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Winter Storm Batters Eastern United States; Hugo Chavez`s Legacy

Aired March 7, 2013 - 04:00:00   ET


CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: A warm welcome on this Thursday, March 7, especially for anyone who`s dealing with this frosty reception. A winter storm? Yes, another one hammered parts of the Midwestern and Northeastern United States this week. Power outages, schools and businesses closed, flights canceled. Chicago had a record one-day snowfall on Tuesday. CNN`s Ted Rowlands was there.


TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And this is not only in Chicago. Of course, it`s hitting the Midwest, Minneapolis, North Dakota, getting in excess of a foot of snow, and the system is heading east.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve gotten our yardstick out, and at least where I am, I`ve measured from place to place where it looked like the snow was untouched, about six inches of snow so far. Right here in downtown Winchester, although that`s by no means a scientific reading.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many airlines canceled. A number of flights, hundreds, in facts, and where I`m at Dulles is a big hub for United Airlines as is Chicago`s O`Hare airports. So, United is taking a big hit. They canceled about 700 flights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The highest waves during Sandy were maybe 40 miles an hour, but this time we are talking about 12 to 15 foot seas. Now, you can see the damage that is still pretty clear about what happened during Hurricane Sandy. Look, so many houses still have been destroyed or are heavily damaged.



UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? Members of OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, are all Middle Eastern nations.

Not true. OPEC includes countries from Africa and South America, too.


AZUZ: Like Venezuela, a country of more than 28 million people that`s in the northern part of South America. Oil is huge part of Venezuela`s economy. It`s one of the biggest industries in the country, that`s responsible for roughly 95 percent of all the money that Venezuela earns by selling products to other nations. Venezuela`s in the middle of seven days of mourning. The country`s long time leader, Hugo Chavez, died this week. His casket was moved to a military academy yesterday. That`s where his state funeral is scheduled to happen tomorrow. Venezuela will set a date to elect a new leader in the next 30 days. During this time, as President Hugo Chavez`s supporters argue that he gave Venezuelans the sense of national pride. His critics argue that Chavez ruined this country`s economy and restricted people`s liberties. Controversy plays a large role in Chavez`s legacy.


HUGO CHAVEZ: Victoria! Victoria!

AZUZ: He relished being at the center of controversy. So, it`s no wonder his friends and foes had very different takes on the Chavez legacy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s made Venezuelans feel proud to be Venezuelan again. And not as something, I think that really no other leader has ever done in that country before. In fact, they were doing the opposite.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s destroyed the economy and centralized all power in his hands, decimated the democratic institutions in the country and left Venezuelan democracy in even worse shape. So it`s a pretty negative legacy.

AZUZ: Chavez`s rhetoric often aimed at the United States or at multinational corporations. It invoked the promise of a socialist utopia, but Hugo Chavez had what most other Latin American leftists did not - oil. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, along with Saudi Arabia. That oil wealth enabled Chavez to offer up free education and healthcare in his own country. The price of his socialist agenda - Hugo Chavez himself, presidential term limits were abolished. Even his critics admit, he could have gone on winning elections indefinitely. His biggest failure maybe his success, a legacy of one. Friends and foes, the Chavez legacy is filled with both.


UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can I.D. me. I`m a type of vehicle that`s been around for more than 100 years. My name comes from a Latin word that refers to a combination of things. In my case, that`s internal combustion engine and an electric motor. I`m a hybrid. A vehicle that runs on fuel and electricity.


AZUZ: Volkswagen is coming out with a new hybrid car that the company claims would get the equivalent of 261 miles per gallon. Considering that the standard Toyota Prius gets around 50, this is significant. But this doesn`t mean that the XL 1, as it`s being called, will get you across the country without stopping. Between battery and diesel power, VW says, it will go about 310 miles total, which is about 90 miles less than your average sedan on a full tank of gas. But the XL 1`s engine only needs about 2.6 gallons of diesel to fill it. So, a fill-up at today`s prices would cost about 11 bucks. It`s incredibly aerodynamic, significantly more so than a Chevy Corvette, for example, and it certainly looks futuristic. But it`s not fast. It will take over 12 seconds to get you from zero to 60. Its top speed will be about 100 miles per hour, though, of course, none of us would ever drive that fast. It`s also not expected to be cheap, and it may not even be available in the U.S. But Europeans, who want fuel mileage bragging rights and can still afford the car, may have something to brag about.

One week ago, we told you about Jhaquiel Reagan. While he was walking to a job interview, he made an impression on a local restaurant owner and got a job there. It is a great story about one person`s work ethic, but it`s not the end of the story, and it`s not the end of Jhaquiel`s impressive display of character. WXIN`s Kent Erdahl picks up the story.


KENT ERDAHL, WXIN CORRESPONDENT: Jhaquiel Reagan has met a lot of people since setting off on a ten-mile to a job interview days ago, an interview that he wouldn`t even end up needing after meeting the owner of Papa Ru on his way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m thinking to myself, here`s a kid walking almost ten miles in ice and slush and snow for the hope of a job at minimum wage, just like the kind of story your parent used to tell - my parents used to tell - uphill both ways in the snow.

ERDAHL: Jhaquiel`s stories also now stuff of legend - he`s been immortalized in his own editorial cartoon and seen his picture pop up on stories he can begin to translate.

JHAQUIEL REAGAN: People all over the globe see me. It`s really crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The story, as one of my customers put it, is redefining viral.

ERDAHL: That`s because it`s generated more than just likes on Facebook. It`s created a new life for Jhaquiel.

REAGAN: It really has changed quick. Like I went from sleeping on the couch to sleeping in my own house - in my own apartment.

ERDAHL: You see, before meeting his new landlord, Jhaquiel was homeless and living with friends. He also didn`t have a phone.

REAGAN: I was trying to get a hold of you last night.

ERDAHL: Now, he is taking calls from the Chicago Bulls organization. They contacted him after seeing a certain hat on TV.

REAGAN: They gave me some tickets to the Bulls. I was really impressed. It`s awesome.

ERDAHL: As we showed you last week, Jhaquiel also received a free bus pass, though he hasn`t had to use it much after meeting plenty of coworkers who have offered to give him rights.

REAGAN: I really appreciated. Really grateful.

ERDAHL: Jhaquiel`s story didn`t just give him a job. In fact, they`ve gotten so much good publicity here at Papa Ru, that they`ve actually had to hire additional stuff to keep up with all the extra demand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve got five new permanent hires.

ERDAHL: Some of them spend time answering phones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My cashiers have turned into receptionists.

ERDAHL: Fielding dozens of donation requests for Jhaquiel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each slip is an individual contact of a person with a name and a number, and they want to help financially, each of these slips.

EDRAHL: In fact, so many donations have come in that Jhaquiel decided to create his own foundation, saying half the money will go to help disadvantage people find work. The other half will go to him, but he`ll be sharing it with the most important people he`s met in the past days.

REAGAN: 25 percent of my half is going to Papa Ru employees. Because they have been working their fingers to the bone while all of this has been going on. The restaurant has been more busy than it has ever been. And, you know, they really deserve it, you know.


AZUZ: Are teenagers getting tired of Facebook? Just about everyone who tweeted me about this, said yes. A couple of new reports say Facebook`s younger users might be leaving for other sites and apps like Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. Facebook still gained millions of users last year, and the company owns Instagram, but many teenagers are turned off by the number of parents on Facebook and privacy factors in it, too. Graham said on our Facebook page, he is posting less because he worries about colleges or potential employers seeing it. Students on Facebook can talk to us there. Teachers, you can talk to us at Please let us know your thoughts on today`s show.

Something you may not know about me. I can juggle - not well. So already I thought this Youtube video was impressive. But watch this guy`s left hand and listen closely.

You noticed what`s going on there? Every time he catches the cube, he is moving its pieces. The only way I ever solved a Rubik`s cube was by taking the stickers off and moving them around. This guy is doing it one-handed while he juggles. Show off. We`d suggest like a mic drop, but it doesn`t look he ever drops anything. We are going to grade that performance, but we didn`t have a good Rubik for it. He posted that video right before Valentine`s day. You might think that`s puzzling, but it was just in time for Cupid, and if he ever takes his show on the road, I just hope he stays safe, because it can be a real juggle out there. I`m Carl Azuz, enjoy the rest of your day.