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CNN NEWSROOM

Six States Still Under State Of Emergency Due To Blizzard; The Search for Christian Dorner Still Ongoing Despite Storm; Michelle Obama Attended Hadiya Pendleton's Funeral; Uncommon Valor

Aired February 9, 2013 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick. And here's what's happening right now.

The blizzard still being felt this hour. Six states are still under a state of emergency. Cape Cod is getting hammered right now with heavy snow and strong winds as the rest of the northeast starts the difficult task of digging out.

And back in big bear, California, authorities hunting for a fired cop who has threatened to kill his former comrades and their families. He's got the skill, the strength and the savvy to back up his threats. The search is urgent, complicated and extremely dangerous.

And in Chicago, the first lady joins the mourners paying their respects to a teen murder victim. Hadiya Pendleton sang at the president's inauguration, days later someone shot and killed near the Obama Chicago home.

Well, back to the major winter storm that's hammered the northeast. Parts of New England are still under a blizzard warning now. In Boston, an 11-year-old boy died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Investigators say the boy was helping his father shovel when he went into a running car trying to stay warm. Well, the car exhaust was buried in snow causing carbon monoxide to fill the car. Five other deaths are blamed on the storm. Heavy snow still coming down in eastern Massachusetts and about 400,000 customers still without power.

Ali Velshi joins us from Dennis Port on Cape Cod.

And Ali, it's still not letting up out there, is it?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, it's actually the blizzard warning has officially just ended for Cape Cod at 3:00 p.m. eastern. I'm not sure mother got the message however. We are at about 22 degrees right now. We got winds sustained in the 25 to 30-mile-per- hour range, gusting to 40.

So, I will tell you this. Look, here's the change I've observed. It is -- the wind though seems to be a little less. I can stand and face you. We got a gust coming through right now as you can see, but generally speaking I can stand and look into it. I can even have the snow falling in my face. A few hours I couldn't because it was stinging icy pellets.

This is a fluffy almost luscious snow. But it is still continuing to come down. There might be a couple more inches left in this snow. And as you said, of the 630,000 customers without power in the northeast, the overwhelming majority of those are in Massachusetts, almost 400,000, 500,000 I think the latest count in Massachusetts alone. And that is the -- that's the problem. With the snow coming down, we are still not getting the utility crews out. We have reports in this area, I'm in Dennis Port which is along the southern coast of Cape Cod about 30 miles before we get to the eastern end of it, about 90 percent of the customers around here are reporting power outages.

So, far it's still a very, very serious situation. It's wiped out a lot of the northeast. But it is still around us. It is still hitting Maine right now going further. Portland still has snow coming for the next hour or so and then, it's moving further east into the (INAUDIBLE) and the Maritimes.

So this storm remains deadly. It's not like it just blown into the ocean and nothing is happening. You can see a lot of snow around me right now, visibility still very, very low, less than two-tenths of a mile here and in many parts of the cape.

So, while others are digging out of the storm, the travel ban is in place for one more hour in Massachusetts. It has been lifted. That is south, that direction. Nantucket has had its travel ban lifted. Everywhere else it's still a statewide ban for one more hour in Massachusetts. But still serious and we're still worried about the folks who have lost their power -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. Very quickly, Ali, have you seen any sort of power trucks out there, or is it likely they'll wait till after the snow has stopped?

VELSHI: No power trucks out here yet. There are plows out here so far but nobody else.

FEYERICK: OK. Well, plows are good, too.

All right, Ali Velshi, thank you so much. Appreciate it. We'll check back with you in a little while.

Well, Connecticut which got hit especially hard by this blizzard is struggling to dig out. That's where we find our Ashleigh Banfield.

Ashleigh, what do you see going on there?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still very windy here, Deb. It's not snowing and it hasn't been all day. I've been in the lovely sunshine, but the brutal winds kicking up the snow drifting it into massive drifts. I want to show you the gas station where I've been all day (INAUDIBLE) people skidding out, coming in here to get supplies and gas.

Now look, a good reason for this. It is closed. And there is a reason. There are yellow tags on every single one of these pumps. They're closed because A, the guy couldn't come in to relief the worker who was here because he can't get into work. And B, the pumps were all freezing up. So they're getting clogged and not being functional either. But this is a repetitive story throughout the state. Listen, this thing has been a mess. We're not even seeing plows out right now here. We're just seeing clogged up 95, which is a big problem. It's a mess everywhere and not just Connecticut. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD (voice-over): The feared monster nor'easter didn't disappoint. Two feet of snow and in some places plenty more, left tens of thousands of New Englanders without power on Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This has been a record-breaking storm with snowfalls reported as great as 38 inches. Right now, our main priority is to clear roads.

BANFIELD: The numbers tell the tale. Milford, a whopping 38 inches, New Haven, 34, Bridgeport, 30.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a back hoe working its way up now.

BANFIELD: Here in Wallingford, Connecticut, check out this local firefighter. He's 6'3" and yet still struggles just to march through nearly knee high snow in order to check on locals and make any necessary rescues.

And in neighboring Massachusetts, over two feet of snow fell in the western part of the state. But in Boston, the mayor says the situation could have been much worse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm happy to report the city so far has weathered the storm well. No major power outages. No severe flooding. We still have a little way to go to get to the rest of the storm.

BANFIELD: This is the scene at Boston's Logan airport today. Snow plows, working around the clock. If the snow plows won't or can't come, some residents are taking matters into their own hands, shoveling the snow themselves to find their cars again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope this is my car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: How long have you been at it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: About an hour. Looks like you've made headway here. How much longer do you think you have to go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least two more.

BANFIELD: Across the region, driving is treacherous. If you don't have to venture out, officials say please don't. As for the airports, they too are struggling to recover from closures and delays over the past 24 hours. More than 5,000 flights had to be canceled due to this walloping blizzard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: So here's the problem. Once we get past the emergency, once the plows can get out and the utilities can get back out and get the power restored to people who don't have it, then it's a matter of getting rid of all of this snow. Where do you put it? Because you know what, you might be able to deal with your snow at your house with this thing, but those plows are going to have hundreds of thousands of pounds of snow that they're going to at least have to find somewhere for until finally mother nature decides to do with it what she wants to do, which is melt it, Deb Feyerick.

FEYERICK: Yes. What's so interesting, just looking at the cars behind you, they are very deep now. But boy, when those plows come by, they're going to be buried even more deeply if New York City is any gauge.

BANFIELD: And that's a car dealership. So, he's got to sell those cars. Imagine the work he's got.

(CROSSTALK)

FEYERICK: All right, Ashleigh Banfield. We'll be checking back with you in a little bit.

And the other big story that we're watching evolve this hour, snow and rough terrain making a manhunt in southern California even more treacherous. Authorities are desperately looking for Christopher Dorner notice Big Bear lake area. It's about 100 miles east of Los Angeles.

Dorner is the fired L.A. police officer who is accused of murder. He has threatened to kill police and their families. He is highly trained and because of that, he is highly dangerous. He is also highly armed.

CNN's Nick Valencia is following the story from Los Angeles.

And Nick, it's been days. Are police concerned that the trail has gone cold?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Deb. Three days and no new leads from the Los Angeles police department. For that matter any law enforcement agency involved in the manhunt for Chris Dorner. Dorner has seemingly varnished just as quickly as he emerged. And in the process he's left a trail of bloodshed. He promised to do so in his manifesto. And in that manifesto, Deb, he's made very pointed allegations of abuse, and rampant corruption in the Los Angeles police department. Just a short time ago, I spoke to Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and I asked him if people should give any credence to what Dorner has written.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELS MAYOR: This is a very sick individual as we can see by the three people he's already killed, one seriously injured and the threats that he's made to everybody else. I give no credence whatsoever to anything this man says.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: And the mayor went on to say that there's absolutely nothing that can rationalize the murder of three innocent people if you remember, Dorner is tied to the alleged slayings or slayings on Sunday in the Irvine area of a daughter of a former Los Angeles police captain as well as her fiance.

FEYERICK: Yes. And it is interesting to hear the mayor there, but authorities are definitely not underestimating the skills that this man has. Have you seen anything that suggests that police are changing their tactics because the man they are hunting knows of everything in their rule book?

VALENCIA: Well, for the last few days, they've been on a tactical alert. A short time ago, I spoke to Los Angeles police department media relations and they told me, Deb, that they've gone under a modified tactical alert which means officers from a handful of divisions are working 10 to 12-hour shifts. But basically, all hands on deck right now.

There are more than 40 police officers and their family members listed on that manifesto. And they are being given detailed protection. But right now, I think there's a lot of lingering sentiment of anxiety here throughout southern California. No new leads in three days. As well, there's no media briefing or press conferences and there is no significant developments in the search for Chris Dorner.

FEYERICK: Yes, They've got to change the game because the person they're playing knows the rules all too well.

All right, Nick Valencia, thanks so much. We appreciate it. We will, of course, check back with you a little later on.

Well, digging out from under a mountain of snow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I woke up at about 2:00 a.m. and my all my trucks were completely drifted in, five, six-foot snow drifts. All the side streets are impassable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: We're on the ground after a massive winter storm slams the northeast. And she's the 15-year-old honor student who sang at the inauguration and was gunned down a week later in the president's backyard. Now the first lady's back in Chicago to console the mourners.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, we're continuing to follow the winter storm that's blanketed New England. Yes, in white. Take a look at these pictures from Massachusetts, Cape Cod, where the storm isn't over by a long shot. Folks have been evacuated out of areas along the shoreline where the tide is rising. Six states are still in a state of emergency and over 635,000 people there without power. But first, here are your other top stories.

Remember that horse meat scandal that hit the UK and France? Well, a frozen food producer caught up in the scandal is now blaming an unnamed Romanian business for the contamination and it is promising to sue the company. But, so far millions of processed beef products have been pulled from shelves across Europe.

Today, a meeting was held in London on the scandal where investigators warned of quote "more bad news to come," unquote.

At least 12 people are dead after a bus carrying soccer fans careened off the side of a mountain road in Chile. The accident happened in the town of Tome, just south of Santiago. The bus carrying 45 people plummeted about 100 feet. No word on what caused the driver to lose control.

First lady Michelle Obama joined mourners today at the funeral of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year old band majorette, honor student and athlete was shot dead in Chicago just days after she marched in the president's inauguration parade.

A short time ago, the first lady joined Pendleton's family and friends to celebrate the young girl's life at a church on the south side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No matter what the devil tries to do, God is still in control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Words from Hadiya's pastor there and CNN's Athena Jones is in Chicago.

And Athena, the first lady's being there, it brings the case even more attention because she's become the face of gun violence, this girl.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly she has. And you know, the president has often spoken about violence, gun violence in places like Chicago on the street corners in Chicago and Philadelphia. This is of course, the first lady's hometown and her office said that she was heartbroken to learn about the death of Hadiya Pendleton and wanted very much to be here to offer condolences and comfort to her friends and family. She met with 30 or so of her classmates before the service began and also met privately with her family. So, this has been quite a long service so far. More than three hours it's been going on. Lots of people have come up to speak, including several of her young classmates and also her mother. Let's listen to what her mother had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLEOPATRA PENDLETON, HADIYA PENDLETON'S MOTHER: You don't know how hard this really is. And those of you that do know how hard this is, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No mother, no father should ever have to experience this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so that's one of the big messages from this service today. I can tell you that President Obama, the funeral program here includes a copy of a handwritten note from president Obama to Hadiya Pendleton's parents saying we know no words we know can soothe their pain, but also going on to say we're going to work as hard as we can to end this senseless violence. And so, certainly, this is going to be an important symbol in this national gun violence debate -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Boy, and listening to the mom, and just hear the loss that she's feeling of her daughter and the loss of joy in her life, my goodness. Is the community frustrated that they haven't found even a suspect yet?

JONES: You know, there is a lot of frustration around here. We've been here all day and have spoken to some people standing outside hoping to get a glimpse of the first lady. And they said that something needs to be done about this. This is far too common, not just in Chicago but in other cities. And you know, one of the young speakers early on said, you know, it's sad in Chicago you have to watch your front while watching your back. And so, we know that there have been no arrests in the case. The reward money has gone up to $40,000. But still so far, no arrests. So it's still an open case, Deb.

FEYERICK: All right, Athena Jones, thank you so much.

Our sorrow and grief for the family having to go through this.

Well, back to our top story. The blizzard, every time we see a storm like this lately, the first question to pop into a lot of people's minds is whether or not global warming is to blame. I will talk to Bill Nye, the science guy, about devastating storms and climate change on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Check today's top stories, a source close to Jesse Jackson Junior says the former congressman has signed a plea deal. Federal prosecutors along with the FBI were investigating Jackson for possible financial impropriety ties including misusing campaign funds. Officially the U.S. attorney's office in Washington has no comment. Lawyers representing Jackson are not returning calls from CNN. Jackson resigned from Congress last year after taking an extended medical leave.

Well, here's a sight millions of people in the northeast won't see this weekend, a mail truck. The postal service says it's suspending mail deliveries in seven states because of this weekend's huge blizzard. What happened to neither snow nor rain? Oh, well.

Now, here's a look what folks are digging out in Massachusetts after this massive storm. I-reporter Mike Morris sent this picture of his car sitting under 31 inches of snow in his driveway. This is western Massachusetts in the town of Amherst. Boston got buried under 22 inches of snow.

But where is the storm right now? Meteorologist Chad Meyers joins me.

And Chad, so what's going on? Are we kind of in the clear? Is the Cape Cod where Ali Velshi is getting the last of it?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Cape Cod is good. Maine and still parts of eastern New Hampshire still under blizzard warnings right now. It's still snowing a little bit and it's obviously still windy. We saw the pictures from Ali. But this is the end of it for the U.S. Now, Atlantic Canada the major times, you're still going to get the snow. It's headed out into the ocean and eventually will get all the way across the Atlantic. So, it's just about done here.

But look at the number. From the Yonkers at 23 and Scarsdale are about the same, and the White Plains 14. This is Westchester County. This is just north of New York City and central park got about 11.5 inches. Milford, Connecticut, that is the big number at 38 inches, New Haven at 34.

There was just as much snow in Massachusetts in most of the areas even where Ali Velshi was, there was just as much moisture that fell out of the sky. But it fell off the sky as an ice pellet or a snow grapple, not really a flake where the flakes pile up. Those snow grains or that sleet doesn't pile up as much. Portland Maine though, on up there, new number for you, 31.9, Worcester now 28. There is right there, Logan airport, 24.9, over two feet of snow. It's almost done here.

One thing I want to show you, this is some good news. There are planes heading into New York City. There are. This is 100 airplanes heading into Newark and the planes into LaGuardia, as well, not as many but planes into JFK.

So I guess this means, yes, it's almost over when we start to see airplanes start flying back into where the big weather really was. Now, they're not flying back into this area here, just into New York City because the city didn't pick up nearly as much as Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

FEYERICK: And did you call that snow grain a grapple?

MYERS: A grapple.

FEYERICK: A grapple.

MYERS: It's kind of an underdeveloped snowflake. It could have been a snowflake aloft at 5,000, 10,000 feet but it fell through the sky. And at some layer, because those water (INAUDIBLE) the ocean's warm, still not 70 but it's 50, and so that melted into a little smaller snowflake and then it refroze on the way down and then, it threw itself at 60 miles hour right at Ali Velshi. And I think the whole side of his face has less skin than it does over here.

FEYERICK: Yes, poor Ali Velshi who is standing out there, getting grappled on.

MYERS: Yes.

FEYERICK: OK.

Well, we want to bring in our science guy, Bill Nye. And you know, talk about something else is falling from the sky. And that is an asteroid. What's coming our way? Is this an effect of perhaps global warming or just some meteoric occasion?

BILL NYE, THE SOURCE GUY: Except its all science and it is the word meteorology and the word meteor come from the same root. So, next Friday, the 15th of February, an asteroid 2012 da14 which was discovered with a grant provided from the planetary society, my current day job, I'm the CEO of the planetary society, this asteroid is about the same size as the one that is made the crater in media crater in Arizona. As the one that created the Tunguska event in Siberia in 1908. If such a meteor were to hit Atlanta or New York City or Boston, that would be it for those municipalities. The thing about 2,000 square kilometers, 1200 square miles, something like that destroyed, flattened, ruined.

FEYERICK: But, that's not going to happen. Let's make sure viewers don't get nervous.

NYE: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

NYE: Yes. Get nervous but not about this one. This one will miss us by about 15 minutes, 15 minutes difference and that's it. There are about 100,000 of these earth-crossing asteroids that we are looking for with the planetary society especially. So it's something that we as humans all over the world ought to get involved in, this asteroid hunting. We're the first generation of people that could do something about it. It's exciting science. But it's also I hope gives everybody a little pause for thought.

FEYERICK: Well, it's definitely now that you said that it could wipe out Atlanta and New York City, it's definitely giving people pause for thought.

NYE: Let alone Oklahoma City or Paris.

FEYERICK: Well, exactly, any city. But do you see this as happening more routinely little now because this is -- this isn't an everyday day occurrence, clearly.

NYE: No, but the chances of it happening are pretty high. Surprisingly high compared with, say, getting struck by lightning or getting in a car wreck or especially if you consider getting in a car wreck over about 100 years, like your entire lifetime. I'll bet many of us have been in fender-benders or wrecks over the course of a life. So this is really serious business. It's coming closer than the satellites that are providing the CNN broadcast around the country and around the world right now. These satellites are at 22,000 miles, 36,000 kilometers and this thing is coming 17,000 miles, closer than the satellites. It is something to think about.

FEYERICK: It is definitely something to think about. Yes, and Bill, just very quickly, you said it's 15 minutes away from hitting us. What is that mean because it's still 17,000 miles from planet earth?

NYE: Yes. But when you're going 17,000 miles an hour, you can cover a lot of space. So here's the idea. It's not when we go one day, I hope some of the viewers of this program, let's say young people who become engineers, rocket scientists, will have the technology to deflect an asteroid. And deflection means ever so slightly slowing it down or ever so slightly speeding it up so it doesn't cross the earth's orbit when the earth does. So it misses us just as this one will miss us next Friday.

FEYERICK: OK. You just heard me breathe.

NYE: This is technology we could -- good. But, this is technology that we could do. We could develop this. This is rocket science.

FEYERICK: Keep it further away.

All right, well, Bill Nye The Science Guy.

NYE: Ever so slightly change its speed, yes.

FEYERICK: Fascinating. Just fascinating. All right. And actually if you Google NASA, there's tons of stuff to watch and see.

All right, thank you so much. We appreciate your insights as always.

NYE: Thank you.

FEYERICK: All right, now, picture this. You are stuck on the highway in a huge snowstorm and end up having to spend the night, well, at a Wal-Mart. That was the reality for some folks last night on Long Island. We'll have the latest as the northeast digs out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Bottom of the hour, and here are the top stories.

For some motorists stranded on Long Island, New York, a Wal-Mart provided refuge from the storm. More than two dozen people along with several employees sought shelter in the store, which initially closed early but ended staying open past midnight. The motorists were stuck on secondary roads after major roadways were shut down.

The Grammy awards are tomorrow night. But don't expect celebrities to be revealing too much during the show. CBS sent attendees a wardrobe warning or a dress code to tone it down and button up. As far as the nomination count goes this year, it's a six- way tie between Mumford And Sons, Frank Ocean, Fun (ph), Kanye West, Jay-Z and The Black Keys's Dan Auerbach. All have six nominations each.

In about half an hour, the driving ban in Massachusetts will be lifted as that state and the rest of the Northeast begin the big task of digging out in a monster storm. More than 600,000 people are without power. Check out this iReport from Milford, Connecticut, which got the most snow in the region, a whopping 38 inches. And in Providence and Boston, 40-mile-per-hour winds continue to swirl, making it extra chilly.

We go now to Boston, and that's where we find Jason Carroll. Jason, the snow tapering off. Good news for first responders and other personnel. But for one neighborhood, unfortunately, there is tragedy after an 11-year-old boy dies. What do you know?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very sad story, Debbie. And it really has to do with what's happening throughout the city. What we're seeing on streets like this, people digging out.

Basically it was early this afternoon. A father had come out like we've seen so many people come out to dig out his car. He brought his son with him. Basically, they had been out there; they had cleared one side of the car. But the young boy about 11 years old had gotten cold. So, Debbie, he got inside the car. He was inside for about 10 or 15 minutes, but unbeknownst to the father, the tail pipe was covered with snow. You can see how easy that could happen with looking at some of these other cars here, how they're basically all covered with snow.

The young boy was overcome by carbon monoxide. They brought him outside of the car. They got paramedics out here. Neighbors, paramedics tried to revive the boy, but unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

So, you can understand how terribly tragic this is. I reached out to the mayor's office, and the mayor's office just released a statement. They gave it to me. It says, quote, "The news of this tragic accident is a sad reminder of the danger that this storm is not over. Our hearts go out to that family and their friends who are learning of this tremendously sad accident.

And Debbie, as you had mentioned, because that travel ban is about to be lifted in just about a half hour from now, you can imagine a lot of people are anxious to get out there, dig out their cars, clear things out. But a lot of people who are in the situation also have to remember that you know, there's potentially dangerous situations if you don't make sure that all of your car is cleared, including the tail pipe. And unfortunately, and very sadly, a family learned that earlier this afternoon. Debbie?

FEYERICK: Yes, how tragic. It's the unexpected. It's the branch falling, the car sort of backing up.

All right. Jason Carroll, thanks so much. We appreciate that latest reporting from there. Any word on whether power outages will finally be restored any point today?

CARROLL: Well, that's a good question. As you know, some 400,000 people estimated without power in Massachusetts. Most of those people on the coast. You know, all we can tell you is that officials are working around the clock to get that power restored. No estimate at this point when that will happen. But we can tell you that city officials tell us that they are working to try to get those who don't have power to get it back on.

FEYERICK: All right, Jason Carroll for us up there in Boston. Thanks so much.

Well, 15 years in prison for cutting off Amish men's beards. We've got the latest on a bizarre hate crime in Ohio.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: We're continuing to follow the monster storm that has brought life to a standstill in so many parts of New England. And we're seeing live pictures out of Cape Cod as snow and wind continue to pound the coast. It's 24 degrees there. The wind gusting to 54 miles an hour. In case you want to know what that feels like, about seven degrees.

A special posthumous honor for the teachers and staff members who died in the Newtown shooting massacre. Friday, President Obama will honor the six staff members of Sandy Hook Elementarywith the second- highest civilian honor, the Citizens' Medal. It's awarded to Americans who have performed exemplary service for their country or fellow citizens. The ceremony will take place at the White House.

An Amish man behind a string of beard cutting attacks has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars. Samuel Mullet was convicted of religiously motivated hate crimes. To the Amish, a beard signifies faith and manhood. Several of Mullet's followers who participated in the attacks received shorter sentences.

And despite the intense search, former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner remains a fugitive, taunting police he is off the grid, which means they will not be able to track him by normal means. And our Kyung Lah obtained exclusive video of Dorner. It was taken at a police academy shooting range during his time as a cadet and it shows he is skilled in handling weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Christopher Dorner, LAPD cadet, in 2005.

(on camera): What do you think watching this? Considering what's happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he's an expert with weapons, definitely. He's definitely dangerous.

LAH: This man spent months with Dorner at the LAPD Training Academy. We are altering his voice and not showing his face because he fears Dorner will go after his police friends. But he wants the public to see this so people understand what the LAPD is facing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look at Chris, you can see he's a little bit of an expert. The way -- watch, his arms, he'll shoot, you -- almost no movement when he shoots the gun, and then pop, like nothing.

LAH: So, he stood out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he stood out. He knew what he was doing. The LAPD has -- they're going to be going after one of their own former, and he knows, like I say, he knows what he's doing. He knows how to use everything.

LAH: Being a cop, do you think that it was -- could you tell that it was important to him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think it was very important to him. Yes.

LAH: You could see it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LAH: Even during the training?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, yes. I think it's a 300-pound dummy and he does that easily.

LAH: Easily? This is 300 pounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I believe that's 300 pounds.

LAH: So, this is a very strong man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LAH: But not everything was easy for Dorner, the aspiring police officer. This man says he witnessed drill instructors picking on him for his weight and slow running.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I hear about how angry he is about the LAPD, I think that fits, to my experience, with him. I could kind of, you know -- that matches up when he says things about LAPD, matches up to the way I think he had his experience through the LAPD, especially the academy.

LAH (voice-over): But this man never spoke to Dorner but he never forgot the cadet.

(on camera): But your thought was, this man represents power and --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, exactly. I wanted to show -- when I was going to use it, I wanted to show, put music, show the LAPD is powerful, look at this powerful man handling this gun.

LAH: Is it frightening to think that the LAPD is now facing this man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. I mean, this guy is no joke.

LAH (voice-over): And one police are taking very seriously.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, he's about to receive the Medal of Honor, but he won't be there to accept it. The story of the soldier that walked into certain death to save his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan.

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FEYERICK: Well, we are still following that winter storm that slammed into the Northeast with full force. We're seeing live pictures out of Cape Cod as the snow and wind continue to hammer the area. Hundreds of thousands are still without power in the Northeast, though it does look a little bit like it's beginning to calm down. Good news for our folks, our team out there on the beach.

Well, more on the storm in a minute. But first, it is the nation's highest honor for courage. And on Monday, former staff sergeant Clint Romesha will receive the Medal of Honor for his heroism in one of the deadliest battles of the Afghanistan war. Jack Tapper spoke to Romesha about the day the Taliban overran his outpost.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was movement everywhere. There were muzzle flashes everywhere. Just couldn't pick them out fast enough.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: October 2009. Up to 400 Taliban fighters unleash a torrent of withering fire upon a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan. The attack so fierce in the end more than half of the 53 U.S. troops at the outpost were killed or wounded.

But as buildings burned and the enemy ran freely through the outpost, soldiers became heroes. One in particular. CLINT ROMESHA, FORMER STAFF SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY: I know that there are so many great soldiers out there that would have stepped in to my shoes and done the same thing.

TAPPER: Former staff sergeant Clint Romesha is a reluctant hero. That day, he helped plan the recautpre of Keating. And he led troops in repelling the onslaught of Taliban fighters during a grueling day- long battle.

Next week, Romesha will receive the Medal of Honor, the highest award for combat bravery, becoming just the fourth living recipient among those who have bed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Chris Jones was a young private under Romesha's command when the Taliban struck.

CHRIS JONES, FORMER PRIVATE FIRST CLASS, U.S. ARMY: He is, in my opinion, the only reason we came back that day.

TAPPER: You led them right into places where your fellow soldiers had already been killed. That's why you're getting this medal. Others had died in a place that you ran into. You weren't worried?

ROMESHA: There wasn't time to sit there and worry about stuff out of our control. We had the tools. We had the training. We had the spirit. We had the support of each other. And it was the time.

TAPPER: By the end of the day, eight soldiers were dead and 23 wounded. Clint Romesha now has a place in history. One that he shares with his comrades.

ROMESHA: It's a greater honor to -- for me to know I couldn't have done what I did without those guys, that team. It was everybody that day. That's what's, you know -- excites me about this. It's those guys.

TAPPER: Jake Tapper, CNN, in Minot, North Dakota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: The humility of a hero. Well, tomorrow night, CNN's Jake Tapper shares a remarkable story of valor and courage during one of the deadliest fights of the Afghan war. AN AMERICAN HERO: THE UNCOMMON VALOR OF CLINT ROMESHA, Sunday at 8:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.

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FEYERICK: On the eve of music's biggest night, we're bringing you a half hour special on one of the world's hottest stars. She has earned 16 Grammys and set a record for the female artist with the most wins in a single year. Here is a preview of Nischelle Turner's special report, BEYONCE: FINDING HER DESTINY.

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NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Before she was the diva, before she was the queen bee, she was just Beyonce Giselle Knowles, a little girl in suburban Houston.

MATTHEW KNOWLES, BEYONCE'S FATHER: Beyonce was really a quiet kid. Kind of to herself.

TURNER: Hoping to get Beyonce to come out of her shell, Matthew and Tina Knowles sent their seven-year-old daughter to Darlet Johnson's dance studio.

TURNER: When you first saw her and she first came in, did you even notice her?

DARLET (PH) JOHNSON, DANCE STUDIO OWNER: What I did notice about her, she was very shy. You would ask her, what's your name? Beyonce Knowles. You could barely hear her speak. I said, can you say your name again, sweetheart? Beyonce Knowles.

TURNER: But on the dance floor --

JOHNSON: Beyonce would dance so hard, she would lose her costume pieces. Sometimes her hat would come off. Because she was fierce.

TURNER: It was here that Beyonce created her now-famous alter ego.

Now, that's Sasha Fierce. That's who that is.

JOHNSON: When she got on the stage, she became a different person.

TURNER: But no one knew Beyonce had a secret.

JOHNSON: I would hum the song, and she finished it. And it blew me away. And I would stop. And I told her, sing it again. And she wouldn't sing it again, because once again, she was very quiet, very shy. And I promised her a dollar. And she sung it again. And I was just -- I was floored. And when her parents came to pick her up, I told them, she can sing! She can really sing!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: BEYONCE: FINDING HER DESTINY airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. on CNN.

There's lots more on the storm. It is blowing out to sea. We'll have the latest.

And, of course, the Grammy awards are tomorrow night. Don't expect celebrities to be too revealing too much during the show. CBS sent attendees a wardrobe warning to tone it down, to button up. As far as the nomination count goes this year, it's a six-way tie between Mumford and Sons, Frank Ocean, Fun, Kayne West, Jay-Z, and The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, all with six nominations.

Well, you would think that someone heading to Antarctica might wear something more than a skimpy bikini. Good thing 20-year-old model Kate Upton also thought to bring along a winter coat. OK. But then I suppose if Upton buttoned up, she wouldn't be on the cover of the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition for the second year in a row. The magazine hits newsstands on Tuesday.

And, of course, we'll have lots more on that storm that's coming up. Just ahead, it's blowing out to sea, but lots left to do.

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