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American Morning
Obama Administration; Congress Push String of Legislation Into Law; Bomb Injures Man at Swiss Embassy in Rome; The 9/11 Health Bill: Senate Agrees to Compromise; Cashing in on College Football; Airlines Turn a Profit; Ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; RX Drug Shortage; $3 Gas Returns; Fear of Flying; Blast at Swiss Embassy in Rome
Aired December 23, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Welcome to "AMERICAN MORNING" on this Thursday, two days before Christmas, December 23rd. I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran this morning.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm John Roberts. Good to have you with us today. President Obama starts his holiday in Hawaii today with a lot to be happy about. Is he the new comeback kid? A live report from Honolulu coming up.
COSTELLO: Extreme weather on the move this morning. Floodwaters destroyed homes, roads covered by water, mud, and debris. We'll tell you where the storm is heading next.
ROBERTS: A bill to provide 9/11 first responders free medical treatment is on its way to President Obama's desk, and it was down to the wire. Coming up, we'll talk to a first responder about why this is a bittersweet victory for him.
COSTELLO: Speaking of President Obama, he begins his holiday in Hawaii with a lot to say where he notched some big accomplishments with Congress within a little more than a month after what he called a midterm shellacking that put his presidency in doubt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Instead, this has been a season of progress for the American people. That progress is reflected -- is a reflection of the message that voters sent in November. A message that said it's time to find common ground on challenges facing our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So the president left the White House, headed for Honolulu, where he is with the first family right now. And our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is there this morning as well. And it looks like the president has got something to feel good about. There was a potential he could have got a lump of coal in his stocking but he's got presents in there. ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John, you're right. He went from a shellacking in the election then to skepticism that he could get very much done in the lame duck, then the sweet taste of victory. He ticked of a long list that he feels were big accomplishments. You talked about the new START treaty he got through, the big tax deal to make sure that tax rates don't go up come January 1st, the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," as well as the repeal of the food and safety bill, giving the Food and Drug Administration more power to secure the food that we eat.
And finally, the 9/11 workers that you mentioned, those first responders finally getting that health reform bill, essentially, all of that leading a reporter to account president to ask yesterday, are you the new comeback kid?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: As I said right after the midterm elections, we took a shellacking and I take responsibility for that. But I think what's happened over the last several weeks is not a victory for me. It's a victory for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now there's no doubt in terms of reality check, though, that there were other factors that pushed some of these things along. He had, you know, lawmakers of both parties rushing to get home for the year. And also he still had Democrats running the House. He won't have that in January, John and Carol.
COSTELLO: We got a taste of bipartisanship there. I think a lot of voters were saying, yes, will this carry into 2011? So will it?
HENRY: We'll see. The president as ticked off a list of thing of things that he hasn't accomplished that he wants to get done -- the DREAM act, some real immigration reform. He was also talking about tackling the budget. Neither party has been serious about that so far.
And he's also going to have deal with making sure Republicans don't dismantle his health care reform from this year, his big accomplishment this year. And so it's no wonder when he got off of Air Force One a couple hours ago and got in the limo, a senior photojournalist Peter Morris got a shot of the President Obama letting out a big yawn. He wants to relax here, get some R and R. He's got a big 2011 ahead of him, John and Carol.
COSTELLO: Ed Henry, thanks.
ROBERTS: We've got some breaking news to tell you about this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.
ROBERTS: Following up on something we told you a few minutes ago. A package bomb has exploded at the residence of the Swiss ambassador in Rome. Apparently it was opened by a male staffer at the embassy residence, potentially a security guard. It went off in his hands. He has serious injuries to both hands. He has been taken to the hospital, but as far as we know, only one person injured so far.
Again, a package bomb exploded upon opening this morning at the Swiss embassy in Rome. Now, you remember a couple days a there was an alert on the Rome subway when authorities found an inert explosive device, what they thought it was an explosive device. It turned out to be inert on one of the subway trains.
No word yet on whether the two incidents could be potentially protected but we're looking into it this morning.
COSTELLO: We're doing a switching of gears because that's a sad story out of Italy this morning.
Let's talk about Nancy Pelosi for a minute. She's hoping for a political comeback with a Hollywood touch. Word is the outgoing speaker of house has turned to Steven Spielberg for advice. "The Washington Post" says the filmmaker is one of the marketing experts that Pelosi has turned to help rebrand House Democrats. The paper states Spielberg hasn't made any recommendations as of yet.
ROBERTS: After days and days of rain, parts of Arizona could be slammed with up to half a foot of snow now. Much of the state is under flash flood watch. And there are a bunch of winter weather advisories in effect. Floodwaters swallowed homes and damaged bridges in Beaver Dam, Arizona, but emergency workers say it could be far worse. The floodwaters have started to go down now.
COSTELLO: There's supposed to be a football game played at Qualcomm stadium tonight. A large section of the parking lot and field were underwater yesterday. The Poinsettia Bowl is set to kick off at 8:00 eastern time.
ROBERTS: And snow is finally slowing down in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Parts of the area are effectively shut down because of huge accumulations. How much snow, you're asking? It's 17 feet in some areas. The roads are treacherous.
The good news, there's no snow in the forecast so that gives them a chance to get the roads cleared up and get the ski areas in shape for the Christmas holiday.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Even if weather is not a factor if you're hitting the road to grandma's house this holiday weekend, give yourself some extra time. AAA reports some 90 million Americans are expected to travel between now and January 2nd, almost all of them by car.
So, you're asking, what is the most troublesome spot in the country? "USA Today" reports the I-95 toll plaza near Newark, Delaware, is still under construction, and that means fewer lanes to handle all that traffic.
Making matters worse, the toll is $4 per car for that stretch of road. So you have the privilege of paying $4 to wait in traffic.
ROBERTS: And those of us who have traveled that road know that the stretch of road is this long.
COSTELLO: It's the worst spot in the country. Hope you're not going through there.
ROBERTS: The worst spot in the country can be said to be I-95 from Washington all the way up to New York.
COSTELLO: I'm with you there. It's awful.
The Secret Service was sent scrambling last night when a man was drove on the yard of former President George W. Bush. He was quickly detained and questioned but authorities don't believe he was intending to harm the former president or the former first lady. The man reportedly told investigators he was showing off his car to the Bush's neighbors when his gas pedal became stuck.
ROBERTS: That's something that you know is going to go bad.
South Korea on high alert after wrapping up one of its largest winter military drills. The exercises took place just 15 miles from the South's border with North Korea a little more than an hour ago. The North responded, warning that should South Korea cross the North Korean border, Pyongyang would launch a, quote, "sacred war of justice."
COSTELLO: The heroes of 9/11 are finally getting free health coverage from the federal government. We'll talk to an outspoken first responder about the long-awaited compromise and the frustrating process it took to get it done.
ROBERTS: The purse that doubled as a weapon for a Florida woman, it's been put to good use once again.
COSTELLO: And the ugly truth about those college football bowl games, why small schools take a big financial hit every time they play.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 13 minutes now after the hour. It was the last item on the agenda for the lame duck congress. And after months and months of delay, Senate Republicans agreed to a compromise to provide free medical care and benefits to help victims of the 9/11 attacks and first responders. The bill was quickly approved by the House. President Obama is expected to sign it very soon.
COSTELLO: Joining us this morning is John Feal. John was a demolition supervisor at ground zero. He lost a foot there. He has respiratory problems. He was at the Senate for a vote on the bill, and he's been a leader in the fight for this bill. And thank you so much for joining us. I know you got absolutely no sleep because you traveled back from Washington. What, the bus left at 2:00 this morning? JOHN FEAL, 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER: We got into New York at 2:00 this morning. Thank you for having me.
ROBERTS: Thank you for getting up early for us.
COSTELLO: Absolutely. So finally get it done, it's a victory for us, but a bittersweet one, right?
FEAL: It's a victory to the 9/11 community. It's a victory for everybody who suffers from the aftermath of 9/11. And we lost so many battles over the last several years on this bill. But we came home last night, knowing we won the war.
Yes, it's bittersweet, the fact that it took this long, the fact that we lost so many good men and women, the fact that we had to keep going back to D.C. and beg for proper health care and compensation. It's bittersweet. I started with a chip on my shoulder years ago the size of a battery.
ROBERTS: What's the situation? You lost your foot?
FEAL: Half of my foot.
ROBERTS: A steel beam came down. I can't imagine what that's like. But in terms of the respiratory problems that you have, breathing in the toxic dust and everything at 9/11, what's your situation with your health?
FEAL: Well, my health is better other than my physical health. I had roughly around 30 surgeries on both feet, and I've never taken a painkiller. I've been diagnosed by four doctors with posttraumatic, and I've yet to take a pill. And when I had scarring on the lungs, I decided to not take medication and do home remedies and detox myself. And my breathing went from 80 percent to 95 percent. I believe a strong body is a strong mind. And I believe in staying focused. And I'm an angry man, but I try to have positive energy. If I went like that, and you know, just went like that, you would see that half of my foot is gone.
ROBERTS: Right. And what kind of financial toll has this taken on you?
FEAL: Well, I sold everything. You know, before everybody got sick and denied benefits, I got hurt right away. So I experienced the financial devastation immediately. And I went through my life's savings after 9/11. I spent 11 weeks in the hospital. So everything changed for me really quick.
You know, people complain that three days in bed, you know, 11 weeks on your back. I lost 60 pounds in the hospital. You know. So it was hard. But I sold everything to keep a roof over my head. Then when I was able to win my own benefits, I was able to advocate for others and show them that they, too, could be advocates. And then I started advocating for this bill, and this bill is a life-saving measure. The fact that we had to wait this long is just exulting. COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about the bill because it started out what? $7.4 billion. Then it went down to $6 billion. Now it's down to $4 billion. Is that enough?
FEAL: Let's go back. It started out at $10.5 billion with CBO board. CBO is neither Democratic or Republican. They're a bipartisan committee. It was $10.5 billion, and now we're at 4.3. So, yes, it's bitter and it makes me angry but it's money that we took less in the beginning that will be there in the end because in five years, this program is going to get refunded. This bill will be refunded, and they'll do it another five years. And they'll do another --
COSTELLO: It's $4 billion over five years. And supposedly, that means that it will have a better chance of being renewed.
FEAL: Yes. Once the bill passes and a program is up and running, it's very rare that anything gets shut down.
ROBERTS: So you don't mind taking a reduction now thinking that in the long term --
FEAL: On a scale from one to 10, this bill is a seven. And at the end of the day, seven saves lives 7. Because if we came home with nothing, we don't saves lives.
ROBERTS: Have you talked to some of the other folks who were there on the pile?
FEAL: Sure.
ROBERTS: The days after 9/11.
FEAL: Yes, sir. I talked to many of them.
ROBERTS: About this bill and their feeling about it getting passed?
FEAL: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: What did they say?
FEAL: Well, I think a lot of them are bittersweet like I am. There's a lot of relief knowing that it got done. You got to remember, we went eight Christmases without any hope that our federal government would ever help us.
And now, tomorrow morning on Christmas eve, no one's going to open a check, get a check by the federal government, but they're going to have a renowned hope that help is coming in 2011. And to me, that's better than opening any present tomorrow morning. And you've got to look at the pros and cons of everything. And we did what was best for the 9/11 community. And without the leadership of Senator Schumer and Gillibrand, this doesn't get done because it was really them that closed the deal. We just did what we were supposed to.
COSTELLO: Yes. We're so glad you joined us this morning. And we're so glad you're feeling better. And you know, it's a bittersweet victory but a victory nonetheless.
FEAL: Yes, ma'am, I agree.
ROBERTS: John, thanks for coming in this morning.
FEAL: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
ROBERTS: Good luck to you and the other folks who are working there after 9/11 in the World Trade Center.
FEAL: Thank you. Appreciate it.
ROBERTS: You guys did an incredible job.
FEAL: Happy holidays.
COSTELLO: You, too.
ROBERTS: Merry Christmas.
COSTELLO: Still ahead this morning, all those airline fees are adding up to a nice chunk of change for the industry. We'll tell you just how much. It's 18 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, here are some of the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning. Might be the most famous handbag in America right now.
The purse that Ginger Littleton used to try to disarm a gunman at a Florida school board meeting earlier this month. Last night, Littleton sold the faux crocodile leather bag on eBay for $13,100. It wasn't even made by Hermes and got that much money.
COSTELLO: It's fate.
ROBERTS: Yes. The money all goes to a Christmas charity that was started by the security guard, Mike Jones, who took down the gunman.
COSTELLO: You know they always say nobody likes to show off. Just ask the Oklahoma state trooper. Someone tipped them off about a man who posted video of himself driving his Corvette at speeds of 190 miles per hour.
ROBERTS: What?
COSTELLO: A 100 -- yes -- I don't know how they determine that.
ROBERTS: 190?
COSTELLO: Like the story disturbs me in some way. So anyway, this video is posted on YouTube. The Oklahoma police looked at it and then they go and they charge the guy for reckless driving and they threw him in jail. Supposedly he was trying to sell his car. And that's why he posted this video on YouTube to show off. But how can you look at a YouTube video then go back and arrest the guy and throw him in jail?
ROBERTS: Well, I guess it's evidence.
COSTELLO: I guess so. It's just really strange to me but --
ROBERTS: Here he goes.
COSTELLO: Don't do that. Don't do that, anyway, because it's stupid.
ROBERTS: 190 miles an hour?
COSTELLO: You're intrigued by that car, aren't you?
ROBERTS: I don't understand in a crowded highway how he can get up to 190 miles an hour.
COSTELLO: See, there are a lot of questions about this story, John.
ROBERTS: We're looking for answers here this morning.
Well, you've heard of table for one? A party of one? But how about a population of one? That's right. Here we go.
Buford, Wyoming, it's become an attraction for one reason. One reason only. And that reason, just one resident. His name is Don Sammons. He's got his own zip code, gets to name his own streets but those aren't the only two perks he gets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON SAMMONS, ONLY RESIDENT IN BUFORD, WYOMING: Things are always fun. I usually win most of those. Any discussions, I'm usually right there at the top. And people are amazed that they can meet the entire town in just a flash.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It's good to be king, right? Buford, Wyoming.
COSTELLO: I love that.
Airlines are having one of those best years in more than decade and it's all thanks to you and all those fees you're paying for your baggage. We're "Minding Your Business."
ROBERTS: And President Obama signs the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" into law. We're going to talk about it with the first Marine discharged under the policy way back in 1993.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Six and a half minutes after the hour. Can't wait for the Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Texas Bowl, all the other bowls. Do you realize how many bowl games there are now?
COSTELLO: It's insane. Actually, the better question, do you know why there are so many bowl games? Besides the fact a team can now qualify for a ballgame with a 6-6 record, you don't have to have a winning season.
If you shout it out, money to the question, you're on the right track. And if you're wondering who's cashing in, it's not the universities. Some do make a profit, but most actually lose money. Sometimes, big money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): The Knights of the University of Central Florida are on their way to a bowl game, just like 70 other college teams. Seventy. That's more than half the major colleges in the country. More than half. The teams are going to compete not only in the so-called major bowls but not so major bowls as well. The uDrove Humanitarian Bowl, the BBVA Compass Bowl, the Beef O'Brady's Bowl. Count them up, in today's college football world, there are 35 bowl games in all.
(on camera): Can you foresee a time when they'll be even more bowl games?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Imagine, 50 bowl games. Many universities clamoring for a spot on ESPN would say yes.
(on camera): Not everything is rosy for some bowl-bound teams, though. Just ask Western Michigan. Two years ago, it had to eat almost $500,000 just for the privilege of playing in the Texas Bowl.
(voice-over): According to "Sports Illustrated," of the 120 athletic departments that play I-A footballs, 106 lost money in 2009. Virginia Tech, the magazine says, lost $1.7 million on the Orange Bowl last year. Bill Sutton is a sports business professor at UCF.
BILL SUTTON, UNIV. OF CENTRAL FLORIDA SPORTS BUSINESS PROFESSOR: The system is broken. It's an arms race and the bowls are part of the arms race.
COSTELLO: Consider this, to play in the Liberty Bowl, the University of Central Florida and its conference are required to buy 10,000 seats at 50 bucks a pop. That's half a million dollars. It's up to the university to sell its share of the tickets. Not easy when it's Christmastime and the game is in Memphis. If UCF can't sell all 10,000 tickets, it and the conference eat the rest. So just how much money would a university be willing to lose?
(on camera): And if you would lose like $100,000, would that be too much?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if 100 would be too much. I have to -- COSTELLO: Two hundred?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd have -- 200 might be stretching it a little bit.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Keep in mind, a bowl game on ESPN amounts to a three-hour commercial. One that gets a lesser known school's name like UCFs out there. Tribble (ph) says that's so valuable, admissions could rise as much as 15 percent. So don't be surprised if one day soon those 35 bowl games will balloon to 40, 50, who knows.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Just think, 50 bowl games. Christine's -- she can't even believe that's happening.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's a lot of bowl games.
COSTELLO: And that would mean --
ROMANS: That's a lot of football widows, that's all I've got to say.
COSTELLO: Exactly. That would mean a school with a losing record could possibly play a bowl game. And what would that game really mean?
ROBERTS: Not much.
COSTELLO: Not much. Right?
Last week, the athletic director I talked with, Keith Tribble, told me UCF does expect to sell 5,000 to 6,000 of their tickets. It plays Georgia in the Liberty Bowl in case you're wondering on New Year's eve. But other schools may not be so lucky.
Remember Virginia Tech last year? The reason it lost $1.7 million is because it and the ACC had to buy 17,000 tickets at $125 a piece. It could only sell 3,342 tickets.
ROBERTS: Wow! But, being in a bowl or some sort of tournament like that and doing well is a very different school. Remember what happened with George Mason University, a couple, three years back, when it made it into the sweet 16 in the final four tournament, and suddenly, all of these people wanted to go to George Mason. So it does bring a lot of publicity.
COSTELLO: For three hours, George Mason's name was mentioned on television, right?
ESPN also makes money off of this. But people who really make the money though aren't the universities, it's the people who run the bowls and ESPN.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That is marketing. Half a million dollars for fantastic marketing. I don't know.
ROBERTS: He says 100,000 might not be too much, but 200,000 is stretching it.
COSTELLO: That's what that marketing is for. So Christine, you may be right.
7:30 now, 7:30 Eastern time. Time to check on this morning's top stories. So it's relentless storms are winding down now in California, Arizona and Nevada. It dumped heavy rains and feet of snow across the region over the last week. That means there's plenty to clean up. Some areas of California got more than two feet of rain.
ROBERTS: We're following a developing story out of Rome this morning. A package has exploded at the home of the Swiss ambassador. A security guard suffered serious injuries. He's being treated at a local hospital. We're told that he may lose both of his hands. This comes after a suspected bomb was found on an empty underground train earlier this week. Tests showed that that device contained no explosives. But of course, we do remember all the packages recently that were being sent via Yemen. Those did contain explosives hidden in toner cartridges.
COSTELLO: That's really scary. The Obama administration trying to explain why its director of national intelligence James Clapper appeared absolutely clueless when asked Monday by ABC's Diane Sawyer about an alleged bomb plot broken up in England just 10 hours earlier.
White House counter terrorism adviser John Brennan on the defensive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BRENNAN, WHITE HOUSE COUNTER TERRORISM ADVISER: Should he have been briefed by the staff on those arrests? Yes. And we 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's coming out of the media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Brennan claims Clapper was busy before the interview, dealing with the S.T.A.R.T. treaty and the developments on the Korean Peninsula.
ROBERTS: Well, guess what, somebody's making money. The airlines are turning a profit again, why? Baggage fees, snack fees, first in line fees, put your overhead luggage, put your luggage in the overhead and Spirit Airlines pay for a not middle seat, on some airlines, all of those little extras that you're paying for are adding up big profits for these airlines after losing money for so long.
COSTELLO: Not only that, ticket prices are up too. They're getting you - it's insane, Christine. ROMANS: Look, these airlines went into survival mode. John and I go back and forth on this. They were losing money for a very long time they were literally in survival mode. They figured out how to survive. They are surviving by reaching into your pocket and help get the money out so that you can help them keep going.
Here's what it looks like. $7.1 billion in profit for the major airlines in the first nine months. When you look at the full year in 1999, that was $6.8 billion. It's looking like it's the best profits for the airline industry in 10 years. This is really the first significant recovery since September 11th and the global recession. They have figured out a winning combination.
And that combination is fares are up 13 percent since 2009. They have parked planes, literally parked planes in industry parlance, that's capacity cuts. That means there's fewer seats out there so they can fill those seats and they can raise fares when they need to. And two, almost $2.5 billion in luggage fees. There's fees for bags. There's fees for food. There's fees so that you can sit next to a window or an aisle. There's fees for just about anything. There's fees so that you can board in front of the lady with three screaming kids. That's me.
There are fees for everything. There's also a couple of big mergers, United Airlines-Continental, Delta-Northwest. Some critics are saying they're worried that means less choice for you. But this is what they've been hoping for. They're hoping for a way to come back to profitability and it looks like they're there.
COSTELLO: And it isn't going away either, is it?
ROMANS: I don't know. People rise up but people are getting back on the planes. The economy's getting a little bit better. People are getting back on the plane.
ROBERTS: Do you think that the airlines are going to say, hey, we're making money now. So all of those fees will go -
ROMANS: No, they're not. And they have found the winning combination. And that's the winning combination We can complain all we want.
Now, CNN Money has a great story about this where they quote somebody who points out that fares are actually down 3.5 percent since 2000. Fares are down. But you make up for the fares by throwing in all those other stuff. You know, so maybe my fare is down over the past 10 years but certainly, you're paying more to ride on an airplane.
ROBERTS: You know, Jerry Stiller is joining us in our next hour this morning. Jerry Stiller, of course, the famous "Seinfeld" character. He's going to be joining us to talk about "festivus." And part of the tradition of "festivus" is the airing of grievances. So we're going to be airing some grievances about the airlines.
ROMANS: And about 90 percent of John's grievances are about air traveling in America.
ROBERTS: "Festivus" for the rest of us, and the airing of -
COSTELLO: I can't wait.
ROBERTS: -- grievances is coming up. Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: Don't ask, don't tell. It's no more. Up next the first Marine discharged under the policy joins us live with his reaction to the historic bill. Where does this leave gay rights today?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: President Obama signing the bill, repealing "don't ask, don't tell." The policy banning gays from serving their country. Because of the policy, more than 14,000 people were discharged over 17 years.
ROBERTS: Yesterday, the president spoke at length about the military now welcoming everyone, regardless of their sexuality.
(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)
ROBERTS: It's going to be months before the repeal is fully implemented but yesterday was a cause for celebration for those who fought against the policy, including Justin Elzie. He is the first Marine discharged under "don't ask, don't tell," that was back in 1993. And he was at yesterday's bill signing. Good to see you this morning. Thanks so much.
JUSTIN ELZIE, AUTHOR OF "PLAYING BY THE RULES": Thank you.
ROBERTS: So you've managed to serve openly in the military for four years -
ELZIE: Yes.
ROBERTS: After the policy was first implemented. But you have seen so many things happen under "don't ask, don't tell." What you have seen over the years and what was it like to be in yesterday's signing ceremony?
ELZIE: Well, you know, over the years, we've seen a lot of people's lives ruined, you know, whether they're going out to an establishment or who they associated it with, called in and interrogated. You know, so it was really emotional and amazing yesterday and I was actually proud and humbled to be in that room with so many amazing people who have worked this issue over the last 17 years and before that. You know, people like Lt. Dan Choi was there with Robin McGee, and Michelle Benaqui (ph) and Dixon Osbourne (ph), service members legal defense network and Alex Nicholson and George Polski (ph) with Service Members United. All of those veterans it was almost - it was just very emotional.
COSTELLO: There must have been many people with tears in their eyes.
ELZIE: Yes. Yes.
COSTELLO: I mean, they had to rent a bigger room to accommodate all the people in Washington?
ELZIE: Yes. There were over 500 people there in Washington.
COSTELLO: You don't see that very often.
ELZIE: No, you don't. And I think what was really touching, what really got my heart, besides meeting all those people, you know, was like a homecoming, the president's remarks and how he acknowledged, all the people's lives have been ruined. And then I thought it was also important how he spoke to the service members, lesbians and gay already in the ranks of the military in those combat units, and he said, you will be the role models going forward. And I thought that was really powerful.
ROBERTS: You are such an advocate for this. You chained yourself to the White House fence at one point.
ELZIE: Yes.
ROBERTS: You went to the tragedy of seeing your military I.D. cut up in front of you. For you, how has this journey been?
ELZIE: Right now, it's full circle. I'm still processing it. I think last night, I finally broke down. I think a lot of people are, they're processing this. I think it's satisfying and rewarding. I'm just humbled to be part of this moment in history.
COSTELLO: I think that, you know, Lieutenant Dan Choi - I've interviewed him many times -
ELZIE: Right.
COSTELLO: He's always said to me, I would love to serve my country again, I would love to re-enlist.
ELZIE: Right.
COSTELLO: But even though the president's going to sign a bill or a law repealing "don't ask, don't tell," that kind of thing won't be possible for quite some time? ELZIE: Well, I think that's very important you point that out because, you know, they have to do a certification, write the policies and procedures. I think there's a going to be a lot of pressure. I hope that they do not slow-walk this. In the next six months, we see them actually saying OK, officially no more discharges and getting these people back in the military to serve their country.
ROBERTS: We remember that the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, came out strongly in favor of overturning the policy. Mullen had a particularly emotional appeal when he said, "We've got thousands of men and women who are willing to die for their country and we ask them to lie about who they are, particularly during a time of war. This impedes what we need to do." Was it their support for this that really was the turning point?
ELZIE: I think Admiral Mullen saying that gays and lesbians should be able to serve openly in the military, I think that was - when that happened, you heard the walls fall. That was the most powerful moment, more than anything anybody else could have said, whether it was Obama or any politician. I think the head of the military saying this, that was just - a lot of people, just wow, their hearts broke.
COSTELLO: And that has actually happened. What does this say about America and our culture right now?
ELZIE: For me, as a gay American, I think it really speaks, and it renews my confidence in our American values of equality and fairness. And I'm very proud to be an American today to serve my country.
ROBERTS: This is something that I've been rolling around in my head. The fact that this is now going to be the policy that openly gay people can serve in the military. Do you think it will make things easier for a gay member to be in the military. Or the fact that they will come out could it potentially make it more difficult?
ELZIE: I think it makes it easier. Because one of the problems, you know, people say, why is this policy hurtful? I mean, if you have to walk into work every day and be worried about being fired, that's a lot of stress on you. It affects your performance and your life. So I think it's a positive thing. And, of course, you know, the majority of service members said it would be a positive thing in the study. So I think it's going to be a positive thing and it will be good for people going forward.
COSTELLO: Thank you so much for being here this morning and congratulations on your victory.
ELZIE: Yes, thank you. Well, it's everybody's victory, all the veterans who worked on this.
ROBERTS: Justin Elzie, great to see you this morning.
ELZIE: Thank you. ROBERTS: Thanks.
COSTELLO: That soggy storm out west is on the move. It's bringing - guess what? Snow with it. That's nest.
Rob Marciano is taking Christmas by storm.
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ROBERTS: Good morning, Boston. We've got a little snow and freezing temperatures, 33 degrees right now. Later on today, snow and wind, high of 37.
COSTELLO: See, Rob Marciano, that is perfect Christmas weather. What's going on in Boston right now. Just a little bit of snow. It's cold. It makes you feel like the season. That is a gift.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I agree. If I could produce that for you and everybody else who wants it, I'd be pretty popular. You know what guys? A lot of folks are going to see a White Christmas this year compared to years past. That's what's interesting about what's going on.
Temperatures are cold enough for it. Even if you don't see snow, it's cold enough to make you feel like you should be wearing some sort of sweater. Let's talk about the radar out west. Finally, you'll see breaks in action across part of Southern California.
Check out this I-Report. Earlier today, we showed you an I- Report where a guy was getting splashed by a car unfortunately. These two knuckleheads throughout out there -- in it with the wet suit and the goggles on and dad, by the way, is filming this.
So that's the way you have fun in San Diego when it rains too much, I suppose. Luckily, none of those cars hydroplaned and swerved off to the right.
All right, kids, Merry Christmas to you. We're looking at some snow across parts of the upper Midwest getting into the western parts of the Great Lakes. Here's the snow that Carol's talking about. Very, very light amounts. Just enough to dust the roadways at times, but that is about it, and getting into New York.
All right, let's talk about the storm as it passes the mountains. Some of the moisture is going to head to the north and stretch up into parts of Des Moines, into Minneapolis, might see a couple inches of snow getting here into Chicago.
The southern part of this system, this is where it gets interesting. The low itself is going to traverse across the four corners getting through Texas, pick up some moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and then Saturday, which would be Christmas, we're looking rain turning to snow, in places like Atlanta and the Carolinas.
And then Sunday, this thing is going to scoot the coastline, get very close to the northeast again. At the very least, you guys will see breezy conditions, likely some snow showers, and maybe some significant accumulations.
So while try to fine-tune that for you. Carol, I don't want to disappoint you and give more than just an inch or two or dusting of snow. So it's going to be a tough forecast in that radar.
COSTELLO: I appreciate your efforts, I do. I feel good, though. You made me feel good.
ROBERTS: Just a light dusting in Baltimore if you can arrange that.
MARCIANO: I'm working on it.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob. How's this for Christmas spirit? Check this out, 60,000 lights all synced to music. It's from Perth, Australia. Reportedly took more than 500 hours to put it all together. Take a look.
COSTELLO: That's it.
ROBERTS: Love the dancing lights.
COSTELLO: That's pretty cool, isn't it?
ROBERTS: Very nice.
COSTELLO: That's amazing.
Still to come this morning, Happy Festivus, talking about, I guess it's a holiday. It is a holiday. It was made famous by the actor Jerry Stiller in the sitcom "Seinfeld."
Coming up, we're going to talk to comedian Jerry Stiller about the meaning of festivus.
ROBERTS: Yes, it's a festivus for the rest of us. The NBA giving back. This morning we're going talk to Zach Randolph, "Zebo" of the Memphis Grizzlies about how he's making a difference this Christmas.
COSTELLO: And could Director Steven Spielberg's next project helping House Speaker, former House Speaker nwo Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats? We are not kidding. We have new details on that for you this morning.
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ROBERTS: One of those weird Christmas cards.
COSTELLO: What the heck was that? In hospitals around the country, common prescription drugs just are not available. It's the result of a major drug shortage affecting everything from painkillers to chemotherapy medications.
ROBERTS: Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is live in Atlanta for us this morning with details. How severe is the shortage, Elizabeth? ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what, John. Doctors are telling us that this is truly severe and pharmacists are telling us as well.
That sometimes they're even having to cancel surgeries and other procedures because they don't have the right drugs or, for example, they'll be missing a drug and substitute it with another drug and because they're not familiar with that second drug, sometimes patients getting too much or too little of a drug.
So doctors and pharmacists tell us that, you know, for the most part drugs are in supply as they should be, but when these shortages are occurring and they can never predict exactly when they will occur or what drug will be affected, it's really serious.
COSTELLO: How can this happen?
COHEN: I think you have to wonder with our modern medical system, how can this happen? It's a perfect storm. That's the way one pharmacist described it. He said for some placed the raw materials are missing and so they can't make those drugs.
Other places they're having quality control issues at the factory and so they stopped manufacturing or other times drug companies say, you know what, we've been making for a long time.
We're not really making that much money off of it. We want to put our resources into something new that's going to make us money so we're just going to stop making this drug and hospitals often don't get any warning. Just the drug doesn't show up when it's supposed to show up.
ROBERTS: So the obvious question, what should people do?
COHEN: Right, you know what? I got to tell you as an empowered patient, this is a really tough one, but what you can do is first of all I want to say this doesn't really affect drugs so much that you get at the pharmacy.
But when you go to the hospital, if you're concerned about this, you can ask your doctor. Hey, I have been hearing about these drug shortages. The drug that you're about to give me, is it your first choice? Is it the drug you want to be giving me or a substitute?
And if it's substitute, that may be OK, but you can ask the question, are you familiar with working with it? Do you know how to dose it? I mean, unfortunately, you have to be pretty aggressive to find out about it and speaking of finding out about it, I want to tell people how to help other people learn about a shortage.
The way that the FDA is finding out about these shortages is to a large extent through patients. So if you find that you've been affected by a drug shortage, you can send an e-mail to drugshortages@fda.hhs.gov and you may be able to help other patients by alerting them to a drug shortage.
ROBERTS: Lessons on being an empowered patient this morning from our resident empowered patient, Elizabeth Cohen. Thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Elizabeth. Top stories coming your way right after the break.
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