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American Morning

Gas Price Breaking $3 Mark; Festivus for the Rest of Us

Aired December 23, 2010 - 07:59   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, December 23rd. I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran today.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. The day before -- the day before Christmas and a lot to talk about so let's get you right to it.

After days and days of rain, parts of Arizona could be slammed with up to a half a foot of snow. Much of the state is under a flash flood watch. There are also a bunch of winter weather advisories in effect. Floodwaters swallowed homes and damaged bridges in Beaver Dam, Arizona.

COSTELLO: And just in time for the holidays, the pain of the pump returns. The average price for a gallon of gas now $3 a gallon nationwide. This morning, we've got some tips on how you can get the most mileage for your buck.

ROBERTS: A fear of flying, see how one woman goes from thinking the worst to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sigh of relief. Yes. I did it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Our Allan Chernoff is live this morning with new hope for travelers who have a real fear of flying.

COSTELLO: Breaking news this morning out of Rome. A package has exploded at the home of the Swiss ambassador. A security guard suffered serious injuries. He's now being treated at a local hospital.

We're told 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 device contained no explosives.

ROBERTS: Well, it is a muddy situation for flood-ravaged parts of California. Streets in the town of Highland are in absolute mess. Buried cars are making things even worse for cleanup crews. They've got a huge task ahead them to bring things back to normal.

One of our I-Reporters describes the scene on the ground there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG BATLER, CNN I-REPORTER: Greg Batler here and we are in Lomalinda, California, right now. As you can see, the mud slide has come off the hill and completely engulfed this road. These cars are just completely buried here in the mud. No way to go anywhere. It looks like the military is here already responding to the disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's crazy. Now, your car is gone. I mean --

ROBERTS: And it's so tough to get rid of all that mud, too.

COSTELLO: There is a bit of bright news, though. Rob says the heavy rain is now winding down. But, of course, the storm system is on the move, but it might not cause all that much drama.

So, tell us more about it, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean, this storm is so huge that -- so widespread. It's just so difficult to comprehend.

I want to give you an idea through video of all the spots that have been affected by this. San Diego really got hit hard yesterday, especially with the heavy rain and they had a widespread flooding. This is just east of San Diego, in Mission Valley. The Mission Valley Hotel had to be evacuated. More than just you're urban street flooding.

Other spots: Laguna Beach had a mudslide and flash flooding there. They have to get the front loaders out. In Nevada and Arizona, we had -- we had houses collapsing into rivers that were just little streams and, of course, the snow in the mountains.

But there was light at the end of the tunnel. This double rainbow taken over the Hollywood Hills yesterday as the rainfall moved east and the sun peeked out of the clouds as it set to the west. So, that's not a picture perfect, I don't know, but they're going to take -- it's going to take days if not weeks to fix the issues they have there as far as cleanup goes.

Over 20 inches of rainfall in Crestline, California, over two feet. I mean, come on, are you kidding me?

And Camp Nelson, California, and parts of Nevada and Utah also saw a significant rain and significant snows, of course. Over 200 inches in some spots; Mammoth, officially, 192 inches; Crested Butte and Heavenly and Deer Valley getting a lot of that. So, avalanche control measures being taken.

Another one to two feet of snow potential today. And then, I mean, you talk about a base that they're setting for Christmas, it's quite impressive. And you're going to need your snorkel for sure and the fatties to get out there and enjoy that.

All right. I talk briefly about where the storm is going, part of it is going to go to the north and a little bit of snow across part of the Midwest. Part of it is going to go down to the South and happened in the Gulf of Mexico. We will probably see some snow in the Tennessee Valley, western parts of the Carolinas, maybe as far south as Atlanta, Georgia, Christmas night into the day after Christmas.

And then what happens after that was going to be interesting for the Delmarva, in the Mid-Atlantic and certainly the Northeast. I think this thing is going to intensify rapidly and at the very least, everyone is going to get some wind and some snow showers. Some folks are going to get some significant snow Christmas night and then a day after Christmas.

So, for those who like the winter weather this time of year, you're getting it.

John and Carol, back up to you.

ROBERTS: You've left us puzzled this morning, Rob. I know fatties are. Fatties are skis for skiing in powder.

COSTELLO: Oh, I thought they were -- I thought they were way something else.

ROBERTS: What does the snorkel have to do with skiing?

MARCIANO: Oh, no. I mean, if you're in snow that's so deep and it's just -- you're just being buried by it, you need a snorkel to breathe, John. Your head is not even poking out of the snow, it's so deep.

ROBERTS: There you go.

COSTELLO: You're underneath the snow, John.

MARCIANO: Oh, it's glorious.

ROBERTS: What did you think a fatty was, Carol?

MARCIANO: Yes, Carol. You want to explain?

COSTELLO: No.

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.

COSTELLO: I want to talk about the Secret Service and what they had to do last night, because they were scrambling, because a man drove on to the yard of former President George W. Bush. As you might expect, he was quickly detained, pulled out of the car and questioned. Authorities don't believe he intended to harm President Bush or Laura Bush.

He actually was just trying to show off his car. He told investigators he was like revving up the muscle car. Do they call it muscle cars? I don't know. When the gas pedal became stuck and then veered off on to the lawn of George W. Bush.

ROBERTS: Any time somebody gets in a car and says, watch this, you know it's never going to go well.

President Obama is savoring a sense of victory this morning. He's in Hawaii for the holidays, just hours after notching up some big accomplishments with Congress. It's a political turnaround for the White House after what the president called a midterm shellacking last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And instead, this has been a season of progress for the American people. That progress 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: A 9/11 health bill, the START Treaty and the end of the "don't ask, don't tell" all coming down to the last days of what was thought was going to be a lame duck session. But it's more productive than it was for the rest of the year.

COSTELLO: I know. It was anything but lame, wasn't it?

Nancy Pelosi, hoping for a political comeback of her own, and she's going to have help from none other than Steven Spielberg. "The Washington Post" reports the outgoing speaker of the house has turned to the film director for some marketing advice. Pelosi wants to rebrand House Democrats.

And what do you do when you want to rebrand House Democrats? You turn to Steven Spielberg. He hasn't made recommendations yet. But we're waiting.

ROBERTS: All right. Another political comeback in the works, if you can call it that -- remember this guy?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY MCMILLAN, FORMER NY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The rent, it's too damn high!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Jimmy McMillan stole the show at New York's gubernatorial back in October. Now, he says he's gunning for the White House in 2012. Listen to this. This is an excerpt of an Internet radio show yesterday.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MCMILLAN: Barack Obama's the president. You should do your -- if you don't do your job right, I'm a coming at you. I know Barack Obama is an Internet hog. I know he know that I'm out there. Well, what he haven't heard yet is that Jimmy McMillan is running for president of the United States of America.

Go to the Web site, President. I want you to look at all the hits Sarah Palin got. I ate her up. Look at all the hits John McCain got, I chewed him up. Look at the hits that Hillary Clinton had, I swallowed her, chewed her up, and spit her up.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Wait a minute. He swallowed her then he should spit her out?

COSTELLO: Well, he's talented. Don't you wish he was running on the Republican ticket?

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: It's going to be entertaining.

COSTELLO: No, really. If he was running on the Republican ticket, he could debate Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and a host of others because, you know --

ROBERTS: Mike Huckabee.

COSTELLO: Mike Huckabee.

ROBERTS: Mitt Romney.

COSTELLO: That would be a great debate.

ROBERTS: It would. That will be fun regardless of where he runs.

COSTELLO: Very true.

Unwelcomed news for the millions of you about to hit the road for the holiday season. The national price for a gallon of gas: breaking the $3 mark. You knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is the first time we've ever had Christmas with $3 gas. Even that terrible 2008, when you saw gas above $4, you still were in the $1 to $2 for gas at Christmas. So, this is the first time we've ever seen it. Merry Christmas!

ROBERTS: Because the economy crashes.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: Exactly. Three dollars and one cent is what we're looking at right now. That's up 17 percent from last year. You're feeling this.

Peter Beutel, one of the energy analysts I followed, he says that every penny that it goes up every day is $4 million out of your pocket. 2009 regular was $2.58. So, you know, look, you've seen a big rise. You've noticed. This is called a tax on consumers.

So, I want to show you how you can avoid paying more, OK? First of all, there are some Web sites where you can take a look at where the cheapest gas is in your neighborhood. It's come to this, Gasbuddy.com, Fuelmeup.com and Automotive.com.

There are some apps you can get, and they're even more than this one. But Cheap Gas, AAA TripTik. I mean, this is -- you can look right on your smartphone and find out, hey, where's the cheapest gas closest to exactly where I am.

And you can save money on gas by doing a few things. Use self serve, obviously, if you can. Pay cash if they offer a discount and a lot of places do. Traveling 55 miles per hour gives you up to 21 percent better gas mileage. Inflate your tires. You can improve your mileage by 3 percent per tire.

Did you know that dirt and gravel roads cost you 30 percent of your gas mileage. Do you know that you should accelerate before you get to a big hill not while you're on the big hill?

All of these things are things that you could do. AAA has all of the things on their Web site, too, and more, to keep the windows rolled up if you're on the highway. You can save 10 percent of your gas mileage that way.

But, look, $3 a gallon, you got to do everything you can.

COSTELLO: Why is it up that high?

ROMANS: Because the world is recovering. We may not be recovering robustly but China, India, there's only -- BRIC, Brazil, Russian, India, China.

I mean, the world, the big emerging markets, people are entering the middle class. They're buying cars. They're filling those cars up. There's a global scouring for these resources. So, even though demand isn't up where we live, it's up around the rest of the world. We're all competing for the same resources.

ROBERTS: You can buy one of those electric cars.

COSTELLO: Oh, you know, they cost a lot of money, though, don't they?

ROBERTES: But you got a nice rebate on them.

ROMANS: They still cost a lot of money.

COSTELLO: They cost a lot of money.

ROMANS: Bu -- so, yes, you're noticing pain at the pump and let's just try to beat it. Try to beat it, everyone.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Christine. Some good tips.

COSTELLO: Walk. Ride a bike. ROBERTS: Well, if you're trying to teleconference with a loved one over Christmas and you try to do that now, you're probably having problems because there are connection issues over at Skype. Engineers working hard to bring the service back online. There's some sort of technical problem we're being told. Millions of users are being affected. Skype says some staff members have been able to sign on and make video calls but they haven't been able to see any of their contacts at this point.

COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure they'll get that fixed for you soon.

Millions of people are heading out of town for the holidays today. So, are you feeling distress? You're not alone. One woman's battle with a terrible fear of flying and how she got over it -- that's coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: As you know, we are 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 and we're told he may lose both of his hands.

The ambassador's still on the site. The embassy has not been evacuated. Bomb experts are right now checking the building. And, so far, no one has claimed responsibility.

ROBERTS: And according to authorities, it came into the mail room. It was a letter and opened it up. Kaboom!

The drunk driver convicted of killing Angels' pitcher Nick Adenhart is sentenced to 51 years in prison. Twenty-three-year-old Andrew Gallo had a blood alcohol level of 1.9 -- or 0.19, sorry, when he was tested two hours after the crash. It wasn't Gallo's first offense. He was still on probation after getting convicted of drunk driving three years before the crash.

COSTELLO: Parents of a Rutgers student who's committed suicide may sue the school. Tyler Clemente jumped off a bridge after a gay sexual encounter was allegedly broadcast online. His parents say the school should have done more to prevent the death and they filed a notice of claim to uphold their right to bring a lawsuit.

Rutgers released a statement saying it shares the sense of loss, but it is not responsible for the student's death. Clemente's roommate and another student are charged with invasion of privacy.

ROBERTS: Well, the show must go for Broadway's "Spider-Man" musical. Evening and matinee performance is cancelled after an actor fell during this stunt on Tuesday night. But tonight's performance is scheduled to happen. Show producers say they needed some extra time to add safety precautions and get them rehearsed.

The actor who was hurt in the stunt, Christopher Tierney, is in serious condition. "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" is the most expensive production in Broadway history, coming in at $65 million.

COSTELLO: Well, it's just incredible. You -- I don't know if you've ever been through this phase where you have this fear of flying. I have been through that phase and it's taken me years and years to get over it.

And Allan Chernoff has just done the most fascinating story on a woman with that exact fear.

ROBERTS: And how you get over it. Yes, it's the important part.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is not easy at all. It does take a lot of work. But we did fly together with somebody who has that very fear, quite the experience.

Laura Edmonds of Connecticut had been worrying about flying for nearly two decades and, finally, two weeks ago, she begun a course to overcome the fear. She bravely agreed to join us for her first flight post-course from New York to Baltimore.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF (voice-over): It's flight day for Laura Edmonds. As she checks in and heads to the gate, she battles thoughts of disaster.

LAURA EDMONDS, AFRAID TO FLY: Plummeting to the earth, crashing in a fiery blaze. There are so many things that just run through my mind.

CHERNOFF: Aviophobia or fear of flying has been Laura's debilitating anxiety for 18 years. She even panicked about her honeymoon.

EDMONDS: I couldn't enjoy my wedding day. It was a wonderful wedding, surrounded by love and family. But the only thing I that I could think about was the next day, I had to get on a flight.

CHERNOFF: This month, Laura began watching the SOAR video course developed by retired airline pilot Tom Bunn. It's taught her the mechanics of flying and psychological strategies to fight fear.

Boarding the plane, Laura presents a letter asking to meet the pilot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to be fine. We're going to got take good care of you.

EDMONDS: Thank you.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): But take-off is a challenge. Refocusing the mind is the key to the program.

EDMONDS: not crazy about that shake. I'm going to think of my good place. You know, I'm wondering if everything is OK. For the plane.

CHERNOFF: Laura fears the engines may fall of and keeps checking to make sure they're still attached. To push away those thoughts, the program advises focusing on the moment.

EDMONDS: I feel my hands. I feel the seat against my arm.

CHERNOFF: Another calming technique, watch water in a glass as proof that the plane is barely shaking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into the Baltimore Area.

EDMONDS: I don't care for the turbulence.

CHERNOFF: More than a few minutes, the plane lands smoothly.

EDMONDS: That's a great feeling.

(LAUGHTER)

CHERNOFF: Sigh of relief?

EDMONDS: Sigh of relief. Yes. I did it.

CHERNOFF: How do you feel?

EDMONDS: I feel OK. Yes!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF (on-camera): A big step for Laura Edmonds. Well, not cured just yet. She does hope that soon she'd be ready to book a trip to St. Barts. She also says that she'd rather stick to bigger planes instead of that turbo prop that we were flying together.

ROBERTS: A lot of people would probably want to do that, too.

CHERNOFF: You feel it there.

ROBERTS: Poor thing. I felt so terrible for her. She was almost hyperventilating.

CHERNOFF: She was brave, though.

ROBERTS: Was she just using self-talk or any other techniques involved like the triple martini before the --

CHERNOFF: No martini. She had previously tried the triple martini. She said that did not work. Medications didn't work. It's the whole idea is to refocus the mind so your imagination doesn't carry you away, and also, to think of it perhaps compare it to eating a hamburger. Piece by piece. Don't think of the entire burger. She says that can be overwhelming, rather, one bite at a time. One step at a time.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: so, is it -- is it because, you know, the pilot explained to her exactly how the plane works? How it stays in the air? How it lands? And if you think about it in a logical way, rather than an emotional way, that's part of the secret of getting over this? CHERNOFF: Well, understanding the mechanics of flight can help, but it's very hard to be logical when you have such a fear. So, the idea is not to let your imagination travel away. Keep hold of your imagination. Try to stay in the moment. Focus on that glass. Focus on what you see, what you feel. That's the whole idea.

ROBERTS: Wow. She was really scared, though.

CHERNOFF: She was, but she did it.

COSTELLO: That's really brave.

ROBERTS: Good for her. Allan, great story this morning. Thanks.

The now famous purse that a florida school board used to smack a gunman has netted big bucks on eBay. We'll tell you how much he got.

COSTELLO: Plus, we're celebrating the fake holiday, yes, we are.

ROBERTS: It's not a fake holiday.

COSTELLO: Well, --

ROBERTS: Not for millions of people around the world.

COSTELLO: OK. Some people think it's real, but they're crazy.

ROBERTS: There it is.

COSTELLO: Festivus. We're talking about festivus. So, Happy Festivus. Jerry Stiller is the guy who came up with this on the "Seinfeld" show. I guess, his character did, huh? We're going to talk to him about why festivus has caught on.

ROBERTS: Did he like how we decorated the festivus hall (ph)? It's beautiful, isn't it?

COSTELLO: You're not allowed to decorate the festivus hall (ph).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Well, here are some of the stranger stories that had us talking in the newsroom this morning. Just might be the most famous handbag in the entire world. It's the purse Ginger Littleton used to try to disarm a gunman at the Florida school board meeting. So you remember that? Last night, Littleton sold her Faux crocodile leather bag on eBay for $13,100. And the money didn't go to her, of course. The money went to a Christmas charity started by the security guard who took down the gunman. She says it all came full circle.

ROBERTS: Good for her. Great thing to do.

Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa, Florida features the largest restaurant wine collection in the world with nearly half of million bottles. And once in a while, the (INAUDIBLE) hunting around, discover a few hidden treasures in the wine seller. Eric Renaud (ph) stumbled on a rare doubled-magnum bottle of Chateau La Tour 1947. That was tucked way away in a high shelf.

So, he dusted it off and brought it down, and they're going to auction it off. The asking price will be a record $30,000. Renaud (ph) is going to join us on AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow, and, maybe, we'll get lucky enough to bring the bottle of wine with him.

COSTELLO: Yes. It'd be better if we got to taste it, but I don't think that'll happen.

The surviving members of the Doors say they're not happy about the decision to pardon legendary singer, Jim Morrison. Florida governor, Charlie Crist, spearheaded the movement, and Morrison's former band mates say the singer doesn't need to get pardoned for anything. They say they'd rather see the state apologize and erase the record of the arrest completely which just goes to show you can't make anybody happy.

ROBERTS: Yes. They're looking for an expungement of the arrest as opposed to a part -- because they're saying what he did wasn't a crime. So, --

COSTELLO: And what does it matter now?

ROBERTS: Well, for Doors' fans, a lot.

COSTELLO: OK. I take it back.

ROBERTS: There you go.

A politically rejuvenated President Obama landed in Hawaii very early this morning. He's hoping to keep a low profile over his Christmas vacation. We're live in Hawaii as his vacation starts on a high note this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": According to a new survey, 70 percent of dog owners will give their dog a Christmas present.

(CLAPPING)

O'BRIEN: CAN you believe that? Yes. That's true. Yes, the most popular dog gift is a plastic bone. The least popular, a Michael Vick jersey.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Whoa. That wasn't too in the Christmas spirit.

ROBERTS: No. Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" now. She joins us, and when Conan said that how many people are going to buy their pet a gift, she immediately rattles off -- CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, pet spending is one area that never really suffered during the recession. People always find money to spend money on their pets.

ROBERTS: To winder up (ph) and just like on anything dealing with finance.

COSTELLO: She's like --

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: It's a curse. It's a curse. But let me share my curse with you. Shopping, online shopping -- holiday shopping rather, Christmas Eve, 23 million people are expected to go shopping on Christmas Eve. I will not be one of them, but I do have one last gift to get which means I will be braving crowds today.

Twenty-three million to shop on Christmas Eve, and it was interesting because the International Council of Shopping Center has found that people in the Midwest are more likely to be the ones out there. One in five people in the Midwest are going to be running to the stores --

ROBERTS: Why is that? You're from the Midwest.

ROMANS: I don't know. I really don't know.

COSTELLO: It's tradition.

ROMANS: It is tradition. We like to shop, actually. We like to get in the car, go to the mall and shop. Men actually more likely to be out there. Seventeen percent of men are going to be picking something up. Thirteen percent of women. You know, retailers love it that Christmas is on a Saturday because if you didn't finish it last week, you've got all that plenty of time, I got a week. Maybe, you don't have any spare time. You've got to get it done right away. Men more likely to have put it off here.

ROBERTS: And we're bad that way.

ROMANS: And 47 percent expect to shop between Christmas and New Year's. This can be a good idea for you, actually, if you have the money to spend and you're stuck in up on the sales. There might not be as many sales because here's why. The retailers know that they have the upper hand right now, and they do. They know that you're -- if you've only got a few days left, they don't really need to lower prices to get you in because, now, the time is against you.

And they have kept inventories very lean. They were pretty confident that the Frugalis doesn't like me out there. We're going to end up having to, you know, loosen the belt a little bit. So, you're going to find some deals, you're going to find some inconvenience, I should say. Not necessarily in price, the target, a lot of other places, 7- eleven, we were saying, CVS (ph) and the like. They're going to make a very easy for you buy something last minute.

ROBERTS: And don't forget, 7-11 is open Christmas morning, right? ROMANS: Twenty-four hours on Christmas. You can buy wine. You can buy gifts. Look, I sound like I'm an advertisement for them. I'm not being an advertisement for them. I'm just saying this is how badly everybody wants your money. They're finding ways to get it out of your pocket.

ROBERTS: Nothing says Merry Christmas like one of those little Christmas tree air fresheners.

ROMANS: And beef turkey, you can pick some of that, too.

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: Perfect. Thanks, Christine.

COSTELLO: It's 27 minutes past the hour. Time for this morning's top stories.

California, Arizona and Nevada finally drying out after a week of wet and wild weather. Heavy rain and snow left this mark across the region, though. That means there is plenty of cleaning up going on. Some areas of California got more than two feet of rain while mountain regions had received more than 13 feet of snow since Friday.

ROBERTS: We're following a developing and troubling story out of Rome this morning. A package bomb has exploded at the residence of the Swiss ambassador. A security guard suffered serious injuries. He's being treated in a local hospital. We're told that he lose both hands. The ambassador's still on site.

The embassy has not been evacuated. Bomb experts are checking the building. We're told that this happened in the mail room. It was a letter when the security guard opened the letter, it went off. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the act.

COSTELLO: The Obama administration trying to explain why its director of national intelligence, James Clapper, appeared clueless when asked Monday by ABC's Diane Sawyer about the alleged bomb plot broken up in London ten hours earlier. White House Counter terror adviser, John Brennan, on the defensive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, WHITE HOUSE COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISOR: Replay of staff on those arrests, yes. And I know it 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Brennan claims Clapper was busy before the interview dealing with the START treaty and the developments on the Korean Peninsula.

ROBERTS: Well, President Obama on his holiday vacation with the first family right now. The president arrived in Hawaii on a high note early this morning. Politically rejuvenated with tax cuts, "don't ask, don't tell" and the START treaty all done in the last days of what was supposed to be a lame duck Congress.

COSTELLO: Yes. Senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, hanging loose in Hawaii, too, this morning. Ed, you know, you went to Hawaii and during the president's press conference in Washington, he actually went into the crowd of reporters and shook people's hands which is not usual for him.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right. It was freezing cold there in Washington and after the news conference, people were waiting outside for his departure and he wanted to give them a little holiday greeting. We don't see that a lot. Maybe he was in a good mood after those victories.

Let's face it, this has been a pretty bruising year and he comes out here to Hawaii each year for the holidays with friends who, remember, a contrast to Bill Clinton when he would go to Martha's Vineyard and hang out with celebrities and whatnot.

This is a president who wants to hang out with old friends here in Hawaii. I spoke to one of them yesterday saying, look, we keep it private for him. We don't hound him. He's a remote part of the island here on Oahu. It gives him a chance to kind of recharge the batteries.

I noted it was a long year. You will remember the first part of the year all spent on trying to finish the health care reform deal. He finally got that but immediately hit with the oil spill. All summer dogged by unemployment, the jobs picture, and then the shellacking in the election.

So it's no wonder he wants to savor some of the victories from the lame duck and then maybe a transformation. You can see they have the dashboard dolls out here. They're hot sellers in Honolulu shows the president with a surf board, the board shorts and the shake -- you know, as they say here, where you hang loose.

ROBERTS: So, what's on the agenda in Honolulu, Ed? Not for you, for the president.

(LAUGHTER)

HENRY: He's really not going to do a whole heck of a lot. He's really going to kick back. Last two years we've been out here with him, he basically just takes his kids out for snow cones. They go out to the beach a little bit. They have Bo the dog along for the first time ever.

ROBERTS: Is he on quarantine?

HENRY: He passed the tests. They made sure he didn't have ray byes. There's a lot tests. It takes three or four months to make sure your pet is clear before you bring them out. They're going to do that. Getting back, look, he has to pick a new chief economic adviser, get ready for the state of the union at the end of the January and lay out what exactly is his jobs plan for 2011, and then, frankly, get ready for the re-election because 2011 will be a busy legislative year and the Republican contenders will be getting throughout in the spring and summer of 2011, so he's already got to gear up for 2012. It will come real fast, John and Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, it is. We'll gear up for it, as well. Merry Christmas down there, Ed.

HENRY: Happy New Year.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Ed.

The NBA is holding a Christmas auction. How to get your hands on a collector's item basketball when Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies joins us live coming up next.

COSTELLO: Plus, are you sick of all the commercialism of the holiday season? Well, join us in the celebration of Festivus, for the rest of us. The holiday made famous in a classic "Seinfeld" episode, the actor who played Frank Constanza, Mr. Jerry Stiller himself joins us next coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some of the NBA's biggest stars donating the signatures and their time to a special cause. The Memphis Grizzlies' Zach Randolph is doing just that. He's raising money for the "NBA Cares Snowflake Ball Auction."

ROBERTS: He joins us live from Memphis. This Christmas he is giving out the presents his mother couldn't give him as a kid. Zach Randolph joins us this morning. Thank you so much for being with us.

ZACH RANDOLPH, MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: Thank you. How are you doing?

ROBERTS: Doing very well, thank you. We have seen pictures of you giving out gifts and paying the utility bills for some folks. But I want to ask you, what was it that inspired you to give back in this Christmas season? I know that you had a bit of a difficult childhood and that your mother is a real role model to you, raised four kids on welfare.

RANDOLPH: Yes, definitely. You know, I just think it's just important to give back and I think I'm in a position where god has blessed me and what I have came from to give back. And, you know, seeing the kids and helping these kids out in these single-parent homes, gives a smile on my heart and I think that's why god continued to bless me. Hi heart is big and I like to give.

COSTELLO: We have pictures of you giving some presents to kids.

RANDOLPH: Yes. COSTELLO: And I don't know. You're wearing the blue Santa hat and I'm sure they were excited to meet you. But when you give a gift at a holiday season to someone in need, how does it make you feel?

RANDOLPH: Just -- it makes me feel great. You know, like I said, I'm just -- makes feel great. I was a kid at one point of time that, you know, I was on the angel tree and getting gifts from people giving me and my brother and sister gifts and so it makes me feel good. I think that makes my Christmas be able to help kids and to see, you know, these kids smile and make them happy.

ROBERTS: I wanted to point out, too, one of the places you went to give gifts was the brain cancer ward as a children's hospital. And I'm kind of close to this. My sweetheart does a lot of work for the brain tumor foundation for children in Georgia.

How does that make you feel seeing the kids in such a state, and what are you trying to give to those kids who are suffering from such a terrible disease?

RANDOLPH: Just give them hope. You know, I mean, give them hope. Make them smile. Like I said, that's probably the first time they smiled all day when I had came in there. So just to make them smile and give them hope. Show them that people out here cares about them and got a caring heart.

COSTELLO: A lot of people in this country are very general you and those in our culture that just seem to angry about everything. If you could say something to convention people out there to give back, what would you say to them?

RANDOLPH: I think it's important. I mean, people got to understand, it's way -- things are way worse than people can think it possibly can be. So just give back. I mean, have a big heart and care and god has put me in the place where I'm blessed to be able to give back and the things that came from and been through, you know, just makes me want to give back more and continue to give back.

It is not just something to do, you know, just because it's the holidays. I'm doing this all year around and community stuff and try to help kids out, be part of the Boys and Girls Club and just continue to do stuff and try to help kids out any way possible I can.

ROBERTS: I know you found a terrific home there in Memphis and you've become a responsible, charitable guy. It wasn't always that way, though. In some of the other towns you were known as a bit of a party guy. What turned things for you?

RANDOLPH: I mean, I'm just -- I'm older and mature now. I came in the nba at 19. I had bumps and bruises and older now and I got my family. And just, you know, just learning and maturing, you know, just growing up and just being a better person and figuring out, you know.

ROBERTS: And you got a couple of daughters, as well. You want to make sure they grow up with those values. RANDOLPH: Yes. I have two daughters and my son. And I just got to make sure, you know, that raise them the right way and understand about being humble and having a heart and not just treat everybody the same. And that's the thing with me. You know? I treat everybody the same. I'm a humble person. I don't look at this person or, you know, big me, little you. I treat everybody the same. That's what it's all about, humble and caring.

COSTELLO: Sounds so terrific. Tell us about NBA Cares and how you're raising money to help those less fortunate. We have the basketball right here.

ROBERTS: The Snowflake Ball Auction.

RANDOLPH: Yes, the Snowflake Ball. We had every team sign a ball. You can get an autographed signed ball by every team in the NBA. You know, helping out the Boys and Girls Club and the foundations that the NBA's part of, so just we got a ball, everybody signed a basketball.

ROBERTS: We should point out, too, you can get a hold of one of these balls -- we'll sign for you, too, be happy to do that -- At nbacares.com. I guess you can bid on them there, right?

RANDOLPH: Yes. Nbacares.com.

ROBERTS: All right. Great to talk to you this morning.

RANDOLPH: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Merry Christmas to you and good work you're doing.

RANDOLPH: And Merry Christmas to you all, too. Good to be here.

COSTELLO: Merry Christmas. That made me feel good.

RANDOLPH: Yes, a feel-good story.

ROBERTS: Well, the storm out west it is on the move. Who's in line for a white Christmas this year? Up next Rob Marciano has the holiday travel forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I like that. Take a look at Atlanta, Georgia. Good morning, Atlanta. Sunny there, but 30 degrees. Going to warm up, though, going up to 50.

ROBERTS: Beautiful day there, lots of sun.

(WEATHER BREAK)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That's good and helping the recovery. Rob, thanks so much.

MARCIANO: You got it. ROBERTS: Santa Claus is coming to town early in West Palm Beach leaving his sleigh in the shop, his reindeer behind. He hopped on a boat and showed up at the Lion County Safari yesterday dropping out some gifts for the chimps.

As you can see they can't get those presents open fast enough. Those gifts by the way included stuffed animals, sports drinks and treats like popcorn, candy and nuts.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: That's just kind of strange.

Also in South Florida, more great pictures. Look at all these manatees. Because of the recent cold weather there, more than 1,000 manatees have been spotted migrating back and forth from pockets of warm water.

Boaters, listen up. Drive slowly. Can you drive a boat? Sail a boat, whatever. Whatever you do with a boat out there on the water, do it carefully. Because you don't want to run into one of these -- these gentle giants.

ROBERTS: Well, today, it's a very special occasion on the peripenultimate (ph) day of Christmas. It's festivus (ph) today in a place to air your grievances. We're celebrating the holiday featured in the classic episode from "Seinfeld". We even got the traditional unadorned aluminum pole right there and famed actor and comedian Jerry Stiller joins us coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Ten minutes to the top of the hour.

If you're tired of all the shopping, the cooking and entertaining this week, we have a holiday for you. Get ready for the airing of grievances, the feats of strength, that other offbeat tradition because it's festivus. And it all started with this episode of "Seinfeld."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY STILLER, ACTOR: Many Christmases ago I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to the doll?

STILLER: It was destroyed. But out of that, a new holiday was born. A festivus for the rest of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, today is festivus and joining us, a festivus miracle, Jerry Stiller.

STILLER: Right. It's good being back, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: We're so honored --

ROBERTS: Good morning, oh it's great.

STILLER: Yes.

ROBERTS: We've get the festivus pole here.

STILLER: Yes, we got everything. I don't know why I said being back. I've never been on this show before but I watch you quite a bit you know.

COSTELLO: Oh, we love that.

ROBERTS: We appreciate it.

STILLER: I enjoy you guys, yes.

COSTELLO: I wanted to ask you about this. Because some people in the country actually celebrate festivus. Eric Cantor, Representative Cantor had a fund-raiser.

(CROSSTALK)

STILLER: I didn't know that -- well, he -- he should because -- he should celebrate it because you see, you asked before what -- what are the grievances? It takes so long for the unemployment insurance, right? Ok, this pact treaty, that takes so long. "Don't ask, don't tell"; that's one -- another thing that really bothers me.

The whole nature of our life today and the responders bill. I -- I -- that's my -- and Eric Cantor coming out to festivus, I mean, it's a new life for all of us. Perhaps, Eric that will work.

ROBERTS: So those are your only grievances for 2010 or do you have more?

STILLER: I have no grievances because I'm around. I woke up this morning. I had the pills in my pocket. Everything worked there, the pacemaker. The atrial fib, I got all kinds -- stents -- I have got everything. And they all are in tandem. And I have a wonderful wife and a couple of kids.

COSTELLO: You actually -- you absolutely do. But when you did that on the "Seinfeld" show did you think it would catch on and -- and last like this?

STILLER: I had no idea what was going to happen. But today, you know people will see me and they say a festivus for the rest of us. You know that's sort of thing. And the idea that people have taken it seriously, that they get an aluminum pipe and they stick it some place and when you come to a festivus party.

And what goes on at these parties? You know, feats of strength. People start to let out all the anger, all the stuff that holding in all these years and it's a release.

ROBERTS: No doubt the tradition of festivus is that the celebration of festivus is not over until the head of the household is pinned to the ground.

STILLER: That's right.

ROBERTS: Now what are your favorites?

STILLER: My father is already in the ground so it's a little bit too late for that one I could say that --

ROBERTS: But you are the -- you are the head of the Stiller household now.

STILLER: Yes, yes.

ROBERTS: Did Ben ever tried to pin you to the ground?

When we were kids -- when we both were kids. We jostled. Stuff like that. He was always better than me. Knocked me down. Then I say you're doing good.

ROBERTS: What's your favorite feat of strength? Would it be arm wrestling? Would it be a thumb wrestle? Staring contest?

STILLER: I'm not going to be able to talk about that on an early morning show so let's leave it at that, John. No but, you know, I have a great wife and still get excited. How about that?

COSTELLO: That's good.

ROBERTS: You know, I just wanted pointed to point out that the pole does extend.

STILLER: Oh my God. I didn't think CNN went in that direction.

Anyway -- that pole represents something that's important in terms of what they're trying to say. You know, festivus goes back hundreds of years to Rome where it was started by a man names Plautus (ph). He was a comedian and he thought, one day of the year, people should go out who are the working people, the ones who are slobs and put in the day's work. They should have one day out there in the world.

And then they got the idea of this pole, you know, this pole came in much later. The pole represents something completely different than the tree. Because when you look at the pole, there's nothing here. A piece of aluminum. Whatever it is. Aluminum. What can you do with aluminum? You have to get in touch with your own feelings at this point. What do you really feel? What's going on inside you?

You're free of all the -- that's coming in anyway. You have the tree there. You have everything else. You have everything but this thing gets you in touch with your true self.

ROBERTS: And of course, it is to be appreciated for its high strength to weight ratio, as well?

STILLER: Well, I never-- think about the aluminum as something that surrounds you when you're flying in the air. Everything in that plane that's so -- makes you go through the air is aluminum. We are in an aluminum tube. That's the fuselage. They decorate it with this and that and they people there to serve you food, whatever that is. And then you have aluminum. Aluminum is a very important part of our life.

COSTELLO: I can't -- I can't believe we're having this conversation.

STILLER: You can't wait for -- but if you have --

ROBERTS: To celebrate it.

STILLER: If you think about it, the toughest thing nowadays to go into a hardware store and ask for a piece of aluminum, then they charge you by the foot. This is -- I mean, so the exploitation of festivus is just around the corner where they're going the make you feel that you have to pay for every foot of aluminum.

ROBERTS: You think Christmas tree is expensive.

STILLER: Yes.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

STILLER: Anyway, it's been -- you know, it's kind of a holiday and I myself -- I enjoy all the holidays. I'm not trying to cover my ass here but I do -- I do enjoy Christmas trees. When I go down the street on Broadway I stop at the fir tree and I smell it. It fills me with something.

I watch the television. I watch the tree going up at Rockefeller Center and I think that's wonderful. When Amy and Ben were born, we used to go down to Rockefeller Center and skate, you know. And there was the festival and everything else.

And then of course these eight days of Hanukkah which drive me crazy where you have to buy these gifts. And then if you have extended family, you have to buy them gifts.

ROBERTS: That's eight crazy nights.

STILLER: Yes. I'll settle for the pole.

ROBERTS: There you go.

COSTELLO: I think a lot of people would think that was a good idea.

Hey, let's talk about your wife because you're doing some show on the Internet with her.

STILLER: We're both doing -- it's called Stiller&meara.com and it's an Internet show in which you -- it's involved with Yahoo! And we do a two-minute show and it comes out every week. We have been doing it for about six, seven weeks now.

ROBERTS: In fact, we have a clip of it. You're talking about the service in World War II here and what you were doing during World War II.

STILLER: This is the one, yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was your job?

STILLER: To distribute venereal disease films to the soldiers in the Mediterranean --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Filthy job but somebody had to do it.

STILLER: Because there was all free love around at the time and I was asked to instruct these guys --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Free love?

STILLER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's like an ancient phrase -- free love.

STILLER: My job was to instruct the men as to how to avoid VD.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You aren't a doctor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: You and Ann have been together for 56 years now, all the way through the variety shows of '60s, the '70s. How do you stay together so long?

STILLER: I don't know. I'm thinking of a great line that George Burns said to me once. I asked him who are the happiest couple in Hollywood? Arty Shore said you and Gracey and he said that's because we weren't married. I said, what do you mean? He said we were married to the business.

And Ann and I have been lucky. We have two beautiful kids. You know? And we love the work. The work is -- to hear people laugh is what fills me, keeps me going. I'm not trying to get overly sentimental. That's too Christmasy but the -- being on the air, even this little show at this point in our life, that was put together by Ben, my son, had this idea, sold it to Yahoo!

Now we come in every couple of weeks and we start to go of on subjects, you know? We talk about marijuana. We talk about illegal immigration. How the pilgrims came over here in 1600s, they were the first illegal immigrants. We go into places like that.

ROBERTS: It's great to see you still together after so long. It's great to see you.

STILLER: Thank you for having me.

ROBERTS: Happy festivus to you.

STILLER: Thank you John. Miss Costello.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for coming in.

STILLER: Thank you. It's been fun.

COSTELLO: We so appreciate it.

We have to head to Atlanta now and Kyra Phillips.

ROBERTS: Not just yet. We'll be back right after this break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: If you're traveling today, stay safe. And if we don't see you tomorrow, Merry Christmas.

ROBERTS: All right. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Breaking news: another package bomb explodes at an embassy in Rome. Good morning Kyra.