u.s. the lieutenant full over. >> our response and our interest has been, how do we position the coast guard and all the federal agencies to respond to the likelihood of a meraritime incident. >> reporter: now it is a lightning rod for controversy over arctic drilling. given its name by a school girl in northwest territories in her native tongue it means thunder. cnn, los angeles. some of australia's most popular beaches were closed this weekend after several sightings of sharks close to the shoreline. this ten-foot long tiger shark was spotted off one beach this morning. look at that guy, wow. it's believed the sharks were following schools of fish scene at the beaches there. thanks so much for starting your morning with us. we have much more on "cnn sunday

morning" which starts right now. good morning, everyone. i'm randi kaye. it is 7:00 on the east coast, 4:00 out west. thanks so much for starting your morning with us. take a listen to this. that is an audience in syria cheering for their president assad. he made a rare speech in damascus and at one point the crowd was cheering blood ask sacrifice must be for you, assad. tens of thousands of syrians have been killed and even more have fled their homeland. cnn's mohammed jamjoon is watching things from beirut. break down for us what he had to say. >> well, randi, assad remained defiant and he gave a rambling speech in which he blamed a

conspiracy for what was going on in syria and he denied his military was the cause of the violence that has engulfed the country for 21 months. he called the opposition there terrorists and traitors. any solution for any kind of peace or political solution in syria must come from within syria and must be the solution that he delivers. he stood firm against calls by the international community and the syrian opposition for him to step down. and, by the end of it, he did offer what he was calling an initiative in which there would be a national dialogue, a conference, a new charter for a new constitution. then possibly a referendum for that constitution and what he did not offer was that he would be stepping down. that's the key thing there. that's certain to be rejected by the syrian opposition who, from the beginning, said they would not negotiate with the government and they would not

agree to any kind of transitional government if assad were to remain. randi? >> a lot of people were waiting with bated breath for him to say something meaningful. why did he come out now? >> so much international pressure put on syria, especially by the u.n. arab league envoy brahimi who just last week was shuttling between syria and russia and then egypt. trying to forge some sort of path towards peace there to come up with some sort of a political solution. even the russians who had been the steadfast allies of the syrians, they have been perceived to be distancing themselves from the regime. recently, they called for all the parties in syria to come for a transitional government and everyone was waiting for assad to speak to see what he would agree to, if he would agree to a transitionalman a aal plan and out today and said, absolutely, he is not going to step down. a lot of the rhetoric we heard

from today, we heard from the beginning of the uprising there. he even denied a resolution there and denied a fight going on between the government and the opposition saying only a fight between syria, the homeland there and its enemies. randi? >> denied a revolution, that is amazing. still no real solutions and in june when he spoke, he called for unity. but, you know, as we said, certainly the arab league envoy, brahimi, who you mentioned, he is saying that 2013 could be the bloodiest yet. he said this, in fact, do not expect 25,000 people to die next year, maybe 100,000 will die. the pace is increasing. do you expect that we will get a solution to this soon at some point? >> there's no end in sight right now to the fighting, unfortunately. this is fighting in the nearly two years since the uprising there began that assumed the lives, according to the u.n. this past week of at least 60,000 people and the u.n. said, in fact, they believe that number to be an underestimate.

that coupled with the remarks you just mentioned, randi, he believed that thousands more could die next year and as high as 100,000 people it just looks more and more grim in syria every day. >> certainly does. mohammed jamjoon reporting from beirut this morning. to other news now, search crews are searching for the plane that was carrying italian fashion model vittorio missoni. the plane vanished friday morning over the los roques islands. missoni runs the family fashion house with his two siblings. much more on him and his impact, later on. lance armstrong may want to make a comeback. that's what "new york times" is saying. the paper reports that armstrong has considered admitting to doping and is in talks with anti-doping agencies. the cyclists is not involved in

any talks with anti-doping agencies. amanda davies spoke with a former masseuse for his cycling team about what she saw of the alleged drug abuse. take a listen. >> like i knew stuff was going on from when we had to back date the prescription for the cortisone and asked me to go to spain to pick up something and get rid of syringes. then you know for definite. >> are you in any doubt from your time with the u.s. postal team of what you saw, what you think was lance armstrong -- >> yeah, no doubt of that at all. that is what it was always called. >> that's what intrigues me. it was seen as acceptable. an acceptable thing to do. >> yeah. this was the '90s in cycling. that was the way, the normal way of doing things.

the people who weren't on the program and who actually got results are like, good lord, how did that happen? >> what were you asked to do? >> he asked me to go, if i would go to spain and pick up something that he needed from the doctor that he couldn't get to and they couldn't get it to him. so, i kind of said, yeah, okay. i did say to lance, i would do it this once, but don't tell me what i'm picking up. i don't want to know. >> why did you do it? >> i always felt kind of guilty in ways by not getting involved in the medical program because be involved in the medical program and i wouldn't, at the time, i probably stood out a bit because i didn't. and so i kind of felt, here, i'll do it. >> did you see lance armstrong inject himself with drugs or take drugs? >> you don't sit and do it in front of people. couple riders would do it because they would share rooms. if the door is shut, you don't go in that door. >> there's also a famous quote

which has been said a lot. >> the quote got a bit dramatized and history has shown that i didn't have enough to bring him down and i never wanted to bring him down. never, ever wanted to bring lance down. i think in the long term it will be good for cycling and good for riders involved in cycling because i think now, more than ever, this is the opportunity for riders to have the choice to ride clean and stay clean, if they choose to. >> we'll have much more on this story in our next hour. i'll be joined by an author who has followed lance's career. when it comes to cycling, if you don't dope, you become obsolete. to sports on the field and the green bay packers cruise past the minnesota vikings 24-10. aaron rodgers led the way for the pack while minnesota was without their starting qb who was out with a bum elbow. today the ravens play the colts and the redskins play the seahawks. a lot of great football going on

right now. and good news this morning for hockey fans. it seems that a tentative agreement has been reached that could save the season. the deal comes after an all-night negotiating session that lasted 16 hours. any new collective bargaining agreement still has to be approved by the players and owners before the puck drops, again. more than 500 games have been canceled, in case you're keeping track. in politics. a major issue for the new congress that mirrors the hopes of some new members. we'll tell you what to expect in 2013. -oh! -oh! oh! oh! ♪ what do you know? oh! ♪ bacon? -oh! -oh! oh! [ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your story for a chance to win a progress-oh! makeover in hollywood. go to facebook.com/progresso to enter.

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welcome back. ten minutes past the hour now. women are not the only ones with record-breaking numbers in the new congress. also record number of latinos and they could shift the tone of immigration laws and reform. here's athena jones with more. >> we're the center of this nation's future. >> reporter: vice president joe biden at a ceremony to welcome the largest number of latinos in congress ever. a critical mass that could help efforts to pass sweeping changes to the immigration system. >> we need to seize the moment. >> reporter: a top priority for the president, who won more than 70% of the hispanic vote in november. after the election, house speaker john boehner signaled republicans could support comprehensive action on legislation. >> i'm not talking about 3,000 page bill. i'm talking about he's a common sense step-by-step approach.

secure our borders and fix a broken immigration system. >> reporter: democratic congressman luis gutierrez leads the immigration task force for the hispanic caucus. >> when you deal with the fiscal cliff, this is where the congress is at. far apart. guns, far apart. and immigration, much closer. we all signed on the dotted line? no, there's a lot of work to be done. but the commitment is there to getting the work done. >> reporter: so, what might comprehensive legislation look like? the president says it should include measures to beef up border security, punish companies that purposely hire undocumented workers and give their roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants here a way to obtain legal status. groups that want to restrict immigration are skeptical. >> the president himself said he doesn't think these laws are enforceable. how on earth is congress ever going to be convinced to pass a package of the kind he's talking

about when no guarantees can be made to the general public that the laws will be respected. >> reporter: doubts that could signal a long road ahead for this legislation push. >> right now, what's interesting on immigration, is that everyone is talking the talk and that includes democrats and republicans. but, again, a big difference between talking the talk and walking the walk on policy. >> reporter: a big question is whether the parties can agree to approach the immigration issue. should it be one big bill which many democrats are pushing or several smaller ones which many republicans favor because they say issue is so complex. randi. >> thank you very much for that. "rolling stones" calls it legendary. about her cancer diagnosis didn't just help her heal, it changed her life. my conversation with comedian taro, coming up. can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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turning trag dy into comedy. tig notaro delivered some are calling the most powerful stand-up performances in years just days after being diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer she blew an audience away with her raw and honest performance about her struggles. "rolling stone" magazine calls the set legendary and comedian lewis c.k. said it was one of the best performances i ever saw. i talked to ti dwg about her se and asked her how she's doing right now. >> i had a double masectomy and i'm feeling really great. >> that's terrific news for all of us.

hard to know in speaking to you where to begin with your story. i am going to try my best. you had a tragic four months. pneumon pneumonia, your relationship fell apart and then this, you were diagnosed with cancer. in the midst of all of this did you decide you'll go back on stage to talk honestly about what was happening to you. was this the only way you knew to deal with it? >> well, i mean, it is what i do. stand up is what i do. so, it definitely felt natural to do it. i had a show booked that i didn't think i was going to do. and then the day before the show, the owner of the venue, largo, texted me and said, are we going to do the show? i said, yeah. then i thought, oh, my gosh, what am i doing? i certainly did. realize that it was going to take off the way it did with all

the tweeting and blogging that happened after the show. >> well, the first words on stage from you were "i have cancer." what reaction were you expecting from the audience that night? >> i don't think i had any expectations. i knew that i had so much to say and, so, when i walked out, i just, i didn't know how to get into the topic of having cancer. so, i just thought the best way to do it would be while i was introduced to just walk out and say, hello, good evening, thanks for coming. i have cancer. how are you? >> did they think it was a joke? >> yeah. i could tell when i was saying hello to the audience, i got this feeling, yeah, these people do not think i have cancer. >> well, in your set, you say that usually tragedy plus time equals comedy. but, i'm quoting you here, i'm

just at tragedy. did you find humor in all of this? is that even possible? if you did, how so? >> i did find humor. you know, it took me a little while through losing my mother and some of the other events, took me a while to find comedy and then as soon as i was diagnosed with cancer, again, this was maybe the fifth horrible thing that happened in four months. i think i just snapped and was like, this is now ridiculous. i was almost embarrassed to tell my friends that i had cancer. it just seemed so over the top with everything i had already gone through. so, the comedy just started appearing out of no where for me. >> well, i know you put your set online recently. what kind of reaction are you getting? >> i thought there was going to be mixed reviews. it was such a raw performance.

it was lewis c.k.'s idea to release it as a cd and i thought the reviews would be mixed, but i've gotten really great reviews. at this point, it sold well over 1 00,000 copies in just a few weeks. and, so, it's been really amazing how the response has been. >> as a comedian, as a stand up, anything you can say to anybody who might be watching who might be in the midst of tragedy in their own life that you can help them see the humor in this? >> i mean, i think, as far as humor, i think it -- people, it might take a while. it might take months or years or it might appear immediately. but whatever is happening, just pushing through it and keeping going is what was helpful for me. i certainly had moments where i

was in fetal position, but, you know, it's kind of cliche, but just one step at a time. just pushing through it was tremendously helpful for me. >> amazing story there. to learn more about tig and her stand up, you can check out her website, tignation.com. super storm sandy compromised some vital police evidence in new york. that could now have major consequences. some criminal court cases may be in jeopardy. but, first, here's dr. sanjay gupta with a quick preview of what's coming up at 7:30 eastern. randi, some surprising research shows that fish oil may help reverse the trauma from brain injuries. i also sat down to learn how to destress and start the year off right. s is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings

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with kaopectate. super storm sandy just didn't disrupt millions of people's lives, it is also threatening criminal cases in the new york court system. mary snow explains. >> reporter: this flood damaged warehouse right on new york harbor can actually clog the city's overcrowding criminal system for years to come. it sits in an area of brooklyn devastated by hurricane sandy. inside of it thousands of pieces of police evidence that right now can't be touched. >> significant flooding has taken place. no question about it. we're still trying to sort through this and assess the total damage.

it's a big job. >> reporter: that was back in november. the police department says it still hasn't been able to get into this facility and a second one because sewage contamination has made them unsafe. but trials can't wait. cnn legal contributor paul callan is a former prosecutor. >> could be a major problem if evidence that has been damaged is critical to proving a case. >> reporter: the nypd says so far there has been six criminal cases where police have said there is evidence, but it's not accessible. those cases have not been dismissed. in cases involving dna and narcotics prosecutors rely on results of tests that are done on smaller samples of the evidence. police say those results are kept at a different facility that was not compromised by the storm. what about cases where there is, let's say, blood evidence. where the physical evidence is that warehouse, but the test results are in a different location. >> you would have the issue of,

is there enough for the defense to fairly test the sample to determine whether it's the defendant's blood or not. so, it wouldn't necessarily be fatal to a case, but, you know, in criminal cases beyond a reasonable doubt is a very, very high standard of proof and if you eliminate the physical evidence, you can put a serious dent in the prosecutor's case. >> reporter: the nypd has consulted with its counterparts in new orleans where evidence and records were destroyed following hurricane katrina. the new orleans police department says one key difference is that flood waters remained at the new orleans courthouse for weeks where the evidence was destroyed and they had the job of cataloguing evidence that could be salvaged. >> it took years. something that is not easily done. in new york you're looking at facilities that are much more vast than what we had here in new orleans. so, that compounds it even more. >> reporter: new york's police department says it expects to

get into the evidence warehouses in the coming weeks to assess the extent of the damage. but already the chief attorney for new york legal aid society is bracing for serious repercussions. there are more than 100,000 criminal cases in new york every year. now to syria where assad addressed his nation in a rare speech this morning. his last address was six months ago, but not much has changed in his eyes. blaming a conspiracy for his country's turmoil and incessant bloodshed. according to u.n. reports in nearly two years of fighting, 60,000 syrians have been killed. crews off the coast of ve venezuela continue to search for a missing plane that was carrying vittorio missoni, his wife and four others. the plane went missing friday morning shortly after takeoff.

the national transportation safety board are investigating a plane that crashed. something told her, hold on a minute, stop right there, otherwise she would have been hit. >> god is good. he really is. as you all can see, that is amazing. i got out without a scratch on me. little bruise from taking a tumble through the window. but other than that, i'm fine. i'm blessed. truly god was with me. there's no way anyone else should have got out of there, but god has other plans for me. and make sure that i got out. couldn't stop the plane, but he could stop me because i was headed to that exact spot where the plane crashed. >> the pilot reported mechanical problems and