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CNN Saturday Morning News

Rare Saturday Session Congress Could Vote Today on DADT, DREAM Act, Immigration Reform; Downfall: The Tiger Woods Scandal; Bamboo Architecture; Internet "Tron" Guy Left Out of New "Tron" Movie Promotions

Aired December 18, 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: Good Saturday morning.

Severe weather in California. Yes, sunny California is a snowy California, right about now. Would you believe some eight feet of snow is going to be falling in some places? We'll explain that.

And in particular, Reynolds Wolf will explain that. He is standing by. Let you know what's happening out there. How it is going to affect your travel. Also, we're let you know about your weather to get out there and do your holiday shopping this weekend.

Also, 140 criminals, many of them dangerous, break out of prison, allegedly with the help of the prison guards. We'll have the latest for you on this bizarre escape.

Also, 'twas the fight before Christmas. Yes, this weekend. It is happening at the Senate again. They are in session once again on a weekend, a big weekend, a landmark weekend. This could be the weekend we see "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repealed. It's one of two controversial issues being brought to the Senate as they come back to session this weekend.

Also, this is keeping the president from heading out for the holidays. Also, some bad weather playing a role in the tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Would you believe it? That is a situation there that some are calling the most serious crisis between the North and the South in 60 years. Our Wolf Blitzer is the only TV reporter in North Korea with the U.S. diplomat who is trying to keep the peace.

Hello to you all, from the CNN Center. This is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING on December 18th. I'm T.J. Holmes. As always thank you so much for starting your day right here with us.

Again, I mentioned that developing story just a moment ago, on the Mexican-American border. At least 141 inmates escaped from a Mexican state prison. This, according to the Mexican news agency. This happened in the border town of Nuevo Laredo. This is right across the Rio Grande River from Laredo, Texas.

They were able to break out through a service entrance. This was just after their role call last night. We are talking about 141 criminals out there on the loose right now. Public officials say the inmates probably got some help from some of the employees at the prison, maybe even the prison director who is right now missing, went missing immediately after the escape. This area is known for turf war between rival drug groups. No immediate signs the gangs are involved. We are keeping a close eye there. Again, even though this is a Mexican state prison, it happened just across the river from a Texas town, a U.S. town.

Also, it is going to be a busy day. Could be a landmark day on the Capitol Hill today. Key Senate votes are set for just a few hours from now on two big issues. The DREAM Act and the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

First up this morning is going to be a procedural vote on the DREAM Act. That is that controversial measure that would give young illegal immigrants who came here as children, many brought by their parents, of course. It would give them a path to citizenship if they go to college or if they enlist in the military. This first vote, it's a procedural vote. It won't be on the bill itself.

But it will let us know if this measure is going to be able to move forward. And if the votes are actually there to pass it; not clear right now if Democrats have the 60 votes needed to move this forward. It doesn't look good now by some accounts. The DREAM Act could possibly move forward. Some call it amnesty.

Congress is closing in on the end of the ban on gay troops serving openly in the military. Senators planning another critical vote on the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". It needs 60 yes votes to move forward. It looks like those votes right now are falling in line. We are keeping a very close watch on that. Again a procedural vote this morning, but it will let us know whether or not it is going to be repealed this weekend.

Congress has approved a spending bill. Congress, or the government right now, the budget was going to run out by midnight tonight if they didn't do something. Many had thoughts that possibly this could shut down the government. Well, they did pass a bill that is going to keep the lights on, for three days. This was just a temporary fix. They are going to be able to keep the lights on in a few days and then they are going to take it up again next week. They do have the money they need to keep the government moving.

President Obama, he is watching the Senate today while his family is getting ready to head out, leave him behind for now; heading for Hawaii for the Christmas season. The president, as you see here, he signed that tax cut bill yesterday. Millions of people are waking up today knowing that, no, your taxes are not going to go up at the beginning of next year. The legislation cleared the House late Thursday night. The president calls this $858-billion bill, good news for the American people this holiday season.

Why is it good news? We'll tell you what it means for you. It means a two-year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts across the board for all wage earners. A lot of people call them the Obama tax cuts. Unemployment benefits also, going to continue for another 13 months. That should be welcome news to really a lot of people out there. There are 15 million, plus people who are out of work, right now, in this country.

Also, there are actual tax cuts. The Social Security tax rate taken out of your paycheck will drop 2 percentage points for next year, from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. The bill also lowers the estate tax. A lot of people call that the death tax.

Turn back to North Korea now. Got some new information this morning on the scheduled South Korean military drills that have caused so much tension with North Korea. South Korean military officials say those exercises likely will not take place this weekend because of bad weather. The drills were supposed to begin today about seven miles off the coast of North Korea. South Korea saying the drills will take place only if with weather in Yeonpyeong, that is the island, if it improves. North Korea has threatened to deliver a self-defense blow, that is their words, to the South if those military exercises do take place.

The Russian foreign ministry is trying to step in urging South Korea to call off those drills. You will remember that the tension is mounted between the Koreas on November 23, when North Korea shelled that island, which is in South Korean territory. That attack killed two marines, two civilians, also another 18 people were injured.

Now New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, he is there right now. He is describing the situation on the Korean Peninsula right now as really the most tense, the biggest crisis there in some 60 years. The former. U.N. ambassador is in North Korea this weekend, trying to calm things down.

He met with North Korea's top nuclear negotiator today, provided him with a series of proposals. He wouldn't go into detail to tell everyone what those proposals were, exactly, but he did speak with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who is the only TV reporter traveling with Richardson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM" (via telephone): It is a very, very tense situation by all accounts. Kim Kye Gwan basically told Richardson he didn't sleep last night because of the tensions on the Korean Peninsula. It's a very serious situation.

Richardson just told me even though he had what he called a good meeting with the Kim Kye Gwan, the chief nuclear negotiator, he said the situation is extremely tense. Richardson said he urged maximum self-restraint on all sides. He says everyone has to show maximum restraint now.

He also said, Richardson, he provided Kim Kye Gwan with a series of proposals, his proposals to try to calm things down. I asked what those proposals were, he wouldn't say. He said they are a bunch of serious proposals that he thinks that if implemented could ease the crisis, which by all accounts right now, is the most serious crisis on the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 armistice. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Richardson arrived in North Korea Thursday on a four-day trip. He's not there as an official U.S. envoy. The governor urging both sides to use maximum restraint ahead of the scheduled South Korean military drills.

Excuse me.

Turn to some weather now, some severe weather being felt across much of Europe this morning. From Northern Ireland to Bulgaria they are having all kinds of travel issues. Blizzard-like conditions have forced a delay or cancelation of hundreds of flights. The situation isn't much better on the ground, icy roads stalled traffic, of course. Forecasters don't believe the extreme weather conditions will improve much over the next few days.

Wonder how things are going to shape up in California as well. Under a severe weather watch; pretty intense winter weather storm out there. We are talking feet of snow in some places. Everything from flash flooding watches, also to avalanches going out in Lake Tahoe area. Reynolds Wolf can tell you more about it than I can. He is here with us.

Good morning to you, kind sir.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.

Maybe one of the best ways to tell the story is by showing some video. We have something we want to share with you. This is actually just along parts of I-80, just to the west of Tahoe. As you go to the video you are going to see the snow coming down in sheets for some people. For others, it's not really a bad thing, it's a great thing. Skiers are going to be very happy.

We have a strong, very potent Pacific storm that is rolling in from the west, moving towards the east. It's going to pummel California with possibly heavy rainfall. Sometimes it could be falling at a rate of an inch an hour. But up in the Sierra Nevada, at the highest elevations, you could see anywhere from say, well, three to five feet. Some spots even as much as eight feet of snowfall, as we fast forward all the way through Sunday.

But that is then. Let's talk about what's happening now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Reynolds, we appreciate you. Don't go too far.

Because one of the scenes, a lot of travel going on this weekend. A lot of troops are coming home. Those cool scenes playing out in airports. There are a lot of them coming home for the holidays. Get that break. And you were out there yesterday. At least at Hartsfield-Jackson here in Atlanta watching some of these homecomings.

WOLF: It was an amazing thing to see. There's nothing quite like seeing family members reunited, especially when you have someone who has been fighting overseas. A lot of these guys coming back from boot camp. They haven't been over yet. They haven't been deployed. But some of them will be home for a few weeks, some for just a matter of days. It's a chance to return to a sense of normalcy. A beautiful thing to see.

HOLMES: We'll be talking more about that this morning. It is 12 minutes past the hour. A quick break, Reynolds and I are right back on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

You saw that promo up there. If you are able to catch that, really encourage you to do so. Jason Carroll did a great job. Got some great access to three people who literally went from basic training to the battlefield. He followed them for a full year, putting that series together, really some great reporting by our Jason Carroll. If you get to check that out tonight, by all means, do so.

And on the topic of soldiers, joined by Reynolds Wolf here, once again. No matter what time of year it seems, certainly Hartsfield- Jackson is such a hub.

WOLF: Absolutely.

HOLMES: Anytime you go through, you see some soldier walking through, coming home. Greeting people, always applauding there in the airport. Right now, you see troops all over the place coming home for the holidays.

WOLF: It is amazing. Especially Hartsfield-Jackson; we have a lot of new recruits that just left Fort Jackson that are actually coming through. Many people going back for the first time to see their families. You see them entering the USO. The USO is just an incredible place where many of these soldiers get their first chance to have a sense of home, so to speak after being deployed, in the field, going through training. They get a chance, get a handshake, get a hug, maybe a doughnut, something nice to eat.

You know what is funny, though, when you look at these people at the USO and members of the Armed Services, some of us we wake up each morning, look in the mirror and wonder if we make a difference. These men and women don't have that problem. They do make a difference every single day. These are remarkable folks. And seeing them reunited with their family is something that if it doesn't tug on your heart strings, you really need to check your pulse.

I mean it was just an amazing thing to see. All of these families, every single one of these soldiers is certainly special and everyone is received warmly. We have some video also of Camp Pendleton. These young men and women going through their basic training. Some actually getting a chance to just get a break. Now, they are home for the holidays for a bit.

(CROSS TALK)

HOLMES: Go ahead.

WOLF: Please, you go ahead.

HOLMES: I was going to ask, yesterday, you were in Hartsfield- Jackson. How many do they expect to come through there over the holidays? I mean, they are expecting big numbers I assume?

WOLF: Absolutely. Well, at Hartsfield-Jackson yesterday, they had roughly 2,000. They were going to have another 2,000. We are actually going to be live from there at Hartsfield-Jackson throughout the morning. But tomorrow is going to be the big day. Sunday, they are expecting 5,000 men and women to be coming through.

And I have to mention this, although this is a happy story, and that you have a lot of people that will be coming through on their way home, it's extremely important to mention, T.J., that a lot of people will be going in the other direction. There are people that are leaving today within 48 to 72 hours. Some of these men and women will be on the front lines.

HOLMES: Wow.

WOLF: Possibly under enemy fire. I mean it is an amazing thing to see. These are just great people. They certainly deserve our respect and they've got it, don't they?

HOLMES: It's a wonderful thing to see. We talked to you yesterday. You were in there, at the USO Center. A lot of people probably don't even realize it's there.

WOLF: It is definitely there.

HOLMES: At the Hartsfield airport.

WOLF: And you know, a lot of the people that work at the USO, that we found yesterday, many of them are Vietnam veterans. They didn't exactly get the best greeting home, when they came back in the '60s and early '70s. They are trying as hard as they can to make sure that never happens again.

HOLMES: Never happens, again. Like Reynolds great stuff.

Again, like Reynolds mentioned, we do have-excuse me-another reporter there. A lot of-why don't you go ahead and tell them who we have live-

WOLF: Yes, we have more people coming out. We have a reporter that's going to be live from the scene at Hartsfield-Jackson, just telling the story, letting us share the joy that these troops are going to be experiencing with their families. That is going to be coming up throughout the morning. You are certainly not going to want to miss it.

HOLMES: Thank you for that support. Forgive me for the cough. I've been trying to shake this thing.

Thank you so much Reynolds.

Coming up, 17 minutes past the hour.

It's 205 million, that's the number of gallons that spilled into the Gulf from BP. Did that number make the list of top numbers of 2010? Yes, there is actually a list. We are going to count them down for you.

Excuse me. I'm going to get this in, if it kills me.

Our news quiz of the morning. Today it comes from "TIME" magazine's top 10 list. According to a "TIME" survey, what is the number one gadget of the year? The iPhone 4, iPad or 11-inch Mac Book Air. That answer and my controlled cough after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, good Saturday morning. That's is a little something to wake you up. It is 19 minutes past the hour.

Before the break we asked this question. What would you think is the number 1 gadget of the year? Would it be the iPhone 4, that was big. The iPad, that's still big, or is it the 11-inch Mac Book Air. The survey says, yes, the iPad. You probably could have guessed that. Here is the rest of the top five, though, the Samsung Galaxy S, 11- inch Mac Book Air. The Google TV, and also number 1-number 5, I should say, is the Nexus One wireless phone.

We are, of course, really close to the end of the year. That means it is time for all those top 10 lists of 2010. Here is a new one, the top 10 numbers. That is a different way to look back. Josh Levs is looking at that for us.

Good morning, to you, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I didn't see this coming, either. The top 10 numbers of the year, but when you look at the way the folks at "TIME" magazine, our partners over at Time.com, have broken it down, it really is like a tour through some major events in the year. What is going on with technology. Let's get right to it.

Number 10, they are declaring this the number 10 number of the year, 193 percent, because of the increase in eBook sales from 2009 to 2010. And what they are talking about is the way that business has changed. And the way that so many people now are getting those books.

Here is an interesting one I had missed this year, at number 9, they are saying $75,000. That is the annual household income needed for happiness, according to a study. There's a study done by a couple of pretty impressive guys who looked at happiness in America and found that if you had a household income of $75,000, that seems to maximize happiness and when they go higher it doesn't seem to make people any happier. Let's see how close we can get in. Zoom in a little bit on this guys. number 8 here, $2.7 billion. That is "Avatar" worldwide box office take. Needs no explanation there.

All right. number 7, here, just over $1,400, the record high price for gold; that says a lot about the economy. When it is tough economic times, people look for commodities that they feel are a lot more stable. They get a little concerned about stocks and retirement funds. They look at things like gold. In October it reached a record high. See, these numbers do tell you a lot about what happened this year.

Number 6, Meg Whitman out in California, $140 million, that's how much of her own money she spent on her gubernatorial campaign, Republican candidate there. And ultimately did not win, but it surpassed the previous record.

Number 5, 5.2 percent, that is the amount of rubble that has been cleared in Haiti, eight months after the earthquake.

And we'll have the rest, I'll stop at number 4, it was just,1636 the amount per person donated to Pakistan following the floods.

We are going to tease this a little bit. I have the top three numbers, for you, those are going to come up just a little bit later this morning.

T.J., back to you.

HOLMES: Looking forward to those. Josh, we appreciate you as always.

LEVS: You got it.

HOLMES: We have some big business news this week. Stocks, got to a two-year high. Is that upward trend continuing? Can it continue?

Twenty-two minutes past the hour. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 25 minutes past the hour.

We have a holiday shortened business week coming up with foreclosures and the Federal Reserve's decision to hold off on interest rates, being the big headlines.

Our CNN business correspondent Poppy Harlow and Stephanie Elam have more on both stories. We begin in New York with Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS 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. AAA expects 92 million Americans will travel between Christmas and New Years. That is up 3 percent from last year- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: 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. HOLMES: All right. And thanks, as always, to Poppy and Stephanie.

Also this morning, we told you the president has signed that legislation extending the Bush-era tax cuts. A lot of people have taxes on their minds right about now. Yes, it is almost that time. Beginning of the year you are going to have to start thinking about taxes. We'll bring in a tax consultant for you at 9:00 Eastern Time. We are going to ask this tax consultant your specific questions.

So send them to weekends at CNN.com. Or send them to me at Facebook, or Twitter. I'm at TJHolmesCNN. We will, again, make sure we get your specific questions answered.

Tiger Woods, it seems like you know a whole lot about him. Did you know, though, he had a brother? A lot of people didn't realize that. Now, we are hearing about Tiger Woods through the eyes of his older brother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARL WOODS, JR., TIGER WOOD'S OLDER BROTHER: We sent him a couple of letters. I have tried to call a couple times, just to update him on, you know, what's going on with the family. Because we are family. I have gotten no response. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: I spoke exclusively with Earl Woods, Jr. He talks about Tiger's meltdown. A lot of people think it started a year ago with that accident, you know, that fender bender he had on Thanksgiving night.

But his brother says it actually started back in 2006, not long after their father died. You need to stick around. You can hear the rest of the conversation this morning.

Also, a school board member tried to take down a gunman with a purse. It became the most popular purse in the country. What exactly is it worth now? You need to hear this. That's ahead. We are getting close to the bottom of the hour, here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. At 31 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.

Couples of stories we're keeping a very close eye on right now.

It looks like possibly an inside job here. At least 141 inmates broke out of a Mexican prison. This prison, though, is in a border town, a border of city of Nuevo Laredo. They apparently escaped through a service entrance with the help of prison workers. No one knew they were gone until failed to show for roll call last night. The prison director has also disappeared. Because of this escape, security at eight other prisons has been tightened.

Also, California -- yes, sunny California dealing with snow this weekend, had to deal with a week of extreme weather, going to dump huge amounts of snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Also, heavy rain down south. The challenge is going to be to a lot of travelers this week, the week before Christmas. That ain't good.

Experts say the mountains could see up to 100 inches of snow. What is that trend? Do the math for me. Is that the eight feet we were talking about earlier? OK. Thanks, Reynolds.

Los Angeles and the Santa Barbara area, they're going to get hit with between four and 10 of rain, which could cause flooding and mudslides.

Also, speaking of weather, some bad weather in South Korea has canceled the military drills that are raising tensions in that region. They were scheduled to start today, will continue only if the weather improves. North Korea has threatened to launch a military strike against the South of those live fire drills happen. The exercise has sparked concern around the world. Russia is asking South Korea to cancel those drills.

Also, can you believe it has been a year? And what a year it's been for Tiger Woods. It's been a year since his carefully crafted public image, all that came crashing down. The father of two, now divorced, he's fighting to get his golf game back, recently launched a new PR campaign trying to re-polish that image.

Well, I spoke exclusively with his oldest brother, his estranged older brother, Earl Woods, Jr. He offered his perspective on Tiger before and 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 marriage.

WOODS: 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 you're not at all. And so, he loved that.

HOLMES: But just as Tiger's career began to skyrocket, his older brother noticed a change.

WOODS: When he turned pro, it became more difficult to have time with him. And 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 letters. And I have tried to call a couple times, just to update him on, you know, what's going on with the family, because we are family. And I have 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 tension of some kind? Why would he just cut the family off?

WOODS: There were reports 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 is 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 let us on the jet to 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 time I ever saw him.

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

WOODS: What I saw was 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: Now, we did here at CNN reach out to Tiger Woods. His management company , no response to the comments made by his older brother, Earl Woods, Jr. You can see our special, my special "Downfall: The Tiger Wood's Scandal," looking back at the past year. It's going to be on at 10:00 tonight.

In addition to hearing from Earl Woods, Jr., you're also going to see my interview with one of Tiger's alleged mistresses, Veronica Daniels. You'll be surprised when you hear from her about their relationship. No matter what you might have heard about her or anything else, you want to hear some different insights from Veronica Daniels. That's tonight, 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

Let's turn back to Reynolds Wolf now talking snow in California and a lot of it.

WOLF: Plenty of it. It's going to be unreal. Some places up in the high, Sierra Nevada could get up to eight feet of snowfall. Also, heavy rain for the San Joaquin Valley could bring some heavy flooding in spots. We are going to have the full story coming up.

And we're also going to talk about the cumulative effect it may have on travel for the rest of the nation. That's moments away.

HOLMES: All right. Appreciate that, Reynolds. We'll see you in just a second, buddy.

But, first, before we take a quick break: this morning's news quiz -- excuse me -- from "TIME" magazine's top 10 list. According to the survey, which of these three is the most successful college drop- out: Tom Hanks, he's won a couple of Oscars? Is it Mark Zuckerberg, you may have heard of him. Or is it Bill Gates? You may have heard of him as well.

The answer, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Before the break, we asked this question: What is the most successful college drop-out out there among these three men? This is according to a "TIME" magazine's study. Is it Tom Hanks? You know, he won a couple of Oscars; Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder; or is it Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft? The answer: Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, perhaps Harvard's most successful drop out.

And you'll see the rest of the top five there successful drop outs, including Steve Jobs, the Apple founder; Frank Lloyd Wright, an architect; another architect in number four; and James Cameron, Academy Award-winning director. Mark Zuckerberg, by the way, he's at number six on the list; Tom Hanks was at number seven.

Well, a family in Iowa, good reason to hate winter weather. Look at this and this will explain a lot. They are used to getting a lot of snow outside. They had to shovel the sidewalk. But you are not used to having to shovel your living room.

This is inside their home. They were actually out of town, strong blizzard came through, winds pushed open the doors, and all of this snow got in. It literally got into the cabinets, the closets, drawers, snow was absolutely everywhere.

They went to check on the dog and noticed there was a mess here. They got help some cleaning the place out.

And they were able to get it all out before it all melted -- but a heck of scene there, Reynie.

WOLF: They went to check on the dog?

HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: They went to check on the dog -- hey, I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything here. I had nothing to do with it.

You know, when people go in vacation, they come home and there's a stack of newspaper, in the front walk, that's one thing. But several feet of snow inside the house, not so good.

Heavy snow is expected out towards the west. The reason is not "L" that you see right there, but rather, what it represents, a powerful pacific storm, easy for me to say. And what it's going to do is it's going to bring heavy some snowfall to parts of the Sierra Nevada, and even up towards Mount Shasta, some location has the possibility of seeing several feet of snowfall.

Also, it's not just going to be snowmaker but also a big rainmaker. Let's put this in a motion for you. We are going to generate some computer graphics for you right here and show you the story. There's the big L. It's coming to come onshore, bringing that Pacific moisture for the low lying areas in the San Joaquin Valley. The story is going to be rain, rain, rain. Get the umbrellas ready.

As we fast forward, all the way from Sunday and into early Monday morning, some locations possibly up to nine inches of rainfall near Kernville, Shaver Lake also, some heavy rainfall near six inches. That could cause some flooding, so, be advised. But when you get to the snow, that's going to very different. High -- in the high elevations of the Sierra Nevada, you get that cold air where it's going to interact with that moisture. You could see some snowfall. Some locations by Monday morning could see several feet of snow possibly as high as eight feet of snow in the highest elevations. Now, for places like San Francisco, rain is going to be the story for Saturday, Sunday, even into Monday and Tuesday.

But expect there's going to be the possibility of some delays not only in San Francisco, but if you got a connection, say, in Oakland, you might be waiting on the tarmac for a bit. Further to the south, in Los Angeles, here's the story again. Basically, some rainfall, high is going to be in the 60s, lows mainly into the 50s.

Now, that's out towards the west. Out towards parts of the east, let's work our way eastward by showing you a great tower cam that we have in Chicago this morning. Chicago, it looks pretty good for the time being. You have a cool morning, certainly better than we have last weekend. What you can expect there, temperatures mainly warming into the 30s. A few places in the 20s. And places like, say, Washington, D.C., we got a live image there for you this morning, as you're walking up. A shot of the Capitol Dome looks -- well, as you can imagine, dark for the time being. Possibly some scattered showers later on today and into the weekend. But heavy rainfall not in the picture.

Very quickly, let's go back to the weather map for much of Texas, the Central Plains, nice and sunny for you. Very chilly and breezy for you up in parts of the Twin Cities.

That is a snapshot of your forecast across the nation, we're going to kick it back to T.J.

Take it away, big guy.

HOLMES: Reynie, appreciate you, buddy. We'll be talking to you plenty throughout the morning.

Also, I got a picture here I want you to take a look at. A building with bamboo. Bamboo, yes, stronger than oak, I'm told, lighter than steel, grows pretty much anywhere. Why isn't it used more often in the U.S.?

Nadia Bilchik, of course, who else, is here. She's going to be joining me next. And she is going to sell us on bamboo, even if she has to whack us upside the head with the bamboo she has with here this morning.

It's 42 minutes past the hour.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS ROCK, ACTOR: I don't want to die. Please help me.

JACKIE CHAN, ACTOR: Don't worry. Chinese bamboo is very strong.

ROCK: Ahh! Assure me.

CHAN: I'm sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A lot of people -- a lot of people remember that scene.

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: You remember he says Chinese bamboo, very strong.

HOLMES: And it held up. It actually just wasn't tied on strong enough, I should say. You got bamboo for this morning

BILCHIK: Look how strong it is.

HOLMES: This is Nadia Bilchik, of course, joining us this morning, always with something interesting. And you are going to sell us on bamboo this morning.

BILCHIK: We're talking bamboo and it's amazing because there are some Colombian architects, one in particular, Simon Velez, who is using bamboo in the most extraordinary way. And we can take a look at some of the structures.

HOLMES: That's bamboo.

BILCHIK: Look at this. That is bamboo. And what he's done is, look at the light and the way he's incorporated light and bamboo, and it's natural beauty.

HOLMES: What is that exactly we're looking? Where are some of these structures?

BILCHIK: That is a cathedral.

HOLMES: OK.

BILCHIK: You're looking at a cathedral. He's used bamboo and he's used concrete re-enforced bamboo. But what's so extraordinary about Velez, if you look at these structures, is he uses a very unique type of joinery. And that's what has revolutionized bamboo architecture is the kind of joinery, the actual joints he uses, they call them fish-mouth joints.

HOLMES: OK.

BILCHIK: So, that's changed the way you can join pieces of bamboo to each other. Simon Velez, who's very famous for bamboo architecture, says anything built with steel I can do in bamboo, faster and just as cheaply.

HOLMES: OK. And one thing you said, though. You said "concrete enforced bamboo," what does that mean?

BILCHIK: Inside the bamboo they use concrete. So, there's really creative great skill and there is an architect right in the U.S. called Darrel DeBoer. He's very fascinated by using bamboo. And he speaks about this as an alternative source.

I had a long conversation with him yesterday. He said, wouldn't it be extraordinary, here you are a builder, you can grow your own materials. It grows so quickly. It's extraordinary strong.

Now, there are thousand different species of bamboo. There are small plants and, of course, there's timber bamboo. The timber bamboo which grows up to 40 meters high.

HOLMES: Where do we get our bamboo?

BILCHIK: China, the tropics, whenever where it's warm. It could grow more prolifically in the U.S. than it does.

HOLMES: It could. BILCHIK: It could.

HOLMES: If we chose to.

BILCHIK: If we chose to. But it hasn't up until now been a material, mainly because it's unknown. Also, think about bamboo is round. We used to using square surfaces.

But what Simon Velez has done and there's another incredible Colombian architect who's called Jorg Stamm and what they've done is they've also worked out how to treat the bamboo with a certain kind of muriatic acid. So, it's a natural insecticide. So, there's great advancements in the area of bamboo architecture.

HOLMES: OK. Are we making any advancement here yet? Are there signs yet that this was possibly or could catch on?

BILCHIK: Well, it's worth looking at Darrel DeBoer, the American architect's Web site, because he is certainly trying to get it to catch on. He speaks about it around the world. And he says that if we understood -- here's a structure from one of DeBoer's actual PowerPoint presentations where he shows how to expand and how bamboo can actually bend.

So, look at some of the structures that he's using. Darrel DeBoer goes out and looks at bamboo as a source. It's cheap. It's durable. It's eco-friendly. It's light. And it's naturally beautiful.

HOLMES: And something none of us would have every thought about -- bamboo. All right.

BILCHIK: Our next house is bamboo. And, T.J., I'm excited to tell you that during the 8:00, we are going to talk about online flirting.

HOLMES: You got to come back with us, folks. You have been teasing me about this. You're going to make room to tell me about this. You got everybody talking about this, online flirting.

BILCHIK: Yes. Everything you need to know about the best online flirting lines, what works around the world.

HOLMES: You got to come back.

BILCHIK: Universal online flirting.

HOLMES: Eight-thirty Eastern Time, right?

BILCHIK: Around 8:30 or 8:40.

HOLMES: All right. We will see you then. Nadia, we appreciate you, as always.

Look at this picture. You're showing some picture. I'm going to show you one here. Look at this guy, I don't know. What would you -- why is all the serial there, by the way.

This is the "Tron" guy, we are told. You know the movie just came out, "Tron: Legacy." It came out on Friday. This guy is a mega fan. Clearly, he's also upset with Disney. I don't know why.

It's 10 minutes to the top of the hour. Stick around.

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HOLMES: Wait for it. Yes, keep it going. Let that kick in.

Hey there, how you doing? I'm back. How you doing? I'm T.J.

About nine minutes to the top of the hour here. The "Tron: Legacy" movie. I don't know if you've seen it, but it just came out this weekend. It looks pretty cool. I think they have this one in 3D as well. Three-and-a-half million dollars in its midnight opening.

Big movie. You can count on people to be big fans, big enthusiasts. They are showing up as well to the theaters as one of the characters from the movie.

I'll introduce you now to one guy in Minnesota. He's such a "Tron" fanatic and he's actually become an Internet star. Check him out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY MAYNARD, TRON GUY: Sorry I'm a little late.

CHRIS WELCH, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): This is Internet sensation Tron Guy. But chances are, you already knew that.

MAYNARD: I'm pretty well known.

WELCH: But just in case you haven't heard of him, his real name is Jay Maynard, and he's such a fan of the 1982 movie "Tron" that he built his own costume out of a spandex suit and plastic pieces of armor.

MAYNARD: So, you see how the hair is sticking out of the helmet? It's not supposed to do that.

WELCH: Now, he doesn't usually wear this when he goes in the small town of Fairmont, Minnesota. For this story, advance of the new Disney film "Tron: Legacy," he said, why not.

(on camera): You consider yourself a celebrity now?

MAYNARD: I am a celebrity on the Internet.

WELCH (voice-over): Case in point: this video has got 4 million views.

MAYNARD: Becoming the Tron Guy really changed my life. WELCH: He's been on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" sixteen times and was even featured in a YouTube-themed episode of the Comedy Central series of "South Park".

CARTOON CHARACTER: It's Tron Guy, I saw him on YouTube.

CARTOON CHARACTER: Yes, sure.

WELCH: But the currently unemployed computer systems administrator says, for all his fame for being the Tron Guy, he's surprised and disappointed that makers of the new movie haven't asked him to be part of the promotion of the film. They didn't invite him to the premier.

MAYNARD: They didn't involve me in the marketing for the movie, because if you look at --

WELCH (on camera): Does it irritate you?

MAYNARD: Some.

WELCH (voice-over): That's because Maynard feels he's partly the reason for the renewed interest in the "Tron" franchise. However, he hasn't been completely forgotten in that regard. He'll be writing a review on the new movie for "Wired" magazine.

Chris Welch, CNN, Fairmont, Minnesota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Uh-huh! Love to talk to Mrs. Tron about some of these things. See how she feels about it.

Well, coming up, the most famous purse in America. You know the purse I'm talking about. This is a tense situation.

At that school board meeting, it could have gone much worse. Certainly for that woman who swung the purse. But now, the purse, would you believe it's on the auction block?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're getting close to the top of the hour here. And we are waiting to hear from the Internet bidding site, eBay, on why the purse that was used to help stop or may try at least to use it to stop that hostage-taking gunman this week was apparently taken off the auction block. It reached a price of more than $1,200.

Ginger Littleton, she was the one who used that purse to try to stop Clay Duke at that school board meeting -- Littleton decided to put the hand-me-down fake alligator purse on eBay to raise money for Salvage Santa. That's a program run by a security officer who believes he shot Duke before Duke killed himself.

The auction has been stopped, though, according to our CNN affiliate WJHG. It was over legal requirements. We will keep you posted there.

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