thank you, tony. >> thank you. >> and now we go the martin savidge who is watching the proceedings here as they get closer and closer. martin, can you get an echo here dockside, because people are saying they want to know if it is really an accident or negligence and could this have been prevented and there is bubbles dockside about the need for accountability here? >> well, chris, erin and i were both discussing the fact that of course the fire, and it must have been a massive event and x extremely serious event and that is what you want to find out now, and of course, now the ship is back safely and everyone gets off is what did happen at sea that knocked this massive ship apparently to the point unable to move on its own and unable to care for the passengers on its own, and that is what erin and i were with discussing. there has to be accountability here and they have to investigate to find out what went on. >> the generators are huge and the size of buses. one thing about the cruise industry, the complaint is that the ships are operating 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and 52 weeks

and we go down to mobile to martin savidge who is monitoring this. what do we know at this time, martin? >> well, chris, the ship is in sight of the alabama cruise termin terminal. people are waiting and gesturing that they can see the ship, so clearly within view and not quite for the camera, but we expect it to be shortly, but we have seen other activity to suggest that the vessel is near. one a whole group of people who made it to the dock and then on top of that families heading in, so every indication now, chris, that this ship is just within sight and we should be picking it up any moment. the tricky part is dock ing it here. normally ships like this have underwater thrusters to dock themselves, but this is a ship with no power whatsoever, and being pulled an towed and shoved a little bit by tugs, but the problem when you used the tugboats, the main ship had some propulsion, and this has none. you are going against a current of a river flowing downstream, and you are are trying to come upstream with the vessel, and it is a big boat, and we know

let me bring in martin savidge back in. he was there -- trying to hold the microphone, and this is how we are for our two guests there. but this is a -- >> you could see the relief. >> in is what you call a media scrum in terms of the media side, but the people were relieved and they did go through something horrible. >> i hate to say dragging them over, but we did. you could see the emotion. i mean, they were truly something pent up inside of them and they are now on shore and it is over, and you could sense that it was just the way they spoke it is almost cathartic and they have to tell you, because they have been through something fortunately not life-threaten i ing, but through something e severe. >> and i know that people on twitter and people out there saying, look, why are you all talking about this, it was a few days and not life threatening, and look, understand a little bit about what they are saying, but when you see the people and there is a fire on the ship and you feel so vulnerable and to her point, what if i

. >>> let's go to martin savidge. e scene for us in alabama where a 5-year-old is being held hostage. what's going on, martin? >> reporter: wolf, this is day six of this hostage crisis that's been going on. jimmy lee dykes is the suspect. we've been informed by authorities there's been a major development in this case. that's about the only way they will classify what's happened. we have noted there's been some significant activity taking place on site. we saw two ambulances go and then leave the property. they didn't have their lights on. we've also seen clusters of authorities on site as well. all of this of course unusual from what weem been watching over the past several days. and then we've been told there's going to be a news conference and a fairly significant one in just a few minutes. there was a news conference that was held earlier today. it was by the local sheriff. and he insinuated for the first time there could be a motive to all this. listen to what he had to say. >> i can't really comment on anything s

cnn's martin savidge is in midland city for us. martin, funeral services were held today for the bus driver who is being called a hero. what are people saying about him tonight? >> yeah, that would be charles poland. hello, don. very difficult day. they've all been difficult, of course, since tuesday. but even more so because of the emotions that came to a head as family member, as those who worked, fellow bus drivers, teacher, even strangers all came together at a nearby civic center, hundreds of them for a public memorial service that was held for charles poland as he is officially known, mr. chuck as he was known to his students there was a lot of praying. prayers that were said of course not only for the victim, but for the young boy ethan, who continues to be held, and for the man alleged to be his captor. and that's jimly lee dykes. they say they hope his heart will be turned to release the little boy. and then after that came the funeral service and the burial. it was very interesting to note school buses were very much a par

cnn's martin savidge is in midland city for us. martin, the bus driver is being called a hero. what are people saying about him tonight? >> reporter: well, they are saying every kind of word that means hero when they refer to charles poland. that's exactly what he's being considered by just about everybody in this community because of what he did, the fact he was driving the school bus and according to witnesses stood up and tried to protect the lives of the 20-some children that were on that bus. and then died as a result of it. i should update you a little bit on the standoff itself. not a major change but there was a news conference originally scheduled, it's been cancelled. not uncommon. it simply means authorities haven't got anything really new to say. very little information coming out because these are very sensitive negotiations that are ongoing. the concern is that perhaps the suspect here may have some way to listen to news media. but then you get this very specific information from time to time from authorities, and they mentioned that tonight cheese its, a snack fo

martin savidge has the story. >> reporter: as bomb disposal teams spent a second day searching arpd the cnn's learns explosives weren't the only unstable variable law enforcement had to deal with. there was dykes' state of mind. neighbors described him as a paranoid loner. >> he used to keep notebooks of horse races. he always said that mafia run the horse races. >> reporter: sources close to the case say while talking to police from his bunker, a contentious dykes would ramble on about his theory and wanted to get his message out. >> he feels like he has a story that's important to him although it's very complex. >> reporter: had the early hours of the standoff, local authorities contemplated sending in a local reporting to talk to dykes. local blogger ricky stokes was the first reporter on the scene capturing this video. he says authorities approached him with the idea. and you were willing to go along with that? >> anything they needed me to do, if it meant me showing you to use equipment or many going into the bunker, i was willing to do just like everybody involved in the operation

i want to get straight to martin savidge who is covering this story in midland city, alabama, about 100 miles south of montgomery. what more can you tell us about this little boy ethan and where he is and how he is tonight? >> we know he's surrounded by a very happy family. that would be his mother, his siblings, and extended family and we have been told that he is in good shape physically. of course, what's got to be determined is how is he doing mentally after this long ordeal. >> i know that's going to be a big question. there have been reports that the little boy may have had some sort of autism. that he really could have some psychological challenges to deal with. what do you know, martin, about how this rescue happened. why it happened today, and not three days ago? >> yeah, well, i guess the reason that authorities said to us is they noted in the last 24 hours, there had been a breakdown in the attitude of mr. dykes. they had been in constant contact, but they noticed he had deteriorated. they also said they saw him with a weapon in such a way they thought he was threatening and

. >>> good morning, everyone, i'm martin savidge in for randi kaye. it is 10:00 on the east coast, 7:00 on the west. thank you very much for starting your day with us. welcome, of course, to all of our viewers joining us from overseas. we're following three big stories today across this country. one, a monster blizzard is smacking the northeast with hurricane-force winds. bury something cities in more than two feet of snow. >>> on the west coast, the manhunt underway for a suspected cop killer in southern california. police say christopher dorner is armed and dangerous. >>> then in chicago, there is the memorial for an honors student by the name of hadiya pendleton. she was gunned down there just a week after performing at president obama's inauguration. >>> first, to that blizzard. cnn crews covering the story from about every angle you can imagine. some have been knee deep in the snow. some have actually been in the snow. our coverage spans atlanta to new york to rhode island. and that's where we begin this morning. poppy harlow is in downtown provi

we will hear from martin savidge, who has more details on exactly what went on inside that bunker andwn. >>> also, charles poland died trying to protect 5-year-old ethan and other kids on that school bus. his son joins me tonight for a "360" exclusive. he says how his dad acted on that day that he was killed doesn't surprise him at all, because he thought of those kids as his own. >>> we will also talk you inside another bunker, fascinating to see how people are preparing to survive the worst. gary tuchman goes 20 feet underground into a 50 foot long bunker complete with its own air filtration system, food enough to fill a small grocery store and 2,000 gallons of water. the man who built it says he's prepared to survive a nuclear holocost. more at the top of the hour. >>> our fifth story "outfront," fat attack. new jersey governor chris christie's weight has always provided fodder for late night comics but last night, christie showed he could deal just as well as he could take. here he is. >> i have made jokes about you, not just one or two, not just ongoing here and there, intermitte

i'm joined by martin savidge who has been here for days. we have been here together as people started to disembark and were mobbed by media. >> buses, heading to places unknown. we watched this come. this is one of those stories we knew was going to develop and grow. once you got sight of the ship, it was tangible, this is real. you had 4,000 people plus that were caught up, not in a life and death situation, but still a life altering situation. they were affected deeply. that we saw a human nature size that seemed to be people rising to the occasion and helping one another and people raving about the crew, and we have more people right here. >> one of the things that struck me is earlier in the day, talking to people on the phone, there was frustration, anger, people were upset. now as people have come off, they're talking about some of the good things than happened. without having a cell phone, you were forced to get closer to those you loved. >> it wasn't the shore excursions. it was being with one another, putting themselves through dif

on the west coast, i'm martin savidge in for fredricka witfield. thank you for joining us. these are the top stories we're following in the cnn news room. police are searching california's san bernardino mountains for ex-lapd cop, christopher dorner accused of killing three people. l.a. county supervisors will request a $100,000 reward on tuesday for information leading to dorner's arrest. the big blizzard that went through the northeast has left behind a lot of snow. folks in the area are busy clearing the roads and shoveling snow off of cars. trying to get back to normal after a day of being stuck inside. 370,000 people are still without heat or electricity. >>> joe paterno's family have released a report be a solving the late coach of blame in the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal. it said penn state's prior report from the paterno's widow is speaking out now as well on how she felt when she first learned of the accusations. >> it is still hard to accept, but when i read the first presentment of charges, i actually got physically ill. and couldn't read any more for a coup

welcome back, i'm martin savidge, thank you very much for starting your day with us this morning.s a snowy start for many people. because the blizzard in northeast has knocked out power to more than 650,000 customers. that's over nine states in the northeast. in some places, the winds are gusting, get this, more than 70 miles an hour. and that is, of course, tearing down tree limbs and when they go, they bring the power lines with them. thousands of families are starting the day without electricity. and in many cases, without heat. and that is the real concern with the snow still falling, officials can't say exactly when that power will be restored. and, of course, we're keeping an eye on all of the flights that have been canceled by the blizzard this morning. so far, live flight aware tracking reports that nearly 1,700 flights have been canceled and more are expected. we're talking about today alone. there will be no flights out of boston's logan until sunday. and new york airports are also experiencing similar situation. remember, best thing -- best advice, i should say, check w

thanks to martin savidge. ayvon martin's parents will join soledad this morning on "starting point." >> let's get you up to date on our top stories. >> happening right now, massive winter storm slamming the midwest at this hour. it's tracking north and east with kansas, missouri, wisconsin, illinois, michigan in its sights. texas and oklahoma already reeling this morning. roads are shut down. drivers stranded and amarillo, texas, buried under a record 19 inches of snow this morning. good morning, amarillo. >>> a former u.s. surgeon general c. everett koop died at the age of 96. he served from 1982 to 1989 and he elevated the profile of the surgeon general's office. he was instrumental in getting the nation to focus on key health issues such as hiv and aids prevention and he convinced americans to stop smoking. >>> he brought some groans and controversy but seth mcfarland also brought ratings. more than 40 million viewers turned in to watch the academy awards. that's up 3% from last year. it's the second biggest

martin savidge is "outfront" on the passenger's ordeal and what's ahead. >> suffering at sea. on food, sweltering without air-conditioning and sloshing with sewage. >> the smells are, i can't describe them. our room is flooded. there's raw sewage pretty bad. walk in the hallways, you have to cover your face. we don't have any masks for breathing. it's disgusting. the worst thing ever. >> other passengers describe being told to go to the bathroom in plastic bags. pictures taken from ships coming to aid show people standing outside on the upper decks. >> there is no air-conditioning inside. we're on the deck. >> first, i think it's very important that i apologize to our guests and to their families that have been affected by this very difficult situation. >> the president of carnival says since sunday, the crews have been working to restore basic systems. >> there's running water and a good number of bathrooms that do work. so we obviously in a situation like this, you're going to be very sensitive to all hygiene procedures. >> trash bags to put their shoes in. >> mary and her f

i'm martin savidge. we're about to get new details about the hunt for christopher dorner. as soon as this news conference gets under way, we're going to take you there. >>> right now in the san bernardino mountains, investigators are trying to find christopher dorner. investigators say he killed three people, including a police officer and injured two others last week across southern california. dorner mthreatened more bloodshed, saying he wants revenge on the police department after it fired him. casey, what are you hearing now? >> reporter: well, martin, you talked ant that investigation. that is continuing and that search is continuing near the community of big bear. that investigation has been significantly down sized. yesterday there were 125 people in those search teams. that number is down to 25. a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office says they' going to reassess tomorrow whether they're going to continue that search effort. they are still using air power in that search. there's a helicopter being deployed with body heat sensors. they have received several reports o

i'm martin savidge. here are the top stories.n reward for information leading to ex-cop christopher dorner's arrest. >> we will not tolerate a killer targeting our officers and their families, targeting innocent people in this city and in this region. >> dorner is accused of killing three people, including a police officer. >>> that big blizzard that went through the northeast has left behind a lot of snow. folks in that area are very busy clearing the roads and trying to dig out their cars today. trying to get back to normal after a day of being stuck inside. 340,000 people are still without heat and electricity. and mother nature packed another surprise south of the equator. a 5. 7 earthquake struck central chile. we'll bring you more details when they become available. >>> president obama's nominees for key posts could be in danger. one senator may put a hold on president obama's choices unless the white house provides more information about the attack in libya on the u.s. consulate. >> i don't think we should allow brennan to

martin savidge picking up this from me on the other side of the break. çihq9j(

i'm martin savidge.s not just the northern hemisphere that got rocked this morning by mother nature. the 7.0-magnitude quake that is struck southern colombia. the pacific tsunami warning center said the quake did not generate a destructive tsunami. >>> wikileaks' founder, julian assange, has waded into the drone debate. he's slamming the u.s. government for saying it has the right to stage drone strikes against u.s. citizens who are perceived to be "imminent terror threats." >>> and now to a threat of another kind. after dealing with some bad weather, police are ready to resume an aerial search for an acua acused killer, christopher donorer is accused of killing -- christopher dorner is accused of killing people out of avenge for losing his job. dorner in effect is declaring war on the police department, isn't he? >> reporter: he is. it's a chilling manifesto. some call it a ramble or rant. i poured through it, it seems coherent and very emotional. at times deranged when he says he's going to wage asymme

maybe he needs some time and space to get this worked out. >> martin savidge, what a story.ou very much. >>> an update on the story we have been following, the hostage situation in alabama unfolding since tuesday, this 5-year-old boy being held by this 65-year-old. let me get a sneak peek. his name, jamie lee dykes. this sheriff in alabama is saying this major development in this case is the fact that they're going to release his -- the suspect's photo. and to quote, the sheriff, he said, he can't hide forever. he's in this underground bunker, this child is a special needs child, needs medication. police are in constant -- not constant communication, they're in communication because this child is getting his medication, getting crayons, getting coloring books, so they are talking, but can you imagine, the family here waiting with bated breath to find out if their little one is k-okay. i'm hearing in my irear, just le that, here he is. this is the suspect building the underground bunker, eight feet underground in this rural area of alabama. this is jimmy lee dykes and the she

now all this played out in midland city, alabama, where martin savidge is tonight. rtin, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, what we know, anderson, is that the little boy, of course, has been rescued and that the gunman is dead. ethan is the 5-year-old, by the way. we should point out here that, as you said, law enforcement noted that there was a sense that things were breaking down, at least with that gunman. they said that dykes was apparently getting more and more irrational. they also saw him with a gun in a way that they thought was frightening to the little boy. they wasted no more time. they have had hostage rescue teams standing by around the clock, ready to move atty moment's notice. that notice was given. there was apparently an explosion. whether that was a distraction or the entry, they made their way in, there was gunfire, dykes was killed and the little boy was rescued. the pentagon was involved in some way here, leon panetta okaying the use of special equipment used for monitoring. that would have meant that military personnel were also on site but

martin savidge has the latest from the crime scene. marty, what are we learning? >> reporter: anderson, you were talking about both those photos and, now, the word of these explosive devices. we've been told all day long by authorities that one of the reasons why the public wasn't being allowed in the area was the concern for these explosive devices. now we learn there were two of them, one located inside the bunker, which would show you how dangerous it was the entire time for that young child and the agents that made the entry. and now the other device, we're being told, was found inside that pvc pipe, which was used for the communication. in those photographs, you might have noticed the roof of the bunker collapsed in, which would show you the force of the explosion that was used to gain entry and bring about the rescue. meanwhile, ethan, as you say, is out of the hospital. he's in good spirits, we're told. but his whereabouts right now are being kept secret. that's exactly the way his family wanted it. meanwhile, we took a look at exactly the breakdown of how

i'm martin savidge. thanks for starting your day with us. you going with the five stories we are watching this morning. number one, the massive man hunt for christopher dorner firing a gun back in 2005 when he was an lapd cadet. now accused of killing three people including a police officer. that's all in revenge supposedly for getting fired from his, quote, green job. that manhunt focusing on big bear lake, california. police scaled back the search because of heavy snow overnight. >>> number two, we know what caused the lights now to go out at the new orleans superdome in the middle of the super bowl. it was traced to a relay device that triggered unexpectedly and caused the lights to go out but the company that made it said it was the electric company's department for setting it up wrong. >>> jesse jackson jr. signed a plea deal with prosecutors. he was under investigation for misusing campaign funds. details of that deal are unknown but according to local reports in chicago he could still face time in prison. >>> at number four, michelle

cnn's martin savidge takes us through the ultimate holiday nightmare. >> fun in the sun, that's the promise of the carnival triumph, and with lots to offer, a casino, disco, spa, swimming pools, all you can eat, passengers expected plenty when departing galveston last 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 don't know the ship is crippled. adrift in the middle of the gulf of mexico. but by day's end, it's obvious this virtual floating city is almost completely powerless with nothing but back-up generators. passengers find themselves without hot water or working toilets, and eventually, without enough to eat. you can hear the desperation in the calls from the ship. >> it takes three and a half hours to get food. the smells -- i can't even describe them. there is sewage, raw sewage. pretty bad. you walk in the hall way, you have to cover your face. we don't have any masks for breathing. >> dead in the water, all anyone at sea or on land can d