Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Navy Investigates Lewd Videos; Divided Congress Returns; MLB Pitcher Involved in Shooting; Tim Kaine to Remain DNC Chairman; Australia Flooding Worsens; Russia-China Pipeline Opens; Afghanistan's Mask of Abuse; Broadway Stunt Safety

Aired January 03, 2011 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": And "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now.

Happy 2011, Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I know. Happy new year, guys.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

PHILLIPS: Good morning. It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.

A massive kill-off of bird and fish in Arkansas. Today, game officials launching an investigation as many as 5,000 birds just fell from the sky in Arkansas in Beebe, Arkansas.

Actress Lindsay Lohan, one day away from checking out of rehab. For three months of court ordered substance abuse at the Betty Ford Clinic.

A ride catches fire at the Islands of Adventure park in Orlando, Florida's Universal Studios. No one was hurt. But the water plume ride was evacuated and closed indefinitely.

But we begin this morning with the story that you may find outrageous and offensive on many levels. The U.S. Navy is investigating a series of raunchy videos shown aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise. Videos complete with f-bombs and anti-gay slurs. Being shown while the ship was supporting U.S. troops fighting and dying in combat.

But before you dismiss this as a case of boys being boys, consider this. The tapes shown here from the Web site for the "Virginian Pilot" newspaper feature the man who now commands the ship.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us with more.

Barbara, it's hard to believe that this even made air. I mean this is not how these men and women are trained.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, you just look at this, Kyra, and you can't really stop shaking your head. Because what comes to mind, of course, is, you know, what if it was your workplace?

Five thousand people on board this aircraft carrier at sea in a war zone. And the ship's CO, his word is law for these people in every aspect of their lives. Now this CO being investigated -- Captain Owen Honors -- for his activities when he was number two on board the ship back in 2006-2007 when it was in the war zone.

These videos supposedly were for training but clearly the Navy now investigating all of this and of course the Enterprise is scheduled to deploy again to the war zone under his command in the next several days.

You see some of the video here. We had to clean up a lot of it but we did come up with some that we would like to show everyone so you can see what we're talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This evening all of you bleeding hearts and you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) boy, why don't you just go ahead and hug yourselves for the next 20 minutes or so because there's a really good chance you're going to be offended tonight.

Talking about. I just (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can't get that.

Finally, let's get to my favorite topic, and something foreign to the gay kid over there, chicks in the shower. This is certainly the most popular video of any of X movie videos. It's also the one that's landed me with the most complaints.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Kyra, there are more than 5,000 troops as we said on a carrier when it goes to sea. Who else knew about this? That now is the broader question and the deeper question for the Navy.

There are lawyers that deploy on board ships, there were admirals, there was at the time the captain of the ship above this man. These videos were broadcast on the ship's internal video television system so a lot of people saw them, who spoke up, who saw it, and didn't speak up.

All of this now being looked at. And what it may say about the command environment on board one of the Navy's aircraft carriers -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So an investigation obviously is taking place but is the Navy coming out and saying anything specifically about this, Barbara?

STARR: Well, you know, at first they only knew that the videos had reappeared after many years on a newspaper Web site here in Virginia. And they issued an initial statement about all of that, saying, quote, that the videos were not created with the intent to offend anyone, the videos were intended to be humorous skits.

Well, then the Navy said they looked at the videos, top commanders today looked at the videos, were appalled, ordered an investigation, and the Navy's new statement says in part, "production of videos like the ones produced four to five years ago on USS Enterprise were not acceptable then and are still not acceptable in today's Navy. The Navy does not endorse or condone these kinds of actions."

Again, the problem may be very urgent. The Enterprise is scheduled to deploy to the war zone in less than two weeks and if this man is going to still be in command, that's one question. If they have to find a new commander they're going to have to move very quickly -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Got it. Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks.

Well, we've ushered in a new year. And for many states that mean a new governor. Today at 2:00 p.m. Jerry Brown will be sworn in as California's new Democratic governor. He replaces Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. But this won't be Brown's first tour in office. He served two terms as governor of California from 1975 to 1983.

Other states have gubernatorial swearing in ceremonies -- Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Then on Saturday, Democrat Andrew Cuomo, actually last this Saturday, Andrew Cuomo became New York's 56th governor.

Republican Susanna Martinez became New Mexico's 27th governor and the nation's first female Hispanic governor. In Michigan Republican Rick Snyder was also sworn in.

So for new governors and governors-elect there is not much time to celebrate. Many of them are being sworn amid high unemployment, budget deficits and struggling economies.

Here is a look at what just some of them will be dealing with.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is faced with slashing the state's massive $9 billion deficit and fight an 8 percent unemployment rate. While in Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder must figure out a way to erase the state's nearly $2 billion deficit and battle a 12 percent unemployment rate.

And in Minnesota Governor-elect Mark Dayton will face a $6 billion deficit and 6 percent unemployment rate.

And they're not alone. We'll continue to break down what states are facing in the -- in the year 2011. We'll do that all next hour.

Now a new week, a new balance of power in Washington and Congress returns to work on Wednesday. Republicans will assume control of the House and President Obama's top priorities both past and present will face a lot of new challenges.

CNN senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joining us now from Washington.

So, Dana, what's the first item on the agenda for the 2011 Congress?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Spending, spending, and, Kyra, did I mention spending?

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: Slashing government spending is really going to be the issue Republicans say they're going to focus the most on. Cutting tens of billions of dollars in the first few months. But early on the new House GOP majority will make some largely symbolic moves to show that they're serious.

We're told to expect them to cut 5 percent of their own budget used to run congressional offices. And as part of the new set of rules that the House will vote on when the Congress convenes on Wednesday there's going to be a series of items that make increasing spending more transparent and therefore harder than it has been in the past -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, the repealing of the health care law also tops the to-do list, wouldn't you say?

BASH: Absolutely. Trying to repeal the health care law is an early priority for the new House majority.

Listen to what Fred Upton said yesterday. He is somebody that you'll probably going to see a lot more of. He's the incoming Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that has jurisdiction over health care. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. FRED UPTON (R), MICHIGAN: Early on, in fact prior to the president's State of the Union address you're going to see a vote to repeal health care in the House. And I am convinced that not only will we have all of the 242 Republicans vote for it, you'll have a significant number of Democrats as well.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now that may be or not be, we'll see where the votes are, but despite that Republicans we talked to, Kyra, they're well aware that they almost surely will not have the votes to repeal the health care law in the Senate.

That's why ultimately Republican sources say their strategy is death by 1,000 cuts to try to de-fund key parts of the law and make the health care law harder to implement -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It's going to be a busy year. Thanks, Dana.

BASH: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, police in the Dominican Republic say that a Baltimore Orioles pitcher was involved in the shooting death of a man. Police could question Alfredo Simon today about that shooting which happened early in the morning on New Year's Day.

Joining us on the phone from the Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic is reporter Jorge Pineda. So, Jorge, what do we know about this shooting? Did he know this man that he shot? And was this shooting guns during a celebration or did he mean to do this? Do we know?

JORGE PINEDA, JOURNALIST: That is the crux of the investigation because he claims that it was -- he was firing into the air which is a very typical bad habit in this country for New Year's Eve and other celebrations.

But the strange thing is that according to police report one bullet killed the one man and also injured his brother which happened to be a minor. So far he has not turned himself in. As far as all local media report, and that's what police are waiting to question him to see if in fact it was an accident or as usually happens in these cases there is a lot of violence involved, there's a lot of drinking and these ballplayers for some reason come back from the United States with a bunch of money and a bunch of violent activity.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And Jorge, do we even know if he had some sort of beef with this guy?

PINEDA: Some of the witnesses who were interviewed say that there was a past history of argument and a bad feeling between these people. And of course this is normally small towns when, you know, you have competition for certain things, maybe even women, so this will definitely clear up as soon -- he turns himself in.

PHILLIPS: We will definitely follow the case. Jorge Pineda calling in from the Dominican Republic.

Jorge, thanks so much.

Well, they were supposed to be out plowing snow, not on the way to getting plowed. New York is now investigating a report that four sanitation supervisors were actually drinking beer in a Sanitation Department car Monday night instead of cleaning up the snow.

The allegation is the latest criticism of the city's handling of last week's massive snowstorm. One city council member says that some workers told him that supervisors ordered a slowdown in retaliation for the city's latest cost cutting moves.

All right, let's check on the weather for the first week of the new year.

Rob Marciano, what do you think? Is it going to start letting up a little bit or no?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know what, last week was so horrible. I mean we really went out with a bang between the two blizzards really, one in the northeast, the one they're still cleaning up with -- from in New York City and the one that was across parts of the upper Midwest. And then you had the severe weather, worst tornado outbreak across parts of south that we've seen on New Year's Eve.

So it's good to get some -- you know, breathe a little bit. Just a little bit here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Finally, there was an earthquake this morning in southwest parts of Utah. Right about there, about 200 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, 4.5 magnitude quake. This is all part of the Wasatch fault which kind of dives underneath the Wasatch range and builds it up.

The mountains here get to be about 11,000 feet. With 4.5 magnitude, that's enough to feel some shaking, maybe some minor damage but it's a pretty remote area. And the reports that we've gotten in to the CNN NEWSROOM find it to be just fine.

So even though we started things out relatively quiet weather wise, we've got an earthquake in Utah to start the year off. 2011.

I'm starting to finally get used to saying 20 whatever the year is. It's taken me 10 years to say it.

PHILLIPS: Still I'm not doing it right. You're way ahead of me on that one.

Now what to do with these thousands of birds that have just dropped dead? All -- we're looking into the story but what are you --

MARCIANO: It's mindboggling. Well, the question is because there was some severe weather in the area, that -- when this happened or around when this happened. But birds and other animals are pretty good getting away from anything that's weather related.

So I guess the latest guess we have now is fireworks that were being set off in that area. And kind of spooked them or caused them to go into shock. So it's definitely a head scratcher. And until they do some necropsies on these animals, they won't -- really won't know for sure.

PHILLIPS: All right. We're trying to figure out what happened over at the skies of Arkansas in New Year's.

Rob, thanks.

And we're also looking at some kind of high flying feud between Expedia.com and American Airlines. It could affect the way your book flights.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: One of the hostages from an attempted bank robbery last week is talking. It tops our look Cross Country this morning. Malford Lewis says at first he thought it was all a joke, until he saw the branch manager getting pistol whipped. Lewis was one of a dozen customers taken hostage when gunmen stormed a Chase bank near Houston. Lewis recounts how one of the suspects wanted to use his SUV as a getaway car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MALFORD LEWIS, HELD HOSTAGE DURING ROBBERY ATTEMPT: So, he said, "Truck driver stand up. Make sure when you go out, you have your hands in the air, because I don't want them to mistake you for me."

The cops are hounding me, "Come here, come here." No, dude. This dude is pointing a gun in my back. I can't. I got to at least attempt for him to see that I did do what he asked me to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Police arrested one suspect and later stormed the building to rescue the remaining hostages and bring the second gun man into custody.

North of San Francisco, what appears to be a young gray whale has taken up residence in Tomales Bay, much to the delight of local fishermen and sightseers. The big guy has brought out -- oh, he has been spotted out there about three weeks ago. It's believed that he may have strayed from his mama during a recent migration.

And we wrap up in rock Rockford, Illinois, were a minute and a calendar year separates the birth of two twins. Madisen Carin Lewis was born first with one minute left in 2010. Her brother, Aden Everette, followed right after midnight in 2011.

It's getting a little bit harder to book American Airlines flights on the internet. Expedia has punted American from its site. No fares, no schedules, nada. Let's talk to Christine Romans about it. So, Christine, what's going on?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a big fight brewing between American Airlines and some of these online fare compare websites, Kyra. You will not find American Airlines fares or schedules on Expedia today, probably not tomorrow, and here's why.

Expedia has booted them off the site, saying that American's new Direct to Connect, their own way of trying to sell tickets, is fundamentally bad for travelers, it's anti-consumer, and anti-choice. Those are some pretty strong words.

American on its own website is explaining exactly what it's trying to do, how it is trying to control more of its -- control more of its customer traffic, and it wants to be able to sell things like, not just point A to point B airfare, Kyra, but also, say, preboarding rights, which comes with a little fee, other things that they want to package together.

So, this fundamental way that American Airline tickets are being sold is something that's a fight right now between Expedia and American. And so, if you are looking at Expedia to try to find all of the cheapest fares, you will not find American Airlines fares on there today. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: So, what's the deal with American? Because it dropped Orbitz last month, too. ROMANS: That's right. American dropped Orbitz over a similar -- slightly different but similar fight. And so, Expedia, maybe sort of in solidarity, is taking a look at the situation as well and saying that they don't like the way American is going, how American is trying to sell tickets.

They say that it's not transparent. That consumers are not going to be able to see as much, they're not going to be able to know as much about their ticket. American, of course, disputes all of this.

Bottom line, Kyra, is that these behemoths in travel are having a big fight. Orbits, Expedia, and American Airlines, and you're in the middle. You're in the middle if you are an American Airlines passenger or someone who likes to surf these sites to find the cheapest place.

American says you can still go to Priceline, you can go to Kayak.com, you can go to a lot of different fare compare-type sites, and that they're not having any issue with those. But still, this is just the beginning of this whole fight, I suspect. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Yes. We'll be talking about this a lot more, I'm sure.

ROMANS: Yes, we will.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Christine.

Well, New Year's stress. Yes, we all felt it, but it could be to blame for thousands of birds dropping dead just before the curtain closed on 2010. Arkansas officials say that fireworks may have startled them to death. We're investigating.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Arkansas wildlife officials are pretty stumped after thousands of birds dropped dead from the Arkansas sky just before the ball fell on New Year's Eve. Crews are collecting and testing up to 5,000 red-winged black birds and starlings. Most were dead, but all of them found within a one-mile area of Beebe. That's about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock. The theories so far? A lightning strike, high altitude hail or, maybe, extreme stress caused by New year's Fireworks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was out of an Albert (sic) Hitchcock movie.

MILTON MCCULLAR, BEEBE STREET DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR: I thought the mayor was messing with me when he called me. He got me up at 4:00 in the morning, told me we had birds falling out of the sky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Testing begins today at the National Wildlife Health Center in Wisconsin, and we're supposed to get answers later this week.

So, if fireworks are to blame, you're probably asking the same question we did. People shoot off fireworks all the time. Fourth of July, New Year's Eve, you name it. So, what was so different about this night of partying that may have stressed these birds to deaths? Keith Stephens from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission shed a little light on the mystery on "American Morning." That brings us to our AM Extra.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH STEPHENS, ARKANSAS GAME AND FISH COMMISSION: These black birds tend to congregate in areas where you're going to have grains from agriculture fields on the ground that they'll be eating. So, in this instance, they would have been all together. You don't typically see these in urban areas, these are more rural areas, and they're more concentrated. So, if somebody was to shoot firework in that area that they were roosting while they were asleep, then that could have been what caused their deaths.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: From dead birds to dead fish. Arkansas wildlife officials have another New Year's Eve mystery on their hands. This one likely unrelated. Just over 100 miles away from Ozark -- in Ozark, rather, 100,000 dead drum fish washed ashore or floated to the top of the Arkansas River over the weekend.

Now, keep in mind, fish kills happen every year, but officials say, the sheer size of this one points to a possible disease outbreak. So, they're testing the water and the fish to try and get to the bottom of it.

Someone who works on our team missed the big moment in Times Square. Now, we don't want to name any names, but Allen Huntspon snoozed and lost. Not his fault, though. He set his iPhone alarm, and he says it just didn't go off. Lots of them having the same problem. Did yours go off this morning? Allen was on time, by the way.

(MUSIC - "Superstitious")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: It's about 9:30 in the East now. Another half hour until the sun comes up in Los Angeles. The iPhone is one of the stories we're following. Apparently a software glitch kept alarms from going off. So if some of your colleagues are late today, they might have a good excuse. The problem is supposed to correct itself today.

New Yorkers have to be happy about this news. Crews should be collecting garbage today. It's been piling up in the Big Apple since last week's blizzard. All the snow took priority over the trash. And Zsa Zsa Gabor is in an L.A. hospital, doctors having to amputate one of her legs just below the knee. That's what a representative is saying. Gabor has cancerous lesions. She's 93 now and her husband she's been frail and pretty much confined to a wheelchair since she was in a car wreck in 2002.

Well, we've ushered in a new year and for many states that mean as new governor. Today, at 2:00 p.m. Jerry Brown will be sworn in as California's new Democratic governor. He replaces Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. But this won't be Brown's first tour in office. He served two terms as governor of California from 1975 to 1983.

Other states with gubernatorial swearing in ceremonies; Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Then, on Saturday, Democrat Andrew Cuomo became New York's 56th governor. Republican Susana Martinez became New Mexico 27th governor, and the nation's first female Hispanic governor, by the way. In Michigan, Republican Rick Snyder was sworn in.

For new governors and governors-elect, there's not much time to celebrate. Many of them are being sworn in amid high unemployment, budget deficits, and struggling economies. And here's a look at what just some will be dealing with.

As for Andrew Cuomo, he's faced with slashing the state's massive $9 billion deficit. And he's got to fight an eight percent unemployment rate. Governor Rick Snyder must figure out how to erase the nearly $2 billion deficit and battle a 12 percent unemployment rate. And then in Minnesota, Governor-elect Mark Dayton will face a $6 billion deficit and six percent unemployment rate. And they're not alone.

We're going to continue to break down what states are facing in 2011 next hour.

Now, resurging Republicans say that their mission is clear when they open a new session of Congress, Wednesday. They're vowing to repeal one of President Obama's signature accomplishments -- his passage of health care reform. In the meantime, here's what goes into effect today: Medicare patients will receive free wellness visits and the possibility of half price name brand drugs. Republicans say that they will do whatever they can do to defund health care reform.

CNN's senior White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us with a closer look.

So, Suzanne, right off the bat, the president is going to have to defend his health care program, right?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kyra. One of his new year's resolutions, the president talking about this over the weekend, essentially is to defend the health care reform. It's his signature legislation. And look, he's going to make the case really, do you really want the take away some of those benefits that we are giving to seniors, to children, to babies, those kinds of things. So he'll be out in full force talking about it. He is also going to be looking at the Republican's agenda to defund or repeal this altogether before State of the Union. So they're going to push back very hard. As a matter of fact, Kyra, they've hired more White House attorneys to make sure that they can push back on some of the things that Republicans are trying to do, including some of the investigations of various administration policies that the Republicans believe is an overreach.

PHILLIPS: And, of course, the economy. Definitely something the president needs to turn his attention to in the new year.

MALVEAUX: : Absolutely. And it's one of the things you're going to hear in the State of the Union address at the end of the month. But, before then, even, the president's going to come back tomorrow afternoon, and he and his administration are going to be talking about these things.

They're talking about creating jobs, jobs, jobs, reforming the tax code, as well as finding and supporting alternative sources of energy, innovation, investment, and trying to cut back on wasteful spending. The programs that are either duplicates or not working very well, that he's going to try to reach out to Republicans, work with them to make those kind of critical cuts. But you can bet you, Kyra, it's going to be a real battle here in terms of what stays and what goes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Suzanne, we'll be talking about it a lot in the coming months.

Well, plunging home values have seemingly spared no one, including the famous residence in the nation. The "Los Angeles Times" says that the White House has lost nearly a fourth of its value over the last few years. The newspaper cites some number crunching from Zillow, a real estate web site. That value just over a quarter billion dollars. Zillow says its 132-room mansion was worth about 80 million bucks, more than just a few years ago.

Under water down under. Hundreds ever thousands of Australians heading for higher ground after the worst flooding seen in decades has swamped parts of Queensland state. It's ahead in our Morning Passport.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the field in the race for Chicago mayor is smaller today. Our political editor Mark Preston is at the CNNPolitics.com desk with more on that.

Hey, Mark. Happy New Year.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey. Happy New Year. Kyra, yes, you know, the race for the mayor of Chicago just got a little bit smaller over the last couple of days.

Congressman Danny Davis has decided not to run. And, in fact, he is going to get behind former senator Carol Moseley Braun. Now, why is this important? It's important because Davis is an African-American and he's the second prominent African-American to leave the race for mayor of Chicago and get behind Carol Moseley Braun.

Now, Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's chief of staff is running for that. He's considered the front-runner. But those in the African- American community believe if they can rally around one candidate, and that candidate now being Carol Moseley Braun, they might have a chance of defeating Rahm Emanuel. That election, Kyra, will take place next month.

Back here in Washington, Tim Kaine, it appears, is going to stay in his position as the head of the Democratic National Committee. Yesterday on "STATE OF THE UNION," he told Ed Henry, who was filling in, that the DNC chairmanship is a wonderful job. And he says that he enjoys being out, going around the country, being the president's advocate and promoter. Now, being the DNC chairman is a very important job because not only does he raise money ,but his job, Kyra, is to try to rally the base -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, it appears that Tim Kaine is going to stay on for another term, right? But what's going to happen at the RNC? There is a debate today, right?

PRESTON: There is. Kyra, in just a few hours, just down the street from where I'm standing, we'll see five candidates appear on stage to answer questions about what they would do if they were to become the next RNC chairman.

Now, one of those candidates is Michael Steele, the embattled chairman who came under a lot of criticism, Kyra, for not being very good with the finances. And a lot of people said he wasn't a very good leader.

Now, some late developments in the race for the RNC chairman ship. Gentry Collins, of Iowa. He was Steele's political director. Late last night he got out of the race. Now, this is one of the most important political stories we're following here at CNN, Kyra, because the new head of the RNC is going to be responsible for trying to attack President Obama, try to take him apart politically.

Our friends up on Capitol Hill, those congressional Republicans, they're going to have to focus on legislating. And, then, of course, those folks who are trying to run for the GOP presidential nomination, they're going to be running against each other. So, a very important job, the next RNC chairmanship. That election, Kyra, is going to take place next week.

But over the next couple of hours, tune in here to CNN and we'll have some more live reports from that debate.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. We'll keep checking in.

Thanks, Mark.

PRESTON: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll have your next update in just about an hour, as well. And, of course, for all of the political news, you can always go to our web site CNNPolitics.com.

Well, Brett Favre has retired twice before. But this time the NFL quarterback may really mean it. You'll hear what Favre had to say right after Sunday's game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, scanning today's Morning Passport, a new TV show in Afghanistan, featuring women who reveal what life is like behind the veil.

Meanwhile, Australia's flooding worsens by the second. Zain Verjee, live in London with our Morning Passport.

Where should we start, Australia?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Let's do that, Kyra. I want to show you some of these pictures coming out of Australia. It's in Queensland, that's in northeast Australia, and they are pretty dramatic.

The flood waters are just sweeping this huge area. Nine people have been killed. You've got 20 towns affected. Something like 200,000 people, Kyra, have been displaced. They've had to leave their home. Some of them just to get out, have had to wade through that water that you're see. It gets to about their chest. The airports in the area has also been closed for weeks.

Kyra, one thing just to note is that the locals have been put on alert because of snakes and crocodiles in that water. You got -- you know, Australia is crocodile country, snake country. And so what people are doing is arming themselves with sticks amidst all of this. So it's a terrible situation. And they are trying to protect themselves from the animals that are probably swimming through that water.

Kyra, it's kind of like Marietta Street was flooded like this. You know or -- or major downtown area of a city. People are paralyzed and this could last for weeks.

PHILLIPS: And then in -- in the other story we're talking about, Russia's oil industry expanding its market share in a massive way with the opening of this big pipeline from there to -- between it and China, right?

VERJEE: Yes. This is a really huge deal actually today. A lot of people are talking about this. You've got the world's biggest producer of oil, that's Russia, sending it now directly through a new pipeline to the world's biggest consumer of oil and that's China.

The -- the two things here Kyra, I think is important to note is that first of all, what this means is that there is a huge strategic shift. For decades Russia has been dependent on European markets in order to -- to sell their crude to.

And now what they're going to be able to do is to sell it eastward to China so that means that they -- they basically are in a position where they are more powerful, they can command more prices, and the second point is they can play off the east and the west because of this pipeline.

PHILLIPS: Now, here's something that you and I have both observed. And that is the spousal abuse in Afghanistan. And it's a taboo subject.

VERJEE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: But there is this new television show that's actually allowing --

(CROSSTALK)

VERJEE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: -- women to talk about it?

VERJEE: Yes. It's allowing women to talk about it. But they are wearing a mask. They are on the show, half of the mask is pale blue and they want that to represent oppression, it's the color of the burqa they say. And the other half is white. So they want that to represent the innocence.

So what they do is they speak out against violence, against abuse but they are doing it behind the mask. They also have live studio audiences that has scholars there, religious experts, legal experts and a lot of rights activists there too.

It's a bad situation in parts of the country where you hear young girls are forced into marriage, sometimes they are exchanged so that kinds of means that a man and their family has done something bad or you know to another family or -- or a community, they say all right, well, look, we'll -- we'll settle the score, we'll give you our daughter. And then she may end up in this really abusive situation.

So, there are a lot of stories but the women there are beginning to speak out, even if it's behind a mask.

PHILLIPS: Yes and they are still taking a huge risk.

Zain, happy New Year. Great to see you.

VERJEE: Right. You too, Kyra. Happy New Year.

PHILLIPS: To more segments like this.

Well, usually players give the winning coach a Gatorade bath. But a couple of Atlanta Falcons actually doused the big boss, the team owner, Arthur Blank. Well, it was something else. We've got it on and off the field highlights in sports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Ah, Seward's Folly, an Arctic wasteland. That's what many Americans said when then Secretary of State William Seward bought the Alaskan territory from Russia. Oh but what a deal it turned out to be considering the oil and natural resources.

So with that in mind, today's "Flashback"; 51 years ago President Eisenhower signed the proclamation admitting the Alaska territory into the U.S. as the 49th state.

Well, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's start first with Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, a Navy commander making lewd videos and showing them on board an aircraft carrier in a war zone. What was he thinking? We'll have that story at the top of the hour.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. If you're looking for flights on American, don't go to Expedia.com. I'll tell you why the airline and the travel site are at war. That's coming up in the next hour.

AL GOODMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Al Goodman in Madrid where Spain's new law that bans smoking inside all bars and restaurants is now in effect. Smoke-filled bars that once were the norm here appear to be a thing of the past, and smokers are fuming. More on that in the next hour.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys.

And thousands of birds drop dead at the same time in the same place, and it's not far from where thousands of fish washed up dead on riverbanks. They're not related but it's a bizarre start to 2011 in Arkansas. We're taking a closer look at some of the theories about what might have happened on New Year's Eve.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Brett Favre didn't use the "R" word, but it sure looks like he's ending his career. Jeff Fischel from "Headline Sports" has all the highlights. What do you think, Jeff, is he -- is this going to be three times a charm?

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: It's starting to sound like it this time, right? Now, if it was the end of Brett Favre's career, it was hardly Favre-alous; one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, right?

Well, he didn't even play in the Vikings final game of the season yesterday because of injuries. Of course now, all the questions, is Brett Favre finished? Year after year he pulls the Hamlet routine, to be or not to be a quarterback or retired. I have said this before, but this time it really sounds like he's done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT FAVRE, VIKINGS QUARTERBACK: It's time. I'm ok with it. You know, it's never -- in my opinion it's never easy for any player, but, you know, people will say wait and see but that's ok.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISCHEL: Favre has had a great career no matter how you think about him.

First time in NFL history a team has won a division with a losing record. The Seahawks beat the Rams last night. Seattle is now 7-9 going into the playoffs. Yes, 7-9; meanwhile teams with ten wins like the Giants, the Buccaneers; they're home now for the holidays or after the holidays. Seahawks, well, they had the best record in the worst division. Those are the rules, they're in the playoffs.

One of the favorites to make the Super Bowl, the Atlanta Falcons, owner Arthur Blank, the dapper dresser gets dumped with Gatorade. Not sure if that was lemon lime or glacier freeze. Those aren't really flavors, by the way. But I'm sure the dry cleaning bill will be very expensive. Yes, it's cool.

All right, fans getting into the action. College hoops -- Tennessee State and Memphis. Players are getting into it a little bit, but that's nothing. Watch this woman in the crowd. She gets ejected for talking smack. Yes, former Memphis player Penny Hardaway says -- tweeted afterward she told a player to choke on his mouthpiece. Nice reaction right there. The ref heard it and threw her out. Memphis did win the game.

And in the NBA, Rockets and Blazers courtside seats are great, right? Maybe. Watch this couple, gets a visit from Rudy Fernandez. He kind of straddles them a little bit. Later the two of them waiting for their drinks, watch the waiter, goes down. Those were their drinks, the same couple. They did get another round.

Speaking of getting wet; tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal got in some practice, a special water court in Doha Bay, Qatar. You may think these guys walk on water. Well, now they play on it, too -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Pretty good stuff. Gets us off to the New Year with some good video there.

FISCHEL: They can even play tennis on water. I'm impressed. These guys are the two best in the world.

PHILLIPS: It's spiritual. It's amazing.

FISCHEL: There you go.

PHILLIPS: I thought only Jesus Christ could do that. Thanks Jeff.

FISCHEL: Ok.

PHILLIPS: Well, the "Spider-Man" stunt double who fell to the Broadway stage during a performance last month will be at a rehab later this week. 31-year-old actor, Christopher Tierney suffered broken ribs, a skull fracture, and three cracked vertebrae from that fall. Several performances of "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" were canceled after that accident. Tierney's dad says that his son, quote, "Can't wait to return to the show."

Tierney is one of four cast members who have been hurt during the $65 million Broadway spectacular. The accidents are raising concerns about the overall safety of performers and whether more should be done to make sure that no one else gets hurt.

CNN's Susan Candiotti talked with a group of acrobatic dancers about the risks that they take on the job every single day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their flowing moves and dazzling artistry are both stunningly beautiful and a bit frightening to watch.

GUINEVERE DIPIAZZA, OWNER, AERIAL ACROBAT ENTERTAINMENT: You know when you're performing a trick and you just, you know, something that's a little bit sudden or quick or swift and you get that from the crowd, it's really exciting.

CANDIOTTI: But there are risks. Will the knots hold? Will the rigging bear an acrobat's weight?

VIRGINIA LOGAN, STUDENT AERIALIST: Don't you forget the liner, if you forget a step, it's one thing, but if you're --

CANDIOTTI (on camera): If you fall --

LOGAN: -- you know if you fall -- game over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And to sides, beautiful.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): An actor in "Spider-Man" who plunged more than 20 feet during the recent stunt is the fourth performer injured in the $65 million Broadway play still in previews.

(on camera): How dangerous is this profession?

DIPIAZZA: Ok. Well, danger is -- is kind of part of the game.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): More than a game. It is serious work.

DIPIAZZA: Ten, nine --

CANDIOTTI: Guinevere Dipiazza is an aerial acrobat who runs her own small troop performing throughout New York.

DIPIAZZA: Rotate it a little bit more so that the knot faces you.

CANDIOTTI: "Spider-Man's" accidents are the talk of the aerial community.

ELIE VENESKY, PERFORMER, AERIAL ACROBAT ENTERTAINMENT: One person getting hurt, then it -- it's not necessarily the show's fault. But four people --

LOGAN: If I was in that show, I mean, it's hard. That's a big machine to be a little tiny cog in. So I don't envy those performers.

DIPIAZZA: Reach your right arm out to the side.

CANDIOTTI: Barely dangling off the floor, they gave me a small taste of their techniques.

DIPIAZZA: There you go, so even just sitting is a little bit difficult.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): It is -- it is to keep your upper body straight without falling.

(voice-over): These aerialists are self-regulated. They watch out for their own safety.

(on camera): And each time you perform, how do you deal with the risks?

VENESKY: I never perform anything that I haven't done in practice at least 100 times. I'm always sure that my rigging is secure.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): For Dipiazza there are no shortcuts. A close friend fell to his death two years ago working for another company. Since then, for her, safety is paramount.

DIPIAZZA: I felt like this was a really good way to, you know, keep his memory alive and, you know, inspire -

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Inspire others?

DIPIAZZA: Inspire others, yes.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): To make her art safe or at least as safe as it can be.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)