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American Morning

America's Average Schools versus Shanghai; Player Chooses Trains Over NFL; Jim Morrison's End; Naughty or Nice; 50 Trophies Stolen from Tennis Great Pete Sampras; NTSB on Airline Travel for Families with Infants: Buckle Up; Snowstorm Causes Major Traffic Jam in Cleveland

Aired December 09, 2010 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Thursday, December 9th. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us this morning. A look at the top stories now.

Turning up the heat. Top White House economists warning of another recession if President Obama's tax deal doesn't get passed by Congress. So, just how confident is the president that the vote count will trend his way? We're live with team coverage in Washington.

ROBERTS: It's web warfare. Supporters of WikiLeaks striking back, hacking websites belonging to the Swedish government, Sarah Palin, MasterCard and Visa, and everyone else who either crossed or criticize them leaving some people to wonder just how far these hackivists, is they like to call themselves, are prepared to go?

CHETRY: Also, fears of a crop crisis in the citrus belt. Farmers in Florida with one eye on the oranges and the other on the thermometer, with freezing temperatures that could threaten their fruit along the way. Consumers could get squeezed at the grocery store because of it.

ROBERTS: First, the White House sounding the biggest alarm yet when it comes to passing President Obama's tax cut compromise.

CHETRY: The administration's top economist Larry Summers is warning congress, quote, "If they don't pass this bill in the next several weeks it would materially increase the risk that the economy would stall out and we would have a double dip.

ROBERTS: We'll break it down this morning with our Christine Romans here in New York and Suzanne Malveaux who's live at the White House for us this morning. Let's go to Suzanne first. Suzanne, any word if and when the president is going to Capitol Hill to lawmakers personally?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Sure, John and Kiran. I actually have been e-mailing back and forth with Robert Gibbs this morning to find out when exactly the president is going to the hill and do that. Gibbs said it's not going to happen today. Of course, the president is going to have a full schedule. He's not ruling out a possibility that the president may go and meet face-to-face with lawmakers. But Gibbs has said he's talked to a lot of people about this. They even had the White House party on Monday, where the president talked directly to some of those lawmakers who are very much involved in all of this. Very much frustrated by what is happening here.

The president has been working the phones here as a full-court press last night. Last night, the president was on the phone, a conference call, with some of his own avid supporters where he was talking about the arm for the DNC, the president hit back and said, look, he's absolutely convinced this is the best possible deal that they could have gotten, that he's frustrated and that he is encouraging Democrats to make this a cause, to move forward and to push the Republicans in the next two years to see if fact they are going to defend this position that the wealthiest American, in addition to middle-class taxpayers, should get a cut.

So that's what the president is doing. He may change his schedule, John and Kiran. We'll have to see. But clearly working the phones, working the media, working the blackberry, getting those messages across.

ROBERTS: And you're receiving an awful lot of those as well.

MALVEAUX: Blowing up.

ROBERTS: Look, our phone are ringing too. Is it the president?

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: If it is, take a message.

Let's bring in our Christine Romans. And one of the things they're talk about politically speaking getting it passed, worries of an double-dip. Economically speaking what are people saying that this would actually help?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They are saying there are components of this whole deal that would help the economy. We knew if unemployment would not be extended that that could be 1 million jobs at risk. Goldman Sachs said this deal overall significant more positive than not doing it and letting things expire. It would boost economic growth up one percentage point next year. As you know we need every point of economic growth we can get, because right now it's been pretty anemic.

Moody's.com said it would cut the unemployment rate to 8.7 percent next year. If you didn't do it, Marcus Andy says you wouldn't see 8.7 percent unemployment until 2020.

Larry Summers, the president's top economist, clearly trying to show how whether or not the White House thinks this is. This is the third day of a very tough sell on this, because Obviously, many people feel the trade, many people listening to the president feel betrayed by that. ROBERTS: And maybe raising taxes --

ROMANS: Right, raising the exemption to $5 million for people of what they can pass down before they have to pay big taxes on it.

Another quick point for you -- Larry Summers also pointed out yesterday, this helps everyone except for one little group, single person, no kids, $16,000 in earnings or less. Their taxes would actually rise. One small sliver that would not be helped by this.

ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.

Also new this morning, Donald Trump is offering up his two cents on the President Obama's deal with Republicans. Appearing on HLN's Joy Behar, Trump said the president had little choice and that he believes raising taxes would be catastrophic, at least for now. Trump also talked about the possibility that he might run for president in 2012.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP: Well, looking, I for the first time really am thinking about it I am thinking about it. It doesn't mean I want to do it and I prefer not doing it. But I'm very proud of this country. I'm very proud to be an American. And frankly, I hate what I'm seeing. I hate that friends of mine from Europe from Asia, from all over the world, they're telling me stories about this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: We spoke to trump about running back in October. He told us, quote, "Somebody has to do something or this country is not going to be a very great country for very long."

Well, an Antarctic cruise ship crawling back shore this morning after a high-seas nightmare. The ship filled with American passengers was slammed by a monster wave on its way back from Argentina. The ship expected to arrive back in Argentina early tomorrow. Look at the conditions that the passengers are dealing with there. This is on the trip back. My goodness.

CHETRY: That is terrible.

ROBERTS: How about the sea bands?

CHETRY: Did you see the water running in the front of the ship? What a mess.

ROBERTS: Not a fun cruise.

CHETRY: No.

Well, another case of homegrown terror, 21-year-old Antonio Martinez, a recently converted Muslim-American, charged with attempting to detonate a bomb outside of a military recruiting center in Maryland. According to the FBI, he actually posted on Facebook his intent to kill those who did not believe in Allah. The bomb ended up being supplied to him by an undercover FBI agent. It comes just weeks after a Somali-American was arrested in Portland, Oregon, for trying to bomb a tree lighting ceremony.

Well, cross them and they will crash your websites. Supporters of WikiLeaks call it "Operation Payback." The Swedish government's website is the latest to get hacked overnight. Also companies like MasterCard in the crosshairs for cutting ties with WikiLeaks. So- called "hacktavists" are crashing the credit card company's website.

Here's how it all happened. A group calling itself "anonymous" on Twitter coming to the defense of WikiLeaks, first crashing Visa's Web site and then triggering online service interruptions at MasterCard as well as Amazon.com, PayPal.

Let's bring in our Atika Shubert live in London where WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange is still in jail. And also Sarah Palin's site is getting hit?

ATIKA SCHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, these are politicians, corporations and governments being targeted. Basically anyone, this group called anonymous sees is an enemy of WikiLeaks. Visa, MasterCard and PayPal have all frozen WikiLeaks' accounts, basically making it very difficult for WikiLeaks to get funding from any of its supporters. And that's why they're being targeted.

Remember, WikiLeaks basically was born of this hacker and activist culture. It's all about encryption and computer security. This is what WikiLeaks thrives on, so it's not surprising that this, their bedrock of support, is basically lashing out at what they see as enemies of WikiLeaks.

CHETRY: How basic are they able to get? They are able to get credit card information or jut the disruption of service?

SCHUBERT: Well, it really depends. What is happening is what they call the distributed denial service attention usually the court websites MasterCard and Visa. MasterCard and Visa has said it's not disrupts the payment systems of the card. But it is possible to disrupt the payment systems, there seems to be a possible threat.

The anonymous group basically posted a list of what appeared to be credit card numbers. They were not MasterCard numbers, but it does seem they're indicating that they certainly have the intention, perhaps, of trying to disrupt either payment system or actual credit cards.

CHETRY: Atika Shubert for us this morning. Thanks so much.

A lot of people are wondering how far activists are willing to go? We'll talk to Noah Schactman who writes a national security blog called "Danger Room."

ROBERTS: Extreme cold hits the south, citrus farmers pulling out all the stops this morning. Some groups covering fruit with cloth to ward off the frost, others spraying with water because the water keeps the fruit from freezing. Others hired helicopters. The wind from the rotor stops cold air from settling around the trees.

It's a risky business because three helicopters have crashed doing that. Their pilots did survive.

Unfortunately, while farmers in the citrus belt may have narrowly averted a disaster this week, the worst could be on its way. Temperatures could plunge to 23 degrees Monday morning. Anything below 28 is real trouble for citrus growers. Frozen orange juice futures have already soared to a three-year high.

(WEATHER BREAK)

CHETRY: You know, the bad weather isn't limited to just the U.S. France getting hit with a big snowstorm as well. The Eiffel Tower was closed this morning. These are new pictures that our friends at Paris bureau shot this morning. The folks at Eiffel Tower say they hope to open at least the first floor to clear away the snow.

ROBERTS: The situation isn't better at airports there either. Flights are grounded at Charles de Gaulle airport. Thousands of passengers spent the night there stranded there.

CHETRY: Not fun.

Still ahead, Florida may finally forgive Jim Morrison 40 years after the lead singer of the doors was in trouble for exposing himself at a concert, although many of his friends and family say it never happened. We'll tell about you the pardon that could come down today.

ROBERTS: And he chose job security over playing safety in the NFL, the man who said no to his childhood dream to stay with the railroad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Fifteen minutes past the hour right now. And more disturbing proof that the U.S. lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to educating our kids. Look at the global test rankings of 15-year-olds. You see Shanghai, China, topped in all of the categories. There's reading, the U.S. coming in at 17th place. There's math. Shanghai, China, number one. We're 31. Let's take a look at science. Shanghai, China, number one. We're 23. So what are they doing that we're not and can we learn something from China?

Jonathan Plucker is a professor of educational psychology at Indiana University. He studied the Chinese system. He joins us from Bloomington this morning.

Thanks so much for joining us, Jonathan.

JONATHAN PLUCKER, PROFESSOR, INDIANA UNIVERSITY: Thank you.

CHETRY: You have a lot of expertise in this area. You had a chance to witness it first hand when you spent time in Shanghai, visiting schools, watching the way teachers work. So what are they doing that we're not? PLUCKER: Well, you know, I certainly have to say, I seem to be one of the only people who's not really surprised by these test scores. They're just doing amazing things over there that I just don't see to the same extent here. A lot of people are talking about teacher quality. I think the teacher quality there is about the same as it is here. But it's a vastly different curriculum. Much more problem- based. Not as much drill and kill as everyone seems to stereotype as the Chinese are just having kids memorize things for tests. That's actually not what they're doing at all. And I think we can learn a lot from that.

CHETRY: So what are some of the things we can learn?

PLUCKER: Well, it's -- I had some colleagues, probably the first or second time that I went over. I was out to dinner with a bunch of Chinese colleagues and they asked me what the American system was doing. And I described how under things like No Child Left Behind we were doing a lot more testing. We were focusing on standards a lot more. And then it got translated and they burst out laughing. And I asked the translator what's so funny? And they said, they think you're joking because that's the system that we're trying to move away from. We're trying to move towards what you're doing with creativity and problem solving and innovation. So I did what any red-blooded American would do. I just pretended that I was joking and that we weren't moving in that direction.

We also can't forget there's huge cultural differences in the importance of education. You can't go into a Shanghai family's house and not see evidence that education is job one for that family. You walk into those schools --

CHETRY: Right. It's not just what happens in the classroom. You say that there's not a lot of emphasis in extracurricular activities.

PLUCKER: Exactly.

CHETRY: Where, I mean, in the United States, where do we get terms like "soccer moms." I mean, people are out doing physical activities a lot.

PLUCKER: You're right. Right.

CHETRY: And also, we enjoy socializing our children a lot. And we also have them at home playing Wii and watching television. You say that you're not going to see a lot of that in China. That studying is a source of national pride and even when there's holidays, they're studying.

PLUCKER: I was there on national day, which is October 1st, a huge national holiday. And I was walking through a college campus. And I saw all these students studying in this class. I turned to one of my colleagues and said, why are you having class on a big national holiday? And he just chuckled and said, we're not having class. They're just studying today. They're going to study straight through this break because that's what Chinese students do. You just don't see that here for obvious reasons, and it's a very different cultural emphasis.

CHETRY: You know, there's another thing to point out, though, and that's -- you take a look at these test scores from Shanghai, and you know, there are many people here who would say, well, great, they have a very homogeneous culture. They don't require education for, you know, some of the rural and poor people. They don't have to go to school after ninth grade and so, in many cases, they don't. So, I mean, the deck is stacked a little bit more in their favor. On top of that, you have a dictatorship where they can sort of implement things and make them happen. It doesn't happen as easily in a democracy.

PLUCKER: It's much harder to create educational reform at a national level in a system like ours. And I just want to be clear, I'm not arguing for a malice dictatorship here. But it certainly is easier for them to change scope very quickly.

CHETRY: Right.

PLUCKER: But that said, they've been moving in this direction for well over a decade. And creativity is part of their national education plan in very big bold letters every single time. We just don't have that same emphasis. And, you know, even if it is, you know, some of it apples and oranges comparison with the ninth grade compulsory education versus much, much older here. At the same time, poverty is pretty much the same in Shanghai and many parts of this country.

CHETRY: Right.

PLUCKER: And they are so far ahead of us on this task. I mean, they are so far ahead of even the second-place country.

CHETRY: I know.

PLUCKER: There really is something here for us to start worrying about.

CHETRY: Well, let's take a look at these numbers, when you talk about worrying when you break it down by race in the United States, we see a much different picture as well. Asian-Americans strength, number two, if you broke them out only out of all of the countries, out of the 65 countries. Whites rank six, Hispanics rank 41, and African-Americans rank 46 out of the 65 countries. There are some articles out today that liken this to sort of a sputnik moment for the United States when we realized that the Soviet Union was passing us by and we feared it and we made changes.

PLUCKER: Right.

CHETRY: Is this our sputnik moment when it comes to educating our kids?

PLUCKER: I actually do not think so. There's nothing in these results that I think are surprising in the least. We've known that we have a huge poverty problem in this country. I believe that our child poverty rate is only slightly higher than Mexico's. We're a very, very rich country, obviously, but we're also a very, very poor country. And our poor students are just not getting great educations. And this is just further proof of that.

CHETRY: All right. Jonathan Plucker for Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University. Thanks for your thoughts this morning.

PLUCKER: Thank you. Have a good day.

CHETRY: You too.

ROBERTS: Maybe not surprising but it certainly is frightening.

CHETRY: The wake-up call, you know?

ROBERTS: Yes. It's got to be.

Well, it's the storm that just won't quit. Coming up, the northeast college town getting clobbered with the weather event for the ages.

And the man who's tried to save Christmas. We'll meet a Dallas pastor who's taking local businesses to task for not being Christmassy enough. He's got a list of who's naughty and who's nice this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: And here are some of the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning. Oh, wait until you hear this one.

He chose trains over the Jets. The football player, Keith Fitzhugh, who spent time in the New York Jets practice squad last year just turned down an offer to join the team so he could keep his job on the Norfolk Southern Railroad in Georgia. A job he says comes with a steady paycheck and benefits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH FITZHUGH, TURNED DOWN NFL JOB: Man, my heart just started racing after. But I know it's decision time. I had to be there. Want to play a guessing game, a (INAUDIBLE) game, or did I want to have something stable? Just to be around a train is exciting. And being able to get on an engine and get inside and ride it, that's just one of the most amazing things. It's just like going to the Super Bowl. We never got to do it. You understand?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: He loves his trains and he loves the fact that the job that he has now is probably a lot more certain than playing in the NFL. Fitzhugh lives with and helps support his parents. His father is disabled and can't work. Even the Jets say his decision showed character. He certainly did.

CHETRY: Pretty amazing, yes.

And something -- we say it here all the time, everything is better with bacon. It's our little joke. Well, according to Google, a lot of people agree. Internet searches for bacon have steadily increased over the past five years. It's a trend that spikes around the holidays with request for bacon recipes and bacon-themed gifts. In fact, people here have bacon band-aids.

ROBERTS: You know, and it's a good philosophy to live by. Everything tastes better wrapped in bacon. Even bacon.

CHETRY: Even bacon.

ROBERTS: Well, vending machines that dispense wine. If you're looking for something to have with your bacon, it could be coming soon to a Wal-Mart near you. Several Wal-Mart stores in Pennsylvania have gotten approval from the state liquor authority to install wine kiosks. Of course, the machines require customers to swipe their driver's license and take a breathalyzer test before they can choose from more than 50 different varieties of wine.

CHETRY: So, you know, you have your chardonnay while you're pushing your cart around buying diapers?

ROBERTS: I think rather than buying it off the shelf, or who knows? Maybe they sell you a split and you can, like, dip a little bit while you're going through the grocery aisles.

CHETRY: Well, meet the buffalo whisperer. This is a man and his wife who gave a home to a 1,600-pound buffalo. He's the family pet. His name is Bailey. And he goes everywhere with his owner in his old Pontiac. With the roof torn off, he just hops in and the little doggie rides along as well. One day he hopes to take on the stampede circuit, but can he do any tricks? You asked. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Lay down. Lay down. Lay down. Lay down with dad. Lay down. Oh, goodness. You take up so much room. Hey, that's a good baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: He said lay down with dad. That was pretty funny.

ROBERTS: He does take up a lot of room. He's a buffalo.

CHETRY: Yes, he does. It's not that easy to kneel down when you're a buffalo either. But there you go, riding around, cruising.

ROBERTS: Doesn't have to worry about sticking his head out the window there with the top gone off.

And they're giving it away. Sixteen more billionaires are making the pledge to donate most of their fortunes to charity, including Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who recently donated $100 million to the public school system in Newark, New Jersey. The list now includes more than 50 billionaires, people like George Lucas and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. CHETRY: Still to come, if you look out the window this morning and you see your car, it means you probably don't live here. It's a small city buried by a huge storm.

ROBERTS: And 40 years later, justice for Jim Morrison? The late lead singer of "The Doors" may finally be off the hook for getting a little carried away on stage in Florida. But hey, it was the '60s, right?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Beautiful shot this morning of Central Park. It's pretty cold here. 24 degrees right now. It's only going up to a high of freezing later on today.

We're crossing the bottom of the hour on this Thursday, December 8th. Another chilly day on tap for much of the east. A lot of places struggling to stay above freezing today.

ROBERTS: December 9th.

CHETRY: What did I say?

ROBERTS: 8th. It's OK. It's Thursday, it's not Friday, we got one more day of the week right?

CHETRY: At least I got that day of the week.

ROBERTS: As we're crossing the half hour. This morning's top stories.

With the lame duck Congress getting lamer by the day, the White House is putting on a full-court press for the tax cut compromise for Democrats. The president's senior economic adviser Larry Summers is upping the ante saying there's a risk of a double-dip recession if the tax cut bill doesn't pass.

CHETRY: So congressional Republicans are blocking the bill that would give social security recipients a onetime $250 payment to make up for the no cost of living increase in 2011. Republicans claim that the price tag for the one-time payment, an estimated $14 billion is too high. They say a freeze on cost of living increases this year and next follows a significant boost for seniors in 2009.

ROBERTS: And a real-life who done it may finally be solved. Police in Beverly Hills say the murder of publicist Ronni Chasen was a robbery gone bad. And (INAUDIBLE) the suspected killer Harold Martin Smith committed suicide with the same gun that he used to kill Chasen. They say it appears Smith acted alone. He was actually riding this bicycle and apparently tried to car jack her when it all went wrong.

CHETRY: Now, Jim Morrison may finally be off the hook 40 years after the late lead singer of the Doors was convicted of exposing himself at a concert in Miami. It looks like the state will actually grant him a pardon.

ROBERTS: It became a media circus that helped define the '60s. It was rock 'n' roll freedom man versus the man.

Susan Candiotti joins us now with the latest on all this. Jim Morrison, a pardon for him and some people aren't happy about it?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're not happy about it. And arguably from a surprising source, his widow. You know, he would have turned 66 years old yesterday, that had been his birthday. You know, when Jim Morrison was busted in Miami for using profane language and supposedly exposing himself on stage, it even sparked a public decency rally at the Orange Bowl. It seems almost quaint by today's standards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Rock 'n' roll legend Jim Morrison nicknamed "The Lizard King." Would he want a pardon for his controversial 1969 performance in Miami?

PATRICIA MORRISON, JIM MORRISON'S WIDOW: I think he would reject this completely out of hand. He would say no thanks. You know, I can't be bothered.

CANDIOTTI: Morrison's widow writer/novelist Patricia Kennealy Morrison was in court and says the whole thing is ridiculous.

MORRISON: I just think it's a complete travesty of justice.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): What did he think of the charges?

MORRISON: He thought it was basically a political setup and I think he was absolutely quite right to think so.

CANDIOTTI: A political set up by whom?

MORRISON: Oh, yes. By the establishment trying to get of the counterculture.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): During the trial, the sultry rock star talked about his performance.

JIM MORRISON, LEAD SINGER, THE DOORS: Well, in the realm of art and theater, I do think that there should be complete freedom for the artists and performer.

CANDIOTTI: Despite a conviction, it remains unclear whether he exposed himself?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have anything to say?

MORRISON: Despite the fact that there were 10,000 people in the hall that night, funny thing, no one has a picture of the actual exposure of Lizard King's lizard.

CANDIOTTI: No stranger to controversy, on the "Ed Sullivan Show," "The Doors" famously refused to change their lyrics from -

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CANDIOTTI: To "get much better." Outgoing Florida Governor Charlie Crist is spearheading the pardon.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (I), FLORIDA: It's never a bad idea to try to right a wrong.

CANDIOTTI: Patricia Morrison wrote to Crist.

(on camera): You didn't mince words in this?

MORRISON: I seldom do. What's the point?

CANDIOTTI: If I could read some quotes.

MORRISON: Please.

CANDIOTTI: You said he would hate, loathe, detest and despise the whole idea. No doubt he would rip the pardon into tiny pieces. He did nothing to be pardoned for, nothing.

MORRISON: Quite right. If the conviction could be expunged I would be happier about it.

CRIST: I'm sympathetic and understand, I believe, what she is trying to communicate. What I do know is that if someone hasn't committed a crime, that should be recognized.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: You know, the vote is taking place in just a few hours in Tallahassee. Patricia Morrison says either way, her opinion won't change about this. She just thinks it was silly to begin with. And they received, I'm told, about 200 letters in Tallahassee about this. 130 for, 70 against. But in either case, Patricia Morrison says he was an artist. He was doing his thing.

CHETRY: So if she's not pushing for it. Who's pushing for the pardon?

CANDIOTTI: Well, mainly his fans. But you know, she said his fans don't know him like I do. And he would have thought the whole thing was ridiculous to begin with. Should never have come up to begin with. Therefore, she says she just thinks it's a ridiculous notion. He didn't need to be pardoned, she said.

ROBERTS: Right. So Crist is a fan if you were telling us.

CANDIOTTI: A huge fan.

ROBERTS: And he's pushing for this as well but if he knows that it's going to upset her, and it's not what Morrison wants being a big "Doors" fan, why would he go down the road of expunging? CANDIOTTI: Well, you know, he said the thing is I used to be the attorney general before I was governor. My predecessor always said you know, you have to right wrongs when they occurred. And if someone is not guilty, then they should be found not guilty.

However, in this particular case, he's going town the forgiveness route, the pardon, as opposed to an expungement just because he thinks that's what they can accomplish right now.

ROBERTS: Susan Candiotti this morning. Thanks.

Well, coming up, a Grinch alert for a very merry Christmas. We'll tell you what's landing some businesses on the naughty list this year.

CHETRY: And Oprah, is down under. The queen of talk, taking the show on the road to Australia with 300 lucky fans. It's 37 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ROBERTS: Well, the pastor at a Dallas church is calling a modern day Grinch businesses he said are "too PC for the holidays." In fact the greeting of Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas could land you on his naughty list. Revered Robert Jeffress created the web site grinchalert.com. He's also the senior pastor at the First Baptist Church of Dallas. He joins us now live from Dallas. Pastor Jeffress, it's good to talk to you this morning. Thanks so much for joining us.

REV. ROBERT JEFFRESS, SR. PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF DALLAS: Thanks, John, for having me.

ROBERTS: So what inspired you to create this web site in the naughty and nice list?

JEFFRESS: Well, you know, every year, people bemoan the war on Christmas. And I thought, let's do something positive about it. So we created this web site grinchalert.com. It allows people to go on our web site. And if they've encountered a business that shuns Christmas, they can talk about it and put that business on the naughty list but if they find the business that celebrates Christmas, they can put them on the nice list. And it's just fun way to say to business and organizations, you don't have to bow to political correctness, it's OK to say Merry Christmas.

ROBERTS: Now, businesses that cater to clientele across the religious spectrum, can you blame a business for want to be a little more generic in its seasonal greetings as opposed to saying Merry Christmas, you say happy holidays wanting to not leave anyone out?

JEFFRESS: Well, you know, a recent consumer magazine showed that 91 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. So in many ways, John, it's the most inclusive thing a person can say. But we certainly recognize that there are many different faiths and traditions out there, and that's wonderful but we also recognize historically there's something unique about Christ's entry into the world at Christmas.

After all, think about it, for 1200 years we have measured time, our calendars in terms of the birth of Christ, 2010 A.D., the year of our lord. And I say to people, John, you know, when Dr. Seuss wrote his book it wasn't how the Grinch stole Hanukkah or (INAUDIBLE) or some generic happy holiday, it's how the Grinch stole Christmas. Even Dr. Seuss recognized there's something unique about Christmas.

ROBERTS: Now, Pastor Jeffress, you said that you wanted this to be fun. But some people think it's a little less than fun. You're getting an awful lot of low-back on this. A local rabbi in your area, Geoffrey Dennis said this, "rather than honoring Christmas, this kind of campaign feels meant to remind me and people like me we're second best members of the society. I realized every movement needs an issue to rally around, how about love your neighbor as yourself? What do you say to the rabbi?

JEFFRESS: Well, I would say we're not trying to make anybody feel like a second-class citizen. In fact, if I went into a business that was owned by a person of the Jewish faith, and if that person said to me happy Hanukkah, I wouldn't be offended at all. In fact, I would respect that person for not going to the generic PC correct "happy holidays" but embracing their faith.

ROBERTS: All right. Which then brings about the point that if people are going into these businesses and they say that there's not a Christmas tree or there's a sign up that says "happy holidays" as opposed to "Merry Christmas," or the staff says "Merry Christmas" and maybe they're not Christian, does your web site account for that?

JEFFRESS: No, and let me make it clear, John, First Baptist Church Dallas is not the one making the list. It's individuals who go to the web site to determine who's on the naughty or nice list.

ROBERTS: Right. But you've made it available.

JEFFRESS: Yes, we made it available.

ROBERTS: I know that you wanted this to be a positive movement, what are businesses who are on the naughty list lose customers and you've got a very powerful congregation there, 13,000 people strong. I mean, you could actually affect the local economy there. Would it be a good idea to affect people's business at this season which can be make or break for some business and in this economic climate?

JEFFRESS: John, let me make it clear, we have never even hinted of a boycott. In fact there's a restaurant on the naughty list right now, a Mexican restaurant that our family goes there every week, we will continue to go there even though I'll probably check my enchiladas a little more closely.

ROBERTS: Actually, let me if I could, just bring that up because I think we're talking about the same restaurant here. There were two entries two entities that came forward, at least to say that these claims against them are inaccurate. One of them is Crowley City Hall. They had "happy holidays" sign up there but they point out "hey, we just auctioned off nine fully decorated Christmas trees for charity last week, why are dinging us? And is it the "La Cuchina" restaurant that we're talking about here? In South Lake?

JEFFRESS: That's right.

ROBERTS: OK.

JEFFRESS: And they also got put on the nice list as well.

ROBERTS: OK.

JEFFRESS: Again, John, these are individuals who are going in who say, you know, I disagree with that characterization of that business because I had a different experience. We're just providing the forum for our people to discuss this whole issue.

ROBERTS: Pastor, if I could just talk about "Mi Cuchina," there for a second. We (INAUDIBLE) the graphic up there. They say that they're unfairly being targeted. The staff is instructed to say "happy holidays." But they point out that they feed 600 children every year at the Snowball Express which is for the children of fallen warriors. So for somebody to put them on the naughty list seems a little incongruous.

JEFFRESS: Well, and again, that's everybody's right to free speech, free expression but I said, actually, to one of the owners of "Mi Cuchina who called me, he said, you know, "I'm a Christian and we do all these wonderful things in the name of Christ. And I said why don't you say "Merry Christmas" then? And there really wasn't an answer.

ROBERTS: Yes. All right. Well, we'll see where this goes. It's certainly interesting and is provoking a lot of discussion there in Dallas.

Reverend Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church, good to talk to you, this morning. Thanks so much.

JEFFRESS: Thanks, John.

CHETRY: Well still ahead, tennis great Pete Sampras robbed? Fifty- one of his prize trophies gone. Now police say there say person of interest they would like to question.

Also, the cold plunging far south this morning. Rob Marciano has the latest forecast. The race is on to try to save the citrus crops in Florida.

Forty-five minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back.

(WEATHER REPORT) CHETRY: We want to show you pictures of all of that snow we've been getting. In Syracuse New York, locals will tell you it seems like it snows all year long. But this was certainly a snow for the ages. The lake-effect snow hasn't stopped since Sunday. Four days and almost 4 feet of snow. Most of the kids actually had a day off from school yesterday and that doesn't happen very often, either.

ROBERTS: No, they give you a day off in Syracuse, you know you've got serious snow.

To the Midwest now, different lake, same effect. Cleveland, Ohio, where rush hour -- did we say same lake? No, Lake Ontario in Syracuse. Lake Erie in Ohio.

CHETRY: Lake Erie is Cleveland.

ROBERTS: Goodness me.

Rush hour was a little difficult to negotiate at best. We get a firsthand look now from reporter Todd Meany. He's with our Cleveland affiliate WJW.

What's it like, Todd?

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TODD MEANY, WJW REPORTER: John, Kiran. Hey, it's -- yes it's Lake Erie. We're here. I tell you, the lake-effect comes down and you can't believe it. In fact let's show you the video because I want to talk about this, what's been going on over the past 12 hours or so.

We had a rush hour last night, normally people get out of Cleveland, out of down, maybe 10 minutes. But it took an hour and a half for people just to get out of downtown Cleveland, then try to get home from that. People were stopping along the side of the road, just getting out of their cars, walking to the nearest hotel and asking if they had any rooms. And some of the rooms actually were discounted because they knew people were going to be stuck.

People were hopping off buses. They said, we're not going anywhere. I'm going to try and walk and actually walked a little bit faster than the buses were going. It was absolutely incredible. This started about 12:00 yesterday afternoon. It continued all the way until 9:00 last night. This intense now. Imagine like a pea soup fog, the thickest fog you've ever seen and then turn it into snow. That's what it was like in downtown Cleveland last night.

ROBERTS: And how are they doing in terms of keeping the roads clear? I mean, we see pictures of traffic moving. There was the problem they had in Buffalo, a little more a week ago where the thruway had to be closed because they just couldn't cope with the amount of snow that was coming down.

How are they doing there at keeping the streets clear?

MEANY: You know, the streets were actually not horrible. There was snow on the roads. Cleveland got the least amount of snow over Monday and Tuesday. We just got this huge amount that came down Wednesday and everybody got stuck in it in that rush hour traffic. Streets are pretty much clear though now. They got through it. The plows were out, although they were stuck in the traffic, as well, too. But everybody got through and overnight they were able to clear the main roads and he highways. Now they're working on all the side streets.

CHETRY: I know the cars behind you are moving pretty fast so I guess they got everything cleared up.

Todd Meany for us this morning from WJW. Thanks so much.

Still to come, it's not exactly what these cruise ship passengers had in mind. In fact, it's probably the exact opposite of what they wanted when they wanted a relaxing cruise. But, boy their ship getting battered with giant waves on a voyage in the Antarctic. And they can't get back to land soon enough. We'll show you more pictures coming up.

Fifty-two minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: If you're flying with an infant this holiday season, God bless you, first of all, and everyone around you. The safety officials are urging you to buckle your baby into a child safety seat on the plane. It is not the law, but the National Transportation Safety Board is holding a forum today on the importance of securing infants in the air. Even though the FAA refuses to require families to buy that extra seat for babies, they fear the cost will force more people to travel by car instead of fly.

But, you know, the infant in arms. I mean --

ROBERTS: The infant in arms is fine as long as everything goes OK.

CHETRY: Right. But I mean --

ROBERTS: The second that something doesn't go OK --

CHETRY: But that's why they have seat belts and oxygen tanks and floatation devices. As long as everything goes OK you don't need those either.

ROBERTS: Yes. I mean the whole infant in arm thing --

CHETRY: It's a little strange.

ROBERTS: It's a little incongruous with all the flight safety that we undertake every day.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: EBooks; they're taking the stigma out of romance novels. They're now the fastest growing segment of the e-reading market, surging ahead of general fiction, mystery and science fiction. It seems that many readers who didn't want to be seen reading romance novels can enjoy them on eBooks without being busted.

CHETRY: But you know what the worst part of that is? There's no bare chested Fabio on the cover of the eBook.

(CROSSTALK)

More than 50 trophies belonging to tennis great Pete Sampras have been stolen and by a high security storage facility. And police in Los Angeles say they're looking to question a person of interest. The theft took place about a month ago. Sampras was the world's number one player from '93 to 'the '98. All six of those trophies are among the 51 that were stolen.

ROBERTS: Top stories are coming your way after a quick break. Stay with us.

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