'This Week' Transcript: Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Charles Schumer

Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Charles Schumer are interviewed.

ByABC News
January 3, 2014, 6:24 PM
ABC News' Cokie Roberts, The Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol, Republican Strategist and CNN Contributor Ana Navarro, Former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, and BuzzFeed.com Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith on 'This Week'
ABC News' Cokie Roberts, The Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol, Republican Strategist and CNN Contributor Ana Navarro, Former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, and BuzzFeed.com Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith on 'This Week'
ABC News

— -- Below is a rush transcript for "This Week" on January 5, 2014. It may be updated.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning, and welcome to This Week.

New year, new drama -- big showdowns ahead in Washington. After a damaging year of conflict, can President Obama and the congress find a path to compromise? Or will midterm elections dictate the agenda? The debates ahead with rising GOP star Rand Paul and top Democrat Chuck Schumer.

Plus, New York's new mayor comes out shoveling and swinging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL DE BLASIO, MAYOR OF NEW YORK: When I said I would take dead aim at the tale of two cities, I meant it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do liberals now have their counter to the Tea Party? That, and all of the week's politics on our powerhouse roundtable.

And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was inspired by him to be a better man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: The Navy SEALs lone survivor. As Hollywood takes on America's hidden heroes, our experts take us inside the special ops missions finding our military all right here this Sunday morning.

ANNOUNCER: From ABC News, this week with George Stephanopoulos starts now.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Happy new year, everyone. And for so many of you this morning it is a frigid one. Half of the country from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, from the Rockies to the east coast, under cold weather warnings right now.

The National Weather Service calls the temperatures life-threatening. Its record-breaking cold not seen in decades and another arctic storm is on the way. So, let's get right to ABC's Gio Benitez in Chicago. Good morning, Gio.

GIO BENITEZ, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, George.

It is so cold here that so many people here are calling this Chiberia. The snow just hammering us, now that wind, too, all morning long.

And take a look, this behind me, it may look like a gorgeous skating rink, but this is actually a harbor. This is Lake Michigan.

I want to show you some of these maps right now, take a look at just how many cities are being affected by this dangerous cold. Warnings from Rapid city, to Minneapolis, to Buffalo.

And what's really concerning these wind chills tomorrow morning. Look at that. Some areas will see temperatures at 61 below zero, the kind of numbers we haven't seen here in years.

And even southern cities will be feeling the bitter cold. Look at those temperatures drop: Birmingham, 7 degrees Tuesday morning. Atlanta, 6 degrees. And once we reach Tuesday morning, we're still going to see some of those subzero temperatures here in the Midwest and into the Northeast.

So George, it is going to be a frigid couple of days here all over the place.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So much of the country affected, Gio. And as the National Weather Service reminds us, these temperatures can be dangerous.

BENITEZ: That's right. You know, that frostbite is the biggest concern right now. So, you've got to make sure you've got to cover those ears, cover those fingers and toes, because really, it can take just five minutes in those extreme sub-zero temperatures for frostbite to set in, George. It can be deadly.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Thank you, Gio.

And right in the middle of that deep freeze, Green Bay's Lambeau Field, the site of the famous Ice Bowl in 1967, the coldest game ever, wind chill 46 below. Thousands of die-hard fans in for another bone-chiller today when the Packers take on the 49ers. And Green Bay's Mayor Jim Schmidt joins us from Lambeau right now.