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CNN Saturday Morning News

Celebrating Christmas; Christmas Day Flight Cancellations in U.S. and Paris; Stranger Rescues Christmas; Christmas Day Shoppers; Entertainment's Top 10 of 2010; The Journey Home for the Holidays; Surfing Santas Set Record; Christmas Day Forecast; Christmas Around the World; The President's Year in Review; Weather Slows Holiday Travel

Aired December 25, 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, and thank you for being with us on this Christmas Day.

You are seeing a live picture, these pictures coming to us from Vatican City, where the pope is getting ready to address the faithful there, an annual tradition, St. Peter's Basilica. He's stepping out on the balcony. It looks like he has just stepped out, getting ready to deliver his Christmas address.

There he is, Pope Benedict XVI, delivering his message today. We'll be dipping in, showing you, really, the pomp and circumstance that comes along with this. But, again, a huge Christmas tradition there, as the Pope delivers his message to the city and to the world.

But also this morning. from Vatican City to the Holy Hand, to cities and towns around the world, we'll be showing you how even our troops are celebrating on this Christmas Day. But celebrations happening all over, and we will bring you some of that holiday spirit this morning, among other things.

We're from the CNN Center, right now. this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING for, yes, December the 25th. Merry Christmas to you all. Glad you could be here, those of you all enjoying your Christmas morning with your families.

Also, many homes not necessarily celebrating Christmas today. We appreciate you being with us here as well. We don't want to leave anybody out.

Thank you for being here on this holiday weekend. I'm T.J. Holmes.

We're going to get started this morning with a story that really had a lot of us in the newsroom talking that we really want to share with you, and it really talks about the spirit of this season. You can call it a Christmas miracle, if you want to.

But a stranger, a complete stranger, sees a woman struggling in line, trying to come up with money to pay for kids' gifts. Well, they are having a good Christmas this morning because of that stranger. We'll explain that story to you. Also, it's the end of the year. A lot of people looking back. You have all these lists of this and that. Well, there's a list of celebrities out there as well. We're going to take a look back at some of the - the scandals, the break ups, the blockbusters, all that good stuff as we look at some of those entertainers who've made an impression.

Also, a lot of people are going to have to start thinking about their taxes. We've got some changes to some of the tax laws out there that are going to affect millions of taxpayers, and your returns could be delayed by weeks next year.

That sounds good for procrastinators, but the government - this is government sanctioned excuses that you have now to take your time on doing your taxes. Seriously. We'll explain that.

But, again, we've told you it is, of course, Christmas Day. Christmas celebrations going on all over the world. I want to share with you a few, including this one, happening right here in this nation's capital. Take a look here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): This was in Washington, D.C., the midnight mass at the basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It is actually the largest Roman Catholic Church in the U.S., just one of many celebrations we saw last evening.

They have a lot of midnight masses that take place around the country, but a lot of them have actually been moved to 10:00. They kind of switched - not necessarily midnight masses anymore in a lot of places. They do them at 10:00 because, of course, a lot of parishioners, that's late. They got early morning, long day, so they do them - a lot of them at 10:00, including the Pope, Pope Benedict. Actually, the mass he did last night was at 10:00 P.M. and not necessarily at midnight like it used to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And speaking of Pope Benedict XVI, go back to that live picture. Here is the Pope. Again, these pictures coming to us live from Vatican City right now, where the faithful have gathered at, again, St. Peter's Square.

He has - he has started - he - the Pope speaks at least eight different languages. I want to listen in to see if we can - see which one he might be speaking right now.

POPE BENEDICT XVI, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH'S 265TH POPE (through translator): The Word became Flesh. Before this revelation, we once wondered, how can this be?

HOLMES: And you hear the Pope there delivering - hear the Pope delivering his message now. Again, he speaks eight different languages, at least he - but last year, he did deliver this in eight different languages, but this is going out across the world, in some 60 different languages it's being translated into.

The Pope had his Christmas Eve mass yesterday as well. Again, that used to be a midnight mass. They do it at 10:00 now, did it at 10:00 last night. And in that message, he had a message of peace for the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): Now, this, another mass taking place last evening. This is in Bethlehem, at the Church of the Nativity. Now, this, of course, where a lot of people, the place believed to be the - the site of Jesus' birth.

Now, this has been kind of a big year there. They have had huge numbers of pilgrims coming to visit there. But they - a lot of people say this has to do with the relative easing of violence in the region and - and it's brought a lot more people back to the area. Some estimates that just over the past 24 hours, they've had up to - some estimates I've seen up to 100,000 people who have been there.

But this was at the Church of the Nativity last evening.

Also, celebrating Christmas in Iraq, having to do it a little differently there, having to do it, frankly, a little carefully. More masses are being held in the relatively safe Kurdish area of Northern Iraq.

No services happening amid the latest round of violence, however, in the south, at least seven people killed in a 24-hour span. Many churches in and around Baghdad canceled Christmas observances all together in light of recent attacks that targeted Christians.

MARIAM SAMIR, IRAQI CHRISTIAN (through translator): It gets worse every year. But, despite the situation, we will keep celebrating, she says, and not allow sorrow to prevail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, the United Nations says violence and persecution of Iraqi Christians has led thousands to leave the country. In October, 70 people were killed in the siege of Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church in Baghdad. Fifty-three of the victims were Christians.

I want to turn now to your weather. A lot of people do choose to fly on this day, Christmas Day, because it can actually be convenient. Not as many people out there flying, sometimes the - the rates are a little lower.

But, this is the problem now. We got some weather moving in. Delta - Delta moved preemptively to cancel some 500 Christmas Day flights because they were getting ready for the bad weather, canceled 300 flights in and out of their main hub of Atlanta, another 200 around the country.

Northeast could see some rain, sleet, snow. Now, Delta is joining Continental, United, AirTran and others who are right now offering you, if you are holding tickets, you can reschedule your flights without any change fees. So just check with your particular airline if you need to change things and try to help out a bit here.

It's pretty bad, and it has been bad for a while over in Europe. We're talking about Paris here in particular right now. They're gearing up for even more severe winter weather, 400 hundreds of flights in and out of Charles de Gaulle Airport canceled yesterday.

Of course, you see what goes down there, a lot of people end up stranded, nowhere to go. The airport had a couple issues of here. One of them, they ran low on de-icing fluid. You kind of need that stuff. And then, on top of that, some flights had to be canceled and people were stranded because there was an accumulation of snow on the roof of one terminal. They were nervous that it might cave in, so they had to evacuate and get people out of there. That caused a problem as well.

So let me bring in Bonnie Schneider and say hello to her on this Christmas morning.

All right, people talk about a white Christmas. That's great if you're sitting at home with your family -

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right.

HOLMES: -- but if you're trying to get somewhere, that's a problem.

SCHNEIDER: And - and it's so true because in cities like Paris and London, they are not used to the kind of snow accumulation you might see in New York, for example. So the airports really are just not equipped to handle it.

What about the rest of the U.S.? Well, we have a lot going on. It's a busy Christmas morning, I'll tell you that, snow across Tennessee to West Virginia, into Pennsylvania and even into Virginia and Washington, D.C. Looking very, very busy out there for this Christmas, for those of you that are on the road.

Notice the light snow falling in St. Louis. It's been snowy there since yesterday. We can show you some pictures of the St. Louis area and Missouri, definitely some wet road, a little slushy on the roads. Pretty snowfall, though, making for a white Christmas, and we'll see light snow like this pretty much throughout the day across the St. Louis area.

Now we head to the south, and watch out, if you're just heading out in New Orleans, some very heavy downpours working their way across I-10 right into your city at this time. Also, through Jackson and Hattiesburg, and all of this is working its way eastward into Montgomery and Birmingham, and then everything changes.

If you've been wanting and waiting for a white Christmas in the heart of the South, it's coming this year. Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville, Columbia, South Carolina - all these cities will see some snow falling from the sky. Now, accumulations will be light, less than an inch. It will make for a pretty picture, but watch out tonight and into tomorrow. These winter weather advisories will go into effect, and that's when we'll see some slick roads. For those of you traveling tonight and into tomorrow morning, I'd say get the earliest start possible for tomorrow, if you can.

Now, looking at the northeast, this is interesting. We have winter weather advisories all the way up from Coastal Maine down through Virginia and into the Carolinas. There's a coastal storm, T.J., that's going to - start to get going tomorrow.

It's really been interesting tracking the storm because a lot of them have also been fluctuating where it's going to go, but I do think this will impact travel Sunday and Monday. I'll talk more about that later this hour.

HOLMES: All right. Sunday and Monday, when a lot of people are going to be trying to get back home, in all likelihood, from somewhere, and then today, here in the south, we've got some issues travel-wise, people trying to get out, right?

All right.

SCHNEIDER: Yes.

HOLMES: Trying to keep up with all of this. Bonnie is going to be here throughout the morning. She'll have plenty of updates. So, Bonnie, thank you so much.

There's also a manhunt to tell you about. It's underway right now in Indiana. But they're not looking for a fugitive. They're looking for a secret Santa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER WHITE, ELKHART, INDIANA: A gentleman walked up behind me in line and he asked me and the cashier both if we're ready for Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, we'll tell you what he did next that is going to make Christmas morning a lot better than it would have otherwise been for one family he didn't even know.

It's 10 minutes past the hour on this Christmas morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. RICARDO SANTOS, U.S. MARINE: Hi. My name is Sergeant Ricardo Santos, and I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan. I'd like to give a shout-out to my wife and kids back in Beaufort, South Carolina. I love you all and I miss you, and have a happy holiday.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twelve minutes past the hour. Lovely shots of the capital, Washington, D.C.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Thank you for being here, spending a little time with us this morning. We're going to get you caught up in a few things you need to know, certainly going to let you know about your weather situation this morning as well.

It's going to be a white Christmas, Bonnie was just saying, in some places. But also, that's going to cause some disruptions in travel, people especially trying to get back home maybe on Sunday and Monday. Again, you're going to need to hear that. She's going to be along throughout the morning.

Story now we want to bring. You hear about these every once in awhile, well, every year, around this time, one of these Christmas miracles, if you will. But everyone in the newsroom is really talking about this story this morning.

Christmas looking pretty bleak for an Indiana woman and her two kids, and then a stranger just appears. Now, this is Jennifer White. She was in the checkout line at a Wal-Mart store in Niles, Indiana. She had an armload of gifts, not a whole lot of money.

They're under the tree at home right now. So kids going to have a good morning this morning. I don't know if they're watching or not. But they're going to have a good day thanks to a man who paid for everything, about $160.

Then, moments later, in the parking lot, that same stranger gave her another $200 in cash. But there's still more to the story. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J. WHITE: I couldn't ask for a better Christmas present, and to get it from a stranger is just phenomenal.

TRINITY WHITE, JENNIFER'S DAUGHTER: Thank you, like, a million times and give him a big hug. And I (INAUDIBLE), I would probably cry right there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now Jennifer, certainly grateful, thankful, already started to pay it forward. She put some money in the Salvation Army pot, gave some to a homeless man as well. She's hoping the stranger will step forward so she can thank him properly.

So all around Indiana right now, in her local community, they're kind of putting out - putting out the call, an APB, for this guy, trying to see if he'll step forward. Maybe he will, maybe he wouldn't, but clearly he didn't want any attention or any recognition or accolades. He just wanted to help out. The other part of the story that was interesting is that Jennifer admitted later, folks, that she actually knew she didn't have the money in her account to pay for the gifts. She was just about to be in the negative.

A lot of us have this overdraft protection on your account. She knew she didn't have the money. She was going to do what she had to do to make sure her kids had a good Christmas morning, and that guy stepped in.

It's a great story. We'll see if he does step forward or not.

Now, a lot of folks out there are procrastinators when it comes to buying your Christmas gifts, a lot of you out at the mall yesterday. Now, it's Christmas day. You think - you think you're out of time, but you still have time to do some shopping. Would you believe, some stores are actually open today?

Josh Levs is here with us on this Christmas -

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

HOLMES: -- as well. Josh, a lot of people don't love the sound of this.

LEVS: They are. And I was totally surprised how many Americans say they plan to shop today. I mean, you would think it will be done. Pictures we have here are people obviously have already done their shopping.

But we started to take a look at Christmas Day shopping in America. Check this out. National Retail Federation found six million Americans plan to go to stores today and do their shopping. So, if you're one of them, where are you going to go? It's the first thing everyone wants to do.

Well, we've been doing some research, looking around the country seeing what stores will be opened for you. Take a look at this. For starters, Walgreens, one of the stores that's opened around the country. And, you know, you can find some great stuff inside this store, depending on what kind of presents you want. They've got stuffed animals. They have perfume and cologne and all sorts of fun stuff like that.

CVS put out an announcement saying a lot of their stores will be opened either 24 hours or partly throughout the day. So these are couple of options you have here if you're still looking for those last minute gifts.

Blockbuster announced that they have a lot of their stores open today as well. There's some good things you can get in there, wrap up some of those favorite movies. Also, keep in mind, gift cards are one of the most requested gifts there are. You can get away with that.

Starbucks, as well. Not only a lot of Starbucks opened, but Starbucks has actually added more stuff for the holidays. So if you're looking to get your coffee, wake up on Christmas morning and still get those last-minute presents, it's another one of those options out there for you.

And, last but not least, gas stations because they still got to stay open. If you go inside the stores there at the gas stations, you might actually find some good gifts. You don't have to tell anyone where you got it.

By the way, if you're not worried about physically receiving it today or you just want to print something out saying here's the present coming to you, 14 million Americans are planning to shop online today. It's a little less surprising.

Here's my page. Take a look here. I want to hear from you. If you're one of these millions of Americans shopping today, what was in your life that made you wait literally until today? And B, where are you planning to go? What are you going to find? We'd love to hear from you.

T.J., we'll have some of those responses later in the show.

HOLMES: All right. Josh, we appreciate it. Thanks so much.

We are at 17 minutes past the hour now and we are coming to the end of the year. We know there are a lot of lists for this and that, the top 10 this and that. Well, guess what list Charlie Sheen, "The Jersey Shore" gang and Lady Gaga are all on? Yes, those are the ones who made entertainment headlines. We'll take a look back at the news they made.

Seventeen minutes past the hour on this Christmas morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, only one more day left that you have to listen to Christmas songs, folks - until next year.

Welcome back. Nineteen minutes past the hour on this Christmas morning.

Getting close to the end of the year, a lot of lists out, people looking back at things. This time, a look back at a year full of entertainment intrigue now. Take a look at some of the top entertainment stories of 2010. Remember these?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

A.J. HAMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm A.J. Hammer, host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" with the Top 10 Entertainment Stories of 2010.

HAMMER (voice-over): At number 10, we have Michael Douglas' cancer battle. He was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent eight weeks of radiation treatment. He told "People" magazine that he's feeling stronger every day, but he still got a long road ahead.

At number nine, shakeup on the set of "American Idol." RYAN SEACREST, HOST, "AMERICAN IDOL": This is "American Idol."

HAMMER: Jennifer Lopez is hoping to lessen the blow following the departure of original judge, Simon Cowell. Also gone is Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler joins Lopez and Randy Jackson, the last original judge left.

Number eight, the late night wars got ugly. It was Team Leno against Team Coco, and it ended with Jay Leno leaving primetime to take back his seat on "The Tonight Show." Conan O'Brien who got squeezed out ended up with a $30 million payday and a new show on TBS.

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": That lasted longer than my last job.

HAMMER: Bristol Pailin's dancing success comes in at number seven.

BRISTOL PALIN, DAUGHTER OF SARAH PALIN: Yes. I'm very grateful for the people out there that did support us and voted for us and kept us through this whole time.

HAMMER: Now, some critics say her mother's political backers were stacking the vote during Bristol's run on "Dancing with the Stars." She ended up making the finale finishing third.

At number six, "Jersey Shore" conquers the world. Snooki and "The Situation" became everyone's guilty pleasure as their reality show captured our TV attention. "Newsweek" magazine even called them America's new icons.

HAMMER (on-camera): The top five entertainment stories of 2010 right after this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: I'm A.J. Hammer. Now, back to the list of the top 10 Entertainment Stories of 2010.

HAMMER (voice-over): Number five is the amazing number of high profile Hollywood break-ups. Sandra Bullock won an Oscar and got a divorce from hubby, Jesse James, after he confessed he cheated on her. Eva Longoria and her basketball player/husband, Tony Parker, also split after reports he was trading intimate text messages with another woman. Also calling it quits, "People" magazine's sexiest man alive, Ryan Reynolds and his bride of just two years, Scarlett Johansson.

At number four is Lindsay Lohan's wild ride.

LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: I'm not taking this as a joke. It's my life. HAMMER: In between her missed court dates and inappropriate courtroom behavior, the fading starlet got sent to prison twice, although, the second time was just for 14 hours. She's hoping to make a comeback but has to finish a court-ordered rehab first.

Charlie Sheen's troubles and triumphs are number three on the list of the top entertainment stories of 2010. In August, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife, and in October, trashed his New York City hotel room where a porn star claimed he attacked her. But Sheen is still sitting pretty with a massive paycheck from his successful sitcom "Two and a Half Men."

Mel Gibson's relationship issues are number two. Girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, filed a restraining order during their ugly break- up which was triggered after angry phone call rants against her were posted online. The voice sounds like Mel Gibson, but we still haven't verified that it actually was.

And the number one entertainment story of the year is Gaga.

LADY GAGA, SINGER: (SINGING "DON'T CALL MY NAME").

HAMMER: Lady Gaga, that is. She was everywhere this year from speaking out against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to wearing a meat dress to MTV's Video Music Awards. Oh, yes, she also sold millions of albums around the world and got six Grammy nominations and more than a billion people watched her videos on YouTube.

HAMMER (on-camera): I'm A.J. Hammer and those are the top 10 Entertainment Stories of 2010.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty minutes past the hour now this Christmas morning.

You're going to be thinking about your taxes coming up pretty soon. All right. We know you need to get past Christmas Day, but taxes are right around the corner. Already a tough year for a lot of folks. And millions of Americans are going to have to wait even longer for their tax refunds.

Here's the issue. The people who itemize - those of you out there who itemize their federal tax returns will have to wait until at least mid-February to even file. That is why there will be a delay in some refunds. And you remember that Tax Compromise Bill that was celebrated that the president signed last week? Because of that, IRS says they now need some more time to reprogram their systems to accommodate some of those late changes in tax law.

Well, it is the holidays. A lot of our - of our fighting young men and women are coming home. And coming up, you're going to be seeing a lot of scenes like this. A reunion you just have to see. We love this one.

Twenty-seven minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: OK. We love this one. That is Alyssa Whaley. All she wanted for Christmas is her daddy. This is a second grader from Charlotte, North Carolina.

She literally wrote to Santa all she wanted for Christmas was her dad to be home from Iraq. He was able to deliver, but now look at this. He had two other kids in the school he is able surprise. These two others, a kindergartener and his oldest daughter as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEREK WHALEY, U.S. ARMY MEDIC: This is one for the ages. I'll never forget it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, that was one that we absolutely love. We have been seeing a lot of scenes like that over the holidays. The past couple weeks as a lot of our fighting men and women have been able to come home.

Many of them will have to go back, some of them not having to go back, but no matter what. They haven't seen their families for quite some time. It's such a joy that they were able to make it home in time for the holidays and share a lot of moments like that. Glad we could share that one with you.

Good morning to you, once again. Bottom of the hour here, yes, this Christmas morning. Welcome to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Live picture of Atlanta, Georgia where I am here in our World Headquarters this morning.

And again, like we said, there are so many of our fighting men and women who have been able to get home for the holidays. They are not at all too far in their memories. Some of their comrades, they had to leave behind were still on the battlefields.

I want to share some of that with you and as they talk about coming home and their buddies, they are hoping to come home soon as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, keep up the good work. We are proud of you. Take care. We are proud of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Here comes Santa Clauses. It's 39 minutes past the hour. This is my problem here, Bonnie with the Guinness Book of World Records. There's a Guinness for everything.

So now there's a Guinness record, unofficially, I'm told here though, for the most Santas surfing at the same time. Who knew there was even a record for that, but you're seeing this video.

This is coming through with that in Florida. They brave - a little chilly out there actually, but about 19 of them got out there. These Santas all got out there and did a little surfing. Six-foot waves of Cocoa Beach this was yesterday. Yes, an interesting picture to share this morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: They have wet suits under it. People blend into the cold water with no wet suit.

HOLMES: Guinness Record. It was lovely in the red today.

SCHNEIDER: Thank you.

HOLMES: White Christmas, everybody loves it. Some are going to get one.

SCHNEIDER: T.J., this is a really interesting White Christmas because pretty snowfall in many places less than an inch of accumulation. But wait until you see what is ahead for Sunday, which is one of the busiest travel days of the year.

We could be looking at a substantial storm affecting coastal areas in New England all the way down to the Carolinas where the mountains will see heavy snow. As we check things out at this hour, we have snow and a wintery mix all the way from Tennessee into North Carolina certainly into West Virginia and then northward towards Pennsylvania moving into New Jersey and New York.

And those areas will be under winter weather advisories for tomorrow. Talk more about that in a moment, but first, take a look at Washington, D.C. We can take a live picture right now to show you what's happening. It's a beautiful morning in the capital, great Christmas morning.

The temperature is cold, but I'll tell you. We are in for some big changes ahead. Winter storm watches posted for the D.C. area and that means we are going to see snow, at least one to three inches for tomorrow and maybe even a light snowfall for today. That storm system will be impacting a lot of places on Sunday.

Northward to New York, you are also now under a winter storm watch for Sunday. This has been fascinating to watch because we are looking at a storm system that not only brings snow to the south, but also wintery weather to the northeast. This may turn into a significant nor'easter as we go into tomorrow and Monday.

It all depends on how close the storm gets to the coastline. The closer it get, the more snowy we'll see. So right now, low pressure is bringing some heavy rain to Louisiana at this hour. But once the storm gets cranking off the Carolina coast and intensifies, some of our newer computer models are showing more measurable snow to interior sections of areas of Maryland, upstate New York and certainly to New England where we could see heavy snow.

Notice this, we could zoom in to this area here of New Jersey and to parts of New England. It's got every single color striped on the map. The heaviest snow towards the east and to Cape Cod and the islands in the east of Long Island and as you head to the center, rain and then more snow.

So for those of you traveling, this is going to be particularly challenging weather for tomorrow. You're going to see everything. It's changing all the time. Keep it tuned in right here. I will keep you posted on everything. How it breaks down step-by-step, but it's going to be a very busy Christmas for travelers dealing with inclement weather unfortunately.

HOLMES: That's going to affect folks try to get back home after the holiday on the 26th and 27th, but hey, at least they got home for Christmas today. Bonnie, thank you so much.

For a lot of you travelers out there, she talked about the south. A lot of airlines, if you are traveling in the south, especially Atlanta, a lot of flights are canceled. Airlines are letting you change your schedule without any particular fees.

We're showing this live picture of Atlanta because this is place she just described they could see a White Christmas here, snow accumulations. Hundreds of flights canceled by Delta and others in and out of Atlanta, a major hub.

So you're going to have to change some things, but if you, again, some of the airlines - check with them. They are allowing people to change some of those flights without any fees.

I want to bring you now a highlight, probably the only highlight. Video we love and want to show you, again, but the only Idaho State basketball highlight you will ever see. Watch this free throw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): It just sat there. It sat there for a couple seconds. I say this is the only Idaho State highlight you are going to see because the team is 4-8 right now. No offense to you guys, not having the greatest of years. But that was a cool moment that a lot of people appreciated.

Again, that was the highlight of the game for them. They lost this game about 30 points, I believe 71-48. It's all right. I don't know who superman is there anyway, but a cool little piece of video we want to bring back and show it to you this morning.

It's 43 minutes past the hour. Now, a lot of people are having a Christmas meal today with the centerpiece of your meal. A lot of people have turkey on Christmas day as well or whatever it may be. But they do things a little differently around the world. We'll take you around the world to see how other people celebrated and why fried chicken is a mainstay on Christmas Day. Not just any fried chicken, we are talking KFC's fried chicken. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Here with Nadia Bilchik as always. Giving us something a little interesting that we didn't know about usually from around the world.

NADIA BILCHIK: Right.

HOLMES: And once we're doing so, but we know how we celebrate Christmas here. What about elsewhere?

BILCHIK: Let's go to Japan.

HOLMES: Japan, all right.

BILCHIK: KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken have done such a good job in Japan that Christmas in Japan is synonymous with Kentucky. In fact, they call it (inaudible) Kentucky. You have lines of people on Christmas Day to get the Kentucky. You don't get turkey.

Most of the Japanese are either Buddhist or (Shinto) so there's not going to be a huge Christian population in Japan, but Christmas is synonymous with Kentucky and people will actually order their Kentucky Fried Chicken and yes, they'll even book a table in Kentucky.

HOLMES: That's nuts. We are used to whipping through and getting a three-piece on a Tuesday afternoon but Christmas?

BILCHIK: Christmas and Kentucky Fried Chicken. That's great marketing. This has happened since the '70s. Now, I'll take you South Africa.

HOLMES: OK, near and dear to you.

BILCHIK: So much. So what's going to be happening in South Africa on Christmas Day is people are not going to be having a barbecue. We call it a dry (ph) place. We will cook the meat.

It will be a festive occasion. Remember, it's very warm. So people at the beach will be at the beach and otherwise, people will be having a kind of sausage and a maze meal, somewhat like grits. They will be eating these delicious foods and having a Christmas celebration in the sun.

HOLMES: You say cook the meat, how many meats? You mentioned the sausage there, but a variety of things.

BILCHIK: People may even slaughter a lamb and drink homemade beer.

HOLMES: Slaughter a lamb. You can't just cook the lamb, you have to slaughter it?

BILCHIK: Now in the Czech Republic, women will do something interesting. They'll throw a shoe towards the door. If the heel faces the door that means they're not necessarily going to meet a husband that year. Single women will do this and if the toe points towards the door then it's good luck, you're going to meet your husband during the year.

HOLMES: OK, do they do it on Christmas?

BILCHIK: They do this more on Christmas New Year. It's just a tradition and then in Italy, some people have traditional Christmas trees, but other people have wooden blocks where they put fruit and all kinds of ornate things around the tree.

HOLMES: A wooden block?

BILCHIK: A wooden block.

HOLMES: OK, do a lot of places though do what we do?

BILCHIK: What will be different are the ornaments. So different ornaments depending on the different cultures.

HOLMES: OK, I want to get back to the shoe for a second. Where did that come from with the heel in the door and the toe?

BILCHIK: It's some kind of superstition. There's a belief in the Czech Republic that if you take an apple and cut it in half, if it's a perfect star, it's going to be a good year. Unfortunately, if a worm is there, it looks rotten, not a good omen.

HOLMES: OK, also interesting. Merry Christmas to everybody out there or whatever she just said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. 1ST CLASS JOHN E. BEERS, U.S. ARMY: Hi. I'm Sergeant John Beers stationed in Kandahar Afghanistan. I would like to wish my family and friends a very Merry Christmas back home in Sussex County, Delaware.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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HOLMES: Turn the lights out before you head out. The president is saving on electricity while he's gone. That is the White House if you can make it out in that picture. But the lights are out at the White House and the first family is gone on vacation.

They made sure they didn't run up the electric bill while they were gone, but, of course, the first family vacationing right now in Hawaii. The president is there. Just like anybody else's vacation, what do you do on yours? Get a little golf in. A few security briefings, you know. Real coaster as you know for the president this past years. Some really high highs and some really low lows.

Here now our White House correspondent Ed Henry with a look back.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The year is ending on a high note for this president, but there were a lot of bumps along the way everywhere from the political arena to the basketball court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): Maybe it was a metaphor for the year. A simple basketball game the day after Thanksgiving ended with a fat lip and 12 stitches for the president.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Let me begin by pointing out that although Washington is a town of sharp elbows, it's getting a little carried away.

HENRY: But as he shifts to golf here in Hawaii, the president is revealing in a series of big wins. Leaving long time friend like former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hanneman predicting come back in 2011.

MUFI HANNEMAN, FORMER HONOLULU MAYOR: Because I met when he was a basketball player on a basketball court, he definitely has that athletic ability to come back. Yes, it's been a rough year, but he's bounced back quite well.

HENRY: But in 2010, nothing came easy for the president who started the year campaigning in Massachusetts to keep the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy in his party's hands only to see Republican Scott Brown score a knock out of the Democrats, almost taking health care reform down, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

OBAMA: Thank you.

HENRY: In March, the president finally got his health care victory but he couldn't savor it for long. Within weeks, he was engulfed in the biggest oil spill in American history.

OBAMA: I'm shaving and Malia knocks on my bathroom door and she says did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?

HENRY: It was eventually plugged and there were other big gets too like Wall Street reform that the president campaigned on from coast-to-coast. But with unemployment still stubbornly high, he could not stop a Republican takeover of the House and surged in the Senate.

OBAMA: I'm not recommending every president take a shellacking like I did last night.

HENRY: But he picked himself off the floor and shocked Republicans with wins on taxes, a treaty and "Don't Ask Don't Tell."

OBAMA: One thing I hope people have seen during this lame duck, I am persistent.

HENRY: Now aide say he will keep a low profile here getting R&R for what maybe another brutal year. While Mr. Obama hopes to work with the Republicans on some issues, he's also determined to stop them from gutting health care reform.

HANNEMAN: This is the best place in the world for him to come and recharge his batteries. Sort of bask in the Hawaiian sunshine, the food that he loved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: As soon as he returns to Washington in the New Year, the president is expected to name a replacement for his chief economic adviser Larry Somers. Top aides say the state of the union in late January will be heavy on fixing the economy. The issue likely to decide his re-election battle, which is getting closer and closer. Ed Henry, CNN with the president in Honolulu.

HOLMES: We are getting closer to the top of the hour on this Christmas morning. We will keep you updated on everything you need to know on this day including a lot happening with the weather today that's going to impact your travel. For some trying to travel today, but also some of you folks trying to get home in the next couple of days. Stay with us.

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