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CNN Sunday Morning
Pirates Released British Couple; A Way to Thank WWII Veterans
Aired November 14, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning, everybody.
Look at what a lot of folks are waking up to in one particular part of the country. Yes, it can be beautiful, but it can be dangerous as well. Dangerous to folks out there on the roads, but also it can be a disaster for folks trying to fly today as well.
We'll tell you exactly what's happening in Minneapolis. Our Reynolds Wolf is tracking this snowstorm.
Also, a beautiful, beautiful sight of the Capitol building this morning in Washington, D.C. More than 90 newly elected members of Congress have arrived in Washington, D.C. You know they are gung-ho, so excited for their new jobs and to do the work of the people.
But before they get to that, they need to figure out where the bathrooms are. They need to figure out how to set up their own office, who to hire. Also need to find a place to live. They need to figure how to cast a vote.
We'll tell you what's going on with the freshmen orientation and tell you exactly what they are learning right now.
But from the CNN Center, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Eight a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia -- wherever you may be, glad you are here with us. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Give you a look at some of the stories we're keeping a close eye on this morning:
The president, he is on his way back after his 10-day trip to Asia. And he's headed home. He was in India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan. He wrapped up with the APEC summit in Japan, working toward free trade there.
Also, Aung San Suu Kyi, she is addressing her supporters. She wants national reconciliation. This is the pro-democracy activist who was just released yesterday after spending 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest.
Also in California, a horrible story to tell you about. You see the pictures of the scene here. Look at this. Five people are dead, another six seriously injured after a car hit a group of 12 motorcycles, this was on a desert highway. What happened here was the car was swerving to avoid another car, and crashed into the motorcycles. Now, the vehicle that actually caused the accident, the one that the car that hit the motorcycles swerved to avoid, that car kept going and police are still searching for that vehicle and that driver right now.
Get back now to some of those pictures I showed you right off the top, a severe winter weather hitting the Upper Midwest right now. Parts of Minnesota got close to about a foot of snow, as you can imagine, knocked out some power to a lot of people, thousands without power we're told.
One of our iReporters as well, Thomas Christianson showing us the eight inches of snow and ice piled up near Mound, Minnesota. The lighter side, the flakes were enough to cancel the state's, what is this, the Cyclocross Championship race in Crystal. You see what the candidates had to go through here.
But clearly, they are ironmen and would not let snow, not even a foot of it, Reynolds, get in their way.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, it's not only snow, but it's also the type of the snow. It is a very wet, heavy snow and it really tends to weigh down a lot of the tree branches, the branches break, they hit power lines and what happens, T.J.?
HOLMES: It knocks the power out.
WOLF: Exactly.
So, we have a lot of people that are going to be tuning in this morning on satellite radio. Let me tell you, although you may not be able to see what's happening on radar, let me tell that things are going to improve as we get to the afternoon hours. Until then, you can expect some snowflakes.
You can see, here's Minneapolis, but even better view, a live image of Minneapolis, really tells the story and the story is a white one. Take a look at that. It is a beautiful, serene setting -- the first significant snowfall they've had of the season.
It looks like we're going to see more on the way. The reason why, pretty simple -- take a look at this map. You can see a good part of the United States with a lot of action up here towards I-35 and just north of Minneapolis. That's your center of low pressure, and it's got a long trailing cold front, all that coming together to bring all kinds of activity to parts of the Midwest, activity like this.
Eden Prairie nearly a foot of snowfall; Denison, Iowa, about 10 inches of snow; around eight or even nine inches from Maple Grove to Minneapolis and then into Mankato. As I mentioned, we're not done just yet.
Something else we're going to be seeing with this system as it churns its way to the east, it's going to bring some scattered showers to the eastern half of the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley is going to get rainfall, too. And as we wrap things up, you're going to expect those scattered showers to linger all the way down to Galveston, Texas.
Meanwhile, 56 your high in St. Louis, 44 in Denver, 78 in Los Angeles, Seattle with 54 degrees, New York 60 -- enjoy the sunshine while you can because the storm system is coming. That means rain in the forecast for you as you kick off the work week for Monday.
T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: Reynolds, appreciate you, buddy. We'll talk to you again throughout this hour.
Now, imagine this: a lot of people out there, you wait your whole life, you work and you get to retirement. You want to enjoy yourself. That's exactly what a British couple wanted to do.
They had a yacht. They went sailing about a year ago, and what happened? They were captured by Somali pirates, and they have been in the custody of those pirates for the past year, until today.
You're seeing video of Paul and Rachel Chandler, captured by pirates in October of last year. This was a video they sent out. The man there you see, Mr. Chandler, he was pleading for his life and his release -- pleading with the government, the British government to do anything they can to free them.
Well, the couple was freed earlier today. Right now, we understand they're on their way to Nairobi, Kenya.
We also have confirmed the pirates originally were asking for about $7 million in ransom, but we have confirmed that about $750,000 was paid to these Somalis.
Our David McKenzie picks up this frightening story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than a year in captivity, Paul and Rachel Chandler feared the worst, knowing that the next day could very well be their last. Their captors had guns and often threatened to use them if ransom wasn't paid.
PAUL CHANDLER, BRITISH HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA: And I have no doubt that they will not hesitate to kill us, perhaps within the week or so of now, if there is no response.
MCKENZIE: The retired English couple were sailing around the world, it was their lifelong dream, that turned into an awful nightmare. Somali pirates took them captive near the Seychelles, in a nighttime attack. They were transferred into a larger boat as the Royal Navy looked on. The Navy said it was too dangerous to intervene, a decision heavily criticized by some.
The Chandlers were held in remote areas of lawless Somalia. In interviews conducted by satellite phone, they said they were treated well. But as the days dragged into months, they said they were beaten, separated, and dealt with like animals.
CHANDLER: Please, somebody get in touch otherwise we'll just sleepwalk to a tragic ending.
MCKENZIE: The Chandlers and their family wanted help from London, but successive British governments have refused to pay a ransom, saying it would only encourage more kidnappings. And the weak Somali government called the kidnapping a shame on their country, but its attention is focused on battling Islamic insurgents and it has no sway over the powerful and rich Somali pirates, whose only real motivation is money.
Now, finally free, the Chandlers who have gone through so much and felt abandoned for so long will be turning their thoughts towards home, and a reunion with their family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: I want to bring in David McKenzie now. He's joining me from Nairobi, Kenya, where the couple is expected to arrive shortly.
You talked there at the end of your piece there about their reunion with their family. When might that happen? Do we know how long it's going to be before they get to you?
MCKENZIE: Well, T.J., I think before you even think of that, it's a reunion with each other. They were held separate for many of those months that they were held by Somali pirates and that for them they said was the hardest thing -- married for so long on this dream vacation at the end of their work life in retirement and they said that -- you know, that was the hardest thing for them, T.J., to be separated.
They are now together. I can tell you they are on route in the air flying into Nairobi, and you know, probably an hour and a half, two hours, they left Mogadishu about half an hour ago on a small plane and certainly, this is the last leg to truly come into a friendly country and then they'll be heading to the U.K. Whether they leave right away or in a day or two after medical checks and security checks and so forth, remains to be seen.
But certainly Paul and Rachel Chandler, the retired couple, finally after this long ordeal are heading to safety.
HOLMES: All right, our David McKenzie for us in Nairobi -- David, we appreciate you this morning.
Well, coming up on eight minutes past the hour now. I want to share with you an emotional journey, an emotional journey for an 83- year-old vet of World War II.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WEYMAN OWENS, WORLD WAR II VETERANS: I've seen the monuments and stuff like that. And I think I'm going to leave it alone, leave rest of it -- try to block the rest of that stuff out of my mind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He is visiting the memorial to those who served in the great conflict, and we are taking you on his trip of a lifetime.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: You're listening there to U.S. Army band from Fort Benning, Georgia, honoring a special group of veterans on a trip and tribute, 60 years in the making. By the time the World War II Memorial opened in 2004, many of the war's aging heroes never dreamed they'd make it to Washington to even see it.
As a massive effort to change that, that was called Honor Flight, and they have one mission to fly as many veterans to D.C. as possible free of charge.
We jumped on board for a recent flight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): Eighty-three-year-old Navy veteran Weyman Owens is embarking on one last military campaign of sorts. Thanks to a program called Honor Flight. Weyman is being flown to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., for free.
WEYMAN OWENS, WORLD WAR II VETERANS: I said, well, that's a chance for me to go see those monuments, and next thing I knew I was accepting. You'll have to excuse me.
HOLMES: As you can see this trip is not an easy one for Weyman to make.
OWENS: I get torn up even thinking about it.
HOLMES: Even though he didn't see combat during the war, his mission had its dangers.
OWENS: I went to the (INAUDIBLE) islands. That's where we did two atomic bomb tests.
HOLMES: After the tests, he was sent to Japan, where he witnessed the destruction of the bombs firsthand.
OWENS: I've seen enough at Hiroshima. It was hell. It was ships blown all to pieces, animals blown all to pieces. Everything was torn apart. It was hell.
You don't want to see any part of it. You just might think you do, but you don't want to see anything like that.
HOLMES: What he saw still haunts him to this day. OWENS: It tears me up to see that stuff. I've seen enough of that stuff. I've seen the monuments and stuff like that, and I think I'm going to leave it alone, leave the rest of it -- try to block the rest of that stuff out of my mind.
HOLMES: The memorial is more than he expected.
OWENS: Beautiful. Beautiful.
HOLMES: He finds that people still show their appreciation for a man in uniform.
OWENS: Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. Thank you so much for your service.
HOLMES: He pauses to remember those who didn't make the trip, the more than 400,000 who died in the war, and the other veterans for whom the memorial was built too late.
OWENS: I didn't go into service to be in a memorial. I went there for something else.
The memorial is beautiful. It's worthwhile. It's something to be proud of. I wish everybody could see it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Weyman Owens.
HOLMES: Then a chance encounter.
OWENS: I tell what you I've done --
HOLMES: A reunion of two comrades who haven't seen each other in more than six decades.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get my blankets and my pillow and come up there and crawl up on that eight inch and sleep. Sleep at night and sometimes get soaking wet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HOLMES: The two men are from different parts of the country but happened to be here at the same time on different Honor Flights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You made my day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've made mine, too.
OWENS: I never did dream that I would run into this fellow again. I didn't know him. I knew where he had been and shaking his hand, I was proud to see him. I was more than proud to see him.
HOLMES: Weyman couldn't ask for more, but there's still one more surprise for the veterans. A hero's homecoming in the airport terminal, total strangers giving them the thanks they deserve, after Honor Flight gives them the trip of a lifetime.
OWENS: If I went tonight, I'd have a lot to be thankful for.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And to find out more about Honor Flight and our World War II veterans, you can head over to my blog, CNN.com/TJ.
And also, in honor of Veterans Day, this morning's news quiz: how many veterans are there in the United States today? Is it (a), a little over 9 million? Is it (b), 14.5 million? Or (c), about 22 million? That answer for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 16 minutes past the hour now.
Before the break, we had a news quiz for you in honor of Veterans Day. How many vets are there in the United States today? Is it a little over 9 million? Is it 14.5 million? Or is it closer to 22 million?
Well, the answer is (c), 21.9 million vets in the U.S. As of the most recent Census data, more than 5 million with a disability, nearly 10 million were working at the time of the study.
I'm going to bring in Josh Levs.
A lot -- a lot of conversation about debts and deficits had a lot to do with the elections, the midterm some would say.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
HOLMES: A lot of people are wondering, how in the world we get there?
LEVS: Well, and we've been talking about the freshman congressmen arriving today, right? A lot of them are going to end up dealing with this as well. And what we've been having to see in recent days, we heard the proposal to cut $4 trillion in spending.
So, we're trying to figure out how did it get this incredibly bad and, also, who out there owns it? Because there are countries out there that are owning part of this debt.
HOLMES: Yes.
LEVS: And when we take a look back, what a lot of people don't realize is that this massive debt, the problem that they're going t o have to deal with in Congress goes all way back to the founding of our country. The documentary also check out called "IOUSA." Take a look at a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Our war for independence created much of our early debt. And by March 4th, 1789, the first day of our federal government, our national debt was $75 million, which was about 40 percent of our economy. This terrified our Founding Fathers and they acted quickly to pay it down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, it has this cartoon basically, this animation that takes you through the whole history of the debt. And look at that there, 1835, the only time ever that we as a nation ever have had no debt, and since then it's skyrocketing.
You have so many times it's gone up. You have the Civil War. You have all of our wars. You have the Great Depression.
Come back to me on the screen here, because what a lot of you want to know is what's happened over the past decade. Look at this -- in 2000, it was at $5.7 trillion. And now, it's at $13.7 trillion. So, we're talking about this massive jump and analysts point to our tax policies, to the Iraq War, to 9/11 and all sorts of things.
And right here where there is this big jump, that in the last couple of years, when there's been this fiscal crisis and the government has been taking some steps to do something about it.
Now, a lot of people want to know who owns the debt -- and we hear about this, there's one country that's often mentioned like in this political ad. Take a look opinion.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: That was Citizens Against Government Waste, talking about China there and how much of our debt they own.
So, I thought we pop with that, I got it on the screen for you right here. China owns right now $868 billion of our debt. Now, I give you two other countries here: Japan, $837 billion, and the United Kingdom owns $448 billion of our debt.
It's important to keep in mind: trillions of dollars in the debt are still in this country. The government does this thing where it kind of borrows from itself. But that said, T.J., all these concerns that people have about our debt and how it does ultimately gives some power to other countries, absolutely critical.
I posted a big breakdown for you guys on my Facebook and Twitter pages there for you, JoshLevsCNN. You'll get all sorts of information there, help you understand how it got this bad and what needs to be done because clearly we cannot keep going in this direction, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, we've been hearing that for a long time. We can't keep going but we seem to keep going down this direction. We'll see what happens with the new Congress.
Josh, we appreciate that as always.
LEVS: You got it. HOLMES: Take a look at this video now, folks, and we are so pleased to be able to bring this to you. You can't make out what's happening there. One of our most prominent leaders of our "Best Political Team on Television" doing something you have never seen him do before. Wolf. Teach me how to "dougie."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-one minutes past the hour now.
I'm joined by my man Reynolds and Nadia Bilchik here, you all familiar with.
I have to ask you, Nadia, since you are South African here. The dougie -- are you familiar with the dance?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN PRODUCER: I have never heard about it before. I know about toy-toying, though.
HOLMES: What's toy-toying?
BILCHIK: Toy-toying is the African dance and that's rhythm. I mean, you know, Africans are about rhythm.
HOLMES: OK. Well, we -- that doesn't make the dougie sound so good now.
WOLF: Clueless.
HOLMES: OK.
WOLF: I don't know anything.
(CROSSTALK)
BILCHIK: Did you know about the dougie?
HOLMES: I'm very familiar with the dougie.
BILCHIK: Can you do it for us?
HOLMES: I will not because I will embarrass myself compared to this guy -
WOLF: You're going to see this.
HOLMES: -- who did it in front of the audience. I'll let you hear the music here as well and let you pick out the video of who our guy is in the middle.
(VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, folks, that is our Wolf Blitzer doing what's probably hottest dance craze going right now. It's called the dougie.
Now, Wolf was in town last week here in Atlanta to attend the Soul Train Music Awards where he was the presenter and you brought him back out, Wolf -- he's done this over the past couple of years, on certain occasions he'll dance, but he was a really good sport and apparently, it just turned up the crowd.
BILCHIK: Yes, a standing ovation, "Dancing with the Stars" -- here we come!
WOLF: It was quality. It was good stuff.
HOLMES: He did dance on "Ellen." I think you all might remember a year or so back. But he was a really good sport about it, but the Dougie, I will get you guys up on this thing when we get to the commercial break.
BILCHIK: We have so much to learn.
WOLF: Yes, we do. Every day, it's something interesting.
BILCHIK: OK.
HOLMES: Wild turkeys -- this is something else to learn, taking over New York. You guys seen this video yet? This Staten Island in a neighborhood where apparently they have spotted 100-plus of these things doing exactly what you see they're doing now, just kind of taking over. Not exactly sure where they came from but they are making a mess -- and I guess you guys understand the kind mess I'm talking about here.
As we get close to Thanksgiving, what do you all think they should do with these things?
WOLF: I don't. I mean, I like wild turkey, but mostly in a glass with a couple of cubes of ice. But this kind of wild turkey just really takes the case. Sure, timely for November and Thanksgiving, but yes, it's kind of weird.
You know what's odd, too, is that there are people in the country that actually hunt these animals. They're supposed to be highly intelligent creatures, very hard to hunt. You have to call them to you -- which I'm not going to emulate that unless you do the dougie. But no, it's amazing. It's weird to see them kind of flock in these neighborhoods on Long Island, you say?
BILCHIK: Reynolds, do you think anyone is going to end up having one of the wild turkeys for Thanksgiving?
HOLMES: You know somebody is. You know somebody is.
BILCHIK: I agree with you, though, wild turkey in the glass is much nicer.
WOLF: Much better.
HOLMES: What are you guys doing after the show? I had to cut down on my drinking after my physical.
WOLF: Do the dougie.
HOLMES: All right. We have this -- one more, the last one here. We're going to be able to get -- we don't have the last one. It's all right, we'll skip that one.
BILCHIK: You mean no jellyfish?
HOLMES: We're not going to do the jellyfish. We don't have the video.
BILCHIK: Doing the jellyfish -- never mind doing the dougie. We can do the jellyfish.
WOLF: Sure.
HOLMES: Is that something else to do in South Africa?
BILCHIK: No.
HOLMES: No. All right.
I know you saw this one, Reynolds, this trick play from a middle school -- I can't remember how old the kids were. It was a risky and sneaky play. Should plays like this be run in middle school? We got a debate going.
Look at this thing, the kid walks right through the defense. We're going to break this play down a little bit. But also our Carl Azuz is here with comments and some "Extra Credit" for us about this trick play that really caught on online.
Stay with us.
WOLF: Love it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Yes, it's that time for Carl Azuz.
Look at this play, folks. Could you tell what happened there?
OK. This is the middle school play -- a trick play went viral on the Web.
And it's -- you know what? I'm sorry, Carl, this is just cool. You know what? If you can pull off a trick play, that's original. We haven't seen anything like that before, but if you can.
Again, I'm joined by Carl Azuz, and we're running it here once again.
You know what? Some people are saying this is bad sportsmanship.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Some people are. I mean, it's -- you know, they had the approval of the refs on this, the whistle never blew, the line stayed put and the center did hand the quarterback the football.
So, this is something that as far as the refs were concerned, totally green lighted. You liked it. You thought it was cool.
HOLMES: Love it.
AZUZ: OK. I talked to a parent who tried to argue with me saying -- because I didn't agree either -- the parent tried to argue with me saying, look, at the peewee level and at the middle school level, you're supposed to be teaching students about the rules of football and the spirit of the game, not so much about the loopholes of it. And that comment is supported by at least one student on our blog at CNNStudentNews.com, her name is Camille.
And take a listen to what Camille is saying. She says, you know, plays and fakes are part of the game. This wasn't about skills. This wasn't about throwing the ball. This wasn't about playing the game. This is about how sneaky you could be.
HOLMES: Isn't that a part of the game to get an advantage no matter how old and they see those examples day in, day out. If they watch football on Saturday, Sunday --
AZUZ: Sure.
HOLMES: -- they see this stuff anyway. You know, you have to be smarter than your opponent. And that was a case where the other team was not.
AZUZ: Ninety percent of our audience totally agrees.
HOLMES: OK. I feel better now.
AZUZ: Yes, CNNStudentNews.com, we asked middle and high school students as a whole, how do you feel about this game? And I think we have a graphic showing it, that 90 percent of them, only 10 percent saying this was a cheap shot -- 90 percent saying this was smart thinking.
I remember talking to one student who was telling me, you know, they're lucky, because I've seen plays like this where the quarterback who is trying to pull the fake gets lit up because the defensive lineman saw this on "SportsCenter" the night before.
HOLMES: Wow.
AZUZ: So, I mean, they're telling us that yes, it worked, yes, it's OK, but it's risky.
And I have one more student comment for you, talking about sort of this could be a learning experience, is there a lesson in all of this? That's what Kyle says. He's like, look, it teaches the opposing team you always got to be prepared. You always got to expect the unexpected.
So, what we're hearing from students is most of them are saying, listen, this is part of the game. And as you said, they're seeing this on Saturdays. They're seeing it on Sundays.
HOLMES: Some trick of some kind but this one, you know, I would love to see the Patriots try to pull that off or something. You don't -- you don't see anything that tricky. But I -- I mean, it was just cool.
AZUZ: It -- listen, it tied the game at 6-6.
HOLMES: Yes.
AZUZ: It was a championship game, ended in a tie at 6-6. So that made the difference in the entire thing.
HOLMES: Oh my goodness. All right. Carl and you know what I'm kind of disappointed now if they went through all of that and it was just a tie.
AZUZ: Well, I mean, it would have been a loss otherwise.
HOLMES: All right.
AZUZ: So certainly I think they think it's worth it.
HOLMES: Carl, good to see you as always.
AZUZ: Thanks T.J.
HOLMES: Buddy, thanks so much.
Quick break here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 33 minutes past the hour.
I'll give you a look now at some of the stories that are making headlines. Millions of Muslims beginning the annual Hajj pilgrimage today, they are traveling by foot, car, public transportation and how they can get there converging on the holy city of Mecca. This traces the route for the prophet Mohammed some 1,400 years ago.
Also, Arizona appears to have become the 15th state now to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Several organizations including the "Arizona Central Newspaper" are reporting, in fact, that Proposition 203 has passed now by a narrow margin. This is what they voted on during the midterm -- you know during the midterm elections, this was on the ballot there but it took awhile, it was so close, they've been counting those ballots, but it appears it has won by some 4,000 votes.
Again now, they become the 15th state to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. California being the first back in 1996.
Also hundreds of Bernie Madoff's items -- his former items were auctioned off yesterday including, you saw that ring there, that's a 10.5 carat diamond engagement ring. It came in at about half a million dollars. There's also a Steinway grand piano that got about $42,000.
Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence for his Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of some $50-plus billion.
Meanwhile, President Obama is on his way home from his tour of Asia. And despite some criticisms of this trip the White House is calling it a success. Our White House correspondent Dan Lothian gives us a rundown of the final days of the president's trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After traveling to four countries in ten days focusing heavily on trade and the global economic recovery President Obama paid a quick visit to the great Buddha statue in Kamakura, a place he visited as a young boy. The cultural stuff followed a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev where the new START Treaty topped the agenda.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I reiterated my commitment to get the START Treaty done during the lame duck session and I communicated to Congress that it is a top priority.
LOTHIAN: The two leaders also discussed economic issues and Afghanistan; President Obama calling Russia a good partner. Even though the president failed to lock up a South Korea free trade deal or find significant agreement on the China currency issue, the White House says the trip has been a success, touting the $10 billion in contracts with India that the president says will create tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S.
Now the focus shifts back to President Obama's domestic agenda, as he sits down with Republicans to find a compromise on extending the Bush tax cuts.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Yokohama, Japan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, Rahm Emanuel is running for mayor of Chicago. I know what you're thinking, duh, T.J. Well he just made it official, though, even though he's essentially been campaigning for the past month or so. The president's former White House chief of staff announced his intention yesterday with his family standing by his side.
Again, he made it official yesterday. He stepped down from his job at the White House last month, again this is the formal announcement but there was really no doubt. He essentially has been campaigning from the moment he stepped down as White House chief of staff.
We turn to some weather now, a blast of winter weather, making it to Minnesota, and they are digging out, what was it, Reynolds, did they get a foot? REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: About a foot of snow. The official total I believe in -- in Minneapolis, St. Paul, was about nine inches of snow.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: But the thing is around the area you're going to have places where you'll have even more, and in some places a bit less.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: So snow is kind of a funny thing. You ever lived in an area where you had snow?
HOLMES: Not that bad, no. No, no, no.
WOLF: I lived in Michigan for three years, it's a beautiful state and the snow is great. It's a lot of fun the first couple of snowfalls. But when you get into April and you have snow, ugh.
All right, let's go right to this. Let's show you what we have. Certainly not April, we're into November and here comes the snow. Take a look. We have an area of low pressure that's set up right here. If you look carefully, you could see a little bit of a counter- clockwise rotation, that is your upper level low. And ladies and gentlemen, if you look there, you see the white, sure enough that is your snowfall.
Some places is going to stack up pretty big. And we're not done yet, in fact, the winter storm warnings are in effect for not only portions of -- of say Minnesota but back into Wisconsin that will be in effect through about 4:00 local time so keep that in mind.
Yes, you're going to have issues with some delays, no doubt in Minneapolis, St. Paul back over toward Chicago, possible delays later into the day and maybe your regional airports like say Green Bay so just be advised on that. It's going to be one of those days that may test your patience.
This is part of the storm system that extends over 1,000 miles back to the Great Lakes, clear down to the Gulf of Mexico. And along that frontal boundary where we might have a few storms, severe thunderstorms probably not in the picture but you might get a rumble of thunder especially in the Blue Ridge Parkway.
On one side of the frontal boundary, pretty dry today in New York, a beautiful day, with 60 degrees is the expected high; 80 in Miami; 56 degrees in St. Louis and back into Denver it's going to be great. Anyone taking that drive on 70 you're going to see a major transformation going from the low lands back up into the front range of the Rockies. And then into the central Rockies, boom, that's where you're going to have some heavy snow possibly in places like Hayden, so be -- be advised on that.
Back into the Salt Lake City it's pretty nice in the city. But up in the hills up here in Snowbird the snow will be coming down; 54 degrees in Seattle and 78 in Los Angeles, out by Staples arena.
Now, in terms of the rest of your forecast, well, I can tell you, keep in mind on the Eastern Seaboard you've got that frontal boundary coming through, which means you might have some delays on Monday.
Hey, no delay to our forecast and so much more news and other stories coming up. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Well, see you in a little bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's 42 minutes past the hour now.
One-on-one with the former president of the United States turned best-selling author, Candy Crowley getting some face time with the former president, President George W. Bush. He's been on a media blitz to promote his new book "Decision Points." You can catch the entire interview "BUSH TWO YEARS LATER" tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Now, apparently with her big interview, Candy Crowley is too busy to come to do her regular segment with me on a Sunday morning, but Joe, I don't get to do enough TV with you, my man.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
HOLMES: How are you doing?
JOHNS: That's true.
HOLMES: Joe Johns, filling in today for Candy?
JOHNS: Well, I -- I am glad I'm filling in for Candy. And you know, I -- I'm sorry I can't be here, and I can't Candy, but those are the breaks, T.J.
HOLMES: That's all right. Again we don't get to do enough TV together. So I'll take advantage --
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNS: Yes.
HOLMES: -- of this opportunity here and she has this opportunity -- he's been out a whole lot lately. Well, he has been everywhere. Is this going to change?
JOHNS: It's amazing.
HOLMES: Is he trying to change people's perception of him?
JOHNS: Well, I think he is. I mean, regardless of what he's trying to do it's fascinating. Those of us who actually got to spend time with him and talk to him when he was president here, the real George W. Bush is now starting to come out, in all these interviews he's taping, in ways that we never saw during his eight years in Washington.
SO you're getting to see a little bit more of George Bush the person, as opposed to George Bush the president, who was standing there in front of the media and the briefing room at the White House, or whatever. He seemed very stiff and muted back in those days.
Now, no more. It's like George Bush unplugged, I think that's what you would call it.
HOLMES: Yes, you are right, certainly not the case of him being stiff, rigid or anything now. But you talk about possibly trying to change the perceptions, is there any indication that maybe it is working right now? I guess what has some of the reaction been to this media blitz?
JOHNS: Well, yes, I think he was a very polarizing figure, and I have seen just some headlines, if that's any indication, questioning whether George Bush's reputation and opinions of him are now getting a second look, but I haven't seen any public opinion polls just yet telling us whether all of that is successful.
He says that at the end of the day, history will remember him fondly, and you know, if he did nothing else, he kept America safe from another terrorist attack after September 11th. So that's what he and some others in his administration have sort of hung their hats on.
HOLMES: All right, well, we're looking forward to seeing that again, Candy Crowley that interview with the president 8:00 Eastern Time tonight, you can see it on CNN.
But also you have coming up on the show today, are you going to be talking about what they're trying to figure out with the Democrats and the -- and the -- that the minority now coming up next year with the new House.
JOHNS: Right.
HOLMES: But they're trying to get their leadership worked out.
JOHNS: Sure. And we also have this lame duck session that's just about to begin here in Washington, so there are going to be a lot of people who want to talk about that. We're looking to Senator John Cornyn of Texas to sit down with us, just a little bit. Mark Warner of Virginia, we want to talk about that deficit commission report that came out last week that caused such a stir in Washington. The issue of whether the Bush tax cuts ought to be reinstituted before they go out of style in January.
And then we're going to talk about the House leadership races, particularly over on the Democratic side. They're starting to try to work out their problems but there are still some unanswered questions, so we'll talk to Heath Shuler and Jim Clyburn about that. Pretty full show -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes. They had to essentially create a position possibly for one member to stay in the leadership. Joe Johns, you're going talking about that. Really it's good to see you this morning. I rarely get to do TV with you but it's good to see you this morning.
JOHNS: You too and the next time you take a camera to the doctor's office, just let me know, because I'll be tuned in.
HOLMES: All right. We appreciate you. Joe thanks so much. You can see Joe coming up at the top of the hour. Joe John for "STATE OF THE UNION starts 9:00 Eastern time right here on CNN; make sure you check him out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're about 12 minutes to the top of the hour now. An Atlanta-based pastor at a mega church goes public, he's gay. Pastor Jim Swilley at Church in the Now came out to his congregation and the world about two weeks ago. The reaction has been somewhat mixed but Pastor Swilley says he's at peace with the decision he made.
Diana Davis now from our affiliate WSB with the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PASTOR JIM SWILLEY, CHURCH IN THE NOW: The other thing, and I wouldn't have known what to call it at the time was my sexual orientation.
DIANA DAVIS, REPORTER, WSB: Bishop Jim Swilley founded Rockdale County's Church in the Now 25 years ago. He seems the stereotypical picture of a pastor. A father of four, his wife, Debbie, his associate pastor was by his side.
SWILLEY: I know a lot of straight people think that orientation is a choice. I want to tell you that it certainly is not.
DAVIS: He says he told Debye he was gay from the start.
SWILLEY: She said I love you, we'll work this out.
DAVIS: The couple kept their secret 21 years. They divorced earlier this year. Debbie wanted Jim to go public.
SWILLEY: And your whole ministry is about people being who they are, God loves you as you are. She says, you know, we're not real.
DAVIS: So he told his kids and his congregation.
He says knew he might risk everything, but told me the recent rash of gay teen suicides pushed him over the edge.
SWILLEY: As a father, I think about you know, thinking about your 16, 17-year-old killing themselves.
DAVIS: He says he's received support from many in his congregation but reaction on at least one conservative Christian blog has been fierce, calling him sick, twisted, unclean, an instrument of the devil. SWILLEY: You know, I know all the hateful stuff that's being written about me online. To think about saving a teenager, yes, I'll risk my reputation for that.
DAVIS: But at 52, he says coming clean has been a relief, after years of trying to hide something he says he couldn't change. Will his church survive?
SWILLEY: The name of our church is Church in the Now, and that name really becomes prophetic for us. Well, we just have to take it one day at a time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Last night Pastor Swilley appeared live here on CNN with my colleague, Don Lemon. He said one of the hardest parts of his coming out was dealing with the effect it had on his wife. Swilley says for a while his wife thought she wasn't attractive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SWILLEY: I said look, you're a beautiful woman. There's nothing wrong with you. You're a desirable woman, and you know, the part of me that's her husband wants to still feel like you're my wife, you shouldn't be with anybody else. The part of me that is her friend wants her to be happy in a way that she's known for some time I could not provide that for her.
We have a great mutual respect, a great synergy in working together, but there comes a point in your life where you say, how much time do we have left in our lives, are we going to be authentic or not?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Pastor Swilley says the two, he and his wife remain incredibly great friends and church partners.
Let me turn back to Nadia Bilchik, who's joining me here once again. Always interesting stories you bring to us. We know construction projects kind of go over-budget and they go over their time line. 127 years a church has been under construction?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Antoni Gaudi was the architect and he died in 1926. And Gaudi is known for his magnificent structures and his incredible art. What happened was the church in an attempt to try and honor Gaudi's original plan, they are building it back inch by inch and each moment of building requires scrutiny.
Now, if you're looking at the picture now some people describe is as, you know, you go to the beach and you build a sand castle from drippings, that's supposedly what it looks like.
Antoni Gaudi has had various labels but the one is, he was the master of Gothic revival but he was also the innovative leader of Spanish art nouveaux. I love this description of Gaudi: sensuous, curving, almost surreal design style.
HOLMES: Ok. Do I have it right that the lay has been -- they just want to make sure they get it exactly the way he wanted?
BILCHIK: They want to build this as beautifully. Now, you know that just last week the Pope was in Spain and he consecrated it a Basilica.
HOLMES: Even before it's complete?
BILCHIK: Even before it's complete, which was very interesting, because Gaudi was somewhat of a maverick. So now, to have the Pope's blessing and he praised Gaudi for integrating nature, scripture and liturgy in his masterpiece in a way that overcame the distinction between the temporal and the eternal world and he went on to state -- this is Pope Benedict -- that Gaudi did this not with words but with stones, lines, planes and points. And for those people who have been there they say it is a magnificent experience.
HOLMES: Well, it better be after 127 years. I might be stretching it here, when do they expect it to be complete?
BILCHIK: Some reports say 2050 and others say 2025.
HOLMES: Are you kidding? So, we've still got some time.
BILCHIK: So we're under construction. So we will be watching the masterpiece of Antoni Gaudi. Now, we need to go to Barcelona.
HOLMES: How much does this thing cost?
BILCHIK: Millions and millions and actually there are 2 million visitors a year that have to pay so hopefully they're bringing in some revenue. But they need structural designers and engineers to try and keep it congruent to the way that Gaudi's vision originally was.
HOLMES: Possibly still another 15 plus years.
BILCHIK: Many, many more years.
HOLMES: All right, we'll continue to keep you updated about the progress of a long overdue construction project.
Nadia, we appreciate you as always. Thank you so much.
Quick break here, we're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: What a lovely day in Washington, D.C. Getting close to the top of the hour here now; a lovely day in Washington, a lovely day to be there and it's time to get to work for some freshmen.
Tomorrow is marking the first day of freshman orientation for the newly elected lawmakers in Washington, D.C. They're getting a crash course here on how to navigate their new workplace. They're going to have seminars on everything from setting up an office, how to hire a staff. They're going to even -- and all importantly learn how to cast an electronic vote. We've got more than 90 newly-elected lawmakers. The balance goes to -- 85 of those are Republicans, just 9 are Democrats.
And of course, they're just up there getting into orientation and not really getting to work yet. Of course, the new Congress takes effect next year at the beginning of next year. So right now they're just learning the ropes so they'll be ready to hit the ground running and get work done hopefully at the beginning of next year.
We want to give you a look at some other stories we're keeping a close eye on this morning.
Horrible story we have to tell you about out of California. Five people are dead, another six have been seriously hurt. This was after a car plowed into a dozen motorcyclists on a desert highway. The car had swerved to avoid hitting another car. Police are looking for the vehicle they say may have caused the collision. The car that actually ran into the motorcycles was actually swerving to hit another car; that other car is the one that the police are looking for.
Also, President Obama, he is wrapping up his ten-day tour of Asia, but not before getting a look at Japan's great Buddha statue in Yokohama. He left Japan a few hours ago. We don't have the picture of him with the statue but the president of course has been on that ten-day trip hitting India, Indonesia, Japan, as well as South Korea.
Also folks in the upper Midwest digging out right now from a snowstorm that dropped as much as a foot of snow; thousands around Minnesota's twin cities lost power during the storms. State highway patrols say they've responded to more than 400 traffic accidents.
Well, "STATE OF THE UNION" is about to start right now with my good friend, Joe Johns. And remember, Candy Crowley and her interview with President Bush coming up 8:00 tonight. You can see it.
