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South Korea Holds New Drills; Rain, Snow Winding Down in California; 'Season of Progress' in Congress; 24/7 Holiday Sales; Exploring a Closed City; Tall in the Saddle
Aired December 23, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Live from Studio 7, I'm Tony Harris. The big stories for this Thursday, December 23rd.
A weeklong chain of storms finally winding down in the West, but not before soaking parts of southern California with 10 to 20 inches of rain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was like really scared. I thought we were going to go straight into the river. It's very scary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going to happen now? I can't even get home to get my dogs food, clothes, anything. And there is going to be a bigger storm and I am supposed to live there?
This is my comfort place? My home? It's crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes, it is a little crazy right now. The storm washing away six homes in north western Arizona as it tracked inland. Several other houses are still at risk from the floodwaters.
Police are checking all embassies in Rome right now for possible bombs. Two mail packages exploded today at the Swiss and Chilean Embassies, wounding one person at each place. Plus, authorities are investigating a suspicious package found at the Ukrainian Embassy. Rome's mayor says City Hall received bomb threats, but no explosives have been found.
South Korea carrying out live-fire artillery drills just 15 miles from the North Korean border today. The North vowing to respond with a nuclear deterrent, if needed. Tensions high on the peninsula after the North shelled a South Korean island last month.
CNN's Kyung Lah from Seoul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rolling out heavy artillery, more than 100 types of weaponry on the land and in the air. Eight hundred military personnel engaged in another show of force the South Korean army calls its largest winter air and land trip (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Holiday drivers paying more than $3 a gallon to gas up today. AAA says prices are 16 percent higher than last Christmas. It was two years ago this month that gas prices bottomed out at an average $1.61 a gallon nationwide.
And finally a letup in the winter storms that have pounded southern California for days. The rain and snow are moving away, but they have left a real mess -- a huge mess behind. Flooding and mudslides have damaged homes and businesses across the region.
This scene in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles. And right now emergency declarations cover that county and five others. One of the biggest problems, rivers of mud.
CNN iReporter Tim Gillespie is with us now on the phone from Loma Linda.
Tim, as we roll in your iReport -- first of all, good morning to you.
Describe the flooding in your Loma Linda neighborhood if you would, please.
TIM GILLESPIE, IREPORTER: Yesterday morning we woke up to the sound of a train. We're not too far from train tracks, but this was quite a bit louder. And went outside, and the cross street, Mountain View, a couple houses from where we live, had turned into quite a river, that's for sure.
HARRIS: Hey, Tim, let's listen to how you described the scene yesterday in your iReport.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILLESPIE: What you are seeing is Mariposa Street, that goes out to Mountain View. This is Mountain View this morning in Loma Linda, California. What you are hearing is rocks hitting the posts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy, Tim, that's pretty dramatic. I've got to tell you though, all flooding, as you know, is relative. This might not look like much if you are used to the flooding that we see from time to time along the Mississippi River, but I am assuming that this is a really big deal in Loma Linda.
Have you ever seen this much rain in your neighborhood?
GILLESPIE: Never. No, it was -- just it raining five days in a row was enough to give us pause in southern California. Like, today is a gorgeous, beautiful day. There is just the aftermath of the rains and the mudslides. So, normally it's gorgeous this time of year. So it was quite dramatic. HARRIS: So how has the rain impacted your life? I'm thinking about your day-to-day activities. You'll probably get out and around a bit today under bright and sunny skies. But what has it been like over the last week or so?
GILLESPIE: Well, you know, it hasn't been too bad. California holds its rain relatively well, at least southern California, in this area. But yesterday, it was a problem.
Everybody was trying to figure out how to get to work. Loma Linda is a relatively small community, so there's not -- you don't have to go too far. But access to the freeway was shut down for a while. There were probably six different detours that I had to take, and I work a mile and a half from where I live. So it was inconvenient.
HARRIS: Yes. And Tim, any concerns today?
GILLESPIE: You know, just -- I know that there were houses damaged. I am a pastor of one of the churches here, and I know some of our church members have considerable mud damage to their homes. And so, you know, we're just praying for them over this holiday season and hoping that the crews can get out and help clean up.
HARRIS: Well, Tim, appreciate it. Thanks for your time. Thanks for the iReport.
Timothy Gillespie and his iReport, on the phone with us from Loma Linda, California.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: President Obama in Hawaii to celebrate the holiday season. Before he left, he congratulated Congress on a season of progress. A look at what did and did not get done.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The lame-duck Congress finishes strong, passing a lot of major legislation. President Obama praised Congress for its work before heading off to Hawaii to spend Christmas with his family.
Here is a look at what got done and what didn't.
Congress passed an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts. They also extended unemployment benefits. Lawmakers approved the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; the nuclear arms treaty with Russia; health benefits for 9/11 first responders; and an overhaul of food safety regulations.
Congress did not approve the DREAM Act to allow a path to citizenship for children brought to the U.S. illegally. And instead of an omnibus spending bill, lawmakers passed a temporary measure to keep the government running. All in all, the president says it was a very productive session.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of folks in this town predicted that after the midterm elections, Washington would be headed for more partisanship and more gridlock. And instead, this has been a season of progress for the American people. That progress is a reflection of the message the voters sent in November, a message that said it's time to find common ground on challenges facing our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The lame duck has quacked, and the public sees President Obama as the big winner. In a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 56 percent say they approve of the president's approach to the congressional session, 42 percent approve of the way the Republican leadership conducted business.
Despite the president's good marks on the lame-duck session, 71 percent of people surveyed say things are going badly in the country today.
Good news for both Wall Street and Main Street. A new government report shows Americans are making more money these days.
Alison Kosik is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the details.
And Alison, what are we doing with that extra cash?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, probably your best guess and everybody else's is, yes, we went ahead and spent some extra money that we made in November, of course, on holiday shopping. It also means that we are saving a bit less than we were saving in October.
Still, if you look at how much we are saving overall, we are saving quite a bit, 5.3 percent these days, compared to about one percent, when the economy was much stronger. Obviously, we are putting more money away for a rainy day.
But Wall Street does like to see that consumers are out there spending more money. It's really what is giving the markets a boost these days.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: Time to go "Cross Country" right now and check stories our affiliates are covering for us today.
First stop, Chicago. The Board of Election Commissioners could decide today if Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's former chief of staff, can run for mayor. At issue, the fact that he spent most of the last two years living in Washington. A judge in Bartow, Florida, set bail at $15,000 for the man who wrote a how-to guide to pedophiles. The state charges Philip Greaves of Colorado with violating the Florida obscenity law. Greaves has no criminal record, says he is not a pedophile, and that he just wants to help them.
And a neighbor in Janesville, Minnesota, nearly went to jail for a good deed. He thought he was taking a 70-year-old woman to the bank as a favor, but it turns out he was driving her getaway car. Sandra Bathke (ph) slipped the teller a robbery note and left with $3,700. She didn't get far before police arrested her and cleared her neighbor.
Being a good patient can come at a price. It's your life. Ask questions. Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has a very personal story about how asking questions probably saved her mother's life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: If you consider yourself a good patient, listen up. This week, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been sharing tips that could save your life.
Today, her story is a very personal one. She learned from her mother's experience that sometimes being a bad patient is good.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): My mother Sheila Schwartz is a firecracker. Mother of four, grandmother of 11, wife, lawyer, and social worker, she's been active and healthy her whole life.
But around the time she turned 60, something changed. She began feeling achy and dizzy. Her blood pressure went up and she was so tired.
My mom's family doctor told her, "Don't worry about it."
(on camera): So they told you, look, lady, if you just stop working so hard, your blood pressure will come down.
SHEILA SCHWARTZ, ELIZABETH'S MOTHER: Don't get excited, don't enjoy life so much, don't be quite so busy.
COHEN (voice-over): If mom's doctor had only ordered a simple blood test instead of blaming her, he would have seen my mom's kidneys were in trouble. Caught early enough, a simple treatment could have fixed it. But now, it's come to this -- she needs a kidney transplant to save her life.
SCHWARTZ Bye, darling. Thank you.
COHEN: When my mom first got sick, I wish I could have introduced her to Evan Handler. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SEX AND THE CITY:")
EVAN HANDLER, ACTOR: Charlotte York, will you marry me?
(END VIDEO CLIP, "SEX AND THE CITY")
COHEN: Evan plays Harry Goldenblatt, Charlotte York's husband on "Sex in the City." But here's what you might not know --
HANDLER: I was 24 years old when I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
COHEN: In the hospital, Evan had to get pushy with his doctors and nurses.
HANDLER: You know, you have your little squeezy thing to ring the nurse's station, and I heard exasperated voices saying, "Evan, we're on a dinner break. You know, we can come to you in 20 minutes."
And I said, "Well, OK, the drug that's been running into my vein for the last 20 minutes is labeled with another patient's name." And there was a stunned silence, and then someone said, "We'll be right there."
I don't completely trust anyone, and it makes me difficult to deal with. But it's also saved my neck.
COHEN: My mother didn't challenge things like Evan did, and it cost her her kidneys.
(on camera): What advice would you give someone who's not feeling well, but whose doctor says, "Oh, don't worry about it"?
SCHWARTZ: Don't take the first answer, and don't take an answer that says there's nothing we can do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, I love seeing you and your mom together. Can we get an update on her health?
COHEN: Yes. She's doing great. Next year -- next week, rather, will be the one-year anniversary of her transplant, and thank God she is doing great and so is her donor, our cousin, David Cantor (ph). So big shout out to both of them.
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: We're just so thrilled that they're both doing so well.
HARRIS: That's great to hear.
How do we know when we are being too nice to our doctors?
COHEN: All right. Three great questions you can ask yourself that will help you figure out if you are being a good patient which, as we just learned, is a bad thing.
Do you worry about what your doctor thinks of you? A lot of people do. Right? We all worry about what other people think about us.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: Are you too scared to tell your doctor you would like a second opinion? I can't tell you how many people have said to me, Tony, "How do I ask my doctor?" I'm like, "Well, you just ask." If you are scared, that says something right there.
Do you stay with the doctor for a long time even if you are not getting better? If you go to the doctor for a particular problem, things aren't improving, maybe it's time to move on.
HARRIS: Yes. What do you think, solutions here?
COHEN: Yes. We always like to empower patients. We like to give solutions.
Ask lots of questions and don't worry whether your doctor likes you. This is, in many ways, a business transaction. It's OK if they are annoyed with you a bit.
Also -- well, there we go, remember it's a business transaction. And remember you have an objective here, and you need to reach that objective. That's more important than being popular.
HARRIS: We get a sense sometimes that if we can just talk to the doctor, go along with the doctor, be friends with the doctor, we'll somehow nor another better advice, be thought of as a better patient, get better care, but sometimes it pays to be tough.
COHEN: Exactly. Exactly. That doesn't always work.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: And so this is tough to do. And, you know, I have a whole chapter in my book about this. CNN.com/empoweredpatient, we go into more detail about how to achieve this, because it's not always easy.
HARRIS: That's terrific. OK.
And tomorrow, give us a bit of a preview of what you have for us tomorrow.
COHEN: Tomorrow, we're going to talk about how to choose the right hospital. A lot of people think a hospital is a hospital is a hospital. Not true. The right one can save your life, the wrong one can kill you.
HARRIS: Right. Particularly when you're in an emergency situation.
COHEN: That's right.
HARRIS: OK. Elizabeth, good stuff. Great news about your mom.
COHEN: Oh, thank you.
HARRIS: Let's take a break.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: If it is trending online, we are tracking it for you. Well, in fact, in all honesty, Sandra Endo is tracking it for us. She is following what's trending.
Good to see you, Sandy.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, hi there.
Trending today, OK, check it out. On CNN.com, this is a pretty serious story.
Congress, after a lot of debate, finally passed a health benefits bill for 9/11 first responders. And this would provide them free health care and compensation, as you know, Tony, for the 9/11 emergency personnel who responded that day and now are having so many health issues.
Well, the issue is actually stirring up a lot of passion on the blogs. And hear what some people are saying on CNN.com.
From Shouter Guy, he says, "Denial of benefits was coldhearted and calculated."
Another comment from European Dude writes, "The ones that opposed it and/or voted against it should be fired. Taking care of our own people should be the number one priority. Why did it take 10 years?"
And one more. Miked2003 wrote in, "Too little, too late."
And the total cost of this bill, Tony, $4.2 billion. At issue was that Republicans wanted the price tag to be a little less than that.
HARRIS: Yes. You're right.
ENDO: So, always a political debate, right, in Washington?
All right. One more thing, Tony, I have to tell you that's trending.
You know, pretty bad timing for Skype. This is what you're going to see when you log in to the Internet phone service.
HARRIS: Whoa. ENDO: And basically, they are having technical problems. People can't log on to the service, and it all started yesterday. They are still trying to fix the problem.
And this is a really popular way to communicate, especially around the holidays. People want to log in, see their family across the screen from them with these video-type chats.
And people can't log in, so Skype tweeted their problem. And this is what you're going to find. And they are basically working out all the kinks, but hopefully people can get connected during this holiday season.
HARRIS: I haven't read it, but how long is it going to take? Will folks be able to get connected before the holidays?
ENDO: Yes, hopefully. They have identified the problem.
HARRIS: OK. All right.
ENDO: But clearly, they're still working on it.
HARRIS: Well, that's the first step.
ENDO: Yes.
HARRIS: All right, Sandy. See you next hour. Thank you.
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: And a developing story overseas for you now. Bombs exploded at two embassies in Rome today. The first was a package bomb that went off at the Swiss Embassy. Police say the person who opened it was seriously wounded.
A second bomb exploded at the Chilean Embassy. One person was injured. Police are checking all of the embassies and consulates in the city.
On the phone from Rome is "Newsweek" correspondent Barbie Nadeau.
And Barbie, the explosions at these embassies in Rome come amid, as you know, growing concerns in Europe over possible holiday season attacks. After the recent suicide bombing in Stockholm, Sweden, and raids this week in Britain that, as you know, netted a dozen suspects, are any of the dots being connected here?
BARBIE NADEAU, "NEWSWEEK" CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the authorities here in Italy are really focused on this being an act of the anarchist resurgence that we've seen in parts of Europe lately. Since last week, when Silvio Berlusconi won a confidence vote and remained in power, there have been a lot of anarchist attacks, infiltrations of these violent groups in the normally peaceful protest.
And the Italian government right now has announced that they aren't looking far beyond that as the sources of these two bombs. They're most concerned right now that there are bombs in other embassies. And because this is the Christmas holiday, and today is really the last day of work -- tomorrow is a holiday here -- there could be more of these parcel bombs in the mail rooms at some embassies. That's their focus right now, to really take a good look, door to door, at all the embassies.
HARRIS: Yes.
And Barbie, while I have you on the phone, have you learned anything more about Tuesday's bomb scare in one of Rome's subways? A suspicious package was found under a subway seat. Correct?
NADEAU: That's correct. That bomb hadn't been completed. The police, at the end of the day, came to the conclusion that someone was still building that, that they had accidentally left it. It hadn't been planted on the subway.
And that bomb most likely was going to be used in the protest that was held yesterday. There were lots of students who had these sort of handmade bombs and all sorts of hand-thrown bombs that they used in protest across Italy yesterday. So that bomb wasn't related to this.
The police right now really aren't giving a lot of information until they have done a sweep of all the embassies. And, of course, Rome has embassies for both Italy and the Holy See. So they got twice as many embassies as any other capital city.
HARRIS: "Newsweek" correspondent Barbie Nadeau on the phone with us from Rome.
Barbie, appreciate it. Thank you.
If the trend holds, retailers are looking at their best holiday season numbers since 2007. One thing helping people spend, around- the-clock shopping.
Here is Alison Kosik.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: We're out here on Long Island, just outside of New York City, at this Macy's. It's 1:00 a.m., but guess what? This Macy's is open. In fact, it has been opened since the Tuesday before Christmas, and it's not closing until Christmas Eve.
So who would come out here in the dark of night, in the freezing cold, to do their last-minute Christmas shopping? We're going to go in and take a look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I figure, it's the best time to shop. Nobody is here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am working all day, so I don't have any other time to shop. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I know I'm tired, I'm like sleepy. But if I don't get it done at 1:00 in the morning, I just won't get it done tomorrow in the day.
KOSIK: So surveys even show that almost a third of consumers actually leave their Christmas shopping up until the last minute. And retailers like Macy's know it, it's why they keep their stores open around the clock in the final days till we get to Christmas.
And look, even people are here at 1:00 in the morning still shopping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come here usually the last four or five days and I usually show up around 11:00 and shop.
KOSIK: Do you still have a lot of shopping to do?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes. I got four kids, so you can imagine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We purposely waited until the 24 hours to come. We wait until the last minute so we can come in the middle of the night when no one is here.
KOSIK: And how long do you plan on being here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. Whenever we're done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have travel clock alarm, travel umbrella, Juicy sweatshirts. Ugg boots is on my list, a rechargeable phone, hair straightener we're looking for.
KOSIK: And it's not just Macy's staying open around the clock in the days leading up to Christmas. Toys 'R' Us is doing the same, so is Old Navy. And you know, this phenomenon is growing in popularity as the economy improves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did it last year and then this year. So --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we'll do it next year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we are doing it next year. It'll be our new tradition.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right, CNNMoney's Alison Kosik joining us live from the New York Stock Exchange.
And, Alison, is it really worth it for retailers to stay open past midnight? Does it really help their bottom line that much?
KOSIK: You know, you got believe it does, because, if you think about it, Macy's started this around the clock shopping thing back in 2006 with one store. Now it's happening in 14 stores in major cities. Toys 'R' Us is doing this this year nationwide. Old Navy is even kind of doing a version of it for 36 hours. They are obviously doing well. They are continuing it year after year -- Tony.
HARRIS: And what was the commotion we heard down there on the floor earlier?
KOSIK: Oh yes. You heard what was going on? That was the traders. They actually stop working for about, I don't know, 30 seconds to sing the song. It's called "Wait Until the Sun Shines, Nelly." If you want to take a listen, if we can get the video.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. We got it.
KOSIK: Let's listen.
(VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: So this is a tradition at the New York Stock Exchange. It happens on Christmas Eve, the last day of trading, which is December 31st. It's a song about better times ahead, of hope.
This tradition began back in the Depression, in the Great Depression in 1934, which is kind of fitting for our economic times. Here you have kind of an upbeat view for next year. So there you go.
HARRIS: Absolutely. All right, good stuff, Alison. Appreciate it. Thank you.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer on the streets of Pyongyang. We open the door on North Korea's closed capital.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Tensions running high on the Korean peninsula again today. South Korea is carrying out military drills just 15 miles from the border with the North. The live fire exercises drew more harsh rhetoric from the North, which vowed to use a nuclear deterrent, if needed.
The two countries have been on edge since the North shelled a South Korean island last month during the South's earlier military drills.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson just back from a private visit to North Korea. He told CNN the peninsula was very close to war, but he was able to talk the North Koreans down. Governor Richardson is in the CNN NEWSROOM at 3:00 p.m. Eastern today with more on his North Korean diplomacy. CNN's Wolf Blitzer was the only television journalist on the trip with Governor Richardson. He gave us his own unique take on the closed society that is North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM" (voice-over): The North Korean capital is a lot different than I thought. Take, for example, the subway system. It takes forever to get to the underground station. I never saw such long escalators, even longer than the ones at the Washington D.C. Metro. So deep that it could and does double as an underground bunker.
(on camera): We're here at the Prosperity subway station. It's deep underground. You saw how long it takes to get through that -- those escalators. We are really, really deep underground.
Patriotic pictures all over the place. As we're speaking right now, also very patriotic music going on. It's the nature of Pyongyang and North Korea, a lot of the patriotism, a lot of propaganda music, and a lot of propaganda pictures all the time.
(voice-over): New Mexico governor's senior advisor is Tony Namkung. He has been to North Korea 40 times, going back to 1990.
(on camera): All right, we're here on a subway train. It's still in the station, we're about to take off. We'll see where it goes. I have no idea where it goes. So far, so good.
Tony, what do you think about this subway?
TONY NAMKUNG, SENIOR ADVISER TO GOV. RICHARDSON: It reminds me of an underground bomb shelter. It's so deep.
BLITZER: That's what I thought, yes.
NAMKUNG: A very colorful station with all the paintings and the color. It's very crowded for midday. A lot of people moving forwards, moving backwards.
BLITZER: Do people pay for these?
NAMKUNG: Yes.
BLITZER: How do they -- I didn't see.
NAMKUNG: Five -- five won.
BLITZER: How much is that like in the U.S.?
NAMKUNG: Very little.
BLITZER: Like a few pennies?
NAMKUNG: A hundred won to a dollar now.
BLITZER: So it's like five cents.
NAMKUNG: Five cents.
BLITZER: So it's a nickel?
NAMKUNG: But most people use six month passes, which they buy for about a hundred won.
BLITZER: So that's a dollar.
NAMKUNG: Just a dollar. Very cheap.
BLITZER: So a dollar they can basically ride for six months.
NAMKUNG: That's right, as much as they want.
BLITZER: That's a pretty good deal.
All right, we're moving now. It's pretty smooth.
(voice-over): But sometimes it goes dark. Electricity shortages are always a problem in North Korea.
We went to this high school where the students were in cold classrooms with overcoats. So cold you could see their breath. The rooms were not well lit.
(on camera): All right, here we are. This is Kim Il-sung's square. As you can see, it's really huge. It's magnificent. And they often have events here, which is totally understandable.
These are all government buildings over here, and this is a magnificent palace right in front of me over here if you want to flip over you can see the foreign ministry, and then you see this marvelous structure over here.
This is a brisk cold day on this Friday here in Pyongyang, but it's nice. There is not a whole lot of traffic here. It's icy, the streets are icy. It's snowy, you see a lot of people shoveling.
And there you see the hammer and sickle of this Communist government. You see Lenin, you see Marx manifestations of the Communist philosophy.
Then you see a lot of young people and some not so young just shoveling snow, which is totally understandable given what is going on.
But it's brisk, it's lovely. It's a nice day here in Pyongyang.
(voice-over): We drove all over the North Korean capital, saw lots and lots of buildings. Some looked impressive from afar, but I couldn't help but wonder if they were just for show. Were there really people living inside? I couldn't get access to find out.
We also went to the national library where they have lots of less than state of the art computers. They have a music room with old school boom boxes and headsets. Folks could listen to their favorites. I was surprised by some of them.
(AUDIO OF KENNY ROGERS SINGING)
BLITZER (on camera): Who would have thought, Governor? We are here at a library in North Korea in Pyongyang and we're listening on this big box over here to Kenny Rogers. How are you?
(voice-over): I had some fun when I saw the North Korean girls National Ice Hockey Team jogging outside the ice rink.
(on camera): We're running. We're running. Everybody is looking good.
(voice-over): I couldn't help but join them, with my hand held camera shooting away.
Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Got to stay fit, got to stay strong.
You can see more of Wolf's comments about North Korea at CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So days of heavy rain turn streets into rivers in Southern California, but today things are looking up.
Wait a minute. What is that there?
The storms that pounded the region are moving on, but for these two teens in Ocean Beach -- look, they had a little bit of fun with it. They put on those wet suits that you can see there and they had a pretty splashing good time. What you do at that point, once you know those guys are out there, is you direct your driving. You want to give them a good splash.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Now, what would your father tell you if you were going to do that?
HARRIS: Son. Son, have you lost your mind? And then three smacks in the back of the head, right?
MARCIANO: Their father was taping it. OK.
HARRIS: It's a So Cal thing, right?
MARCIANO: Along those same lines, Tony, this was not planned, at least by the guy that was walking through it. Look at the SUV. Go to the next frame. That was intentional. That is Scrooge if I have ever seen it. Bah humbug, you are a mean, white SUV driving piece of a -- you person, you.
Listen, don't do that. They've had a hard enough time out there.
HARRIS: Who happened to be there just to take the picture? Just a thought
MARCIANO: The guy that jumped in the shot?
Oh man, people are so evil. All right. Well, it's cool pictures and the guy didn't look too phased.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Get to top stories now.
Two package bombs exploded at two embassies in Rome. The first at the Swiss Embassy, minutes later at the Chilean Embassy. One person was wounded at each site. So far, no claim of responsibility. Italian police have put all embassies on alert.
Pumped gas lately? Prices are 39 cents higher than they were this time last year. Gas now averaging just below $3 a gallon for self-serve unleaded. The Lundberg survey pegs the price at $2.99.
And if you have diabetes and use glucose test strips, listen up. Abott Laboratories is recalling 359 million strips because they may give false low readings. This could cause you to raise sugar levels unnecessarily or fail to treat elevated glucose levels.
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HARRIS: Decision day for President Obama's former chief of staff in his quest for a new job. Paul Steinhauser, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," from the Political Desk in Washington.
Paul, good to see you. Do we have a decision yet?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: We do not, Tony. This hearing is happening as we speak, it's by the Chicago Board of Elections, and this is a wild hearing. I've been paying attention to it, a lot of interesting stuff being said.
Now, last night, Rahm Emanuel, as you mentioned, the former White House chief of staff to Barack Obama, he got a big win because he had a hearing this month. See, the key here is when you want to run for mayor in Chicago, the rules say you have to be a resident of Chicago for the previous year. Well, guess what, Rahm Emanuel was right here in Washington, D.C. working at the White House.
So they had a hearing, Rahm Emanuel testified, and then last night the Chicago officials who held that hearing put out a statement saying, yes, he thinks that Emanuel should be allowed to be on the February ballot. They'll decide today, Tony.
Hey, I want to zoom right in here. Take a look at this. Floyd Yarm (ph), our cameraman, can push right in to the CNN Political Ticker. If Emanuel may be the winner, maybe Joe Miller could be the loser. Last night, the state supreme court in Alaska said no to his appeal.
Now, remember, Miller won the Republican Senate nomination in Alaska, he beat Lisa Murkowski, the incumbent senator. But she decided to run as a write-in candidate and when the results were over in November in the midterm elections, she was slightly ahead. Miller contested the results. The state superior court said no to him, the supreme court just said no to him.
Tony, he could take it to federal court, but at least this decision by the Supreme Court moves it -- allows Murkowski to be sworn in, I guess, in January as the senator.
HARRIS: And, Paul, yesterday, President Obama was touting the many accomplishments of the lame duck session, but who do the Americans think was the big winner?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, I guess you could say the president, yesterday, was touting that it was a December to remember for him, touting the accomplishments, but take a look at this.
Here's our CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll, and we asked about that lame duck session where, yes, a lot was passed. You can see right there at the top, 56 percent of the people we questioned nationwide say they approve of how President Obama handled himself during the lame duck session.
But look, a majority say they disapprove of how the Democrats and Republicans handled themselves. So it seems like Americans liked what the president did and how he worked with both sides to get things done. It could be a sign of things to come, but then again, it just may not -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Paul, appreciate it. Thank you.
Your next political update in an hour. And for the latest political news, you know where to go, that's CNNPolitics.com.
'Tis the season of giving. Up next, meet a woman in California who is lifting the spirits of some special children on horseback.
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HARRIS: Just two days before Christmas and our next story is all about giving. One woman had a unique idea to help her own daughter years ago and it turned into a gift for a lot of children facing challenges.
CNN photojournalist Chris Audit (ph) takes us to a California farm for "GIVING IN FOCUS."
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CONNIE GILLY, SERT PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Horses make a connection with our kids with special needs. There's a special bond that occurs. We don't know what it is, we don't know how it occurs, we just witness it.
We're going to put our hand here. Foot in. You're going to lift that leg all the way over.
SERT is special equestrian riding therapy. It was founded in 1987 by parents and their friends that wanted to have a therapeutic riding program for their children with special needs. We're going to hold our reins, our reins. We're going to ask for the walk. Give me the walk. Walk. Thank you.
We have children with all kinds of disabilities -- autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Williams syndrome, behavioral issues, emotional issues -- anyone that we can help.
Now, we are going to make a right circle around barrel one holding our reins.
Each rider will come to our program and they will be assigned a horse that we feel is going to fit best with this child. They are part of our team. They are our team, as a matter of fact. Without the horses we wouldn't have a program.
Let's sit tall and ask Dundee to walk. Thank you. Excellent.
My daughter, Vickie, has Down syndrome and I wanted to find a program that could work with Vickie and understand her needs.
The benefit of being a parent with a person with special needs and being a program director of a program like this, it just is multiplied over and over and over just for the good.
Over the cone. Thank you.
I can understand a parent coming in and going to hand me their 7 or 8 or 9-year-old child and I'm going to put them on a 1,000-pound animal and tell them everything will be OK.
As a parent that saw a child grow and become so self confident, I want to share this with the parents and these families because I know it's going to be a positive outcome for them.
John, we're ask Dundee to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walk.
GILLY: Perfect. Perfect. Nice and tall. I want you to sit tall. I want that chin up.
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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, that's 1:00 Pacific only on CNN.
Coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, surviving torture. For one mathematician, it was a moral victory.
And nationwide, gas prices are up again. We'll have some tips on where you can find cheaper gas this holiday season.
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ENDO: I'm Sandra Endo. Let's take a look now at some of the newest viral videos online.
These videogame graphics are so realistic, even the family dog is impressed. The pooch goes nuts at the digital production or reproduction of another dog on the screen.
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ENDO: A little digital doggie love there.
And a show of Christmas spirit down under. Check out the light display from Perth, Australia, 65,000 lights synched up to Christmas songs. Merry Christmas, mates.
HARRIS: Oh, I love that. Let's bring that back next hour, which starts right now.
Big stories this hour -- thank you, Sandy.
