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West Coast Walloped by Rain, Snow; Case Against Pedophilia Author; Food Stamp Use Soars; FDA Overhaul Makes Its Way to Obama's Desk; Lindsey Lohan Controversy Within Walls of Betty Ford Clinic; Flooding Continues to Plague SoCal; Inside North Korea Tinderbox; Trending Online; Deal Near on 9/11 Health Bill
Aired December 22, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now from Capitol Hill. The Senate set to vote this afternoon on a new nuclear treaty with Russia. The START agreement is a foreign policy priority for President Obama, and it is expected to win approval. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats yesterday in a procedural vote to cut off debate.
President Obama signs a law ending the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The 1993 law banned openly gay and lesbian troops from serving in the military. Implementing the repeal is expected to take several months. The president says he hopes men and women discharged under the policy will try to reenlist once the change is made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That is why I say to all Americans, gay or straight, who want nothing more than to defend this country in uniform, your country needs you, your country wants you, and we will be honored to welcome you into the ranks of the finest military the world has ever known.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: An update now on breaking news out of Chicago. Officials confirm to CNN that two firefighters have died battling a fire on the south side of the city. They were trapped when part of the roof collapsed.
More than a dozen other firefighters were injured. The building was abandoned, but crews dug through the rubble brick by brick to make sure no civilians were inside.
Almost unbelievable amounts of rain and snow on parts of the West Coast to tell you about. Twenty-plus inches of rain in some areas of California. A very dangerous situation in San Diego County, where folks are being pulled from floodwaters.
Look at this. Among them, three illegal immigrants trying to cross the Tijuana River from Mexico.
Swift water rescue teams have been hard at work, even at night. These scenes also in San Diego County.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Let's get to CNN's Paul Vercammen. He is joining us live now from La Canada Flintridge, California.
Paul, my understanding is there are people being evacuated from your location even as we speak.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes. That's an interesting supposition here, Tony, because what we found out by digging a little deeper is they told the families in some 260 homes that they had to evacuate.
Now, here's the interesting part. They were given the option to sign a waiver saying that "We understand the risks and we're not leaving."
Many people in this community have what you would call evacuation fatigue. You may recall even last February, they were told to leave, and many times since then they've been told to be on pins and needles and be ready to leave.
So, what's happened is -- you can even look over my shoulder here -- people have sort of burrowed themselves in and taken other precautions. You have the sandbags, you've got the runoff here, and if you look just down the way here, you can see what some of the homeowners did, especially those who are staying, is they parked vehicles nose out and made other precautions.
For example, this gentleman with the RV here, there's a break in the sandbag. He's got plywood. You can pull that away easily. He put the tarp over the windshield of the RV, therefore he can protect against strong winds, falling branches, and the rest.
So, these residents who have been through so much over the last, let's say, 15 months have basically said, we're going to go ahead and stick it out. So, while that statistic said 262 homes have been evacuated, effectively, most of the people signed that waiver, Tony, and decided to stick it out. And so far, the good news for them, the sandbags, the debris basins, all of it seems to be working -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. One of the price tags of living in paradise.
All right, Paul. Good to see you. Thank you. Appreciate it.
"Awesome," that's probably the best word, right -- at least pretty accurate -- to describe the University of Connecticut women's basketball team. They just set a new record, 89 straight wins, passing the UCLA men's team that won 88 games without a loss in the 1970s.
Last night, the UConn women blew away Florida State to break the record. One of the program's premier players from last year's championship team -- we're talking about Maya Moore -- I believe we're talking about Maya Moore -- talked with CNN's John Roberts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RENEE MONTGOMERY, GUARD, CONNECTICUT SUN: I think they say that because the women, we still have to rely on fundamentals. You know, men and a lot of times, they're so athletic that, if they throw a bad pass, someone's athletic enough to catch it, or they throw an alley- oops and their dunking, they're playing above the rim a lot of times. But women, we have to support it, we have to rely on each other to play a team game, rather than just a one-on-one basketball tile.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes, Renee is a terrific player. Maya Moore is just off the charts. Ridiculously good.
Still to come, a how-to manual for pedophiles, that's how his book is described. Author Phillip Greaves heads to court soon. A live report on how solid the case is against him.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Hey, did you hear the one about the monkey that dropped in for a bite? It's the "Random Moment of the Day."
Not even a banana could coax this monkey off a Miami rooftop. Look at this.
A homeowner says he was cooking dinner when the monkey jumped on his shoulder. When he swatted it, the monkey champed down on his ear. The primate eventually got tired of the roof romp and jumped into a cage that was set up by animal control.
Police think the monkey is an escaped neighborhood pet. For sure, it's a "Random Moment."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. He wrote a book considered a how-to guide for pedophiles, and now he has to answer for it.
Philip Greaves is set to appear in a Florida court next hour. Florida detectives went all the way to Colorado to arrest him.
He is charged with distributing obscene material after allegedly mailing a copy of his book to an undercover officer.
CNN's Marty Savidge has been all over the story for us, covering it.
And Marty, my understanding is he spoke with reporters yesterday.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, he did.
HARRIS: What did he have to say?
SAVIDGE: Well, you know, first of all, the title of the book pretty much gets you upset to begin with. It's called "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure," and it goes on to say, "A Child Lover's Code of Conduct."
He publishes this book earlier in the year, goes on Amazon.com. He sells about 300 copies of it.
Many people are outraged anybody could get a book like that, because, as you point out, it's considered to be a how-to, how to rape kids and how to abuse them. However, there are First Amendment issues here, and that's what Amazon was arguing.
But anyway, you have the sheriff that's down there in Polk County, Florida, and he is just outraged that anybody could buy this book. So he sends his sheriff's deputies who are undercover, they buy the book. They get his last copy, which he kindly autographed for them, and once they get it, that's where they say, all right, we can now get you on the charge of basically distributing what is obscene material, and now he's going to go before court.
But he did speak to reporters yesterday, and he defends himself. And this is that kind of bizarre moment where he talks to them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever practiced what you write?
PHILIP GREAVES, AUTHOR, "THE PEDOPHILE'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND PLEASURE": No. What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever practiced your writings?
GREAVES: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel like you broke the law, Mr. Greaves?
GREAVES: I do not feel that way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You told a reporter you think it's OK to kiss, fondle, touch, lick children. That doesn't disturb you on any level?
GREAVES: Not really, if you consider the fact that uncles and aunts and grandmothers and grandparents do all those things all of the time, except for the fondling part.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever done that to a child?
GREAVES: No, I don't have any children and I don't keep children around my house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you consider yourself a pedophile?
GREAVES: No, I most certainly do not. I only have sex with grownups.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think this is entrapment?
GREAVES: I think this is entrapment, absolutely, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever touched a child inappropriately? GREAVES: Inappropriately? I don't think so, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever touched a child, period, sexually?
GREAVES: Sexually? No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, Marty, look -- listening to that. OK. So what he's saying is disturbing.
SAVIDGE: Right.
HARRIS: What he's written is disgusting.
Do we have a clear answer on whether or not what he has done so far and what he is saying and what he has written is against the law?
SAVIDGE: Yes, the basic premise here is, of course, it's disturbing, it's disgusting. But is it illegal?
HARRIS: Yes.
SAVIDGE: And this is where many legal analysts would differ with the sheriff of Polk County and say, no, it's not. This is a First Amendment right.
There's no pictures in the book. It is words we are talking about. Vile words, no doubt, but freedom of speech is guaranteed no matter how vile the subject matter may be. He's going to be arraigned in about an hour from now, and then of course it falls into the court system, and we'll see.
HARRIS: OK. We'll be following it. I know you will for us as well.
Marty, great to see you, as always. Happy holidays to you.
SAVIDGE: And you.
HARRIS: Still to come, the president's top intelligence officer in the dark about a major terror raid that went down in London yesterday. No, make that Monday. James Clapper, director of National Intelligence, stumped in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE SAWYER, ABC ANCHOR: London, how serious is it? Any implication that it was coming here, any of the things that they have seen were coming here?
JOHN BRENNAN, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: You read the arrest of the 12 individuals by the British this morning.
SAWYER: The arrest of the 12, yes.
BRENNAN: This is something that the British informed us about early this morning was taking place.
SAWYER (voice-over): Later in the interview, I came back to the director. Did he really not know?
(on camera): I was a little surprised you didn't know about London, Director Clapper.
JAMES CLAPPER, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't.
BRENNAN: You referenced London, but you didn't talk about the arrests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That was John Brennan, the president's deputy national security adviser, giving Clapper an assist there.
Brennan offered this explanation at the White House just last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENNAN: Jim Clapper is, I think, the consummate DNI. He was working on developments in the Korean Peninsula in terms of political military developments. He was focused on trying to provide support to the Congress as far as the START treaty was concerned. He was engaged in a variety of classified matters.
Should he have been briefed by his staff on those issues? Yes. And I know there was breathless attention by the media about these arrests, and it was constantly on the news networks.
I'm glad that Jim Clapper is not sitting in front of the TV 24 hours a day and monitoring what is coming out of the media. What he is doing is focusing on those intelligence issues that the president expects him to focus on, and to make sure that we don't have conflict in different parts of the world.
He continues to focus on those. And his not being briefed yesterday afternoon, this is something that they have acknowledged that he should have been briefed on. They have taken steps to correct that now. And if that happens again, I am sure he is going to be au courant as far as a takedown overseas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK.
Philly police track a serial killer.
We check stories from our affiliates when we go " Cross Country" in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK) HARRIS: Tens of millions of Americans are eligible for food stamps. The number has certainly spiked tremendously in this economy, but many don't realize they're eligible.
Josh is back to talk us through getting government help -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because last hour, Tony, we were talking about this new number that really surprised a lot of people, 43 million Americans on food stamps now, one in seven Americans. It's pretty incredible.
And I was talking to you about this. It's up 16 percent over 2009.
And what we want to do now is help all of you understand who's eligible, because you might be watching us and be eligible for some of this help, or your friends are, or your relatives are.
Let's zoom way in here so that you can get just a basic idea, and then I'll show you online, where I've posted it. Here's the idea from the government.
If your family has three people in it, and your net monthly income is about $1,500, that's one big mark for eligibility. A family of four, just over $1,800. That's one big mark for eligibility. So there's that income level eligibility.
These are the other things they look at -- what kinds of resources you have, what kinds of deductions you're taking, your employment requirements.
Also, special rules. There's some special rules involving the elderly and the disabled.
There are some tools online that can help you determine if you are one of the people who is eligible, and I've posted them for you. It will show up on my page there. It's up at Facebook and at Twitter, at JoshLevsCNN. And what I've done is I've given you a couple of things there.
One, I've give you a story from CNN Money that talks you through all the latest information about food stamps that's just so striking. One out of every seven of you watching right now may be living on food stamps and eligible.
And I've also posted this, Tony, online, which is the eligibility screen from the government. I know you can't see it here, you don't need to. And when you get there, it will give you everything you need to know to find out whether you are one of the people eligible for help in this economy.
Look, some people have a stigma about it, but the fact is, people are struggling. There's no reason to feel any sense of stigma. The help is out there. We got a bunch of stimulus money. If you are eligible, find out, start getting that help.
HARRIS: All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you, sir. LEVS: You got it.
HARRIS: As you just heard from Josh, one in seven Americans is living on food stamps, but the numbers don't tell the whole story. Probably not even half the story.
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow joining us from New York.
And Poppy, not surprisingly, food stamps just aren't enough for many Americans.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: No. Not even close to enough, especially when you have a lot of kids at home, a lot of mouths to feed.
And so we wanted to get sort of beyond the numbers that Josh laid out very well that are striking in and of themselves. But what are the faces of the people going through this? It's really not necessarily what you would expect.
Witnesses to Hunger, this is a program where people document just what it is like to live in hunger, to be one of the people, one in seven Americans, relying on food stamps. So we followed three women in Philadelphia, in very different situations. All mothers, though, all trying to feed their families.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOANNA CRUZ, PARTICIPANT, WITNESSES TO HUNGER: What are you doing? Get out of my refrigerator.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I'm hungry.
CRUZ: OK. But there's nothing in there.
I get $793 in food stamps a month, and that's for all five of us.
TANGELA FEDRICK, PARTICIPANT, WITNESSES TO HUNGER: I mean, sometimes two weeks until the next month without food stamps, so you have to make whatever you have last. So, if that means eating cereal for dinner, that's what you're doing. If that means eating just some canned vegetables for dinner, that's what you're doing. Sometimes you've just got to eat toast for dinner.
MARIANA CHILTON, FOUNDER, WITNESSES TO HUNGER: The fact that the infants and toddlers that are living through this recession, the food insecurity, the hardship is going to be inscribed in their bodies and brains forever. I mean, these children are going to be permanently affected by the recession.
SHARITA PARKS, PARTICIPANT, WITNESSES TO HUNGER: I just want to make a better life for my daughter, you know, so she don't have to experience what I've been through coming up. No child in America should be hungry.
You would think you'd see a nice-sized TV or things in your house that you're not starving. Well, that's a lie.
CRUZ: For me, personally, I don't plan on being on food stamps for too much longer. You know? I can't keep dealing with the welfare system. I have to do something to get out of that.
FEDRICK: The system's not keeping you on it. If you want to get off, you'll get that will to go do something about it.
Go to school. Do whatever you've got to do so that can you get that job, or whatever it is that you need to get, so you can get off the system. The system don't make it hard. You're making it hard for yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And that's really the attitude, get yourself out of this situation, because it's so hard, Tony.
The last two women you heard from, you'll see some video of them here on the monitor. They're both training in this kitchen in Philadelphia, trying to learn culinary skills to hopefully get a job in a kitchen, at a restaurant, somewhere next month. That's what they're hoping, but hunger clearly front and center, still a huge issue.
We may be out of the recession, but we are seeing in this country the highest level of hunger in 15 years, Tony. That's just part of this story, but our producer, Jordan Malter (ph), did a great job following these women. You can see a lot more of them on CNN Money -- Tony.
HARRIS: Eating cereal for dinner, eating toast, come on. That's ridiculous in America.
HARLOW: Right.
HARRIS: Poppy, appreciate it. Thank you.
Overcoming the odds, survivors of torture making a new life in the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: A first-person account now of surviving torture. CNN's senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, has the inspiring story of a victim now living in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Painting, simple painting is what caused Samten Dakpa to become a victim of terror. For painting classic Tibetan images as a teenager, Samten says Chinese police intent on suppressing Tibetan culture arrested, beat and tortured him, shoving his hands into a coal-burning oven.
Samten hands are scarred, a constant reminder of his horrible ordeal.
SAMTEN DAKPA, SURVIVOR OF TORTURE: I was leaking, you know, like -- almost like a barbecue. You know what I mean?
CHERNOFF (on camera): Of your actual hands?
DAKPA: Yes. Leaking. You know what I mean? Like these oil things (INAUDIBLE). Leaking. I mean, it's like a barbecue.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Samten escaped from policy custody, crossed over the border into Nepal, then to India, before finally arriving in the United States in 2003, a dozen years after his torture.
In New York, he learned of the Bellevue Hospital New York University program for survivors of torture where refugees from around the world receive care, regardless of ability to pay.
DR. ALLEN KELLER, BELLEVUE HOSPITAL: When Samten first came to us, he was in excruciating pain both physically and emotionally. He could barely use his hand. He would tell me how he would try to paint, and he could barely hold the paintbrush. And when he did, he would get terrifying memories of the torture he had endured
It's urgent (ph) for us to operate on this other hand.
CHERNOFF: Doctors here operated on Samten's right hand, which allowed him to hold a paintbrush without pain for the first time in years. This spring, they plan to operate on his left hand.
(on camera): How is your left hand now?
DAKPA: The left hand is still like -- these two fingers are especially -- you see the scar here. And I cannot open more than this. But especially the middle finger is -- if I turn (ph) strongly, it hurts. It hurts a lot.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Samten says he had nightmares in which he was being chased along an icy river. The ice would crack and he would fall into the freezing water.
Therapists help Samten deal with the drama. Today, Samten says, he hardly has any nightmares, allowing him to focus on his true love of painting.
DAKPA: I feel really relaxed when I paint. It's very meditation. It's very good meditation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Allan Chernoff joining me live now.
Allan, good to see you.
The program provides medical and psychological help. What else does it do for survivors? CHERNOFF: The survivors of the torture program also provides legal assistance. They helped Samten seek asylum here in the U.S., and he did get that status. They've helped hundreds of other people as well.
They help them with English lessons, help folks find housing, jobs. It's really full service for these very brave people.
HARRIS: Who pays?
CHERNOFF: Well, a lot of these people do qualify for Medicaid, but on top of that, it's pretty much all on the hospital. So the program is basically shelling out the money. They rely on donations. It's just a spectacular program. It costs money, of course.
HARRIS: Of course.
What are you working on for tomorrow, Allan?
CHERNOFF: Tomorrow, we have another absolutely incredible story, another very brave survivor of torture. A mathematician from Africa who fought there to improve education was tortured because of that. Now he's thriving here in the U.S.
HARRIS: Oh boy. Can't wait.
Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.
It is the biggest overhaul of food safety in more than 70 years. Find out how the changes will protect what ends up on your table.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE) number here. Three hours into the trading day. Let's take a look the at Big Board right behind me here. The Dow is up 32 points, I guess off of session highs. We've got a pretty good housing report out there, you would think that maybe another day, another week, that housing report might be bringing some energy to the markets, but not the case. It's modest, what we've got going on right now is pretty modest. And the NASDAQ at last check is up seven points. We'll continue to follow these numbers throughout the day for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A bill designed to improve the safety of your food is on its way to President Obama for his signature. Christine Romans, the author of the new book "Smart Is The New Rich," joining us from New York. Christine, good to see you. Happy holidays to you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony. You too.
HARRIS: How will this overhaul - thank you. How will this overhaul affect us?
ROMANS: I'll tell you, the consumer advocates say this will affect 80 percent of what you put your fork into on the plate. Just about every kind of food and vegetable you can think of, except for poultry and meat. That's covered by the USDA. But the FDA getting its first real overhaul since 1938. And, Tony, think how the food system has changed since 1938. Think of how global it is, how many different countries we're getting food from, and how quickly we are transporting products all around the country, mixing them up and getting them to your plate.
This would require companies to establish food safety plans, and it would allow the FDA with some 2,000 new inspectors to go in and look over the books of a company so that they could find out immediately, they could trace a source of foodborne illness, Tony, right back to the source as quickly as possible.
Also it gives them the authority to order product recalls. Did you know, Tony, that until now, until when this is actually signed into law by the president, the government can't tell a company to take tainted spinach off the shelves?
HARRIS: Duh! Yes.
ROMANS: They can't. They have to negotiate with the companies. This is a return to some consumer protection that we used to have where the government would be able to order a recall of products. So again, the most sweeping overhaul of responsibility for food protection of the FDA in some -- since 1938.
HARRIS: Yes. Boy, that's amazing. I would have assumed that, you know, we've got a product, but problems, you've got to take it off the shelves and you got to take it off now. Who knew it was a negotiation? Duh!
ROMANS: Well, you know -- and it's negotiation, you'd be surprised. It used to be negotiation also in consumer products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission for years would negotiate with a company when there was, for example, a toy that had lead in it. So, it was this public/private partnership. A nd now this shows I think a government that's getting a little more teeth.
Critics would say a government that's getting too bold into the private sector, but one in six people every year gets sick from foodborne illness. Three thousand a year die from it. And when you have everything from tainted peanut butter to tainted eggs, Tony, to fruits and vegetables that are tainted, you need to find the source of that very quickly.
HARRIS: The common sense element of this legislation about to become law make perfect sense to me. Christine, great to see you and again, happy holidays.
ROMANS: Sure. You too.
HARRIS: Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton drama. Our showbiz report live from Los Angeles.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Two celebs known for their beauty and bad behavior are back in the news today. "Showbiz Tonight" host Brooke Anderson joining us from Los Angeles.
Brooke, great to see you. Good morning. Let's begin with Lindsay Lohan.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Let's do, Tony. Even in rehab, Lindsay Lohan can still wind up in the middle of controversy. Now, there's a lot of she said/she said in this story, but a woman who was working at the Betty Ford Clinic where Lindsey was being treated has accused Lindsay of assaulting her. Dawn Holland is claiming to tmz.com that Lindsay broke curfew and had alcohol on her breath. And Holland tells TMZ when she confronted Lindsay, things got out of hand. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAWN HOLLAND, LOHAN ACCUSER: She tried to snatch the phone from out of my arm. She just grabbed my wrist and snatched it down and twisted my arm and my hand to get the phone out of my arm. And swore a few choice words at me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: In her statement to TMZ, Holland denies that she initiated the confrontation and says in her opinion that Lindsay has not been responding well to the rehab.
OK. Well, no surprise, this interview did not go over well with the Betty Ford Clinic. Although the clinic did not name Holland specifically, they released a statement announcing they had fired an employee for breaking their confidentiality rules. Police are still investigating this matter as a misdemeanor assault.
Tony, it is unacceptable, despicable really, that a rehab employee disclosed any confidential information about a patient. But if this is true, it indicates that Lindsay still has a whole lot of work to do. But Lindsay, on the other hand, reportedly claims the staffer was the aggressor.
And, Tony, we just minutes ago got a statement from Lindsay's lawyer who is declining to comment on the underlying facts awaiting the completion of the investigation. But she said it should be noted that it was Ms. Lohan who called 911 to request police assistance at the time this incident occurred.
HARRIS: OK. Switching gears for just -- well, to another young woman who finds herself in the news a time or two. What's the word on Paris Hilton?
ANDERSON: Well, Paris got a scare, Tony, while trying to get away for the holidays. Paris Hilton was getting ready to take a Delta flight to Hawaii for a vacation when a security scare forced everybody off the plane.
Paris tweeted about the experience, of course, saying, "We were about to take off, then security made everyone deplane because they found a big knife on board the plane. Scary that it got on plane." Now, Delta says they found a, quote, "small catering knife" they suspect was left behind by a previous flight crew. And while they did evacuate the plane as a precaution, everybody was able to get back on board, fly safely to Maui, lucky them. And, Tony, Paris tweeted this just after she arrived. "Just landed safely in Maui, aloha." Hope she has fun.
HARRIS: We certainly do. All right, Brooke. Good to see you. Thank you.
If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, Brooke certainly has it for you this evening on "Showbiz Tonight." That's at 5:00 and 11:00 Eastern on HLN.
Attention all Christmas shopping procrastinators, you are not alone. According to ConsumerReports.org, you're not the only one who hasn't started buying gifts yet. Just how many Americans are waiting until the very last minute to hit the mall? We will have the answer for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, starting to feel that holiday stress kick in when it comes to last-minute shopping? Have you seen started yet? Hello! Well, if you haven't you're not alone. Almost one in five shoppers has not even started buying gifts yet. So, good luck if you're in those checkout lines. They'll be long.
Want to check in with Bonnie Schneider now. Bonnie, I want to get an update on the weather conditions in SoCal, but I know a lot of the systems that have been training have moved through SoCal and are heading east, we're talking about a big travel week for folks. But maybe we start in Laguna Beach? Is that what you mentioned before?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Laguna Beach has been hit so hard in Orange county. I want to show you on Google Earth. We have the canyon road to the north. What happens is the water kind of flows right into the main area of downtown. Normally, a storm drain helps that water kind of seep back into the ocean. Well, that burst.
Plus you have all the rain. Take a look at the pictures. All the businesses are flooded down there. What a mess! Roads are closed. And you really can't get through the downtown area because of all the water that should be flowing out into the ocean that's now covering the roads.
And the problem is, there's still more rain coming into the Laguna Beach area at this time. We're tracking some heavy downpours in Orange County. Now yesterday, you mentioned the training effect, and training, to explain what that means, it means trains on a track going over the same location again and again, and that's what's happening right now. Los Angeles, still looking at rain. Snow to the north in the mountainous areas and then that runoff. And don't forget, when the water comes upslope the mountain, it squeezes that last bit of moisture out and you get even more rain. And that can run off the canyons as well.
So, taking a look at the big picture, we're also looking at rain working its way into the Las Vegas area. You know, it's going to be some heavy areas further inland but the system will work its way to the east and we'll see better weather for Los Angeles and southern California for tomorrow, which is some very good news. In fact, most of the models are showing that in terms of what we can expect in advance, about another inch or so. Yesterday it said four inches.
On the flip side, I just want to mention some of the other weather happening in the country. Live picture to show you of Dallas, Texas. The reason I want to show you Dallas is because yesterday, the temperature beat a record, climbed up to 85 degrees.
HARRIS: Get out of here.
SCHNEIDER: 85 degrees! It's December. Wow. Okay.
So here's what you need to know if you're heading to Dallas. And a lot of people are; it's a connecting area for flights, too. It's not going to be 85 anymore. The weather is getting back to normal, and we'll see temperatures into the mid-50s today. So, what a change, feeling like summer there. Then you snap your fingers and it's cold again.
HARRIS: You know, I any we've run out of time, but I really want -- maybe we can figure out a time to do this. I want you to -- oh, we do? Get a moment here? Can we take a look at rest of the country? Because I know that a lot of these systems are moving east, and you know when that happens, there are implications for travel for folks getting home for the holidays.
SCHNEIDER: That's a really good point. The moisture surge that's coming through with this storm system, all this energy is actually traipsing directly across the southern branch of the jet stream. Actually, the system is now pushing further south. Yesterday, the models had this low further north, impacting areas in the mid- Atlantic.
So, now by the time we get to Sunday we'll be seeing more rain and possibly snow in parts of the mid-South. So, places like Birmingham and Memphis may see a white Christmas. This will be stormy conditions and colder weather as well. So, big changes are in effect for the entire country. The southern tier getting a little more stormy than the north which is kind of a switch but we're watching it.
HARRIS: Yes. OK. Bonnie, yay! We worked that out. Thank you.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
HARRIS: A tense situation to tell you about, two countries technically still at war. Our Wolf Blitzer is back from covering a mission in North Korea to avert even more violence.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: South Korea gears up for more military drills. Just days ago, North Korea threatened war over exercises carried out by the South. The question is, how did we get here? OK. Let's tell you that.
Tensions ratcheted up in November when North Korea fired on a South Korean island. The attack killed two South Korean marines and two civilians. South Korea was conducting military exercises at the time.
Back further now to the sinking of a South Korean warship in March. South Korea says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship, killing 46 sailors. Over the past six decades, there have been incidents ranging from small skirmishes to deadly naval clashes. The Korean conflict ended with a truce, and not a treaty, so the two countries technically are still at war. CNN's Wolf Blitzer traveled with former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson to North Korea. One of only two journalists and the only TV reporter on the trip.
Wolf, it's a big question, I know, but I'm sure it's one you've posed to a number of guests over the years. What is the ultimate resolution to this ongoing crisis and the escalating tensions?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": That's a great question and there's by no means an easy answer. These are all the same people, the Koreans. The Koreans of the South, the Koreans of the North. They look the same. They sound the same. They speak the same language. It's one people. So I assume at some point down the road they'll want to unify the entire island, North and South.
How you get there is obviously not going to be easy. It's happened in other parts of the world. In Germany there was East Germany and West Germany divided after World War II. There's now one Germany. And it's hard to, if you drive around the country, to see what was formerly communist, what wasn't. So maybe at some point down the road there will be one Korea. But it's, look, people have been suggesting that North Korea would crumble, that there would be the demise, the end of North Korea for 60 years since that 1953 armistice. They're still in business. And my eyewitness accounts over the six days I was there, nothing that I saw there gave me any indication that the place is about to go down.
HARRIS: Hey, Wolf, last hour you mentioned that Ambassador Richardson came away from the trip with commitments from North Korea. You won't be surprised that people don't place a lot of faith in those commitments. But here's the question. Was there something different about this trip that gives the ambassador hope that North Korea will live up to these new commitments?
BLITZER: I think he does believe, and he may be overly optimistic, that he did see a bit of a shift and that potentially this could be a turning point moving back towards negotiations, back towards a dialogue, eventually restarting what they call those six-party talks involving North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia. And getting to what is the ultimate goal, denuclearization, ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, convincing them that they're better off without it. Sort of the way Libya was convinced to end their nuclear program. That they have a lot more to gain from access to the west, aid from South Korea, which is emerging as an economic powerhouse, aid from China, from the United States.
So North Korea -- the North Korean people are talented, they're smart, and they have a potential, but it's just going to take a while to get there, obviously. You know, if you drive around the streets of Pyongyang, and certainly going to the countryside, you know, they're living decades ago. It's a hard life. It's a very poor country. But they do have potential, I must say.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Wolf Blitzer, anchor and host of "The Situation Room," 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on CNN and the leader of "The Best Political --
BLITZER: Let me take -- Tony, let me give myself a plug. One other thing. If you go to cnn.com, you'll see my reporter's notebook. And I wrote up what I saw a little bit. We got some pictures, some video. I think our viewers, if they want to go to cnn.com, they might enjoy seeing my reporter's notebook from inside North Korea.
HARRIS: And the photos as well, I trust.
BLITZER: Right.
HARRIS: OK. Perfect.
BLITZER: We took about 1,000 still photos. We took about eight hours of video. We're just beginning to release it. We're going to do a special and we're going to take our viewers inside North Korea. Show people things that they've never seen before.
HARRIS: Now, let me promote you. Wolf Blitzer, the host of "The Situation Room" and the leader of "The Best Political Team on Television."
Wolf, appreciate it. Thanks for your time, as always.
And still to come in the CNN NEWSROOM, dear Santa, what if the NBA didn't play on Christmas Day? I'd be sad, but what about you? We posted that question online and you guys really jumped all over it with your responses. If you would, drop us a line on my FaceBook and Twitter pages and stick around for a few of your responses with Sandy Endo.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So this is prime time. We're told all the time this is prime time for online use. That you take your lunch break if you're in the east and you get online and you check out what's trending right now.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
HARRIS: So it's reason enough to have Sandy here. Not in Washington, but actually here with us in Atlanta.
ENDO: Yes. HARRIS: And what are you following this hour?
ENDO: There's a lot. But take a look at this. This is an interesting story trending on cnn.com right now. Take a look at this video of a holiday display in Rhode Island. Now it's not your ordinary one. There you see a man hanging off the roof, falling off the ladder, right?
HARRIS: Yes.
ENDO: Well, it's pretty creative. Actually, it's a dummy. And it looks so real, though, it's causing a traffic jam in front of their house, Tony.
HARRIS: And what's happening is, I guess, people are actually -- yes, they're stopping. They see that the guy -- they think it's a guy --
ENDO: Yes.
HARRIS: And they're stopping and, in some cases, folks are actually jumping out of their cars, running over and trying to help the guy. Oops, the gag's on you.
ENDO: Yes. So creative.
Also taking a look at cnn.com, I'll have another one for you trending. This is more serious, though, Tony. Really troubling.
HARRIS: Yes.
ENDO: Because if you take a look at this board, there's a new study out yesterday that shows a quarter of students who try to join the Army flunk the entrance exam.
HARRIS: Right.
ENDO: So what does that say about our education system?
HARRIS: Well, it says something about the education system. It also says something about the entrance exams getting tougher, too.
ENDO: Yes.
HARRIS: There was a time when they weren't so tough, when we needed recruits, and now it looks like the Army has toughened those entrance exams.
ENDO: Yes, it's troubling, though, because --
HARRIS: You're absolutely right.
ENDO: Young people of color mainly are not passing the exam. And it also says, according to this study, that if they fail this exam, they'll probably not do so well in the civilian workforce as well. So kind of troubling there.
HARRIS: Well, that, again, pointing to education and our need to get it right and get -- at least get it better first.
ENDO: Right. Now I know you'll like this story that's also trending. On your FaceBook, you talked to people about it, asked people about it. On Christmas, you'll be watching the Lakers, right?
HARRIS: You got to watch that game.
ENDO: Yes.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
ENDO: And Phil Jackson, the coach, says he would prefer to have the holiday off. So we posed this question to people, right, is it fair, do you think that he should have the holiday off and that NBA players should?
HARRIS: Right, right, right.
ENDO: Well, we got a lot of comments. Take a look at some of them. Here's one coming from Hugh Gram who says, "Phil Jackson should ponder the immense privilege he has compared to most and be grateful this holiday season. He makes enough to have Christmas every day if he wanted."
HARRIS: Oh, yes.
ENDO: Another comment coming from Shirley Lew who says, "I say no games on Christmas. The players deserve to be with their families."
HARRIS: I like that.
ENDO: And one more from Hassan Kareem.
HARRIS: Hey, Hassan.
ENDO: "Tony," he says, "I will let you know my scientific finding on Saturday from the game."
HARRIS: That's -- that's my guy.
ENDO: (INAUDIBLE).
HARRIS: Yes, that's my guy. Send me some pictures and post them on the FaceBook page.
ENDO: Yes.
HARRIS: All right, Sandy, good to see you again. Thank you. See you tomorrow.
ENDO: All right. Good to see you. OK.
HARRIS: We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hassan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, on Capitol Hill right now with new developments on the 9/11 first responders health care bill.
Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony, we're told by two sources familiar with discussions that a deal is almost done to pass this as soon as and probably today in the Senate. What we're talking about are discussions between the two New York senators, Schumer and Gillibrand, and Republicans who have been kind of on the front lines on this, opposed to doing this. And this being giving compensation to rescue workers who went in after 9/11.
Discussions took place with those New York senators and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Senator Mike Enzi as well. They met for an hour this morning and I'm told that the tentative deal is to basically bring down the cost a little bit. It was $6.2 billion. It will be $4.3 billion. And then change some of the other things that some of the Republicans had problems with.
We're waiting for a finalization of this. The staff is now writing it up in legislative language, Tony. They're going to have one more meeting and then we do expect this to pass, perhaps even by voice vote later today in the Senate. This is a big, big victory for people who had been pushing this, and very interesting that this deal has been done, especially with the number one Republican detractor, Tom Coburn, who had said that he just doesn't like the way that the money is being spent and the way that the money -- that this compensation had been paid for.
HARRIS: Dana, appreciate it. Thank you. I know you'll have more of this in minutes.
CNN NEWSROOM continuing right now with Ali Velshi.
Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, have a good one.
HARRIS: Yes, you too.
VELSHI: We'll pick up exactly where you left off.
