mentoring. what if home room were more than attendance taking and routine announcements? principal bill him nez agreed to try it. let's look at the data referring to standardized test scores as well as research on same-sex classes. let's con front it and see what we can do about it. now every morning for six minutes and 20 minutes once a week, the junior class splits into race and sex, and in just a few minutes we'll hear how it's working out. this is going to be a hot topic online. we want to hear from you. what do you think about all black home rooms. head to cnn.com/ali to hear what you have to say. this is an interesting subject. you can post on facebook, either my page or ali's page. we'll read your comments throughout the day. moving on to two at the top. it's been the snowiest wentr in a while in parts of the northeast. the flakes just keep on falling, a foot here, 19 inches there. all the big cities up i-95 were hit by this overnight nor'easter from d.c. to bogs ton. reynolds wolf is on the street in bean town. reynolds, that's an awful lot of snow again, again! >> reporter: absolutely. it just kept coming. we haven't seen the snowflakes since about 7:00 this morning. the wind has been dieing down. you look down and see the street. it looks pretty wet. but for the most part it's passable. if you're wondering where the snow is, it's right there. plenty of it piled up by earth moving equipment. now the roads are passable. people are able to get by. we've seen boston's finest out. all kinds of vehicles coming through. we've seen pedestrians out there enjoying the sunshine because there's plenty of it. we get to talk about some of the bad news. one thing is we mentioned this is wet, heavy snow. there was actually a building in lynn, massachusetts, where there was a roof collapse, 18 people were trapped. people have managed to get out. still a lot of the snow is going to remain. another issue we've got, about 3,000 power outages. that is another issue we had in part of the area. power is being restored to many people. another bit of good news, we had schools canceled for kids in boston. yet another snow day. the kids i'm sure are smiling. that's good stuff. city operations are open. a lot of the downtown, city hall was open. airport getting back to normal. there were about 300 cancellations in terms of arrivals and departures. amtrak is also open for trains trying to come in and out of boston in other parts of the northeast. nearly a foot of snowfall in 12 hours. city of boston handled it pretty well. however, christine, there's the possibility we may see more snowfall coming back to boston. thankfully it's going to be light. looking at one to maybe two inches of snowfall at best as we make our way through the weekend. as it stands, the snow is gone, today is a great day for both man and beast. boy, are we a long way from a dog days of summer. hard to believe in three or four months things will be much better. still, winter is here. >> reynolds, it looks likeup ear wearing fleece, though. how cold is it there? >> reporter: it's not bad. well above freezing. i'd say probably about 35 degrees at this point. >> when all that melts, it's not going to be bean town. it will be muck town, is that right? >> reporter: i would definitely say so. when it comes to temperatures, everything is relative. you happen to be in miami and you hear 34 degrees, that's pretty cold. but if you're up here in boston, break out the bermuda shorts and the sunscreen. this is a beautiful day. you've got to love it. >> and your gill loshs when all that stuff starts to melt. thanks so much. our sound effect may bring a tear to your eye unless you name is samantha and you live in britain. last week a lonely british soldier tried to phone his be loved samantha. apparently he misdialed and left a heart renteding message on the answering machine of diane pots. pots does not have a bo on the battlefield but knows an urgent message when she hears one. >> hi baby, it's me. i couldn't call you last month, but you know what it is like out there and i should be back in three months. i've got one more guy that's just been blown up. i feel so, i feel really sad. i really feel sad that i didn't get to speak with you now but i'll speak to you next month here. i love you with all my heart. and i was going to ask you, don't answer -- well, you can't answer but, um, will you marry me? >> wow. and it gets better. samantha apparently is pregnant. her soldier says can't wait to give birth to my baby. checking other big stories. overnight lockdown has been lifted at the army's proving ground in the utah desert that tests chemical and biological weapons. the military abruptly shut it down last night but wouldn't say why. during a routine inventory workers discovered a vile of nerve gas was missing. the missing vx turned up early this morning. the folks at dugway won't say where it was, why it wasn't where it should have been or if anyone has been disciplined. los angeles police report important breaks in the grim sleeper killing case. suspect lonnie franklin, junior has been charged in ten murders pleading not guilty. now they're investigating two more. these were women killed in the '90s, some sort of connection with franklin. meantime the department says it's identified most of the women in a huge batch of photos found in franklin's home. officers are still trying to track down 62 others. you got your high-tech drug smugglers with mini subs and more. these guys are caught on tape using a catapult to fling packages of pot across the mexico-u.s. border. these caught the eye of the crew at the arizona border control station. the smugglers slipped away. cops seized about 45 pounds of marijuana, the suv and the cat bult. 5,000 dead black birds littering the ground in arkansas. now a state report confirms preliminary findings that the birds died of blunt trauma. they apparently flew into obstacles triggering internal bleeding. why some educators think separating races in schools is a good idea. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. dine like you're in new york city the next... catch chicago acts... orlando-style fun... even moscow nightlife. that's the freedom of freestyle cruising -- only on norwegian cruise line. 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[ female announcer ] so book today. freestyle cruising. only on norwegian cruise line. 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. our show began with a story that sounds like a throwback to the bad old days. students at a public high school separated by race. what's happening in lancaster, pennsylvania, is far from black and white. it's a mentoring program conceived by an african-american teacher designed to close an achievement gap that was painfully clear in last year's standardized testing. 60% of white students scored proficient or advanced. even fewer black students aced math. now for a six-minute daily home room and 20-minute class once a week, the classes are split by race and sex and talk about the future. >> i specifically looked at research that focused on african-americans, what was best for their academic needs. one thing that some of the studies side from maryland was mentoring. so we were already running with that idea. and they actually emphasized same-gender mentoring. so i proposed the idea to run an african-american male and female home room to the principal, and he was on board with it. >> the first thing we started with was creating a schedule and a list of things and objectives that we needed to accomplish. then we broke it down into how we could do that each day. there's a 20-minute home room once a week and six minutes the other days. if we have objectives, it's a matter of how we're going to express those in that time. >> so far we're learning about education, the percentage of black women in high school, college and how much they succeed. >> what have you found out that's been surprising to you? >> that the black women get more bachelor's degrees than black men. >> and has it inspired you to think differently? >> yeah, it has. >> or plan for different things? >> it makes me want to go to college and be one of those people who become successful in life. >> we invited school officials to join us but they declined. still, i want to talk about the challenges schools like mccasskey are facing. it sounds like something, a school who is on the ground taking a look at what their situation is and trying to fix it, really from -- school by school. we hear that so often, that in education sometimes it's the school itself that can figure out what its own challenges are and can fix it. it's against the backdrop, pedro of painful memories in this country of segregation. that is something that is a scar and a historical burden that we still grapple with. is this school doing the right thing do you think? >> well, they certainly sound well intentioned. that teacher that was just interviewed sounds like she clearly wants to help the students. i think what she needs to be aware of is sometimes when we separate students in this way we inadvertently reenforce stereotypes and may, in fact, stigmatize children by suggesting there's something wrong with them and that, therefore, they need extra help. clearly there are white students who also need help. so i don't see any reason why they need to separate based on race. they should separate based on who needs help and provide them with extra support. it sounds like they're doing a good with the supports based on what the students said. but i would be wary of an approach that focuses exclusively on race. >> one thing some of the teachers have said there is the research shows that when kids have a mentor who is like them, who they can look up to, that that helps them, that that's something that really motivates them. one teacher in particular quoting martin luther king junior to his students and saying the progress -- the progress in such a short time has been that the men are buttoning their shirts and pulling up the saggy pants and are starting to act with a little more discipline on the outside at least because of some of the teaching from martin luther king junior. is that something that we've seen in the research that when you separate children out by race or sex, i guess is probably more often we see that in this country that, that helms them? that when they're with their peers, such a specific peer group that they do better? or do we not know? >> no. there is research showing the benefits of mentoring and certainly the benefits of having a teacher or an adult mentor who shares your background. not simply with respect to race, but your social experience, someone who you can identify with is certainly beneficial form many students. i would say that's a good thing u. it's the reason why we should have diversity in the teaching profession and make sure we're exposing children to diverse role models. >> do you think this school -- a lot of people are talking about this, we're asking for comments on the blog. a lot of people continue to sort of speak out about this. do you think that this might be, i don't know, misunderstood by people outside of the school district who see this story and say, oh, this is segregation again in america, when it might be a little more nuance than that? >> the truth is we have many, many schools throughout the united states that are still segregated, not by law, but by fact. they're segregate $because the neighborhoods are segregated or because the districts have not done enough to make sure there's equal access to all schools and have taken steps to diversify them. they should be outraged about it throughout the country. a program like this that's designed to help kids is really of a different nature because it's not done to keep kids apart. it's done to try to provide additional support. that doesn't mean, though, that they might not be making a mistake. as i said before, the stereotypes that send the message to kids that because of their race or their gender, that they're less capable and less smart, are very pervasive in our society. this could be the message that some kids get. so i would question why they need to segregate kids on the basis of race, if there are white students who also need support, they should be in the program as well. >> one thing about it as a surface, you see segregating these kids out and you think -- you immediately harken back to some pretty terrible days in this country. but it is six minutes a day with a 20-minute mentoring session every other week or something. do you think even on such a small basis, six minutes a day in the home room and the 20 minutes every other week, you still think they have to be very careful about how they proceed with this? >> yeah, and i also don't think that's enough time. if these kids are struggling in math and literacy, they need more time than that and need to make sure they're using after school and finding other ways to get the additional instruction. i would say they should search for more time and try to make it inclusive and avoid the tendency to stigmatize the students. >> one thing that is clear the schools are looking attest scores and looking at what's happening in their own schools and trying to figure out ways to address it. that shows you there are people who care about trying to fix education in this country and help kids. >> and they should be commended for that. i think that's the main point, is that the district and the educators there are trying to do what they can to support the students. they should be encouraged. at the same time, they have to be careful in how they go about it. >> thank you very much for your time. appreciate it. >> thank you christine. we asked for your comments online. clint posted this on facebook, it sounds like a useful program and the students have great mentors. i'm not convinced separating the black students from everyone else is necessary. this being said, at least the school is attempting to do this. stephanie says as an african-american educator i understand the importance of students having role models. i applaud testify fort but it bothers me if it's not being done for all groups who are struggling. and this one says i just fear that these kids are being cheated out of learning to with the others and for having mentors that maybe a little different from them. the commission that explored the 2008 financial melt down has put their report out today. we'll tell you about in two minutes. see your lexus dealer. i was living on welfare and supporting a family of four. after i got the job at walmart, things started changing immediately. then i wrote a letter to the food stamp office. 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[ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... the government commission that explored the causes of the 2008 financial meltdown is out with its final report. the commission says the crisis could have been avoided had the government been on the ball, challenging the negotiation by many on wall street and washington that the crisis could not have been foreseen. it faults the policies and actions by every major government figure involved in the crisis in both the bush and the obama administrations. the commission tells the story of banks turning out trillions in poor quality home loans, rubber stamped by rating agencies and sold to unsuspected investors all around the world. these and other practices were carried out in a, quote, shadowed banging system which was almost entirely unregulated. you can join me on "your bottom line" saturday morning at 9:30. don't miss your "your money." we're there talking about it seven days a week. checking develops in the top stories t labor department says 454,000 americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. that's 51,000 more than the week before, much higher than most economists expected. claims have been on the rise since dropping below 400,000 four weeks ago. it's nasa's annual day of remembrance when the agency honors its fallen heroes. tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the "challenger" explosion that killed seven astronauts. 44 years ago today three apollo astronauts died in a fire. firefighters are battling a stubborn place at the norfolk, virginia, naval station right now. it broke out in an empty warehouse. navy firefighters and city crews are on the scene. no word on what started the fire. so far no injuries reported. travel is treacherous if not almost impossible across much of the northeast today. a fast-moving storm piled up another six to 18 inches of snow from virginia all the way to maine. hundreds of flights canceled. schools and many government offices are closed. thousands are without power in the d.c. area. robert gibbs said he would leave the white house sometime after the state of the june june. is the white house getting close to announcing his replacement? ed henry is reading the tea leaves. he joins me next. plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. [ female announcer ] one a day women's. another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. robert gibbs said he would leave the white house sometime after the state of the union. the state of the union was tuesday night. ed henry was up all night gazing into his crystal ball. are they any closer to announcing a decision on his replacement? >> reporter: robert gibbs himself yesterday said the president is very close to naming a successor. last night i was talking to senior white house aides about it and they're making it sound like it's pretty eminent. it's kind of like the detective work we try to do when we get the signals -- it's like looking for the new pope coming out. is it gray smoke, black smoke, white smoke? what's going on? what's interesting is you come in early this morning and we're looking for any signs something is going on, making calls. you always know when something is about to happen at the white house when everyone goes dark. they're not returning calls, not returning e-mails, or you send an e-mail and get this very vague response. rather than a no, that's not happening. it seems very likely -- i bumped into one staffer today who said if not today, probably tomorrow, we'll see a new press secretary. at 1:30 robert gibbs is coming out and doing a briefing. there's always a possibility he may bring a visitor or two, maybe a successor, maybe the president announcing someone. that could happen today, tomorrow, very soon is what we're told. i think there's a pretty interesting cast of characters up for this job. >> tell us about them. frankly i'm honored in three minutes this could happen and you're standing here talking to us. >> reporter: i'm not predicting he's going to announce it at 1:30. i'm saying you never know because we keep hearing it's pretty eminent. i've heard from senior democrats the president has whittled this down to two finalists and the person who seems to be the front-runner right now is jay carney. he's been the vice president's communications director, very well respect phd the media because he used to be at "time" magazine. also vice president biden, let's state the obvious, sometimes has communications challenges. >> no. >> jay carney has done a pretty good job. he occasionally puts his foot in his mouth, once in a while. is really rare. jay carney in one respect, the folks who will decide this, the one person is the president. but i'm told that people very close to the president, pete rouse and various counselors like that have very high marks for jay carney. they think he's done a pretty good job. others in the mix, bill burton who has been robert gibbs' deputy, he's certainly in the mix. he's done a very good job every time he's filled in. he's the only person i remember being at the podium when robert gibbs is not around. he has one thing working against him, rahm emanuel left. he's very close to rahm emanuel. i think if emanuel hadn't run for mayor, burton would be more likely to get it. right now he doesn't have the strong advocate like emanuel around. karen finney, the former dnc spokesperson and josh ernest. we're all watching this closely. we could get something as early as this afternoon. >> i think we're looking at pictures of stephanie cutter with tim geithner in the file photo. she's somebody during the crisis was just right there with treasury department crafting the response and what the public image was going to be. >> the first hundred days she was a senior counselor at the treasury department, a baptism by fire and tough communications and strategy work. i think an interesting factor here, there have been a lot of people saying stephanie cutter doesn't want this job. she also is pretty close to the first lady. she has been an outside adviser, working with the first lady during the transition back in chicago a couple years ago. i would never underestimate the power of the first lady. if you want to check on that see jarrett, comma, valerie. very close to the president but also very close to the first lady. that enables her to wield enormous cloult around here. >> you mentioned bill burton is one of the only people we've seen stand up when gibbs is out. that's because this person is never out. this is a person that is working 24-7. there's a reason you only do this a year and a half or two minutes at the most. you're a charming guy, but you have to stand in front of people like you who your job is to really be on point with them. >> yeah. throw some hardballs at them in the briefing every day. they're knocked around some days like the piñata when there's something like the oil spill going on. it's not the president standing there in the briefing room. it's you as a press secretary with those incoming missiles. i think, you know, i talked to people like marlon fits water who had this job back in the reagan and bush 41 days. he'll say that's more than the internet took off, before we had all the cable channels and the bottom line is this is a 24- 7 job. everybody is tied to the blackberries firing questions to him. by the way, i like having you here, you said something about me being charming. i don't usually get that from ali. >> you're welcome. i'm not sure i'd want to stand on the other side of the podium answering your questions, ed. ignoring death threats against him, a major egyptian opposition leader returns home to join an effort to topple president hosni mubarak. more live from cairo coming next. happening now, much of the northeast is digging out after being hit by a major snowstorm that brought record snowfall to some areas. more than 1,000 flights were canceled at new york's three major airports while hundreds more were canceled in philadelphia and boston. president obama is taking his message to the net today. we'll answer questions submitted to youtube during an interview on youtube set to air at 2:30 eastern. mexican authorities are investigating the shooting death of an american missionary yesterday near the city of san hernando. officials say 59-year-old nancy davis and her husband were trying to drive away from the gunmen when davis was hit. another dramatic twist in the stunning revolt against egyptian president hosni mubarak. nobody pell peace prize winner mohamed el bar ro day. cnn joins me from cairo. what's your reaction to el barrow day's return? >> reporter: certainly many people here in egypt are following this with a lot of interest, christine. we should say that when he arrived at the airport earlier tonight, just a couple minutes ago, his supporters were not allowed to greet him there. however, he did say that he would work for peaceful change in this country, he also said that he felt that the protests here had gone beyond the point of no return. clearly he believes that change is about to come about here. the big question here is going to be is he going to spearhead this change. right now, as you know what's going on here most of these protests are being organized by facebook and twitter groups. the protest here doesn't have a face at this time. we'll see by tomorrow when he said he'll join the protests, whether or not he'll become the figure behind this uprising. >> that's just fascinating that social media plays a part in this. we've seen this over the past couple years, people finally getting a voice and able to communicate with others about these sorts of issues. can you tell us about today's protests and what we can expect tomorrow? i guess big protests are expected after friday prayers. >> reporter: tomorrow is really the day everybody is looking at because a lot of groups have called for protests tomorrow. there have been again big appeals on twitter and facebook to make that a day of protests. certainly we're expecting major demonstrations throughout the country. of course, the biggest here in coy row, but places like alexandria and suez. the biggest opposition group has called for its members to take part in this protest. certainly we can expect more from that. today the town of suez, about an hour and a half away from here, there were violent clashes there with people who were injured. i was in that town earlier today. people there were telling me the same thing, that so many people here in this country say. they say they want change right now because they feel that their economic situation is not what they want it to be. they say there's almost no jobs available for people in this country and inflation is killing them right now. they can't afford to even live here. people say they're fed up. they want change. it's not clear whether or not that's going to topple the government. but there is a very, very angry mood in a lot of places here. >> all right, fred, thank you so much. food prices is something really interesting that we'll continue to watch as food prices rise around the world. turning the the latest middle east country racked by antigovernment protests. thousands of people took to the streets of the capital in yemen. they say they've been inspired by the political upheaval that ousted the leader of tunisia and spread to egypt. they've demanding improved living conditions. yemen is a haven for al qaeda militants and its president is a key u.s. ally in the fight against that terrorist group. for the most part today's protests were peaceful. one opposition leader says he fierce yemen is going to be ripped apart. appliances of the future. they will talk to you. they will talk to the repair center, they will speak through your phone and speak to the technician and even show you how to save some energy. we have a live in-studio demo right after this quick 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[ squawking ] 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. ♪ [ upbeat instrumental ] [ rattling ] [ gasps ] [ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announcer ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car is in an accident, - [ laughing continues ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote. t adththod it's dif - alcium crhea [ male announcer ] not all steel is created equal. not all manufacturing processes are created equal. not all engineering standards are created equal. which is why not all luxury vehicles are created equal. the hard way means never taking short cuts. the hard way is how lexus inspires absolute confidence. this is the pursuit of perfection. see what it takes at lexus.com/thehardway. sf i had to pick one word this year when it comes to technology. i would say connectedness. it's the concept that every part of our lives is being connected by technology, our jobs, our cars, our home. in today's big i, we want to focus on this concept of smart appliances. here newspaper the studio we have martin olson from kenmore, the product development manager. they have developed ken nor connect, it's won several awards, a popular science best of what's new award. tell us about the technology and what it does and how it connects us. >> thank you vor having me here today, christine. we have kenmore connect. it's an innovation that allow it is machine to not only self diagnose itself if it thinks it has a problem, but it also will talk to our technical experts sitting back at our call centers. i can give you a quick demonstration. >> sure, please, please. this is my cell phone -- not mine. it's yours. we'll pretend it's mine. we'll pretend this is my beautiful set of electronics. >> we have a toll free number, 1-800-4my-home. it will call a call center and you'll get on the phone with a technical expert. that technical expert will then say, okay, i want you to put my home in front of there and press that button and hold it. hold it for about three seconds. now you can let go. >> it sounds like a fax machine. it's talking to the center telling it this is what's wrong with me. >> yes. what's actually happened is the machine has gone in and it's surveyed about 100 different points of data and actually creating that audio stream. it's data, and it's broadcasting it over your phone to the call center. >> wow. >> and what happens -- i'll give you a little example, just a little screen shot here, of what takes place. kenmore connect again. as that stream comes across, it's being recorded, and it's being annualized. once the material or once the data has been analyzed, it gives you an answer. it say, you may have used improper amount of detergent, so there's too murn sudsing taking place. >> the whole point is to save me money and save me time. it will help me figure out, with my smart phone, i can find out when the best time to use the washer and drier to use the least amount of energy, i can start and stop it from different locations. >> those are the things that are going to be coming in the future. today we have the ken nor connect so you get it right the first time when it comes to a repair. >> this saves a guy coming to my house, charging me $100, whatever it will be to fix it. this saves you time and saves you money. >> absolutely. absolutely. but moving forward, what's going to happen is we're going to have these machines connected to the smart grid, and the word smart grid is going to be on everybody's lips. >> what is the smart grid? if somebody is watching saying what's the smart grid? i want to wash my clothes. i don't have a smart phone. i just want to wash my clothes. >> smart grid is going to be a way for the machines to actually talk to the industry, talk to the power industry and say when is the best time to run this machine? what's going to save me the most amount of money. there will always be people that need to wash right now. smart grid will tell the machine when is the best time to run and save the most amount of money. >> you guys at kenmore are actively looking for ways to incorporate this explosion of technology where we're all connected constantly all the time. there's no reason why we shouldn't be connected to the stuff in our house. also as we're busier, two-income families an everything, customers are demanding this? they're demanding ease and a simpler way of using their appliances. >> that's right. kenmore is all about trying to make people's lives simpler. >> is it going to cost more? >> actually, that's the best part. under the current kenmore structure there is no cost to the consumer for use that system. >> that is because why? because you're saving money someplace else with it? >> it's already built into the machine. we already have the system in place to service people. so now it's just a matter of actually the machine talking. you don't have to sit there and describe, it's clunking and grinding, you don't have to do that anymore. >> i'm not an appliance repair person. i don't know what's wrong. it just isn't working. are we looking at a day in the near future, my lifetime, where my whole house is all connected and these appliances are running and telling me when they need to be fixed or telling the company when they need to be fixed and i'm left out of the loop? >> i think that's a reality. i think what will happen is the machines will start being connected, not so much talking to each other, but talking to the power industry and saying, again, how can i save you money? what's the best time to run this machine? it won't be just your laundry machines. it can be your refrigerator. it can be your stove. you stove can actually send a text message -- >> your banana bread is done and i've e turned myself off and it should be ready the eat in ten minutes. all right, thanks so much. the big i, we love doing that here. to check out the connect for yourself, head to ali's blog. checking the latest developments. winter storms are keeping much of the northeast grounded. more than 1,000 flights canceled in the new york area alone. hundreds more canceled in boston and philly after states saw record snowfall here. at the top of the hour, homeland security secretary janet napolitano expected to announce that this color-coded terror system will soon become a thing of the past. the new system is expected to take effect in april and will focus on specific threats in geographical areas. the current system was developed after the september 11th attacks and criticized for being too confusi confusing. a new report says the 2008 financial crisis could have been avoided. the commission said federal authorities failed to curb reckless behavior on wall street and bare much of the blame for the financial blowup. it seems no one escapes fault. the commission cites policies under both presidents bush and obama and actions taken by the federal reserve under alan greenspan and current chairman ben bernanke. sarah palin is in excellent shape. john king will have the details next. i got into one of the most expensive schools in the country! 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[ high male ] fizz, fizz. all right. i love this. time now for a cnn political update. chief national correspondent yawn king joins me now from the political desk in washington. john, harry reid giving the president an earful when it comes to earmarks, i hear. >> yes, christine, those special projects that congressmen bring the bacon back home to their districts. you heard the president saying he'll veto any spending proposal with earmarks in it. the republicans like that message. a lot of democrats are saying wait a minute, including harry reid. in an interview in an interview said back off, mr. president. the money's going to be spent anyway. a little tension between the president and fellow democrats. now let's move on to sarah palin. if you look at her political action committee, christine, at the moment, she's in pretty good shape. the most recent disclosure for sarah pac showed $13 in the bank, no debt. raised 280 grand at the end of 2010. right now she's paying a small staff. and christine, this one is very important to you because you're a daughter of iowa. jim demint told wolf blitzer just yesterday, i'm not running for president. a big tea party favorite. some advisers to jim demint are saying he's still going to think about it even though he's saying no way and making a trip to iowa, hmm, to attend an event out there for steve king, the congressman. some of his advisers say he's keeping the door a little bit open. you'll have competition if you enter the iowa caucuses. >> i don't think i'm qualified. unlike rahm emanuel, i can't say that i went to washington, i've lived in new york for ten years. this is the time of year when our spies in the des moines airport and over there in davenport across from the mo lean airport tell us when this he see somebody famous coming through town, right? >> we are at that kind -- they're signing up the activists and sneaking in to meet with people. if they've written a book, they're doing book signings. that's the way it goes. there are at least a dozen people in the republican side thinking about it. to raise all that money, they've got to the decide pretty soon. >> i first got the taste of the news business years ago when every couple years you would have people come into town and it piques your political activism interest. it's part of the siblg of life in iowa. thank you so much. your next update just about an hour away. a tug of war on just who placed that piano on a sandbar in florida. can you believe that picture? first two filmmakers said they did it, then two teens said not so fast. the answer, who put the piano on the sandbar right after the break. to keep in balance after 50, i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has gingko for memory and concentration plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. [ female announcer ] one a day women's. ♪ 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 ♪ and the life you want to live. with rheumatoid arthritis, there's the life you live... fortunately there's enbrel, the #1 most doctor-prescribed biologic medicine for ra. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, fatigue, and stop joint damage. because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, and other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis. ask your doctor if you live or have lived in an area where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. and help bridge the gap between the life you live... and the life you want to live. 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[ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kao. succeed. >> this was an interesting comment. what if you're biracial, what classroom do you go to? what is one of the america's oldest towns doing to keep its youngest residents from leaving? you might be surprised. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor about your medical history and find an arthritis treatment that works for you. ask your doctor about celebrex. and, go to celebrex.com to learn more about how you can move toward relief. celebrex. for a body in motion. series today, how one city in the southwest is tackling a familiar problem. how to keep their youngest residents from leaving. here's tom foreman. >> reporter: santa fe is one of the oldest settlements in all of the west and draws thousands ever tourists interested in history. that's good for businesses but not so much for some young professionals. >> i've been here about seven years. every summer see around a dozen friends move on for jobs or more opportunity often in more exciting places like new york or port laund, oregon, or places like that. >> that's where mix comes in, the founding members, and this is mix. part free-form social club, part business networking group, part town hall meeting. mix is a once a month party in which young people are urged to meet, have fun and share ideas about wa they want their community to be. >> and the idea is if you do get people involved in that, they feel more invested in the community and do want to stay and invest time here. >> reporter: to make that happen, mix poses a question or challenge which participants answer on video. the best answer gets a prize. kir rin clark hopped up one night to explain how he used a $200 price to help disadvantaged teens with job training, particularly in green industries. >> with $200, i would start a t-shirt company for youth who can help. >> he got the money, his group youth works used it to make t-shirts to sell at the next mix event to raise more moneyton provide more training, everyone wins. >> we're trying to train these kids in industry so they kind of have a foot ahead maybe, you know, when it comes down to finding a job in the green industry for them. they'll have the experience, hopefully. >> reporter: but mix gets something out of the process too, a steady stream of information about what matters to the young people in this town. in many ways this is really about a very old fashioned idea, getting people toby vest in each other to, pay attention to local schools, to look at local issues, to settle down and call this home. >> it make for a much more active, proactive and involved community. you get more responsive local government. >> reporter: it is remarkably simple idea and yet dozens of young people here will tell you, it is working like a real live internet chat room connecting people and ideas across the spectrum. >> it feels like we're on the cusp of sort of a creative innovation-based economy. all it takes it a little nudge tong get people together and realize that their working transform or enliven the place. >> or even keep notoriously restless young workers happy and here. tom foreman, cnn, santa fe. ? >> you're looking live at homeland security secretary janet napolitano speaking at george washington university just minutes ago, she announced the end of the color-coded terror alert system and says it's being replayed by more detailed advisories about specific threats. the announcement came at her annual assessment on the state of our homeland security. checking developments and our top stories, the labor department says 4/54,000 americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. that's 51,000 more than the week before. this is much higher, folks, than most economisted expected. claims have been on the rise since dipping below 400,000 four weeks ago. nasa's day of remembrance. tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the "challenger" explosion. 25 years. that killed seven astronauts. 44 years ago today, three "apollo 1"" astronauts died in a test run for the first moon launch. eight years ago next week, seven "columbia" astronauts died when the shuttle broke up on reentry. firefighters have just about extinguished a blaze at the norfolk, virginia, naval station. naval firefighters and city crews are on the scene, still no word on what start add the fire and so far no injuries reported. a stop me if you've heard this one before. freezing temperatures, snow piling up in the northeast. that's right, the region getting socked again. we'll take you there next. from d.c. to new york seems like the northeast can't get enough snow these days. karen mcginnis is the cnn severe weather center. i was in newark twice the past two weeks and there's almost a two-story pile of snow there. it's so tall. i'm telling you, huge, huge. >> and they desized your plane. >> i made it. >> i'm going. i'm good to go. well, in case you were wondering if this was any kind of record-setting snowfall winter, it has been. look at central park. the old record in excess of 27 inches. the new record three feet of snowfall. it's amazing. they've gotten considerably more than what they typically would for this time of year. laguardia, seen about 32 inches of snowfall. so yeah, let's show you some pictures as we look at some folks driving along new york city and all the snow fall that has piled up there. then they said we're going to take on this mta bus and move it. apparently mta is doing pretty well. i know these big snowfalls which there have been two storms so far this winter that dumped in excess of 18 inches of snow each. but anyway, just getting around is extraordinarily difficult. i looked at delays at jfk and laguardia. they're on the order of one to two hours. at least they're open. >> right. >> when you check back to new york, maybe this will be a blur. >> it's mamazing. all of this stuff happening to get these planes out. it is a record. we're not imagining it. it is a record winter so far. >> and i know how much time, but there's a clipper system that moves through over the next 24 hours, a little bit of a snow and then another system moves this weekend. a little bit of snow. it's not going to be one of these mammoth systems that moves through. so it will just put icing on the cake. >> it's fun for the kids. the sled had is will stay snowy. there's more pictures. thank you so much, karen. the much mocked color coded terror alert system is out. we'll tell you what's replacing it right after the break. do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down? so i asked my doctor about reclast because i heard it's the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment. he told me all about it and i said that's the one for nana. he said reclast can help restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture for twelve months. and reclast is approved to help protect from fracture in many places: hip, spine, even other bones. [ male announcer ] you should not take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, kidney problems. or you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily. tell your doctor if you develop severe muscle, bone or joint pain, of if you have dental problems, as rarely jaw problems have been reported. the most common side effects include flu like symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain and headache. share the world with the ones you love! and ask your doctor about reclast. or call 1-866-51-reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women. just tuning in, here's what you've missed. a pennsylvania public school is segregating some of its home rooms by race. at mccaskey high school, an african-american teacher came up with the idea of a mentoring program for six minutes every morning and 20 minutes once a week, the junior class splits by race and sex designed to close an achievement gap after last year's standardized testing showed 60% of the white students scored proficient. even fewer black students aced math. janet napolitano just announced the u.s. is getting is rid of the now familiar color coded terror alert system that's been in place since after september 11th. in instead, homeland security will use a detailed advisory to advise us about specific threats. the new system will include information with steps authorities are taking to guard the public and what the public should do. it is expected to take effect in april. no more orange, yellow, blue or green. president obama is taking viewer questions live right now on youtube. visitor submitted nearly 140,000 questions for the president who is going to answer some of them live in the interview. questions ranged from concerns about paying for college to paying congress to the high price of health care. mexican authorities along with the fbi and other u.s. agencies are investigating the shooting death of an american missionary yesterday near the city ef san fernando. officials say 59-year-old nancy davis and her husband were trying to drive away when she was hit. her husband sam drove their truck across the rio grande and got to her a hospital. friends say the family had lived in mexico since the 1970s. a new report says the 2008 financial crisis that caused the recession could have been avoided. the financial crisis inquiry commission said that federal authorities failed to curve reckless behavior on wall street and bear much of the blame for the financial blowup. it seems no one escapes fault. the commission cites policies under presidents bush and obama and actions taken by the federal reserve under alan greenspan and the current chairman ben bernanke. >> i think it's very important that women who come to davos feel include in all the discussions, that there isn't a conversation going on between ceos and sometimes men and the women just stand there. >> why is she speaking out at the world economic forum? we'll tell new globe trekking up next. the burning question for the middle east and the obama administration right now the growing demonstrations against 30 years of an authoritarian rule. a dramatic turn of events today despite death threats against him, nobel peace prize winner mohammed el bear die returned to cairo vowing to join the ranks of the protesters. that's him with the bald head and glasses. joining me with his take on all this, michael holmes from cnn international. what does elbaradei bring to the opposition? >> good to see you. i think international credibility for one. i mean the guy's known. he's a nobel peace price laureate. the guy's got street cred. inside egypt he's admired by many in perhaps let's say the liberal elite if you like. grassroots not so sure. doesn't have a political party. he says he's just going to be on the streets friday. of course, expecting big protests friday because it's friday prayers. that's a traditional sort of protest time, as well. >> what's the problem for mubarak snek it's not like they're getting behind somebody. elbaradei comes in and there's no real alternative to mubarak. these protests are against mubarak. >> absolutely. >> why? >> think about, well, the dissatisfaction with hosni mew bear rec and his regime is not new. what is new is seeing people on the streets. ben wedeman has never seen anything like it and he's been there for a long time. the dislike for mubarak has been going on for years and years and years. it's economic about, human rights abuse. it's about all kinds of things. you've got to remember the last election that was held the parliamentary majority for his party went up from a whopping 75% to yes, 95%. you know. and this is where you get into this whole argument, i was talking to ali velshi about this, there are many in the arab world who look at the u.s. and say you're being hypocritical. you say free and fair elections in iraq. you haven't heard that wording when it comes to egypt. why? because egypt, would in our foreign policy interests. mubarak is a recipient amount of foreign aid from the u.s. >> people in the region say it's you can't say the go for free and fair elections there, but your allies regimes in the sfleej egypt was always the stable country. ben wedeman said you haven't seen protests like this. >> this is what mohamed elbaradei is saying, stable why, because there was a lid kept on it. >> a lid that's now. >> shattering a little bit. it's going to be interesting to see what's going on, whether this thing has legs remains to be seen. egypt is not tunisia or yemen. these arab countries are all individual countries with their own problems and politics. >> fascinating stuff. we'll keep watching the pictures. elbaradei an interesting angle. >> interesting little angle. >> michael holmes, nice to see you. all right. let's -- i want to show you this. interesting remarks from the ceo of pepsi speaking to poppy harlow in davos, switzerland about why there aren't more women at this year's event. >> i think it's very important that women who come to davos feel include in all of the discussions. that there isn't discussion going on between ceos and the women just stand there because they were represented. >> i have a feeling you don't just stand there. >> i have the privilege of being a ceo, right? but there are not too many women ceos around the world. we have to figure out ways to make them feel include. that's our next challenge. we're up to challenges. >> uh-oh. 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[ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kao. time now for the big breakdown. i do mean big. today we're talk about a report that was a year in the making on religion and public life that looks at the number of people following each of the world's major religions. the headline, a surge in muslims. 20 years ago, the world had about 1.1 billion muslims and 20 years from now will have about twice as money. the religion will represent just over 26% of all people on earth. that's up from just under 20% in 1990. in the same time period, the number of muslims living in the u.s. is expected to more than double reaching 6.2 million in 2030. this is a look right here from cnn.com. the population change in muslims from 1990 through last year. the greatest changes being marked in dark green. here are the projected changes the world will see in the next 20 years. there's a lot happening, a lot of changes happening all oat world. take a look at afghanistan. the population will nearly double to about 50.5 million making it home to the ninth largest muslim population in the world and france, there you go, it will become more than 10% muslim up from 7.5%. in iran, they will see overall growth of 19.79%, iranian women have among the fewest children of anyone in the muslim world. they use birth control at the same rate as american women. by 2030, pakistaning will overtake indonesia as home to the largest number of it muslims with 256 million, about 96.4% of their population. indonesia will have 238 million and india third with 236 million. what's behind the anticipated growth? researchers at the pew forum say high birth rate is, the large number of child bearing age and increased life expectancies in countries where muslim is the majority. christianity seems set to remain the biggest religion in the world for the next 20 years. there are currently more than 2 billion christians, 30 to 35% of the global population. we know many of you are watching with your laptop or smartphone. we want to hear from you right now on you choose. i'm going to give you three headlines. vote on ali's blog cnn.com/ali and which story you want to hear more about. a human sized poster of a kkk member and a burning cross in the lobby of a school. option two, kids will have to blow into a breathalyzer before being allowed into a school dance. and glow in the dark surfing. vote on cnn.com/ali. we'll bring you the winning story in about ten minutes. needs alka-seltzer plus!old it has the cold-fighting power of an effervescent packed in a liquid-gel for all over relief! hiyah! dude! whatcha doing? hey! what's that stuff? give me that stuff. have you seen this stuff? - diet stuff? that stuff's the best. - didn't we find better stuff? - same stuff. just diet. - huh. there's stuff going on. why don't they tell me this stuff? jim, what's the deal with this stuff? all right, look, everyone. diet snapple is made with the same stuff-- healthy green tea, tasty black tea. - this is just zero calorie stuff! - bingo. [ announcer ] healthy green tea, tasty black tea, zero calories. i love this stuff! snapple. the best diet stuff on earth. back in october, michael vick injured his ribs and didn't start as quarterback for five weeks. when he returned he wore a vest and shock absorbent sports pads designed by unequal technologies. seeing an opportunity to make a name, it signed vick to an endorsement deal yesterday. the president told cnn why. >> i'm an animal lover. the flipside of that was that i am a catholic. and i believe in repetence and reform and a chance to for second chances. so by partnering with michael vick, you and i are having this conversation today, and unequal is appearing on every newspaper all over the world. >> no idea of how big that deal was. kobe bryant, michael phelps and lance armstrong continue to have deals though controversy or a bad boy image does not seem to stop people from getting endorsements. there's no debate that unequal technologies can sign vick to a deal. the question is should they. let's go straight to my stream team to discuss this. lisa bloom is, what do you think? should he or should he not? >> absolutely not. i'm here with my beloved pit bull fal on. it's one thing to get out of prison and get reemployed. but if you're doing celebrity endorsements, this company is holding you up as a pillar of the community, somebody that's going to be the face of your company. michael vick was convicted of torturing and executing dozens of dogs, and the cruellest possible ways. just like fallon. they didn't deserve that. i think it's wrong for this company to have chosen him. >> he paid the price. he did the time. should he be allowed to go out and reap the benefits that other nfl people are? >> i think he should have this opportunity. i think it's a question of first of all, forgiveness and forgetting. we'll never forget as lisa pointed out with her beloved pit bull, what happened, that i think once someone pays their debt to society, they should have an opportunity to move forward. i also think that in that forgiveness, there's an obligation or a requirement for him to give back in some way. we had the wes more a few days ago and he talked about being useful. can michael vick be useful after this in terms of this endorsement? he probably can. my final point in terms of michael vick, if this is going to happen and it happens with a smaller if i were, just like he started off in the nfl when he came out of prison, he did not start immediately, it should be small and he should not be getting the big des and continue to prove things to get to forgiveness, i this i. >> pete, this is all about the money. it's all about the money. it's all about money. isn't it, pete, just about money in the end? >> of course, it's about money. that's what athletes do. it's not like purina is taking a sponsor out for him. it's body armor for football players. it's too bad none of those dogs had any of that body armor. he should be upheld as a pillar of the community to some extent about forgiveness and redemption. he's not advertising for dog care. this is the perfect product for a guy who did get a second cans and capitalized on it in a very inspirational way. it doesn't mean we forgot what he did, but we should forgive. >> are you kidding me? this is a guy who admitted that he personally was involved in the destruction of dogs by hanging them, by torturing them, the female dogs were raped. this was horrible activities. >> should he not be allowed to play football either. >> we respect capitalism and second chance but americans love their dogs. we should not support the company for michael vick to be a pillar of the community, please. >> go ahead, chris. >> i think there's sort of a function here. he has to continue to prove to us, just like he did to coach reid ta he has the opportunity to do more. and ultimately you think about all the people that had their eyes on michael vick. if he can turn his life around, think about the people that won't do it in the first place and b, will recognize there is an opportunity if they make a mistake to come back for it. i think there's a real opportunity. the story has not played out yet. i also share my guests, my fellow scream teamers sort of aberration with the original act but there's an opportunity here. >> chris, do you think he's testing the water for bigger deals, maybe seeing if there's an appetite for him to start making money outside of the playing field? >> i think there is. like i said before, i would be very surprised and upset and worried perhaps if i was coach dungy and i was michael vick's mentor if he got a big deal right away, that might be too much for him. i do think there will be more units for him to get back. i think a portion should go to the humane society. >> i want to switch gears and ask you about their manager of an arkansas based grocery chain played a shield over a magazine to quote protect young harps shoppers after complaints poured into the headquarters this week the shield was remove. pete, what do you think about this decision first by one manager to cover it to protect the shoppers and then by the company to say oh, no, no, there's nothing here to be protected from? >> it's sad. it's pathetic. it's stupid. and it's wrong. >> what do you really think? don't hold back. >> somehow being exposed to homosexuality made you gay, i would be the gayest guy in the world. i went to acting school and worked at a gym. if kids exposed to two guys holding a baby on the front of a magazine, take a look at glenn beck's book. he's on the front of that with a psychiatrist keith abbelow and a kid. does that is somehow make people think something. it's absurd and sad. it's 2011, folks. >> there are gay kids and teens in arkansas and if we try to keep the gay community visible from them, we've had a rash of gay teen suicides in this country because people feel isolated and alone. it's important for people around the country to know that gay people can be successful like elton john, can having families like elton john and not try to hide the good happy life gay life from them. >> chris, were they right, the company to quickly undo this? >> well, i think that the whole idea of you know, freedom of choice and i take somewhat of a libertarian view in terms of free expression. that's all i have to say on the subject. >> thank you, everybody. lisa. breaking news just now. into cnn. actor charlie sean has been rushed to the emergency room today. we contacted his represent stan rosen field who said all i know, had he several severe abdominal pains and went to the hospital. according to website tmz, a 911 call was placed are his home at 6:35 a.m. pacific time. he was rushed to cedars-sinai in los angeles. tmz is reporting his father is with him at the hospital. stay with us. we'll have more as it develops. time now for a political update. chief national correspondent john king joins me from the political desk in washington. john, we hear that senator thune is getting closer to a decision. >> senator thune, christine, one of many republicans getting closer to a decision. we don't have a republican presidential field yet, just a field of prospects. senator john thune, republican says he'll decide by the end of february whether he will seek the nomination. mike pence, a conservative indiana congressman, a house member says he'll decide by the end of this week. he'll decide by the end of january whether he'll get in the race for president or some people say more likely run for indiana governor. sharron angle ran against harry reid and lost in nevada. she even says her options are open and that she hasn't ruled out about running for president. mitt romney saying he's getting close to make his decision. all signs the former governor will get in. president obama as we speak to a youtube town hall answering questions on the internet. tonight i'm about to run out of time here, we'll get into sarah palin's response to the state of the union, wtf she says, christine, but it's not what you think. >> i can't wait. thanks, john. earlier in the show, we asked to you choose between three stories, a kkk poster in a school lobby, a required breathalyzer at a school dance and glow in the dark surfing. head to cnn.com/ali to vote. so i recommended boost nutritional drink. and she still drinks it every day. 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