a complete getting rid of $10 billion a year industry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That raises the question, though. What do we really know about Governor Huckabee's record on taxes? Is he the true conservative in this race? Well, we'll talk about it, we're live from Iowa on Monday.
Also, a consumer alert to tell you about, you could be driving a ticking time bomb. A quarter million tires have been recalled this year. Manufacturers say they're prone to shred and blow, but only six percent of those recalled tires have actually been turned in -- six percent. So, that means thousands of possibly unsafe tires are on the road. We're going to find out how you can tell if your tires have been recalled and if they should be replaced.
Also, it's out in theaters this weekend. "Awake," a thriller about waking up during surgery, but being unable to move or talk or let anyone know, very -- it was cringe inducing to even think about. Well, it's a nightmare that happens in a real life, too. We've asked our in-house brain surgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta for a reality check and some advice if you're about to schedule a surgery. That's next week on the most news in the morning.
Betty and T.J., back to you.
NGUYEN: Man, that's frightening. I don't know if that will get anyone to schedule a surgery after that movie, my goodness.
HOLMES: Yeah, canceling this morning Doc.
NGUYEN: Sanjay, what should I do?
All right, we want to talk about this too, because they are secret criminals.
HOLMES: Yes, and they could be to work on your computer, right now. How you can stop them, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It's 45 minutes past the hours on this Sunday morning. Here's a look at the "Quick Hits."
HOLMES: The NFL pausing today, in memory of the Washington Redskins star who was shot and killed last week. The Redskins will wear patches on their uniform and decal on their helmets with Sean Taylor's number, 21. Other teams will also wear the helmet decals and pause for a moment of silence.
NGUYEN: Two brothers who were rearrested in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway are free again. A judge rejected a prosecutor's request to continue holding them saying there was not enough evidence. A third suspect is still in custody. The Alabama teen, as you recall, vanished during a graduation trip to Aruba two years ago.
HOLMES: And going to Iraq so close to the holidays, makes it even tougher for families to say goodbye, the sendoff here for members of the 126th Aviation Company of the Rhode Island National Guard.
And a programming note here for you, as well. Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, will be a guest of CNN's LATE EDITION with Wolf Blitzer. You catch that beginning this morning at 11:00 Eastern Time.
NGUYEN: Question for you this morning, could the computer in your home be used to do all kinds of things that you wouldn't even be aware of?
HOLMES: Yes, actually. Have you heard of the "bot plots?" Josh Levs, dot-com desk, "bot plots," please tell us.
NGUYEN: Explain.
JOSH LEVS, CNN.COM DESK: Yeah, I'm about to talk to you about "bot plot," "botnet," and "bot roast."
Here's the main idea. Here's how it works. You've a hacker out there who manages to take control of a huge network of computers, thousands of them, hundreds of thousands, maybe, all by sending out, phishing basically, by sending out these e-mail attachments that unknowingly then download onto your computer.
These hackers, then use these massive computer systems to steal money from financial institutions, to steal passwords, to defraud people, and it's tougher for the authorities to track down who's doing it because he or she isn't using their own computer, they're using yours.
So, what the FBI did is over the summer they launched a massive effort that they're calling the "bot roast" to try and track down these computers and get to whoever is at the base of it, and now we're learning this from cnn.com, since they launched that in July, they have found another million computers in the U.S. that have been taken over by these things. And we're hearing from the industry guys, about five million computers total have been taken over by this effort.
NGUYEN: So, Josh, what can you do to protect your computer?
LEVS: Yeah. Now, let me show you this, actually we put together some information that we have, steps that you can take if you are concerned that your computer might have this problem. First of all, some symptoms to look out for, if your computer's really slow or if you are getting weird message that is say you tried to e-mail someone and it didn't go through, but you never tried to e-mail them in the first place. You might have the problem.
Here's what you want to do, first of all, update anti-virus software, this is critical. A lot of people think what they have is good enough. Turns out it isn't. Also, make sure you've got a good firewall. All right, so your anti-virus software and your firewall.
Next, use uncommon passwords because these systems, they often learn some basics about you from your computer and then try to use that information to develop a password. Use something really different. Finally, avoid any suspicious attachments, anything, a link, an attachment that looks weird to you, don't click on it, delete it immediately, and are you more likely to be safe -- guys.
NGUYEN: All right, that's good advice there. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Sure.
NGUYEN: Well, if you are just joining us or perhaps looking out the window and depending on where you live, much of the Midwest is just in a blanket of snow.
HOLMES: It's affecting millions of people. It's affecting Peggy Agar with affiliate WXYZ who's joining us now from Detroit.
Good morning to you, ma'am.
PEGGY AGAR, WXYZ REPORTER: Good morning, T.J. Well, it's a little hard to get into work this morning because of the snow. We've had about one to two inches, here in the Detroit area, although some parts of Michigan had up to five inches of snow, and this isn't that pretty, beautiful, fluffy snow that you might think of, this is hard, icy, really just difficult snow to drive on and to deal with.
Now, for the most part I would say that the road commissions did a good job. You look behind me, you can see, you know, the roads are pretty clear here, but it did catch a lot of drivers off guard. There was a couple in Sterling Heights, Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit, and they hit a guardrail, flipped their SUV, both the husband and the wife were killed. So, there is some tragedy to this, and some people really need to be a little more careful on the roads out here because they are slippery.
For the most part, though, they've done a good job, and now we're just waiting to see what the rest of the day brings, because we're hearing it could bring freezing rain and rainy, icy conditions are really what is the troubling, here in Detroit.
HOLMES: All right. Peggy Agar, like you said, it's not that fluffy, puffy snow.
AGAR: No.
HOLMES: That the skiers like, that good stuff, that safer stuff, if you will. But yeah, we'll keep an eye on it. We appreciate you, this morning -- Peggy.
NGUYEN: Well, we have been talking about the winter weather and Reynolds Wolf has been tracking all of it for us. He's been busy.
HOLMES: He's been very busy this morning. He'll have an update for us next. And forget the BCS mess. Got a sports story you have to see about a little guy with a big heart. This is a good college football story. Yeah, that little guy. And we're talking college football. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, if you don't like the snow -- that's us.
HOLMES: What is that?
NGUYEN: It's a frozen frame of us. We're really hearing and talking.
HOLMES: There you go.
NGUYEN: There you go.
HOLMES: What was that?
WOLF: I was feeling you guys, though. I was feeling you.
NGUYEN: That was a little weird.
HOLMES: They're suggesting we're stiff anchors, I guess..
NGUYEN: I think that's what they're suggesting. And apparently we proved it to them there.
HOLMES: What was that?
NGUYEN: Yeah. Here we are speaking, live in person. Reynolds, if you don't like the snow or the winter weather, you are just out of luck if you're in the Midwest.
WOLF: Pretty much. Yeah, I mean, it was certainly a rough time for you over the last 12 to 24 hours, and things are getting Betty. You're going to be dealing with -- did I say "things are getting Betty?" No, things are better -- things are getting better for you. Temperatures are going to be warming up. However, we're far from over in terms of the snow in many spots. A little bit of the ice. Ice not much of a big story, it's more of a rain event in parts of the Ohio Valley. But, the farther northeast you go, the more it switches over to some snowflakes.
In fact, Cleveland, right now, you're beginning to dry out a little bit, up along Ashtabula, you're getting a few scattered showers. But, snow showers when you get out towards Buffalo.
Before all is said and done in Buffalo and back over to Rochester, you could see anywhere one to two inches of that snowfall. However, in the highest elevations, there's the chance you could be dealing with quite a bit more, especially in parts of upstate New York. In fact, take a look at this computer model. It gives you an idea what you can anticipate in terms of the snowfall totals over the next 48 hours. So we put it into motion, you see it really begin to pick up anywhere from say, one to three along much of New York and into Pennsylvania. But, the highest spots, you're seeing them here and there, going up anywhere from say four to eight, maybe as much as nine in a few spots, but looks pretty good in New York, good in Philadelphia, and Boston, as we make our way to the start of the workweek.
Hey, by the way, we were talking a little earlier about winter. When does winter actually begin? Take a look at this graphic. Meteorologically speaking, we consider the start of December, so December, January, February, that's pretty much what we consider in terms of winter. However, the astronomical, of course, you go to December 22nd.
NGUYEN: So, we're still in fall, according to the calendar?
WOLF: According to the calendar, and I'm sure, according to Betty and T.J., we are still in fall.
NGUYEN: We wanted to clear it up, Reynolds. You had us all confused.
WOLF: But in the Reynolds' world, hey, wintertime.
HOLMES: And you didn't have to send us that nasty e-mail.
NGUYEN: He did.
WOLF: It was not a nasty -- I told you guys "little freaklets."
HOLMES: Yes you did.
WOLF: It's a term of endearment. That is a good thing.
NGUYEN: Little freaklet, huh?
WOLF: Yeah.
NGUYEN: Term of endearment?
WOLF: I call our cats -- at home, we call them "little freaklets," so I put YoU the same par, a little bit higher...
NGUYEN: Oh, you think so highly of us. Thank's Reynolds.
WOLF: I'm going to go step over there.
HOLMES: Reynolds, thank you, sir.
WOLF: All right, guys.
NGUYEN: Bye.
HOLMES: Well, it's now time for us to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what's ahead on CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES. Good morning, Howard.
HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Good morning, T.J. Coming up, we'll tackle the debate over CNN's YouTube debate this week, and how a retired general was able to question the Republicans without disclosing his ties to Hillary Clinton's campaign? Is the format flawed?
Rudy Giuliani accuses a newspaper of a political hit job, but is he ducking questions about his police security while visiting his mistress as mayor?
Plus, the murder of NFL star Sean Taylor sparks speculation about whether his criminal past might have been a factor. Was that out of bounds? That and more ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
HOLMES: All right, sounds like another good jam-packed show, there. Howard, always good to see you. Thank you, sir.
KURTZ: Thanks.
NGUYEN: Well, a team's No. 1 fan becomes a role model for players.
HOLMES: Yeah. This story will show you the real meaning of courage, the real meaning of endurance. Don't miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, the University of Southern Cal, powerhouse of college sports, of course. Also a launching pad for future stars.
NGUYEN: Yet, most are overshadowed the by a campus giant, all 91 pounds of him. CNN's Kara Finnstrom has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a school know for football legends, the story of triumph is no surprise. But this story isn't about the NFL stars in the making. In their shadows, we found a 4'8" giant.
STAFON JOHNSON, USC TAILBACK: He is a small guy with a big heart, bring happiness to the field.
FINNSTROM: Eighteen-year-old Ricky Rosas is a cancer survivor with a learning disability. Two years ago at a public practice, he met coach Pete Carroll.
PETE CARROLL, COACH: Hey, how we doing?
He hung around for a little built afterward, and then I told him to come on back, and sure enough, he came back...
FINNSTROM: And kept coming. Before long Ricky was on the field along side the coaches five days a week.
RICKY ROSAS, TEAM VOLUNTEER: I go get the coaches' food, but then I shred the papers and then I'm there whenever they need me.
FINNSTROM: The team began saving him a chair at the training table, suiting him up in SC garb.
ROSAS: This sweatshirt was given to me by Jared Blank (ph), and the shoes I'm wearing were given to me by Lo Jack (ph).
FINNSTROM: Even taking him on the SC jet to an away game and bestowing an unofficial title.
CARROLL: Well, Ricky is the special assistant to the head coach, so he's very close to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whenever he is asked to do something, he goes to his maximum level to get it done, and no one can ask anything more of the kid, and it's cool to see.
FINNSTROM: But, it's not the odd jobs that make unassuming Ricky such an asset. It's the smile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, slick. What's up, boy?
FINNSTROM: The hugs. The pure joy Ricky takes in being here. It spreads.
ROSAS: You know, we got you covered, don't you?
I just want to give them thanks for letting me be around them for so long.
CARROLL: He's a wonderful kid that brings a spirit and an energy about this program that, you know, and it's unique, and once we sensed it, you know, we just needed him around us.
FINNSTROM: Ricky's family always knew he would make his mark.
NICKY ROSAS, RICKY'S SISTER: I'm really proud of him because he is really recognized.
FINNSTROM: He lives in East L.A. with his sister, who suffers from a disability that destroyed her leg, and his mother. They say the boy who overcame cancer at age one has been undaunted by hardship ever since.
N ROSAS: It shows us that we could do things (INAUDIBLE), just because we might have, like, disabilities in our way, that we still can do these things, you know.
FINNSTROM: Ricky, who doesn't have a driver's license, spends an hour and a half on two buses to get to practice every day and games every weekend, all this not to be paid in dollars.
(on camera): What does it feel like being out here?
ROSAS: (INAUDIBLE), it feels just so good, all the fans...
FINNSTROM (voice-over): But to simply live a dream.
CARROLL: He's got a little bit of a heartthrob about him that keeps us all going.
FINNSTROM: And to remind all those around him that's exactly what they're doing, too.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That is a terrific story. I think the best one of the day. Boy, it makes you feel good, doesn't it?
HOLMES: It does make you feel good. Maybe he's a secret to some of that success USC had been having for awhile.
NGUYEN: Their lucky charm.
HOLMES: He's a lucky charm. What a great story, Kara Finnstrom, there for us. Thank you so much.
NGUYEN: Well, a campaign office targeted. We all watched it unfold Friday afternoon when a man held people hostage. It happened at the Hillary Clinton office in Rochester, New Hampshire. Journalists talk about it next on RELIABLE SOURCES.
HOLMES: And then on LATE EDITION, the Mideast peace process: leaders now promising to meet again in the region, but will that really bring results?
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