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American Morning
Tax Cut Fight; Al Qaeda Holiday Threat; British Court: Assange Can Be Freed on Bail; Vick Wants A Dog; Jets Coach Suspended "Indefinitely"; Bullock: People's "Woman Of The Year"; Long Live the "King"; Bagging the Gunman
Aired December 16, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Thursday morning to you. And thanks so much for joining us on this December the 16th. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.
We want to get you caught up on what's going on today.
Congress versus the clock essentially. Everyone's paycheck is set to shrink on New Year's Day. The House of Representatives taking up President Obama's tax cut deal. It's going to be a lot closer than it was in the Senate.
Democrats want some big changes and some Republicans are also calling it a bad deal. We're going to speak to one of them, Congressman Mike Pence, in a moment.
ROBERTS: Last year, there was the accused underwear bomber. Now, word of a new holiday season terror threat and we may have already seen the first wave of it. Nic Robertson with the latest on that live from Kabul this morning.
CHETRY: And a deep freeze across the east, records breaking; frozen roads causing a lot of accidents. It's making the morning commute quite treacherous. We're live on the ground with the latest forecast.
ROBERTS: Up first, it's the fight before Christmas. Not the night before Christmas, the fight before Christmas.
The tax cut compromise hammered out between President Obama and Republicans is headed to the House this morning. It cruised through the Senate, but no one is expecting it to be that easy this time around. And your taxes will go up in just a couple of weeks if it doesn't go through.
CHETRY: Democrats want some big changes and one top Republican is also announcing that he will vote "no" on the deal and he's not the only one.
Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana joins us live from Washington now.
Thanks for being with us this morning, Congressman.
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: You bet, Kiran.
CHETRY: What's your biggest sticking point with this? And is there a scenario in which you would vote for it?
PENCE: Well, let me say, this is a tough call. I struggled with this over the last week. I mean, House Republicans have been fighting to make sure that no American sees a tax increase in January.
But, at the end of the day, I think the deal that will come to the floor of the House today is a bad deal for taxpayers. It will do little to create jobs and I cannot support it.
CHETRY: But it will mean a tax increase. You said that they've been fighting not to have a tax increase. If you don't vote for it and it goes down, everyone's taxes will go up.
PENCE: Well, that's right. And the problem with this bill is that, you know, I really believe, history teaches that uncertainty is the enemy of prosperity. And, you know, when John F. Kennedy passed his tax relief, when Ronald Reagan passed his tax relief, those weren't two-year bills. They weren't two-year extension, they were permanent tax relief.
I offered an amendment yesterday that was rejected by House Democrats in the rules committee to give us an up-or-down vote on making all the tax rates permanent. I think if we really want to encourage the kind of investment that will create jobs, we've got to create more than a two-year tax code for the American economy.
And so, that's -- you know, my bottom line is that we ought to take the time, we ought to let the House really work its will and let -- if they're going to get their vote today on raising taxes on estates, but, you know, I still -- I'm hoping against hope that they might call an audible and give us an alternative that I think would resonate with most Americans and with common sense. Let's make the current tax rate permanent and then people will have a foundation they can begin to get back on their feet and create jobs and hire people.
ROBERTS: Well, let me ask you about that, Congressman. This idea of making the tax cuts permanent. One of your comments in opposition of the bill, you said the American people did not vote for more deficits, more stimulus or more uncertainty in the tax code. You talked about the uncertainty.
But if you are to make the tax cut permanent, you're talking about adding $3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Just extending them for two years adds almost $500 billion.
So, how can you be -- how can you say the American people didn't vote for deficits when at the same time your plan would add almost $3 trillion to the deficit?
PENCE: Yes. I've heard that analysis for years. I know in Washington, D.C., they tend -- the budget numbers crunchers here tend to think that when they don't take money from the American people, there's a cost that they ought to round.
I still think John F. Kennedy was right that when you embrace pro-growth tax policies, that a rising tide will lift all boats. That means individuals have more of the dollars to spend.
It also means with the growing economy, I think those predictions are wrong. I think as the economy expands, even revenues to the federal government will expand.
ROBERTS: But it hasn't worked for the last few years.
PENCE: We're never going to balance the budget, John. John, we're never going to balance the budget unless we get this economy growing again, and temporary, targeted tax relief is not a foundation for economic growth.
ROBERTS: But can you say, though, that the tax cuts over the last few years have not added to the deficit, that there has been a rising tide that lifts all boats?
PENCE: Look, I think there's been a lot of errors in the last few years. You know, I opposed the Wall Street bailout. You know, I fought against runaway spending when Republicans were under control.
But I think on November 2nd, the American people sent a deafening message to Washington, D.C. that they want to change the way this town does business. And I can't help but feel and again, this is a tough call.
I'm not -- I'm not casting judgment on anyone on our side of the aisle who decides to take, you know, to take a "yes" vote on this. I just think the American people look at this deal and say, we can do better. Why don't you people stick around and figure out how to get this thing done in a way that will really create jobs and be fiscally responsible?
CHETRY: When, Congressman Pence, some are saying that your decision, including Congressman Paul Ryan, is motivated by potentially you running for president in 2012. What do you say to that?
PENCE: Look, people that have known me in Congress the last 10 years know that, you know, I try to get up every day and come to the Capitol and do what I think is right for the people of Indiana and the American people. And that's why, you know, making this tough call for me is all about asking how do we actually get people back to work?
You know, I had a banker in Muncie, Indiana, two days ago, Kiran, who walked up to me and said, you know, I don't know what you should do, but he said, people aren't going to come into my bank and sign a five-year note on a two-year tax code. I mean, I think -- look, I understand why a two-year extension makes sense politically. I just don't know why it makes sense economically.
You know, we're just forcing another debate on taxes two years from now and the American people are saying, for crying out loud, create some certainty in the tax code so that we can start to get this economy back on its feet.
CHETRY: We'll have to see how the vote goes down. As we said, a tougher haul to get through the House, passed easily in the Senate.
Congressman Mike Pence, great to talk to you this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Thanks.
PENCE: Thank you both.
ROBERTS: Also developing this morning, new intelligence coming out of Iraq that al Qaeda is planning suicide attacks in the United States and Europe over the holiday season.
CHETRY: And it's possible that the botched bombing in Stockholm, Sweden, last weekend was perhaps one of these planned attacks.
Nic Robertson live in Kabul.
What are authorities saying about this?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't think authorities that are watching terrorists at the moment will be surprised they're going to try and attack the United States and Europe at Christmas. That's al Qaeda's key aim is to disrupt and have as big a spectacular as possible.
We saw it last year with that attempt of so-called underpants bomber, Abdulmutallab, flying on that plane into Detroit at Christmas, trying to detonate his explosives. That would have been a Christmas day spectacular for al Qaeda. And that's when they want to try to hit the West, hit us, because that's when they know that it can -- it gets our attention and that it hurts us and makes us the most angry.
So, that's why counterterrorism officials won't be surprised and we saw it recently as well in Europe, German counterterrorism officials on top alert through November going into December because they had very credible and real warnings for that specific time period running up to Christmas of a possible Mumbai terrorist-style gun attack in one of their major cities.
CHETRY: Nic Robertson for us this morning. All right. We'll continue to follow this. Thank you.
Well, the deep freeze we have been talking about showing no signs of letting up this morning. Icy conditions proved deadly in Alabama where weather-related crashes killed three people.
ROBERTS: In Atlanta, the wheels were spinning and some areas they still are and many roads and bridges coated in a slick layer of ice.
Our Rob Marciano is live for us. He's in Louisville, Kentucky, where they really got smacked last night and continuing to have problems this morning. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Yes. Freezing rain all morning long, although right now, it's a little bit lighter than it was earlier this morning. Waking up to this area just coated in ice.
But the difference between this area and a place like Atlanta is that they've already got this. This isn't ice. This is -- this is salt. This is stuff that they've been putting on the roads. Not only all night last night but last weekend, too.
They had a snowstorm last weekend. So, they pretty much pre- treated the areas. And you see clumps of this salt all over the sidewalks and the roadways and traffic obviously flowing OK.
The other issue, though, above the roadways are trees. Trees have been coated with ice and they continue to accumulate ice as the precipitation continues to fall. But so far, damage has been minimal as far as tree branches coming down and taking out power. So, that's the good thing.
All right. Let's talk about this system as a whole. It's pretty big. It's got a lot bigger than it was yesterday. And the snow and ice is beginning to reach into the mid-Atlantic. Here it is.
And take a look at the current temperatures first of all, because that, obviously, tells the main story -- 45 in Atlanta, 51 in Nashville. It was 32 in Atlanta just a couple of hours ago.
Charlotte, 32. So, you're going to get some frozen precip today. Winter advisory and winter storm warnings up for that area.
And here in Louisville, we're trying to climb above freezing. Might have some success later on this morning, but so far, it's a slow go.
Precip making a move to the east. Dayton (INAUDIBLE) seeing snow, D.C., you could see an inch of snow.
Here are the winter warnings that are posted. Richmond, I think, will see a fair amount of snow, maybe three to five if not six inches of snowfall here tomorrow. But it will be a pretty quick mover. I think it will be done by this time tomorrow. Notice it stays mostly south of New York City. Traveling on the roadways in this area, obviously, is going to be an issue. Traveling through the airways will be an issue, also.
Even in New York, still windy. My goodness. Get above freezing, celebrate.
Thirty-three degrees for a high in New York; 29 degrees is expected in D.C.; and 52 after starting off in 32 with frozen roads in the ATL. Really shallow, cold layer of air there with an east wind in Atlanta and, boy, the traffic crews were not ready for that freezing situation. They were ready here and roads not too shabby. The airport open, albeit just one runway and who knows? Maybe the rain, the freezing rain is done. Looks like from the radar scope, this thing's making a quick move to the east and that folks who just two years ago here were paralyzed by an ice storm may be breathing a sigh of relief here in a couple of hours as it begins to taper off -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: That would be a good thing.
Rob, thanks so much. We'll see you for the travel forecast coming up in half an hour.
CHETRY: Just ahead: there are new developments this morning in the case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. A lot of questions about whether or not he can get out of jail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHETRY: Fourteen minutes past the hour right now. And we have some breaking news this morning.
New developments in the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. London's high court has upheld the decision to grant bail to the WikiLeaks founder. He's been fighting extradition to Sweden over allegations of sex crimes.
A lower court ruled earlier this week that Assange could be freed on bail under strict conditions. Swedish authorities then appealed that decision, which is why he remained in jail. He is, of course, at the center of the controversy in this country over posting U.S. secret documents online. But again, Julian Assange freed this morning on bail.
ROBERTS: New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson on a mission to North Korea and CNN's Wolf Blitzer is along with him. Richardson says he hopes that his visit will, quote, "bring down the temperature on the Korean Peninsula."
The governor has dealt extensively with North Korea. Now, Richardson won't be officially representing the United States but he does expect that Pyongyang will use him to deliver some sort of message to the Obama administration.
CHETRY: Check out the video. It's been just released by NASA, the massive explosion that rocked the sun back in August. Scientists dubbed it at the time the "Great Eruption."
And they have now been studying this solar event for the past few months. They say that this explosion ended up covering half of the sun's surface, that it lasted for 28 hours. NASA hopes that the data can be used to help forecast future solar disturbances.
ROBERTS: So, there you go. You're wondering why it's so cold? It's because the sun blew up. There you go. CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: "People" magazine looking back at the biggest pop culture moments of the year. Can you guess who they picked as their Woman of the Year?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Here are some of the stories that got us talking in the newsroom. This one really got us talking. Michael Vick wants a dog. Yes, he does. He wants a dog. He insists that he loves animals and that owning a pet would help him with his rehabilitation. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback spent 19 months in prison, you remember, on dog fighting charges.
Under the terms of his release, he is not allowed to own a pet, but Vick says now that he's had a chance to redeem himself on the playing field, he'd appreciate the opportunity to do the same as a pet owner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL VICK, FOOTBALL PLAYER: I would love to have another dog in the future. You know, I think it would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process. I think just the, you know, have a pet in my household and to show people that I -- I genuinely care. And my love, my passion for animals, I think it will be -- I think it will be outstanding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Run Fido, run.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Look, he's been great. He's been great on the field. He's a huge redemption story, but there are probably a lot of animal lovers out there that probably not ready to hear that yet.
ROBERTS: Maybe not.
CHETRY: Well, it turns out the Jets' coach who tripped a Miami Dolphins player as he run on the sideline last weekend didn't just happen to be there. Team officials are now acknowledging that Sal Alosi ordered the players to form a wall in that specific location to force the opposing player to run around them. Alosi's original suspension was for the rest of the season. The Jets have now made it indefinite.
ROBERTS: And what a thriller at Madison Square Garden last night. The Knicks serving notice that they're back taking the mighty Boston Celtics right down to the wire. Boston's Paul Pierce breaking a 116-116 tie with his fade away jumper with only 0.4 of a second remaining. But the Knicks, the Knicks weren't dead yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stoudemire for the win. Will it count? Will it count?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Stoudemire thinks it counts, but unfortunately, the game-winning three pointer was waved off. The refs went to replay, ruled that he released the shot 0.1 of a second too late.
CHETRY: Hmm. That is not fair. They got a good run, though. They won the last eight games beside this one.
ROBERTS: They've been doing OK. Almost got it last night. Missed by that much.
CHETRY: Well, it's been the best of times and the worst of times for actress, Sandra Bullock this year. First, she won an Oscar for her role and the blind side that not long after that, she divorced from her husband, Jesse James, amid cheating allegations. Well, "People" magazine has named Bullock Woman of the Year. She graces the cover of a special issue of the 25 most intriguing people of 2010.
ROBERTS: Well deserved.
And if you find yourself irritated every time someone gives you the whatever treatment, you're not alone. For the second year in a row, the word "whatever" was named the most annoying word in the English language. That's according to the Marist Poll which found the second most irritating word is "like ugh." I really just -- I want to excise that from my daughter's vocabulary. Third was "you know what I mean?"
CHETRY: Yes. It's annoying, you know what I mean?
ROBERTS: Whatever, like, and you know what I mean.
CHETRY: And then, they've abbreviated it in "whatevs." That drives me even more insane.
ROBERTS: Yes. That would really be annoying.
CHETRY: Well, "Big Stars, Big Giving." Actress, Julian Moore, talks to our Alina Cho about helping children escape poverty and why the role is so personal for her.
ROBERTS: And reset your computer passwords. Major web sites like Yahoo, Twitter, and LinkedIn are feeling the fallout from last weekend's Gawker hack. Details coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Actress Julianne Moore constantly gets rave reviews for her talent as an actress, also her beauty, and she was just recently nominated, in fact, for Golden Globe for her role in "The Kids Are All Right." ROBERTS: Yes. The title of that movie holds special meaning for Julianne Moore, because she spends a lot of energy making sure that kids in America really are all right. That they're getting the help that they need. Our Alina Cho here to explain that. It's part of our special series, "Big Stars, Big Giving." Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. She says that we often forget that we need help here at home in the United States, right? And for Julian Moore, it was something about her childhood that first inspired her to give back. She moved around a lot as a kid and she saw things that she thought were unfair, bad schools in poor communities, children living in poverty. Now, she's working with Save the Children. She's trying to help kids you could say one book at a time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIANNE MOORE, ACTRESS/ARTIST AMBASSADOR: You know, when people say how did you become involved? Are you acting as a mother? As what you see as a mother. I'm like, no, it's what I saw as a child.
CHO (voice-over): Before she was a glamorous actress --
(SINGING)
CHO: Julianne Moore was just Julie, an army brat.
MOORE: We moved a lot, and every time you move you, you know, you change schools. You're in a completely new environment, and I think, you know, what you -- what you learn pretty quickly as a kid moving around in the United States is that, you know, we're not - it's not all created equal. Everybody, everybody should have the same opportunity.
CHO: She moved around so much it was hard to keep friends. So, books became her constant companion.
MOORE: One thing I say about reading, too, with children is that you can do anything if you can read.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: You did it! You did it!
CHO: That passion for reading has inspired her work as an artist ambassador with Save the Children where she spends time working on educational programs for the poor.
You are very focused on helping people here in the United States.
MOORE: Well, it's not that I don't believe that there are many, many needy causes all over the world, but I do -- I do believe that just in terms of poverty in our country, often people hide in plain sight. Because we have so much in the United States, sometimes, there's a refusal to acknowledge what's going on right here.
CHO: One in five children lives in poverty. MOORE: Yes. One in five people -- one in five children in the United States is in poverty. When you tell people that, they're shocked. They're absolutely shocked.
Once a upon time, there was a little girl who was just like everybody else.
CHO: For Moore, one key way to lift kids out of poverty is through education.
When you mentioned literacy, I know, that's something that's very close to your heart. You've written two books --
MOORE: Yes.
CHO: Which I've read.
MOORE: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Children's books about freckle faced strawberry, the nickname she hated as a child. The moral, look beyond what you see on the surface.
You're obviously so well known, how do the kids respond to you? I mean, do they --
MOORE: Oh, kids don't care. You know, I mean, if I were Justin Bieber, for example, that would be exciting.
CHO: But she's a celebrity who can and wants to make a difference.
MOORE: If we are going to set an example, we need to help everybody here. We need to bring everybody to the same place. Then, we can really be effective in the rest of the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (on-camera): She really is doing great things for children. For behind the scenes photos or if you want to get involved with Save the Children, go to CNN.com/AMFix. For more on how you make a difference in this world, go to CNN.com/impact, our partners in this project. All of the interviews from the series, "Big Stars, Big Giving" will live on Impact Your World which is a great thing, by the way, to have a web presence like that. We're thrilled.
CHETRY: She's a great project with the Valentine's Day card.
CHO: That's right. That's right. She's really hoping it will be her little legacy. You know, she had this idea, you know, they do things for trick or treat. UNICEF does and other charities do things, and she thought what holiday could we do? Moms have to buy Valentine's anyway. So, she came up with this idea to have it be a contest. Kids submit their designs. The best ones gets published. They get sold for charity. The proceeds go to Save the Children, and she calls it a teachable moment, too.
CHETRY: Smart.
CHO: You know, tell kids, you know, listen, there are people in the world who are less fortunate than you, and maybe, we can help them in our own small way.
ROBERTS: Lots of other people need love, too.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Speaking of love, you got to sit down with the Biebs. I mean, you are the envy of girls around the world.
CHO: Right. I mean, you should see these fans. They are incredible. We did. We sat down with Justin Bieber last week in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he was giving a concert. You know, he's 16 years old, but I found him to be incredibly sincere, grounded, and he was, you know, he's really doing a lot to give back to kids, in the world. And so, you know, he's a great, great little kid.
CHETRY: Little?
CHO: Little kid I shouldn't say. Yes, I mean, he's like the hottest music star on the planet. Now, I'm a big Justin Bieber fan. Two weeks ago, I barely knew his music, but now, I'm listening to it every night.
ROBERTS: How does that old saying go, to whom much is given, much is expected and --
CHO: That's right.
ROBERTS: And he's really living that out.
CHO: He really is, and he's a great, great, great guy.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks so much.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Don't miss Alina's one-hour special, "Big Stars, Big Giving." It airs Christmas Eve at 7:00 p.m. eastern and that again on Christmas Day at 8:00 eastern.
CHETRY: Crossing the half hour, time for a look at the top stories. Breaking news this morning, WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, granted bail this morning by a London court. Supporters outside of the high court cheered the decision. Assange is trying to fight extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges. He is, of course, at the center of much controversy in this country over posting U.S. secret documents online. ROBERTS: Well, last Christmas we had the accused underwear bomber, and this year, new intelligence coming out of Iraq that al Qaeda is planning suicide attacks in the United States and Europe over the Christmas season. American officials tell us that Iraq shared information that captured insurgents gave them that they are looking at it very closely, but, at the moment, they don't know of a specific threat, but they didn't know of one last Christmas either.
CHETRY: Five days before the official start of winter, and it is crazy cold out there. Temperatures for much of the East Coast right around freezing. It's causing a mess on the roadways in and around Atlanta, for example, icy conditions causing more than a thousand accidents. And as the storm continues to head east, there are winter storm warnings now posted for many parts of the mid-Atlantic.
ROBERTS: An attack on the web site "Gawker" is beginning to have some serious ripple effects. Stephanie Elam here this morning "Minding your Business" with details on that. What's going on?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is one of the things where generally people have a pass word for a bunch of sights. This is the reason why this story matters. The Gawker is a site and own description of themselves is "Gossip from Manhattan and the Beltway to Hollywood and the Valley," in case you're not familiar with that web site.
Well, they had a little bit of a breach. B hacker attacked them over the weekend and found basically more than a million user's data, their passwords, their emails address, their user names. More than 188,000 of them were actually decoded, so you can see all of that information out there is made public. It affected other gawker sites like Life Hacker.
So this is what we found out from that. Take a look at the popular pass words. Not to really safe there, "one-two-three-four- five-six," and just "password" lower case. They'll never figure that one out. And then Life Hack, which is a life hacker is one of Gawker's web sites. And then ABC123, you also have that on there, too.
Lots of users since they use the same pass words, this is alerted other places on the internet freaked out about it. Making sure that the users are safe so other sites like Facebook, twitter, as well, you also see Linked-In and Yahoo! alerting the users saying we notice that your e-mail address was on the list and you probably have the same pass word and might want to get around the changing it.
So in case you're wondering what to do to have a safe password, we're here to help you today.
CHETRY: You are going to give us suggestions?
ELAM: Yes. Yes. This is the password you should make it. Kiran is a good password. No.
ROBERTS: A 64-bit encryption is coming up. ELAM: What you need to do is use words that are not in the dictionary so they're not words, but word-like. "Qwerty" doesn't count. Change your passwords for different sites. Change them regularly, and use numbers and symbols.
Or you can do what one of our fine people here on "AMERICAN MORNING" does or just have a folder in your e-mail that says "passwords" and write them and e-mail them yourself. Not a good idea. Don't do that.
CHETRY: How do you know I did that?
ELAM: Kiran's like -- I didn't -- I read your e-mail. I hacked your password.
ROBERTS: I had so many passwords I'm forever hitting the "forgot password" button.
ELAM: I do it all the time, too. I try to change them all the time a great password. But you need a number and symbol.
ROBERTS: Use a dollar sign instead of the "s."
ELAM: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: I'm afraid you underestimate the sneakiness here.
(LAUGHTER)
ELAM: "The sneakiness," very good.
CHETRY: Thanks.
Well, he said that if cliff lee signed with the Phillies he would wear a Speedo to cover spring training. Sports writer yesterday Cliff Lee announced he was the newest member of the Philadelphia Phillies. So will the sportswriter make good on the bet and bare those legs? We'll ask him next
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 37 minutes past the hour right now. A sports story with a bit of a twist this morning. You may remember especially if you follow baseball this week Cliff Lee, basically a prized pitcher, sparked a bidding war among a few teams that could afford him, and he ended up turning down the highest amount of money in the name of going to the team he wanted to go to. He left $30 million on the table.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine that? He did it all to rejoin a team that traded him a year ago, the Philadelphia Phillies. Here he is explaining why he did it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIFF LEE, MLB PITCHER: It's just a matter of where you're comfortable, where you're happy, where your family's the most comfortable, what team gives you the best chance to win. At this point it is about trying to win championships. That's really the number one thing for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: His new deal is believed to cover five years and be worth about $120 million. But it's still surprised a lot of folks, including Andy Martino. He's a sports writer for the "New York Daily News." He covers the Mets but also worked in Philadelphia recently. He was so convinced that lee would not sign with the Phillies that he bet -- he put his manhood on the line.
More on that in just a second. But first of all, let's talk about Cliff Lee. Here is a real in-demand pitcher, Cy Young award winner. He was traded from the Phillies. They didn't show him any love. He's bounced around a lot. Why is he bouncing around?
ANDY MARTINO, SPORTS WRITER, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": I suppose because he's such a hot commodity. Every time a team been in contention like the Phillies in 2009, they wanted Cliff Lee. He is the guy that every team thinks can push them over the edge to be a World Series champion.
He almost did it with the Phillies. They traded him. And the Yankees concluded he was the answer for next year. Everyone, including myself, thought that that's what would happen and lee ended up back with the Phillies, surprising almost everyone.
CHETRY: The Yankees were -- they were offering him the longest deal --
MARTINO: Right.
CHETRY: -- the most money, you know, a winning history and why would he not want to go there? People felt like this was it for Cliff Lee. This is what you wrote about it this last Monday, you wrote, "Lots of information on the Twitter, some of it questionable. If the Phillies sign Cliff Lee, I'll cover spring training in a Speedo."
MARTINO: Yes.
CHETRY: What will you do? He went to Phillies.
MARTINO: He did. Well, I'm fortunate to have left myself wriggle room there. I didn't say only a Speedo. There are Speedo hats and all sorts of ways to go.
ROBERTS: Incredible.
CHETRY: Will you cover the spring training in a speed -- we brought you one.
MARTINO: You did?
CHETRY: It's actually your size. Your friends told us.
MARTINO: Look at that. I was doing it for the swag all along.
CHETRY: Think about us.
MARTINO: Thank you very much.
CHETRY: There you go.
ROBERTS: Wait a second. Are you trying to weasel out of this? Here's a photo of how you're going to look in that Speedo, by the way. There you are covering the Mets in Port St. Lucie.
MARTINO: That's flattering. I appreciate the assumption.
ROBERTS: Back to the weaseling out thing you were talking about here a second ago, saying you'd wear a Speedo and could be anything with the logo. That's the Speedo.
MARTINO: This is a Speedo. I don't know if you call it the Speedo.
(LAUGHTER)
Look. I think if I got a lawyer here, I think if we really took this to the highest court in the land, I have wiggle room to do --
ROBERTS: You have already had the stuffing beat out of you on the sports radio, and now you're going to weasel out of it?
MARTINO: I don't know. I know you have to ask the tough questions but I think I left the room to have fun with this in a number of ways. And come February --
CHETRY: This is my idea. This is the idea. You look like you have a nice shape.
MARTINO: Thank you.
CHETRY: I know that it's in the winter we're all a little pale. Get yourself spray tanned, do a bunch of pushups, and walk around for maybe 30 seconds and then go back.
MARTINO: It's not until mid-February. I do have a couple of months to work on the tan, the body. You know, we'll see what happens.
CHETRY: You know, Mike "The Situation," you know from "Jersey Shore."
MARTINO: Yes.
CHETRY: He's available. He has a training video out now.
MARTINO: Really?
CHETRY: He could help you out, Speedo ready. MARTINO: If you can put me in touch with the situation, perhaps we could make this work.
ROBERTS: It doesn't matter how good of shape you're in, if you're not in competitive swimming, you don't look good wearing ones of those.
MARTINO: That's what I'm saying, John, thank you.
ROBERTS: That's why we're really looking forward to this, Andy. Make good on the bet. Thanks for joining us.
MARTINO: Thank you for the gift.
CHETRY: You're welcome, Andy.
ROBERTS: Well, an icy winter mix has carved a dangerous path for drivers across the nation this morning. Rob Marciano live on the ground in the thick of it as soon as we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Reason for celebration there in Atlanta this morning. They're back above the freezing mark, 40 degrees right now and cloudy later on today, showers with a high of 52. So it should get rid of the ice that plagued them yesterday, rush hour, accidents all over the highways.
CHETRY: This morning, also, some icy conditions so hopefully that clears up today. Rob Marciano in Louisville, Kentucky. Hey, Rob.
MARCIANO: Good morning, guys. Yes, it's been an icy morning, that's for sure. But with the traffic that's been moving through and with the pre-salting and prepping of the roadways, and not to mention the snow over the weekend, the roads doing just fine, as a matter of fact. And even the sidewalks are beginning to see a little bit of an improvement here.
So we are hoping by the time of this afternoon rolls around things will be better, but there's still a threat for power outages with the ice accumulating on the trees.
Here's what it looked like when we woke up this morning. Still in the dark and this entire area coated in about a quarter of an inch of ice. So they've done a fantastic job of clearing the roadways now and they are getting a little bit of help from Mother Nature in that the precipitation has fall -- has stopped falling here in just the last 30 minutes.
Obviously, in Atlanta, they had their own issues. Now the -- all these issues are going to be moving off to the east. Check out the watches and warnings that are posted for not only the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys but the -- the mid-Atlantic, as well.
Winter storm warnings up for Richmond. You could see three to six inches of snow. D.C. could see an inch or so of snow but everything will stay south for the most part of Philly and New York with this particular system.
Here is the radar. To give you an idea of just how expansive of it is. And we're looking at it much, much greater intensity today than it was yesterday. Southern Ohio and West Virginia are getting the rain and now the rain just from Montgomery to Atlanta, check out some of these temperatures when we throw them on top of here. We're -- we're talking about all rain now from Montgomery to Atlanta.
There are still some slick spots in Atlanta. And there are still some roads and overpasses that are closed but temperatures are rising very quickly. If you're traveling by air today, there are going to be some issues in New York.
New York and Boston, I mean, if you haven't got a whole lot of precip for the last few days. You've got some snow. But it's been cold and windy and that continues to slow down travel.
Charlotte and Louisville here will see an over an hour delay. We still have one runway open out of two and may help to get the second runway open this afternoon, only just a few cancelations today.
Daytime highs, check them out. You're going to be below or at freezing right in the New York City area. And D.C. you'll be cold enough for snow and you'll get some. And 52 degrees expected in Atlanta. They'd much rather see this, guys. Snow here in Louisville than they would the ice.
CHETRY: That's so cute.
MARCIANO: -- the good folks at the -- the old Chamber of Commerce came down and they gave me the old snow globe. Possibility city, baby is what they call it. And -- it looks nice when it's covered in snow although right now most of the snow and ice at least on the roadways is beginning to melt.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: All right.
MARCIANO: Back to you.
ROBERTS: Keep it in the snow globe. Thanks, Rob.
Well, baseball has lost one of its true greats.
MARCIANO: That's right, see you guys.
ROBERTS: "Bullet" Bob Feller he won 266 games in 18 seasons all with the Cleveland Indians. Feller was just 17 years old when he made his Major League debut in 1936. And he was part of the Indians starting rotation the last time the team won the World Series. How long ago was that? In 1948. The Hall of Famer died last night of acute leukemia. He was 92 years old.
CHETRY: He'll be missed.
And coming up, a royal send-off for the king. We're talking about Larry King. His final live show tonight on CNN, a look back at 25 years of headliners and legends.
It's 47 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A full shot of the control room this morning.
Fifty minutes past the hour, it really is the end of an era here at CNN. Tonight is Larry King's final live show. For the past 25 years, Larry has been a staple. Larry and his suspenders in our living room each night.
ROBERTS: It -- it's hard to believe it all comes down to one night, tonight. And it is hard to sum up all of that television history in just a few minutes' time but we're going to give it a try. Here's a look back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Good evening. My name is Larry King and this is the premier edition of "LARRY KING LIVE."
Every night at this time we'll be here for one hour. We're going to meet fascinating people from all walks of life.
You're a legend. I mean, you do know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody could be really legend would be nobody, no normal people in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fame is almost impossible.
GEORGE BURNS, ACTOR: From here up, I'm fine. From here down I need makeup.
PAUL MCCARTNEY, SINGER: Everybody going to dance around tonight --
ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR: Larry, kiss me. Just do it now. Don't be afraid hold me. I love your nipples are hard.
KING: A struggling Jew.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So press your body, wait. No.
KING: Dance, dance whoa.
SNOOP DOGG, SINGER: I told you low to the floor.
KING: I'm low to the floor.
Want more children? BRAD PITT, ACTOR: Oh, yes, yes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're pointing glance right here man, right back there. When a dog eats it --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get away from me. Get off of me.
HEATHER MILLS, FORMER WIFE OF PAUL MCCARTNEY: Paul is going to get upset. You're touching my leg, Larry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You must have conjured something in your head for you to come out and call me a murderer of my child.
BILL CROSBY, ACTOR: We went downhill carrying that coffin feeling like slaves and we're going uphill feeling like free people.
MARLON BRANDO, ACTOR: When the chapel bells ring out --
KING: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse --
BRANDO: Darling. Good-bye.
KING: Good-bye.
CHRISTOPHER REEVES, ACTOR: Like an accident didn't help. And that wasn't road I would have pick but a lot of times things you know get picked for you.
JOHNNY CASH, ACTOR: Why should I be bitter? I'm thrilled to death with life.
MATTIE STEPANEK: Is peace possible? Can we do it? Why are we even trying?
TAMMY FAYE MESSNER: Jesus, Jesus. You know, the Bible says that his name is all powerful. That his name is above every name.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS WIFE: Don't spend your time worrying about when it is you're going to die. Spend your time worrying about how it is you're going to live today.
STEVE IRWIN, ANIMAL PLANET: That's why I was put on this earth, to try to help conserve our trees, our wilderness, our oceans and our wildlife.
KING: Police radio are saying that Simpson, the passenger in the car, has a gun at his head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not run as either a Democrat or a Republican.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know, that's kind of a line you're trying to come across with. But either -- no. It's weak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said your sons -- BUSH: No that you guys never do anything but propaganda.
KING: Was there a holocaust?
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): You want to impose your viewpoint on me --
KING: No it's not a viewpoint it's a question.
RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I've never been in the Watergate. So it's kind of hard --
KING: Never been in? Never in the --
NIXON: No. Other people where in that. Unfortunately.
KING: Still a Texas driver's license?
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes. You want to see it?
KING: Yes.
VIRGINIA CLINTON, BILL CLINTON'S MOTHER: I don't have a question. I have a statement, please.
KING: Go.
V. CLINTON: I want to say hello to my son Bill Clinton.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hi, mother.
MARGARET THATCHER, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF U.K.: That's a strange question to ask. 4 KING: What happened with the submarine?
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRIME MINISTER OF RUSSIA (through translator): It sunk.
KING: Does it come with a curse of any kind?
ELIZABETH TAYLOR, ACTRESS: Oh, no. It comes with so much love.
KING: What's it like to kill someone?
If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
JERMAINE JACKSON, BROTHER OF MICHAEL JACKSON: It is his creation, his idea. To come here and to feel him here. I'm happy.
KING: We'll also go live to Haiti showing you specifically what your donations mean.
For now, for here, it's time to hang up the nightly suspenders. And who knows what the future's going to bring?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Amazing 25 years in 3 minutes and to some degree, I bet it feels like just three minutes to Larry, too.
CHETRY: I know.
He hasn't -- he's barely changed in all those years. He looks so much like he did the first day he went on air. Such a great guy and what a wonderful life.
ROBERTS: You can bet, though, that Larry's not going away.
CHETRY: Oh, no.
ROBERTS: He's going on to something different. We certainly wish him well, though.
CHETRY: He is going to be continuing to work here within the CNN family, as well.
But as for the final live "LARRY KING" show, it is tonight 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN, a night to remember, for sure. So don't miss it.
It is 54 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Three minutes now to the top of the hour.
You might call her extremely brave or terribly foolish.
CHETRY: One thing's certain, though. The Florida school board member who tried to disarm a gunman whacking him with her purse, now owns the most famous handbag in America. Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ginger Littleton is holding it close. Waving it victoriously. Pulling mundane things like tissue out of it.
But this is more than the purse.
GINGER LITTLETON, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, BAY DISTRICT SCHOOLS: This is the weapon.
MOOS: A hand-me-down that Ginger tried to use on the hand of a gunman.
CLAY DUKE, HELD BOARD MEMBERS AT GUNPOINT: No, Ginger. Ginger, no.
LITTLETON: He points the gun at my head and says, you stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MOOS: She says she agrees with the stupid part and self defense experts call what she tried to do both stupid and dangerous. Still, she is getting the hero treatment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're proud of you. You're something.
MOOS: And so is her bag.
LITTLETON: Shall I do my Vanna?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to put some bricks in it for her.
MOOS: When the gunmen ordered all the women out of the school board meeting --
DUKE: You may leave, you may leave.
MOOS: -- Ginger waited about 30 seconds in the hallway before creeping back and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hitting him with her purse.
MEREDITH VIEIRA, ABC HOST: Used her purse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whacks Duke defiantly with her purpose.
MOOS: The purse was a hand-me-down from Ginger's 89-year-old mother-in-law. Why did her mother-in-law give up such a nice purse?
LITTLETON: She said it was too heavy for her.
MOOS: But not heavy enough to knock the gun out of the gunman's hand. This is the kind of thing you saw on "Laugh-In."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe in love at first sight?
MOOS: Making it all the more shocking to see it done in desperation.
A lot of us carry bags that are heavy enough to use as weapons. What did Ginger have inside hers?
LITTLETON: I have a lot of keys that weigh probably two pounds.
MOOS: A nice heavy wallet, cell phone, a compact.
LITTLETON: Bills I should be paying.
MOOS: We asked if it was a designer bag she used to wallop the gunman.
LITTLETON: Are you kidding me?
MOOS: Well, it turns out it's a Brahmin, one of their discontinued bags that sold for $385 as part of the "Toasted Almond" collection.
LITTLETON: The lovely whatever this creepy stuff is.
MOOS: That would be faux crocodile leather
In "Vogue" magazine, they say they're redefining timeless style not to mention redefining improvised weapons.
DUKE: No. No, Ginger.
MOOS: Ginger's daughter was left holding the bag while mom did interviews.
Ginger has no plans to retire her bag or to bronze it.
LITTLETON: It's my purse.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos --
I'm happy to meet both you and the purse.
CNN --
LITTLETON: I'm glad you said me before the purse though, I appreciate that.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: She's very lucky though, to be standing there talking to Jeanne Moos.
CHETRY: She really is.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: It could have gotten the other way, so quickly.
That's going to wrap it up for us this morning. Thanks so much for joining us. And we'll see you back here again tomorrow morning bright and early.
CHETRY: Meantime the news continues. "CNN NEWSROOM" with T.J. Holmes starts right now. Hey, T.J.
