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CNN Sunday Morning

Senate Holds Rare Sunday Session; Governor Richardson Continues Talks with North Korea

Aired December 19, 2010 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Good Sunday morning. A Senate vote clears the way to be openly gay in the military, but service members being warned not to come out just yet. We have reaction to the landmark repeal of "don't ask, don't tell". And why it could be months before anything really changes.

Also, the North Korea crisis triggers an emergency meeting at the United Nations today. Meanwhile, North Korea makes a gesture, offering to return newly discovered remains of hundreds of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean war.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is 6:00 a.m. in Atlanta, where I stand, 2:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Wherever you may be, it's a pleasure. I'm T.J. Holmes. I want to welcome, as always, our troops watching on the Armed Forces Network in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for being right here as well.

Also, coming up for you here, in the 90 minutes, a U.S. soldier made it back from Afghanistan. His trusted canine did not. You'll hear how the dog's sacrifice saved the soldier's life.

Also, it is costing retailers billions of dollars every year. Return fraud. Yes, return fraud. You know, this is the prime time for it right now around the holidays. But costing the retailers also means it's costing you.

And Paris Hilton, where has she been lately? We'll get your Paris Hilton update for you this Sunday. Check her out here. She is wearing a motocross suit. Why? Does that mean she's about to start turning heads in the world of motocross racing? We'll explain what she's up to.

First, let's start with what you don't see too often on Capitol Hill. A Saturday and Sunday session. We're talking about the Senate. They were in session yesterday, going to be in session again today. They'll be starting up here in just a few hours. A live look at the capitol today.

Again, a few hours they're going to get going. Kind of a holdover with what we saw yesterday, with so much debate and so much activity going on yesterday. The headline coming out of yesterday's session in the Senate, the decision to end, "don't ask, don't tell" the policy that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The Senate vote now sends the bill to the president. He is expected to sign it. Our Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar with the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (On camera): The breakdown on this vote, 65 to 31. You had eight Republican senators joining 57 Democrats and Independents, who were present, and voting to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" this U.S. military practice of saying to gay and lesbian servicemen and women that they could only be in the military if they weren't going to be open about their sexual orientation.

This is a topic, an issue, that has had a long and winding road, especially in the Senate. This "don't ask, don't tell" repeal had been attached to a larger Defense bill, a Defense authorization bill that failed partially because of this "don't ask, don't tell" provision, but also because of other controversial provisions that were inside the bill.

In the end, the House went ahead and passed a stand alone "don't ask, don't tell" repeal, and that is what went through the Senate and goes to President Obama 's desk. You're hearing from supporters of this. For instance, Joe Lieberman, who is one of the leading co- sponsors on this bill, he said, this is about righting a wrong. We heard from the other leading co-sponsor, Senator Susan Collins, a Republican of Maine, who said this is about making sure that anyone who will get in a uniform and fight for the freedom of all Americans, they can do that.

This remains very controversial. Senator John McCain, who is an opponent of repealing "don't ask, don't tell" said he is concerned that this is going to be a distraction that could literally cost the lives of some servicemen and women. The bottom line here, President Obama is expected to sign this. The White House says he's expected to do that this week. Brianna Keilar, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: A lot of people who have been working for years and years for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" are certainly celebrating right now. But nothing it going to happen immediately. I need to explain to you where we are exactly, and where we're going with this. Current law still is still in place. It is still in place. So right now there is still a ban right now on serving openly. It's going to stay in place until the Pentagon goes through some of these legal technicalities required by the law.

The president will need to sign the measure. You just heard our Brianna Keilar say he's expected to sign it this week. The Pentagon, after the president signs it, will then send out a guidance memo, essentially letting all the troops know about the changes that are going to be coming. Then 60 days after the president, the secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs certify that all the necessary policies and regulations are in place, the ban then will be legally lifted. We could still be seeing a few months down the road before anything actually does change.

Now, two other important bills in the Senate. One, the START Treaty, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, that is the one that would limit the nuclear weapons of the U.S. and Russia. Well, it would also renew inspections of each other's arsenals. President Obama says nothing in the treaty would stop the U.S. from setting up a missile defense system in Europe.

No date has been set for final vote on that. They are taking that up. They are trying to get that done off the end of the year as well.

Also, a procedural vote for the DREAM Act, it failed yesterday. In essence, it kills that legislation for this session. The DREAM Act, as you know, would have cleared the way for some children of illegal immigrants to become citizens here in the U.S.

Turn now to what we've been seeing on the Korean Peninsula, tense times there. Russia becoming a major player, urging the U.N. Security Council to have a meeting. That meeting is going to happen a little later this morning, in a few hours, trying to defuse the situation. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Governor Bill Richardson, he calls it a pretty tense situation there. He is there. He is not an official envoy of the U.S. The live military exercises, live fire military exercises, South Korea was supposed to start yesterday. They say they're still ready. They already started. They would have started except for bad weather.

Our Wolf Blitzer is there. He is with Governor Bill Richardson. He's talking with him about the danger that this could get out of hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: They say it won't take place over the weekend, Saturday or Sunday, because of bad weather, but they're leaving open the possibility it could take place Monday or Tuesday. And the North Koreans are making it clear they see this as a provocation, and they will respond militarily if that happens. How worried are you, Governor?

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, FMR. AMBASSADOR FOR U.S.: Well, I am worried. I am concerned. I've stressed to the North Korean foreign ministry officials that I've been meeting with that they should exercise maximum self-restraint, that this is a tinder box, that we need negotiations and talks. Things need to cool down. But I am concerned.

My meeting this morning is going to be very important with General Pak, who is the head military person at the DMZ. And I'm going to urge restraint with him and possibly some way that there can be communication with the South Korean military, some mechanism that will bring this crisis to a standstill because right here North Korean officials are very, very provoked by this potential incident. But if it doesn't happen, if the U.N. Security Council gives all sides cover, not to act, a strong statement, that would be a very important development.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: North Korea is threatening even bigger attack than the one in November. That's when it shelled Yeonpyeong, that is an island there, that killed four South Koreans.

Some movement, Governor Richardson, at least, saying when he met with a top North Korean general, he revealed that his country has found hundreds of remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean war and is now offering to resume joint recovery efforts.

Let's turn to some weather now. When the roads get a little slick, get a little icy, get a little snowy. People get a little brave, and it doesn't work so well. All you have to do sometimes, Reynolds -- and the local affiliates know it. They know where to go. You set up the camera, and you're going to capture accidents on film. This is in Spokane, Washington. They try to make this up the South Hill, is what it is. It's iced over. And they didn't make it up. Clearly, a lot of folks didn't. No word of any injuries here necessarily. But, oh, look at it. You can't do anything about it. Can't do anything about it.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, for people who aren't really, I guess you could say, experienced driving in winter conditions. That's why they made living rooms and couches.

HOLMES: Stay home.

WOLF: Exactly. Kick it back, have some eggnog, and watch the beauty and amusement ensue.

HOLMES: Look at this. You can look at it because you know nobody got hurt. Look at this.

WOLF: It's like kids flying down the hill with a flexible flier that's actually a car.

HOLMES: That person made it through all right, but this person doesn't have a chance. You can see this. Nobody injured here. No serious injuries. Oh, that's a pretty good move there. But then the rest couldn't get out of the way, and they just continued to pile up and pile up.

WOLF: It's like a demented version of bowling, isn't it? Instead of a bowling ball, you've got a nice sedan just sliding down the hill, and there's nothing stopping it. It is just gone.

HOLMES: That was in Washington, yesterday, Spokane, Washington. You talked about California a lot yesterday.

WOLF: Ready for a checklist? You want to hear this? Check it out. We have heavy rain in Golden State of California. Potential for mudslides, avalanches, which is a frozen mudslide, so to speak, and of course we have some heavy snow. Some places in California, the High Sierra Nevada, by the time we get to this Wednesday, may have up to 10 feet of snowfall. I know, it's mind boggling. But we can see it plain as day on radar.

We're going to zip through this because time is going to be short. Take a look at what we've got. Here's radar. See the green stuff there. That's not grass. That is where it indicates very heavy rainfall. Where you see pink that is the freezing line, and high up in the Sierra Nevada, that is where you got the snow coming through. Also wind gusts topping 70 miles an hour expected in parts of I-80. I-80 may be closed, by the way, later on today. So just be prepared. On parts of I-5, it's all going to be rain. When you get up into the Grapevine we don't see any of that just yet in the high elevations, in the San Gabriel. Some may turn into snow before it's all done.

Then the other issue that we have, in parts in San Gabriel mountains, and towards parts of Malibu, we may have the possibility of mudslides. The reason why we had those fires there, earlier in the year, and with all the vegetation that is gone, the root systems, that's where you'll have some problems.

Also, look for possibility of snowfall in parts of the Central Rockies. The snow there will not be quite as extreme, but possibly from three to five feet in the highest points.

So far, these are the most impressive snowfall totals. Carson City, Reno, over to Truckee, California, 15 inches so far, Squaw Valley at 24, Mammoth Lakes, 37 inches of snowfall. These were updated earlier this morning. The snow is coming in now. These are changing by the hour. It's really going to intensify by this afternoon.

As we fast forward into the rest of your forecast the next couple of days, it's still going to keep coming on. As we mentioned, very heavy snow on the way.

(NATIONAL WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Here we are 11 minutes past the hour.

A U.S. soldier, he loses his eye when a bomb explodes in Afghanistan. He says he would be dead if it wasn't for his partner. That partner, a bomb-sniffing dog. We'll have more on this story coming up.

Also this morning, former NBA all-star. He made a lot of headlines, you remember, when he brought a gun into the locker room; had to serve a major suspension. Now he has been traded from his last place team to a championship contender. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It is now 13 minutes past the hour. Everybody remembers this story. He was one of the best in the league. We're talking about Gilbert Arenas playing with the Washington Wizards. The gun trouble he got into. This was ugly for a while in Washington, D.C. Suspended for 50 games at the time; people waiting for him to make his comeback. Been playing all right this year, but they have now John Wall, superstar point guard. WOLF: Amazing player.

HOLMES: Amazing. Played in Kentucky. But now he is the face of the franchise, and they are moving on in Washington. They have now shipped Gilbert Arenas to Orlando, which is a championship contending team.

It's a big deal. Moved some players around, all names, you don't need to know right now. He's considering this, and a lot of people considering this possibly a fresh start for him. This year was supposed to be a fresh start, and it's gone fairly well. Still tough to leave a lot of things behind being in that same city, but now, I wonder how Wolf Blitzer feels about this. You know, Wolf is a big Washington Wizards fan.

WOLF: Huge fan, tremendous fan. But you have to look at how this will affect the Magic, they have had not exactly the hottest. They have 6 of the last 7 games. This may be the shot in the arm they desperately need. There's no denying the talent of this man. He is unbelievable. Maybe it will be mutually beneficial to both sides.

HOLMES: Hope he gets it back together.

I want to turn to a guy that nobody thinks is going to get it back together any time soon, Brett Favre. I don't want to say he cursed Minnesota this year. They had high hopes. Listen to the year they've had. The coach has been fired. Favre hasn't been playing well. Now he's out after a hard hit. And then you take the Metrodome, their home field, to much snow on it. You remember this video. This was just, what, last weekend, right?

WOLF: Indeed.

HOLMES: And you see this happening. So this is what they're supposed to do now. The Vikings are going to play at the University of Minnesota. The field, you see there. They had so much snow on it they called on students.

WOLF: They did indeed.

HOLMES: How much were they offering the students to help shovel snow?

WOLF: It wasn't a six pack of beer and a pat on the back. It was something. It really was. I mean, using the snow blowers up there. And, T.J., get this, tomorrow night they're expecting temperatures to be in the low 20s, upper teens, another two to four inches possible with wind, so visibility not so good.

HOLMES: That's going to be miserable to play outside. The players have serious concerns about that field. They didn't know if they could-I mean, it doesn't have the same technology and fancy stuff a lot of the pro fields have.

WOLF: Sure. HOLMES: That can help melt that snow. They're worried it could be like playing on a concrete surface. That's a serious health issue, safety issue.

WOLF: When they go out there and they're crushing skulls, how much technology do you need on the field? We're talking the NFL here. You know what I'm saying? And to be honest, shouldn't Minnesota be playing outside anyway?

HOLMES: You would think.

WOLF: I mean, come on.

HOLMES: Let me do one last thing, kind of sports related. Let me show you the video. Showed you a little while ago, or pictures. Paris Hilton in the get-up. She's in the motocross get-up. She has now signed up. She's now getting into the business of motocross racing. She is now the sponsor of a team. The announcement came in Madrid. She's going to sponsor. She's looking for drivers now who are going to field bikes.

This is one of the premiere leagues in motocross racing. She's getting into this business. She signed a contract to make at least five appearances. That's big. She gets paid to just show up at parties and what not. Now she's getting paid to show up at motocross racing. It's good for them. Speechless?

WOLF: Who needs coffee on a morning like this? That's great. More power to her. Sounds phenomenal. What that has to do exactly with motocross, I have no idea other than she's promoting it. She's a name. She's a brand. Good times for everybody.

HOLMES: There it is. It is 17 minutes past the hour. Reynolds is going to be back. Plenty to talk about weather-wise this morning as we get into this last week. A lot of people traveling this week, certainly want to know what is going on. So, we'll check back in with you.

Also we got some big business news this week. Stocks reached a two-year high last week. Is that going to continue possibly? We'll tell you. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 19 minutes past the hour. We're going to have a holiday shortened business week, coming up. We have foreclosures, Federal Reserve decision to hold off on raising interest rates. The big headlines. Our business correspondents Poppy Harlow and Stephanie Elam have more on both stories. We begin in New York with Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Morning T.J.

Stocks didn't move much this week, partially because the Federal Reserve didn't rock the boat. Policymakers maintained their stance on the economy saying interest rates will stay near zero. A the Fed will keep buying billions of dollars in bonds to stimulate growth.

A new report shows foreclosure filings plunged 21 percent last month. But it is just a temporary blip. A few months ago, some lenders admitted they pushed through foreclosures without checking the paperwork. That caused many banks to temporarily to halt the process and recheck everything. And eventually those foreclosures will flood the market.

And finally, if you are traveling over the holidays, you will have a lot of company. Triple A expects 92 million Americans will travel between Christmas and New Years. That is up 3 percent from last year-Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM, FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much, Steph.

Looking ahead, the stock market will be closed on Friday for Christmas Eve. But before traders head out for the holidays, they will have several big economic reports to consider. Primarily the final reading on third quarter GDP that is expected to improve slightly, showing the U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.6 percent from July through September. That said, this final GDP report comes just shortly after Federal Chief Ben Bernanke said that that level of growth isn't enough to bring down the high unemployment rate in the country.

Also ahead, this week, Wall Street will get several readings on home sales for the month of November. The housing market is still one of the weakest parts of the U.S. economy. We'll see if there's any improvement in those readings. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Thanks as always to Poppy and Stephanie.

Coming up, it has been a heck of a year for Tiger Woods. It all started Thanksgiving night last year. In this time of need, you think he'd be surrounded by friends and family right now. You're going to hear from his brother coming up. A brother he hasn't talked to in four years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It is 24 minutes past the hour.

Excuse me.

It has been a year now since Tiger Woods' carefully crafted public image came crashing down. Father of two is now divorced, fighting to get his golf game back. Recently launched a PR campaign to try to re-polish his image. I spoke recently to his estranged brother, Earl Woods Jr. He offered his perspective on Tiger after the affairs and after their father's death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice over): Earl Woods, Jr., is the oldest of three children from his father's previous image.

EARL WOODS JR., TIGER WOODS OLDER BROTHER: I had a conversation with Tiger when he was little. And I said, we don't do anything half assed. You're either all or not at all. So, he loved that.

HOLMES: But just as Tiger Woods' career began to sky rocket, his older brother noticed a change.

WOODS: When he turned pro, it became more difficult to have time with him. Since then it's like -- it's almost as though we don't measure up.

I haven't spoken to Tiger since 2006. We've sent him a couple of letters, and I've tried to call a couple of times, just to update him on, you know, what's going on with the family, because we are family. And I've gotten no response.

HOLMES (on camera): You haven't talked to your brother, your blood since 2006? Now, there has to be something else going on. Was there some tension of some kind? Why would he just cut the family off?

WOODS: There were reports that I had borrowed money from him and not paid him back. There was a family argument that split the family up. And none of that's true.

HOLMES (voice over): In fact, the last time he says he saw his little brother was at their father's funeral.

WOODS: He was gracious enough to allow us to join him on the jet to take my dad to Kansas to bury his remains. And I remember we came off the jet, walked down the runway, hugged, hey, how you doing? He went that way with the entourage, and we went this way. And that was the last I ever saw him.

HOLMES: Earl Woods Jr. says their father's death had a major impact on Tiger.

WOODS: What I saw was that he lost a part of himself. I think that our father was a part of Tiger so much that, when he passed, Tiger became lost. That he didn't know how to fill that void.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: CNN has reached out to Tiger Woods' management company. There's been no response to the comments made by his older brother, Earl Woods, Jr.

A reminder, if you didn't have a chance to see it last night, you can see it again, this evening. Another chance to see it. My special, "Downfall: The Tiger Woods Scandal." Tonight at 10:30 Eastern Time, in addition, to hearing form Earl Woods, Jr. you will see my interview with an alleged mistress of Tiger Woods, Veronica Daniels. Again, tonight, 10:30 Eastern Time; 7:30 Pacific, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes. Thank you for being with us on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Give you a look at some of the stories making headlines.

At the urging of the Russians, the U.N. Security Council will meet this morning at 11:00 Eastern Time to try to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea poised for a live fire naval drill near a disputed border. That's on hold because of weather, but North Korea says it will retaliate if the drill is held. Meanwhile, a top North Korean general tells private U.S. envoy Bill Richardson he may be open to new lines of communication and cooperation.

Also, police in Israel -- police in Jerusalem, specifically -- say they have found the body of a missing American tourist, a woman. She had been missing since Saturday -- excuse me. The search started when a woman showed up at a picnic area with several stab wounds, saying she and her friend had been attacked. The two had been hiking in a nearby forest.

No arrest so far. The woman who staggered in with the stab wounds is now in stable condition.

Also, the Senate votes to end the ban on gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The new rule is likely to be signed into law by the president this week. Opponents said repealing "don't ask, don't tell" would create distractions on the battlefield and could also endanger troops.

Taking a look at reaction to the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," some politicians, some members of the military, even viewers. Here's what President Obama had to say in an e-mail statement to supporters. The commander-in-chief said, quote, "Gay and lesbian service members, brave Americans who enable our freedoms, will no longer have to hide who they are. The fight for civil rights, a struggle that continues, will no longer include this one."

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina cited a Marine Corps commandant who believes, quote, "Changing this policy this way would cause distractions among the Marine Corps to the point that he is worried about increased casualties."

To let you know, more than 14,000 service members have been discharged under the 17-year-old law. A former -- one former lieutenant, Dan Choi, who came out on national TV, he is among them. This is video of him being arrested after chaining himself to a fence at the White House earlier this year. He became one of the loudest voices in the push for repealing "don't ask, don't tell."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN CHOI, FMR. ARMY LIEUTENANT (via telephone): We know that when you're on the right side of justice and history, you don't ever go backwards. And so, this is the real moment. It's not for me that is the most excited. I'm sure that this is sending shock waves to all the closeted and fearful and self-hating people all throughout America who are afraid to come out because they're gay, and they're saying -- finally, the government is saying that we're taking steps closer for you to access your integrity. And that's why it's so amazing.

Not just amazing for me. I mean, I'm already out. I'm fairly openly gay, I guess you could say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CHOI: But, you know, this is for all of those people in the military who are languishing, not able to come out to themselves because they are so ingrained with this self-hatred. And it's a message. I hope that it really stiffens their spine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Choi just got out of the hospital after suffering a breakdown that he says is related to both post-traumatic stress and the fight against "don't ask, don't tell." We're hearing from many of you out there as well. Josh Levs is tracking some of your responses.

Good morning to you, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning to you, T.J.

And, folks, you know, we were here yesterday. I was right here, throughout the afternoon as the news came of this repeal. We were following your responses, and more have come in throughout the night and this morning.

Let me do this. I'm going to show you some of the quotes that we're getting from you on Facebook right now. Some of your on here. And I will tell you, being honest about what we were getting here, the vast majority of the people weighing in have been those in support of the repeal. But we are hearing from people on both sides.

Let's take a look here of what we're getting on Facebook this morning.

From Francine, "Congress did the right thing. Discrimination is wrong," she writes. She says, "And devalues a human."

Let's get into the next one here and we'll close up so you can actually see the words. "This is a historic change to a policy that should have never existed in the first place." That's from Charles.

Now, here's something on the other side, from Jamil. "Thumbs down. We can do without anyone who wants to go against the values this country was founded upon."

And here's someone who agrees with Jamil. "I agree with Jamil. God does not support gays." That's from Riku.

One more from Facebook here. "This vote has rekindled a level of hope and pride in the country that had been dwindling."

Now, we also received an iReport from one of our frequent iReporters, Egberto Willies. Take a look here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EGBERTO WILLIES, IREPORTER: We can only hope that going forward, gays in all 50 states and all U.S. territories will be allowed to marry and adopt. That will be the real victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: So, we're looking to hear from people on all sides.

Let me tell you something, some very well-known people out there who are not in the government have been weighing in through their Twitter accounts. Beginning here with Ellen DeGeneres. This is what she wrote: "Thank you senators for pushing us one step closer to full equality."

And Neil Patrick Harris, who's an actor also, openly gay. He says, "Don't ask, don't tell repealed. So proud of Congress for making the right decision. Now, all soldiers can serve with integrity. A great day."

We are getting tweets from various people on various sides. Let me just show you some that were sent to me. This is from Curtis, who says, "It was no doubt a sign of progress for the gay community. Will the boy scouts follow suit?" He says he's a gay eagle scout from 2006.

Let's take a look at this one as well. This one says -- another one agreeing with this. "It's time that gays in the military enjoy the freedoms they're supposed to defend."

We also heard from Mitch Dickens, who wrote this down here. "Disappointed in our Senate today."

You can keep weighing in on Facebook and Twitter. I'm at JoshLevsCNN. We'll be back I the 8:00 hour with more of your views.

And, T.J., I certainly look forward to seeing what our viewers have to say this morning.

HOLMES: All right. Josh, we do appreciate you this morning. Thanks so much.

LEVS: You got it.

HOLMES: Well, coming up, we've been telling you about some severe weather in parts of California, heavy rains and a lot of snow in parts of that state. And more could be heading their way. We'll tell you how this could disrupt things for a lot of travelers and those living out there as well. Reynolds Wolf coming up.

Thirty-six minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Thirty-eight minutes past the hour.

Take a look at this. Yes, it does rain in California and a lot when it does, a lot in the valley.

Also, the scene yesterday in Sacramento. We're talking about snow in some places. We're talking about rain in other places. But this was out of Sacramento yesterday, had flash flooding.

Reynolds is standing by here with me now.

Reynolds, we are talking about snow in some places, rain in other places of California. Are they done just yet?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not by a long shot. They're going to be seeing quite a bit more of this. It's really mindboggling to say. I mean, you see the rainfall here. But the story has also been snow. We even have some video in parts of Colorado and even other parts of California, where it's still just going to come down at this point.

I want to move this thing out of the way so we can share with you really the components that are coming together to make this a big weather event. What we have is something we often referred to as, believe it or not, sounds like a funny name. It's called the pineapple express. The pineapple express is basically a plume of moisture that comes in from Hawaii, all the way across the Pacific. And, of course, you see the results in terms of some of snowfall we've been getting in the high elevations, some places well over in excess of a foot.

Hawaii happens to be right over here, this little chain of islands that you see just here in the very corner of the screen in this spot. The reason why this sets up in the atmosphere is pretty simple. You have a low that's set up right here, area of high pressure that is set put right here. It's almost like a fly wheel and a conveyor belt. You got all the moisture pulling right into parts of California. The heavy rain is something we've been seeing. The snow is going to continue to pile up also.

Now, in terms of the heaviest precipitation, much of it in terms of rain will be in the San Joaquin Valley. You've already seen that video. Let's show you some of the video that we have in terms of the snowfall.

Let's go right to that if we can right now. This is going to be a scene playing out in many of the highest elevations. This video is compliments of KCRA. You see this happened just yesterday in Kingvale, just a little bit to the west of Tahoe. That's going to continue all day today.

In fact, parts of I-80, T.J., may actually close down in the next couple of hours, all due to the snow, all due to those powerful winds. The skiers that are up there are going to stay locked in place. So, it's going to be just wonderful for them, it's a bonanza.

But for everyone else trying to make that trek, you may be waiting on one side of the grid (ph), to the other perhaps over towards Sacramento, or maybe even in to Reno, stop, enjoy a cup of coffee. Whatever you do, if you're not an experienced driver, don't get out on these roadways.

Let's go back to the weather computer. Here it is. You've got the low, you've got the moisture coming on and it is going to be raining like buckets in a few places. We may see rainfall in excess of 10 inches in some places.

But in terms of snowfall, this through Monday and into Tuesday, check it out. Every place you see dark purple, there's plenty of it over near parts of Mt. Shasta, right along the Sierra Nevada and then back from the central Rockies. This will not be snowfall in terms of inches, but rather in terms of feet. We talked the highest points of the Sierra Nevada, 10 feet; over in the Wasatch Range, also, anywhere from three to five inches of rainfall.

For the rest of the country, letting you know we are not neglecting you. For the center of the U.S., conditions are going to be fine. Eastern Seaboard looks pretty fine. Boston, Nashville in the 30s and 40s; 76 in Miami; 15 in Minneapolis; 61 in Los Angeles.

That is a quick snapshot of your forecast.

HOLMES: Is that going to be the concern this week? You're talking about out west. But is that going to be the issue -- you know, a lot of people is still going to be traveling this week.

WOLF: Well, what we're going to be seeing, T.J., is a lot of this is going to be driving their way to the east. What we're going to have is more of a rainmaker when it hits the mid-Mississippi Valley, when it hits the eastern third of the U.S. Nothing in terms of the magnitude of what we're going to see out west. Now, out west, to be very quickly and very poignant, is that it's the perfect recipe for heavy rain and, of course, the heavy snow.

HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you. Again, Reynolds is with us, of course, all morning. We'll check in with you plenty. Thanks so much, buddy.

Well, coming up, man's best friend sometimes can become a lifesaver. A marine credits his survival to the actions of his dog. We'll explain. We're back in one minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Forty-three minutes past the hour now. Many members of the U.S. military are glad to be home for the holidays. We've been seeing a lot of those homecomings over the past couple of days. We're going to seeing some more this week.

One of those very happy to be home right now: Marine Lance Corporal Mason Neff of North Carolina. He's recovering, though, right now from an IED blast he suffered Thanksgiving weekend in Afghanistan. It's an injury that could have been far worse had it not been for his bomb-sniffing dog. From our CNN affiliate WLOS, here now, Russ Bowen with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSS BOWEN, WLOS REPORTER (voice-over): A man and his dog.

LANCE CORPORAL MASON NEFF, U.S. MARINE: Every time you go outside, outside the tent, he's right there.

BOWEN: How to define the relationship when one saves the other. Bingo, a bomb-sniffing dog, and Lance Corporal Mason Neff, his handler, were investigating a tip there was an IED at the intersection of a foot path and a canal. Sensing the hidden explosive, Bingo moved just as Neff moved toward it. Bingo set it off, taking his own life, saving his master's.

NEFF: I think I asked him where's Bingo, and he told me that Bingo didn't make it. And I passed back out. It was actually harder learning that I lost him than that I lost the eye.

BOWEN: The explosion caused Neff to lose sight in his left eye. His jaw is broken in three places.

NEFF: I took shrapnel to the left arm and left side of my neck and face, nothing on the lower half, which I attribute to Bingo because he took the brunt of the explosion.

BOWEN: That odd sound you hear is air coming from just above the microphone there where the hole in his neck from a tracheotomy is healing.

NEFF: I'm lucky. I'm very, very lucky I'm still walking around on my own. I've still got all my limbs. I'm still alive. I'm lucky. I've got too many brothers that won't be coming home.

BOWEN: The former MMA fighter has no self-pity, just a hope the rest of us won't forget what's happening in Afghanistan.

NEFF: When you're over there, it almost feels like the world is still moving on and you're stuck, like almost feels like, you know, that we're forgotten about over here.

BOWEN: And as for the days to come --

NEFF: Well, I want to -- I want to stay in the infantry, and I want to go back.

BOWEN: The true heart of a Marine, as they say, Semper Fi, always faithful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Amazing. Says he wants to go back.

Here we are now at 45 minutes past the hour. Coming up: I'm going to show you something, some video you really have to see -- some amazing video of something that dates back to the 12th century in India, and now it's something that could make an appearance in the Olympics. We'll explain.

Also, elbows are flying and drop kicks, those lines. Pro wrestling in Bolivia changing the lives of women. Yes, women. Stick around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, THE CARTER CENTER: Hello. I'm Jimmy Carter.

And we can make an impact on guinea worm disease. The Carter Center decided to undertake to completely eradicate this from the face of the earth.

I would say the eradication of guinea worm will be one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. And the reason is I've seen with my own eyes in many, many villages, lives completely transformed from fear and suffering and pain.

When guinea worm is gone, they have a completely new life.

Join the movement, "Impact Your World," CNN.com/Impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: About 10 minutes to the top of the hour now.

Next up, a story about pole dancing. But it's maybe not what you're thinking here.

Nadia Bilchik -- don't make a liar out of me. It's not what we're thinking, right? Not that kind of pole dancing.

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: As you said, it's not pole dancing. This is real pole dancing known as mallakhamb. It's an ancient Indian art. And "malla" means wrestler and "khamb" is a pole.

Take a look at this. This is the Indian pole dancer. Look at the strength that it takes. Note that his feet do not touch the pole. That would be sacrilegious.

HOLMES: Why is that?

BILCHIK: Because it says the art is to use body and hands, no feet. Tell me this is fairly spectacular.

HIOLMES: That looks like a kid there.

BILCHIK: That is clearly -- that's a teen who's doing that. Start training very, very young. Look at that -- that's an adult. That is remarkable. HOLMES: That is ridiculous. That is -- oh, my goodness, the strength it takes to do that.

BILCHIK: An interesting fact about this is, is that visually impaired boys do very well at mallakhamb because it takes balance and strength, and you don't need your eye sight for it.

HOLMES: Now, you said this has been around since the 12th century?

BILCHIK: The 12th century. Mallakhamb, wrestler and pole, they used to train wrestlers to be very strong using this methodology. But there is a society in India that is hoping this will become an Olympic sport.

HOLMES: Now, where else do they do this? You're talking about India here.

BILCHIK: Only in India. This is only in India. So, that is a challenge.

But take a look at the poses, look at the strength. The neck muscles, the stomach muscles, what it takes to engage in this extraordinary art. I told you I would be surprised by this.

HOLMES: Yes. You told me this was great video. And absolutely, you delivered.

BILCHIK: Four million hits on YouTube.

HOLMES: Now, again, do they compete, necessarily? Or is it just an art form?

BILCHIK: It's both. It's both an art form and a competition in India, but it is not yet a formal Olympic sport.

So, T.J., remarkable -- strength, tenacity, discipline.

HOLMES: To be able to do that.

BILCHIK: The physique to be able to do that.

HOLMES: All right. You've got another one here you were telling me about this morning.

BILCHIK: I'm telling you about Bolivia.

HOLMES: Bolivia, you talked about wrestling and whatnot. But then you said women were wrestling. And then we're certainly curious what kind of wrestling we're talking about here.

BILCHIK: Yes. Women wrestling.

Now, first of all, one has to understand Bolivia and women, because women in Bolivia were historically really not treated very well. They were the lower class citizens. So, the fact that women are doing something that men can do is extraordinary and earning money for it.

HOLMES: What in -- OK.

BILCHIK: They are wearing their skirts. They're in traditional Bolivian dress, and these are the Cholitas.

HOLMES: What in the world? You didn't tell me about this, Nadia.

BILCHIK: The Cholitas, the indigenous Bolivian women.

HOLMES: OK. Now, this is for entertainment? This is --

BILCHIK: This is entertainment. They start -- the women started as a sideshow to the men wrestling, and then it became so popular that not only do they wrestle each other, they also wrestle men and sometimes win.

HOLMES: Now, why would this catch on? You said that men had been wrestling there. So, clearly, there's some entertainment value there. But why women? Why would this catch on to the point it's so popular?

BILCHIK: Well, first off, it's a chance for Bolivian women to fight back and that's much needed. Under the evil Morales government, women are much empowered than ever before in Bolivia. They earn around $20 a fight, which gives them extra income. It's terribly entertaining, and they've become really masterful at doing it.

HOLMES: Do they have huge stars of wrestling?

BILCHIK: Yes, they do have huge stars. Let me give you some of the stars' names. Yolanda, the loved one. Anna, the avenger.

HOLMES: This is incredible. Now, this is the real deal now. This is not the --

BILCHIK: Well, wrestling -- you know how wrestling is. But I will tell you a story about one particular wrestler and it was supposed to be choreographed. But she found her head bloody, and she pounded the guy. And she said, you see, us women, we are finally on top.

HOLMES: Wow. All right. Nadia, we've got -- we've got men pole dancing and women wrestling this morning. Didn't know it would go like that. Nadia --

BILCHIK: I told you I would surprise you, T.J.

HOLMES: Always good stuff. Nadia, thank you so much. Good to see you this morning.

We're getting close to about six minutes to the top of the hour.

Coming up: caught on camera returning items they never bought. It's return fraud. And, yes, it's costing billions to the retailers, but you're actually the one that's paying for it. We're going to explain, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A look there of Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, just across the way from where we are here in downtown Atlanta, our world headquarters.

Welcome back. I'm T.J. Holmes on the CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

It's something that's called "retail return fraud" -- returning something you've already worn or maybe something you never bought in the first place. It's unethical, of course, and sometimes it's an illegal practice. But it's very common, certainly during the holiday shopping season.

CNN's Susan Candiotti says it's costing retailers and maybe even you billions of dollars a year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Maybe that top that Aunt Mary picked out isn't exactly a hit. So you bring it back for a refund.

But check out these shoppers. They pick out some clothes from a rack and go into a dressing room. When one of them emerges, she tells the clerk she bought the clothes earlier and now wants a refund. She gets a store credit for something she never bought to begin with. That is return fraud.

JOSEPH LAROCCA, V.P. OF LOSS PREVENTION, NATL. RETAIL FEDERATION: When sales are up, so are returns. But we're also seeing fraud this holiday season and throughout the year.

CANDIOTTI: The National Retail Federation estimates return fraud losses of $14 billion this year, $4 billion alone during the holidays. It's not only stealing for store credit, there's also something called wardrobing.

DAN DOYLE, SR. V.P. OF LOSS PREVENTION, BEALLS, INC.: That's where somebody would actually buy a piece of merchandise, use it, and then bring it back to us for full credit.

CANDIOTTI: Not criminal behavior, but to retailers, it's unethical and costly because they're stuck with damaged or soiled goods they can't resell.

What is criminal, retailers say, is return fraud that's a form of shoplifting. This woman selects a brand new rolled up rug in a department store. She brings it to the counter, pays for a smaller ticket item, and then tells the clerk she's returning the rug.

LAROCCA: This is a criminal behavior because she never made that purchase originally and now is receiving a full return from the cashier. CANDIOTTI: At a Florida department store, surveillance cameras catch a woman choosing a cartful of items. She takes everything, and it's an armful, into the dressing room. And under the door, you can see her trying things on.

After leaving the room, most of the clothes are now stuffed into a bag. After more fake shopping, she gets a refund for something she didn't really buy and tells the store she decided not to return the bagged clothes she allegedly shoplifted.

Caught on tape, she's confronted with al the things she pinched. And after arguing at first, she bends over in apparent despair. She's arrested and eventually made restitution.

DOYLE: I'm certainly glad our store people were vigilant and on the ball and caught the situation.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Retailers say return fraud ultimately punishes honest shoppers in higher prices and stricter return policies. And warning to customers: surveillance cameras may be rolling, and it's pretty hard to argue with proof on tape.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Good Sunday morning.

The North Korea crisis triggers an emergency meeting at the United Nations today. Meanwhile, North Korea is making a gesture, offering to return newly-discovered remains of hundreds of U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War.

Also, they are a slipping and a sliding, a whole lot of splashing even going on in California. Monster storm system dumps snow and rain, and this storm is not done yet. Reynolds Wolf here with the severe weather forecast, as many of you trying to travel this week, trying to head somewhere for the holidays.

Hello to you. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. December 19th. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could right here with us.

Well, big day on Capitol Hill yesterday. The Senate has voted to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." President Obama expected to sign the change into law sometime this week. This, of course, would abolish the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military.

The vote yesterday, yes, in a Saturday session of the Senate, it was 65 to 31. The president calling gay and lesbian service members, quote, "Brave Americans who enable our freedoms and will no longer have to hide who they are."

So, how exactly will the end of "don't ask, don't tell" really impact the military and when? Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he'll approach the process deliberately. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon.

Barbara, good morning. Glad you could be here with us on this Sunday.

Remind us, first of all, there were some members of the military, including leaders, who were in favor of the repeal. Others weren't shy about saying, "No, we don't think so."

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, T.J. Good morning.

I would say that the most senior person to publicly say he had reservations about this was General James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps. He said that, when he looked at some of the survey results -- the Pentagon, you'll remember, surveyed the military to say, what do you think about all this -- he said that there were front line combat troops, frontline Marine units in the war zone that had expressed reservations.

He's right. There were some combat units who said they thought it was not a great idea, even though, overwhelmingly, the majority of the U.S. military said they had no problem with it.

However, that said, General Amos also said f it goes into law, the Marine Corps will salute smartly and follow the law and they will move ahead on this.

So, that is what the expectation is now. The president will sign this into law, and this process of getting ready for it, implementing it, writing all the new rules, regulations, and policies, that will take some months. And then 60 days after that, it will all go into effect. "Don't ask, don't tell" will be gone once and for all, T.J.

HOLMES: Well, Barbara, in the meantime, what will they advise? And there's some thought that they might even warn some gay and lesbian members of the military, hey, don't come out just yet. You need to wait. And what will they do in that regard?

But also, what will they do with -- I mean, some members are going through that process right now of either being investigated or being discharged for being openly gay or lesbian.

STARR: Well, you're absolutely right. Advocacy groups are already warning gay and lesbian troops not to openly state this just yet, to wait until this certification that the Pentagon will make that the force is not impacted adversely by this, and the 60-day period. After that, wait until all of that is out of the way and that they can be absolutely certain.

That said, Defense Secretary Robert Gates had instituted new rules already that would limit people being investigated and separated or kicked out of military service. There are very few cases, as we understand, currently moving through the system.

And the reality is Gates and the Pentagon leadership just want this over and done with. They're not really interested in investigating anybody else in this period of transition. But advocacy groups are saying, be careful, don't state anything publicly just yet.

HOLMES: All right. Barbara Starr for us this morning in Washington.

Barbara, we appreciate you as always. Good to see you on this Sunday morning.

STARR: Thank you.

HOLMES: Now, the Senate also set to debate the START Treaty. Excuse me. So sorry about this cough, folks. Let me start that over again.

The Senate set to debate the START Treaty, Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Unclear when a final vote would take place. The treaty would resume mutual inspections of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, also would limit both nations to a certain number of warheads, also, a certain number of launchers.

Ratification requires support from two-thirds of the Senate. Democrats currently need nine Republicans to ratify this agreement.

Other Senate business includes the DREAM Act. Yesterday, it fell five votes short of the 60 needed to be considered for final passage. The law would have given the children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship by attending college or serving in the military for at least two years.

Well, congressional apportionment begins Tuesday. Expected winners include western and southern states.

Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser with more from Washington for us -- Paul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, T.J. Some questions for you. How many people live in the U.S., and where do they live? How many states will gain congressional seats and which will lose them?

We'll find out Tuesday when the U.S. Census Bureau unveils results of the country's 2010 census. The findings will kick off a battle next year between Democrats and Republicans over congressional redistricting. The results of the census could have a big impact op the next fight for control for Congress and the next battle for the White House -- T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Paul Steinhauser.

Also, Russia taking the lead to try to defuse the situation on the Korean Peninsula by asking for and getting an emergency meeting of the Security Council this morning.

I have a map here that shows you the flash point of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island just off the coast of North Korea. In November, the North shelled the island, killing four people. This time, threatening worse.

Our Kyung Lah is with us from Seoul.

Hello to you. Is there movement this morning so far on Yeonpyeong? Are people starting to go get out of there, quite frankly, just in case something happens?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's talk first about the island. Yeonpyeong Island is certainly the scene of evacuation. We went there, a two-hour ferry ride, and saw people who are children, elderly people, grabbing whatever they could and getting on what is expected to be the very last ferry off of that island and heading to the peninsula.

The reason why, the ministry of defense telling CNN that they are moving forward, if the weather conditions do hold, that on Monday morning, which is Sunday night Eastern Time, that they will begin these military drills. These are naval drills, live fire drills.

And as you indicated, T.J., the very last time they had these drills, there was a shelling of that South Korean island.

So, what is happening before Monday morning Seoul time? What's going to be happening is the U.N. Security Council, it's an emergency session. It was by the request of Russia.

And what Governor Bill Richardson -- who is in North Korea right now, CNN's Wolf Blitzer is traveling with him -- what Governor Richardson is hoping is that there's going to be some sort of strong statement out of the U.N. Security Council that will give South Korea politicians some political cover so that they can cancel these naval drills -- because the big concern is that if you have these naval drills, if North Korea retaliates, then South Korea has to respond. That could very quickly escalate. The United States then having to become involved. And certainly, that is something that all sides would want to avoid.

HOLMES: All right. Kyung Lah for us this morning in Seoul -- Kyung Lah, we appreciate you as always. Thank you so much.

Here it's seven minutes past the hour. We're going to turn back to some weather. And take a look at this video. You see this so often.

The laws of physics, Reynolds, just come into play. Physics is pretty complicated to figure out. Sometimes it's hard to understand. If -- you have a hill and there's ice, it's hard to figure out what's going to happen.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, when it comes to physics, you throw out the textbook and you just think, the heavy vehicle, bad tires, slick road equals serious headaches. Rough times for insurance people -- or maybe they're smiling. FedEx keeps you going. You see that at the bottom of the screen.

Hey, something else is going to keep you going -- more rain, more snow, possible mudslides and maybe some avalanches for parts of the Golden State of California. We got all the happy news coming up, straight ahead.

You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Quite a wonderland for some of the folks having a tough time in Europe right now. They are having a heck of a winter. This is in London, Gatwick and Heathrow airports, both closed yesterday.

Reynolds is here with me as well, as we continue to look at this video though. Reynolds, you were giving me some perspective on what kind of winter they've been seeing across Europe this season.

WOLF: Absolutely. I mean, it has been profound. It has been a very bad winter so far. But, will it be historical? Remember, it's very early in the season. We've got a long way to go. But they've been hit very hard, no question about it.

HOLMES: And winter officially starts there, too? When is it?

WOLF: To me, winter --

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF: It really has started.

HOLMES: All right. This other bit of video. And again, this is -- it's hard to -- it's tough to say this stuff is entertaining, but it kind of is. You feel bad for these folks. But we see this time after time.

And you always wonder, well, how in the world do you get video of this stuff? Well, it's easy because there's a slick road and the local affiliates know exactly where to take their cameras. They know somebody's going to try to drive up this hill, and you get this all on tape.

And sure, enough, this is in Washington -- Spokane, Washington. They try to get up the south hill. It was icy. And you see what happens. And here comes another one.

Nothing you can do to stop it. Nothing you can do to get your vehicle out of the way and keep it from getting smashed.

WOLF: Isn't it funny how certain times of year, there's just these -- the beautiful things that can be captured on film. Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, birds migrating, and then cars sliding downhill in parts of Washington state.

HOLMES: It's part of -- it's part of every winter coverage.

WOLF: It really is. It is very special time. But, I mean, again, we're not -- we're laughing at the futility that we're seeing here. It is a bad thing to see. This is the point, you know, this is the main point why we tell people, you really need to be careful when you hit roads.

I'll tell you, T.J., winter driving, it's always better to drive in snow as opposed to ice. Ice is just horrendous.

HOLMES: And again, we should, once again, say nobody hurt here. Yes. You know, any car accident, but just around the holidays. You've got a car to fix. It's just tough times.

WOLF: Rough stuff.

Well, the reason why we're seeing this is pretty interesting, kind of a play on words. You know, earlier, T.J. was talking about pole dancing, and it wasn't exactly what it seemed. But we're going to be talking about something else that isn't exactly what it seems. The "pineapple express," it sounds delicious, it really does. But, I mean, it's an atmospheric problem.

When we say "pineapple express," the reason we call it "pineapple express" is because of where this moisture is coming from, this point of origin. Look down here in the Hawaiian islands, you see the stream of moisture that's just pulling right now into the Golden State of California, heaving rain in some places, heavier snow in others. And with that, we have the possibility of having some flash flooding in many locations including Sacramento and, of course, some heavy snowfall in parts of the highest Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Now, the reason why we're seeing it, we've told you that. What we're going to be dealing with in terms of the byproduct of this is not only some heavy rainfall, but at the same time, some battering winds that are going to bring some heavy, heavy surf along the coastlines. When this moisture makes its way up into the high Sierra Nevada, mountain passes and places like, say, I-80, are just going to be a nightmare in terms of driving.

In fact, that artery, I-80, right here in Sacramento, back into the mountains, over towards Reno and then even deeper into parts of the Great Basin, (INAUDIBLE) spots are going to have the heavy snowfall. Some places, possibly up to 10 feet of snow as we get into, say, Monday, Tuesday, even Wednesday. Other places back into the Central Rockies and into the Wasatch Range just to the east of Salt Lake City, you could see about three to five. Nothing to sneeze at. That's major snowfall.

And as the system comes its way a bit more to the east, we're going to see the snowfall totals begin to rack up in a few places. So far, though, in Reno, Nevada, just under a foot of snow. Just over that in Truckee, Squaw Valley, and even the Mammoth Lakes should have 37 inches in a few places. And those numbers will all be going up.

What you can expect as you make your way around the country is you can expect that moisture to be up in parts of the San Joaquin Valley. And as you head towards L.A., in some places, like down towards the Grapevine, there's the potential of having some mudslides in places near Malibu, perhaps even into the San Gabriel Mountains because you have places that have just been ravaged by some wildfires earlier in the year. Without the extensive root systems of that grass, you can see some mudslides.

We're also going to see temperatures warming up to 61 degrees in Los Angeles; 55 in Denver; 15 in Minneapolis; 41 in Nashville; 70 in San Antonio; 37 degrees in Boston. Miami, you lucky devils, going to 76 for a high for the day.

As we fast forward to tomorrow, wrapping it up, 21 degrees would be the high, your high temperature in Fargo; 51 in Atlanta; 34 in New York.

And for you travelers, guess what? You know all the rough weather we told you out west, that's going to give you all the delays in San Francisco, L.A., Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City. The rain could keep you grounded for 15 to 30 minutes.

We know, when you tune in, you have a choice of news. And we're so glad you made your choice here with CNN. You'll see you in just a little bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Eighteen minutes past the hour.

As we wrap up the last week, as always, some new viral video out there. Josh Levs keeping an eye on those for us.

Good morning, once again, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey. Good morning again, T.J. Yes, you guys are going to like this a lot.

Let's take a look at this first one. It's called preacher baby. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Let me tell you what you see here. There's this little boy, this little kid, who was sounding like a preacher, copying everything he heard the preachers do. And then the folks at College Humor came along and put words on the screen to make it seem like the preaching is actual words.

Listen a little bit.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) online.

All right. Time now for a little holiday Christmas cheer. These are partygoers performing Christmas carols on beer bottles. Listen to this.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Pretty impressive musical work. They performed "Do You Hear What I Hear?" last year. This year, they're doing "Angels We Have Heard on High." The Bowen Beer Bottle Band. I was emailing with the head of it, Matt Bowen.

They spent some real time on this. They've got some musical artistry going here. They put these things up, and they go viral fast. Everyone's loving these guys.

All right. Next, it wouldn't be viral videos unless it was an animal inside, and that was a hamster. Take a look at the dancing hamster.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: I love this little guy. The classic hamster dancing music. Hampton, the hamster, doing the hamster dance song.

Finally, you know what? We have our own viral video this week from iReport. CNN iReport has achieved a milestone. We have an iReport now from every country on earth, and we have a video showcasing literally all of them. Here's a little clip of that right there.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Videos, photos, stories from every country on earth. I have linked all of these videos and more up at my Facebook page at JoshLevsCNN. Take a look at it right here. Send me your favorite viral videos, and we will bring some of them to you right here.

T.J., back to you.

HOLMES: All right. Josh, we appreciate you as always. Thank you so much.

Well, coming up, how does this sound? You're going to watch your favorite pro football team play today, and you've got to sit in 20 degree weather, and no beer is going to be sold. Sound like a good time? That's what they're going to have to endure because the Metrodome still not ready for the Vikings. We'll tell you how this is supposed to go down today in Minnesota.

Twenty-one minutes past the hour. Game's actually on Monday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Twenty-two minutes past the hour.

We are going to know if college success -- you know what, Superman status in college will translate to professional success today. One of the most decorated college athletes of all time really.

WOLF: Amazing player. We're talking about a guy who's 6'3" and 245. He's built like a linebacker.

HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: He's 67.1 percentage -- completion percentage in college. Can that translate to the pros?

HOLMES: We're going to find out a lot today about Tim Tebow, who, of course, was a superstar, with two championships, one at Florida as a quarterback there. Well, today, he is going to get his first professional start at quarterback for the Denver Broncos. They've got injury issues at quarterback, but they're saying he's getting this. He kind of earned this.

Denver, of course, not having the best of years. Not a whole lot on the line necessarily. But still, he had to change his throwing form. He had so much he had to alter just to get drafted. Nobody thought he'd go in the first round. Was drafted 26th, I think it was?

WOLF: I think so. I think so. And there was a lot of talk that he was actually going to be converted to a tight end, maybe a fullback, or maybe even playing defense. I mean, there's no question the guy's got talent but was his success in Florida because he was in a system, or was it based upon his talent or maybe a combination of both? And how will that translate to the NFL as a quarterback? Interesting.

HOLMES: We shall see today. Starting against Oakland today.

Also, what's the temperature going to be in Minneapolis today?

WOLF: I'd say about 18 degrees.

HOLMES: Eighteen degrees around game time. That game being between -- that's today we're talking about. It's actually a Monday night game, I keep making that mistake. But still, I assume it's going to be comparable on Monday as well.

WOLF: It's going to be the same.

HOLMES: But they're having to play at the stadium at the University of Minnesota. Now, that's it cleaned out. They'd snow piled up, had students volunteering to shovel, offering them $10 to $15 an hour to do so.

Of course, you know the Metrodome, after the snow kind of caved in the roof there, and they've got holes in it. Just not ready for them to play. They're having to do it here.

Now, a couple of things to worry about. One, no beer is being sold. How big of an issue was that?

WOLF: Huge.

HOLMES: Huge issue there.

All right. Two, this stadium doesn't seat as many people as the Metrodome. So, if you are holding tickets to a Metrodome game, it's on a first come, first serve basis at this stadium. So, they'll take as many people as they can. So, it's kind of set up to be at least must-see TV. A lot of people are curious about it.

WOLF: You know, it could be far worse. From what I understand, if the game was not going to be held there, the only other option would be to play that at the Georgia Dome. Did you know that?

HOLMES: I did hear that thrown out.

WOLF: That would have been the game. So, I think -- don't you think to some extent there will be more people that have incentive to go to this game? Because it will be historic.

HOLMES: It is.

WOLF: I mean, you got to think about that -- playing outside for these guys, which some would argue you should be playing at all along. I mean, you're in Minnesota, for heaven's sakes. But -- I mean, I don't know how much of an advantage it would truly be because we're talking about the Bears. The Bears are used to this cold weather.

HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: They played their last game in the snow, got throttled by the Patriots.

HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: So, maybe this one will turn out a little better for them.

HOLMES: All right. One more we've got to get in here. And, congratulations, no matter what, to the UConn women.

They have a game today. If they win this thing, they are tying a record that many say will never be tied and never be broken -- 88-game win streak. They've won back to back undefeated national championships. They win today. That's going to be 88 straight games. That would be tying the Wizard of Westwood.

We're talking about UCLA's record that nobody thought would be touched. But they win one, they tie it. They win two, they break it.

WOLF: That is insane.

HOLMES: It may never be broken again.

WOLF: They're amazing athletes, even better teammates. And to see them work together and play in these games, it's an amazing thing. And congratulations to them. Hope they do it.

HOLMES: Absolutely -- they absolutely will. But that is one we will never see. I have no problem going on record. That will never be broken again.

WOLF: Hammer down. There you. HOLMES: All right. Reynie, thank you.

Quick break. We'll be right back with a look at some of the stories making headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Taking a look now at some stories making headlines. The Senate votes to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military. The new rule is likely to be signed into law by the president this week.

Also, police in Jerusalem found the body of a missing American woman. The tourist had been missing since yesterday. The search started when a second woman showed up at a picnic area with several stab wounds saying she and her friend had been attacked.

The two had been hiking in a nearby forest. The woman who staggered in with the stab wounds is now in stable condition.

Also, at the urging of Russia, the U.N. Security Council will meet at 11:00 Eastern today to try to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea poised to have those live fire naval drills near a disputed border. That's on hold because of the weather. But North Korea says it will retaliate if the drill takes place.

Meanwhile, a North Korean general tells U.S. envoy Bill Richardson he may be open to new lines of communication and cooperation.

I will be back at the top of the hour with more live news as CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.

But, first, I want to hand it over to the good doctor.