Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Researchers Claim Possible HIV Cure; Having it Both Ways on Earmarks; 'A Soldier's Story'; Trending Online; Senate Taking Up Tax Deal; Ice Storm Warning
Aired December 15, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And so this man had cancer and HIV. And what they did is they needed to give him a stem-cell transplant for the cancer.
And so they gave him chemo and radiation to wipe out his immune system. He had no more immune system.
And then what they did was they found a donor to basically give him an immune system. And the donor was a very special donor, and I'll get into that in a minute.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK.
COHEN: But what they did was they took the stem cells from the donor and gave it to the patient. They then followed him for a number of years. And what they found is that, today, not only is he cancer free, which is what you would expect or hope for from a stem-cell transplant, but he is also HIV free.
They have looked and they have not been able to find any evidence of HIV in his body. And he doesn't have to take HIV drugs anymore. So, you know, the people who wrote this up said, it sounds like a cure to us.
HARRIS: OK. All right. So why can't this work for everybody?
COHEN: OK. This can't work for anybody, because let's go back for a second to that donor.
As I said, this is a very special donor, he or she. This donor is one of the very, very few people who is resistant to HIV. He's just naturally resistant to it.
You could try to give him or her HIV, and wouldn't get it. And they sought out a donor like that on purpose because the person had HIV. So you have to get a very special donor who would be extremely hard to find, and that donor has to match to the patient.
HARRIS: Right. Wow.
COHEN: So that's another hurdle you'd have to pass.
HARRIS: And there's some pretty serious risks to this as well. COHEN: There are. So, if someone with HIV went to their doctor tomorrow and said, hey, I want this, the doctor would very wisely say no, because you can kill something with a transplant. This patient could have died from the transplant.
And we have great HIV drugs to treat HIV. So if you have a choice between a risky transplant or drugs that we know work, the responsible thing is to give the drugs that we know work.
So that's why this is not going to be replicated in too many places anytime soon. Now, hopefully, what happened here is proof of principle, and doctors can come up with gene therapy, can come up with a vaccine. I mean, there's a bunch of different things they can try based on this success, but no hospital's going to take this on to doing this right now.
HARRIS: Right. A pretty amazing story and a pretty grabby headline when you hear it.
COHEN: It is amazing.
HARRIS: All right, Elizabeth. Good to see you. Appreciate it. Thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: A routine school board meeting ends in gunfire, and the terrifying ordeal is captured by cameras. A warning -- you might find some of this video disturbing.
A man in Panama City, Florida, walks up and paints a red "V" with a circle around it on a wall. Then he points a gun at school officials.
A female board member tries to knock the gun out of his hand with her purse, but he knocks her to the floor. After rambling remarks about taxes and his wife losing her job, the gunman opens fire.
Again, a warning -- you might find this difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAY DUKE, GUNMAN: I'm going to kill. Don't you understand?
(GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody on the ground! Where's he at?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's on the ground!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please! Please!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's gone. He's gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I shot him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody else injured?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, the gunman, Clay Duke, fires at school board members. You saw that play out. Incredibly, none of them was injured. A security officer exchanges fire with Duke and wounds him before Duke fatally shoots himself.
Today, the superintendent was asked about the need to increase security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM HUSFELT, SUPERINTENDENT, BAY COUNTY DISTRICT SCHOOLS: If you could have seen that gentleman's eyes, this was going to happen. You saw this was going to happen.
We could have had this place like Fort Knox and he would have shot us when we'd come out of the building. He was going to do this. There was nothing we could have done to stop him.
It was a tragedy. We're very thankful and blessed to be alive. But we don't want -- I don't want to make light of it, but we don't want to overreact.
We don't want to have TSA, as I said earlier to someone, checking people when they go in. That's not what this country is about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: President Obama nudging CEOs to kick-start investing and hiring. Mr. Obama walked to Blair House today for talks with execs from blue chip companies like GE, Boeing and DuPont. American businesses are sitting on a record $2 trillion in cash and they are reluctant to spend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This morning, I hope to elicit ideas from these business leaders that will help us not only climb out of recession, but seize the promise of this moment -- ideas about tax reform, ideas about a balanced approach to regulation that will promote rather than undermine growth., ideas that will help encourage businesses to invest in America and American jobs at a time when they're holding nearly $2 trillion on their books. I want to discuss our shared mission of building a strong economy for the long run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Across the country right now, people are coping as best as we all can with bitter cold -- just about everywhere. Here's what some of our iReporters are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY BARNES, IREPORTER: It's 14 degrees here in Atlanta. The chill factor of 1.
Here in the Deep South, we're no big fan of this kind of weather, so everyone's staying indoors, deep under cover. To give you an example of what I'm talking about, here in front of Emory University, in front of Everybody's Pizza, a favorite water fountain has now turned to this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON SPARKS, IREPORTER: Good morning, everybody. It's Brandon in Orchard Park, reporting in on the snow.
I woke up this morning and the snow machine is back on, and it looks to be on in full force right now. It's about six inches of snow on the ground, and we're supposed to be getting a lot more throughout the day.
Surprisingly enough, my kids' school was not called off, but I kept them home. Better safe than sorry.
The main difference between this snowstorm and the one we had last week is the cold. It's very cold out right now. It's about 11 degrees. The wind-chill is about 4. And when that wind starts hitting, you can really feel it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we are on Fenwick Mountain, West Virginia, 26202, 18 degrees. It's cold outside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERICA RODENBAUGH, IREPORTER: It's just literally not that it came in such a short amount of time. And my car, I couldn't even open my doors because it's so low to the ground, that the snow -- literally, I had to shovel it out just to open my car door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh, man. Can I tell you how -- you see this big smile? I am so happy.
The last couple of days, I've been asking, can we get the iReporters just to give us a little bit of an on-camera so we can build a friends and family wall of our iReporters telling us about these conditions. They've been terrific. So, finally, we have it.
(WEATHER REPORT).
HARRIS: They call them sweeteners, and when it comes to writing legislation, some senators have a real sweet tooth. Coming up, we will tell you which senators seem to be addicted to earmarks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Only a matter of weeks after Senate Republicans united to pass a two-year ban on the so-called pork barrel spending being tacked on new bills, many senators on both sides of the aisle now stand to gain tens of millions of dollars for pet projects back home. It is all part of a huge spending bill released yesterday. The $1.1 trillion bill includes -- are you ready for this? -- 6,600 earmarks, with a total price tag of $8 billion for taxpayers.
No one seems more conflicted over their relationship with earmarks than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. This is McConnell just one month ago talking about earmarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: Banning earmarks is another small, but important, symbolic step that we can take to show that we're serious, another step on the way to serious and sustained cuts in spending, and to debt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But surprise -- the proposed legislation earmarks requested by McConnell himself, including $650,000 for a DNA research center at the University of Kentucky. That's according to the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.
McConnell now tells reporters he is vigorously opposed to the legislation, but Republicans aren't the only ones tacking on the earmarks. In fact, Democrats are pushing nearly three times as much pork barrel spending into the bill as their GOP counterparts, according to the same watchdog group.
Let's bring in our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.
Dana, look, it seems like lawmakers -- its' a little maddening here, but it seems like lawmakers want to have it both ways on earmarks.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've been talking all day about having your cake and eating it, too. But the thing that is -- there are a couple of things here.
First of all, just on the earmarks issue, it is fascinating to see the fact that this is a huge bill that does have a lot of Republican earmarks in it from Republicans who, of course, made a pledge, at least in the future, not to do that anymore. You mentioned Mitch McConnell.
Our intrepid producer Lisa Jansen (ph) went through all of the bill, all 2,000 pages, at least on the earmarks part, and she found that he has over $100 million, Tony, going to his home state. Now, he could have taken those out. He could have gone to the committee and said if you're going to do this, take mine out. He didn't, but he is at least saying that he wants to vote against this, and he's going to vote against his own interest, if you will, because he doesn't like this bill.
And on that subject, that's the other thing that is really unbelievable. And that is that it is Congress' basic job to fund the government. They are supposed to pass 12 spending bills. They have not passed one. The Senate has not passed one the entire year.
So, what this nearly 2,000-page bill is, is all of those 12 spending bills that they didn't do all year long wrapped up into this $1.1 trillion budget that they're trying to push through in a matter of days. And that is why you're going to see Republicans at least try to block this on the Senate floor, at least make it difficult for Democrats to try to do that (ph) -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Dana, I understand we're close to a final Senate vote on the tax cut deal. What's the latest?
BASH: If you look at the Senate floor now, there is actually the first of three -- I wouldn't call them amendments, but motions to try to change the tax cut deal. We don't expect any of them to pass.
What you see right now is a motion from Republican Tom Coburn to pay for the unemployment benefits which cost about $56 million in this large tax cut package. They need -- all of these motions need 67 to pass. We don't expect any of that to happen. And then once you get through the three motions, that's when the final vote will be, probably in about three-quarters of an hour or less.
HARRIS: And then what happens after the Senate vote, Dana?
BASH: That is the question. The House is probably going to take this up in their so-called Rules Committee, meaning start the process to try to take it up as soon as this afternoon, Tony.
It is possible that the House could even try to take this up tonight. We're hearing more likely tomorrow. But the question is, how are they going to do that? How are they going to try to change it?
That has not yet been decided in what form or fashion. We do know the big issue that many House Democrats are going to really want to change, which is the estate tax provision and the fact that they think it's too generous, how they actually craft that, that's being worked out as we speak.
HARRIS: OK. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, for us.
Dana, good to see you, as always. Thank you.
A poignant look behind the scenes as soldiers prepare for battle, "A Soldier's Story."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is going on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Private McLain!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Let's go, Privates. Let's go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: In this CNN original documentary, we take the journey with three recruits from basic training to deployment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: As the president and his national team assess their strategy in Afghanistan, we want to give you an unprecedented look at the men and women as they prepare to fight. In a new series, we tell "A Soldier's Story," shadowing three military recruits from enlistment to deployment.
CNN National Correspondent Jason Carroll begins with Will McLain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRIVATE WILL MCLAIN, U.S. ARMY: I, William McLain, Jr. --
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yes, Drill Sergeant!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you understand?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yes, Drill Sergeant!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations on your enlistment into the military!
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just 12 hours after taking the oath, Will finds himself half way across the country at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Check out your bags.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yes, Drill Sergeant!
CARROLL: Basic training begins now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any and all electronic items, take them out and hold them up in the air. You are not authorized to have the following items: drugs and narcotics, aspirin, vitamin, cigarette papers, water pipes, drug paraphernalia, cocaine, coke spoons, roach clips, gambling devices, playing cards, dice. All that crap is gone.
McLain!
CARROLL (on camera): What do you think about this recruit? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks to be a bit overweight, sir. He looks to be not in good physical condition. And that's going to be a challenge for him (ph) down the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Extra large, regular. Extra large, regular. Have a seat there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you will lay those collars down flat. Do you understand?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yes, Drill Sergeant!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it.
CARROLL: Anything about the process so far? Any surprises or anything that --
MCLAIN: I expected there to be tons of paperwork. There was, of course. And I expected them to be come yelling on the bus. They did.
You know? I mean, I'm surprised I haven't had to do push-ups or anything yet. So, that's always a plus.
CARROLL: Well, it's coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got it?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yes, Drill Sergeant!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not share bunks. One private, one bunk. You understand?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yes, Drill Sergeant!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And let's go, let's go. Hurry up.
CARROLL (voice-over): Day one is almost over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Hey, you two right here.
CARROLL: The prospect of a good night's sleep is at hand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get up. Let's go!
CARROLL: Well, maybe not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is going on? Hey, what are you doing?
Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Wow. And Jason joining us now from New York.
And Jason, I recall you filing those reports initially. It was compelling them, compelling now, but you didn't just follow one soldier. You followed three.
Tell us why.
CARROLL: Absolutely, Tony. I know you've been following it all along, so thanks very much for that.
Actually, three of them, as you know -- Will McLain, our young guy who you saw there. In fact, he said that that was one of his worst nights that he had in the military, that first night at Fort Leonard Wood.
But there are two others that we're following as well -- Latricia Rose (ph), a young mother who joined the Army, Tony, so she could try to make a better life for her family. And also Sergeant First Class Randy Shorter (ph), a career veteran now fighting a war right now in Afghanistan. We wanted to give three very different perspectives of what military life is like.
HARRIS: It was compelling then. Again, compelling now. And I know you've been able to get a little more time to add a little more context and back-story. Cant wait to see the additional reporting on it.
Jason, good to see you, as always. Thank you, sir.
And still to come in the CNN NEWSROOM, the season of giving often turns into the season of spending. But how you can keep your shopping and gift-giving in line, no need to worry. Christine Romans has you covered.
We're back in a moment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: 'Tis the season of more -- more shopping, spending, more eating, drinking. But if you wrote down every dollar you spent, would you actually spend less?
In today's "Smart is the New Rich," Christine Romans talked to a financial planner about budgeting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STACY FRANCIS, FRANCIS FINANCIAL: A budget is how you get out of debt. It's similar to, you know, if you watch what you eat and you're writing it down, you tend to eat less.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly what I say in my book, actually.
FRANCIS: It's exactly the same thing with what you spend.
ROMANS: It's also so easy to say, to lose weight, I am going to burn more calories than I am going to consume. It's the same with debt. I'm growing to grow my wealth by spending less money than I earn.
But why do diet books sell so well and why do financial books sell so well? Because it's harder to really do that. It's so easy to say it, but it's hard to do it. A budget is how you start.
FRANCIS: Yes. A budget is how you start. It really is the roadmap that you're going to follow to get you to that ultimate goal.
So, take a look and figure out what you're spending. And I will tell you, most of us do not know.
We may know what we're spending on our fixed items. We know what we're spending on rent. That's not a surprise. We know what we're paying on our mortgage.
But what about those eating out? If you live in a big city, maybe it's taxes or gifts for others. Gifts for others, or those sneaky, cute pair of shoes.
Those are all things that we typically don't have a number and really know what we're spending. So do a month's worth of budgeting. Do one month. Really see what's happening. And then, from there, take a look at, where can we par down? Where can we cut back our spending to make sure that more money is going in the bank and in our investments than is going on the credit card?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Christine Romans' new book is titled "Smart is the New Rich." In it, you will find all kinds of things to help your bottom line.
Still to come, meet the man who is the biggest TV commercial actor in Japan. And take a look at him. Yes, he's African-American.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We are exactly three hours into the trading day. And take a look over my shoulder here, the Big Board, New York Stock Exchange.
We are in positive territory. We're up 33 points. Let's check Nasdaq. At last look, we are in positive territory there as well, up five.
An American travels far from home to chase his dream. Now he is Japan's biggest commercial star, and he truly stands out in the crowd, as you will see.
Here's CNN's Kyung Lah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Japanese mobile phone ad features an average Tokyo family with some quirks. Dad is a dog. Eldest brother, not Japanese.
Meet Dante Carver, an African-American actor and New York native who, according to Japan's top marketing research company, is Japan's number one TV commercial actor. A stunning achievement for a non- Japanese.
DANTE CARVER, ACTOR: Ah, hi.
(WOMAN SPEAKING JAPANESE)
LAH (on camera): Does that happen to you a lot?
CARVER: Yes.
LAH (voice-over): As we walked through downtown Tokyo, you understand why. His image is everywhere. Billboards, television. An unexpected face in Japanese pop culture.
Four years in the running, Carver's SoftBank ad campaign remains wildly -- if not curiously -- popular.
LAH (on camera): Japan is just about the last place I would put an African-American actor.
CARVER: Yes, that's also another reason I came. Because it's something most people wouldn't expect.
LAH (voice-over): The Virginia Commonwealth University international business graduate uprooted to Japan five years ago, looking to boldly change his American path and try acting. With no family or connections in Japan, friends called him crazy.
He taught himself Japanese, started auditioning, and landed the role that turned him into a familiar household face. He's even found love, marrying this year.
LAH (on camera): What explains your success?
CARVER: Being different, but being open. I say "being different" for one, what people would expect, that's blatantly obvious.
LAH (voice-over): Japan is 98.6 percent ethnically Japanese. Anyone who is non-Japanese is treated differently, says Billboard Magazine's Tokyo reporter.
ROB SCHWARTZ, BILLBOARD MAGAZINE: Here, they come here and they feel a certain amount of racism, but it's the same for every non- Japanese person. Black people aren't singled out, where they are, maybe, in western cultures, European cultures, or American culture.
LAH (on camera): Has it changed your perception of what it's like to be an African-American in America?
CARVER: Yes and no. I would say no because, I still think America's going to need a little more time. In some ways, we still have those basic blocks we've got to break and get out of. SCHWARTZ: I think that's a huge lesson right there. I think that's something people need to think about. Why would somebody face as great a challenge in their home country as a place as foreign as Japan?
LAH (on camera): So, you've accumulated a bit of a crowd over here. We need to have an action plan, here, to get you out.
CARVER: That's no problem, I can zip out and cut up the street.
LAH (voice-over): Carver takes off what he eventually dreams will be a Hollywood movie career. The road he anticipates will hold a host of new challenges that he hopes, as he has here, to conquer.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: I Love that story.
Privacy seems like a thing of the past in the information age, but that doesn't seem to bother kids much these days. You won't believe what some of them are sharing online. That story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In the age of social media, privacy has become a thing of the past, especially for the younger generation. Carl Azuz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS (on camera): As far as phones go and sharing your numbers with people, how many of you expect your numbers to remain private?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phone number? Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
AZUZ: And have you ever gotten a text or a call from a number that you didn't recognize?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ADAM VRTIS, STUDENT: But that's normally from someone that's given my number to someone else. Not that I'm approved it. So, nevermind.
(LAUGHTER)
VRTIS: My hand goes down.
KATHERINE THORNBURGH, STUDENT: I tell my friends not to give my phone number, but it still happens. AZUZ (voice-over): These suburban Atlanta teenagers may want their phone numbers to be private, but I found their expectations were very different when it comes to the Internet.
(on camera): Do you expect what you post online to be private?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not really.
VRTIS: I know it's not.
AZUZ: Why not?
VRTIS: Everyone sees it. The Internet's -- it's the World Wide Web. Everyone in the world can get to it. So, I'm pretty careful about what I put on there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know nothing's really private.
AZUZ: So how does that affect what you post on Facebook?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't say anything that I don't want anyone to hear.
AZUZ (voice-over): It's a caution instilled by their parents.
(on camera): How much privacy do you give him on Facebook?
LORI VRTIS, PARENT: Very little. If they do want privacy, they can get a journal, they can write in it, keep it in their desk drawer, I will never read it. But when you're posting something that every can look at, I'm going to look at it, also.
KAREN THORNBURGH, PARENT: Anything you're willing to put out there in either a written form, you know, be willing to stand up in front of the whole high school and announce this.
ARIA GALT, PARENT: I teach in a school, so we deal with a lot of these issues each day. And so I sometimes talk about situations that I've encountered at work and hoping that maybe something would be learned from those, as well.
AZUZ (voice-over): And while all three students said they texted something they wish they could take back, they were far more reserved in their Internet behavior, largely because of their parents' involvement.
JOE VRTIS, PARENT: Professing ignorance of it and not monitoring it, I think you're setting yourself up for failure as a parent because I think the kids definitely need guidance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: One major takeaway from this, Tony, was the fact these were very good students. I think it was because of their parents' involvement that none of them said they'd every posted anything they strongly regret.
HARRIS: I love the one mom, who said look. You want privacy, put it in a journal. If you put it on the Web where everyone else can look at it and read it, I'm going to read it, too.
Any of the young people you spoke with, did any believe their parents were going too far?
AZUZ: It was actually the son of that mom who said it was sort of kind of strange. That sometimes he'll get home and he'll post something on Facebook, like "I have a lot of homework tonight." And his mom would chime in instead of his friends, saying, oh, really, why aren't you working on it?
HARRIS: Let's get started! Yes.
AZUZ: Of course. But there was a recognition among them that their parents' intentions were good and that their parents were trying to watch over them and do the right thing. So for that reason, most accepted it. One girl even saying "It's nice to think of my mom thinking of me."
HARRIS: That's terrific. I love that report. Good stuff. Carl, good to see you.
AZUZ: Thank you.
HARRIS: Appreciate it.
It's heartbreak and happily ever after in Hollywood. Another acting power couple ends their marriage, while muscle man Hulk Hogan says I do, but not without a fight! We'll get the lowdown
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Quick look at top stories for you right now. A blast of snow hit earlier this week. Now, here comes a prewinter ice storm. Looks like Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia are the primary targets of this icy system.
AAA says the roads and skies will be busier this holiday season. It projects 93 million Americans will travel for Christmas and New Year's. A three percent increase over 2009.
And "Time" magazine names Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg its Person of the Year. "Time" says Facebook and its half billion users have changed the way the world communicates. Zuckerberg, just 26 years old and a multibillionaire.
OK. The talk in Tinseltown today, marriage and divorce. A big Hollywood break-up to tell you about. And a wedding turns into a semi-wrestling match.
A.J. Hammer, host of "Showbiz Tonight" is with us from New York. A.J. always good to see you. What are you start with this morning? A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Let's start with Hulk Hogan, Tony. He reportedly got hitched yesterday and the cops had to be called in to break up a scuffle, a little wrestling match of sorts, at the ceremony.
Now, Hulk's real name is Terry Bollea. He was exchanging vows with his fiancee, Jennifer McDaniel, in the backyard of his Clearwater, Florida home. And the police had to be called in to break up a fight between one of Hulk's security guards and a paparazzi photographer, who was apparently trying to take some video and pictures.
Well, the police in Clearwater tell "Showbiz Tonight" no one was arrested on site because both men agreed to leave the area without incident. But the photographer showed up at the police station later on demanding a supervisor. He complained that no police report was taken. Police say they showed the man the officer's report and tell us they're not making the details of it public right.
But Tony, there always seems to be some kind of excitement when Hulk Hogan is involved. But in any event, we do want to wish the reported newlyweds well.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. Something tells me that will end up on one of their reality shows.
Okay, you've got some news on young stars that won't be growing old together, it seems.
HAMMER: Yes. This one bums me out. I liked these guys. A big Hollywood split. Two more very attractive stars, single again. We're talking about People's Sexiest Man Alive and GQ's Babe of the Year. They're breaking up. This is Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson I'm talking about. They announced yesterday they're calling it quits on their two-year marriage.
They are a very photogenic couple, to be sure. They started dating in 2007, got married in 2008 in his native Canada. And according to a lot of published reports, they've alraedy been living apart for several months. They did release a joint statement to "Showbiz Tonight." Here's what they're telling us.
"After long and careful consideration on both our parts, we've decided to end our marriage. We entered -
(AUDIO GAP)
HARRIS: Oh, did we lose - A.J.?
HAMMER: -- pri - listen to this. While -yes?
HARRIS: No, we've got you back.
HAMMER: "While privacy" -- oh, I'm here. I'm still here. They say about the split, "while privacy isn't expected, it is certainly appreciated." I like that they certainly recognize how all this works. Johansson is 26. Famous for roles in movies like "Lost In Translation." She's a favorite of Woody Allen. She did "Match Point," "Vicky Christina Barcelona" for him. "GQ" crowned her Babe of the Year just last month. The same month her husband, Ryan Reynolds, 34 years old, was named Sexiest Man Alive.
And in that issue, I thought this was a great quote, Ryan jokes to "People," for that issue that the only thing the new title would change at home would be when Scarlett told him to empty the trash. He said, this is a quote, "Now it's going to be Sexiest Man, take out the garbage." That does sound better.
HARRIS: That does sound better!
HAMMER: No garbage to be taken out for anybody but himself at this point.
HARRIS: Exactly. A.J., good to see you. Appreciate it, man. Thank you. And if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. has got it for you this evening on "Showbiz Tonight." That's at five and 11 on HLN.
You've heard people say get your beauty rest. But is there anything to it? Swedish scientists tested the theory that more sleep makes you more attractive. They took photos of their volunteers after they were sleep deprived for 31 hours and then after a good night's sleep. Can you tell the difference in the photos of this guy?
Which photo was taken after sleep deprivation? Let's wait for it. Answer after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So which of these photos was taken after the guy was sleep deprived after 31 hours? The answer is, did you get it, the picture on the right. Yes. According to researchers at the Karolinska Institute, that's in Stockholm, beauty sleep is not a myth. They say observers scored the sleep deprived volunteers less healthy and less attractive. Researchers say the results could help doctors pick up signs of ill health in their patients.
This woman always looks rested and I know she works hard. Sandra Endo in Washington.
Sandy, what's trending on the web for us right now?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Tony, thanks a lot.
Trending today, a big story on cnn.com and also all over online, a real live heist at the famous Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. Take a look at this video. The brazen robber, you see him running out of the casino with a motorcycle helmet on. Police say he rode up to the casino around 4:00 in the morning, hopped off his bike, robbed a craps table at gunpoint, stealing $1.5 million in chips, then ran out. Police think this guy may have robbed another casino just last week, just the same way. So keep a look out.
And, of course, a lot of people are looking for jobs. They're not robbing casinos, though, they're sending out their resumes, right? And a well-known social networking site for professionals, called LinkedIn, compiled a list of the 10 most overused words or phrases people put on their resumes. Now take a look. Actually there's a whole long list. And topping the list is extensive experience. Have you used that one?
HARRIS: Yes, probably.
ENDO: Innovative, motivated. But my favorite is number seven, team player.
HARRIS: Yes.
ENDO: And you're a team player, right? Well, actually, I have to say, some good advice from experts. They suggest just outlining specific accomplishments rather than using these throw away terms.
Tony.
HARRIS: I don't get it. Some -- there was a period in time when those words were in vogue and I guess that time has come and gone.
ENDO: Oh, yes.
HARRIS: Sandy, good to see you. Thank you. See you tomorrow. Appreciate it.
ENDO: You got it.
HARRIS: The Senate takes up tax cuts. A final vote is expected soon. We will get a live update from Capitol Hill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know we are getting close to a final Senate vote on that tax cut deal between President Obama and Republican leaders. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is following developments on Capitol Hill for us.
And, Dana, if you would, give us a bit of an update. The last note I saw suggested that we might start to see a vote in the 1:00 p.m. Eastern Hour. Is that still on track?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Maybe even before that. I'm looking down at the screen now, watching live pictures of the Senate floor, Tony, as maybe our viewers are as well. There's about three minutes left in this last motion before the final vote. And this motion, like two others before it, this one is from Bernie Sanders, the independent liberal senator from Vermont. He wants to completely revamp this bill, as you can imagine, to make it better for the middle class, from his perspective. This motion needs 67 to pass. It is very unlikely it will get that. Two of the motions in the last hour from Republican senators trying to change it to make tax cuts better for wealthier Americans and also to pay for unemployment benefits. Those also did not pass. So, once this is done, then we are going to see the final vote begin.
If it is anything even close, Tony, to the test vote that we saw a couple of days ago, this is going to be an overwhelming approval -- bipartisan approval of the president's tax cut package that he negotiated with Republicans.
HARRIS: And, Dana, Republicans have said, and you've made us aware of this, that they wouldn't move on anything until they resolved this issue, the issue of whether to extend these tax cuts. But -- and there always seems to be a but here. We might still see some gridlock?
BASH: We might see a lot of gridlock. Here's what we are expecting and we're still waiting for some details. But after this final tax cut vote, we reported yesterday, that the Senate majority leader wants to go to two things. One is debate of ratification of the START treaty with Russia and also the omnibus spending bill that they just unveiled yesterday that you and I talked about earlier in the hour, a 2,000 page bill, $1.1 trillion budget. Really a spending bill for the whole year.
Republicans, led by Jim DeMint of South Carolina, are, we are told, going to require the clerk of the Senate to read both of those measures.
HARRIS: Oh, boy.
BASH: The treaty, which we're told will probably take about 15 hours. And followed by that we expect the bill, the omnibus spending bill, to be read. And that's almost 2,000 pages, Tony. We don't even know -- we're trying to find out from some aides here how they -- how long they even think that could take. It could take a very long time. So we're talking about the Senate kind of being locked up, stalled by these readings for the next couple of days at least, and that puts into question what happens to the government because the government -- the resolution to keep the government running, that runs out on Saturday and this spending bill is to keep the government running. So that's -- those are the kinds of dances that Democrats and Republicans are going to be doing over the next couple of days. I can guarantee it through the weekend.
HARRIS: Well, that's interesting. When is Congress set to begin the Christmas break?
BASH: There is no set date. Earlier this month, the Senate majority leader said that he wanted to leave by December 17th. That's not happening.
HARRIS: Right. Right.
BASH: We already know that. We do expect the Senate at least to be here through the weekend into early next week because the Senate majority leader has said despite what he calls Republican delaying tactics, he still wants to have a debate on the START treaty for maybe four to seven days, he still wants to try to pass this big spending bill and he still is vowing to get to some of the other issues that they have pledged to do -- the DREAM Act on immigration, the "don't ask, don't tell" measure and other things. So we're looking at potentially bumping up right against Christmas Eve. And he even threatened yesterday to come back after Christmas if they don't get their work done.
HARRIS: And that's without us knowing exactly what happens when the Senate version moves to the House and that -- and back and forth there.
All right, Dana, appreciate it. Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash for us from Capitol Hill.
BASH: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: And your next political update coming up in one hour. For the latest political new, just go to cnnpolitics.com.
Larry King counts down to the end of his 25-year run on CNN. Tonight, the one and only Barbra Streisand. We will give you a preview.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Very quick we want to get you to Chad Myers.
And, Chad, the ice storm we've been talking about and that's what you're focusing in on right now, right?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's the big story of the day.
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: By far a warm front event that comes up from the Gulf of Mexico. You say, hey, it's a warm front, isn't that good?
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: No, it is not good if the air where you live is still going to be 30, Louisville, Lexington, all the way back down to Nashville, Knoxville, still going to be 30 or below and it's going to rain. OK, 30 and rain? That doesn't make any sense. How can it happen?
It happens because it's 35 degrees up above you at 2,000 feet up, but then you're still 30 down here. And when it rains into you, you become an ice skating rink. This happens starting late, late tonight, into tomorrow morning. Probably even in some spots after kids have already gone to school. So call in ahead or listen to the radios, whatever you have to do, to make sure that your school hasn't already pre-canceled school because they know it's coming.
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: I would -- if I was a superintendent up there, I would definitely be thinking about this already today. Don't get the kids in school and then all of a sudden you've got an ice skating rink out there trying to get them home. It is an event from Cincinnati to Lexington, all the way down to the Kentucky-Tennessee boarder. And that's the freezing rain warning. This is an ice storm warning. And then back out around it, there will be ice and sleet mixed together. You can get some traction on sleet.
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: You can't -- when it's wet ice --
HARRIS: Right.
MYERS: Don't even try to walk.
HARRIS: OK. Good stuff. Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: OK.
HARRIS: Let's take a break and when we come back we'll get you to T.J. Holmes, sitting in for Ali Velshi. The top of the hour, CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Boy, Larry King, 25 years on CNN. Now only two nights remain before Larry King hangs up his suspenders. Tonight, Larry catches up with legendary Barbra Streisand at her Malibu home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE": I asked you this once.
BARBRA STREISAND, ACTRESS/SINGER: Uh-huh, you did.
KING: Are you a singer who acts or an actor who sings?
STREISAND: An actress who sings. Yes. I mean I really didn't start to sing but out of, you know, a need for a job to pay the rent. I wanted to be a classical actress, you know, Shakespeare --
KING: Shakespeare.
STREISAND: Ipsum (ph), Chekhov (ph). Yes, and I couldn't get a job there, so I entered a talent contest and got work and sang --
KING: With -- did you always know you had that voice?
STREISAND: A little bit. When I was a young girl, I kind of -- yes, I was the kid on the block with a good voice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Barbra Streisand is with Larry for the full hour tonight. As for tomorrow, the final show, boy, that's a surprise for both you and Larry. Let's deal with the here and now. That means T.J. Homes sitting in for Ali Velshi. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now.
Doctor.
