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Pedophile in Court Today; Comedian Tracy Morgan in Surgery
Aired December 21, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Well, it's 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Here's some of the stories that have us talking this morning as you're getting going. Social security checks crossing into the electronic age. People applying for benefits after May 1st. We'll have their check automatically deposited in the bank account. Those already getting benefits will have to make similar arrangements within the next couple of years.
The U.S. government making Toyota pay more than $32 million for a series of high-profile recalls. Civil penalties are the maximum allowed by law and punishment a company for its handling of the problems. The money will help pay for two federal investigations.
One hour from now, we're going to find out how many people live in the United States and where. The 2010 census will show how the country has changed over the past decade. And it will use those population shifts to assign congressional seats and electoral votes.
OK. This story got a lot of people talking, including us. And it happened in a way that pit the U.S. Constitution against pedophilia. Sheriff's deputies from Florida went all the way to Colorado to arrest this man, Phillip Greeves. He should be in a Florida courtroom today. Why? Well, cops say Greeves sold and sent them an autographed copy of his book.
Now, brace yourself for the title if you haven't heard this story already. It's called "The Pedophile Guide to Love and Pleasure." Yes, it makes you sick to your stomach. They busted him for obscenity. He said he broke Florida law. Now, no one is defending Greeves subject matter but some folks are defending his freedom of speech.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin says that the book might be despicable, but the book doesn't actually show children being abused. He says words alone don't justify busting him. But take a look at part of the Florida law. And it's kind of complicated here. It's wordy. So stay with me.
It nabs anyone who "knowingly writes, prints, publishes, or utters, or causes to be written, printed, published, or uttered any advertisement or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, stating or purporting to state where, how, or whom, or by what means any or what purports to be any such material, matter, article, or thing of any such character can be purchased, obtained, or had." I know, that's a mouthful. It's hard to keep up with the legal jargon, but it pretty much covers every single base. No wiggle room, even uttering can get you in big trouble. Let's talk about this with David Bayh. He's a lawyer in Richmond who knows a lot about the first amendment. It's also got - we've also got Grady Judd on the phone. He's actually the sheriff of Polk County, Florida, where Greeves should be in court today.
So sheriff, let me start with you, what gives you so much confidence? I mean, obviously you arrested him. But why do you believe that he can also be prosecuted?
SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA (ON THE PHONE): It's really simple. The experts are confusing child pornography laws with obscenity laws. In the state of Florida, as you just read, there's a specific obscenity law. And to me it's very clear. You cannot take real life examples of how to sexually batter a nine-year-old and a 13- year-old child and educate, sell, or promote that according to Florida law.
Yes, there's first amendment experts that talk about freedom of the press and all that and no one could agree with freedom of the press or the right to free speech more than me because I like to exercise that. But you can't sit in a crowded theater and scream fire either. There's just some things you can't do. And we believe this is one of them. And no one else was acting on this. We were able to obtain jurisdiction, so we arrested him by a very good obscenity law in Florida.
PHILLIPS: David Baugh, what do you say to that? The sheriff seems very confident that not only he arrested this guy, but he can prosecute him.
DAVID BAUGH, ATTORNEY: Well, I would agree that it's certainly a violation of the Florida statute. On the other hand, I have no doubt that the Florida statute is unconstitutional. Prosecuting people for thinking or uttering or speaking is in and of itself can never be a crime in this country. Every idea must be discussed, even bad ideas, even disgusting ideas should be talked about so we can decide whether or not to follow them or throw them aside.
PHILLIPS: And here's what's interesting, David. You even said - and this caught my attention - that maybe you would want to read this because it would help you actually protect children.
BAUGH: I think - when I heard about this, I wasn't that interested. But this morning when I went online and I read some more about it, I came up with the analogy. When I go scuba diving, I want to know about sharks. When I walk in the jungle, I would want to know about lions.
Well, as a parent, as a grandparent and as a concerned citizen, I want to know about pedophiles. I want to know how they think, I want to know how to protect my children, and I might buy this book.
PHILLIPS: Sheriff, let me ask you first about what Mr. Baugh said about this statute, the Florida statute there in your state being unconstitutional. Do you agree?
JUDD: No, it's - I don't believe it's unconstitutional. This obscenity law has been upheld in the past. In fact, we've used this obscenity law over the years. But, you know, there's a difference in commercial speech and personal speech and selling a book, directing people how to abuse children.
And that's where we're narrowly tailoring and focusing this issue. You know, I stay out of the woods where there's lions. And quite frankly these predators who think they're going to have this book are going to learn they need to stay out of the woods where they can be arrested for that. And certainly that's in the state of Florida.
PHILLIPS: So David, let me ask you about the obscenity part that the sheriff is focusing on. You know, this manual has no visuals. There are no cartoons, there are no pictures. It's just words. So does it really violate federal law without the visuals? Because according to a Supreme Court case in 2002, you know, child pornography was defined as visual depiction.
BAUGH: That is correct. We've had cases like that in Virginia where drawings have been found not to be visual depictions. I mean, the laws are designed to protect children. I would hope that the sheriff if he's really going to file the statute will go ahead and prosecute those who would sell (INAUDIBLE) which advocated a murder of Jews. There are similar books "Lolita," by (INAUDIBLE) talks about interactions with an underage child.
These are ideas, and ideas cannot be prosecuted. And further, as an advocate of the first amendment, that means you have to tolerate other people's words and other people's thinking. And for that reason, I think that statute is unconstitutional. And I have little doubt that like the cross burning case we had in Virginia years ago, even though it is reprehensible, the statute will be found to be unconstitutional. You cannot regulate thought or words alone.
PHILLIPS: Well, we're definitely going to follow the case. And sheriff before I let both of you go, what did - if anything, did Mr. Greeves say to the arresting deputies? And when could we see him in court today?
JUDD: Greeves admitted that he wrote the book. He admitted that he sold us the book and autographed it. Greeves should arrive at our book-in at the county jail some time around 11:00 a.m. to noon Eastern time. He will be booked into jail and then have a first appearance hearing tomorrow.
And quite frankly, our position is that, you know, this law is on the book, it's a solid law, it's been defended in the past, and we're going to go forward. And we didn't do this in a vacuum. We certainly did this with the guidance of our state attorney's office and an independent judicial review by a circuit court judge. We look forward to it. That's what the courts are for. We respect the courts and we also respect the rights to protect children from predators. PHILLIPS: It'll be interesting to follow the case. And I now that we all agree that what this man has done is despicable and disgusting. That is for sure. David Baugh, Sheriff Grady Judd, great to have you both. Thank you so much for your time today.
JUDD: Thank you. Have a great day.
BAUGH: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Severe weather hammering both ends of California to the north, the Sierra Nevada mountains, buried under as much as 10 feet of snow. By later today, snow could pile 15 feet high. Wind gusts toppled a startling 150 miles on one summit, the alpine meadows. In southern California, heavy rains have caused widespread flooding and a few mud slides and things could get worse over the next several days. Let's get the latest, shall we?
CNN's Casey Wian in Ventura County. Is it getting any better, Casey?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the rain's let up a little bit, Kyra, but behind me, you can see the Pacific Coast highway here in Ventura County has been closed. It has been closed for a couple of days now. 20-mile stretch of this road has been closed because of a mud slide to the northwest of me.
Authorities have been working throughout the night clearing some of that debris, but they still apparently believe that these hills behind me are still too dangerous and fragile because of the anticipation that more rain will be coming through this area. This storm is very, very widespread. It has spread all the way to Las Vegas where there has been some flooding there, as well. As well as record rainfall and flash flood warnings.
In the Sierra Nevadas, as you mentioned, we've had snow in Mammoth Mountain, up to 13 1/2 feet since Friday. We've had wind speeds of up to 150 miles an hour at some of the higher peaks. Back here at sea level, most of the impact has been on traffic. There have been a lot of traffic accidents throughout southern California the last couple of days.
We've also had power outages, 20,000 folks without power throughout the southern California region. And as you mentioned, we're bracing for much more rain forecast later tonight. We'll have to see how these fire-ravaged hillsides in some areas are going to hold up. We're hoping that they continue to hold up. And we won't lose any homes to mud slides because this region as you well know, Kyra, has a history of that. When there's fire damage and heavy rain. And that's what we've got right now. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: That's right. Boy, I miss my hometown, but I don't miss conditions like that, Casey. That's for sure. Thank you so much. Well, millions of Californians have no relief in sight. In fact, things are likely to get much worse. Casey hit on that a little bit and of course, CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano has more.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: About another 36 hours, I think, Kyra, and then we're going to (INAUDIBLE) off.
PHILLIPS: That's a long time.
MARCIANO: Yes. That time, we're going to see probably some of our heavier rain. We got a couple of things going on. First of all, here is the main plume that continues to point into southern California. But this is the kicker, the kicker, the main part of the upper level storm that's going to really throw a wrench in this and kick everything up. But it's going to take some time to do that. And while it does that, it's going to really turn up the energy as far as cranking out a little bit more in the way of moisture.
Here's what we think is going to happen as far as our computer models are concerned. Another one inch, potentially two in Los Angeles. Some of the hills around L.A., of course, we'll see more than that, maybe four to five inches of rainfall here across parts of Southern California.
We've already seen a foot, mentioned that, and locally some higher amount. That is also been made into snow, upwards of 13 feet. Probably will see 20 feet before this is done. And here's the moisture on the radar scope. So with this amount of rain coming in, we're looking not only for mud slides but street flooding, as well.
Some white showing up there. That means that some of this is turning into snow at the high elevations. The snow levels are beginning to come down. That will act to lock up some of the moisture at the higher elevations. But with three to six inches of rainfall potentially coming down, that may not be enough. This is all moving to the east. One to three feet potentially in the Wasatch, three to six feet potentially across parts of Colorado.
High avalanche danger. I know all that snow sounds great but it does bring with it some danger. I do want to point out one thing as far as where the storm is going to go over the next day or two.
People are asking is it going to come east? It is. Is it going to go across the corn belt in the form of snow. Mostly north of 40 degrees latitude and then kind of (INAUDIBLE) wheels, I think the mid Atlantic, the Delmarva will get some snow out of this for Christmas and during Christmas travel and New York and Boston may get just a little bit, as well.
We'll have to update that forecast as we go through time. I know a lot of folks want a white Christmas. At this point we may see half the country gets a white Christmas. And that's definitely more than usual and maybe more than people want.
PHILLIPS: Makes a big difference. I love it. You had some in Oregon, right? MARCIANO: Yes, Oregon and the northeast. It does help to get in the spirit.
PHILLIPS: It does. You freeze your you know what often.
MARCIANO: You lose some chestnuts.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my. Were you star gazing last night or were you snoozing right through it?
MARCIANO: I got up to come to work, it was a little bit cloud covered here. So I wasn't disappointed.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about this. The total eclipse of the moon playing out over North America. And we're not going to get it again until 2014?
MARCIANO: Yes, that's the next time you'll see the total lunar eclipse. But the next time it'll happen on the solstice is like 2090, so another 80 years.
PHILLIPS: Oh my gosh.
MARCIANO: But in San Francisco they got a little break in the action there. KGO filming that for us and lunar eclipses are cool. Solar eclipse is even cooler.
PHILLIPS: It calls for a song. We don't have it. (INAUDIBLE) You know, the what's her name song? I'm not going to - like I'm going to sing. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: That's why you got what you are.
PHILLIPS: That's right. That's why I'm not in showbiz, pal. All right. Appreciate it. We'll wait until 2014 and we'll talk about it again.
All right. A comedian with a medical problem. We're going to get the latest on Tracy Morgan's transplant.
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PHILLIPS: Topping your entertainment news, "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan had to go under the knife and we have the details on that story and other big entertainment stories, "Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer is joining me. Even for a comedian, a transplant is definitely no joke, A.J..
A.J. HAMMER, HOST "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes, Kiran. No joke is right. But I am happy to report Tracy Morgan is recovering nicely from a kidney transplant. He underwent the surgery around December 10th. He's taking some time off from the show "30 Rock" to recover. So you can expect a couple of Tracy-free episodes next season, but the actor's rep tells us that Morgan is doing well and he plans to get back to work just right after the holidays. And he has been seen out and about in New York City lately, including at a New York Knicks game last Friday. Morgan was diagnosed with diabetes back in 1996 and remarkably he's the second member of the "30 Rock" cast to get a kidney transplant. (INAUDIBLE) Chapman who plays part of Morgan's entourage on the show also underwent earlier surgery this year. But we are happy that he's doing well. I always liked Tracy Morgan. Funny, funny man.
PHILLIPS: He is funny. He's the highlight of that show. That's for sure. He's a lot smarter than he plays. All right. Chris Brown trying to rehabilitate his image since that domestic violence arrest. He just took another step in that direction, apparently?
HAMMER: Yes, Kyra. By most accounts, Chris Brown is not just working on his image, he actually seems now to be working on his behavior. Of course, he really gave a big hit to his reputation and his life when he brutally beat up then girlfriend, Rihanna, back in early 2009.
But since then he has tried to redeem himself. A lot of it was court ordered, but now Brown is telling his fans that he just completed a domestic violence class. He actually tweeted a photo of his diploma and told his fans he's proud of this accomplishment. He tweeted that boys run from their mistakes and men learn from them.
The class was part of the sentence that he received after pleading guilty to the assault. He does remain on probation until 2014. I should point out, Kyra, that Brown has consistently been praised by the judge that's been in charge of his sentence for his work towards rehabilitation. So this really may be more than a case of someone just trying to fix their image at this point. And I say good for him in that case.
PHILLIPS: Yes, amen. All right. Thanks, A.J..
If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J.'s got it. Every night 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on HLN.
Well, a flash mob doesn't let a shaky mall floor spoil its holiday spirit. Wait until you see this.
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PHILLIPS: Well, sometimes the best gifts are the ones that you don't ask for. But the ones you need the most. In Huntsville, Alabama, folks who couldn't afford to put food on the table this Christmas are getting boxes of canned goods with the turkey thrown in. Courtesy of volunteers from the rose of Sharon's soup kitchen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted to reach out to them and give them food because they are on low income and getting food is difficult for them. So we wanted to help them out and be a blessing. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That just shows you god at work. You know, people still care. They brought what they thought what was best needed. It's a blessing.
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PHILLIPS: And yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Just swing through Nebraska for 5,000 reasons to believe. Nancy () has been collecting little St. Nicks since 1966. Some are made with bizarre items like shotgun shells, even a pig's ear. But if you're in the area, just ask for the Santa lady's house. (INAUDIBLE) gives 300 tours a year.
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PHILLIPS: And a holiday flash mob has been scrooged. Authorities in Rosedale, California, evacuated the west field Galleria last night after nearly 5,000 people show up for an impromptu sing along and those hallelujah chorus. Flash mobs, by the way, are groups of local singers and dancers who organize surprise performances in public places and they may post them online. (INAUDIBLE) that group raised their voices in song and in the parking lot.
This week, we're giving you a high five. Today in the holiday spirit we're looking at the top five holiday time savers. So who best to talk about that than the author of the "Four-Hour Workweek." Tim Ferriss, author and speaker and let's get right to it to save us some time and manage it well.
Let's talk about those tips for saving time during the holiday season, Tim. And OK, explain these to me. Let's start out with number one. Outsource time-consuming tasks. Yes, easier said than done.
TIM FERRISS, AUTHOR "FOUR-HOUR WORKWEEK," AUTHOR: Right. So number one is very simple. And that is you should consider using a virtual assistant service, if you can. And as a real world example, very busy mother who is a reader of mine needed to get the hot new toy of the season for her son. And rather than spend all afternoon or all weekend doing that, she used asksunday.com, spent $2, they called every toy store within a 10-mile radius, AND bought the toy for her, reserved it in her name, and called her. So it took her about 30 seconds to get that done. So that would be number one.
CHETRY: OK. But that's pretty good. I guess still going to the internet is so - it really helps you with regard to running around and having to hunt around. It really is one of the best tolls to save tools to saving time.
FERRISS: Absolutely. And that's actually a company based in New York, you call two and two number but then it routes you to someone in India or the Philippines and it can be exceptionally, exceptionally helpful and very inexpensive.
The second tip if you'd like me to jump to that -
PHILLIPS: Yes.
FERRISS: Would be really minimizing your feeling of over obligation to connect with anyone and everyone for the new year or for the holidays. And you can use the 80/20 principle, which is very common in business, also called Pareto's Principle, to identify the 20 percent of people who really provide 80 percent or more of the positive emotions in your life.
And it usually ends up being a pretty short list. So you can use that to focus when you're trying to buy gifts for people or reconnect with people.
PHILLIPS: That's hard, you know, you deal with the guilt factor though, Tim. You know, a lot of times, well, they kind of did this and then they're sort -I mean, that's a hard thing to really narrow down, especially during the holidays when you're feeling a lot more - I don't know, should we say loving?
FERRISS: No, it's true. It is. It can be challenging, but I think that's also a source of overwhelm for people. So if that applies to them I think it could be a useful exercise.
PHILLIPS: All right. Number three, when gifting, don't wrap?
FERRISS: So the holidays isn't all about efficiency, but I know at least for a number of my friends who work here in New York City and bankers or ad agencies, they have a lot of trouble wrapping their gifts. So you could consider a service like Amazon prime, which will do two-day delivery and do that wrapping for you. And one trick that you can use is to actually have the gifts mailed to you using a middle initial that indicates who the gift is for so you don't forget who it's for and in that way, you can at least do the cards yourself. Oh, wow. So that would be one approach to saving time.
PHILLIPS: Not a bad idea.
FERRISS: But also adding the personal touch.
PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. Because you don't want to lose that. That is one of the most important things if you really want to give somebody something that is personal and thoughtful. You don't just go online and order something and have it wrapped, right?
FERRISS: Right. You don't want to have a typewritten letter for every single gift. So to encourage people to at least make the cards personalized. But you can save yourself the trouble of the gift wrapping..
PHILLIPS: All right. Number four, hire help. Yes, that's right if you've got the money, but it's a bad economy.
FERRISS: It is a bad economy, which also means that there are a lot of people available to help very inexpensively. So if you make $40,000 a year, let's say, you take the first two numbers and cut it in half and that's how much you make per hour, so you make $20 an hour. And in that case, does it make sense to go on - let's say, Craigslist, to find someone help you with the holiday party for $10 an hour? I think the answer is yes because you don't want to be spending your time managing that. You want to be spending your time managing that. You want to be spending your time enjoying that. And you could also use a service like task rabbit.com which also would help you find a very inexpensively to help with the miscellaneous that have to be dealt with during the holidays.
PHILLIPS: Finally, number five, this is something we should do all year round. Give karma.
FERRISS: Absolutely. So looking at customer service, satisfaction, and the receipt of gifts, you find that opposed to regular gift cards or even regular gifts cards or even regular gifts, giving cards to philanthropist has the highest satisfaction rate.
Crate and Barrel has looked at this, many companies have looked at it. So, you can get a gift card to a nonprofit like Donors Choose.org, which helps high-need public schools in the U.S. and then give that to someone as a gift. And they should be very, very happy to receive it. And they'll get a lot of karma back from it, not just a temporary sugar high from the gift itself.
PHILLIPS: There you go. "The 4-Hour Workweek" is the best selling book. Boy, I wish I could figure out how to do. Tim Ferriss tells you how to do it. He's also a speaker and expert on time management.
Tim, I don't know how you came up with all of this wisdom at such a young age, but it's very impressive. Thanks for sharing some of it today.
FERRISS: Thank you for having me.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Well, most of us are getting ready for a little time off, but before you leave work, should you give a gift to your boss? Is that a good idea? Stephanie Elam has some hints on that for this holiday season.
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PHILLIPS: All right. Stock market opening bell rang just about an hour ago. Checking the numbers. Dow Industrials up almost 50 points.
Christmas cheer is making a comeback at the office. New survey finds that more employers intend to offer holiday perks like bonuses, parties, and gifts this year. And speaking of your boss, you may want to send yours a greeting card. It could land you that promotion.
Stephanie Elam, are you serious? Don't bosses know that's just kissing up?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Maybe they do, maybe they like it. Maybe that's just the thing.
PHILLIPS: Maybe that's the point.
ELAM: Maybe that's the whole thing about it. But when you think about the holiday parties, maybe that's the boss' way of kissing up to their employees and letting them know they really do appreciate all the work they do all year long and realize a little holiday merriment could go a long way.
So, let's take a look at this Career Builder survey and what what people are planning on doing this year. Bonuses, as far as that's going, companies giving bonuses. A third plan to give holiday bonuses this year. Among them, 59 percent will give the same amount as they did before this year. Nine percent not giving any at all.
Companies throwing holiday parties, that's up. 52 percent of companies saying they're going to do. 70 percent saying it's going to be the same party, and 8 percent aren't throwing one, even though they used to.
And then companies are also giving gifts to their employees. About a third of companies there. Six percent aren't giving gifts even though they used to. Some seeing it a little bit tough.
But the other thing I think is interesting here too is that 45 percent of the companies say they're going to give to charities as they have done in the past. So, they know this is a good morale boost, Kyra, and it can make people feel appreciated after what have been for most companies a really rough year.
PHILLIPS: Yes. And you know, if the bosses are in a giving mood, it might not be a bad idea to give them something too, right?
ELAM: Yes. Exactly. You may not want to go overboard, but a simple greeting card can go a long way, it turns out. In fact, according to Allison and Taylor, which is our reference checking firm, they say that they found out that people who get cards from previous employees or current employees are more likely to do business with that person or that company in the future. It kind of lingers in their mind, they remember it. And so it goes a long way for them.
In a 2008 survey, 50 percent of people said they would be likely to do business. So, it just gives you an idea there. It's really a good way to set yourself apart. You can stay connected with an old boss in the event that if a job opens up, hey, he remembers you. And then you can show it to your former boss that you can nurture these business relationships. You know how to handle yourself in business settings. So, that's another good thing to think about.
But also what's interesting about this too, Kyra, this reference checking firm saying that when they go to check references, half of the references actually have negative input about the person that they're doing the referral about. Isn't that crazy? Half of them had something negative to say. You really need to check your references. I'm going to have you do them all. PHILLIPS: Exactly. Heck yes! You send them all my way, sister. You'll get whatever you need. Darn right. I write good letters of rec. But I don't want you going anywhere. I want you to stay right where you are. And the boss loves you, too.
ELAM: Well, that's always a good thing. When the boss loves you, that's a good thing. That's what you need in your life.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Thanks, Steph.
Well, it's a little after 10:30 on the East, 7:30 out in the West coast.
Twenty-two years since a terrorist bomb brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 270 people, mostly Americans died. This morning, rather, a Senate report rips into the release last year of one of the men -- or the one man convicted of that bombing. Remember the Libyan man supposedly had only three months to live? Yes, he's still alive. Senate report claims that his release from a Scottish prison was part of a deal that ensured Britain would keep oil and defense contracts with Libya.
More rain in the forecast today for Hawaii. Rain slammed the islands, closing roads, causing some water main problems.
And Arlen Specter is wrapping up 30 years in the Senate, giving his farewell speech today. Remember, he was a Republican who switched parties, then lost in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary.
Well, in just under half an hour, we're getting our first portrait of the United States 2010. Who we are, how fast we're growing, and how we're changing. The first census results will be released at the top of the hour. And it's so much more than facts and figures on a page, by the way. For starters, this could have a huge impact on your representation in D.C.
That's where you our Kate Bolduan is live. Hey, Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don't fall asleep. When we say representation in D.C., this is actually important and matters to all of you. Kyra, as you mentioned, we're going to get the real, actual numbers at the top of the hour. But of course, there are a lot of estimates out there. And most estimates are pointing to the South and the West being really big winners this census. And then the Midwest and the North not faring as well.
Now, before I get to the estimates, I want to quickly remind our viewers why this is a big deal. These population numbers will very quickly change the political landscape for the next decade. The new numbers will decide congressional reapportionment, basically how many congressional seats each state gets. There's a total of 435 House seats. And that divvied up among the states, depending on how many people live there. Bigger population, more seats you're going to get, more representation you have, the more power in Congress you have.
So, Texas is expected actually to be quite a bit winner, possibly gaining four congressional seats. Then Florida could also be a big winner, gaining two seats. Other states likely to gain at least a seat include Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington state. You see kind of where those are all located.
Well then, there are states like Ohio and New York which could, unfortunately, be the losers in this game, if we call it a game. Dropping maybe two seats. Other states likely to lose seats are Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They may also each lose a seat. In all, we could see movement that's estimated in about 17 states. So, this is really important as we're looking ahead, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. What is the initial read on what this means politically? I mean, that's your beat.
BOULDUAN: That's right! I mean, that's really what's important, right? It appears when you see where they land on the map, it appears the Republicans are gaining the most advantage here from the new numbers. And that's because most of the states that are seeing these population increases are likely Republican leaning states. And Republicans, remember, also made pretty big gains in the midterms in governorships and state legislatures. These are the people who control the redistricting process that will be now the big fight ahead.
Also, these numbers have an impact on the electoral college. So the road to the White House isn't safe, as well. That's changing and shifting as we see these numbers come out. Gains in Republican- leaning states may help Republicans as they prepare to take on an election bid from President Obama.
PHILLIPS: All right. Kate Bolduan, appreciate it.
Travelers in Europe wondering if they're ever going to get home for Christmas. Live report coming up on this pretty horrific weather.
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PHILLIPS: Many of us dream of a white Christmas. Many of those in Europe are simply dreaming of simply getting home. Trains, planes, automobiles, all at the mercy of storms across the continent.
Fred Pleitgen live in Germany. We've seen the pictures. How bad is it, Fred?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really bad, Kyra. So there's a lot of people having a white Christmas inside an airport terminal, especially if you're stuck in London right now. Heathrow is really bad at this point in time. There are people who have been stuck inside the terminal building, stranded there since Saturday. Right now about one-third of flights operating out of Heathrow are actually leaving. So, there are a lot of people, especially Americans, who are stranded there, as well. Of course, that is usually the airport Americans use if they want to travel around Europe or make the hop to Asia.
Looking at continental Europe, things are a little bit better. Frankfurt is sort of picking up again. However, it was closed for several hours throughout the night because of heavy snowfall. It is a massive snow band that's going across Europe. Disrupting traffic, both on the ground and in the air, of course, as well. Airports in France, Belgium, Germany, and England, of course. Pretty much out of commission for a very long time this weekend and those disruptions are continuing. So, the advice is if you don't have to travel to Europe, don't do it, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Okay. Advice taken. Fred, thanks.
President Obama's lobbying lawmakers for one of his top priorities. Approving the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START. Before Congress decides, we asked you. New CNN polls on the public's concerns going up.
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JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": In this past weekend, pretty busy weekend. Christmas sales are on. Congress repealed "don't ask, don't tell." The president signed
(CHEERS)
LENO: -- yep. The [resident signed the big tax cut extension. So, if you're a gay soldier who's also a millionaire, looking to use the tax break money to go Christmas shopping, this is the best week of your life! Exactly!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And also today, a key vote for the START nuclear treaty. The White House has been working the phones to rally support for the measure which could limit the nuclear arsenals of both the U.S. and Russia.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser standing by the CNNpolitics.com desk. I hear you're about to unveil some new CNN poll numbers.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Right here, right now, just --
PHILLIPS: Live.
STEINHAUSER: Let's look at this. Live. This is CNN/Opinion Research Corporation is the national survey. And right off the bat, we asked that question. Do you think the Senate should approve this weapons reduction treaty with Moscow? And take a look at that, nearly 3 out of 4 in our poll, 73 percent say, yes, the senators should approve the treaty; 24 percent say no. And Kyra, the big question is will there be enough Republicans in the Senate to approve the treaty? So we broke it down by party across the country. You can see at the top there, Democrats overwhelmingly across the country, the poll indicates a proof of the treaty. Independents, yes, three out of four. Republicans - slight majority seems almost divided, 50 percent say, yes, the Senate should approve the treaty, 45 percent say no, they should not. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: So, do Americans think that Moscow would live up to the treaty obligations if the accord is approved?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, this is really interesting. Another question we asked in the poll. And you can see the number here. A majority say, yes, if this is apporved, 56 percent think that Russians will live up to the obligations in the treaty.
And this is a little different. Our polling director, Keating Holling, tells me than from the last time we went through one of these treaties earlier in the decade, when back in those days, a minority of Americans thought Moscow would live up to the accord. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right. Paul, thanks. We'll have our next political update in about an hour. You can also go to our Web site 24/7, CNNpolitics.com.
After the real estate bubble burst in 2007, Bank of America promised to help its borrowers struggling with their home loans. But Arizona's attorney general doesn't think that happened. In a new lawsuit, Terry Goddard accuses the nation's largest bank of mortgage fraud. Last night on "PARKER SPITZER," he told the story of a retired woman who asked B of A if she could get a better deal on her mortgage.
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TERRY GODDARD, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Through that procedure which dragged on for over a year, she heard nothing from the bank until finally she got an eviction notice. Well, you might wonder exactly how could that happen. And she's wondering the same thing right now. She was thrown out of her house. And her house is still empty almost a year later.
So, the bottom line here was somebody who made an application for modification, she had missed one payment through a fraud that was perpetrated on her. But that was not justification, at least in my opinion, for a foreclosure and an eviction. But now she's on the street -- or in rental housing, and she lost her house.
And she's just one of many where they processed the foreclosure at the same time, the so-called dual track that they were doing a modification. They kept leading people on, often completely without justification saying they were going to get a modification, and then threw them out to the curb.
This is the kind of just very strange and nontransparent procedures that seem to be typical of Bank of America.
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PHILLIPS: You can catch "PARKER SPITZER" every night 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Democrats in the Senate plan to take up a health care bill for sick 9/11 rescue workers. New York senator Charles Schumer says in the past 48 hours, Democrats have retooled that measure to gain Republican support.
And the president and his pen going to be busy. Expected to sign "don't ask, don't tell" tomorrow. But 17-year ban on gay troops serving openly in the military won't end immediately. The law only changes once the Pentagon proves to Congress that the military has met several requirements, including troop education programs.
And the Pentagon hasn't set a time table, saying only that it's moving forward at a deliberate pace. You can catch the president signing the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal tomorrow morning right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, 9:15 eastern time.
Exit stage left. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange does it again. Our Jeanne Moos takes a look at interview walk-offs to remember.
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PHILLIPS: Well, every day at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan for all of us. And we call it "Home and Away."
And today, we are lifting up Corporal Jason Hernandez from (INAUDIBLE), Ohio. He died following a roadside bomb attack in Mosul, Iraq September of 2007. His mom sent us this tribute. She said, "My son was killed in action on his 21st birthday. We're reminded every day that he gave his life. We will never forget his sacrifice. I hope that Jason will be remembered for trying to make this world a better place. He was an amazing person who always had a smile on his face. Those words from a mom proud of her soldier son and the sacrifice he made for our country."
Well, if you have a a loved one that you would like us to honor, here's all you have to do. Go to CNN.com/homeandaway, type in your servicemember's name in the upper right hand search field, pull up the profile. Send us your thoughts, your pictures. We promise keep the memory of your hero alive.
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PHILLIPS: All right. Video just in from our affiliate KTLA out of Los Angeles. This is a truck that actually got stuck in the rushing waters there. It's in the small town of Esperia, California. You know, they've had a lot of rain and snow. It's just slammed southern California this week. Rob Marciano actually says more is on the way. Probably about 36 hours' worth.
Well, for at least the second time, the leader of WikiLeaks has walked out of an interview, leaving a stunned reporter with a few choice words and an empty chair. Julian Assange's behavior got our Jeanne Moos musing about other memorable walkouts.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you ask the founder of WikiLeaks about his own alleged sexual misconduct, he may just pull a Wiki walkout.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was talk of forcibly spreading her legs, holding her down --
JULIAN ASSANGE, FOUNDER, WIKILEAKS: Come on, come on. I'm sorry, come on.
MOOS: An ABC correspondent was the latest to find his interview ended.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I meant no insult by it. It's just a step that we hadn't gone.
ASSANGE: Tabloid schmuck.
MOOS: It was a first for the term tabloid schmuck, but wasn't Assanges first walkout. That happened when CNN's Atika Shubert asked him about sexual misconduct.
ASSANGE: I'm sorry.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Julian, I'm happy to go on to the next question, all I'm asking is --
ASSANGE: Sorry, you blew it.
MOOS: Off goes the mike.
(on camera): Actually, Assange has had three walkouts, but only if you count the walkout that wasn't on Larry King.
(voice-over): Larry was interviewing Assange live when tape rolled, showing the previous walkout.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": He's walking off again, apparently. Why will you not respond to that question?
Oh, that was the video from before. I'm sorry, that threw me.
MOOS (on camera): But Julian's walkouts have been demure compared to others we've seen.
(voice-over): For instance, when quarterback Jim Everett got mad at an ESPN host for mocking him, calling him Chris Everett, the female tennis player. JIM EVERETT, FOOTBALL QUARTERBACK: You probably won't say it again.
UINIDENTIFIED MALE: I bet I do. Chris.
EVERETT: Okay.
MOOS: There was the time Naomi Campbell gave the camera a whack. And the time Yasser Arafat told Christiane Amanpour to be quiet. Even those eyes that have seen so much widened when Arafat hung up on her mid-interview.
YASSER ARAFAT, CHAIRMAN, PLO: Thank you. Bye-bye!
MOOS: And Donald Trump dumped his microphone.
DONALD TRUMP, TRUMP ENTERPRISES: Do this interview with somebody else. Here, you don't need this. Do it with somebody else.
MOOS: But there was no walkout when Saturday Night Live's Assange dissed "Time" magazine for passing him over and choosing Facebook's founder as person of the year.
BILL HADER, SNL CAST MEMBER (as Julian Assange): "Time" magazine, always on cutting edge. Discovering Facebook only weeks after your grandmother.
(LAUGHTER)
MOOS: He's leaking on the press rather than to it.
Jeanne Moos -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I meant no harm by it.
MOOS: -- CNN -
ASSANGE: Tabloid schmuck.
MOOS: --New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: I'll tell you who's no tabloid schmuck. Tony Harris is no tabloid schmuck!
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, not yet!
PHILLIPS: And you'd never walk off the set.
HARRIS: Never would! Never would! Have a great day, Kyra.
