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Monster Storm Socks California; Senate Could Vote on START Treaty Soon; Pedophilia Author Arrested; 'Hallelujah Chorus' Shakes Mall; First Results of 2010 Census; Do Your Medical Homework; Reading, Writing and Texting
Aired December 21, 2010 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
Live from Studio 7, I'm Tony Harris. The big stories for Tuesday, December 21st. Just days until Christmas. Are you ready?
Another Pacific storm aiming at southern California today. Forecasters predict rainfall totals could top 20 inches by the weekend.
Some stretches of the Sierra Nevada have gotten 13 feet of snow. Another seven feet may be on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, you can't go anywhere. The storm has kept us stopped. It's a whiteout. You can't see anything. You know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's night. What are you going to do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sleep in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was raining, and all of a sudden, it got really bad in, like, five or 10 minutes and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now you are stuck also.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now my car is over there and it's buried in the snow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have not seen it like this ever. We couldn't even see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You can get too much of a good thing, even a winter wonderland.
And the Census Bureau releasing results of the 2010 headcount right now. The figures determine the number of congressional seats allotted to each state and, in turn, electoral votes. Experts predicting Texas will gain clout at New York's expense.
A live report straight ahead.
In New York, a new setback for "Spider-Man," the most expensive musical ever staged on Broadway. A stuntman hospitalized today. He fell 20 to 30 feet during a preview performance last night. The show plagued by cast injuries and technical glitches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN DEEALWIS, AUDIENCE MEMBER: The show was going fine and normal. And the scene, Mary Jane was dangling from a bridge, "Spider- Man" was at the end of the bridge. And Mary Jane fell into the hole, I think, as she's supposed to, into the gap in the bridge there, then "Spider-Man" just sort of slipped off the end of the bridge and just fell.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Did you guys know right away that that wasn't supposed to happen?
We didn't know at first. And then we could tell that something was wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard the stage manager say that we're going to hold for a second and that the show will continue later on. The lights went up and the curtains came down, and we could hear murmurs from backstage. The microphones were still on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy.
More now on the monster storm system that is battering the West Coast. It only seems to be getting stronger, and all that snow and rain is causing some potentially dangerous situations.
Let's get right to our Casey Wian. He is in Ventura County, California.
Casey, good morning to you.
I know you have a lot of information to get through. It is a massive storm system impacting a lot of people in different ways, really.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. You talk about dangerous situations, Tony. Well, this is what we have here.
I'm standing on Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Malibu, California, and a 20-mile stretch of this road has been closed for a couple of days now. Caltrans officials are cleaning up the debris from a big mudslide up there. One of them just went by us, and we talked to him briefly.
He said boulders as big as SUVs came tumbling down onto the highway. So you can understand why this road remains closed to through traffic for right now. Elsewhere in the state, we've seen flooding, forcing the evacuations of 2,000 people from their homes in central California. A creek over-flooded there, and rescue crews -- not rescue crews, but crews had to pull debris out of that creek, and they allowed those homeowners to get back into their homes late yesterday.
In the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Mammoth Mountain reporting thirteen-and-a-half feet of snow in the past five days. Really an incredible amount. Wind speeds at the top of those mountain peaks above 150 miles an hour.
We've got lots of traffic problems here in southern California. Also, power outages, 20,000 people without power. And we're bracing for what is being described as perhaps the worst of this storm coming tonight -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Casey. Appreciate it. Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And very quickly, let's get to our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. She is following the work that Congress is doing right now, moving perhaps closer to approving the new START nuclear arms agreement.
Dana, what's the latest?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The latest, Tony, is that from talking to Republican senators in the hallway, and looking at public statements, we now count nine Republican senators who are saying that they will vote yes to approve this START treaty, which, of course, is the president's top foreign policy priority. It has been a very intense debate.
What does that mean? Nine is the magic number that the White House has been looking for. That is the number of Republicans that they believe they need, assuming that all of the Democrats who are present vote yes to approve this treaty. That is why this is significant.
The nine senators, I won't go through the entire list, but I'll just tell you, just in the last half an hour or so in the hallway, Senator Robert Bennett of Utah told me he's a yes. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said he's going to announce later today that he is a yes. And Johnny Isakson of Georgia just formally announced he's a yes.
We had six on our list earlier today, so that makes nine. That is why the White House said that they were confident yesterday, confident this morning, now we can match their numbers.
And I can tell you that, in talking to a number of other Republican senators, there are many who are also on the fence, not sure how they're going to vote, but possibly we could see more than the two-thirds majority needed to ratify this treaty. We expect that that ultimately will happen tomorrow, but we will see an initial test vote this afternoon on stopping debate on this very, very critical issue -- Tony.
HARRIS: And remind us -- ultimately, you need a supermajority in the Senate to approve this treaty. What's happening with the Republican opposition, Dana?
BASH: Republican opposition is still strong. In fact, I think if we can show a picture, as we speak two leading opponents are doing this, are having a press conference, Lindsey Graham, who actually had been on the fence for a while -- he told me about a month ago, he might actually vote yes on this. Not anymore. He's talking right now in the Capitol about his opposition to this.
He is joined by the number two Republican, Jon Kyl, who also announced over the weekend that he is a no. So they are very -- and other Republicans, too -- there you see Orrin Hatch as well -- so they are very adamant in their opposition. And they are opposed, they say, on substantive issues.
They say that they don't, for example, believe that there's enough verification that Russia will actually reduce its arsenal. But also, it's a lot, and we've talked about this a lot, about the tone and tenor. They are very angry that Democrats, and the White House, in particular, from their perspective, crammed this in at the end of this Congress.
HARRIS: OK. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, for us.
Dana, appreciate it. We'll get back to you in minutes. Thank you.
The author of a book considered a how-to guide for pedophiles arrested in Colorado on a warrant out of Florida, but convicting him may prove to be difficult. Authorities plan to prosecute Philip Greaves for distributing his book, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child Lover's Code of Conduct."
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin explained last night on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," it is no open and shut case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF GRAY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: He mailed this book to us It was a how-to book of how to sexually abuse children. And it was a depiction in writing.
Therefore, it's clearly a violation of Florida law. And, quite frankly, the problem is, as our attorney just said, there's too much hand-wringing across this nation.
When we can't stand together as a nation and say you can't write a book and depict real-time stories, real stories of children being sexually abused, then it's time to change the law, because you cannot sexually abuse children and write about it in a book. That's illegal. And that's why he's in jail.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN ANCHOR: Jeff, it wasn't a fiction book. I mean, he -- there was at least a couple of real-life accounts, Jeff.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: But that's -- still, it's words. It's stories, as the sheriff said. And stories are not illegal in this country.
You know, the reason we have kiddy porn laws is because the very act of taking a photograph of children engaged in sex is a crime, because a crime is taking place. You need a crime to take a picture of it for -- children's. This is just words. We have no way of knowing whether anything in this book is true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Amazon.com pulled the book from its site in early November.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Time for "The Big Play." Let's roll it.
"Monday Night Football," Chicago and Minnesota, the game being played at the University of Minnesota because of the collapse of the Metrodome. Had to get that off the field there.
The Vikings take a real beating, and so does Brett Favre. He takes another big shot last night and goes out of the game with a head injury. Two games left in the season, and likely in Favre's career.
The Vikings not competitive at all, taking a real beat-down. The final score, 40-14.
To the NBA now and a couple of amazing dunks from the sky-walking Blake Griffin. You may believe you can fly, but Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers knows he can fly.
Watch and enjoy. A couple of rim rattlers from the human high- wire act, Blake Griffin. Oh, yes, the Clippers won the ball game. The score not important.
Big plays for Tuesday.
The days of the paper Social Security card are numbered. The CNN Money team will fill us in on the changes straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Big changes are coming to Social Security. Forget the old-fashioned check. Social Security is going paperless.
Alison Kosik is on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange with details. And Alison, what do people need to do to make sure there is no lapse in their payments?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you want to get that benefit check, Tony, the trick is, is to keep track of some deadlines that the government is laying out.
I want to you to take a look at something we have put together to put it in line for you.
If you're applying for Social Security benefits after May 1, 2011, you're going to have to fill out your account information to get those checks direct-deposited into your account. Now, if you're getting Social Security benefits now, you'll have to go ahead and by March 1, 2013, you'll have to switch over to electronic payments.
If you're thinking, oh, my gosh, I don't know how to do this, just look in with your check. They're going to be including that information within your check. You could also go online to godirect.org.
And if you're 90 years old or over 90 years old, Tony, look at this. You're always going to have paper checks. I'm thinking that the government's thinking, let's not bother them with this electronic banking stuff. Leave them alone -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. And so it sounds like this is going to take a bit of time and money to implement. What's in it for the government?
KOSIK: Well, of course it's all about saving money. I mean, the government says it could save $120 million a year by doing this, saving on postage, saving on, you know, printing out these checks.
Also, you know, one thing that's been happening is, when these checks are mailed out, they get lost or stolen, and investigations for these claims have to be put in there. So that costs money. So the government's going to save money on those kinds of claims, investigations, as well -- Tony.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: If it's trending, we're talking about it. And the debate in Washington over net neutrality is big news on the Web today.
So, Sandy, are all Web sites created equal?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the government certainly hopes so, Tony. This is a huge story trending today.
And if you use the Internet, this is important to you. It's trending on CNN.com right now. And basically, the net neutrality regulations will be voted on by the FCC later today.
Now, the Obama administration's proposal is geared toward making the Internet a level playing ground for all content, especially when it comes to the speed it's delivered from providers. Well, Tony, service providers say they should have the discretion on how to deliver that content. So here's what people are saying on CNN.com today.
"It appears that the Internet is working just fine. WikiLeaks has proved that the Web is neutral and anyone can have access."
Here's another comment. "There needs to be much more competition if cable companies are able to do whatever they want, not the cable company monopoly that most areas experience now."
And one more comment. "Does Al Gore know about this? After all, it's his invention."
HARRIS: Yes, right.
ENDO: So, yes, a lot of people not really quite understanding the issue, Tony, clearly, but poking fun at it. And everyone saying hey, lay your hands off my Internet, right?
HARRIS: That's right.
Hey, are you following some of these iReports we're getting on snow and weather conditions across the country and overseas?
ENDO: Yes. I know, this is a favorite for you, because it's shaping up to be a white Christmas in many parts of the states, as you know, Tony, but also in Europe, as you mentioned.
And take a look at these iReports. They're just beautiful, from our vantage point, especially in the warm studio. Right?
HARRIS: Yes.
ENDO: This first one comes from Heidelberg, Germany, where they received more than six inches in just a few hours Monday afternoon.
And look at this one of dogs playing in the snow and loving it in Mammoth Lake, California. The iReporter says the snow banks were six feet high.
And these bikes really need to be thawed out before they're going anywhere. Look at that. Those are in Amsterdam, where this iReporter says they got six to eight inches of snow.
HARRIS: Folks are just trapped in Europe and can't get to where they're going for the holidays. It's just a real mess. I think we've got an update coming on that in just a couple of minutes.
Sandy, good to see you. See you next hour. Thank you.
ENDO: Sure.
HARRIS: Their political clout is growing, and so is a movement among some Latino Christians. They are fed up with both parties, and they're fighting back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, the Census numbers coming out this hour reflect a growing political clout of Latinos in America. There was a movement among some Latino Christians to capitalize on that strength.
The story now from CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're looking at a political movement that's growing in Evangelical churches across the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here at the Church of God headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee.
GUTIERREZ: From Tennessee to Illinois and California, Latino Evangelicals are fed up with both Democrats and Republicans.
REV. SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, NATIONAL HISPANIC CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONF.: We were promised immigration reform. Both parties treat the Hispanic community, the Latino community as a tool for political expediency, and we will not be used.
GUTIERREZ: It's called the Fuerza movement, "strength" in Spanish.
(on camera): What's next? Where are we going?
RODRIGUEZ: We'll be working with strategic thinkers.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): We met with the Reverend Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He told us the Fuerza movement is getting ready to launch.
RODRIGUEZ: The goal, of course, is to register one million new voters.
We're going to train and equip leaders nationally.
GUTIERREZ: Rodriguez says it's time for Latinos to fight back, and the church has to lead the way.
RODRIGUEZ: We are going to push back against the anti-Latino, xenophobic, nativist, racist spirit that once again has reemerged in America.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): How are you going to push back?
RODRIGUEZ: We are going to push back In several ways. One, we are going to hold every single politician accountable who would support Arizona-type legislation, period. We're going to call them out by name. GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Think Latino Tea Party, only with infrastructure.
(on camera): How many churches are behind you?
RODRIGUEZ: Thirty thousand, four hundred and thirty-four. But who's counting? And approximately 16 million individuals are part of the community that we serve.
We have shackles, and we need to release our people from them.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): They're taking this view (ph) from the pulpit.
RODRIGUEZ: I believe that we're about to see a great moment of emancipation.
GUTIERREZ: They call it a Latino civil rights movement that will organize around key issues like immigration and education reform, and economic parity for Latinos.
RODRIGUEZ: We don't want Latinos held hostage by one political ideology. We're 55 or more million strong in our nation. This is our time.
GUTIERREZ: But political science professor David Rodriguez is skeptical.
DAVID RODRIGUEZ, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE: We already have numbers now and elected officials aren't listening. So I don't know. Unless he's got some magic solution, I don't know. And to really rely on the notion that this evangelical base will be a new force is not really taking into account the struggles that people have had historically and contemporarily. It's not that simple.
S. RODRIGUEZ: What's the alternative? If we come together as a group, we have more than Dr. King had in the 1960s. The Census validates that.
GUTIERREZ: Rodriguez says the Fuerza movement will groom their own candidates to run in races across the country. They're already backing Wilfredo De Jesus, a Pentecostal pastor who is running for mayor in Chicago, and they've got bigger plans down the road.
S. RODRIGUEZ: I do believe that we will have a critical role to play as it pertains to who will emerge as the first Latino Hispanic- American president of the United States.
GUTIERREZ: Impossible? Not for these believers.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Sacramento, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, one of the worst winter storms in decades hits western Europe. Hundreds of thousands of travelers worry they will be stuck for the holidays. A update in minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So really we're talking about long lines everywhere you turn. Stranded travelers getting more frustrated by the hour. It is that way across western Europe right now. Snowed under by one of the worst winter storms in decades.
Look at this, folks camping out. What are you going to do? Some for two days, three days. Some travelers being told they won't make their destinations until after Christmas. Can you imagine?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely terrible. There's been no management whatsoever in any shape or form. We're seeing stranded here, one bottle of (INAUDIBLE) has been offered (INAUDIBLE) in two days. It's absolutely horrendous (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: A great video out of Sacramento, California, now. A rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus nearly brought the roof down, literally at a local mall.
A report now from our affiliate KXTV.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It was a little before 7:30, and singers and would-be listeners were assembling inside the Gallery of Food Courts, many more than expected. News 10 cameras were also there to record the event.
Then came the unexpected -- as several thousand people gathered, the weight had simply become too much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we were on our way there and the floors just went -- and at which point a lot of women kind of yelled. And guys are looking at each other like, was that an earthquake?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Suddenly, after weeks of planning, the flash mob corral event to sing the "Hallelujah Chorus" was over before it could begin. Just too many people showed up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Philadelphia and in other places, they've been a little more restrained and not told the whole community, but I think the whole community found out.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It took a while to get everyone out and was a bit chaotic.
MALL ANNOUNCER: The Galleria is now closed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were all up against each other like trying to get down the escalator, you couldn't even get to the escalator.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were people with children, moms freaking out with their children wanting to get out of there. Kind of got a little scary for those people.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Everyone did get out safely, and before long, the singers, at least some of them gathered outside and began finally to sing. But soon, the evacuation order came again out of concern for everyone's safety.
It was no easy job getting home as thousands headed to their cars at once and the mall turned into a giant parking lot. A well- intentioned idea that may be done a bit differently next time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In most places, they just keep it to themselves so that nobody knows that it's happening.
Oh, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think maybe Sacramentans (ph) is much more friendly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: I've got to tell you, the damage at the mall was so severe, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency. That allows mall employees to seek unemployment during the closure.
We have some new numbers released this hour on the U.S. Census. According to the numbers just released, the population of the United States grew 9.7 percent from 2000 to 2010, that is the slowest rate since the 1930s. The current number of people in the United States is 308,748,538.
The figures determine the number of Congressional seats allotted to each state and in turn electoral votes. We will have much more on that as we continue to crunch the new numbers as they come in.
And for more information on what the Census shows about who's living where, just go to CNN.com.
Lessons of a breast cancer diagnosis. A survivor's own homework makes her an empowered patient.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, when it comes to your medical care, experts say do your homework. Sometimes an empowered patient can find options beyond a doctor's diagnosis.
CNN' s senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the first of four lessons she is going to share this week. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Geralyn Lucas beat breast cancer, but she's terrified it's going to come back. And what scares her even more is that her daughter Sky (ph) will also get it. So Geralyn about to take a cutting-edge test to find out if there's a gene for breast cancer hiding in her DNA. And if so, has Sky inherited it?
The test takes about a minute. The test, called BART, searches deep into a woman's DNA to look for breast cancer genes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Geralyn's blood sample. To everyone, this is just a vile of blood, but for Geralyn this is her future. And perhaps even more importantly to Geralyn, this is about her daughter, this is about what happens to her daughter.
COHEN: If this test does show Geralyn has a dangerous genetic mutation, she'll have her ovaries and her other breast removed. It would be a 50/50 chance that she passed that gene down to Sky.
GERALYN LUCAS, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: I feel very guilty this is part of her vocabulary and this is part of her world. But in the same breath, I feel like maybe I'm teaching her a lesson, knowledge is power.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How have you been?
LUCAS: Nervous.
COHEN: A month passes, Dr. Rachel Welner (ph) has the results in her hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No surgery needed.
LUCAS: My god, it's negative? I don't believe it.
So Mommy got her results, it's negative.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yea!
COHEN (on camera): How did it feel to tell her just now?
LUCAS: Getting to tell Sky was the hugest thing of that news, and I feel I did it for her.
COHEN (voice-over): And what's pretty amazing is Geralyn discovered this cutting edge test on her own from other breast cancer survivors.
(on camera): What lessons have you learned from all this?
LUCAS: I have to keep searching. I can't rest on my laurels.
COHEN (voice-over): By doing her own research and staying ahead of the curve, Geralyn stayed ahead of breast cancer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Now, Elizabeth, how important is it to find other patients who are going through what or have gone through what -- or have gone through what you're going through now? Because Geralyn found out about this test from other breast cancer survivors, isn't that correct?
COHEN: Right. There was a test that she really needed to have and her doctor didn't tell her about it, other survivors told her about it. And that speaks volumes.
I think it's so crucial, if you're going to be an empowered patient, go talk to other people cause you're at maybe the beginning of your road, you've been diagnosed. Well, you know what? You feel alone, but there are so many people out there who have already been down that road, and they can help you walk through it.
HARRIS: That's critical information. And because oftentimes you feel like you're in this alone and you're really not.
COHEN: You're not. You're not. Even a rare disease, there is someone who has been through what you've been through before.
HARRIS: What else can patients do to do their own homework?
COHEN: OK. We talked about Geralyn going on the Internet. OK, and I think the Internet is great. I think there are lots of bad sites out there, but I think smart people can avoid them.
But more people need to learn how to read medical studies. People say, Elizabeth, how can I do that? I don't have any kind of a medical background. And so I want to talk about something that I call the Russian novel approach.
I don't know if you remember, Tony, when you were in school and you had to read a Russian novel, those big, long names?
HARRIS: Those big long -- yes, yes.
COHEN: What did you do? You went beep, right, exactly. So you would go just over them.
So this is a paraphrase of something that was in a medical study. And what I've done is I'm -- it's gone a little too quickly here. OK, so what we've done here is we took out the words that you wouldn't know. And when you take them out like you do in a Russian novel, you actually can understand it. You will find that you can actually understand what that -- the gist of what that is trying to tell you. And then you can go t your doctor and say, hey, I think the study says this, let's talk about it.
HARRIS: That's terrific. That's terrific advice.
And as always, Elizabeth, great to see you. I know you're back tomorrow.
COHEN: Yes.
HARRIS: As a matter of fact, tomorrow, lesson number two in being an empowered patient, Elizabeth is going to share what it means to trust your gut. That's tomorrow, Elizabeth.
COHEN: That's right.
HARRIS: Appreciate it, thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A challenger to RNC Chairman Michael Steele demands an apology. Peter Hamby, part of "The Best Political Team On Television," live from the Political Desk in Washington for us.
And, Peter, really? Apologies are pretty rare in Washington. Tell us more.
PETE HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Apologies can be rare from Michael Steele, too. The Republican National Committee chairman announced last week that he was going to run for a second term. And in doing so, he promised to really do a better job of working with other members of the RNC, reaching out to them.
Well, last week he went on a radio show in Baltimore and called a member of the RNC, Jim Bopp from Indiana, an idiot because Bopp had suggested that Michael Steele was playing the race card in his reelection bid, sort of trying to guilt RNC members into voting again for an African-American chairman.
Now one of Steele's challenger for the RNC job is calling on Steele to apologize, questioning his temperament, and saying, look, this guy cannot be trusted to go out there and be a good messenger for the party when he's, you know, going off message all the time like this.
Also on the Ticker today, Sarah Palin, she's often on the Ticker. One of her key aides, her attorney, Thomas Van Klein, is going to come down here to Capitol Hill, work for Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar, he's a new Congressman from Arizona.
Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but what it really does, it shows that Palin's world of advisers is really kind of unconventional. She has advisers living in Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, California. Thomas Van Kline was her only real adviser, other than Todd Palin, living in Alaska. So if she's going to run for president, she's really got to call on these folks from around the country. It's going to be interesting to see how that works out, Tony.
HARRIS: Well, you'll be watching it for us. Peter, appreciate it. Thank you.
Your next Political Update in an hour. And for the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNPolitics.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: This is the season of giving, and that's our focus now. A little girl's Christmas wish being granted as she gets to star in a big ballet. Photojournalist Oliver Janney captured Theresa's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rabdomire (ph) Sarcoma is diagnosed in 350 kids a year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We couldn't have a surgery to remove the entire tumor. So that left us with chemotherapy and radiation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She couldn't recover very well from the chemo, so she had a lot of blood transfusions and a lot of infections.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were overjoyed when she appeared cancer free on the last scan. It was probably the best Thanksgiving we ever had.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After we got through that we said, hey, let's do something special.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Star of wonder, star of light.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here they come.
WEBRE SEPTIME, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON BALLET: Hi, Theresa. How are you?
We came here to visit you to tell you a big surprise. I remember two years ago when you came to visit us at the studio and you met the ballerinas. Well, we're here to tell you, welcome to the cast. You'll be performing in two weeks as one of the guests at Clara's Christmas party with the Washington Ballet's "Nutcracker."
Congratulations. Can I have a hug?
And a one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you really excited?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Uh-huh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're really excited to have you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there's nothing greater than to be able to take a child who faces adversity and to put a smile on their face and a bright spot on their horizon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you're gorgeous. You are the most beautiful child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the season of wishes for the Make- A-Wish Foundation. From about mid-November until the end of the year, we try very hard to raise enough awareness and funding to be able grant 30 wishes.
SEPTIME: In keeping with how ballet has been passed on from generation to generation, kind of like a gift of the retiring ballerina to the next young generation, I think that's how everyone feels about this particular case.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, Theresa, go up tall and look at me in the mirror. Oh, my, my, look at you.
SEPTIME: The show's about to start. As a matter of fact, there's about 1,000 people waiting outside, waiting to come into this beautiful theater and enjoy the performance of the Washington Ballet with special guest star Theresa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know we've done a terrific job when we see a child like Theresa smile the biggest and best and brightest smile on the planet. It's magical.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: We will put giving in focus all week long, then this weekend, CNN brings you an hour long special hosted by Tom Foreman. "GIVING IN FOCUS" airs Christmas day at 4:00 Eastern, 1:00 Pacific only on CNN.
Here's some of what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
Gays will be able to serve openly in the U.S. military, but a lawmaker fights to keep them out of the Virginia National Guard. His bill would make "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" a new state law.
And politics by the numbers. What a new census report means for the changing political landscape in America. Which areas are losing and which ones are gaining?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Reading, writing and texting? Technology-addicted students are finding it hard to part with their cell phones, even during class.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick looks at how some schools are using the obsession to their advantage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seventh grader Cayleb Coyne has texting in class down to a science.
CAYLEB COYNE, SEVENTH GRADE STUDENT: Open it up, put the phone in it and act like I'm looking for something and send a text message.
FEYERICK: Hallways are also good. COYNE: It's harder to get caught in the hallways than it is in a class.
FEYERICK (on camera): Because you're moving?
COYNE: Yes.
FEYERICK: Like a shark, always moving.
COYNE: Yes.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Coyne says his cell phone has been confiscated six times in six months, and he's not the only one, despite constant reminders from his principal at Haverstraw Middle School.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your cell phones are supposed to be where? Yes, in your locker, not in class.
FEYERICK: But class is exactly where they end up. According to the Pew Research Center, even in schools that ban cell phone use, nearly 60 percent of all students admit texting during class, a growing problem in schools across the country.
ROBIN NOVELLI, PRINCIPAL, BAYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL: Well, why are you so addicted to this technology that you -- ?
FEYERICK: At Bayside High School in Florida, students risk being suspended if their phone is confiscated more than once. So far this year, 200 kids have had their phones taken away.
NOVELLI: Students need to be fully, 100 percent, authentically engaged in the classroom. And pulling out a cell phone and texting their friends about whatever it is they might be talking about is not the learning environment that I, as a principal, want to promote.
FEYERICK: And despite that zero tolerance policy --
NOVELLI: We still daily collect cell phones from students that have them out when they're supposed to be learning in the classroom.
DR. MICHAEL RICH, CENTER ON MEDIA AND CHILD HEALTH: I don't think we're going to stop the tsunami.
FEYERICK: But pediatrician and media expert Michael Rich says the reality is kids use more than seven hours of media a day, depriving them of it could backfire.
RICH: Pandora's Box is open here. The technologies are here, what we need to do is take control of them instead of letting them control us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't put the genie back in the bottle. The cell phones are here.
FEYERICK: At Haverstraw Middle School -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, guys, turn on your MOBs again, please.
FEYERICK: -- teachers like Ronald Roister (ph) have decided if you can't beat them, join them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not really a phone. It's their computer for class.
FEYERICK: The school handed out 75 cell phones to fifth graders as part of a unique pilot program.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Click on Ellis Island.
FEYERICK: Texting and calling features are disabled, and Internet sites are filtered. Phones are used for things like note taking and research.
For 11-year-olds, Kiara (ph), Ryan, and Naya, learning is different now.
(on camera): When did you make a movie? Did you make a movie during home room?
RYAN GUZINSKI, FIFTH GRADE STUDENT: No, this was actually in math. It was about decimals.
You can sync it, which means the teachers will get it and they can grade you on it.
FEYERICK: So, it really is helping reinforce the lessons?
GUZINSKI: Yes, because we're like -- we're memorizing things so much easier on here.
NAYA RIVERA, FIFTH GRADE STUDENT: It's almost like you want to look at the screen. It's almost like a mini-TV where you're like, you want to look at it. You don't want to go look at a piece of paper.
FEYERICK (voice-over): The district superintendent says, dollar for dollar, buying phones is more efficient than new computers.
(on camera): There are some educators who just say these should not be in school. What is your response to them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we're in the middle of a new revolution. It's part of who they are today, and why not use something in a positive way that they're bringing with them?
FEYERICK (voice-over): As for these fifth graders --
GUZINSKI: I actually started texting less when I have this.
RIVERA: Now that I have this, it's kind of more fun to go on the Internet on this and experiment with it when I'm home instead of texting all day like doing nothing. GUZINSKI: It's like, bye, phone.
FEYERICK (on camera): The kids we spoke with say their grades went up last year because of the mobile devices. The superintendent says for the cost of a single computer locked away in a lab, she could hand out mobile devices to an entire class so kids of all income levels would have access to the latest technology and guidance on how to use it best.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
