good morning. welcome to "new day." it's thursday, january 30th. 6:00 in the east. and we begin in atlanta because simply it's not over. the nation's ninth largest city still choked in ice from a perfect storm. for hundreds of people, they're saying today is the first chance to retrieve their cars. even though cops say they may not even be where the people left them. people are nand e demanding to now how 2 inches of snow shut down their city. carol costello is living the situation in atlanta. who's going to step up and take responsibility so you figure out how to do better the next time. >> reporter: there is a lot of soul searching going on. the mayor came forward and said

he regrets not staggering the times that schools and businesses closed. he says if this ever happens again, he's ready. the good news is that the roads are pretty good this morning. they still look like a scene out of the walking dead, though, with abandoned cars everywhere. the national guard are going to bring people to their cars if they're still there to pick them up. but like i said, the soul searching still continues. this morning they're working to remove the vehicles still abab donned on the atlanta highways. this after a day-long stretch on the interstate looked like a parking lot. >> it is jammed around town. >> reporter: less than 3 inches of snow and ice fell on tuesday afternoon and it led to miles and miles of gridlock and chaos. a twisting traffic jam that even

emergency vehicles and snow removal teams had a tough time breaking through. overturned semi-s and a burning car left abandoned for hours. cnn meteorologist documented her treacherous journey home. >> i'm going to go ahead and get out now because it's pretty scary to stay in here. i'm not alone. there's emergency vehicles behind me, as you can see there. i need help but they can't help me because there's a serious accident up the road. >> reporter: the slick roads causing other 1,200 accidents. state troopers tagging these vehicles to indicate there's no one inside. the national guard handing out supplies to people forced to spend the night in their cars. others ditched their car instead to trek miles by foot to get home. >> the ice was awful. >> reporter: 50 atlanta school children finally slept in their

beds last night after being forced to spend a bit early cold tuesday stranded on their school buses. >> i was scared. >> reporter: others hunk erred down spending the night at school. the perfect storm in a southern state crippled by a lack of preparation. and there's still a certain amount of fear here. one of our writer producers was so afraid that he wouldn't get to work this morning that he actually left last night at 7:00. he brought his sleeping bag and slept underneath his desk. he couldn't get into work yesterday morning, so he just wanted to be sure. kudos to him. >> the poor thing. that's another thing that shouldn't have to happen in a situation when they could have prepared. thank you very much for that. to so for atlanta's mayor and georgia governor, this is turning into the perfect

political storm. atlanta's mayor has seen deal passing off some of the blaem. victim tore? >> good morning there is some traffic on the major interstates, but do not be deceived. the atlanta metro area is still virtually shut down. government offices closed today, schools closed as the nightmare of the ice crisis continues now for day three. the blame game between government officials is in full swing. >> there's no one who's doing any better job than we're doing in the city of atlanta. >> reporter: more than 1,200 accidents on roads, commuters trapped, cars abandoned, children stranded in schools over night. georgia's governor blamed the forecast. >> the modelling showing that

the city of atlanta would not be the primary area where the storm would hit. >> reporter: meteorologists say, not so. >> could see accumulations of 1 to 2 inches. >> reporter: predicted that it would fall in atlanta on tuesday morning. >> for atlanta it is a devastating 2 inches of snow. >> reporter: outraged georgia residents are braming them for -- blaming the government for bringing the city to its knees. >> i've noticed that there's no any salt trucks, no dot, no police nothing. >> it is the government's job to make sure their citizens are safe. >> reporter: so what did they know and when? a winter storm watch was issued early monday morning upgraded to a warning by early tuesday, a full eight hours before snow started to fall. >> there's not anybody in this room that could have predicted the degree and the magnitude of

the problem that developed. >> reporter: quite possibly the biggest mistake was not closing atlanta area schools on tuesday morning. governor deal also waited until 5:00 p.m. to declare a state of emergency, long after other states had don so. roads quickly clogged up. but who's to blame? >> we have shared responsibility, but i want to state clearly, i don't have jurisdiction to clear inner state highways in the city of atlanta. >> reporter: they have issued a civil emergency alert they're calling it, asking drivers to stay off the roads until at least noon as they help people get back to their vehicles. they're going to give them a few gallons gas to make it back home. they're going to help reunite them with their cars by finding the tow company that actually as their vehicle.

people wondering where is that vehicle i left here. >> the silver lining is that those politicians down there have another chance to get it right because it's still on going. so they have a chance to make good moves, because we didn't know it ain't going to cut it. . let's get to indra petersons and figure out what comes next. >> the good news is we're seeing this clear out of the south this morning. the showers have made their way offshore. what's left is cold air in these morning hours. many places in the south this morning dealing with a hard freeze. that is temperatures below 20 degrees. think about it. you have all that moisture on the ground. it froze again overnight. they're dealing with the black ice on the ground, especially on the overpasses and bridges. it's even cooler today than it was yesterday morning. maybe you have to walk to your car. look at those temperatures. definitely very frigid out there

this morning. temperatures do start to warm up. in fact, they will go to above normal conditions. by the end of the week, things will be a lot better out there. still have the morning hours to have to deal with all the black ice on the roadways. >> they need to get this fixed. so president obama's post state of the union tour takes him to wisconsin and tennessee today where he'll once again promote his year of action with promises to boost the middle class. but another issue, gun control is expected to dog him while he's on the road. we're live at the white house with the very latest. >> reporter: in 2013 it was one of president obama's probably one of his biggest disappointments ava failure to advance a gun bill. that is front and center today. president obama is promoting his go around congress economic message from the state of the

union address. but as he pitches his plan, the issue of gun violence is following him to nashville where he's scheduled to tout new public private partnerships today at a high school reeling after a student was killed by gun vie leps tuesday. a 17-year-old student is charged with killing his 15-year-old friend inside his apartment building. the shooter was playing with a gun when it discharged. last year, gun control was front and center at obama's state of the union. >> the families of knew town de seven a vote. >> the amendment is not agreed to. >> reporter: gun issues got just a mention in this year's state of the union. >> i intend to keep trying with or without congress to help stop more tragedies from visiting americans in our movie theaters, in our shopping malls or

schools. >> reporter: on wednesday there were campaign style stops to push an increase in minimum wage. >> nobody who works full time should ever have to raise a family in poverty and that is why i firmly believe it's time to give america a raise. >> reporter: and a new kind of retirement account for americans who don't have 401(k)s. >> wherever i can take steps to expand opportunity for more families regardless of what congress does, that's what i'm going to do. >> reporter: the white house says president obama will continue his trip as scheduled today. that his message will be the same as far as we know. no word yet on how he will affect his remarks if he's going to reference the student killed on tuesday. >> thank you so much. there are a lot of hard questions facing the president right now. this friday, one of our best will be getting the answers for

you. jake tapper sits down exclusively with president obama. you can see that interview friday morning right here on "new day." and then of course on jake's show at 4:00 p.m. eastern. new details this morning from passengers finally freed from that cruise ship turned hospital ward. there's good reason to focus on this outbreak because this is now the worst outbreak in 20 years. nearly 700 people stricken with suspected norovirus. the stories are disturbing to say the least. elizabeth? >> i was there in new jersey yesterday as the passengers were getting off the boat. well, you know, nearly all of them are healthy now but they certainly have some terrible memories. the explorer of the seas cruise ship is back home in new jersey. passengers feeling everything from relief to sheer

disappointment. the cruise liner was forced to cut short by two days after a stomach virus sickened at least 429 passengers and more -- 629 passengers and more crew members. >> i was in shock. i just started crying because i thought i was the only one that was sick. when you see everyone else sick, it really upsets you even more. >> the cleaning was extraordinary. you couldn't touch the food. >> many passengers say royal caribbean went out of their way to a.com indicate passengers, offering 50% off their next trip, providing free wi-fi and handing out free wine and rum on board. >> very disappointed. he missed two ports of call

because of it. we were looking to being on our honeymoon. >> exactly what caused this mess, whether it's a norovirus or something else, we still don't know for sure. samples headed for the labs at the centers for disease control were delayed. now officials say they hope to have answers by friday. royal caribbean is giving the ship a thorough cleaning using electronic trailers and uv light. >> as they well should. we'll leave it there. let's get over to john. >> thanks to much, kate. making muse this morning, new details in a growing terror threat from syria. the syrian militant group wants to attack the u.s. he says he believes it is training fighters from europe, the middle east, even the u.s. he says al qaeda linked groups

have started camps in syria. maryland police now say the 19-year-old accused of murdering two workers at a mall last weekend wrote about trying to kill people in his journal. he also wrote an apology to his family but did not explain his motives or mentioned if he was specifically targeting any one. he killed two skate shop employees saturday. >> florida former governor jeb bush is not ruling out a run for the white house. he told the news he's planning to make a decision later this year. now his mother, former first lady barbara bush has spoken out against the idea saying other political families should have a chance. this morning, new troubles for justin bieber. the pop star turned himself into toronto police last night charged with assaulting a limb mow driver last month. this comes just days after he

was arrested in miami beach for dui and resisting arrest. jason, so explain what happened last night. >> reporter: here we go again. whether it's for good or for bad, no matter where justin bieber goes, it seems like a huge crowd follows. last night, it was no exception. met here by a crush of reporters and fans and police as he turned himself in for that assault charge. that's stemming from an incident that took place on december 30th. he was in a limb senn. the limousine driver claims he was hit several times in the back of the head. he'll have to come back here on march 10th to deal with those charges. on february 14th, he's going to be in miami dealing with his arraignment on that dui charge.

you've got the incident also in the suburb of los angeles. you remember that incident where he allegedly egged a neighbor's home. he's going to be have to deal with that as well. his attorney says he's not guilty of all these charges. he just released his new video and song yesterday called confident. his fans say perhaps that's a sign. >> right now, it looks like it may hit just as many cities as a concert tour. thanks so much. and in a rare and stunning move, one of this year's oscar contenders for best original song has been disqualified. the composer of "alone yet not alone" broke rules to bring this tune to their attention. the song's nomination was a huge

surprise. when this happened, people said it wasn't just the song they hadn't heard of, they hadn't even heard of the film. >> and now we know why. >> but isn't it all about the campaigning? >> that's the other question the people are asking here. why can't this dude -- >> did they skirt the rules just enough? >> i don't know how you can e-mail or call the actual people voting on the actual things in your actual category. >> accountability demands answers on this because this seems a little fishy. think amongst yourselves. when we come back, he threatened to break a reporter in half and throw him off a ball connie in the u.s. capitol, but not in that order. he's singing a different tune. is this a case when sorry ain't enough? >> also stranded in the atlanta storm for 18 hours in her car with her 6 month old baby.

no food, no water. she's going to be joining us live coming up on "new day."

welcome back. it was one of the moments people couldn't stop talking about after the state of the union having nothing to do with the speech. but now the congressman caught on camera throat ning to -- threatening to throw a reporter off a ball connie has apologized. >> this was an unfortunate incident that shouldn't have happened. >> new york republican michael grimm apologizing for this nasty

exchange with a reporter with a cnn affiliate. it went viral. >> i'm sure my italian mother is going to be yelling at me saying you weren't raised that way. sh she's right. >> grimm clamps up when reporter michael scotto starts to ask about questioning fund raising in his campaign. >> before we let you go, since we have you here -- >> i'm not speaking about anything off topic. >> two fundraisers close to the congressman have been charged with the case. but the former marine and under cover fbi agent wasn't content to walk away. >> let me be clear to you -- [ inaudible ] [ bleep ]. >> grimm's angry on-camera

response shocked scotto. >> he knew this was a live situation and he knew that the camera was rolling. he knew that it was going back to new york 1. for him to come back and say that was surprising to me. it's kind of pr 101 not to say anything like that in front of an open mic. >> grimm later called scotto to apologize. he says he and scotto plan to meet for lunch sometime next week. >> i lost my cool and that shouldn't happen, so that's why i apologized. >> cnn, alcohol. all right. let's move on. you see it written on the football. we're getting closer and closer to super bowl sunday. time square new york has been transformed into an nfl fan's dream world. we find there andy scholes live from super bowl would.

i'm going to let the ear muffs go today. >> reporter: they double as an ifd. it is cool. this is the place to be this week. they transformed 13 blocks of broad way here in time square. there are tons and tons of fun things you can do out there. how do i know? i spent all day yesterday doing them. everything is free except the $5 toe bag began run. tons of things to do out here. you can kick a field goal, take a picture with the lombardi trophy and so much more. as for the broncos and seahawks, the fun and games are over. just three days left. yesterday, the seahawks practiced again indoors while the broncos they're trying to do their best to get acclimated to

the freezing temperatures. they held their practice outdoors at the jets facility. super bowl tickets are pretty much the hardest thing to come by. so how awesome would it be to get tickets as a gift? >> what? what are you talking about? >> those are super bowl tickets? >> no. no they're not. >> they're row ten, they're in the end zone and we're staying 2 1/2 miles from the stadium. >> no. is that going to happen in. >> it's going to. we're going to the super bowl, mom. >> she's a life long seahawks fan and her son mike surprised her with super bowl tickets this week. vicky missed out going to the nfc championship gaim back in

1983 because she was pregnant with her son, mike. he's definitely returned the favor and then some. they're all going to come to the super bowl in new jersey. >> that is the definition of shock, what she experienced. that is so cute. pr. >> reporter: i love the dogs in that video too. looked like they wanted to go to the super bowl. >> to have a mom who loves football that much. >> i know. i love her. >> did you put up all those cnn signs behind you? >> reporter: yeah. i was out here at 2:00 a.m. you're an interior decorator. i love it. >> reporter: y'all have a good one. >> tell me. >> reporter: if you're not busy after "new day," i'll get in line and we can have a race. >> done. >> and we all know who's going to win. this girl. >> depends.

with your mouth open all the time, you'll be catching all this air and there will be a lot of drag. >> john, would you like to take over the next 20 minutes. >> i'm just a sub. you guys work this out. >> mommy and daddy are fighting. dennis rodman wants to come back on "new day." but this time, he wants it to be face to face and live and he wants to do it from the site of his real struggle, with where he's trying to get control of his addiction. and i will be there. going to take a break. coming up next, stranded in the storm. an atlanta mother stuck in her car for 18 hours with her 6-month-old baby. how are they doing today? they're going to join us. >> wait until you hear how many diapers she had.

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dporng and welcome back. let's get back over to john berman. >> making news this morning, atlanta still trying to recover from that paralyzing winter storm. police are warning the cars

abandoned on the road might not be where people left them. meanwhile, the city remains shut down. georgia governor is pointing fingers at weather forecasts. president obama takes his opportunity for message to wisconsin and tennessee today. trying to for his year of action pledge from the state of the union address. he'll speak at a ge plant near mill wauky. and the issue of gun violence will be prominent. more trouble this morning for toronto mayor rob ford. he is now being sued by a prison inmate who says ford conspired to have him assaulted. he's the ex-boyfriend of ford's sister. he says he knew about ford's alcohol and drug abuse and ford had him beat up behind bars to keep him quiet two years ago.

ford's lawyer says the claim is bogus. the senate oversight committee will hold meetings. this follows eric holder's announcement that the justice department is launching a criminal probe into the breach. you have to look at this. this is jaw-dropping drone footage. it shows the destruction left behind when a boulder smashed through an old barn in northern italy. and then an eeb bigger boulder stopped just inches from a home next to it. the area has been evacuated because boulders are falling everywhere. and geologists say more rock falls are possible. >> so the situation there, you know, very precare just.

back to the storm now. we've been telling you about the south and what's been going on about people trapped in their cars. but hours was more like an entire day for some. this woman was stuck on interstate 285 for 18 hours with that beauty, her 6-month-old baby. can you hear us? >> yes. >> you are an amazing mommy because -- i've been watching you with the baby on your lap now. usually i'd be worried how many ounces are in the bottle to know how much time of quiet we have. after what you are able to do with this little girl alone in the cold with only one diaper. what was it like in that car for you? >> it was horrible. i -- i couldn't make it the

whole 18 hours with the one diaper of course. so i had to take the diaper off and make her a cloth diaper out of a receiving blanket. >> old school. old school. >> yes, sir. >> so what was your biggest concern when you were in there? did you start to think no one's coming? i've called 911. no one's coming. did you start to think that? >> well, i called 911 three times and each time they told me that there wasn't nothing that they can do at the time. no one could really get to me unless i actually had an emergency. but other than that, i had to pretty much wait until they could get the roads cleared. at one time i was told that i needed to call the dot if i actually needed -- how long i was going to be out there. but when i called the dot, i didn't get an answer. i didn't see anybody for the

whole entire night. with two and a half bottles of milk and staying out there making sure my baby had something to eat, it was nerve wracking. >> so had to the situation, you got your husband stuck somewhere else, his cell phone battery dies. so you can't talk to him. you have a 13-year-old stuck at school. she winds up having to come home aroen. >> i just -- it was -- i just -- it was undescribable. imgoing to put it like that. my husband was on the other side of town and his phone went dead and i couldn't get in touch with him. my daughter's phone went dead. i didn't know where she was. when they finally decided to take them home, she -- she --

somewhere else. so me sitting on the highway and couldn't go anywhere and did not know where my family was was nerve racking. i wouldn't want anybody to go through what i went through. >> well, you got lucky, lucky in quotes because this is really unlucky. a co-worker put your situation online, a good samaritan came and got you home. the people in charge are all pointing at each other. what do you want them to know as you sit there this morning with that beautiful little girl that had to go through 18 hours of bad stuff? what do you want the people in charge down there to know? >> i just want them to know to make sure that we can try to better plan ourselves, you know, ahead of time so that we can, you know, make sure the citizens -- not only just myself. i know there was a lot of mothers out there with children

that had to deal with sitting out there with that amount of time without them eating, so make sure we're not put in that predicament anymore. if i didn't have any milk for my baby, 18 hours, i mean what would i have done. two and a half bottles is definitely not enough. and one diaper definitely wasn't going to do it. until you in that situation, you won't really know how it feels to be out there like that. i will just hope that they will plan it out better. make sure, you know, if we know a storm is coming, make sure that we plan accordingly to make sure everyone gets home safe. >> start pointing fingers at themselves and figure out how to make it better the next time. thank you for joining us. i am mesmerized by the eyes on that baby. she's looking at the camera. you got a good one there.

you got a good one there. >> god bless you too. >> thank you for sharing your story. >> thank you. >> look at that kid's eyes. >> we have the cutest babies on the show. let's take a break. deja vu for amanda knox. the verdict in her retrial on murder charges could come at any moment. and also how do you keep america's biggest sporting event safe? we have rare access inside the fbi command center overseeing super bowl security. get paid to do something you really love, what would you do?" ♪ [ woman ] i'd be a writer. [ man ] i'd be a baker. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] i'd be an architect. what if i told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you? ♪ when you think about it, isn't that what retirement should be, paying ourselves to do what we love?

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let's go around the world now starting in ukraine where lawmakers are offering amnesty

to those arrested in two months of anty government protests. we're in kiev with more. >> reporter: the president is off sick with disease and fever his office says. they're still chancing out with the gang. so an amnesty rushed through the par lament late last night is unlikely to appease them. it says they will release the complaint and buildings they've occupied. the opposition boycotted the vote saying the conditions are unacceptable and that people showed no signs of leaving. >> and the daughter of a chinese real estate tycoon is making waves for asking her father to accept her sexuality after offering millions to any man

that could change her mind. >> it's a very personal matter playing out on a public page. she recently wrote an open letter to her father published in two local newspapers. in it, she urged him to accept her sexuality and her partner. he offered to pay roughly $65 million to any man who would marry his daughter. the letter comes a week after her a father was reported to double the offer. >> that is actually terrible. >> i know. all right. amanda knox, what's going on today. it's always difficult because it's italy. but in just a few hours an italian court is expected to rule in the murder retrial there. right now the jury is deliberating. you'll remember knox was

convicted in 2009 of ill canning -- killing her roommate. there's no double jeopardy the way it is here. so that acquittal was thrown out last year by a review board. live in florence. >> reporter: hi. this morning, amanda knox's defense team giving their final argument. not to condemn in their words, two innocent people. amanda knox stay add away but her fellow defendant appeared in court this morning. his father telling cnn that his son is absolutely terrified but is prepared to face justice, justice in the face of a seemingly unending nightmare. >> it's hard to prove that that you're innocent that you didn't do something. >> reporter: more than six years

since her legal saga began, amanda knox is again waiting to learn her fate. an eitalian court is going to decide if her and her boyfriend were upon for the death of her roommate, meredith kir cher. >> in 2009, knox and him were convicted of sexually assaults and stabbing kercher to death. an appellate court later overturned the conviction due to a lack of evidence. >> thank you to everyone who has believed in me. >> reporter: after four years behind bars, nok was free and back in the u.s. illy's supreme court found it full of contradictions and

ordered a fresh appeals trial. >> what we're really going to find out is whether this is about evidence, whether there is about forensics, whether this is about the law, or whether this is about politics and saving face. >> reporter: amanda knox has never seen the inside of this courtroom. she's watching it all from her home in seattle. >> i really want this to be behind me. i need this. i don't know how long i can defend myself. >> i ask you -- >> reporter: while knox stayed away, the italian native made several course appearances, including an almost tearful plea for his freedom. >> he's extremely vulnerable because he's got nothing. he is potentially the victim of his own government. >> reporter: this verdict not expected to be the end of this legal drama.

both sides will have the opportunity to appeal once again to italy's supreme court, the very court that overturned the acquittal in 2011. >> a lot of pressure in this decision. if it goes in knox's favor, it does push this close to the end of the process. even though she's in the u.s., it really is not over for her. let's take a break. coming up next on "new day," what measures are in place for the fbi to keep fans safe for the super bowl. a rare look at their operations. aflac! got 'em. ♪ yeah, he's clean, boss. now listen to me, duck. i have an associate that met with, uh, an unfortunate accident. while he's been incapacitated, somebody's been paying him cash. now, is this your doing? aflac? now, if i met with some such accident, would aflac pay me? ♪

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it is money time. chief business correspondent christine romans is in our money center looking at stocks. they've been going back chl futures are okay. >> my special place. stocks here looking up this morning after what's been a very rough start to the year. it could change at 8:30 earn. that's when the government tells us just how strong the economy grew. google is up. facebook is up big this morning too. happy birthday facebook. the social media giant turned ten on wednesday. facebook now has 1.2 billion users. but guys it isn't making friends as fast as it once did, and its friends are getting older.

facebook has gained 40% since going public about a year and a half ago. remember that facebook flop of an ipo. it's paid off. >> i remember you saying exactly that, that this strong would probably drop, but old onto it long term. >> i was right. put that down in the record books and don't look at anymore of my predictions. >> we also have new details this morning on the super security behind the super bowl. a big game. so concerns about the weather are nothing compared to the focus about making it a safe event. they are taking any chances, stepping up -- inside the fbi command center in time square in the heart of what we're calling super bowl would. >> reporter: that's right. we toured one of several fbi

command posts. in fact, they have been preparing for this week for more than a year. and the fbi gave us an inside look at its plans. >> at the fbi's mobile command post just off of super bowl would in time square, agents are already hard at work ahead of sunday's super bowl. >> every single conceivable item that we can think of, if this were to happen, how would we do that. we'll come up with scenarios. >> reporter: the fbi is one of 100 local, state and federal agencies working to ensure seamless security. >> have there been any threats thus far? >> no. no, there's no threats that we're aware of whatsoever. >> reporter: scouring the city by air, land and sea.

>> whether it's a chem a bioor a rad, different types of packaging that we would use for that evidence. >> reporter: even equipment with gad ets to detect evidence terrorist threats targeting the sochi olympics and last year's boston marathon bombing have shaped how they're protecting the city. >> the challenge would be the lone wolf like the boston marathon type situation. a person who snaps, they're not even part of a terrorist group. they're just somebody who just snabs. >> reporter: a greater threat may be outside the stadium with tourists flooding mass transit and attending special events leading up to the big day. >> the security is going to be intense. so if you're thinking about it, it's not going to work. >> reporter: now on game day,

one agent said the stadium is probably the most secure place you could be. there's a 2 1/2 mile fence around the stadium. so you're going to want to allow yourself extra time if you're going. but this is a city that handles special events all the time. think about new year's eve. so the fbi says it is more than prepared for this week. back to you guys. >> more preparation, the better. that was a good look into their operation center taking a look at what they're doing. thank you. >> yes, they did. >> that was good. people who were forced to be in their car in the big freeze are getting a chance to recover those cars today. and we're going to hear from that mother who gave birth in the middle of that massive traffic jam. plus, here's a big question, could you be making your child fat and not even know it.

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obviously, there were errors. it's like somebody blew a whistle and everybody decided to leave at the same time. >> the anger in atlanta is red hot. much of the city still shut down and politicians pointing fingers the other way. so what really caused this epic failure? >>. the united states is no safer from al qaeda than 9/11.

and new details on where the latest threat is coming from. justin bieber turns himself into police, but this time in canada. what did he do in his native homeland? the wild scene overmight. your "new day" starts right now. good morning. welcome back to "new day." it's thursday, january 30th. 7:00 in the east now. outrage in atlanta for reasons that are obvious to everyone, except the politicians it seems. only now are hundreds of abandoned cars being cleared from the roads. people are being allowed to retrieve their cars today, if they can find them. why? many may have been towed and now the drivers have to figure out where they are. officials are defending their responses here, mostly blaming the weather even though

forecasts did give ample warning. carol costello is back with us this morning. great to have you with us. >> reporter: it's a little better today. the city is shut down as you said. the national guard and other county and state agencies are going to help people find their cars on the highway if they're still there. hopefully they'll start up and people can drive them away. we'll just have to see. politicians, there's a little bit of tiny soul searching going on. he appeared later that night and again stood up for himself. >> and i think rather than playing the blame game, we have shared responsibility. but i want to state clearly, i don't have jurisdiction to clear inner state highways in the city

of atlanta. we got our streets cleaned, we kept our hospitals open, we kept your people safe and the city of atlanta is running again. >> reporter: and the mayor's media tour will continue. he'll appear on morning joe and later he'll appear on the today show. as you well know, if a politician messes up in a storm event, it could cost them their political career. he may be trying to clear things, who knows. >> he's definitely trying to repair things. so in all the ai don't see, stories are surfacing of the people who came to the rescue. it started with stores opening their doors. others brought food and water to drivers. none of that compares to one woman's story. >> reporter: good morning. the ninth largest metro area

looked more like a parking lot yesterday with thousands of motorists stranded. thankfully for them, they live in a city with a little southern hospitality. hours seeming like eternity for thousands of atlanta motorists trapped in their cars. major storms like home depot and kroger staying open to shelter passengers. >> we got the meals ready to eat. basic nutrition. >> reporter: but it was the everyday people who immediately banded together to help those in need. robin and greg jacobs housed 22 kids. >> there was a lot of kindness outside. just everywhere on the streets people were trying to help everybody. >> reporter: social media exploded with others springing into action, pulling out stuck motorists and clearing ice. >> me and my wife wanted to come

out and see if we could help push people up. >> reporter: this man throwing chains under tires to help cars gain traction. and these good samaritans handing out food and water. >> my wife was stuck five hours. we thought that was bad. woke up this morning, here it is people are 24 hours. >> reporter: the gridlock led hundreds to abandon their cars. for this couple, walking wasn't an option when she suddenly went into labor. an officer on his way to a traffic accident saw the couple on the side of the road. >> i walked over and i said, are y'all broke down. i saw he was on the phone. he said, no, we are actually having a baby. >> >> reporter: the three delivered a beautiful baby girl named grace in the middle of massive chaos.

everyone is now home, happy, healthy and safe. kate? >> good news there. nick, thank you very much for that. so there is a lot of outrage this morning about how city officials responded to the storm. let's bring in mo ivory to talk more about this. >> good morning. >> good morning. you look thawed if nothing else. so this is all still happening. we're really in the middle of it. the fallout is just beginning. what do you make of not just the gridlock but the aftermath and the finger pointing? >> yeah, i mean the finger pointing started immediately. i think it was not the greatest reaction from our leaders. its just chaos. what people wanted to hear first off was i'm sorry, i take responsibility for this mess and i'm out here trying to fix it. i think may reed did say that,

but it was the words that he used, the defensive tone that people really latched onto. >> yeah, i mean you even wrote a tweet on wednesday saying stop this awful press conference with mayor reed and governor deal. time to just say sorry. we messed up and we're fixing it. we haven't really heard that. what do you think went wrong? >> i think that we're not prepared. and there's a reason we're not prepared. these snowstorms don't happen in atlanta at all. we don't have the kind of equipment that places like new york city have. we don't have a perspective of what it takes to deal with this. but there were mistakes made. the ownership of those mistakes needed to happen at the top of the hour. to their defense, i did see mayor reed apologize and take very personal responsibility for what happened. but it was later on in the

night. it was probably when people had turned the tv off and they were done with it. i think if they had come out in the beginning and said, we messed up, we're sorry, we don't want to keep talking about it, we want to move to action. >> you supported mayor reed's campaign. and you well know a poor response to a big snow event has claimed political careers in the past. do you think this threatens mayor reed's career. >> i think there's a lot of explaining that has to be done after this situation and i think that he's getting ready to start going that. i don't know -- certainly governor deal has an election coming up. i think this will be fresh in people's minds. mayor reed already just won reelections. moving forward, i don't know if four years from now, if people will still have this on their mind. but certainly right now, today, people in atlanta are angry with

him. so there is repair work to do in terms of the perception of the people. >> i think also the frustration is this is -- it doesn't happen very often. but this happened three years ago, there was a big snow event. everyone is saying why have we not learned lessons. do you think they're going to learn lessons now or is third time not even close to a charm? >> surely they're going to learn lessons. this is bigger than do we have enough trucks. we need a transportation plan in georgia. we need an entire restructuring of dealing with the people, the amount of people living in atlanta, the amount of people that have moved here and not having a way to move them around. we don't have a commuter train system that can kick in when we have these kind of weather emergencies. so i think this is going to put pressure on officials to do something more comprehensive about the problem that plagues this region, which is

transportation. >> and the snowstorm that could plague both of their careers if they don't get it right in the aftermath. >> thank you. >> we have new information this morning. a startling admission from the nation's intelligence chief about your safety. director of national intelligence said the threat of al qaeda is just as bad as it was a decade ago. we also learned they're setting up training camps and planning attacks. let's bring in fran town send. we should also note that fran is also a member of the cia advisory boards. let's set the stage. he's not saying -- clapper's not saying we're less safe. he's saying the threat is just as real. >> it's incredibly real. when you look at the raw numbers that clapper puts out there, he

talks about there being 26,000 extreme iss inside syria. of those, 7,000 are foreign fighters who have -- some of whom have returned to places like western yup and the united states. this was a concern. to put it in context. we learned about this in the war in iraq. we went to the leaders and said you've got to stop these guys from getting into the fight. now what we find is they're not only in syria, but they're now traveling back and tracking them. these numbers is very difficult. >> but how do you reconcile this with what we hear from the administration that al qaeda's on the run, that they're a shell of their former sefls? >> well it's pretty hard. the administration has back peddleed a little bit on that language. during the campaign, the president was quite proud of his

record. i think you've seen the resurgence of al qaeda. president sort of bleakly referenced this in the state of the union. and now the way the administration talks about their success is against al qaeda's leadership, right? the president is rightly proud of the killing of bin laden but you still have others out there. >> so let's accept the real truth that it's politics not practicality that you p chop off the head you kill the body. >> that's right. >> that's the truth from clapper and you're confirming that now. so that goes to the next level of analysis which is if our intel is so good and our understanding and reach is improving all the time, why is the threat outpacing the ability to detect it. >> what i think clapper is saying is the real difficult is as these guys move around, there are two things that come together. it's the snowden leaks.

they understand our capability better and how we track them. it becomes more difficult for us to identify them working even with our allies in western europe as they move around. remember, the big fear from iraq had been if these guys get to western europe, they're a six-hour plane ride from jfk. now we know they're in western europe and clapper is telling us we have difficult tracking them. jans defense weekly says it may be in the dozens, had actually fought and returned to the united states. so this had become suddenly a failure of the administration syrian policy becomes a direct threat to the home land. >> it also makes you guilty of what you are accusing the north after cans of in iraq. you're having americans go and fight in these wars. you're not even protecting your own border. so the ultimate question for

americans is, fran is telling me and clapper is saying, i've got people here who hate me going other places to fight but they're returning fear. how am i not less safe? >> look, i do think that it is a legitimate fear. we have been worried rightly about home grown jihadists. so we've -- >> we're supposed to be winning. where's the winning part of this? >> the winning part is our ability to detect and track is better. with all the leaks you've seen, and we hear this again and again, really hurt us because the bad guys understand now better our capability to detect them. that's been our strategic advantage and we're losing some of that because of the leaks. >> we feel that whatever we know, the bad guys know already. you're saying that wasn't the case with some of the snowden information. >> when they confirm it and get

it in the level of detail they got in the snowden leak documents, it makes it an enormous challenge. >> really is a new world in terms of defense. thaks for your perspective shttle new research released this morning suggests obesity may take hold early in life, very early. the study today found that kids that were obese around age 5 tended to stay that way later on in life. elizabeth, this is trouble lg for any parent to hear, tell us more about the study. >> it said, look, if you take an overweight 5-year-old, that over weight 5-year-old is four times more likely to be obese by the time they're 14. that's a pretty stunning number and that makes you think, wow, if my 5-year-old is kind of chubby, i need to be doing

something. we need to e do something about it. >> also then, does the study make the move to suggest that if a child is obese or over weight at 5 years old, it's too late to reverse course. >> no, it's not too late at all. the next question becomes how. we don't have all these great studies that say try this and it will work. i'm going to put on my mom hat. what i would say is it's really hard to control a 5-year-old's diet. you should do it and you should try, but you're going to be butting heads a lot. try your best, but really focus on physical activity. get them off of gadgets and computers and sign them up for a sport and get them moving. just in my experience, that's much more successful than trying to battle every minute of what

they eat. >> we were talking about it onset earlier this morning just about that, how it's difficult to get the kid eating and reinforces the point that there needs to be more focus on childhood obesity. all right. let's bring in john berman. he's got the news. breaking news, we have brand new video of a fire it's raging out of control in elizabeth, new jersey right now. it's an entire block of stores currently in flames there. it's believed that a chinese restaurant caught fire first. the cold whether makes it very, very difficult for the fires to get -- firefighters to get out there. meanwhile, president obama wraps up a two-day post testify state of the union road trip. the president is pushing his opportunity agenda which he says will boost the middle class when he plans to pursue with or without congress. he will speak at a ge plant and

a high school today. new details this morning about a passenger's crash in the asiana crash last summer. they say 16-year-old employee meng yuan was already dead. this report contradicts a coroner's claims that she was alive before being struck twice by rescue vehicles. happening today, sort of case of legal deja vu for amanda knox. they are waiting once again for a verdict. they're waiting literally right now. both were convicted of murdering knox's roommate kercher than later acquitted in twempb. knox has been back in the u.s. since her acquittal. that's a polar bear folks. the toronto zoo posted this of

their new polar bear cub. it pawss snow, licks the air. this cub actually landlord didn't make it. it was sent to the icu. this bear cub looks very cute now -- >> stop. >> what happens later? >> we all know what happens later, john. we all know what happens later. and you know better than most. john berman has a history of doing stories with animals that are very dangerous. you know very well that a polar bear is not your friend. >> saver the moment. under the category of potentially dangerous, quick note about tomorrow. dennis rodman made a lot of waves here. this time, he wants his interview to be live, face to

face, and from the site of his real struggle, a rehab takes center. and i will be there to meet him. that is tomorrow. an interview you'll only see here on "new day." it's been quite a week in the weather world. meteorologist indra petersons is keeping track of it all. >> lot to keep track of. finally, the west coast actually starting to get showers. what is all this? they are not used to this, first, into the storm in the southeast. yes, florida still seeing showers, but notice how dry it is right over the south. that's a problem. that means it's very cold again. any moisture on the ground is refreezing. a good ten degrees warmer than yesterday and expected to go above the freezing level. finally seeing the 40s and they're going to continue to climb up through the end of the

week. one, two, three storms cruising through. upper midwest and into the northeast, look for light flurries over the next several days. other the midwest, that is a huge story. this huge dome of high pressure. finally it has broken down. they're actually seeing, what is it, rain? yes. this is our bowl forecast. that same system is going to cruise all the way into the northeast. this morning the forecast said rain and snow showers. now it has adjusted again. kind of weird what's bringing rain in california is what's going to bring us rain in the super bowl. >> you said it was two days out. >> yeah. we keep tracking hoping and praying. >> a lot of gambling going on. >> a lot of people saying peyton

manning not so great in the cold weather. >> i've also said that is over blown. >> incredible winds on the field there at metlife stadium. >> all affects the game. coming up next on "new day," on outbreak of bieber mania in tron to as the pop star turns himself in on an assault charge. >> plus the crews ship -- cruise ship hit with a mystery illness is now back home. they're talking to us live straight ahead. so what's better, bigger or smaller? [ all ] bigger! now let's say a friend invites you over and they have a really big, really fun pool. and then another friend invites you over who has a much smaller, less fun pool. which pool would you rather go to? does the big pool have piranhas? i believe so. does it have a dinosaur that can turn into a robot and chop the water like a karate ninja? yeah. wait, what? why would it not? [ male announcer ] it's not complicated. bigger is better.

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what a mess. two charges, two countries and one out of control star all in the middle of it. justin bieber has just turned himself in on an assault charge in his native canada. is this a pattern, is this ganging up on him. what's the story from up there? >> reporter: well, so much to make of all of this. so many fans gathered out here last night, chris, that police literally had to lock arms and carve a path to get through it all in order to get bieber inside where he had to once 2010 face the muse -- again face the music. one week, two countries, two arrests. justin bieber in trouble with the law again. turning himself in to toronto police wednesday night in the

middle of paparazzi and screaming fans. bieber's lawyer telling cnn our position is that mr. bieber is innocent. bieber himself seemingly unphased by the negative publicity posting this video to instagram just minutes before his arrival at the police station wednesday night. the super star now facing potential legal balgss in three jurisdictions. in miami, bieber's lawyer has filed a not guilty plea to charges of dui and resisting arrest. meanwhile, detectives in los angeles say that are tightening up their case against bieber in the alleged egging attack of his neighbor's home with prosecutors expected to announce as early as next week if bieber will face

felony vandalism charges. some legal analysts say the outrage over his behavior has been blown out of control. >> he's a 19-year-old kid with more money that he knows what to do with. >> reporter: his de tractors have had enough of his antics. 100,000 people calling for the kay nad january to be deported to the united states. how bieber will behave going forward. confident just happens to be a title from a song from his latest video released just yesterday. also very interesting that his video ended up being released on the same day that he turned himself in. some are saying that perhaps all of this is nothing more than a public list city stunt. bieber was released after being

in just two hours in custody. if convicted on this assault charge, it's basically a misdemeanor. he would face very little if any jail time. his next court appearance is scheduled for march 10th. and so the saga continues. thank you very much. >> coming up next, we're hearing now from the family of a brain dead pregnant woman who was forced to stay on life support. the emotional interview ahead. >> imagine going on vacation and your cruise ship turns into afloating sick bay. that's what happened to hundreds of travelers. you're going to hear from some of them straight ahead. how bad did it get? you hear for yourself. [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor

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. welcome back to "new day." there's a lot of news to tell you about so let's get straight to john berman with the top stories. breaking news just in. just days before the start of the sochi olympic games, word that russian police have identified two suicide bombing suspects believe the to be responsible for the deadly bombings in volgograd two weeks ago. the two accomplices have been detained. last month's attacks killed 34 people, injured many, many others. >> chaos following tuesday's snow that crippled that city. they're blaming the weather report for the lack of

preparation that left millions inconvenienced and nows of cars along the highway just stranded. the storm moved from the gulf states all the way up to virginia. >> leaked documents indicate the nsa spied on before the summit. it was the first major meeting on climate change after obama's first term election. they are urging snowden to return classified documents calling him a hypocrite. mcdonald's happy meal usually includes a toy. but a mcdonald's employee is under arrest this morning for including heroin instead. they would receive the drugs in a happy meal box and then drive

off. jimmy fallon suffering through sleepless nights as he gets red doi to take over the tonight show. thankfully he has a full house of support. check this out from late night. >> this one's going out to a groovy dude who's about to go to sleep. ♪ hey, there, let me be your loving teddy bear ♪ ♪ oh, let me be >> yes that is the real life cast from the hit show full house comforting jimmy with a smooth lull la buy assuring him he's got the whole thing in the bag. it airs next month after the sochi game. john, that guy can sing. >> i say that about you all the time. all right. back on dry land. they are off the royal caribbean

cruise ship, but the ordeal isn't seem to be over yet. here are several passengers to talk about the event. i'm sorry that you have to be here. i know everyone's wondering this. you were all sick. >> yes. >> and none of you are suffering symptoms anymore. how are you feeling? >> still experiencing some of the bloattiness and the side effects. >> you never thought you'd be on tv having to talk about these things. >> we're not vomiting and our fevers are gone. >> good to know. first off, can you describe -- i know it's difficult to talk about the symptoms, but describe what you went through. >> yes. 36 hours on the ship. horrible vomiting, diarrhea,

fever, chills, for the entire six days. i was in my room for the last six days of the trip. >> when did you realize that this wasn't just an isolated incident, that this was an outbreak and that it was running throughout the entire cruise ship? >> yeah, you just heard the buzz around the ship that everybody was getting sick. you know, and so i'd say wednesday evening she started feeling sick. about thursday morning, she was very sick. and you know, the one thing i took issue with on the boat was the number of people that they said were sick. they described it as 600 people. i guess that's -- >> you think it's much more than that? >> absolutely. i would say 600 people represents 20% of the population of passengers on the boat. i would venture to say that it's the opposite, that 20% didn't have some form, some malady from

that virus. >> do you think they just aren't accounting to people or they didn't make it down to the infirmary? >> i don't believe they could handle that capacity. >> they told us at some point to stop coming down. stay up in your room, we'll send people up. even with shannon, i called for five hours. they said we'll be right up. they never came. i just happened to bring an arsenal of stuff with me. >> you're going to bring that again next time. shannon, you described it as being in a prison. what did you see. no one was on that boat. what did you see on the boat when you were there? >> well, it's funny, the first -- wednesday night, we went down to the dining room. as we were leaving the dining room, a lady was vomiting into a napkin. so that brought great fright to us right away. we thought, is she seasick, is

there something going on. and that's the night i got my symptoms as well. i didn't make it to dinner obviously for the next three days. my boyfriend did. he came back to report. he said it was like a ghost ship in the dining room. he said it was like there was nobody there. it was a clear picture right there and there. >> you were working on the ship. this was a job. >> exactly. >> what did you hear from other folks working on the ship? were they going through what you were going through as well? >> i guess in a different perspective. they were actually entertainers, they were cooks, you ma'am it. they were still doing what they were suppose the to do. on top of that, they were sanitizing 24/7. they were literally cleaning, trying to make the guests happy and so forth. >> you two are relatively happy

with how the cruise responded, how royal caribbean responded is that right? >> yes. >> there's nothing more they can do. the crew was amazing. they were cleaning 24 hours a day. the compensation, for us, i'm not happy with it because i literally was in my room six out of the eight day sfwls you didn't enjoy anything. >> i never put a bathing suit on. didn't go to an event, but you know, it's part of the risk of traveling in a situation like that. >> but you feel differently about this? >> i do. >> how did they handle it? >> i don't think they had a contingency plan from the very beginning. the communication didn't filter down to the proper people in an efficient time. you would talk to one person at the front desk and be told one story, and then you'd talk to somebody else and be told another story. nothing was consistent across

the ship. nobody seemed to know the right answers to provide you. you'd line up to get several questions answered, and you'd walk away frustrated because they didn't have the answers you wanted to hear. >> you're left alone basically. so i guess, you know, everyone is wondering, will you be cruising any any time soon? >> absolutely. >> we already booked our next cruise while we were on the ship. it's like saying i'm not going to fly because there was a plane crash. we're going on a cruise in march. so we're going for it. >> yeah, i'm definitely going to cruise again. i just need some time to recover after everything. >> you're allowed. >> shannon? >> at this point i'd probably say no, but i think maybe once i have time to recover and think about things, we would probably cruise again too. but i'm not sure it would be

with royal caribbean. >> y'all need time to rest and recover. and shannon and mike told me, that after they got off they realized their luggage has also been lost. even more to deal with over here. sorry for having to meet under these circumstances. thanks for coming? >> thank you. >> >> their new favorite word is asymptomat asymptomatic. an interview you'll only see an cnn the husband who had to fight the state of texas to take his pregnant life off life support. you're going to hear from him and why he is sure that taking her off ma sheens was the right thing to do. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+.

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welcome back to "new day." well, this was a story that really divided the country. and now for the first time,

we're hearing from the family of marlise mun yoes about their heart wrenching battle to honor her wishes and be removed from life soup port. there was a law there on the books that said because she's pregnant, she cannot be taken off the ventilator. marlise's husband and her mother spoke to cnn's anderson cooper. they say they did the right thing. >> when she first had the embolism. she was at that point 14 weeks pregnant. >> yes. after we got no the hospital, after the doctors did the initial procedures to try to determine what caused the problem, they showed us a ct of her -- her -- her cranium and just -- her brain. i can't tell you exactly what -- what i was looking at, but i

knew it was wrong. >> we were called back into her room in icu and the doctor told us about this and, of course, we're like, no, we want to disconnect her. and his words were, you know, we were asking for explanation. he was like, i'm sorry i just found out about this law five minutes before you did. >> what goes through your head when a doctor says we're not going to follow your -- your wishes? >> for me, i thought there must have been a miss communication of some way that we say, no, no, no, that's not what she wanted. she wanted never to be on life support. that's when they're saying well, but she's pregnant. and then you know, it went from there. >> there's some families that think maybe she can come back from this. maybe a miracle can happen. >> we still hold the hope. i promised her, i told her i will honor your wishes. for me and her dad that was the

hardest because we looked her in the eye and told her. and for the state of texas to not let us do that was hard. you know, you -- you -- you want to keep your word to your loved one. >> what was she like? >> she can light up a room with her smile. like i said, contagious. i am not one to talk a whole lot. but she -- it was just being around her to me was natural. it was just relaxing. i could do things that even my parents, you know, i felt a lot more relaxed with her than i did with my parents. she's contagious. that smile, that personality, that kind noble heart that she has is -- is undescribable.

>> towards the end as the body reacted to the amount of time it had been on life support and the deterioration that has started, it had made it very hard to -- to look at -- to look at this body that used to be our daughter and to know that nothing about her was there. >> and you could -- you could even -- you could see de tear ration? >> very much. very much. and you could smell it. >> really? >> smell it. i had said -- you know, if i'm close to her head, i smell death. >> i understand you -- you learned that you were going to have a daughter? >> they had done several sonos throughout the process. from the initial ones, they couldn't determine. so after the court hearing, i

said, you know, i would like to know the gender to give my baby a name. i know it's nothing legal. >> what did you name her? >> nicole. it was >> for me, closure began after it was disconnected. of course, now we're starting the grieving process, and it's hard to start the grieving process, when we still had this body that we knew was an empty shell. we really couldn't start grieving. but now we can. for me, our story does not end here. it will end when we have lives changed. >> and you're going to continue to fight for that? >> yes. yes, we are. yes. >> it's such a tragedy. for that family to be dealing with. let's take a break. coming up next, a congressman is apologizing for threatening to break a reporter in half and throw them off the balcony. but is michael grimm's rant

ranking among the best on-camera threats of all time? yes, we're ranking them. we'll find out. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex.

♪ we're not gonna take it no, we ain't gonna take it ♪ welcome back, everyone. congressman michael grimm got himself into a bit of hot water, we can say, for physically threatening a reporter after the state of the union address.

but he's hardly the first politician to do something like this, unfortunately. so who else would take this on? jeanne moos. >> when tony spoprano threatens men tremble. but when michael grimm uttered a sopranos worthy threat, it was the congressman who took the threat in the press. oh, come on, you know the guy's not really going to throw the reporter off the balcony. most of these are just idle threats. for instance, when alec baldwin gets tough. >> you know what's going to happen to you, don't you? >> when my wife and kid come out here, you've got a big problem, don't you? >> doesn't have the quite the same effect. >> even though he used the exact same threat as tony. and whoever rob ford was ranting

about probably won't lose much sleep. and no heads rolled after this tour de france cycling champ defended his dog. >> don't stand on my dog or i'll cut your head off. >> reporter: aides did have to separate these two, karl paladino, an unsuccessful candidate for new york governor was yelling at a "post" editor. we watched as representative grim later said he had apologized to the reporter he threatened to break. >> i'm sure my italian mother is going to be yelling at me saying you weren't raised that way and she's right. >> reporter: it could have been worse. reporters have been doused, and whacked. sprayed with bug spray. attacked with a hoe. dogs have even been sicked on

them. sometimes when a reporter feels threatened, he takes preemptive action. this is nuts. watch this deployed by jim cantore. talk about threats. not even a weather man could predict the threat of high pressure moving in on the groin. cnn, new york. >> that is impressive. the last one is the only one that deserves conversation. everybody loves cantore. great at weather. he's a great guy. what i loved about it was he gave the response that the situation warranted. some would say knee to the groin, but he didn't want to use his hands. he wanted to stay focused and he just treated the guy like he was. >> by the way, i don't think he missed a beat. >> he continued the live shot. which is always the most important. >> he wins. >> and the guy saying he'll cut his head off in the french

accent, that was the emptiest of all the threats. that didn't work for me at all. >> ah, yes. >> you're taking notes, which concerns me. >> i've been threatened a lot. could have done a reel just on my side. i've been much more afraid. >> we're going to take a break. coming up next, the nfl is big business, we know. but did you know the league's head off is considered a non-profit? does that make sense to you at all? not me. two senators are trying to end the tax break, and the nfl, so you can decide straight ahead. [ all ] bigger! now let's say a friend invites you over and they have a really big, really fun pool. and then another friend invites you over who has a much smaller, less fun pool. which pool would you rather go to? does the big pool have piranhas? i believe so. does it have a dinosaur that can turn into a robot and chop the water like a karate ninja? yeah. wait, what? why would it not?

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we made a mistake, so i'll take responsible for that. >> happening now, atlanta drivers finally returning to get their cars off the highway this morning. much of the city still frozen shut. and the anger still very real. the question, what went wrong? nfl under fire. the league makes a fortune. now key senators want to know why is the nfl considered a non-profit organization? the battle brewing over professional football's billions. he's being called the most interesting olympian ever. the mexican downhill skier who is also a german prince. and a pop singer. and also wearing this as his uniform. the man of mystery joins us live. your "new day" continues right now.

this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate baldwin, and micayla pereira. >> good morning, and welcome back. it's thursday, january 30th, 8:00 in the east. the cold and the chaos, it just won't quit in ice-choked atlanta. roads, businesses and schools shut down this morning. nearly 48 hours after the start of the devastating storm, people are only now able to get the cars that they had to abandon in the bitter cold. but expect more frustration, because police are now saying those cars may not be where people left them. for more, let's get to carol live from atlanta. >> reporter: can you imagine that, having to go to a central location and present your driver's license and car keys and have a member of the national guard take you to where you car might be? some of those cars were towed away, so people are just hoping they're there. and then, of course, you have to remember where you dropped your car off on the highway and made that five-mile trek to get somewhere warm. and then again, you also have to return to the scene of the

zombie apocalypse. this morning, highway officials are working to remove the vehicles still abandoned on atlanta highways. this after a day-long stretch of the interstate looked more like a parking lot. you just look at the map, it's filled up with red. it is jammed around town. >> reporter: less than three inches of snow and ice fell on tuesday afternoon, and it led to miles and miles of gridlock and chaos. a twisting traffic jam that even emergency vehicles and snow removal teams had a tough time breaking through. overturned semis and a burning car left abandoned for hours. >> okay, my car skidded off the road. >> reporter: a cnn meteorologist documented her treacherous journey home. >> i'm going to go ahead and get out now because it's pretty scary to stay here. i'm not alone. there's emergency vehicles behind me. as you can see there. i need help, but they can't help me because it's a serious accident up the road.

>> reporter: the slick roads causing over 1,200 accidents. state troopers tagging these abandoned vehicles to indicate there's no one inside, as tow trucks slowly haul away the mess. the national guard handing out supplies to people forced to spend the night in their cars. others like don ditched his dar instead to trek five miles by foot to get home. >> the ice was awful. i'm must have fallen about five times. >> reporter: 50 atlanta school children finally slept in their beds last night after being forced to spend a bitterly cold tuesday stranded on their school buses. >> i was scared that i wouldn't see my mom until, like, 7:00 a.m. >> reporter: others hunkered down, spending the night at school. the perfect storm in a southern state crippled by a lack of preparation to prevent such chaos. the roads are fairly good this morning, but there is still a certain am of fear. one of our writer producers who could not get to work yesterday morning brought his sleeping bag into work and slept under his

desk last night just to make sure he'd get there. but keep in mind, it took his wife 21 hours to get home and he couldn't get to work yesterday morning. chris? >> cnn tough, carol. cnn tough. >> reporter: he's awesome. >> and you as well for being there. thank you, carol. now, the big question is going to be who takes responsible and accountability. the blame game is in full swing. the political storm brewing in atlanta may not be as bad as the actual ice storm, but it's making people plenty angry nonetheless. the mayor is saying the interstates that were so messed up, not his responsibility. the georgia governor nathan deal is saying it was the weathermen's fault. where does that leave us? victor blackwell continues our coverage. accountability matters if only to make sure you figure out how to get it right the next time, right? >> reporter: absolutely. there are people in this city wondering how could this have happened after just two years ago atlanta went through a similar situation with ice and snow here in this area, and the city was shut down then. this time, it was shut down

again. the governor and the mayor not taking responsibility. people here in atlanta are blaming both of them. the blame game between government officials is in full swing. >> we have been confronted with an unexpected storm. >> there's no one who's doing any better job than we're doing in the city of atlanta. >> reporter: commuters trapped in unimaginable gridlock. cars abandoned. children stranded in schools overnight. nathan deal blamed the forecast for not being prepared. >> the national weather service had continually had their modelling showing that the city of atlanta would not be the primary area where the storm would hit. >> reporter: meteorologists say, not so. chad myers and other local meteorologists -- >> could see accumulations of one to two inches. >> reporter: predicted that two inches of snow would fall in atlanta on tuesday morning. >> for atlanta, it is a devastating two inches of snow that will literally shut down

the city. >> reporter: outraged residents are blaming the governor and atlanta mayor kasim reed for bringing the city to its knees. >> i expected georgia would be more prepared since 2010, but i haven't seen any salt trucks, no d.o.t., no police, nothing. >> it is the government's job to make sure that their citizens are safe. >> reporter: so what did they know and when? a winter storm watch was issued early monday morning, upgraded to a warning by early tuesday. a full eight hours before snow started to fall. >> there's not anybody in this room that could have predicted the degree and the magnitude of the problem that developed. >> reporter: quite possibly the biggest mistake was not closing atlanta area schools on tuesday morning. governor dea governor deal also waited until 5:00 p.m. to declare a state of emergency, long after other states had done so. roadways quickly clogged up with thousands of drivers trying to head home at the same time. but who's to blame?

>> we have shared responsibility. but i want to state clearly, i don't have jurisdiction to clear any state highways in the city of atlanta. >> reporter: well, here in atlanta, city offices are closed. schools are closed today. although you see some traffic here on the interstate, typically this would be bumper-to-bumper at this hour. a civil emergency has been called in the atlanta area by georgia emergency management to try to keep cars off the road so they can pull those stranded vehicles off the roads and reunite people with their vehicles. as carol discussed, that they had to abandon on tuesday. kate? >> all right, well, the thaw continues. thank you so much. as we've been mentioning, the people who were forced to abandon their cars during the storm, they can try to retrieve them today, but how are the roads looking? we saw it behind victor's shot, but how are they looking from the roads? george howell is joining us live from the atlanta roadways. hey there, george. >> reporter: kate, good morning. we're on i-75 near the

perimeter. and really, this is where you see a lot of those abandoned cars still on the roads. we can drive up and you can see here car after car after car. in fact, if we can switch over to the other camera view just so you can see exactly what we're dealing with here. this is on the exit, a highway exit. and look at this. you know, you see so many cars that people will have to return to today. it is a mess out here. and look, we're talking about rush hour right now. you'd expect a lot of people on the roads here in atlanta. that's not the case right now. it seems that people are staying home. and they're keeping in touch with what officials have to say because this is where they're going to have to get their cars. they're going to have to go to officials and find out exactly where to pick up those cars. there are two locations here in town. i want to also show you the road conditions. i want to give you an example of what we're dealing with here. bear with me. here on the roads, there's still

plenty of ice. and you find the ice out here on the overpasses. you find it also under the bridges. this could be a real problem if you're not careful. in fact, our car is trying to come up with hill and they're not able to because of that ice. it's a real problem. so as drivers get out on the roads, as they do try to get those vehicles, they have to be very careful because there's a lot of ice still out here. >> more and more reason to try to stay off the roads, if possible. i know that isn't possible for so many folks. but thank you for giving us such a good look at things to look at this morning. >> you see how far those people had to walk up the ramp once they left their cars in those conditions? really tough. we're also following breaking news just coming in here to cnn, eight days before the start of the sochi winter games, russian media report, police have identified two suicide bombing suspects. they're believed to be militants behind the deadly volgograd bombings. you'll remember those. phil black has the latest from moscow. what do we know, phil? >> reporter: chris, we've been

talking to russian security intelligence officials here. they have identified the two men who were behind the attack in volgograd at the end of last year. two suicide attacks that killed 34 people. more than that, they say they have detained two people who are accomplices to that attack. there was a bombing at a train station. another one on a trolley bus killed 34 people in total. the two accomplices that had been arrested, the alleged accomplices are said to have driven. the suicide attackers themselves. dagestan remains the hot bed of russia's ongoing islamist terrorist threat. they identified the people who they thought were the actual suicide attackers themselves. you may recall a week and a half ago a video was posted online featuring two men claiming responsible for that attack, strapping on their suicide vests, saying they're going out to carry on those bombings in volgograd, promising there would be more attacks in sochi and across russia in the lead-up to the coming winter olympics.

russian officials will not confirm if the men featured in that online video are the man they have identified as the actual suicide attackers. but one of them is going by the same name. they say they're continuing their investigation, looking for other accomplices and the mastermind behind these attacks. all of it is just another reminder of what we've been talking about so much lately. the ongoing security challenge for russian authorities as they try to protect their own citizens and visitors, not just in sochi, but across this vast country in the lead-up to the olympics. >> and it is outside that ring of steel that everyone says the real problems could be. thank you so much, phil. we'll talk to you very soon. so first, you had the speech. and now you have the road trip. president obama left washington after his state of the union address, and today he stops in wisconsin and tennessee. the tour is all part of his push for a year of action. his plan for a series of executive action is meant to help the middle class.

but it's the issue of gun violence that actually is expected to follow him on the road today. >> good morning, kate. president obama will be talking about increasing the minimum wage, pushing congress to do that. he'll be talking about manufacturing programs as well as pushing congress to increase, extend long-term unemployment benefits. when he visits milwaukee today at a gas engine plant, and when he goes to maryland and pennsylvania. but as you said, the issue of gun violence following him on this trip because the high school that he's visiting today where he'll be talking about private, public partnerships is currently reeling from the death of one of its students. this happened on tuesday after the president's travel was already arranged. a 17-year-old student has been charged with killing a 15-year-old student. witnesses telling police the 17-year-old was playing with a gun when it discharged. so we'll be waiting to see how

president obama addresses this issue. something, kate, that's been very frustrating for him. it didn't get but really a mention in his state of the union, even though it was one of his top initiatives in 2013, which ultimately saw a failed effort in trying to expand background checks. >> very telling on how much attention will be focused on it in the coming year. thank you very much. there are a lot of hard questions facing the president this friday. and this friday, one of our best will be getting answers for you. cnn anchor jake tapper sits down exclusively with president obama. you can see that interview tomorrow rig here on "new day." and of course, on jake's show "the lead" at 4:00 p.m. eastern. a lot of news this morning, so let's get right to john berman with the top story. >> making news right now, new details of an intensifying terror threat coming out of syria. the syrian militant group with ties to al qaeda wants to attack the u.s. he says it is training fighters from europe, the middle east,

even the united states. clapper says al qaeda-linked groups have started camps in syria to train people to go back to their own countries and attack. new details in the maryland mall shooting that left two workers and a suspect dead this weekend. investigators still have not found a connection between the 19-year-old shooter and his victims, but they now say that darion aguilar wrote about killing people in his journal, apologizing to his family, and saying he was ready to die. after the murders, aguilar turned the gun on himself. his journals make no mention of the motive. later today, the senate oversight committee will hold phone conferences with target officials regarding last month's massive data breach. this follows eric holder's announcement that the justice department is launching a criminal probe into the breach. target says the thieves act saysed the system using credentials stolen from one of the retailer's. new trouble for justin

bieber. charged with assaulting a limo driver last month. this comes just days after he was arrested in miami beach for dui. a whitehouse.gov petition now has about 180,000 signatures. the white house has not responded yet. but the white house says they respond to signatures and petitions with more than 100,000 signatures, so you can expect they will say something about this eventually. meanwhile, easily the craziest story of the day. a man in washington state is recovering after going through a wood shipper a woodchipper and surviving. he works with bark and chips wood. he went inside the machine to fix a jam, this is what he's trained to do, but the engine's power came on and he was trapped inside the grind barrel for ten seconds. he was conscious the whole time. he suffered multiple broken bones and a bruised liver. his company is paying the hospital bills, thankfully, and state officials are investigating. you can see him right now.

he is conscious doing well. he said the worst part was just not knowing when it would end. >> oh, my gosh. >> a tattoo, something about an angel. that is going to mean more than ever to him now. thanks for telling us about that. a quick heads-up about the show tomorrow. dennis rodman wants to come back on "new day," but this time he wants to be face to face and live and he wants to do it from the site of what has become his real struggle. this is not about north korea. it's about his rehabilitation. he's at a hospital. he's trying to get control of his addiction. so i will be there. tomorrow you'll see the interview right here on "new day." let's talk more about this weather. the deep south still in the grips of this deep freeze. where is it all headed? >> the good news is the storm is gone, but it's not always the best situation because that means you have clear skies. clear skies overnight translates to cold temperatures. a lot of people still stranded trying to get to their cars with those clear skies.

temperatures have gone way down. so temperatures, what does that mean? they're below 20 degrees in many places in the south. a lot of places are cooler today than they were yesterday. the good news, temperatures will warm up as we go through the afternoon, so they are expecting temperatures to get out of the freezing zone. so anything on the ground eventually should melt. that's why they're asking people to wait to get into their cars until after noon today. saturday we have 59. so definitely going to get a lot better out there as temperatures go above normal. but every night, you still have that concern of refreezing overnight, but hopefully enough of it melts. looking for the upside. >> exactly. find it anywhere. >> you've been right so far. you told us about this a couple days out, so we'll have to take that going forward. coming up, breaking news out of italy. a jury is distributing right now on the murder case of amanda knox. yes, again. that's the way the system works there. a verdict is expected at any time. we're live in florence. we'll bring you the latest. and something a lot of folks

don't know about revealed. despite more than $9 billion of annual revenues, the nfl is a non-profit organization. how do they get away with it? that's a question two u.s. senators want answered. they're going to join us live. [ male announcer ] here's a question for you: is your tv powered by coal? natural gas? nuclear? or renewables like solar... and wind? let's find out. this is where america's electricity comes from. a diversity of energy sources helps ensure the electricity we need is reliable. take the energy quiz. energy lives here.

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as you well know, i'm sure, the nfl is gearing up for the big game this sunday. the league is projected to make a record profit. that's bringing to light a little known secret. you see, the nfl league office is considered by the irs a non-profit organization. that's right, the league office falls under a tax code provision that exempts things like

businesses, leagues, and trade associations. but does it make sense given the scale of money here? is out a loophole? two senators think it doesn't make sense and they proposed a bill to change it. republican senator from oklahoma, dr. tom coburn, and former governor of maine, senator angus kane. thank you to both of you for being with us this morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> i want to talk about the nfl and i want to get at it in an interesting way to test your bill. but i have to ask about the people's business in general. this is a beautiful demonstration of an independent and a republican coming together for a common purpose. we just had the state of the union, and it seemed to me that the parties have a lot of the same goals in mind. the question is, do we see any prospect in your minds for cooperation this year? any chance-th it's a year of action? >> oh, i think so. there are certain things that can get done. but the history would say that the election years are not a year in which a lot of things get done, so i think you'll see

some things get done between now and july. i think after that, it will be very difficult. >> i think you made an important point, though. everybody around here has the same goals. every member of congress wants more jobs, more opportunity. they want people to be able to get ahead in america. it's really a question of how you get there. and hopefully, i think we may make some progress. we're looking like we may be passing a farm bill this coming week, which has been sitting around for four or five years. i think there's some issues where we're going to be able to get some things done. >> that will be great, because there's so many big ticket items. the american people need so much help. so that will be great. thank you for that vote of optimism. let's turn to the nfl. we'll do it this way. i'll represent the nfl's position in this situation. and you two can lay out. it's not the teams we're talking about. the teams make their money, they're private entities. this is about the league office. the nfl will say we're just representing the trade of football. we're just like any other trade group. and as such, we are a not for

profit. what's the problem with that? >> well, one is they don't represent arena football. they represent only the nfl. and the tax code specifically says in terms of trade associations you can't promote any brands. and they promote all the brands within the nfl only. so, you know, this is a directed tax cut that when benefited to the league office, which means every other american pays a little bit more every year because we give the nfl league office a tax break and call them a non-profit. which, in fact, they're not. >> let me push back, senator king, and i say i don't really make the money. you are holding me responsible for profits that i don't make. those go to the teams. they go to other corporate entities and subsidiaries, not to the league office. >> well, our bill is only taxing the money that goes to the league office. it wouldn't apply to -- i mean, the teams are separate entities. they pay taxes and they have their whole situation. the league has a foundation

charitable, wouldn't affect that. this is talking about -- what is it, 180 million a year that goes into the league office. there are other groups of pga -- there are other groups that are promoting a particular small industry, not the breadth of the industry. the nfl doesn't promote college football, high school football, arena football. it's a group of teams. and by the way, i'm a huge nfl fan. i mean, sponsoring this bill may be wiping out my possibility of being a quarterback for the redskins, which is a lifetime goal. but i just don't think this is right. how do i look at my constituents and say you've got to pay more income taxes so these guys can be tax-free at this entity that's bringing in millions of dollars a year? >> i think one other point, chris. if this is truly a tax-exempt organization, how is it that 20% of the revenue that comes in that goes to one individual in the organization? >> well, you raise an interesting point. and as the proxy representative to the nfl, i would like to

avoid the fact that the commissioner makes $29 million and the next highest paid head of a trade organization makes but a fraction of that. that's a bad fact for me and i'd rather blame you for hating football. i think you hate football. and that's what this is about. not the fact that the commissioner makes $29 million. >> that has nothing to do with it. >> have you ever heard of a non-profit where somebody's making $29 million a year? >> my position would be that every non-profit head makes $29 million a year. it's a fact that you hit for the purpose of your own bill. >> chris, look, i love football. i love professional golf. but i love a fair tax code. and this is a quirk in the tax code. it will generate a little over $109 million to the american taxpayers if this bill passes. major league baseball dropped this in 2008. the nba is not taking advantage of this. and rightly so, because they aren't a trade association. they know they're not a trade

association. >> those are very important points, that other leagues haven't followed suit. i'm no longer the paroxysm i'm getting killed and i don't like it. i'll start with you, senator king. how do you extend this principle on which logically is very sound, to other corporate interests? we heard the president discuss -- and you heard an echo from the republican side of the aisle that businessings who do business here should be rewarded. businesses who find loopholes and don't hire here who aren't good corporate citizens should not get loopholes. how do you extend what you want to do with the nfl to other corporate behavior that could fall into the same category? >> well, i think you need to look at this bill as pulling up the corner of a big tent. i think everybody agrees that we've really got to look at the tax code and what they call tax expenditures. because every time somebody gets a tax break, that means somebody else has to pay more. the problem with these tax expenditures is they live in the tax code forever, they never get reviewed. so this bill is i think important in its own right, but

also it's a way of sort of prying open this can that frankly i think needs -- >> but the lobbyists, they won't let you. the corporate lobbyists, they have all the money. elections are about money and they're going to come down to d.c. and say leave us alone, and more often than not, it seems that's exactly what happens. so how do you think you get a good chance to make change at the nfl or anywhere else that has big money? >> i think the way you do it is you sunset the corporate tax code, and then you design a new one, which means the lobbyists have to lobby to put something new in, rather than to keep something that's there. if i were head of the finance committee, i would sunset the tax code for corporations, and then i would design a new bill that has none of this stuff in there. and make it an incentive where we promote american business at home, and that we allow people to bring money home from overseas at a different tax rate. we're the only major country in the world that treat double taxes or corporations on foreign

earnings and domestic earnings. i mean, foreign earnings in the tax area where they make the money and then tax it again when we bring it home. we're the only country that does that. so we need to reform the tax code. but the real point is, you're going to see in the next month or so a tax extenders bill. in that will be nascar, where we do a special deal for nascar. in other words, these guys will lobby their special benefit, which means the average joe out there is actually paying a little bit more every month, every year so that somebody who is well-connected can get a benefit that is not for the rest of america. >> senators, i've got to let you go on this because you have important work to do. fight it. fight the extension of those bills. fight those special interests. take the money out of the game. and the people will come back in huge numbers to the process. we all know that's true. we just have to see these first steps. and as much as we all love football, it's good to see that you're calling it for what it is and passing this bill.

and hopefully it goes the right way. we'll see what both sides have to present on the issue, of course. senator coburn, senator king, thank you for joining us on "new day." >> thanks, chris, see you at the super bowl, buddy. >> i hope so. kate. >> you got them tickets and not me? >> i'm going with him. >> okay. we're going to take a break. coming up next on "new day," amanda knox anxiously awaiting another verdict. an italian court deliberating right now. what would a potential guilty verdict mean this time for her? also ahead, you can call him the international man of mystery. the only member of the mexican ski team. he's also a prince and a pop star. is there anything he can't do? we're going to speak with the man dubbed the most interesting olympian in the world. [ coughs, sneezes ] i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights

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welcome back once again. let's get over to john berman for the five things to know for your new day. >> hundreds of people in atlanta hoping to find their abandoned cars today. state officials will provide transportation, but they warn that many vehicles were towed after the ice storm and may not be where the drivers left them. on the road again. president obama makes stops in wisconsin and tennessee today, talking up his economic plans in speeches at a ge engine plant, and in a high school, the focus will be on job training programs. a new study suggests the risks for obesity may take hold very early in life. kids who are obese around age 5 tend to stay that way, and kids with a normal weight were less

likely to be obese later on. a federal hearing today set for the constitutionality on virginia's ban on same-sex marriage. the state's attorney general says he will not defend that law. and justin bieber busted again. the pop star arrested for the second time in a week, this time for allegedly punching a toronto limo driver on the back of the head repeatedly last month. we're always updating the five things you need to know, so go to newday.cnn.com. in italy, a jury is deliberating the fate of amanda knox, although this time it could be the last time. this is a story that began in 2007. knox was first convict, then acquitted in the murder of her roommate and that would have been it if it happened here because of double jeopardy. the acquittal wound up being rereviewed and overturned. so this morning, she could finally learn her fate once and for all. that's why we're monitoring the situation.

aaron mclachlan is in florence. erin? >> reporter: hi, chris. this morning in that course you see just behind me amanda knox's attorneys making their final arguments, arguing for her innocence, urging the court not to condemn, in their words, two innocent people. the jury and judges then retired to deliberate. the judge saying we should not expect a verdict before 11:00 a.m. eastern time. while amanda knox has stayed away from the court today, her former boyfriend and fellow defendant did make an appearance in court. his father telling cnn that he is absolutely terrified, but he's here because he wants to face justice. so, in the coming hours, we do expect a verdict. regardless of that verdict, whatever it may be, both sides will have the opportunity to appeal it to italy's supreme court. the very same supreme court that overturned the 2011 acquittal

decision. at the end of this entire process, if amanda knox is ul a ultimately found guilty, italy could request her extradition from the united states. >> thank you very much for the reporting. amanda knox not free from this. her life really not moving on until this is decided. >> absolutely right. coming up, meet the renaissance olympian. skier, singer, photographer, prince. he's mexico's only representative at the winter games, and he will dress to impress on the slopes at sochi. we'll be discussing with it this man very soon. >> a prince. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas.

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♪ >> welcome back. you ready for a good one? our next guest is a six-time olympian, a photographer and a professional musician. he's the founder of the mexican ski federation and the lone winter olympian from that country. he's also a 54-year-old german prince. you're making this up. >> stop it. >> you may not know him now, but you will never forget him after this. his name is prince hubertus von hohenlohe. that is his name. he joins us now. how did i do on your name, first of all? >> you did very well. i'm used to the mexican pronunciation and they are quite terrible. >> correct me if i'm wrong, but i have a very well-trained ear for language. i'm not picking up a distinct mexican accent.

>> no, but i have an international accent. i was born in mexico and i was raised in spain and sent to austria, where i got addicted on skiing. and that's how i have sort of a mixed accent. i don't have a spanish accent, probably. >> okay, let's talk about the olympic games. we've got a lot to touch on. you have quite a resume. a resume we would all dream to have, i should say. but let's talk about the olympics. you're the only member of the mexican ski team. how do you think your chances are this time around? >> my chances. my chances are -- to win, they're very grim. but it's already great that i'm there, because the qualification criteria gets more and more difficult. and if a country with 100 million people just manages to qualify one, it just says already that it's an achievement. and it's important for me to have like 30 years of this going. and i actually didn't do three olympics.

so it could have been a record for eternity. now it's just a nice little record. >> how much time do you spend skiing? because i think you have a lot of other hobbies. >> he's a pop star. >> it's passions. >> you're a prince. that takes a lot of time. how do you split up your time? >> you're a photographer as well. >> you americans still think that princes live like in castles and have all these servants that await for you. >> you don't? >> no, not really. we've moved on. we've moved on from that. 21st century. >> go ahead. >> i just wanted to say that it's not hobbies, it's passions and dreams. that's important. that keeps you alive, young, and keeps you going. and with my participation, i want to have people dream that they could also do it. also, it's like a challenge with

age. scientists say we are the first generation that's going to get old later. i want to see if they cheat us or if it's true. >> well, you're into your 50s now. you're still competing in the olympics. when we were reading into your lineage, you go right back and there's a little italian influence in there as well, right? >> yeah, yeah. it's quite a mixture. like some italian industrialists. i have a mexican grandmother. and then some roadblock mix. so it's a cool kind of eurotrash mexican mix. >> i have to say your energy and passion is infectious. >> what have you got under the coat there? we know you're all about style. you want to make an impression. >> okay. >> oh, gosh. you started something. >> okay. i'm going to do for cnn a royal

strip tease. i don't think you've ever had that. >> let me check my memory. i don't think that's happened before. >> oh, my. >> is this seven seconds later? >> took me 30 years to think about it. this is the mariachi olympic prince. >> that deserves a round of applause. >> well-done. well-done. how about the back? let's see the back. >> you like it? >> give us the full 360. oh, that's nice. you look like the three amigos. >> best movie ever, for the record. >> i look like antonio banderas. >> you wear it very nicely. to me, a little grabby, but very nice. >> you already won in our minds. you're now my favorite. >> wow, that's great. this guy's mexican, you know? >> you need to visit us and

bring two of those suits for my dear friends right here. prince, it is great to meet you. >> i have a present. i have a sweatshirt where this suit is printed on. it says mexican olympic ski team. i'll send it to you. are please. thank you, prince. >> we'll be rooting for you. >> probably exceeds the limit on gifts we're allowed to take. >> that was fun. >> he's going to have to worry about drag because he wears full mariachi. we'll have to see. >> let's take a break. >> come on, how interesting was that guy? >> we never oversell. we'll be right back. of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact

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open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here

and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. welcome back to "new day." 50 years ago next month, the beatles touched down on u.s. oil for the very first time. tonight on cnn, we'll look back at their incredible story in the '60s, the british invasion, it's called. but right now, let's get a sneak peek at what beatle mania was like looking at it from the inside with the woman who was there from the very beginning. >> you know, exactly. i got my little beatles education from this lady. she's amazing. and she's got so many stories. her name is frieda kelly and she

can be claim to be one of the wildest rides in all of music. she worked eight days a week and wez secretary of the beatles' fan club for ten years. she's been pretty quiet about her relationship with the fab four when most people would have and probably could have boasted. i did have a chance to interview her, remotely in liverpool earlier this week. take a look. >> the beatles! >> 50 years ago, the beatles made their ground breaking appearance on "the ed sullivan show." but frieda kelly already knew them as john, paul, george, and richie. that's ringo to you and me. when she was just 17, she was hired to be the secretary of their fan club when they were a local band hoping to make it big in liverpool. >> there's a couple of lyrics from a certain song, she was just 17, you know i mean, the way she looked was way beyond compare. how many times have people asked you if that song is about you?

>> well, you know, that's about a lot of girls that were 17 that palled around with them at the time. >> are you one of them? >> well, i was 17 and i palled around with them at the time. i think it was for a lot of us. >> anything go beyond a crush? >> perhaps. not really, no. but that's personal anyway, isn't it? >> kelly worked with the fab four as they became international sensations and admits to playing favorites. >> i did have favorites. of course i was in love with paul for a week or two. and then if george gave me a lift home, you know what? i'd prefer george. and then richie was so nice and ask about your family and your dogs and everything, i thought oh, no, i've got a soft spot for him. >> she says she had a playfully

contentious relationship with john. >> you always knew where you were with john. when he came in the office, you knew what mood he was in and how far to push him and how far not to push him. >> it's good to see your face when you talk about them, because at the end of the day, it just feels like you're still a fan, frieda. >> i am a fan. but you know what? i'm a beatle fan. i'll always be a beatle fan. >> it just makes you bob, doesn't it? she told us this story once about how john lennon fired her because he thought she was paying more attention to the moody blues on a tour date than she was to the beatles. so he told her she had to go. the other three said, are you nuts? so she said he came back and got down on one knee and asked her to come back to work. >> there's only a few women who can say that. >> she cherishes that memory, definitely, she does. >> good interview. >> and you can see much more on the baeeatles' first visit to t

states, cnn's special "the british invasion" airs at 9:00 p.m. eastern tonight on cnn. coming up, we've got the good stuff for you. it's all been pretty good stuff. high school basketball stuff. [ male announcer ] imagine this cute blob is metamucil.

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good stuff. high school basketball star is back on the court thanks to a big assist from his friends. he's got a rare form of cancer. treatment kept him off the court and out of school. then great news. tim's doctor cleared him to play again. he actually started to beat the cancer. great, right? wrong. school said tim can't play because he missed too many school days fighting his cancer.

it was policy, the school said. well, the reaction since then, his teammates shaved their heads in support. next, some 200 students staged a sit-in to protest the move. even a social media campaign with the #lettimplay. finally the school went back on its decision and tim is back on the court where he belongs, and school says it was all just a big misunderstanding. sure it was. tim says in a tweet, #nicetry. the power of people coming together and the school doing something in a controversy. that's why it's the good stuff. >> that's why we bring it to you. now we're going to bring you to carol costello in the newsroom. >> thank you so much. "newsroom" starts now. good morning. thank you so much for joining me. i'm carol costello. this morning, the mason dixon line is covered in ice and