[Miles O'brien, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien. New pictures coming out of Chicago as we speak. Investigators trying to find out what sent this plane skidding off a runway and into traffic, killing a young boy. We'll take you live to the scene.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] I'm Carol Costello in for Soledad today. Winter weather moves across the East Coast. Travelers in for a very tough time this morning. Yes, what you got in the Midwest, it's here now. We've got all your forecasts coming up.
[O'brien:] And police officers in trouble over controversial videos. But are they anything more than just really a joke that kind of missed the mark? we'll go live to San Francisco on this
[American Morning. Costello:] Oh, happy Friday. Even though it's snowing, it's still Friday. Look at it that way.
[O'brien:] Yes. No, and I've got some happy kids in my household, so it just depends on how you interpret these things. A snow day for the O'Brien family anyhow. They're probably sledding as we speak.
[Costello:] Is that not a beautiful shot of Central Park?
[O'brien:] That is.
[Costello:] That makes you want to go out and build a snowman, doesn't it?
[O'brien:] It sure does.
[Costello:] Liar.
[O'brien:] Sure it does. Not a bit. No, let's hey, you'd better get out there and shovel because it's illegal if you don't. So get out there, if you have something to shovel, shovel it because New York City...
[Costello:] Off your sidewalks in New York City.
[O'brien:] ... or we'll rat you out right here. Let's talk about the weather. We know it's bad. And investigators have to decide if conditions were OK for a safe landing in Chicago last night. A 737-700 Series slid off of a runway, heavy snow conditions, low visibility, low ceiling, Chicago's Midway Airport last night, and a slick runway. And a short one, as well. It crashed into two cars and a little boy was killed. Sean Callebs live from the scene now with more good morning, Sean.
[Sean Callebs, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Miles. Behind me you can see it's only about 300 yards from where we're standing the tail section of that Southwest Airlines jet. It's all the aircraft is still in one piece. It happened about 7:00 local time last night. This jet was coming in from Baltimore. Now upon landing, it skidded off the runway, it went through a small grassy area then through a fence and right into the middle of Ctrl Avenue. At that point it slammed into two vehicles, the wing section coming down on one area, injuring four people; the nose section coming down on a car, a family of five, killing a 6-year-old boy. All told, 11 people were taken to the hospital for injuries, some of those considered serious, as well. The conditions right now out clear and cold. However, dramatically different last night at the time of the accident. It was snowing heavily. We know the runway had snow on it despite the best efforts by Midway Airport to keep that runway clear. Here's what it looked like, according to eyewitnesses.
[Maria Velasquez, Witness:] The snow was horrible. If you stand even by the corner of our house, you could not see the scene that you see now. I mean you can probably see the bright lights, but there was so much snow everywhere. It was just ridiculous. I mean something like this was probably unavoidable.
[Callebs:] Now, Midway Airport is located right smack dab in the middle of a residential area. It'll be interesting to see if there is somewhat of an outcry from the local residents in this area. FAA, NTSB are on the scene. They're going to be poring over all the evidence they have. And, Miles, you talked about the runway, one of the shortest in the nation, only 6,500 feet. Under the best of conditions, an aircraft like a 737 needs at least 4,500 feet to land safely 4,900 feet. And coming in at night like that under conditions, it could have very easily had a long landing, touched down somewhat farther down the runway. And given those slick conditions, that could very well have played a part on this. We hope to know more. We hope to hear from investigators a little bit later in the morning Miles.
[O'brien:] Yes, a slick runway, low visibility, a bit of a tail wind, a lot stacking up against that flight crew Sean.
[Callebs:] Exactly. You talked about that tail wind. It wasn't hideously bad, about seven knots, given the conditions in the Chicago area, which are typically windy. However, it was interesting to hear because airline officials said the visibility was good last night. But you found some different information this morning doing your research, that apparently the visibility was only about 3,000 feet and pilots really need about 4,000 feet coming in, in the conditions that it was last night.
[O'brien:] Yes. Actually, we've gotten some more modified things. I think the runway visual range was about 4,500 feet down the runway, which would put it right on the bubble there. It's only a quarter of mile of visibility through the air. So it was definitely a rough night and the kind of approach that just has to be smack dab accurate. So, in any case, there you see the results...
[Callebs:] In fact, it's the kind of thing that...
[O'brien:] Go ahead.
[Callebs:] It's the kind of thing that you'd think would give anybody knots in their stomach coming into conditions like that. It has to be almost perfect. They're right on the edge of just about everything.
[O'brien:] Yes, exactly. A good way to put it. Sean Callebs in Chicago. Thank you Carol.
[Costello:] I was just looking at those cars.
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Costello:] Yes, it was terrible.
[O'brien:] Can you imagine driving down the road and seeing that?
[Costello:] Yes. Awful. That bad weather that blew through the Midwest, of course, is now on the East Coast. Up to a foot of snow could be coming in some areas. Chris Huntington along the New Jersey Turnpike near Secaucus. And, you know, I just got an e-mail from Theresa in Lansing, Michigan. She says we're always complaining, we're complaining it's 26 degrees here. She says that's nothing. It's more frigid...
[Chris Huntington, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, that...
[Costello:] ... that's like wussy talk.
[Huntington:] Yes, 26 degrees in Lansing, Michigan is t-shirt weather. Here along the New Jersey turnpike, conditions have improved a little bit, Carol, from what they were an hour or so ago. It's definitely gotten warmer. That means the snow is wetter. Definitely slushy conditions all along the roadway. I have to say, though, that traffic, all things considered, is moving quite well. This is a very, very heavily congested section of the New Jersey Turnpike. We're only a few miles from the turnoff here to the Lincoln Tunnel, one of the main routes into New York City. An indication, though, of just how serious this storm is. If are at all nautically experienced, you know what it means when you see a flock of sea gulls land inland. That means trouble out to sea. We're not too far from the coast here and as, of course, is the situation with this storm, it is moving a bit offshore. Overall, though, Carol, I have to say that this is something that is not probably as big a problem on the roads as people might have feared. Talking, though, about visibility, it is still limited visibility here and we know that there are major delays at the major New York City airports here. And, Miles, you and Sean were talking earlier about landing and takeoff conditions out in Chicago. They've got to be similarly dicey here in the New York area...
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Huntington:] Carol and Miles, back to you.
[Costello:] And also with Midway Airport still shut down. I'm sure that's causing all sorts of headaches for travelers this morning. Chris Huntington live in Secaucus. Thank you. Let's head to Atlanta now to check in with Bonnie Schneider to get the forecast for the rest of the country hey, Bonnie.
[Bonnie Schneider, Ats Meteorologist:] Hi, Carol. Chris was just mentioning airport delays, well, we have them at LaGuardia Airport. Take a look, there's ground delays over an hour at LaGuardia Airport. And in Philadelphia, there's a ground delay of 15 minutes, maybe a little bit more than that, so check with your air carrier if you're going to be heading out this morning anywhere in the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic or Great Lakes Region, where snow has already fallen. What we're looking at now is our radar picture. And it's very interesting to note that changeover already occurring. Philadelphia reports ice pellets at this hour because they've lost the snow and now are starting to get that warmer air coming in. So it's changing over, eventually, to rain. It's raining on most of Long Island right now, even though it looks like it's getting freezing rain, much of what we're seeing out toward Shirley and the Hamptons is rain at this time, especially along the South Shore. But New York City, there's snow certainly still in the forecast. We still have snow there right now and we are expecting several inches. Let's show you a live picture. It's actually gorgeous out there if you look at Central Park and Columbus Circle. What a picture. I guess it's snowing all over the world, right? We're looking at this now, live pictures. The snow is heavy. And what you're seeing with this particular storm are really large snowflakes. They look beautiful outside. But let me tell you, they are heavy. It's going to be very heavy to shovel this snow. So if you're not in good physical shape, this is not the time to test yourself, because we're looking at very weighty snow on the ground. I guess it's good for snowballs, but it will be slushy as a lot of this moisture changes over to rain in the forecast. Coming back to the map now, what we're looking at is eventually high pressure building in. This is a fast moving storm. By 4:00 today, if this low continues to push offshore, we'll get some colder air behind it and some snow coming into areas in Upstate New York. But much of the country will be influenced by this dome of high pressure. A lot of sunshine coming in. So a nice changeover. And even after these chilly conditions, what we're looking at, with temperatures right now still very cold, later on today, some areas, not everybody, but a lot of folks, will start to get a little bit milder. And see this milder air to the south? A lot of this will work its way to the Northeast for the weekend. So, Miles, even though it's snowing right now, a lot of places will get into the 40s by Sunday.
[O'brien:] Bonnie Schneider, thank you very much. An American hostage in Iraq in the news this morning. Kelly has more on that good morning, Kelly.
[Kelly Wallace, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Miles. We are following that. And the family of that American hostage held in Iraq is begging his captors to spare his life. Ronald Schulz appears in a videotape aired earlier this week. He was apparently working in Iraq as an electrician. Another American, Tom Fox, is also being held captive. He was abducted with three other Christian aide workers and their deadline is set to expire tomorrow. Meanwhile, in other grim news, an American contractor has been killed near the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Officials are trying to identify the person. No other details were released. Some new and potentially devastating charges about Merck and its drug Vioxx. Editors at the "New England Journal of Medicine" claim a study funded by Merck left out critical information about Vioxx's health effects. Specifically, the study did not disclose heart attacks suffered by three patients. Merck says it has always been honest with the public at the risks from Vioxx. A new twist in the case of that Florida teacher who admitted having sex with a student. Twenty-five-year-old Debra Lafave thought she had a deal that would keep her out of prison. But a judge said no way. The judge rejected it. He says the agreement went below sentencing guidelines. Trial is now set for April. Lafave's lawyers were able to get a plea deal in another county, where she was also charged. And the newest cop on Miami Beach won't be hard to find. He's 7'1" and weighs more than 300 pounds. That's right, we're talking about Shaq. Shaquille O'Neal will be working as an investigator with the child pornography unit. Shaq says he has wanted to be on the force since he was a kid, but then started playing ball and put that dream on hold. His pay as a reserve officer, by the way, $1. Now that is a story I would like to do follow Shaq on the beat...
[Costello:] On the beat...
[Wallace:] ... as he's talking the streets of Miami Beach.
[Costello:] That would be so cool.
[Wallace:] How fun would that be?
[Costello:] Can you imagine the intimidation factor as he's questioning like suspects?
[O'brien:] He sure doesn't need a gun, does he?
[Costello:] No.
[O'brien:] No. Wow!
[Costello:] Good for him, though. That's awesome.
[O'brien:] Yes, sir, officer, sir.
[Wallace:] Exactly.
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Wallace:] We'll have to follow that one. That'll be fun to see.
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Costello:] Ooh, Kelly wants to do that one. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, more on that controversial police tape we first told you about. We told you about it yesterday, actually. Some people are calling it racist and sexist. But the maker, he says it's art. It was just a joke.
[O'brien:] Interesting defense.
[Costello:] It was art.
[O'brien:] It's I am an artiste. First amendment stuff and all that. We're going to see how that goes.
[Costello:] Yes, we will.
[O'brien:] Also, the road to recovery in New Orleans. The city's biggest university says it is ready to reopen for business at last. But what exactly will students be coming back to?
[Costello:] Also, more on the deadly plane crash in Congress. We're going to talk to a former airline pilot. We're going to ask him what he thinks happened. That's also ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.