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CNN Sunday Morning
GOP Rivals Square Off in Iowa; Afghan Militia to Triple in Size
Aired December 11, 2011 - 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: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Eight a.m. on this December 11th where I sit. I'm T.J. Holmes. Good to be with you.
Coming up: something you may have missed from overnight -- they really ganged up on the presidential front-runner Newt Gingrich at a debate last night. So how did he hold up? We'll have reaction from Iowa in just a moment.
Also, just an awful, ugly scene at a college basketball game yesterday. It turned into an all-out brawl between cross town rivals. We'll let you see more of this. We know suspensions are coming. You're not going to believe what some of the players said after the game.
Also, many of you -- I know you're dreading it -- the in-laws are coming for the holidays. That may stress you out and some of that stress may come from religious differences. We're getting into all of that in our "Faces of Faith," tips how to deal with the potential clash of cultures when the in-laws come knocking.
But here at the top of the hour, let's start, shall we, with that presidential debate from last night.
You could tell we're getting close to the first votes, because last night, we heard a lot of back-and-forth and a lot of it actually got personal, maybe even more so than we've heard in the past. Take a quick listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you will cheat on your wife, if you will cheat on your spouse, then why wouldn't you cheat on your business partner? Or why wouldn't you cheat on anybody, for that matter?
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've made mistakes at times. I've had to go to God for forgiveness. I've had to seek reconciliation. But I'm also a 68-year-old grandfather and I think people have to measure who I am now on whether I'm a person they can trust.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You saw the picture of Newt Gingrich's wife as well. You heard Rick Perry certainly go personal there.
Let me bring in our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.
Paul, man, from the tone of this last night, is it clear we are getting closer to the time it is time to start counting some votes?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, T.J., I think you could tell from that. You know, we're just over three weeks away from those Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the Republican primaries and caucuses. And, yes, time's awasting for these candidates, no doubt about that.
And a lot changed since the last debate. Remember, that was our CNN debate back in Washington, D.C. before Thanksgiving. Back in those days, Newt Gingrich's poll numbers were on the rise but he wasn't the front-runner.
Now, according to our polls and other organizations as well, the former House speaker is the front-runner here in Iowa, some of the other early voting states and nationally.
What happens when you're the frontrunner? Well, you get a bull's-eye on your back. We saw that last night. A bunch of the other candidates, we have the rivals for the nomination going after Gingrich.
Take a listen to this exchange between Mitt Romney, who used to be the front runner, and Gingrich over who was the career politician and who isn't. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have differences of viewpoint on some issues. But the real difference I believe is our backgrounds. I spent my life in the private sector. I understand how the economy works.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994.
ROMNEY: Now wait a second.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Remember those controversial comments as well yesterday morning? We were talking about this a lot, Gingrich's comments about whether the Palestinian people were an invented people. He defended those comments, explained them last night. But Romney, as well, attacking him on that. It was pretty contentious between those two.
Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas, who has been rising in the polls here in Iowa and in New Hampshire, the second state to vote, is also mixing it up.
Listen, T.J., as we said, the clock is ticking here. So, for all the candidates, including Texas Governor Rick Romney, former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, this is one of the last chances to really reach out to these voters here in Iowa who still haven't made up their minds before they go to those caucuses on January 3rd -- T.J.
HOLMES: And, Paul, last thing, help us understand maybe even the buzz afterwards with -- for something that may have been the moment of the night when Mitt Romney, he says he wants to bet Rick Perry $10,000 over a particular issue, and explain as well why that's a problem for a guy who's trying to make a connection that he's some kind of every man.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, exactly. This has been kind of an ongoing thing between those two gentlemen for a couple of debates now, Rick Perry critical of what Romney wrote on his book that came out last year, "No Apologies," on health care and whether Mitt Romney was supportive of mandating health care insurance for all Americans. And they've been battling over this.
So, Romney said enough is enough already. Let's make a $10,000 bet about what's really in my book. Well, the problem is, yes, Mitt Romney is a multi-millionaire and in tough economic times, if you try to reach out to average Americans, a $10,000 bet seems kind of extravagant.
You saw some Democrats already attacking Romney over that. We'll see if this issue has legs. But at least last night, it was what we were talking about and a lot of others and it was trending online -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Our Paul Steinhauser, thank you, as always. We'll talk to you again soon.
And coming up in about 30 minutes from now, we'll be talking to our "STATE OF THE UNION" anchor Candy Crowley, a little more insights in the debate, see what she has coming your way at the top of the hour at 9:00 Eastern Time on "STATE OF THE UNION." But she'll join me here in about 30 minutes.
Let's turn to some other news making headlines now, and at least two people were killed when Mexico was shaken by a moderate earthquake. One of them was crushed inside a house. This was a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Mexico, about 100 miles from Mexico City.
We're seeing an iReport here from Mexico City where there were several blackouts after the quake.
Also, Syrian protesters have three days to stop or they'll be attack? That's the warning from the Syrian government to the people in the city in Homs. According to one opposition leader, the military has reportedly positioned dozens of military vehicles just outside that city. The city has become the epicenter for anti-government protests there.
Manuel Noriega is on his way back to Panama. The former Panamanian leader is being sent back by the French government to possibly face a trial for the killing of one of his political opponents. Noriega was removed from power by U.S. forces 22 years ago. He spent the past two decades in a U.S. prison before going to France.
And Iran says they're not giving back a U.S. spy drone they say they shot down. Iranian TV showing this video of the plane but American officials have not confirmed that this drone even belongs to the U.S. But they are saying that a U.S. drone went missing over Afghanistan and hasn't been recovered.
Meanwhile, the head of U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan making some news. Admiral William McRaven is revealing his plans or the plan to triple the size of a controversial Afghan military force.
Our Nick Paton Walsh live for us in Kabul.
Nick, first of all, how often do we hear from this guy, Admiral McRaven?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the head of one of the most secretive parts of the U.S. military, the man, the architect behind the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May this year, a man who rarely speaks on the record at all. We had a very rare audience with him only yesterday.
The key point he wants to address was his desire for his unit to help build what's called the Afghan local police. That's been described a community watch with AK-47s. Its local guys being given weapons by the police there to look after their own villagers, to try and keep the insurgency out. Great success they say with Special Forces in the past because it allows them to shore up certain areas in the kind of lawless rural parts of Afghanistan where the Taliban may otherwise get a foothold.
Admiral McRaven wants to raise the size of that force from 10,000 to 30,000 in the next two years, saying that will significantly help improve security here. But also, I should mention the fact, the price tag is going to be pretty cheap comparatively, $170 million, he says, a year to keep a force of that size of 30,000 going.
I should point out: there is some controversy though about this particular group. Human Rights Watch have released a report accusing them already of abuses in some areas where they operate, something Admiral McRaven was keen to deny, and saying he's not actually even seeing evidence that in fact some of these groups when created enhanced tribal rivalries between various communities.
So, a contentious plan but one they say will help bring security to other parts of Afghanistan at lower price tag -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Our Nick Payton Walsh for us in Kabul, Afghanistan -- thank you this morning. Also coming up, everybody was just stunned to see the ending of this college basketball game. It's a cross-town rivalry, yes, it can get heated there in Cincinnati, but nothing like this. A brawl breaks out just seconds left on the clock and this is what happens.
But maybe even the more shocking part is what one of the players was saying after the game. We'll let you hear it yourself.
Also a little later, we go to prison with actress Holly Robinson Peete. A preview of tonight's live tribute to this year's CNN Heroes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twelve minutes past the hour now.
And what a treat for a college football player that the person that shows up to your game to actually do the coin toss is the president of the United States. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Obama, would you do us the honor and flip the coin? Let it hit the ground. Tails is the call. It is tails.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That's not just any football game, however. This is the Army-Navy game. Army won the coin toss, Navy won the game. The Navy now has won 10 consecutive games over -- in this rivalry that goes back to the 1890s.
President kind of cool, he got up at halftime he sat with the Army one half, Navy the second half. The commander-in-chief supports them all.
Let's bring in our Ray D'Alessio from HLN Sports.
Good to see you, my man.
RAY D'ALESSIO, HLN SPORTS: Good to see you, too.
HOLMES: Always good to see you. Actually, we don't have any good stuff in sports today.
ALESSIO: No, no, unfortunately. You know, one of the bigger stories, T.J., is four-time all-star Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers surprisingly testing positive for steroids. This test was done during the Major League Baseball playoffs. He found out about the results a month -- a month before he was named the National League MVP.
ESPN's "Outside the Lines" is reporting that Braun tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. The testosterone was synthetic, not produced naturally by the body. Now, the report also says that Braun had a second test done after learning of the first one that it came out negative.
Now, he's currently disputing this positive test through arbitration and says because of this process, he really can't discuss why the tests turned out positive. He says there are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case and that eventually he feels he will be exonerated. Nonetheless though, T.J., he's looking at a 50- game suspension by Major League Baseball. And we should note that no player suspended under MLB's current drug policy has had a positive test overturned.
So, it's going to be very interesting to see what this turns out. "USA Today" interviewed him last night, asked him about the positive test. He said, quote, unquote, "It's B.S."
HOLMES: This is one of the new rising young stars from a different era.
D'ALESSIO: Different era, and people you talk to, they say, you know, it just doesn't seem in his character to take steroids and in the past, he's blasted players who have done it and he said to players, if you've done it, you should come out and admit that you've done it. We'll see what happens.
HOLMES: The other ugly story yesterday from this rivalry in Cincinnati. This is ugly.
D'ALESSIO: You know, remember, these two schools, T.J., are only separated, Cincinnati-Xavier separated by just 2.3 miles. So, it's a heated rivalry. Leading up to this game, there were some words exchanged throughout the week in the media and unfortunately those verbal jabs just got physical.
Basically with nine second remaining, Xavier's Tu Holloway went after Cinci's Ge'Lawn Guyn. They squared off. You see the mayhem there. Both benches' player, you up there briefly, Cincinnati's Yancy Gates (ph), pretty much a haymaker over the top right there. That's Xavier's Kenny Free (ph) suffering a severe cut over his eye.
They called it with Xavier winning 76-53. Now, afterwards Xavier's Tu Holloway, he more or less defended his actions, why his coach would even let him get up there, I don't know. But take a listen for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TU HOLLOWAY, XAVIER BASKETBALL PLAYER: You know, that's what you're going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati. And we got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out.
We're a tougher team. We're grown men over here. We got a whole bunch of gangsters in our locker room, not thugs but tough guys in the court. And we went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game.
That's our motto, zip them up. And that's what we just did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
D'ALESSIO: If you're a head coach I don't necessarily know that you want your player up there saying that we're a bunch of gangsters.
HOLMES: I was screaming at the television when I heard that.
D'ALESSIO: I'm sure a lot of people that are watching that are probably saying the same thing. This is supposed to be, you know, college basketball, supposed to be sportsmanship, you're talking about we got a bunch of gangsters in there.
You know, give credit, though, to Cincinnati's head coach. He went on afterwards and he said, look, he says, this is the most embarrassed that I've ever been. I got a lot of guys that I went in there and took their jerseys off. He said take your jerseys off right now, I don't know if I want you a part of this Cincinnati Bearcats team.
So, rest assured that there's probably going to be plenty of suspensions.
HOLMES: I could forgive the heat of the moment, things happen, you get upset. But to afterwards go out in front and say, we got gangsters -- I mean, somebody talk to that kid. Somebody talk to that kid.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes.
D'ALESSIO: When you first saw the highlights you're like, my gosh. When you see the press conference, you're like really.
HOLMES: All right, Ray D'Alessio --
D'ALESSIO: All right, man. Good to see you.
HOLMES: All right. Sir, some rough stories this morning, all right? But thank you, as always. Thanks.
We're 17 minutes past the hour.
Michigan store selling fireplace equipment gets a letter of apology and they get some cash for a theft that took place 30 years ago. We'll have that for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we check stories making news cross country now. We start in Providence, Rhode Island, with the message you've been hearing a lot about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PROTESTER: We are the 99 percent! HOLMES (voice-over): The Occupy movement takes its message to the state house. The Occupy demonstrators were joined by people advocating for affordable housing. Rhode Island is one of only nine states that does not have ongoing funding for low-income housing.
Check out this holiday pub crawl in San Francisco. Several hundred people dressed as Santas, elves, even rain deer-- even reindeers, out on the streets and in the bars for what's known as Santacon. One popular bar has 400 Santas in house at one point. The Web site for Santacon advised those taking part to pay with cash and tip their bar staff well, you can imagine they did.
Also in Howell, Michigan, northeast of Detroit, a shoplifter with a change of heart 30 years later. The owner of Country Squire Fireplace and Lighting opened a letter, and two crisp bills fell out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The money fell out first. Two crisp $100 bills.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Sorry to say that I took that glass door and left."
HOLMES: The letter writer signed it "Remorseful." The storeowner says the money will go to charity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The shoplifter got the payback idea after hearing a story about a man in Seattle. That man recently repaid money he had stolen from a Sears cash register 60 years ago. They have a clear conscience this morning.
Do you? Want to hear your thoughts. We've been asking for your confessions. I've been kind of shocked some of you confessing some of the stuff you're confessing but if it is true. I'm reading it right here as I anchor the show @TJHolmes. Or you can post it to our Facebook page or our blog.
We turn to some weather now.
Anything right now, Bonnie, you want to confess? Go ahead. Just get it off your chest. Go ahead. Get it off your chest.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That I do I like the warmer weather.
HOLMES: Oh, stop! That's no good.
SCHNEIDER: We're debating it earlier. Sorry. I'll think of something a little bit more exciting.
HOLMES: OK. No problem.
SCHNEIDER: But, you know, we're on the subject of weather and, T.J., we were talking about how warm it's been in the Northeast. So, I decided to dig up some records and show you a little bit about it. HOLMES: All right.
SCHNEIDER: So, in New York City, for example, it has been really warm in November. You can see the normal average high temperatures a little bit above 53 degrees. But the average for this past November was up to 58 and it is not just New York but further to the North it's also been pretty mild.
We are also looking at unseasonably mild conditions. In Boston, for example, you can see that the normal November average high was 51. The average this one -- 58. That makes it the second-warmest November on record.
But everything is changing. Just like the weather in the Northeast. You don't like the weather? It will change.
All right. We are looking a current temperatures right now that are below freezing. So, first time in a while, it is 29 degrees in Philadelphia. We're looking at milder conditions though as we go through the afternoon.
It's also chilly to start us off in the South. Look at this, we've got 33 degrees in Birmingham, Alabama. Warming up today, which will be nice, but we have wet weather for those of you traveling. We're looking at that in Texas and the wet weather there is actually beneficial because it's been so dry of course in cities like San Antonio and Austin.
So, any rain is beneficial. Just be careful if you're traveling because we have a light glaze of ice, visibility less than a quarter of a mile, T.J., that's in west Texas. We saw that yesterday with the freezing fog. Overall this weekend has been really nice for weather for early December.
HOLMES: I believe you how warm it was, even though you pulled out the numbers to prove it.
SCHNEIDER: Got it back up.
HOLMES: All right. Bonnie Schneider, thank you as always.
We're 22 minutes past the hour now.
Coming up, a lot of people are going to be spending holidays with your family. It can be stressful sometimes, especially with the in- laws. We have some tips on how to deal with the possible clash of cultures, maybe even a clash of religion. That's coming up on our "Faces of Faith."
Also coming next, we have the right to speak our mind in this country. Do we take that for granted sometimes? Well, there's a tough lesson for an American living in Thailand serving a 2 1/2-year sentence for criticizing the country's royal family.
That's in our "Morning Passport" with Nadia Bilchik. That's on the way. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning to Nadia Bilchik.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Good morning.
HOLMES: With our "Morning Passport."
I'm smiling at you here, but the story will put a frown on some people's faces.
BILCHIK: No, nothing to smile about.
HOLMES: Yes, 500 lashes and jail. What did this guy do? And where did he do it?
BILCHIK: Mr. Almaribe went to Saudi Arabia. He actually went to Medina, he went to on a pilgrimage to Medina. There he was accused of blasphemy.
He was arrested in mid-November. And on Wednesday of this week, he was sentenced to first two years, it was reduced to one. And 500 lashes for blasphemy.
Apparently, according to authorities, he said something bad about the Prophet Mohammad and his family, which in itself I find ironic because he went to Medina to pay homage to Mohammad.
HOLMES: What is he accused of saying?
BILCHIK: We don't know exactly because the Saudi Arabian authorities have been very quiet about this. Obviously, it causes huge international reaction. The people who are responding are the Australian officials saying this is absolutely preposterous and his family are saying the man has diabetes, he has back problems, he will never survive 500 lashes.
HOLMES: Now, when is it supposed to be carried out? He was just sentenced.
BILCHIK: Well, it remains to be seen. Now, we need to remember that in Saudi Arabia, they practice a very puritanical strain of Islam known as Wahhabism and lashings as a sentence is not usual.
Remember you and I earlier this year did the story earlier of the woman driving who was sentenced to 10 lashes, then it was rescinded by King Abdullah and there was the concept Abdullah is becoming a reformer. But this sentence at this point has not been revoked.
So, it does remain to be seen. One would think with al this international attention, with the Australian officials at the highest levels weighing in, that this will not happen. So let's see if in fact he ever does get his 500 lashes or his year in prison and let's hope not. But interesting enough, in Thailand, another story about freedom of speech, a Thai-born American has just got 2 1/2 years in Thailand for what they call (INAUDIBLE), which is an insult to the monarchy.
What he did was he took the illegal -- well, the banned biography of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, remember, the king of Thailand, and he translated it into English. Now, this is the unauthorized biography. So, what he got when he went back to Thailand for doing that, just an unauthorized biography, not totally complimentary to the royal family in Thailand -- 2 1/2 years.
HOLMES: Wait, again, he didn't write it, he actually just translated it?
BILCHIK: He just translated it into English. And for doing that, 2 1/2 years.
What do these two stories show us again? It's just how we value freedom of speech here in this country. Something we take for granted. So there in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Almaribe, 500 lashes and a year for so-called blasphemy, and then Joe Gordon in Thailand, 2 1/2 years simply for (INAUDIBLE), for speaking out against King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who by the way is 84 and the longest reigning monarch in the world.
HOLMES: You know, that's a very good point. You can you say anything about anybody in this country almost and get away with it. Unfortunately, some people don't need to be talking, it seems. But still, you have the right to say what you want to say.
BILCHIK: And that's what these two stories really make us realize and just appreciate what we have. Please, don't say anything you feel like it, especially not today.
HOLMES: All right. Nadia Bilchik with our "Morning Passport."
Coming up on the bottom of the hour.
Last night, a lot of topics in last night's Republican debate, including the topic of cheating on your wife. Yes, they really went after the front-runner last night. We're going to be talking with our Candy Crowley in just a moment, as we get ready for her show at the top of the hour, "STATE OF THE UNION."
But first, up in our "Faces of Faith," the holiday visit to the in-laws' house. This could be a stressful time of year, especially if there are religious differences. But we got some tips of dealing with the clash of cultures. It's a very good conversation in our "Faces of Faith." That is next.
Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, welcome back. We're just past the bottom of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. I'm glad you could spend some of your weekend here with us.
I'll give you a look at some of the stories making headlines.
And let's start here in California where a gunman opens fire on passing vehicles. Yes, this is happening. Police say three people were wounded when the 26-year-old man went on a shooting rampage on Sunset Boulevard. Officers shot and killed the gunman. The man's ex- girlfriend told KTLA that a recent breakup could have triggered the shooting spree.
Also the Amateur Athletic Union also known as the AAU says it is working with police to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against former director, Robert Bobby Dodd. Two men say Dodd molested them in the 1980's when they played on one of his basketball teams. Dodd is currently being treated for colon cancer.
And Baylor University, congratulations to you and congratulations to your junior quarterback, Robert Griffin III; he has become the 77th Heisman Trophy winner and the first player from Baylor to pick up the award. He beat out Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck who everybody agrees is going to go number one in next year's NFL draft. But on this night, he was only the second-best quarterback in the country.
Well 2011 has been a year of nonstop breaking news. CNN has covered it all, of course. You can go to cnn.com/topstories, cast your vote for the top ten stories of 2011. Then join us on December 30th to find out whether you picks made the final cut as "Newsroom" -- as CNN.com unveils the top ten stories of the year.
So you get married, time to spend the holidays with the in-laws. I know you're looking forward to it. And it can often be stressful for a lot of folks, one of the most stressful times of the year and it can also be a clash of cultures especially if there are religious differences.
And in this morning's "Faces of Faith," tips on how exactly to survive, maybe not just survive but how about enjoy the holidays with the other family?
Joining us to talk about it, the authors of a new book called "Becoming a Couple of Destiny: Living, Loving and Creating a Life that Matters," the authors Bishop Joseph Walker and his wife, Dr. Stephanie Walker joining us from their church in Nashville, Tennessee. Good to have you both.
And -- and really, this is how it goes right guys? You can pick -- you can pick your wife is how it goes, but you can't pick your wife's family.
DR. STEPHANIE WALKER, CO-AUTHOR, "BECOMING A COUPLE OF DESTINY": That's right.
BISHOP JOSEPH WALKER, CO-AUTHOR, "BECOMING A COUPLE OF DESTINY: That's absolutely right. But you know it's a package deal.
HOLMES: It's a package deal, it comes with the family. So how about let's start with this. How do you decide which family to go to in the first place? That could be stressful before you even get to the holiday.
J. WALKER: Well, you know what we've tried to do we've just developed a system. For us we end up in Louisiana for Thanksgiving, and for her family we actually go to Los Angeles for Christmas. And it's really about having a serious discussion about what traditions and things are important for those particular families and -- and it works out very well.
HOLMES: Yes it works out well I guess if you're getting along and you all can agree necessarily. But sometimes people go back and forth and fight about which family.
S. WALKER: Right.
HOLMES: But what if you do bring into the equation now there are actually religious differences. How do you try to -- to -- to make that work?
S. WALKER: Well, I think it's really important to -- to clearly talk to one another and make sure that you guys are on the same page. And when there are religious differences making sure that you are understanding of whatever those differences are.
I think speaking to one another before you guys get there, and making sure the other spouse is well aware of what they're going to see or what they're really getting into. I think that's really important to make sure that you're on the -- you're on the same page before you arrive so there is no surprises.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Would you all -- would you all ever recommend that maybe you're better off just doing your own thing and maybe leave the two families out of it?
J. WALKER: Well, you know, I think it's important to understand -- really I call it the AAA effect. You know, really you have to come to a place in your marriage or relationship about acceptance, really understanding the family is very, very important and you can't be in a marital silo so you have to learn how to accept differences and be willing to deal with that.
Secondly, is to really have some adaptability, really learn how to adapt to various things that you may not necessarily know. Or for -- for me it was skiing. I had never skied before but I -- I've learned how to ski because my wife's family they ski for Christmas and that kind of thing.
And then thirdly it's really about -- really understanding the allegiance. Allegiance means that your wife, your husband, your spouse is the most important person in that whole family for you because, remember, a happy spouse makes a happy house.
HOLMES: You know you're a good brother, because I don't know you well at all but you don't look like the skiing type if I have to say. So --
J. WALKER: You're right about that.
HOLMES: So -- no -- so I was talking about religion there and I'll let you jump in here, Dr. Walker, talking about religious differences. But sometimes there are just a difference of traditions and some of the things you all responded to here, it sounds like the holidays just like anything in marriage have to do with compromise.
S. WALKER: No. Absolutely. I think for us, we first came together -- we just really talked about what was important to ourselves and to our respective families. And for a Bishop, his family gets together on Thanksgiving; they come from all over the country. He was just really passionate about that being an important holiday for his family versus our family, it's the opposite. Everyone comes together for Christmas and so that was somewhat of an easy compromise for us.
He was very passionate about Thanksgiving, our family was very passionate about Christmas and so as a result we're in Louisiana for Thanksgiving holidays and we're in Los Angeles and skiing in Lake Tahoe or any other -- any other you know ski area on the West Coast for Christmas. So, yes.
HOLMES: Well, I applaud you. You all have a good time on the slopes, and I have all of my in-laws coming to our house for Christmas. So it's going to be six of the brother-in-laws, sister-in- laws and all their significant others will be at my house. So I know you all have church service going on now so pray for me, would you?
J. WALKER: I will.
S. WALKER: Yes, absolutely.
HOLMES: All right. It's good to see you, Bishop Walker, Dr. Walker, thanks so much you all enjoy your holiday season.
S. WALKER: Thanks T.J. Thank you.
HOLMES: And you can go to our belief blog, cnn.com/belief. Share your thoughts right there.
Well we're at 38 minutes past the hour now.
We're going to turn back to politics here in a moment and there was another Republican presidential debate and sure enough, it's making headlines this morning.
Newt Gingrich, the new front-runner, he got the full treatment last night, the main target of the debate. We're going to check in with Candy Crowley next.
Also, Tristan Eaton is a self-described skateboarding punk. He's had several run-ins with the law as youth -- as a youth for a variety of crimes, including painting graffiti on city property. But judges and school officials impressed with Eaton's artistic talents gave him a second chance to improve his life and he did, eventually designing a toy for Fisher Price at the age of 18. Now his artwork is part of a permanent collection at the New York Museum of Modern Art.
TRISTAN EATON, DESIGNER, "DUNNY": My name is Tristan Eaton and I design the Dunny. Dunny is a toy made by Kid Robot. It's the combination of devil and bunny. It's designed to be a blank surface for artists to collaborate on so every Dunny that comes out is designed by a different artist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The customizing toy community has grown immensely. Tristan has pretty much been a part of it from the beginning.
EATON: Everywhere there is a major city where there are creative people you'll find art toys now, from Tokyo, all across Europe, South America. They're everywhere now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: His artwork is part of a permanent collection at the museum and you can learn more about it on "THE NEXT LIST" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta; airs Sunday, today, 2:00 Eastern right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well lookie, lookie, "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. There she is, always nice enough to stop by before she gets into her show at the top of the hour. How are you doing this morning Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": I'm doing very well even though I stayed up late to watch the debate.
HOLMES: The debate, you know what, people don't even realize from the debate -- there have been a number of these debates but don't we learn something every single time? These things never get old.
CROWLEY: Yes they don't. Because you know, in the end, a single debate maybe has in the past you think of Jerry Ford in Poland. But there are few debates --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes.
CROWLEY: -- that in and of themselves change the course of things, but over time, you know, one debate after another, you begin to know a little bit about all these candidates. And so the accumulation of the debates really do help inform the electorate and really do change minds and change votes.
HOLMES: Ok and last night -- and we can hit on Newt Gingrich here in a second. He seemed to handle the fire pretty well.
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: He doesn't need us to hit on him. He had all those people on the stage.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: But he seemed to handle it pretty well. But it also seems the moment of the night that everybody wants to talk about is a $10,000 bet.
CROWLEY: Yes. Yes its -- it is always -- had Ron Paul, for instance, turned to someone and said I'll bet you $10,000 that's not true, it would have been a blip, I think. When Mitt Romney trying to push back against Perry on Romney care in Massachusetts when he was governor, and Romney trying to push back said I'll bet you $10,000 that's not true; it's about what was in his book and what wasn't in his book.
Here is the problem for Mitt Romney, is that he is battling the impression that he is aloof and more importantly, that he is not in touch with what normal people go through.
And so this became immediately a subject of conversation on Twitter. It was picked up after the program, and remember, more people hear about the debate than actually see it and that's what's been kind of taken out as the biggest faux pas of the debate, because here is a man who -- who does -- you know, who didn't grow up in great wealth but certainly accumulated great wealth and had a very nice and very comfortable upbringing. His father became a big executive in Ford and Mitt Romney sort of built on his own business and certainly became a multi-millionaire.
For him to turn to Rick Perry and say I'll bet you $10,000 has been taken as -- Democrats have pulled it out and said what can you get for $10,000? Child care for a year, this and that. It just doesn't have help because it builds into the negative story line about Mitt Romney.
HOLMES: The story line. It is always about that story line.
CROWLEY: It is.
HOLMES: You're coming up here in just a few minutes -- 15 minutes. Who you got today?
CROWLEY: We're going to talk to Rick Santorum who has -- is sort of all-in in Iowa about what he thought about last night's debate, why he thinks the Newt phenomenon has happened and whether it is for real. But we're also going to talk to two surrogates, former New Hampshire governor John Sununu and former congressman Bob Walker speaking respectively for both Romney and Newt Gingrich and try to get at what really is right now the titanic battle, and it is between those two men.
HOLMES: All right. Candy Crowley coming your way in just about 14 minutes -- Candy, always good to see you and I will see you again. 9:00 Eastern time Candy Crowley; 6:00 Pacific. "STATE OF THE UNION" right here. Well, Alec Baldwin tweeted all about how he was kicked off an American Airlines plane. A day later, he shut down his Twitter account. But he certainly had more to say and he said it last night on Saturday night.
Stay with us.
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HOLMES: All right. Take you to Paris now. The Paris we're talking about, Michael Jackson's daughter? 13 years old? Listen to this now. Just signed up for her first movie role. The movie's called "London's Bridge and the Three Kings". She'll star in the five-movie series, which will be a mix of live action and animation. The film starts next month, filming starts for it, I should say, next month.
Also you heard about this with Alec Baldwin this week. He was kicked off an American Airlines flight. This happened last Tuesday; kicked off because he didn't want to stop playing a mobile game while the plane was on the tarmac. Well, he tweeted about that incident and since then the "30 Rock" star has issued an apology to fellow passengers for the flight delay that was caused but he did not apologize to the airline.
He ended up shutting down his twitter account for the time being but a spokesman for the actor -- or the outspoken actor Alec Baldwin had to get another jab in the airline. Listen to him from last night on SNL.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: What harm would it do to let him keep playing his game? Not any game mind you, but a word game for smart people.
SETH MYERS, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": But Capt. Rogers, don't phones interfere with the plane's communication system?
BALDWIN: Oh, you don't believe that, do you, Sam? Would you really get on an airplane that flew 30,000 feet in the air if you thought one Kindle switch could take it down? Come on. It's just a cruel joke perpetrated by the airline industry.
And they would have gotten away with it but Alec Baldwin was just too smart for us. He really is something, sir.
MYERS: But didn't Alec Baldwin getting kicked off the plane delay takeoff?
BALDWIN: It did. And it was the first time in the history of American Airlines that one of our flights was delayed. Come on, Sam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Earlier this morning as we get close to the top of the hour we told you about a shoplifter in Michigan who sent a store $200 30 years after stealing a glass fireplace door. We asked you for your comments and we asked you to confess something. Just want to get it off your chest today. Here's what some of you said.
One of them coming to us from out in L.A., Jackie Christie -- you might know -- saying, "Hey, I would like to confess that in grade school I would sneak candy in my backpack and eat it when I wasn't supposed too." That's innocent enough.
Another one here saying on a more serious note saying, "I never forgave an uncle for being unkind to me ten years ago. He died this year. Now I'll never get to be friends with him again."
Also another from Frank saying, "I snuck peanut butter into the barracks for a snack during my navy boot camp back in 1989."
One last said, "I confess -- I let the dogs out."
Thank you for your comments and the conversation this morning -- having a little fun with it. But we appreciate you as always for participating.
And coming up next, we're going to prison with actress Holly Robinson Peete, a preview of tonight's live all-star tribute to CNN Heroes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Again, "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley coming your way in just a few minutes at the top of the hour.
I'll give you a look now at some of the stories making headlines. Let's start in California -- Hollywood, where a 26-year-old man goes on a shooting rampage on Sunset Boulevard. Police say three people were wounded. The gunman was shot and killed when he pointed his handgun at police. The man's ex-girlfriend telling station KTLA that a recent breakup could have triggered the shooting spree.
Also more protests in Moscow today over the country's parliamentary elections but the number of demonstrators today was much smaller than the thousands who showed up yesterday. Demonstrators are disputing the victory of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's political party.
And we're just a matter of hours away from tonight's live broadcast of "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE", turn the tables on traditional award shows and bringing out celebrities to salute our top ten heroes.
Back in 2009 comedian George Lopez helped honor a school bus driver from Queens, New York who feeds more than 120 people every night. Lopez paid him a surprise visit recently.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE LOPEZ, COMEDIAN: I'm going to go visit my buddy Jorgito. It is great to be able to come and surprise him and see what he does firsthand.
Smells delicious.
JORGE MUNOZ, 2010 TOP TEN CNN HERO: Yes?
LOPEZ: Jorgito.
MUNOZ: Wow. George. Woo-hoo.
LOPEZ: How are you, man? I came to help you.
MUNOZ: Come on in George Lopez.
LOPEZ: What's going on?
You make all the food in here, Jorge?
MUNOZ: Yes. All the food here.
LOPEZ: Smells delicious.
What time do you start?
MUNOZ: In the morning? 5:15 in the morning.
LOPEZ: You impress me.
MUNOZ: You're in my house.
LOPEZ: You're my hero, man.
MUNOZ: Thanks man.
That's my gift from the President.
LOPEZ: That's beautiful.
MUNOZ: Not that many people have the honor to be invited by the President of the United States to the White House.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: United States honors Jorge --
MUNOZ: I especially like to receive the president's medal. Like three, four pieces? That's it.
LOPEZ: That's it?
MUNOZ: We're done.
LOPEZ: That was fun.
In my opinion, Jorgito's a star. All right. Let's go.
What time do you come like 9:30?
MUNOZ: 9:40. LOPEZ: George Lopez. Mucho gusto.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mucho gusto, Nancy.
LOPEZ: Want some food?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
LOPEZ: All right. You're welcome.
LOPEZ: To have a hot meal on a cold night is great.
MUNOZ: Now he knows what I feel inside when I do this. In seven years I miss one meal, that's all.
LOPEZ: Unbelievable.
Even though it is freezing I have such a great glow inside of me.
I'll see you again. God bless you.
MUNOZ: You, too, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Reminder -- tonight, 8:00 Eastern time, "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" hosted by our Anderson Cooper. That's live from the legendary Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
But a minute away from Candy Crowley right now.
Let's say hello again to Bonnie Schneider with another look at what people might deal with on this Sunday.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, T.J., a lot of people are traveling this month. And so far, so good, we don't have airport delays but I am anticipating quite a few particularly out west where a new storm system will kick up showers and even some fog out there for cities like San Diego.
Let's take a look. You can see we are looking at delays likely in Seattle and in San Diego. We're also anticipating delays in areas into Los Angeles and into Chicago.
High temperatures for today should be very cold across the Midwest, high pressure in the eastern half of the country; otherwise watch out for that unsettled weather on the West Coast today and tomorrow. We're also looking at showers in the Gulf Coast and temperatures that will be cold for the first time in quite a while for the northeast for today. And for tomorrow, it will get even more chilly as we look toward Chicago, 39 degrees for Monday -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Bonnie Schneider, thank you as always.
And thank you for hanging out with us here on the weekend. We always appreciate you. Candy Crowley, "STATE OF THE UNION" coming up in just a moment. She has her guests today -- Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. He of course took part in that presidential debate last night where everybody was targeting the new front-runner, Newt Gingrich.
Thanks for being with us on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Right now -- Candy.
