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FAA Fears Terrorists Could Exploit Record-Keeping Problem; Jury Considers Insanity Defense in Smart Trial; Fight Over Tax Extension; Out of Work, Out of Luck; Macy's Gives San Francisco Santa the Boot; The Human Factor: Claustrophobic at 30,000 Feet

Aired December 10, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to you all. Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, we have got the news and information you need for this Friday, the 10th day of December.

Up first, this story. We have been following this for quite some time, and we could see some finality to it coming up.

We're talking about this homeless street preacher accused of snatching a 14-year-old girl from her bedroom at knifepoint. That 14- year-old girl, Elizabeth Smart. The jury begins a second day of deliberations today in that trial.

Also, out of work, out of luck. Even if Congress extends unemployment benefits, you could get less money if your state's economy is improving. What sense does that make?

Also, lighting up for the holidays for a good cause, a Christmas display that's not just for show.

Good morning to you all. I am T.J. Holmes, in today for my good friend Tony Harris.

Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right. It's their job. The FAA is supposed to be keeping up with planes out there, but a report out says maybe they're not doing so good of a job.

Some troubled record-keeping, and now some fear that terrorists could exploit the problem. The Associated Press says the FAA is missing key information on 119,000 private and commercial planes.

Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, joins us now with the details here.

Jeanne, help us keep this in perspective, because initially we heard about 119,000 planes. It sounded as if the FAA just didn't know where they were. That's not exactly the case. Just want to keep this in perspective here.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The problem is that the registrations are out of date. I just talked to somebody that's with an organization that represents private aircraft owners. He says in the end, most of these aircraft are going to be owned by who the FAA thinks they are owned by, and they're going to be located where the FAA thinks they should be. But let me tell you a little bit more about the problem which the FAA says it is trying to fix, though it's going to take a couple of years. Here's what we're dealing with.

There are about 357,000 private aircraft in the U.S., but the FAA says that registration records for about one-third of them -- that's about 119,000 -- appear to be inaccurate or out of date. Here's why it's a problem. It increases the possibility that the aircraft or the registration numbers can be used by drug traffickers, let's say, or even terrorists, and will not be detected by law enforcement.

Let me give you an example. When an aircraft enters restricted airspace here in Washington, one of the first things authorities do is they run that tail number to get the owner's name. It doesn't necessarily tell you who is flying the plane, but it gives you something to work with.

If the registration isn't accurate, it doesn't help them determine what kind of threat they are dealing with. So that's why this effort to get these registrations up to date -- T.J.

HOLMES: OK. And Jeanne, you said it could take a few years. How big of a problem we are talking about dealing with correcting it?

MESERVE: Well, until now, owners have only had to register their aircraft once, at the time of purchase. They are required to report changes like an aircraft sale or the scrapping of an aircraft, but many simply have not been doing it, and as a result, a large number of the FAA's records are out of date.

Now the FAA has issued a new rule requiring all civil aircraft to be re-registered over the next three years. And after that initial re-registration, owners are going to have to renew the registration every three years. It's comparable to what we all do with our cars. Owners who don't comply will have their registrations cancelled and the planes will not be able to fly legally -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Jeanne Meserve for us, keeping an eye on this story.

Jeanne, we appreciate you, as always.

(NEWSBREAK)

HOLMES: A jury in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case in its second day of deliberations now. Brian David Mitchell accused of abducting Smart from her bedroom eight years ago. She was 14 years old at the time. She was found nine months later.

The defense here argued that Mitchell was so delusional, he could not understand his actions were wrong when he kidnapped Smart. But will the jury buy that argument that his illness was so severe, he didn't know right from wrong?

Sunny Hostin from "In Session," on our sister network, truTV, here with "Sunny's Law."

Sunny, always good to see you, dear lady.

It's one thing to say that he didn't know right from wrong when he took her, but in the nine months afterwards, how do you justify in all that time he never realized what he was doing was wrong?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: And that's what this case is about, and that's what this jury is struggling with, was he sane when he committed these crimes, or was he so -- was he under this sort of the mental illness that was so severe, T.J., that he didn't understand the difference between right and wrong? And I think what's so fascinating about it is the defense has conceded that he kidnapped Elizabeth Smart and that he repeatedly raped her over that nine-month period.

That is not at issue. The only thing at issue is, what was going on in his head? Was he insane over a nine-month period? Did he not understand the difference between right and wrong?

That's going to be a tough determination for this jury, because the burden is on the defense to prove that he was insane. I wonder if the jury thinks that they proved that.

HOLMES: Yes. Am I hearing you right? We talked about this crime and some of the details that came out from Elizabeth Smart herself during the trial. But that's not really -- did I hear you right? That's not even really what they are in that jury room talking about. It's just whether or not they feel like he was at any point in his right mind.

HOSTIN: That's right. And it's the insanity defense.

And, you know, we have heard about the insanity defense over and over and over again throughout the years, especially with Hinckley and the attempted assassination of Reagan. I think that's the first time that this insanity defense really burst onto the scene.

It isn't always successful. It's actually rarely successful. And so there was sort of this battle of the experts in the courtroom, T.J.

The experts for the prosecution saying this is just a pedophile, he's a run-of-the-mill pedophile who lusted after this child and took her. Where the defense is saying, no, no, no, he is sort of this -- suffers from these religious delusions. He thinks he's the second coming of God and he should have all these wives, and he abducted her thinking that she was going to be his wife, and that sort of what his motivation was committing these crimes.

HOLMES: Well, Sunny, give me the scenarios here. They come back and say, we think he's insane. Then what happens? They come back and say, no, we think he was sane. What happens? HOSTIN: Sure. If they come back finding that he was insane, and thus not guilty by reason of criminal insanity, he doesn't just get let go. He gets put in a mental institution.

If they come back and find that he is sane, they then would be subject to being in prison for the rest of his life. And this judge, having heard all of this testimony, it will be up to the judge to decide whether or not he would get life in prison if found guilty. I would imagine that he would be serving life in prison if found to be sane when these horrific crimes occurred.

HOLMES: All right. Sunny Hostin, we're keeping a close eye on it.

Again, the jury I believe -- yes, they started deliberating already, I believe, this morning. So we'll key an eye.

Sunny, good to see you as always, dear lady. You have a good weekend.

HOSTIN: Good to see you, T.J. You too.

HOLMES: All right.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Take a look. You're seeing pictures here we were just getting in a short time ago.

These are live. We have others we'll show you shortly here as well, but this is a live picture.

What you're seeing there is what was really a scary situation, certainly a time-consuming and inconvenient situation for a lot of folks. But this was a backup on a highway.

This is Milwaukee. I-94 westbound had to be such down this morning, and this was certainly during the height of people trying to get to work and whatnot today. But that SUV you're seeing was being driven by two individuals -- or was occupied by two individuals. It was a stolen vehicle, but it caused a standoff on the highway.

Now, police were being as careful as they could be. They weren't going to take any chances. They weren't necessarily concerned about people's rush hour, and they shouldn't be. They were concerned about the safety of everyone.

But there was, as you see here, a pretty intense standoff with police and these two suspects. This went on for hours and hours this morning.

What we're told now, it was just resolved. Two people were taken into custody. We don't know anything about them just yet, but there were two people inside. This was an SUV. This is how this all started, but ended in a standoff in the middle of the road, on the highway, I-94. And police had to close that highway for some time this morning, but we're told now things have been resolved.

We'll keep a close eye. We get some more details about exactly who those individuals were and maybe why they were running. We will get more details to you.

(NEWSBREAK)

HOLMES: Well, coming up, the showdown over extending the Bush- era tax cuts. House Democrats defying President Obama. Well, where do we go from here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, the fight over extending the Bush-era tax cuts dominating the lame-duck session of Congress. As the clock winds down now, some issues are getting left behind.

Among those unfinished items, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Yesterday, the Senate rejected an effort to open debate on repealing that policy.

Also stalled, a bill to provide health benefits for 9/11 first responders. Democrats failed to stop a Republican filibuster to begin debate on that bill.

Also, the DREAM Act. This bill would have offered a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children.

All right. Let's get an update though on the showdown over extending the Bush-era tax cuts. Is it going to be a deal, it's not going to be a deal? I don't know.

Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar joins us now live from Capitol Hill.

Brianna, hello to you.

And the confusion I had or have had, really, this week since Democrats have come out and said it's not coming to the House floor in its current form -- so who is negotiating with whom now? The president with Democrats? Democrats with Republicans? Who is talking?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think what you have -- well, you've got have the Senate. That's a whole other sort of ball of wax. Right? And they're going to go first here with a vote on Monday.

But in the House, you have Democrats who are very unhappy, and they're trying to figure out exactly what kind of changes they would want to propose. They have already spoken to the White House, right, Vice President Joe Biden, who said to them, guys, you can't change anything or this whole thing is going to unravel.

And they have said, T.J., you know, what? We have a big problem with the compromise. And yesterday, they took that vote saying we're not going to consider this compromise on the House floor without some changes.

We've been talking with some House sources who say it's possible they're going to be coming up with some changes. So what would those be? It's really unclear. It's kind of too preliminary to say.

But the big issue that liberal House Democrats have a problem with is that estate tax. It's an exemption on inheritances $5 million or less, and they see this as just a huge giveaway to the rich. And we're expecting perhaps they will propose some changes.

But the whole question is, is that going to completely scuttle this compromise then that President Obama has come up with, with Republicans, and that it seems Senate Democrats at least are warming to at this point. Remember, Monday afternoon, we're expecting a key test vote on this tax cut compromise with a few added green energy -- pro-green energy tax provisions. But once the Senate goes through with that, if they can pass this, that's a lot of pressure on the House as well -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. But you bring up -- and it has been talked about a lot -- the estate tax. But for the most part, I mean, the big doozy here is whether or not people who are making over $250,000 a year should have that tax cut.

Now, is that still going to be on the table, or will Democrats be happy just if they get a compromise on something like the estate tax?

KEILAR: I think that a lot of Democrats realize -- and we've been reporting this for some time -- that it was going to be tough to not extend those tax rates for everyone. Now, make no mistake about it, House Democrats are not happy about it, that people making over $250,000 are getting those lower tax rates extended. But when you couple that with the estate tax, that's when you hear them saying things like adding insult to injury.

The bottom line here is tax rates are supposed to go up for everyone at the end of the year. And not just that, T.J. Remember, there's unemployment benefits, additional -- an extension of unemployment benefits in here, and we are talking about millions of Americans who are going to be losing their unemployment benefits if something doesn't go through by the end of the year here.

HOLMES: All right.

Brianna Keilar, we appreciate you being on the case. We will talk to you again soon. Good to see you, as always.

Now let's talk about what some of our viewers out there are saying. In particular, let's talk about Heather from Spokane.

She says, "With everything happening in the past week, I have to say that I have lost a lot of faith in our government. I am a forever optimist, but some of the people we have in our government right now are not there for us."

Samantha in Nashville saying, "Even the Democrats are not supporting each other. Washington sure is acting very strange. I sure hope this isn't a sign of how things will be in the next two years. Nothing will get done."

We appreciate you all sending in those comments. Keep them coming.

Well, if you have not heard of Cam Newton by now, you certainly will after this weekend. He is going to win the Heisman Trophy, the most prestigious honor in all of college football. But why would his dad skip out on the Heisman Trophy ceremony?

We're going to be talking about it in just a moment.

Stick with us. It's 21 past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. There is no mystery at all about what's going to happen on Saturday night in New York. The Heisman Trophy is going to be handed out, and it's going to go to Cam Newton, the Auburn quarterback.

Now, Rafer, you don't disagree.

RAFER WEIGEL, "MORNING EXPRESS": No. You're absolutely right about that.

HOLMES: Rafer Weigel is here.

This is going to be a runaway. No doubt about that?

WEIGEL: No doubt about that.

HOLMES: All right. But, still, this is going to be intriguing for a lot of reasons.

WEIGEL: We have never seen anything like this. I mean, we're in unprecedented territory, T.J., in that you have the most prestigious award in all of college football.

You have a young man who is going to win it, and his father will not be there for what would have been one of the proudest moments in his life as a father because of the allegations surrounding Cecil Newton, that he asked for six figures for Cam to go to Mississippi State. There was no proof that any money changed hands when he went to Auburn, but you know what? This is the right decision.

And Cecil Newton, his exact words were, "It might rob Cam and the event of a sacred moment." He's right. If he's there, wouldn't most of the attention be drawn over to him? But, nevertheless, it's still very, very sad that he can't be there to see it happen regardless of what he may or may not have done.

HOLMES: It is because, from all accounts, these two are very close. His dad was the one who guided him through his entire career, who was always there for him. And it's sad. He won't have a bigger moment than that moment he's going to have on Saturday, and that guy won't be there for him.

WEIGEL: Right. And let's give due to the other three finalists, because you know what? They are also -- we want to mention these guys, too.

HOLMES: Oh, stop.

WEIGEL: Come on. Michael James from Oregon, you know, the best running back in the country, won the Doak Walker Award. Also, Kellen Moore from Boise State and Andrew Luck from Stanford, who's going to be the number one pick in the draft.

But you were talking about him and his relationship with his father. He did give an exclusive interview, Newton did, with ESPN, and said specifically, "I've done no wrong," and he also defended his dad rather passionately.

Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAM NEWTON, AUBURN QUARTERBACK: I'm not sitting up here just saying that we all are perfect. Everybody's made a mistake. And I'm not sitting up here saying that what he did was right or what he did was wrong. And who am I up here to say that what he did is true or not?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIGEL: Now, he also would not address, when he was asked, "Did you and your father discuss when he asked for money from Mississippi State?" He said, "No, we did not discuss that."

But further proof he's going to win the Heisman, last night he won three incredibly prestigious awards, the Walter Camp, the Maxwell and the O'Brien Award for the top quarterback.

So, all of these allegations are not affecting the way voters are going to vote for him. So far, six writers have come out and said they would not vote for him for the Heisman. Well, you've got 950 votes. It's not going to make a difference.

HOLMES: Not going to make that much of a difference.

All right. Still, going to be intriguing. Even though we already know who's going to win it, it's still so fascinating to see what's going to happen.

WEIGEL: Yes. HOLMES: All right. LeBron James, you just say that and it stokes all kinds of emotions in people. But this story for a different reason. You're living in Miami, you've got to have a phat place to live.

WEIGEL: Right. You've got to have a phat place to live. And the best thing about LeBron James' new home is his neighbor.

When you first hear his neighbor, you're thinking it's Michael Jordan. You're thinking maybe it's Tiger Woods. No. A young lady named Sylvia, which we'll get to in a minute.

Let's give you a tour of LeBron James' new house. Let's see here.

It is three stories overlooking Biscayne Bay, and he got it for $9 million, marked down from $13 million. You've got the double- island kitchen right there, six bathrooms, 1,200 square feet, an infinity pool, a bar.

You know, T.J., you and I would be lucky to be invited to a place like this. You have got room for his two 60-foot yachts.

But let's introduce you to LeBron's neighbor, Sylvia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never watch basketball until now. Now I'm learning all about basketball.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now you know who he is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a good player, one of the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIGEL: Yes, he is.

So, LeBron, do not take that lady's paper. Bring her over a fruit basket, and I guarantee you, your image will already go up.

You know, he's not very well liked. He'll make nice with Sylvia. Can you see him asking for some eggs?

HOLMES: That's very cool. Yes, that's very cool.

You know, you do. But these are neighborhoods like many others. And you've got Dennis next to you. You've got all kinds of things. Not everybody's a celebrity down there.

All right. Very nice place.

WEIGEL: Yes, indeed, it is a nice place. When you get your invite to the party, will you tweet some photos? Because I know you're kind of dialed in with those celebrities?

HOLMES: Man, I've answer stayed in hotels that aren't that nice.

All right. Good to see you, as always, buddy.

(LAUGHTER)

WEIGEL: All right, man. Thanks a lot.

HOLMES: Thanks so much. Thanks so much.

Well, coming up, what 19-year-old actress says she would like to accompany Prince Harry to his brother's royal wedding. Here's a hint for you -- her aunt is a pretty woman. We'll tell you what's trending coming up next.

Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're coming up on the bottom of the hour. And if it's hot on the Web, we're watching it for you.

In particular, Sandra Endo is watching it for you. She's in Washington with what's trending.

Sandra, hello to you.

Everybody is trying to get to this royal wedding next year, and now a young actress is volunteering to be Prince Harry's date to his brother's wedding.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, T.J. Actually, this story is it trending pretty big on CNN.com right now.

You know that Prince William is off the market. Well, his brother, Prince Harry, is a hot commodity, or just plain hot to some girls, I guess, because 19-year-old Emma Roberts, the niece of Julia Roberts, told a British tabloid she thinks both princes are handsome, and if Prince Harry needs a date to that royal wedding next April, well, she would be free that night.

So I guess every girl wants to be a princess. Right, T.J.?

HOLMES: And every guy wants to be a prince.

ENDO: That's right.

HOLMES: And Prince Harry is -- he ain't living a bad life, necessarily. He is kind of the party boy of the two, right?

ENDO: Yes, I think so. So we'll see if he behaves.

But, T.J., I know that you are on Twitter. I follow your tweets. And you've been in the holiday spirit and you decked out your tree already, put those lights up. Right?

HOLMES: Yes, I did. You do follow me. My goodness. That's scary.

ENDO: Oh, yes. I do.

All right. Well, is your place anything like this?

HOLMES: No.

ENDO: Take a look. Talk about getting into the holiday spirit.

Yes, that house in New Mexico is decorated with 350,000 Christmas lights. And the Novak family spent about $9,000 over the past two years, T.J., on this elaborate display. And you can see right there, there are actually eight songs that the lights are coordinated to, and it takes more than a day to program each song.

Now, T.J., can you guess what their electric bill will be for all of this?

HOLMES: That's a good question. I have always been fascinated by people who do this, but I think it's so impressive when people do do this.

ENDO: Actually, the bill the family says, for last year's display was only $98 because, get this, most of their lights are LED.

HOLMES: Ninety-eight bucks just for the holidays?

ENDO: Yes.

HOLMES: OK.

ENDO: Not a bad deal, right?

HOLMES: That's a very good deal.

Sandra Endo, I'm going to send a tweet just for you since you actually do follow me. I appreciate that, dear lady. Good to see you, as always. Thanks so much.

All right, well coming up, we were talking about this story the other day, a lot of people were shocked by it, a department store Santa Claus had to get fired -- he was fired for something he told an adult couple who came to see him.

You'll hear the joke that got him fired.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. It's 33 minutes past the hour.

Taking a look, a good look at Seattle right now. Beautiful shot in Seattle where they have plans to build a giant Ferris wheel there in the Seattle Center. It's supposed to be some 200 feet tall. The idea here is to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World's Fair.

Well, it's one thing and bad enough to be among the millions of Americans out of work in this country, but imagine this, being told you can't get more jobless benefits because your state is doing too well.

Carter Evans joins us now from the New York Stock Exchange.

Carter, hello to you. This is maybe one of those little provisions a lot of people not familiar with and a lot of scratching their heads about.

CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it's going to be a big surprise, I think, to a lot of people because even if Congress approves this unemployment extension, T.J., this is still going to be a real issue for a lot of people.

We are talking about residents in seven states that will not be eligible for the same number of weeks as people in other states. Why? Well, their states' unemployment rates are too low.

I know we have been talking about high unemployment rates, but there are several states with lower unemployment rates, and the law says the unemployed people in these healthier states cannot get checks for as long as people in the harder-hit states.

Take a look at the map. This is going to impact people in Alaska, Delaware, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Vermont.

Now, the formula varies but in Vermont, for example, you used to be able to get 86 weeks of unemployment benefits, but since Vermont's unemployment rate is now below 6 percent, well the law says now they're only eligible for 60 weeks. That is a half a year less -- T.J.

HOLMES: Carter, take us back a little bit. Help people understand the logic in putting these provisions into place in the first place.

EVANS: OK. So the theory is if the unemployment rate is low in your state, well, then, you have a better chance of finding a job. But we all know that is absolutely no comfort to people who have been searching for months, perhaps even years.

The extensions work on a tiered system and it is a pretty complicated formula and it varies from state to state. So if you're thinking, hey, this is going to affect me, just head over to CNNMoney.com. They break it all down pretty nicely and they make it really easy to understand -- T.J.

HOLMES: And you're right, it is complicated. But before you go, give us a look at the stocks today.

EVANS: Hey, well, you know what? It's another one of those days where you just kind of go, oh, not a lot of action. I think investors are really concerned about what's going to happen with these tax extensions, tax break extensions.

HOLMES: All right. Carter Evans, buddy, we appreciate you, as always. Thanks so much.

Let's turn now back to this economy. And in this economy, sometimes it feels like everybody's job is at risk, even Ole Saint Nick. Well some say this particular Santa Claus may have had it coming.

Our affiliate, KTVU in San Francisco, with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED KTVU REPORTER (voice-over): John Toomey has been known to a lot of local San Franciscans as Santa Claus, mainly because he looks and acts the part, complete with a real beard and a jolly laugh.

NICK BOVIS, LEFTY O'DOUL'S: He's the famous Santa from Regents Square, Macy's Santa.

UNIDENTIFIED KTVU REPORTER: But this year, not everyone is smiling. That's because Toomey, or Santa John as he is known, won't be there. He's been fired by Macy's because of a complaint about a joke he told to an adult couple who sat on his lap.

Santa began as usual by asking them if they had been good.

JOHN TOOMEY, LOST "SANTA CLAUS" JOB: They said, "oh, yes, Santa." And I said, "well, that's too bad."

And then I said, ""you know why Santa is so happy and jolly all of the time?" And they said, "no." And I said, "well, that's because Santa knows where all the naughty girls and boys live."

UNIDENTIFIED KTVU REPORTER: Toomey says he never jokes with children and will only tell jokes to adults hoping to get a laugh.

TOOMEY: I've used it for over 20 years and no one has ever complained about it. And they didn't complain about it to me, they went right up to management.

UNIDENTIFIED KTVU REPORTER: Some said the controversy has a strange similarity to another Macy's Santa Claus depicted in the Christmas classic film "Miracle on 34th Street." He was fired for claiming to be the real the Santa Claus.

(VIDEO CLIP, "MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET" FROM TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX)

UNIDENTIFIED KTVU REPORTER: Macy's, for its part, confirmed that Toomey had been let go, but wouldn't say anymore calling it a personnel issue.

Many here outside of Macy's heard about the firing.

GARY HALL, SONORA, CALIFORNIA RESIDENT: I think it's ridiculous that someone can be fired for something that's just a simple mistake.

JULIE JOHNSON, SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT: I'm sure it's taken very seriously by Macy's, but I don't know, that seems a little -- a little harsh.

JIM BRADLEY, SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT: It seemed to be that it was a pretty harmless thing that he said, but when you do a job like being Santa in Macy's, you have to be extra careful with what you say and you may offend somebody.

BOVIS: I think Santa should get a pass on this.

UNIDENTIFIED KTVU REPORTER: Nick Bovis says he is going to hire Santa John and double his pay to be Santa at his restaurant, Lefty O'Doul's, just up the block.

BOVIS: He'll have a permanent job. I have the chair made, if he wants the job position. And we need his help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now you may be reacting to that story in so many ways, but if your reaction was like everyone else's reaction here to that piece was why are grown adults going to sit on Santa's lap? This was a grown couple. We didn't know adults did this. Maybe things work differently there in San Francisco. Beautiful city, though, love you folks.

Time to pull out the Christmas lights. This house has surely done that, 140,000 of these lights. That's in the "Best Videos of the Day." That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: A lot of people putting up holiday lights right about now. Check this out. How do yours compare to these? Look at that. This was actually done for a good cause here, part of our "Best Videos of the Day."

Incredible Christmas light display. This is in Missouri, it took 140 hours to hang all of these lights, and it all goes for charity. Donors have been donating money, up to $20,000 to the family that owns the home, they're just collecting money and that money is then going to go to the homeless this holiday season.

Also, one more light display to help those in need. This is a good one. A man in Minnesota strung up 140,000 Christmas lights on this own home, donations here going to the Salvation Army.

The flashing lights you're looking at are fed by three miles of extension cords. Drivers passing by the home can tune in on their car radios to Christmas music being broadcast from the house and synched up in time to the pulsing light display.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're about 12 minutes to the top of the hour. Can you imagine being claustrophobic and in the cockpit of a fighter jet? That's just exactly where Lieutenant Colonel Rob Waldman found himself. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta with this week's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Screaming engines, mind-numbing speeds of over 1,500 miles an hour. This was Lieutenant Colonel Rob "Waldo" Waldman's daily ride. He had what many would consider one of the coolest jobs in the world.

LT. COL. ROB "WALDO" WALDMAN, CLAUSTROPHOBIC FIGHTER PILOT: It's an amazing jet, F-16.

GUPTA: But an innocent diving trip would change everything.

WALDMAN: Three years into my 11-year flying career, I almost died in a scuba diving trip in the Caribbean.

GUPTA: Thirty feet underwater, Rob's scuba mask broke. Physically he was fine, but mentally he was shaken to the core, he developed severe claustrophobia.

WALDMAN: So if you can imagine barely being able to move with this helmet and mask on, gloves, your head two inches from the top of that canopy, you're like in a little coffin, enough for a guy with claustrophobia to really feel panicky.

For every single mission I flew, I had to deal with this fear of having a panic attack.

GUPTA: But a panic attack while going mach-2 is devastating.

WALDMAN: When you're strapped into a jet, you just can't say pause, let me just get out and deal with this.

On combat missions when there was a job to do and my wingman needed me, there was no abort option for me.

GUPTA: Ultimately, Rob says it was planning, family and faith that helped him overcome his fears.

WALDMAN: I would simulate the environment that I would be in on the ground before the flight. And I would say, OK, I may have a panic attack here, how am I going to deal with it. I would look down on my checklist and I'd see a picture of my niece and nephew and it reminded me of what I loved and I said, I have to get home for them.

GUPTA: Now, after 56 combat missions over Iraq and Serbia, Waldo says he's kicked claustrophobia for good.

WALDMAN: I think about all the challenge and the personal growth that I had because I took a risk to fly that plane.

I didn't want to look back on my life and say, if I only had the courage to take action, I could have flown the coolest jet in the world, which, in my opinion, is the Lockheed Martin F-16.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Time to get a check at some of the stories making headlines.

President Obama trying hard to convince Democrats to support the tax compromise he made with Republicans after they rejected it yesterday.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, NPR: MORNING EDITION)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here's what I'm confident about, that nobody, Democrat or Republican, wants to see people's paychecks smaller on January 1st because Congress didn't act.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HOLMES: Also, Virginia Tech facing federal fines for even the suspension -- or even the suspension of its financial aid. The Department of Education found the university failed to quickly warn the campus about a gunman on the loose in the hours before a mass shooting back in 2007. Virginia Tech officials argue administrators acted appropriately based on the information they had at the time.

A serious fire seriously damaged an Atlantic charter school this morning. Nobody hurt here. The blaze swept through the Kip West Atlanta Young Scholars Academy and now investigators are trying to figure out what started this fire.

Now, here's what we're going to be working on for you the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

It's the time of year when Christmas stockings aren't the only things getting stuffed. We'll tell you about a strategy to keep those holiday pounds off, and we tell you this one will work.

Also, a lot of movies hitting theaters. Should you take the kids to see the new "Narnia" flick or stay at home and check out the classics on the small screen?

It's all coming up on the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The White House says it's going to win this game of deal or no deal. Our Candy Crowley, part of "The Best Political Team On Television," live from the Political Desk in Washington. And Candy, of course, part of the best part of my day on Sunday mornings as well.

Candy, good to see you here on a weekday. Good to see you. Tell me what's happening on that Political Ticker. CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts. As you mentioned at the top of your show, the president's pretty darn confident he's going to get something that looks a lot like the compromise he has now, and he thinks there's a pretty good reason for it.

First of all, he just doesn't think that the Senate or the House will walk away from this session and leave taxpayers to find out January 1st that their paychecks are smaller or the long-term unemployed find out that they no longer have any benefits. The president said in that NPR interview, listen, as long as it has the child tax credit, the college tax credit, the earned income tax credit, the extension of the tax cuts and oh, by the way, the long- term unemployment insurance, then we've got the framework for a deal.

So they pretty much are sticking to the main elements of the deal. There might be some minor things around the edges that will change, but this is the president pretty confident that he's going to get what he gets.

So 68, that is the number where we are -- another Ticker story trending here -- that's the number of e-mails from the White House and the DNC that we have gotten since the president announced this compromise with the Republicans. And it is generally mayors who support it, news of a governor who thinks it's a good idea.

And not only are White House reporters and political reporters getting these e-mails, but some of them are going up to Capitol Hill to those Democrats who say they're not going to vote for this bill, no way, no how. So they're learning about the various mayors and columnists, et cetera, who are supporting it.

So there is a -- certainly a full-court press out there, but a president pretty confident he's going to win this one.

HOLMES: All right, a confident president, but he could use a little backup possibly, and maybe someone who has navigated some of the dangerous waters on Capitol Hill before. Bill Clinton meeting with President Obama? What are we supposed to make of that?

CROWLEY: I don't know. I don't think it's a coinky-dink, do you? I think probably -- listen, you know, whether he asked the president to come or whether the president asked to come to talk about this tax cut extension probably is immaterial. I imagine it's a pretty good guess that they will.

And as you mentioned, Bill Clinton has been there before. He came out of a very rough midterm election where he got basically his head handed to him, and he managed a comeback. Triangulating was the word back then, which basically meant bringing Republicans into the process, tacking to the center and bringing in moderate Democrats as well.

So certainly, Bill Clinton has been there and done that and probably would have some advice if he's asked. HOLMES: If he's asked. He'll probably give it anyway, won't he, Candy? And yes, two guys a lot of people consider two of the best politicians probably still on the planet, a lot of people would say, getting together.

CROWLEY: Yes.

HOLMES: All right, Candy, good to see you. I'll see you again on Sunday. Is that right?

CROWLEY: I'll be there, he'll be there.

HOLMES: I'll be there. See you, dear lady. Thank you, as always.

CROWLEY: OK, thanks.

HOLMES: Your next political update in an hour. And for the latest political news, CNNPolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: All right. He's a guy who made a mince when we put a little rock 'n' roll into country, Garth Brooks, and he's talking to Larry King about family, performing and why he came out of retirement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": How did Steve Wynn get you to come out of the dark?

GARTH BROOKS, MUSICIAN: Steve, one, you know Steve, he's very intelligent, probably one of the sharpest men I've ever been around. And Steve took about five minutes to hear my story of -- because he asked me, what do you do and all this stuff, and he says, oh, I know how to do this. He says, "we can't screw up your family life."

KING: So --

BROOKS: The first thing out of his mouth was not money. He said, "we can't screw up your family life." He says, "The first thing we have to do is get you a plane." And I'm like, "OK, you've got my attention now."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And you can watch Larry's entire interview with Garth Brooks tonight, 9:00 Eastern, one of Larry's farewell interviews before Larry retires. Don't miss it.