Transcripts For CNN American Morning 20110127

27th. i'm kiran chetry. >> i'm t.j. holes. i think it's fair to say, this is getting ridiculous. the east coast, my goodness, a lot of folks woke up this morning, looked outside and said we ain't going nowhere. the east coast once again getting hit by a monster storm. the snow is not being measured in inches in a lot of places. it's being measured in feet. there are schools closed, government offices closed. your office may be closed as well. you need to check. airports, it's a big deal. a lot of airports are closed in the northeast this morning. including the new york airports. it's going to cause all kinds of travel delays across the country this morning. like i said, new york city schools in particular are closed. d.c. government offices are closed as well. and we talk about feet of snow. just take a look this morning. let's start in d.c., give you an idea of what's happening there. yes. people still trying to brave it out there on the roads. it is not happening this morning. and late of places just impossible. to show you what's happening in new york city this morning where we woke up and just had to battle. so many of our people did not make it in this morning. others, it took them a long time to make it in, did it not, kiran. >> yes, it did. >> it was being measured in feet in a lot of places. then in boston, kind of the same thing. feet of snow, folks, we're talking about being measured. and some places it's going to cause all kinds of problems maybe for the next several days for folks as we try to dig out from this. >> yeah. we're watching the storm. we're set up all over the northeast. we have rob marciano. he's standing by in the extreme weather center. we're starting with reynolds wolf who is live out in boston. where you can see it is still coming down out there. hey, reynolds. >> reporter: hey, guys about to the tune of 11.5 inches in south boston. columbus avenue, in downtown boston, we've had anywhere from 8 to 10. last night, 7:00 p.m., the city of boston declared a snow emergency, obviously for good reason. as the snow has been coming down we've seen it definitely affect a lot of the city services. there have been some spots where we see plows coming through. the roads are actually in pretty good shape. the city offices in terms of just downtown boston, some of the city services will be open. in fact, in city hall. city hall is going to be open all morning. all employees are expected to arrive the awork. so have fun with that commute. in terms of the city schools, all public schools are going to be closed for the day today. community centers are going to be open. only from 6:30 this morning to 7:00 tonight. as far as logan airport is concerned. i can tell you, they've canceled about 100 arrivals and over 200 departure. as the snow continues, i would imagine the numbers will increase on both sides. the snow itself, though, is expected to decrease. at 7:00 this morning, the low is going to kick out to the atlantic. the low is expected to drop a bit and still the wind may be fairly strong so we may have whiteout conditions at tiles. that blowing snow may be an issue for drivers. if you don't have to get out, by all means, stay at home for the time being. let's kick it back to the studio. >> you're right. if you don't need to be out there, some of the schools are closed, offices closed as well. don't do it. reynolds, thanks so much. we're also talking about the snow budget in the nation's capital. they've all right spent about 40% of their $6.4 million budget. here in new york, they're reportedly burned through the entire thing, $38.8 million in the snow removal budget. and the city here, gone. also in boston they depleted about 66% of their snow budget which is $16 million. >> take a look at what happened on one stretch of i-95 in connecticut. this is just north of new york. it was closed all night long. a five-mile stretch. take a look at that, folks. trucks stuck. not going anywhere. we are told this stretch of i-95 did reopen just a few minutes ago. >> yeah. boy, it's been quite a mess, though. i was driving a similar route. we were coming down i-95 southbound from the northeast in the suburbs. this is what it looked like this morning. we actually got stuck trying to get on to i-95. that's our car. behind us is another car trapped. this is amateur. and in the back, a state plow, can't get through because of the other car. we ended up being saved, thank goodness by a couple of good samaritans coming by in their personal plow and they hopped out to clear a path. what normally takes about 30 minutes took about 95. but we made it. >> you're right. she's a professional. did you note amateur video up on the screen? some people have a good time with this. showing you dupont circle. schools are closed today. look, they got together, and had a nice snowball fight. now, this looks fun and fine and dandy. but you have about 300,000 people who do not have power right now in the area so not everybody having a good time with this. let's check in with rob marciano now. is this storm, rob, getting out of here? >> it is winding down just a little bit, but as you pointed out, thousands of people, tens of thousands without power. the deal with the storm, as opposed to the other storms and the blizzard with the heavy wind and snow. this snow has been on the heavy side. high-water content snow. temperatures haven't been terribly cold so that has been put weight on tree limbs and power lines. that's one of the issue. of course, clearing the roads, clearing the sidewalks or just getting through the wet snow is a lot more difficult than getting through the light, fluffy stuff so that's certainly an issue here. here's the back side heading throu throu iship, new york. and as the it continues to wind down for the northern eastern shoreline but the damage is done, as far as how much known we've already seen with this. check out the numbers, central park, 15.3 inches of snow, that, on top of what we've seen for the entire month of january makes it a record for the month of january in central park. over 32 inches of snowfall. almost 3 feet. philadelphia, 15 inches. newark, 14.2. wilmington, 10.4. new canon, 10.4 inches. and airports, new york, it's closed for now. it's a digging out process you got to deal with runways and taxis and gates as well. it's a lot bigger project than you would imagine. new york, philadelphia and boston, if you're traveling out of those airports, definitely call before you leave the house. if you're stuck in that term noll, grin and bear it. 30 to 60-minute delays expected in detroit and cleveland and minneapolis, also a little bit of snow there. there's another system bend this one that's pulling out in the northeast, that will be affecting the lower great lakes and eventually the same folks getting the snow now will get a little more snow tomorrow. a little snow tomorrow, not as devastate organize crippling as this. but it's not going to melt anytime soon. >> t.j. is used to being in atlanta. since december 14th, it has snowed eight times in new york city or once every five days. that is very rare for a winter here. >> that's what you tell me. >> you're the good luck charm there, t.j. >> i appreciate that. >> thanks so much, rob. looks like newark is saying they're not planning on trying to reopen until 7:00 p.m. so call ahead. kennedy is hoping to reopen in two hours. they say all the airlines are waiting to change these. so if you don't have to fly, it might be a good idea to reschedule. well, doctors are growing more optimistic about congresswoman gabrielle giffords' gunshot wound to the head. they say she's recovering at lightning speed, those are their words. she was upgraded from serious to good. the challenge now is they want to help her try to speak. she does have a breathing tube, a trach tube, actually, she's breathing on her own but unable to speak because of the tube. giffords' husband mark kelly said he's excited but realizes it's a long road. meantime, law enforcement telling cnn that weeks before the shooting, suspect jared loughner searched the internet on lethal injections and solitary confinement. loughner is accused of trying to assassinate gabrielle giffords. the new evidence could potentially hurt the insanity defense. and michael vick had a great year on the field, a lot of people considering him an mvp candidate but another step in that progress. he's landed his first endorsement since coming out of prison. with the new technologies, the company that makings sporting equipment, and they make the protective vest after his ribs were injured. no word on how much he's getting in the endorsement deal. meanwhi meanwhile, tiger woods, could this be the year of his comeback? he's playing today at torrey pines in san diego. yesterday, he held a press conference. take a listen. >> i honestly was consumed by other things in the last year, and had to deal with that. and life goes on. life moves forward. and that's what's exciting about this year. is that having the proper perspective on things. and my kids are doing great. and that's my number one priority. and golf falls somewhere down the list that far. >> you may remember the kind of year tiger woods had last year. he did not win a tournament on the tour last year. that was the first time that's happened in his pro career. also at this time last year, he was actually in rehab. he is also ranked third in the world in golf now, after losing his number one ranking last year. singer jimmy buffett is out of the hospital this morning. he fell off the stage while performing in australia. it was caught on tape. you can hear the crowd groaning after it happened. he was actually knocked unconscious from the fall. his road station, sirius radio, said he got several stitches. there you see him drop off the stage. he was playing sold-out shows all week in sydney. >> glad to hear he's already. but a nasty tumble. well, you remember that color-coded terror threat alert you learned? you know that coded system? well, now, it's going to go away. what's going to replace it? we'll tell you. and the next time you check in on facebook or like something, you could end up appearing in an ad advertisement. there's a new ad campaign about facebook that we want to tell you about this morning. and the new house speaker john boehner talking about realtoring honor to the house. talking one-on-one with our kathleen parker. stick around for that. [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ here is a live picture of the streets of new york this morning, where if you're getting ready to get up and out, it is going to be a difficult commute. officially, i guess this is is 3:00 a.m. said they had 15.3 inches of snow in central park this morning. so very rare for this time of year. i think they're breaking records all over the place for the month of january. new york, 30 degrees going up to a high of 35. looks like the snow is tapering off. that's good news. this is the bad news, though. the commute is snarled for sure. this is a look at i-95 this morning, coming from the north to the south, trying to get into the city. a lot of these big rigs ended up getting stalled or stuck, in some cases even jackknifing and it just made for a mess. many stretches of i-95. this is northbound, actually shut down today. a quick update today, the faa saying newark liberty will reopen this morning at 9:00 a.m. so this has been changing. they originally said 1:00, but now 9:00 a.m., they're going to reopen. and kennedy airport, 10:00 a.m. laguardia, ostensibly is open. i don't know how many flights are getting out. >> at least a thousand flights, we've been told, canceled. you need to check with your airline. again, this is across the country. need to tell you about a developing story, a close eye out in utah. a utah military base right now, this is the dugway army base that carries out troops against biological attacks. it's on lockdown right now. officials are saying at this time it was shut down last night to resolve a, quote, issue of serious concern. that's pretty much all we're getting right now. a spokesperson for the base says that no one is being allowed in or out. all personnel, up to 1,400 people are safe. not in any immediate danger right now, but still working to get more word on why exactly it's shut down. we'll get an update. we'll pass that along to you. also, an american missionary shot and killed in mexico. 59-year-old nancy davis and her husband were confronted by gunman in a black pickup truck while driving near a highway near the city of san fernando. they were trying to outrun them but could not. the couple lived there since the 1970s. the u.s. is keeping a close eye on what's happening to one of its closest allies right now. the video you're seeing is out of egypt. there have been protests, tos have taken to the streets to protest what's happening as far as government corruption, also what's happening with the economic situation there. people have been hurt. police are battling people in the street who are calling for the president hosni mubarak to be out. at least 500 people have been arrested. according to ministry and journalists right now are campaigning in the area saying websites of two newspapers have been shut down and twitter in the region has been blocked. and something that we all learned how to live with after the 9/11 attacks. now the homeland security department has decided to get rid of color-coded terror alert system. secretary napolitano is expected to make it official today. it confuses the public more than prepares. a system will be replaced by the national terrorist advisory system. and some would say it sure looks like he's in campaign mode. president obama hitting the road after the state of the union address. visiting wisconsin yesterday. this is him touring a manufacturing plant. he's talking about innovation and entrepreneurship. many people talking about this starting to look like a campaign, trying to sell some of the things in the state of the union address. you see him being greelted at the airport, given the green bay packers jersey after he picked his bears to win the game. but this is a state that the president won pretty handily in the 2008 election, but it certainly went republican in the midterms. meanwhile, his vice president, joe biden, he's in indiana, appearing to be campaigning as well. he's at a company called inner one, it makes batteries for cars. the administration wanting one million advanced technology cars on the road by 2015. so while the vice president was selling the president's state of the union address, republican from indiana was reading to school students when he was asked for the assessment of the president's address. >> i didn't watch it. >> oh, you didn't watch it. >> i was watching the purdue. game. honestly, i've read the accounts, i've got the text of the speech. i'll be reading it between now and the next stop. i think i'll just say that i'm very hopeful that we'll see changes in national policy. >> governor daniels may be a big purdue fan. but the feeling is not necessarily mutual. in december, he announced that the university would be getting new new money from the state. in 2009, he ordered the school to slash the budget. you know him as the star of the old spice commercials. now, he's back, he's here let you know about the man that your man could smell like. and a congressman is suing over his lunch. we'll explain what happened to this man's teeth. 20 minutes past the hour. at usaa, this is our executive committee. this is our advisory board. our field research team. and our product development staff. we know military lives are different. we've been there. that's why our commitment to serve the financial needs of our military, veterans, and their families is without equal. and why, we'll always be there for you... both here... and here. usaa. for insurance, banking, investments, retirement and advice. we know what it means to serve. let us serve you. well, you probably know him as old spice's suave, shirtless man, the man who tells you what your man can spell like. isiah moustapha is back. the new ads don't air until february 7th. but we have a preview. >> as well as the mighty sequoias of the forrest. as you can see, i've returned. it's not because i've forgotten my jacket. i've made new advancement to inform people on the planet how they or their man can use old spice to smell as fresh as the freshest places on earth. these advertisements carry an entertainment value second to none. i know because i've seen them. try staring through my striking brown eyes and looking at them as i currently remember them in my brain. you can't get past the striking brown eyes, can you? don't worry, that's commonplace. >> well -- >> the old one was better. >> well, i'm sure. he's teeing up the new ones, right? kind of a tease. i'm sure it will be good. >> 45 seconds. he has to tell you in 45 seconds. >> that was the trailer. what did you think? >> i thought it was an ad for an ad. it was like a preamble to what we will see. they're interesting, though, because women love them. men are indifferent. but p & g knows, the company behind old spice, know that women have the buying power. >> they say whether old spice saw an upswing in sales? >> indeed, it works. >> you hear old spice this morning and that's worth something. >> how do you say my striking brown eyes without laughing. and you say it twice. oh, yeah. your eyes aren't brown. all right. let's take a look at the dow, we haven't talked about that in a while. yesterday, we did cross over the 12,000 mark for a bit and then we came back down. take a look at this graph we have up there for you. close above 12,000, that would be an 83% gain from a 12-year low on march 9th, 2009, back, remember, when we were in the throes of the recession. that is noteworthy. for anybody who thought the market was crazy in 2009, they would have missed this upcurve of 83% gain to get back to where they were. for a lot of people checking their 401(k), you're probably thinking, you know what, that's not taking me back to where i was. that's true. take a look. if you look at the all-time high on the dow october 9th, 2007, if you look where we are, we are still 15% off of that level. granted, that's a lot better. we are moving in the right direction. a lot of people getting closer to retirement are watching these numbers. but the whole point here is that we are on our way back to being in a more favorable place, even though we have road to go. the dow actually closed below 12,000 yesterday. we'll be watching today if maybe the numbers are able to make it to the markets because there's just so much snow on the ground. >> it's just a good psychological number to hit. >> psychological. >> it makes people feel better. >> yeah. and psychologically, you feel better when you're in the 8,000 and you say is it getting worse. >> for everyone else with a 401(k), if you haven't been able to open that statement, take a look at it. it may not hurt as badly as you think. >> thank you. >> we'll see you shortly. another snow in which on the east coast. people are running out of patience now. cities running out of money to deal with the storms. we're going to update you on the situation, the airports and the roads. also, we'll take you to one state where a magazine with elton john on the cover is covered up, as if it's a "playboy" in the store. we'll explain this strange story. 27 minutes past the hour. ♪ >> woman: good night, gluttony-- a farewell long awaited. good night, expected. >> ( yawning ) >> good night, outdated. >> ( click ) >> ( whimpers ) >> good night, fluffy. and good night, stuffy. >> ( clinking ) >> ( chewing ) >> good night, old luxury and all of your wares. good night, bygones everywhere. >> ( engine revs ) >> good morning, illumination. good morning, innovation. good morning, unequaled inspiration. >> ( heartbeats ) good morning, 6:30 here in new york. there's a look at the streets of manhattan today. a pretty hairy commute for people coming in. some of the roads have been plowed but certainly not easily drivable this morning. 30 degrees. looks like it's tapering off the snow. 35 degrees for the high today. right now, they already have 15 or more inches in central park. just to give you a quick update as well. airports call ahead if you're flying out of any of them today, laguardia, kennedy or newark. both newark and kennedy plan to reopen this morning. so i could call if you're planning on traveling in and out of new york today. and washington, d.c., for you folks working for any federal agencies there today, you need to know that those will be open but under a two-hour delayed arrival this morning. people will have the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework today. so that san option. sounds like a pretty good one. again, a two-hour delay. and also we have about 400,000 hou households without power in that area as well. >> so let's get you updated, snow emergencies along the east coast this morning. here's a look at the weather map right now. it is coming down in some areas they're expecting over a foot of snow in new york and boston. since december 15th it has snowed eight times in the new york city area. the city has seen 36 inches so far. which is 15 inches which i believe rob said they're breaking january records for snow totals. >> and if you folks are traveling, having a loved one today, keep a close eye. check the faa went site. the times are moving around. newark, laguardia, jfk, they're all going to have delays. some of them closed right now. again, they're scheduled to reopen for the most part this morning. jfk and newark at least. laguardia is reporting that they are open and dealing with 15-minute delays. don't know how true that is. but we know there are at least a thousand flights canceled so far. you really need to check online with anything having to do with travel in and out of the northeast. >> all of the snow crushing the snow removal budgets on the east coast as well. here in new york city, they've spent the entire thing already. we're talking about just the end of january. $38 million. that's how much it costs. i believe mayor bloomberg was talking about using more than 200,000 pounds of rock salt already and counting. just north in boston, they've already reportedly burned through 66% of their $16 million snow removal budget. i want to turn to washington, d.c. right now, the new house speaker john boehner says he wants to change things. he wants to change the way congress is run. he's revealing some of his plans to our kathleen parker, take a listen. >> you have an idea what the house needs to be. i know you wanted to restore honor to the house as you see it. tell us about that. >> well, the congress is broken. and i think most americans realize that congress is broken. we need to open up the house. we need to let all members from both parties participate in the debate, offer their ideas, represent their constituents and let the house work its will. the house should not be coerced to produce legislation that fits my needs or to fit anyone else's needs. and i do believe that if we open up the house it will drive more power back to the committees where members are going to have to begin to work together again. and i think the result of this is we'll have better legislation. we'll have more bipartisan legislation, and we will begin to melt the scar tissue that is built up between the two political parties. >> well, congressman dennis kucinich of ohio is, meantime, suing a congressional cafeteria. the ohio congressman said he bought a sandwich three years ago, while eating it bit into a an olive pit. he's suing three companies for $145,000. according to the lawsuit, kucinich sustained multiple injuries requiring multiple surgical and dental procedures and has sustained other damage as well, including pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment. take a look at this surveillance video. see if you can figure out what's happening in in it. it's grainy there. can you clearly see people. what exactly are they doing? they're using a catapult to shoot marijuana across the border. these are drug smugglers caught on tape. this is at the u.s./mexico border in arizona. this is a remote surveillance system. but 45,000 pounds of marijuana were seized and the suspect, i do believe, were taken into custody. >> getting more creative to find their way around the crackdowns. well, she drew national attention flying around the dome of the library of congress' reading room. there she is. the hawk apparently got into an air vent and couldn't get out. now the hawk has been grounded. she was safely captured yesterday. they used a pair of star liplins bait. the hawk was taken to a rehabilitation center in virginia. and take a look at this creature as well. what do you think that is? at first sight, you may think you're looking at an alligator. it is a lizard. something called a monitor lizard. it was captured in riverside, california. but this sucker is five feet long. it was found just walking around. animal control did get this thing. but they believe it's probably somebody's pet. we'll see if someone shows up to claim it. but it is legal to keep these as pets in california. >> aww. doesn't look bad. >> it looked bad. coming up on "american morning," a crackdown on anti-government protests, continuing in egypt, police now using tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators who want the president out. we'll tell you what the white house is saying about it this morning. and many of you 500 million-plus facebook folks, you have concerns about your privacy on facebook. you may even be more concerned to hear at that founder of the company can't even keep his fan page safe. it's 36 minutes past the hour. . the lexus rx. why settle for a copy when you can own the original? see your lexus dealer. 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[ female announcer ] roc® we keep our promises. ♪ good morning, welcome back to this "american morning" at 39 minutes past the hour. officials in egypt right now say at least 1,000 people have been arrested this week in anti-government protests are demanding an end to the president, his 30-year reign there. >> cnn's zain verjee has details on that and other international stories this morning, live in london, hi there, zain. >> hey, guys. you know, we have not seen this kind of public rage in egypt in 30 years that president hosni mubarak has been ruling the place. the situation there is very tense. people are bracing for a third day of protests. now, police have cracked down pretty hard on protesters out on the street. four people have died. protesters are coming back, not backing down. they basically want president mubarak to go. they're mad about things like unemployment, lack of freedoms that they say they don't have, increase in the cost of living in the country and corruption there. analysts that i've spoken to today say what we've got to do is wait and see what happens in the next 48 hours, whether these protests are going to spread. because t.j., kiran, friday and saturday is the weekend in the arab world. let's see what happens. it could get ugly. >> zain, are they really attributing what is happening in egypt right now to what is happening in nearby tunisia? >> yes, in part, they are. they think that what happened in tunisia has really spurred people on and this situation has moved far swifter than anyone ever thought that would be the case. but you know what, the issues are the same. people have been frustrated with president move bubarak's rule. about 40% live below the poverty line. when you look at the pictures of the people on the streets, it's important that you can see, it's a secular group there. you've got muslims. you've got christians. you've got rich people. you've got business people, you've got factory workers. so it's galvanized so many people. and they're using social media to get out on the streets, faik and twitter. to twitter has been saying they've been totally blocked and facebook has limited access. the government is denying it but that's playing a key role. >> that's a tough thing for the united states, egypt considered an ally, but the white house is sort of walking a fine line because they can't ignore the will of the people as well. what's going on with that, in terms of diplomatically? >> you know, on the one hands the u.s. is supporting the freedom in the arab world, but on the other world, it's been a long ally of the united states, egypt has been a friend of israel, being the first arab country to recognize the jewish state. so i think they're looking on with this situation with nerves. the secretary of state hillary clinton has said that there should be reforms that support the legitimate needs and requirements of the people. i think one thing, just to note that was interesting at the state department yesterday, the spokesman was asked, do you support hosni mubarak? and the answer was, we support our ally, egypt. >> all right. zain verjee for us this morning. zain, we appreciate you as always, you can see zain every morning right before this show begins at 5:00 a.m. eastern time on "world one." zain, thanks so much. >> thanks. well, too hot for an arizona grocery store. a big controversy over the "us" magazine, elton john and their new son zackery. customer complained was obscene. the manager at the grocery store put a cover on it using what's called a family shield. and customers complained about that, wait a minute, we can see scantily-clad women in bikinis and we can't see a man and a baby? >> if you are traveling or you know anybody traveling, it's going to be causing a mess up and down the east coast today. another powerful storm, rob marciano is joining us right after the break. and the mystery in the black and white on biscayne bay. how did the baby grand get on that sandbar? we may have the answer this morning. jeanne moos takes a look. ooh, a brainteaser. how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. what do you see yourself doing after you do retire? client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize. 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[ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. just into cnn. a bit of breaking news out of davos right now, the world economic forum is takes place in switzerland. they're reporting a minor explosion occurred at a hotel there. they're saying no one was hurt. and they're trying to look into it right now, an explosion in a storage room in the basement of the hotel. that's according to a spokesperson for the police. and they say there's minor damage, but nobody was hurt. >> nobody hurt. this is happening about a while away from the main venue where the economic forum is takes place. actually, some of our people are there, including our dr. sanjay gupta. he has been covering it there. throwing it out, we're covering this event, not saying they're anywhere close to where this is happening. we don't know. it was intentional or something meant to do harm or get attention. we're following that with details weighs get them. facebook fans out there, 500 million of you out there use facebook, you worried about your security? well, the founder of facebook worried about his as well. apparently, his fan page has been hacked. there's a message on his page that read, quote, "let the hacking begin." if facebook needs money instead of going to the banks, why didn't facebook let its users invest in facebook in a social way?" end quote. they have not put out an official comment but it appears whoever put that message out may not be excited about new money and indiana investors that apparently facebook is starting to bring in. >> yeah, but, certainly gives you pause if the founder's account can be hacked. facebook is also rolling out a new way for the company to advertise. this time, you're the star. the way it works, if you like something or you check in, a company can use those posts and put them in an ad that will appear on your friends' pages. right now, there is no way for you to opt out of the so-called sponsored stories. so can you just imagine that there will probably be controversy about that. ozzy osbourne and justin bieber on the same bill. that's right, the prince of darkness and the beebs palling up. it will help to tell the best buy story. >> we check in with rob marciano. rob, we're hearing, philly, d.c., boston, new york, all of the schools are closed there. tell us why. >> hydrometeors as we like to call them -- snow. yeah, guy, we got the snowstorm that is beginning to pull out of the northeast put folks in eastern long island, eastern connecticut, eastern mass still in it as far as seeing heavy snow, and there's still snow behind this, although not as significant as what you've seen across i-95 corridor. it's the heavy and wet snow. sleet and freezing rain mixed in at times. it makes it more difficult to shovel and certainly makes it more difficult to plow and drive through. boston and providence, and the cape now still seeing significant snow. and it will continue to accumulate over the next 12 hours, 8 to 12 inches, possibly in some cases, will be the final accumulations in some spots as it has been across much of the i-95 corridor. fairly uniform numbers when you look at the grand scheme of things. central park has seen 15.3 inches of snow. when you factor in what we've had for january, that's a record. 14.9 in philadelphia. newark's seen 14.2. wilmington and new cannan coming in with 14 inches of snow. newark and new york, they're closed until further notice. boston and d.c. digging out right now. continuing snow across parts of minneapolis with the next system. this one doesn't have nearly as much moisture, maybe an inch or two. i want to applaud our keiran chetry for braving this. she can get a hotel room to make sure she's there. gut to get this video, of course with an armada of snowplows to get her here. >> no, see what happened, that snowplow pulled up when he was trying to plow the on-ramp and that car was completely stuck. and then the nice samaritans with their own snowplow stopping, they actually helped us out. we gave them a nice tip. >> that a girl. glad you made it in. >> thank you, rob. first, the explosion, then cabin pressure was lost in one of their planes. now new trouble for qantas. we'll tell you whether or not it's safe to fly. and it's a supervolcano that's at one of this country's most popular national parks and is it ready to erupt? ten minutes to the top of the hour. ♪ when you're responsible for this much of the team, you need a car you can count on. well, there are plenty of scales in the ocean, fish, of course, and then a grand piano. at least in one part of florida. we told you yesterday about that baby grand that was perched on a sandbar off the coast of miami. yesterday, they said, wonder how it got here. >> we may have figured this thing out, though. or have we, here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: it's not your usual piano bar. a piano on a sandbar. it appeared a few weeks ago on shore on miami's biscayne bay. >> that's too funny. >> reporter: leaving boat captains scratching their heads. >> that's the most unusual i've seen out here. >> how the heck did this happen? >> reporter: a few series of jokes, from "titanic," payback in a nasty divorce. it's so unexpected, so charming, you can almost imagine a mermaid tickling the ivories. ♪ >> reporter: then strike a nice chord if we could tell you that the piano is still playable. but reporters who have made it out to the sandbar, say no. >> piano is so banged up, done bang oye tunes out. >> reporter: suzanne pierce was so submiten she took about 200 photographs. >> i think it's awesome. >> reporter: when the piano first appeared, residents saw what some thought was a music video shoot. >> there was a piano bench and a guy was sitting there. >> reporter: some spots a woman with long hair on the piano. conquers up images of michelle pfeiffer singing "making whoopi." instead, try picturing these two lugging an old piano out into biscayne bay. william yeager called cnn saying he and fellow filmmaker aknewous yeager did the deed in makes a film call "jesus of malibu." >> i want to you help me change the world- >> reporter: yeager told the "miami times" it took them about six hours to get the piano out to the sandbar. they pulled it behind a boat. they said they left other pianos. they called this highly symbolic and profound. less profound is the "the miami herald's" kags contest, which range from you can tune a piano, but you can't tune a fish. to our favorite "play it again sand." ♪ you must remember this. >> reporter: jeanne moos, new york. >> that's so cute. >> we still don't know, for the most part. we're getting close to the top of the hour. a quick break. is cut the fuel s. ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ basic. preferred. at meineke i have options on oil changes. and now i get free roadside assistance with preferred or supreme. my money. my choice. my meineke. with --ecaptions by vitac.-- www.vitac.com we are covering yet another monster snow tom. from washington all the way up to the north east, paralyzed by this super snowmaker. highways shut down. schools closed in all. major cities in the northeast this morning. much more coming up on this "american morning." and good morning to you, it is thursday, january 27th. glad you're with us this morning, i'm kiran chetry. >> and i'm t.j. holmes. we'll be getting back to the weather in just a moment. but also a story we're covering this week on "american morning," taco bell having to defend its beef. they're having to do it once again. probably not a good sign when you have to say how much meat is actually in your meat. we'll explain. also ahead, pay attention, ladies, the old spice guy is back. he's got a new ad out there. our stephanie elam brings us a sneak peek. let's get to the storm. once again, another big storm. we're talking about measuring some of the snow levels by the foot. and you can see what happens. people trying to get out, get around in some of this stuff. the federal government, we'll let you know, is going to be opening two hours late in d.c. the schools however in d.c., philly, new york, boston will not be opening today. they are all closed. let's give you a live look outside at what's happening in new york city right now. the city is under a weather emergency. that sounds like the norm right now. some places got 15 inches or more of snow overnight. also having to deal with thunder snow, if will you. lightning and thunder. take you to boston now, they're expecting more than a foot after all is said and done. that's a picture of our reynolds wolf out there doing his duty for us this morning. we're going to get back in just a second. you see them getting ready for the live shot. let's check in with rob marciano. he's in the extreme weather center. is this stuff just about done, rob in getting out of here. >> it's trying to wind down. it has done that in new york city. it's done that in points farther to the east. a winter storm warning still up for all of rhode island, eastern massachusetts, kleined youing boston, back to the cape. 8 to 14 inches expected in these area for total snow accumulations. that's about what we've seen some some of the other large cities. another wide range of real estate and highly pop lated area crushed by snow. you can see the back edge of this thing is already out towards, say, east hampton and gratin, connecticut. it's moving out quickly. there is a little snow behind this but not a tremendous amount-temperatures are not drastically colder, but cold enough to keep the temperatures where it is. this has been a heavy snow event. a high-water content event. not where you have the light fluffy stuff blowing around. this is heavy, hard to shovel stuff. and not bad snowball and sledding stuff either. adults are going, please, enough. 15.3 inches in central park, the month of january. all-time snow. philadelphia, 14.9, newark at 14.2, you see the highly populated cities getting krur . crushed. travel has been shut down at new york and newark. if you're traveling ought of those airports, including boston, d.c. and baltimore, also you're going to see a tremendous am of delays. not cancellations already today. and chicago, minneapolis, also some snow. this is a moisture-starve evidence system there it. temperatures potentially coming at you tomorrow through sunday. enough's enough, i suppose. we haven't even gotten to february. and we've had serious snowstorms during the month of february. >> i don't know where we're going to put a couple more inches. i mean, seriously, you see these enormous mountains made by all the plowing. what a mess. thanks, rob. the storm's paralyzing travel up and down the i-knife corridor this morning. this is a scene in i-notify, this is in darian northbound. it was shut down. they're claiming they were going to get it open at 6:00 a.m. idling trucks star the eye can see. still challenged to get it open. they were trying tour 6:00 a.m. we're hearing it is in fact shut down. and the snow-crushing budgets up and down the east coast. the nation weight capital spent 49% of their $6.4 million. in boston, they deleted about 16% of their $16 million snow budget. and now another expensive snow emergency in boston, it's still coming down. the kids are already getting their fourth snow day today. boston has already gotten more than 50 inches of snow this winter. the city has so-called snow farms set up in vacant lots. as we're talking about, you need some place to dump it all. reynolds wolf live outside in boston this morning. so, boy, what a mess. >> reporter: yeah, i'm telling you what, we're in boston's back bay where the snow has really begun to taper off a bit. what you're seeing for the time being is the wind. the wind's actually moving through the high buildings. it accelerates a little bit. so when it gets here, about 40 miles per hour. so visibility for drivers could be kind of poor to sate least. the bottom line is if you don't need to get out on the roadways, by all means don't. in terms of travel, things are tough not only for the runways but the airports. 200 departures have been canceled. we're with cnn journalist bob crowley. bob, come here for a moment. folks, i want to show you something. you know when you have a four-wheel drive car and you feel like you have a sense of ability with driving. i want to show you, a jeep over here a little bit ago, stuck, mired in the frozen goo. the area of low pressure continues to kick out. the snow continues to pile up now, just wind-driven. got good news, sidewalks are in in pretty good shape. crews about working around the clock to keep things clear. that's good news. it's also good news for students. public schools in boston are closed for the day. city services, city hall, will be open. one of the reasons why, because. great job these guys are doing. watch your eyes, bob. these guys have been busy throughout the morning. again, we may see sunshine throughout the afternoon. better weather to come for boston throughout the day. possibly an inch of snowfall as we get towards the middle of the weekend. let's kick it back to you in new york, guys. >> all right. you talked about plowing through your snow budget up there as well. it is unbelievable. do you have any look ahead in terms of february? is this supposed to be tapering off or are we looking at round after round? >> well, i'll tell you what, april's a long way away, isn't it. it really is. they've had snow here in boston for opening day, when the sox take over at fenway park. there's a possibility we could see a few more snowfalls. no question about it. but i'm telling you it seems like a long winter. the rest of february to go through, march and april. certainly possible we may see a few more doses of heavy snowfall in the region. >> reynolds for us in snowy boston. thanks so much. well drug smugglers are going medieval now, using an ancient weapon. take a look. it was all caught on tape. according to federal officials, what you're seeing here is surveillance video of alleged mexican drug smugglers catapulting marijuana across the border. this is at the u.s./mexico border in arizona. but they are launching this stuff using a catapult. authorities seized some 45 pounds of marijuana. homeland security getting rid. color-coded terror alert system. secretary janet napolitano is expected to make it official today. a lot of critics slammed the system from the start saying it scared people rather than telling them anything. sources say it will be replaced by a national terrorism advisory system. and take a look at the tumble that jimmy buffett took off the stage in australia. did you see that? it was caught on video. this knocked him unconscious. he had to go to the hospital where he was treated. he got a few stitches on his head but the 64-year-old singer is out of the hospital now, said to be doing okay. but, man that was a heck of a tumble. >> it was. ford's issuing a recall for more than 400,000 windstar minivans in cold weather states. there are defects in brackets and mounts that could force a driver to lose coal. 1988 to 2003 model years. ford says there have been several crashes and several minor injuries related to this problem. and there are more than 500 million of you facebook users out there, and all of you concerned about your security on that site. well, this won't make you feel any better. the founder of facebook, even his fan page was hacked. a message was posted on mark zuckerberg's page. and it read, let me quote it to you here. "let the hacking begin, if facebook needs money instead of going to the banks, why doesn't facebook let its users invest in facebook in a social way?" of course making reference to hundreds of millions of dollars that facebook has just raised from investors. facebook not commenting on this hack so far. well, taco bell wants you to think outside of bun. but this morning, many people wondering what's inside of the tacos. we're talking about this lawsuit filed by a consumer group that claims that, quote, beef is actually a meat mixture that doesn't even have 50% meat. our stephanie elam is "minding your business" this morning. >> a meat mixture does not at all sound good. >> it's so delicious. >> i have had taco bell, but i haven't had the beef since high school. junior high, probably. but, this is a big deal for a lot of people, this whole story here about what's going on with taco bell. it reminds me of an older commercial "where's the beef?" because that's at the heart of this conversation here. what this consumer is claiming a woman in california who started this class action suit. she's saying that there is just not enough beef. take a look at this graph here. they're saying, their claim is taco bell's beef is 65% of fiber, additives, flavors and coloring and only 35% beef. now, to taco bell's point, they're saying that this lawsuit is completely bogus, that that is not the case. and they say, hey, our beef is 88% beef. does that make you feel better? what the heck is 88%? well, they're saying that the reason for this difference is because there's also seasonings and spices and water and all the other ingredients that you put in there like your mama's meatloaf. here's the statement they put out saying they basically cook with a proprietary recipe to give our beef with texture just like you cook at home. the reason this claim came up, too, because if you look at the packages that the meat arrives in, it does say taco meat filling on the packaging. >> meat filling. >> that's with they're saying this isn't real. but they're saying they have spices in there. >> yeah, but it's to fill the taco. it's the taco filling. >> that's what they're saying. >> i did love t-bell growing up. thank you. coming up, there have been protests in the streets of a majorle u.s. ally. we'll tell you how the u.s. is responding. also, gabrielle giffords, an update on her kick the next phase of her remarkable recovery. doctors were able to remove the tube draining fluid from her brain. they say it's a situation that resolved itself. and now, she's headed to the rehab center. we'll talk to the head of the rehab center. seven years ago, i had this idea. to make baby food the way moms would. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with the farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product. we've gone from being in 5 stores to 7,500. booming is using points to make connections that grow your business. >> announcer: this is cnn, breaking news. this is a breaking story we are following out of davos where there has been an explosion at a hotel. this is, of course, davos, where our sanjay gupta. he's there covering the world economic forum. sanjay, what can you tell us about how significant of a blast this was? >> well, we're just getting more details in now, t.j. what we know, this happened at a hotel called the post hotel morisani. it's one of the bigger hotels, a hotel where a lot of people from davos stay. it's also the base for the swiss government during this forum as well. it's about half a mile from the conference center specifically. and what we now know, near the back entrance of the hotel there was an explosion. it was described as a small detonation. it blew out one of the windows. there was no confirmed injury as a result of this. for some time, it was unclear whether this was either a criminal activity or not. we're just learning, t.j., that there was in fact an e-mail sent by an organization that is an anti-world economic forum organization, sent an e-mail to the folks around the hotel, threatening some sort of attack on the hotel. that e-mail came in before this explosion. so that's what we're sort of gathering now. i will tell you as well, that this particular hotel is home to lots of different events, including a party. a reception tonight, by the coca-cola company with special guest, bill clinton, the former president. that was expected to happen tonight. we don't know if that's still going to occur or not. i think though details are still being worked out. again, a small explosion. major hotel for a lot of forum attendees here, t.j. a lot of the people trying to figure out exactly what's going on. >> sanjay, you just mentioned the former president bill clinton there. give us an idea how many people actually attend the conference and just what kind of names you do have running around there, the kind of vips? >> yeah, let me give you a little context. you have about 2,500 people overall. but they're a veritable who's who in the financial world, the golf world prp you have more than 30 heads of state, including former president clinton, david cameron, the russian president was here yesterday. and it sort of is meant for an opportunity for a private collaboration that's not official, not formal. but gathers a lot of people. and just davos as well, t.j., i should tell you it's a small remote town. it's only one road in, one road out. 13,000 people actually live here. but 2,500 come and attend the conference. i was literally walking down the street when i heard police starting to whisper about the hotel and started to get details as a result of that. so it's a small community. again, when something like this happens, you can see a buzz of activity surrounding something like this. >> sanjay, we appreciate you this morning. if you get any nor details, by all means, let us know, we'll chat with you again. thanks so much. meanwhile, another update for you, nor headaches for your commute because of this winter storm. we're getting an update from amtrak right now. their media relations saying they have now suspended service from new york to boston. they've also suspended service from new haven to springfield, connecticut. also, the empire service, this is what services new york city to albany, they say this is operating now on a reduced schedule and that they're also reduced and limited cancellations between washington and new york. obviously a popular commuter corridor there. they say call 1-800-usa rail. service from new haven to springfield, connecticut, also suspended. meanwhile, one of the arab's closest allies clashing with demonstrators in egypt. they want president mubarak out. and they're being silenced online as well with some of the social media blocked. seems to be having a domino effect in the middle east right now, with recent clashes in wife other arab nations. ben wedeman is live in cairo this morning with the latest. what is the latest, ben? >> reporter: yes, kiran, we're hearing reports of clashes between police and protesters on the town on the sue ed canal. our crew is on the suez canal, where the population is seething with rage. three protesters were killed. last night, the protesters sort of went on a rampage in suez. fire bombing the police station there. police obviously very nervous. here in cairo, the situation seems to be calmer than it was yesterday. but it's still earlier in the day. usually the protests really pick up around 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon, when people get out of university. get out of work. we're hearing of also a gathering of striking workers in the town south of cairo. so all of this is really just building up to tomorrow. the opposition parties and the protest movement are all calling for 1 million people to come out into the streets of cairo and other egyptian cities, after friday prayer. so the government is bracing for this thing to really go even bigger than it already has gone. kiran. >> ben wedeman for us in egypt. thanks so much. well, when is a party a party? well, the brand-new senate tea party caucus having its first meeting today. but exactly how many people will show up. we'll talk to one of the founding members. also, beware of a slumbering super volcano. that's right, it's sitting underneath yellowstone national park. it's been there for centuries. but scientists say there is a possibility it could erupt. what would happen? we'll talk about it up canning up. 20 minutes past the hour. -- captions by vitac -- well, at 21 minutes past the hour now, we are going to see a first on capitol hill today. the first ever meeting of the new senate tea party caucus. one of the founding members is with us this morning. senator mike lee of utah, republican, joining us now. you're a founding member of this thing. how many members do you have, sir? >> we have three members so far. and we're looking forward to our meeting this morning. >> now, three members, that doesn't sound like much of a party this morning. >> no, no, it's a relatively small group at this point. and i don't think it necessarily needs to be big. we're not intending this to be a full-blown influential caucus. we're intending this could be a conduit for information to pass between individuals who sympathize with the tea party movement in the united states senate. >> now, you said you don't want it to be a full-blown and influential caucus. if not influential, then what? >> no, my point is simply to say, this caucus exists, first and foremost to be a conduit of information between tea party sympathizers and the u.s. senate. we've invited every member of the senate, regardless of which party they belong to, hopefully to get more. if not, we'll get into discussions. >> you hope you'll get more. do you have an idea how many you'd like to at least sound successful or relevant. i understand you're saying three, but it just sounds small in some ways, maybe even insignificant? >> no, my point is, as far as i'm concerned, even if it stays at three, it will fullfy its purpose of allowing people to simple that pies with the that he party movement to communicate their ideas to the u.s. senate. >> wow like senator marco rubio, he, of course, got all kind of tea party support. but so far, he's refused to join? >> yeah, look, we'd love to have marco. we'd love marco and lots of other members of the senate to join. i'd love every member of the senate to join with us. if anyone chooses to join, we welcome them, if not, we'll wait for them next time. we'll see what happens. >> do you think that will come across as some kind of a rejection, or even betrayal, given how much support he did receive from the tea party? >> absolutely not. absolutely not. look, this is a voluntary thing. again, we'd love to have him. we'd love to have any other member of the senate. hopefully, we'll get him to some of the meetings. >> michele bachmann, also a republican tea party supporter. they gave the tea party response to the state of the union the other night. if you had your way and if americans had only listened to one response to the state of the union, would you have preferred for them to hear the official gop response or the tea party response? >> well, look, i've never supported any effort to have the tea party become a party. and so, anytime you have a member of the tea party speaking, i think that's a good thing but i don't think it's there to try to replace any republican response. it's certainly not there to replace the republican party. so that's not a closed question. >> do you think it certainly was a different tone from the official gop response? and was that the point? >> i think that the message of the tea party is one of limited government and that's an idea that's in lockstep with the republican party. that's why i've never seen the tea party as anything that would replace the party. it's simply a grassroots political phenomenon that's sweeps across the country, as americans have realized that their federal government has grown too big and too expensive. >> one of the concerns of senator rubio, at least, was that this was supposed to be a grassroots, leaderless movement. and by having a senate tea party caulk can y caucus, you are here now as a founding member, at least a face of the tea party caucus. do you have that concern as well. that maybe this will become and you will become a face of the party that is supposed to be leaderless? >> no, that risk is not present here. what i meant initially when i was describing to you the purpose of this. the purpose of it isn't to speak for the senate or to speak for any one group within the senate. the purpose is, rather, to provide an open forum in which members of the tea party sympathizers out there that come and discuss with some united states senators their concerns. that's all it is. and it remains a leaderless movement. we've gaup oone out of our way make sure that neither this caucus, nor the movement generally changes in its forum to being a simply spontaneous grassroots phenomenon. >> i know you that along with senator demint and senator paul are founding members. what are you suspecting at the meeting? >> i suspect we could have 200 or 300 people there. we're looking forward to it. >> senator lee, good luck. we appreciate you spending time with us today. first ever meeting of the senate tea party caucus. sir, thanks. well, t.j., seems like we talk about this once a week -- actually, we do talk about it once a week. it's snowed once every five days since the middle of december around here. airports have shut down. more than 1,000 flights canceled. we'll tell what you to expect at the airports today. the information changing by the minute. also, she's ready for rehab, doctors say congresswoman gabrielle giffords is recovering from the gunshot wound to the head at lightning speed. [ female announcer ] enjoy a complete seafood dinner for two for just $29.99 at red lobster. with fresh salads and biscuits. your choice of entrees. and an appetizer or a dessert to share. for a limited time at red lobster. but you can still refinance to a fixed rate as low as 4.5% at lendingtree.com, where customers save an average of $293 a month. call lendingtree today. colace capsules stool softener helps ease straining to make going easier. try colace capsules for effective comfortable relief from occasional constipation. save $3 right now. go to getconstipationrelief.com. well, i wonder why everyone's on the roads in boston this morning because schools are closed. but i guess people have to get to work this morning. it's quite a mess this morning as this nor'easter moves up dropped about 10 to 12 inches in boston. a foot or more in many parts of new york. welcome once again, a major nor'easter. good morning to you. i'm kiran chetry. >> hello to you all, i'm t.j. holmes. but the person you really ought to be talking to is rob marciano. if you are flying, if you have a loved one flying you need to make sure you get online to the faa website or the websites for the airports and find out exactly what's going on, because, rob, this is kind of an evolving situation. these times are kind of moving around as well. so people, you need to check. >> you would think by the time we get to this storm, after all the storms we've had, t.j., we'd have it down as far as getting the places up and running. but there's so much tarmac to deal with, move people around the gates, just to get the flights out. so it's an even bigger project than you can imagine. couple that with a foot, foot and a half snow in some spots, it's a bit of a tough go. all right. we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's not another train. this snow is beginning to wind down. there's not a whole lot of cold air behind us. but the temperature is sticking around. at least on the streets, we'll see a little melting but it's not going to melt away anytime soon. the snow will stick around and refrigerator the air tonight. and 15.4 inches. newark has seen 14.2, norwalk at 17.0. the snow totals may climb up even though the snow for the most part has stopped. newark and jfk shut down for the moment. they're working feverishly to open those up. boston, going to have cancellations, if not serious delay. baltimore and d.c., their snow has stopped there. this is the next system. how much snow is that going to bring towards the northeast? probably just an inch or two. but we've already broken a record, t.j. and kiran, as far as the month of january is concerned over 32 inches of snow in new york city, that's the most they've ever had since keeping records. >> wow, breaking records, certainly feels like it to know we're at an historic high. pretty crazy. thanks. >> if you're going to suffer through it, at least knowing you broke a record. got the t-shirt. >> i'm going to get t-shirts made. especially for t.j. this is his first new york winter. boy, they delivered for you. >> thanks. well, an "us" magazine cover featuring elton john and his partner david with their new baby zackery triggering controversy in arkansas. customers complained it was obscene, so managers at the store decided to cover up the magazine using a family shield. once they did that, more complaints started pouring in about the shield. and now it's being removed. and dennis kucinich, just how bad was your lunch? he is now suing a congressional cafeteria. this is over a sandwich he bought, apparently, three years ago. he bit into it and he bit into an olive pit and it caused all kinds of damage in his mouth, to his teeth. he's now suing four different companies. vendors, for $150,000. listen to this quote from the lawsuit. it says, "he sustained serious and permanent dental and oral injuries requiring multiple and surgical and dental procedure and has sustained other damages as well, including significant pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment." >> that's terrible. he must have bit very hard into that pit. critics have called it child porn. mtv is saying no, it's not and sticking with the show "skins." they've gone back and re-edited some of the episodes. parent groups are calling for the show to pull the show. the network has said in a statement, "skins" has earned the loyalty of fans across the globe for its thoughtful and honest portrayal of teen life today. an internationally acclaimed scripted drama, the show has been honored with a long his of prestigious awards." i think they're talking about the british version. >> justin bieber, is he even old enough to realize who ozzy osbourne is? well, he knows now, w shg, woul believe, this duo teaming up for a best buy ad in the super bowl. the two are getting together. wasn't too long that ozzie boy osbourne was asked about justin bieber. and his quote was, who the blank was justin bieber? also coming up this morning, there is a super volcano right here in the u.s. that could erupt in the next few minutes -- just kidding, folks, about that. but we really don't know when it might, but, boy, when it does. 34 minutes past the hour. ♪ excuse me... your change. 37 minutes past the hour on this "american morning." more safety problems for qantas airlines. this time, 352 passengers are stranded in bangkok, the flight they were on, the 747, had engine problems. apparently burning fuel too fast. now, also, the flight from bangkok was headed to sydney had to be turned around. also, another problem earlier this week, quantities as it flight was lost cabin pressure. apparently plunged 25,000 feet. then november 4th, an engine explosion on another qantas a-380 plane. they were forced to make an emergency landing in indonesia. there's good news for gabrielle giffords who suffered a gunshot wound to the head. doctors are saying that she's progressing, quote, at lightning speed and she's beginning a fuel full series in houston. good francesco is here. >> thank you for having me here. >> we talked about lightning speed. that's a quote from the doctors. can you give us an idea of how she's doing and how she's progresses that has surprised and pleased her doctors so much? >> well, it's only been a few weeks since this happened and she's been tolerating our aggressive therapy program. we actually started this therapy program the moment she arrived in houston. and we've been upgrading it as she tolerates the therapies. >> a couple of things, there was some talk that she could perhaps begin speaking. that her speech function is improving and she's undergoing speech therapy. has she been able to speak? >> in the next few days we're going to assess her further progress in all domains. her ability to speak. her ability to move more. so it's something that we will be monitoring closely. >> there are no more concerns, though, about the fluid on the brain? that's resolved? >> well, according to the neurosurgeons in our team, it has been stable, but we are going to monitor that, as we would the other potential problems that may occur after a brain injury. >> and when they talk about her, you know, recovering. i know that it's a long road ahead. people say this is more like a marathon than a sprint. but what is the potential best case scenario life going to be like for her, one the rehab is over? >> following a brain injury, practically all aspects or all -- well, i shouldn't say all, but some functioning may be affected, depending on what part of the brain has been damaged. and rehabilitation. we watched closely the progress of our patients. and we modified the therapy program. in order to address these individual impairments and deficits so that we can bring people to their maximum potential. >> what is the most surprising optimistic sign that you see so far with gabrielle giffords? >> i believe it's just the speed of her recovery. of the fact that when i see her every day, there is something new. so that's been quite challenging to us. which is great, because now we will have an opportunity to challenge her as well. >> well, it's certainly been amazing, remarkable progress for somebody that we said less than three weeks ago suffered this type of injury. dr. gerald francesco, thank you so much. >> thank you. take a look at what happened in one courtroom. we'll tell you what happened to cause one man to go after another. also, this morning, what is the most popular. you in the country? we'll tell you. 41 minutes past the hour. ♪ ♪ today was the day ♪ that i put everything in perspective ♪ ♪ i fell asleep ♪ when i woke up, everything changed ♪ ♪ and the sky was turned off ♪ that was before ♪ that was before ♪ you came along and you played me a song ♪ ♪ with a little bit of love ♪ and a little bit of yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ la la, la la [ male announcer ] at&t covers 97% of all americans. well, at 43 minutes past the hour. welcome back to this "american morning." you need to know that schools are closed in philly, new york, boston and new york today. did i say that already? >> yeah. >> what was the fourth one? philly, boston -- >> d.c. schools. >> d.c., that's the other one. good to have you here, stephanie. >> i said it first. >> i said it first. >> yeah, i said it. >> he knows my look. >> she looked at me sideways. and it has to do, of course, with all the snow. a lot of people saying over a foot in a lot of places. a few updates. this changes. jfk now scheduled to open at 10:00, newark scheduled to open at 9:00 a.m. but 1,000 flights are canceled in the area. you need to check faa website constantly also checking your own airline website. >> if you're trying to take a train anywhere, be aware that they're canceling routes. check amtrak.com to find out about that if you're trying to take the train instead. some tense moment snieinsid a columbus, georgia courtroom. that's the man with the chair. accused of trying to kill his sister. officials jumped in. officials say carter will not face any charges following that attack. gas prices seem like they constantsly go up. we're at $3.10 a gallon. would you drive this thing if you got 261 miles a gallon? >> not 260. >> 261. yes, you would. a volkswagen. revealing a new hybrid car that they say could get 261 miles per gallon. however, let me end on this note, they don't know if they'll ever make the thing. or at least unveiling the concept thing. just that concept, never making it to production. >> it's a great concept. i like that concept. we'll see if it ever happens. >> it's a great concept. stephanie? >> all i say, can you get a baby seat back there? it looks cramped back. >> if you weigh 100 pounds only, anything more, no, the load can't handle it. speaking of numbers the dow crossing the 12,000 mark but dropping down. >> yes, closed just below yesterday. for the people snowed in on the eastern seaboard, you need something to do today? read your 401(k) report. it may not upset. let's see what happened with the dow. the low was on march 9th, 2009. that's where it takes off. we closed just below 12,000 yesterday. that's a gain of 83%, my friends. for all the people that got out in the middle of receive session they missed out on all of this gain back. i know a lot of you are thinking, yeah, but are we back to where we were before the recession. the answer is not quite. about 50% away from that. all the-time high hit in october 2007, since then, we did a nice dippy-dip. and then come back. 15% away from that. the dow and s&p 500 closing at their highest levels since the summer of 2008, things are looking better for people. people getting ready for retirement. and people looking at their 401(k), which haven't been looking, which, by the way, you should be looking anyway, this is moving in the right direction. >> absolutely. >> people are not excited about it at all but it's positive. >> it is. that 12,000 is good news. >> it doesn't mean anything other than we're on our way back. >> thank you, stephanie. the american kennel club is out with list of the most popular breeds. the at number 21, labrador retriever. number two, german shepherd. number three, the yorkie terrier. >> beagle rising steadily. there's a cute beagle. overtaking the golden retriever. so the golden is now the fifth most popular breed in america. >> there go. i have a german shepherd/lab. >> i have a boston terrier. they snore. they're adorable but snore like crazy. very cute, though. >> in their own little way. >> exactly. >> i have cats, what do you want? >> people have cats. >> all right. on this "american morning," you do not want to miss this guest and this conversation that we're going to have this morning. you know him as an nba hall of famer and nba analyst. but do you think charles barkley is going to want to show up this morning and just talk about basketball? no way. also, how young is too young. walmart now selling a line of anti-aging cosmetics aimed at young girls? come on. we'll have the details. and all my investments, but it's not something that i want to do completely on my own -- i like to discuss my ideas with someone. that's what i like about fidelity. they talked with me one on one, so we could come up with a plan that's right for me, and they worked with me to help me stay on track -- or sometimes, help me get on an even better one. woman: there you go, brian. thanks, guys. man: see ya. fidelity investments. turn here. 52 minutes past of the hour. one of america's most popular and picturesque national parks has a little bit of a secret. yellowstone land of geysers and mountains and lakes is sitting on top of a giant volcano. it is causing miles of ground to rise dramatically. what does this mean? joining us right now is michi, a physics professor of the university of new york. thanks so much for joining us. >> glad to be on. >> the last time this happened was 6,040 years ago. we're due? >> forget old faithful. it is sitting on top of a sleeping giant. if you're sitting next to an 80-pound gorilla, you want to hear every snore of this gorilla because when it explodes, it will destroy the united states as we know it. >> i want to show people what we are talking about here when we talk about this super volcano. it is beneath yellowstone and been there as we know. i guess up to three times in 2.1 million years. what they are worried about they say the ground has started to swell in levels they have not seen before. ten inches in some places in the past year. what does that tell us? >> it tells us there is active in the super volcano which erupts roughly every 600 million years. the last eruption was 600,040 years ago. every single burp, murmur including the rise of the sea level has to be watched very carefully. >> so when we talk about this, we have pictures. we have pictures of mt. st. helen erupting in 1980. you say an explosion with this super volcano under yellowstone and would be a thousand times bigger than this. what type of damage are we talking about here? >> we are talking about immediate damage up to a hundred miles from the site that is total devastation and wiping everything in sight. the real damage goes to 500 miles if you include volcanic ash, death of wildlife and vegetation. that is a ring about a thousand miles across. that is the heart line of america. >> it would pretty much wipe out earth as we know it. >> it would be wipe out the united states as we know it. we don't to panic anybody. it could happen tomorrow or a hundred thousand years from now. it's black magic trying to predict exactly when it's going to blow, but we do know one thing. one day, it will blow. >> you say that something on this scale is what wiped out the dinosaurs? >> 65 million years ago another super volcano coincided with a meteor that hit mexico and we think a whammy that knocked out the dinosaurs. something we take seriously but the cycle time is measured on a scale of a hundred thousand a years. >> would there be anything to prepare or get people out? how much of a warning might we get with this eruption? >> all you can do it run. you don't get much warning. the ground starts to rise and more and more earthquakes take place and more ash and volcanic gases start to unleash. the only warning we have. we do not have a good way to predict volcanic eruptions. >> are we getting a better way to do it or at the mercy of mother nature? >> we are still clueless looking for the warning size. that is why the sudden rise in the earth even though is not immediately dangerous is looked at very carefully because we have no experience with super volcanoes. we have seen mt. st. helen's but a super volcano erupting in our lifetime we have no understanding of the scope of that thing. we see the evidence of previous eruptions. >> you're saying it could be tomorrow or a hundred thousand years but it's under there. >> it's there and it will happen. at one point it will destroy north america as we know it. >> scary. always great to talk to you and thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. you can check ous hi "physics of the future" that will be coming up soon. welcome to the department of negotiation. home to the latest deal making technology. our highly advanced thingamajigs and whatchamacallits are constantly gathering intelligence on the best deals for you. with name your own price, they're yours for up to 60% off. but we're always looking to improve. for instance, what does this have to do with finding empty hotel rooms? we're not sure. yet. [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car th automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ this is cnn breaking news. >> good morning. we are following breaking news on this thursday, january 27th. the latest on an explosion in davos where the world economic sum submit is taking place right now. >> we turn to our dr. sanjay gupta. meetings were taking place and now told about a little explosion. do we know yet if this thing was set by someone? was it a criminal act or could have this have possibly been an accident? >> we're just getting some more information along those lines, t.j. pretty convincing there was some sort of criminal activity here because e-mails were sent prior to this detonation device, as it's being called. e-mails were sent to people affiliated with the hotel and then to an organization that is part of a swiss media organization. so they threatened specifically to attack this hotel. the e-mails seem to have come from an anti-world economic forum group, they are threatening this exact thing. it was called a small detonation device. it was in the back entrance of a large hotel very close to where all of the meetings are taking place called the post hotel. you couldn't tell if it was thrown into the back entrance or the detonation device was already there. it blew out a window. we are not hearing of any injuries. this is an important hotel. a lot of the base of the swiss government stays at this hotel during this world economic forum here in davos. tonight a party planned with the special guest former president bill clinton and scheduled for 6:30 this evening. we think it's still going to go on. it gives you the context of how important it is. we are at the specific congress center where the meetings are being held. the hotel is a half a mile away from here. i was walking down the street and heard police in the area. the small town of 13,000, police started to talk about the post hotel when this first happened and we got a sense that something was happening. each over the last half an hour or so, you see evidence of increasing security now above some of the hotels now immediately adjacent to the congress center. you're seeing people on top of the roofs much these hotels, increasing security presence. no injuries but it seemed to be a criminal element, t.j., to your point. >> all right. sanjay, appreciate the update and continue to update our viewers on that story. thanks to our sanjay gupta covering that for us. criminal activity but, again, it looks like there was no injury associated with it. turn to the weather situation right now. it is a situation. the roads are a mess. the sky is going to be a mess for while today as well. you see this video. folks trying to dig out and still trying to get around. several cities right now have at least a foot of snow. we can tell you that the schools are closed in d.c., philly, new york, boston today. the federal government is going to be opening two hours late in d.c. and the major airports in the northeast right now are struggling to get up and running today. we announced a snow emergency. that means they need to get cars off the road in new york and boston so the plows can get through. they have closed schools in all of those cities. since mid december, it has actually snowed eight times in the new york city area, about once every five days. in boston, they have gotten 50 inches and counting so far this season. gobbling through their snow removal budgets. reynolds wolf is standing by this morning. one other note. we got word from amtrak they have suspended their new york to boston service as well because of the weather. >> no surprise. i mean, we have seen some very heavy snow as you mentioned around the region. south boston 11.5 inches of snowfall and standstill at the airport. they have had over 300 flights canceled or coming in or departing. one mode of transportation has been working pretty well at least since 7:00 last night is due to the cleaners that we have on the sidewalks. take a look at something. bob? bob crowley is our cnn photo journalists. let's show them the condition of the sidewalks. they have this down to a science. got a little bit of salt they put down but also cleaning this stuff off and as clean as can be. something else they have been working on have been the streets. let's hop out over here and give you an idea of what we got. some places where the plows have been coming through stacking up in a few places and advise if you don't have to get on the roadways, don't. i mean, use this as a good excuse to stay home. a lot of cars over there. the streets are passable for the time being. city services working and we have seen taxis and vans and buses and all kinds of stuff. speaking of the city. all city government offices are going to be open for today. everyone is expected to come into work. have fun with that. in terms of school, kids, all boston public schools, no kids have to go to school for the day. community centers have been open since 7:30 and through 6:00 tonight and some of boston's finest making their way on through working with no issues. guys, this could have been a lot worse. thankful the area of low pressure came through very quickly and slowed down a fraction or two, we might be talking about 6 to 8 inches of more snowfall. the highest point we have seen in this area 11.5. kick it back to you in the studio. >> so he is telling consider ourselves lucky. could have been worse. 6 more inches. thanks. >> it could have been far worse than this. >> let's turn to the airports and give you an idea of what is happening in the northeast. here's a look where we are right now. this is a changing situation but reagan national right now open. boston logan open. john f. kennedy is closed but they are trying to get up and moving over the next couple of hours. newark closed right now but going to reopen to departures in about an hour. and open to arrivals around noon. rob marciano is in the extreme severe weather center for this playing out for us and breaking records right and left with the snow. >> the totals in new york city puts you over the top for the month of january to break a record over 32 inches of snow. the snow for the most part has stopped but getting out and trying to clear the runways. these are airports we think will see delays after the airports you just mentioned open on later today. new york and boston and philadelphia over hour delays expected there. baltimore and d.c. a head start getting out there early because the snow stopped earlier to help you start to dig out. chicago and minneapolis and detroit and cleveland the next system a little snow coming in as well. here is the back edge of it. providence to boston seeing things wind down. you saw the live shot from reynolds wolf. doesn't look like it's snowing there. wind gusts 40 to 50 miles an hour with this system. a number of power outages across the board and this wasn't just confined to one area. from d.c. through delaware and baltimore and philadelphia and up through parts of jersey and boston, everybody getting a piece of this and temperatures hov hovering around the freezing mark. the snow has been pretty wet and that makes it even more difficult to snowplow but there is more in the way of snow coming in behind this system. but check out some of these totals. these are rising as we get out there to measure this stuff. clifton, new jersey, 19 inches and norwalk 17 inches and jersey city 16 and staten island 15 inches and milford 15 inches. i think central park will get over 16 inches because that was last measured at 1:00 morning at 15.3. next system coming in from the great lakes doesn't have the punch this system does. maybe an inch or two with this come tomorrow and another quick system coming in on sunday. it is accumulation of several storm systems over what has been a very long winter and we're not even into february yet. kind of just bear with us here. spring is not really right around the corner but it will be here eventually. >> exactly. can't come soon enough for us. thanks, rob. the storm september the federal government home early yesterday and grounded marine one. the president was forced to ride in a motorcade from air force one to the white house instead of the usual helicopter ride. he was on his back back from wisconsin. even the president had to deal with the d.c. traffic in the snow which is not fun. ride that took about 20 minutes, it took an hour. >> not only causing headaches for you and trying to travel but it is doing a number on city budgets. this is expensive stuff. take a look in d.c. they have spent about $39% of hair $6.4 snow removal budget and in new york city they have burned through their entire 38.8 million dollar budget. in boston, they have gone through about 66% of their 16 million dollar budget. the dow opening this morning at its highest level in nearly three years. 15 points shy of the 12,000 mark. the dow crossed that milestone yesterday but then retreated slightly later in the day. coming up, some scary video to show you of a very popular singer taking a tumble off a stage at a concert and knocked unconscious. also a little later while president obama did a double take yesterday in wisconsin when he met the local mayor. my name is rachel robinson. i am a banker with quicken loans. this is kathy, who i helped do her first home loan, and this is her sister tina, who i also helped do her first home loan. it was unbelievable how well it all fell together. kathy said, "well, let me give you rachel's number." easy. easy. easy. the whole loan process was simple and convenient! that's why i love quicken loans! [ male announcer ] and you'll be glad to know j.d. power and associates ranks quicken loans "highest in customer satisfaction." to learn more call 800-quicken or visit us online at quickenloans.com. ♪ my country ♪ 'tis of thee ♪ sweet land ♪ of liberty ♪ of thee i sing [ laughs ] ♪ oh, land ♪ where my fathers died ♪ land of the pilgrims' pride ♪ from every mountainside ♪ let freedom ring ♪ welcome back. show you some pictures right now. this is in dc. the affiliate there wjla has pictures of abandon cars. cars literally just people leaving their cars there on the road. you can see looks like a little strip in the middle there. one, two, three and then on the side, four, five, six. just in that shot alone of cars. you know, we almost did that this morning. we got stuck and i didn't know if we would have to leave our car. >> you got some help. >> thank goodness there is a good samaritan who had a plow on the front of his car and helped us out. a mess out there. in d.c., drivers aren't used to it. >> several places will be a mess. we will continue to update on the weather situation. the tucson shooting suspect, getting new information he actually searched the internet for information on political assassinations even lethal injections as well as solitary kvenment. this is coming to us from a law enforcement source. this is some of the newest information or evidence against jarrett loughner and some are saying this points to premeditation which would go directly in the face of any insanity he is trying to mount. in the meantime, doctors are using terms like lightning speed in giffords attempt to rehab. i had a chance to talk to the head of the rehab facility about what he has seen the most encouraging thing from gabrielle giffords. >> the speed of her recovery. the fact that when i see her every day, there is something new. so that's been quite challenging to us, which is great, because now we will have an opportunity to challenge her as well. >> doctors, though, say giffords' recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint. take a look now and take a listen at the tumble that singer jimmy buffett took on stage. you hear the crowd react there. he was giving a concert in australia when he fell off the front of the stage. now he apparently hit his head. he had to go to the hospital. he got several stitches but the 64-year-old was not unconscious but he has been released from the hospital. we believe he is going to be okay. >> poor guy. he got lucky, though. >> a nasty tumble. people doing a double take at walmart. mascara, body mist and exfoliating cleanser and on the line of anti-aging cosmetics, but marketed toward 8-year-olds. super bowl is coming up in dallas. good luck getting a cab if you're going. we will explain a possible boycott there? 14 minutes past the hour and try to keep it quieter in the studio. >> we're fine. everybody is okay here. ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ >> "us" magazine featuring elton john and his partner on the cover and their new baby boy triggered people in arkansas. manager of a grocery store decided to cover up the cover by using a family shield. complaints were called in about the shield and now the magazine is being sold again in harp's grocery store. this might be a little ridiculous. walmart is selling a line of makeup for girls 8 to 12 years old. this is called geo and contains no chemicals and supposed to have antioxidants to prevent aging. 8 to 12. we are reaching out to walmart for comment and haven't heard back just yet but they did point out at least about teaching this generation about beauty care in a responsible way, so teach them early and maybe they will pick up some things they can use later in life, maybe. >> how about we keep it at sun s sunscreen? that is antiaging. taco bell is responding to their beef is only 88% beef. they say the season the recipe is 88% beef and 12% seasoning, spices and water and other ingredients and add we're cooking with a prioritiary recipe. ohio congressman dennis kucinich sues over olive pit. a sandwich he bit down on three years ago. he was eating and bit into a olive pit and apparently had very serious damage to his teeth. he is suing $150,000 in damages and in that lawsuit, it actually says he sustained serious and permanent dental and oral injuries. he suffered a loss of enjoyment. >> poor guy. so much for civility and government. check out what happened in the scene in pennsylvania statehouse yesterday, lawmakers were all set to vote on a series of bills that would change the way state government operates and then this happened. >> representative, thank you very much. i know that the democratic people will take a roll call vote. >> representative mark -- >> no. >> are you telling us we can't debate the bill any more? is that what you're saying? >> representative, make your speech. please take the roll. >> we have members of the rules committee. we have members of the rules committee. on the house floor have a right to speak. >> may i speak? may i speak? may i? >> they have a right to speak. >> may i speak? >> you stifle us here, too? you can't! you can't! >> mr. chairman! >> i can't hear anything! >> we got elected to end -- >> mr. chairman! >> sit down! >> you should be ashamed of yourself. >> please take a roll call. >> mr. chairman! >> already on record. do you want to please cast your votes with the roll call vote? yes or no, frank yes or no. >> this is not fair. >> buxton. frankle. george. >> maybe they should go back to sitting separately. they shouldn't mix the republicans and democrats there maybe? >> that was very odd. >> it was very strange. again, maybe we need to send the memo to them about civility in our politics. speaking of politics, the president gave you state of the union the other night and now on the road trying to sell it. he was in wisconsin during a manufacturing plant there. he met the state's governor. local leaders come out and met the mayor of green bay as well. he kind of did a double take when he met the 24-year-old mayor of one particular town. >> he says he's the mayor of manitauk. i'm looking at the guy. i don't think it's true, but -- >> i met with him right when he walked in and i said i'm the mayor and he said, well, you're young. i said, yes, i am. a little jab but it's all in good fan. >> that would throw you off. walks up and claims to be the mayor. he doesn't look like it. before becoming mayor he worked at a grocery store and was a high school basketball referee. >> i think there is a 19-year-old somewhere. >> where was that? >> i can't remember. good. starting young. got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. speaking of young, justin bieber. do you think he is so young he doesn't know ozzy osbourne in his hey day? they are both teaming up for the first super bowl ad. best buy is saying they are only going to help the company tell the best buy story. i thought they would be rocking out together. >> when i first heard the story, i thought that was going to be the case but looking forward to the commercial together. something you do not want to miss this morning, charles barkley will be live here in the studio with us to make his public relations people nervous. the monster storm through the northeast leaving heavy snow, sleet and absolute gridlock on the roadroadways. we will have more update on the roads and the school closings. 23 past the hour. . ♪ 25 minutes past of the hour. welcome back to this "american morning." you think you are concerned about security on your facebook page? well, even mark zuckerberg needs to be concerned about the security on his. yes, the founder of facebook, he has been hacked apparently. at least his fan page has. listen to the message that was posted. i'm quoting here. let the hacking begin. if facebook needs money instead of going to the banks why doesn't facebook het its user invest in facebook in a social way. a reference there to the latest rounds of hundreds of millions of dollars in investment that the facebook has been able to put together lately. they are not commenting just yet about this incident. speaking of facebook and looking for ways to make money, they are rolling out a new way for advertisers to push their products. our stephanie elam is "minding your business" starri inring yo me. >> do you check in when you're on facebook? >> what does that mean? check in? >> you're younger than me. you go on your phone, here i am at cnn. check in. all of your friends will know that is where you are? that is basically giving a locator, some people don't do that but a lot of people like. >> the whole thing. this is going to be more than just liking or just checking in. what facebook is saying now they are going to have these sponsored stories that appear on the side of your facebook news feed and it will say, hey, t.j., starbucks second time today. kiran. taco bell, third time today. >> it's early. >> right? so it will look like this. the ad will pop up and it will show where you've been. now, a lot of people are upset about this because you can't opt out if you check in. if you do that, this will pop up. but it says it will only pop on your friends and only pop up on your friends pages. not on anyone else's so no different than the content you're posting. but if you're okay saying i checked in. >> headline where it is and put it with an ad. >> the company can put an ad along with it. >> he is at starbucks. i think i want a starbucks. >> i want to be there with you and they can stalk you. no, i'm just kidding. let's talk about the super bowl which is coming up on february 6th. a lot of people looking forward to it. never know. these guys might have tickets. no tickets? >> i wish. >> i don't. >> okay. we're not going. but for the people who are going, they may want to take a cab to get from the airport to the hotel, to the venue, whatever they want to do. that may be harder for people because the taxi association there is thinking about boycotting, because they are saying this new initiative in dallas with the natural gas taxis get to go to the front of the line of the airport is not fair and they will spend hours in line and so they may boycott the whole week. stuff going on the whole week leading up to the super bowls. fashion parties, and a lot going on in the city. because of that, they are saying this is not fair and if it was really about clean energy, if it was really about helping out the environment they would include hybrids. the city says this is not that big of a deal. only at the airport about 1,800 people will use a cab on a normal day. problem is super bowl is not a normal time and on top of it, a lot of people want to go out to eat and out to drink and they don't want to drive and want to be responsible. if the cabs aren't there, in dallas, texas, everything is spread out. there is work on that and litigation to try to make it go away. the city says it will not cause that much of a disruption so we will see. >> stephanie, appreciate you this morning. we have been following news out of davos, switzerland. a hotel hosting that forum, an explosion in the hotel. we are told a couple of windows were broken but swiss police say no one was injured. our dr. sanjay gupta was reporting from davos this morning that threatening e-mails were sent before the devastation from an anti-forum group. much more on that coming up. a lot of people waking up to a foot of snow and people are trying to get around but a lot of people not going anywhere including in new york city. got some 15 inches of snow. the roads out there are a mess. the airlines, airports are a mess out there as well. public schools close in d.c., philly, new york and boston today. more than a thousand flights have been canceled from d.c. to boston. some airports in the new york area still struggling to open up. the latest update that we got on that, by the way, is that newark is going to be reopening for departures in about 30 minutes is what they are hoping according to the faa website and opening to arrivals at noon. jfk hoping to reopen at 10:00 this morning. again, no closures at laguardia but many canceled flights. turn to sandra who is live with us in washington. difficult to do business in this kind of weather and not a lot of business in a lot of places today either. >> not a whole lot, t.j. and kiran. you can see the beautiful blanket of snow here on the national mall. the sun is out. the snow is melting slowly. this is what people are dealing with. take a look at the conditions. it turned to ice and it's crunchy and hard and what people have to shovel out from under their driveways and their cars and it's pretty much slow going this morning, as you mentioned. you can take a look, though, things aren't that bad because these major roads here have been plowed. but keep in mind this would be normal rush hour for the nation's capital but a lot of government offices have allowed their employees to come in about two hours later, so the public schools are closed as well. so a lot of people handling this with a lot of precaution this morning because there are dangerous conditions. a lot of the area airports you were talking about this, kiran. they are closed throughout the east coast. but here in d.c., a lot of the airports as well having a tough time with the snow and working furiously to make sure the runways are open. there were some closures yesterday when d.c. was hit the hardest. the snow is coming pretty much an inch an hour and 6 inches in all. this isn't anything like the snow apocalypse we dealt with last year. some people were stranded along the streets and highways yesterday. we were hearing stories and getting tweets about people who had commutes about four miles to get home. it took two hours. not a fun time yesterday. but, again, things are thawing out here and people are just taking it in stride. >> that's all they can do really at this point. two-hour delay for the federal government and they are saying if you can work at home, you can telecommute. they might let you do that. might be a better idea. >> oh, yeah. one more thing. you know, people take the good and the bad. of course, people from washington know how to handle the snow because of the experience from last year? well, facebook had a big gathering and a lot of people came out yesterday. if we have the video. forget this. a big snowball fight. what else? we like to fight, you know? it's a pretty partisan town here so that's what they did yesterday in the snow. >> there you go! making the best of it, all of those guys from california. maybe they don't see it very often. having fun out there. snowball fights. looking good. sandra endo, stay warm out there. thank you. >> okay. 33 minutes past of the hour now. take a look the what we got here. sir charles in the house! looking awfully serious this morning. come on, now, put a smile on your face, son! >> there he is! >> there he is! he is making his pr people nervous any time he does a live interview and we got him this morning. our conversation after the break. winter can be beautiful. 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>> lady gaga. chuck, show them how to do dougie! show them! >> you know i had to pull that out this morning. not that often i get to interview a friend. but i get that privilege this morning! charles barkley in the house. tnt, nba an list on the road. you got the big show tonight in town. the heat and the knicks. can you get a shot of those two guys standing right there? chuck travels with pr people. yeah, i got you on screen. how nervous are they right now any time you do an interview? >> they get nervous. i try to tell them it doesn't matter what you say. people are going to agree and disagree with it so they overreact. i will be honest and straightforward but i don't ever take the criticisms because it's all dictated whether you like their team or when it comes to fans, you say something good about their team or their players. they don't have any outside part of you. they want you to stay all positive stuff about their team or their favorite player. >> you famously said you're not a role model. are you a role model yet? >> to thank nike. young black kids are not getting their education. they think they are are all going to be lebron james and michael jordan and dwyane wade. sports is great and given me everything in my life but i wanted to start a debate. we do have black doctors and lawyers and teachers and firemen and policemen, but, unfortunately, if you look at the graduation rates, our black kids -- it's our fault. our parents, some of these parents have not done a good job. i want them to stop looking at black jocks and entertainers as the only way they can be successful. >> that is parents' fault. i guess media to blame as well because we hype these people up. >> we are. but we're making money. the people we are working for are making money. unfortunately, it has a negative impact on the black community and we, as black people, we as black people, have to take a better responsibility of that. >> you told me, you say all the time you love to say you were born too early. because in today's nba, these guys who -- a lot of people don't have hall of fame careers but making a whole lot more money you ever did. how much wealthier would you be if you played in today's nba? >> probably have another $200 million. first of all, i'm very lucky and blessed and don't hate on the young guys for making money. god bless them. it is what it is. because i made more money. bill russell who is a much better player than me and john havlicek, larry byrd. i mean, on the court. those guys are better players and it is what it is. i want them to appreciate it, though. >> you are broadcasting tonight from madison square garden. you and lebron made up yet? you were critical of him how he left cleveland. >> yes. >> but also of the move itself. you said and larry and michael y'all would never try to team up to make a super team. you want to beat those guys. are you ready to say that criticism maybe not warranted because it seems to be working out pretty well in miami right now. >> miami is going to win. they have dwyane. they are going to have a great team. my criticism, number one, about the way he handled the cleveland thing and all anybody would have been really concerned with. i think also we were a little disappointed. he was a two-time defending nba mvp. he doesn't leave his home. certainly a guy who was born in that area. people come to him. >> did you take this personally? that commercial when he said -- took a bite out of a doughnut? >> oh, no. i thought that was a hilarious. first of all, i'm a nike guy. first of all, i don't take too much that serious. one of the reasons i try to love having fun with basketball, it's just basketball. i tell people, only five real jobs in the world, teacher, fireman, policeman, doctor, somebody in the service. everybody else ought to chill out and enjoy life. >> politician, is that a real job? buzz a while back you wanted to be governor of alabama. have you given up? >> yes. it's so corrupt now. special interest groups and that is no fun. nobody wants to go to work every day and argue. >> you believe the civility thing they are trying to do now? >> they do that because there is no elections. they will get uncivil. once the election cycle was over, they became civil. i guarantee you two years when there is an election cycle they will be uncivil. >> take president obama out of this equation. who would you say the most talented politician in this country? >> wow, that's a great question. i don't see the next big star because you have to have the charisma, the personality to deal and get people to follow you. >> does sarah palin have it? >> she has "it" but she not going to win. i think she is good looking, but she not going to win. and there is no disrespect. they are not going to let a woman be the presidential candidate. >> not a woman? >> not going to let a woman. >> they said they wouldn't let a black man either. >> i think the republican party is a little bit different to the democratic party. i vote democratic because i think they represent a majority more of the people, the people where i came from, the people who don't have money. let one thing straight. politics is screwing poor people. politics is rich people screwing poor people. sarah palin i tell you will not be the republican candidate and i like her but let me tell you something. the good ole boy network will not let the woman be a front-runner of their party. who are we kidding is? >> something you like talking about and you feel like you need to talk about. you think gay marriage should be allowed in this country? >> sure. as a black person, i'm against any form of discrimination, whether it's ageism, sexism. also, you know, we always talk about race in america. a lot of black people full of it, too. race doesn't go one way. as a black person, i haven't been real through anything. studied my history. i'm against any form of discrimination and i think gay people, if they want to on get married, it's their own business. >> why don't you use twitter? >> twitter is for idiots! if anybody wakes up in the morning and want to know what i'm doing, they are an idiot! >> they want to know what you're doing! celebrity culture. >> this celebrity culture is so overrated. they use celebrities to make money. come on! >> who is using you to make money? >> well, i think, you know, i love my job at tnt. i'm very aware. but all of these -- you know what? hln, who is dating who and who said something about anybody else. you know? it is what it is. i don't take it personally. >> last thing here. one of the things in the time you and i always spend together that is one of the most endearing things about you is when you talk about your daughter. of all the things you've been through in your life, all of the mvp awards and the accolades and how proud are you going to be when she graduates? how proud of a moment is that going to be? she is about to graduate from college. >> you know, t.j., first of all, she is going to be the first barkley to graduate. i'm so pumped for her, because i tell all kids when i speak to them, graduate from college is a great accomplishment. worry about the job later but for her to actually graduate. number one, a barkley graduating. i'm going so proud. clearly, i hope i don't cry too much. but i'm going to be so pumped, because i tell kids all the time, to graduate from college is a great personal accomplishment. >> you never went back and got your degree? >> i got too much money to go back now. >> come on, man! you went through a whole speech about getting an education. >> you get 20 points and 20 rebounds, you don't have to worry about an education! i always say i don't have a college degree but i got a lot of people working for me. >> chuck! good to see you this morning. charles barkley, you heard it here, folks. kiran, i'll hand it back over to you. >> 20 points and how many rebounds? >> ten for a career. >> i twoted out that twitter is for idiots! thanks, charles. now we got something to talk about in our twitter stream today. the northeast getting pummeled again but we're not the only ones dealing with a snowstorm. rob marciano will join us with more on where this is headed next. we are giving you a firsthand look today what it is like to drive around in it. one of our producers is in brooklyn driving around today. if you didn't get your car off the road, you're probably going to be in for it today because some of these cars are literally buried along the sides of the street because of all plowing that is going on. we got another 15.3 inches. i think that is probably going to go up in central park breaking the record for january and chewing through our entire snow budget for the season here in new york city. so what a mess. >> all right. the boston highlight pick we have as well this morning? a mess there as well. so many places. so much snow. rob marciano, the stuff is piled up now. is it going to be melting any time soon? >> you know, i'm thinking may, april, yeah, we should get a good strong melt going with this one. >> very nice. >> it's going to be slightly above freezing today so that will help a little bit. not horribly cold. here are the latest numbers. check this out. central park now coming in at 19 inches. a foot and a half in central park! my goodness. philadelphia, 15 inches. newark got almost 19 inches. norwalk and new cannan, connecticut 17 and 18 inches of snow and came down in a hurry. it came down in a 24-hour period and winding down in boston. i think they got a foot or maybe an inch or two less than that. winds, we saw 40 to 50-mile-an-hour winds and a number of people without power especially maryland and delaware where the snow is mixed with sleet and freezing rain and weighed this down. this was a heavy wet snow event which is different from the blizzard which was dry and fluffy and blowing around quite a bit. a beast nonetheless and making it difficult to clear away when you have that much weight in something you try to move around. temperatures right now around 30 in boston. temperatures around the freezing mark in new york city. behind the front is not terribly colder air so we will see some melting today but mostly on the roadways where they are treated with salt and on the sidewalks. but the bulk of the snow which is piled up on the sides is going to hang around and will refrigerate the air tonight. temperatures will easily get below freezing tonight. john f. kennedy and battling to get open the runways. regardless a number of flights canceled and there is going to be delays where the flights have not been canceled. boston, baltimore and d.c. will see delays. chicago and minneapolis, detroit, cleveland, yeah, another snowstorm that is barreling across the western great lakes. here it is. this isn't the blockbuster event that we saw with this last one, but, nonetheless, it's got snow and warm and windy out west. you might see a couple of more inches of snowfall in new york city come tomorrow afternoon with this next one. that may put you over the edge for the snowiest month ever set february of last year. two years in a row for a blockbuster winter. guys, buy your gear and hold onto it. >> snow pants, i know. i haven't had to break these things out. come on. this is getting crazy! >> you got snow pants? >> yeah. >> i just got boots. i got to get pants? >> yeah. it's going to be a long winter. we will get you boots. >> and a jacket. >> a jacket? >> and a scarf? okay. anything else? >> all of these things are so strange. next you will see warmers for my hands. coming up, 13 football players from one university all had to go to the hospital. what is going on here? 9 minutes to the top of the hour. . receiving the bronze star, that was definitely one of my proudest moments. i graduated from west point, then i did a tour of duty in iraq. when i was transitioning from active duty, i went to a military officer hiring conference. it was kind of like speed dating. there were 12 companies that i was pre-matched with, but walmart turned out to be the best for me. sam walton was in the military, and he understood the importance of developing your people. it's an honor to be in a position of leadership at walmart. i'm captain tracey lloyd, and i work at walmart. ♪ 13 players from the same university team all having to go to the hospital. these players from the university of iowa, they were diagnosed with a muscle disorder, a stress-induced muscle disorder that can damage cells and cause kidney failure. they all had to be hospitalized and all in stable condition but they believe this may have been caused by some of the strenuous off-season workouts. >> unbelievable. >> yeah, 13 players. >> we will find out more from our medical unit about what exactly is going on here. five minutes to the top of the hour. be right back. ♪ we are getting close to the top of the hour. santa fe is that the place to be? are you still tweeting? >> i'm just laughing. i tweeted out that charles barkley thought that twitter was for idiots and we got a lot of twitter responses to that. >> they took offense to that. >> shockingly. the guy has an opinion. give him a break. >> i mark my word. in six months he will be on twitter. >> he will not! >> he has a new show to pitch. come on, he'll be on. >> talk about santa fe. >> they are mixing business and pleasure to create unique opportunities and jobs in the city. tom foreman takes a look at today's "building up america." >> reporter: santa fe is one of the oldest settlements in all of the west and draws thousands of old you're tourists interested in all that history. that is good for some businesses but not so much for some young professionals. >> i've been here about seven years and every summer i see around a dozen friends move on for jobs or more opportunity often than more exciting places like new york or portland, oregon, or places like that. >> reporter: that is where mix comes in. these are the founding members and this is mix. part social club and part networking business group and part town hall meeting. it's a once a month party and people are urged to meet and have fun and share ideas what they want their community to be. >> the idea is if you do get people involved in that, they feel more invested in the community and they want to stay and do want to invest their time here. >> reporter: to make that happen it has the backing of chamber of commerce and poses a challenge. the best answer gets a prize. kiran clark popped up one night to explain how he had use a 200 dollar prize to help disadvantaged teens with job training. >> with 200 dollars i would start a t-shirt company for

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