Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20101221

was diffused. we are still working the information and cnn "newsroom" continues right now. hi, kyra. >> hi, guys. writing down the information. you have more than i have. thank you very much. have a great rest of the day. 9:00 a.m. on the east coast. 6:00 a.m. out west. here's the story this is morning. following a developing story off the coast of puerto rico, as well. a national guard helicopter has crashed into the ocean with six people aboard. at least one person confirmed dead. the search for possible survivors still continuing. and in just a couple of hours we'll find out how many people live in the united states and where. the 2010 census will show how the country has changed over the past decade and decide congressional seats and electoral votes. did you look in the sky and witness history this morning? a total eclipse of the moon visible across the u.s. the first total lunar eclipse in almost 400 years. a story out of rome right now, apparently a bomb found underneath a train seat and the newest information is the train apparently was empty. and it was diffused. it was in the rome subway where this was discovered by a train station employee. not clear who left it. or if it could have even exploded in -- well, now getting this new information that it was diffused apparently so we're working the story for you, more information as we get it. well, today officially marks the first day of winter but that's a laughable technicality in northern california. the sierra nevada mountains buried under as much as ten feet of snow and by later today, snow could pile 15 feet high. wind gusts toppled 150 miles on one summit and southern california, heavy rains caused widespread flooding and a few mud slides and things could get worse over the next several days. the floods forced the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people in mcfarland and mud slides shut down two highways. let's get the latest on this weather in southern california. our casey wian in ventura county, california, for us. hey, casey. >> reporter: hey, good morning, kyra. you're familiar with southern california. i'm just across county line in ventura county on pacific coast highway. and this stretch of pacific coast highway remains closed. 20-mile section closed off a mud slide. cal trans crews working to remove debris, boulders from the roadway. still closed at this hour. elsewhere, throughout southern california, traffic has been snarled by this heavy storm, this rain that's continued since friday. california highway patrol says in los angeles county yesterday there were three times as many accidents on l.a. county roads as you would normally expect and even with the lighter holiday volume. elsewhere in the state, as you mentioned, the community of mcfarland in central california, 2,000 residents evacuated there because of a creek overflow. officials able to remove the debris and residents allowed back in their home. you mentioned the snow and the sierra nevadas. just checked the website of mammoth mountain which skiers are familiar with. they have received up the 13.5 feet of snow since friday. unbelievable. wind gusts in the sierra nevadas at the higher altitudes exceeded 150 miles per hour. we have also got power outages throughout southern california, scattered power outages at this time, 20,000 customers reported to be without power. right now, the rain subsided a little bit. expecting later tonight much heavier rainfall and what we will have to see, how the hillsides affected by fires hold up. kyra? >> all right. casey, we ee'll keep talking. thank you very much. things are likely to get worse. that's what we're getting from rob marciano. what do you think? rob? here's -- this tells the story, kyra, which is the plume continues to be directed at southern california. but this piece of energy is going to kick out the system. this is the last surge of moisture to come through and then we're getting into a significant drying trend. that will take 36 hours to happen. shut down tomorrow night sometime and then starting to get into some drier air. also up here, the popcorn-type of clouds, cold air. snow levels will drop and help lock up the moisture up in the mountains but before that happens we have a tremendous amount of rainfall to come through and i fear a lot of hillsides at the breaking point. over a foot of rain in some of the areas. highly populated areas of santa barbara. in l.a. proper, record-setting rainfall for folks and main plume of moisture in parts of nevada, utah, as well. in through colorado and starting to see snows pop up at the higher elevations. three to six inches of additional snowfall is expected and then one to three across colorado utah and three to six feet expected in colorado with this high avenue lanch danger. this is good news typically but the short-term bad news is very dangerous situation. no avalanche danger on the east coast but snow continuing to fall across eastern massachusetts. don't want to forget about the friends out there as they have endured a foot of snow in parts of cape cod yesterday. kyra, back over to you. >> appreciate it. the weather is making travel pretty miserable overseas as europe reels from the worst snowfall in decades. trains are slowed or stopped and airports jammed with stranded travelers. fred, what's it like? >> reporter: it's pretty bad, kyra. looking at london heathrow, people inside that terminal for several days trying to get out. of course, also, a lot of americans trying to bet back i the u.s. the situation in the uk especially is still very bad. there's still snowfall out there. only about one third of the flights going through london heathrow, the busiest here in europe. frankfurt, jemny, snowfall earlier this morning and the airport was shut down completely earlier this morning. it is open again now. however, also here, hundreds of cancelations and one thing that our viewers who are thinking of traveling to europe need to know is the big issue here right now not only getting here but getting the luggage here. a lot of luggage lost and the airlines having a massive trouble tracing that luggage. a lot of it lost three, four, five days, up to a week and certainly a lot to look out for right now thinking to travel here to europe. it is a pretty tough journey, kyra. >> okay. fred, we'll keep checking in with you, as well. appreciate it. well before dawn this morning, stargazers had the eyes on the skies. a total eclipse of the moon over north america. it's the first total lunar eclipse since 2008 and even more noteworthy than that. nearly 400 years since this happened on the winter solstice. this is the view of green bay, alabama. she teaches photography and took students out. the next total lunar eclipse in 2014. president obama, vice president biden and secretary of state hillary clinton been working the phones trying to win republican senate support for the treaty. the landmark treaty could come up for a procedural vote as early as today. admiral mike mullen chairman of the joint chiefs of staff wrote a letter backing that pact and that could nudge more senators into the yes column. from nuclear weapons to your fridge, congress is on the verge of giving the thumbs up for bad food from entering the supply chain. the legislation would give the food and drug administration new strength and imposing tougher rules on production and trade. the house is expected to pass that bill today. and the president and the pen busy expected to sign the don't ask, don't tell repeal tomorrow but the 17-year ban on gay troops serving openly in the military won't end immediately. the law only changes once the pentagon proves to congress that the military has met several requirements including troop education programs. and the pentagon hasn't set a timetable saying that it's moving forward at a deliberate pace. you can watch the president signing the repeal tomorrow morning right here in the cnn newsroom 9:15 eastern time. remember the census workers taking the names, numbers? now we are going to see fruits of all that labor. a first batch of results from the 2010 count are being released two hours are from now. talk more about that with poppy harlow. poppy, there's a lot at stake here politically. >> a lot at stake politically, a lot coming to money for your state. none of us wanted to fill out the forms but today it's going to matter what those numbers tell us at 11:00 a.m., kyra, how more than $400 billion in federal money distributed to states and reallocates seats in congress. what we want to do is show you the estimates. we have the estimates of 2000 to 2009. pretty close to this getting them at 11:00. look at a state like ohio. okay in they ha okay? they have had a tough economic situation in the past decade. could lose the most congressional states. they have grown only 1.7%. unemployment rate of 9.8%. they have lost 409,000 manufacturing jobs since january of a key employer there, general motors. they were one of the biggest employers in the state. they have cut thous thousands in ohio. hard hirt by foreclosure. the 11th highest rate in the country. take a look at north dakota. this is an opposite story. what it shows is slow growth doesn't necessarily core late to high unemployment. north dakota, .7% growth over the last nine years. but they have the single lowest unemployment rate in the country. 3.8%. that is their unemployment rate. why is that? unclearly a lot of it comes down to oil. a huge oil boom there. diversified health care. added 12% jump of jobs and looking at growth, that doesn't necessarily correlate to how good their economy is, state by state. >> what about the states growing the most? what's the employment situation like there? >> take a state like texas, that is growing a lot. 18.8% growth. the unemployment rate high, 8.2%, below the national average and what texas has seen over the last decade, pretty much, more than a million jobs added. the reason is they have very low corporate tax rates. loose government regulation. businesses like to operate there, low home prices and no state income tax. but again, similar story here. growth doesn't always mean jobs. finally, take a look at nevada. nevada, we know the story there. they have grown a whopping 32.3% over the decade. they have the single highest unemployment rate in the country, 14.3%. the census measures from back in 2000 when the economy was very good, booming, the casinos were doing well and the growth stunted by the recession. decimated by the housing market and grappling with, kyra, highest foreclosure rate in the country. lost tens of thousands of jobs in leisure, who hospitality at hotels. $400 billion, get the final numbers coming in here right at 11:00 a.m. kyra? >> okay. bringing them to the viewers. thank you so much. >> you got it. nothing says party like succession. folks in south carolina partied like it was 1859 last night. well, 1860 to be exact. 150 years since their state was first to leave the union. never mind all that human bondage, civil war stuff. oh, yeah. we are talking about this coming up next. ♪ yes! yes, yes, yes! 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[ applause ] the athlete makes it look easy and tells us ordering musicians even the good sports among them is hard work. >> a little ri hearsal today. my arms are shot right now. >> reporter: don't worry, though. won't throw the game off. handles song number two. a michael jackson favorite. ♪ >> reporter: of all the guest performers, he is the tallest to stand before the orchestra. >> i also told him that he didn't really need the pose yum but since i would have it before that he would be stuck with it. >> reporter: in the crowd hundreds of cheering fans. for all of them, shaq picks a closing number that won't bring down the house but rather lift it up. >> the last song is a song hopefully the whole city of boston will be singing at the end of the year. >> we are the champions? >> i don't know what you're talking about. >> reporter: sure enough -- ♪ we are the champions for the patrons, the pops and, yes, maestro shamrock, it's a slam dunk. >> maybe conductor keith lockhart put a few minutes in with the celtics. only fair. shaq the first nba player to take the stage at the symphony hall. for those of us who have lactose intolerance, let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. and now, we need to do a quick follow-up on yesterday's talker. we told you how the nonprofit environmental working group or ewg tested tap water in 35 cities. and 31 of them, a chemical that can cause cancer chromium-6 was in the tap water. well, ewg called for the government to quickly establish a legal limit for chromium-6 and require public water suppliers to test for it. here's the response of the epa. quote, in order to protect people's health, epa has had drinking water standards for total chromium which includes chrome--6. epa regularly re-evaluates drinking water standards and having new science we had already launched a review of the effects of chromium-6. in september, we released a draft of the scientific review for public comment. epa will carefully review the conclusions and consider all relevant information, including the environmental working group's study to determine if a new standard needs to be set. now, that statement also says there were no reports of violations this year or last. superhero takes a serious spill on stage. a broadway spiderman performer sent to the hospital. just the latest mishap in the most expensive broadway show in history and we have the video of the fall. all right. now for many of us, not quite finished with the holiday shopping, i'm sure that's not you, there's four more days before christmas so christine romans is here to help you out with all of those last-minute shopping tips. i had to go to the mall for something to pick up. it was nuts. a week and a half ago, nobody there. >> and you know, retailers love it that the christmas is on a saturday and trying to get you into the stores to do some more shopping to finish up the lists. what kind of deals will you get? toy prices might be on the rise. walmart quietly raising prices on hundreds of toys. this according to a bloomberg report because they were cut so steeply after thanksgiving. you could see apparel prices, though, kyra, going down. inventories are pretty lean and apparel makers and retailers cutting prices closer to christmas. deal s unlikely on the kindle. it's sold out. they didn't want too much stuff on hand if the customers were going to be pretty cautious this year. and so that's why you might be not seeing big deals on that in the next few days. you could see big deals on the iphone 4. believe it or not, walmart offering this for $197 and then a $50 gift card for the iphone 4. that's pretty interesting. sam's club, according to a top web blog or tech blog, offering a special that will have $147 for a limited time for the iphone 4. you have to be a sam's club member. if you are, watch out for that. convenience, more hours, better return policies, best buy's dropped the dreaded restocking fee. you're going to be able to get christmas gifts, impulse gifts on the end caps at target and big retailers to make it easy for you, kyra. >> what's this about if there's someone you don't expect coming in for the holidays at 7-lech to get a gift, a big wheel? a slurpee? are you serious? >> they're saying we're there for you. we are there for you. if you find yourself on saturday morning on the way to dinner and forgotten a guest, 7-eleven is open all day. a selection of wines. hand held video games, more stuffed animals in the aisles. things the make it easy to pick up something last minute. cvs with consumer electronics for people and gift, bath and body gel type. everybody wants to make it easy to spend our money this christmas. you have a few more days to do it. kyra? >> jump start -- really. here's the wine and slurpee. merry christmas. thanks, christine. one of the biggest stories on wall street was toyota and the u.s. government says the automaker going to have to pay up. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange talking more about that. hey, alisoalison. >> big money here. the department of transportation is fining toyota $32 million and the maximum penalty that the law allows. now, here's why. toyota is being fined for two different reasons. for one, because of how it handled the recall of the floor mats and gas pedals and the automaker also didn't properly notify the government about another defect with steering in some trucks and delayed notifying the government about that and by law they have to tell the government in five days of learning about the defect. the fines are just a drop in the bucket for toyota. the company maid before 1 billion in the first half of this year, though, still, we can't deny the fact that the bad publicity hurt sales and the reputation and one outstanding question mark for toyota because they're still open to private lawsuits. kyra? >> all right. well what about the rest of the market? what does the open look like today? >> we're starting just a bit higher right now. at least in positive territory. we have some positive momentum following a rally in asian markets. we don't have much economic news to trade on today so not much to go on. investors are waiting it out. later this week, we are getting more economic data on housing, two reports there and on economic growth. we may see some movement in the markets then and quiet before getting into the three-day weekend, of course, for christmas. kyra, real fast, the dow up about 29 points. nasdaq up slightly. back the you. >> great. thanks. now a look at the top stories, began this past january in a remote corner of alaska and after nearly a year in the making, 2010 census is done, the shortest in u.s. history. surveyed 34 million households. and soon that check won't be in the mail. those applying for social security before may 1st will now get the checks electronically. paperless payments save social security a billion dollars over the next ten years. 22 years ago a terrorist bomb brought down pan am flight 103 killing 270 people. mostly americans. this morning, a senate report blasting the humanitarian ree lease on the one man convicted on that attack. that was 13 months ago. today, he's still alive. senate report claims that the release part of a deal that ensured britain to keep oil and defense contracts with libya. well, spiderman takes a tumble falling 20 to 30 feet during last night's show of the broadway musical "spiderman: turn off the dark." there's the inside video. the performer rushed to the hospital after crashing to the stage floor from a platform. the show just couldn't go on. house lights came up. and the audience sent home. this is just the latest mishap for the most expensive broadway show ever staged and brings us to the "a.m. extra." john roberts live in new york. we should point out that it's not the actor reeve carney that fell but a stunt double. do we have any idea how he's doing right now? >> there's been nothing official, calling in to bellevue hospital to try to get a condition on this actor. and it's becoming increasingly apparent that the fellow who was injured may have been christopher te irney. one of nine stunt doubles but the main airlinist. 31-year-old guy. again, bellevue hospital not confirmed any of this yet but associated press told by a fellow actor that christopher was the guy injured last night. kyra, the buzz that this play is getting is just unbelievable. $65 million. most expensive production launched by broadway. bono and the edge from u2 behind the music. first time they've involved in this and plagued by mishaps. one of the dancers at a preview performance for the people who were involved in the industry who have to talk about this and sell tickets broke both of his wrists and a catapult from the back and the front and landed like this. broke both of the wrists. natalie mendoza hit in the head by a rope, a very heavy rope and suffered a concussion. had to leave the production for ten days so this thing has had the fair share of problems. to the degree that the opening night said to be pushed back to february 7th. we don't know at this point whether or not this mishap of last night appeared that the harness came off or the line holding on to the person who we believe was christopher tierney snapped but they have to have a look at that as you're looking at the video here. leaps off and looks like the rope snaps. >> eight seconds. he was taken out by paramedics but, you know, we'll -- it goes really fast and try to show you. i don't know if there's a way to slow it down. only eight seconds and somebody caught this video inside the performance. we'll try -- there it is right there. you can see him up there on top and it just -- straight shot. what's interesting, you actually talked to some of the guys that were inside the performance and they thought maybe it was a part of the show, right? folks didn't realize something had gone wrong. >> yeah. we talked with michael and jonathan diawos in from new zealand saying throughout the program, because it's so high-tech and so physical with flying sequences and expecting something was going to go wrong, maybe an actor stuck as has happened in the past. one fellow 15 feet over the seats for quite sometime. when they saw this happen originally, and you've got to remember, mary jane off the edge of the bridge, the green goblin looking over and spiderman supposed the leap off the bridge after her and swoop down and grab her, in that hole in the stage, the stage pit, obviously, it went wrong and weren't sure whether or not that was a part of the show at first and then became very apparent very quickly something went terribly wrong. >> before quick before we go, we put together some numbers here. we were talking about this. that osha reported, 4,100 artist injuries and then up in 2009, 5,800 performance artist injuries. do we have any idea if the show's going to go on? >> the show -- i mean, on broadway, kyra, unless you have terrible box office receipts which this show hasn't, playing to packed audiences, the show always goes on. a review to find out what happened. redoubling of the efforts on safety, make sure that the fellow is okay. i don't know if this will push back the opening night date past february 7th or not. that will be yet to be determined but i think in this case with this much money on the line and prestige on the line and this much buzz about it, the show will definitely go on. >> got it. thanks. equal access to the web, what the fcc is taking on today. a closer look at net neutrality, what it means to you coming up. first, flashback. 73 years ago today it was called disney's follow. how can anyone be expected to sit for an hour and a half to watch a cartoon? everyone already knew but three years, $1.5 million and 570 artists later, in 1937, the disney animated feature "snow white and the seven dwarfs" had the world premier in los angeles. [ male announcer ] it's here. the all-new chevy cruze. msn autos called it "the class of its class right now." but that's not the only story. it's got turn-by-turn navigation, onstar, an available six-speed automatic transmission, remote keyless entry, and 10 air bags. it's a big story for a compact car. the all-new chevrolet cruze. get used to more. very well-qualified lessees can get a low-mileage lease on a 2011 chevrolet cruze ls for around $159 a month. call for details. in this past weekend, pretty busy weekend, christmas sales are on. congress repealed don't ask, don't tell. the president signed -- yep. president signed the big tax cut extension. so if you're a gay soldier who's also a millionaire, looking to use the tax break money to go shopping, this is the best week of your life! exactly! well, new jersey governor chris christie finishing up the fir year in office. how do they feel about the sometimes blunt in your face style that he has? approval ratings are topping the political ticker right now. cnn political reporter shannon travis standing by. good to see you. >> hey, there, kyra. so should the govern nor of new jersey chris christie run for president? somebody in new jersey might say, forget about it. we have new poll numbers showing he's down about five points. the approval ratings according to this quinnipiac university poll show the disapproval at 44%. again, that's down about five points since november. a lot of buzz and chatter, he is like a rock star to conservative republicans about a potential 2012 bid. he swatted away a lot of that saying, hey, i have no intentions of running for president in 2012 but people say, hey, maybe he should because he's got a pretty in your face style and people like that. in terms of net neutrality, what is net neutrality? first say that the fcc voting on net neutrality today, expected to pass and break down what it is. net neutrality basically is sort of like a rules of the road so that internet service providers can't say speed up websites or apps from paying customers and can't slow down, say, websites or applications from some of their competitors so the fcc expected to vote on this today, pass and go to congress. lastly, the last senate race in the nation, where does it stand? alaska. joe miller, lisa murkowski. the case right now, the challenge to the write-in ballots, the case stands in alaska supreme court. i made some calls yesterday to see where things stand. right now we are waiting on a decision from the supreme court. the alaska supreme court. at any moment but murkowski's campaign said it may not matter and be certified this week or early next and what they're counting on, getting the certification so that she can then be sworn in. the miller campaign tells me, hey, that might happen but we're prepared to take it to the u.s. supreme court. no end in sight yet on that. >> shannon, thanks. we will have a next political update in about an hour. also reminder, go to our website cnnpolitics.com. let's talk about an anniversary some folks are celebrating. others protesting. 150 years ago monday south carolina said peace out and left the union. we all know how that uturned ou. one civil war later, south carolina was back. well last night, there was a secession ball in charleston complete with costumes and mint juleps and there were of course no slaves there, no battlefield amputations without anesthesia, no chaos because, after all, it's a ball, y'all. organizers said they're celebrating those that stood up for what they believed in. critics say the problem is the state delegates believed in treason and protecting slavery. here's what the guy from the confederate heritage trust had to say about that. >> we're not celebrating slavery by any means. we wouldn't do that. we think slavery is a -- was a horrible institution and we're glad that it's gone. it's more of an observance and a presentation of what happened and who these men were. >> well, the naacp isn't buying saying the ball celebrating slavery and some members of the charleston branch picketed at a hotel where they were staying. we like what larry wilmer of the "daily show" said about this. he looked at the documents. >> let's see. what was south carolina's reasons for leaving the union? the current of anti-slavery feeling. the sinful institution of slavery. encouraged slaves to leave their homes. hostile to slavery. the slave holding states will no longer have the power of self government. they called themselves the slave-holding states. look, saying slavery was the cause of secession isn't politically correct. it's correct-correct. >> but there was -- i mean, there were other arguments, things about taxes in that document, right? >> yeah. taxes on slaves! jon, they thought the north counted slaves at too much of a person. >> wow. i get your point. but what do we do? >> jon, you mind if i borrow camera three for a minute? >> no. go right ahead. >> hey, chuck, set a little mood. ♪ very good, very good. south, south, south. look. you're a lovely place. you have a rich heritage. no one wants to take away your pecan pie or sweet tea. okay? admit you fought a war over the right to keep slaves. you hung on to it like a mother [ bleep ]. okay? >> well, man with a south carolina vision of the sons of veterans told south carolina the state the condemns slavery and respects the naacp's right to protest. that are stunning to look at,s exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage: five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement of wear and tear items. visit your jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf. three. two. one. ♪ don't cha wish your work phone was hot like me?... ♪ the droid pro by motorola knows you need business on the go. with its powerful 1 gigahertz processor... ♪ da da da don't cha... ♪ its globetrotting wi-fi hotspotting swagger... it knows you want a rich web experience with adobe flash and access to over 100,000 android apps. finally a work phone worth taking home. well, we'll start in turkey. they're dancing with their dishes. then in europe, where they don't need any reminder that today is the first day of winter. and eclipse, we haven't seen one like this for 100 years. zain verge live from london. our correspondent/travel agent. first up, it's dinner and a show, but the show takes place in the kitchen and there you went. >> as your official travel agent, kyra, i want to tell you about turkey and a slice of theater in a kitchen called abracadab abracadabra. i was there a few days ago and the chef believes you can't have good food without good music. listen. >> reporter: de laura adds some spice, a belly dancer with chiles around her neck. this is the most fun kitchen i've ever been in. they believe that making good music will make good food. and a good show. the diners watch the kitchen stage the performance too. all part of the abracadabra experience. >> you may not cook exactly like that, but you're a good cook. that was the scene there. a belly dancer, there were pots and pans being used as percussion instruments. and they were actually cooking for the customers while they were there. and the whole idea is that it should really be something where food meets performance art. they say it's part of creativity and it just makes the food taste better. kyra, you ever see anything like that? >> no -- well, actually, that's usually a friday night out with you. but that's a whole other story. europe's becoming a bit of a winter wonderland. travelers wondering when they're going to go home. >> this is nowhere near as fun. there is outrage, frustration, and there are a lot of tears. there was one person we spoke to today, kyra, that said that heathrow airport is like a refugee camp. people have been camped out there for three or four days, sleeping on makeshift areas on mattresses. some of them don't have enough blankets, food, or water. it's running out at the airport. it's a really terrible situation. a lot of people are just standing there and crying their eyes out because they may miss their christmas vacations they've planned for so long and won't see their loved ones. and it's just frustrating. heathrow airport is saying today that 1/3 of flights only will leave. the reason they're doing that is because they're trying to give themselves a little breathing space. they need to figure out where the crews are, the planes are, and things like that. ice is a problem and all of europe is dealing with this, much of europe, particularly with the roads. people can't travel on them and trucks abandon germany, for example, from moving. let's talk about that last lieu naunar eclipse. we saw it in the u.s. we won't see another until 2014, did you see it in the uk? >> no, i actually needed my beauty sleep. so i didn't get up. this isn't easy, you know, kyra. but it was really a heavenly show for those people that did see it. it was just incredible. a lunar eclipse that was actually coincidentally on the day of the winter solstice. and that hasn't happened since 1638. so it's pretty amazing. and if you look at the pictures, you'll see, kyra, the moon looks high because the earth's axis was slightly tilted because it was on the winter solstice. that's why it looks like that. you're right, it's going to take a while before we see that again. here's the beautiful heavenly shot. a lunar eclipse, won't see it for a long time, until 2014. >> we can wait. hopefully we'll be around talking about it. good to see you. >> hopefully i'll catch it then, kyra. >> oh, my goodness. well, we're finding lots of developments in the "cnn newsroom." let's check in first with casey wian. casey? >> reporter: kyra, mud slides, flash flood warnings, heavy snow, all about this heavy rainstorm that's been hammering california for the past five days coming up at the top of the hour. and hammer's still out. will be for another day and a half as more moisture comes in. and then a change in the weather pattern. and this storm or at least a part of it will be heading to the east coast. we'll have the forecast at the top of the hour. i'm stephanie elam in new york. guess what? ebenezer, take a hike. how companies are planning on celebrating. that's coming up in the next hour. also next hour, the five big things you can do to help manage your time and stress during the holidays. tim ferris, the author of the "four hour workweek" and "the four-hour body" is joining me with tips. three. two. one. ♪ don't cha wish your work phone was hot like me?... ♪ the droid pro by motorola knows you need business on the go. with its powerful 1 gigahertz processor... ♪ da da da don't cha... ♪ its globetrotting wi-fi hotspotting swagger... it knows you want a rich web experience with adobe flash and access to over 100,000 android apps. finally a work phone worth taking home. all right. time now for the big play. what you need to know in the world of sports. and we want to welcome a new friend to the team, kyle montgomery. good to see you. >> glad to be here. >> talking about my old stomping grounds. well, brett favre is no longer with green bay, wisconsin, but i covered this for a while. >> i had the opportunity to cover brett, as well, down in mississippi. >> you're going back to college. >> yeah, i'm wearing my age a little bit. >> that's all right. well, he's definitely -- he's had a long and successful career, but it may be coming to an end. >> well, unfortunately, maybe so. as you know last monday brett's consecutive start streak ended because of an injury to his throwing arm. some thought at the time he was done, but favre already said this is his final season. he wanted to have another shot. so this may have been a bad idea. last night the second quarter of the game against the bears, defensive end wootton comes down hard on brett, smashes his head into the turf. everyone is holding their breath. obviously a tough hit. in the end, favre suffered a concussion on the play and replaced by rookie joe webb. webb was scheduled to start in the first place. he did a pretty good job, but still, it was a backyard beatdown as i call it. bears top the vikings 40-14. >> and who thought baseball cards could be worth so much money? i wish my brother would've held on to his after this story. >> rare baseball card was obviously left to an order of nuns in baltimore, maryland. at auction, it fetched $220,000. the nones were flying at such a high payday, right? here's the thing, the winning bidder never paid. so the auction house called up one of the long time clients, he's a cardiologist in philadelphia. he said, well, i'll buy it. so $220,000. it hit the bank obviously -- well, actually yesterday. the card is the wagner card, it's in poor condition, but considered to be the most sought after card in baseball history. about 60 or so are known to exist. so how about that? >> oh, my gosh. that's amazing. i wonder if my brother had one of those. maybe i shouldn't tell him after how much it made. >> if you're going to drop $220,000 on a baseball card, then you love yourself some baseball. >> exactly. you are one serious collector. yeah. but i love that they helped out the nuns. >> so what do you think when you hear christmas holidays? turkey dinners? >> yeah. santa claus -- >> yeah. mounds of presents, that type of thing. >> exactly. >> for a lot of guys, it means football. but many u.s. troops in iraq won't be back home for the holidays. so how cool is this? a group of football greats, players and coaches are bringing the bowl game experience to the troops. and tonight they'll be playing alongside american soldiers in a game of flag football. it's called the connect to home bowl. a way to boost troops' morale. a great gesture there. those guys will be able to have some fun here on the holiday. >> all right, kyle. thanks so much. kyle montgomery, appreciate it. well, it's 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. here's some of the stories that have us talking this morning as you're getting going. social security checks crossing into the electronic age. people applying for benefits after may 1st. we'll have their check automatically deposited in the bank account. those already getting benefits will have to make similar arrangements. the u.s. government making toyota pay more than $32 million for a series of high-profile recalls. civil penalties are the maximum allowed by punishment. the money will help pay for two federal investigations. one hour from now, we're going to find out how many people who live in the united states and where. the 2010 census will show how the country has changed over the past decade. and it will use those population shifts to assign congressional seats and electoral votes. okay. this story got a lot of people talking, including us. and it happened in a way that pit the u.s. constitution against pedophilia. sheriff deputies from florida went all the way to colorado to arrest this man, phillip greeves. cops say he sold and sent them an autographed copy of his book. brace yourself for the title. it's called "the pedophile guide to love and pleasure." yeah, makes you sick to your stomach. they busted him for obscenity. he broke florida law. some folks are defending his freedom of speech. cnn's senior legal analyst jeff toobin says the book might be despicable, but the book doesn't show children being abused. he says words alone don't justify busting him. but take a look at part of the florida law. and it's kind of complicated here. it's wordy. so stay with me. it nabs anyone who "knowingly writes, prints, publishes, or utters, or causes to be written, printed, published, or uttered any advertisement or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, stating or purporting to state where, how, or whom, or by what means any or what purports to be any such material, matter, article, or thing of any such character can be purchased, obtained, or had." i know, that's a mouthful. it's hard to keep up with the legal jargon, but it pretty much covers every single base. no wiggle room, even uttering can get you in big trouble. let's talk about this with david bayh, a lawyer in richmond who knows a lot about the first amendment. it's also got -- we've also got grady judd on the phone. he's actually the sheriff of polk county, florida, where greeves should be in court today. sheriff, what gives you so much confidence. obviously you arrested him. but why do you believe he can also be prosecuted? >> it's really simple. the experts are confusing child pornography laws with obscenity laws. in the state of florida, as you just read, there's a specific obscenity law. and to me it's very clear. you cannot take real life examples of how to sexually batter a 9-year-old and 13-year-old child and educate, sell, or promote that according to florida law. yes, there's first amendment experts that talk about freedom of the press and all that and no one could agree with freedom of the press or the right to free speech more than me because i like to exercise that. but you can't sit in a crowded theater and scream fire either. there's just some things you can't do. and we believe this is one of them. and no one else was acting on this. we were able to obtain jurisdiction, so we arrested him by a very good obscenity law in florida. >> david bayh, what do you say to that? the sheriff seems very confident that not only he arrested this guy, but he can prosecute him. >> well, i would agree that it's certainly a violation of the florida statute. on the other hand, i have no doubt that the florida statute is unconstitutional. prosecuting people for thinking or uttering or speaking is in and of itself can never be a crime in this country. every idea must be discussed. even bad ideas, even disgusting ideas should be talked about so we can decide whether or not to follow them or throw them aside. >> and here's what's interesting, david. you even said -- and this caught my attention -- that maybe you would want to read this because it would help you actually protect children. >> i think -- when i heard about this, i wasn't that interested. this morning when i went online and read some more about it, i came up with the analogy. when i go scuba diving, i want to know about sharks. when i walk in the jungle, i would want to know about lions. well, as a parent and grandparent and concerned citizen, i want to know about pedophiles. i want to know how they think, i want to know how to protect my children, and i might buy this book. >> sheriff, let me ask you first about what mr. baugh said about this statute, the florida statute in your state being unconstitutional. do you agree? >> no, it's -- i don't believe it's unconstitutional. this obscenity law has been upheld in the past. in fact, we've used this obscenity law over the years. but, you know, there's a difference in commercial speech and personal speech and selling a book, directing people how to abuse children. and that's where we're narrowly tailoring and focusing this issue. you know, i stay out of the woods where there's lions. and quite frankly these predators who think they're going to have this book are going to learn they need to stay out of the woods where they can be arrested for that. and certainly that's in the state of florida. >> so david, let me ask you about the obscenity part that the sheriff is focusing on. you know, this manual has no visuals. there are no cartoons, there are no pictures. it's just words. so does it really violate federal law without the visuals? because according to a supreme court case in 2002, you know, child pornography was defined as visual depiction. >> that is correct. we've had cases like that in virginia where drawings have found not to be visual depictions. the laws are designed to protect children. i would hope that the sheriff if he's really going to file the statute will go ahead and prosecute those who would se sell -- there are similar books "lolita," talks about interactions with an underage child. these are ideas, and ideas cannot be prosecuted. and further, as an advocate of the first amendment, that means you have to tolerate other people's words and other people's thinking. and for that reason, i think that statute is unconstitutional. and i have little doubt that like the cross burning case we had in virginia years ago, even though it is reprehensible, the statute will be found to be unconstitutional. you cannot regulate thoughts or words alone. >> well, we're definitely going to follow the case. and sheriff before i let both of you go, what did -- if anything, did mr. greeves say to the arresting deputies? and when could we see him in court today? >> greeves admitted that he wrote the book. he admitted he sold us the book and autographed it. greeves should arrive at our book-in at the county jail some time around 11:00 a.m. to noon eastern time. he will be booked into jail and then have a first appearance hearing tomorrow. and quite frankly, our position is that, you know, this law is on the book, it's a solid law, it's been defended in the past, and we're going to go forward. and we didn't do this in a vacuum. we certainly did this with the guidance of our state attorney's office and judicial review by a circuit court judge. we look forward to it. that's what the courts are for. we respect the courts and also respect the rights to protect children from predators. >> it'll be interesting to follow the case. and i know that we all agree that what this man has done is despicable and disgusting. that is for sure. david baugh, grady judd, thank you so much for your time today. >> thank you. have a great day. >> you bet. severe weather hammering both ends of california to the north, the sierra nevada mountains, buried under as much as 10 feet of snow. by later today, snow could pile 15 feet high. wind gusts toppled a startling 150 miles on one summit. heavy rains have caused widespread flooding and a few mud slides and things could get worse over the next several days. let's get the latest, shall we? casey wian in ventura county. is it getting any worse? >> reporter: well, the rain's let up, but behind me, you can see the highway is closed. 20-mile stretch of this road has been closed because of a mud slide to the northwest of me. authorities have been working throughout the night clearing some of that debris, but they still apparently believe that these hills behind me are still too dangerous and fragile because of the anticipation that more rain will be coming through this area. this storm is very, very widespread. it has spread all the way to las vegas where there has been some flooding there, as well. as well as record rainfall and flash flood warnings. in the sierra nevadas, we've had snow in mammoth mountain up to 13 1/2 feet since friday. we've had wind speeds of up to 150 miles an hour at some of the higher peaks. back here at sea level, most of the impact has been on traffic. there have been a lot of traffic accidents throughout southern california the last couple of days. we've also had power outages, 20,000 folks without power throughout the southern california region. and as you mentioned, we're bracing for much more rain forecast later tonight. we'll have to see how these fire-ravaged hillsides are going to hold up. we're hoping they continue to hold up. and we won't lose any homes to mud slides because this region as you well know, kyra, has a history of that. when there's fire damage and heavy rain. >> boy, i miss my hometown, but i don't miss conditions like that, casey. that's for sure. thank you so much. well, millions of californians have no relief in sight. in fact, things are likely to get much worse. casey hit on that a little bit and of course, cnn meteorologist rob marciano has more. >> about another 36 hours, kyra, and then we'll turn the water off. first of all, here is the main plume that continues to point into southern california. this is the kicker, the main part of the upper level storm that's going to really throw a wrench in this. it's going to take some time to do that. and while it does that, it's going to really turn up the energy as far as cranking out a little bit more in the way of mistu moisture. here's what we think will happen. another 1 inch, potential 2 in los angeles. some of the hills around l.a., maybe 4 to 5 inches of rainfall here across parts of southern california. we've already seen a foot, mentioned that, and locally some higher amount. that is also been made into snow, upwards of 13 feet. probably will see 20 feet before this is done. and here's the moisture on the radar scope. so with this amount of rain coming in, we're looking not only for mud slides but street flooding, as well. some white showing up there. that means that some of this is turning into snow at the high elevations. the snow levels are beginning to come down. that will act to lock up the moisture at the higher elevations. but with 3 to 6 inches of rainfall coming down, that may not be enough. this is all moving to the east. 1 to 3 feet in the wasatch, 3 to 6 feet potentially across parts of colorado. high avalanche danger. i want to point out where this storm is going to go over the next day or two. people are asking is it going to come east? it is. is it going to go across the corn belt in the form of snow. i think the delmarva will get some snow out of this and new york and boston may get a little bit, as well. we'll have to update that forecast. at this point we may see half the country gets a white christmas. and that's definitely more than usual and maybe more than people want. >> makes a big difference. i love it. you had some in oregon, right? >> oregon and northeast. it does help to get in the spirit. >> it does. you freeze your you know what off. were you star gazing last night? >> no, it was a little bit cloud covered here. >> well, let's talk about this. the total eclipse of the moon playing out over north america. and we're not going to get it again until 2014? >> yeah, that's the next time you'll see the total lunar eclipse. the next time it'll happen on the solstice is 2090, another 80 years. but in san francisco they got a break in the action there. and lunar eclipses are cool. solar eclipse is even cooler. >> it calls for a song. we don't have it. you know, the what's her name song? i'm not going to -- like i'm going to sing. thank you, rob. >> that's why you got what you are. >> that's why i'm not in showbiz pal. we'll wait until 2014 and talk about it again. all right. a comedian with a medical problem. we're going to get the latest on tracy morgan's transplant. join the jaguar platinum celebration ! come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at, exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage: five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement of wear and tear items. visit your jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf. i'm off to the post office... ok. uh, a little help... oh! you know shipping is a lot easier with priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. plus, you can print and pay for postage online. and i can pick them up for free with package pickup. perfect! cause i'm gonna need a lot of those. wow! i knew i should have brought my sleigh. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at $4.90 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. topping your entertainment news, 30 rock star tracy morgan had to go under the knife. "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer is joining me. even for a cheomedian, a transplant is no joke. >> no joke is right. but i am happy to report he is recovering nicely from a kidney transplant. he underwent the surgery around december 10th. he's taking time off to recover. you can expect a couple of tracy-free episodes next season, but morgan is doing well and plans to get to work right after the holidays. and he has been seen out and about in new york city lately, including at a new york knicks game last friday. morgan was diagnosed with diabetes back in 1996 and remarkably the second member of the "30 rock" cast to get a transplant. part of his entourage on the show also underwent surgery this year. always liked tracy morgan. funny, funny man. >> he's the highlight of that show. that's for sure. he's a lot smarter than he plays. chris brown trying to rehabilitate his image since that domestic violence arrest. he just took another step in that direction, apparently? >> yeah, kyra. by most accounts, he's not just working on his image, he seems now to be working on his behavior. of course, he really gave a big hit to his reputation and his life when he brutally beat up his then girlfriend rihanna back in 2009. but since then, he has tried to redeem himself. a lot of it was court ordered, be now brown is telling his fans he just completed a domestic violence class. he tweeted a photo of his diploma and told his fans he's proud of this accomplishment. he says boys run from their mistake and men learn from them. it was part of his sentence after pleading guilty to the assault. he does remain on probation until 2014. brown has consistently been praised by the judge that's been in charge of his sentence for his work toward rehabilitation. so this really may be more than a case of someone just trying to fix their image at this point. and i say good for him in that case. >> yeah, amen. thanks, a.j. if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, a.j.'s got it. every night 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on hln. well, a flash mob doesn't let a shaky mall floor spoil the holiday spirit. wait until you see this. 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[ both ] ♪ oh what a relief it is! well, sometimes the best gifts are the ones you don't ask for. but the ones you need the most. in huntsville, alabama, folks who couldn't afford to put food on the table are getting boxes of canned goods with the turkey thrown in. courtesy of volunteers from the sharon soup kitchen. >> we wanted to reach out to them and give them food because they are on low income and getting food is difficult for them. so we wanted to help them out and be a blessing. >> that just shows you god at work. you know, people still care. they brought what they thought was best needed. it's a blessing. >> and yes, virginia, there is a santa claus. just swing through nebraska for 5,000 reasons to believe. nancy has been collecting little st. nicks since 1966. some made with bizarre items like shotgun shelves, even a pig's here. she gives 300 tours a year. and a holiday flash mob has been scrooged. authorities in rosedale, california, evacuated the galleria last night after nearly 5,000 people show up for an impromptu sing along. flash mobs, by the way, are groups of local dancers who organize surprise sing alongs and post them online. they raised their voices in song and in the parking lot. this week, we're giving you a high five. today in holiday spirit we're looking at the top holiday time savers. who better to talk about that than the author of the four-hour workweek. and let's get right to it to save us some time and manage it well. let's talk about those tips for saving time during the holiday season, tim. and okay, explain these to me. let's start out with number one. outsource time-consuming tasks. yeah, easier said than done. >> right. so number one is very simple. and that is you should consider using a virtual assistant service, if you can. and as a real world example, very busy mother who is a reader of mine needed to get the hot new toy of the season for her son. and rather than spend all afternoon or all weekend doing that, she used asksunday.com, spent $2, they called every toy store within a 10-mile radius, bought the toy for her, reserved it in her name, and called her. took about 30 seconds to get that done. >> i guess still going to the internet is so -- it really helps you with regard to having to run around and hunt around. it really is one of the best tolls to sa tools to saving time. >> absolutely. it's a company in new york, then it routes you to someone in india or the philippines and can be very inexpensive and helpful. the second tip if you'd like me to jump to that would be really minimizing your feeling of over obligation to connect with anyone and everyone for the holidays. you can use the 80/20 principle to identify the 20% of people who really provide 80% or more of the positive emotions in your life. and usually ends up being a pretty short list. you can use that to focus when you're trying to buy gifts for people or reconnect with people. >> that's hard, you deal with the guilt factor, tim. a lot of times, well, they kind of did this and they're sort -- that's a hard thing to really narrow down, especially during the holidays when you're feeling a lot more -- i don't know, should we say loving? >> no, it's true. it is. it can be challenging, but i think that's also a source of overwhelm to people. i think it could be a useful exercise. >> number three, when gifting, don't wrap? >> so the holidays isn't all about efficiency, but i know at least for a number of my friends who work here in new york city and bankers or ad agencies, they have a lot of trouble wrapping their gifts. so you could consider a service like amazon prime, which will do two-day delivery and do that wrapping for you. and one trick that you can use is to actually have the gifts mailed to you using a middle initial that indicates who the gift is for so you don't forget who it's for and you can do the cards yourself. that would be one approach to saving time. >> not a bad idea. >> but also adding the personal touch. >> yeah, exactly. you don't want to lose that. that is one of the most important things if you want to give somebody something that is personal and thoughtful. you don't just go online and have it wrapped, right? >> right. you don't want to have a typewritten letter for every single gift. to encourage people to make the cards personalized. but you can save yourself the trouble of the gift wrapping. >> number four, hire help. that's right if you've got the money, but it's a bad economy. >> it is a bad economy, which also means that there are a lot of people available to help very inexpensively. so if you make $40,000 a year, let's say, you take the first two numbers and cut it in half and that's how much you make per hour, so you make $20 an hour. in that sense, does it make sense to have someone help you for $10 an hour? in that case, yes. you could also use a service like task rabbit.com which would help with the miscellaneous items that have to be dealt with during the holidays. >> number five, this is something we should do all year round. give karma. >> absolutely. looking at customer service, satisfaction, and the receipt of gifts, you find that opposed to regular gift cards or regular gifts, giving gift cards to fill lane philanthropies gives the highest satisfaction. you can help high-need public schools in the u.s. and then give that to someone as a gift and they should be very, very happy to receive it. and they'll get a lot of karma back from it, not just a temporary sugar high from the gift itself. >> there you go. the four-hour workweek is the best selling book. i wish i could figure out how to do. tim ferris tells you how to do it. he's also a speaker and expert on time management. tim, i don't know how you came up with all of this wisdom at such a young age, but it's very impressive. thanks for sharing some of it today. >> thank you for having me. >> you bet. well, most of us are getting ready for a little time off, but before you leave work, should you give a gift to your boss? is that a good idea? stephanie elam has hints on that for this holiday season. all right. stock market opening bell rang just about an hour ago. dow industrials up almost 50 points. christmas cheer is making a comeback at the office. more employers intend to offer holiday perks like bonuses, parties, and gifts this year. and speaking of your boss, you may want to send yours a greeting card. it could land you that promotion. stephanie elam, are you serious? don't bosses know that's just kissing up? >> maybe they do, maybe they like it. maybe that's just the thing. >> maybe that's the point. >> maybe that's the whole thing about it. but when you think about the holiday parties, maybe that's the boss' way of kissing up to employees and letting them know they appreciate all the work they do all yearlong and realizing a little holiday merriment could go a long way. let's take a look at what people are planning on doing this year. bonuses as far as that's going, companies giving bonuses, 1/3 plan to give holiday bonuses this year. among them, 39% will give them this year. companies throwing holiday parties, that's up 52% of companies saying they're going to do. 70% saying it's going to be the same, and companies are also giving gifts to their employees. about 1/3 of companies there. 6% aren't giving gifts even though they used to. some seeing it a little bit tough. but the other thing i think is interesting is that 45% of the companies say they're going to give to charities as they have done in the past. they know this is a good morale boost, kyra, and can make people feel appreciated after what have been for most companies a really rough year. >> yeah. and you know, if the bosses are in a giving mood, it might not be a bad idea to give them something too, right? >> yeah. exactly. you may not want to go overboard, but a simple greeting card can go a long way, it turns out. in fact, according to our reference checking firm, they say that they found out that people who get cards from previous employees or current employees are more likely to do business with that person or that company in the future. it kind of lingers in their mind, they remember it. and so it goes a long way for them. in a 2008 survey, 50% of people said they would be likely to do business. so it just gives you an idea there. it's a way to set yourself apart. stay connected with an old boss in the event that if a job opens up, hey, he remembers you, and you can show it to your former boss that you can nurture these business relationships. you know how to handle yourself in business settings. another good thing to think about. also what's interesting about this too, kyra. this reference checking firm saying that when they go to check references, half of the references actually have negative input about the person that they're doing the referral about. isn't that crazy? half of them had something negative to say. you really need to check your references. i'm going to have you do them all. >> exactly. you send them all my way. you'll get whatever you need. darn right. i write good letters of rec. but i don't want you going anywhere. and the boss loves you too. >> that's always a good thing. when the boss loves you, that's a good thing. that's what you need in your life. >> thanks, steph. well, it's a little after 10:30 on the east, 7:30 out in the west coast, 22 years since terrorist bomb brought down pan am flight 103 over lockerbie, scotland, mostly americans died. a senate report rips into the release last year of one of the men convicted -- or the man convicted for that bombing. remember the libyan man who had supposedly three months to live? yeah, he's still alive. his release from a scottish prison -- and arlen specter is wrapping up 30 years in the senate, giving his farewell speech today. remember, he was a republican who switched parties and lost in pennsylvania's democratic primary. well, in just under half an hour, we're getting our first portrait of the united states 2010. who we are, how fast we're growing, and how we're changing. the first census results will be released at the top of the hour. and so much more than facts and figures on a page. for starters, this could have a huge impact on your representation in d.c. that's where you are kate bolduan is live. >> this is actually important and matters to all of you. we're going to get the real actual numbers at the top of the hour. but of course, there are a lot of estimates out there. and most are pointing to the south and the west being really big winners this census. and then the midwest and the north not fairing as well. now, before i get to the estimates, i want to remind our viewers why this is a big deal. these population numbers will very quickly change the political landscape for the next decade. the new numbers will decide congressional reapportionment. basically how many congressional seats each state gets. there's a total of 435 house seats. and that divvied up among the states, depending on how many people live there. bigger population, more seats you're going to get, moreputati you have. congress is expected to be quite a bit winner, possibly gaining four congressional seats. then florida could also be a big winner gaining two seats. other states likely to gain at least a seat include arizona, georgia, nevada, south carolina, utah, and washington state. you see kind of where those are all located. well then, there are states like ohio and new york which could, unfortunately, be the losers in this game if we call it a game. dropping maybe two seats. other states likely to lose seats are illinois, iowa, louisiana, massachusetts, michigan, missouri, new jersey, and pennsylvania. they may also each lose a seat. in all, we could see movement that's estimated in about 17 states. this is really important looking ahead, kyra. >> what is the initial read on what this means politically? that's your beat? >> that's really what's important, right. it appears when you see where they land on the map, it appears the republicans are gaining the most advantage here from the new numbers. and that's because most of the states that are seeing the population increases are likely republican leaning states. and republicans, remember, also made pretty big gains in the midterms in governorships and state legislatures. these are the people who control the redistricting process that will be now the big fight ahead. also, these numbers have an impact on the electoral college. so the road to the white house isn't safe, as well. that's changing and shifting as we see these numbers come out. gains in republican-leaning states may help republicans as they prepare to take on an election bid for president obama. travelers in europe wondering if they're ever going to get home for christmas. live report coming up on that horrific weather. many of us dream of a white christmas. many of those in europe are just dreaming of simply getting home. trains, planes, automobiles, all at the mercy of storms across the continent. fred pleitgen live in germany. we've seen the pictures. how bad is it, fred? >> reporter: it's really bad, kyra. so there's a lot of people having a white christmas inside an airport terminal, especially if you're stuck in london right now. heathrow is really bad at this point in time. there are people who have been stuck inside the terminal building, stranded there since saturday. right now about 1/3 of flights out of heathrow are actually leaving. so there are a lot of people, a lot of americans stranded there, as well. that is usually the airport americans use if they want to make the hop to asia. frankfurt is sort of picking up again, however, it was closed for several hours throughout the night because of heavy snowfall. it is a massive snow band that's going across europe, disrupting traffic, both on the ground and in the air, of course, as well. airports in france, belgium, germany, and england, of course. pretty much out of commission for a very long time this weekend and those disruptions are continuing. the advice is if you don't have to travel to europe, don't do it, kyra. >> okay. advice taken. fred, thanks. president obama's lobbying lawmakers for one of his top priorities. approving the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. we asked you, and concerns going up. this past weekend, pretty busy weekend, christmas sales are on. congress repealed don't ask, don't tell. the president signed -- yep. the president signed the big tax cut extension. so if you're a gay soldier who is also a millionaire looking to use your tax break money to go christmas shopping, this is the best week of your life! exactly. >> and also today, a key vote for the s.t.a.r.t. nuclear treaty. the white house has been working the phones to rally support for the measure that could limit the nuclear arsenals of both the u.s. and russia. paul steinhauser standing by the cnnpolitics.com desk. i hear you're about to unveil some new cnn poll numbers. >> right here, right now, just -- >> live. >> let's look at this. live, this is cnn opinion research corporation is the national survey. and we asked that question. do you think the senate should approve the treaty with moscow? and take a look at that, nearly 3 out of 4 people say, yes, the senators should approve the treaty, 24% say no. and kyra, the big question is will there be enough republicans in the senate to approve the treaty? so we broke it down across the country. you can see at the top there, democrats overwhelmingly across the country, the poll indicates a proof of the treaty. independents, yeah, three out of four, republicans divided, 50% say, yes, 45% say no, they should not. kyra? >> so do americans think that moscow would live up to the treaty obligations if the accord is approved? >> yeah, this is really interesting. another question we asked in the poll. and you can see the number them say, yeah, 56% think that russians will live up to the obligations in the treaty. and this is a little different. our polling director tells me from the last time we went through one of these treaties early in the decade, when a minority thought they would live up to the agreement. >> we'll have an update in about an hour. you can also go to our website cnnpolitics.com. after the real estate bubble burst in 2007, bank of america promised to help its borrowers struggling with their home loans. but arizona's attorney general doesn't think that happened. in a new lawsuit, terry goddard excuses them of mortgage fraud. he told the story of a retired woman who asked b of a if she could get a better deal on her mortgage. >> through that procedure, which dragged on for over a year, she heard nothing from the bank. until finally she got an eviction notice. well, you might wonder how could that happen? and she's wondering the same thing right now. she was thrown out of her house. and her house is still empty almost a year later. so the bottom line here was somebody who made an application for modification, she had missed one payment through a fraud that was perpetrated on her. but that was not justification, at least in my opinion, for a foreclosure and an eviction. but now she's on the street -- or in rental housing and she lost her house. and she's just one of many where they processed the foreclosure at the same time, the so-called dual track that they were doing a modification. they kept leading people on o, often completely without justification saying they were going to get a modification and then threw them out to the curb. this is the kind of just very strange and non-transparent procedures that seem to be typical of bank of america. >> you can catch "parker/spitzer" 8:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn. democrats in the senate plan to take up a health care bill for sick 9/11 rescue workers. in the past 48 hours, they have retooled that measure to gain republican support. and the president and his pen, going to be busy. expected to sign don't ask, don't tell tomorrow. but 17-year ban on gay troops serving openly in the military won't end immediately. the law only changes once the pentagon proves to congress that the military has met several requirements including troop education programs. and the pentagon saying only it's moving forward at a deliberate pace. you can catch the president signing the don't ask, don't tell repeal tomorrow morning right here in the "cnn newsroom" 9:15 eastern time. exit stage left. wikileaks founder julian assange does it again. our jeannie moos takes a look at interview walk-offs to remember. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. hey tough guy, that cold needs alka seltzer plus! it has the cold-fighting power of an effervescent packed in a liquid-gel for all over relief! hiyah! dude! executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro. well, every day at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform that have given their lives in iraq and afghanistan for all of us. we call it home and away. and we are lifting up jason hernandez. he died following a roadside bomb attack in september of 2007. his mom sent us this tribute. she said my son was killed in action on his 21st birthday. we're reminded every day that he gave his life. we will never forget his sacrifice. i hope that jason will be remembered for trying to make this world a better place. he was an amazing person who always had a smile on his face. those words from a mom proud of her soldier son and the sacrifice he made for our country. if you have a loved one you'd like to honor, here's all you have to do, go to cnn.com/homeandaway, type in the service member's name, pull up the profile, send us your thoughts, pictures, we promise to keep the memory of your hero alive. ♪ if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. all right. video just in from our affiliate ktla out of los angeles. this is a truck that actually got stuck in the rushing waters there. it's in the small town offe esperia, california. more is on the way. probably about 36 hours worth. well, for at least the second time, the leader of wikileaks has walked out of an interview leaving a stunned reporter with a few choice words and an empty chair. julian assange's behavior got our jeannie moos musing about other memorable walkouts. >> reporter: when you ask the founder of wikileaks about his own alleged sexual misconduct, he may pull a wiki walkout. >> there was talk of holding her down -- >> come on, come on. i'm sorry, come on. >> reporter: an abc correspondent was the latest to find his interview ended. >> i meant no insult. >> it's just a step that we hadn't gone. >> reporter: it was a first for the term tabloid schmuck, but wasn't his first walkout. that happened when cnn asked him about sexual misconduct. >> i'm sorry. >> julian, i'm happy to go on to that root in the next question, all i'm asking is -- >> sorry, you blew it. >> reporter: off goes the mike. actually, assange has had three walkouts, but only if you count the walkout that was on larry king. larry was interviewing assange live showing the previous walkout. >> he's walking off again, apparently. oh, that was the video from before. >> reporter: his walkouts have been demure compared to others we've seen. for instance, from quarterback jim everett got mad at an espn host for calling him chris everett. >> you probably won't say it again. >> i bet i do. >> okay. >> there was the time naomi campbell gave the camera a whack. and the time yasser arafat told christine amanpour to be quiet and hung up on her mid-interview. and donald trump dumped his mike phone. microphone. >> do this interview with someone else. you don't need this. do it with somebody else. >> reporter: but there was no walkout when saturday night live's assange dissed "time" magazine for passing him over and choosing facebook founder as person of the year. >> "time" magazine always on

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