Another Foot of Snow for Parts of Massachusetts; Boston Declares Snow Emergency; Parts of Ohio Under Winter Storm Warning; Saudis Face Trouble on Two Borders
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 in London, 8:00 in Kiev, 9:00 p.m. in Riyadh. Wherever you are watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. Up first, here in the United States, the Northeast gets hit by a one- two punch of winter weather. Millions of Americans are now dealing with snow, sleet, even blizzard-like conditions. Massachusetts is getting pounded for the second time in a week. Parts of the state could get hit with another 14 inches of snow. Earlier, the storm pummeled the Midwest, areas of Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland, they are still under a winter storm warning. A Toledo, Ohio police officer died while shoveling snow. Heavy snow is causing major problems for drivers. In Nebraska, two people died in car dozens on slick roads, and the storm is snarling air travel all across the United States. More than 3,500 flights were canceled today, that according to FlightAware.com. In Boston, it's snowing now one to two inches an hour in areas around the city. And it could get up to a foot of additional snow before it's all over. It's making driving conditions pretty treacherous. CNN's Brian Todd is joining us now. He's braving those roadways. He's driving just north of the city. What's it like up there, Brian?</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's very treacherous and it gets worse just about every hour. What's interesting about this storm is even though it's less volume than last week's storm -- you know, last week, they had over two feet in many areas. This week, it's maybe between 10 and 14 inches predicted overall. We're in a moving vehicle here on a side road just off the interstate, off Interstate 93 South. We're going to pull over here and show you from my camera, go out the dash camera here. As we head toward the interstate, we're going to pull over and show you what some of the road crews and motorists are up against. As we pull over here, you can see out my dash cam, there's a depot here where they're staging some vehicles from. I'm going to talk to the dash cam a second as our photojournalist, Khalil Abdallah, gets his camera out. This is a staging area. But one of the things they're running into out here, Wolf, is, number one, visibility is really bad. Even though it's less snow than last week, the visibility, we're told, is worse. We've been talking to road crews all day along these roads. They say visibility is a lot worse than it was even though there's less this week than last. Another issue, where to put the snow? You've got huge snow mounds all over the place here. There's really nowhere to go on the roads. If you get stuck, if you get in a jam and you think you're going to get stranded, there's really no place to get pulled over. These people pulled over here. This is what the police are telling us they don't want people to do. They got snowed over here. But we also just ran into someone who was trying to avoid someone coming in from a side road. Couldn't avoid them. Ran into a snowbank instead. So, there's just nowhere to go. If you think you're going to get stranded, if you think you need to pull over, there's nowhere to go. And that includes on the interstate. They're telling people if you think you are having problems on the road, get completely off the interstate. Don't pull over on the side. It will complicate matters for the snowplow crews. Massachusetts state officials, Wolf, tell us they have 3,000 vehicles on the roads right now, spreaders, plows, other things, just trying to get these roads clear. But, as you can see, it's still coming down at a rate that's a little too fast right now. It's coming down faster than they can clear it from the roads. So, that's a problem, Wolf, as we head into the rush hour, the evening rush hour. This is a snow storm, this day, that is affecting both rush hours. It was bad in the morning. It's going to be bad in the afternoon.</s>BLITZER: Yes, and there's more snow on the way. And just look what happened in that whole Boston-New England area. Brian, be careful over there. I know those roads are treacherous, very, very icy and slippery as well. And as Brian just said, Massachusetts, this week, is getting a lot more snow, this on the heels of last week's history storm. Joining us on the phone right now is Peter Judge. He's a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Peter, Boston already has declared a snow emergency. So, what's it like now, coming on the heels of what you guys went through only a few days ago?</s>PETER JUDGE, SPOKESMAN, MASSACHUSETTS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (via telephone): Well, it's been a challenge. Fortunately, we haven't had the really strong winds. Unfortunately, it's been -- visibility has been awful, as we just heard, simply because of the rate of snow, one to two inches an hour. And it will continue, I think, well into the home commute this afternoon.</s>BLITZER: Are you telling people to stay off the roads? I know schools in Boston are closed today. What's the latest on that front?</s>JUDGE: Right. Across the state, most schools have taken the day off. And we ask folks to stay off the roads if you don't have to be there. Take advantage of public transportation. This morning's commute really wasn't that bad because I think a lot of people decided to take a snow day themselves, maybe even trying to recover from staying up late last night watching the Super Bowl. But, nonetheless, we hope this afternoon, come the commute, it's not a disaster only because I think the number of vehicles on the road is not going to be your normal afternoon commute.</s>BLITZER: Yes, a lot of people are staying home which is smart. A quick question. Did you get most of last week's cleanup done before this new storm rolled in?</s>JUDGE: Not 100 percent. We were still working late into yesterday afternoon trucking a lot of snow out of the area, making every effort to get ready for this snow. I know the city of Boston is scrambling now because tomorrow, they planning on having a duck boat parade for the Patriots through downtown Boston and it's going to be a real challenge to get those streets ready for that parade.</s>BLITZER: All right. Well, Boston is strong, as we all know. So, let's see what they can do. Congratulations on that Patriots Super Bowl win, by the way.</s>JUDGE: OK. I'll take all the credit. Thanks.</s>BLITZER: All right, thank you. All right, it's not just the Northeast getting hit hard by that winter storm. Martin Savidge is joining us, now, from his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Martin, give us an update on what's going on there. I see it's pretty bad.</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is, Wolf. As a matter of fact, it should be improving. The storm is actually moving away from us. It's been through here. It dumped about eight to 10 inches downtown Cleveland. But it's the wind that's proving to be really brutal. A wind that is now blasting directly out of the east. That's why I'm doing my radio announcer impersonation just to protect my side of the face here. The snow and the cold are a one-two combination that's really impacting today. Just about every school up here has been closed. The roads are snow covered. They're still very treacherous because of the fact that plowing is made difficult by the drifting. It's also made difficult by the fact that it's still snowing. And then, with temperatures this cold, the salt is not as effective as it usually is. Airports open but many flights delayed or canceled. And then, on top of that, just getting around on the streets, even on foot, is extremely difficult. We thought it was going to stop at around noon, apparently that is not the case. The snow is still coming down. The wind is still blowing. It's still a very difficult day here in the Midwest and especially in northeast Ohio -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Yes, the good news, though, is the folks in Cleveland, your home town, like the folks in Buffalo, my home town, they know how to deal with snow. They're used to it so they'll do OK. I'm sure. Be careful out there. I know it's cold and windy and snowy. Martin reporting from Cleveland. Still ahead, we have new reports that the United States may start arming Ukrainian rebels. This as we get an inside look at the damage the war there has caused. Take a look at this. You're looking at the airport at Donetsk. Once a symbol of progress, now reduced, literally, to rubble. We're going live to eastern Ukraine for a report. Our own Nick Paton Walsh is on the scene. And later, Republican presidential hopeful, Mike Huckabee, making headlines again, comparing homosexuality to drinking and smoking. We're going to talk about that. What's going on in Iowa, getting closer to those Iowa caucuses. Lots of politics happening here in the United States.