divine oh, night, divine, oh, night, oh, holy night >> larry: susan boyle, with oh, holy night from her new album, "the gift." good saturday morning. severe weather in california.

yeah, 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? reynolds wolf is standing by. also, we're let you know about travel this weekend. 140 criminals, many of them dangerous break out of prison with the help of the prison guards. we'll have the latest for you on this bizarre escape. also, twas the fight before christmas. they are in session again. 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 this could be the weekend we see don't ask don't tell repealed.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.

it's keeping the president from heading out for the holidays. also, bad weather playing a role in the peninsula. would you believe it? some are calling it the most serious between the north and the south in 60 years. wolf blitzer is the only reporter there. this is your "cnn saturday morning" on december 18th. i'm t.j. holmes. thank you for starting your day here with us. i mentioned the developing story on the mexican-american border. 140 inmates escaped. this happened in the border town. this is right across the rio grande river from laredo, texas. they were able to break out through a service entrance. we are talking 141 criminals out there on the loose now. the inmates probably got help

from the employees at the prison, maybe even the prison director who is missing. went missing immediately after the escape. they are known for drug groups. no immediate sign the gangs are involved. this is a mexican state prison, it happened just across the river from a texas town, a u.s. town. could be a landmark day on the hill. they are set to vote on two big issues, the dream act and the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. first up is a procedural vote on the dream act. it would give young, illegal immigrants who came here as children, many brought by their children, would give them a path to citizenship if they go to college or enlist in the military. this first vote, it's a

procedural vote. it lets us know if it will move forward. not clear if democrats have the 60 votes needed to move this forward. it doesn't look good now by some accounts. the dream act could move forward. some call it amnesty. congress is closing in on the end of the ban on gay troops serving openly in the military. 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 the votes are falling in line. we are keeping a close watch on that. a procedural vote will let us know if it's going to be repealed this weekend. congress 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 thought it could shut down

the government. they did pass a bill that's going to keep the lights on, for three days. this was a temporary fix. they are going to be able to keep the lights on in a few days and take it up again next week. they have the money they need to keep the government moving. president obama is watching the senate while his family is getting ready to head out to hawaii for the christmas season. the president signed the tax cut bill yesterday. millions of people are waking up knowing that no, your taxes are not going to go up at the beginning of next year. 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 mean as 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.

it's going to continue for 13 months. it's welcome news for people out there. there are millions out of work across the country. there are tax cuts. social security tax rates will drop the 4.2%. it lowers the estate tax or the death tax. turn back to north korea now. new information on the scheduled south korean military drills. south korean military officials say those exercises likely will not take place this weekend because of bad weather. the drill was supposed to begin today. south korea saying the drills will take place only if with weather in yeonpyeong improves. north korea says they will deliver a blow if the military exercises take place.

the russian military is trying to step in to call off the drills. north korea shelled the island in south korean island. it killed two marines, two civilians and 18 people injured. new mexico governor bill richardson is there and described the situation as the most tense, the biggest price there in 60 years. he is in north korea trying to calm things down. he met with north korea's top negotiator and provided a series of proposals. he wouldn't say what they were, but he spoke with cnns wolf blitzer. >> it's a very, very tense situation by all accounted. he told richardson he didn't sleep last night because of the

tensions on the korean peninsula. it's a very serious situation. richardson told me even though he had a good meeting with the chief nuclear negotiator, he said the situation is extremely tense. he urged maximum self-restraint on all sides. he says everyone has to show maximum restraint now. he also said he provided him with a series of proposals, his proposals to calm down. i asked what the proposals were, he wouldn't say. he said they are a bunch of serious proposals. by all accounts, it's the most serious since the 1953. >> richardson arrived in north korea thursday on a four-day trip. he's not there as an official

government envoy. excuse me. turn to weather now. severe weather. it's across much of europe this morning. from northern ireland to bulgaria they have canceled hundreds of flights. the situation isn't much better on the ground. 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. pretty intense weather storm. we are talking feet of snow in some places. everything from flash flooding to avalanches going out in lake tahoe area. reynolds wolf can tell you more about it than i can. good morning. >> good morning. let's show some video. this is actually parts of i-80, west of tahoe. you are going to see the snow

coming down in sheets for some people. for others, it's not only a bad thing, skiers are going to be happy. a strong storm is rolling in from the west. it's going to pummel california with heavy rainfall. sometimes it could be falling at a rate of an inch an hour. in the sierra nevada, the highest elevations from three to five feet. some spots as much as eight feet. that is then. let's talk about what's happening now. let's go to the maps. out to the west, you can see a little bit of blue on the screen. white is popping up in a few kilo indications. let's come in a little bit. we'll show people what we are dealing with. we have the heaviest rainfall in parts of the san joaquin valley. is flooding a possibility? absolutely. especially near sacramento.

in sierra nevada, you are going to run into issues in terms of snow. wind gusts, get this, topping 70 miles per hour are going to be a possibility. something else, there will be delays in parts of the southeast. we are seeing the beginning of the area of low pressure that should intensify. shouldn't be major, low clouds, fog and rainfall from the carolina coast to atlanta. great lakes getting a bit of a break in the action. we have been talking the heavy snowfall. it should not be a huge issue today. some for the western shores of lake michigan. chilly on parts of dallas, texas. should be perfect. make the drive from dallas to san antonio. t.j., again, the focus is on the west. a problem that is going to be experienced by a lot of people from now to sunday evening. sunday evening things should

subside. skiers definitely smile. >> reynolds, we appreciate you. don't go too far. a lot of troops are coming home. they are going to play out. you are out there yesterday. at least here in atlanta watching the homecomings. >> it was an amazing thing to see. there's nothing like seeing family members reunited when you have family members fighting overseas. they haven't been over yet. some of them will be home for a few weeks. some for a matter of days. it's a chance to return to normalcy. >> we'll talk about that in a minute. 12 minutes after the hour. we're going to take a quick break.

welcome back to cnn saturdays morning. jason carroll did a great job. got great access to three people who went from basic training to the battlefield. he followed them for a full year. great reporting. we get to check it out tonight. joined by reynolds wolf here, again. anytime you go through, you see

a soldier walking through, coming home, people applauding in the airport. now, you see troops all over the place coming home for the holidays. >> we have a lot of new recruits coming through. many people going back for the first time to see their families. they are entering the uso. it's where many people get a chance to have a sense of home, so to speak after being deployed and going through training. they get a chance to get a handshake, a hug, a doughnut, something to eat. when you look at the people at the uso and members of the armed services, we wake up and wonder if we make a difference. these men and women don't have that problem. they make a difference every single day. seeing them reunited is something that if it doesn't tug on your heart strings, you need to check your pulse. every single one of the soldiers

is special and everyone is received warmly. we have video of camp pendleton. these men and women going through their training. getting a chance to get a break. now, they are home for the holidays for a bit. >> go ahead. >> please, you go ahead. >> yesterday, you were in jackson. how many do they expect to go through for the holidays? >> in jackson, they had roughly 2000. they were going to have another 2,000. tomorrow is the big day. sunday, they are expecting 5,000 men and women coming through. all though this is a happy story and a lot of people coming home, it's extremely important to mention that a lot of people are going in the other direction. people are leaving today within 48 to 72 hours. some of them will be on the front lines, possibly under enemy fire. they are great people.

they certainly deserve our respect. it's a wonderful thing to see. we talked to you yesterday. you were in there, at the uso center. a lot of people don't realize it's there. >> a lot of people that work there, many of them are vietnam veterans. they didn't get the best reading home. they are trying to make sure that never happens. >> never happens, again. like reynolds mentioned. we have another reporter there. >> we'll get more people coming up. we have a reporter that's going to be live from the scene telling the story, letting us share the joy that these troops are going to be experiencing with their families. you are certainly not going to want to miss it. >> thank you for the support. thank you so much reynolds. 205 million, that's the number of gallons that spilled into the

gulf. did that number make the list? yes, there's a list. 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 list. what is the number one gadget of the year? the iphone 4, ipad or 11-inch macbook air. that answer and my controlled cough after the break. i have asthma. and when my symptoms came back i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again.

we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function, starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop symbicort without loss of control, and prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine. be sure to see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. symbicort is a good choice to help control my asthma all day and night. [ inhales ] [ exhales ] ask your doctor if symbicort is a good choice for you. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

well, good saturday morning. that's something to wake you up. 19 minutes past the hour. what is the number one gadget of the year? the iphone 4, that was big. the ipad, that's still big or the 11-inch macbook air. the survey says the ipad. you probably guessed that. here is the rest of the top five. samsung galaxy s, 11-mch macbook air. it's time for the top ten lists. here is a new one. the top ten numbers. josh levs is looking at that. >> yeah. i didn't see this coming, either. the top ten numbers. when you look at the way "time"

broke it down, it's a tour through major events in the year. let's get to it. number ten. they are declaring this the number ten number 193% because of the increase in ebook sales from 2009 to 2010 because of how business changed. here is an interesting one i missed this year. number nine, $75,000. that is the annual household income needed for happiness according to a study. there's a study of guys who looked at happiness in america. if you have a household income of $75,000 you are happy. if you go higher, it doesn't make you any happier. number eight, $2.7 billion. that is "avatar"s box office

take. number seven, just over $1400. the record high price for gold. that says a lot about the economy. people look for commodities that are more stable. they get more concerned about stocks and retirement funds. gold in october reached a record high. number six, meg whitman in california, $140 million, that's how much of her own money she spent on her gubernatorial win. number five. 5.2% is the amount of rubble cleared in haiti eight months after the earthquake. number four, 1636 the amount per person donated to pakistan following the floods. we are going to tease this a bit. i have the top three numbers that will come up later this morning. >> looking forward to those. appreciate it. we have big business news this

week. stocks, a two-year high. an upward trend continuing. can it continue? 22 minutes past the hour. just adds the perfect touch. den and when you're ready for a new look or scent... just pop on a new shade... and it flickers like a real candle. [ male announcer ] also from the home collection... febreze wooden wick candle. i probably have one of these in every room. they last so long! nice! you can even hear it crackle. [ candle crackle ] [ male announcer ] the febreze home collection. featuring soy blend candles, wood diffusers and flameless luminaries.

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all right. 25 minutes past the hour.

we have a holiday shortened business week coming up with foreclosures and federal reserves holding off on interest rates being the headlines. poppy harlow has more on both stories. we begin in new york with stephanie. >> morning t.j. stocks didn't move much because the federal reserve didn't rock the boat. they maintains their stand on interest rates at near zero. a new report shows foreclosure filings 21% last month. a few months ago, sublenders admitted pushing through foreclosures without checking the paperwork. it caused them to halt the process. the foreclosures will flood the market. if you are traveling over the holidays, you will have a lot of company. 92 million americans will travel between christmas and new years.

it's up from last year. poppy. >> thanks so much. looking ahead, the stock market will be closed on friday for christmas eve. they will have big economic reports to consider. the final reading on third quarter gdp is expected to improve slightly, the u.s. market grew 3.6% from july to september. the final gdp report comes after ben bernanke said that level of growth isn't enough to bring down the high unemployment rate in the country. wall street will get several readings on home sales in november. the housing market is still one of the weakest parts of the u.s. economy. we'll see if there's improvement. back to you. >> thanks to poppy and stephanie. a lot of people have taxes on their minds right about now. yes, it is almost that time.

we'll bring in a tax consultant for you at 9:00 eastern time. we are going to ask them your specific questions. send them to weekend at cnn.com. we'll get your specific questions answered. tiger woods, seems like you know a lot about him. did you know 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. >> we sent him a couple letters. i have tried to call a couple times to update him on what's going on with the family. we are family. i have gotten no response. >> i spoke exclusively with earl woods, jr. he talks about tiger's meltdown. a lot of people think it started a year ago with the accident he

had on thanksgiving night. his brother said it started back in 2006, not long after their father died. stick around. you can hear the rest of the conversation. school board member tried to take down a gunman with a purse. it became the most popular purse in the country. what is it worth now? you need to hear this. that's ahead. here on "cnn saturday morning." the vegetables do. at green giant, we pick vegetables only when they're perfect. then freeze them fast so they're are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. ♪ green giant [ green giant ] ho ho ho. of nfl training camp to put our 24-hour frequent heartburn protection to the test for two weeks. [ diehl ] people think that we're indestructible, but if you're out there and you're feeling burning it's gonna affect the way that you play. [ herrera ] in my world either you get it done, or they're gonna find someone to get it done for you. [ diehl ] prilosec otc is the one thing i can count on to block my heartburn. prilosec otc is protecting me.

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all right. at 31 minutes past the hour. welcome back to "cnn saturday morning." i'm t.j. holmes. looks like an inside job here. 141 inmates broke out of a mexican prison. it's in a border city. they escaped through a service entrance with the help of workers. no one knew they were gone until roll call last night. the prison director disappeared. 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. heavy rain down south. in challenge is to thavlers.

the mountains could see up to 100 inches of snow. what is that trend? is that the eight feet we were talking about earlier? thanks reynolds. los angeles is going to get hit with four to ten inches of rain that could cause flooding and mud slides. speaks of weather, bad weather canceled the military drills scheduled to start today. they will continue if the weather improves. north korea threatened to launch a military strike if the live fire drills happen. it's sparked concern around the world. russia is asking south korea to cancel the drills. can you believe it's been a year? what a year it's been for tiger woods. it's been a year since his publicly crashed impanlg. the father of two, now divorced.

launching a new pr campaign. well, i spoke exclusively to his oldest brother, earl woods, jr. he offered his perspective on tiger before and after the affairs and after their father's death. earl woods, jr., is the oldest of three children. >> i had a conversation with tiger and said we don't do anything half-assed. you are all or not at all. as his career started to skyrocket, he noticed a change. >> when he became a pro it was more difficult to have time with him. since then, it's almost as though we don't measure up. i haven't spoken to tiger since 2006. we have sent him a couple letters. i have tried to call a couple times just to update him on what's going on with the family

because we are family. i have gotten no response. >> you haven't talked to your brother, your blood, since 2006. there has to be something else going on, was there tension of some kind? why would he cut the family off? >> there were reports i borrowed money from him and not paid him back. there was a family argument that split the family up. none of that is true. >> the last time he saw his little brother was at his father's funeral. he was gracious enough to let us on the jet to bury his remains in kansas. i remember, we came off the jet, walked down the runway, hugged, hey, how you doing? he went that way with the entranlg and we went that way. >> their father's death had a major impact on tiger.

>> what i saw was he lost a part of himself. i think our father was a part of tilger so much that when he passed, tiger became lost. he didn't know how to fill that void. >> now, we did here at cnn reach out to tiger woods. no response to the comments made by his older brother. you can see my special "downfall." it's going to be on at 10:00 tonight. you are going to hear my interview with one of his alleged mistresses, veronica n danie daniels. you will be surprised. she has different insights. it's tonight at 10:00 eastern here on cnn. back to reynolds wolf talking ability snow in california and a lot of it. >> plenty of it.

some places could get up to eight feet of snowfall. heavy rain for the san joaquin valley could bring heavy flooding in spots. we are going to talk about the cumulative effect it could have on travel for the rest of the nation moments away. >> thanks, reynolds. first, before we take a quick break. this mornings news quiz, excuse me, from "time" magazine. which of these three is the most successful college drop-out. tom hanks, he's won a couple oscars, bill gates. the droid pro by motorola knows you need business on the go. with its powerful 1 gigahertz processor... ♪ da da da don't cha... ♪ its globetrotting wi-fi hotspotting swagger... it knows you want a rich web experience with adobe flash and access to over 100,000 android apps.

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t. rowe price. invest with confidence. before the break, we asked this question. what is the most successful college drop-out out there among these three men. tom hanks, he won a couple oscars, mark zuckerberg or bill gates? the answer microsoft founder, bill gates. he's a harvard drop-out. steve jobs, apple founder, frank lloyd wright and james cameron. mark zuckerberg, he's at number six and tom hanks at number seven. a family in iowa, good reason to hate winter weather. look at this and it will explain

a lot. they are used to getting a lot of snow outside. they are not used to having to shovel their living room. this is inside their home. they were outside a home, a blizzard came through, winds pushed open the doors and all of this snow got in. it got in the cabinets, closets, snow was everywhere. they went to check on the dog and noticed there was a mess. they got help cleaning the place out. they weren't able to get it all out. >> 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. when people go home and there's a stack of newspapers, that's one thing. snow, that's not good. the l is what it represents. a powerful pacific storm, easy for me to say. it's going to bring heavy

snowfall in the sierra nevada. some places can see several feet of snowfall. it's a big rainmaker. let's put it in motion for you. we are going to generate computer graphics for you. there's the big l. it's bringing the pacific moisture. the story is rain, rain, rain. get the umbrellas ready. as we fast forward, some locations up to nine inches of rainfall near kernville. it could cause flooding, be advised. the snow is very different. the high elevations, the cold air you could see snowfall, some locations by monday morning could see eight feet of snow. for places like san francisco, rain is the story for saturday, monday and tuesday. delays in san francisco, but if

you have a connection in oakland, you might be waiting on the tarmac a bit. in los angeles, here is the sco story. rainfall, highs in the 50s and 60s. east, let's show you a great tower cam we have in chicago this morning. looks good for the time being. a cool morning. what you can expect there, temperatures mainly warming into the 30s. a few places in the 20s. places like washington, d.c., we have a live image for you there. a shot of the capital dome, showers later on. very quickly, let's go back to the weather map for texas, the central plain, sunny. chilly and breezy for you. that is a snapshot of your forecast across the nation. we are kicking back to t.j. take it away, big guy. i have a picture 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.? nadya is here and going to be joining me next. she is going to sell us on bamboo, even if she has to whack us upside the head with the bamboo she has with us this morning. don't want to deal with a lot of flibbity-flab or mumbo-jumbo. sounds like you need to name your price.

no gobbledy-gook? never. do i still get all the dagnabbit coverage i need? sure. we give you a quote and you can adjust your price up and down to find something that works for you. ♪ this thing is okey-mcsmokey skiddly-doo. great! i think. diggity. oh! still not sure. the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. call or click today. i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again. we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function, starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids.

once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop symbicort without loss of control, and prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine. be sure to see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. symbicort is a good choice to help control my asthma all day and night. [ inhales ] [ exhales ] ask your doctor if symbicort is a good choice for you. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

i don't want to die. please help me. >> chinese bamboo is very strong. >> ahh! >> assure me. >> i'm sure. >> a lot of people remember that scene. >> remember he says chinese bamboo, very strong. >> it held up. it just wasn't tied on strong enough. you have chinese bamboo. >> this is how strong it is. >> nadya, you are going to sell us on bamboo this morning. there are some columbian architects. one, in particular, is using it in the most extraordinary ways. look at this. that is bam book. look at the light and the way he's incorporated it and the natural beauty. >> what is that?

>> it's a cathedral. he's used bamboo and used concrete reenforced bamboo. if you look at his structures, he uses a unique joinry. it's what revolutionized bamboo architecture. the actual joints he uses, they call them fish-mouth joints. it's the way to join pieces of bamboo together. he's very famous for bamboo architecture. anything built with steel i can do in bamboo. >> what is concrete enforced? >> inside the bamboo they use concrete. there's an architect in the u.s. that is fascinated with using bamboo. he speaks of it as an

alternative source. he says, wouldn't it be extraordinary you are a building and you can grow your own materials. it grows so quickly. there are small plants and timber bamboo. the tim boo bamboo grows up to 40 meters high. >> where do we get our bamboo? >> china. it could grow more prolifically in the u.s. >> it can. if we chose to. >> bamboo is round. erer used to more square surfaces. >> they have worked out how to treat the bamboo with a certain kind of acid. it's a natural insecticide. there's great advancements in the area of bamboo architecture? >> are we making it here? are there signs it kould catch

on? >> it's worth looking at a wbsz. darrel is trying to get it to catch on. he speaks about it around the world. here is a structure from one of his power point presentations where he shows how to expand and how bamboo can actually bend. look at some of the structures he's using. he goes out and looks at bamboo as a source. it's cheap. it's durable. it's ecofriendly and naturally beautiful. >> something we never would have thought about. bamboo. >> our next house is bamboo. during the eight, we are going to talk about online flirting. >> you have to come back for this. >> you have been teasing me about this. you have everybody talking about this. online flirting. >> the best online flirting lines. what works around the world. >> you have to come back. >> universal online flirting. around 8:30 or 8:40.

>> we appreciate you, as always. >> 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. this is the "tron" legacy. he's upset with disney. i don't know why. ten minutes to the top of the hour. stick around.

keep it going. let that kick in.

hey there, how you doing? i'm back. i'm t.j. nine minutes to the top of the hour here. "tron: legacy" movie is in 3-d. big movie. you can count on people to be big fans, big enthusiasts. they are showing up to the theaters as one of the characters from the movie. introduce you to a guy in minnesota. he's such a "tron" fe unanimousic, he's become an internet star. check him out. >> sorry i'm a little late. >> this is internet sensation tron guy. chances are, you already knew that. >> i'm pretty well known. >> just in case you haven't heard of him, he's such a fan of the 1982 movie "tron" he built his own costume out of a spandex suit and pieces of armor.

see how the hair is sticking out of the helmet? it's not supposed to do that. >> for this story, advance of the new disney film "tron: legacy" why not. >> you consider yourself a celebrity now? >> i'm a celebrity on the internet. >> case and point, he's got 4 million views. >> becoming the tron guy has changed my life. he was featured in a youtube series of "south park". >> it's tron guy, i saw him on youtube. >> 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 new film. they didn't invite him in the premier. >> they didn't involve me in

marketing. >> does it irritate you? >> some. >> he believes he's part of the reason for interest in the tran franchise. he's not been completely forgotten. he'll write a review for the movie in a magazine. >> uh-ha. love to talk to mrs. tron about some of these things. see how she feels about it. 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. now, the purse is on the auction block. tamaran sailor. i can my own homemade jam, apricot. and i really love my bank's raise your rate cd. i'm sorry, did you say you'd love a pay raise asap ? uh, actually, i said i love my bank's raise your rate cd. you spent 8 days lost at sea ?

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getting close to the top of the hour here. we are waiting to hear from the internet bidding site, ebay on

why the purse that was used to try to stop the gunman this week was taken off the auction block. it reached a price of $1200. ginger used to purse to stop him at the school board meeting. she decided to put the hand-me-down fake alligator purse on ebay. it's a program run by a security officer. the auction was stopped according to cnn affiliate over legal requirements. we will keep you posted there. well, that controversial tax bill, it is now the law of the land. the president still needs congress to move forward on the rest of his agenda. they are running out of time in the year to get it done. also, the senate, i say they are running out of time. they are using this weekend, the senate is in session today for

what could be a historic vote on don't ask don't tell. it could be repealed this weekend. kept families apart but the holiday is getting them together. they are reunited. thousands of soldiers come home for the holidays. from the cnn center, good morning to you all. this is "cnn saturday morning." this is your last weekend to shop before christmas. i hope you are getting it done. i'm t.j. holmes. a mexican american border, 141 prison inmates have escaped. this is from a mexican state prison. this is according to a mexican news agency. even though the prisons in mexico is awfully close to the u.s. border. it happened right across the rea grand river. they made a break for it near a

service entrance. the inmates probably got help from some of the prison employees. now, the prison director is missing. this area, known for violent turf war. no immediate indication those gangs are involved. it's going to be busy, interesting and historic day on capitol hill. the dream act and don't ask don't tell. first up today is a procedural vote on the dream act. this is the one that would give young, illegal immigrants who came here to give them a path for citizenship if they go to college or enlist in the military. the vote on the bill is going to be a procedural vote to see if it will continue to go forward. it's not clear. some don't believe the votes are there to keep the dream act

alive. congress could repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military. they need 60 yes votes. it looks like a couple republicans came out to support it and there will be 60 votes. we could see the repeal of that policy. it's been in place some 17 years. could repeal it this weekend, maybe today. meanwhile, congress has approved a spending bill that keeps the lights on through tuesday. yes, the lights were going to go off for the government. the bill to keep the government going was going to expire or at least we were going to run out of money by midnight tonight. they passed a spending bill good for three days. they are going to take it up, again, next week. the president is watching the senate today. his family is getting ready to head out and leave him in washington. they are heading to hawaii tomorrow. the president is sticking around. he signed a tax cut bill

yesterday. millions of people waking up today knowing that your taxes are not going to go up. legislation cleared the house. the president called it $858 billion package great news for the american people this holiday season. what, exactly, does it mean for you? a two-year extension of the bush era tax cuts. they extend for another two years. also, this is part of the compromise to get unemployment benefits in there. it continues for 13 months. welcome news to a lot of people. a lot of people have been out of work for a long time in this country. 15 million are out of work. also, other tax cuts, social security tax rate is taken out of your paycheck drops 2% points to 4.2%. this is what the republicans wanted, lowering of the estate tax, the death tax that some

refer to. the terror threat reached a dangerous high. the administrations top adviser says that al qaeda group based in yemen poses a threat in afghanistan and pakistan. here is our cnn correspondent. >> t.j., remark able comments about al qaeda from john brennan on homeland security and counterterrorism. speaking to a washington audience, he said that al qaeda and yemen also known as al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is the major threat, a bigger threat than al qaeda and pakistan. al qaeda run for years by osama bin laden. brennan says what's so concerning about al qaeda and yemen in part is they are looking to recruit westerners, americans, americans in the

united states that they can recruit into that part of the al qaeda organization and train them to carry out attacks. of course, it's only been a day or so now since washington issued a warning for everyone to be especially individual lent during the holiday season. t.j.? >> thanks to barbara starr. new information on the south korean military drills that called such attention with north korea. officials say the exercises will likely not be held this weekend because of bad weather. the drills were supposed to start today seven miles off the coast of north korea. the drills will take place only if the weather improves. korea threatened to deliver a self-defensive blow to the south if the exercises take place. russia is getting involved urging them to call off the drills. tensions mounted when the north shelled that island where the drills are supposed to take place. they shelled the island, which

is in south korean territory. it killed people and 18 were injured. it is that time of the year. scenes like this are going to play out. troops arriving home for the holidays. we are going to show you the emotional homecomings. it's four minutes past the hour. stay here. est cake? ♪ [ female announcer ] need a guilt free treat? try yoplait light. and i've lost weight. [ female announcer ] with 30 delicious flavors all around 100 calories each.

well, it's six minutes past the hour. we turn to severe weather across europe this morning. travel there is a mess from ireland to bulgaria. having blizzard-like conditions

forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights. the situation is not much better on the ground. icy roads. the weather conditions will improve over the next few days. we have our own issues here in the u.s. as well. reynolds wolf is keeping an eye on that. we are talking ability california. i had to ask you this, if i was hearing you right. eight feet? >> eight feet of snowfall. when we say eight feet of snowfall, if you are in sacramento, it doesn't mean you are turning into buffalo. most of it is in the mountains. you are going to have the threat of avalanches. this is from kingvail, california to the west of tahoe. it is going to be a good time up there. people are taking to the slopes. i tell you, there are moments high up in the mountain passes where visibility may get down to

zero. if you are making the drive up there, keep your eyes out for the california highway patrol. they are making sure you are travel safely. if you happen to be in a restaurant, buy them a cup of coffee. they work very hard out there. the center of the u.s. looks good. chilly in the plains and the upper u.s. dallas is going to be nice. scattered showers and storms possible with the low pressure. it looks like the low might become a strong nor'easter. it's moving out to sea. the story to the west is just the opposite. it's going to be rapid intensification with the rain and snowfall. the snow is going to be the thing that catches your eye. also heavy rainfall in parts of the san joaquin valley. when it comes on shore, the rain is going to intensify.

the surge of moisture is going to cause the rain to pile up. kernsville to fresno could get intense. up to eight inches of rainfall possible. that could cause issues in terms of creeks, rivers and lakes. it's going to be a problem out there. snowfall, that's where it gets mind boggling. in excess of 20 inches. some places up to 80 feet of snowfall, eight feet, not 80 south of reno. you might see areas where you have heavy snowfalls in the cascades and mt. shasta. friends in snow bird are going to be smiling a mile wide. not going to be smiling in san francisco. the rainfall and wind could cause delays at sfo. john wayne you might have a few back ups due to the weather. rain all the way through

saturday to tuesday. a west coast story. looks good in the east. people going out on madison avenue making the final christmas present picks. could be interesting. >> madison avenue is where you shot it -- >> are you kidding me. no way. one can dream though. >> one can dream. >> we are going to talk to reynolds plenty throughout the morning. troops heading home for the holidays. they make their way back home including at atlanta's airport. one pit stop along the way. reynolds wolf spent time out there yesterday. kathy is live there today. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. yeah, we have about 3,000 people expected today. it's going to be a very busy day. it already is. a packed house.

we want to take you in. this is where they come in. this morning, we are seeing a lot of new recruits coming in. it is a full house. we have a couple hundred military personnel in here right now. you can see they can lounge a little bit. they can come in and read. they can get lots of food. we have a local company that's donated all kinds of food here for the soldiers. i'm going to take you back here to where the computers and televisions are. we are going to talk to raymond rivera. we are live right now. he has come from ft. gordon, right? >> yes, ma'am. >> how long are you going to be off for? >> two weeks now. >> he is on his way to chicago, so say hey to your family raymond. >> hey, mommy. >> what are you going to do when you get there? >> sleep, mostly. relax with my family. >> relax. >> enjoy christmas. >> merry christmas to you. >> merry christmas to you,

ma'am. >> i know you are on your way home. a lot of these guys have been up since 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. yesterday. they haven't been to bed. they don't have much time to rest. they are very excited to be going home, getting a little food, relaxing a little bit, hopping on planes and heading to their respective homes. in about an hour, we expect a plane of military personnel coming in from iraq. we are going to go down there and wait. back to you. >> we are going to check in with kathryn throughout the morning. thank you so much. great to see those men and woman coming home. we're going to check in with her plenty throughout the morning. we are coming up to the end of the year. you see a top ten list of this and that. there's a top ten list of the top numbers. yes. you are going to get the top three when we come back. stick around. have an old 401k?

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that could make all the difference in your retirement. the t. rowe price smartchoice rollover 1800-681-2294 request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information to read and consider carefully before investing. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. all right. 13 minutes past the hour. time to give you the top numbers of 2010. yes, there's a list of top numbers as well. josh levs, hello, again. >> hello. there are a lot of top ten lists. i'll recap number five and four, then give you all three through one. this is from time.com. number of the year, 5.2% the amount of rubble cleared in

haiti eight months after the earthquake. amazing. $16.36 this is the amount per person donated to pakistan after the floods there that ravished the country. now, top three numbers of the year. this is number three. it's an interesting choice. 1,951, the number of health care related programs televised by c-span. it reminds them of the debate in 2009 and 2010 as well. there were so many debates about it. number two, they are giving to wikileaks. 466,743, those are the classified documents from iraq and afghanistan released by wikileaks. it's before hundreds of thousands more were released. finally, the number one number of the year according to time.com, at leasting choice.

206 million, 206 million, that's the gallons of oil that leaked into the gulf. we have video of what we were covering throughout much of the year. it's a reminder for you how long it went on and how huge it was. the numbers are interesting. i posted the list for you on facebook and twit at josh levs cnn. tell us what you think. if you think something was left out, we'll bring them to you here. >> josh, we appreciate you. thank you so much. a lot of people out there, this was your last weekend to shop before christmas. you are on a budget. a lot of people are. if you want to get a good gift, something memorable for the holidays, we are glad you tuned in. we have clyde anderson coming up. he's coming up next. going to give you stuff that you can get on the budget. 16 minutes past the hour.

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well, i don't have to tell you, you have a week left until christmas. a lot of people doing the weekend shopping this weekend. run out of time. some people run out of money as well. how do you make the holiday a merry one on that budget? you want to get a good gift, clyde. people want to get a good gift

but don't have the money. do you have to be creative? >> you have to be creative and think outside the box. >> is there a way to make things stretch? >> yeah. we don't think about the meaning for the season. it's giving, but it's not always monetary. you can volunteer your vservice. you can also give in someone else's name. volunteer your time, be creative and donate to charities. you have a lot of charities out there hurting and looking for people to donate and looking for services. >> you can donate, sometimes money can be donated on somebody else's behalf. can you donate goods or time? >> not time but goods. clean out your closet. people don't think about that a lot of times. things you can give away. you can give them out then you can get a receipt in someone

else's name and they can have the tax write off. >> clothes. >> a lot of times we give it. we don't think of giving it for someone else. give them a certificate and say i gave so much in your name. they can use it as a tax write off. >> get your kids involved. kids want to give. we give them so much they don't think about giving. they want to give. we need to get them involved. get the family involved. do baked goods. things like that that you can give to different people. think about things like baby sitting. washing your car. cleaning your house. >> that's a good one. that's a pretty good one. i'll baby sit for free for you. >> especially for college students now. don't go broke to have a great christmas. provide services. i always need baby sitting services. someone to wash your car or do things for you you wouldn't normally think about.

>> we are not to this christmas and you are saying think about next christmas. >> be prepared. a lot of people aren't prepared. start now. get an envelope and put a dollar a day in the envelope and by christmas you have 365 days a year to use. just having a plan and being prepared. >> this is what we are going to wrap up on. prepare for people being disappointed. the reason for the season, we forget that. everybody wants something. this is all you got me? i got this certificate. you made a donation? how do you handle those folks? >> probably two years ago, you got lots of gifts and can't remember half the gifts you got. if you think about what they have done for you, you tend to remember those more. remember these are the thing that is count. if i had someone come and clean my house, i will remember you

did that. >> i guess it's what we can donate to you. >> i like that. >> all right. we'll see if this works. you are absolutely right. it's monetary and going to the mall. you are right. >> it doesn't have to be that way. >> good reminder. appreciate you as always. as always, you can see i'm struggling trying to get this cough dealt with. i'll be better in the 8:00 hour. taxes could be a big key. a lot of people think about their taxes now. the president signed the legislation extending the bush era tax cuts. we have a tax specialist that's coming up in the 9:00 eastern hour. send your questions to us. send your specific questions to ask them directly to the tax specialist. also, they tried to get him to come to the big apple.

well, he showed up last night. they did not appreciate what he did to them. it's 23 minutes past the hour.

is. 24 minutes past the hour. this is not how you are supposed to treat a teddy bear. you don't just toss it on the floor. this is a good cause. this is video, this is a hockey game out of calvry. they sponsor a teddy bear toss. after the first goal scored, everybody throws the teddy bear down and they are collected and they go toward a charity. we are talking 23,000 teddy

bears. they had to stop the game 40 minutes to clean it up. this is a great scene to see. everybody participated. everybody brought teddy bears. joe carter with hln sports is here with me now. it's cool. they have been doing it for awhile. >> 16 years. look how much it's grown. >> it's going to the local children's hospital. >> i'm thinking teddy bears were sold out at most stores there. >> most of them were brand-new, packaged. very cool. lebron. they wanted lebron, they got him last night, didn't they? >> they did. they saw what they could have had. you remember back when new york city made the push, come to new york city, come to the big apple, be a global superstar. he went to south beach. he showed up last night.

cleveland fans gave him the antilebron signs and jerseys. booed him until he sat on the bench. lebron, unnerved like he was in cleveland. had a spectacular game. rose to the challenge. he was sitting on the bench by the fourth carter. there's something about the garden that makes lebron elevate his game. i found this statistic. he's the active scoring leader at madison square garden. he plays for the heat. >> this is the place michael jordan loved as well. i'm not sure what his averages were as well but he was way up there. lebron showed up when he knew everybody was going to be watching. triple double. unbelievable. >> when they assembled, everybody thought they were going to win it all. no problem. they struggled the first two,

three weeks of the season. ever since that cleveland game, they have gelled together and won 11 games in a row. they were the dominant team everyone predicted. >> i liked this story. for those who don't know, a place for the pittsburgh steelers. he's been fined how much? >> $125,000. he's the face of whatnot to do when you tackle a player. don't lead with your heldment. don't spear a quarterback. he's the example of how not to tackle. four fines, $125,000. pittsburgh fans quickly came to his defense and started sending him money to pay the fines. he's a millionaire, he doesn't need the money. a lot of the donations were sent anonymously. he started a foundation to assist kids in emergency situations. today is their first event.

they are going to have a brunch. santa claus is going to be there. it's for the kids. it started by fans giving him money. >> it's cool. whatever you think of the fines and the hits. some say he shouldn't have been fined. for him to do something good out of it, it's great. good to have you. we are going to be back at the top of the hour with more "cnn saturday morning." we're going to hand it over to the doctor. this is my band from the 80's, looker.