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Cold Weather Hits Midwest; Elizabeth Edwards Funeral To Take Place Today; Bernie Madoff's Son Found Dead; Sarah Palin Travelling To Haiti; FAA Has Lost Track Of Over 100,000 Private Planes; U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan Holbrooke Falls Ill; Etiquette Expert Gives Advice On Tipping For The Holidays; Parents Attempt Takeover Of Underperforming California School

Aired December 11, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And look at that. Good morning to you all. We're looking at a live picture out of Minneapolis today, one of a number of places that need to keep a close eye on the weather situation because it can be beautiful at times with the snow, but, yes, at the same time it is going to be dangerous out there. We have a nasty, nasty storm system that's going to cause some problems for your folks, especially a lot of you folks that are traveling. So you need to hear what we have to say weather-wise this morning.

Hello from the CNN center here in Atlanta, Georgia, in our world headquarters. I'm T.J. Holmes. Thanks for being with us on this December 11th. Glad you could be right here. I want to let you know what's coming up over the next 90 minutes.

Working in Afghanistan once again proving did for a lot of folks include, seven construction workers. We'll tell you why these deaths of this is a civilians now considered a case of friendly fire.

Also, Sarah Palin is traveling to Haiti today, we're told, with her family despite warning from the federal government against traveling there. You'll hear why Palin is taking the risk and who else is traveling with her.

Plus, it's that time of year we give tips to those that have served us all year long. We'll consult our holiday etiquette experts and tell you how much to tip. Yes, you need to throw something extra at some of those folks so stick around for that.

But first, our Bonnie Schneider keeping a close eye on the weather and she's been doing so all morning long. Yes, Bonnie, the inconvenience some of this weather will be but it is going to be downright dangerous for folks at times?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely and it's getting worse. Watch for temperatures to plummet today and tonight. Snow, blustery winds and blizzard conditions, al ramping up in the Midwest right now.

Here's Minneapolis, Minnesota, a live picture of deteriorating weather. You see the winds have picked up. Visibility has gone done. It's blustery and cold with temperatures steady in the 20s and heavy bands of snow continue. You could see up to a foot or snow in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

It's already been snowing a lot. This is part of a larger system and you can see the changeover as we look towards Cedar Rapids, the cold air comes in. Blizzard conditions starting at 3:00 today, officially, blizzard, meaning blustery winds and blowing snow for a period of several hours. That holds true for much of parts of South Dakota, Iowa as well and we're looking for a lot of snow across parts of the Midwest as well as area into the Great Lakes.

This wintry weather will persist and pull down much colder air. We're look at a temperature of 10 degrees in Sioux Falls and 40 degrees across areas to the north.

I want to show you the current temperatures as we watch the colder air coming in, 21 degrees in northern Michigan. Watch this low plummet down to the south and then work its way to the northeast, making for very tough travel conditions across the country. We already have 40-minute delays at O'Hare in Chicago.

Look for that to increase. Let's look at Denver, Colorado, not associated with the storm system but still lots of snow on the ground for Colorado. We're watching treacherous roads there as well.

Looking ahead, this blast of arctic air will plummet all the way to Florida. We're expecting temperatures to get down into the 30s as we go through much of the next few days. Look at the temperature, T.J. This is the way it looks, I'd say, Monday around 6:00 in the morning, in the teens and wind chill factor will drop down into the negative numbers, for many place as far as south of Tennessee.

HOLMES: Thank you so much.

Coming up in a few hours now, people are going to be gathering to pay their final respects to Elizabeth Edwards. They may have to face protesters, however. The wife of former presidential candidate, John Edwards, passed away this week after battling breast cancer. Martin Savidge joins us live from Raleigh, North Carolina, where the funeral will take place. Martin, Good morning.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J. We're outside the United Methodist Church in downtown Raleigh which is where the funeral takes place at 1:00 this afternoon eastern time. The protesters are from the Westborough Baptist Church and they are commonly associated with demonstrating at the funerals of military men and women killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and not very popular with the general public.

The reason they say they're coming to the funeral for Elizabeth Edwards because of excepts she made about god after death of her son in a tragic auto accident in 1996, and the fact that she used fertility treatments to have further children and because they say the infidelity of her husband.

As a result of all that mentioned above, their Web site says this Elizabeth Edwards, this morning, is a resident of hell. Let me show you. This is the church. Let me show you where they are supposed to protest. Look down the street. This is about two blocks away, beyond the flashing lights in the foreground of the police car on the right. Way down on the left you may see some barrels and more flashing rights. That's the area, well out of ear shot and visual range. And you can bet the funeral procession will go nowhere near that particular area.

The group does follow the letter of the law. They have applied for a picketing permit and they were granted one and that's the area they were given. Authorities aren't so much concerned about the Westborough bunch as much as the counterdemonstrations worrying that it may get out of hand. The funeral here takes place at 1:00. T.J.?

HOLMES: All right. Martin Savidge there for us in Raleigh. We're going to have live coverage of Elizabeth Edwards' funeral like you said at around 1:00 eastern time right here on CNN.

I want to turn to New York. We're confirming that the son of Bernie Madoff has been found dead in his New York city apartment. You know the name Bernie Madoff. You know it well. It's been in the news the past year. He's now serving a 150-year prison defense after orchestrating the longest Ponzi scheme in this country's history. Our Susan Candiotti is on the story. Susan, what can you tell us?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is one of his sons, Mark Madoff. This death comes, believe it or not, on the second anniversary of the arrest of Bernie Madoff. A law enforcement sources telling thoughts mark Madoff this morning was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment in the SoHo district.

These same sources tell us that he was found fully clothed hanging in his living room, and that a family member discovered Mr. Madoff as about 7:30 or so this morning and called police.

Of course, the medical examiner's office will have to confirm the cause of death. Police have set up a crime scene to conduct an investigation to make sure that they can learn everything they can about what happened here.

And you will recall that Bernie Madoff pleaded guilty of he was charged to a massive fraud scheme of stealing millions and billions, really, of dollars from investors over time in the course, he's serving a lifetime jail sentence. So there is still a lot of work to be done and certainly, stunning information coming on this day, coincidentally, the second anniversary of Bernie Madoff's arrest. Back to you.

HOLMES: And Susan, on the front of the Ponzi scheme and has to do with any of that scheme, were the sons ever accused of being a part of their dad's Ponzi scheme?

CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly in regard to Mark. He has been named in a number of lawsuits that the trustee -- he's trying to recover money from people who were defrauded as a result of the scheme. So the investigation, authorities have said, is far from over. It will probably go on for years as authorities try to come to sort out what happened as a result of what Bernie Madoff plead guilty to.

HOLMES: All right, Susan. We appreciate you this morning. Thank you very much.

Eight minutes past the hour. Word that one of Bernie Madoff's sons found dead in his apartment found dead of suicide, according to officials. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 11 minutes past the hour.

I want to turn to Afghanistan now where seven construction workers have been killed, mistakenly killed in a joint military operation that was targeting insurgents. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is live with us from Kabul. Hello to you, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., hi. There seems to be two different versions to the story, one from the spokesman at the deputy governor in the east of the country where this incident took place. He said these construction workers were working on a road nearby to where NATO and Afghan forces were trying to arrest a senior Taliban figure responsible for an attack last week against a NATO base.

This is how he described the incident as happening. When the arrest went ahead, somehow the construction workers we are nearby and got caught up in the shootout.

NATO has a very different version. They say these seven were not actually construction workers. They were a private security militia. And when they were arrested, when NATO was arresting this senior Taliban figure, they also saw these other seven people and went to the house they were in and called them out on a loud speaker. When the first one came out he got out of his vehicle, holding a weapon and appeared threatening and a gun battle ensued, and that's how the seven men died.

So two very different explanations here, but NATO says they are investigate what can they describe this incident that has killed seven civilians.

HOLMES: Nick Robertson, we appreciate the update from Afghanistan. Thank you very much.

Turning back to Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin taking a trip today. The former Republican vice-presidential candidate heading to Haiti. She's going against the wishes of the U.S. State Department which advises against any nonessential travel there. She's set to visit Christian relief ministries and the Reverend Franklin Graham.

CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is live for us in Washington. Paul, everything she does, people assume she's trying to set up a run for the White House in 2012. Is this what people are pointing to? PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You're absolutely right, she's under the microscope for everything she does. So we'll talk about the trip. She hasn't said anything on her Facebook or Twitter page but Graham spoke out and said she would be a great encouragement to the Haitian people. They plan to visit a cholera clinic among other things.

CNN was one of the first to break the story and we're sending Gary Tuchman down there. But to your point she's been considering a run for the White House in 2012, the Republican nomination. Would this trip maybe help beef up her foreign policy chops? Maybe. One of the criticisms when she was John McCain's running mate in 2008 was that she didn't have great hands on of these affairs.

Reportedly there's talk about Palin going to the Middle East and Europe in 2011, so trips like this can maybe beef up her credentials.

HOLMES: You said she hadn't said anything. Did they accidentally let it slip? Was it not supposed to come out? You said Franklin Graham talked about it.

STEINHAUSER: Franklin Graham mentioned it in one of his blogs. No, I don't think so. I think that this was probably more logistic and I think you'll see her speaking out once she gets on the ground down there.

But these trips, T.J., this reminds me in a way of the big, publicized trips in the last campaign. Rudy Giuliani, when he was running, took a trip to England to maybe beef up his international chops, and then Barack Obama, then Senator Obama after he won the nomination of Hillary Clinton. He took a highly-publicized trip to the Middle East and Europe so this may be a step toward that but she hadn't said whether she's going to run or not.

HOLMES: Appreciate you emphasizing "may" for us. Paul Steinhauser, good to have you as always. Thanks so much.

We're 15 minutes past the hour. We got word a short time ago confirming one of the sons of Bernie Madoff has been found dead in his apartment in New York. We'll talk to our Alley Velshi when we come back.

Also, a big weather weekend which could turn into a big weather week next week. We'll give you an update on a nasty winter storm that's coming.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 19 minutes past the hour. I want to get more on the breaking story we're keeping an eye on out of New York where a son of Bernie Madoff has been found dead in his New York apartment. Authorities say it's an apparent suicide.

But Bernie Madoff as many of you know, is the one, the man who has now serving a 150-year prison sentence for orchestrating the longest Ponzi scheme in this country's history, a scheme that built investors bilk them out of some $60 plus billion dollars.

Our CNN chief business correspondent Ali Velshi is on the line with me. Appreciate you hopping on the line. What do we know about mark? A lot of people make the assumption that mark was connected in some way to the Ponzi scheme in.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Mark Madoff is the elder of Bernie Madoff's two sons. They work in the same investment firm that Bernie Madoff worked in. As you know, Tony -- T.J., all the money that was going through the company it makes it hard to believe that these two guys were not involved in what was going on.

But the fact is, that's what investigators investigated about mark Madoff and his brother and they didn't find any connection between them and Bernie Madoff's operation. In fact, they didn't find any connection that they were involved in the fraud.

Mark Madoff is the defendant in many, many civil lawsuits including one by the trustee who has been appointed to get money for people who were victims, but the bottom line is he hadn't been charged criminally with anything.

There were earlier reports earlier that he and his uncle and brother were being charged with tax fraud by the IRS, but that hasn't come to pass.

So the bottom line is, this is the two-year anniversary of the Bernie Madoff conviction, of the Bernie Madoff deal when it became obvious that this was happening. They've been under a lot of stress the whole time. This is a 46-year-old man. He's a father of a little boy. He's married. His wife, apparently, according to reports, called in to her father saying she's worried about him because she was traveling. The father went in and discovered he had committed suicide. That's at least the information from reports right now. CNN has crews on the way to get more details.

HOLMES: Ali, how much do we know about the relationship, not just the professional and business relationship between the sons and Bernie Madoff, but the personal relationship as well, even before the arrest and conviction, but also, after?

VELSHI: Well, after it's been a very strained relationship because the bottom line is there have been investigators who have been trying to pit them against each other and a bit of a feeling that Bernie, as you know, did not cooperate at all with authorities. He didn't implicate anybody else. And most people find it hard to believe he could have perpetrated this fraud on his own.

But as a result of that one there were a lot of efforts on both sides to distance themselves from it. Bernie Madoff's sons had their own representation and their own public relations firms dealing with their situation, so it's obviously strained everybody in the family. Obviously since his conviction and going to jail, there's been less contact between them.

But the stress on the Madoff family continues to be huge because the fraud was perpetrated on a lot of people within the community in which they lived and among friends so that's sort of isolated a lot of the Madoffs. And you can imagine if you were in the family of somebody who's been convicted of the greatest fraudulent scheme in all of history that kind of thing has to take its toll on you.

HOLMES: All right, Ali Velshi hopping on the line. We appreciate you as always and the perspective on the relationship between the sons and father. Thank you so much. Again the our viewers, getting word this morning that, in fact, Mark Madoff, Bernie Madoff's son, 46 years old, found dead in this apartment with can police calling it an apparent suicide. We'll continue to follow that for you.

And more about an American, Amanda Knox, a convicted murder. We'll tell you why she's breaking down into tears in an Italian courtroom today.

And some dangerous wind chills for the Midwest. Look at what we're keeping an eye on out of Minneapolis. Bonnie Schneider has your forecast and it's a frigid and dangerous forecast. Also a forecast that could be changing a lot of your travel plans. Stay with us.

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HOLMES: All right, we're getting close to the bottom of the hour.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HOLMES: Stories making headlines across the country right now. First up, a story that is break out of New York -- Mark Madoff, the son of that man, convicted Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff, found dead today in his New York apartment. The son found dead in his apartment.

This is the two-year anniversary of the arrest of his father. Police say Mark Madoff was hanged in what they believe to be an apparent suicide. He was 46 years old.

To Raleigh, North Carolina, now. Family and friends say good-bye to Elizabeth Edwards. The estranged wife of John Edwards died on Tuesday after a long battle with breast cancer.

Salt Lake City, Utah, Elizabeth Smart had words of encouragement for other kidnap and rape victims. Speaking after a jury found the man who snatched her from her home when she was 14 years old, guilty of kidnapping. David Brian Mitchell held her captive for nine months. A member of his defense team claimed he was insane.

Turning to Italy where Amanda Knox an American student studying there broke down in tears in Italy while appealing her murder conviction. She spoke for about 15 minutes before her emotions caught up with her. They say she and her former Italian boyfriend are innocent and Knox says she does not know with how she'll deal with facing 26 years in prison.

A new law is given unexpected power to fed-up parents in California. They can basically take over a failing school.

Also, the NFL has made a decision this week in the sexual harassment investigation involving Brett Favre. They've made a decision, kind of, sort of. We'll explain this to you coming up.

But first, another news quiz for you. Which one of these activities will reveal your personal information? Is it signing up for internet service, browsing the internet or online bill payments, or is it all of the above? That answer after the break. It's 32 minutes past the hour.

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HOLMES: Before the break we were asking you which one of these activities will reveal your personal information, put you at risk out there with your personal information? Is it just simply signing up for Internet service? Just browsing the internet? Or online bill payments. Which one of those, or is it all of the above? You guessed it, all of the above.

According to privacy rights clearinghouse when you're online you provide information at almost every step of the way. A company can track your internet use and take a little information from each one of those uses and use it to build a profile of who you are and what you are likely to spend.

Did you see what happened at the White House yesterday? You may have missed this if you were out and about maybe doing some Christmas shopping or whatever you may have been doing on a Friday night. An extraordinary scene we saw with both presidents, former Bill Clinton and President Obama, both at the podium and both talking to reporters in the briefing room and talking about the tax cut deal that President Obama has reached with Republicans that's outraged a lot of Democrats. Some Democrats are angry at these so-called tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. The former president, however, hopes to sway some of that opposition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, (D) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: In my opinion, this is a good bill and I hope that my fellow Democrats also support it. I thanked the Republican leaders for agreeing to thing that are perfect to the president. There's never a perfect partisan bill in eyes of the partisan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: As part of this deal it would actually extend jobless benefits for millions of unemployed Americans, so President Obama had to cut a deal to get something he wanted as well.

And another story we're keeping a close eye on. The FAA has apparently lost track of about a third of the private aircraft in this country. That's about 119,000 planes. Any one of them could become a national security problem. The FAA is scrambling to correct this issue. Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve explains. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There were 350,000 aircraft in the United States but the federal aviation administration doesn't have accurate records on one third of them, 119,000 planes.

MICHAEL BOYD, AVIATION CONSULTANT: This is the equivalent of the IRS losing a couple million tax returns. This is a core part of the FAA's responsibility and losing track of 119,000 airplanes nothing to sneeze at. That's a very serious problem.

MESERVE: Why so serious? Because the registration can help authorities distribute critical safety information to aircraft owners and help law enforcement track stolen planes, drug dealers, and possibly even terrorists. Some experts say it is a security concern but probably not a security problem.

CHRIS DANCY, AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOT ASSOCIATION: There probably where they are supposed to be, owned by the people, the FAA last has record of. The FAA just don't know that.

MESERVE: The records are badly out of date because until now, owners have only had to register their aircraft once, at the time of purchase. Many have failed to update the FAA as required. When they have moved, sold an aircraft or scrapped one.

To correct the situation and cleanse the current database, the FAA is requiring that all civil aircraft be re-registered over the next three years. Owners will then have to renew their registrations every three years. The FAA says changes are necessary in part because of the events of 9/11, 2001 and our continuing war on terrorism.

MESERVE (on camera): Experts say this isn't going to end the misuse of aircraft and their registrations. Tail numbers easily be changed to throw off law enforcement. But hopefully this will make it easier to catch it when it does happen.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: A lot of us still have this question and can't figure it out. The question is, how much do you tip and also, when do you tip? It gets even more complicated around the holidays. Yes. We've got some tips on tipping during the holidays. You need the pay attention to this or somebody might be talking bad about you behind your back when you stiff them.

It's 39 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Are you one of those? Mr. Humbug? Are you a scrooge? Well, even if not you could be mistaken for one if you don't do the right thing coming this holiday season for tipping. It's confusing enough any time of the year. But beyond that now, there are certain people you should actually tip a little something extra during the holidays. Do you know who we're talking about? Let me bring in somebody who does know what she's talking about. We're talking about Peggy Post, author of "Emily Post Etiquette" and she joins us by Skype from Bonita Springs, Florida. Good morning.

PEGGY POST, DIRECTOR, THE EMILY POST INSTITUTE: Good morning, T.J.

HOLMES: So help us understand who makes the cut. What kind of people are we talking about should get, almost a little something extra, like a Christmas gift?

POST: That's exactly what this is. It's a Christmas gift, a holiday gift to say thank you. And if your budget will allow, most service providers say they'll really appreciate a cash thank you. But you have to be smart and base it on your budget, how frequently you work with this person. The quality of service, and how long you been working together and --

HOLMES: What kind of folks are we talking about here?

POST: Everybody from your person who cuts your hair to the person who delivers your newspaper to the lot of people like to say thank you to their mail carrier. And so the list can go on. And it's really your individual list of people you want to say you appreciate them.

HOLMES: So we have this list up, a few that you named here. Some of these you normally do tip. Like a hairstylist. You go in, or somebody that cuts your hair, you pay them and you tip them. But some of these you don't normally tip, like the newspaper delivery guy.

How do you help people differentiate when the people you should and shouldn't, because I thought it was the people you normally tip, but that's not the case?

POST: If word "should" is the thing. If you're pleased with how they deliver your paper. And they are your paper person every day, then that's someone you might want to put on your list and most people will do that.

And some mail carriers, also, do such a great job, most of them do, and that particular case, the U.S. postal service recommends that their employees do not accept gifts over $20. And they're not supposed to accept cash, but some people do give cash and some carriers accept it. So you really base it on how happy you are.

HOLMES: Base it on how happy you are and you should base it on what your budget can allow. But just as a general rule, is there a calculation or a percentage or anything? How do you figure out what you should tip as a gift?

POST: Well, we have a whole range on our Web site, EmilyPost.com and a lot is based on where you live and the cities people tend to tip larger amounts. If you can't give cash, you might want to give a small gift instead. Some people are really handy and they make gifts. Maybe a sealed package of food if you think that person likes the food.

So it's really -- it's a lot of judgment call but the whole key is to say thank you, and when you do give your gift or your tip, write a little note and say I really appreciate your take care of me throughout the year.

HOLMES: You brought something up there as well. You said some give gifts and some should get gifts instead of cash. Who is in that category?

POST: Well, one, a lot of people like to thank their children's teacher. Check with the school and see if they were all allowed to -- the teachers are allowed to accept gifts. In that case, you might want to give a joint gift with other parents.

If you're thanking your regular babysitter, I recommend you include your children in selecting a gift, and you might want to give one night's pay plus a lift gift from your child. Sometimes you'll give a gift, especially if it's your child. Some places will not allow their people to accept cash. So do some checking.

HOLMES: OK. I have really enjoyed having you on the past couple of weekends and because it's so educational for me. I don't know if I'm just a dumb guy who's not good about etiquette and I'm not good about thank you cards or things like this. I don't know if everybody else know this is information already but I think you're teaching people a lot about etiquette and what to do around the holidays so I certainly appreciate you, Peggy. I hope you continue to check in with us.

POST: Thank you, thank you, T.J.

HOLMES: Coming up, a Christmas controversy to tell you about in California. Look at Santa. Notice anything? We zoom in. You noticed something different about this Santa. He's packing. And it did not go unnoticed. Cowboy Santa and his pistol are causing a bit of a commotion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONICA SLIVA, CONCERNED PARENT: I try to get the I imagine out of my head all day long and I could not, because Santa is made for love, bringing families together, not carrying weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's pretty crazy to tell you the truth. We're just trying to sell trees and weapon got a bunch of commotion going on.

SLIVA: It says to the kids it's OK for Santa to carry a gun and therefore it's OK for them to be carrying a gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had it up for 20 plus years and never had one complaint about it until now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, they got so many complaints you can see what they tried to do. The owners of the tree farm finally covered it up and they thought it was enough pressure and attention and they took away the gun. But an interesting picture. You don't see that coming down your chimney.

Also a rehearsal for a Christmas presentation at a church, live camel included. That didn't work out. The camel toppled over and toppled over on some folks who were sitting in the pews at the rehearsal. This was the First Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, Florida. We're told nobody was hurt and the camel has been replaced by another camel. I'm just kidding. He still has the part in the show.

When a school didn't perform the way some parents want the school to perform, they did something about it. They tried to take over the school and get some new leaders. And there's a new California law that lets them do it. You got to hear this.

It's 12 minutes to the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 10 minutes to the top of the hour.

We're going to give you an update about Richard Holbrooke. He's in the hospital this morning. We're getting details about his condition, but he fell ill just yesterday. He's at the hospital at George Washington University Hospital, been there since yesterday. He is the special envoy, U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan and has been instrumental certainly in the war in Afghanistan but also in relations with Pakistan.

But he fell ill at a meeting and now we're getting word from the state department that, in fact, he's had surgery to repair a tear in his aorta. He is now in critical condition, and also the State Department say his family has joined him there.

Again, Richard Holbrooke, we didn't get much information yesterday but he had obviously -- what appeared to be it was obvious to many people who were with him at the time, had meetings at the State Department, fell ill and was able to walk out apparently under his own power but then taken to the hospital and the details we're getting from the State Department is that, in fact, he's had surgery to repair a tear in his aorta, but his family has joined him there now.

We are waiting to get more information about it but that's all the state department at this point, has released. Again, a pivotal player in the war in Afghanistan and the relation between our country and Afghanistan as well as Pakistan, so a pivotal player who was appointed at the beginning of 2009 by President Obama to this special envoy position but right now, in the hospital. We'll keep a close eye on him certainly, wish him and his family all the best at this time. I want to turn back now to this dose of winter weather that's hit us and hit us hard, certain parts of the country hit real hard. You told thus morning it would be a developing situation and you said it's changing minute by minute.

SCHNEIDER: That's right, T.J. As we go through the day a lot of those advisories will go into effect. For example, the winter storm warning in Minnesota, that will take affect this afternoon.

Here's why -- 20 degrees in Minneapolis. The wind chill factor is four. Four will seem good when looking ahead. Wind chill factor could drop by negative 10 or 15 due to strong winds. Snow rolling through, Cedar Rapids the rain turned over to snow because of the cold air being pulled down.

Heavy rain for St. Louis and you're under a winter weather advisory because we're anticipating the changeover from rain to snow.

And if that's not all, look what's ahead for Monday morning. Take a look at this map and you'll see that by Monday morning at 6:00, your temperatures will be in the teens in Chicago and Tennessee and it will feel like it's in both places.

HOLMES: There's a lot hang on that map. You said it's developing and you said it will be trick in traffic situation later. We do appreciate you. Thank you very much.

A big sports weekend, as always, out there. But first let me tell you about Martina Navratilova, the sports legend, the tennis legend? She was climbing mount Kilimanjaro and she had to turn around. We're told she's expected to be OK but she was climbing for a sports charity and was able to raise money for that charity, but the 54 year old had to be taken to the hospital for a checkup and we're told she's OK.

Let me pop down to the Auburn story. Let me talk about this one that's happening in Birmingham. This Birmingham lawyer, listen to this now, he's a life-long Auburn football fan. He had the nerve e to ask a judge this week to hold off on scheduling a trial. Why? So he and his family could go to Auburn's national championship game.

And you know what happened? The judge said, OK. He said understood this predicament. The judge, of course, there in back and he's an Auburn fan as well. If the judge was an Alabama no way that would happen. It was that serious that the man even felt to ask and then the judge granted him an extension and the trial not starting until after the national championship game.

One more note in the sports world. A lot of rules now in sports, in basketball, in particular, I should say here. We have the 24- second clock and all kinds of new rules about what you can and cannot do. In the beginning there were only 13 rules pap set of 13 written down by that man, Dr. James Naismith.

The piece of paper he wrote them down on went up for auction yesterday, and it was sold for some $4 million plus -- 13 rules that included peach basket that said you can't touch anybody else. You can't dribble.

Of course, the game has changed so much over the past 100-plus years, but a man in Kansas, a Kansas University Alum bought it and said he's donating it back to the school so they can display it. But again, the original 13 rules of basketball sold for $4 million plus. Quick break and we're right back.

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HOLMES: Here's an example of parents really getting involved with their kids' education. Some moms and dads are trying to take over a school in California. A new state law the "parent trigger law" lets them do it. It's getting its first test in Compton and it's already stirring up controversy.

CNN's Casey Wian has this report.

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CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marlene Romero and Shemika Murphy seem unlikely revolutionaries. They're parents of students at McKinley Elementary in Compton, one of the worst performers in California.

SHEMIKA MURPHY, MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY PARENT: I'm here today because I care about my children and their education and their future.

MARLENE ROMERO, MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY PARENT: I think the district is -- their priority is not the kids. It's something else.

WIAN: Parents representing 62 percent of McKinley's students signed a petition to force the Compton School District to give up control of McKinley.

CROWD: Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

WIAN: Parents packed school buses headed for the district office to deliver their petition. It's the first attempted takeover under a new California law allowing parents to change leadership at failing public schools.

ISMENIA GUZMAN, MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY PARENT: And this is our petition, of the parents that really care for our kids' education.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We all care for our kids' education.

WIAN: Organizers say they expect the district to fight the takeover, perhaps in court. The teachers union and some parents also are opposed.

LEE FINNIE, MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY PARENT: Well, they're doing great with my kids. I really don't have any complaints. I understand that the school was having problems previously, but they're actually making steps and strides for the benefit of the children.

WIAN: Test scores have improved, yet McKinley still ranks in the bottom 10 percent of even low-income area California schools.

(on camera): The takeover effort has created a rift among families here at McKinley Elementary. Opponents say they've been harassed by people gathering signatures for the petition, and supporters say they've been threatened by opponents. Latino families have even received flyers like this one warning they will be deported if they sign the petition.

(voice-over): Much of the anger is directed at Parent Revolution, a group that organized this takeover and lobbied for the law.

BEN AUSTIN, PARENT REVOLUTION: We're going to take a failing district school and turn it into a high-performing charter school.

By far, the biggest risk is the status quo.

WIAN: Charter school operator Celerity is slated to run McKinley.

VIELKA MCFARLANE, CEO, CELERITY EDUCATIONAL GROUP: We're here to follow the parents' will. And so, we know that we need to listen, we need to listen very carefully, and we need to also listen to the teachers and see which ones of them want to follow the will of the parents.

MURPHY: This could happen -- this Compton, other cities, other states, this could be something really big.

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HOLMES: California's governor and L.A.'s mayor siding with the new law and the parents trying to change things up, and both men criticize the opposition and accuse them of intimidation and harassment.