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Stores Entice Shoppers with Post-Holiday Sales; Man Dressed as Santa Kills Several at Holiday Party; Tension Grows Along India- Pakistan Border; States Make Cuts to Medicaid; Holiday Traveler Shares Flight Delay Woes

Aired December 26, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD LUI, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Forget the turtle doves. On the second day of Christmas, retailers want a second chance to ring up the sales they didn't make before Christmas.

Don't take his word for it. The Illinois governor wants lawmakers considering impeachment to start calling witnesses. We'll call on one of the lawmakers this hour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday I went to the kidney doctor.

LUI: And Santa couldn't bring what this Atlanta girl really wanted, but it's not too late. And she's not giving up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LUI: Hi, Richard Lui in for Kyra Phillips on this day. We're live at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And let's get straight to it.

First off for you, Christmas may be over as far as you are concerned, but the merchants who live or die on holiday sales, they're still waiting. In a year-old recession, nobody's surprised the pre- Christmas shopping season was humbugish, but the early data, it is dismal.

MasterCard estimating an overall sales decline of three percent the last two months of the year. Sales electronics have fallen by more than a quarter. And so-called luxury sales have collapsed. They've disappeared, down more than one-third.

So is this Black Friday part two? A lot of stores are trying to re-create the frenzy that begins before the sun comes up the day after Thanksgiving.

CNN's Allan Chernoff was up and about very early this morning at Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, and he wasn't alone. Still has a smile, too.

Allan, how's business been the last five or six hours? ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, business has been picking up, I can tell you. And there's a good reason why: 60 percent off in many cases. They have steep, steep discounts here.

Now, the door busters are just about to end: 1 p.m. was the deadline. So the question is whether the people at the cash register right now behind me, are they actually getting those absolute bargain deals? O

Shawn (ph) over here, I think he's just made it.

Shawn, are you getting the discount?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am. Just making it, 1:00 p.m.

CHERNOFF: This is a happy shopper.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, very happy. We are very happy.

CHERNOFF: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The door busters are indeed door busters, yes.

CHERNOFF: All right. And they made it, as I said, just in time, because this store opened at 5:30 in the morning. Five-thirty, 6, 7, frankly, there were not all that many people here back then, but by now, the stores are packed.

The discounts are fantastic. Good for shoppers. Not so good for retailers, and of course, the reason that they're doing this is that the sales during the holiday season, the regular holiday season, were simply dismal, as you said.

Now, typically, what we see is in January, lots of clearance sales. Well, the season was so bad this year that those January clearance sales, they're happening right now. So no reason for any other shoppers to wait. If you need something, the discounts are in. It's a good time to be a shopper, a good time to have cash to spend -- Richard.

LUI: And you have spoken with a lot of folks that were there this morning, Allan. I was watching an earlier report that you had. Some have stayed up overnight just for this?

CHERNOFF: Well, one couple that I spoke with overnight, they actually were out partying. They happened to have been at a diner, and they saw the ads on television. They said, you know, "What the heck? Let's just go over to the mall." That's the only shopper -- that's the only shopper -- the only shoppers I found who actually were up all night. As opposed to Black Friday, when, indeed, there were a number of people I interviewed who had stayed up, decided they had to be at the malls at 4 a.m.

LUI: Wow. All right. Great stuff. Allan Chernoff there for us. Appreciate it. You know, they're back to work on Wall Street, some of them, anyway. And here's what they're up to at the moment. We're just above even, about 1.6 at the moment. It is early. We'll get a full report at a quarter past the hour for you.

Well, one heck of a storm. That's what a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service calls the latest winter blast to hammer the western U.S. Warnings are all over the place, from Utah to the Dakotas.

This is the scene in Flagstaff, Arizona. A lot of white stuff. Nearly two feet of new snow is expected today in parts of that state.

Then we take you to Colorado, where blizzard warnings are in place. Then in Chicago, a paralyzing ice storm there. The cities, streets, freeways and rail lines were frozen solid this morning.

And more air travel troubles, too. A Southwest Airlines jet got stuck in the snow at Midway Airport this morning. Now rain in Chicago threatens to melt all of the snow and produce here some flash flooding.

Our Chad Myers is keeping track of the very latest for us in the winter storms in the CNN weather center right now.

And, Chad, you and I were talking about that tomorrow stuff there in Chicago and the plane that got stuck.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not seeing too many delays today, but the one we did have was Midway. That was a mess for a very long time. No planes were allowed to land for a couple of hours. Planes were diverted. They landed in other airports. Now they have to try to get all that back together. Although it doesn't show up as a delay, because a lot of flights were just canceled. They're not delayed. And that's kind of cheating. Isn't it?

LUI: It is, kind of. Yes. More headaches for us, I guess.

MYERS: You didn't sell any cars this week, but we didn't -- you know, we didn't have anything to sell. It's kind of cheating.

LUI: It is. Chad Myers, thank you so much. We'll be back with you in just a little bit.

You know, this story out of California will have you shaking your head in disbelief. A man dressed as Santa kills eight people, that we know of, on Christmas Eve. He sets a house on fire and later kills himself, but his death is nowhere near the end of this story.

Let's go now to Chris Lawrence in Covina, California, where coroner trucks rolled in this morning.

Hey, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Richard.

Just in the last few hours investigators have been taking away a lot of the evidence from the house right now. The coroner's office is still on scene looking through what is left of that house.

We're also learning that we may just be hours away from getting a lot more information about what happened. A press conference got pushed back a little bit, but in that press conference we may get some picture, some photos, of the Santa Claus suit that was used. Also maybe possibly even hearing some of the 911 calls that went on.

Meantime, let's go back. It's Christmas Eve. It's almost midnight. A family is gathered: 25, 30 people having a holiday party. And a man comes to the door dressed as Santa Claus with what looks like a wrapped present. What he is really carrying are two guns and a homemade flamethrower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF KIM RANEY, COVINA POLICE CHIEF: An 8-year-old girl at the party ran to the front door, opened the door, where she was immediately shot by Mr. Pardo. She was shot once in the face. It appears Mr. Pardo then entered the residence and began firing indiscriminately at the people inside the house. Naturally, everybody fled. The house, as best they could, even jumping from second-floor windows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Police say after he finished his shooting spree, they believe the suspect then set fire and burned the house down. Then changed out of his Santa suit, drove to his brother's home, where he killed himself.

The big question is why. Police investigators are telling us that he had gone through a rather -- a pretty rough divorce that was just finalized within the last week or so. They believe that may have been some motivation. This was his ex-wife's parents' house. Police say he would have known that that is traditionally where they have the big family gathering every year -- Richard.

LUI: Chris, a horrifying story. You got the latest there for us. Appreciate it.

You know, more than a dozen people were hurt, including several young children, when a car plowed into this Long Island building. The crash happened yesterday as orthodox Jewish families were inside celebrating Hanukkah. Police say a 78-year-old man was behind the wheel and somehow lost control, plowing through a plate glass window.

All right. Let's turn overseas now, where tensions are boiling along the Indian-Pakistani border. Pakistani troops are on the move right now and on alert for a feared assault from India.

Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is monitoring all of this from London. Nic, what are you seeing? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, what Pakistani officials are telling us is that they've moved troops towards the border with India. They say that they have normal rotations of troops along some of their mountainous border areas. When the snow comes down in winter they say the troops can't operate there, so it's normal for them to rotate them out.

But what we're being told out now is that some troops are coming from the west of the country, along the border with Afghanistan, where they're involved in fighting the Taliban, and al Qaeda elements, and that they're being redeployed because of the winter snows, closer now to the border with India.

And the reason that Pakistani officials say that they're doing this is because they say that they detect India building up troops on India's side of the border and they think -- they think India may have a ground incursion into Pakistan. They say they don't want to be caught napping.

And all this, they say, has grown out of tensions between the two countries over the -- over the terror attacks in Mumbai just a few weeks ago, when ten gunmen went on a killing rampage, essentially held up that city for three days. Many, many people were killed, Michael.

LUI: Nic, how is this being seen? Saber rattling or the roots of escalation?

ROBERTSON: You know, what we're hearing from Pakistani diplomats is that they say neither country wants to go to war. Neither country can afford to go to war, that the trend over the past few months and years actually has been for an improved relations between these two countries, who have a long-held animosity over this northern area called Kashmir. They say things have been improving.

So the context right now is that there's been an escalation in dialogue and rhetoric. India demanding that Pakistan hand over people it says are responsible for these attacks, or at least tried. And the Pakistanis saying India is not giving us enough evidence. If we try them Pakistan then there will be a sort of revolt among the people, against the Pakistani government, so that they're not going to go that route.

So that the picture here is one more of a war of words, but as diplomats, Pakistani diplomats, told me today, that when you get this situation, a rise in tensions, any misstep can be misinterpreted. Any act, a violent act in India or Pakistan can be interpreted as one side or the other, need not be connected practically with this situation, but it will be read that way. And in that way, this is a dangerous escalation of tensions right now.

LUI: As you mentioned earlier, the movement of troops in Pakistan away from the Afghanistan border. Is that a good idea? They are absolutely working towards tracking down Taliban militants there.

ROBERTSON: Well, you know, if you look at the Pakistan situation right now, it's under pressure from the United States to do more in the war on terror on that border with Afghanistan. Indeed, the Pakistani military has responded to that, up its fight significantly against Taliban and al Qaeda elements in the border area.

Pakistan also under pressure from Afghanistan along the same border area, Afghanistan blaming Pakistan for many of the attacks inside Afghanistan. The Pakistanis now under pressure on the other border from India because of these recent and historic tensions.

But what you may see here, and what some analysts may interpret here is sort of a cry for help from Pakistan. It is essentially saying, "Look, we're going to have to move troops to the border with India, take them away from what is seen as the war on terror on the border with Afghanistan. So somebody come to our help. Talk to India; talk to us. Deescalate the tensions that are growing on the Indian border so we can get back to helping you, the west, the United States, with the war on terror along the Afghan border."

So some analysts may interpret that as sort of being behind some of the contacts. There's no doubt, though, tensions on the India- Pakistan border rising, Michael.

LUI: All right. Nic Robertson, our senior international correspondent in London. Spent a lot of time reporting from Pakistan for us and giving us the latest, as well as the context behind what's happening right now. Appreciate it.

You know, we're going to stay on top of the tensions along the Indian/Pakistani border. Next hour, international security expert Jim Walsh weighs in. That's at 2 p.m. Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And now to another tense border, the one between Israel and Gaza. Israelis have reopened three border crossings allowing relief supplies into Gaza for the first time in ten days. Israel had shut the crossing because of intense rocket fire from Palestinian militants, and there are fears the Israelis might launch a full-scale attack.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources say a rocket fired by militants fell on a Gaza home today, killing two children and critically wounding a third.

And this just in to us here at CNN. We are just confirming a ninth body recovered from the California home where a man opened fire on Christmas Eve. That man went into the area with an accelerant that was disguised in a package. He was let into the house, some reports are saying, because it was a tradition in that neighborhood to have one of the neighbors come by dressed as Santa.

A ninth body, we are confirming, being recovered from the California home where so many lost their lives on that horrible Christmas Eve. We'll get you the latest and follow the top developments in that story as the day goes by for you.

The embattled governor, as we take a look, governor of Illinois, is not going down without a fight. As state lawmakers consider impeaching Rod Blagojevich, he's pushing for two key members of Barack Obama's inner circle to testify publicly.

And travel horror stories, too. This Christmas week has been full of them. We'll hear from an iReporter who had to face one of those nightmares.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: By the middle of January most people in Michigan are not excited about the prospect of snow. But January 15, 2009, will be different, at least for the people who took a Lansing jeweler up on the offer of a century. Well, check out the fine print, and I do mean fine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: Well, the tough times for some families are getting tougher due to shortfalls at the state government level. Alison Kosik is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest on it.

Hey, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Richard.

You know, as the economy gets worse the poor are asking for more aid from state governments, but state governments are feeling a money crunch of their own, and they're having to cut -- make cuts to vital programs including Medicare. In fact, they're having to cut portions of Medicare or even pushing people off Medicare altogether. Medicaid, that is.

Medicaid is, of course, the government health insurance program for the poor. Nineteen states have already made cuts. According to Families USA, a group that pushes for more health-care coverage, states are cutting payments to hospitals and nursing homes and, as I said, even forcing people off Medicaid altogether. And that may, in turn, wind up putting more pressure on the federal government to try to fill up -- you know, to try to pick up the slack in that case -- Richard.

LUI: Now, Alison, is it just Medicaid?

KOSIK: It is -- well, they're, of course, making cuts to everything from transportation, as well, Medicaid. They're having to sort of dig deeper, these cuts. And in this case, Medicaid seems to be it -- Richard.

LUI: All right. Alison Kosik, thank you so much for that.

You know, a -- when we take a look at the issue of the weather, it's been a lot of tough times for many folks, and it's not just the ice that's out there. Folks are praying for snow. We have issues of offers like this that don't just fall out of the sky, evidently, but we've got the issue of what's happening in Michigan.

We're going to go now to our reporter John Tramontana of CNN affiliate WILX, who has a jewelry promotion that might not fly here in Atlanta but was a big hit in Michigan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN TRAMONTANA, WILX REPORTER (voice-over): With a nationwide economic slump and a dismal forecast for this year's holiday shopping season, retailers are pulling out all the stops. Perhaps none more so than a local jeweler. Heralded for her marketing abilities and her key business sense, Becky Beauchine Kulka is at it again.

BECKY BEAUCHINE KULKA, JEWELER: So many negative vibes out there right now. We wanted to do something fun and positive.

TRAMONTAN: After consulting with colleagues and even some sleepless nights, a "Let it Snow" campaign was born.

KULKA: If it snows four inches or more on January 15th between 3:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., everyone's purchase between the day after Thanksgiving and through Christmas Eve is completely free.

TRAMONTANA: It's a promo that has helped to bring customers in at a time when many are cutting back. The first week of December was slow for the jewelry retailer. But when word of the campaign made its way through the community, business picked up. On Wednesday, Becky Beauchine Kulka had record sales, its highest one-day output in 20 years of business.

KULKA: We're going to finish up very strong, and we're thrilled about that.

TRAMONTANA: But it wasn't easy. Becky calls this year the most mentally tough of her career. She even changed her marketing to reach a wider market.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: have a nice holiday.

TRAMONTANA: Jewelry, more affordably priced, with some items starting at just 35 bucks. But it's the "Let it Snow" campaign that brought in more shoppers.

KULKA: It seemed like a fun promotion. And it was something that could benefit me as well as the consumer. So it was a win-win.

TRAMONTANA: And as the snow continues to pile up, thousands of customers could get a little something extra this year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LUI: All right. Interesting story, but Chad Myers, you know, we have to ask you this. What are the odds of four inches of snow in Lansing, Michigan, between 3:00 and 9:00 a.m. on January 15? That's not a lot of time.

MYERS: No. No, not at all.

LUI: Damn. MYERS: In January of '08, three was one day in the entire month that had more than four inches. Just one day. In '07 and '06, three was zero days.

But in '05 and '06 -- '05 and '04, there were two days with four inches or more. So figure that out, that's about a five out of five years. It happened five times out of five years. That's one in 31, right? Because there's 31 days in the month.

But you've only got the six-hour period between 3 and 9. So that's one-fourth of the day. Multiply that out, you get one in 120 chance, so less than 1 percent of getting your money back, but it's 1 percent more than any other store I've heard of.

LUI: So not likely. Just not likely.

MYERS: Somebody always wins the lottery.

LUI: Yes, that's right.

MYERS: Not me, though.

LUI: OK. Chad, thanks. Talk to you in a little bit.

MYERS: You got it.

LUI: Rod Blagojevich's lawyer looking to bring out Barack Obama's inner circle. Are we in for some high-powered testimony? We'll ask a member of the Illinois governor's impeachment panel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: All right. You know this Christmas week's been a real nightmare for thousands of air travelers. We've been telling you the stories of many folks that have been stuck. Well, one of our iReporters, Zennie Abraham, spent two days at the Denver airport, trying to get to Atlanta to visit his mother. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZENNIE ABRAHAM, IREPORTER: Mountain Standard Time. I'm in Denver, Denver International Airport, and the Atlanta flight I was supposed to get, this one -- that one, which was supposed it leave at 6:59 is -- from B-56, is delayed to 10:00 p.m. And the reason is the weather in Des Moines, Iowa. So I'm told...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: All right, 10:00 p.m. is what he had hoped was going to happen. Zennie Abraham joins us right now.

You did make it to Atlanta, because you're here with us. But tell us about what happened after you were done pointing at that screen. Because it didn't happen, did it?

ABRAHAM: No, I didn't. What happened was that United runs a smaller-than-usual plane along that route, and there were a number of reconnects that came through in that three-hour period.

LUI: Right.

ABRAHAM: So I, myself and others got bumped off. And I was prepared to stay at the airport. My mom said, "You've got points. Use them at the airport hotel." Great idea.

LUI: Now, along the way you were interviewing people.

ABRAHAM: Right.

LUI: I got the sense that folks were not too upset, despite being stuck three in the airport, kind of embracing the holiday season. Before you talk about that, let's go to what you also recorded on your flip phone. Let's take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABRAHAM: I didn't make the flight, because it was massively overbooked. It was also one of those small -- some small Brazilian plane, not a C-7, but the guy says it starts with an "E." I forgot what it was. At any rate, I'm about it go to a hotel and stay overnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: OK. So yes. You did speak with some other folks. And we'll get to that one in just a little bit. But that's where you're describing, you didn't -- you weren't able to get on the plane. So you did go to a hotel, and they took care of you, right? You had a good night's sleep?

ABRAHAM: The Marriott Residence Inn was fantastic. The people there were great. And the United Airlines people, as well, were great under duress. There were some upset people, I might had.

LUI: Yes, and you did have a good breakfast, I think, as you had said?

ABRAHAM: Magnificent breakfast. I enjoyed it. Yes, yes.

LUI: I was looking at your report.

ABRAHAM: Yes, it was free, too.

LUI: Exactly, exactly. Now, you did interview two people, at least. I think we've got that for you, of course, right now. So let's take a listen.

ABRAHAM: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came from San Francisco.

ABRAHAM: Wait. So did I. Oakland. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SFO.

ABRAHAM: OK, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we were on our way to see our son (ph) in Atlanta.

ABRAHAM: Atlanta. That's where I'm from. Same here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We -- we missed everything last night. And so we're trying to get on again today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: You are an iReporter extraordinaire. You even did interviews for us. And you saw the smiles. Folks were sort of like...

ABRAHAM: They were delightful. They were fantastic.

LUI: Yes. Was that the case in most of the conversations that you had?

ABRAHAM: About 50 percent of them. The other 50 percent, people were really upset. They really were. And they were, unfortunately, beating up on the crew people and everything else. Not on the plane but at the -- at the gate. That happens.

LUI: That does happen.

ABRAHAM: Yes.

LUI: OK. We've got to go. But really quickly, we noticed your editing skills as well as your camera skills.

ABRAHAM: Zennie62.com.

LUI: Very good plug, my friend. How did you do this? What did you use? Is that it right there?

ABRAHAM: This is it. This is the flip phone. I highly recommend it, ladies and gentlemen. I also use -- actually, as good as or better than my Sony cam corder, which is three times more expensive.

LUI: You're a good marketer, too, I have to say.

ABRAHAM: I try.

LUI: For Flip, as well as for your Web site. Zennie Abraham, I'm glad you made it.

ABRAHAM: And go Bears.

LUI: And go Bears.

ABRAHAM: Go Bears. That's right.

LUI: That's right. Yes. I love the Bears (ph). I never brought this up (ph).

By the way, you'll want to tune in on Saturday night and Sunday night to CNN for a look back at some of the most memorable iReports of 2008. Maybe Zennie's will make it. It will highlight how iReporters contributed to some of the biggest stories of this year, from Barack Obama's election to the financial meltdown. It's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Saturday and Sunday only on CNN.

All she wanted for Christmas was a kidney. We'll tell you why a young Georgia girl made that unusual request in her letter to Santa Claus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: It is 31 minutes after the hour. Here are some of the stories we're working for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The coroner's office in Los Angeles tells CNN a ninth body has been recovered from that burnt down house in Covina, California. Police say a man dressed as Santa went to the home of his former in- laws on Christmas Eve, shot several people, then set the place on fire. He later took his own life.

Pakistani troops are on the move right now and on alert for a feared assault from India. Tensions are boiling along the Indian- Pakistani border since last month's terror attacks in Mumbai. India blames militants from Pakistan for these attacks.

Retailers still dreaming of a green Christmas, or at least a less red one, shall we say. Some early numbers are showing a 3 percent drop in holiday sales. Stories -- rather stores are doing some deep discounting to get people in the door there.

We might be in for some high-powered testimony in the Rod Blagojevich scandal. The Illinois governor's attorney has made a new request to the state legislative panel that's considering whether to impeach him.

Ed Genson wants the panel to subpoena members of President-elect Barack Obama's inner circle, including his incoming Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

Illinois State Representative Lou Lang is on that impeachment panel. Thanks for joining us this afternoon on a Friday, representative.

REP. LOU LANG (D), ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY: My pleasure.

LUI: What's the committee's response right now?

LANG: Well, the committee is still reviewing the request by Mr. Genson. Last Monday when the committee last met, Mr. Genson indicated he needed a week to prepare, and that he would be ready this coming Monday with some witnesses. It was only the very next day when the committee was not meeting that he decided he wanted to subpoena these folks that you were mentioning. And I might add that the United States attorney has told the committee that he does not want these people to appear because he's concerned that it will jeopardize his investigation.

LUI: What do you make of his request? You mentioned timing there, but the specific request and who the individuals are on this list -- what do you make of that strategy?

LANG: Well, certainly from a point of view of a defense lawyer, I understand what he's trying to do. And if Mr. Genson wanted to call those folks in a criminal trial I would -- if I was he I would do the same thing.

However, the impeachment panel is not a criminal tribunal. Our job is to put facts on the table and to determine if -- just like a grand jury -- if there are enough facts, if there is enough evidence to charge the governor and send it to the Senate for trial.

The only issue is whether Rod Blagojevich has violated his constitutional oath and/or whether he's fit to continue to be governor of the state of Illinois.

I think Mr. Genson is trying to turn our deliberations into a circus. And I'm not sure the committee is going to let him do that.

LUI: You know, if Governor Blagojevich believes a subpoena of Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett might actually help his client's case here, why not hear from them?

LANG: Well, certainly that might be valid testimony in a criminal case, but two issues here.

First, it's not necessary to convict Governor Blagojevich of a crime to impeach him. Whether those wiretaps, for instance, are admissible into evidence in the federal court are of little consequence in our committee.

Additionally, Mr. Genson who has had an extraordinary amount of freedom within our committee to question witnesses, told us he'd be ready in a week. The people of the state of Illinois have a right an end to this procedure.

And additionally, the U.S. attorney and the committee have agreed that we will not step on his toes. So we're, I don't think, going to be of a mind, although we haven't fully discussed it as a committee, to allow this side show to take place in the middle of our deliberations.

LUI: So, Representative Lang, your committee, your special group, is charged with coming to a decision at some point. When might we expect to hear from you? LANG: Well, depending on what happens with Mr. Genson's request, and whether there are many more witnesses or just a few, the last I saw we only had a few witnesses left that the committee wanted to call, we could be finished with our deliberations within a week or two, I believe. And then, of course, there will be a report that will go to the full house, and the full house will determine whether there are any articles of impeachment to send to the Senate.

LUI: Illinois State Representative Lou Lang on the impeachment panel there in the state.

Thank you so much for stopping by, giving us the very latest on these requests by Rod Blagojevich's representation. Thank you so much.

A storm of questions still swirling around President Bush's decision to revoke the pardon of this man -- Isaac Toussie. He was one of the 19 people the president pardoned earlier this week. But Toussie's pardon touched off a storm of controversy after it was revealed his dad recently donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Republican Party.

Toussie, a New York developer, had been convicted in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme, and now critics want to know why the White House did not do a better job of looking into Toussie's background and whether he got special treatment here because of his political connections.

Meanwhile, President Bush is getting ready to exit the White House. And a lot of you are apparently happy to see him go. Here are the results of a new CNN Opinion Research Poll. 75 percent of people surveyed say they are glad the president is going, while only 23 percent say they will miss him. 33 percent say Mr. Bush should remain active in public life. 66 percent say he should not.

Hammered and hammered again. Much of the western U.S. is getting hit with another round of winter storms on this Friday. Warnings are in place from Utah into the Dakotas. In Colorado, high winds along with heavy snow. Blizzard warnings cover parts of that state. In the Chicago area snow, ice and now a threat of flooding.

Chad Myers has been keeping a close look on the weather that's been happening all across the country the last couple of days.

And you had a lot to watch.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LUI: From Indonesia to India, mourners are remembering the victims of the South Asian tsunami. The huge wave crashed ashore four years ago today, on Boxing Day, killing at least 230,000 people. It was triggered by an earthquake.

Now, since that catastrophe, hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, hospitals and businesses have been rebuilt across the region. It is the largest relief operation ever. And right now, tests show that the water is safe to drink in Kingston, Tennessee. And that's where a power plant dike burst Monday and sent nearly five and a half million cubic yards of coal ash waste into the neighborhood. That's about twice as much sludge as the Tennessee Valley authority thought at first. Hundreds of acres are covered in muck six feet keep in some places.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our focus point right now is to get Swan Pond (ph) Road cleared, get the railway cleared. We're trying to remove some water in some areas to keep it from getting in some of the houses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: Wow. Well, the TBA says it will take four to six weeks to clean up this area. Environmentalists say it could take much longer.

Reversing the odds, defy the years, the ticking of the biological clock is not stopping more older women from trying to have babies. We'll look at their options.

And what does Viagra have to do with the war on terror? Let's just say, there are some very happy Afghan warlords out there, and it's all because of the little blue pill.

You know you want to hear more on that one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: Tick, tick, tick. The biological clock isn't stopping. More and more older women from trying to have babies.

CNN's Alina Cho looks at the lengths that they'll go to.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEREDITH KULP, TURNED TO IVF: Pictures of healthy children.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A treasure map to a baby? That's just one of the many things Meredith Kulp tried.

At 40, she longed for another child, but knew the odds were against her.

KULP: You hear about so many of the statistics that fertility really goes down at 40. It did. Very scary.

CHO: So, Meredith turned to in vitro fertilization hoping to increase her odds. She also used alternative approaches, meditation, acupuncture, changes in her diet, and that treasurer map that kept her focused on her goal.

(on-camera): There are those people who think, this is a little nuts, a little crazy? KULP: They might, but the process itself makes you feel a little crazy.

CHO (voice-over): What Meredith is going through is increasingly common. As more women, 40 and older, try to get pregnant.

DR. ALICE DOMAR, DOMAR CENTER FOR MIND/BODY HEALTH: When I first got into the field, women over 40 weren't even encouraged to have treatment, because they weren't going to get pregnant.

CHO: Dr. Alice Domar says times have changed. She runs a mind/body center in Boston that specializes in women struggling to get pregnant. Her research shows a medical link between stress and infertility.

DOMAR: And if you can teach women stress management and relaxation techniques they're pregnancy rates on average double.

CHO: On this date, 39-year-old Sarah Weatherhead, undergoes acupuncture. She believes being more relaxed could help her chances of getting pregnant. She's had IVF three times without success and is waiting to hear whether the fourth time worked.

SARAH WEATHERHEAD, RECEIVING FERTILITY TREATMENT: I attempt to be very positive about it, but it's difficult. Especially when I've had so many failed cycles.

CHO: Sarah's playing the ultimate game of beat the clock.

In fact, one study shows 33 percent of women are infertile by age 40, increasing to 87 percent by age 45. Doctors say the best hope for older women is donor eggs.

DR. JANE RUMAN, FERTILITY SPECIALIST: A lot of women initially are very reluctant to go down the route of donor egg because they lose that genetic connection. The fastest way to get a child into your home is usually with donor egg.

CHO: So successful, a few weeks ago a 70-year-old woman in India gave birth.

While no age limits are enforced in the U.S., most fertility centers maintain a cutoff between 50 and 55.

CHO (on-camera): What do you think you can offer now you may be couldn't have offered as a 25-year-old mother?

WEATHERHEAD: I think I'm smarter. I like myself better.

CHO (voice-over): Sarah is still hoping, and Meredith, at age 41, her family has just increased by two.

(on-camera): When were you making that manifestation board, is this exactly what you pictured?

KULP: It was one baby in the original thought. But we were lucky enough to have had two, but yes, this is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LUI: And scientists say a woman's fertility level tends to start declining after age 27.

Toys, dolls, electronic games. Those are the usual items on children's Christmas lists.

But this year a little girl in Georgia made a very unusual request in her letter to Santa. Seven-year-old Quinn Roberts asked Santa for a kidney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUINN ROBERTS, ASKED SANTA FOR A KIDNEY: Dear Santa, yesterday I went to the kidney doctor. I did not get a kidney.

JULIA ROBERTS, MOTHER: I said, Quinn, what is this? And she said, oh, I wrote that letter to Santa. And I -- I thought it was charming and I thought it was heartbreaking at the same time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: Quinn has a life-threatening disease. Her kidneys have started to fail. If an organ donor is found she'll likely get a transplant this coming year. And we, of course, hope she does.

Hundreds of turkies, tons of veggies, they are not going to prepare or serve themselves. We'll take you to a place where volunteers fill stomachs and warm hearts Christmas day. And pretty much every day for those in need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: You know it is not a restaurant, but it serves a whopping 750,000 meals per year and doesn't charge a dime.

As CNN focuses, photojournalist Jeff King, takes us to Glide Memorial Methodist Church in San Francisco where hundreds of volunteers help make sure thousands of people are fed. Yesterday they served up a Christmas feast for 5,000 people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We talk too much without acting. My commitment is to act first and then talk. It is showtime for us. We are always, always trying to make sure that we be creative, that we be understanding and that we touch people's hearts and their minds and their souls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We feed almost 1, 500 people a day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are more volunteers this year. It is phenomenal. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that the recent election has just recharged America and renewed faith in America and renewed faith in wanting to help people and seeing their efforts go a long way.

JANICE MIRIKITANI, GLIDE FOUNDATION: Maybe they can't afford to give money, but they want to feel like they are doing something to help. And so they are volunteering.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have carved four turkeys and five hams.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Celery? Where's my celery?

MIRIKITANI: We are all aware of the difficult times that we are facing, and it does not take too much logic to realize that the poor are going to suffer the most.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was homeless for a while. And so these are all my friends, and now I'm in a position to help them.

JESSICA ZUR, VOLUNTEER: I brought my family, because I wanted to show them, you know, what is happening in the world. They are not exposed to any homelessness, any poverty, too many people that are hungry.

STACEY POWELL, VOLUNTEER: My sister called me this morning. She said there is a good sale going on and oh, my God, oh, my God. So, my daughter said, mom, let's go help the homeless first, and then we go shopping later.

COREY ROBINSON, VOLUNTEER: It is one of the things that you really have to get up for, because it is like commitment. If you want to do something, you have to work for it.

BARBARA GEE, VOLUNTEER: At first, I didn't think that I would get anything out of it. I should be home cooking and getting ready for my own family, but I can see here that it makes me realize how much I do have and the blessings that I have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is much more than just, oh, I gave (INAUDIBLE) and that is the next point I got, it is much more than that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LUI: And thanks again to photojournalist Jeff King for bringing us those pictures as well as those interviews.

You know, singer, actress and cabaret star Eartha Kitt has passed away.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

VOICE OF EARTHA KITT, CABARET STAR, ACTRESS (singing): Santa baby just slip a sable under the tree...

(END AUDIO CLIP) LUI: Just last week, Kitt's "Santa Baby" hit was certified gold. As you hear it right there. She was far more than a seductive crooner. Baby boomers probably best remember Kitt for her growl and prowl as the villainous Catwoman on the Batman television show.

A family spokesman says Kitt died of colon cancer. Eartha Kitt was 81.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: Next time you talk smack behind your boss's back, keep this in mind, maybe he can't help the fact he acts like a chest-thumping, territory marking alpha male in a tie.

CNN's Sasha Herriman explains this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASHA HERRIMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Look familiar? That great animal display -- spotted it somewhere before?

(on-camera): According to research, bosses, just like animals, like to mark out their territory. They like to assert their authority.

(voice-over): The study carried out at the University of New South Wales interviewed hundreds of managers and employees in a range of industries about a similar focus on hierarchy.

PROFESSOR CHRIS KNIGHT, ANTHROPOLOGIST: Chimpanzees will go ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

HERRIMAN: So while your boss might not actually sound like that, according to anthropologists here in the UK, the meaning is the same.

KNIGHT: Well, it's just showing off -- showing off how big you are. And you can do it in all kinds of ways.

You can build huge office blocks (INAUDIBLE) just to show off what resources you can afford to waste. And a gorilla pounding his chest or a chimpanzee tearing off branches, is just saying, look, I've got all this energy, which I can afford to expend on just like intimidating you off.

GILLIAN FORRESTER, PSYCHOLOGIST: What we share 23 million years of evolution with great apes and have only had a much more recent divergence in the last six million years. So, there's invariably a lot of similarities in the way we that behave and we communicate and in fact the way we navigate social hierarchies.

HERRIMAN: For bright colored plumage and body parts, read power suits and ties, bigger chairs, louder voices, that's because being territorial still helps you survive.

Alpha males are hard-wired to be brash and bossy. But lest we think we've not evolved over the last millennia, there's some encouraging news. While the nonverbal communication is a relic of our forbearers --

FORRESTER: One of the major differences between us and great apes obviously is that we've evolved to develop and acquire human language.

HERRIMAN: Well, that's a relief. At least six million years makes a bit of difference. Now, where's my banana?

Sasha Herriman, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)