i'm ashleigh banfield in for piers.ng me now for an exclusive interview, family members who boarded the triumph for what they called the 2013 divas cruise. let's bring in maria morales and janney frias. it's great to see you. all in one piece and looking very much like the divas i believe you believe you are. welcome back to dry land. >> yes, ma'am. thank you, thank you. >> maria, let me start with you. while so many people have said the conditions were so terrible onboard, and the photographs have proven it, you still seemed to get through this cruise with smiles on your faces and the party atmosphere really didn't go away much, did it? >> well, you know, we decided that's what we were going to do. you know, we were going to stay focused on what we got on the ship to do, is, you know, have fun. yes, there was quite a scare there, but we just had to do the best. we just had to, you know, get the best out of it. there was a lot of stuff, you know, we just didn't see it, i guess. as much as other people experienced it, bu

i'm ashleigh banfield in for piers. weeping in court as the charges are read against him the we begin with the remarkable story of the more than 4,000 people aboard the cruise ship triumph stranded for days. we go through the ultimate holiday nightmare. >> reporter: fun in the sun. that's the promise of the carnival "triumph" and loves to offer a casino, disco, live entertainment, spa, swimming pools, all you can eat, and passengers expected plenty when departing galveston thursday. on sunday morning, the moment of crisis. in a flash, a fire breaks out in one of the ship's two engine rooms. a passenger shoots this cell phone video. at first the thousands aboard the ship is crippled, adrift in the middle of the gulf of mexico. but by day's end it is obvious the flighting city is almost completely powerless with nothing, backup generators, passengers find themselves without hot water or working toilets and eventually without enough to eat. you can hear the desperation in and the calls from the ship. >> all anyone on land

our ashleigh banfield is standing in all that snow, speaking of things that are being hit by the storm and people, of course. ashleigh, what is the situation out there? you have been out there and it is -- you look cold. i got to tell you. you look really, really cold. >> reporter: you know what, i'm canadian so i dress for it and the sun is out, deb ferryerickfo i feel like i'm at a ski resort if i squint. here's the thing. i've been living that time-lapse photo from last night and lived the drive on 95 to get to fairfield, connecticut, where i am right now, from near stamford. that should take about 20 minutes. took an hour 45. we were parked because people are breaking the travel bans. not a smart idea. governor of connecticut has said this travel ban is in effect until i say so. it doesn't mean it's lifted because the sun came out. we still have problems. we still have people unable to maneuver in this gas station. in fact, the gas station operator couldn't make it into work so the guy from the night shift is still running it. he's going to shut it down at 2:00 because he said he c

connecticut, and that's where we find our ashleigh banfield. so ashley, how is it out there? >> reporter: the sun is going down. and guess what happens when the sun goes down, deb? the temperature goes down too. and the warning here tonight is i just feel like debby downer all day. warning, warning, warning. but this is serious. the temperature is going down. with a wind chill to minus 10. in some areas of connecticut tonight. and here comes another gust with blowing snow, which makes drifts like this a problem. because no matter how many times -- watch what's coming behind me at about four seconds -- a plow. no matter how many times a plow goes by, the snow keeps drifting. so, yes, the governor lifted the travel ban a half hour ago. but he is begging people not to travel. it's the same story everywhere throughout this blizzard zone. it is a mess. have a look. the feared monster nor'easter didn't disappoint. 2 feet of snow. and in some places, plenty more. like tens of thousands of new englanders without power on saturday. >> this has been a record-breaking storm with snowfal

ashleigh banfield in greenwich. i see the snow. . >> reporter: it is pretty. but if ali calls this the wintry mix as the local news people do, then the national news people call it rotten. because i'm telling you, driving from new york to greenwich, i do this drive every day, i had to go about half the speed, i saw about four accidents, nearly got into another one with a guy who was going way too fast because not that many people know how to drive in this stuff. it is a mess. this is the lovely central greenwich, normally teeming with people shopping. but i think a lot of people have taken the governor's advice. don't go outside. he's thinking of shutting down the highways anyway, brooke. that might be a good reason as to why you see starbucks closing down here. and if i need to tell you how much snow has been falling, i'm going to do it this way. this might be a good measurement throughout the day, a nice monument here at the post office. it has one, two, three, four big steps. my guess, if the governor is right, and if the weather

i'm ashleigh banfield reporting in connecticut.st snow totals fell, upwards of three feet. if you're in milford, i am sorry, but you've got some shoveling to do. if you are thinking or even suggesting for a moment that you're going to go out and drive on any of the roads in massachusetts, rhode island, connecticut, forget about it. it's not allowed. there are bans in place. let me tell you, the only people who should be on the roads are people like this guy. he's got a light on the top, filled with snow-removal equipment in the back. some independent contractors who have snow removers on front of their pickup trucks, they should be out, but not you. let's spin around so you can see people are obviously out and about doing their thing. not as many as i thought. but still too many for comfort. private citizens who are breaking a ban. if you can just get up that exit there. i don't know if you can make this out from your vantage point on tv, but that is i-95. and you see all those semis virtually parked. it's a parking lot. it's one l

i want to bring in ashleigh banfield in new york to take us through a lot of the snow, the rain, the ice, everything that will happen in the next 24 hours. ashleigh? >> reporter: you know new york too well. i look like i'm in a rainstorm, a sleet storm, i am. we're in a morphing stage right now. where these people are all trying to gorks taking the yellow cabs, maybe a visit in central park it's not going to last. it's going to get really ugly and things will shut down. they are looking to revise the transit in and out of the city. but new york has been to this before. a couple of months ago we dealt with sandy. traffic was really light into manhattan today. me thinks it's going to stay light as well. look at this guy right here. he is right now using a skimmer just to make sure that people don't skid along in the slushy mess. but he's going to have to get himself a big shovel like the rest of us. fema has already put out the warnings to new englanders. get ready. get preprayered. batteries, shovels, candles, gasoline. there are already lines for gasoline. we went through this in sand

i'm ashleigh banfield in for piers. while the triumph cruise ship inched back to shore, another story just as riveting makes news around the world. it is that of oscar pistorius, the paralympic star accused in the valentine's day murder of his girlfriend. pistorius sat down with piers last year for a candid and surprising one-on-one interview. we're going to bring it to you in just a moment. first, the case against a man who became known as the blade runner. oscar pistorius stands in the packed courtroom openly weeping as he faces the shocking charge. a national hero in south africa, the olympic athlete known as the blade runner is accused of murdering his girlfriend on valentine's day. prosecutors call it a case of premeditated murder. the allegations are chilling. authorities say pistorius shot to death model reeva steenkamp inside his estate. her last tweet on the 13th of february said, what do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow? police say steenkamp was shot four times. the killing took place behind the

i'm ashleigh banfield.he vatican fighting off rumors of unholy scandals behind the pope's resignation as a cardinal quits under a cloud. >>> cannibalism in the courtroom. an officer, a police officer, accused of plotting to cook and eat women, and he goes on trial today. >>> and a mega trial over millions of gallons of oil spilled in the gulf. it could mean billions and billions more in fines for bp. >>> so leave it to $85 billion in spending cuts to remind people just how much the federal government matters. moments from now, president obama and vice president biden are due to meet with the nation's governors who do not need reminding that they're able to meet their payrolls, employ their citizens and their citizens largely because of washington's host. for the rest of us, the white house is pointing out how spending cuts in almost every federal program and department are going to affect each state. let's go to a couple of them. for instance, north dakota, it stands to lose funding for ten of its public sc

i'm ashleigh banfield in for piers morgan.r an exclusive interview, birthday girl carey padilla, her mother, her close friend julie morgan and kerry's sister julie pringle all were onboard the carnival triumph of. we can all laugh about this now and say it was the cruise from hell, et cetera, but i want to take you back to the moment where this began with a fire onboard and smoke in the hallways and the ship listing to the side. was there ever a moment when you truly did believe this was an extraordinary danger? >> we have said this before. in the beginning, we thought it was very scary. then i would say within, i don't know, a half hour, an hour, we realized that our lives weren't in immediate danger anymore, and it was just going to be a matter of figuring out what we were going to do next. >> i think that's what a lot of people have said. they worried and then they didn't. i'm trying to figure out, how did it come to pass that you went from being terrified to being extremely frustrated for a number of days? >> well, i think

let's go right now to ashleigh banfield fro

thank you so much for joining me today, "cnn newsroom" continues with ashleigh banfield. >> hi.et's start this way, a fireball streak into the try and slams into russia. more than 1,000 people reported hurt by the flying glass. the collapsing buildings. look at the images. li listen to the sound. we'll take you there. >>> now, also, since the 4,000 people are off that disgusting cruise ship, what happens to the ship now. >>> and that olympic athlete, oscar pistorius, accused of murdering his girlfriend in his own home, collapses and sobs in court. we have a lot of news happening on the ground. but the big shock and awe, falling from the sky is leading it all. i'm talking quite literally here. while you were sleeping this unbelievable scene was unfolding in southern russia. close encounters of the third kind. wow. raining down near the euro mountains, that is a meteor breaking up over the earth's atmosphere. it's like a crazy scene from a movie but it's real. make no mistake, the scenes and the light coming from a meteor as it streaks across the side. the blinding flash. the deaf

let's go right now to ashleigh banfield from darian, connecticut. ashleigh, how are you? >> reporter: well, it is very, very snowy here, marty. i was taking the drive because the media was allowed to be on the roads last night but everybody else wasn't. between greenwich, connecticut, and darian, connecticut, on that 95 corridor as you look at your map all the way to new haven and beyond. and i have never been on a freeway like that, with five cars over the course of about a 45-minute drive, driving about 25, 30 miles an hour. if you've ever imagined 95 looking like a farmer's field, that's what it looked like, trying to make headway throughout the night. it was about 12:00 midnight, 1:00 am. just look i said, absolutely remarkable to see that people really did, for the most part, heed the travel ban warnings. that may be why we're not getting as many reports of huge traffic pileups or even accidents that might have been critical or lethal. i saw not one accident. again, i only passed five cars in total in 45 minutes. you can see your map, this thing is just monstrous. my

. >> hi, this is ashleigh banfield at cnn. i talked to your mom yesterday. and she's on shore waiting for you. >> ma'am? >> can you hear me okay, rebecca? your mom is waiting for you on shore. i just talked to her yesterday. >> yeah. she -- i just talked to her. and she, um, i'm so excited to see her and she's so excited to see me. i can't wait to get back. >> i'll bet. rebecca, how has this been for you and your dad? >> it's been really, really difficult. getting the food and not knowing what you're going to be able to eat, whether it's going to be cold and not knowing it's going to be hot. and it's been hard. >> and i'll bet you and your friend allie kind of thought this was going to be a lot of fun, right? >> yeah, we did. and then this happened. and then it's just kind of been -- it got bad. it got worse. and then it's just horrible. >> well, i tell you what, rebecca, we can see you from shore. the picture that our tv screen is showing all the viewers watching is your ship that you're on right now as it makes its way to shore. so, you're very, very close

ashleigh banfield will talk to both of the moms victor was rem referencing for us at 11:00 a.m.tern time. >> after an alleged shoot-out that ended an inferno, are residents safe? we'll get reaction from los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa coming up next. i'm a conservative investor. but that doesn't mean i don't want to make money. i love making money. i try to be smart with my investments. i also try to keep my costs down. what's your plan? ishares. low cost and tax efficient. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. how do you keep an older car running like new? you ask a ford customer. when they tell you that you need your oil changed you got to bring it in. if your tires need to be rotated, you have to get that done as well. jackie, tell me why somebody should bring they're car here to the ford dealership for ser

i'm are ashleigh banfield, thanks for watching, everyone. >>> from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, this is "early start weekend" good to see you and here we go, again. more snow plablanketing the easn u.s. causing massive pileups. >>> new details of oscar pistorius what his family is telling us about the super star. >>> do you know who is turning 50? a look back at the man, the legend, michael jordan. it is sunday, february 17th. >>> good morning to you. getting up early today. i'm christi paul in for randi kaye. i want to start with you in vatican city for a beginning and end of sorts here. pope benedict xvi is residing from st. peter's square right now. this is one of the last appearances he will make as pope. on the other end of the spectrum it is audition day for some of his successors. joining me now from rome cnn international correspondent ben wedemen. ben, i want to start with pope benedict. how will he spend his last 11 days now as pope? >> well, right now what we see is a much larger crowd that he's addressing in st. peter's square. numbers as high as 150,000 people on a

i'm christine romans in for ashleigh banfield. the blade runner walks for now. a bombshell ruling in an announcement from pretoria. she swirms and tries to stick to her story. jodi arias. >>> two days away from historic daytona 500 danica patrick is on a roll. >>> oscar pistorius is getting out on bail. the blade runner will walk out of a courthouse today after days of uncertainty. his bond has been set the 1 million rand. about $100,000. he can't return to his house and must report every monday and friday to a police station. he must avoid witnesses, surrender his passport and can't go near an airport. the magistrate took two hours to explain his position and why he doesn't consider pistorius a flight risk. >> it may not necessarily be the case that he is now committed to face 15 years imprisonment or life imprisonment. i cannot find that the accused -- i cannot find that it has been established that the accused is a flight risk or that that ground has been established that is needed to be established. >> robyn curnow is live from pretoria, south africa. tell u

ashleigh banfield is in fairfield, connecticut covering that. how are things looking where you are, ashleigh? >> reporter: it's not about the look, it's about the feel, brianna. the light is going down, the sun is going down, the temperatures are going down. and yet, brianna, we still have clogged arteries. clogged roadways. that 95 is still a parking lot where i am in fairfield, connecticut. plows are pretty intermittent and while you do see some people traveling, because they are allowed to travel, technically, they're not supposed to be, anyway. the governor here has said please just stay off the roads and let the utility companies get to restore power. let the plows do their job. we're just now hearing a confirm savings five known fatalities in this state alone. this is where the record snowfalls were found, brianna, so it's still an emergency. blizzard warnings may be over, but the emergency is not over. and we are going down to minus 10 with the wind chill here. so if your car gets stuck, and you get buried, you're going to be cold, and tha

i'm ashleigh banfield. thanks for watching, everyone. >>> hello, everyone. i'm don lemon. the stories you're talking about in just a moment. but first let's get you up to speed on the day's headlines. a truck bomb killed at least 79 people in central pakistan. at least 180 others were wounded. police say the explosives were packed inside a water tanker and detonated by remote control. the attack was the latest in an ongoing campaign of violence against muslim shiites in the region. >>> cardinals could meet sooner than thought to decide on a new pope. benedict xvi steps down at the end of the month. >>> an idaho man could get a year in federal prison for smacking a toddler on a recent delta flight. according to court paperers, joe ricky hundley he used the "n" word and slapped the 2-year-old when the boy started crying as the play descended into atlanta. he faces a federal assault charge. >>> from 130 miles an hour to 0 in the blink of an eye. it happened friday night in iowa during a high-speed chase. the police officer was already out of his cruiser so he was okay. but th

"cnn newsroom" continues right now with ashleigh banfield. >>> that is one excited anchor, carol costello, i know you love your football. i'll be thinking about you on sunday. hi, everybody, it's good to have you with us. i want to take you straight to wall street. big, big story happening. stocks are surging. and i don't mean just surging, i mean to new heights. heights we haven't seen in five years. the dow hitting 14,000, just a short time ago and that's for the first time since october 2007. yes, you can say hooray. today's rally thanks in part to the january jobs report which just came out this morning. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. i can assume there's quite a bit of activity going on. what's it like down there? >> well, believe it or not, there was no reaction when the dow hit that 14,000 level. it hit there and pulled back a little. you see the dow now just below that at 13,999. and you know what got the dow over that sort of hump? it was that jobs report, the jobs report was very strong. it showed that 157,000 jobs were added to the economy in january. and sure the

there will be enough lifeboats for everyone thoechlt i'm ashleigh banfield. it takes a lot to get senior lawmakers in the very same room. today we can thank rosa parks for making it happen. just take a look at this live picture as we speak, a dedication ceremony is getting under way in the u.s. capitol. it's for a statue honoring the won who refused to give up her seat on a city bus in alabama circa 1955. the nation's first african-american president is due to speak in about 40 minutes and you're going to hear from him live right here on cnn and you can follow the ceremony start to finish on cnn.com. all the dignitaries filing into the capitaocapitol. by the werek it will be a houseful with congressional leaders who will join the president. this is a big deal too. while there are many statues in the capitol there are almost none that are a congressional effort so to speak. many private funds feature statues. this is something congress has done for one of the most important women in american history. >>> but we're going to start with multitudes staying good-by

i'm ashleigh banfield in for suzanne malveaux.tering day 7 of the hostage standoff in alabama. and when police start getting requests for what they call comfort items during a crisis like this, there is a world of difference between what a 65-year-old man might want and what a 5-year-old little boy would like. the 65-year-old vietnam vet is suspected of holding the child who was snatched off a school bus late last week after the driver was shot and killed. cnn's victor blackwell joins me from alabama. victor, what do we know about this? we had an unexpected update from the police at the last hour. do we feel like we are further ahead in this crisis? >> reporter: ashleigh, i can tell you that there have been news conferences called every day. several a day, more often than not they are cancelled. this one feels different. i will tell you why. because it was scheduled for noon eastern, of course we are at 1:00 eastern. there's been a person who came out to tell us that the county sheriff was coming out. he came out twice. and they h