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American Morning
Snow Deflates Metrodome Roof; Mudslides Bury the Rails; Newton's Heisman Win; Real-Life Da Vinci Code? Boehner Tears Up; Top Quote: "I'm Not a Witch"; The Cost of Returns; Gawker Hacked; Minneapolis Metrodome Collapses Due to Snowfall; Tax Deal Moves To Vote In Senate; New Video Game Hit For Cell Phone Users
Aired December 13, 2010 - 07:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Joe Johns in for John Roberts. It's Monday, December 13th Lucky 13.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: It is. Glad you're with us, this morning. I'm Kiran Chetry.
Want to get you caught up on what's going on. It's the wild almost winter storm because hey, it is not even officially winter yet, but it feels like it across the Midwest. Heavy snow brought down the bubble over the Minneapolis Metrodome over the weekend. We have amazing video of that. And meantime, it was not fun if you were trying to get some place. A lot of airports, people stranded there, flights canceled. Some even stuck in their homes. And dangerously cold temperatures closing in right behind this system.
JOHNS: He is college football's best player of 2010. And now Cam Newton has the Heisman Trophy to prove it. But an eligibility investigation still haunts the Auburn star. Does the investigation taint the trophy? And, like Reggie Bush, will Newton one day have to give it back?
CHETRY: Well, Cyber Monday. Those deals could cost you in the long run. Why many retailers are charging restocking fees when you send back an item. Now one lawmaker is calling on Washington to crack down on those return policies. We're Minding Your Business this morning.
JOHNS: First up, extreme weather, snow and bitter cold turning lives upside down this morning.
CHETRY: Yes, there's no telling how many are stuck still on the roads and at the airport. Some 1,400 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, alone. Rob Marciano's in the Extreme Weather Center.
You were grounded yesterday, trying to get to Cleveland to be able to report firsthand on what was going on. And you couldn't get out of Atlanta.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's so frustrating when that happens because it's not always what's going on in the weather your destination, or where you're coming from. But at a hub like Atlanta or Chicago, or even Cleveland for that matter, it can be what's going on in other parts of the country.
And this storm so massive affecting tens of millions of people and people trying to travel by car or by plane are having certainly issues. Here it is on the satellite picture. It is monstrous storm. The actual low itself is up toward Quebec. That was good news for the folks in the East Coast because they stay in the warm side of this thing. But all of this cold air is really driving in behind that. So, that is going to be certainly one of the factors as we go on through the next day or two, is not so much how much snow will pile up, it'll pile up in spots. But, the widespread cold is going to be the larger issue.
Right now, with the wind chill, it feels like minus 11 in Chicago. It feels like 20 below in Minneapolis. It feels like three right now outside in Atlanta. So, give you an idea how chilly that is.
Let's talk about travel delays. This is what we expect today. The winds are going to be blowing in New York City. In Boston and Philadelphia, and those cities, including D.C., I think we'll see persistent delays, especially in the afternoon, over an hour in spots. Detroit and Charlotte and Atlanta, and then Cleveland, they're getting the brunt of the snow right now as lake effect now is beginning to crank in here.
And the snows, guys, have gotten not only across parts of the Great Lakes, where it will pile up one or two feet in spots over the next few days, but across, it's getting all the way to the south. You know, the kids go crazy in Atlanta whenever the snow flurries fly. We got a few of those. Even some schools closed in parts of Georgia today.
So, that is definitely a colder blast than what we saw last week.
Back to you guys in New York.
CHETRY: Of course the kids go crazy. They have nothing to worry about. It's just exciting, right?
JOHNS: And they don't have to go to school.
MARCIANO: Who doesn't love a snow day, right?
JOHNS: Yes.
CHETRY: I still do and I'm in, you know, in my --
JOHNS: Twenties.
CHETRY: -- in my early 20s.
JOHNS: Thank you, Rob.
Well, the pictures really tell the story. The massive snow dropping tons -- storm dropping tons of snow on the inflatable roof of the Metrodome.
JOHNS: It was just too much weight for those old Teflon panels to take.
Our Chris Welch is live inside the Metrodome this morning.
Chris, what's it looking like now? You've been there all morning.
CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's still cold, I can tell you that. But, you know, you can see it behind me. One of those Teflon panels is just flopping in the wind back there. It's hanging around, making some pretty ominous noises; you can hear some thundering once in a while.
And then you've got the sheets of ice on the ground. You saw that pretty incredible video, which was, you know, some melted snow falling down dripping all over the field. They say the field will be undamaged from all of this.
So, once it cleans up, once they get it I guess thawed out and being cleaned up, things will go back to normal. Now, one thing that the facilities director here told me is that what this looks like, what we're seeing is actually a lot worse than what it really is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE MAKI, FACILITIES DIRECTOR AT THE METROPOLITAN SPORTS FACILITIES COMMISSION: Actually, I think I'll say it looks worse than what it is, in some respects, because the repair as I understand it will be basically to unclamp the old fabric and clamp new fabric in its place and then blow the roof back up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WELCH: Forgive me, I set that up wrong. It actually looks better -- it looks -- it is better than what it appears. I can't get this right this morning.
So, you know, if fans wanted to see a football game, it's not going to happen here. You know, they're going to have to head to Detroit tonight.
So, if you want to make that, I just looked that up. It's about a 12-hour drive in normal driving conditions. So, I mean, I imagine on a day like today, we're going to want to give ourselves some extra time. It will be interesting to see how many fans actually make it there.
And another thing to note, the repair crews that will give the estimate on, you know, exactly how long this will take to fix will be arriving today. So, we hope to hear more information later today. Maybe even tomorrow morning as to, you know, when this might be back up and running.
JOHNS: Chris Welch in Minneapolis, thanks so much for that.
More extreme weather in the Pacific Northwest -- it's not snow. It's rain that has rail travel at a standstill this morning.
CHETRY: Yes, if you look at the pictures, unbelievable. Landslides forcing Amtrak to cancel all train service between Seattle and Portland until tomorrow.
Patrick Oppmann is live for us in Seattle.
It looks like quite a mess. Things any getting better?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
They are -- they are starting to see, there is less rain and they are starting to see some of the river levels that peaked to shores yesterday and flooded some of these homes subside this morning. But as if Seattle didn't get enough rain already, a very, very wet weekend. Several hundred people having to spend the night last night in area shelters; a handful of people having to be rescued by hovercraft.
It will be several days probably before they will be able to get back in their homes. Calculate some of that damage to these flooded homes. But this incredible storm really affecting people far beyond this region -- as you mentioned, Amtrak canceling all service to the Seattle area.
So, if you're trying to travel from L.A. to, say, Vancouver, good luck with that. They will probably have to bus you around Seattle today. It will be closed for at least another day because of -- it's not just rain but some really terrific landslides that covered up those tracks, took out some homes but no injuries reported so far.
And the best news of all is there's real concern that some weakened dams and dams that have deteriorated over the years could have been affected by this rain. But the Army Corps of Engineers is saying these dams have not been affected at least so far by this heavy rainfall.
CHETRY: Patrick Oppmann for us this morning -- fingers crossed that they'll get a little bit of break in the weather. Thanks so much.
JOHNS: New this morning: a large chunk of your 2011 take-home pay on the line today. The Senate is scheduled to take a test vote on President Obama's tax cut compromise. The Obama administration is predicting passage. But House Democrats say a fight involving the president with the Republicans is going to happen. Sixty votes are needed for the Senate to start debate today.
CHETRY: And Sarah Palin says conditions in Haiti are worse than she expected. She paid a visit to the earthquake-ravaged country this weekend. The former governor of Alaska toured a shelter and a cholera treatment center during her stopover. She urged Americans not to forget Haiti. She also declined to take questions from reporters.
JOHNS: Martina Navratilova is out of the hospital this morning after receiving treatment for altitude sickness. The tennis legend got sick during a failed attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Navratilova was climbing the 19,000-foot peak to raise money for charity. She took the challenge less than two months after undergoing radiation treatments for breast cancer.
CHETRY: Well, the New York Jets losing a pretty embarrassing game against the Dolphins yesterday. And this didn't make it any better. Take a look.
Jets strength and condition coach Sal Alosi sticks out his knee and trips Miami's Nolan Carroll who was running up the sideline on punt coverage. There you see him go down. Alosi later apologized, saying his conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike.
JOHNS: Who is the best football player in the nation? Auburn quarterback Cam Newton has run away with the Heisman trophy this year. But will he get to keep it in light of the recent play for pay scandal? Max Kellerman, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Nine minutes past the hour.
A developing story this morning: The head of Scotland Yard is promising to find out how the royals ended up in the middle of a riot last week in London. Police have released 14 images of people that they want to identify after Prince Charles' car came under attack during the violent student protests. The gang smashed a window and threw paint at the car while reportedly shouting "Off with their heads."
It made for some very scary moments for Charles and Camilla and some question to security breach.
JOHNS: A tragic twist in the Bernie Madoff saga. His oldest son Mark hanged himself in his New York City apartment Saturday. The death was ruled a suicide. It comes two years to the day after his father was arrested for running a Ponzi scheme. Sources close to Mark Madoff say he had grown increasingly despondent and stressed about a lawsuit that threatens to leave him bankrupt.
CHETRY: Today, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg helps launch a new nonpartisan political organization called No Labels. But don't take this as another hint he's plotting for a White House run. Bloomberg reignited speculation last week with a speech -- there you see part of it -- criticizing Congress and President Obama for their handling of the economy.
But when pressed on "Meet the Press," Bloomberg still said "no" to 2012.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: I'm not going to run for president, for the job. I've got a great job. I'm going to finish out my 1,100 and whatever number of days it is left to go, and I'll leave the politics to the experts.
DAVID GREGORY, MODERATOR, "MEET THE PRESS": No way, no how?
BLOOMBERG: No way, no how.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Bloomberg also said his staff should probably stop dropping hints about any potential presidential run.
JOHNS: And after all of these years, it is Larry King's final week in the 9:00 p.m. slot here at CNN. The entire week is stacked with some pretty awesome guests, and a fellow talk show host will help kick it off, Conan O'Brien.
Here's a sneak peek.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Do you ever keep in touch with any of the -- ever talk to Leno? Ever keep in touch with any -- no?
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST OF TBS'S "CONAN": No. No. I've, you know, spoken. I don't think I'll be hearing from them. I'm not going to -- and I don't -- there's nothing really for either of us to talk about.
I haven't -- I haven't talked to anybody, you know. I'm friendly with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and they were really nice enough to come and help me when I did the tour. They came on stage in Radio City and they were absolutely hilarious, brought the house down. And we did a big skit together.
So, I think that -- but, you know, the other guys I don't -- I don't have that much of a relationship with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Don't miss Larry with Coco at 9:00 Eastern -- the beginning of the end of "LARRY KING LIVE" right here on CNN.
CHETRY: You make it sound so final. He's going to be doing specials throughout the year.
JOHNS: Yes, that's true. Well, you know --
CHETRY: The beginning of the end.
JOHNS: Hey. They put it in the prompter, I read it.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: We love Joe. He's so candid, especially on no sleep.
Well, this morning Cam Newton stands alone as college football's best player. He got the Heisman trophy to prove it. But with the trophy comes some controversy amid lingering questions about Auburn's -- the Auburn's star's eligibility.
JOHNS: Right. CNN's sports contributor Max Kellerman joins us here.
And let's talk a little bit about this Cam Newton situation. Now, there's still an investigation involving his father, allegations that there was some attempt to try to get him to go to Mississippi State for $180,000 or some such. Where does that stand?
MAX KELLERMAN, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: The investigation is ongoing. His father has been linked to it. And so far, that's been an effective buffer between the eligibility status and Cam Newton, and whether it's legitimate or whether philosophically really you can even say that there's such a thing as a buffer, right? Because ostensibly maybe not in the case, but usually the guy is a minor when he's being recruited. So how responsible can that player be to begin with if the parents are the ones who are technically still responsible when he's a minor.
But at any rate, in this case, it seemed to successfully thus far insulate Cam Newton from the -- from losing his amateur status.
CHERTY: He was -- there was some disappointment because his dad was not able to actually be at the trophy presentation because of these allegations, because of the investigation. His mom was there.
Cam Newton, though, as a player is just amazing. I mean, he's six foot six. He's an incredible quarterback. He was what, several hundred if not 1,000 votes ahead of the number two guy.
What is it about him and what do you think about his future?
KELLERMAN: Well, you know, the thing is he passed for about a billion yards and ran for another trillion. I mean, he was so clearly the most -- you know, they're supposed to vote on the most outstanding college football player. It was him hands down.
It should have been unanimous. There were some voters who just left him off entirely I guess as a protest, OK. They were some others had him second or third which is kind of absurd because he was clearly the best.
And whether or not he gets to keep it ultimately decides on what the NCAA wants to do. There's no real one person there now who calls the shots in these situations. It's all done by committee and the NCAA can be kind of capricious if that's the way it shakes down and they just think he's too scandalized, we want to take it back.
They have been taken to court before, the NCAA, and their defense is this is not compulsory, this is a voluntary organization and that's held up so far. So, they can kind of do what they want at the moment. It seems as though the father buffer is working and if nothing further comes out, my guess is he gets to keep it.
JOHNS: Do you think the relationship between the NCAA and the athletes needs to be changed in situations like this?
KELLERMAN: You mean in terms of their ability to generate some kind of income for themselves?
JOHNS: Right, exactly.
KELLERMAN:: I mean, the short answer is yes. The longer answer is, for the most part these programs don't make money, they lose money. Because of title 9, et cetera, all of the athletes need to be treated to be equally and the programs need to be treated equally even though a select few usually college football programs, men's football programs are the ones taking in the lion's share of the money.
Is it fair that certain players get compensated for it because these programs make money while other players don't because they play a sport that is less popular, you know, maybe yes. But that's not the way it works right now.
CHETRY: What about his prospects, a lot of people say he will be a one and done and headed to the pros.
KELLERMAN: He is certainly it looks as though he is ready to take the next step. It's not -- doesn't look as though he's going to learn much more on this level.
And on the other hand, we've seen dominant big physical college quarterbacks who have taken a while to learn on the NFL level and some who never panned out.
JOHNS: Right and they are on the way to the BCS.
KELLERMAN: They are indeed. And in my view, they should really wait till after the championship game to take this vote anyway. But should Auburn win then there will be absolutely no legitimate football argument why he wouldn't be the Heisman Trophy winner.
CHETRY: All right. Max Kellerman for us this morning, thanks so much.
The mystery in Mona Lisa's eyes, tiny painted letters discovered in the eyes of the Mona Lisa sparking a real life Da Vinci code thriller.
JOHNS: Plus, what's the best quote of the year? As 2010 winds down, we have a winner. I bet you can think of what that is too. That's next, our "Morning Talkers."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: It's 19 minutes after the hour. Talkers. Now, is it a real life Da Vinci code? Historian studying the Mona Lisa discovered tiny letters and numbers hidden in the dark paint of her pupils too small for the naked eye to see. In the right eye, the letters l, and v, which could be the artist initials and the left eye the symbols are a little harder to make out.
CHETRY: Well, Oprah's bringing her daytime talk show to the Sydney Opera House tomorrow, which has been renamed the Oprah House.
JOHNS: That's really cute.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) Media brought 300 guests to Sydney as part of her ultimate Australian adventure. The trip is costing the government there $5 million. The director of tourism says it's a great investment.
JOHNS: Maybe Oprah can go and walk about. He's portrayed as a pretty tough guy, but Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin has a soft side. Putin playing the piano and sang in front of a star-studded crowd in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was a fundraiser for children's cancer research. Check this out.
(VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Not so much.
CHETRY: Well, Sharon Stone seemed to like it. There is a shot of her clapping. There she is. Snapping along with Vladamir Putin, multi-talented.
CHETRY: All right. Well, the public is getting to know the more emotional side of incoming House Speaker John Boehner. He was on "60 Minutes" last night and he teared up when he was asked why he cried during that speech on election night. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On election night, what made you sad? What got to you that night?
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) OHIO: Talking trying to talk about the fact that I've been chasing the American dream my whole career. There are some things that are very difficult to talk about.
Family, kids, I can't go to a school any more. I used to go to a lot of schools. I used to see these little kids running around. I can't talk about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
BOEHNER: Making sure that these kids have a shot at the American dream like I did. It's important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well.
JOHNS: It's so funny, you know. I'm from Ohio. I covered him for years. I didn't know until recently that he tears up like that.
CHETRY: Actually she asked his wife, too. Is he always like this? She said no, not always.
JOHNS: I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I didn't know. I didn't know that he was like that. Well.
CHETRY: Some people express themselves. No shame in crying.
JOHNS: Absolutely. She was the most talked about candidate of the year, even though she did not win. Now Christine O'Donnell has the quote of the year according to Yale's Book Of Quotations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL, FORMER DELAWARE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The piano music really just puts it over the top for me. She was actually tied with former BP Head Tony Hayward who said I'd like my life back, in the middle of the Gulf oil spill.
"If you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested" from an airline passenger to the TSA that came in number three. Don't retreat, reload. Who said that? Sarah Palin. It was a tweet. It was number four and number five, the chant echoing from the Chilean mine rescue.
CHETRY: If you touch my junk wasn't last year, don't tase me, bro.
JOHNS: I don't remember that one.
CHETRY: "Don't tase me, bro" guy? He's at the college campus, John Kerry was speaking and had to drag him out. If you plan on returning some gifts this holiday, it may cost you an additional 25 percent. Stephanie Elam investigates the so called restocking fee and perhaps some moves in Washington to eliminate it.
JOHNS: Restocking. That's what elves do.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: I didn't know that was Pussy Cat Dolls.
CHETRY: It's not supposed to be. Stephanie Elam's "Minding Your Business" this morning. She joins us now. Hey, Steph.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Not that we're music critiquing or anything like that at all.
CHETRY: Talking about restocking fees.
ELAM: Restocking fees, which is not old school. Apparently, it's kind of a new school thing that's coming around, but it's really something that is sneaky. A lot of people don't really know that this is happening to them.
So let's say you go out, you buy a gift from a top retailer, and then the person you give the gift to like, you know what? Not so much and take it back. Well, here's the thing. You could actually get hit with a fee for that. It's basically saying this is just to help us examine it and put it back on the shelf.
That's the idea of restocking fee. And take a look at some of the top ones that are out there. We took a gander at three random ones here, but people go to these stores a lot. The top one is actually going to be Apple. There should be an Apple there, but that would be 10 percent that you see.
CHETRY: You can't see it because it's white on white.
ELAM: There you go. I can see it now. I see the Apple. I can see it in front of me. Target, 15 percent and Comp USA, 25 percent of the purchase price for that item. That's huge that you're talking about for restocking fee.
Well, Senator Chuck Schumer has looked at this saying you know what, we need the FTC to crack down and say that people should know about these first hand. He's not saying they have to go away, but making it very clear and online, it's not necessarily as clear.
So they want to do something about that so people are a little more protected and they know first-hand if I'm going to go ahead and buy something like this, I may get hit with this fee so be a little bit more sure what you buy.
JOHNS: It's not just electronics, it's everything?
ELAM: It could be a lot of things.
JOHNS: What socks, I mean, how much --
ELAM: What's the restocking fee. If they are in the package and you didn't open it why should you get hit with that fee? I think that's what some people are very concerned about. It should be a little bit clearer about what things can be hit with these fees and what shouldn't be and just knowing that in advance so that you're thinking about returning something. If you go out and buy your Mac book, that you will know, if you take it back there is a 10 percent checking of that computer.
JOHNS: And the real question is, is there actually some elf making sure that everything is in place or --
ELAM: Yes, that's true, but even so --
CHETRY: Should that be passed on to the consumer or is that --
ELAM: Just part of the cost of doing business? They want more transparency. So think about that as you finish your holiday shopping, get on it. Time's a ticking. Well, do it.
CHETRY: Don't wait until the day before. You'll be fine.
ELAM: He'll buy some salami package and hand it out.
JOHNS: Good idea.
CHETRY: Everybody needs beef turkey.
JOHNS: Bottled water.
CHETRY: Top stories, heavy snow, high winds, bone-chilling cold, it's a blizzard that collapsed the Minneapolis Metrodome, canceled flights across the Midwest and it's on the move this morning.
Here is a look at what it looks like right now. Forecasters are warning that wind chills in some areas could dip to below -- to 30 below actually. Places like Cleveland could get another foot of snow on top of what's already on the ground.
JOHNS: Hackers hit gawkers. The web site is telling millions of users to change passwords after a security breach. The Gawker Network includes dead spin.com and the gadget block, Gawkers says the attack could be revenge for something written on one of the sites.
CHETRY: And Ambassador Richard Holbrooke's recovering after surgery to fix a torn aorta. He's been upgraded this morning. He's still in critical, but now stable condition at George Washington University Hospital. He is currently serving President Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
JOHNS: Today the tax cut deal President Obama cut with Republicans could clear its first hurdle with the test vote expected in the Senate. But the real challenge will be in the House where many Democrats think the president caved to the GOP. Ed Henry is back live with us at the White House this morning.
CHETRY: Yes, and, Ed, all of this started with that surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. You had one current and one former president trying to sell the deal.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Former President Bill Clinton came out on Friday. It was really unexpected. We knew that he was meeting in the oval office with the president but not that they were going to walk into the briefing room. Aides say it was spontaneous, came together.
And while there may be political risk for President Obama to be bringing in a former president making it look like maybe he needs to be bailed out aides say look, White House aides say he's confident. He is bringing in a former president who is good at selling these kinds of things, still very popular with Democrats. And that's who this president, the current president needs to sell on it now.
As you say, it looks like it's going to clear the Senate procedural vote later today and then pass in full later this week. That will put more momentum out there to get house Democrats to face this head on. And David Axelrod was on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley yesterday and said look, this is not perfect, but it needs to move forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID AXELROD, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: We handled it as best as we could given the timeframe that we had. And I'm not looking for style points here. What I'm looking for is progress for the American people. What I'm looking for is to forestall what would be devastating for the American people and our economy. And that's what we should be focused on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Just a few days ago house Democrats saying look, we don't even want this to come to the house floor. They were trying to block it altogether. Now they want to make changes their tune. They want to make some changes, maybe to the estate tax revisions which they think are too favorable to Republicans.
But bottom line is House Democrats saying they are willing to consider it at least. That's what rank and file House Democrats are saying. That's a big improvement for this president and suggests that he's finally getting momentum to pass this. Joe, Kiran.
JOHNS: There are a few other things on the plate. Tax cuts, "don't ask, don't tell" for example. Give us some idea of what among the big ticket items still out there after tax cuts are going to happen? The START treaty?
HENRY: It seems like he's going to get very little. You know Joe, the members of Congress smell jet fuel here before the holidays. They all want to get home, be with families so there is a pressure. Democratic leaders want to end this lame duck session by Friday.
That may be extended by a couple of days, but they bottom line it's not enough time to get much done. They may get START treaty, the president now believes in private he has the 67 votes to get flute the Senate. But Republicans may not let them consider it. We'll see whether it gets to the floor.
"Don't ask, don't tell" is going to be very hard to overturn. They may need a continuing resolution to keep the government open flew the holidays as well as the tax cuts so seems the President's only going to get a couple of those things, not all of that, Joe and Kiran.
And I'm supposed to go to Hawaii with him for the holidays, better than where I am now. It's chilly. We're waiting to find out when he's going to leave.
CHETRY: It's six degrees in Atlanta.
HENRY: It's worse down south.
JOHNS: Colder than Iceland they tell us. (LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: Hawaii will be nice.
CHETRY: Oh, yes.
JOHNS: It's a pop culture phenomenon -- "Angry Birds," the most downloaded cell phone game of the year. It's not just kids playing it. Why it's so hard to stop playing and how it might change the way you view your smart phone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: It's been called the craze of the year. We're getting addicted to it now. The next Pac-man, a game for your smart phone it's called angry birds.
CHETRY: Or your iPad. It's downloaded 50 million times this is year. It's become a pop phenomenon and made to the "Saturday Night Live" this weekend. Let's take a listen. Good job, Joe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The birds and the popular angry birds will no longer be angry. What are you playing? "Good-Natured Birds?" How is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It stinks.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Nick Thompson is here. He's the senior editor at "The New Yorker." Thanks for being with us. Good to see you. You brought your iPad to show us how the game works. You use your sling shot with the birds to attack the nasty pigs that have stolen bird eggs.
NICK THOMPSON, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE NEW YORKER": During the swine flu epidemic.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Why are people so obsessed with this game?
THOMPSON: It's an incredibly well-designed game. Every game has a really challenge how hard or easy you make it. You want make it easy enough to succeed. Hard enough so it's fun to succeed and challenging so you get serotonin rewards in your mind when you pass a level. And it's kind of brilliant. They have exactly the right balance.
JOHNS: The idea, though, I mean, as far as the attraction goes, is that it's simple enough to just sort of what, stop and then go. THOMPSON: You saw us in the commercial break. It was easy to get into it. But it's hard enough you can play for hours. It has these sort of funny characters that are interesting and cute.
JOHNS: We haven't seen the pigs yet.
THOMPSON: The pigs are the ones under the structure. The boulders fall on top of the pigs.
CHETRY: This is the little pig right here.
THOMPSON: What they have done, they have taken advantage of the fact we have these powerful devices. You used to only be able to play games on your Nintendo or your PlayStation or Atari, and you would have to sit at home. Now you can play it when you're on the subway on the bus or in the checkout line.
CHETRY: We've had this. You could play Tetris on your phone, Bubble Breaker.
THOMPSON: This is a lot like Tetrus with funny animals. So it spurs the mathematical reasoning part of your brain and seems like you are exercising your mind in a fruitful even while you're playing this frivolous fun thing.
JOHNS: Is this a phenomenon, though, or some just flash in the pan, one game --
THOMPSON: It's a profound phenomenon. A few years ago it was dominated by big players. They are still doing that, they're still making lots of money.
What we're also seeing or smaller players developing games for mobile devices like your iPad or your Android device, or also games for Facebook. Those games are often targeted at women, at older people. It's not just big shoot 'em ups for 18-year-old boys, which is how the industry used to work. This is an industry that's bigger than Hollywood and it's changing in very important ways.
CHETRY: You talk about how in the last two years this mobile gaming industry has turned to this multi-billion-dollar. I mean 50 million down loads. Is it $5.99 on the iPad.
THOMPSON: About two bucks on average.
CHETRY: But they say that the mobile app revenue by 2010 should hit $1 billion in the U.S. and $3.3 billion globally. That's no chump change.
THOMPSON: That's a lot of money. They are not going to be making as money as the people who make "Halo," but there is lots of money to be made, and there are lots of people entering this.
One of the other interesting things is so there are lots of great games like this that exist. How do you become Angry Bird? It's not necessarily better than the 50 other games. It takes a lot of luck and good timing.
JOHNS: Do you know or have an idea what the next Angry Birds is?
THOMPSON: The game I was playing is a hit, it's "Cut the Rope." You cut the rope and try to make bubbles swing up and things fall down.
CHETRY: I've seen that. Are you a Farm Bill fanatic, because people like that as well?
THOMPSON: I am not. But "Cityville" came out last week, a million downloads. You build a city and try to become mayor of your town. I started playing it last night. It's harder to get into because this one you see things explode and rocks fall. There you have u-haul trucks pull up houses.
CHETRY: More like The Sims that didn't really catch on.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: The other question, you heard about Smurfs, right? This was free to download but you use real money. They say would you like to purchase building materials? And then kids were on their parents' iTunes accounts, 67 bucks. I didn't realize it was real money, either.
THOMPSON: I have a two-year-old. He's going to bankrupt me. This is what happens with Angry Birds, they are developing improving it so you can spend money on to the advance to get special tools that will help you knock down the structures.
JOHNS: The Nintendo DS-2 has just gotten out of control at my house. And that is something where you actually had to go to the store and buy the cartridge.
THOMPSON: It's going to change more. It's going to sound silly but people are going to build games into everything. Like put a chip in your tooth brush and there is a game where you kid can advance by how rigorously he brushes his teeth. That's going to happen in a couple of years as computer power becomes more powerful as we get more used to these. Some ways it's good, but in some ways it's not so good.
CHETRY: Nick Thompson, senior editor at "The New Yorker," thanks.
THOMPSON: Thank you.
CHETRY: If you thought last week's temperatures were cold, get ready for round two. Arctic air on its way and it's paralyzing travel across the country. We're going to check in with Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center coming up. It's 42 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: That ceiling is holding, thank goodness.
JOHNS: Yes, a football stadium with a roof.
CHETRY: The roof of Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. It's where they are moving the game that was supposed to be of course at the Metrodome in Minnesota, Minneapolis. But that collapsed because of all of the snow that they got, 17 inches, just brought it down.
So, tonight it will be the Vikings and the Giants and they will be playing at 7:20 tonight. And it's the hometown fans can get there they have to travel some 550 miles to make it over there.
JOHNS: My guess is a lot of people who were going to be there are going to be watching it on television. That's my guess.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes and getting a refund.
JOHNS: You bet. All right, well, Rob Marciano now, we're going to talk a little bit more about that weather which is kind of crazy all over the east and all the way out to the Mississippi, isn't it -- Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. You know I -- I've got a picture of -- just a live shot of Atlanta, because you know, we have our -- a dome here. The Georgia dome. And -- but I don't think 17 inches of snow is likely down here and the roof is -- is -- is a little more sturdy. And we've had a tornado roll across that thing and it did ok. Nonetheless, it's chilly down across the south as it is in a lot of spots.
And of course, the -- the snow continues to pile up. We've got winter storm warnings south of Lake Michigan, south of Huron and -- and Lake Erie and Ontario as well. We could see one to two feet of snow on top of what we've already seen in these areas. Remember last week, these spots really saw a tremendous amount. So -- and this could do a little bit more damage than what we saw last week.
As far as where the snow is right now, Cleveland getting it with 40-mile-an-hour winds throughout the morning so it's blowing sideways there -- a kind of a miserable start. In Buffalo, you're starting to see the lake-effect snows crank up. Look at all the snow or at least or any snow down across the south is a big deal but it is certainly are getting far enough south to where the kids are excited in Georgia. As a matter of fact, some schools are closed in Georgia believe it or not.
Right now the temperature -- the actual temperature reading is 21 degrees and still a few flurries in some spots. But the main threat -- well, what's going on across the northeast is not a whole a lot of snow as a matter of fact there's are some rain.
New York up to Boston you are very, very warm, it is warmer there than it is in -- in across the south. As a matter of fact, check out some of these temperatures. This is what it feels like as matter of -- when you factor in the wind. It feels like minus 10 in Chicago, minus 20 in Minneapolis, three degrees is what it feels like right now in Atlanta, Georgia. So, daytime highs expected today not to get above the freezing mark in Atlanta.
Meanwhile, 41 degrees expected in New York City. So we're definitely kind of flip-flopping.
If you are traveling today, we're looking at hour-plus delays in New York, Philly and D.C. because of the wind. It'll be a cold blustery wind that bring -- comes in behind the front.
But most of the snow, most of the moisture, once the cold front comes through the I-95 Corridor, most of the moisture is going to be gone. So I don't think you'll see much in the way of snow accumulation.
Detroit, Charlotte and Atlanta, you're going to see an hour-plus delay. Cleveland will be a tough spot to get in to. I learned that yesterday and I think today is going to be a similar deal; Boston and Seattle and San Francisco looking at some action as well.
Seattle saw some flooding rains across western Washington. Another weak front is going to come through, this one not as much moisture as the last one but nonetheless it's going to be wet north of San Francisco all the way up towards Seattle. If you want some really nice weather, head to the desert southwest, temperatures in Phoenix, Palm Springs, in the 70s and 80s.
Perfect. Back to you in New York.
CHETRY: Yes and at least you're talking about that --
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNS: That's right, yes.
CHETRY: -- because we hear that it's so cold in Atlanta that --
JOHNS: Oh don't -- don't mess it up.
CHETRY: -- guess what?
JOHNS: Ok, it's so cold, it's colder in Atlanta than it is in Iceland right now according to some vicious e-mails we've been seeing.
CHETRY: Do you buy that?
JOHNS: Is that true?
MARCIANO: I re-tweeted it so I've got -- I've got to buy that, yes.
JOHNS: Yes.
MARCIANO: No, it makes complete sense, actually.
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNS: But Iceland is called Iceland because it's cold and Atlanta is Hotlanta so that doesn't make any sense to us.
MARCIANO: Well, yes, but Iceland, there are some green spots in Iceland. It's actually quite -- quite a nice country. And can be lovely this time of year.
JOHNS: It's called climate change.
MARCIANO: And case in point.
CHETRY: Apparently. Thanks, Rob.
JOHNS: All right, howling winds and blizzard conditions no big deal for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. They stormed the Bears in Chicago yesterday at 36-7; Brady, throwing for 369 yards, two touchdowns in driving snow. This is a win that clinched a playoff spot for the Patriots. At game time temperature was 26 degrees with 30-mile-an-hour winds.
CHETRY: Well, they are used to playing in bad weather too in New England. So --
JOHNS: Oh that's right.
CHETRY: Well, she has an Oscar, she has a country star husband and Nicole Kidman wants to please her mom as well so that's why she decided to do some giving. And how she's giving back and how she got the approval from her mother that she was looking for, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Angry birds taking over the control room.
JOHNS: They are still here.
This week and every week we're highlighting celebrities who are truly giving back. And today we've got actress Nicole Kidman who's been working to improve lives of women all over the globe.
CHETRY: Our Alina Cho is here to explain that part as our big series, "Big Stars, Big Giving" unveils again this morning.
Last year we had fun with -- or you had fun with Ben Stiller --
ALINA CHO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And then Madonna and Elton John --
CHETRY: Yes.
CHO: -- and Martha Stewart and Richard Branson. I mean, we have an incredible line up this year.
Good morning. Good morning everyone. You know, without question Nicole Kidman is Hollywood royalty, she's an academy award winning actress. She's also one of the most famous women in the world.
She has a voice and she's using it.
Her work as a U.N. goodwill ambassador is what she says keeps her grounded. And it was her mother who inspired her to act.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS, UNIFEM GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: A lot of my life I've been trying to please my mother. And I suppose I still felt like I won an Oscar, I'd done this, my mom would still not like, ok I feel like you really -- and this is probably the thing that she most --
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Really?
KIDMAN: -- responds to in my life.
CHO (voice-over): So that thing Nicole Kidman is talking about is her work as a goodwill ambassador for UNIFEM, the United Nations arm that fights for gender equality and to end violence against women.
KIDMAN: Take action. Say no.
CHO: A role she's held for nearly five years.
KIDMAN: I mean these women in this organization, they are working for nothing, you know. And they are so committed.
CHO: Ironically, it was a movie role "The Interpreter" that first drew Kidman to the United Nations. What she didn't know was that soon art, in part, would imitate life. Her work with UNIFEM has taken her to Congress, fighting for women's rights. She's also travelled to places like Kosovo and just this year earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
KIDMAN: It breaks my heart. I'm a terrible person because sometimes for this because I can become so emotionally involved. And actually in Kosovo I had to be taken aside and told this is going to be a very emotional path for the rest of your life. You're going to see and hear things that you should never see and hear but they exist.
These girls were raped. A lot of their faces were completely battered and destroyed and their bodies. And they had nowhere to go. When you see it, see it and hear it, I think it changes you forever. It certainly changed me forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By a nose, Nicole Kidman.
CHO (on camera): You are an Academy award winning actress, married to a music star, you have a beautiful family. Some people might ask, how does this woman Nicole Kidman relate?
KIDMAN: Relate? I don't know how you say whether you relate, but I certainly feel. And it brings me to my knees. And it's -- I feel, I mean, it's my duty and it's an honor to be able to do the work.
CHO: It brings you to your knees. That's a strong statement.
KIDMAN: Yes, and I mean it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Thank you.
CHO: She most certainly does. You can see it in her face.
And for behind-the-scenes photos or if you want to get involved with UNIFEM, go to CNN.com/amfix. For more on how you can make a difference in the world, go to cnn.com/impact.
All of the interviews from "Big Stars Big Giving" will live on "Impact Your World", our partner in this project this year and hopefully every year. We're thrilled to have a real big presence on the web.
And the interesting thing, you know, when I asked Nicole Kidman about relating, she said one thing that really helps her relate to women, interestingly, is her divorce from Tom Cruise. She said you know, when you believe that -- what you believe in and love is ripped out from you and you believe you'll never recover, somehow that, I can relate and I can relate to other women in that way.
The other interesting thing is that she really is committed to this project. She says she will be with the UN as long as they have her. I said yes I'm sure they will have you for as long as you want to be there.
But she really is, you know. She says sometimes people get burned out in these things. I'm not going to get burned out. I'm really committed.
JOHNS: So, who's tomorrow?
CHO: Tomorrow is Halle Berry, another Academy award winning actress and just a beautiful woman inside and out. She's really committed to the Jenesse Center, which is a center for domestic violence victims in Los Angeles.
And you know, she walks the walk and talks the talk. She is there, she shows up unannounced by herself. She has a really personal project that she's working on right now which she'll tell me about.
And she got involved really because of her family background. Her mother was a victim of domestic violence. She saw it happen throughout her childhood. It really colored her adult life if you will. And she gave a really moving interview and that will be tomorrow.
CHETRY: We look forward to it.
Alina good stuff. Thanks so much.
JOHNS: Thanks.
CHETRY: Well, don't miss Alina's one-hour special as well, "BIG STARS, BIG GIVING". It airs Christmas Eve 7:00 p.m. Eastern and Christmas day 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
We're going to take a quick break. Coming up on three minutes to the top of the hour; we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: President Obama joined pop stars for some of the Christmas carolling Washington style. The first family watched Mariah Carey and others sing at the 29th annual Christmas in Washington concert last night.
JOHNS: She can sing, too.
CHETRY: Yes, Joe Johns was there with his little ones.
JOHNS: Yes. It was exciting, including "iCarly." That was why they had to come.
CHETRY: Oh -- there -- there's Mariah Carey.
JOHNS: Where's iCarly?
CHETRY: I didn't see her. What's her name again? Miranda -- right Miranda Cosgrove.
JOHNS: Yes, Cosgrove.
CHETRY: Well, Ellen DeGeneres hosted the event. She joked about she was only there because Oprah's in Australia. The concert, by the way, airs Friday night on TNT.
JOHNS: That's going to do it for us. Thanks for joining us. We will see you here bright and early tomorrow morning. Well, JR should be back.
CHETRY: Yes. At least one of us will be here bright and early tomorrow. You're headed back hopefully to D.C.
JOHNS: Yes.
CHETRY: If you can get out.
Well, "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Hey, Kyra.
