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CNN Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer
Obama: TSA Pat-Downs Necessary; Pope: Condoms May Be OK in Some Circumstances; DNA Analysis Could Bring Closure to Families of Missing Soldiers
Aired November 21, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning.
The pope makes an exception. The Vatican, as you know, has had a longstanding policy against the use of contraception. But Pope Benedict has now outlined an instance where condoms might be acceptable. But does this signal a broader shift in church policy?
Also, the - President Obama has now chimed in about the new TSA procedures that have caused an uproar. You'll hear whether he thinks the TSA has gone too far.
From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Six a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia, where I am; 2 p.m. in Baghdad. Wherever you may be, glad you're right here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
And as always, we want to welcome our troops who are watching us on the Armed Forces Network in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world. Thank you for what you do and thank you for being here.
Also coming up over the next 90 minutes, a lot of people in this country have their eyes on Afghanistan, waiting for our men and women to come home. A lot of families waiting for their loved ones to come home. Well, some news you'll want to hear; there has been an agreement now as the NATO summit in Lisbon is just wrapping up. And it has a target date for when U.S. troops will be pulling out.
However, there are some challenges to that timeline.
Also, the long, hard search for the nation's missing warriors. You know, that search still goes on, to this day. Sometimes it begins with a simple swab for DNA. We're going to show you how this works.
And a night for heroes. CNN's annual all-star tribute to our CNN Heroes opened up with a salute to what a lot of people thought were heroes, those 33 miners in Chile. They made it over to be a part of our celebration. We'll tell you more about that this morning.
But first, we are taking a look, of course, at this busy holiday- travel season, which is under way. Pretty much got under way this weekend. A lot more people are going to be flying this week. And so much of the talk is not just about how's the weather going to be, or how long the lines are going to be - it has been all about that, what you're seeing on TV, the pat-downs, the security procedures that have caused an uproar. Now, President Obama has jumped into this controversy, and he was asked about the pat-downs and the body scanners.
Listen to what the president said yesterday from the NATO summit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: At this point, TSA, in consultation with our counterterrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures that they've been putting in place are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective against the kind of threat that we saw in the Christmas Day bombing.
But I'm going to - you know, every - every week I meet with my counterterrorism team, and I'm constantly asking them whether - is what we're doing absolutely necessary. Have we thought it through? Are there other ways of accomplishing it that meet the same objectives?
HOLMES: Now, the Transportation Security Administration - the chief of that administration, John Pistole - you seem him there, and you've probably seen him a lot over the past week or so. He's been out there testifying in front of Congress. He's also been giving interviews, trying to get the message out.
Well, he has another message out that they've just posted on their website. He kind of gives some instructions to passengers about what they'll face and kind of explains things, what you're going to go through. He certainly doesn't mince words and doesn't compromise necessarily. But still, trying to get out in front of this story and trying to inform the public best they can.
A lot of people out there are reacting to what's been happening at the airports. A lot of people - yes, already have gone through some of those enhanced pat-downs and those body-image scanners. A lot of other people just been hearing about it, and also letting their opinion be known.
So what do some of the passengers actually think? We talked to them at an airport. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I already think it's too much to go through security and get patted down by random people you don't know. The last time I traveled to Greensboro and came through this airport, I was wearing, you know, yoga pants and a sweatshirt and I was on crutches. They felt like it was necessary to, like, pat me down and do all that. And I already think that's going too far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I always believe there's a balance in everything that has to be struck. And I think that being safe on a plane is - is important, and I think - again, I think that having the electronic - or, using the technology as a scanning mechanism rather than having somebody actually, you know, doing a pat-down on you is a - is a way to keep that balance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, we are going to be talking more about the travel season and airport security here throughout CNN SUNDAY MORNING. But also, it's going to be front - front and center on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley, of course, that comes up at 9:00 Eastern.
We just mentioned the TSA chief, John Pistole. He is going to be a guest of Candy Crowley. Also, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee, Representative John Mica. He has been out front and center. He was the one who actually sent a letter to a lot of airports around the country, the largest, telling them that maybe they should get rid for the TSA and opt for the private companies to do the screening.
But you can see all that, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. Candy Crowley. Now, we're going to be talking to her a little later in our 8:00 Eastern hour as well.
Well, a lot of people out there love magazines. What's your favorite? You got "Time," "Travel & Leisure," "Cosmo," "O" magazine, just to name a few. A lot of them out there.
But there's another, relatively new, magazine - an online magazine that's getting a lot of attention. It's called "Inspire" magazine. But the name of the magazine kind of belies the content in its pages. It's reportedly published by al-Qaeda. In its latest edition, the magazine is calling last month's bomb plot in Yemen - you know, the ones with the - the bombs reportedly on those cargo planes - well, they're calling it "a success."
According to this, "Inspire" magazine said the operation was called Operation Hemorrhage. Also says the attacks cost about $4,200 in all - just a few of the details it was giving out. It also praised the destructiveness and death toll from the Sept. 11 attacks. Also gives a chilling omen as to what may be coming next.
Give you one quote here from this article from "Inspire" magazine. It says - quote - "It is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve less players and less time to launch, and thus we may circumvent the security barriers America worked so hard to erect." It says, "the tragedy of a thousand cuts," as they call it.
Well, when the pope says the use of condoms can be justified in an instance, at first this might sound like a major shift in philosophy for the Vatican. That's not necessarily the case.
That story coming up.
Also, time for me to say good morning to my good friend Reynolds Wolf.
Hello there, sir. REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Really? That's what you're going to lead into me with?
HOLMES: All right, man.
WOLF: I - hey - hey, it happens. News is the news.
And part of the news today is going to be your weather forecast for people traveling across the nation, trying to see their loved ones. How will weather hamper those travels? We're going to tell you how weather's going to hamper those travels, coming up in a few moments.
We'll see you in a bit.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, Reynolds.
And once again, to our men and women, American fighting forces all around the country - around the world, I should say, who are watching us on the Armed Forces Network - maybe you can't keep up with your favorite team and some of the military academies. We'll get you caught up right now.
(MUSIC, DESTINY'S CHILD, "SURVIVOR")
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Ah, look at that scene. Can you tell where this is? This is at Graceland, the home of the rock legend Elvis Presley. They did this yesterday. They do it every year; they light up the place for the holidays.
And as you can see there - and Reynolds is about to join me here in a moment - and Reynolds, I believe it was about 70 degrees and sunny yesterday around Memphis.
WOLF: It was a ...
HOLMES: Wasn't it a pretty nice day?
WOLF: Pretty incredible there. Rest - rest of the nation, not quite as lucky. We've had some - certainly some rough stuff around a good part of the nation. But in Memphis, you got to enjoy it while you can.
HOLMES: They had to ship in some snow to just make it feel like the holidays. They had it - they had it going. But a nice scene there.
WOLF: Some - some might argue though that when you make that drive along Union Avenue in Memphis, every day's a holiday. You know what I'm saying? I mean, it's a special place.
HOLMES: You - you sure you've been on Union lately?
WOLF: It's been awhile.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: But the memories are still there. They're blurred memories nonetheless. But trust me, those memories still exist.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: And some help with some of the travel. Josh Levs looking at some tips for you - Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. You know, there's a lot that you can actually find out in advance of your trip that might help you.
We're going to tell you how to get through security faster, including which specific luggage locks to use. Also, how to pack.
Plus, I've got a look for you at which airports even have the advanced imaging technology we keep hearing about.
All that's coming right up, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. But first, for our viewers, our weekly "News Quiz" for you. We've got a - a holiday-shopping quiz for you.
The November sales predictions are up for most electronic devices. Projections though are down for one particular item. Which one would you say it is?
Is it down for flat-screen televisions; camcorders; or mp3 players?
The answer coming up next.
It's 13 minutes past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, at 15 past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING - before the break, we asked about sales predictions. November sales projections are down for which of these devices for November: flat- screen TVs, camcorders or mp3 players?
If you said camcorders, you would be correct. Can we get a little ding? The sale of the cameras expected to drop from 2.65 million in October to 2.4 million in November. By comparison though, consumers are expected to buy more than 10 million flat-screen televisions.
Now, so much of the talk of the past week and so much news coverage has been dedicated to what's been happening - happening at this nation's airport, those all-intrusive pat-downs people have been talking about, those body-image scanners. We've been trying our best to give you all the information we can, give you the facts, debunk the myths. We've been trying to keep it in perspective for you.
But nobody can really put it in perspective like "Saturday Night Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want to feel contact in certain special places?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then why not go through security at an airport?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: TSA agents are ready and standing by to give you a little something extra to feel thankful about this holiday season.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The TSA.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you waiting for? I want to check under your testicles.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The TSA.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Spending time with a TSA agent couldn't be easier. Simply book a flight departing from any American airport. When selected for a full-body scanner, say "no."
You'll be pulled by aside by a TSA agent, and that's when the fun begins. And you'll never know who your agent will be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Or me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Or even me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's probably going to be us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK, "Saturday Night Live" has been for years kind of making fun and skits about what people have to go through through the security lines. But they clearly nailed it on this one and what's been happening at the airports and in the news coverage is giving them plenty to work off on.
But it is certainly something that I'm sure John Pistole, the TSA administrator, doesn't necessarily appreciate that being out there as he's trying to get the message out. What is really a serious situation for a lot of people, what they're having to go through at the airport, and they don't appreciate it.
Josh Levs with some tips on helping you get through the airport right now though.
LEVS: I had not seen that yet. That is so funny. That's going to be viral for the next couple of months. Oh man.
All right, folks. Let's do this - this is some information that could help you maybe even avoid some of what they're joking about over there.
I want to talk you through it, then I'm going to show you online where you can get a lot of facts that will help you.
First of all, big picture - talk about perspective, like T.J. was just saying. The Air Transport Association is expecting 24 million to be traveling over this holiday, which boils down to about 1.3 million to 2.5 million people a day. And it's only a tiny fraction of that massive group that is likely to face any of the more-intrusive - like, the things like - like - like, pat-downs. So statistically, you're unlikely to fact it. But let's keep going here.
You have heard a lot about the advanced imaging technology. Let's zoom way in on this. These are the airports that I've marked for you on this map over here - get in as far as you can - these orange marks are where the air - the airports that currently have advanced-imaging technology. You've heard about them; the ones that take those images of your body. And even then, not everyone faces them. But some people in those airports - and there's a whole list for you of which airports have them. And I'm about to show you.
Now, a few tips to help you get through the line more quickly and maybe not have to face some of the tipper - tougher measures.
One from the TSA is how to pack. And they teach you on their website how to pack in layers, instead of a big fat mess like this. They say, if you follow these rules, pack in layers, you're less likely to have a problem and you're going to get through more quickly.
Also - I didn't know about this one; I've just been learning this. The TSA recognizes only certain locks - only certain types of locks on luggage. And if you stick to these, you're more likely to get through the line a lot faster. We also link you to which locks are the ones to use.
And the - finally, keep this mind; a lot of people forget this time of year: Don't wrap gifts. You're bringing Christmas gifts, maybe - birthday gifts, whatever it is, wherever you're traveling. Don't wrap them. They're going to end up being unwrapped.
Now let me show you my page, because I've linked a lot of stuff for you up at Facebook this morning. I'm at johslevscnn. And the main link that I'm giving you right there is to a special section that we have at CNN.com, all about holiday shopping that shows you the vast majority of what I just talked to you through.
So check it out. That can be your one-stop guide, really, to get a lot of helpful information as you face the airports in the coming days, especially if you're among those 24 million people who are doing it over the Thanksgiving holiday.
So T.J., it's another part of our goal here at CNN, help everyone get through the holiday-travel experience as pain-free as possible.
HOLMES: All right, Josh. Thank you.
LEVS: You got it.
HOLMES: Well, coming up, more than 80,000 U.S. military personnel are still missing. They are still missing from wars that happened decades and decades ago.
Well, with the help now of today's technology, the search goes on one soldier at a time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's 24 minutes past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'll give you a look at some of the stories that are making headlines.
And certainly, the pope, some of his latest statements are making headlines, because it seems to be some kind of a shift in the longstanding Vatican policy against contraceptives. The president - or, the pope, Pope Benedict, said now in its quotes that he gave in an interview for an upcoming book - he said - gave an example of a time when condoms might be acceptable to use.
The example he used was when possibly a male prostitute has HIV and wants to keep from spreading it to someone else.
Take a listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's terribly inconsistent. I think it's pretty modern thinking, frankly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My problem with the whole deal with (ph), is he's again being very selective. If you understand the HIV issue in Africa, the - the majority of people are in relationships in - with wives and husbands. So to target only prostitutes, he's missing the boat, which is what he does regularly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, we turn to North Korea now, where it's been reported that there is a new - a brand-new uranium-enrichment facility. This was reported by a U.S. professor who was traveling there. He was allowed to see it but wasn't allowed to take pictures of it.
Well, now it seems that a U.S. State Department team is going to be heading to North Korea now. The administration is calling this another provocative act. It appears this new facility was designed for nuclear-power production, however easily converted - could be easily converted to produce highly enriched uranium for bombs.
Also, the search continues now for a gunman who shot - who shot a park ranger in Utah several times. Authorities believe this gunman who shot the park ranger is wounded himself. The two were in a shootout on Friday. You have over a hundred law-enforcement officers now involved in this search; the park ranger who was shot is recovering and is expected to survive.
Now can you imagine this: One of your loved ones missing in action for decades, just not every knowing what happened to them? That is, in fact, the case for many family members of U.S. service members.
But new technology now may be able to help in the search.
Lisa Amin (sic) of our CNN affiliate KGO explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CRAIG DESOTO, SON OF MIA SOLDIER: You never have the body to - to put it to rest, to end the - the - the saga.
LISA AMIN GULEZIAN, KGO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Desotos' struggle has lasted 41 years. That's when Ernest (ph) Desoto disappeared while fighting in Vietnam.
JOYCE DESOTO, WIFE OF MIA SOLDIER: We took him to the bus. And that was the last time I saw him.
And he said to my mom and dad, 'Take care of her for me.'
GULEZIAN: On April 12, 1969, the airman's plane was shot down.
J. DESOTO: I never thought he was dead. I thought, when the war was over, that maybe he would come home.
GULEZIAN: But the father of three never did. Now, his wife and son are turning to the Department of Defense for help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody has an archive.
GULEZIAN: Every two years, the feds come to the Bay Area to meet with families of servicemen who are still considered missing in action.
VIRGIL FREEMAN, BROTHER OF MIA SOLDIER: My brother and one other person went missing - missing in action. Overnight, they had no idea what - what happened to them.
GULEZIAN: For some, it's become their life's mission to find out what happened. Virgil Freeman is 90; his younger brother disappeared while fighting in the Korean War.
FREEMAN: It was hard for me.
GULEZIAN: At least now science is on their side. Family members gave DNA samples to the government.
(on camera): Oftentimes, scientists don't even have the missing soldier's DNA. That's why it's important to test a lot of people in the family to try to figure it out, including brothers, cousins and even the soldier's own children.
JENNIE MCMAHON, DNA ANALYST: And when we get bone samples in from the missing service members and we test that, we can compare the DNA sequence from the missing service member's sample to the family reference, and we can hopefully make a connection and allow those individuals to be buried.
GULEZIAN (voice-over): It's the closure they need but fear they may never get.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, 83,000 service members are still listed as missing in action.
Well coming up, the rescue effort to save 29 New Zealand miners who are trapped underground is on hold. They haven't been able to move forward with possibly trying to reach those miners. We'll explain why. That's next.
We're going up on the bottom of the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Bottom of the hour here now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes.
The president, he is back home this morning, landed just after 10:00 last night. Of course, he was in Portugal for that two-day NATO summit. He brought a couple of things back with him, a couple of things on his plate, a couple of big concerns from that meeting.
Certainly, when will U.S. troops be coming home from Afghanistan, to also a lot of talk about reducing nuclear weapons. The president is urging Congress to approve the START treaty. You hear about that so often. It's the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Again, he - this is a deal he made with the Russians earlier this year, but still, it needs to be approved by Congress.
Also, NATO agreed to turn over security in Afghanistan to the Afghan military by 2014, using the term "transition" instead of "withdrawal." NATO and Afghanistan agreed to a long term partnership that will continue even after that 2014 date.
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, with more on the president's trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: After two days of summits with European allies, President Obama outlined a new timetable for the Afghan war, when U.S. and NATO troops will start to come home. Now, the big question is whether or not this plan is realistic.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): It's the closest thing to an exit strategy President Obama could get.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We agreed that early 2011 will mark the beginning of a transition to Afghan responsibility, and we adopted the goal of Afghan forces taking the lead for security across the country by the end of 2014.
MALVEAUX: U.S. and NATO troops remaining in Afghanistan would be focused on training Afghan security forces. Afghan leader Hamid Karzai signed the pact earlier with NATO allies, expressing optimism.
HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: We are confident that the transition will succeed to the Afghan authority, leadership, and ownership, because I found today strong commitment by the international community.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: I don't foresee ISAF troops in a combat role beyond 2014.
MALVEAUX: But the agreement is, at best, a goal. Privately, there is real skepticism that the Afghan government will be ready to provide security and services to its people.
The new NATO agreement bluntly states for the Afghan government, corruption remains a central challenge to be addressed.
BAN KI-MOON, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: We must be guided by realities, not schedules.
MALVEAUX: Russia's president Dmitri Medvedev also suggested Afghanistan may not be ready.
DMITRI MEDVEDEV, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Whether it's foreseeable in the forthcoming future, I don't know. I have some doubts there.
MALVEAUX: President Obama himself seemed to leave the door open about whether U.S. troops would still be fighting in Afghanistan after 2014. When asked if he'd keep U.S. combat troops there after the proposed deadline, he said -
OBAMA: So, I'll always do what's necessary to keep the American people safe, and maybe that'll be the case in 2014.
MALVEAUX: But President Obama is eager to get U.S. forces out of this unpopular war. He's already pledged to start pulling out American troops in July of next year. NATO allies are even less patient.
RASMUSSEN: By the end of next year, we have set the goal to have 300,000 Afghan soldiers and Afghan police.
MALVEAUX: Several countries have already said their troops will not remain in combat indefinitely. A senior British official said British prime minister David Cameron repeated here that no matter how violent Afghanistan is at the end of 2014, the British will end combat operations by the next year. MALVEAUX (on camera): It's clear the Obama administration is under a great deal of pressure to defeat the Taliban and try to make sure that Afghanistan is stabilized as quickly as possible. At the same time, the president wants to reiterate that outside of a combat role, the U.S. will support the Afghan people for many years to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, we just saw a video a short time ago. We showed you, you know, the - the miners from Chile. They're here in the U.S. They attended our "CNN Heroes" event last night. And you remember how everyone was celebrating that time - the time all of them were coming out one by one.
Well, they're hoping for a similar scene at some point in New Zealand, because 29 miners are still trapped after that explosion that happened on Friday. But they haven't been able to start the rescue yet. They've still been trying to check the air quality levels to make sure it's safe, and, right now, the gas levels are still too high to try to rescue those 29 men. They're trapped about a mile and a half from the mine's entrance.
But this one's a little different from the ones in Chile. These guys were a mile down. These guys, you see from this picture here, it's a mile horizontally. So the shaft runs horizontally, not vertically.
Now, we have new details as well about the two men who managed to escape. Daniel Rockhouse is one of them. Two men actually got out after the explosion. One is Daniel Rockhouse. He walked about a mile in the dark through smoke. He was spraying fresh air in his face from the ventilation valves to help him navigate through.
The mining company CEO says Rockhouse find - found another man, Russell Smith, lying on the ground, put his arm around him, and then walked him out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER WHITTALL, CEO, PIKE RIVER COAL: It was very interesting, and obviously quite distressing to - to listen to Daniel's story of - of coming from the mine and how he got out and - and the fact that he got out OK and he's now home with his wife and his family and his father and mother and his other brother.
But - but as I said - as I said the other day, there's not a lot of detailed information they can give because both of them only had - had their own experience, and none one of them were - were far enough into the mine to actually know where the explosion initiated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Daniel Rockhouse, we were talking about, his father is actually the mine's safety director. His brother is one of the 29 men still trapped in that mine.
We'll keep a close eye on that story.
HOLMES: Well, when you hear someone tell you that they are going to take a vacation to Amsterdam, you might make some assumptions. One of those assumptions might be is that they're going to partake in some of the, I don't know, extracurricular activities in Amsterdam.
As you know, marijuana is legal there. But, slow down. Our Nadia Bilchik is going to be joining me next. Things might be a- changing, and you might want to change your ticket to Amsterdam, if you're going for that reason, at least.
Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. It's 20 minutes past the hour.
Nadia, let me go ahead and just - you just threw me off there. Nadia Bilchik joining me, and right before she - we started - I don't know if you all were able to hear her. She said, well, I couldn't bring weed. We - we can explain that. We have a story here.
We were able to bring wine, but she couldn't bring weed, and the story we're talking about here is out of Amsterdam. A lot of people, as we know, tourists, they go because they can get their hands on marijuana there.
It is technically illegal - technically - but it's been sold openly for years in marijuana cafes there. Now, the government wants to stop those cafes from selling weed, at least to tourists. We're just talking about tourists here, right?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes.
HOLMES: OK. We're going to get to that in just a second. But let's get to the wine first.
BILCHIK: Yes.
HOLMES: Why did you bring me wine this morning?
BILCHIK: Why I bought you wine this morning as a gift to you is because on Thursday of this week there was a grand celebration all over France and in French restaurants throughout the world because the young Beaujolais Nouveau wine is released to all.
So what happens is in the Beaujolais District, when the young wine is released at midnight, it gets shared and grand celebrations take place, and 60 million bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau are distributed around the world. Around half of those go to America and Japan, and now Seoul in Korea.
And, in fact, this year they were very concerned in the Beaujolais region because they need 40,000 people to pick the crops, and because of the increased good economy in France, there was concern that there weren't going to be all these people to pick the grapes. So, they thought they may not meet the crop. But, luckily, they managed to publicize it and people came, and we now have the young Beaujolais wine.
And it's celebrated. If - if you have a lot of French restaurants all over, you have great menus. Wine purists are a bit concerned because they go, this is only a publicity stunt. My feeling is any opportunity to celebrate, let's take it, which is why I bought you a bottle of wine.
HOLMES: Why - why so celebrated? Remind our viewers here. Why this - why the region, why this wine so celebrated?
BILCHIK: Well, Beaujolais is one of the most famous wine districts in the entire world. We know France is synonymous with wine, and, on this evening, they say let's celebrate by at midnight introducing the new, young Beaujolais wine.
HOLMES: All right. We're going to go from wine to weed now.
BILCHIK: Yes.
HOLMES: Amsterdam, for years, everyone has known, you can, as a tourist, go over and openly buy this stuff.
BILCHIK: Only in certain places.
HOLMES: Certain places -
BILCHIK: And not (ph) in coffee shops.
HOLMES: Why would they want to change that now?
BILCHIK: Well, there's an increasingly right wing government that has come to power in the Netherlands, in Holland, and they're saying, we don't only want to be seen as a place to go and buy weed. And what the justice minister says is, of course tourists are welcome to visit the Netherlands, but not only to visit the coffee shops.
And, by the way, it's not coffee shops, it's coffee (ph) shops, and that's the only place. There are now about 300 of them where you can buy hashish and cannabis openly. He says in the near future, if we work out the processes, the coffee shops will not be accessible to tourists.
Now, right now, the municipality of Amsterdam is saying he thinks they're doing a fine job, but in the outlying areas they have, in fact, banned cannabis and hashish to tourists.
HOLMES: OK. OK, one last thing. You say they don't want to be known for bringing tourists over for marijuana. OK, what do they want tourists to come over for? What - what is going to be the new campaign?
BILCHIK: Daffodils -
HOLMES: Daffodils? BILCHIK: -- and windmills.
HOLMES: Daffodils and windmills?
BILCHIK: And maybe wine.
HOLMES: And maybe wine.
Nadia Bilchik, as always, we appreciate you. Thank you so much. We're going to be checking in with Nadia again this morning.
Well, a story we were talking about here yesterday, everybody was on the edge of their seat wondering what was going to happen at Wrigley Field yesterday. Two teams playing there a football game, a football game at a baseball stadium. There were some safety concerns, and both teams had to use only one end zone going the same direction.
How did that play out? We'll let you know.
Also, for our military men and women who are watching us around the world right now on the Armed Forces Network, maybe not able to keep up with your favorite team all the time. We've got you covered right now, including some scores from your military academies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: About a quarter to the top of the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Welcome on back.
Giving you a beautiful shot there, as you saw, of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, the lights not quite out, if you will, outside, the sun not up just yet. But we'll be showing you those live pictures as well of CNN, our downtown headquarters, our CNN World Headquarters here in downtown Atlanta.
Going to be a fairly nice day, I do believe. A gorgeous day yesterday. Didn't feel - are we officially in winter, by the way?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Winter officially begins on December 21st. But -
HOLMES: That's a long time.
WOLF: Yes. But - but try telling that to a guy out in California, digging, you know, some snow out of the front walk.
That's going to be the situation, if you're tuning in this morning from - say, from Truckee, California, maybe even over towards Salt Lake City, perhaps even Denver. If you're in Denver, no snow for you just yet, but your neighbors just down to the west, they're getting pounded at this point. It's great for skiers, not so much for travels.
And speaking of travel, already we're going to get some delays. San Francisco, SFO, grand delays, about 45 minutes; Los Angeles, about a 30-minute wait for you. That's the reason why you've got CNN at the airports. You can sit back, watch us, enjoy your coffee, and - and board when you can. It's all about safety, guys.
Let's show you what we've got. Right now, things are perfectly safe in parts of the southeast, and just picture perfect for you. But if you look out towards the - the upper Midwest, you se a little bit of snow developing up along the arrowhead of Minnesota and into parts of North Dakota. That is merely the beginning. Heavier snowfall is on the way.
You want to talk about heavy snow? Got to go out west. You're seeing it mostly coming in onshore, mainly just light to moderate rain - rainfall. You'll notice, again, it's the green and the - and the blues popping up on radar.
But notice a little bit of pink popping up, right as it gets to the coastal range, and that moisture goes right upslope, interacts with that cooler air loft (ph). That's where it's going to switch over to snow. Snow falling, possibly several feet of snow before the day is over in parts of the Cascades. Not the Cascades. I'm sorry. Into the Sierra Nevada.
Farther to the north than the Cascades, they will be getting snowfall, but certainly not as much, as you'll notice, in parts of the Wasatch Range or even in the central or northern Rockies before the day is out.
And, again, back to that snowfall, we're seeing Northern Minnesota - I don't think we're going to see a lot of that in Minneapolis, St. Paul for days. It's going to stay up to the north, towards, Duluth, but later on, we can see that really begin to pick up in days to come.
And, as we wrap things up, what I want you to notice very quickly, this area of low pressure. This thing is going to pull its way to the east over the next several days. On Wednesday and Thursday it can cause widespread delays across the Great Lakes.
Forty-eight degrees, your high in Seattle today; 67 in Phoenix; 46 New York; and 72 in Atlanta; Kansas City with 68 degrees.
T.J., that is a quick snapshot of your forecast. Let's just hop on over to you, and I think we're going to be switching gears, talking not about some winter weather, but more like a - a nice fall sport.
HOLMES: We were concerned about a lot of things yesterday at Wrigley Field. Wrigley Field, of course, the home of the - the Cubs, but there's a football game played in there yesterday, Northwestern and Illinois.
The game was really of no consequence, for the most part, for these two teams. Didn't have any national championship implications or anything like that. But look at that sign, "wrong way!"
What that kind of alludes to, you see the wall right under him, in one end zone? That end zone was not used at all yesterday. The teams literally went one way the whole - that's great stuff.
WOLF: That is nice.
HOLMES: The entire game, they went one way because it's hard to fit, you know, a football field on a baseball stadium.
WOLF: Absolutely.
You know, to be honest, the - the Chicago Bears used to play there. Their last game was actually there back in the 1970s, but that was before Wrigley decided to add in some additional seats.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: With the additional seats, you have a little bit more of a confined space, and -
HOLMES: You can put it that way.
WOLF: -- you've got to make the most of it.
HOLMES: Yes. But, again, folks, there was -- there's a brick wall is what we're talking about, at the end of that end zone, they didn't use. Literally, it's inches to a foot or more. They had it padded.
But you're talking about a brick wall. And if these guys are running - these amazing athletes running full speed into the back of the end zone and run into that thing, there were concerns about their safety even though they didn't think about those concerns until Friday before the game.
They had - literally, this has been in the works for years to put this together. Everybody signed off, and in the last minute, they said, oh, yes, we might have a problem here. Now, the game itself was a blowout. It wasn't that interesting.
WOLF: The only good thing about it that came, if you're a fan of Ron Zook, he may have saved his tenure, his time at Illinois. So that's certainly great.
But that's not the only game that was played in a baseball facility, was it?
HOLMES: Yes, Yankee Stadium. They did - you know, I mean, it's - it's - you can't say nostalgic because this is the new Yankee Stadium, of course. But Notre Dame taking on I believe Army yesterday, yes, a blow - a blowout yesterday as well. But, you know, they just like to change the venues up, maybe start having more of these.
And, again, it could be fun, exciting, and it can be a money- making venture as well. But a couple of games in baseball stadiums, both of them blowouts, but one had more interest than the other for some reasons.
WOLF: Whatever. It's fine.
HOLMES: All right.
WOLF: You know, my thing is baseball should be played in baseball cathedrals and football should be played in football field - you know, grid irons are grid irons and baseball places are baseball places and why mix it up?
HOLMES: Agreed.
WOLF: Just saying.
HOLMES: Reynolds, thank you, buddy.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: Well, coming up, the Chilean miners had a bit of a coming out party, like one you've never seen before. We'll have highlights of their big "CNN HEROES" debut. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We're about six minutes to the top of the hour now.
On Thanksgiving night, CNN will honor the top 10 CNN heroes of the year. And this year, though, the network paid special tribute to those 33 miners, you know, those miners in Chile, that were trapped underground for 69 days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: On behalf of CNN HEROES, we salute all 33 Chilean miners. We welcome them here tonight and we welcome them home.
HOLMES (voice-over): CNN flew the miners and some of the rescuers to Los Angeles for the taping of the show. The miners said they thank the world for their rescue. Then they broke into song. They broke into the Chilean National Anthem. They were doing all this to a standing ovation there. They did talk to our Anderson Cooper about the note they scribbled on a piece of paper, which was the first confirmation that they were alive.
MARIO SEPULVEDA ESPIANCE, CHILEAN MINER (through translator): We had a note prepared, a letter ready to send out. Otherwise, we would have forgotten everything, because it was such an exciting situation. So that is why we wrote the note.
COOPER: Did you write it out before the drill came? And did you know the drill was coming?
JOSE OJEDA VIDAL, CHILEAN MINER (through translator): Yes. The minute we heard them drilling, the minute it started, I wrote, "We are OK in the shelter, the 33 of us."
JOHN LEGEND, SINGER: (SINGING "WAKE UP EVERYBODY").
HOLMES: You know, what you're seeing there, just a sample of what you'll see on Thanksgiving night. It's John Legend there, of course, getting a little assist from Common and Melanie Fiona with a little "Wake Up Everybody." Also, Bon Jovi, Sugarland going to be performing.
And, of course the Fourth Annual "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE", a celebration of everyday folks who are doing extraordinary things Thanksgiving night, 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific right here on CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, as we have been reporting this morning, the Pope is making an exception. He says there are times when condoms are acceptable. We'll explain. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning.
The president is now taking about those new TSA procedures that have caused an uproar. You'll hear whether he thinks the TSA has gone too far.
From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia; 6:00 a.m. in Memphis, Tennessee -- wherever you may be, glad you're right here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Well, Pope Benedict has surprised a lot of people around the world, with the recent comment on the use of condoms, saying in some cases they may be morally acceptable. The pope gave the example of someone trying to prevent the spread of AIDS. As you know, the church has had a longstanding stance on the use of condoms or any other artificial contraception.
Amanda Farinacci of CNN affiliate New York 1 with the reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA FARINACCI, NEW YORK 1 REPORTER (voice-over): Condoms for Catholics are OK in certain situations -- that according to the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, Pope Benedict. His comments come from an interview he did for a new book that's coming out Tuesday. The Vatican newspaper published excerpts Saturday.
According to the book, Benedict says condoms can be used to prevent HIV. Quote, "In certain cases where the intention is to reduce the risk of infection. It can nevertheless be a first step on a way to another, more humane sexuality."
ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY DOLAN, ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK: I'm eager to find exactly what he said in the context. It's going to be important. He's like -- for us, he's like Merrill Lynch, when he talks, we listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's terrible inconsistent. I think it's pretty modern for him frankly. FARINACCI: Pope Benedict's comments are a huge shift from his former stance. In 2009, he sparked controversy while visiting AIDS- ravaged Africa, telling reporters that the disease was a tragedy that cannot be overcome by distributing condoms. Now, in an apparent shift, he said a male prostitute using a condom is justified.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm surprised, but I'm also very thankful for those comments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's tackling the social issues of the day. I think as Catholics, we take them one at a time. It's not going to happen all at once, but it's a process. And I agree with what the pope's doing.
FARINACCI (on camera): Still, some Catholics say there's an element of contradiction in the Pope Benedict's comments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My problem with the whole deal is he's again being very selective. If you understand the HIV issue in Africa, the majority of people are in relationships with wives and husbands. So, to target only prostitutes, he's missing the boat, which is what he does regularly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's contradicting the religion. So, then that's stupid. He shouldn't be -- he shouldn't be contradicting the religion that he believes in.
FARINACCI (voice-over): Still, when asked if he believes the Catholic Church is fundamentally against the use of condoms, Pope Benedict answered that the church, quote, "of course does not see it as a real and moral solution." And he reiterated the church's position against contraception and said abstinence and marital fidelity are the best ways to prevent HIV.
At St. Patrick's Cathedral, Amanda Farinacci, New York 1.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, even though this has a lot of people talking about the comments. It even has people hopeful that maybe the Vatican is going to change course on this issue.
Our senior Vatican analyst John Allen says the comments don't necessarily rise to that level of changing official policy just yet.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: He used the example of a male prostitute, but he said more generally, if the intention is to reduce infection, then that could be a movement that could be morally acceptable. Which could also -- although the pope doesn't say this explicitly, it could also apply to a situation of a heterosexual couple, a married couple, in which one partner is HIV positive and the other isn't. A number of Catholic theologians and even a Vatican commission back in 2006 have recommended that in those circumstances, the use of condoms might be justifiable. (END AUDIO CLIP)
HOLMES: And one priest now saying that what makes this newsworthy is that the pope is talking about any exception. Until now, there were no exceptions.
We're about four minutes past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Stick around. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Seven minutes past the hour now.
President Obama is now telling us what he thinks about the TSA pat down controversy. The president was asked about it at a NATO press conference what he thought about the new screening methods passengers must endure at airports. He says that it's a balancing act. You're trying to balance safety with privacy concerns.
He says that's a tough situation, but says the TSA assuring him that the new procedures are the most effective way to prevent an attack like the attempted Christmas Day bombing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I understand people's frustrations, and what I've said to the TSA is that you have to constantly refine and measure whether what we're doing is the only way to assure the American people's safety. And you also have to think through are there ways of doing it that are less intrusive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The TSA administrator, John Pistole, you have seen him out and about a lot lately. He is on Capitol Hill testifying, been doing some interviews. Well, he is out there talking to you directly, the passenger.
They have posted a new video online. You're seeing it here. He doesn't really -- he doesn't at all, I should say -- say anything's going to be changing. Just trying to go through and explain the procedures a little better to passengers and help them navigate through it when they do get to the airport.
You have seen so much outrage about this story. A lot of it comes from people who have been going through those pat-downs and the scanners, and they're telling about their experiences online, spreading the word some kind of way. I lot of people just haven't gone through it yet, but they've been reacting to what they heard others talk about.
Let's hear from the passengers directly here now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I already feel like it's too much to go through security and get patted down by random people you don't know. The last time I traveled to Greensboro and came through this airport, I was wearing, you know, yoga pants and a sweatshirt, and I was on crutches. They felt it was like necessary to like pat me down and do all that. And I already think that's going too far.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I always believe there's a balance in everything that has to be struck, and I think that being safe on a plane is important, and I think -- again, I think having the electronic or using the technology as a scanning mechanism rather than having somebody actually, you know, doing a pat down on me is a way to keep that balance.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HOLMES: And we mentioned John Pistole, the TSA administrator, he is going to be a guest with our Candy Crowley this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION."
Also joining Candy will be Representative John Mica. He's the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee. He is one that has been out there trying to convince a lot of airports, get rid of TSA all together. Use private screeners.
They'll both be coming up, 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, for "STATE OF THE UNION," right here on CNN.
And we knew this was going to happen. It was just a matter of time, wasn't it, before somebody started making money off of that quote? A quote that a lot of people say really sums up this whole mess in one succinct sentence: "Don't touch my junk."
Check this out now. Take a look at the video. You see those T- shirts. Can you read what they say? It actually says, "It's OK, touch my junk."
One man took that one line synonymous with the drama. He put it on a T-shirt and voila, he's turned a serious airport story into some profit.
Now, the idea came from Frank Keppler, that's his name. He's partner in Brew City T-shirts. Brew City is known for jumping onto hot topics quickly with clever T-shirts. We don't know how many he has sold just yet.
Well, Thanksgiving, as we know, coming up in just a few days. Big part of it -- yes, it's great to get together with family. But a big part of getting together with family is getting that food.
Well, we headed out here yesterday, didn't we, Reynolds? Not me and Reynolds, but we had a doctor who's certainly trying to help us all stay a little healthier, but trying to get you to alter your menu just a bit. You'll see whether or not it worked on Reynolds and I. That's coming up.
Hey, buddy.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, a valiant effort nonetheless. No question about it.
You know, before you get those holiday goodies, you have to get to that place for the holidays. Your friends, your neighbors, your relatives, you've got to get there and you got to travel. And that could be kind of a trip (ph) for a lot of people in the country, not just in the U.S., but also our neighbors in the north.
Good morning, Toronto. You see on side of the screen, you see the CN Tower. It needs one more N, don't you think? I do, too. See you in a little bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: Hello and good morning, New York City. Beautiful shot. Always a beautiful shot of New York City.
It always looks like it's beautiful weather there, Reynolds. Is that the case?
WOLF: Yes. Well, you know, it depends where you happen to be. I mean, say, it's in February when they have blizzards. They always get the rough winter weather. I mean, it always comes in New York. You can have it.
But these are the days you have to enjoy.
HOLMES: You can enjoy today, though, in New York.
WOLF: Oh, my gosh.
HOLMES: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Today (INAUDIBLE), up and down the Eastern Seaboard is the story of the haves and have-nots. It's going to be great for the east into the Midwest. It gets somewhat OK. Then when you get out to the west, it is really not going to be fun for a lot of people if you have to travel.
Let's go out to the west and you can already see rain up and down the west coast. If you happen to be on 101 or even the coastal highway itself, you're going to be dealing with some heavy showers, especially places like Big Sur. But then when you get into the Rockies, a lot of this switches over to some heavy, heavy snowfall, especially outside the Salt Lake City, the Wasatch Range, some places up to one to two feet.
We've got some video we're going to share with you. Let's go right to that video. And what is it going to be? Well, that's going to be the snow and that's what people are going to be dealing with.
Take a look at that. That happens to be a situation you're going to have along parts of I-80, I-70, bumper to bumper traffic. A lot of people really need to take it really carefully up there. Your stopping distance is going to be really limited. You're going to have definitely a tough time.
Watch out for CHP, especially in places like Truckee, California, outside of -- again, a few places like Lake Tahoe, certainly going to be some rough traveling.
Again, T.J., one thing very quickly to mention to you, few delays that we got for you. San Francisco, ground stoppage of 45 minutes and LAX, we got a 30-minute wait. That is going to increase, I'm telling you, possibly in excess of an hour before the morning is out.
Back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, buddy, appreciate you. Thanks so much.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: Of course, a lot of people out there on the road and in the skies, they're trying to get to the Thanksgiving meal. You're planning on piling on as much as you can on the plate.
But there is a number, a target number of calories you need to limit yourself to. We had a good doctor in here the other day, just yesterday, Dr. Felicia Wade, trying to tell us all to stay within that number, and how to change all of momma's and grandmomma's and all those recipes that have been passed down over the years, alter them a bit to fit into a more nutritious Thanksgiving meal.
See if she convinced us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: I have a fairly traditional meal that I cook, I grew up. Momma or grandmomma, granddaddy, everybody could cook in the family, all right? Let's look at this.
All right. Honey baked ham. We don't have a holiday without that honey baked ham. All right. You got turkey. I stuff it with vegetables, though, but a lot of butter in there, too. It's delicious.
DR. FELICIA WADE, EMERGENCY MEDICINE: How much butter, T.J.?
HOLMES: A couple of sticks in the whole -- over time. Why are you all laughing?
OK, macaroni and cheese, jiffy corn bread and green beans. OK, let's leave that up. I put a little bacon and onions in the green beans. What is your problem with that menu right there?
WADE: OK, T.J., let's start with the ham.
HOLMES: OK.
WADE: Can we start with the ham?
HOLMES: Start with the ham.
WADE: Do you know how much sodium is in the ham, T.J.?
HOLMES: Enough to make it delicious.
WADE: In ham, in three ounces, just three ounces, there's 1,000 milligrams of sodium.
HOLMES: That's bad?
WADE: Yes, that's bad, T.J.
HOLMES: OK.
WADE: Take that ham, put it in a big pot of water before they cook it in the oven. I want them to put that in that pot, soak it in that pot, OK, on the stove, boil it so all of that sodium comes out in the water. I want them to pour that pot of water in the sink and then I want to bake it in the often, OK?
HOLMES: OK. And how's it going to taste afterwards?
WADE: It's going to taste fine.
HOLMES: Let me give you the other screen. Give me that second screen with the stuff on it. Now, I have a sweet potato pie. I do use sweet potatoes.
WADE: Yes.
HOLMES: Lemon meringue pie, corn bread dressing and mashed potatoes. Now, what -- do you have issues take --
WADE: The corn bread dressing -- can we change it up a little bit and do whole grain bread? Can we do whole grain bread? Four cornbread muffins, we mix them together.
HOLMES: OK. So, some cornbread in there?
WADE: Yes. Some cornbread.
HOLMES: OK.
WADE: And then what we have is we have mushrooms in there. We have onions. A little bit of low sodium chicken broth. So, you know how to cook.
HOLMES: All right.
WADE: You put that all together.
HOLMES: OK.
WADE: And so instead of 89 milligrams of cholesterol, we now have 59. It tastes very similar.
HOLMES: Dr. Wade is trying to save our lives here literally. Some good advice on what you should and should not be eating and changing -- some little minor tweaks to your recipe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And you didn't see the part there where she said you shouldn't use a regular-sized plate. You should actually use a saucer. The little like -- yes, the saucer, that's what you should actually use for your Thanksgiving meal.
Again, you do your thing. We're just trying to give you the information here. But we appreciate Dr. Wade, as always.
As we know, out there online, always some video that's going viral. Josh Levs is looking at the latest -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, OK. This one is going to get you talking.
Take a look at this. I was surprised by this, too. It is exactly what it looks like.
It is a flying lawn mower. Yes, it's real. You can control it. You can even buy one.
So, why does this thing exist? I'm going to tell you all about it, coming right up.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Twenty-one minutes past the hour. Check in with Josh Levs again for the viral videos that are making people laugh or wondering what's going on out there.
LEVS: Yes. You know, during the week, we keep an eye on this, to get to pull them out for you on weekends.
And this one, it's got a lot of people talking. Go ahead to this thing, and I'll tell you all about it. This is not something you expect to see flying ever. It's an actual flying lawnmower. It's from a company called FlyingThingz.com.
I was e-mailing with the guy who sells these, Tony Diaz. He told me he's a one-man operation that makes all sorts of funky things that fly.
And, by the way, this video is set to a little bit of Cotton Eyed Joe by Redneck.
So, why a flying lawnmower? Well, it turn heads, for one, he says. And he says when you go down to the air field, everyone has airplanes and helicopters, but few people have a lawnmower. There are some of these other devices he sells. In fact, on the Web site, he says nothing grabs that audience's attention like seeing a lawnmower soar through the sky. So true, love that video.
All right. Now, you think that's impressive? You haven't seen nothing yet. Look at this thing. Look at the images in this. This is actually an ad for a company called Style Stone.
What's amazing here isn't that it's so beautiful. What's amazing is nothing you're seeing is real. Nothing in this video exists. He created all of this through CGI. A guy named Alex Roman, who's considered one of the best CGI artists out there.
Every rock, every fruit, every everything was completely created on the computer. A little bit scary, but people are talking about the beauty of it. I mentioned this once on the air, and people are tweeting it around like crazy now.
All right. And it wouldn't be viral videos without the weekly adorable video. So, take a look this. This is adorable, kittens sleeping.
Now, at first, it looks cute. They're hanging out, they're sleeping. Everyone likes looking at that. But watch what's about to happen because there's something underneath one of the kittens.
What lies beneath an adorable kitten? There you go. Another adorable kitten using that one as a blanket.
I'll tell you, animals don't have to do anything. They can just sit there and be super cute. And people love it.
But my favorite video on the week will end on this one. Take a look at this. Speed flying over Norway and Sweden. This is from a YouTube channel, from a guy named Hal Vorangvik who takes this videos up, wing proximity jumping and something called speed flying, and jumps up over the mountain mountains, some incredible things, sets it to music.
And you can see as you follow it. Actually I skip -- I head to another section of the same video, you can see some of the amazing -- look at that. I mean, look what he's going around here.
This is some incredible skill. He's got another one right behind him taking video of them. I love all of this. I've linked all of it up for you at my Facebook page.
Take a look at that screen, Facebook.com/JoshLevsCNN. If you go there, you will see all the videos I just showed you. And some of your favorites and we will have some of them right here.
Hey, T.J., you're a cat guy, right? You have some cats. Did you ever see a cat sleep underneath another cat like that?
HOLMES: Yes, see it all the time, every day actually at the house. All right, Josh, we appreciate you. Thanks so much.
LEVS: You got it.
HOLMES: We've got our Rick Horrow coming up next. He's going to be telling us about the hot topics that are happening today in sports. And he's going to do them each in 30 seconds. One of those topics: the closest race in the history of NASCAR is going to be wrapping up today.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, a big day in sports today. We want to let you know what to keep an eye on. And for that, we want to join our Rick Horrow, or business and sports analyst, joining us with the top topics for today you need to look forward to. He's going to do them for -- in 30 seconds for us.
Good morning to you as always, Rick.
First of all, let's take this game today. The two best quarterbacks in football are going at it, but they're also a couple of the top two endorsers facing off as well, Peyton Manning and Brady.
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: My friend, yes. First of all, before we start the clock, I want to compliment you on your overtime win, Arkansas against Mississippi State yesterday, giving up 31 points. That's great defense.
HOLMES: Thank you.
HORROW: All right. Now, we're going to start the clock, right about NASCAR. It's the closest chase in NASCAR history for the other event.
But the football game, Peyton Manning, obviously, the Colts are hosting the Patriots, and the Patriots playing New England in Indianapolis.
We've got the number one endorser, Peyton Manning, 33 years old. Last year, he was the MVP. He has $15 million in endorsements, DirecTV, Sony, MasterCard.
Tom Brady, New England Patriots, in Boston, in New England, $10 million in endorsements, Movado, Vitamin Water (INAUDIBLE). Comeback player of the year.
Very quickly, he's married to a super model. Tom Brady is. Peyton Manning is not.
HOLMES: You went over time because you were too busy messing with me about the Razorbacks and you got off topic. And you went to NASCAR before you went to the football.
OK, NASCAR now. Can we do that now? Start his clock right now, Deidre. NASCAR, go.
HORROW: I think NASCAR much more important, but who asked me, right? The bottom line is the closest race, closest chase in NASCAR history. Kevin Harvick, Ken Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, any one of those drivers can win the entire tournament, the entire playoff with a win today. That's why it's the closest.
Jimmie Johnson, an unprecedented fifth in a row, which would be huge. NASCAR needs the pub -- 10 percent reduction in attendance, 20 percent reduction in viewership. The Dolphins and NASCAR even packaging tickets in homestead. We'll see if that helps today. Stop that bell.
HOLMES: All right. One more topic here, the UConn women, every game is a must-see because they have this streak going. They're going for number 81 in their wins now.
HORROW: It's huge. They play in your backyard there in Atlanta. They're playing Georgia Tech. Eighty straight regular season wins. It is unheard of.
They've survived a scare against Baylor on Tuesday night, as you know. Number two ranked team. They beat them by just one point.
The women's record, long since theirs. The men's record, 88, UCLA, they're closing in on that. Alexander Coliseum in Atlanta, they're thinking about even a sellout today for women's basketball, which is huge.
Very important to you, being a women's and men's basketball expert, my friend.
HOLMES: All right. Appreciate you. Rick Horrow, as always, thanks so much.
Enough with the good sports guys. It's time for the good doctor now, Sanjay.
