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CNN Sunday Morning
Hamas Gunmen Attack Palestinian President's Residence; Mass Kidnapping in Iraq
Aired December 17, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Word within the last half hour, out of Gaza. Look at these new pictures coming in from IPTN to CNN. These are the streets of Gaza City. There was a close-up there for a second of gunmen on the streets.
Let me tell you what's happening now. Gunmen have attacked the residence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Here's some of the video of the gunmen on the streets.
Now, Mahmoud Abbas was not there at time and there are no reports of casualties. But, nearby, Palestinian gunmen overnight attacked a training base used by Mahmoud Abbas' security forces. One presidential guard was killed.
Tensions with Hamas have been on the rise since yesterday when Mr. Abbas called for early elections. As you can see it has spilled into the streets. People are carrying guns. Gunfire has erupted on the streets of Gaza.
Here's some new video coming in, as well. You see other men on the streets. Don't see the guns as of yet, from this vantage point, but it was very clearly evident in the other video that we were showing. Obviously, people very upset about the situation there, dealing with early elections. But that, according to Abbas, could in end nine months of Hamas as rule.
We'll stay on top of this, and bring you the latest. In fact we have Ben Wedeman, CNN Correspondent Ben Wedeman, who is going to bring us a live report in just a couple of minutes. But a developing story, something we've been on top of for the last few hour. And, of course, we'll bring you more.
Other news, another mass kidnapping in Iraq. This time at the offices of an aid group, the Iraqi Red Crescent, in downtown Baghdad. Now, dozens have been abducted by gunmen dressed in Iraqi army uniforms. We have a live report from Baghdad. That is just minutes away. It's been a very busy morning.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in Iraq on an unannounced visit. He met with his political counterpart today and pledged support for Iraq's attempts to end the rampant violence. Blair's visit is part of a Middle East tour that will also take him to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
And more American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. The military says a roadside bomb blew up near a combat patrol, killing three soldiers, and wounding a fourth. It happened yesterday north of Baghdad. And 57 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq this month alone.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Search planes keeping around-the-clock vigil over Mt. Hood trying to find any signs of life from three missing climbers. On the ground, rescue crews are preparing to resume searching this morning.
Another space walk scheduled for the Discovery crew. Astronauts will try again tomorrow to retract the solar array on the space station. Three attempts have been made since Wednesday. Discovery will spend another day in space, an additional day, to make time for tomorrow's unscheduled space walk.
No sportsmanship awards being handed out last night at the Knicks-Nuggets game. Another brawl to tell you about. At least no fans were involved in this one. It happened late in the fourth quarter.
NGUYEN: Wow!
HOLMES: Denver was way ahead, so this was way unnecessary. Ten players ejected, including NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony. A lot more to that brawl and that video. We'll bring it to you in a little bit.
Now we head over to Reynolds Wolf.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Another mass abduction in Baghdad to tell you about. This time, though, gunmen dressed as Iraqi army troops, they target an aid agency. Nic Robertson is tracking the story from Baghdad and we'll get details from him. That is straight ahead.
In the meantime, good morning, everybody. From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, December 17. Welcome. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 7 a.m. here in the East, 3 p.m. in Baghdad. Thank you so much for starting your day right here with us.
NGUYEN: Snatched from work at gun point in downtown Baghdad. That horrifying mass kidnapping in Iraq is our top story. CNN's Nic Robertson has been following the latest developments and he joins us now from the Iraqi capital.
Nic, I understand at least two dozen people have been kidnapped in this?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Betty, about 25 to 30 people kidnapped from the Iraqi Red Crescent offices in the center of Baghdad, a humanitarian organization. They say gunmen dressed in Iraqi police commando uniforms burst in, didn't shoot anyone, separated the men from the women, took the men away with them. Put them in about eight vehicles, according to Iraq's interior ministry, drove them away.
Now, according to the interior ministry, there were police patrols and police checkpoints in the area. In the past, many of these abductions, these kidnappings have been of a sectarian nature. It's not clear exactly why this particular kidnapping was carried out, but the very fact that the perpetrators were dressed in Iraqi security uniforms, that of the commandos, will lead many here to believe they were quite possibly a militia working within inside one of Iraq's security forces.
All of this, of course, happening as the British Prime Minister Tony Blair flew in here on a very brief, unannounced visit, for security reasons. And he met with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki. They talked about the exchange of security control between Iraqi and U.S. and British forces here.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair saying the handover would happen when Iraqi security forces were ready. Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, seeming to support the Iraqi position that they would like to see this happen more quickly, but the British prime minister pledging support for the as Iraqis as they try and go through a reconciliation process to build unity in this very divided country right now, Betty.
NGUYEN: Nic, let's get back to the kidnapping. I understand that several Iraqi police patrols and checkpoints, as you mentioned, were in the area at the time of this. But I guess as they were dressed in those official uniforms, they probably made it through. But has any group claimed responsibility for this kidnapping?
ROBERTSON: So far they haven't. What we saw just a few days ago was a similar scenario, men, armed, dressed in security uniforms, turn up in the downtown of Baghdad, kidnap a number of store holders. Later in the day, they released all the Shia store holders. Now, it's widely suspected that they held onto the Sunni men that they kidnapped from the street. And it's not clear what happened to those men.
However, as we've seen over recent days, and yesterday was another example, 53 dead bodies, bullet-riddled bodies turned up on the streets of Baghdad.
What most people here believe, particularly in the Sunni community, is that within the Shia security forces here, there are militia groups that are targeting Sunnis. And they round up a number of people, then release the people who are Shias.
Many people here these days carry identity documents here that would, through their names, would give an indication that they are Shia rather than Sunni, or Sunni rather than Shia, so they could get out of just exactly this type of sectarian targeted kidnapping -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Nic Robertson, bringing us the latest from Baghdad this morning. Thank you, Nic. We appreciate that.
HOLMES: Disheartened but not defeated. Rescue crews are going back up Mt. Hood this morning, still searching for three experienced climbers last heard from one week ago. But there is still hope. Search crews reached their highest point yet, but still haven't made it all the way to the 11,000-foot summit.
Search and rescue flights continue around the clock, C-130s with thermal imaging sensors are scanning the mountain for any sign of life. And a report this morning "Oregonian" says a Black Hawk helicopter crew searching near the top of the mountain spotted a piece of hiking equipment.
Weather, though, still hampering the overall effort keeping search crews from reaching their goals, but the weather problems and ticking clock haven't yet dimmed the spirits of the hopeful family members. CNN's Chris Lawrence has more from Mt. Hood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN SUNDAY MORNING (voice over): An all out assault on Mt. Hood fails to find the missing climbers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
LAWRENCE: And the mothers of the three men make a plea to Mother Nature.
MARIA KIM, JERRY COOKE'S MOTHER: I want to -- I want the mountain to release our sons. And the mountain has no right to keep our sons.
LAWRENCE: The cost of the rescue already well into the thousands. Two Black Hawk helicopters, a Chinook, and a C-130, and nearly 60 rescue climbers trudging through wildly blowing snow and freezing cold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mt. Hood Meadows reported avalanche, slide activity, 7,200-foot level.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, we've heard two releases up here in the last 15 minutes.
LAWRENCE: The weather was the best it's been all week, but it still wasn't very good.
SGT. SEAN COLLINSON, CLACKAMAS CO. SHERIFF DEPT.: The snow is really soft and it's really hard to get through. They can't go as fast as they'd like to.
LAWRENCE: The day had started with hope and even optimism.
LOU ANN CAMERON, MOTHER OF KELLY JAMES: And I know my son's coming down today. It's my birthday and he wouldn't miss my birthday, I know.
LAWRENCE: One team climbed past 10,000 feet before turning back. It's too dangerous for the Black Hawks to fly at night. But the C-130 has infrared sensors.
MIKE BRAIBISH, OREGON NATIONAL GUARD: The best signature we can get actually will be in the very early morning when those things that don't produce a heat signature have cooled down.
LAWRENCE (on camera): The C-130 will fly almost continuously over the next 24 hours, hoping to find something that gives it a ping. Saturday's results may have been disappointing, but it hasn't hurt the commitment to continuing through the weekend. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Hood River, Oregon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And on a related note, two of this country's most experienced climbers are also missing in southwest China. "The New York Times" reporting this morning on the search for Charlie Fowler and Christine Bosskof. The two were last heard from in a remote Chinese village, near Tibet, more than a month ago. An American-led search team is now on the way but no one is 100 percent sure which mountain they were trying to climb.
HOLMES: Head back to, the thing about Mt. Hood now. Yesterday was supposed to be the big day that they thought they would get a break in the weather.
NGUYEN: Weather-wise, yeah.
HOLMES: Didn't really happen. We want turn to Reynolds now. It just turned ugly on them and they weren't getting what they were expecting yesterday.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It really did. You know, what's funny, if you're at the base of the mountain, the surface of the mountain, things can be just great, but weather can change very quickly when you get into the higher elevations from 10,000 feet and above.
For example, today's forecast around Mt. Hood is going to 30 degrees, but when you get up to 10,000 feet, we're talking single digits. It is going to be rough, to say the very least.
We're expecting partly cloudy skies. We hope this can really help things in terms of that search, in terms of visual things. But in terms of precipitation, like heavy snowfall, that's not expected at all for Mt. Hood or anyplace like Portland or even over toward Gresham (ph), just south of I-80. We'll keep our fingers crossed and hopefully things will be better for us today.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well, perhaps you saw this extracurricular activity, shall we call it, last night. There's the beginning of it. This happened near the end of the Knicks-Nuggets game at Madison Square Garden.
HOLMES: That's not so bad. NGUYEN: Trash talking.
NGUYEN: Oh!
HOLMES: Oh!
NGUYEN: See? That's where you get -- ooh! Then jumped on him. Things got out of hand really quickly. Ten players involved. What were they thinking? All, of course, thrown out of the game.
HOLMES: I don't know how much more of that video we have. But there's another punch coming up here, from Carmelo Anthony, the league's scoring leading. I don't know if we're going to keep rolling, you see him, he's almost dead center in the -- bop! There it is.
NGUYEN: There it was.
HOLMES: There it is. And, oh!
NGUYEN: Now it's going cross-court.
HOLMES: Yeah. As you can see, the referees are smart enough not to get in the middle of six or eight millionaires.
NGUYEN: Look, they're pulling on the shirt.
HOLMES: This is just a mess.
NGUYEN: Mind you, these are grown, professional players here. These are grown men, who know better. And who will be paying for this.
HOLMES: I know what you're thinking, man, this looks awfully familiar. Where have I seen something like this before? Of course, this incident conjured up memories of the melee we saw in Detroit two years ago. We'll take you back to that video as well. That was between the Pacers and Pistons, as you may remember in Ann Arbor.
NGUYEN: This one.
HOLMES: The big difference in this one, of course, no fans were involved. Thank goodness.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: Lucky deal there. You can expect a bunch of fines. Probably some suspensions from a lot of these guys.
NGUYEN: That was just a mess.
HOLMES: That was a mess.
Hey, that brings us to our question of the day. That basket- brawl you saw, e-mail question for us today: Has the fighting, that we see, become just an accepted part of sports? Do people just say, hey, emotions run high and you're going to see some fights now and then. Are we starting to accept this in professional sports? Send those responses to us at weekends@cnn.com. We'll get to them later in the newscast.
NGUYEN: We do have a lot coming up. A story about a Christmas tree, which we'll talk about in a second.
But check this out, this is new video coming in to us from Gaza. Actually, it's not video, it's live. These are live pictures, gunmen on the top of a building right there. We understand that gunmen have been out in the streets. We've showed you video of that earlier. You can see people walking in the streets.
A big situation going on there. Not only have gunmen attacks the residence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but they have attacked a convoy as well. This is a developing story. The violence is ramping up in Gaza. We do have CNN's Ben Wedeman coming up in a live report, just moments away. So stay around for that.
HOLMES: We'll get now to the -- you remember the Christmas tree dispute we saw not too long ago, at Seattle's airport. We've got a similar issue happening in a different place now. In the center of this dispute is a menorah, a Christmas tree, a missing nativity scene and a federal judge. I can't even make a joke out of that. All the details in about four minutes.
Plus, the bottles fly, fires burn, windows break, where and why? Find out when we go across America in about seven minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but T.J., you remember the big fallout over the Christmas trees at SEA-TAC airport?
HOLMES: Can't forget that face there, the rabbi.
NGUYEN: The rabbi that you see right there?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: He wanted the menorah added to the holiday decorations inside the airport. So, he threatened to sue, if the airport didn't add the menorah. So, the airport said, forget it. We're taking down the trees.
HOLMES: Of course, that got a lot of people upset, stirred up a lot of national attention and we talked about it right here quite a bit as well. After the rabbi dropped his threat to sue, the trees went back up. And sure, that makes it the most wonderful time of the year.
NGUYEN: Everybody lived happily ever after, right?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Not quite. Now there is a similar situation, this time in New York. And it's a nativity scene at the center of the controversy. Antoinette Biordi, of our affiliate News 12, has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTOINETTE BIORDI, REPORTER, NEWS 12 (voice over): The star on top of this Christmas tree is coming down. And so is this menorah. But wait, Christmas isn't here yet, and it's only the second night of Hanukkah. To truly understand this, we have to start from the beginning.
Last year, this man, Henry Ritell, of Briarcliff Manor, says he asked the village to put up a nativity scene, because the menorah, a religious Jewish symbol, was being displayed here at this Law Park, in Briarcliff Manor.
HENRY RITELL, RESIDENT, BRIARCLIFF MANOR: I consider it a right to what I want, that I'm entitled to.
BIORDI: Members of the village board of trustees said the menorah is next to the Christmas tree, and that already represents both faiths.
MICHAEL BLAU, VILLAGE MANGER: The menorah and Christmas tree truly reflect the diversity of the community, and are reflective of the holiday season. They do not believe that the creche belongs in that holiday display.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Mary said, behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
BIORDI: But a Christmas tree is not a Christian symbol, it's a secular one. So Henry Ritell took his case all the way to federal court and a judge ruled that Henry can display the nativity scene that he paid for, right next to the menorah.
DENNIS LYNCH, RITELL'S ATTORNEY: We hope the village will not be the Grinch that steals both Christmas and Hanukkah.
BIORDI: But if you ask some people, that's just what they did. After hearing about the judge's ruling Saturday morning, village trustees voted to take down all holiday displays in Law Park by Saturday afternoon.
DOMINIQUE VALENTI, RESIDENT, BRIARCLIFF MANOR: Are you serious? That's ridiculous. That's ridiculous -- that's taking away from the holiday spirit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody has their own religion and I think that's a wonderful thing. And you know, it should be represented, across the board.
BIORDI (on camera): Attorneys for Henry Ritell say they're going back to court on Monday, because they disagree with what the village did. The village didn't let Briarcliff Manor residents know that the menorah and Christmas tree lights were coming down. Private beliefs that, at this point, don't appear to have a home in this public park. In Briarcliff Manor, Antoinette Biordi, News 12. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BUILDING IMPLOSION)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, that seems simple enough, in our news across America. Demolition like this, over in a flash, just like you saw. Well, there was more to this one. We didn't have time to show you the whole three hours it took to bring that building down. What you saw was the very end of it.
Pittsburgh officials have been trying, actually for three years to get rid of this abandoned high rise. They ran into some problems trying to get it down. It ended up taking three hours instead of just a couple of minutes. You know, after three years --
NGUYEN: I was going to say, after three years, what's three -- but the spectators waiting probably weren't so happy with that.
HOLMES: Yeah.
NGUYEN: Pounding the pavement in protest, though, thousands marched along New York City's Fifth Avenue, in protest, of the fatal police shooting of a groom on his wedding day. Remember that story? Sean Bell was killed, two of his friends wounded as they left his bachelor party last month.
Police said they believed someone in Bell's car had a gun, but no weapons were found. Organizers say while people are out shopping for trinkets, their group is shopping for justice.
Also in Massachusetts, UMASS-Amherst officials say there will be disciplinary action against students who rioted after Friday's game. Amherst lost the NCAA Division -- won double A -- uh, Appalachian State, and the situation got a little out of control after that loss. And 11 people, including 10 students were arrested. University's vice chancellor says some students will be expelled and could lose credit for this semester's academic record. Jeeze.
NGUYEN: Well, living from paycheck to paycheck, not so uncommon anymore here in America. Why unexpected repair bills, for example -- just one example here, or other unforeseen financial burdens can make millions of Americans homeless. Yes, homeless. We'll explain in just a few minutes.
HOLMES: Also, surviving in the wild? What does it take to make it through severe winter storms and frigid temperatures? Rick Sanchez -- who else? -- takes this test. He tests his survival skills right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. That's coming up in about 14 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Tensions boiling over in Gaza today. Take a look at this new video coming in from CNN. The leadership of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is under tremendous pressure today. Hamas loyalists are upset over Mr. Abbas' call for early elections, many of them in the streets as you see there. Some of them carrying guns.
Attacks have occurred. At least two of them have been reported in the recent hours, against the presidential compound. So let's get the latest now from CNN's Ben Wedeman who joins us from Jerusalem.
What is going on there? And talk to us exactly about what sparked this violence in the streets.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Well, Betty, this was really to be expected following the call yesterday by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for early presidential and parliamentary elections.
What we've seen already today was an attempted assassination against the Hamas foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahad, as he was driving near the foreign ministry in Gaza City. Hamas has accused their rivals in the Fattah movement for being behind this attack.
There was another attack on a presidential guard base. Those presidential guards are loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It's widely assumed that the attack was launched by Hamas gunmen. There have been a series of incidents, basically almost immediately following this call by Mahmoud Abbas for these early elections.
Hamas has made it clear that they're completely opposed to the idea. They say that they won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, about 70 percent of the seats fair and square in January. There's no need for these early elections. They say that it's unconstitutional. But Mahmoud Abbas, who does have the backing of the United States and to some extent, Israel, insists on going ahead. And that's what this clash is all about, Betty.
NGUYEN: Ben, let's step away from this and look at it in a bigger context just for a moment. Because not too long ago Jordan's King Abdullah warned the U.S. about the possibility of dealing with three civil wars in the Middle East. Is this possibly one of those nightmare situations?
WEDEMAN: It certainly appears to be the case. King Abdullah said this in interviews with American networks. He said that he was worried that by the beginning of 2007, there will be three major civil wars in the Middle East; among the Palestinians, in Lebanon, and in Iraq.
And certainly, in the case of the Palestinians, the nightmare scenario is coming true. Hamas and Fattah, who have never been on good terms, are now openly firing at one another. There doesn't seem to be a break in the situation. They seem to be both determined to confront one another. And of course, the price could be very high for the Palestinians, Betty.
HOLMES: Well, Ben, T.J. here now.
Also you mentioned Americans have been backing the president there, Mahmoud Abbas. And also, there's also help being given by the American military, some military advisers there helping the Abbas forces. What happens to them now? Where are they left to play in this scenario?
WEDEMAN: Well, those American advisers, who are helping train the presidential guard, are in Jericho, which is in the West Bank, and which is by Palestinian terms, relatively quiet down there. But what the United States has done is it has thrown in its lot, politically, financially, militarily to a certain extent, with Mahmoud Abbas, the Fattah movement, and those around it.
And therefore, there's the danger that the United States will be seen as a party to this civil war, because it is providing financial assistance, military training and logistical support for one side in this conflict. And this is a very messy conflict - T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Our Ben Wedeman, keeping an eye on the situation for us there.
Thank you. We'll probably be checking back in with you. But thank you so much, Ben Wedeman.
Now we've got some other things to tell you about in the news. We're talking about Iraq, as well.
Another mass kidnapping to tell you about there. This time it happened at the office of an aid group there, the Iraqi Red Crescent. This was in downtown Baghdad. Government officials say gunmen dressed in Iraqi army uniforms abducted more than two dozen employees and visitors there.
Also, more American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. The military says a roadside bomb blew up near a combat patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding a fourth soldier. That was yesterday north of Baghdad.
Fifty-seven American soldiers have been killed in Iraq this month.
Also, search planes keeping around-the-clock vigil over Mt. Hood, trying to find any sign of life from three missing climbers. On the ground, rescue crews are preparing to resume searching this morning.
NGUYEN: Ten U.S. Congressmen today will wrap up an unusual three-day visit to Cuba. It is the largest Congressional group to visit the Communist nation since 1959.
Now, the visit - opposed by the Bush administration - seeks to ease tensions between Washington and Havana.
A one-two punch in Oregon. An explosion and a fire at a substation near Portland knocked out power to some 50,000 customers overnight. This comes on the heels of last week's wicked wind and rainstorm in the Northwest. It also caused outages. More than 600,000 customers are still without power in Washington and Oregon. So, let's get a check of the weather today and see if they're going to get any relief in that department. Reynolds Wolf joins us now in his nice and warm weather center.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.
Unfortunately, it's not going to be nice and warm in parts of the Pacific Northwest where high temperatures today will just get into the upper 30s in many spots. They aren't expecting much in terms of precipitation, maybe some scattered showers along the coast for the most part, maybe some snowflakes in Vancouver.
But for much of Oregon as well as Washington state, it should be pretty dry - certainly good news. Temperatures on Mt. Hood mainly into the 30s. But above 10,000 feet we're talking about single digits. So, let's keep our fingers crossed for the folks searching for the hikers today.
Meanwhile, a strong storm moves through portions of the Rocky Mountains. The snow storm, as well as some scattered showers in the Great Lakes, and nice and warm, surprisingly, in parts of the Northeast.
We'll give you the latest, coming up in a few moments.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Reynolds.
HOLMES: Thank you, Reynolds.
NGUYEN: OK. Let's just say this. You're pinned down in an ice cave for days. The cold is almost unbearable.
So, how do you stay alive? Well, CNN's unflinching Rick Sanchez - who else but Rick Sanchez - will take a close look at how to survive severe weather. Test your skills along with him, plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And dude, honestly, you're the best thing to happen in Christianity.
JAY BAKKER, "PUNK PREACHER," REVOLUTION CHURCH: Well, I wouldn't say that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Dude.
HOLMES: They call him the punk preacher. And he just launched a new reality show. We'll speak to Jay Bakker. Faces of Faith goes punk. Haven't said that before here.
NGUYEN: Ashton Kutcher is not around.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: We're not kidding about this one. We go punk.
HOLMES: That's up in 20 minutes. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: You know, when I grow up, I want to be a professional basket - well, maybe. Well, no, well.
NGUYEN: Yes, scratch that.
HOLMES: Well, maybe not.
NGUYEN: Maybe a boxer.
HOLMES: Maybe a boxer. That's the way to go.
And if you haven't seen this, this is the latest incident. They're all friends really. They're just playing. They're just playing.
No, this was an ugly incident last night after a hard foul. It got a little bit uglier. We're going to be talking about this all morning.
It's also the focus of our e-mail question. By all means, send those comments and any (ph). We're at weekends@cnn.com. But your comments about this. And things are kind of out of control in professional sports ...
NGUYEN: It was a regular smack-down.
HOLMES: It was.
NGUYEN: And that was just half of it. It continues across court. You have to wait to see the video. Don't miss it, if you didn't see it last night.
HOLMES: But at least the fans weren't involved.
NGUYEN: That's true.
HOLMES: So, that was a good thing.
But, hey, from the CNN Center, we're all getting along here in Atlanta. CNN's SUNDAY MORNING
NGUYEN: OK. In a moment.
HOLMES: Yes. It's a little ways to go. But I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. We want you to thank you for being with us today.
Disheartened but not defeated. Rescue crews are going back up Mt. Hood this morning, still searching for three experienced climbers last heard from one week ago. But there is still hope. Search crews reached their highest point yet yesterday. Still haven't made it all the way to the 11,000-foot summit. Search-and- rescue flights - well, they continue, too, around the clock.
C-130s with thermal imaging sensors are scanning the mountain for any sign of life. And the weather - well, it was a little bit better yesterday. But some 50-mile-per-hour winds still, and deep snow hampered efforts at the top of that mountain.
All right. I guess we're going to do a little dot com right now. I should turn and look at you. We're expecting a story from Rick Sanchez, which we'll get to in a little bit about the mountain, and what it's like to survive up there.
I'm sure folks who are e-mailing in and seeing our report ...
NICOLE LAPIN, NEWS ANCHOR, CNN PIPELINE: Yes, e-mailing a lot of stories about that, as well.
But right now what people are e-mailing is about TIME magazine Person of the Year.
NGUYEN: And it's about you, Nicole.
LAPIN: No, it's about you. That is you. Congratulations.
NGUYEN: No, it's you. You, the viewer.
LAPIN: Well, whatever it is, it's you, that blogging, that YouTubing generation. So, do you want to read more about yourself? You can go to cnn.com to indulge a little.
Well TIME magazine's editors saw the year 2006 as a story of collaboration and community. The idea that people - Internet users, the broad-ranging you - wrestled influence from the few powerful and empowered yourself and others online by creating that MySpace account, by adding to Wikipedia, by writing that review on Amazon.com.
That's what made you win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, LARRY KING LIVE: My selections for TIME's Persons of the Year are Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Who else?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAPIN: Well, Larry said there was some stiff competition right there. A lot of people considered for this honor.
TIME considered Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Or the Democrats for retaking Congress - that's what Larry wanted. Or former Vice President Al Gore for global warming. Kim Jong-il was considered.
Well, those people were also featured as people who matter, so they got something.
But the cover is a really big deal. TIME has been putting out this edition since 1927, featuring the notorious to U.S. presidents to the greats, to newsmakers, to peacemakers.
And now - it's you.
And the Person of the Year edition of TIME magazine hits newsstands tomorrow. And it's also going to have kind of an interesting thing, a reflective cover, so it shows the person who won.
NGUYEN: You.
LAPIN: You. But if you can't wait until then, you can go to cnn.com/personoftheyear to read more.
And here's something else. Are you feeling a little empowered, because you got this title?
NGUYEN: Yes.
LAPIN: So, (INAUDIBLE) has something called iReport, where you can contribute to our newscast, so you have to do something, because now you're so great, and you contribute to the community.
NGUYEN: So, after my name, can I put, Betty Nguyen, TIME Person of the Year?
LAPIN: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: I like the way it sounds.
LAPIN: On everybody - resumes around the world are changing right now.
NGUYEN: All of you can do that, as well. So, change your resumes.
LAPIN: And you can go to cnn.com/exchange, and you can check out how to contribute, so you can do something to do get that honor.
NGUYEN: Gotcha (ph).
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: It's all about you.
LAPIN: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HOLMES: We now want to get back to the story about those missing climbers. Rescue crews going back up Mt. Hood this morning, still searching for three experienced climbers last heard from a week ago. Still a lot of hope here. Search crews reached their highest point yesterday, but still haven't made it all the way to the 11,000-foot summit. Search-and- rescue flights continue around the clocks - C-130s, thermal imaging sensors scanning the mountain for any sign of life.
The weather still a little better. But 50-mile-per-hour winds causing a problem and deep snow hampered efforts at the top of that mountain.
And if conditions allow, rescue crews hope to make it over the north face of the mountain top. That is where climber Kelly James was when he was last heard from, but that was seven days ago.
CNN's Rick Sanchez now with a look at what it takes to survive severe weather and the altitude.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT, LOVELAND PASS, COLORADO: There are places on earth where you feel God's fury. But I can't imagine any of them being any worse than this, what we're feeling right now.
We're about - almost 12,000 feet. This is the Continental Divide.
I've been in enough hurricanes to know what hurricane force gusts, if not winds, feel like. This is easily at least 60-mile-an- hour gusts that are blowing through here. At times it's difficult to stand up. It's a biting cold. It's hard to see. In fact, it's downright painful.
The question now is, if you are stuck in these conditions, what do you do? How do you survive?
We've elicited the help of two renowned mountaineering experts, who teach that the first order of business is to build a snow cave. Without it, you will not survive.
PHIL POWERS, AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB: We would just get in there, into that cave, get on our packs to insulate ourselves from the snow.
SANCHEZ: I see.
POWERS: And to stay warm, huddle close together all night.
SANCHEZ: Even in a snow cave, you could still get slammed by an avalanche.
But experienced mountaineers avoid it by taking into account both slope and snow density when figuring out where to camp.
POWERS: We can't see the top of that peak.
SANCHEZ: Look straight up there. Because of this wind you can't see it, but couldn't that start an avalanche at any time?
POWERS: It's not tall enough ...
SANCHEZ: I see.
POWERS: ... right now to start an avalanche. If it did slide, it has no energy.
SANCHEZ: But by far, the biggest killer is the weather itself. Within hours of being exposed, mountaineers can suffer hypothermia, which causes them to become strangely delusional.
POWERS: And you'd eventually become euphoric. You'd think that the snow is really warm and soft, and lay down and go to sleep forever.
SANCHEZ: It is why some victims are found disrobed. They actually believe it's warm in freezing weather.
Experts - who recommend not going into these conditions without a shovel, a backpack, a head lamp, a compact stove to melt water in, at least a sleeping bag - say even with these items, under extreme conditions you'll still only be able to hold on for so long.
Rick Sanchez, CNN, Loveland Pass, Colorado.
(END VIDEO)
HOLMES: And Rick did make it off the mountain just fine, I do believe.
NGUYEN: Yes, we're happy to say. He'll be off to another adventure.
HOLMES: He's survived a lot of stories, hasn't he?
NGUYEN: So, keep it here.
HOLMES: Well, we're going to move on here to the guy that they call the Punk Preacher. Jay Bakker, son of the infamous televangelists, Jim and Tammy Faye.
NGUYEN: Some people just call him "dude."
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And T.J. spoke with the dude about stepping in his father's footsteps punk style in his new reality show. There he is.
Faces of Faith this morning. The Punk Preacher and T.J. Don't want to miss this, in about five minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sony has created a new way for you to curl up with your favorite book. It's called the Sony Reader. RON HAWKINS, V.P. PORTABLE READER SYSTEMS, SONY ELECTRONICS: The Reader was created to really to provide people with a portable electronic device where they could take multiple books and documents with them in a small, compact package.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The electronic book is easy to read, and allows users to flip from page to page. Readers will be able to store a whole library of books on the device. And they'll be able to download from among thousands of books on the Internet.
HAWKINS: We don't have the vision that we're going to replace the print book anytime soon. In fact, we see it as supplemental. The reader gives them the opportunity to take those books in a small portable package. And that's where the value lies.
(END VIDEO)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, dude, honestly, you're the best thing to happen in Christianity.
JAY BAKKER, THE "PUNK PREACHER," REVOLUTION CHURCH: Well, I wouldn't say that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: In this morning's Faces of Faith, son of the preacher man. Yes, I'm talking about Jay Bakker. You know the last name. He is the son of those infamous televangelists, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.
I spoke with him earlier this week about his new reality show. It's called "One Punk Under God." I talked to him about his new ministry and kind of sort of moving in his father's footsteps. And I also talk to him about his church's unique location.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
HOLMES: Why a bar, of all places, would you choose to have church, with all the liquor and the cigarettes, and all that stuff around you? Why a bar? Why would you have church there?
JAY BAKKER, REVOLUTION CHURCH: Well, it seems like a comfortable place for a lot of people. They don't have to come out to church.
And I think it's just kind of a common ground, you know. It's not saying we need to come to you or - you know, you need to come to us or we're going to come all the way over to you. It's just kind of somewhere to meet.
And it's just a really laid-back atmosphere. And I think a lot of people who have been hurt by a church, or maybe have fallen through the cracks a little bit, feel uncomfortable in a church building. So, a bar is kind of a neat place to meet.
HOLMES: Well, tell me this. Do you think people are - I guess the name, Jay Bakker. That last name. Are people somewhat skeptical of you, because of that last name? And, of course, your parents ...
BAKKER: Probably just bloggers and media people, because really, we don't talk much about it. I mean, since I've been doing media, I've answered 100 questions about it. And there's a lot of bloggers that like to talk about my parents.
But really, it's not something that comes up very much.
HOLMES: Well, you don't think - really, that name, I mean, your parents' name, it's - I guess your dad, I guess you could call him the king of evangelical scandal, kind of. I mean, the name is out there. It's famous.
And people aren't a little skeptical of you, wondering, oh, maybe like father, like son, in that instance?
BAKKER: You know, once again, I mean, that's something that I've seen on some blogs for the show or blogs on, actually, CNN for some things.
But really, with the people that we work with, most of them are in their 30s, 20s and 30s. They're almost too young to remember the whole scandal. So, I really don't run into that a whole lot.
HOLMES: Well, again, even though, despite the scandal attached to the name, it's still a famous name. Do you think it's helping you out in building your ministry?
BAKKER: Well, I definitely think it got my foot in the door when I started. And I think the connection is probably why they did the documentary, too.
So, I think it's helped some. Yes, definitely.
HOLMES: Well, give people an idea. Now, what is church like? They know it's in a bar, but what can you expect when you walk into that bar? Can you order a drink and sit down and listen to your sermon?
BAKKER: Yes. Yes, you can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ONE PUNK UNDER GOD," THE SUNDANCE CHANNEL)
BAKKER: But I do want to remind you. Buy something at the bar. Tip your waiters and waitresses. I've always wanted to say that in the church (ph)."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAKKER: Basically, we put an iPod on shuffle. I get up after - I mean, after the shuffle plays, we turn it down. I get up. I speak for about 30 minutes, and people come in and out.
And then we're done. And we usually hang out for an hour or two, and then go out to eat.
HOLMES: How are you, as well - I think I've read that you've resisted the temptation to take up a collection at church. How are you funded? And have you gone that route? Are you taking up a collection?
BAKKER: Well we do - we have a support box in the back, that people can donate if they want to. And we also have a monthly newsletter that we put out over the Internet.
Because actually, most people who attend Revolution attend through it, on the Internet.
HOLMES: I do want to wrap up by asking, certainly, about your mother. I know - a lot of people know she's in bad health now.
Tell me about the relationship with her that you have now, and seeing her go through what she's going through, and also about the relationship you have with your dad now.
BAKKER: Well, as far as my mom is concerned, we've always had a very close relationship. And she's really sick. She's in stage four cancer.
And this is the hardest thing I've ever been through. It's just so intense to see someone you love get overtaken by cancer. Nothing prepares you for it.
And me and my dad are doing better. My dad called me yesterday and said, hey, I saw some of your press. And, you know, it's really going great. And me and my dad are really trying to reconnect as of lately.
HOLMES: All right. And for people out there who may be turned off, like you say, by traditional church, what would be your sales pitch to them right here, right now, if you're trying to get them into your church?
BAKKER: Well, I just think I would say that, you know, religion - man's religion - we've made a lot of mistakes in the church, in the traditional church. And God loves you, really, just the way you are. It's not about do's and don'ts.
And there's a good news message, and it's grace. God loves you right where you're at. And you don't have to take my word for it, you know. Check out the red letters in the Bible.
(END VIDEO)
HOLMES: A church where you can order a drink. Probably hasn't been one like that before.
Well, stay here. We're back with our e-mail question in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Just a few minutes now before eight on the East Coast.
NGUYEN: And update on all your top stories. That is straight ahead.
HOLMES: Yes, while searchers look for those three missing climbers in Oregon, we'll talk to a man who survived 17 days stranded on that very same mountain.
NGUYEN: It is quite a story.
And, have you seen this video? Well, we're going to show it to you. A big-time basket brawl in the Big Apple.
HOLMES: And this morning we are asking you about that big-time brawl. Has fighting become an accepted part of sports?
E-mail us, weekends@cnn.com. We're going to read those responses in our next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Now in the news. Another mass kidnapping in Iraq, this time in offices of an aid group, the Iraqi Red Crescent, which is in downtown Baghdad. Dozens of people have been abducted in this. We do have a live report from Baghdad that is just minutes away.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair made an unannounced visit to Iraq today. Blair meet with his Iraq counter parts and expressed his support for Iraq's attempt to end the country's rampant violence.
HOLMES: In just few hours New Yorkers get a chance to put their names on the first steel beams of Freedom Tower. Freedom Tower is being built on the site, of course, of the World Trade Center.
And congratulations. You are "Time's" person of the year.
NGUYEN: Appreciate that. What an honor.
HOLMES: It's you, it's me.
NGUYEN: It's all of us, even you watching.
HOLMES: Everybody. For its annual contest who is the most influential "Time" picked each and every person who uses or creates content on the Web. Tonight at 8:00 Eastern CNN's special "Time, Person of the Year." Find out how we beat out the other contenders like the president, the pope, Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il.
NGUYEN: Aren't they included?
HOLMES: Oh, yes. You. It's all of us. Well, an NBA blowout turns into an all-out brawl. We'll show you what happened, if you dare see this. We'll show you that next.
HOLMES: No love being felt there.
NGUYEN: And what is going on here? Another Christmas tree coming down? But wait. This time the Menorah is being removed, too. Find out what prompted this display dilemma once again.
Good morning, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, December 17th. It's 8:00 a.m. in Washington, 4:00 p.m. in Baghdad. We'll take you there as well. Good morning, I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: I'm T.J. Holmes. We thank you so much for being right here with us.
Snatched from work and hauled away at gunpoint. We are going to begin with this morning's mass kidnapping in Baghdad. CNN's Nic Robertson is following the latest developments for us from Baghdad. Hello to you, Nic.
ROBERTSON: Hello T.J. Good morning. Well 25 to 30 workers and visitors of the Iraqi Red Crescent humanitarian offices in the center of Baghdad today kidnapped by gunmen wearing Iraqi national police commando uniforms. They stormed the building, separated the men from the women, rounded up the men, put them in eight vehicles according to Iraqi's internal ministry and drove them off.
Now, the uniforms they wore wearing indicated they would report to the Ministry of Information. It is not clear at this stage whether they were bona fide commandos, or whether they were just gunmen wearing commando uniforms. But according to the ministry, there were police checkpoints and police patrols in the area.
Not the only kidnapping. Three men were kidnapped on the streets not far away a little later, too. Not clear who was responsible for that kidnapping. One man tried to escape in that particular kidnapping. He was shot dead at the scene. Through all of this, British prime minister here visiting with Iraq's prime minister, Nouri Al-Maliki. British prime minister vowing support for Iraq, saying that the British were committed to building the security forces, hoping to turn over Iraq's control over their security forces, when Iraq is ready to take control, said that he was supporting Iraq at this time in trying to build national reconciliation and unity among great division here, TJ.
HOLMES: What else can you tell us about the Red Crescent? Have they been under attack before? This is an aid group there in Baghdad.
ROBERTSON: Pretty much anyone can come under attack in Baghdad at the moment. We saw a couple of years ago, about three years ago, quite towards the beginning of the conflict here, that insurgents targeted the Red Cross and blew up their offices and shut down their operation in Iraq, and it was left to groups like the Iraqi Red Crescent and other smaller NGOs to carry out humanitarian work here. They are and do provide a vital assistance to many people here who struggle to make ends meet. What the gunmen were doing targeting them could be -- they could be kidnapping them to make money through bribery and extortion. This has happened in the past. It could be a sectarian kidnapping. What we saw a couple of days ago, gunmen kidnapped about 25 to 30 people on the streets of Baghdad, released all the Shias among them, and the assumption is from every one here, security forces included. That it was the Sunnis the gunmen were after and very likely these Sunnis were killed. In this situation, it's not clear. Maybe it's money they are after and it could just be sectarian avenges.
T.J.
HOLMES: Our Nic Robertson live for us in Baghdad. Nic thank you.
NGUYEN: More American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. The military says a roadside bomb blew up near a combat patrol killing three soldiers and wounding a fourth. It happened yesterday north of Baghdad, 57 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq this month alone.
Iraq's vice president will be among Wolf Blitzer's guests on "Late Edition" today. That begins right here on CNN at 11:00 Eastern.
HOLMES: Search crews at Mt. Hood not ready to give up, but the situation there becoming more desperate by the day. Crews going back up the mountain this morning hoping to reach the 11,000-foot summit. Worsening weather kept them from reaching that goal yesterday. Winds gusted up to 50 miles per hour on the mountaintop the north face of the summit, where climber Kelly is believed to be hold up in snow cave. Those search and rescue crews are getting plenty of air support with helicopters keeping an eye on the snow-covered peaks. A c-130 cargo plane tries to look through the snow. We have more from Joe Harrington a CNN affiliate KALO in the air over Mt. Hood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE HARRINGTON, KALO: The c-130 circles Mt. Hood. The crew copiously searching the seemingly endless wilderness. By eye, the pilot says it's like finding a needle in the haystack. That's why the team is relying on a high tech heat censor to find the men.
SEAN MORRISON, SENSOR OPERATOR: It looks like a collection of gray scale tones, and the climbers should be the hottest thing on the screen.
HARRINGTON: On the ground from the outside the sensor and its accompanying camera can be seen on the nose of the plane. In the air, operators are transfixed on the images it produces, panning it around at more than 12,000 feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you could offset it --
HARRINGTON: Fair weather at Mt. Hood, better than Reno, in fact, means there's a good possibility of finding the missing men and the team has supplies for them.
AL RENWICK, PILOT: There's a couple of radios in there, food, some water, and some signaling devices.
HARRINGTON: Now, this orange survival kit could be literally be the difference between life and death for the three climbers. If they're located, it has a parachute on it and can be thrown down to them. After a few hours, a hot spot. Had the men been located? Helicopters investigate. But it's not what the team has been hoping for.
ROSS WILSON, 304TH RESCUE SQUADRON: Everything we saw we sent the helicopters to, they didn't see anything over that was there.
HARRINGTON: Eyes go back to the screens. The search continues. But in the end, the men aren't found.
REX BURTON, NEVADA AIR NATL. GUARD: I was following the story all week long, coordinating this effort. The weather was horrible, and I figured today, of all days, we would have been able to find them.
HARRINGTON: Reporting near Mt. Hood, I'm Joe Harrington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: As of today, it's been a week since those climbers went missing. So here is the question for you. Is it possible to survive more than two weeks on a stranded mountain, especially this one? They haven't been there two weeks just yet. And hopefully they won't make it to that point. You can hear from a man who did survive after two weeks trapped on top of Mt. Hood. His name is Randy Nap, we'll tell you what he did to stay alive, that is in the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Don't miss it.
These folks have no heat, no light, and no television. The power is still out for nearly 500,000 customers in Oregon and Washington. Adding insult to injury, in a suburb of Portland, Oregon overnight more power outages after an explosion at a substation. Crews say they'll have to let the fire burn itself out.
HOLMES: Want to turn back to Reynolds Wolf, keeping an eye on the weather for us in the northwest and around the country. Good morning to you again sir.
WOLF: Good morning to both of you. The temperatures in the Pacific Northwest primarily in, say, Portland as well as Seattle will be mainly into the mid to some upper 30s. But for Mt. Hood it is going to be a bit cooler. In fact lets zoom in on that part of the cascades if you will. Sky conditions are expected today to be partly cloudy, temperatures warming up to around 18 degrees for Mt. Hood. We're talking about over 11,000 feet. Wind out of the west at 5 to 10. For this evening, we'll drop into the single digits; clear skies the high with an overnight low of 9 degrees. So again it is going to make quite a difference from the base of the mountain temperatures in the 30s. But high above, it's an entirely different picture. Showing you the forecast for the rest of the nation, we have a big snowstorm moving through the Rockies, some scattered showers, at the same time moving though portions of the Great Lakes. The eastern seaboard from Boston to New York, we are looking at temperatures going up into the 50s once again today for New York, 55, the high, 81 in Dallas, 52 in Denver, 36 in Salt Lake City, Chicago at 54 degrees.
For tomorrow, scattered showers now moving into portions of the Ohio Valley, some snowfall possible in Buffalo, and, again, cool conditions for the Northern Plains. That's a look at your forecast; lets send it back to you at the news desk.
NGUYEN: Thank you Reynolds.
WOLF: Thank you.
HOLMES: Thank you Reynolds.
Well, do you want to learn how to live a happier life?
NGUYEN: Sure.
HOLMES: Of course you do. You need to take a few lessons from a Monk. Coming up at the bottom of the hour our medical main man, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains why in today's "House Call."
NGUYEN: Check this out. These folks could use a few lessons there. Not happy, no. The unusual -- I shouldn't say unusual because it's usual, unrest in the Middle East is taking an unusual turn this morning. Men in the streets with guns. We'll take you live to Jerusalem to help sort out who is turning on who.
HOLMES: A few guys last night turning on each other at this game. We'll tell you what prompted some NBA stars, including one of them, the leading scorer, in the NBA, to drop the ball and start swinging. That story is coming your way in about ten minutes.
Please, we are getting some emails now but we can sure use a ton more. By all means weigh in on our question of the day.
NGUYEN: Hit us with your emails why don't you?
HOLMES: Has the fighting become an accepted part of sports? Hit us at WEEKENDS@CNN.com.
NGUYEN: We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, that looked like the way it was supposed to. Usually these demolition things are supposed to be over in a flash, just like you saw. This one actually took some three hours to bring the building down. Had a few technical issues. What you saw was just the very end of it. Pittsburgh officials have been trying for three years to rid the city of this abandoned high rise. So waiting three hours to get it down, maybe no big deal. Also, need to take you to Chicago where Chicago police are looking into the shooting death of friend of Bears player Tank Johnson. Willy Pollie (ph) was shot in a Chicago nightclub; Johnson was also at that club. Johnson is not going to play in the game today. He was arrested earlier this week after police found unregistered guns in his home.
In Massachusetts, U-mass officials say there will be disciplinary action against students who rioted after Friday's game. They lost the NCAA Division One game, and the situation spiraled pretty much out of control from there. Eleven people, including ten students were arrested. The university's vice-chancellor said some students will be expelled and could lose credit for this semester's academic record.
NGUYEN: All right. Look at this. Gunmen in the streets, shots ringing out. The threat of civil war among Palestinians is much more real today. Why? Because Palestinian President Abbas yesterday called for early elections, and that provoked an angry backlash from Hamas. Now both sides are shooting at each other. Here's the latest from CNN's Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem. There have been several incidents. Take us to the latest one.
WEDEMAN: The latest one was sort of a running gun battle Betty in downtown Gaza City, not far from the residents and office of Palestinian President Abbas, who yesterday called for the early presidential and parliamentary elections. No clear idea at this point if there are any casualties from this gun battle that went on. One of the main streets in Gaza, not far from our office down there, you can see them just running up and down the street firing their weapons.
Now, the day started with an attack on a compound belonging to the presidential guard, which is loyal to Palestinian President Abbas. In that attack, one of the officers was killed. It is widely believed it was the Hamas militia that attacked that compound. Later in the day, there was what appears to be at least an attempted assassination attack against Mahmoud Zahar, who is the prime minister and senior and radical member of the militant group Hamas. He escaped from that incident unscathed.
And there have been a variety of other smaller, less bloody incidents, around Gaza and in the West Bank as well. We're hearing reports that there are demonstrations being organized by Fatah in support of the Palestinian president, in support of these early elections, but it appears that what we're going to be seeing is, in the coming days continued clashes between these two heavily armed factions, more of these street demonstrations which could turn violent.
NGUYEN: Ben let's get to the heart of this. You mentioned it briefly, that the call by Abbas for these early elections, Abbas saying that it could even takes place within three months. Tell us why this is the rub, why Hamas is very against early elections.
WEDEMAN: Well, basically, because in January of this year Hamas won with about 70 percent of the vote parliamentary elections in which they defeated Fatah roundly. One of the reasons why they did so well in those elections was many Palestinians are completely disillusioned with Fatah, which they believe have mismanaged affairs in the Palestinian territories, is wildly corrupt. That's why Hamas won.
But I was in Gaza at the time, and it was clear from almost the beginning that Fatah weren't going to be good losers. I spoke with one senior member who told me, we're not going to accept these results and we are going to derail a Hamas government. And that's really what's been going on since January. You've had Fatah working in every possible way to undermine Hamas' ability to govern. And, of course, Hamas' ability to govern has also been crippled by the fact that the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian authority, now controlled by Hamas, is the subject of an international boycott by the United States, by the European Union, by Israel, and, therefore, it really cannot function. So the Hamas government has been under attack, in a sense, not violently by politically, from the day they were elected in January.
NGUYEN: Well, the violence has spilled over into the streets today. Ben Wedeman on top of all of this, joining us live from our Jerusalem bureau, we thank you.
HOLMES: Last night, Knicks-nuggets brawl or game, there was a game in there somewhere. What do you think about it? We've been asking for your opinion about this. Up next, we'll read some of your e-mails.
NGUYEN: But first here's a "House Call" preview.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey thanks Betty. Today we're looking at the mind-body connection on "House Call." Specifically happiness. Now, it's something that people strive for. It's even in our Declaration of Independence. This morning we'll find out who's the happiest and, more importantly, why. Plus, how a positive attitude could actually reduce the amount of medicine that people take. All of that coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tired of the same old boring workout on the treadmill? Now you can spice it up just by stepping it up. Sprinting up hills, walking or running on flat roads, tread ride is an aerobic class on treadmills.
JENNIFER RENFROE, CRUNCH FITNESS DIRECTOR: We run hills and flat roads change the incline and change the pace. It's a great cardio vascular workout in about 45 minutes.
COSTELLO: She says people who work out regularly on the treadmill may not be working out at the intensity they need to burn the most calories during their workout. This class is designed to amp up the intensity level.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, your clothes fit better. You feel better about yourself. You can go home and eat a Snickers bar. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was awesome. It was my first time taking the class. I'm actually a runner so this would be a great cross training tool for me.
COSTELLO: Jennifer says you can make the class tougher by adding a four to 16 pound weighted vest, but that's optional. The best part is you will burn anywhere from 400 to 700 hour calories per hour.
Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Check this out; a battle over a nativity scene has become the center of controversy in New York. A man in West Chester said a nativity scene should be displayed along with a Christmas tree and Menorah in the public park. And Henry Ritell went to court to get it done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY RITELL, BRIARCLIFF MANOR RESIDENT: I consider it a right to what I want. I'm entitled to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: OK. He considers it a right, but members of the village board of trustees said the Menorah is next to a Christmas tree and that already represents both faiths.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL BLAU, VILLAGE MANAGER: The Menorah and the Christmas tree truly reflect a diversity of the community and are reflective of the holiday season. They do not believe that the crest belongs in that holiday display.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Not everybody agrees. After the court battle over the issue continued, the village, well, it eventually decided to take them both down. We've heard this before. Remember that Seattle Airport situation? So no nativity scene, no Menorah, no Christmas tree. Now Ritell's attorney is going back to court. Ritell said village officials should have told folks they were taken the whole thing down. There's more to come. We'll keep you posted.
HOLMES: Another fight to tell you about this morning. This was at Madison Square Garden. They have huge boxing fights over the years.
NGUYEN: On basketball courts?
HOLMES: It's boxing.
NGUYEN: Whoa, whoa! HOLMES: They got a fight last night. It has a hard foul that sparked all this in the Knicks-Nuggets game. I don't know if the response really matches the initial incident. Keep your eye on the NBA scoring leader right in the middle of your screen. He is going to be suspended and fined for what you are about to see him do right there!
NGUYEN: Whoa!
HOLMES: That is Carmelo Anthony.
NGUYEN: That was a hard right hook.
HOLMES: It was a good right hook. Betty, you're a boxing fan! Ten players ended up being ejected including, yes, Carmelo. You saw that punch in the middle of your screen there.
NGUYEN: It looks like a bunch of kids on the playground, pulling on shirts.
HOLMES: These are some rich kids, too.
NGUYEN: They will be fined.
HOLMES: All waiting to hear what the punishment is going to be. This is the topic of our viewer question for today. Has the fighting in sport just become an accepted part of it?
NGUYEN: Dave says, he is from British Columbia, Canada, "I went to a boxing match the other day and a hockey game broke out."
Apparently these folks went to a basketball match and apparently a hockey game broke out too.
HOLMES: This brings up an interesting point and debate maybe that we've been talking about around here. This is from Henry Butler in Pennsylvania he says, "Although I find this nonsense reprehensible for black NBA players, I'm puzzled that the same behavior is accepted as the status quo for white NHL hockey players."
So that makes you maybe give it some thought at least.
NGUYEN: And Todd from Fredericksburg says, "That wasn't a brawl, that was a slap fight between prima donnas. I've seen better action when soccer moms fight over the last Tickle Me Elmo."
HOLMES: You know, you put a lighter spin on it, and he's probably right.
NGUYEN: That's true. You don't want to get women going at it. But here's our e-mail question because I know you have more to say about it. NBA brawl has fighting become an accepted part of sports? Has it or should it? What needs to be done about it? Send us your thoughts, WEEKENDS@CNN.com. Hit us up with them.
HOLMES: Why do you want to fight?
NGUYEN: I don't. I need to laugh this morning. Do you need a laugh?
HOLMES: Good laugh. Always good for you. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will let you in on the healing powers of happiness. That is coming up in five minutes on "House Call." Don't want to miss Dr. Gupta.
NGUYEN: Also, an amazing survival story. We really mean amazing. While searchers look for those three missing climbers in Oregon, we'll talk to a man who was rescued on that same mountain after 17 days. Hear his story.
HOLMES: And is this man the next president of the United States? He hasn't even said if he's running, but our Howard Kurtz takes a closer look at what you've been bombarded with lately, Obama mania later this morning that is on "Reliable Sources."
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