hello, everybody. from the cnn center in atlanta, this is "cnn sunday morning." i'm betty nguyen. >> i'm t.j. holmes. it is 6:00 a.m. where we sit. in boise, idaho, it is 3:00 a.m. a lot of folks can't see this newscast in eureka, california. they had a big earthquake there last night. a 6.5 magnitude earthquake leaving a whole lot of people without power. and a story shaking up the political world. senate majority leader harry reid apologized to the president after his new book reveals stunning information about president obama. just amazing and certainly one of the biggest talkers on the blogs today. we want to know what you think about all this and we know you have a comment about it. hit us up on our facebook or twitter pages. bettynguyen@cnn or tjholmes@cnn. crews are working to restore power to thousands of people near eureka. this is well north of san francisco, california. no serious injuries were reported from the 6.5 magnitude quake. a lot of nerves were rattled by this thing, though. we would love to bring you a live report from the area, but power is out, including to our local atilluate affiliate there. the earthquake was followed by several aftershocks. the biggest at 4.5. one of the ireporters sent us pictures of the damage. you are seeing this, and it may not look like a whole lot was going on, but it was shaking enough to get folks rattled and take things off the shelves. there are reports of isolated water line breaks, downed power lines and broken windows, but now major injuries or destruction. the other top story is, of course, the weather outside. people across most of the nation are fighting to stay warm in the bone-chilling deep freeze. here's what it looked like in nebraska. boy, almost a whiteout there, it seems. a sea of white, in fact. it is a state that is no longer stranger to cold and snow. the windchill is below zero as it has been dangerously cold there. people have been warned to protect themselves against hypothermia. police in vermont are warning people to stay off frozen lakes after a deadly snow mobile accident. three people were killed, including a 3-year-old girl, when the ice broke and they fell through. they were riding with other folks when this happened. we are told it was actually three snowmobiles all together carrying six people. they all fell through, but three killed, three survived. in georgia, kind of a similar story. two teens dead after they fell through the ice into a semi-frozen pond. a third boy has been hospitalized. rescuers say he was able to pull himself from the water, but his friends got trapped under the ice for nearly an hour. well, the senate democrats' top man in the senate is harry reid of nevada, and he is finding himself in hot water. the senate majority leader is apologizing for making racially insensitive remarks about barack obama during the presidential campaign. >> the author of the book "gain change" coming out on tuesday quote reed as saying privately obama could be successful thanks to, in part, his light skinned appearance and speaking patterns with, again, i'm quoting here, no negro die leblgt unless he wanted to have one. in a statement to cnn, reid said, quote, i deeply regret using such a por choice of words. i sincerely apologize for offensing any and all americans especially african-americans for my improper comments. dana bash talked about how this impacts senator reid. >> reporter: it looks like at least for now in terms of his position at the top democrat in the senate, it looks like he's okay. the biggest problem for senator reid, randy, is his own viability as a senator. he's already in a very, very, very tough battle this election year in 2010 to keep his seat. and must today, a new poll came out in his home state of nevada saying his pretty much not well liked. his favorability ratings are very low. it is 52% unfavorability. people know him very well, so they know him and the majority don't like him. he trails three potential republican candidates. the biggest problem for him is that he's already been fighting for his political life to win his seat in the senate. and this is just another, in the words of one of his supporters, i just got an e-mail from one of his supporters, the straw to break the camel's back. >> president obama responded issuing this statement, harry reid called me today to apologize for an unfortunate comment reported today. i accepted harry's apology without question because i've known him for years, i've seen the passionate leadership he has showed on issues like social justice and i know what's in his heart. as far as i am concerned, the book is closed. we want to know what you think. e-mail us to our facebook and twitter pages. we'll read the comments later this morning. all right. back to the weather outside. we cannot escape it, it seems, the unbearable cold is gripping most of the nation. it didn't spare florida. a state that is used to being, you know, out of the mix when it comes to the wintry mix. >> that's where people go to escape it. >> not even the citrus crop is is cape this. >> we are searching for warmth in one of the last places we expected to find winter. >> reporter: in south florida the arctic blast fell as a raw ring forcing a new kind of beach attire. in orlando runners in this half-marathon ran partly for sport and partly just to stay warm. >> we need to earn it a little more. it makes you feel prouder about finishing because there's nothing you can really do. >> reporter: in hollywood, florida, the entire borden family shivered waiting for the repairman. their furnace went out a long time ago, but that didn't matter until this week. >> i tried it two years ago on a real cold day. i tried it and it just kept blowing cold air. it never stopped. >> reporter: fortunately, the repairman showed up minutes later. for laugh rafael lambow, it is a lot of long hours. how do they react when you drive in? >> very happy to see me. and very happy when i leave. >> reporter: the electric grid set a new winter record on tuesday likely to be broken tonight. but while some businesses benefit, others are threatened. it will be another nervous night for the hijack citrus industry which so far has been spared the worst. other growers rush to protect their plants, even the tropical fish housed in outdoor pools. when usually we talk to chuck landsa it is about hurricanes, but now he worried broward county could be unprepared for another weather threat, ice. >> we don't have the ability to deice. we have real problems here if we have heavy ice or the unfortunate circumstance of having snow. >> reporter: so even sleet or a freezing rain could be an emergency situation? >> it certainly could be significant. way down the wires, we could use power and our ability to communicate with 91. it would be a difficult situation for a few days. >> reporter: meanwhile, barbara and richard sanchez have their own way of coping with the cold. just throw another log on the fire. something henry ladeu will be only too happy to sell you for $150 a pickup truckload. what kind of calls do you get? >> desperation calls, mostly. how much? when? how long? can i come get it? >> reporter: these days in south florida, the business of wood is good. >> we are talking about how cold it is there. now, most people are trying to stay inside and away from it. some people went right outside to get in it this morning. take a look at this picture. we are not playing, folks. about 20,000-plus people have gotten together for a marathon. this is the disney world marathon weekend. this is part of a weekend of events. they did a half marathon yesterday. it was about 30 degrees this morning when they started this thing. they started about half an hour ago for the marathon. now, in florida, they have it this weekend, you have it in florida because you think the weather will be fairly decent. 30 degrees, maybe, when they started this thing. >> at 5:00 in the morning, we were watching them warm up earlier and they were dancing and doing everything they could to keep the heat on in their bodies. you know, look, i think i would do a half of a half of a half marathon if i was in florida today, if i could even do that in the cold weather, but good luck to them out there. the question is, is there a warm up on the way? we'll get them some heat, if we can, bonnie schneider. >> it is sunny funny. these races you plan in advance and make your plans according to the weather, so the normal high weather in orlando is 70. but today is only in the 40s. it will be tough for the runners today. right now it is 29 degrees in orlando, florida. normally this time of the morning it is 50 degrees. a huge, huge difference. but it is going to change. we have a warm up on the way. we are still looking at very cold conditions for florida. specifically tonight when it gets the coldest so far. i'll have more on that coming up. it has the great taste of yoplait, plus 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[ male announcer ] we understand. you can never have too much help. fedex office. ♪ ♪ drive slow homey >> that's the motto in some parts as folks are not able to drive too slow when they are slipping and sliding out there. that's kind of out of control. >> people are slipping and sliding here. and it is bad on the side streets. you think it is okay when the highways are clear, and then you get to going on the back roads. >> some of them have been cornered off throughout downtown. here's a video of milk trucks overturned. 2,000 gallops of milk, that's not ice, folks, that's milk frozen on the freeways there. as you can imagine, it went from liquid to solid. the truck driver was injured but conscious. the accident, well, the cause we are not sure at this point. still checking on that, but police say the ramp curve may have busted a tire there. so an interesting situation with milk on the freeway. >> is it ice cream now? >> i don't know. >> that was in new hampshire. they are having issues there and we are having issues all over the place right now. bonnie, i've said all over the place, is that still the case with problems, it seems like just about everywhere in the cold weather, and it is not going anywhere just yet. >> not yet, but it will. we are looking for relief in sight after an unusual snow and sleet event in florida. yesterday our ireporters on the scene to capture the unusual snowfall in ocala, florida, for example. we have an i-report to show you of a snowman at there. definitely looking cute. it is a small snowman, but, hey, you don't get snow in florida too often. this is from jim yates. thank you for sending in that report. send it to ireport.com and we'll get them on the air for you. greetings from ocala, florida. adorable. unfortunately, it is cold down in florida. you saw pictures of the marathon runners in orlando this morning. the temperature has teetered between 29 and 27 degrees. miami beach, 50. then heading further to the north, the temperatures are only in the teens. it feels colder than that with windchill advisories in place. watch out for atlanta and birmingham, we have plenty of black ice on the roads, even though the sun did a little melting yesterday, everything refroze yesterday. it is icy out there. take it slow this sunday morning. definitely give it time to get where you are going. watch out for the windchill factor as well. it feels like the teens as far south as florida, but speaking of florida, a warm up is on the way with temperatures starting to get not quite back to normal, but definitely looking better into the 50s. just to let you know, we are looking at better conditions in the midwest as well. t.j. and betty, warming up to 47 on thursday in st. louis. that's going to feel much better than the 27 out there today. >> yeah. 40s, boy, they look so good this time of the year. thank you. appreciate it. bonnie. what are the jobless numbers meaning if your and your search for work? >> josh levs is looking into details behind the digits. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, guys. we'll look at the map and we'll tell you how to find jobs in your state. the real unemployment figures we hear, the real unemployment figures are different from the ones we are hearing all the time, but you know what? there's a bit of good news this morning for you in the latest jobs report. i'll show you what that is. guys, start the year off right! lose weight and "jumpstart" your year. any guy any age can do this. introducing the all-new jumpstart kit from nutrisystem. i'm dan marino, and i lost 22 pounds with nutrisystem. that's me 32 pounds ago. i feel like i'm 10 years younger. order now and get the jumpstart kit, specially designed to put you on the fast track to awesome weight loss. i did go...all...the...way! i lost 50 pounds with nutrisystem for men. nutrisystem is based on the proven science of the glycemic index that helps you feel fuller longer. for about $12 a day, you'll get 28 days of fantastic meals. fifty years old and back to my playing weight. order now and you can get two weeks of meals free, plus, the all-new jumpstart kit, our secrets to put you on the fast track to ultimate weight loss, based on more than 35 years of proven science. jumpstart your weight loss with nutrisystem. order now and jumpstart your year. call or click now. ♪ i can't get no satisfaction ♪ i can't get no satisfaction >> we want to know how you feel about your job, and if you are like most americans, you are not feeling so good about it right now. >> more americans are dissatisfied with their jobs than ever. josh levs is here looking into it. >> reporter: good morning to you, guys. the survey has been on every year since 1987 and never before has it been this low. not until recently did they find the majority of americans are disliking their jobs. here's the figure for you from the conference board. they spoke with thousands of people all over the world. 4r5%. only 45% of people around the country, 45% of americans are satisfied with their jobs. and they are ready to give lots of reasons why they are not satisfied when you look at what's in the survey. now, we spoke with a couple experts yesterday in the cnn newsroom, and we spoke with ken and daria about what this figure means and how the dissatisfaction can have a big impact on the entire economy. >> first off, they are not keeping pace with inflation. >> their wages. >> their wages were up in the last count but the health costs and everything else, the taxes and the price of food and gasoline. >> here's the problem we have, fredericka. you are going to have the satisfaction, lower productivity, it is going to stop the economy. >> that's a pretty big statement, but he's not the only one saying that. sis fied dissatisfied people at work are a lot more productive. this is a serious indicator to slow down the whole country. clearly, there's something that needs to be done about that. we also need to keep in mind that a lot of people watching right now say they would love to be dissatisfied with a job. i don't have one at all. the latest unemployment numbers came out. 85,000 jobs lost in december. 4.2 million jobs lost in 2009. the unemployment rate is at 10%. and we have another 6.3 million people who have given up looking for work. then you have 9.2 million people who only have part-time, but i'm going to get this in. one little piece of good news the latest report is about temporary workers. a net increase of 46,000 net jobs or temporary jobs were added to the economy. that's actually a good economic indicator because as a rule employers will bring on temporary workers before they start hiring more full-time workers. betty and t.j., that was one little piece of good news this the latest report. if you have more people in temporary hiring, maybe in the next few months we'll see hiring and maybe that will help fix the economy. we'll see how that goes. >> all right, josh. thank you. a lot of people are tired of the cold weather. adults are not the only ones sick of the cold in nebraska at least. >> when the second storm hit and the first storm, i felt torn out. i was like stressing. >> you know, it is bad when even the kids are stressing out over the weather. we have been having to fight off a few mothers here and there trying to get their hands on this. >> how important is center city to the future of las vegas? >> everybody is here to celebrate. >> working six to noon. what a way to make a living. the togo national soccer team pulls out of the tournament after a deadly attack happened. the team was on its way to the africa cup of nation's tournament. well, the cia is vowing not to let the brutal murders of seven men stopping their mission. the men believed to be behind the attack are shown. the man says his faith is not for sale raising questions as to how well the cia can find militant groups. the cia director said, and i'm quoting, the cia cannot speak publicly about the major victories, the plots spoiled and the terrorists neutralized. in the past year, we have done heavy damage to al qaeda and the associates. it is all the more reason why we attend to stay on the offensive. one of the cia agents killed in the attack yesterday was laid to rest yesterday in portland. dave was working at a military base between afghanistan and pakistan when the bomb was detonated. he was a master sergeant previously based at ft. louis. he was 27 years old. we also now know the mystery figure who appeared in that video beside the suspected double agent. >> his identity is revealed in this report filed from islamabad. >> reporter: the video was released in pakistan on saturday. in it you see a man speaking on the right. that is the alleged cia bomber ha lr halid al-balawi. he said he killed the former taliban leader in august. sitting to his left is the current leadish of the pakistani taliban who in october vowed to avenge his death. the strike carried out against the cia in afghanistan. >> it is very clear that there is no real distinction between the taliban on this side of the border and that side of the border. that this is now international, at least to the extent that it is something that crosses between the pakistan and afghan borders. but then it draws strength from jordan. it draws strength from iraq. and there's a fusion of iraqi al qaeda with the al qaeda here in pakistan. so all of this is getting tied together by one single thing, and that is a common world view and a common ideology. >> reporter: until now the taliban focused on domestic attacks. now they are carrying out a strike across the border in afghanistan. the operative that it sent an arab. a startling development that is sure to see more pressure being put on pakistan to target all militant groups operating within its borders. and that could for thor threaten the already fragile stability in this country. arwa damen, cnn, islamabad. what's harder for firefighters? putting out the fire in the heat or in the cold? >> well, the heat can be brutal on the guys and dangerous, but how difficult is it if you are trying to put water on a fire, and the water keeps turning to ice. e is working up an appetite up there. bet you guys are, too. how about some hamburger helper? cheeseburger mac... how 'bout some after the show? hamburger helper. one pound. one pan. one tasty meal. wow, coach, you really are back in the game. i took your advice, dan, and i lost 32 pounds on nutrisystem, and i feel great. so what are your numbers? i lost 22 pounds, and i've kept it off for three years. get back in the game in 2010. order now and you can get two weeks of meals free, plus the all-new nutrisystem jumpstart kit, our secrets to ultimate weight loss. hey, you guys. boomer. well, thanks to you guys, i did go all the way. whoop, 50 pounds lighter. so, coach, how is the squad looking? best ever. you know, i have a real hall-of-famer at the helm. l.t.?! why not, danny boy? i lost 35 pounds on nutrisystem. l.t. and cheerleaders: pizzas, pastas, burgers, meat! come on, guy food is all you'll eat! four out of five men say nutrisystem satisfies their hunger. start your year off right. order now and you can get two weeks of meals free, plus the all-new nutrisystem jumpstart kit. call or click today. hey, there, everybody. welcome back to "cnn sunday morning." i'm t.j. holmes. >> good morning, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. >> look at what the crazy folks are doing down in orlando this morning. i call them crazy because it is 29 degrees according to bonnie schneider with the marathon going on down there. the disney world marathon. expecting 23,000 to 24,000 signed up for the marathon this morning that started at 5:40 a.m. 24,000 signed up. i think only maybe 200 showed up because they got sense knocked into them with the cold air, but they still had a good turnout clearly, but they are hoping to make it -- is it better to run a marathon in the cold or the heat? >> i mean, do you break out a sweat when it is that cold outside? it is a marathon, after all. i guess your body heat does increase after a lot of running, but you see some of the folks with that -- it looks like aluminum foil kind of wrapping around them. that's supposed to keep the heat in. i think i would wrap my entire body head to toe with that and make a jump suit if i was running in that kind of weather. good luck to them out there because it is cold outside. >> somebody let us know, please, you runners out there, let us know, is it better to run in the heat or do you prefer to run in the cold? that's a good question. >> how about this, not just the cold, but below freezing. how about that? >> exactly. bonnie smider schneider is coming up shortly with the forecast. >> and some of the top stories we'll pass along to you. senate majority leader harry reid, yeah, he's apologizing to the president. why? for some racial remarks he made during the campaign about then candidate obama. there's a new book coming out called "game change." it claims reid privately said candidate obama had a good chance of winning, quote, thanks to his light skinned looks and, quote, no negro dialect. reid apologized to the president saying these remarks, i deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. i sincerely apologize for offensed any and all americans, especially african-americans for my improper comments. next hour we'll talk about damage control now with some political strategists. well, an earthquake off northern california has knocked out power to tens of thousands of people. no serious injuries, but a lot of nerves rattled. the 6.5 magnitude quake hit near eureka yesterday followed by aftershocks. the biggest measuring 4.5. these are pictures of the damage taken by one of our i-reporters. we are hearing reports of isolated water line breaks, downed power lines, broken windows. of course, a lot of people are cleaning up the mess from all the things coming off of the walls, out of their cabinets, and you can tell in the video, i don't know if it was shaking at a time, this is cell phone video or a picture, i should say, but it looks like there's still movement in that. again, no serious injuries have been reported. turning to vermont now where police are warning people to stay off the frozen lakes. they are warning them after we have seen a deadly snowmobile accident. in the accident, a man and his daughter in her 20s and granddaughter 3 years old were all killed when the snowmobile broke through a thin sheet of ice. they were reportedly riding with three other people. they were on -- they were on three different snowmobiles altogether. six people all together went into the frozen lake. three came out. of course, three did not. again, three people survived this, but, yeah, you would never know how thin or thick the ice is, so they are warning people to stay off of it. well, in omaha, nebraska, firefighters say the extreme cold hindered their efforts to save a small strip mall. officials say several businesses were destroyed in the video. you can tell they were dealing with a whole lot. that appears to be ice from the water that they were putting on the building to try to put out the fire. >> yeah. they are trying to figure out if this was intentionally sunset the dpirs place. they believe it started in a bagel shop and spread quickly into other businesses. if you have temperatures literally below freezing, then you put all the water on it and the water can freeze. it may have hampered some of the firefighting efforts to save this place, but you can see, it is amazing how pretty the stuff can look. you have seen plenty of burned buildings, but this one is decorated in icicles of ice. there's ban lot of record cold temperatures across the country as well. this florida, the freeze is getting worse. and that's something folks there really weren't hoping for, especially with the crops they are trying to save. >> reporter: that's right, t.j. and betty. the temperature will get down to 29 degrees for a sustained period of several hours. that's terrible news to the citrus crop. usually, the oranges protect it from freezing, but when you have prolonged colds, tonight will be the coldest air we see yet. as if it is not cold enough in orlando running a marathon with the temperature at 30 degrees. 37 in cape coral. remember, the windchill factor makes it feel so much colder, so the windchill warnings are in effect across the entire state of florida. it feels like it is in the teens right now right where the citrus crops are. it also feels like the 20s and 30s in south florida. that's incredible when you consider the high temperature down in south florida to be 72 degrees in miami this time of the year. so that's what we are looking at as you can see. temperatures are cold across the southeast. watch out for black ice across the southeast this morning. well, we'll take a look at the severe weather from here to florida. here's shelby lynn. >> reporter: beyond the images of roads being cleared and cars covered in snow, there's the human toll of severe weather. al roberts and her grandson were stuck in their home for three days before the roads were plowed to get to their area. >> wlep the first storm hit and the second, i was torn out. i was stressing. >> reporter: meanwhile, firefighters in the midwest say the weather is having repercussions on how they do their jobs. >> at the added weight to your ice and frozen snow, your hands are curled into a position and you can't move them. >> reporter: florida continues to shiver. parts of the sunshine state got snow in putnam county outside duncanville. in orlando runners of the half marathon clutched blankets after crossing the finish line. >> it keeps the heat in and keeps me warm. >> reporter: in ft. lauderdale space heaters were supplying off the shelves. >> i bought four, but i think i'm going in to get some more. >> reporter: forecasters expect warmer air will improve conditions on sunday and monday with temperatures much closer to average around midweek. i'm shelby lynn reporting from atlanta. oh, my goodness. well, bonnie -- at what point does this stop? >> it will. maybe tomorrow. >> like spring? oh, not that early. >> no, i think this week. huge changes here. a little closer to normal tomorrow. then look at this. above normal for much of the west. that's all headed east. just a couple days away from feeling like it is supposed to feel in january, not like this. >> which is cold, nonetheless, just not below freezing. thank you, bonnie. we have two incidents causing planes to land before reaching their destinations. >> not terror threats, but up rulely passengers. what did they do to cause problems for the airlines? yeah ! 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(announcer) afrin. why suffer? senate majority harry looed is apologizing for racial remarks about president obama during the campaign. a new book called "game change" says president obama had a good chance at president thanks to his, quote, negro dialect. he gave this statement saying, quote, i deeply regret saying such a poor choice of words. uh i sincerely apologize for offending any and all americans, especially african-americans for my improper comments. next hour, i'm talking damage control with political strategists. and this morning we have been asking you what you think about the senator's comments. you can go to our facebook page, our twitter site and go to our blog to let us know. we'll be reading some of your comments on the air. well, also, the father of the so-called balloon boy is defending himself against allegation that is this is a publicity stunt, even though he's already pled guilty to such. in an interview with our larry king, richard heene said he believed his son had taken off in the experimental balloon, but he pleaded guilty to felony to prevent his wife from being deported to japan. he begins his jail sentence tomorrow for 90 days. florida is normally a top vacation destination this time of the year, but you may want to wait a little bit before buying that ticket. it was snowing in florida yesterday. that's the first time it's done that in more than 30 years. temperatures dropped below 20 last night in some areas. and the bitter cold also has farmers scrambling to save their crops. hs@ad htp8n kttspynsm]kptp ♪ i want to get away, i want to fly away ♪ >> all right. whether airlines have developed zero tolerance or christmas day terror attempts like the ones we saw recently has folks a little jittery. the instances of passengers behaving badly is making the news more and more lately. >> that might be it. maybe we have a high sensitivity to it right now. >> perhaps that's the case. >> we have some incidents we have seen. the latest is in portland, colorado springs, l.a., a passenger's behavior forced a hawaii an airlines jet to return to portland. he was arrested. this is the video we got of the man being escorted out. he could be facing faceny charges. military jets had to escort the plane back to portland. that's a picture of the guy from the portland incident. also, an air transflight heading from atlanta to san francisco had a gal causing issues. the airline called him an irate man with a flight attendant. another passenger onboard as well is how the passenger described the whole thing. >> and the guy is just going off on the steward es because she's saying you've had too much to drink. but he has no shoes and he has no shirt on. >> he was just pointing and yelling. even when we went to land, he wouldn't sit down and stood up in the back of the plane. >> i think that qualifies as unruly. >> yeah, just a tad. >> no shirt on? >> what was he thinking? really? >> no shoes? what was he thinking? >> that would be no service in a lot of places. >> i guess the drinks were flowing, but they take this seriously. fighter jets had to escort the plane to make an emergency landing at the closest airport they could find, and that happened to be in colorado springs. >> keep your clothes on shls don't drink too much or don't be unruly or you could end up like that. >> that seems like common sense rules. it is not too late for you folks to make the new year's resolutions. a lot of people want to set a new year's resolution to get fit. >> absolutely. but what about having more sex to get fit? researchers say it is one way to stay healthy. >> it is better than running. plus antioxidants, plus fiber and probiotics, plus calcium and vitamin d. new yoplus. the proactive nutrition yogurt. some great memories. wait a minute, coach, you're the coach. you taught me everything i know. you taught me everything i know about nutrisystem. heck, i lost -- two sports legends, one simple way to lose weight and eat great: marino, shula, and nutrisystem for men. start your year off right. order now and you can get two weeks of meals free, plus, the all-new jumpstart kit, our secrets to ultimate weight loss. like i was saying, coach, with nutrisystem -- let's go to the video. dan "glam man" marino lost 22 pounds. don "blue suede" shula lost 32 pounds. and me, i did go all the way. whoop! 50 pounds thanks to nutrisystem. four out of five men say nutrisystem satisfies their hunger. just set a goal. i reached my goal: 50 pounds, gone. and i owe it all to the coach. both: thanks, boomer. start your year off right. order now and you can get two weeks of meals free, plus, the all-new nutrisystem jumpstart kit. ♪ let's get it on >> if people are going to work out, they have more upbeat music than that. >> we are talking about getting it on. if you don't like to exercise, you may want to try having sex instead. the journal of sexual medicine -- >> that we subscribe to here at cnn. >> yes. there is publishing about the benefits of frequent sex. >> it lowers your risk of heart attack and lowers the risk of prostate cancer and lowers the risk of best cancer. we are talking about frequent sex here. >> what does that mean? well, having sex 12 times a month is equal to running seven miles. i'll repeat. 12 times a month equal to running seven miles. >> there's so much that could be said right now. >> i think a lot of people are going to be subscribing to that. what is it, "the journal of sexual medicine." stuff like this will allow them to, hey, jog seven miles without having to do so. >> without actually doing it. that's -- let's move on. >> we are about to get in trouble. >> sasha cowen talked to a couple who vowed to have sex every day for a month. reed read their story at cnnhealth.com. also, we'll have sanjay gupta coming up at 7:30 eastern this morning. don't miss that. two comics, one coveted night spot will be left standing on nbc. that's a big question. >> this is a huge story and huge battle brewing over who is going to rule late night again? jay leno or conan o'brien. they are supposed to be on the same team at nbc, but some are pitting one against the other. nbc is about to shuffle the deck bringing leno back to the 11:35 time slot. both comics are dealing with the situation with what else, jokes. >> a lot of rumors swirling around about "the tonight show," and "the jay leno show." there's a lot of speculation out there, and i just wanted to go over some of the rumor that is have been flying around. check this out. "the jay leno show" is going to be canceled. jay is moving back to 11:30 and i'll be at midnight. the tonight show will be an iphone app and the jay leno show will be an xbox game. jay and i are quitting both of our shows and co starring in a new bud i cop drama. jay and i will be joining the cast of jer she shore. nbc is going to telemen and jay in a pit with sharpened sticks. the one who crawls out alive gets to leave nbc. >> this is causing problems for late local newscasts around the world. that's hurting their bottom line. we'll see what happens. >> the funny thing is they are both joking about this, but for many, though, behind the scenes, i'm sure it is not a laughing matter. it is serious business. >> conan, the poor guy, it seems like the step-child has been put aside and not given a chance to work. >> his numbers, not so great, either. we shall see. >> letterman is cracking up right now, right? the big story right now this morning. senator harry reid is apologizing to the president and the country and to african-americans over his insensitive comments he made about then candidate obama. >> really, how much hot water is he in? and will his comments impact the health care reform debate. i'm ask our team of political experts in just ten minutes. [ ] yoplait's perfect blend of real fruit and the goodness of dairy is just a peel away. explore all the delicious flavors. yoplait. it is so good. nininininininininininininininini ♪ we are come gto your town ♪ >> that's old school this morning with run dmc. hard times is what they are talking about and a lot of people are feeling it. we want to talk about putting faces on those affected. >> kate baldwin is taking us to maryland where state cuts are hitting the most vulnerable. >> oh, mommy found toys. >> reporter: 4-year-old carson brewster has a rare chromosomele disorder. >> she can't care for herself. you know, we have to change her clothes, she gets food -- fed through a tube. she's got over 22 doctors, so, yeah. >> reporter: with $13,000 in out of pocket medical expenses last year alone, supplemental funds from the state of maryland have been essential to her family's financial survival for years. but the economy has struck even this vulnerable segment of the population phased with a $700 million budget shortfall, maryland cut nearly $30 million from the state's development tall disabilities administration. >> it's okay. >> reporter: for the brewster's that means painful decisions. extra diapers and physical therapy help dropped from $2500 to just $300. what does that really mean for you guys? >> a struggle. a struggle to figure out how we are going to help our -- how to help our daughter and mike sure we have the money to make sure our other children get it, too. me and my husband, we can wait. our kids can't. and that's what it is all about. >> reporter: outraged by the state' action, advocates for the development tall disabled launched a campaign holding town halls to fight the budget cut. >> i don't think people realize how this can totally devastate your family. >> reporter: state officials say they understand, especially in this sluggish economy. every cut hurts someone, but they defend the governor's budget decision. >> he was able to protect services for people with disabilities throughout most of the budget cutting rounds. but the choices are getting much more difficult to make. it is not easy anymore. >> reporter: and not easy for states across the country. a recent report states budget troubles are having far reaching impact on residents. >> as the states face budget troubles, the public is definitely going to feel it. they will pay more taxes, they will pay higher fees. >> reporter: with the $2 billion budget shortfall protected projected for gland 2011, she only hopes more cuts aren't on the horizon for her daughter and so many others. >> they didn't ask to be disabled. we are not asking for hands out, but we are asking for a lult bit of help, that's it. >> reporter: kaed baldoun, cnn. here's part of the message from president obama's weekly address. >> insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care to their customers so that we can start catching preventable illnesses and diseases on the front end. they will no longer be able to impose restrictive limits on the amount of coverage you receive or lime lifetime benefits you receive. they will be prohibited from dropping your coverage when you get sick and need it most. and there's a new appeals process for anyone who feels they were unfairly denied a claim by their insurance company. in short, once i sign health insurance reform into law, doctors and patients will have more control over their health care decisions and insurance company bureaucrats will have less. all told, these changes represent the most sweeping reforms and toughest restrictions on insurance companies that this country has ever known. that's how we'll make 2010 a healthier and more secure year for every american. for those who have health insurance and those who don't. >> president obama says reform will mean the cost for health care will come down for families, businesses and governments. hello, everybody. this is "cnn sunday morning." it is january 10th. i'm t.j. holmes. >> good morning to you. i'm betty nguyen. it is 7:00 a.m. here. it is 4:00 a.m. in eureka, california. there's a lot of power outages there swult of the 6.5 earthquake that hit last night. we'll have an update as people take stock of the damage. senate major ty leader harry reid is in the middle of a big mess this morning. we are not talking about health care reform. he's apologizing to the president after a new book revealed reid's stunning comments about then candidate obama. among the quotes, he says that the president lacked, and i'm quoting here, a negro dialect unless he wanted to have one. his point here was that candidate obama was more electable because of that and other things we'll be getting into. we'll have reactions from both sides of the political aisle coming up. first, more on the earthquake. crews are working to restore power to thousands of people near eureka. no serious injuries were reported from the 6.5 magnitude quake. a lot of people were understandably shaken, though. the quake was followed by aftershocks with the biggest at 4.5. fairly significant shaking going on. we have an i-reporter who sent pictures of what happened. we are also hearing reports of isolated water line breaks and downed power lines and broken win donees. it takes a lot to get the stuff off the shelves, but there was serious shaking going on there with tens of thousands of people without power. they are working to get that back on right now. the cia is vowing not to let the brutal murders of seven agents in afghanistan derail them from their mission, and that is stopping al qaeda. a video released yesterday shows the double agent believed to be mind the attack vowing revenge for the attack on a leader. he said his faith was not for sale raising questions as to how well the cia can penetrate militant groups. in an editorial in "the washington post," the cia director said, quoe, the cia can not speak pub welcome publicly about the major victories, the plots foiled, the terrorists neutralized. in the past year, we have done exceptionally heavy damage to al qaeda and its associates. that's why the extremists hit back. and a man was with his daughter in her 20s and his 3-year-old granddaughter were killed when their snowmobile broke through the ice. it is a lake and you can't tell how thick the stuff is, but six people were riding on three snowmobiles. all the snowmobiles broke through the ice, but three were killed. the other three survived. now, officials say here that it is not clear exactly how thick that ice was at the time. also, other snowmobiles had actually traveled over that same area near salisbury before that accident. on a similar note, here in georgia, two teens dead after falling through the ice into a semi-frozen pond. the third boy had to be hospitalized. rescuers said he was able to pull himself from the water. his friends got trapped under the ice for nearly an hour. we turn to a story that is going to be another political football here. another political controversy. democrats, their top guy in the senate, harry reid of nevada, he is now in a bit of trouble over some comments he made. >> the senate majority leader is apologizing for making racially insensitive comments about barack obama during the presidential campaign. authors of the book "game change" or the book is coming out on tuesday and the authors quoted reid as saying privately obama could be successful thanks in part to his, quote, light skin appearance and dialect. in a statement reid said, quote, i deeply regret using a poor choice of words. i sincerely apologize for offending any and all americans, especially african-americans for my improper comments. as you would expect, reid is getting criticism for a lot of folks, and some want to replace him in the senate. >> it is a pattern of bad judgment remarks that senator reid has made over the years, including the war is lost when our sons and daughters were over in iraq fighting the war, including saying if you don't like the health care bill, then you must be a proponent of slavery. these are a series of remarks that the senator has made, not just one or two times, but many times. and it is just bad judgment on his part. >> well, president obama responded issuing this statement. harry reid called me today and apologized for an unfortunate comment reported today. i accepted harry's apology without question because i have known him for years. i have seen the passionate he has showed and i know what's in his heart. as far as i am concerned, the back to is closed. this morning the headlines belong to majority leader harry reid. that's the first topic, but not the only one i'm about to speak with with our guests this morning. maria is a prominent democratic strategist serving as the senior adviser to the hillary clinton campaign for president. she is joining us from washington. as does leslie sanchez, a republican strategist and former adviser to george w. bush. leslie, let me start with you. how damaging is this harry reid accident in. >> it is impactful with the race in nevada. he really is unpopular because of his support of the health care plan. you have a lot of nevada voter who is don't want that to pass, but on top of that, it is really tired old rhetoric that has come from the left. and it is going to be interesting to see if the democrats push back as severely as they should. if this were on the republican side, there would be a lot of h hypocrisy asking him to step down. it is critical, i think the president's response is very good, but will it ease the pain? it is tremendously hurtful to many in the ethnic communities. >> you call it tired old rhetoric, but maria, a lot of people are saying, look, in this day or time, we are surprised reid would make sufficient such a comment. >> absolutely. it is unacceptable, completely idiotic and unfortunate. it goes to show you the smartest people, sometimes their brains take leaves of absence. this is what happened in this case. he apologized very directly and aggressively and called the leaders in the african-american community, which was the right thing to do. the president recognized his apology. you have to look at his record to see what's in his heart to the president's comments. in terms of his election, sure, it doesn't help. he has a tough re-election, but i think the voters will ultimately look at his record and what he's been delivering for nevada, which has been a good record. if he delivers health care reform, that's will be an absolute plus for the motorists of nevada. >> i want you to weigh in, leslie. >> i was going to say, it would be a nail in the coffin. >> that's what i was going to say. this is already an uphill battle. >> it is so unpopular in the state. if you read his internal polling, nevada voters are skeptical about the plan, don't know what's in it, it is being passed in secrecy and it is affecting his popularity and his ability to look like a strong candidate. a strong incumbent in his state. it is the sentiment of the this. this does not help his case very well and it is hurtful. people will look at it in the context of his career and past statements he has made. >> how much weight does the president's comment -- and all of them have come out quickly ahead of the book's release to do damage control. how much weight do the president's comments weigh into all of this? >> i think a lot because clearly the comments that harry reid made were about the president, so everyone will look to the president to see how he handles this. that's why i think that the president -- the president's statement will do a great deal to close the book as he said in his own statement. then it will allow harry reid to focus on his re-election in terms of issues. he has delivered a lot for nevada in the years he may be senator. going back to health care reform, what the voters of nevada and the voters in the country are sick of is how political this has become. when they look at what health care reform will give them, which is accountable to health insurance companies. health coverage to the 30 million americans who don't have it. and security to those american who is do have it two who tomorrow the health insurance companies could drop their coverage and they won't be able to do that now with this. >> very quickly, leslie. i want to give you the last word on this. >> this is not a slam dunk in terms of passing the health care reform bill because there's a lot of unanswered questions. why didn't we have some of the issues here to know what they look like. issues of why did nebraska get several benefits other states didn't. there's a long road to go in terms of getting a compromise and bringing republicans to the table anxious to work with democrats on this. we do need health care reform, but we need the right health care reform. >> we are closer than ever before to getting it. >> ladies, i appreciate you joining us today, and hashing out whether we have the health care reform or the future for senator harry reid. thank you. we appreciate. it. i've been fascinated about your comments about harry reid. i don't know if you can get it, but i have them up on my mac now. i'll still read them now. a couple i wanted to summary, some people say it is idiotic and stupid and i can't believe he did it. a couple are taking it in a different direction. doug was one of them. he says, can you overcome racism if you can't talk about it? if it was the truth, why shouldn't he say it? and why should he apologize later for having said it? i think some people think we should keep pretending. another one from brick terry that says read operations are true. the comments are indicative of what's obvious to most black people, racism, stereotyping is still prevalent in america. what they are saying with the conversations heard behind the scenes, but nobody wanted to come out and talk about. that is obama in a lot of ways a. he was nonthreatening in a lot of ways. he was a clean guy. you heard that coming from joe biden, but nobody wants to come out and be honest about it. that's what people have tapped into. >> those are good points, but you hear a lot of people saying i cannot believe in this date and time he would say this. quickly, kasey says it is pretty amazing that families are still deeply rooted. >> what really gets to your point from here, we want people to be honest and open with their costs and process. but the minute you do it and it is not politically correct, they come under fire. believe me, harry reid is not alone in his thoughts. if we get insulted every time somebody speaks off the cuff, then we need to step back from it. >> truly offensive to a lot of people, but maybe a conversation does need to have been had. a sensitive topic. >> a lot of people are offended by the comments. send in your comments to us and we'll read them to you. we talked about how cold it is with bonnie. we are not used to talking about florida. >> back in 1977 in florida, there was snow and sleet across the state. that made the news. it is also going to make the news in dwen because tonight temperatures are going to get even colder than where they have been. so florida freeze is ahead for tonight, but a warm up is ahead for the country this week. i'll have more coming up. thank you, bonnie. see you in a second. and what do you get when youed a your son with a home plait home made balloon? jail time. you also get to go on "larry king live" and seeing what the father is saying now. they're discovering the first self-injectable ra medicine it's simponi,™ and taken with methotrexate, and swelling of ra with one dose a month. visit 4simponi.com to see if you qualify for a full year of cost support. simponi™ can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious and sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, cancer in children and adults, heart failure, nervous system disorders, liver or 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(woman) ask your rheumatologist about simponi.™ just one dose, once a month. ♪ >> our producer is doing a great job. >> it may not be strawberry fields, but we have a lot of crops down in florida. they are really bracing themselves. at least the farmers are trying themselves to save what they can under the below freezing temperatures. they are trying to harvest ripe fruit and spraying orchards with water. i didn't realize this until recently, but a thin liar of ice will insulate the blossoms and help them during freezing temperatures. you would think if you are putting water on something when it is below freezing outside it is going to cause it to freeze, but apparently it serves as a blanket. >> it is ingenious. that's exactly what the strawberry farmers are doing. who knew? they have been doing this long enough that they know how to protect themselves and use some of the florida injunety. >> they are experts at it, aren't they? >> they are. we'll talk to an expert about the weather. bonnie schneider has been looking at the maps. she's been looking at it and all that. are we getting out of the deep freeze any time soon? >> florida is facing frigid conditions tonight. the temperature has been getting cold at night and warming up during the day and getting cold again. what happens to the fruit? well, it rots under the circumstances, so they have to pick the strawberries really fast when they are ripened. unfortunately, it is going to freeze for a longer period of time tonight than it has all week long. we are looking at six hours at 28 degrees in central florida. this is where all the citrus crops are located in northern and central florida. so dangerous tonight. currently with a place happening in orlando, we have 30 degrees with the windchill warnings in place all the way down to miami where it feels like 25 degrees. that's unheard of. plus, snow in daytona beach with temperatures frigid across the southeast. watch out for ice in atlanta. we have seen a lot in the forecast. in new england, the windchill factor is negative 1 degree. a big football game in foxborough at 1:00 today. it will feel like 10 degrees. bundle up. okay. thank you. >> she got the game in there, how important. how would you like the term $300 bucks and $2 million bucks. >> all you need is a computer, really? >> the thing is, you can go to vegas or -- you can try this. you can make a short film about robots attacking a city. post it on the internet and sit back while hollywood launches something for your creative services. ♪ ♪ doctor says i have to lower my cholesterol. here you go, mr. noran. thanks. [ female announcer ] trying to lower your cholesterol can be a challenge. but with the help of honey nut cheerios' sweet taste, lowering your cholesterol is a non-challenge. get $2 in coupons at non-challenge.com this is really good! ♪ >> we are waiting. there it goes. it was not cued at the right time. come on, cedrick! >> oh, you called him out. >> he usually does a good job. okay. more from the world of viral videos. hey, josh. hey, guys. all right, you know there's a new phenom among viral videos. the huge outdoor light shows. they are taking massive lasers and projecting them on a building. we have this one from houston. take a look at this. this is racking up millions of views online. this was done over the holidays at the convention center there in houston. they have advanced the lasers. they are looking pretty 3d. they made the building look like it became alive. you have the sound matching to it. people are crowded outside to stare at these big things. this is one of the latest oning ones taking over. sometimes they don't require any money and takes 20 seconds. check this out. look at that. look what he's doing. this outfielder during spring training, you can see he's letting go of the bat while swinging, bun instead of it flying off, it spins a couple times and he catches it. nobody can understand how he's doing that. again, millions of viewers online. all right. we have one more for you. a video that not only when viral, but it caught the attention of hollywood. look at this. it is a short film by a fi filmmaker in norway called "panic attack." the little boy is about to see giant robots coming into attack the city. the filling maker only had to spend $300 to make it. this doesn't equal the equipment he already had and the time. take a look at this section. look at this. check out the massive robots coming to town. it is set to the musicaled "panic attack" by snake. this filmmaker has now gotten a $30 million deal from the producer best known for spiderman. he went from $30 to $300 million. if your kids are into posting videos on youtube, it could pay off one day. send us your favorite online videos. facebook and twitter, josh@cnn.com. >> a thumbs-up for that. thank you. >> you shouldn't be talk about texas too much. >> hey, my cowboys won last night. what happened to the longhorns? must we replay that? where were your arizona razorback? >> they were winning their bowl game. anyway. we are going to a break while i strangle this guy. be right back. all right. checking our top stories. togo's national soccer team pulled out of the competition after a machine gun attack on their bus on friday. three people are dead, including an assistant coach. the team was on the way to the africa cup of nation's tournament. the father of the so-called balloon boy is depending himself against allegation that is the drama was a publicity stunt. in an interview with our "larry king live" he said he pleaded guilty to keep his wife from being deported to japan. take a listen. >> we searched the house high and low and -- i'm sorry. >> it's okay. >> and i -- you know, after i saw him in this craft and bradford said he went inside, i first didn't believe bradford and said, i just saw him. >> so you believe your son was in the craft. >> i know he was in the craft. no, in my mind, there was no other place because i visualized him and yelled at him not to go in there. >> quite honestly, i'm shocked he would make such statements. the evidence against mr. heene and myumi at this point is really overwhelming. there's no doubt in my mind that this thing was a hoax and i really doubt there's very few people in america who don't understand at this point that this was not an elaborate hoax person rated by richard and myumi. >> heene begins his 90-day jail sentence tomorrow. you can see the rest of the interview tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. wellbeing. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nuture it in your cat... with a full family of excellent nutrition... and helpful resources. ♪ purina cat chow. share a better life. [ female announcer ] yoplait's perfect blend of real fruit and the goodness of dairy is just a peel away. explore all the delicious flavors. yoplait. it is so good. a lot of people want to know about