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American Morning
Congress Passes Tax Cut Deal; Cold Weather Sweeps Mid-Atlantic; Pay Now or Pay Later on Tax Cut Deal?; Tiger Woods Up Close; Tax Cuts - A Done Deal; Hero Security Officer Speaks; "Operation Santa; FDA Restricts Cancer Drug; Holiday Tourism Warning
Aired December 17, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everybody. Good morning. Welcome to this AMERICAN MORNING for this Friday, December 17th. I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in today for John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
Boy, time is flying, and it seems like we're further into the season than we really are because of all of the bitter weather we've seen across the country.
HOLMES: I don't think it's officially winter even yet, right?
CHETRY: We have a few more days to go, but it certainly feels like winter has got a grip on us, an icy grip on a good part of the country.
A dangerous glaze still leaving roads from the latest rounds of storms impassable in some cases, and there's word of another winter storm creeping up the East Coast, unfortunately, timing out for hitting during the weekend.
HOLMES: Also, after all of that hooting and hollering on Capitol Hill, it got done anyway. No, your taxes will not be going up at the beginning of the year. They got this done, that tax cut extension now on its way to the Oval Office. The deal was hammered out between the White House and Republicans. In the end, more Democrats ended up voting for the bill.
But they are not done yet. It was a wild day on Capitol Hill, and they got some more wild days ahead.
CHETRY: There are men and women in uniform traveling around the world getting furloughed for the holiday, all with one destination in mind, home for the holidays. We have some of the heart-warming reunions this morning.
HOLMES: And also, what Kiran was just mentioning there at the top. Wherever you are this weekend, you could have some problems with the roads. Body shops are busy all over the country, especially in Maryland this morning. They got a couple inches of snow, but that's all they need. Dozens and dozens of fender benders up and down the mid-Atlantic states. CHETRY: People don't slow down, that's the problem. They drive exactly the same, unfortunately, this is what happens.
HOLMES: Do they do that?
CHETRY: I grew up outside the beltway and notorious for just a couple inches of snow or one inch of snow causing a lot of headaches.
The snowplows couldn't keep up in West Virginia. Steady snowfall turned everything from driveways to interstates sloppy, sleet, freezing rain, making a bad situation worse.
HOLMES: Let's turn to Karen Maginnis standing for us in Atlanta. We talked about what people already got. But are some other places under the gun with bad weather right now?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we went from ice and snow now to some lake effect snows right across Lakes Erie and Ontario. Buffalo you may remember a week or so ago got socked with 1 to 6 feet of snowfall. Right now it's Cleveland extending up towards Syracuse.
I think this particular lake-effect snow event is going to be mild to moderate, two to four inches possible. But temperatures still are in the deep freeze, will be as we head towards the weekend.
There is a developing system off the eastern sea board. We'll have to see just how close that comes to the eastern sea board as we go through the next 24 hours. But right now computer models are suggesting perhaps southern New England will be affected for the most part.
Now, temperatures are expected only to be in the 30s across the interior west temperatures in the 20s as we go into the afternoon in Chicago. But if you're looking for some warmer temperatures, yes, it's Florida with readings in the 70s.
We're not the only place seeing the deep freeze. Across Europe, it is a Siberian blast. And coming up in the 8:00 hour, we'll tell you about some of the airports affected there. T.J., Kiran, back to you.
HOLMES: OK, Karen, we appreciate you. We'll check in with you again shortly.
CHETRY: The headline this morning is your taxes won't go up on New Year's Day. They finally got it done in the House, a bill extending the Bush-era tax cuts for another two years is on its way to the Oval Office this morning avoiding an income tax hike on new year's day, and those relying on unemployment benefits, those will be renewed, as well.
HOLMES: And who says, Kiran, that Republicans and Democrats cannot get along. Listen to this -- 139 Democrats voted for this package along with 138 Republicans. Jim Acosta in Washington, the new bipartisan Washington. Is this a new Washington, or is this just an anomaly?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think they want to go home for the holidays, T.J. But it is feeling a little warmer and fuzzier up on Capitol Hill this morning after they passed this tax cut deal last night.
I just want you to know I heard from the White House a few moments ago that it is likely that we're going to see some kind of signing from the president today, perhaps a statement on this tax cut package that was passed last night.
It wasn't even close. The final vote was 277 to 148. We can show you some of the video. This happened in the wee hours of the morning when most of us were sleeping. Who says they don't burn the midnight oil here in Washington?
But in the end, these tax cuts had to pass, as you said, because had these tax rates gone up at the first of the year, there wouldn't have been enough coal to go around for all of the stockings up on Capitol Hill. So they had to get this done, guys.
CHETRY: Sorry, Jim, people were talking to me as well at the same time. I was listening to you. The tax cut bill, now that that's done, this is by no means the end for this Congress. They have a lot of other things to take up.
ACOSTA: That's right, and that is because, you know, you have to keep the lights on in Washington. As much as everybody would like to turn the lights off, you still have to run the federal government.
And this massive spending bill we've been talking about the last 24 hours, they call it the omnibus spending bill. And Senator Reid, the Senate majority leader pulled that bill off of the table last night. It was a shocking development in all of this because essentially what happened, the Republicans that initially indicated they would support this deal backed away.
There was a big cry over these earmarks, 6,000 earmarks in that bill worth $8 billion in a $1 trillion spending bill. It was too much for Tea Party activists to take. They flooded the phones on Capitol Hill, calling their Republican congressmen, angrily saying don't you dare vote for this spending package.
So in the end, Harry Reid pulled the deal off the table. And John McCain, one of the Republicans leading the charge against this spending bill because of those earmarks took a victory lap last night. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Well, I'd like to extend my gratitude to the American people, the Tea Partiers, those who have aligned themselves with the cause to stop the spending and the mortgaging of our children and grandchildren's future.
We've amassed a $40,000 debt for every man, woman, and child in America. The latest commission that reported out clearly indicated that we are on a collision course that could bring down the very economy of this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So what's going to happen now? Basically Republicans and Democrats are going to start working together, T.J. They're going to craft what is essentially a continuing resolution, more Washington speak for a bill that will keep the government running for another couple of months.
All of this clears the runway for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Remember, this was dead. It has already passed the House, it may pass the Senate this weekend. And Senator Reid is working on that right now.
CHETRY: All right, Jim Acosta for us this morning. Thanks.
ACOSTA: You bet.
HOLMES: Also new this morning, North Korea with a warning for the South. It is promising a military strike if Seoul goes ahead with live firing drills planned near a disputed island over the next five days. This just three weeks after North Korea shelled that island, killing two soldiers.
CHETRY: A warning this morning from Homeland Security officials as well as the FBI -- terrorists could be targeting large crowds at holiday gatherings. Officials say they don't have any specific or credible information about the planned attacks, but they are issuing the warning to keep everyone alert.
HOLMES: Also, director Blake Edwards has died. He is best known for the pink panther films and the classic "Breakfast at Tiffany's." His publicist said he died from complications of pneumonia. His wife, actress Julie Andrews, was by his side in California. Edwards was 88 years old.
CHETRY: Well, two presidents, four network anchors, and an endless cast of stars paying tribute to the king, our king, Larry King, his final show on CNN after 6,000 shows. Can you imagine that? Over a quarter of a century. Even his sons got a turn at the famous mike. Tony Bennett also serenaded the suspenders. Take a look.
HOLMES: Yes. They were just going crazy at the Larry king show last night, weren't they?
CHETRY: There were 63,000 teddy bears all thrown at Larry at the same time. Video mix-up.
HOLMES: Yes, little video mix-up. He's been here 25 years, we're honoring the guy, use the wrong video. Sorry, Larry. He's going to stay a part of the CNN family however. He's not going too far away. He's going to be doing some specials here at CNN. And I'm sure somebody gave him a teddy bear for his going away yesterday.
CHETRY: Yes, with suspenders on.
HOLMES: We need to let you know that Larry is leaving that chair, somebody else is going to get in that chair at 9:00 eastern time. That guy, Piers Morgan, is going to be starting up at the beginning of the year coming your way in January, an event you do not want to miss. Piers Morgan is taking over that spot.
Your taxes, we told you not going to go up. Also, we're still -- because the taxes aren't going up, we're going to throw another huge amount on this country's credit card. It's a big debate now. Should we pay for it now or later? We're talking to two lawmakers next.
CHETRY: Also, they're serving our country and now headed back to their families. We catch up with our troops on the road, getting to be home for the holidays.
HOLMES: Also, teddy bears. We told you we were going to get to this. It was raining teddy bears. This was not the way you should normally treat a teddy bear. But this was a good cause. We're going to explain that. It's about 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Back to our top story this morning. We're talking about the tax cut deal that passed the Senate last night. Your income taxes will not go up next year because late last night the house passed an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for the next two years. President Obama could sign the bill as soon as today.
The price tag for all of this has been estimated at $860 billion, the cost that several Democrats including Congressman Peter DeFazio said was too high.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PETER DEFAZIO, (D) OREGON: Every other nation is talking about buckle down a little bit, austerity measures and having a sustained recovery. No, not here. We got out the credit card, $1 trillion, well, no, it's only $858 billion. And guess what? Our kids and grand kids will be paying that bill for 30 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, we've got two Congresspeople on the show to debate the deal first. First Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Texas, he's against it. And also Congressman Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee who supported the deal.
I want to ask you, Congressman Doggett, if we take a look at how the vote went down, you have nearly as many Democrats in the House voting against it as those who supported it. You were very vocal in your criticism of this. Why could you not support this?
REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D), TEXAS: Well, the moment of truth was the appropriately entitled name of the president's bipartisan debt commission. It took barely a moment before that commission's report came out about the problems of our national debt before he blew right through another $1 trillion in this side deal with the Senate Republicans.
I think you can talk about cutting taxes and that's great. We all like less taxes, but this came at an immense cost and with the efficiency of our essentially having stood at the front of the capitol and shoving cash out. That's about a efficient and job producing as some of these provisions in this bill are.
CHETRY: Congressman Doggett, though, what's your take on this? Are average Americans better off today because this passed?
ACOSTA: Well, I think that average Americans -- I think about it in my area in central the Texas. The average central Texas family, the median income of the central Texas family for an entire year is less than what the top one percent will get in a tax cut here. That won't produce jobs, but it will add an immense amount of debt with our borrowing from the Chinese and others that we'll eventually have to pay.
And we say it's our money, it certainly is, but it's also our debt. And now we have much more of it.
I think if you increase the debt and you don't have a good job- producing program, that's a real problem. And then there's the serious problem that I talked about in this debate of social security. A major step was taken yesterday to undermine social security. That's why the national committee to preserve social security said this bill was a disaster. And for social security, unfortunately, it is.
CHETRY: Well, Congresswoman Blackburn, I want to get your take. We know that the bill cost $860 billion.
REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: Yes.
CHETRY: About 800 billion of that is in tax cuts. The 60 billion is extending unemployment benefits as well as other things. When are we going to see budget cuts that offset some of this? Because right now, we have the sweeteners but not necessarily the pain.
BLACKBURN: Kiran, I think it is so important that we realize this. First of all, this is the American taxpayers' money. Yesterday, what we did was to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. And you know and as you have said, this is letting taxpayers keep their money. This is money that you're not going to send to Washington. If you send the money to Washington, they're going to spend that money.
Now, what we have seen, the Democrats and Speaker Pelosi do, is up that spending. When she took the gavel, the federal debt was about $8.5 trillion, and now it is about $13 trillion. So what we're going to do come January 5 is reset those spending levels back to the 2008 spending levels and then begin a process of across the board spending reductions.
The American people have spoken. They want their taxes reduced. They want the spending reduced. The federal government does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. And, yes, indeed, we are going to put this nation on the road to fiscal health. And I hope that Mr. Doggett joins me.
CHETRY: I want to ask you this because on Wednesday, Blue Dog coalition in the House passed this bill, or you know, passed this legislation that would have called for pay as you go or pay/go, meaning that unless you have the money set aside, you can't spend it. And you voted against that, but you've been in favor of pay/go measures in the past. Why didn't you support it Wednesday?
BLACKBURN: Because we need to implement cut and go. You need to be cutting things. And that is an important step for us to take. Now, sometimes these pay/go provisions, which many in the House under Democrat leadership have wanted to do. They want to raise your taxes in order to pay for it.
We had an election 45 days ago. The American people have spoken. And, Kiran, what they have said time and again is we do not want our taxes to go up. The measures we passed yesterday will keep the American people from seeing a tax increase when they get that first paycheck. Our next step has to be to make these tax reductions permanent and to implement some across the board spending reductions. It is what the American people are demanding. And you're going to see us do that and you're going to see us begin to make these cuts.
You know what? We have bureaucrats that sit in these buildings in Washington, D.C. and they spend their hours every day figuring out new ways to spend your money. It is time for us to change that. We have to make certain that our government is more efficient and that it is spending less and the American people are going to hold us accountable for taking those steps.
CHETRY: Well, we'll have to see what happens because as both of you acknowledged, the deficit is huge. And as we know, we still don't necessarily have a budget for next year either yet. So a lot of work to do still ahead.
Congressman Lloyd Doggett and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, thanks for your time this morning.
DOGGETT: Thank you.
BLACKBURN: Thank you, Kiran.
HOLMES: All right. Are you a hockey fan?
CHETRY: Sure, if there's teddy bears there.
HOLMES: OK. No teddy bears. People know a hat trick. You know what that is?
CHETRY: Yes.
HOLMES: OK. We know a hat trick. They throw hats out when one of the player scores three goals. Well - CHETRY: The hat trick is the three goals.
HOLMES: The three goals but people throw their hats onto the -- that's what you're supposed to do.
Well, what would a hockey player have to do to get 23,000 people to toss teddy bears onto the ice? We'll explain.
CHETRY: Guilt-free Christmas tree for the environmentally conscious. Why cut one down when you can rent a nice little tree?
HOLMES: Stop it.
CHETRY: Yes.
HOLMES: Just stop it, Kiran.
CHETRY: And then give it back.
HOLMES: Stop it.
CHETRY: And give it back, and it doesn't have to die. I'll tell you more about that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Breaking news. Morgan Freeman is alive. That seems like an odd thing to have to tell people that you're alive.
CHETRY: Yes.
HOLMES: But yesterday, you know how things get started on the web. Certainly Twitter how things can get going, but yesterday there was a report out that, in fact, he had died. Now, allegedly, this had started on a CNN Twitter account. That is not true. This was some kind of a huge hoax that CNN's name was attached to. We did not put that out. We were not the source of that information. But again, Morgan Freeman is alive and well.
CHETRY: One of my favorite actors. I'm glad --
HOLMES: He is --
CHETRY: Still rocking.
Well, those are not hats flying on to the ice. They're teddy bears. A swarm of 23,096. They counted each and every one. It's a holiday tradition for the Calgary Hitmen up in Canada. After the game, the players gather them up and then deliver them to a local children's hospital for the holidays. But actually, it wasn't after the game. They had to actually pause the game for 40 minutes to get all of these -- usually after the first goal everybody throws them down there, and then they gather them. But they had so many this time that the game was actually paused for 40 minutes while they got them off the ice.
HOLMES: This is -- you don't see something like this. A cool thing, that's a very cool thing to do.
CHETRY: Yes.
HOLMES: Neat tradition, you don't usually treat a teddy bear like that.
CHETRY: No.
HOLMES: But there's a good reason.
CHETRY: They're OK. Look, they're in plastic.
HOLMES: Oh, she couldn't make it.
CHETRY: Look, they're in plastic bags so they don't get messed up.
HOLMES: OK.
CHETRY: See? That's sweet.
HOLMES: That is a nice holiday tradition there.
All right. Now, another holiday tradition that I'm not about to get onboard with. Renting your holiday tree? Renting the Christmas tree.
CHETRY: I do feel bad that, you know, we cut down so many, so many trees. But you know, a lot of tree farms the one they cut down, they plant another one instantly. Seven years later, boom, new tree. But if you don't think that that's environmentally friendly, we have a new idea.
HOLMES: Yes, they are doing this in Canada, though. You can rent a real tree. Now I don't know if they're all going to be this size. They look kind of like potted plants, I was saying earlier. But there it is. Why are you laughing at the tree?
CHETRY: It's cute.
HOLMES: But this will cost you about 80 to 100 bucks. That ain't cheap, necessarily to rent it. And you can buy one certainly like, less expensive than that. But still, like you said, some people want to help the environment.
CHETRY: Yes. And some people have small apartments and that's all they want. Right?
HOLMES: Good point, good point.
CHETRY: OK. So there you go, environmentally friendly, give it back at the end.
Here's the season for over the top holiday decorations and what better place to see this than in Beverly Hills, California?
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: One of our I-reporters, Charles P7703 (ph), sending us this picture of a Christmas tree decked out with $12,000 worth of lights. It's not just the tree, it's the house. Come on, it's the yard. If you see something that you want to show the world, you shoot it, send it to us. CNN.com. What are they? Diamonds?
HOLMES: Well, grand. I bet he ain't renting no Christmas tree at that house in Beverly Hills.
Well, coming up, speaking of -- yes, a lot of people -- yes, maybe you do have $12,000 to use to decorate that Christmas tree. However, "Operation Santa." You may have heard of this. It's a little different this year. They've been getting a lot of letters from young people, of course, with their Christmas wishes for Santa, but they don't just want toys. They don't just want money. They don't just want a football. They want their families to be OK. We're going to be sharing some of the letters. They're taking on a different tone this time around. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The song's called "One Headlight." Has that ever happened to you?
HOLMES: One head -- I'm sorry? You lost me there. What are we listening to?
CHETRY: Easy listening here. Anyway.
Almost one year ago today, a carefully crafted image of golf icon Tiger Woods came crashing down. It's hard to imagine it was a year ago.
HOLMES: Thanksgiving night.
CHETRY: Yes. To understand the man, you have to understand his family.
HOLMES: And a lot of people when I was putting this together and putting this series together that's going to be airing this weekend, I said I'm going out to talk to Tiger Woods' brother. First response, he has a brother?
CHETRY: I know.
HOLMES: A lot of people don't realize that. He does have siblings. Yes, it's a half brother, Earl Woods Jr. He gave us some rare insight into the life of his billion dollar sibling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): Earl Woods Jr. is the oldest of three children from his father's previous marriage.
EARL WOODS JR., TIGER'S BROTHER: They had a conversation with Tiger when he was little. And I said we don't do anything half asked. You're either all or you're not at all. And so he loved that.
HOLMES: But just as Tiger's career began to skyrocket, his older brother noticed a change.
WOODS: When he turned pro, it became more difficult to have time with him. And since then, it's like -- it's almost as though we don't measure up.
I haven't spoken to Tiger since 2006. We've sent him a couple of letters. And I've tried to call a couple of times just to update him on, you know, what's going on with the family because we are family. And I've gotten no response.
HOLMES (on camera): You haven't talked to your brother, your blood since 2006. Now, there has to be something else going on. Was there some tension of some kind? Why would he just cut the family off?
WOODS: There were reports that I'd borrowed money from him and not paid him back. There was a family argument that split the family up. And none of that's true.
HOLMES (voice-over): In fact, the last time he says he saw his little brother was at their father's funeral.
WOODS: He was gracious enough to allow us to join him on the jet to take my dad to Kansas to bury his remains. And I remember we came off the jet, walked down the runway, hugged, hey, how are you doing? And he went that way with the entourage and we went this way. And that was the last I ever saw him.
HOLMES: Earl Woods Jr. says their father's death had a major impact on Tiger.
WOODS, JR.: What I saw was that he lost a part of himself. I think that our father was a part of Tiger so much that when he passed, Tiger became lost. That he didn't know how to fill that void.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And it was really quite sad. A lot of people think his brother speaking out now because he has, you know, some hard feelings or something towards Tiger. He absolutely defended Tiger, defended his actions, not necessarily defended the actions, but says hey that's not the guy at the core you've been seeing the past year. We know he's a good guys and he just wants to reach out to his brother.
CHETRY: And there was no resentment. I mean, so much has been made about the father-son relationship between Tiger and Earl and how much, you know, energy and time he poured into Tiger. No resentment?
HOLMES: Certainly, he says no. You never know for sure, but didn't get the impression at all. They were older, the siblings -
CHETRY: Right. HOLMES: - than Tiger was and they were kind of doing their own thing, getting older, Tiger was the little one in the House that got so much attention (INAUDIBLE) became. We did reach out to Tiger Woods' management company for some type of a comment. No response to the comments made by his older brother, Earl Woods, Jr..
You're going to see a whole lot more on this. Again, going back, it's been a heck of a year for Tiger Woods. "Downfall, the Tiger Woods' Scandal," Saturday night 10:00 and Sunday 10:30 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
CHETRY: We'll be watching.
Meanwhile, we're crossing the half hour right now. Time for a look at our top stories.
There's a new warning coming from U.S. security officials that terrorists could target large crowds at holiday gatherings. Now, while they don't - well, they admit they don't have any specific or credible information on any planned attacks, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI want to issue this intelligence bulletin to law enforcement urging everyone to stay alert.
HOLMES: Your taxes will not be going up on January the 1st. Yes, the bill passed by the House yesterday now headed to the Oval Office. Of course, it's the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts. Just need the president's signature now. The deal was hammered now between the White House and Republicans that will extend the Bush-era tax cuts for two years, also extend jobless benefits for the unemployed for some 13 months.
CHETRY: Well, all over the country today, anxious families are anticipating the return of servicemen and women, their loved ones who are heading home for the holidays. And we had a chance to catch up with one soldier earlier this morning in Atlanta, headed home to his family in Jonesborough, Arkansas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PFC. JUSTIN BARNES, U.S. ARMY: It's an amazing feeling to be able to go see family. You know, you just think about them all the time whenever you're gone and you miss the little things. And you really miss the people that you love, that you take for granted them being there all the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: They're all passing through the USO Airport centers, which are operating around the clock at airports and, of course, many places. But this one specifically was in Hartsfield Jackson Airport in Atlanta. They're trying to accommodate the thousands of troops that are on the road home. What a fantastic sight to see.
HOLMES: It is. And right around the holidays. All of them are going to make it in time. A lot of them will have to go back out after the holidays. At least they get this time with the family. Well, this incredible scene that played out in Florida this week had so many people talking. The security guard here that says he was just doing his job, however, those words from that security officer. He was the one that stopped that gunman at the Florida school board meeting. I'm going to give you a reminder here what we're talking about, the scene that played out. We need to warn you, though, the video is quite disturbing. Need to let you know none of the school board members were shot. Earlier this week, the man Clay Duke opened fire on the school board members in Panama City.
CHETRY: Yes, amazingly he didn't hit anyone. But off camera he was shot. And that was by Mike Jones. He's the school district's chief of security and a retired police officer. He wounded the gunman. The gunman then later turned the gun on himself. But here's Mike Jones telling what went down in his words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE JONES, DIR. SAFETY & SECURITY, BAY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD: Well, I know the first three rounds I fired hit center mass and that what I was aiming for. But man he wouldn't go down. And he started shooting at the board members again. So I kept shooting, but he was moving a lot, and he fell, and then his arm came up, he was still shooting at me and you just get tunnel vision. You don't know they're coming right at you, but know he's shooting in my direction.
So I laid down a couple of rounds, I was crawling past the chairs, trying to get to the aisle he was laying at where I could engage him again and I was just trying to keep him pinned down so I could get to him and engage him again where I could get a good view of him. And I couldn't stand back up because the bullets were coming my way.
And I think they said the gun battle lasted 13 seconds, but it seemed like it was forever. And I can't - I think they said that I fired seven rounds he fired 11 at me. I don't know. It was a bunch, I know that. When I got to the aisle, I actually saw him laying there. And I thought he was already dead. First thing that came to mind, you know, what's the community going to think of me? I'm known as this nice guy and now taking somebody's life. And, you know, my parishioners what they would think. And then honestly, I shot the man in the back the first time, and I was thinking I was going to jail. There are just so many things that go through your mind. But it was the instinct and the training. And I'm just glad that they're all here and alive. And I'm not a hero, folks. I just done my job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: He is just so humble about it. I've just done my job. I mean, he saved lives.
HOLMES: We often hear that. Everybody's coming. How in the world did he miss the school board members? His wife comes out and says you know what he probably wasn't aiming for them. The guy has training in this, some military background, I do believe. She said if he was aiming for those school board members, he would've hit them. CHETRY: Yes, I mean, a tragedy all around but the fact that Mike Jones wasn't even supposed to be there was because of the icy weather that they told him to show up and just make sure everything was OK at the building and he ended up being responsible for saving lives.
HOLMES: Incredible.
CHETRY: Well, eight days until Christmas and the letters to Santa are pouring in. But this year, it's really bothering the people who are in charge of "Operation Santa." They're the ones the filled through the letters and they're seeing kids not asking for toys, not asking for games, but asking for things like a warm coat for their mother or in some cases actually sending the cut off notice of their electric bill. Some of those requests and how you can help and how others are helping, coming up.
Thirty-six minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: 39 minutes past the hour. Santa's helpers are in high gear this time of year, especially the one who help get messages to the big guy. He needs all the help he can get, right? Got a lot of presents to deliver. We're talking about the elves who work in the post office and help sort Santa's mail. Unfortunately they say that this year in particular they're seeing a different kind of wish list.
HOLMES: Yes, Pete Fontana from the U.S. Postal Services, "Operation Santa." He's joining us this morning and also Aquib Yacoob, he's a high school student from Queens, New York, who is also taking part in this effort. He's been doing this over the past several years with his school.
Gentlemen, good morning to you both. Pete, I will start with you out there. I guess, what do you do? You've been doing this for a while with this "Operation Santa" but what happens with these letters once you get them?
PETE FONTANA, USPS "OPERATION SANTA": These letters are sorted and we opened them and we re-deck them, which is a fancy name for taking out the personal information and we make them available for the public to come in here and read and play Santa Claus. So people come in here and read the letters and the ones that touched their hearts or the ones that they could afford within their budget. And they go out and buy the gifts and come back here to mail them and we put the address information in later and it's just a wonderful thing that people do during the holiday season.
CHETRY: Yes, it is absolutely wonderful. And, you know, in years past, you expect to hear kids writing to Santa asking for toys, asking for, you know, games, and you gave some examples that really reflect the times people asking for just a coat for my mom. Not asking anything for themselves. Or saying, you know, this is a shut off notice from our electric company. How has this changed in the past year in terms of letters?
FONTANA: It appears that the amount of letters have gone up considerably and the requests as you just mentioned have changed from, you know, being the greedy and switching over to the needy. The kids asking for things for their mother, like a winter coat for mom or we can't pay the bills and they don't have anything to buy toys or anything for Christmas. So that's going to be the first thing that gets eliminated during the holidays are the frills. So these kids are reaching out to Santa for help. And the amount of helpers that come in here - those are the people that come in here, read the letters and sponsor them has dropped considerably.
But since we've been getting all of this media attention within the last few days or so, it has picked up considerably. So it was cloudy, but now there's some sunshine.
HOLMES: Let's give people a general idea here - or specific idea as I get ready to bring in Aquib who is in studios with us. Let's put up a couple of examples that we can show our viewers. I think we have these made into a graphic. We can put up on the screen to show you right now. A couple examples of these letters.
Here's one that says, "Santa, I recently lost my job and I am unable to buy my children toys and clothes this winter. Now, clearly that comes from a parent there, but Aquib, you've been doing this, and again, you're a high school student. Other of your fellow students are being a part of this. What's it like for you guys to see letters coming in like that?
AQUIB YACOOB, NYC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: It's really heartbreaking. We've been conducting the drive for the past three years. It started, we are inspired by - Amnesty International (INAUDIBLE) human rights campaign. But since then we realized there are thousands of, hundreds of thousands of kids and families in New York City who are not affording food more or less gifts and toys this holiday season.
CHETRY: Yes, you got another letter that said "Santa, my mom lost her job and my mom doesn't smile anymore and is losing a lot of weight because there's barely enough food for her. Santa, can you please send my mom a winter coat, I don't want her to get sick?" I mean, just heartbreaking.
YACOOB: Absolutely. Our Townsend Harris community has been great in supporting the drive for the past few years. We have collected hundreds and hundreds of gifts and clothing and coats.
HOLMES: Mr. Fontana, let me bring you back in. You made the point a moment ago that it was kind of down. You're starting to get some media attention now. But you said - it was down. People coming in, requesting these letters trying to make wishes come true. Is that a reflection, as well, of the tough economic times we're in?
FONTANA: I would say absolutely. The number of letters have gone up considerably where the number of people that sponsor the letters has gone down. But now that trend seems to be reversing. But definitely increase in the number of needy letters.
CHETRY: Well, we're going to give people contact information if they want to take part. I know there's a lot of people who say what can I do? Is there some small thing I can do but I just don't know what to get linked up with but Aquib, you've - as you've said, you've done this for years. You're also a Muslim and people might say - "oh, you know, why is it important to you to help, you know, the most important holiday Christmas for Christians, to make sure these kids have gifts and clothing?
YACOOB: I grew up in (INAUDIBLE) South America. And we embrace all holidays. It was not as divided as it is in the United States. Everyone celebrated Christmas, everyone celebrated (INAUDIBLE), everyone celebrated (INAUDIBLE). There's no, you know, divide. But no, it's something - and the first year we found that a lot of the families are not just Christians, they're all religious backgrounds.
You find like living in New York City everyone is very diverse.
CHETRY: Right.
YACOOB: And while the students regardless if they are Christian or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhists, they all go to school, they go to public school and their friends are getting gifts, and this idea of getting a gift, getting something this holiday season has become universal.
HOLMES: Well, Pete Fontana, Aquib Yacoob, we appreciate you guys both being here. Glad we can get the message out a little bit here, as well. Gentlemen, thank you, both. Congratulations on what you're both doing right now. And gain, for a lot of folks out there, you want to know how to get in touch. "Operation Santa" s what it's called. Contact your local post office. They will be able to help you get information to you to help out. Gentlemen, again, thanks so much and good luck this last week before the holidays.
YACOOB: Thank you.
CHETRY: You're doing a great thing, you know and you guys -- you high school kids showing you care, it's wonderful. Thanks so much.
HOLMES: We've got a nasty storm that is forming off the east coast. Is it going to stay offshore? Are some people going to get slammed by this thing? You need to stick around to see what your weekend is going to look like. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: Beautiful shot of a cold Washington, D.C., but things might be warming up. After they reach the tax cut compromise and passed it, they're all warm and fuzzy up there and bipartisan there in Washington, D.C., at least for the day. It's going be 26 degrees, though, that way right now. It supposed to get up to 37. Good morning, Washington.
CHETRY: Yes, it'll be at least better for them than yesterday where they got a little coating of snow and it messed things up pretty badly. Karen Maginnis is in the Extreme Weather Center. Are they getting a bit of a reprieve or are we looking at more snow?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they saw on the order of 1 to 2 inches, it wasn't bad.
CHETRY: But that's all it takes in the nation's capital.
MAGINNIS: Bingo, you broke the code with that. Absolutely and what we've got for today is a quieter weather picture however, I will mention this lake effect snow. Places like Erie, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland and Akron.
Some have seen twice as much snowfall as they would normally see for this time of year in some cases, a foot of snow already. When a typical amount in Cleveland would be 4, 5, 6 inches typical for this time of year. Yes, a little bit of snow falling around Buffalo, also into Syracuse.
Probably the snowfall totals will add up to maybe 2 or 3 inches, certainly possible, but it does look like all of the northeast remains into the deep freeze all the way until Christmas Eve. We're not expecting those temperatures to rise terribly much at all.
However, we did see the temperatures rise across the southeast. Good news considering yesterday we had icy roads, icy interstates, accidents all over the place from northern Alabama and Mississippi into Tennessee, they closed the Nashville airport for a time because it was so icy out there.
And numerous accidents in Atlanta over 1,000 accidents reported due to the icy roads. Well, there's a strong weather system moving in across the west coast and that'll also bring another wave of stormy weather across the south central U.S. this weekend, as well. Kiran, T.J. --
CHETRY: Karen Maginnis for us. Thanks.
Well, coming up in the next hour, he's not even out of school, but already helping the other children get an education that they deserve. Big stars, big giving, we're one-on-one with Justin Bieber.
HOLMES: Also, they're called to duty, sons, husband, moms, dads and we're following three of them, three soldiers from boot camp to the battlefield, a preview of a special documentary "A Soldier Story."
CHETRY: And Santa busts a move. Old St. Nick so jolly this time of year that he's dancing in the streets.
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CHETRY: Phil hard at work. I think the food delivery just came in. It's 53 minutes past the hour. The FDA wants the drug Avastin to be phased out as a treatment for women with breast cancer. This is a much anticipated announcement that came yesterday months after an advisory committee made an initial recommendation. HOLMES: Check this out, in Europe, women there can continue to use Avastin with their chemotherapy. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following this story for us since July. What are we supposed to make of the FDA finding?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I've been following the story since 2008 in some ways when this whole process started to fast track this medication. I can tell you what's happening now will come as a disappointment to some women counting who were sort of counting on this as a therapy and sometimes last resort therapy if their breast cancer had spread.
What's happened here? They looked at four big studies. The FDA did to come to these conclusions. They were trying to answer two questions. First question is does this medication prolong survival? And number two, do the benefits outweigh the risks? The answer to both of those questions came back no at least according to the FDA.
By the way, the risks that they're talking about here are pretty significant ones. Potential heart failure, heart attacks, potential development of perforations or holes in your intestines or stomach. You know, significant risks here for these women again with breast cancer that spread.
Again, back there was a lot of interest and enthusiasm around the medication in 2008 so much so the FDA fast tracked this medication after the company provided data showing, look, it is going to lead to what's known as progression-free survival. Women will not develop any symptoms of any their cancer for longer periods of time.
For that, with that information, the FDA said that's enough to fast track the drug. The deal is, we need to see more studies. The studies came back and they say it's not matching up and that's why they're making the move to take it off for this particular population of patients, patients with breast cancer that's spread.
CHETRY: All right. So what do you do if you're taking it? And for the women out there that are using it right now and the fact you're still allowed to in Europe is interesting.
GUPTA: Yes. With regard to the Europe thing, you know, we read that very closely, talked to a few of the regulators, as well. What they're saying over there. They're looking at the same data, but they're saying this medication can still be used in conjunction with another chemo medication.
In the United States, this medication will still be able to be used for other forms of cancer and for now, you know, nothing's going to happen right away. It never does with the FDA so it's going to be some period of time before they can actually make any moves.
I think what it means for women right now who were on it is probably nothing different. They will have the conversations with the doctors, but there are probably about, you know, 15,000 women in any given year that are eligible for this medication.
And, you know, they're going to have to look at these risks and benefits specifically and also in some cases if the doctors think it's important, maybe they'll use this medication off label.
The drug is not going away, but the FDA has made a pretty strong statement here. What they think the overall, you know, longevity for this medication should be for women with breast cancer specifically.
CHETRY: All right. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning, thanks for the update. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: You got it, guys.
CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to have our top stories including checking in with Peter Bergen, our terror analyst regarding the potential alert from Homeland Security officials about a Christmas threat for the holidays. It's 56 minutes past the hour.
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