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CNN NEWSROOM

Bitter Cold Locks Up Texas, Mid-South; North Korea Frees Elderly U.S. War Veteran; Mandela's Public Memorial Set for Tuesday; NSA Tracking Millions of Cellphones; Spies Eye Phones for Secret Info; Why Teens Today are Called "Generation Stress"; Icy Storm on the Move

Aired December 7, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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


DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everybody. I'm Deborah Feyerick.

Well, this weekend across several states, you guessed it, winter came early and winter came fast. In just 24 hours, temperatures went from spring-like to below freezing in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee.

This isn't the fluffy stuff, the stuff you go out and have a good time in. No, we are talking about sleep and frozen slush and high winds that are making driving generous, that are knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes. People of Little Rock, Arkansas, saw 75 degrees just a couple of days ago, it was 75, while it is not going to be above freezing at all this weekend.

In Oklahoma, all counties are under a state of emergency today. Road crews working to clear highways that are snow packed and dangerous and churches and communities are opening kitchens and shelters and warming centers across the state.

Memphis, Tennessee was supposed to host a marathon, as was Dallas today. Why not? It should have been in the mid-50s. Well, our Indra Petersons is there.

And, Indra, you've been standing out in that weather. It's already more than 20 degrees colder than normal. The sun has now gone down. That is my worst part of covering weather.

How long does this cold snap last?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, here's the thing, we still have another round of potential ice storm expected, even overnight tonight. And you mentioned, yes, we had the marathon cancelled today, 20,000 people were expected to come into the city, but yesterday around noon or so, they started getting not only the cold arctic air, temperatures feeling like they were in the single digits, but also those icy, slick conditions that we're seeing that freezing rain, and yet, still some people came into town.

Just take a listen to what they had to endure to get here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN LISS, DROVE TO MEMPHIS FROM ST. LOUIS: We had exciting ride down. It took us nine hours, which is normally a four-to-five hour trip, windshield wipers icing up, lines down over the highway on 55, it was closed for a time, and went through everything from ice to snow. It was a -- it was a journey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PETERSONS: That was exactly the concern. The threat of freezing rain and people trying to commute into the city and also since there's a second wave this evening. They were worried they'd be trying to leave home in another round of those dangerous conditions on the road.

The other concern, of course, has been these cold temperatures. They were worried about volunteers being out here for prolonged periods of time, in single digit temperatures, once you factor in that wind chill. And, you know, we keep talking about these temperatures, now cold air. Many people without power. I mean, 5,000 people lost power yesterday. Now, it's down to about 500 in Memphis.

But, still, when you talk about these temperatures dipping down and the threat that more people can lose power if we continue to see freezing rain over night tonight. That's really what's on everybody's minds right now.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. All right. Indra Petersons, thank you so much. We really appreciate you doing yeoman's work out there, standing in the work and the rain and the sleet and slush, and all the weather conditions that you signed on for.

Well, a lot of questions also remain after an 85-year-old Korean War veteran was mysteriously released after being held in North Korea for six weeks. Merrill Newman is now safe on U.S. soil and with his family in northern California.

Paula Hancocks takes a look back at Newman's path when he was an intelligence officer involved in some tough secret missions during the Korean War.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Putting on military fatigues in a run-down office in Seoul, former members of so-called Kuwol partisans talk about the Korean War. Now in their 80s, these men were part of an anti-communist guerrilla group that carried out undercover operations in North Korea. They say the released American citizen Merrill E. Newman was one of their leaders.

"Newman used to send down orders to us," this veteran tells me, "indicating which island to infiltrate and occupy. Then we used to work on combined operations."

Looking at photos of Newman when he visited Seoul several years ago, the veterans reminisce about their wartime operations. Yim Jongsong says he worked with Newman during the war and claims the Kuwol group was and still is hated in the North. Yim says, "I heard that even North Korean soldiers dies, their last wish is to see the dead face of the Kuwol partisans. We accomplished a lot during the war."

North Korea released a video last weekend Newman reading a handwritten apology for killing civilians during the Korean War, an apology that may well have been coerced.

A clearly relieved looking Newman traveled through Beijing on his way home Saturday, mentioning nothing of his past.

MERRILL E. NEWMAN, RELEASED KOREAN WAR VETERAN: I'm very glad to be on my way home. I appreciate the tolerance that DPRK government has given for me to be on my way.

HANCOCKS: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden paid respect Saturday to American soldiers who died during the Korean War. He mentioned a second U.S. citizen still imprisoned in North Korea.

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a positive thing they've done, but they still have Mr. Bae, who has no reason to be held in North, should be released immediately. And we're going to demand his release as well.

HANCOCKS: Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary, has been held in North Korea for over a year, sentenced to 15 years hard labor last May for so-called hostile acts against the regime.

(on camera): Bae's family welcome the release of Merrill Newman and said that they hope that Kenneth Bae will be next. Bae is currently the longest serving American prisoner in the north since the Korean War.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, survivors of Pearl Harbor attack gathered in Hawaii for a special ceremony honoring those killed 72 years ago today. Japan's 1941 attack launched America into World War II. The crowd observed a moment of silence and then a vintage World War II era airplane flew overhead to break the silence.

The public ceremony explored how Americans answer the call of duty after the Pearl Harbor attack.

President Obama defended his six-month nuclear deal with Iran today when he spoke at a prominent D.C. forum. The deal requires that Iran temporarily cap some nuclear activities in exchange for slightly relaxed sanctions. The president suggests that his critics are being very unrealistic as they believe that Iran would suddenly give up all nuclear enrichment capabilities forever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One can envision an ideal world in which Iran said we'll destroy every element and facility and, you name it, it's all gone. I can envision a world in which Congress passed every one of my bills that I put forward. I mean, there are a lot of things that I can envision that would be wonderful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, the forum is being held by the Brookings Institution, which is a Washington think tank.

Friday's jobs report was a shot in the arm for the stock market and some good news for a White House that, well, hasn't had a lot of it recently -- 203,000 jobs were added and one group in particular is cashing in.

Alexandra Field tells us who exactly is getting hired.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Deb, young people in particular are reaping the benefits of these better jobs numbers. Since the recession, young people have struggled to find and to keep jobs in the last month. We see more of them are collecting paychecks.

JEFF DELORENZO, FLEXLINE EMPLOYEE: Well, it's a big relief actually getting a paycheck, instead of work for minimum wage. I mean, I can actually do stuff now.

FIELD (voice-over): Jeff DeLorenzo graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in engineering. He was underemployed for a year serving coffee until he found full-time work in his field at Flexline, a Linden, New Jersey manufacturer.

JEFF SCHEININGER, PRESIDENT, FLEXLINE: We figured there was a great potential there, an engineering degree and we grab them.

FIELD: Young people like DeLorenzo and the recently unemployed are reaping the benefits of an economy that's adding jobs. The latest jobs report puts the unemployment rate at a five-year low of 7 percent, 203,000 jobs were created in November. And more of them are in higher paying sectors.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We saw, you know, the predictable retail jobs, in leisure and hospitality, bars and restaurants because of the holidays. But we also saw things like manufacturing, business, professional services again tend to pay a little more money. So, these are broad-based jobs gains this month and that's important.

FIELD: The November jobs report was better than expected. For a third year in a row, more than 2 million jobs have been created. Still, that's not enough to make up for the 9 million jobs lost between 2008 and 2009.

FIELD (on camera): Did you think it was going to be difficult finding a job? DELORENZO: I thought I was going to be handed a job. I thought people are going to be asking me to have a job.

FIELD (voice-over): In the last year, unemployment dropped nearly a full percentage point but 11 million people are searching for jobs. And the long-term unemployed are struggling the most. In some places, people are fighting for work.

Last month, Walmart opened two stores in Washington, D.C. There were 600 job openings and 23,000 job applicants.

ANNALYN KURTZ, CNN MONEY: If you looked at that as a rate, that means less than 3 percent getting hired, Harvard has a higher acceptance rate.

FIELD (on camera): While hiring is up, public perception of the economy may not have quite caught up. In a recent CNN/ORC poll, only a quarter of people polled said they believe the economy is getting better -- Deb.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Alexandra, thanks so much.

Well, in South Africa, 10 days of mourning under way for the man many called Madiba. Nelson Mandela is being remembered all across the world. That is next.

Also, the NSA, what might they have been peeking into any time? Here's a hint it, could have just been in your pocket. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, 23-year-old Jennifer Grout did more than just prove critics wrong in the "Arabs Got Talent" competition. She almost won the whole thing.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS, MBC)

FEYERICK: Grout, who is from Massachusetts, came in third. Now, some journalists in the Middle East were appalled that an American was in the competition. The audience, though, and the judges, they felt differently. They loved her and they loved her take on the traditional songs. A Syrian dance group, however, won the ultimate contest.

Prince Harry's charity race to the South Pole has been put on hold for safety reasons. The prince and wounded veterans set off about five days ago, competing against two other teams. The race director said that the prince cancelled the competition because it was putting simply too much stress on contestants' bodies. Prince Harry and his buds will continue on to the South Pole but they're going to do it at a more leisurely pace, if can you call it that. The competition part of it, though, is over. Plans for a final good-bye for Nelson Mandela are becoming to come into focus. Crowds gathered outside Mandela's home in Johannesburg today and they celebrated. They remembered the 94-year-old former president who died on Thursday.

In the days ahead, a parade of world leaders will travel to South Africa to pay their respects. Former President George W. Bush, he will fly with President Obama to Tuesday's memorial. Former President Bill Clinton, he will also plan to attend.

CNN's Robyn Curnow is live in Johannesburg.

And, Robin, Mandela's funeral will be held on Sunday. Family, dignitaries, they're all coming together. Logistically, that is going to be incredible.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I mean, this really is one of the biggest events we're seeing in recent history. And it's three days into a ten-day mourning period. Sunday, we're going to see more prayers, reconciliation, memorials. Tuesday, we're going to see a memorial service that the South African government is encouraging heads of state to come rather than the official state funeral, which is in day 10, which is essentially next Sunday. That's because it's easier to get into Joburg, Johannesburg, than it is to fly down to small, rural, remote town of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape, when Nelson Mandela will be buried on Sunday, after that funeral.

Now, in between, we're going to see him laying in state for three days, in Pretoria, at the Union Buildings, which is the seat of government, where he took office as the country's first democratically elected black president.

So, all in all, quite a busy schedule for South Africans. Also quite geographically spread out. Gives chance for this whole country, people in different areas to be able to join in the memorials and pay their respects to Nelson Mandela.

FEYERICK: The man who brought South Africa into the modern day.

Robyn Curnow, thank you so much.

Well, Nelson Mandela touched the heart of so many people around the world, there's a statue of Mandela in central London where mourners gathered in recent days. Senior international correspondent Matthew Chance spoke with the people there about Mandela's influence and his legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're here in central London, just a few steps from the South African high commission, in the past the scene of vigorous anti-apartheid demonstrations. Today, a place of remembrance. You can see, floral tributes have been laid. Some with touching personal messages. One here saying, when I was 3, you kissed me on the cheek and I think you blessed me."

Another over here reads, "To the people of South Africa, thank you for giving the world Mandela."

Of course, there are sentiments like this that are now being expressed all over the world.

There are lines of people that have gathered outside the South African high commission to sign the book of remembrance inside. See, they're all down here.

Excuse me, sir. Can I ask you, what did Nelson Mandela mean to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nelson Mandela to me was comparable (ph) to Christ, just like Christ.

CHANCE: What do you think that his biggest achievement was?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that he continues to represent hope. I know, our country has got a lot of challenges but he shows the beautiful side of the South African spirit and the heart and the beauty of the South African people. So, he represents all that good stuff, forgiveness, love, harmony, and we still got that. Here we are as a country. So, yes, he will always represent that for all of us. That's why we love him so much.

CHANCE: Well, Nelson Mandela was an icon long before he passed away. His statue her in parliament square stands alongside that of Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln.

Over the coming days, especially for those away from South Africa, it's a place of pilgrimage.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Central London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Such a humble man, you almost have to wonder what he would be thinking about all of this.

Well, if you've got a phone, there's a chance the NSA knows exactly where you are. That makes a lot of people very, very uncomfortable, even when they aren't doing anything wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, guess who's keeping tabs on where you're going and where you've been? It's not your parents. It's not your spouse. It's the folks at the NSA. Yes, the security agency is tracking the locations of hundreds of millions of devices, in all, an astounding 5 billion records a day, according to recent reports.

CNN's Brian Todd explains what they're doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got him. His phone is turned back on.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We've seen cell phones tracked on TV dramas liked "Criminal Minds."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got it. Just west of here, less than half a mile.

TODD: The police used similar methods to catch criminals. You can even track your friends on their own cell phone with their permission on a special app. But new reports now say the National Security Agency is running a massive program to track the location of hundreds of millions of cell phones around the world.

According to "The Washington Post", the NSA collects nearly 5 billion location records a day. That's almost 58,000 records of call information and other data per second. "The Post" cites intelligence officials and documents provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. "The NSA does it," "The Post" reports, "to find unknown associates of people it's targeting for surveillance." People called co-travelers.

MARK RASCH, CYBER-INTELLIGENCE EXPERT: Let's say they're interested in tracking somebody here by the red dot. And they can tell where they are by accessing three different cell towers. As that person moves around a path, a certain number of people are going to be following the same general direction. As they move, fewer and fewer people are going down the same exact path. And say fewer people are there and by the time they get to one other location, there's only one person who has been traveling the same path, the green dot right there, the fellow traveler.

TODD: And they can track when two people arrive at the same location from different directions more than once. Cell phones are always emitting location signals, even when you're not making call, sometimes even when your phone is not turned on. A senior U.S. intelligence official tells CNN the NSA's phone location records collection is focused on foreign targets overseas. But the cellphone locations of innocent people, including Americans overseas could be incidentally caught up in these sweeps, even though the NSA is not allowed to spy on Americans. A privacy advocate calls this an intrusive dragnet.

CHRIS SOGHOIAN, ACLU: Location data reveals some of the most personal and private aspects of our lives. If we go to an abortion clinic or to an AA meeting, location data captures that, even if we're not telling anyone we're going to those meetings.

TODD (on camera): The NSA would not comment on "The Post" report. But a senior U.S. intelligence official tells us the program operates so that a minimum amount of cell phone location data is caught up in this and that it's removed from the database when it is collected.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, the debate over this kind of surveillance is not going to be going away anytime soon.

Here to talk about this is Christopher Soghoian, resident technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union. And joining us by phone right now, retired General James "Spider" Marks, the CNN military analyst and also principal from Willow Dale Services.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us today.

General, first of all, I want to ask you, is this fair game? In a way, if U.S. intelligence wasn't using something as basic as digital tracking, wouldn't we say that the government is negligent?

GEN. JAMES SPIDER MARKS (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST (via telephone): Absolutely. I'd have to say the technology is so pervasive and so precise, it really must be used to our advantage and, clearly, the NSA is working within parameters that have been prescribed legally. We have the FISA court that allows to us do that. So, the United States is taking advantage of some technologies and some capabilities to really do the very, very best it can in terms of tracking those that have -- that the United States has great interest on and known terrorists.

And as a result of that, absolutely some innocents will be caught up in this. But because of the nature of the technology and the direction that we want to take this, those innocents, much like Brian Todd described, will be sifted away and swept away and not used in any type of ongoing or developing investigation and/or operation.

FEYERICK: So, Christopher with the ACLU, let me ask you this, do you see any value to this kind of surveillance or do you think it's run amuck?

SOGHOIAN: This is not a surveillance program targeted at people who are suspected of doing something wrong. This is a surveillance program that is getting vast amounts of data about a massive number of people who have done nothing to warrant this kind of surveillance.

If the NSA were focusing its efforts on truly bad actors, that would be one thing. But this is NSA casting a massive wide net and then filtering things out later after the fact, that all of this sensitive data is sitting in a government date center somewhere for this government or a later administration to sift to and use as it see fit.

FEYERICK: But part of finding a bad actor also or part of tracking a bad actor is knowing who they're collaborating with potentially.

Doesn't this kind of program do something like this?

SOGHOIAN: This program violates the privacy of hundreds of millions of people in order to find a few people that the government is interested in. It's simply guilt by association and requires massive collection of information about people who've done nothing to warrant this kind of intrusion, into the most personal and private aspects of their lives.

FEYERICK: All right. We're going to be coming back to this topic. And, General, we're going to get to you in a minute, because I do want you to answer this. But, right now, we're going to be thinking about whether the NSA has other tricks up its sleeve. We're going to ask both General Spider Marks, as well as Chris Soghoian of the ACLU their take on more of this.

Stay with us. We'll be back right on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: These days more technology means more ways to spy on all of us. Like it or not, Congress doesn't seem very eager to outlaw domestic surveillance by the NSA.

Christopher Soghoian is with the ACLU and CNN military analyst, Retired General James "Spider" Marks is joining me on the phone. First of all, General, before we went to the break, Christopher had said that a lot of innocents are getting swept up on this. We're not seeing people be arrested randomly. Does he overstate the case, general?

JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST (OVER THE PHONE): But the fact of the matter is the technology - the cell phone technology and the NSA's ability to grab the signals and then "interrogate those signals" is so incredibly advanced that there a number of folks that certainly will be swept up, but they will also, because of their activities, if it's totally benign and not characteristic or associated with one of the bad actors will be sifted out and nothing will come of that.

So I don't think it's an over stretch to say that it is intrusive. It is but there are also a methodology in place to ensure that innocents remain in that category of innocent.

FEYERICK: Christopher, is this a question of the NSA having either more oversight, more accountability, better balance or is this the kind of program that you feel simply needs to be stopped all together? Because Congress hasn't moved to do that yet.

CHRISTOPHER SOGHOIAN, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: We learned this week that this program is taking place under Executive Order 12333, which means it is not being overseen by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Report. This is something that the executive branch is doing by itself with its partners in foreign governments, foreign intelligence services. And location data is so sensitive, it reveals where you sleep, who you're with, when you're at home, when you're somewhere else. It reveals when you're at an abortion clinic, at a gun store, at a gay bookstore. This stuff is so sensitive and the NSA has no business plotting information for a data set where the vast majority of the people wrapped up in it are all innocent and not suspected of any single kind of crime.

FEYERICK: And I agree with you that it is very sensitive but I think all Americans have a certain expectation of privacy, that where we go, what we do, remains with us but if this program can save even one life or prevent another 9/11, is it worth it? Do you think? Do you see any value to this, Christopher? SOGHOIAN: I mean our founding fathers decided to place barriers in front of the police, in front of the government. It would certainly make life a lot easier for the government if they could just search every house that they came across that our founding fathers decided that the fourth amendment would be a good idea that, the police should have to go and demonstrate probable cause before they go and search someone's home, this is a dragnet surveillance program that is not overseen by any independent judge or magistrate. It is surveillance gone too far.

FEYERICK: And so, general, let me ask you, because he makes a very valid point there. Don't you think, General Marks, that there should be more accountability, more oversight because right now there is none?

MARKS: I do believe over the mechanisms for oversight certainly are in place. So we could turn a switch and say let's have some greater transparency in terms of what we're doing, but I think the real conundrum is that the definition of privacy needs to be relooked. Every time we pick up any one of our digital devices, that interaction, our interaction with that device is going to be stored some place, it exists in perpetuity. So that information can provide some incredible intelligence that could be very actionable, could save lives and give the United States security a foot up.

FEYERICK: All right. Well, gentlemen, listen, we could talk for hours on this. I'm fascinated by this entire topic. I was speaking to one of our correspondents earlier, who said "Look, now with your cell phone, you walk into a store, the store is actually going to push something on your iPhone so people know where you are and what you're doing.

Anyway, gentlemen, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. General "Spider" Marks and Chris Soghoian of the ACLU. Thank you.

SOGHOIAN: Thank you.

MARKS: Thank you.

FEYERICK: Well, just days after the White House had to reverse course and acknowledge that President Obama did in fact know that his uncle lives in Boston, his uncle who was cited for DUI and had to fight deportation, the president is once again facing new criticism of his management style.

A published report say that the president rarely, if ever, had a private meeting with Katherine Sebelius since Obamacare became law. Sebelius, of course, head of HHS have been in charge of implementing the president's signature healthcare program and the roll out of its troubled web site. She took responsibility for the snafus. The White House disputes the report but has not said how many times Sebelius actually did sit down face-to-face with the president.

Earlier I asked Princeton professor Julian Zelizer and CNN senior political analyst David Gergen how this report reflects on the White House, the President and his management style.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I was surprised this week when the president told Chris Matthews in an interview that he really didn't think he had to reflect upon his management style, everything was sort of fine in the White House, the real problem was the fact that we have such large agencies in government, big bureaucracies, it's hard to get things done.

Well, first of all, he's in charge. As president, he is the chief executive. He's had five years to address that issue if that's what he really thinks. And secondly, if he really thinks a bureaucracy is incapable of handling problems like this, why did he assign the health care issue to them? You know, so I think this is a pretty serious issue. I do think that important - I think this president has many good assets, I think there are many good things about him but the management by this White House team does have left I think especially in recent times left much to be desired.

FEYERICK: And Julian Zelizer, final word on this, do you see this as a leadership issue?

JULIAN ZELIZER, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Well, yes. It could be a defining part of his presidency. Jimmy Carter is remembered for bad management and that could happen to him. The good news is there is still a lot of time in his presidency and this is an era where you can remake yourself. So if they fix this healthcare program and it's up and running, I don't think this is what we're going to be talking about. If he doesn't, this could be one of the issues we think about when we think about President Obama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, the White House yesterday called a report about Obama's meetings with Sebelius misleading and said it was based on what spokesman Jay Carney called a "false premise."

Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, if you haven't heard yet, it is freezing literally. They're not supposed to be anywhere near this cold and the massive icy storm. It is on the move. Who is about to get the snow and sleet. That is coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: A 16-year-old boy died today on a Delta airplane, apparently of natural causes. Delta said a medical emergency was declared on the plane which was flying from Seattle to Atlanta and made an emergency stop in Spokane, Washington. A deputy medical investigator says that the teen died after the plane landed. An autopsy is set for Monday.

Little Rock, Arkansas under a severe weather emergency right now. Several inches of snow fell on to a layer of sleet and frozen slush, making driving all but impossible and certainly very dangerous. It also looks just like this across central Texas and most of Oklahoma. A line of winter storms is stretching from Memphis to the Great Lakes this evening, bringing temperatures 10 to 35 degrees lower than average. That line of bitter cold, ice and sleet is moving. It is on the move, it is alive, and it's headed for the eastern sea board. Those of you in D.C., New York City and Boston, brace yourselves.

Alexandra Steele is in the CNN Severe Weather Center with the where and the when. But also Alexandra, I just want to ask you, how normal is it for temperatures to just swing back and forth that dramatically?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean, it happens. Absolutely. And this year especially a lot of the anomalies especially with the cold air. I mean when you get cold air that's record breaking in the northern plains and upper midwest, it is incredibly cold and ice advisories and wind chill advisories. So certainly it is quite cold.

That arctic air is in place, we got all these moisture coming up from the south. Our next ice and snow event is a one-day hitter, the time of it is tomorrow. So here's tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., still right just getting toward Washington D.C., snow will start about 11:00 or so. Then watch the ice. The ice certainly will be the biggest play maker with this, potentially a quarter of an inch or so. Then we're going to watch it move north or northeast. Certainly not to the extent, the ice storm that we had from Dallas to Memphis with the ice and then the cold air staying in place.

This is different. Washington D.C., winter storm watch, the only big city with a winter storm watch. The snow starts in the morning with the sleet, then in the afternoon we're going to see a change over the freezing rain and sleet, maybe an inch or two of snow, potentially a quarter inch of ice. Biggest ice will be west of Washington, the suburbs, Philadelphia the snow starts in the afternoon, potentially an inch of snow and sleet and then moving to New York City. But it will all be done tomorrow. And then Monday temperatures will be in the 40s. So we're watching any of this melt.

FEYERICK: All right. Alexandra, thank you so much. It's always fun to see what the weather is going to do and what challenges it puts on our daily. Thanks so much.

STEELE: Sure.

FEYERICK: Well, they are constantly plugged into social media, tackle hours of homework and feel pressure to get into the nation's best colleges. No wonder that today's teens are being called generation stress. We're going to talk about that on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: They're being called generation stress, American teenagers feeling so much more pressure than their parents did when their parents were young. A recent survey found that 38 percent of parents say that their kids in high school reported experiencing what they described as a lot of stress.

CNN's Kelly Wallace talked to a family with two teenagers to get their thoughts on the pressures facing teens today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sometimes push myself to almost the breaking point, and they're always telling me, "Oh, take a break, you need to relax, you need to live a little." But I say no.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You're preparing for your high school tests, you have all your activities, you have your school work. Do you go to sleep at night?

ALAN FRIEDMAN, FATHER: Very often, at least three nights a week, we have to take the books out of her hands to turn the light off to go to sleep.

WALLACE: If I said one is not stressed at all and 10 is super stressed, where would you place yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seven.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, AGE 13: For me personally, it's going to going to be a four or all the way up to a ten.

WALLACE: What gets you to the 10?

AVERY FRIEDMAN: So there's independent reliance, self reliance and then there's others relying on you and I think when you have too many people relying on you, that's when it really packs on.

WALLACE: When do you guys know the pressure's too much?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I'm a general a pretty good natured person, so when I start to get grouchy, I can tell the pressure's getting to me.

ALAN FRIEDMAN: I can sort of see when I get home, where the placement of the jacket is on the floor, the book bag. I can tell how everyone's day was.

WALLACE: I sometimes think about it and wonder, are we adding to the stress of our kids?

ALAN FRIEDMAN: And a lot of times, I will turn to Nancy privately and ask if I'm being too critical, or am I talking too much, am I cheering too loud in the game, she will give me a 100 percent honest feedback and that's good.

WALLACE: So, what do you do as a mom to try to who lower that pressure?

NANCY FRIEDMAN, MOTHER: I read an article "The New York Times" before I even had children and it was saying that not to tell your kids "Oh, you're so smart, look at how well you did," but to say "Wow, that's a really good picture you drew, you must have worked really hard." I think the pressure comes from feeling that if you don't do well at something, that means that you're not smart or you're not good enough.

AVERY FRIEDMAN: Pressure can either be your motivation or the complete inverse into your own downfall and if you really manage to make it your motivation, then you're already making something that's a negative turn into a double positive for you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One piece of advice that my dad told me is even the pros make mistakes. Kobe Bryant, he's one of the best players in the NBA, but he'll miss a lay-up. He's not going make all his shots.

ALAN FRIEDMAN: I tell them if they really want to do something fun, and do something that will just relieve all stress, walk the dog. Nobody's taking me up on that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: So, is the pressure too much for teens? Joining me to discuss this human behavioral expert, Wendy Walsh and Wendy, listen, I listened to this and you know, Kobe Bryant missing a lay-up, there's, it's not just academics.

My friends and I were laughing that we couldn't even get into the colleges we actually attended with the pressures that are on kids today.

WENDY WALSH, BEHAVIORAL EXPERT: It's true. I think parents have so much anxiety because they hear the reports of the kids in China doing so great and we've got to catch up with their academic standards, but as a result, they're forgetting to teach their kids about the meaning of life and ways to find happiness.

In this great American capitalist society, it seems that the only definition of happiness is to get into a good school and make money. And as we know, research is very clear. That does not equate to happiness.

FEYERICK: It's fascinating because as I was watching this piece, I realized that the mom was a friend of mine from college who I hadn't seen in years and she was one of the coolest, most laid back people I've ever met, so it's interesting though that her kids are, is it the Instagram, is it the electronics, is it the social, the media pressure that's just sort of taking these kids or turning them into type A, AA plus kids.

WALSH: All right. Let's break it down and not blame parents because I've got a teenage daughter myself who's under so much stress it kills me. And I'm always saying "Stop, just have fun. You need to be a teenager." So the first thing is the parent's anxiety.

The second thing is the schools put enormous pressure. We're right now, at a time in our culture we're at a homework high even though the research does not support the fact that more homework means better grades. Then you add the piece of technology. So, what happens is more teens today are socializing online than face to face and what they lose in that is, of course, all the ways to pull in information from their friends they lose intimacy. Remember, one of the best ways to shore up against anxiety and depression are good, healthy relationships and they're not developing these peer to peer real world relationships at the right pace that they need to.

FEYERICK: Yes, it's tough. It's tough. We've both got kids and we know what it's like. Listen, Wendy Walsh, thank you so much. Really appreciate your insight, as always.

Next, we are going to introduce you to one New York City homeless man who wants to change the world one act at a time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, this just in, the White House now officially confirming what was we're kind of reporting all day, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will indeed attend the national memorial service for Nelson Mandela on Tuesday in Johannesburg, South Africa.

That service is going to be taking place in a soccer stadium with dignitaries from around the world who will be there in attendance to pay their respects. The stadium holds about 60,000 people. No word on whether the Obamas will attend other events honoring the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela.

Now, the story of a New York City homeless man who brings about old adage, don't judge a book by its cover.

Our Bill Weir explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Patrick. The kind of driven computer whiz who starts companies in college. He came to New York hoping to meet someone in tech that would buy his ideas, change his life. He just didn't know it would be the homeless guy on the walk to work.

PATRICK MCCONLOGUE, SOFTWARE ENGINEER: He just has something about, the first time I remember thinking in my head, huh, who is this guy?

WEIR: This is Leo. As a kid, he was obsessed with science, astronomy, chemistry, physics, but then he fell in with the wrong crowd, became a father too soon. And two years ago, first lost his job, and then his home.

WEIR (on camera): What did you think he wanted?

LEO GRAND, SOFTWARE DEVELOPER: I didn't think, you got the wrong guy.

He just said, "hey, this may sound strange, I'm going to give you with an offer. I'll give you $100 and you spend it however you want to or I'll present you with this new brand new laptop and teach you how to code." And instantly, I just said in my mind, door number two.

WEIR (voice-over): He would write code for hours, for days. On the banks of the Hudson or in a corner nook in Patrick's office. At night, Patrick would go home and Leo would go back outside. Shelters just aren't his thing, which all seemed fine until winter blew in.

(on camera): How do you stay warm on those really bitter nights?

GRAND: I do to a train station. (INAUDIBLE) tons of blankets.

MCCONLOGUE: It's getting really cold. I keep telling him - listen, you know, he's like, "I'm good, man, let's keep going."

WEIR (voice-over): You see, Patrick just wanted to get him employed and housed ASAP, but Leo had other priorities.

(on camera): What is it that you want to do with this information he was teaching you?

GRAND: Make the world a better place.

WEIR: See, he is a passionate environmentalist. His heroes are scientists who braved the rugged outdoors.

GRAND: This is what life is supposed to be like.

WEIR: Outside?

GRAND: Yes. I want to be around plants and trees and I want to breathe as much oxygen as possible.

WEIR: Since he's really worried about the change in climate, he decided to cruise his new skills to create a carbon cutting, slide sharing app called Trees and Cars.

GRAND: These would be riders in this same area. Who want to ride with me?

WEIR: OK.

If you make money off of this app -

GRAND: Right.

WEIR: Are you going to go get an apartment? What are you going to do?

GRAND: Oh, yes, of course. Trump Plaza Hotel.

WEIR (Voice-over): but even if he never makes it to the plaza, he still has friends like these city workers looking out for him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why I tell guy, don't judge no one. You never know what a person's worth is.

WEIR: And then there is his infectious inner peace. All the money in Silicon Valley just can't buy.

(on camera): How do you manage to keep such a positive attitude?

GRAND: Faith, friends. It works. Try it.

WEIR: Bill Weir, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: I'm Deborah Feyerick. Anderson Cooper's special report "To Heaven and Back" begins right now.