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Pilot's Video Points out Security Flaws; Christmas Terror Concerns Addressed; Last-Minute Shoppers Hit the Stores; Outgoing Vermont Governor Puts on Dog and Pony Show; Ski Resort Uses Magnets to Secure Kids to Chairlift; Solider Surprises Family With Christmas Visit; High School Boys Get Detention for Tossing Candy Canes to Fellow Students; NORAD Tracks Santa; Pat Robertson Supports Decriminalizing Marijuana; St. Nick's Muslim Hometown Neutral on Holiday
Aired December 24, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's 9 a.m. on the East Coast, 6 a.m. out West. Here's some of the stories that have us talking this morning.
A riot inside an Arizona prison has sent eight men to the hospital, all of them inmates. It erupted yesterday in the lunchroom of the Red Rock Correctional Facility in Eloy, Arizona. The prison is a private facility.
National health officials say some alfalfa sprouts are to blame for a salmonella outbreak in 15 states and the District of Columbia. At least 89 people have gotten sick so far. Almost a quarter of those people had to be hospitalized.
And -- and this is the scene this Christmas in Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. Tens of thousands of people flooding into that town for the celebration of religious history.
Well, we begin this morning with, if you're boarding a flight this holiday season, you'll want to know about this latest terror concern. The Transportation Security Administration wants air travelers to avoid carrying those insulated beverage containers. That means things like thermoses and plastic coffee mugs. The TSA says that terrorists could try to hide explosives inside the thick walls of those containers. And if you're carrying one through a security checkpoint, be prepared for a little extra scrutiny.
Well, YouTube viewers got a narrated tour of potential security flaws at San Francisco's airport, courtesy of an airline pilot and his cell-phone video. But now that whistle-blower is in trouble with the TSA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Airport security is kind of a farce. It's only smoke and mirrors, so you people believe that there's actually something going on here.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: The unnamed pilot argues his case by comparing the security checkpoints that you and I go through to one for the ground crew. Their screening: a door and a card swipe.
The pilot says that the feds came knocking just a few days after he posted that video, stripping him of the gun that he carried in the cockpit as a federal flight deck officer.
The TSA says it's reviewing the pilot's status the in the program, and it depends -- a San Fran security checkpoint saying that there are, quote, "measures in place that are both seen and unseen."
Now, we're talking more about what that pilot sees as airport security lapses coming up next hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, anti-terror officials in Washington say that there's an all-out effort to diffuse any threats this holiday season. After all, it was Christmas day that the so-called underwear bomber allegedly came close to bringing down an airline. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is in our Washington bureau; joins us with a closer look.
So what do we know about this current threat, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kyra.
You know, it was just a year ago in this holiday season, time for family ands friends but still a time of nerves and caution. The U.S. government has been monitoring a constant stream of intelligence that al Qaeda and al Qaeda-related groups would like to attack, cause maximum holiday disruption. Now officials say there's no specific target, but there are plenty of worries about all of this. The president's counterterrorism adviser is trying to reassure the public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BRENNAN, WHITE HOUSE COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER: As we enter the peak of another holiday season, the homeland security, law enforcement and intelligence communities are collectively focused on doing everything they can to prevent terrorists from disrupting the safety and security of Americans as they travel, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy holiday festivities both at home and abroad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So what should you do on this travel day and throughout the holiday season? Well, the government says, you know, keep to your plans. Don't worry too much. But keep your eyes open. There is a lot of concern about suspicious packages and any suspicious activity. If you see something, report it to the authorities -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now this time yesterday we were following bombings in Rome. Are those attacks adding to the tensions, Barbara? STARR: Well, indeed. You know, yesterday we saw these mail bombs, if you will, explode at the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome. Now self-proclaimed anarchist groups have apparently claimed responsibility for that. We will see.
But also now, Kyra, Indian authorities have issued an alert for a possible, possible attack in Mumbai, India. Of course, we saw the massacre there back in 2008.
But so far today, thankfully, it's the winter weather that may be the biggest threat. We've reported throughout the morning, French authorities evacuating part of Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris and canceling flights because of freezing temperatures and heavy snows. So if all that happens is Mother Nature gets a vote on Christmas day, it will be a good holiday for everyone -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara. Thanks.
Rain, floods, mudslides, it's been a rough week for Southern California, still soggy after a string of the storms, and this morning it's time to clean up. In Laguna Beach, furniture floated, wood buckled. Time to take stock of the damage.
And a little south at Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego State sunk the Naval Academy. But both teams were swamped playing in a muddy Qualcomm Stadium. Just a few hours before the game, the stadium looked more like a massive wading pool. Crews actually had to work through the night to pump that water off the field in time for kickoff.
That's my hometown, Rob. That's where I'm headed today. My parents said, "Well, the entire yard is like a little wading pool."
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Told you to bring your work boots and your shovel.
PHILLIPS: Exactly. I'll be working all week.
MARCIANO: I bet. You've got to help Mom and Dad out. Well, enjoy the holidays. Safe travels out there.
There's going to be some travel issues via car or plane today. And we'll try to highlight those for you. Three to seven inches of snow, potentially, across part of the Midwest. Notably, there's a winter storm warning out for northeastern parts of Iowa.
Chicago may get an inch or two with this. But I don't expect to see a ton of snow, as it's beginning to fall apart just a little bit. But one to four inches of snow, potentially, anywhere from St. Louis back through Louisville. So this is nothing to sneeze at as far as what we expect from this. And this is a part of the energy of the storm that came through the West -- the West Coast over the past couple of days and is making its way out towards the east.
Monica, if you could throw Gustav into play for me, I'm going to come back to that. Here's what's going on as far as the delays today. New York metros, no precip expected today or tomorrow, but windy conditions will slow things down. Minneapolis, Chicago, some snow. And on Northern Europe, including Paris and parts of Germany, Brussels, that storm will move in to the eastern part of Europe as we go through time.
Let's talk about the southern half of the storm, because that's where the forecast gets a little bit tricky. Dive down to the south. May mix with snow at times across North Georgia, western parts of the Carolinas. Maybe an accumulation. That is possible. But right now, things aren't completely lining up for that, and things aren't completely lining up for a banging nor'easter that's going to plow snow all over the I-95 corridor.
But if the track of this storm shifts a little bit to the west, just 50 or 100 miles, we're talking about a big hurting that's going to happen in the northeastern corridor of the U.S. Sunday night into Monday. So we're watching that very, very carefully.
Talk more about that, and of course, we'll keep track of Santa throughout the morning -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
PHILLIPS: Well, we want to know just how the economy impacted your spending this holiday season. We got some answers from our latest CNN/Opinion Research poll.
Fifty-eight percent of the people we surveyed said that they've been forced to cut back on their charitable giving. That's 7 percentage points higher than a year ago. Thirty-six percent said that the economy has not forced cut backs. And a year ago, 44 percent gave that response.
We also asked, has the economy made this holiday season more stressful than previous years? Forty-four percent of people said yes. A year ago, 40 percent of the people had that answer, as well. Here's the breakdown of people saying this holiday season is not more stressful: 56 percent felt that way, compared to 59 percent just a year ago.
Well, parts of the stress is the ticking clock. Some 23 million people expected to hit stores today to scratch the last-minute items from their shopping lists, and a strong finish could be crucial to retailers. They say this season may be on track to be their strongest in four years when the economy first began to sour.
Let's get the view from the front lines. Shall we? Sandra Endo at a the mall in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross.
Hey, Sandra. What do you think?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. Well, you can tell by all the cars in the parking lot, it's starting to fill up here, even though most of the stores haven't even opened yet. So a lot of shoppers out here waiting to get all those last-minute gifts.
One store that has been open around the clock is this Old Navy. They opened at 7 a.m. yesterday. They're not going to close until 7 p.m. today, and we caught up with the one last-minute shopper who just had to explain why she procrastinated for so long.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUE HANKINS, SHOPPER: Well, I happen to be running this morning and ran through this parking lot and saw they were open, and I thought, "Oh, I can get here early and get it done." So I can get home and start cooking.
ENDO: You still have a lot of shopping left to do, right?
HANKINS: I do. I have -- I have quite a few I need to pick up today, and so this kind of gets me out early and started.
ENDO: Why on earth did you wait so long? Because there are going to be crowds later on.
HANKINS: It's not something you plan. But look. You know, the traffic is down right now. It's a great time to get it done. The selection is down, but still, stores like this opening early really help.
ENDO: Any good deals out there?
HANKINS: Great deals. Really very, very good deals here, so they had some specials all night long, I understand.
ENDO: But for you, you're going to have to make a couple trips out, right, to the stores? Because not all stores are open so early.
HANKINS: That's true. There's a store I'm looking at across the way there that I wish was open right now, because I have a great coupon there. But I have to wait until 9 a.m. when they open.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENDO: And Kyra, you were talking earlier about the economy. Well, the National Federation for Retailers are saying that they expect this holiday season to be better than anticipated, so that's certainly good news.
And, Kyra, I know you always look so nice. I don't know if you're a frugalista or not. But there are some deals like that lady mentioned. Like this waffle T-shirt that has long sleeves. Pretty good for the winter, right? Only five bucks. So if you have --
PHILLIPS: Wait a minute, Sandra. I think we'd probably freeze. We'd probably freeze if we wore that waffle T for five bucks, but we could save it for summer.
ENDO: It's all about layering.
PHILLIPS: OK, I got you. All right.
ENDO: You got it.
PHILLIPS: Maybe with your coat and your scarf we're in business. Sandra, thanks.
Well, big trouble in the Christmas sweater club. These guys had the gall to actually hand out those dangerous little candy canes at school. Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas. You've got detention. Oh, yes. We're talking about this in just a second.
And how do you keep kids from falling out of the ski lift? Well, one resort found a pretty unique solution. Magnets. Hey, it works better than duct tape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's head "Cross Country." First stop, Montpelier, Vermont, where the outgoing governor held his last dog and pony show. Literally. Apparently, for eight years Governor Jim Douglas has held weekly news conferences that the media has jokingly dubbed dog and pony shows. Douglas, who leaves office in January, gave them the real deal Thursday.
Kids getting stuck in Lake Tahoe. Don't worry. It's all part of a new way to keep them safe on the ski slopes. See those orange vests? There's a stainless steel back on the back -- or a plate, rather, on the back that attaches to magnets on the chair lifts. Now, even though kids are really fidgety, they are secured in place. At the top, that magnet automatically deactivates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFED GROUP: Merry Christmas!
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: What are you doing here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Yes. What every kid wants if Mom or Dad is overseas, serving in war, and every parent, as well. In West Union, Iowa, Sergeant John Smalley's family got their Christmas wish after five months in Afghanistan. Smalley wasn't scheduled to return for more than a few weeks. This is the first time he saw his year-old daughter walk, just in time for Christmas.
All right, let's talk about candy canes, shall we? They're everywhere this time of year. Of course, festive, sweet, pepperminty and -- potentially dangerous weapons? Candy canes got some Virginia high school boys in trouble. And the reason might be even tackier than their Christmas sweaters. Here's the story from Peggy Fox of WUSA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTMAS SWEATER CLUB (singing): Woke up in the morning --
PEGGY FOX, WUSA CORRESPONDENT: This is not chorus. Just a bunch of high school boys who like to spread Christmas cheer.
CHRISTMAS SWEATER CLUB (singing): It's Christmas. Oh!
FOX: They call themselves the Christmas Sweater Club because they wear the craziest ones they can find.
CHRISTMAS SWEATER CLUB: Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, man.
FOX: But now, all ten of them are in trouble because of what they did at their school, Battlefield High School.
ZAKK RHINE, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR: So I said, let's just leave maim students with the intent to injure. And I don't think any of us here intentionally meant to injure anyone, or did.
FOX: The boys say they were just tossing candy canes to fellow students as they entered school.
SKYLAR TORBETT, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR: They said the candy canes are weapons because you can sharpen them with your mouth and stab people with them.
FOX: Did you do that?
TORBETT: No. I don't think anybody else did, either.
FOX (on camera): The candy canes the boys were handing out were not this regular sized, but these small, little two-inch numbers in plastic wrap. They often break apart, they're so fragile.
FOX (voice-over): Next thing they knew, they were all being punished with detention and at least two hours of cleaning. Their disciplinary their notices say nothing about malicious wounding, but about littering and creating a disturbance.
CAMERON GLEASON, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR: It was at 7:00 in the morning, before school even starts. So I don't see what we'd be really disrupting.
FOX: The principal says there was a lot more to it than just handing out candy, and that the discipline was warranted. But some parents think the administration went overboard.
KATHLEEN FLANNERY, MOTHER: She made it very clear that not everyone wants Christmas cheer. That suicide rates are up over Christmas, and they should keep their cheer to themselves, perhaps.
CHRISTMAS SWEATER CLUB (singing): Wake up in the morning, what do I see?
FOX: But like the Whos in Whoville, the boys are still singing.
CHRISTMAS SWEATER CLUB (singing): It's Christmas. Oh!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. So the school says that there's more to the story than candy canes, and that the Christmas Sweater dudes deserved their detention. The Christmas Sweater Club turned into "The Breakfast Club," so we called the school. They're out on break. We didn't get to talk with any of the teachers or administrators. But one parent did tell us that she heard so many different reasons for the punishment, she's not sure what the real story is. Regardless, now that we know that candy canes might not be as innocent as they look, I guess.
It's a long day for Santa, and long day for the folks tracking his every move. NORAD's keeping an eye on the big guy. You know, air space and all. We'll talk to the commander and do some tracking of our own, next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PHILLIPS: Oh, yes, you've got to love it. Lake-effect Santa. Ho ho ho hypothermia. I hope he's being careful out there. This is actually on Lake Erie in Ontario. Get off that board, Santa. Get back to the South Pole. What the heck? Kids are waiting on you.
Well, old St. Nick is a long way from greater metro Buffalo right now. The long ride has begun and, of course, the North American Aerospace Air Defense Command, NORAD for short, is tracking him and his eight flying livestock. Now, last time we checked in, he was working Japan.
So look -- try and find the real-time tracking from NORAD. Here it is, right here. How did we ever live without the internet? That's what I'm just wondering. Let's bring in Admiral Sandy Winnefeld. He's the NORAD commander. So, Admiral, we hear the kids are already calling, wondering where Santa is. Bring us up to date.
SANDY WINNEFELD, ADMIRAL, NORAD COMMANDER: Well, Kyra, good morning and Merry Christmas. At the moment, Santa is over Kyoto, Japan. And his next stop after that is going to be Fuji, Japan. So, he's having a good run, so far.
PHILIPS: And what time did he take off this morning?
WINNEFELD: He took off around 4:00 this morning, and he'll be on a 25-hour journey. That's a tough night for him, but he rests up all year long, and he's off and charging, full of energy, loving life.
PHILLIPS: We love that. Now, there's an interesting story behind how you got involved in tracking Santa, right? It all began about 50 years ago with a wrong phone number? WINNEFELD: That's right. There was a department store, local department store, that put a phone number in an advertisement where kids could call and express what they wanted for Christmas and that sort of thing. And, of course, one digit off from that phone number was the command center for the predecessor of NORAD. And, of course, they got a lot of wrong numbers that is night. And rather than just sort of turning off the kids, they actually looked at the radars, found out where Santa was, and started relaying back to the kids his exact location.
PHILLIPS: Now, does Santa check in with you at all via some high technology com system? Or are you just tracking him on the radar? Just to give the kids sort of a sense about if you guys are really hip to all the best technology right now.
WINNEFELD: Well, Santa, of course, has all the latest technology in his sleigh. But he can't do without Rudolph for that end game move to get onto the exact right roofs, particularly when the weather's bad. And we tend to not distract Santa by talking to him.
We do talk to him before he launches, so we have a rough idea of what his flight plan is so that we can better position our assets to cover him. But he's out there on his own. He'll wave at us when we send a fighter on by just to check on him. But he's pretty much on his own with his reindeer.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, I know you've got more than a thousand volunteers that participate because, of course, kids are calling you all through the morning and the afternoon and night. You know, wanting to make their last-minute requests and wanting to know exactly where Santa is. I'm just curious. Is there a volunteer that has gotten any type of unique request via e-mail or via the phone so far this morning that you could share with us?
WINNEFELD: Well, Kyra, we have over 1200 volunteers. They're wonderful. And every year, we get touching stories. And this morning, we got a very, very touching story from Australia, from a little girl who had a special request for Santa. Kelly?
KELLY STARK, VOLUNTEER SANTA TRACKER: Her request for Santa was to put a very special present under the tree. Her little brother has cancer, and they're not expecting him to be there for Christmas next year. And she wants a cure.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh.
STARK: So --
WINNEFELD: Really heart-wrenching, yes.
PHILLIPS: So, Admiral, what did Kelly tell this child in Australia?
WINNEFELD: What did the e-mail ask us, or what did we tell her back? I'm sorry.
PHILLIPS: Yes, how did you respond to the e-mail? Did Kelly respond to the e-mail?
STARK: We ended up telling that little girl that we were going to talk to Santa and we were going to ask him to get together with the doctors around the world and see if they could come up with a cure.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. And then -- I know Kelly doesn't have an IFB, so you're translating for me, Admiral. Could you tell us what, then, she said to Kelly, once Kelly responded to her?
WINNEFELD: Did you get an answer back?
STARK: She said, "Thank you."
WINNEFELD: She just said, "Thank you, very much."
PHILLIPS: Oh. That is amazing. So, Admiral, when you get requests like that, when you hear about these kind of calls and these e-mails, does that sort of put everything in perspective for you and everybody there? I mean, normally, on a regular basis there at Northern Command, you guys are having to deal with every kind of high- threat situation around the world. This kind of brings it all back home to what's important. Yes?
WINNEFELD: Kyra, you're exactly right. We work very hard all year long to help keep North America safe from air threats. But this is a very magical time for us. We look forward to it every year. The volunteers come out. We get more volunteers than we can possibly handle, and we really, really enjoy doing this for all the little boys and girls across the planet.
And you're exactly right. When we get a touching story like the one from Australia that we got this morning, it really does put it in perspective on what a special time of year this is, that we should do the very best for our little boys and girls.
PHILLIPS: Well, it touches our heart, as well. Admiral Sandy Winnefeld and Kelly Stark, thanks to you so much, and all the volunteers. Have a great holiday.
WINNEFELD: Thank you, Kyra. Merry Christmas to you.
STARK: Merry Christmas.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys.
Pat Robertson's turning some heads again. It's got nothing to do with gays, Muslims, Haiti, or any of his other greater hits. No, the new doozie is about weed. He's not toking it, but he's not exactly condemning it, either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEXT: PUNCHLINE.
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": Conservative televangelist Pat Robertson has come out in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. (APPLAUSE)
O'BRIEN: Pat Robertson. Yes. Isn't that crazy? Yes. Apparently, Robertson just got to the part of the Bible where Jesus tells the apostles to chill.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. I love it when this happens. We're shelling out less this Christmas, but it's not what you think. Forget cutting back. Think price cuts. CNN's Stephanie Elam in New York with all the details.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, while you, and many Americans out there, may feel like you're forking out a lot of money for your Christmas gifts this is year, believe it or not, many popular gifts at the cheapest cost of all time. I know, it sounds crazy. But take a look at this. According to the labor department, toys today are 55 percent cheaper than in 1980. Televisions are 93 percent cheaper than they were in 1980 and clothes are 20 percent cheaper than we spent on the threads in 1995.
Now, as for the small appliances, they are about 30 percent cheaper than in 1998. And these numbers, they're, actually, not adjusted for inflation. So, the big question there is, obviously, how's this possible? Well, if a gadget for your kid costs a hundred bucks in 1980, in today's dollars, that's $45. Of course, it does go both ways, so $100 from today would be worth $265 if you could go back to 1980. So, $265 there.
Now, prices have plunged because of improvements in technology, manufacturing has gotten better and the influence of those big box stores in the retail environment has, also, played its part. Plus, we now have a global economy where products we consume are created all over the world and that's, obviously, the most obvious in electronics. But if you want to feel better about the stuff your family is consuming, you could always give back while you shop.
Check out an online internet auction site like Biddingforgood.com where more than 90 percent of the site sales go back into the charity. So far, bidding for good contributed $100 million to nonprofits. Many different organizations put items up for auction to benefit their cause and you can bid on lots of different things from maybe a WII to tickets for a ball game and it's a nice way to give back to others while giving to your loved ones, as well, Kyra. Merry Christmas.
PHILLIPS: It's 9:30 here on the east coast. 6:30 out west. Let's check the stories that got us talking this morning. Got your traveler's mug with you? Well, you can still carry them through the airport, but if you do, get ready for additional security screenings. The TSA will be checking insulated drink containers like thermoses. There's a concern, now, terrorists may hide explosives inside of them. After a week of wicked weather, the shovels and mops out in California, folks trying to clean up and dry out, but things won't be dry for long. Another storm could dump more rain on the state over the Christmas weekend.
And get this. Since the end of September, Arkansas has been hit by more than 500 earthquakes. That's a lot of jiggling. They range in magnitude from 1.8 to 4.0. Geologists trying to pinpoint the cause. They want to investigate saltwater disposal wells related to natural gas drilling.
And here's something that registered on the cultural Richter scale. Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, Mr. 700 Club, himself, is talking about marijuana. Not exactly praising it but not really condemning it, either.
Listen to this blurb from the show last week. He's talking about weed as it relates to the criminal justice system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT ROBERTSON, FOUNDER, CHRISTIAN COALTION: We're locking up people that take a couple of puffs of marijuana and the next thing they know, they got ten years. They put mandatory sentences and these judges just say - they throw up the hands and say, there's nothing we can do. There's mandatory sentences. We've got to take a look at what we're considering crimes, and that's one of them. I mean, I'm not exactly for use of drugs, don't get me wrong, but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot and that kind of thing, I mean, it's just - it's costing us a fortune, and it's ruining young people. Young people going to prisons. They come out - they go in as youths, and they come out as hardened criminals and that's not a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. So, it's not like Robertson will be lighting up with Willie Nelson on the tour bus any time soon, or ever. A spokesperson for the Christian Broadcasting Network says that Robertson doesn't support illegal drug use or legalizing marijuana, and that he is talking more about the severity of criminal sentences. Whoops.
Hey! We're back. The good news here is at least he didn't mention Haiti. Remember what he said earlier this year about the earthquake?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: They got the governor and the pact back to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you will get us free from the French. True story. And, so, the devil said, OK, it's a deal. And they kicked the French out of, you know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other.
(END VIDEO CLIP) Well Robertson, of course, apologized for that remark.
Well, just a few hours until Christmas and all started in a manger in Bethlehem. How the birth place of Jesus is celebrating the holiday. But first, a look back at some of the highlights of this wild year in politics.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Candy Crowley with the with the top ten political moments of 2010.
At number ten, a big no-no in the Florida governor's debate. Democratic nominee Alex Sink broke the rules when her makeup artist showed her a cell phone message during a commercial break in the debate. Her opponent Republican Rick Scott saw it and called her out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SCOTT, REPUBLICAN: First, Alex, you say you follow the rules. The rule was no one is supposed to give us messages during the break and your campaign did with an iPad or iPod.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Sink said she couldn't even read the message since the text was so small, but she ended up firing the campaign staffer involved.
At number nine, a tickle fight lands a US Congressman in hot water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN LARRY KING LIVE: Some time ago, you said, quote, "Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn't breathe."
ERIC MASSA, (R) CONGRESSMAN: So, Larry, when you grab someone and you're wrestling, I don't know how to describe that word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: The Congressman Eric Massa resigned his seat. His reasons recurring cancer and an ethics committee investigation into sexual harassment claims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
At number eight, a false idol named Aqua Buddha.
Why did Rand Paul once tie a woman up? Tell her to bow down before a false idol and say, his god was Aqua Buddha?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Yes, that ad, from Democratic candidate Jack Conway, made the phrase Aqua Buddha into a major issue in the Kentucky Senate race. Conway used the ad to question the Christian faith of his Republican opponent Rand Paul. To no avail. Paul won the November race.
Number seven, another campaign ad. This one featuring a flock of demon sheep. The ad came out during the primary campaign for California's Republican Senate nominee. The campaign of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorino launched the ad, showing her opponent as a dangerous predator with glowing red eyes. Strategists questioned the strategy of portraying voters as dim-witted sheep. Fiorino won the nomination but lost the election to incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer.
And number six --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Will the gentleman from New York, Mr. Rangel, kindly appear in the well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
In December, the house of representatives formally censured Congressman Charles Rangel. Rangel was philosophical when it came time for him to speak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
At the end of the day, as I started off saying, compared to where I've been, I haven't had a bad day since. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: 1983 was the last time the House censured a member.
The top five political moments of 2010 right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: I'm Candy Crowley. Now back to the list of top ten political moments of 2010.
At number five, New York senate candidate Carl Paladino soprano-like confrontation with a reporter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL PALADINO, NEW YORK SENATE CANDIDATE: You send another goon to my daughter's house, and I'll take you out, buddy.
DICKER: You'll take me out?
PALADIN: Yes.
DICKER: How are you going to do that?
PALADINO: Watch. DICKER: What, are you threatening me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: That's Paladino with a columnist whose newspaper written about a daughter Paladino had out of wedlock. Paladino lost his race to Democrat Andrew Cuomo and never let go of the thug image. In his hands in the concession speech, a baseball bat.
At number four, the symbolism and emotion of the health care debate. House speaker Nancy Pelosi used a historic gavel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
I'm carrying this gavel that was just given to me - correction. Lent to me by chairman Dingle. It was used in the enactment of the Medicare law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Before getting to bang that gavel, tension ran high. Republican Congressmen cheerleading and carrying handmade signs, and then there was the actual floor debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Answer the call of history!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This bill is a fiscal Frankenstein.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: And real emotion from Republican leader John Boehner on the House floor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER: Look at how this bill was written. Can you say it was done openly? With transparency and accountability? Hell, no, you can't!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Coming in at number three --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL, FORMER SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Christine O'Donnell, a surprise Republican Senate candidate in Delaware, trying to explain away comments she made on the Bill Maher show in 1999.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL, DELAWARE REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I dabbled in witchcraft. I never joined a covent.
BILL MAHER, HOST BILL MAHER SHOW: Wait a minute, you were a witch?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she was a witch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: O'Donnell lost the November race.
And at number two --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA MURKOWSKI, SENATOR OF ALASKA: We did it. We did it. We made history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Lisa Murkowski declaring victory two weeks after election day. She is the second person ever to win a write-in bid for the US Senate.
And that brings us to the number one political moment of 2010.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. That is a big (EXPLETIVE DELETED) deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Vice president Joe Biden dropping the f-bomb in the majestic White House East Room right before President Obama signed the historic health care bill. The President didn't react but spokesman Robert Gibbs later tweeted, yes, Mr. Vice president, you're right. A Democratic group even made a commemorative T-shirt.
I'm Candy Crowley and those are the top ten political moments for 2010.
PHILLIPS: Well, tis the season of irony. The town said, to inspire the modern day legend of Santa Claus reveres its St. Nicholas but not celebrating Christmas. We'll take you there and tell you why next, in our morning Passport.
And now, a Christmas Eve flashback. Let's take you back to 1972.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB HOPE, PERFORMER: This man is going to sing a chorus of "Silent Night" and then we want you all to join us in the second chorus. And if you can't think of the words, move your lips, and we'll dub something in from some other base.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Oh, Bob, thanks for the memories. Thirty-eight years ago, today, Bob Hope reformed his last Christmas show for the troops in Vietnam.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's coming up on 5 p.m. in Bethlehem, just a few hours until it's officially Christmas in the town where Jesus was born. Tens of thousands of tourists already celebrating as drummers and bagpipers parade past Manger Square. And get this. The chamber of commerce says yet again there's no room at the inn. Town's hotels all booked solid this week.
To Britain, where Queen Elizabeth II is using her Christmas message to talk about community harmony and sports. The 84-year-old writes that -- her own Christmas messages, and she's using the platform to discuss sports and exercise 19 months before the 2012 London Olympics.
All right. We've got a lot going on this morning. Let's check in with all our correspondents to see how we're starting off at the top of the hour. Let's start with CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I'm going to be talking about a salmonella outbreak from, of all things, alfalfa sprouts. I'll tell you who's getting sick and why at the top of the hour.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Lots going on. We've got that storm that's moving east. Will you have a white Christmas? Will it affect your travel? And how's Santa doing? It's all at the top of the hour.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sandra Endo in Norcross, Georgia, where the last-minute holiday shopping frenzy is under way. I'll tell you all about that and some last-minute holiday shopping deals coming up at the top of the hour.
PHILLIPS: And thanks, guys.
Also, Christian comedy, tailored for the toughest of crowds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Growing up, I was rich. I had it all. And now I'm homeless, and I need to laugh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is important.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILIPS: I'm going to talk one up on with Michael Jr. and the road less traveled for laughs and the Lord next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPC. JANELLE SENNERT, U.S. ARMY: Hi, my name is Specialist Janelle Sennert stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. Currently, I'm here in Kandahar (ph) Air Field, Afghanistan. I wanted to say happy holidays to my family in Garland, Texas. Mom, David, Brandy (ph), Alicia (ph), I love you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Kids of all ages from all across the world await the arrival of Christmas just a few hours from now. The hometown of old St. Nick is completely ambivalent. CNN's Zain Verjee has more on the Christmas spirit of irony in this morning's "Passport."
So who knew that the origin of Santa Claus comes from a predominantly Muslim nation, Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. I'm bursting a lot of people's bubbles here today, Kyra. It may surprise you and the rest of our newsroom here, who was very upset to find out that Santa is not from the North Pole or from Lapland but actually from Demre in Turkey.
Not, it all comes from a Sixth Century period where there was a man called St. Nicholas, and he was a bishop who gave gifts to the poor. And that legend, Kyra, kind of evolved into Santa Claus.
Today they say there's no magical powers around Santa Claus. He was just a regular guy who did great things. But, Kyra, you know what they do? They call Santa Claus "Noel Baba" in Turkey, a mainly Muslim country. And it's actually a bigger deal over New Year's. People will be partying, dancing and having a good time, but they'll be dressed up as Santa, Noel Baba.
PHILLIPS: I like that. It kind of has a nice ring to it, Noel Baba. I'm going to start saying that instead of Santa Claus.
All right. The bamboo solution zipping through those pesky security checkpoints in Japan.
VERJEE: Yes, this is quite cool. They have invented a mostly bamboo wheelchair, and it's being used in Tokyo Airport. And basically, you know, it doesn't clang and ring when you take it through security. There's no metal in it at all.
The only thing is that the tires and the wheels are rubber and plastic. But what they're saying, that this is about Japanese hospitality as well as craftsmanship, and it's just going to be a lot easier, nicer for people that use wheelchairs. So the world's first bamboo wheelchair. PHILLIPS: All right. Well, I can see it looks -- ergonomically, it looks pretty cool.
All right. Lastly, actions speak louder than words at Romania's -- Romania's parliament building. That story comes with some advance warning for viewers, right? Not for the squeamish, despite the surprising ending.
VERJEE: Yes, it does. Basically, what happened was a guy threw himself off a building. It was about -- he was about 20 feet -- 23 feet high from the ground.
But I want to tell you that this man survived. He was injured, but he's not going to pass away. He doesn't have dangerous or fatal injuries. But he was pretty upset. And he said that he jumped because he was protesting government cuts that would effectively take away the money that he needed for his disabled son.
And he's wearing this T-shirt there as he jumps. And it says, "You killed our children's future."
The good news, he's OK. He made his point, but that was pretty dangerous, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I don't know if that was necessarily the right thing to do. OK. I got a little squeamish there indeed.
VERJEE: Kyra --
PHILLIPS: Yes.
VERJEE: -- I want to wish you a merry Christmas, and I'll see you in 2011.
PHILLIPS: Sounds great. Great, great, great. Best wishing ever.
Scotty says Happy Boxing Day, Zain.
VERJEE: Thanks, Kyra. Last-minute shopping.
PHILLIPS: There you go. Take off. See you next year, pal.
VERJEE: All right. Bye.
PHILLIPS: Well, check this out. Well, Idaho State basketball fans hang on every play. The basketball -- here it comes -- I like the shot of Superman there -- hangs on the rim.
A free throw by the Bengals player during Tuesday night's game against Utah State. One in a million bounce. It hung nearly two seconds before falling in. But that luck was not enough for Idaho State to eventually beat the I.E. (ph). They lost 71-48.
All right. Time for "The Big Play." That's part of "The Big Play. Jeff Fischel. I was so -- I was so worried about not saying your name right.
JEFF FISCHEL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: No, you got it right first time. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Our new sports Sherpa here with a very difficult name. But I nailed it. How about that? Did you ever play basketball where you had your ball hanging on the rim like that?
FISCHEL: Played basketball my entire childhood and never had one hang on the rim that long and certainly not the talent to have it go in after that. That's for sure.
PHILLIPS: Is that playing Horse or was that actually playing real basketball?
FISCHEL: See, anyone can just put the ball through the hoop. Right? Takes special talent to have it sit on the rim for about three seconds.
PHILLIPS: All right. What have we got going this morning?
FISCHEL: Well, a big fight in the stands. And Mississippi State -- this is not a Mississippi State game. This is two Mississippi State players in the crowd going at it. They just won a tournament game in Hawaii. They're watching the next game in the stands. It's Renardo Sidney in the gray shirt, Elgin Bailey in the white shirt. Elgin Bailey is the team co-captain. Not exactly the kind of leadership you want to see.
PHILLIPS: Not a good inspiration.
FISCHEL: Guys, Christmas in Hawaii, enjoy it!
But, no, they had to be separated by assistant coaches, teammates. The team plays tomorrow. We don't know yet, really, if we're going to see them playing tomorrow.
And the truth is Renardo Sidney, there's so much back story. This guy's been a problem child. Again, he's in the gray. So much back story, this guy, since high school. He actually couldn't play at all last year. He missed the first nine games of this year while the NCAA investigated him. He just missed one game for what the team called conduct detrimental to the team.
You know, they --
PHILLIPS: How about anger management school? That's what he needs.
FISCHEL: Wow. That team is -- you know, the coach has to be thinking right now how much trouble is this worth for this kid?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
FISCHEL: But the teammates say he's not the one that started it. So we will see. But again --
PHILLIPS: Pointing the fingers, right? "He started it." "He started it."
FISCHEL: Right. Exactly. And of course, some of this coming out of Twitter.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Of course.
FISCHEL: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Tiger Woods probably would like to throw a few clubs around. Not fists but clubs.
FISCHEL: It's been a rough year and then some, hasn't it?
PHILLIPS: Gee, I wonder why.
FISCHEL: Yes. Of course, you know, the Tiger Woods empire starting to crumble. We're seeing another sign of this again. Now Gillett is dropping him as the sponsor. They're not the first. You know, Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T have all said, you know, "I just don't think we want to be associated with this guy."
And you have to wonder what's the reason? Of course, we know the scandal but also, they want winners. Tiger has not won since the scandal broke. So it is hard to think of what reason exactly is the reason they're dropping him, but there are plenty of reasons.
PHILLIPS: Sure. I mean, double whammy. And you know. You're an athlete. We both play sports. I mean, you've got to be mentally -- just as mentally fit as you are physically to do well.
FISCHEL: And that was always his strength. Right? Of course he could hit the balls as far as anyone --
PHILLIPS: He was departmentalized.
FISCHEL: -- but the mental game was always there. And it has not been there. And you know, of course, the divorce this year is just another piece of the puzzle. And you know, these guys are catching up. The young guys are not intimidated any more. And so now --
PHILLIPS: That's -- and that's interesting. They've started playing -- the Golf Channel started has actually started playing some commercials. I don't know if you've seen them. Saying, you know, that Tiger is basically down.
FISCHEL: Right.
PHILLIPS: It's time to see a younger, older, middle-aged -- they're all -- I mean, it's an interesting ad campaign. We should talk about that next week.
FISCHEL: That sounds great. PHILLIPS: OK. All right. You've got a little Christmas spirit for us.
FISCHEL: This is great stuff. The Dallas Mavericks, they're enjoying the holiday season. This is their rendition of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Grandma got run over by a reindeer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): From our house Christmas Eve. I don't know the rest of the song.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): You can say there's no such thing as Santa --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Ooh!
FISCHEL: My favorite is actually Dirk Nowitzki, the all star, just tears off the antlers.
PHILLIPS: Like, "No, I'm not even going to go for it."
FISCHEL: But of course they're not the only team doing this. The Chicago Bulls did "12 Days of Christmas." The Steelers did their version of some songs. Actually, the Steelers did enough songs to do a whole album. There are the Bulls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Two alley-oops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): The greatest fans in the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISCHEL: Wow. Joakim Noah, things for that.
PHILLIPS: Oh, man. Glad they're playing basketball, and they're not in the choir.
FISCHEL: Yes, exactly. Stick to one job and that job only.
PHILLIPS: Have a great -- thanks, Jeff. Have a great holiday.
FISCHEL: Yes.
