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CNN Sunday Morning
Presidential Candidates Campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire
Aired December 23, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so big and so many and they started howling and we thought they were circling us and (INAUDIBLE) we just kept screaming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Imagine trying to keep a wolf pack at bay. Three women and their dogs, the targets of wolves, more on their daring escape.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Also we are talking about Youssif this morning. This little boy, his a story of hope and possibility and you are making it happen through impact your world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were there, they did it and you forget about them. You're busy trying to get to Wal-Mart to buy something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: A look at a holiday ritual you might not know about and why we pause to remember today.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, bringing you news from around the world, I'm Randy Kaye in for Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes, good morning to you all. It's Sunday, December 23. You got just today and tomorrow to do the shopping and then it's Christmas. So, hope you are on it. Are you on it?
KAYE: I'm on it. I'm done with it.
HOLMES: You're done with it? I'm done as well. All right. Way to start off the morning, so far. Let's get you in formed, now. We're going to start off on the campaign trail, heading into the final stretch in both Iowa and New Hampshire. The candidates out in force. You know who else is out in force? Our reporters, the best political team on television.
Chief national correspondent, John King, is in Manchester, New Hampshire this morning, Dana Bash in Des Moines, Iowa. Ladies first, so we're going to start with Dana this morning in Des Moines. Good morning to you. Tell us, what are folks - what do they really have on their minds right there in Iowa, the issues on their mind, besides Christmas right now, but still what's on their brain?
DANA BASH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I was just going to say, how do I get to the mall fast? How do I wrap the presents I need to wrap? I mean, let's face it that's the reality. But, in terms of the issues, you know, it's very interesting, T.J. On the Republican side, the issues are really coming home, those bread and butter issues, the economy. We've seen, you know, of course the stories we have been covering about the mortgage crisis. There is certainly a feeling of a concern about the economy, about people's own personal savings and so forth. And so, that is really topping the list on the Republican side.
And you know, the other thing that you hear, go to these Republican events and more often than not, what Republican candidates, the questions they get, it's about immigration that is dominating, dominating the Republican side. And of course, as you can imagine the social issues here in Iowa. They're very important to Republicans. About 40 percent of the Republican electorate, they are Christian conservatives, so abortion, same-sex marriage, those are top of the list for Republicans, here in Iowa.
HOLMES: Well John, same thing on the brain, the voters of New Hampshire?
JOHN KING, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: What's striking, T.J., it is a little bit different here. Among Democrats in New York, Iraq is by a decent margin the No. 1 issue followed by the economy. Among Republicans, the social issues matters much less. New Hampshire, a libertarian state, Republicans in this state tend to favor abortion rights. IN fact, our own polling shows they favor abortion rights, Republicans in New Hampshire favor more than the entire population of Republicans and Democrats and Intendments, nationally. So, when Mike Huckabee is campaigning here, he calls himself a conservative leader in an advertisement. In Iowa, that ad calls him a Christian leader. So, there's a different tone of the campaign here in New Hampshire, because it is a different state.
New Hampshire, on the Republican side has for years been defined by taxes. Mitt Romney hitting John McCain, just yesterday, on the tax issue saying he didn't support the Bush tax cuts back in 2001, guess why, though. Because John McCain, according it a new "Boston Globe" poll out this morning, has polled just about even with Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, so the horse race is driven by the issues, T.J. and it is very close.
HOLMES: Well, tell us - I'm going to ask both of you this, I'll start with you again, Dana - but, how are they handling the holiday campaign schedule? I assume everybody will take a break at lease on Christmas day and then you're in that, really a home stretch getting to January 3 there for the caucus in Iowa. But, I mean, is there a risk of - I mean, I know Iowa and New Hampshire, they enjoy being the first in the country, but is there a point where they're like, hey, give us a break, let us get through the holidays and we will deal with you when it's time to deal with voting come January 3?
BASH: There certainly is that point and that's why you're not going to see any Republicans on the campaign trail tomorrow, December 24, Christmas Eve or Christmas day. They will defiantly be back out in full force, everybody, you're right, on December 26 and they will be through January 3, through caucus day.
You know, I spent some time yesterday with the mayor of Newton, Iowa, who happens to be an Independent, and Independent and somebody who is undecided. I went over to his house and just in the span of two days, he got over 20 pieces of mail from candidates on both sides of the aisle and he is kind of trying to sift through it to find his bills, to find his Christmas cards. He's sitting with his family and they're trying to deal with Christmas, wrap their presents and so forth. So, this is something that, certainly Iowans take pride in, their tradition of the first in the nation caucuses, but there is a little bit of frustration that is happening right around Christmastime. So, it is something that candidates understand, they have to tread lightly on, that's why they're going to just at least cease and desist for two days, give them a little bit of a break.
HOLMES: And John, all right, with you, are they treading lightly in New Hampshire, as well? And can we have expect - I mean, we got polls that are all over the place, kind of, nothing really clear. We know righteous tight, in a lot of ways in Iowa and New Hampshire, as well, but can we expect those numbers to change and maybe even dramatically once people do start solely focusing on the campaign instead of all the holiday stuff they got going on?
KING: For starters, I need the candidates to stop campaigning so I can start my shopping, that would be nice. But, T.J. one of the things, everyone here in NY says they will not be influenced at all by what happens in Iowa. They're a very independent minded state, but the ads on this morning, some holiday ads, no negative ads around Christmas, that's important to note. The candidates don't want to offend people around the holidays. But what tends to happen is, Dana's right, the candidates will start the morning of the 26th, they'll be back out campaigning right after Christmas. Iowa comes just a few days after that. New Hampshire doesn't necessarily embrace Iowa's winners, but it often rejects Iowa's losers, because in addition to all the issues, one of the big factors in this campaign, both Democrat and Republican, the voters tell us that all these little events that we are going to, they want someone who can win next November. So, if you lose in the early states it tends to hurt you as you go on, because candidates, it's human nature. They want to go with the winner.
HOLMES: Want to go with a winner. John King, Dana Bash, certainly winners in our eyes. Part of the best political team on TV. Dana in Des Moines, of course, John in Manchester, New Hampshire. We hope - we understand they're going to take a break with Christmas Eve and Christmas eve and maybe you'll get some shopping done. John, good luck with that. Good to see you both.
BASH: And T.J., did he put his gloves on yet?
HOLMES: Yes, he does. He had his gloves on. Yes, he's got the gloves on. He got the message.
BASH: You guys are nuts. We'll see you later, all right?
KAYE: Traffic is flowing again this morning on interstates in Kansas and Missouri.
HOLMES: Yeah, this comes after a powerful winter storm shut down several highways. The bad weather being blamed for multiple vehicle accidents. And we don't mean multiple by a few, we're talking 30, 40, 50 car pileups and five traffic deaths blamed on the weather, three of those deaths in Minnesota.
Turn to Texas where one person was killed in a pileup involving 50 vehicles. This is some of that aftermath and some of that mess happened near Interstate 40, this was near Amarillo. Some of the uninjured accident victims were children. And of course, children, a lot of people were in the car, had their heaters on, so they're not really bundled up for the weather outside, and a lot of people who came upon the accident saw these people cold, were trying to help them out. So, they actually started opening Christmas gifts that they had for other folks, started handing out coats and hats and gloves and things that they as Christmas gifts to take to family members, just to help those people on the side of the road stay warm. So, a nice bit of this story, at least, there.
Also, at least 18 people were taken to hospitals. Firefighters say cars were still crashing into each other even after emergency crews arrived on the scene.
KAYE: And in Kansas, another person died in a 30-car pileup on Interstate 70. This chain reaction pileup happened about 30 miles west of Topeka. Accidents in whiteout conditions forced authorities to close a 40-mile stretch of I-70 in Kansas. Among the victims, Army medics, they were headed home for the holidays before shipping out to Iraq. And many of them actually helped treat the accident victims.
HOLMES: And look at this, as well, this is near Saint Joseph, Missouri. Almost zero visibility when this pile up happened. More than 40 vehicles involved on this accident on Interstate 29. At one point, Missouri highway patrol shut down about 100 miles of the interstate from Saint Joseph to the Iowa state line.
KAYE: Reynolds Wolf standing by in the Weather Center.
Reynolds, you know, when you see all of this kind of stuff, all these accidents and all that we just told you about, relatives at home, probably a little jittery if they have some family on the road.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh yeah, with good reason, because everyone is in a hurry to get where they need to go to visit family or maybe go for that last minute Christmas present. When you're in a hurry on the roadways and you're impatient, you get slick continuations on the pavement, does not translate well, it's not a good situation.
Conditions in the air are kind of nasty, too. I want you to take a look at what is behind me, just for a moment. This is the United States, and think of this, if I can digress for a moment, as being back in biology class when you're in 7th grade and your teacher hands you a Petri dish, and they put some bacteria on it. Then a week later it looks like this. Let's add the Plains and man it's - goodness gracious, it kind of jumps out at you. Every single one of these specks you see indicates a plane that is in flight or is landing or is taking off. It is a busy time out there. Over 3,000 planes out there as we speak and even more are going to be added to the fray later on.
With the rough weather piled, it's inevitable that we're going to have some delays. And already we've got those for you on the screen. Washington, yes, you've got a grand stoppage until 9:30. Newark, as always, a few ground delays, we have some rough weather, about an hour and 25 minutes there. Philadelphia, about an hour or so and the delay are increasing. Out at Hartsville-Jackson, 30 minutes as we speak.
Now, coming up, we're going to have more on the forecast, but take a look at this. On the side of the screen, you have the very latest on your holiday travel. You see the blizzard conditions across Iowa and Wisconsin. On the bottom of the screen, you can see the five-day forecast for Kansas City, right now, but your favorite city is going to pop up, it always does, there's Knoxville (INAUDIBLE), and of course we will have more information for on your forecast throughout much of the day. We'll send it back to you.
KAYE: Thank you so much.
WOLF: You bet.
KAYE: Thunder, lightning and snow. Talk about your weird weather. Listen closely. You can hear that thunder rumbling. Our i- Reporter, Kevin Owensby, captured this rare weather phenomenon known as thunder snow. The video was shot yesterday from his home in Topeka, Kansas during a snowstorm.
HOLMES: We turn here to this fire we have to show you in Jacksonville, Florida. This is a church fire. See, there's a sign, Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church. This fire, apparently started around 5:00 a.m., this is on Hendricks Avenue, there in Jacksonville, Florida. Some 70 firefighters had to respond to the scene of this thing. We don't have any word on any injuries or deaths involved. Also, don't know a cause of this fire, but, wow, this church appears to be completely gutted by these flame.
Now again, any time there, there's no reason right now, we're being told that this fire is suspicious, but any time that fire does happen at a church, we are told that several agencies, including the FBI and the ATF and others are called to investigate. But they're saying it's too early to say whether or not it's arson. Certainly a sad day for the church coming right around the holiday time and Sunday, the day when everybody goes to the church right around the holidays, right before Christmas. A lot of people are expected to be at churches around the country on this day. So, really a sad time and unfortunate to see this, but again, no word on any injuries or deaths associated with it and no word on the cause of this fire. But, as you can see from this picture, that church appears to be a complete loss. That's too bad.
KAYE: So sad and the pastor is saying they still have hope, though, in a season of hope, but you look at that and it's certainly a difficult day for them.
HOLMES: So, they will hold on to faith, certainly, at this time. We'll continue to follow that, we're getting more updates about the cause of that fire and any injuries or anything associated, we'll certainly bring that to you.
Now bring something else to you here, that you don't hear about every day. A pack of hungry wolves surrounding three female joggers and attacked one of their dogs.
KAYE: This frightening incident happened near Anchorage, Alaska. Andrea Gusty (ph) of affiliate, KTVA has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were not afraid of us. They were really close.
ANDREA GUSTY, KTVA REPORTER (voice over): It was quick. So quick, the three friends didn't know what was happening until it was too late.
ALICIA BELERGROHSLEIN, SURROUNDED BY WOLFES: And they were so quiet, they just came right up on us. They just came right up on us. They were quick.
GUSTY: A pack of at least seven wolves surrounded the three women and their dogs as they jogged on Artillery Road. The lead wolves came within feet, circling the women as they tried to get away.
CAMAS BERKEMEYER, SURROUNDED BY WOLVES: I was rainbowing my pepper spray and they fell back a little bit, but as soon as we would turn our backs to try to go, they run up on us and then we would turn around and start scream again and I would sprayed my pepper spray.
BELERGROHSLEIN: We kept going and they're so big and so many and they started howling and we thought they were circling us. And it got us really panicked, but we kept screaming.
GUSTY: Alicia, Camas and their friend were more than a mile and a half away from cars. All their dogs were leashed because they'd read about the warnings of other attacks. The trio were careful not to run and instead the women walked backwards, screaming to keep the animals away and trying to keep everyone safe.
BELERGROHSLEIN: I love my dog with all my heart, but I can't jeopardize my friends and if that's what they wanted, I didn't know whether to leave him.
GUSTY: The women held tight to the leashes and were able to keep the wolves at bay, but not before the pack attacked Camas' American bulldog, Buddy. BERKEMEYER: My dog did get attack by the wolf, three wolves, he fought his way out as I'm pulling.
GUSTY: The women weren't physically hurt and Buddy had to have surgery to fix his gashes and bites left behind by the wolves. Camas worries the pack could attack again, this time only worse.
BERKEMEYER: They were not afraid of us and I'm afraid that if I was out here by myself, they would attack me. They were not afraid.
GUSTY: Wildlife expert say wolves are smart animals and learn quickly. Which means the pack will get worse before it gets any better.
RICK SINNOT, ALASKA FISH AND GAME DEPT: They figure out that a dog is easy to kill and it's food, then they can just come to the conclusion that there's a lot more dogs than moose, and let's just start eating the dogs for. And I'm not quite sure they've quite reached that point, but it sounds like they're working on that concept right now, yeah.
GUSTY: In the meantime, the only way to stop the wolf attacks is to stay away and not give the wolves an opportunity to take their attacks to the next level.
Andrea Gusty, CBS 11 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, coming up next here, we will be talking about the road to recovery.
KAYE: Now, we're sure that you remember little Youssif, the burned Iraqi boy who came to America for life-saving surgery. Well, we are going to show you his remarkable progress.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Its about 15 minutes past the hour on this Christmas Eve eve thing. Christmas Eve eve.
KAYE: There you go. Or Sunday morning.
HOLMES: Yeah, we'll go with that, it's the easiest way.
KAYE: Whatever you want to call it.
HOLMES: I'm glad you're here, many. You keep me balanced. All right folks, let's show you these pictures here. A thousand tires on fire, right now in a Fairfield Township, New Jersey, the fire started late last night and you can see firefighters are still on the scene here. The owner of the dump told CNN arson investigators are looking into what may have started this fire.
KAYE: Baby for sale and you won't believe the price. Police in Pensacola, Florida have arrested a couple on child neglect charges. Witnesses in a carwash fund-raiser say the couple tried to sell their two-month-old daughter; you're not going to believe this, for 30 bucks - 30 bucks for your daughter. The Department of Children and Families has custody of the baby now.
HOLMES: Here's another ridiculous story for you. A would-be robber at a Dairy Queen in Whitehall, Ohio, well, he is having a bad, bad day. Already he feels the need to rob a store, but wouldn't you know that an off-duty corrections officer happened to be in the restaurant at the same time. As you can see here, he's winning the fight. That's the off-duty officer there on top. He happens to be 6'4", 300 pounds. He grabbed the suspect, too him down and the suspect tried to grab a cash deposit back, struggled for a bit, but really, the guy is 6'4", 300 pounds. Good luck with that.
KAYE: And what did he get? What was his big thank you?
HOLMES: He got a free meal from the restaurant.
KAYE: Boy, what are a deal.
HOLMES: But, as one of writers pointed out to me, the guy is 6'4", 300 pounds it might be a few hundred bucks to feed that guy.
KAYE: That's true, he could probably use a big meal.
HOLMES: So, it might have worked out.
KAYE: Well, few stories have resonated with CNN's viewers as much as that of young Youssif.
HOLMES: Yes, the 5-year-old Iraqi boy severely scarred by attackers who set him on fire after dousing him with gasoline. He's now in the U.S. and he's begun a series of surgeries to undo the damage.
KAYE: CNN's chief medial correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells Youssif's story in a documentary airing Christmas Eve. We have a preview for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dr. Grossman let me scrub in to observe. He showed me how he hopes to undo much of what an unspeakably cruel act has done to this 5-year-old boy.
DR. PETER GROSSMAN, GROSSMAN BURN CENTER: We'll basically be excising this thickened scar tissue around here.
GUPTA: He planned to remove scar tissue from around Youssif's nose and insert tissue expander, small balloons under the healthy skin in Youssif's cheek and neck. Over time, Dr. Grossman hoped to stretch the healthy skin so it could replace the heavy scars on Youssif's chin, jaw line, and next to his ear.
GROSSMAN: Now it's time to operate. GUPTA: All right.
(CRYING)
GUPTA: Dr. Grossman took Youssif's case for free and expected to perform half a dozen or more operations over the next year. How Youssif's faired in this initial operation would play an enormous role in how well the boy heals and how much evidence remained of the attack that disfigured his young face.
For me, it was a fascinating, close-up view of state of the art burn surgery. For Youssif's parents it was an ordeal of waiting.
GROSSMAN: This is not a sure thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Youssif's life-altering surgery was made possible because of an outpouring of donations and support from you, our viewers. And we appreciate it. The whole story from Baghdad to Southern California premiers Christmas Eve at 10:00 Eastern on CNN's first "Impact Your World" special, "Rescuing Youssif."
KAYE: Christmas in Iraq. And American soldier joins us live from the war zone to tell us about her Christmas wish.
HOLMES: Also, if you're planning a holiday bash that includes caviar, you need to hear this. Really yours includes caviar?
KAYE: Oh yea. No, it doesn't, but it sounds yummy.
HOLMES: I got like Beef Smokies and things. I need to step up my party, apparently.
KAYE: No, not actually after you hear this story you may not want to.
HOLMES: It could be illegal, but it could also make you sick. So, come on over to my place for the smokeys and things.
KAYE: Much safer.
HOLMES: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Italy's prime minister tells the Afghanistan president, you can count on us. Prime Minister Romano Prodi met with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul today. Mr. Prodi pledged his country's long- term commitment. Italy has about 2,400 troops in the NATO force, there. The leaders of France and Australia, also vowed to stand by Afghanistan during visits, yesterday.
HOLMES: All right, we will turn to holiday parties and what people may be serving and we may get an education in Chicken in a Biscuit cracker. KAYE: Yes, our producer seemed to like those, think we should try them.
HOLMES: And it's just a cracker. There is no chicken or biscuit involved. It's just a cracker.
KAYE: I know you're having a hard time with that, but there's nothing there.
HOLMES: I can't get my head around this. All right, but we're talking caviar right now, actually. You might want to be careful with that caviar if you plan on serving that stuff.
KAYE: It may not only be illegal, but it could also make your party guests sick. CNN's Alessio Vinci has more on the caviar crack down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If you are planning to serve up caviar this holiday season, beware. This is Beluga, expensive, endanger and could be illegal. Police in Italy launched "Operation Beluga," a crackdown on illegal trade and labeling of caviar produced from protected fish species. They say, this raid netted 160 kilograms or about 350 pound of illegal caviar worth $1.5 million.
ELISABETTA MORGANTE, ITALIAN RANGER POLICE (through translator): There is a regulation to sell caviar. Caviar must be sold respecting certain authorizations and quotas.
VINCI: During a raid in Rome on Wednesday, officers used a mobile laboratory to inspect samples of caviar being sold at luxury shops. After a thorough analysis, they discovered that boxes of the delicate fish eggs were improperly label and confiscated them.
MORGANTE: We analyzed the DNA contained in these samples and through a chemical analysis, we can also establish possible contamination of the eggs.
VINCI: According to Italian police, the biggest amount of caviar was confiscated from a famous restaurant in Venice. While boxes of the precious gourmet food, coming from Russia and the Ukraine, were intercepted in both Rome and Milan.
(on camera): It was just a small operation against what is a believe to be a lucrative illegal business estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. So, if you plan to buy caviar for the holidays, make sure you buy the legal stuff.
Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We just can't get over the Chicken in a Biscuit and Beef Smokies that I serve at my party. KAYE: I'm looking forward to those.
And not caviar. You're not going to find, sorry.
KAYE: No, especially not after that.
HOLMES: All right, folks, well the final stretch before the Iowa caucuses, we're going to be talking about that next.
KAYE: The candidates, the issues, the voters, we're going to be will talking about all with our political producer, that is just minutes away.
WOLF: And we've got delays for you at the airports in Washington, Newark, Chicago, and New York City and Philadelphia. We're going to cover all the basis for you coming, not just in the skies, but also on the roads. That's only moments away, stay tuned.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A business growing with a surplus of achievements. Dubbed the "first woman of finance," Muriel Siebert, sure knows what it takes to make it in the biz.
MURIEL SIEBERT, CEO, MURIEL SIEBERT & CO: It takes some intuition, it takes a lot of study. You have to have enough ego to say I can do this and put that energy into it. You also have to be able to sell your idea because you can have the best ideas in the world.
WILLIS: Forty years ago, Siebert fulfilled her plan of becoming the first female member of the New York Stock Exchange. Today she oversees a seven branch brokerage firm that bears her name. And an advocate for women in business, Siebert attributes her success to helping others.
SIEBERT: You take pride in what you're doing and helping other people because we're not an island unto ourselves.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, good morning again, and welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KAYE: And I'm Randi Kaye. Here's a quick look at our top stories. A Christmas appeal for help from the parents of Madeleine McCann. She's the little British girl, you may remember, who disappeared from a Portuguese resort in May. Her parents released a video pleading for information.
HOLMES: Also, of course, is the campaign countdown. No break for the presidential candidates. They're making a final pushing for votes in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. The Iowa caucuses are January 3. New Hampshire's primary is on the 8th.
KAYE: We have got it all covered for you this morning, including all your winter weather, your travel delays that may be out there. Whoa!
HOLMES: Whoa! That kind of morning.
KAYE: Wow, Rey Wolf, coming in for a landing.
WOLF: That's how it's been. You know, in parts of the Midwest they're going to be dealing with turbulence. We've got nearly 3,500 planes that are in the air. Actually this is just a tiny sample of what we're going to be dealing with later in today as everyone is trying to go see their relatives on this great holiday.
Hey, take a look at one side of the screen. You've got your travel delays, there. On the bottom of the screen, Baltimore -- go Orioles. We've got the five-day forecast for you now. Billings, you're going to see those for you, popping up throughout much of the day.
Let's talk about the air travel that we have behind us. Obviously the skies are congested, obviously we've got a big storm system we're dealing with. And with that we do have some delays. There's delays at the following airports and Washington, D.C., ground stop until about10:30; Newark we've got some ground delays, Chicago, New York City and even into Philadelphia.
One of the biggest reasons why we have all these delays is pretty simple, it's this storm system that stretches from the western Great Lakes clear to the end of the Gulf of Mexico. As we zoom in on portions of the Midwest, we've got a few back ups and a few delays on the roadways. Obviously, in Minneapolis back over to Green Bay, even in Milwaukee where we have a live image for you out of Milwaukee.
Take a look at this very carefully. And as you look at the camera - I'm going to step out of the way - you'll notice it's shaking a little bit. That's not poor camera work, what that is, that's the breeze beginning to pick up. They're going to have some gusts from 35 to 40 miles-an-hour. Bank on it, you're going to have some delays there later on.
Now, let's go from that shot to Chicago. We have a great shot of Chicago for you, I believe that should be coming up. My goodness, it's breezy there, too. I'll tell you, this shot is so blue I feel like Papa Smurf without the white beard and the funny red hat, but again, it's going to be a cold day there, certainly that coffee is going to be tasting very good on a cold day in Chicago.
Let's go back to Madison, Wisconsin, where, hey, a great town there. Do we have the Madison, Wisconsin shot? Maybe we do? Oh, there we go. Goodness. Making me dizzy, here. The same situation you notice the cameras moving back and forth? Yep, same reason, the wind.
As we go back to the weather computer, very carefully and very quickly, what we're going to be seeing is all this drifting towards the east, places like Green Bay getting in on the snow action, back into Michigan. For the time being, mainly rain, but on the other side of the state, lake effect activity for places like Grand Rapids and for Kalamazoo, be ready for it. That's the latest on the forecast, let's send it back to you at the news desk. Strapped? I'm sure?
KAYE: After that, I'm sure.
HOLMES: Hey, it's a good time.
KAYE: Thank you.
HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You too.
HOLMES: Well, still hard to believe. Can you believe we will be voting in just 11 days? Not all of us, but the folks in Iowa, they're getting the first crack at the candidates, setting the stage for the first round of victory speeches and the first round of damage control and maybe the first round of I'm out of the race speeches. CNN political producer, Sasha Johnson has been all over Iowa to see which way the wind is blowing.
And Sasha, of course, it's a cold below 20 degree wind.
SASHA JOHNSON, CNN PRODUCER: I'm glad I'm in D.C.
HOLMES: Yes, can you believe that?
JOHNSON: I'm glad I got to come home.
HOLMES: All right, well, good to see you this morning. Tell us, how tricky is it now? It's so early that people are going to be voting, people aren't really thinking about this stuff right now. They got Christmas on the brain and the New Year's and then as soon as New Year's hits, two days later they have to vote. So really can we expect the numbers to almost dramatically change even and things become clear after people get the holidays off their brains?
JOHNSON: I don't really think so. There is actually a political spin on the holidays, if you can believe it. A lot of these campaigns take a look at the polls now, the Democratic race it's really a three- way race between Clinton, Obama and Edwards. Huckabee and Romney are rally dueling it out in Iowa among the Republican side.
But what these campaigns are saying is, you know even though we have to be nice right now and people maybe are not thinking about politics, what we're actually hoping is happening is that over Christmas dinner on New Year's day while they are watching the games, people are talking about politics and maybe they're helping relatives change sides, they're talking about where candidates stand on the issues. And remember, that it's something like 40 percent of Democratic caucus-goers and six in 10 Republican caucus-goers haven't made up their minds yet. So, these guys are going to be miking up minds as they're go into the caucuses. HOLMES: Pass the turkey. What do you think about Huckabee?
JOHNSON: Absolutely. Or, you're voting for Joe Biden. Why don't you come vote for Barack Obama? That kind of thing.
HOLMES: All right, well, who do you see as having a chance? We talk about Clinton, Obama and Edwards on the Democratic side, we talk about Huckabee and Romney, just being at the top. Who on both sides is kind of that sleeper, if you will? Who could come in and sneak away with maybe not even a victory, if not that, maybe a second place? Just a total surprise maybe on each side. Who are those candidates that could pull off a big one?
JOHNSON: Right. Well, I really think on the Democratic side we really can't discount John Edwards. We spend a lot of time talking about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, their star power, but you have to remember, John Edwards has been campaigning in Iowa since right after the 2004 elections.
HOLMES: But he's poling neck and neck with him anyway, even though we're not talking about him a lot.
JOHNSON: Absolutely. I mean, he really has the support of the traditional caucus goer. There is a lot loyalty for him in Iowa, so you can't discount him, and obviously you can't discount Mitt Romney. I mean, Huckabee might be ahead by a couple of points, but Mitt Romney's been there a lot, he spent a lot of money there, has a great organization. So, really, I don't think you can count either of them out.
HOLMES: All right, and how much clearer is this picture going to become after January 3? I mean, how many people can we expect to drop out? Do we expect anybody to drop out? And will the momentum from Iowa - you know, now you know, New Hampshire likes to be Independent, but still, Iowa means a lot.
JOHNSON: Right. Absolutely, no it does. And I mean they traditionally say there are three tickets out of Iowa, which I think you could argue is true on the Democratic side, so maybe we'll see three people come out, go into New Hampshire and go from there.
The others, the way the primary calendar is set up, they could conceivably hand in there through New Hampshire. I mean, it's only five more days, really.
But, John King made the point earlier that New Hampshire is Independent, but they don't really reward Iowa's losers. And I think that that's true. You're only going to have five days between the contest and so the person who comes in third in Iowa isn't really going to have a lot of time to make headway in New Hampshire and that's why you've actually seen candidates going back and forth between Iowa and New Hampshire. I mean, Hillary Clinton was there this weekend, and John Edwards is actually heading to New Hampshire the day after Christmas, before he goes back to Iowa to say, sort of, hey, don't forget about me, I'm going to go focus on Iowa now, but I need you guys to stay strong, so when I come out of Iowa, you can help me out.
HOLMES: Well, my goodness, even though they are not campaigning on Christmas, they expect people to be talking at them on Christmas day at the dinner table. Sasha Johnson, always talking about politics with us. Are you heading back to Iowa soon?
JOHNSON: Yep, the day after Christmas.
HOLMES: The day after Christmas, bundle up, dear lady.
JOHNSON: Thank you, have a happy holiday.
HOLMES: See you soon. You too.
KAYE: Christmas in Iraq, far from home and families.
HOLMES: Yeah, a soldier is going to join us live from Iraq, next as we salute the men and women spending the holiday on the frontline.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SFC JASON BAZMORE, U.S. ARMY: Special Sergeant First Class Bazmore from Camp Anaconda in Iraq. I just want to send season greetings to my wife, Michelle, my kids Jaylin (ph), Taya (ph), and C.J. from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. I look forward to seeing you next Christmas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: While we are celebrating the holiday season, we don't want to forget about the American servicemen and women on duty overseas during the holidays. Sergeant First Class Jo Sadler is on her second deployment to Iraq and she joins us now live from Baghdad.
Good morning to you.
SFC JO SADLER, U.S. ARMY: Good morning, Randi, to you.
KAYE: A happy early merry Christmas to you. How will it be for you this year not spending Christmas with your family?
J SADLER: Well Randi, it's a little disappointing, but I know that my husband has it all under control with the help of his mother and on my end, the 3rd I.D. is taking real good care of me. They've been doing a lot of good things for us, they've got carols, they've got a lot of parties set up for us. It's just a little bit different.
KAYE: Yeah, I know you have a picture of your family with you at your side.
J SADLER: Yes, ma'am, I do.
KAYE: I bet you keep that close. Can you tell us a little bit about them?
J SADLER: Yes, ma'am. I can. My husband and I have been married for 20 years, we've celebrated our 40 birthday on December 12 and our anniversary on December 11. We've been married for 20 years. My daughters, I have two daughters, an 18-year-old that a senior at D.H. Conley High School and my younger daughter who is a freshman also at D.H. Conley High School.
KAYE: And did you tell your family that you were going to be on TV today?
J SADLER: Yes, ma'am, I did tell them I was going to be on television this morning.
KAYE: Now, my question is, did they tell you they were going to be on television with you? Because we do have them with us live to say hello to you.
J SADLER: No, they didn't me that. No, ma'am. No, they didn't tell me that.
KAYE: We want to welcome your husband, Vernon, and your daughters Latora (ph) and Chantel (ph), both of them. Good morning and welcome to all of you. Would you like to say something to mom and your wife?
VERNON SADLER, HUSBAND: Merry Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Merry Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Merry Christmas
V SADLER: Hi, mom.
J SADLER: Missing y' all.
KAYE: Vernon, she says you have it all under control at home. Is that true?
V SADLER: I try.
(LAUGHTER)
KAYE: Tell me that it has been a bit of a struggle for you with the two girls and having your wife away?
V SADLER: NO, It's not a struggle. Me and her, it's not our first deployment. Also, she had been through her career three times and also she was in Germany for three years, so I'm used to having the girls with me always.
KAYE: And Sergeant, how long have you been gone and do you know when you might be home?
J SADLER: I've been gone for about four months now, Randi.
KAYE: And any idea when you might return back?
J SADLER: I'm sorry? KAYE: Any idea when you might return?
J SADLER: No, ma'am. Not any idea at all.
KAYE: With the anniversary and the birthdays in December and now certainly the holidays, does that make it even tougher, Vernon, to be apart?
V SADLER: Yes. It does.
J SADLER: Sometimes is it does.
KAYE: Sergeant, for you as well?
V SADLER: Yes, it does.
J SADLER: Sometimes it really does.
KAYE: What are would the girls like to say to your mom? What would you like to say to her for Christmas, any special wishes or anything that you've missed most about her while she's been gone these four months?
LATORA SADLER, DAUGHTER: Yeah, I miss kicking with you. You know, (INAUDIBLE), I want to tell you that everybody D.H. Conley says that they thank you for going-over there for them and my whole class of '08 wants to thank you for what you are doing over there. Oh, and grandma over here too, just to let you know.
KAYE: Certainly your family is awfully proud of you as well as the rest of the community it sounds like, too. We wish you all a very happy holiday and a happy New Year, as well.
V SADLER: Chantel, you want to say something?
CHANTEL SADLER, DAUGHTER: (INAUDIBLE)
KAYE: You want to say one more thing before you go?
C SADLER: I just want to say Hey, Troll, how are you doing today?
(INAUDIBLE)
V SADLER: Just, Jo, that we miss you and hope to see you real soon. And do not forget about your daughter's graduation.
L SADLER: Coming up in June the 8th.
C SADLER: Wait, and my birthday too, January 24.
L SADLER: January 24. So, you got a lot of dates you got to come back for.
KAYE: All right, I think you have enough pressure there in Iraq and we do appreciate all of you and have a wonderful holiday season. Thanks so much.
HOLMES: Mom's a bit busy.
KAYE: She's just a little busy there.
HOLMES: She's kind of tied up.
KAYE: Don't forget the birthday and the graduation. She doesn't seem like a mom that's going to forget any of that.
HOLMES: She doesn't, but we understand if she gets a little tied up, there. But that's always fun to see and it's so tough. They had the same anniversary - what was it, the same birthday?
KAYE: The same birthday and then the anniversary is the day before.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness. She's gone for all that. But, glad to make that happen this morning. We will turn to celebrations now happening in Spain.
KAYE: Hundreds of winners in one of the biggest lotteries in the world. The jackpot is huge.
JOSH LEVS. CNN.COM DESK: A man searches for his birth mom and he discovers that he already knows her, he works with her. Also the new lost and found Web site that inexplicably has the entire world talking. Tell you about it, right here, CNN SUNDAY MORNING
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 45 minutes past the hour now or closer to 50 minutes past the hour this Sunday morning. Our "Quick Hits" give you more news in less time.
KAYE: Police in Connecticut are looking for the person who set fire to six handicapped-accessible vans. The vans are owned by a medical transport company, each is worth about $40,000. It's the second time arsonists have struck this company in two years.
HOLMES: And check this out, it's not the Power Ball, it's not the Big Game, but Spain's Christmas lottery was billed as one of the world's richest in total prize money. How would you feel here, guys? You're holding the winning ticket to a $3.1 million jackpot?
KAYE: If you stopped right there that sounds pretty good.
HOLMES: This is supposed to be a "B", this is a billion, right? I got a million here on the script, I think it's billion. Is that correct, somebody want to yell at me. It is billion, folks. All right, $3.1 billion jackpot, and you have a winning ticket.
KAYE: That's pretty good.
HOLMES: Thank you have to share it with 1,800 other people.
KAYE: Yeah, but it's $3 billion.
HOLMES: But when you break it down.
KAYE: How much is it?
HOLMES: You get about $430,000, which ain't bad.
KAYE: OK, that's $430,000 you didn't have.
HOLMES: Before taxes. But $3.1, you go from three billion to $430,000. I'm upset. A piece.
KAYE: How does that happen?
HOLMES: All right, well Josh Levs is here now to make us all feel better.
KAYE: Yeah, all feel better about the fact that we weren't part of that billion. What do you have?
LEVS: We got good stuff. Happy, feel good story. I promise.
KAYE: OK, take us into it.
LEVS: People saw this on our air on Friday and it really is some powerful stuff. It the story of a son who's reunited with his mother after more than 20 years. So, here's what happened. It's out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He works at Lowe's and he was searching for his birth mom and he hadn't had any success doing it. Well, he goes to Google and he uses an alternate spelling of her name, he gets a hit and it turns out he already knows her. She was the head cashier at the same store. On Friday, Kyra Phillips spoke with both mother and son and the adopted mom. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Lois, how did you handle all of this? Because, obviously, you had adopted Steve, you raised him, a he's a fine young man and obviously doing very well. How did that affect you, you know, as a mom, as his mom?
LOIS FLAIG, ADOPTIVE MOTHER: Well, we always raised Steve and our other adopted son, Scott, it was not for lack of love their mothers gave them up for adoption, but because of great love, that they wanted more for them than they could provide. This comes full circle for us, and we're just thrilled because as parents we want our children to be happy and we knew how important this was for Steve, so we supported him all the way. We hoped and prayed for many years for this type of happy ending although we didn't know all this was going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: A beautiful story, there, and obviously a lot of people have been clicking on that and getting more information from CNN about it all week long. And I'm sorry to say, we've got to go, so you guys don't get to make fun of me again about the glove story we were talking about earlier.
KAYE: Oh, we'll do that when the show's over.
LEVS: OneColdHand.com, popular Web sit. People can find lost gloves, getting tens of thousands of hits everyday. It's been a hot thing.
KAYE: We tease, but it really is a nice thing.
LEVS: No, it's a great story.
HOLMES: She did not mean that.
KAYE: Yes I do.
HOLMES: All right. Well stay here folks, it's kind of a beautiful, but sobering sight to behold at Arlington National Cemetery.
KAYE: Thousands of wreaths placed on our fallen soldiers' graves. We will take you there in just minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, so what exactly do the holidays mean to you? Of course, for many, it's a time to remember.
KAYE: A time to remember those who are no longer with us and a time to honor their memory.
HOLMES: Yeah, that's the idea behind an annual tradition at Arlington National Cemetery, "Laying the Wreaths."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had two 18-wheelers filled with boxes of wreaths.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me start breaking those boxes down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It comes out in a box of eight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just uncrated them and everybody came up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have 2,000 people all wanting to grab a wreath and take it. It's a little hectic at times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a rush of people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crowd wasn't quite as big back 16 years ago as it is right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We gather here today to place approximately 10,000 wreaths to remember the fallen, honor those who served and teach our children the value of freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lovely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love this idea. This lady's name is Irene and that's my name. Oh, Irene, I'm sure she has a story.
Being in the military, it's a totally different way of life than most people realize.
My father is a retired Air Force and my brother is in the Air Force. I know what it's like not to have your dad home at Christmastime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here Melissa, come put this one down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is very special.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here is Michigan. (INAUDIBLE), you were born in Michigan. Here's World War I. Oh my goodness, she died the year I was born.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They did it and you forget about them. You're busy trying to get to Wal-Mart to buy something, you know, for Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Walter Alowishious Costello, 29th Division, World War I.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to introduce them to their grandfather. It's a moving place. That wreath right there is all the way from Maine. I would have brought one on my own, but it's better that someone else who I don't know, in a different part of the country, made this and donated it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All these people have given all that they could for this country. It's our way of showing respect to our veterans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The group, Wreaths Across America, leads the effort at Arlington National Cemetery, they also gather volunteers at dozens of military cemeteries around the country. For more special holiday stories like this one, be sure click over to CNN.com and check out our "Holiday in Focus" features.
HOLMES: Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz is coming up next, and one of the topics on the table today, appearance and fidelity are they fair game?
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