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CNN Sunday Morning

U.N. to Hold Emergency Session; Senate Repeals "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Aired December 19, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this December the 19th. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could be with us on this Sunday.

I got to tell you about these tensions in North Korea. They have now triggered an emergency meeting at the United Nations. That's going to happen in just about three hours. North Korea, meanwhile, is making a gesture, offering to return newly discovered remains of hundreds of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War.

Also, a whole lot of weather to tell you about, a nightmare in Europe right now -- that's what you're seeing on the left side of your screen. They've gotten heavy snow and ice, kind of shut down the airports, a couple of the major airports there stranded a lot of passengers. Meanwhile, on the right side of your screen, you see what happens when people slipping and sliding, trying to make their way up a hill that has snow and ice on it.

We will tell you where the severe weather is headed next, how it could possibly impact your travel during this week which -- oh my goodness, we're only a few days away from Christmas. Well, stick around for all that.

But, now, let me give you a look at other stories that are making headlines this morning.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it has rescued the crew of a fishing boat that was sinking off the coast of Alaska yesterday. Three of those folks on the boat were found in a life raft, two others were in the icy waters. We're told everybody is OK.

Also, Russian state media reporting a helicopter crash on the Russian arctic peninsula. One person killed, 15 others injured, happened earlier today as a chopper was approaching a gas field.

Also, it's another day of work for U.S. senators in a rare Sunday session after a rare Saturday session yesterday. They'll reconvene at noon for a scheduled 3:00 vote. And yesterday, lawmakers repealed the longstanding "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bans homosexuals from serving openly in the military.

Now, we have been following, of course, as you know, what's been happening to the tensions on the Korean Peninsula. As you know, unofficial U.S. envoy led by the former U.N. ambassador, Governor Bill Richardson, he has been there trying -- trying his best to literally keep the peace, along with him on the trip is our Wolf Blitzer. He's the only TV reporter who has been doing some live reporting, he's the only one on this trip with the governor.

And Wolf has called in. He's on the line with us once again.

Wolf, hello to you. We were talking about this bad weather kind of helped out and delayed things with these drills that were in contention. So, now what? Where do we go from here? Any word that South Korea is going to go through with these -- with these live fire drills?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM" (via telephone): Well, the South Koreans said that they were delaying these live fire exercises on in this island because of the bad weather over the weekend. But they have not ruled out undertaking these exercises Monday or Tuesday. I think a lot is going to depend now on what the U.N. Security Council does. They're on convening this morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern at the request of Russia.

And the hope -- I know the hope of Governor Richardson and others is that they'll come up with some sort of face-saving way to give cover to the South Koreans to back down because the North Koreans, I got to tell you, they are adamant that if the South Koreans go ahead with these exercises, even if their guns, their artillery, are pointed from the island in the southern direction, the North Koreans claim that's their territorial water, and they will then respond in some sort of way.

And this is a real tinderbox, T.J. I got to tell you folks here in this part of the world in North and South Korea and in China, elsewhere, they haven't seen this kind of tension since 1953, citing the armistice that ended the Korean War; and one miscalculation to trigger an enormous consequence, a war, if you will.

There are almost 30,000 U.S. troops along the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. There are 1 million North Korean troops not far away from the demilitarized zone, and hundreds of thousands of South Korean troops with artillery. And now, the North Koreans have an impressive nuclear military capability as well.

So, the stakes are really enormous right now and everyone is sort of hoping that cooler heads prevail. But given the volatility of the situation, it's unclear what will happen. That's why this U.N. Security Council meeting at 11:00 a.m. this morning is going to be so critical.

HOLMES: And, Wolf, you have talked about and Governor Richardson talked about some proposals. He didn't get into specifics when he was meeting with the North Korean officials. He didn't tell us the specifics.

But some of the proposals he was making to try to ease the tensions there -- and also something else that came out of one of the meetings, Wolf, now, is apparently a North Korean official offering to help return the remains of hundreds of newly discovered remains of Americans killed in the Korean War.

What does Governor Richardson make of that?

BLITZER: Well, he did meet -- he did meet on Sunday with Major General Pak Rim Su, who's the top North Korean military official in charge of the demilitarized zone and the armistice.

And during that meeting, Richardson made two specific proposals which the North Korean general did not necessarily rule out. He said he was, in fact, open to them, even though he didn't formally accept them. One would be the establishment of a direct North Korea/South Korea military-to-military hotline so that some miscalculation couldn't occur. And the second was a formal North Korea/South Korea/U.S. military commission to deal with the armistice, to deal with some of the disputed issues. He didn't reject that either.

So, Richardson was encouraged by that. Richardson says he's acting on his own as a private U.S. citizen.

But what the North Koreans did that Richardson thought was very encouraging is they said they recently -- they came upon hundreds of remains of U.S. soldiers who were killed during the Korean War and they showed them pictures of the remains. In fact, Richardson showed me some of those pictures, including at least one dog tag of an American soldier who was killed.

And the North Koreans are now saying they would welcome the U.S. coming over and taking these remains, inspecting them, making sure they're the real thing, as a gesture. And Richardson saw that encouraging, because four years ago, he was here and he brought back to the United States the remains of six U.S. soldiers, and this time, they're talking at least 100, maybe 200. So, that was -- that was a gesture on the part of the North Koreans which Richardson saw as significant.

We'll see how significant it is. But that's just Richardson right there, and he was very encouraged by what the major general had to say.

HOLMES: All right. Our Wolf Blitzer, again in North Korea, traveling with the unofficial U.S. envoy, Bill Richardson. Wolf, we appreciate you. Thanks so much. We'll look forward to more of your reporting -- our Wolf Blitzer there in North Korea.

I want to turn back here domestically to some weather, some bad weather, some nasty weather. It's a mess out west right now. Take a look at the scene yesterday, Spokane, Washington, this is on the south hill, you've seen these play out over and over again at the mercy of the icy roads and icy hill.

A lot of people, Reynolds even referred to this earlier as adult bumper cars, if you will. And a lot of the insurance adjusters are going to be busy. But you hate to see anybody go through this throughout the holidays.

We can tell you -- oh, red truck makes its way, you can't get out of the way. You hate to see that. But, again, we are told no one was injured here.

Let's turn from that snow, go a little further south, still kind of -- a different kind of a slushy mess, a wintry mix, if you will. There was snow in the higher elevations and then you had flash flood watches for more of the low-lying areas, including the Sierra Mountains here. You're seeing some -- you had to pull out those tire chains but, of course, a lot of people appreciate all of that snow as they get out there and hit the slopes.

Well, the weather situation is pretty bad in Europe this morning as well. Check out an iReport from Berlin that we're getting. There have been long delays for both air travelers, motorists, pedestrians, can't even get around, more snow in their forecast.

Also, Denmark blanketed in snow. Snow plows, most popular vehicle on the road at the time being.

And also, a travel nightmare this video we're getting -- excuse me -- out of the U.K. A lot of people stranded in London's Heathrow Airport, which closed all inbound flights today, only a handful of outbound flights being allowed. Forecasters say freezing temperatures should thaw somewhat tomorrow.

Reynolds, that's my weather report.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, nothing to cough at or sneeze at, sneeze or freeze. We've got the weather for you.

And, you know, both sides of the pond, the winter weather really has been treacherous this year. There's no question about it.

But one of the places around the nation that has really just been hammered, hammered hard by Mother Nature has been California, the Golden State not so golden today.

Let's take a look at the scenario. Here's what we got -- plenty of shower activity out there, San Joaquin Valley, as T.J. mentioned moments ago, has just been rocked by the heavy rainfall. We've already had some flash flooding in areas, we have poor drainage, low- lying areas, any place near a creek, near a river, near a lake, you're going to have some issues today.

And then when you get into the high Sierra Nevada Mountains, even just near Shasta, you'll notice some of the radar turning a bit of the pinkish color. That's just your freezing line and then where it's all white, that's snow and it will be heavy.

What we're going to be seeing as we move a little bit farther to the south in parts of the San Gabriel Mountain, is going to be, again, not only some rain but the potential for some mudslides. The reason why that is going to be the case, because earlier this year, you will remember, we did have some fires in places like Malibu and in the San Gabriel. Both of those places, when you have the wildfires, it basically burns up the grass and the root systems, and you've got bare dirt, as the rain comes down, absorbs into the soil, gravity takes its toll. We could see mudslides there. Something else we're going to be seeing later on today will be a little bit of sunshine back towards Texas. But when you get from Denver and points west, it's going to be all rain. We've been talking about the snowfall that we're going to be seeing in places like California, but in the Central Rockies, three to five feet is going to be a possibility; Sierra Nevada, up to 10 feet of snowfall.

Your high today in Seattle, you'll see some snow on the hills, down in the city, mainly just some rainfall, 44 degrees; 61 in Los Angeles; 55 in Denver; 41 for Nashville, plenty of sunshine; 37 in Boston.

As we wrap it up, let's wrap it up with a look at your travel forecast. As you might imagine, we're going to have some delays in places like San Francisco, L.A., Seattle and Portland, all due to that storm system -- rain, wind, visibility is going to be poor. Same story in Salt Lake City, but the rain will keep you anywhere from about a 30 to about 15-minute delay, other places possibly a delay up to an hour.

OK, you're up to speed in terms of your weather. Let's kick it back over to T.J.

WOLF: Reynolds, buddy, appreciate you. We'll talk to Reynolds plenty throughout this next hour.

Well, coming up, Congress, as you know by now, held that landmark vote. They have voted now to scrap "don't ask, don't tell," the ban against homosexuals serving openly in the military. But it doesn't mean things are about to change overnight. That story -- up next.

Also, why would a mistress be upset that she's not the only woman? Is that the idea of being a mistress, you are the other woman. But we'll explain this one. This woman, allegedly one of Tiger Woods' mistresses, upset that she wasn't the only other "other" woman -- part of our CNN special about the Tiger Woods scandal. You're going to hear her insights coming up.

Stay with us. Eleven minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Good morning to you in San Francisco this Sunday morning, (INAUDIBLE) few people on the road.

But good morning to you in San Francisco -- wherever you may be this morning. Glad you're right here with me on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

As you know, the Senate has voted now to repeal that most debated "don't ask, don't tell" military policy.

"Don't ask, don't tell" -- it was passed by Congress back in 1993, mandated the discharge of openly gay, lesbian or bisexual service members. More than 14,000 have been dismissed under the policy, according to the Service Members Legal Defense Network. Yesterday, Senate voted 65 to 31 in a procedural vote first and this was the actual vote, yes, 65 to 31 to repeal it. The bill was sent to President Obama. He is expected to sign it at some point this week.

A lot of people have been reacting to this repeal. For those who fought against the military policy for years and years, certainly emotional and personal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

ZOE DUNNING, RETIRED NAVY COMMANDER: After 18 years of working on this, I witnessed the end to this destructive policy and these are tears of joy. I've got to tell you these are tears of joy.

JAMIE ELDRIDGE (D), MASS. STATE SENATE: If you're brave enough to enlist in the United States military, if you are courageous enough to be willing to sacrifice your life to protect the security of this country, your government should not discriminate against you.

(CHEERS)

JULIAN CHANG, SERVICE MEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK: Today, America realizes its promise to everybody to live fairly and serve openly and be able to give all of themselves to this great country of ours.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HOLMES: All right. The Senate voted on the repeal yesterday, passed it. The president expected to sign it this week. But that doesn't mean things are necessarily going to change overnight.

Our Barbara Starr, Pentagon correspondent, is standing for us this morning.

Barbara, good morning to you once again.

What is the next step? Yes, the president, the signature goes on it, then what?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Pentagon will start getting ready for all of this, T.J. They will start working on changing any regulations, policies, directives -- all the bureaucracy in Washington that you would expect eventually, and it could take months. They will certify to the president and he will certify to Congress that this can proceed and that there will be no harm, no adverse reaction to military readiness, military effectiveness.

All of this is in the law that Congress passed yesterday. All of this was a preset, because the Pentagon wanted to have a little time to get ready for it. Then 60 days -- 60 days after that certification, "don't ask, don't tell" will be gone once and for all. So, it's not just yet. And advocacy groups are warning gay and lesbian members of the military: don't state anything openly just yet. You could -- could still be at risk.

There's another part of this, T.J. The federal courts have had a number of rulings declaring "don't ask, don't tell" discriminatory and illegal. There hasn't been a final ruling yet, but that is still hanging out there.

And unless something changes, there is always still the possibility the courts will say, no, no, no, you don't get to take all this time to think about it still. It is immediately gone.

So, people are very -- some people are very happy about what Congress did. Still, a lot of Washington bureaucracy to deal with here.

HOLMES: Yes. Isn't that always the case? But still, a lot of people happy with that landmark vote we saw yesterday.

While I have you here, though, we've been talking so much about what's happening in North Korea. I'm sure the military -- the U.S. military keeping a close eye on things there as well.

What are they necessarily keeping an eye on and maybe even preparing for?

STARR: Yes. Yes, T.J., absolutely.

Make no mistake: this is a few days of high worry and anxiety for the U.S. military. If South Korea goes ahead with those artillery drills off of a South Korean island, the North vowing to retaliate, though there have been some words, of course, out of North Korea from the envoy Bill Richardson, trying to tamp things down.

What the U.S. military did on Friday is it put into place some contingency communications so the Pentagon can be in immediate touch with the South Korean military if things escalate, if these drills happen, if the North Koreans, heaven forbid, take some kind of retaliatory action. The Pentagon will be in immediate touch with the South Koreans, talk to them, try and walk everybody back off the ledge.

The goal here is to have no escalation of hostilities, to have no hostilities at all. Everybody is watching at 11:00 this morning when the U.N. goes into emergency session to discuss all of this, T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Barbara Starr for us in Washington on two topics this morning. Barbara, we appreciate you. Good to see you here on a Sunday morning.

Well, coming up, Internet privacy. Some would say that's an oxymoron. It just does not exist, not possible. But parents, while you're trying to protect your own privacy, you might be doing something to try protect your children's privacy out there as well. This topic is being tackled this morning. Carl Azuz, he's joining us. Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

HOLMES: Nineteen minutes past the hour.

One of the boys -- these ladies are going to do something maybe no boys have ever done before. This is huge, even if you're not a big basketball fan or a women's -- certainly women's college basketball fan.

Pay attention to what happens today at Madison Square Garden. The UConn women's basketball team is going for their 88th victory in a row. This is a winning streak that has spanned two years, undefeated back-to-back national championships. And now, they are going for 88 in a row.

Why is that significant? Not just because it's a big number, because it's something that only one other team in history has ever done. We're talking about the men's UCLA team back in the '60s and '70s when they won so many championships in a row -- if they win two more games.

So, if they win today, they tie it. If they win tomorrow -- excuse me, if they win after, the game after that, then they will hold the record outright for the most consecutive victories in the history of basketball. That is something we will never see happen again in our lifetime, certainly in the history of sports, you could argue as well.

But a great, great accomplishment. Congratulations to them -- and something you might want to keep an eye on today whether you're a women's college basketball fan or not.

Well, this was a tough year, as you know, for Tiger Woods. It's been more than a year now since that scandal came out that derailed his public image. Now, one of Tiger Woods' alleged mistresses is upset, but not as upset as she used to be.

I spoke exclusively with the former porn actress Veronica Daniels. Listen to how she described their relationship to me as we were putting together a special on the Tiger Woods scandal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: This has been a very successful year, even though it was a very painful year as well.

VERONICA DANIELS, ALLEGED MISTRESS: I don't think he really is sorry. I think he's sorry he got caught.

Hi.

HOLMES (voice-over): Former porn actress Veronica Daniels was one of the women who came forward with claims of a relationship.

DANIELS: OK.

I was so madly in love, I couldn't walk away. We would text every day throughout the day.

HOLMES (on camera): How often would you see him after that initial meeting?

DANIELS: A few times a month, he'd come to Vegas, you know, or he would have me come out to wherever he was playing.

HOLMES: Did you feel like you had a boyfriend?

DANIELS: Yes, I did. And, you know, I stopped seeing other people. I got out of the adult business, because it was something that really bothered him.

HOLMES: Now, why were you making these types of sacrifices and changes in your life for him? Did you ever ask him to make any kinds of changes in his life for you?

DANIELS: The only thing I told him was, you know, just please be honest with me. You tell me that I'm the only other woman in your life besides your wife. You know, just don't break my trust and don't hurt my feelings.

HOLMES (voice-over): And when Tiger Woods came forward and admitted cheating on his wife, Daniels learned she wasn't the only one.

DANIELS: I was like I knew it. I knew it. I was like, and he boldfaced lied to me. He lied, not only lied through me to text message, he lied to my face.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We reached out to Tiger Woods' management company, no response to what Veronica Daniels has been claiming.

Also a remainder, this was all part myself special "Downfall: The Tiger Woods Scandal." If you weren't able to catch it last night, you can catch tonight at 10:30 Eastern Time, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty-five minutes past the hour.

Should teenagers have an expectation of privacy in this digital age? Today, some help to avoid making mistakes online.

Time now to bring some "Extra Credit" with our guy, Carl Azuz, from CNN Student News.

Good to have you as always. I mean, you know, parents, we're so worried ourselves about our own privacy. But you might forget, the kids probably need more help than anything. They probably don't think about it as much as we do.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: They don't have an extent. I mean, you know, this group that I spoke to not too long ago had said that when it comes to their phones, they expect privacy. They expect their friends not to give their numbers out. They do expect a level of privacy even when texting.

When it comes to what they post online, this group had said, no way. If you put it on there, somebody is going to see it. It's going to get out in the public.

And if you listen to them speak one of the dangers of it -- I thought this was kind of interesting, how they talk about when it's out there, it's out there regardless of whether it's on your phone or online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

AZUZ: What dangers do you see if privacy is diminished online and on your cell phones?

HANNAH GALT, STUDENT: If you say something on accident, then the whole world can know if they want to. And it's just one slip-up and then you're in big trouble.

AZUZ: By a show of hands, how many of you have ever texted something in anger?

Have you -- how many of you have ever texted something you regretted?

And what were some of the consequences?

ADAM VRTIS, STUDENT: It was just something I really wished I could come back or take back. But, I mean, you can delete your message on your phone, but it's still on his.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

AZUZ: He actually rounded out that bit by saying, sorry, Alex. So, whoever Alex was, got a message. But, I mean, you know, it sort of a -- it was a lighter moment in what is sort of a serious issue for them because they're teens and because what they're saying is going out to the world.

HOLMES: Are parents able to help kids in this regard?

AZUZ: Oh, yes. I mean, one thing I would take from this interview is that the level of engagement parents have is directly proportional to the level of responsibility students take. And if you listen to these parents, they describe not only why teens post things online that might be a violation of their own privacy, but one idea how to deal with it as a parent. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

LORI VRTIS, PARENT: They feel private when they do it. They're all by themselves and they feel private or they're sitting in front of their computer and you feel like nobody's looking at you and you don't realize you're throwing it out there for everyone to see.

ARIA GALT, PARENT: We've had some postings on Facebook that I've been very uncomfortable with and I usually just privately send a message to the child, and say, "You might want to rethink this."

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

AZUZ: And that was, you know, that was one of the suggestions we heard. All three of these or four of these parents, I should say, were very engaged in their students online and even phone behavior. And so, for that reason, a lot of these students, while they had done some things they regretted, they had been more or less more conscientious to prevent from making those serious mistakes online.

HOLMES: What about you? You ever text or e-mail in anger?

AZUZ: Yes. I think I have. I mean, I don't do it regularly. It's not like, hey, today I'm going to contact T.J. Holmes and let him know what I think.

But, no -- but, you know, I've done it certainly in the past. And it's one of those things that reminds us, in the digital age, there is an immediacy. It's not like sitting down thinking, writing a letter and then putting a stamp on it.

HOLMES: Yes. Good point. Always good things. Good students and parents you have.

Carl Azuz, we appreciate you. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

AZUZ: Thanks.

HOLMES: Well, coming up a change in the ranks -- you probably heard about it by now. It's one of the hottest topics on CNN.com this morning. Senate voting to end the prohibition of homosexuals serving openly in the military. Some of your comments, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hello. Bottom of the hour here now on this Sunday morning; give you a look at some of the stories making headlines.

Miserable weather conditions right now across most of Europe. More flight delays and cancellations today, airports in London have seen hundreds of flights canceled, stranding thousands of travelers. Deep freeze has gone on for some several days now. Forecasters expect a thaw to begin tomorrow. And the body of a missing American tourist found today outside Jerusalem. Christine Logan had gone hiking with a friend in a forest west of Jerusalem. Police began searching for Logan after her friend turned up with multiple stab wounds. That friend is a British citizen living in Israel, now in stable condition.

Also at the urging of the Russians the U.N. Security Council will meet at 11:00 Eastern this morning to try to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea is poised for a live fire naval drill near the North Korean border. It's on hold right now because of weather but North Korea says it will retaliate if that drill is held. Meanwhile a top North Korean general says he may be open to lines of communication and cooperation.

Now that emergency meeting as we mentioned just a moment ago going to take place around 11:00 Eastern today. And our Wolf Blitzer has been traveling there in North Korea with Governor Bill Richardson. He's the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. He has called it a tinderbox situation, and really the most serious we have seen on the Korean Peninsula since the -- the Armistice some 60 years ago.

North Korean leadership upset over that military exercise we were talking about and again it seems like South Korea still poised to start those exercises maybe in the next few days.

Wolf Blitzer talked to me a short time ago about what was happening but he also interviewed Richardson while there as well. Take a listen to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM" (via telephone): They say it won't take place over the weekend, Saturday or Sunday, because of bad weather but they're leaving open the possibility they could take place Monday or Tuesday and the North Koreans are making it clear they see this as a provocation. And they will respond militarily if that happens.

How worried are you, Governor?

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Well, I am worried. I am concerned. I've stressed to the North Korean foreign ministry officials that I've been meeting with that they should exercise maximum self-restraint, that this is a tinderbox. That we need negotiations and talks; things need to cool down.

But -- but I am concerned that my meeting this morning is going to be very -- very important with General Pak, who is the head military person at the DMZ. And I'm going to urge restraint with him and possibly some way that there can be communication with the South Korean military, some mechanism that will bring this crisis to a standstill, because right here, North Korean officials are very, very provoked by this potential incident.

But if it doesn't happen, if the U.N. Security Council gives all sides cover not to act, a strong statement, that would be a very important development.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: We turn now to the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell". That is just waiting on the President's signature at this point, expected to sign at some point this week. The Senate of course yesterday voted to -- to repeal that historic -- that historic legislation and really landmark legislation when it was first passed. And now another landmark as it is now repealed.

We have been hearing from you out there, hearing from a lot of people but also hearing from you, our viewers, on this repeal.

Josh Levs is going through some of those responses. Josh, hello again.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi again to you. This has been keeping us busy today. Folks I will tell you, you are weighing in on this issue, big time.

Let's do this. I want to show you some of the posts that we're getting at Facebook about this decision this morning and then we'll go to a video.

Let's start off right here with some of the latest posts that we've been getting, and just the last couple of hours. This one from Daniel, who disagrees; he says, "I believe this repeal will hurt more than help. There are some insensitive people in all walks of life. I wouldn't be shocked if discrimination runs rampant in the barracks."

Now, by far the vast majority of the people disagree with him and are supporting this decision. This is Charles, "I wholeheartedly support this recent vote. My only criticism is that the policy will not end immediately."

Let's get a couple more here. Now, Greg, "This is a great day for America and the Constitution."

Here is from Craig, "Now that's the change I voted for".

One more against this decision here from Jamil. "I don't understand how this country was founded upon Christian principles but it keeps drawing away from those values."

We also have an iReport for you this morning from one of our frequent iReporters, Egberto Willies. Here is his take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EGBERTO WILLIES, CNN IREPORTER: We can only hope that going forward, gays in all 50 states and all U.S. territories will be allowed to marry and adopt. That will be the real victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And by far the vast majority, vast majority of the responses we've been getting here have been people in support of the repeal.

Let me show you also -- this morning a lot of people we're checking out tweets from some celebrities. Earlier I should you Ellen DeGeneres. Here's one from Kathy Griffin who as you know, has been on our air a bunch of times. She wrote, "How about, finally. Equality is coming." She's outspoken against "don't ask, don't tell".

I also have been getting tweets from some of you. Let me show you a couple more here before I go.

This is from Laura Guy, "I was out shopping yesterday when someone loudly announced repeal. Packed store broke out in cheers and applause."

And what we have here from Carey Parrish, "I ask anyone who opposes the end of "don't ask, don't tell" to put the shoe on the other foot and imagine being forced to hide who they are."

And no matter what type of this issue you were on, we want to hear from you this morning. Here's how you can reach me at my Facebook and Twitter as you know, JoshLevsCNN. Go ahead let us know where your stand on this, what your thoughts are and we'll be keeping an eye on those and sharing some right here on the air throughout the day -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Josh, thank you. We appreciate it.

LEVS: You got it.

HOLMES: Well, Congress also approved the President's tax cut compromise last week. We'll have more on that in just a moment and my favorite part of my SUNDAY MORNING, and you probably know what that is also coming up.

Answering "The Call": a filmmaker follows seven inspired people on their quest to be religious leaders -- that is in this morning's "Faces of Faith." Its 37 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 38 minutes past the hour. It is now time for the favorite part of my SUNDAY MORNING.

It's the time that I get to talk to Candy Crowley. She is the host of "STATE OF THE UNION" that's coming your way in just 20 minutes at the top of the hour.

Candy, good morning first of all. How are you doing this morning?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Good morning. I am doing well, thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Well -- CROWLEY: Almost have my Christmas shopping done.

HOLMES: Almost, well, you know you're running out of time.

CROWLEY: Yes.

HOLMES: But I don't have to tell you that. Well, you don't have to give me anything too extravagant like you did last year ok. You can back it off a little bit.

CROWLEY: Ok.

HOLMES: Ok, let's move on. You've got a little bit going on in Washington even this weekend. How huge of a victory certainly for the advocates of repealing "don't ask, don't tell", for the President as well, this was a campaign promise.

CROWLEY: Listen, it's been a really good month for the President. Remember just last month we had the President come out saying well we got shellacked in the elections and he went overseas and had kind of a bad trip through Asia, or at least one that didn't go as well as they thought it would go.

And suddenly, he has the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell", which as you noted was a campaign promise, we certainly expect him to sign that now that it's -- Capitol Hill is done with it.

He got this tax agreement with the Republicans which will extend tax cuts for the middle class. He did have to go ahead and accept the tax breaks continuing also for the wealthy and nonetheless he got that along with a lot of other tax breaks that he wanted.

So that's another big victory for him.

And now the Senate is going to -- start talking about, START that missile reduction treaty which the President really wants to have approved by the Senate before they leave.

So all of a sudden in this lame duck Congress where you really don't expect them to do much but tread water, the President has gotten a lot of pretty good victories. It's one of the reasons we have the Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell who helped craft that tax deal with the President on today to kind of talk about how it is that Republicans sort of helped President Obama have a good month.

HOLMES: Well, Candy how badly would you say or -- or others in Washington say right now the President needed this? He needed kind of some momentum going into next year after that shellacking first of all, but also knowing he's going to have a different Congress to deal with the beginning of the year. He needed some victories going into next year.

CROWLEY: He did, and he also needed to kind of set the template for what it's going to be like. Because remember, we're still dealing with the old Congress so it's still a -- a House that is run by Democrats, a Senate that's run by Democrats, that of course is going to change when Republicans take over the House.

But the fact of the matter is that this tax deal, the President sort of chose to use as a template. We can get along. I don't believe that one party has all the good ideas.

Mitch McConnell was at the signing ceremony for the tax cut extension plan. So there -- there was a lot going on and it was important. I mean, it's always important for a president to have momentum to kind of -- prove quote, as Bill Clinton once said, "his relevancy", say that kind of thing.

So it's -- it's a very good way for the President to end the year -- and certainly a lot better than they thought they'd end it when they looked at those November returns.

HOLMES: Ok, all right.

Well, I have to run now. But you're also talking Afghanistan this morning.

CROWLEY: Yes. Yes, we absolutely are and that will be with the former head of Joint Chiefs of Staff, the former CENTCOM commander and former ambassador from Afghanistan, we will talk over the new report.

HOLMES: Candy, it really is always a joy to talk to you. Good to see you. Thanks so much.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: Thanks, good to see you.

HOLMES: You have a good show.

And again folks you can keep it right here, Candy Crowley coming your way in just about 16 to -- about 18 minutes, top of the hour, 9:00 Eastern Time, 6:00 Pacific right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's time for our "Faces of Faith" this morning. Listen to this concept. You take seven aspiring Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and Protestant clergy. Follow them on their journey to leadership roles in their own religious communities.

That is what the producers of the documentary series "The Calling" set out to do. What they got turned out to be a dramatic odyssey you can see starting tomorrow night on PBS. Here are some of the faithful who are answering "The Calling".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went and did an urban ministry. I came back and told the coach I quit. And then I called home and said, yes, I'm switching major. They're like, oh cool, to what? Philosophy and religion (INAUDIBLE).

I'm a Samoan that raps and does Bible study with white people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I played basketball, volleyball and I ran track. In the beginning my coach was like you're telling me that you're going to wear all of that when you play?

You know, I remember going into the locker room and praying and other girls, and they giggle or they'd laugh and it took a strong head to, you know, just dismiss that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think about how he said I bear the marks of Christ in my body, so this will be a literal representation of the marks of Christ in my body. It will be my constant reminder, that no, no, no, your body belongs to Jesus Christ.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I'm not thinking about my problems. (INAUDIBLE) There's no God except you know, the one God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm almost done with school. This is going to be my first wedding. And it hit me like up there, oh my gosh, in front of a million people doing a wedding, like I might break down or something.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, joining me now from Chicago, the executive producer of "The Calling". Danny Alpert joins me this morning. Thank you for being here.

Give us an idea of what kind of folks are these -- they kind of gave an idea there but you heard the guy say, "I'm a Samoan who plays basketball with white people," or something like that. We weren't expecting that. What kind of folks are they starting out?

DANNY ALPERT, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "THE CALLING": Yes, I think that that's really an interesting part of the series, and that is that they're not expected. This is a new generation of American leaders, and at least this slice of American leaders that we're looking at really don't want to do things the same way there.

Obviously deeply committed to their faith but they're also, you know, really immersed in their American, young American identities and it's something they're not really willing to compromise on.

HOLMES: Danny was there something also that they all had in common that got them to this calling? I mean it takes a serious commitment to dedicate your life to this.

ALPERT: No question. And I think you know, the stories look at their relationship with their faith and their relationship with their gods and how they feel that they're answering the call from the divine, but really, I think what is the common denominator and what really unites them as a group is their deep commitment to serve their fellow human beings and really to make the world a better place.

And you know, I think that they are also just really charismatic, interesting people who are doing interesting things and they're people I think that the viewers are going to be able to relate to. I think there will be a -- the viewers will be surprised how easy it is to relate to them.

HOLMES: At some point I assume a lot of them may have had some second thoughts or some doubts as they were going through this, did you find that in their individual journeys there were some similar difficulties?

ALPERT: You know, I think every person who goes down this path is their own unique story, and the things that they have to struggle with are their own. One person in the film loses his father and that causes a deep, at a young age his father was a young man and that causes him to have second doubts. Others, the Catholic priest struggles with the vows of obedience and celibacy that he has to make. There's a rabbinical student who just doesn't quite feel up to snuff and doesn't know whether he can live up to the expectations.

So, just like all of us we have our own demons to wrestle with and that's the same case for these people.

HOLMES: What are the age ranges here?

ALPERT: The youngest Tahra (ph), who you saw playing basketball, she was the youngest of the characters. She, I think was 23 or 24 when we started so quite young, and going up to Steven and Belaal (ph), who are when we began with them were in their, I think, early 30s.

HOLMES: What were you hoping -- here just to wrap up -- what were you hoping, what were you going for in this project when you first started out, and I guess now, with the final product, what are you hoping or think the audience is going to get out of?

ALPERT: Yes, well I think that what we were going for was a couple of things. We wanted to tell a story with a keen eye and a warm heart. We wanted to look at this critically and ask difficult questions but also come from a place of respect.

We wanted to make a film that was accessible to both secular and religious audiences. And we really wanted to look at modernity and faith and what -- how the rub works, people who are really trying to live their faith in our very modern society.

In terms of what I hope the viewer comes away with, you know, I think that they'll understand that religious leaders are not much different than you and I. Maybe the difference is that they are willing to stake their claim, put their flag in the sand and say this is what we stand for and live their lives according to that. And I hope that the viewers will think about that and think about our own callings and what we might be willing to stand up for and the issues we might be able to stand up for in our own lives.

HOLMES: Well, Danny Alpert, again, executive producer of "The Calling". Congratulations on the project.

ALPERT: Thank you. HOLMES: Thank you for being here with us as our guest on "Faces of Faith".

ALPERT: Thank you.

HOLMES: And a reminder: you can see part one and part two of that four-hour documentary starting tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. You can check your PBS station.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Fifty-two minutes past the hour.

You think things get nasty in Washington, D.C. At least your lawmakers don't act like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BRAWL IN UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes folks, those are elected officials, leaders, members of the Ukraine parliament. They are going at it, throwing blows, they are kicking, throwing chairs; whatever they can get their hands on. Many of them certainly did leave. They were bloody, they were bruised. It was a brawl there.

Five people actually had to go to the hospital. Can you imagine this playing out on the floor of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House? It was not so bad after all. This broke out when members of a former prime minister tried to stop a criminal investigation into an alleged abuse of power.

Turning to that weather we've been seeing in Europe, some of Europe's busiest airports are describing the latest blast of arctic temperatures as essentially just freakish. Freak weather conditions they say, and that's kind of putting a freeze on the travel plans for a whole lot of people.

Nina dos Santos live for us at London's Heathrow airport. How are things there?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, T.J. Well, it's certainly cold here but the snow seems to have stopped for the moment. That doesn't mean though that the misery has stopped, because we've got hundreds of thousands of people stranded across the airports, across the UK and also continental Europe, desperately trying to get home before the Christmas and New Year holidays.

That of course means that emotions are running high and tempers are frayed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LISA SUAREZ, STRANDED AMERICAN TRAVELER: It's very hard. We're supposed to be there already. The only thing I want for Christmas is to hug my daughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOS SANTOS: So as you can see -- as you can see, T.J., things very much quite emotional here. That particular family I was talking to was en route from Geneva to Dallas. They've been here since Friday.

You've got to remember that Heathrow is a huge hub for people in transit, which means that they've been stuck here with nowhere to go for the last couple of days, without the appropriate clothing in these arctic temperatures because their bags are en route to somewhere else.

And I should also mention that the sheer quantity of people coming through airports like this and getting stuck is posing quite a logistical problem for authorities. About 400,000 people were set to take off from Heathrow over the last two days and many of them haven't been able to make it on board their flights. And that also means that shops here are running out of food and winter clothing for all those stranded passengers -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Oh, that is so sad. That is brutal -- bags going some other place, can't get out.

Nina Dos Santos, we appreciate that update, hope folks get to where they want to go. Thanks so much.

Well, we're getting close to the top of the hour here. We also have a weather situation going on here in the U.S. and going to have some very, very important tips and advice for folks who want to drive their car up a snowy or icy hill. I've got some information you're really going to want to hear, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know time is short. It really is. But we're going to make time to show you what's going to happen weather-wise around the nation.

Let's begin out to the west, we've been talking about the rough weather you're going to be dealing with in the West Coast. Still let's make the most of it. Los Angeles 61 degrees, the expected high for the day; you can expect some rain throughout much of the day.

In the high mountains and the Sierra Nevada, it's all going to be snow; same story in parts of the Central Rockies, 44 the high in Seattle, 55 in Denver. Coming east we go, 15 your expected high in Minneapolis, 70 in San Antonio, 41 in Nashville, 37 in Boston and 76 in Miami.

If you're not staying at home, chances are you're going to traveling. That's the way it normally works. If you're going out to the airport, here is what you can expect. Delays a-plenty, we have them for you in San Francisco, in L.A. due to the rain and the wind. Seattle basically the same story, could wait up for an hour there. Also in Portland, Salt Lake City, you delay a little bit less, anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes due to the rain changing over to snow by later this evening.

That's the latest in the forecast. Let's get over to T.J.

HOLMES: Any advice for people trying to drive their vehicles up an icy hill?

WOLF: Don't do it.

HOLMES: All right. There it is. Thank you, Reynolds. That's why we have him.

All right. Quick look at a couple of stories making headlines; getting closer to an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. They're going to be meeting at 11:00 Eastern, of course, discussing those tensions on the Korean peninsula. South Korea could go ahead with those live military exercises. If so, the North has vowed to retaliate.

Also, police in Jerusalem found the body of a missing American tourist. A wounded woman ran for help after being stabbed several times saying she and her missing friend were attacked while hiking in a nearby forest. Police are looking for two men.

We're going to leave it right there, but of course Candy Crowley starting right now. Thank you for being with us on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.