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Three Die From Deadly Tornado in Arkansas; Celebrating in Times Square; Oprah On Her Own; Justin Bieber Giving Back; High School Senior Lifts Up Boy With Special Needs, Literally; Ten Biggest Stories of 2010; Decision Day for Joe Miller; Top Ten Gaffes of 2010
Aired December 31, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: We're coming up at the top of the hour here and it is 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. on the west. I'm Alina Cho, in for Kyra Phillips this morning.
We begin with some breaking news. A tornado has touched down in the town of Cincinnati, Arkansas. There are reports of at least three people dead. In fact, we're just getting confirmation of that. Reynolds Wolf is watching all of it for us.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Happened around 6:09 local time. You have to remember, this is an area in parts of Arkansas, Cincinnati, Arkansas, heavily wooded area, not a place where people had a lot of time with these storms as they came on through. It's all part of a large formal boundary that's drifting through the area.
First you're going to notice this area that is this reddish color, that is your tornado watch that is going to be in effect for parts of Missouri and of course, Arkansas until about 3:00 local time. But as we zoom in towards Cincinnati, Arkansas, we take you back a few frames, you can see the line of storms coming through, it came through very quickly. Left three people dead, destroyed a number of buildings, a lot of power outages on those areas, a lot of power lines down and the storm did come through as a very quick rate. In fact, it zipped through about 40 miles per hour.
The individual cells racing to the northeast at about 50 miles per hour. Now the storm system is not done just yet. It's going to cause more problems out ahead of the boundary, places like St. Louis in the afternoon, perhaps maybe even over towards along the I-44 corridor, may be even St. Charles before the afternoon is out.
It is going to be a pretty interesting situation. The reason why we're seeing this unfold is very simple. We've got a lot of muggy air coming in from the Gulf of Mexico that's been spun around by this area of high pressure. At the same time, you get this formal boundary coming through with just a pounding surge of really cold air that's coming in arctic air.
When you have that contrast, you have the frontal boundary that's where the air becomes unstable and that's the reason why we're seeing these strong storms. No confirmation as of yet if this is a tornado, but from the damage that we've heard of, it certainly sounds like one.
Maybe straight line winds, but regardless certainly rough weather can be expected for parts of the center of the U.S., right across the planes moving into the mid-distant valley and then the top half of the system entirely different. We're talking about a massive winter storm with blizzard conditions for parts of the northern plains. We'll talk more about this throughout the rest of the afternoon and of course perhaps into the evening, as well. Let's send it back to you.
CHO: All right. Reynolds, thank you very much.
Rick Johnson is with the Washington County Emergency Management. He joins us now by phone from that area. Mr. Johnson, thank you so much for joining us. Tell us what are you seeing right now, what did you feel, what did you hear when this happened?
RICK JOHNSON, WASHINGTON CO. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (via telephone): Of course, the storm came through relatively quickly at about 6:00 a.m. this morning and it hit the western part of Washington County, which is a fairly rural area.
It did destroy the local fire station or damaged the local fire station, which slowed down the response to the area because we had to bring other stations in to handle it and of course, to respond to the area, we had to be sure that we made it safe. The power lines were down, trees were down. So that slowed our response down. But we're looking over the area to see what we missed and we do have three confirmed fatalities in the area as of this time.
CHO: And at this point, have you been able to take a tally of how many people are miss something or is it just too early?
JOHNSON: It's still too early. We're doing that as calls come in, people looking for their relatives and so forth who live in the area. Hopefully within the next hour we'll have a firm count on everyone.
CHO: What about power outages or damage? The fire station being damaged is pretty significant. Have you gotten a tally of what other damage is in the area?
JOHNSON: At this time, no. We know there are homes damaged and of course there are a lot of power lines down and trees down in the area. This will just take time as we work our way through with our response teams and see what we found out.
CHO: And our meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf just said there's no official confirmation yet that it was an actual tornado. I'm sure it looked and felt like one from where you were, but do you have any local confirmation yet that that indeed happened?
JOHNSON: No, we don't. The initial report from the Cincinnati area stated it as a tornado, but of course we wait on the National Weather Service team to investigate, give us the final word on that. CHO: All right. Rick Johnson of the Emergency Management in Washington County there in Cincinnati, Arkansas where a tornado has touched down, three people are confirmed dead. The fire station was destroyed. We're keeping an eye on this breaking story and we will bring you more details as they come into our NEWSROOM.
Now to our other big story of the day. That of course would be New Year's Eve. The clock is ticking, the champagne is chilling, the celebrations are already under way around the world. We want to take you to Seoul, South Korea where the clock just struck midnight there a couple of minutes ago. Revelers there are welcoming the year of rabbit.
To Auckland, New Zealand now, where revelers there witnessed the large fireworks display since the millennium celebration and what a sight that is. The celebration erupted about four hours ago there and the iconic sky tower, the tallest man made structure in New Zealand.
And just about two hours ago, 2011 arrived in Sydney, Australia. Take a look at these amazing pictures. More than 1.5 million revelers gathered at the Famed Opera House to usher in the new decade.
And as other countries and other time zones get ready to ring in the new year, we begin at the cross roads of the world, perhaps the most famous celebration, New York's Times Square. The venue is cleared of snow five days after a blizzard blanketed the area with up to 29 inches of it.
The mountains of the unwanted white stuff has since been dumped into those giant melters and washed away. Our Allan Chernoff is live for us in Times Square to set the stage so a million people are expected. Are they ready, Allan? Good morning.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alina, the countdown is on. Only eight hours from now, the biggest party on the planet is going to begin. That will be 6:00 here in Times Square. There will be music, dancing, confetti, a wedding underneath the big ball and then of course at midnight, the dropping of the ball followed by fireworks.
Tons of family fun which is very, very different from the way New Year's Eve used to be here in Times Square. That's when it was just a nice of drinking and fighting. You could say that Times Square has cleaned up its act.
TIM TOMPKINS, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE: They used to put up boards on all the retail stores because people would be afraid of throwing each other through the windows. Now it's six hours of entertainment, so much more broadcasting around the world, different technologies, everything.
It's really a family event now and much more an international event. They know that New York is the center of the action and they want to be there for the entire world. CHERNOFF: That is heavily because of the intense police presence here in Times Square. In fact, in about an hour, we're going to be booted out of here. Times Square will be cleared out. The police will do an entire sweep. They're going to close off all the side streets, cement barrier, police car, even trucks, closing of the side street and anybody coming in will be checked with a metal detector.
The police have bomb sniffing dogs. There will be hundreds of police officers swarming through Times Square the entire evening and of course, surveillance cameras everywhere to ensure a safe celebration here. And here's wishing you a safe, healthy and very happy New Year, Alina.
CHO: And to you, Allan. With any luck I'll be back in New York by tonight.
Well, the lottery is adding to the excitement of New Year's Eve. A lot of people are hoping they're lucky enough to win the mega millions jackpot and really ring in the New Year with a bang. It would be great, wouldn't it? It's estimated at $242 million.
The drawing is tonight at 11 Eastern so you still have time to get a ticket if you haven't already and look at the yellow there. Those are the states where the mega millions is played, 41 states to be exact and the District of Columbia.
Now, of course, you have to play the lottery to win, but let's face it the chances of winning, pretty slim. The odds of winning the $242 million jackpot is about one in 176 million. You're more likely to get attacked by a shark.
In fact the odds of getting attacked by a shark are more than one in 11 million. The odds of getting struck by light hinge in, 1 in 7750,000. Good luck.
So the countdown is on, not New Year's. Now we're talking about Oprah Winfrey. The queen of all media will launch her own cable channel, which happens to be called "OWN" tomorrow. She's jittery. What's at stake and will it succeed? We'll talk with a media expert next.
And all day today CNN will hop scotch around the world and bring you the latest as countries welcome in the New Year. Right now the celebrations still under way in Seoul, South Korea where the clock struck midnight just a couple of minutes ago. Revelers there are ushering in the year of the rabbit.
And here in the U.S., the clock is ticking. You can ring in the New Year with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin live from Times Square. The cross roads of the world, our live coverage begins right here on CNN at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: There is controversy brewing about an upcoming TV show that may re-enact Michael Jackson's autopsy. According to the "New York Times", the executors of the late singer's estate have condemned the possible re-enactment. The paper says the executors have asked the Discovery Channel to, quote, "reconsider and cancel the program," which is set to air in Britain next month.
Oprah Winfrey will celebrate New Year's tomorrow with the launch of her very own basic cable network. It's called appropriately the Oprah Winfrey Network or OWN, get it and it's a big gamble. So far the venture has cost more than $150 million.
Winfrey has said to be taking on a more hands on role committing to at least 70 hours of programming per week up from 35 hours. In addition, OWN just inked a deal with Cable Vision to be on in the critical New York market. Overall, the network will reach an estimated 85 million homes.
Joining us now to take a closer look at Oprah's new network is Eric Deggans of Media Critic at the St. Petersburg Times. Eric, good morning to you. Nice to see you. Thanks for coming in on New Year's Eve.
So I have to ask you, you know Oprah obviously being Oprah has brought in a lot of her high profile friends. Rosy O'Donnell will have a show. Shiana Twayne, Winona Judd, you know, Sarah Ferguson, the duchess of York, but a lot of those shows won't be on until later on in 2011 or maybe even 2012, so when we turn on the channel to OWN tomorrow, what will we see?
ERIC DEGGANS, MEDIA CRITIC, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: Well, the first day is on Saturday and there a strong lineup of preview shows arranged. So Oprah herself is going to guide people through the channel. Some of the shows that we can expect to see as the year unfolds.
And then we'll also see sneak peek previews of some of the series coming up. There's a lot of what we call unscripted reality shows planned, so there's a show in which kids kidnap their parents who work a little bit too much to get them to spend more time with them.
There's a sex therapist. There's an organizational de- cluttering expert, and there's master class, a show in which Oprah's friends face the camera and talk to the camera in their own words but how they've been successful and that's the kind of stuff we're going to see initially. We won't see Oprah's friends like Lisa Ling for example until later in January and Shaina Twayne later in the spring and Rosy O'Donnell, we won't see her until September.
CHO: All right and I should mention a correction, it's not 70 hours a week. It's 70 hours a year of course. Having said that, Eric, 70 hours a year, you know, it may seem like a lot, but it's actually isn't when you consider that Oprah's name is riding on this, can it succeed? Will her viewers follow her if she's not on that much?
DEGGANS: Well, you know, it will be hard - I mean, it's hard to evaluate how much of an impression she'll make on the channel until you actually see how they do it. She's going to introduce a lot of these shows. I'm sure they're going to have interstitial elements, you know things that happened in between the shows in which she appears and sort of guides people through the channel.
Her brand has become synonymous with the idea of self help and self empowerment and that will be in the bone marrow of the channel. I think what will happen is that there'll be a big initial turn in because people want to see what the channel will look like.
And because some of the shows are not the shows they've heard about, there may be a little initial disappointment or people may, you know, flounder a little bit, but once the big names start to roll out, once we start to see Sarah Ferguson and we start to see Rosie O'Donnell and the Judds, all of those rollouts I think will get attention.
So later in the year, we'll see another bounce back and of course Oprah's reruns will start on the show sometime late in the year and Oprah has a new show called Oprah's next chapter in which she'll travel and interview her friends around the world and we'll see how that go, as well.
CHO: They're saying that they won't make money until 2013 and perhaps, you know, the real measure is going to be not next year or six months from now but five years from now. So you're right, the shows will be huge draws, but even you in your column say that Oprah Winfrey's show on the broadcast networks, you liken it to the sun. And without that sun, when that show ends, can the network succeed? Look into that crystal ball, Eric. You're so good at this. What do you think?
DEGGANS: You know, if I knew the answer to it that, I'd be running "Discovery Channel." But the question at hand is that Oprah's M.O. up until now has been to feed every new platform that she creates from the font of her syndicated show. She always uses this huge audience and platform that she has with the syndicated television show to feed the success of everything else she does.
And what she's essentially doing now is transplanting that feeder. She's going from the syndicated show to a cable channel and the two will co-exist for a little while. She's going to be doing new episodes of her syndicated show until May, but once that show ends, will she still be able to feed the success of this cable channel or can it stand on its own.
Now that is a question - it's a new one. It's something to one has tried. No one's tried to put their personal brand on a 24 hour cable network before. This is going to be very interesting. I wouldn't bet against Oprah, but as a skeptical TV critic, I have to say there are some big obstacles.
CHO: Sure, there's certainly some hurdles. Now, Eric, I can't let you go before telling you, I used it work in the Tampa market years ago. And I think -- do you remember?
DEGGANS: I sure do. Local girl made good. CHO: Well, one of the most memorable things was when I got a job. My first New York job at CNBC in New York. You called me and interviewed me and I out that was the mark that I made it. So anyway, I thank you, Eric, for coming in on New Year's Eve and talking to me and I wish you the very best in the New Year.
DEGGANS: Well, thank you very much, and hopefully one day I'll be working for you on your network.
CHO: That will be great. Thanks, Eric.
Coming up, teen idol Grammy nominated Justin Bieber at the ripe old age of 16. He's already busy building a history of giving back. My one-on-one interview with Justin Bieber is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. Turning now to one of today's hottest music stars, teen idol, Grammy nominated Justin Bieber. A real life Cinderella story, a young man who virtually overnight went from food stamps to becoming a millionaire several times over.
But what was most surprising to us is that even at the ripe old age of 16, back stage Bieber already is busy building a history of giving back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Justin Bieber, he's hot, hot, hot. So hot, the hysteria surround him has a name. Justin fever. The hair, the music, the move and he's all of 16 with a passion for giving back.
(on camera): You think to yourself he's 16 years old.
JUSTIN BIEBER, POP ARTIST: Yes.
CHO: How does he know what charity is.
BIEBER: For me, I grew up really -- I didn't have a lot of money and for me it's about helping people out that haven't had opportunity.
CHO (voice-over): In fact, it wasn't just that Bieber didn't have a lot of money. Four years ago, he and his mother, a single mom, were broke living in poverty. Then his mom uploaded videos of him sinking on Youtube. Little did she know they'd go viral and catch the eye of a record producer. The rest is now Bieber fever history.
BIEBER: I'm inspired by children and other kids and I think that charities that are involved involve kids are just, I don't know --
CHO: So Bieber is giving back one CD at a time. A portion of his new CD sales benefits the Children's Miracle Network, money for children's hospitals, and one dollar from every concert ticket sold goes to Pencils of Promise, which builds schools in the third world.
(on camera): That's a lot of money. Why? BIEBER: I just think that for me, it just goes past money.
CHO (voice-over): Perhaps most touching, at concerts, Bieber meets personally with a child from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
BIEBER: It's definitely hard on me, definitely gets me a little teary eyed and it's just crazy to know that I'm a wish.
CHO (on camera): What inspired you to write those words?
BIEBER: There's so many people in the world that go without and there's so many people that just need someone to just help them.
CHO: It was nice to talk about something other than your hair and the girls for a change.
BIEBER: Yes. I do love talking about girls, though.
CHO (voice-over): And that's when you remember all this giving back, from a star who is just a kid.
BIEBER: I have such a big platform and it would be silly if I didn't do something good with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: A lot of fun interviewing him. Justin Bieber giving back in a big way.
We're giving a high school football player a big shout out. Not for carrying a ball, but for carrying a boy. How a simple act of kindness has changed a young man and the family he helps out. We'll speak to them live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: We want to update you some breaking news that we're following for you in the CNN NEWSROOM. A tornado has touched down in the town of Cincinnati, Arkansas. There are reports, in fact, confirmation now that at least three people are dead. Reynolds Wolf in the Weather Center is following this for us. Hey, Reynolds.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHO: All right, Reynolds, thank you very much.
We want to check our top stories now at the half hour. Here's a live look at Times Square in New York City as that city gets ready for a huge New Year's Eve celebration tonight. As many as a million people are expected to watch that big crystal ball drop live.
The Russian red head accused of being a sleeper agent in the United States breaks her silence. In her first TV interview, Anna Chapman told the host of a Russian talk show that she enjoys pistols and has a very good shot. Chapman also promised to reveal all of her secrets on television in 2011. And a first for Facebook. A milestone. It now ranks as the number most visited Web site in the United States, beating out Google.
We now want to lift up a young man who is literally been lifting up a boy with special needs. Rudy Favard is a high school football player in Melrose, Massachusetts. But his greatest feat may come off the field and in the home of the Parker family, who has become a second family to him.
Michelle Rutherford from CNN affiliate WHDH has today's "Making Their Mark.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE RUTHERFORD, WHDH-TV CORRESOPNDENT (voice-over): A short trip up one flight of stairs that's carrying a family through the challenge of a lifetime. When they were about eight months old, the Parker family learned one of their twin boys would not have the life they dreamed of.
PATTY PARKER, SAM'S MOTHER: Sam was disabled, but he's still my son and I love him with the same ferocious love that I love Ben.
RUTHERFORD: Sam Parker has cerebral palsy. Now eight years old, he cannot see, speak or walk. With no spare rooms in the home, his bedroom is at the top of this narrow, winding flight of stairs. His dad used to carry him there every night.
RICK PARKER, SAM'S FATHER: Sixty pounds is not too bad, and 50 pounds is not too bad. But once he starts getting heavier, it's difficult.
RUTHERFORD: That difficulty became an impossibility when Rick Parker developed a heart condition.
R. PARKER: The doctor said no lifting. We didn't know what to do.
RUTHERFORD: Seventeen-year-old high school senior Rudy Fevard learned of the Parkers' problem through a school nurse and he immediately stepped right up.
RUDY FAVARD, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: The little things matter, you know, because I didn't think it was a big deal everything I'm doing, but apparently it is.
RUTHERFORD: And so for the past four months, Rudy has come to the Parkers' home around 8:00 p.m. to carry Sam upstairs for the night.
R. PARKER: He's -- sorry. He's indirectly saved my life.
RUTHERFORD: Twenty minutes as day that's created a life time connection. Rudy is like family to the Parkers now. A ride for Sam, a relief for his parts. And for Sam's twin brother, Ben, Rudy is a real hero.
(on camera): You love him? why?
BEN PARKER, SAM'S BROTHER: Well, because he's helping out my mother and my brother and -- I just love him so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: That's just great. Joining us now from Newton, Massachusetts -- look at that crowd there! The Parker family, Rick, Patty, Sam, Ben, and their big helper, Rudy Favard.
Hey, guys. I want to mention to our viewers that there might be a slight audio delay here, so everyone stay with me.
Rick, I want to begin with you. For a long time you carried your son up those stairs in your home, but you had heart surgery and you realized that you couldn't do anymore. What was your first thought when you realized you couldn't to that to help your son?
R. PARKER: We seemed at that point in time, we seemed very desperate. We didn't know what to think. But at that time, we knew that we could call out to our pediatrician, Dr. Rhonda Vogel (ph), and that at that time she got us in touch with Elizabeth Peckett from Mauldin Catholic (ph). And she just plainly said "We'll take care of it." And she showed up with six people up on our doorstep the next night to help us with helping Sam up the stairs.
CHO: The very next might. That is incredible. Rudy was one of those boys who came in and some of his backups, if you will.
Tell us, Rudy, what did you encounter when you saw the Parker family for the first time? I bet there were a lot of tears.
FAVARD: You could say something like that. But it wasn't really that bad to be honest with you.
CHO: Tell me this, Rudy. You're a high school senior, you're a football player, lots of home work and other activities that you have to contend with. Why did you decide that this was something that you wanted to do?
FAVARD: Well, the way I was thinking about it, I thought why not, you know? It's only by God's grace that I'm sill here and I'm able to do what I'm doing, so I might as well help out while I can.
CHO: So tell me, what is it like for you every night? You leave in the early evening and you drive -- you make that ten minute drive over to the Parker family, right? And take it from there.
FAVARD: I make my drive and then I pull up to the house. Usually the door is open for me and then I walk in and I get hugs from everybody. I usually tell Rick what's going on with my football games or what happened at practice. I bring Sam up and after I bring Sam up, I might give him a pat or a hug, and then I leave and finish my homework.
CHO: How does Sam respond when he sees you every night? FAVARD: Well, at first he was kind of stiff, but now he keeps moving. But I'm getting used to it. I think that's Sam's just way of playing with me.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Now, Patty, tell me -- as I mentioned off the top here, you've become a bigger family, right, as a result of this? And Rudy mentioned you don't just talk about Sam and his problems, but you talk about football, you talk about all kinds of things, don't you?
P. PARKER: Yes, we sure do. We talk about his girlfriends -- or should I say girlfriend -- and just how things are going for us, how things are going for him. But he knows that this connection now is permanent. I told him will, once he goes off to college, that's not the end. We're a family now, and he has to keep in touch with us.
CHO: That's right. And in fact, Rudy, I know you're fielding college offers as we speak. Have you decided where you're going to go, and what happens then next for the Parker family?
FAVARD: I'm not sure where I'm going yet, but for the Parker family, I really hope that they get the house that they need for Sam. And once they get that house, hopefully then I'll come visit them when I'm back on break. Hopefully they'll come up to my games still
CHO: Oh, I'm sure they will. I mean, I think you're bonded for life after this.
But I just have to tell you, Rudy, I think what you're doing is so wonderful. What a gift to the Parker family, and I know how much they appreciate it. I want to thank you all for coming in and talking to us on this New Year's Eve. I wish you all the very best of luck in the coming year.
P. PARKER: Thank you very much.
FAVARD: Happy new year.
CHO: Happy new year to you.
Well, 2010 is about to come to an end and we've covered some remarkable stories this year. We'll look at the ten biggest, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: As 2010 draws to an end, we're looking pack on the news shores - stories, rather -- that shaped the year. Our Brooke Baldwin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. I'm Brooke Baldwin, with the 10 biggest stories of 2010.
(voice-over): At number 10, boisterous debate over the so-called Ground Zero mosque.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe if a mosque were built, then you guys would know what Islam was about.
BALDWIN: It was actually just a proposed Islamic community center two blocks from Ground Zero, but that didn't stop the outcry, especially from some 9/11 survivors and the families of victims.
TIM BROWN, FIREFIGHTER: This building is being built - built on the cemetery of our - of our loved ones. I lost 93 of my friends. What happened to the sensitivity going from the Muslim world to the families?
BALDWIN (on camera): The debate heated up on the Internet, cable TV, and landed on the doorstep of the White House.
OBAMA: This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.
BALDWIN: Developers right now are trying to secure funding for the Islamic center, which could cost more than $100 million. Project supporters say it is an effort to strengthen multi-faith understanding.
(voice-over): At number nine, a royal engagement.
KATE MIDDLETON, ENGAGED TO PRINCE WILLIAM: It was very romantic and it was very, very personal (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he get down on one knee?
BALDWIN: Prince William announced that he will marry longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton. He even gave her his mother's ring. They will exchange vows at Westminster Abbey in April. And another royal wedding 30 years after we saw Princess Diana walk down the aisle.
(on camera): The end of combat operations in Iraq is the number eight story of the year.
OBAMA: The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people. Now, it's time to turn the page.
BALDWIN (voice-over): It came on August 31st. More than 4,400 American troops died during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Thousands of noncombat troops will stay in place to help train and assist Iraqi forces until next year.
WikiLeaks is at number seven. Julian Assange and his website were at the center of that controversial release of hundreds of thousands of sensitive U.S. communications. They documented everything from U.S. actions in Afghanistan to personal comments about Kim Jong-Il's, quote, "flabbiness". Assange ended up being arrested as part of a sexual assault investigation in Sweden.
(on camera): Issue number one coming in at number six on our list of the year's biggest stories. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very easy to get very depressed and lie in bed and stay in your pajamas and watch TV all day.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Of course, I'm talking about the economy and the high unemployment rates.
OBAMA: There's no silver bullet. There's no quick fix to these problems.
BALDWIN (on camera): The market showed signs of life and the government passed a new legislation to overhaul the financial system. But for millions and millions of Americans, times are still very tough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: And we will have the top five stories of 2010 when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: And we're back with our top ten countdown of the most important stories of 2010. Here's Brooke Baldwin with the final countdown to number one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: The number five top story of 2010 actually began one year ago today. December 24, 2009, when the Senate passed the Health Care Reform Bill with a bitterly partisan vote of 60 yeas and 39 nays.
SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: Yes to health care as an inalienable right of every American citizen.
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We will not do this. We will not commit generational theft on future generations of Americans.
BALDWIN (voice-over): After months of hotly contested negotiations, the House then passed the bill in March with a vote of 219 to 212.
(on camera): Thirty-four Democrats and all of the Republican members of the House voted against it. But the debate didn't stop there.
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: The people who voted for this bill are going to get an earful.
SENATOR JOHN BOEHNER (R), OHIO: Can you say it was done openly? With transparency and accountability? Hell, no, you can't!
BALDWIN: And many pundits would say that vicious debate over the health care bill in part spurred the number four story of the year, the Republican landslide at the midterm elections.
OBAMA: I'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like they - like I did last night.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Fueled by Tea Party fervor, dissatisfaction with Washington and plunging poll numbers for the president, the Democrats lost their majority in the House. The Democrats will be holding on to the Senate by a razor-thin majority. And for the White House, the New Year promises a far more difficult political playing field. The changed president now confronted with what everyone in the Beltway and beyond assumes will be gridlock.
(on camera): But while it was a tough year for President Obama, it was an even tougher one for those Americans living on the Gulf Coast.
BALDWIN (voice-over): On April 20th, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing 11 men and beginning what would come to be known as the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
For three months, oil gushed from that severed well head. And while the precise damage will never be known, it is estimated that more than 205 million gallons of oil poured into the Gulf. It was a terrible price to pay. Burn-offs and boom, underwater plumes and oil- soaked wildlife - the economic ramifications rocked the region.
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: There's no one who wants this thing over more than I do. You know, I'd love my life back.
BALDWIN: And even after the well was finally capped in mid-July, the environmental damage still remains unknown.
(on camera): Just a few weeks after the well was capped, another tragedy, but this one would come with a happy ending.
(voice-over): You know the story. August 5th, 33 Chilean miners were plunged into dust and darkness. A mine in rural Chile collapsed, trapping the men more than 2,000 feet below the surface of the earth.
Weeks passed as frantic rescue efforts were attempted and failed, but on August 22nd, a miracle. A five and a half inch borehole reached an emergency shelter room in the mine, and when the drill bit returned to the surface there was a note attached, quote, "We are all right in the shelter, the 33 of us."
The 33 men would spend a record-breaking 69 days below the earth before the world would witness their ascent to freedom.
(on camera): Which brings us to the number one story of 2010, a story that has no happy ending, but one that shook the world and stirred an outpouring of grief far beyond the borders of the tiny island nation of Haiti.
(voice-over): The earthquake hit early Tuesday evening, the 12th of January. Seismologists measured the quake at a magnitude 7.0. But it would be far more difficult to wrap our heads around the magnitude of the human tragedy - 230,000 dead, more than a million made homeless overnight. Children orphaned, families separated and, perhaps hardest to bear, unknown thousands trapped beneath all the rubble - a humanitarian crisis that continues to this day.
(on camera): I'm Brooke Baldwin and those are the 10 biggest stories of 2010.
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CHO: Joe Miller has been fighting for a Senate seat from Alaska for weeks after the election. The one that was officially certified in favor of Lisa Murkowski. Well, today, Miller must make a decision about continuing his battle.
Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins us now from the CNNpolitics.com Desk. Say it isn't so! Isn't it over, Paul?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It is decision day for Joe Miller, and it may be over later today, Alina. He'll make an announcement at 2:00 local time up in Anchorage, Alaska, 6:00 Easter.
Here are his options. He can continue to try to take his case up the food chain in federal court; he can appeal the decision. The federal district court judge threw out his contesting of the election. He can also formally contest the election with state officials in Alaska.
Remember, he beat Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator, in the Republican Senate primary earlier this year. He was backed by the Tea Party movement. He was backed by Sarah Palin. She ran as a write-in candidate. She made history by winning the election. He contested the election, saying you have for follow the letter of the law, and if her name was misspelled on the ballot, then those votes can't count. We'll find out a little later today what he wants to do.
Tomorrow, of course, the new year. And it brings some new provisions in the new health care law. The kick in starting tomorrow. Among them, a provision that forces health care companies, insurance companies, to spend more of those premiums - more of the percentage of those premiums -- on you rather than on their overhead. So, a new provision kicking in there. Of course starting next week, Republicans in the new Congress will try to maybe repeal the health care law.
And finally, as we end this year, let's take a look at the president's approval rating among Americans. Do Americans think Barack Obama is doing a good job? Check out the numbers. This is from CNN/The Opinion Research Corporation. And you can see where he stands right now. Americans are divided. Forty-eight percent are giving President Obama a thumb's up of how he's doing in the White House. Forty-eight percent disapprove.
That's pretty similar to back in January when the numbers were pretty close, as well. A lot of big wins and losses for the president, but his numbers remain the same at the end of the year. Alina
CHO: Thank you so much. Have a happy new year.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
CHO: All right. We will have your next political update in just one hour. And a reminder: for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.
Now, we've all said some things we'd like to take back over the years, but when people in the public eye misspeak, it comes at a cost. It makes news. We'll look at the top gaffes of 2010, just ahead.
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CHO: Well, we've all said things we'd like to take back. But when people in the public eye misspeak, it comes at a cost. It makes big news. Here's CNN's Kiran Chetry with the top gaffes of 2010.
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KIRAN CHETRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He said --
TONY HAYWARD, BP: I'd love my life back.
CHETRY: And she said --
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Obviously, got to stand were our North Korean allies.
CHETRY: Left foot --
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a big (EXPLETIVE DELETED) deal.
CHETRY: -- and right --
SHARRON ANGLE (R), FORMER NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: Some of you look a little more Asian to me.
CHETRY: -- planted firmly in mouth. And don't forget to talk to the hand.
It was the year of the gaffes. A year of election madness where some sound bites bit back.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.
CHETRY: There were newcomers.
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), FORMER DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you.
CHETRY: And some old favorites who never seem to disappoint.
BIDEN: God rest her soul. And although she's -- wait, your mom's still -- your mom's still alive. Your dad passed. God bless her soul.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: A year in which one candidate lost the confidence of an entire nation.
DAN REA, RADIO HOST: Yes, but now Scott Brown has Curt Schilling, OK?
MARTHA COAKLEY (D), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS SENATE CANDIDATE: Another Yankee fan?
REA: Schilling?
COAKLEY: Yes.
REA: Curt Schilling a Yankee fan?
COAKLEY: No. All right. I'm wrong.
REA: The Red Sox.
CHETRY: And where one decision left a city without its favorite son.
LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER: In this fall, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach.
CHETRY: Other athletes spent 2010 swinging and missing and apologizing.
TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.
CHETRY: Some other people own 2010 or at least 15 minutes of it.
JIMMY MCMILLAN, FORMER NY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Rent is too damn high.
JOHN TYNER, SOFTWARE PROGRAMMER: If you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested.
CHETRY: So, thanks, 2010. Thanks for the laughs --
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot sustain. Oops!
CHETRY: -- and for the gaffes --
BIDEN: There's an old Irish proverb that some of you know that I heard my grandfather use but never really applied to me before. He said, it goes, "A silent mouth is sweet to hear." Well, I'm going to yield to that proverb.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: We'll miss you too, Joe.
Kiran Chetry, CNN, New York.
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CHO: Ah, the memories. Thank you so much for joining me this week. I'm Alina Cho. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with my dear friend, Tony Harris.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, the known, knowns, and unknowns and - you remember that one?
CHO: I sure do.
HARRIS: Donald Rumsfeld -- like the next two hours, "known unknowns."
