a little bit more about hieroglyphics. >> you have cool stuff in saturday night mysteries with jacqui jerasat stuff. thank you, jacqui. we'll have next week. >>> up next on cnn, we have a expert report for you. a journalist goes undercover inside a syrian city that's ail battle zone between rebels and government forces. that begins in two and a half minutes. i'm don lemon in atlanta. thank you for joining us. i'll see you in a bit. [clucking] [clucking] [ding] [clucking] announcer: separate raw meats from other foods by using different cutting boards. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. keep your family safer. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. >>> good evening. i'm don lemon. right new a cnn special program. a journalist recently we understand undercover for six harrows days in homs, syria. it's a city that's a battle zone between rebel and government forces. the stories are of living, of fighting and of dying. a cnn special presentation, "homs: city under siege" begins right now. >> this is the ugly, cold reality of syria's revolution. a daily exchange of sniper fire,

jacqui jeras in the cnn severe weather center. we're watching two possible tornadoes right now. this is in south central arkansas. it's within the watch area, and they're doppler radar indicated tornadoes. so these could drop out at any given time. the storms are moving very, very quickly to the north and to the east. and here you can see this whole line around little rock, into the south. they're all moving in this direction, pushing as fast as 70 miles per hour. so you can't outrun these things. they're very dangerous storms. if a tornado does drop down, it could stay on the ground for a very long period of time. and the storm prediction center has just issued an updated public statement, saying their level of confidence in this outbreak tonight is extremely high. so we're very concerned with these nighttime thunderstorms in january here. so we'll continue to track this situation. and just to give you an idea of the other areas that are going to be at risk tonight under the tornado watch at this hour includes western parts of te

jacqui jeras is in the cnn center for us. what do you have? >> we think thorges aunderstorm going to begin anytime. we're watching the severe threat, including trnds. this is going to be an ongoing event through the overnight hours. your noaa weather radio is going to be your best friend to help wake you up in the middle of the night. we're watching thunderstorms right in this area. they're just southwest of little rock, arkansas, at this time, and this is where we're expecting to see initiation. we do think the storm prediction center is going to be issuing a watch on it, a tornado watch, at least within the next hour. this is a very strong vigorous storm, unusually strong for this time of year when we have so much warmth and moisture coming up ahead of it. on the back side we have some very dry, gusty conditions because this low is so tightly packed, and we've had an incredible go of it with dust storms across parts of texas and into oklahoma. in fact, take a look at this satellite picture. this is what we call the advice ekt satellite, and

time now for saturday night mysteries with jacqui jeras.g to start with a harry potter owl eruption. >> it's a snowy owl. normally you find them up in the tundra, towards the arctic circle. it's a sudden burst in the natural population, and they've been showing up in places that you normally wouldn't see. they've been spotted in canada, washington, kansas, oklahoma. >> really? >> really. we know why they're there. they're looking for food. but we don't know how long they're going to stick around or why there's so many of them. our cnn meteorologist, karen, she's a wildlife photographer. and she took some amazing photos, just got back from a trip from the pacific northwest. here's what she has to say about the eruption. >> the snowy owls love lemmings, and they're the main course and dessert. they live off of this in the arctic. they're like little hamsters. there was a great lemming explosion, the owls are eating, they're fat and happy, they're reproducing. the young are competing for food with the adults, and that's why we have seen this e

jacqui jeras is here.tells me there's more on the horizon. >> what an insane day we're going to have here, as we head into the evening hours especially. a lot of different weather elements we're tracking from the west coast to the east coast. and one of our greatest concerns is the threat of severe thunderstorms. these are going to be developing especially after it gets dark and that's what makes this a particularly dangerous situation because people aren't going to be able to see them, they will be going to bed and this will be ongoing through the overnight hours. this is the storm that pounded the west two days ago and made it was toy the nation's mid sexion. it will be picking up moisture and warmth from the gulf of mexico, dry, windy conditions on the west side of this. we have dust storm warnings across texas and on up into oklahoma. on the northern edge enough cold air we're getting snow in the dakotas. as it heads towards minnesota, iowa, parts of wisconsin and illinois some of the cold air will rid

down with cholesterol. >>> now back to "saturday night mysteries" and jacqui jeras.he ocean, where exactly? >> off the coast of sweden, very deep down into the ocean. there it is. this is so interesting to me, because nobody really knows what it is. we haven't seen it with the naked eye. but take a look at that picture right there. see it? see that round thing? that's what is at the bottom of the ocean. could it be a ufo? they're saying potentially this is a ufo. it also could may beliebe be a geographic feature. it's about the size of a jumbo jet. >> that round thing right there? >> the size of a jumbo jet. >> it could be like a flying saucer because it's round. >> exactly. so the shape is so unusual. >> i thought you were talking about the flippers. >> nobody has been down there, because it's 260 feet down and they use side sonar, so it's defection by sending out waves of sound. so it can be somewhat unreliable. >> isn't there a submersible that can go down there? >> there is, but they're going to wait until the spring. but this is going to be one we have to follow

i'm going to hand it over to jacqui jeras. get to mars, but mars is going to come to you. >> pieces of it anyway. this is exciting. this is like a mystery solved that we're dealing with here, because this dates back to july. there were fire balls in the sky. these were basically meteorites, a hail of them, and they were found in the moroccan dessert. it to it took months to find them and chemical tests to see they're from the red planet. >> worth more than gold. >> the price of these is astoon niching to me, because hair so rare. this is the fifth time they've been found anywhere on the planet earth. there are fresh samples, so to speak, which means they're not so contaminated. could you find organisms in these things? >> i don't know. you're asking me? >> you can buy them off the web. the highest price, $28,000 an ounce. >> you can buy them? >> yeah. >> if i see someone walking around with them, i'll know. something really cool for ho horoscope freak? what's your sign? >> pisces. >> this has been going on. literally pieceses

don't let the rain scare you away before as jacqui jeras said, the rain is going to get worse.o the polls right now if you're there in the lexington, south carolina area. thank you, don. appreciate that. we'll check back with you throughout the evening. you want to stay right here with cnn for the coverage of that south carolina primary. we'll have our special coverage beginning at 6:00 eastern time. stick with us because we will give you the results as early as we know them. the winners and losers of the south carolina primary. homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. i learned early on if you want to make a difference you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i'm committed to making a difference and i am a phoenix. with my vial and syringe. me, drawing my insulin dose. and me the day i discovered novolog flexpen. flexpen is pre-filled with your mealtime insulin. dial the ex

it is impacting businesses and jacqui jeras will be along to tell us about that. what ?mers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. >>> the movie "red tails" is in screenings around the country. it's about the tuskegee airmen and their roles in world war ii. >> let's give those newspapers something to write about. >> so among those who watched an early screening of the movie, robert friend, one of the original p-51 pilots. he explains why sharing this history in person or on film is so important. >> i flew 142 missions. >> you say that like it's no big deal. >> was no big deal. >> really? >> nope. in fact, when the war was over, i was really a little bit disappointed because i was frustrated that i didn't know what i was going to do the next day. >> did your gut ever say that this was a program that was designed more for failure than it was success? >> i don't believe that you can design a program for failure because you can't con

jacqui jeras with your monday morning commute. >> go with the umbrella. that's really going to be the rule for a lot of people across parts of the south tomorrow. let the fog horns blow, too, because there's going to be a lot of low cloud cover and a lot of fog, especially along the gulf coast. and even fog advisories in effect tonight and tomorrow morning. already in places like birmingham and into atlanta. there you can see the light rain kind of soggy across the southeast. this is a really slow moving system. and this is going to make its way to the mid-atlantic and up the east coast eventually. all you travellers in the week ahead, keep this storm in mind. by your tuesday, we'll be looking for heavy showers and thundershowers to move across the lower mississippi river valley and then into the southeast. as we head into wednesday, watch that move into the mid-atlantic states. and by thursday morning, new york city on up towards boston getting some of that heavy rain. yes, this is mostly a rain event. there is some cold air on the back side. chicago cou

thank you, jacqui jeras.iate it. >>> financial markets will be closed monday because of the holiday, of course, meaning they will have time to digest the latest credit rating move by standard & poor's. lex harris is the managing editor of cnnmoney.com and he has our look at the week ahead's business. >> s&p finally did it. it downgraded france. we're not going to know until tuesday what the fallout is going to be. we can probably get past the downgrade, but we shouldn't ignore what s&p had to say. it said the european debt crisis is alive and well, and the political leaders there don't have the will to do what it takes to fix the problem once and for all. now, the second big thing happening next week that i can tell you everyone in this newsroom is going to be watching is the aerchings results from all the big banks. you have goldman sachs, bank of america, citigroup. now, you can hate these guys, but there's no question they're an important part of the economy, and we have to watch what happens with their fi

jacqui jeras gets you ready for your monday morning commute. i love that don lemon.ere going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. >>> you're spending apparently is boosting the economy and the job market might be looking up. our money team is keeping an eye on all that. let's start with felicia taylor in new york. >> the economy picked up steam at the end of 2010. the government said this past week that gdp grew in the fourth quarter at a 2.8% annual rate helped by rising consumer spending. that's the fastest in more than a year but wall street expected even better. the economy grew a little bit more in each quarter as 2011 progressed, but the growth rate for the whole year was just 1.7%. analysts are expectingg

jacqui jeras joining us from the weather center. what's going on? >> the fire danger elevated across much of the southeast, fredricka. we're under the extremely dry air mass, high pressure has settled into the region, so humidities are very low. down into the teens here across parts of alabama and georgia. that's why the red flag warnings are in effect here. and then we're looking at more like 20 to 30%, still considered extremely low, across central fire and this fire weather watch now in central florida including tampa bay area has been extended through your monday. so they're asking people not to do any outdoor burning as it's a dangerous situation just play by those good safety rules. >> all right. thanks so much, jacqui. >>> now let's talk money, shall we? ladies, listen to this. the salary disparities still exist in the american work force. according to the business journals, the despair itty is worse in detroit, according to their research. the median earnings for men more than $47,000. for women, more than $29,000. we come back find out wher

>>> jacqui jeras. thank you. thank you for your nice e-mail this morning.w. appreciate that. let's get back to our panel because of course our top story this morning is mitt romney and his big win. he squeaked by in iowa. here in new hampshire he had a very sizeable win. throw up those numbers. you can see he was leading the polls at 40% for mitt romney. ron paul right behind him with 23%. it was jon huntsman coming in at 17% which may not be enough to really launch his campaign as everybody heads to south carolina. >> not only was it not a strong overall number, it's okay, kind of middling. the composition has to be worrisome. he depended on voters at the periphery, independents. people who described themselves as strong tea party opponents. among actual self-identified republicans he won 10% of the vote. that's not much of a foundation with which to go forward. >> when we go to south carolina next, the last hope of all the anti-romney people is that they can consolidate around a conservative alternative. here's the problem, the conservative infrastructure

jacqui jeras is looking at who is getting the brunt of it, right, jackie? at this time is in upstate new york. buffalo has been dealing with blizzard conditions all morning long. so heavy snow, extreme winds and white out. so it's been very tough for travelers. late last night you had between four and six inches of snowfall across town. not that much by chicago standards. this is your first significant storm. that caused problems on the roadways and the airports. it canceled 500 flights. take a look at that. yeah, poor visibility. the snow was in parts of the south, too. in tennessee, it was only an inch. enough to close schools and cause dozens of accidents. i-40 is especially bad. a loot of black ice being reported there. the storm will wind down with the snow outside of the great lakes. but the winds are really kicking up. and by late today they're going to get worse. could gust up to 50 miles per hour. they're already causing problems at laguardia where it's gusting to 30 now. an hour and a half arrival delays. since last hour, newark, you've been added

jacqui jeras in the weather center. no doubt about it.is very much winter in alas kachlt it's been a brutal winter for them. >> it has. >> mild in other parts of the u.s. >> winter finally arrived across much of the west and the great lakes. by wednesday you're finally feeling closer to where you should be for this time of year. the weather is going to be kind of fickle here in the upcoming week or two. we'll do this lather, rinse, repeat kind of thing. where we get cold, start to warm up, then get cold again. it's kind of a flip-flop we'll be dealing with. look at the cold air which has already arrived. in the teens for minneapolis and chicago. looking below freezing in new york city with 31 degrees. notice this nice bubble here which has been developing across the plain states. we'll watch that warm up over the next couple days. it's really going to be great to be able to see that before another arctic blast arrives into montana and the dakotas by monday. be prepared for the next change n. the meantime, a little cliber bringing light sn

it's time for weekend issues with jacqui jeras. >> we'll have something to look forward to for next week>> a 70-year-old piece of world war i history has been discovered on the ocean floor. talk about it. >> it's actually a really rare find, it's a world war ii hell diver. there's only one or two that are is still in operation at this time. it's on the ocean floor about four miles off the coast of florida near jupiter, but it's upside down so nobody knows if there are perhaps remains inside of it. nobody knows if there's maybe still some ammunition on board of this. it's now the property of the navy, they're going to go in and investigation. if it is a grave, they're likely going to leave it where it is. if not, there's several museums that said they would like to bring it up and put it on display. but no matter the way you look at it, it's a piece of history and there's a potential that they may raise it up. >> i just like to leave things as they are. it's kind of a water theme tonight, because there are reports tonight of a freak of nature. tell us about this hybrid shark. >> a hybrid

jacqui jeras is filling this for rob marciano today. >> good morning, guys.ravel is going to be a huge problem today especially across the great lakes. and the northeastern corridor dealing with 9 winter storm so the snow is an issue but in addition the wind is going to make things even worse. check out these pictures we have for you from cookeville, tennessee, they've got about a half of an inch to an inch of snow from yesterday. not a whole lot but enough to close the schools down and there's a lot of black ice all across the area too. i-40 reporting a lot of accidents across tennessee overnight so be aware of that. take a look at some of the other totals more impressive. the state of illinois, check out rockford, about six inches there, chicago, o'hare, 4.6 inches is what you got and this is the 11th latest you've ever had two inches of snow or more. about three inches in milwaukee but you had a little more at the airport. more like 6, the cold air is pushing in. it is going to hit the entire eastern seaboard. the last day of those warmer temperatures in t

jacqui jeras in the weather center.ts of the country are starting to feel a little cold. >> i know, forever, at least it felt that way. now winter arrived. it's been here a couple of days already in the midwest, great lakes and pushing to the northeast. this is kind of a two to three-day event as the temperatures then will start to warm up after that. it's i kind of a quick hit. sticking around a few days. the warm weather sticking around a couple of days, then we'll go back to that pattern. we'll have another repeat of an arctic blast starting in this region by monday. in the meantime, let's see where you are compared to average. that warm-up already beginning here for tomorrow across the plain states. we are talking 10 to 20 degrees above average once again while we stay m this cool pocket across the east where we are five to 15 below average there. what about the snowfall? we are getting a clipper-type system moving across the ohio valley and lower tennessee valley. that will bring in a quick one to two inches in mos

. >> jacqui jeras is going to tell us about it. rob is out. she's in for us. >> i'm not midwestern girl by the way. >> minneapolis? >> yes, minneapolis. >> i thought it was milwaukee. >> that is brutal. >> it is today it feels like winter has been delayed forever and now it's coming in with quite a vengeance. the snow is moving sideways. the winds gusting 35 miles an hour, creating whiteout conditions at times. we're looking at a huge swath across parts of wisconsin, down through eastern iowa and parts of st. louis where the snow will be heavy at times. by snowfall standards this isn't going to be the worst storm we've ever seen. this will be the most significant storm we've seen all season. it's been a while since you've had to drive in these type of conditions. we have winter weather advisories in effect. the worst of the snowfall will be on the lead side of the lakes. we get the enhancement from the moisture. chicago, 3 to 6 and a few isolated bands. big arctic blast coming in on the backside of this system, ahead of it is very warm and mil

jacqui jeras both of us were like what? no it can't be. >> won't be the same. ♪ priceline you have rain, lightning? incredible delusions. >> so many major weather stories today it's incredible. we'll start out with the severe weather threat. there you can see we have tornado watches in effect across parts of georgia and into south carolina. yeah the primary is going on today and we're watching what's going on. we're concerned about thunderstorms moving through the columbia area right now and it's setting up to be potentially a training situation where storm after storm after storm moves on through and can dump some heavy rain. as this line moves through atlanta, georgia it put down between two to three and a half inches of rain in a short period of time. >> i saw those puddles. >> it was a nightmare on my drive in. it was terrible. so be aware of those threats. now in the northern side of this system we're dealing with wintry weather. starting to die down for you in new york city as well as on up towards boston but heavy on

rob is out so let's go to jacqui jeras. good morning. >> good morning, christine.th winter weather. it has finally arrived after months of unseasonably high temperatures. we've got a lot of snow and arctic air building in across the midwest and into the great lakes. ahead of it still feeling mild here into the big cities, but rain and ugly in new york city as well as into boston. snowfall accumulations, just on average about two to five inches. heavier around the great lakes. that's where we have the winter weather advisories which are in effect. this will last through tomorrow before things begin to wind down a little bit. very cold behind this front as well as windy conditions all the way down to the gulf coast. temperatures right now feel like the teens below zero in the upper midwest. that cold air is going to stick around for a while as well. christine? >> thanks, jackie. >>> minding your business this morning. u.s. stock futures looking up. futures for the dow, nasdaq, s&p pointing to a higher open right now. dow futures up. the labor department reports now h