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American Morning
Last Minute Shopping; Korean Tensions; Paris Airport Evacuated; Spiderman's Return to Broadway Stage; John Roberts Leaving "AMERICAN MORNING";
Aired December 24, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Friday the 24th of December. It's Christmas Eve on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran this morning. We have a lot to talk about. Let's get right to it. For those flying this holiday, be aware. Transportation security agents will be paying extra close attention to insulated beverage containers. There's concern that terrorists may try to hide explosive material inside those containers. Passengers are still allowed to bring them on board planes, though.
ROBERTS: If the rain felt like it lasted forever, imagine how long the cleanup is going to take. It is a mess. Have a look at these residential streets near Los Angeles. Cars buried above the wheel wells in mud, mud all the way up to the front doors of some homes. Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Kings County under a state of emergency this Christmas Eve.
COSTELLO: And a salmonella outbreak linked to a national sandwich chain. Health officials alfalfa sprouts from Jimmy John's Restaurant are connected to 89 cases of salmonella poisoning -- again, 15 states and Washington, D.C.
President Obama is expected to sign the food safety bill early next year. That would give the FDA more control over about 80 percent of the food supply.
ROBERTS: But, first, this Christmas Eve morning, attention holiday shoppers. You've got less than 24 hours now to get those gifts under the tree and if you're headed out to the stores this morning, you're going to have a lot of people to deal with. It is estimated that 23 million people are delinquent in their Christmas shopping and will be out there trying to get last-minute gifts today.
Our Sandra Endo is in the middle of it all. She's live for us in Norcross, Georgia, this morning.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John and Carol. All those procrastinators haven't made it out here yet. You can see the parking lot hasn't filled up, but that is all expected to change. We're waiting for a lot of these stores to open, but some stores like this Old Navy here have been opened around the clock. They opened up at 7:00 yesterday morning. They're not closing until 7:00 p.m. tonight.
And that's because shoppers like Sue right here who come in way early in the morning to get your last-minute shopping done, right? Why did you wait so long and why did you decide to come out so early to get some gifts?
SUE HANKINS, LAST-MINUTE SHOPPER: Well, I happen to be running this morning and ran through this parking lot and saw they were open and I thought, oh, I can get here early and get it done. So, I can get home and start cooking.
ENDO: You still have a lot of shopping to do, right?
HANKINS: I do. I have -- I have quite a few I need to pick up today and so, this kind of gets me out early and started.
ENDO: Why on earth did you wait so long? Because there are going to be crowds later on.
HANKINS: It's not something you plan. But, look, there's -- you know, the traffic is down right now. It's a great time to get it done. The selection is down, but still, stores like this opening early really help.
ENDO: Any good deals throughout?
HANKINS: Great deals -- really very, very good deals here. So, they had some specials all night long I understand.
ENDO: But for you, you're going to have to make a couple trips, right, to the stores? Because not all stores are open so early.
HANKINS: That's true. There's a store I'm looking at across the way there that I wish was open right now because I have a great coupon there. But I have to wait until 9:00 a.m. when they open.
ENDO: All right. Sue, thanks so much for talking with us and good luck.
HANKINS: Thank you.
ENDO: And actually some good news out there this holiday season, the National Retail Federation is saying that holiday shopping is better than anticipated, but the bad news is, a lot of people, you know, want to shop online and those online retailers, most of them if you order today, your presents won't get there until after Christmas. So, all the procrastinators, you're going to have to brave the crowds and get out there if you want to get those gifts -- John and Carol.
ROBERTS: I love it. She's got a good coupon for the store across the street. A woman after my own heart. Sandra, thanks so much.
ENDO: You got it.
COSTELLO: It was simply chaos in a mall in Texas when some 500 people decided they didn't want to wait for the new Air Jordans. The crowd lunged for the doors in the wee hours. Police actually had to spray everyone with pepper spray to break it up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chaos. Everybody everywhere fighting to get in, trying to -- it was decent but it just was a struggle to get the shoes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People got pushed down the stairs. It's crazy, man. I saw it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're running in, pushing everybody out the way. Trying to hurry up in line so they can be the first to get them, even get a chance to get them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That is crazy. All over sneakers that cost 175 bucks. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt and the lines were much more subdued the morning.
ROBERTS: Now to France where not too many folks are getting in or out of Paris' main airport. Half of the flights are canceled at Charles de Gaulle this morning short on deicing solution. It comes after a severe winter storm paralyzed Heathrow Airport in London, as well as creating a backlog of flights across Europe this week. Thousands of people have been stranded at airports and train stations.
COSTELLO: And check this out. This was San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, swamped by floodwater before yesterday's Poinsettia Bowl, but they broke out the pumps. They got the water out in time and the game between Navy and San Diego State went off without a hitch and, by the way, San Diego State won the game, 35-14.
ROBERTS: Could use some of those people a little further north in Los Angeles where they got mudslides in the neighborhood up to here. Get rid of some of that stuff.
Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center for us right now.
And, Rob, a little more rain expected for California in the next 48 hours.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, just a little bit. This storm, John and Carol, doesn't look nearly as sustained as the last one. But for, you know, if we didn't have last week, we'd say, you know, this is a decent storm coming through California that will give them a quick shot of rain there. You see it in the satellite picture behind me.
As far as where it's raining right now or today, we do expect rain across the Northwest and that rain will begin to slide down to the South. But to start the day, San Francisco to San Diego will be dry as they clean up that mess. That storm from California is now headed to the east. It is in through the Midwest and it's dropping down a little bit snow.
So, we're going to see some delays I think in Minneapolis and Chicago today. New York metros, Philly and Boston, not a lot of precip, but it will be blustery. So, slow things down, some rain in Dallas and Houston.
You mentioned Charles de Gaulle. That storm will be moving across northern Europe. So, Brussels, towards parts of Germany, you are traveling there for the holidays, call ahead before you head to the airport.
There's your snow from Minneapolis to Cedar Rapids. Winter storm warning just issued for northeastern parts of Iowa today and we could see one to three inches of snow potentially in Minneapolis, and three to five, maybe six inches or so across parts of eastern Iowa. I don't think we'll see much more than an inch or two in Chicago but with lake-effect snow, probably seeing snows on and off throughout the holiday.
Down to the south, some thunderstorms developing across parts of Texas. That will roll in through Dallas and Houston as we go through time. Forty-eight degrees is the high in Dallas, cooling down after the front comes through at 73 in Houston; 53 degrees for a high temperature in Atlanta and 38 degrees, pretty much been your call in New York City.
All right. So, here's the -- here's your Christmas forecast with ornaments and light bulbs flashing around the sun for your merry Christmas enjoyment. The low across the south does bring a little bit of moisture, the form of some mix precipitation, north Georgia in through Tennessee. And it is possible to see a little bit of wet snow on the ground Christmas night here in Atlanta and then this thing all drives up towards the north and east as we go through time.
Day after Christmas, still looking at the potential of seeing some snow across the northeast -- I think the further east you are, as it's going to be a coastal storm, the more you'll get in the way of snow, but a dusting or more perhaps in New York City or Baltimore, or D.C. Just to get you in the mood.
ROBERTS: As long as it's just a dusting, it will be nice.
MARCIANO: That's what we're working on.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much.
COSTELLO: Well, fans held their breath as "Spider-Man" returned to Broadway. So, was it high art or more mayhem? We'll hear from them ahead.
ROBERTS: And Governor Bill Richardson back in the United States after his trip to North Korea. We'll hear from him, what he expects next from the volatile region and we'll ask him about another serious matter for the state of New Mexico -- a possible pardon for notorious outlaw Billy the Kid.
Seven minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The Ohio State University football program racked by scandal just as the team gets ready for the Sugar Bowl. Five players, including the star quarterback Terrelle Pryor will miss the first five games of next season for selling school rings, awards and apparel which violates NCAA rules. A sixth player must sit out the first game, but the players can play in the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas on January 4th. Critics are questioning the timing of the suspensions.
Excuse me.
Earthquakes in Arkansas? More likely than you think. Just ask the people in the small town of Guy. More than 500 quakes have been recorded in the past few weeks, 500. Last year, there were only 39. And residents are on edge about the trend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SHARON STRICKLAND, RESIDENT OF GUY, ARKANSAS: There it is. You felt it. You felt it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got one.
STRICKLAND: That was it!
STEVE WILSON, WOOLY HALLOW STATE PARK: Yes. In the beginning, it was -- it was fun. It was neat. It was -- it was a cool thing to experience.
But now, we're kind of -- we're wanting it to go away because in the back of your mind, you think, well, is there going to be a big one?
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: I don't blame him for thinking that way. Geologists don't even know whether they'll top stop any time soon or what's causing so many.
ROBERTS: They're rocking and rolling there in Guy this morning.
At the beginning of this week, tensions between North and South Korea seemed to calm down just a little bit. But in the last few days, the South has been holding large scale live fire military exercises and that has got the North talking tough again.
Joining us this morning from Santa Fe, New Mexico is Governor Bill Richardson. He just got back from a trip to North Korea. He's here to talk about that. And also, one of the notorious gunslingers of the Wild West and whether or not he's going to pardon Billy the Kid before he leaves office at the end of the year.
Good morning, Governor. Good to see you.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: John, nice to be with you.
ROBERTS: Let's talk a little bit first about--
RICHARDSON: Merry Christmas.
ROBERTS: Thank you. And the same to you.
Let's talk a little bit, first of all, about North Korea. Tensions did seem, as we said at the beginning of this, to ratchet down a notch, but then the North was talking tough again toward the end of the week, threatening actually a sacred war.
Do you think there's a real threat in the words or is it just rhetoric?
RICHARDSON: Well, this is the most tension I have ever seen on the Korean Peninsula for the last 15 years that I have been involved with this issue. It was reflected in my trip.
But the fact is that the North Koreans in the past, South Korean artillery drill, they didn't react militarily. That was positive.
The tension is up again. Once again, the North Koreans, what they do is ratchet up the rhetoric enormously. Now, they're talking about sacred wars, nuclear wars. That's typical of them, very inflammatory rhetoric. But it's not always accompanied by actions as evidenced by last week.
I found the officials I talked to from the military, from the foreign ministry in North Korea, to be a little more pragmatic than those that I dealt with in the past. So, I think maybe there's a little bit of an opening. But, sure, there's enormous tension out there.
ROBERTS: Yes.
RICHARDSON: It's very, very tenuous period and I think, John, we need some diplomacy out there. We need some mediation. We need somebody to get all these sides together.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we seal if the six-party talks can maybe get that going again.
I got to ask you about the potential pardon for Billy the Kid. Your term is up at the end of the year, December the 31st. You're leaving office. And before that, you're saying you might issue a pardon to the notorious gunslinger.
Why are you even considering that?
RICHARDSON: Well, I've considered this for the last eight years. You know, this is a part of New Mexico history and the American West and American history. And, by the way, all you guys do is talk about plane delays and earthquakes and wars, and I'm talking about fun and American history.
But my point here, John, is that I'm not going to issue a blanket pardon for Billy the Kid, because he did kill, for instance, two deputies when he was escaping from the Lincoln County jail. The issue is whether a predecessor of mine, Governor Lew Wallace, who wrote "Ben-Hur," in effect kept his promised to pardon Billy if Billy presented testimony on a murder case. That's the issue in the case of a sheriff named William Brady.
So, you know, I'm looking at all of the documentation. I've heard from people around the world. It's about 52-48 in favor of the pardon.
ROBERTS: Yes.
RICHARDSON: It's very close.
ROBERTS: Yes.
RICHARDSON: There's enormous interest and I'll decide before I leave. But, you know, we need -- this gets the state good publicity. It's part of our history. It's fun.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: But it has definitely -- it's definitely been a source of controversy, though, because the descendants of territorial Governor Lew Wallace and the descendants of famous lawman Pat Garrett who killed Billy the Kid back in 1881 say he never promised him a pardon for his testimony, that you're wrong on that.
RICHARDSON: Well, there's a historical record that suggests otherwise. Look -- this is what I'm trying to find out. Was this commitment by the governor, is it valid? Is it documented? Some say yes. Obviously, the descendants say no.
You know, with Pat Garrett, I'm not disputing that this guy was a great Western lawman. He killed Billy the Kid. You know, the circumstances of Billy's death, where his family or he was buried, I'm not questioning that. The issue is not issuing a blanket pardon. I'm not going to do that.
The issue is whether this specific case of Sheriff Brady who, by the way, although he was a sheriff, John, he represented the Santa Fe ring which was kind of bad syndicate in New Mexico. So, you know, there's good and bad to every side.
ROBERTS: Well, it was the wild west.
RICHARDSON: Trying to make a decision.
ROBERTS: Yes. So, you've only --
RICHARDSON: It's a wild west. It's our history.
ROBERTS: You've only got a few days left. I don't imagine you can get a whole lot more evidence than you've received, so far. So, let me ask you, which way are you leaning? Toward the pardon or away from it?
RICHARDSON: Well, I'm not leaning either way. I am --
ROBERTS: Oh, come on.
RICHARDSON: I'm collecting all this documentation. No, really!
ROBERTS: You've made up your mind?
RICHARDSON: I'm going to string it out a little bit. No, no. I haven't. I haven't. You know, I'm not somebody that issues pardons if you look at my record.
ROBERTS: Yes.
RICHARDSON: I don't have a whole bunch of pardons, but I do think that you have to examine history and evidence.
ROBERTS: Yes.
RICHARDSON: And look, is it benefiting my state with publicity? Sure.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: I get the sense you're leaning in favor of it.
RICHARDSON: Oh, no. I'm not -- you know? We'll see what happens. I haven't decided, but I will before I leave office. By the way, I've got about eight days to go. So, don't overdo it.
ROBERTS: We'll try not to. Governor Richardson, it's always great to talk to you. Thanks so much and Merry Christmas to you.
RICHARDSON: Same to you, John. All of you. Thank you.
ROBERTS: He's not tipping his hand. We could make him to tip his hand.
COSTELLO: No.
ROBERTS: I bet he's going to issue the pardon.
COSTELLO: I bet he is, too.
ROBERTS: Yes. And it would be a very narrow pardon.
COSTELLO: Yes, very narrow pardon, but I bet he will, too. But he's smart to string it out because it is good publicity for New Mexico.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. Got us talking.
COSTELLO: Lady Gaga, talking about publicity. She's adored by fans all over the world with one big exception. Coming up, the rock superstar who says Gaga should go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This news is just coming in to CNN. Terminal 2-E of Charles De Gaulle Airport has been evacuated because of snow on the roof. This is in France, of course. Officials fear the roof will collapse. Reports say 2,000 people have been told to get out of the airport. Airlines have already canceled half of their flights from the main Paris airport, and as you might imagine, people are not very happy in Paris this morning.
ROBERTS: And if that sort of, you know, rings up a memory, it's because shortly after it opened back in 2004, there was a partial collapse of the roof.
COSTELLO: People were killed
ROBERTS: Four people were killed, yes. So, they don't want to take any chances with that. But can you imagine? Closing a terminal because of snow on the roof?
COSTELLO: I can't imagine 2,000 people being told to get out of the airport in the snowy cold knowing they'll miss their flights to wherever they're going this holiday season.
ROBERTS: They just seem incapable of dealing with the snow there in Paris. And so, if you're traveling through Charles de Gaulle today, it's going to be problematic or if you're headed to Paris, as well.
Well, current (ph) enough, the Broadway musical "Spiderman" returned to the stage last night. This time, it went off without a hitch. It's the first performance since an actor fell 20 feet off the stage earlier this week. There was a new safety measures in place. Spectators seemed to be impressed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK MARS, FROM MIAMI, FLORIDA: I mean, you don't feel an element of danger. It's kind of like when you go to the circus or if you see like a cirque du Soleil or something like that. You know, there's always a potential, but you're not looking for that. You're just enjoying the excitement of the show. That's what you really saw out there tonight.
LOGAN WEBER, FROM MARIETTA, GEORGIA: The harness does look really safe, how they had two strings on every person that went above the crowd. If one broke, there is still one. That will still be good, so I think they'll be fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: Producers say the actor who was hurt, Christopher Tierney, is expected to recover. He had a couple of crack ribs. The $65 million musical is the most expensive production in Broadway history.
COSTELLO: Ozzy Osbourne wants a rock star to hold back? What's happening in the universe? The British rocker says Lady Gaga is overexposed, and frankly, he's tired of her. Could it be her crazy outfits? I don't know. Ozzie likened her crazy outfits, by the way, to wearing a lamp shade, he told "Us Weekly" that the 24-year-old needs to, quote, "take sometime off."
ROBERTS: Coming from Ozzy who's done so many extreme things over his career?
COSTELLO: Hey, everybody has their time, and it happens to be Lady Gaga's time now.
ROBERTS: They do. Everybody has an opinion, as well. So, that's just one person. Plenty of other people would like her to continue, I think.
NBA star LeBron James throwing himself a 26 birthday party, but it doesn't look like he wants to pay for it. The "New York Daily News" reporting a marketing firm is offering companies the chance to sponsor what they're calling a full-court birthday celebration in Miami. For a minimum of $10,000, you get a photo-op with LeBron and product gets a spot in the schwag bag. The only problem with the whole pitch, though, the marketing firm misspelled LeBron's name.
COSTELLO: I love that. That's the best part of the story.
The governor of Vermont is known for his so-called dog and pony show press conferences, so, yesterday, he decided to go with his reputation. Governor Jim Douglas brought out an actual dog and pony for the holiday press conference. Reporters may have had the last laugh, though. They gave him a pair of plastic scissors. Douglas's nickname is Governor Scissorhands. He's known for going everywhere and anywhere for a ribbon cutting.
ROBERTS: And glad to see him now with the great sense of humor. A real dog and pony show there.
Actress, Halle Berry talks about one of her most important roles, and this helping women turn their lives around. Hear why it's a cause that's very near and dear to her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: You may know Halle Berry as the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for best actress, but did you also know she's been raising awareness for a problem many women hide?
ROBERTS: Our Alino Cho is here to explain that. It's part of her big special, "Big Stars, Big Giving" which is coming out tonight. Good morning. ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, from more than a decade, Halle Berry has been spending her time, energy, and money at the Genesis Center, a shelter for domestic violence victims in Los Angeles. There's a big reason why she does it. For Berry, it's personal. Domestic violence runs in her family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): It's been a personal crusade for Halle Berry for more than a decade, a secret that she's kept hidden for the early part of her life, watching her mother being abused.
How does that shape you as an adult?
HALLE BERRY, ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS: Well, you know, honestly, I think I've spent my adult life dealing with the sense of low self-esteem that that sort of implanted in me. Somehow, I felt not worthy.
CHO: Do you know how many people in the world would say, are you kidding me? You're Halle Berry.
BERRY: I'm sure, but because that's Halle Berry, but before I'm Halle Berry, I'm Little Halle who was a little girl growing in this environment that damaged me in some ways. And I've spent my adult life trying to really heal from that.
CHO: This is amazing.
Part of that healing happens here at the Genesee Center, a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Los Angeles where she volunteers. And she often shows up unannounced.
BERRY: I come here sometimes, and I play with the kids. I see the children, and so, I'm just regular old crackers to them. You know?
CHO: Really?
BERRY: And I love being regular old crackers. I have to say.
CHO: A far cry from the glamorous screen siren we know from the movies. But it is this work that Berry says is more important. More meaningful.
BERRY: Please help. Any way that you can.
I have a spot in my soul that understands the devastation that this causes a family and how hard it is to rebuild your self-esteem when you suffered.
CHO: It's the reason why she's taking on a personal project. Renovating these rundown apartments, so women who flee their abusive partners have a safe, happy place to live.
Very happy. BERRY: Happy and where they can rejuvenate and feel hugged and loved.
CHO: And see what life can be like so they can dream of a better future.
BERRY: Well, we can turn these apartments around in two weeks.
CHO: Wow.
It's something she couldn't do for her mother, give strength to women who have been beaten, battered and broken down.
What is your message to any woman who might be watching out there who might be in a relationship that's abusive?
BERRY: Get out. Don't stay a moment longer. If there's no shelter, go to a friend, go to the police station, go somewhere, but you go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Such great advice. You know, for behind the scenes photos or if you want to get involved with the Genesee Center or get involved just in general, helping around the world, you go to CNN.com/AMFix or CNN.com/impact where all of the pieces from "Big Stars, Big Giving" will live this year.
You know, the one thing Halle Berry says which is why she is committed to renovating these apartments at the shelter, she says that when these women come there, they're so battered, they're so broken own that if they can see this happy, colorful environment, they can dream the dream for themselves.
ROBERTS: It just shows you how powerful an effect it has on you that a person like her with her talent and her beauty, her obvious attributes, can have such low self-esteem.
CHO: It's incredible. It's incredible. And she says, you know, the one thing that she wants to do in terms of giving back is she says this is the one thing I can use my voice for. If not this, I don't quite know what celebrity is for.
COSTELLO: The interesting thing about her -- I know she says her mother was abused, but she's been herself in abusive relationships.
CHO: She has, she has. And I asked her about that. I said "You say very publicly that you've made some wrong choices in terms of partners," and she said "As a result of my childhood I'm sure, and I'm really trying to reverse that legacy."
And part of the healing process again is volunteering her time at the Genesee Center. And you can really see it. I mean, those women who come there to the shelter really get a big boost from seeing Halle Berry, as you can imagine.
ROBERTS: Some great stories you have been bringing us on this.
CHO: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Don't forget, Alina has a one hour special coming up, "Big Stars, Big Giving," airs tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern and airs again tomorrow on Christmas Day at 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. eastern.
ROBERTS: Crossing the half hour now, it's time for this morning's top stories.
Close to 100 people sick and health officials say the trail lead to one restaurant. Centers for Disease Control warns alfalfa sprouts from the national sandwich chain Jimmy Johns are linked to an outbreak of salmonella in 15 states and Washington D.C.
COSTELLO: And if you're headed to the airport this morning, you may want to leave your insulated beverage container or thermos at home. The TSA says security agents will be paying extra close attention to empty tea or coffee thermos. The concern is terrorists may use them to hide explosives but, again, you are allowed to bring them on board the plane. They'll just get an extra security check.
ROBERTS: Just in to us from Paris, about 2,000 people have been evacuated from Charles de Gaulle airport, one of the terminals there, because of snow on the roof of Terminal 2E. You'll remember that roof partially collapsed shortly after it was opened in 2004.
Forecasters are expecting below freezing conditions and the airport does not have enough of the deicing liquid that it needs to keep the aircraft flying safely. Airlines have already canceled half of their flights to and from the airport.
Let's check in with CNN's Jim Boulden live in London for us this morning. They're just having so problems with the snow there in Paris.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, it moves city to city. Today it's Paris. As you say, they canceled about half their flights this morning. We're expecting to get another update from Paris to see what they were going to do for the rest of the day.
Let's be clear. They have evacuated Terminal 2E and where Delta airlines from what I can tell flies out. You want to check to make shire they're not delayed or canceled. There have been no injuries or collapse. It seems to me worried about the snow on the roof and the same terminal that collapsed soon after it opened in 2004.
What we are being told is people moved to another terminal, so it's very likely, though, to go to the other terminal and fly off so I would caution people to check about this. Air Mexico, Japanese airlines, Korean airlines, and Delta airlines, the fancy, new terminal there in Paris and they were having trouble as we say. It's been a snowy day and as you already reported they were having problems with having enough deicing.
COSTELLO: So it's miserable. I just can't imagine the airports evacuated. They don't have enough deicing for the plane, which seems weird to me because why wouldn't they have enough deicing agent?
BOULDEN: Well, you know, I learned this week which I didn't realize -- the airlines are in charge of the deicing themselves. They have to have the contracts. The airports do not do the deicing. At least that's true here in the U.K. so they're responsible for everything elsewhere you might think of, snow removal, the ice, clearing the gangways and the runways but the airlines themselves do the contracting.
And there's only so much capacity and space for the deicing. So if their using too much, more than they expected they have to wait for a new shipment and may be nothing more than that and thinking about here in Europe more deicing storage.
COSTELLO: It's the middle of December.
ROBERTS: And they're not used to this much snow at this time of year.
BOULDEN: Absolutely not. There was 150,000 tons removed just last weekend here in London and trying to buy as much removal equipment as Oslo has. So some airports say we won't go through this next year again and only two, three days into physically into winter.
ROBERTS: Why do people wait until the big snowstorm to buy a snow shovel? I don't know. Jim Boulden this morning, thanks.
COSTELLO: New this morning, a wanted man drives into President Obama's checkpoint, stopping him in his tracks. Cops in Honolulu hot on the trail of a man in trouble for traffic violation when he drove into the checkpoint. The Secret Service drew their own weapons on the suspect. He's been arrested.
ROBERTS: The president is planning to tack on some vacation time after that rather busy lame duck session in Congress and planning to return to Washington on the 2nd of January instead of New Year's Day.
COSTELLO: So a rare wine worth $30,000, it's 63 years old. It is now for sale. But how can you be sure if it's good?
ROBERTS: Or turned? It was lost on a shelf. Maybe they weren't looking after it.
COSTELLO: We're going to talk to the man who found that bottle of wine coming up your way, next. It's 35 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: How much would you pay for a glass of wine? Maybe $15 if it's a very special occasion? How about more than $1,000? Apparently an extremely rare double magnum of Bordeaux from Burn Steakhouse in Tampa is worth it.
Even more jaw dropping is that until recently it was gathering dust in the wine cellar of restaurant, hidden until my next guest found it. Eric Renault, senior sommelier at Burn Steakhouse joins us now. Good morning.
ERIC RENAUD, SOMMELIER: Good morning, Carol. Merry Christmas.
COSTELLO: Merry Christmas. You are in the wine cellar and looking around, and what do you find?
RENAUD: Well, a bottle on its side, buried behind other bottles that, quite frankly, was a shocker to everybody.
COSTELLO: Show us the bottle. Hold it up there so we can see it. Don't drop it.
RENAUD: All right, I'll try not to. It's 1947 Chateau La Tour double magnum. Probably only a handful of these bottles exist in the world today and some may be fakes.
COSTELLO: That's a huge bottle. So how did it remain hidden in the cellar for so long? It must have been bought sometime in the 1950s?
RENAUD: Probably mid '60s to late '60s. The size of the cellar is very, very large. And most of this inventory predates computers, so most of these wines have been here for a long time and been shuffled around by people and moved around. And in our warehouse and the cellar, things get lost.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Even an La Tour. It's a fantastic wine. 1947. So you guys are not going to auction off the bottle of wine. You will sell it to a crust her. Is that correct?
RENAUD: Correct. And in the tradition that is Burn's, we want it to be sold at a table for people to enjoy, not to have a big media event out of it. It's truly -- it's about the wine. It's about the friends, the experience of Burn.
COSTELLO: It is about the wine and rich friends you might have because you have set a price tag. The price tag for the wine is $30,000.
RENAUD: It is. It is. And I think quite frankly for a restaurant that is a very fair price. And seemingly from the feedback we have, it's a fair to low price.
COSTELLO: OK. So if I decide to spend $30,000 on that bottle of wine, and there's no guarantee that the wine is going to be any good.
RENAUD: No. But it is a money back guarantee. If the wine is not good you will have your money back, absolutely.
COSTELLO: So who decides if the wine is not good? Is it the customer or is it you?
RENAUD: Obviously, it will end up being myself or whichever sommelier opens up the bottle. This wine is likely to drink -- drink like a wine decades younger than it really is.
COSTELLO: See, what I would want to know you have an excellent cellar and it's set at a temperature of 50 degrees, but is there a record that will show you that that cellar temperature remained consistent since the 1960s? You are in Florida, after all.
RENAUD: Well, we actually have an on-site generator so every time power goes out in the area, Burns will still keep going and that's the entire restaurant. We have had people come in to dine here when power has been lost in the neighborhood.
COSTELLO: So how excited are you to maybe have a taste of that wine from that very wealthy, generous customer that you might sell that bottle of wine to?
RENAUD: That -- that is the goal I think of almost every member here to include the owner I'm sure would love to have a taste of this. We find an awful lot of wine here. This is just a pretty special bottle to find.
COSTELLO: So just finally, you know, I know, imagine you're tasting it. What do you believe it will taste like? What will the experience be like?
RENAUD: Well, I've been fortunate enough to try a number of wines this age older from La Tour, other producers. Generally speaking, out of these cellars purchased when these wines are amazing. This bottle particularly, again, I expect to drink like a 1990 or 1995 big, rich, lush, great tannins, just amazing mouth feel. The aroma will probably last for hours.
ROBERTS: Eric, it's John Roberts. I want to ask you a question. You talk about this drinking like something that was bottled in the early 1990s. It is a '47. What would have been the perfect time to drink this wine? 1955, 1960?
RENAUD: 2050, 2080.
ROBERTS: Really? It lasts that long? Because, you know, they have a finite life.
RENAUD: They do. Again, I've been fortunate enough to try wines 100 years old here drinking beautifully. In this format, these large formats age so well. It's going to be decades. This wine is -- it's 100-year wine easy.
ROBERTS: Fantastic.
COSTELLO: Keep us posted on who buys it because --
ROBERTS: I wonder what they originally paid for it.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. What did you originally pay for it?
RENAUD: The records are gone.
(LAUGHTER)
My guess, we hear rumors of $100. I think an honest guest, a true guess is probably range $500 to $700 is probably what he paid for the bottle in 1968.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Eric. Thank you for joining us this morning. Fascinating stuff.
ROBERTS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: The oldest wine I tasted from was 1959, and it was fantastic. Wines do last that long.
ROBERTS: Ten years before you were born.
COSTELLO: More than that. No. You just don't know the condition of the cork and if it really was stored in the cellar remained 50 degrees for, what, 30 or 40 years. That would be great, but there is no guarantee of that.
ROBERTS: It was 20 years before you were born.
RENAUD: Yes. That.
ROBERTS: Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? We'll tell you the places to see some snow before the sun rises tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: For many A-listers, giving back this holiday is more than public praise, it is personal. Our Alina Cho talked to some of the Hollywood's biggest stars for her special, "Big Stars, Big Giving." We'll introduce you to another right after this.
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COSTELLO: Charity work, it's very personal for some of Hollywood's biggest stars like Justin Bieber and Edward Norton.
ROBERTS: You have seen all morning Alina Cho caught up with some of the biggest names of music and film and how they are giving back. It's all for her special "Big Stars, Big Giving" airing tonight. And she's here with another installment. Good morning.
CHO: Good morning. It's been a rough couple of months interviewing the a-list stars. It has been hard work. Justin Bieber, Edward Norton, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Halle Berry, five megastars who are using their celebrity to shine a spotlight on causes that might not otherwise get an attention. For all of them there's a special reason why they're doing it. For some it's family, others frustration. But what they all share is a commitment to giving back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: The hair, the music, the moves -- Justin Bieber, a teenage megastar who surprised us with his passion for giving back.
JUSTIN BIEBER, SINGER: For me, I grew up really, you know, I didn't have a lot of money, and for me it's about helping people out that haven't had opportunity.
CHO: For academy win award actress Nicole Kidman.
NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTOR: I've been trying to please my mother and this is probably the thing that she most responds to in my life.
CHO: That thing is Kidman's work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations arm that fights for gender equality and to end violence against women.
HALLY BERRY, ACTOR: The big part of Genesee is teaching women how to take care of themselves.
CHO: Halle Berry grew up watching her own mother suffer.
CHO (on camera): How does that shape you as an adult?
BERRY: Well, you know, honestly, I think I have spent my adult life dealing with the sense of low self esteem that that sort of implanted in me, and I've spent my adult life trying to really heal from that.
CHO: Part of that healing happens here at the Genesee center, a shelter for domestic violence victims in Los Angeles where berry volunteers and helps other women in a way she couldn't help her mother.
Actress Julianne Moore's cause is education. She's an artist ambassador for Save the Children.
CHO (on camera): One in five children lives in poverty.
JULIANNE MOORE, ACTOR: One in five children in the United States lives in poverty. When you tell people that, they are shocked, absolutely shocked.
CHO: Actor Edward Norton s trying to shake up the way people give online, creating what he calls the Facebook of if Philanthropy, a fundraising web platform called "Crowd-rise" where anyone can create a page to raise money for a cause. Norton wants Crowd-rise to be engaging and fun. So he can inspire the next generation to give.
CHO (on camera): If you don't give back no one will like you.
EDWARD NORTON, ACTOR: If you don't give back no one will like you, that is our core philosophy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Just go to crowdrise.com. It is their core philosophy. Norton says they're basically a bunch of dorks. He does hope to revolutionize the world of online giving one webpage at a time. Of course we hope that he does it.
But the interesting thing that thread for all of these celebrities is they all admit, listen. We are famous. We're celebrities. We've been given this incredible gift. The one thing that we can do that's meaningful is give back.
ROBERTS: And then people will like them.
CHO: And then people will like them.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it.
CHO: Thank you, John. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: You can get more, too, because your one-hour special airs tonight. Don't miss it at 7:00 p.m. eastern and then Christmas Day at 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. eastern.
ROBERTS: Five minutes to the top of the hour. We'll be back after a quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Oh yes. There's Uncle Phil reading the girls and boys stories out of "The New York Post" this morning.
COSTELLO: Such a beautiful sight, so Christmas-y.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes. Nothing says Christmas like Page Six scandal.
(LAUGHTER)
Well, Santa Claus is making tracks, jolly old St. Nick in Tasmania, that devil, according to NORAD as he travels around the world delivering presents to good little children. If you want to keep an eye on his sleigh, go to www.noradsanta.org. Last year that Web site had 13 million visitors last year.
COSTELLO: Wow. Not surprising, actually.
Before we go, before we bid you adieu this morning, we have to -- the "AMERICAN MORNING" show has to bid John Roberts adieu because we will miss you. You are going on to bigger and better things in Atlanta.
ROBERTS: I'm going on to a lot of things in Atlanta. My sweetheart is going to have twins in March, and I don't think I would be long for the world not going to Atlanta to join her.
COSTELLO: She wants dad to be there.
ROBERTS: There she is, right there. Hi, sweetheart.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": You know I can't do this all on my own. These little guys are kicking right there. Where's dad? Where's dad? We want him here.
ROBERTS: Dad is coming down to Atlanta to be with Kyra and our new family, which will be arriving very soon.
COSTELLO: You will still be working for CNN, as well, big stories for us and special reports and really fascinating stuff like that.
ROBERTS: I'm looking forward to being down there. But this lady right here is the one that is the main focus.
COSTELLO: I was going to say he won't have to get up at 3:00 a.m. anymore, but with two babies --
PHILLIPS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: He'll still be getting up at 3:00 a.m. or earlier.
PHILLIPS: Oh, no. He'll be up at midnight and then 2 and then 4 and then 6. Hey, you know what? You guys.
ROBERTS: The alarm will be going off more than just once a night.
PHILLIPS: Exactly. The little sweet sounds of two little babies.
Carol, thanks for giving him warm wishes, and I tell you what. That morning crew there on the floor, they're such great folks. I don't know if we still have that shot of--
ROBERTS: They are.
PHILLIPS: -- Phil and Pete and all those guys but they are--
Yes, there they are. I love you guys.
ROBERTS: Been a lovely--
PHILLIPS: Yes, they are.
ROBERTS: -- three and a half years. Take it away, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, guys. Have a great morning.
