it didn't stop with just buying her gifts. he then handed her another $200 in cash and disappeared. >> before i could get my stuff loaded up to follow him, he was out of site. >> i couldn't ask for a better christmas present and to get it from a stranger is just phenomenal. >> with presents under the tree, jennifer's daughter wishes she could meet the man who made it happen. >> thank you like a million times and give him a big hug and i would probably cry right there. >> while jennifer still has no idea who that mystery man was, what she knows for sure is he saved her kids' christmas. >> i would give him so much if i

could. cnn newsroom continues now with my friend. >> that is good to see you. you are here all week? >> i am. >> pen me in for some time with you. >> we are penned in. >> good to see you. live from studio 7. good morning, everyone. a blizzard is dumping snow. travelers got stuck. >> overnight we had about 250 passenger stranded in the airport. we did our best to accommodate them with cots, pillows, blankets, food and water. the hotel laguardia is up and running. an arizona state lawmaker

recovering from a severe beating. his wife found him more than four hours later tied up, beaten and bloodied. friends are stunned. >> extremely shocked. i couldn't believe it when i first heard it. it was just devastating news. frank's been a good friend and good neighbor all this time and i can't believe something like that could happen to him. ♪ >> what sad news here. fans shocked by the death of r & b singer teena marie. one of motown's first white artists. lady t reportedly died from a seizure. she was 54 years old. thousands of stranded passengers waking up in airports this morning. we are back at laguardia where allan spent much of the day yesterday. what about the folks who spent the night there. how are they doing today? >> reporter: you just heard the

general manager of laguardia airport say that people were put up in cots. not everybody was using those cots. some people slept on sofas, some on chairs and some on the floor. tonya joins us right here with her dog, charlie. i guess charlie didn't want to do a cot? >> no, he, you know, probably wouldn't have been able to sleep, all the people and excitement. so i grabbed the mattress and came back down and found a quiet place near an outlet so i could plug my phone in. >> what was it like to sleep on the floor? >> it was better once a had the mattress. it was interesting. i slept a couple hours. it was hard. >> tonya was trying to get out of here to denver. now you are told your flight won't leave until thursday? >> thursday 8:00 a.m. to denver and then i have another flight home. >> good luck to you, tonya. we're hearing a lot of stories

like this. it will take the airlines quite sometime to get their schedules together to get the folks out back home where they want to be. the airport will be opening around 4:00 this afternoon. it's really going to take quite some time to get all the planes back and get the people moving. tony, very tough follow to the christmas holiday. >> adding to the difficulty is it correct here to say that the flights were overbooked into the holidays to begin with so getting folks out is going to take that much longer? some people right now as in tonya's case are being told don't come back to the airport until thursday. other people believe it or not, are actually just arriving. i have seen a few taxies. he got a call at 3:00 a.m.

he showed up and what does he see? a board full of cancelled flights and who knows how long it will be for him now. >> absolutely. appreciate it. allan for us this morning. reynol reynolds, merciless storm? >> the thing that makes it frustrating is the timing of it. let me show you one of the oh wow kind of things. take a look at this. if you look at the last couple of frames right in this area it looks vaguely familiar. looks very similar to a tropical system or maybe a hurricane. very similar. we got the area of low pressure. the counter clockwise flow. let me show you what it looks like. it's going to bring the scattered snow shower activity.

the backside of the system, we have got a little bit of residual snowfall. i think new york has already seen the worst oift. now as we fast forward into wednesday, all of this falls to the north. the snow -- we have been telling you about that. as we zoom in a bit, new york should be for the time being in the clear for now. same deal back over here and in springfield but back in cape cod it is mainly a rain event that we will be seeing. what you will be see something just red. you will be so frustrated with some of the closures we have got. we have got plenty of them. you might have the idea that maybe you could take a smaller airport and have better luck there. if you are thinking of atlantic city or new haven, they are also closed. out to the west, san francisco,

55 minute delay because of issues we have with traffic on the ground. we have been focusing on the northeast. i know many of you are wondering what it will be like in minneapolis today. 40 in kansas city. 63 in san antonio by the riverwalk. tony? you are up to speed. >> that's a lot to get caught up on. >> oh yeah. >> thank you. if you are traveling by train or car anywhere in the northeast you know what a mess it is. am track says service is running normally between washington and new york. about the only vehicle we are seeing are snowplows, buses and

ta tax is. let's check the dow.

treacherous conditions in

the northeast. the big snow is creating wonderful scenes. take a look at these pictures from new jersey. snow emergency is in effect from virginia to maine right now. state police want people to stay put. rob is doing just the opposite. he is in the middle of it in connecticut. my understanding is everything is pretty much at a standstill, is that correct? >> reporter: excuse me sir, for just a second. we have got a lot of activity in this corner. our cross chatter will be kept to a minimum here. it was snowing, and they had a hard time keeping up on the roadways. they have caught up now. the sun is trying to peek through the clouds.

you go -- a lot of people are walking around the streets getting too and from where they need to get on the streets. this is up through city hall here in stamford. you get snow drifts well over your knees and up towards your waist. it's dicey coming up here. school is out so that's the good news. with the storm has come a tremendous amount of winds but the winds, in the eastern parts of new england have been gusting to hurricane strength. we have had a number of power outages. over about 40,000 people without power this morning. you have got stranded travelers,

people stranded in their homes. and then you have people that don't have any power and in some cases heat. so this storm has certainly been somewhat crippling to some folks here. all the winds have been peppering this area. slowly we're starting to dig things out and have life creep back on to the streets here. but it will be a couple of days before they get things back to normal. >> it is beautiful. all right. appreciate it. a rescue effort is underway right now. state police are trying to get about 50 passengers off a tour bus that's been stuck in the snow since around midnight. on the phone with me is rick fuentes. can you talk about the difficulty in getting to the bus with the 50 people on board who are desperate to get off this thing? >> absolutely. and good.

those 50 passengers you spoke about were down to about six. the bus is in about two to five foot drifts this is part of the problem we are experiencing around the state. we had an awful lot of snowfall sometimes as much as three inches. now they came up on us and held that pace for about eight hours with 50 mile an hour gusts and blowing snow. we were able to get to those buss and cars. it was about 50 cars that were initially also stuck with that bus. about half of those became abandoned shortly. people caught rides or walked to the service area. but our troopers while we were waiting for the rescue bodies and tows, basically kept an eye on them, checked the medical welfare. fed them, got them water. those were the types of things they did to keep them as comfortable as we possibly could

while the effort is going on. we are down to six passengers. >> you know what? it sounds like you have done a nice job at keeping everyone stable. you are from 60 down to six right now. how much longer do you think before you can rescue the six who are stranded? >> our efforts are concentrating right now. we do have equipment on site. we are beginning to clear around the buses. we have commandeered the other buss. >> thank you, sir. tyke to check stories our affiliates are covering today. in massachusetts the blizzard pushing waves into the coastal town causing serious flooding.

as many as 40 people forced out of their homes. two houses caught fire. firefighters had to use boats to safe people. and a deputy saves a family from a christmas day fire. in riverton, utah, an unforgettable christmas visit from the stork. one baby's initials spell out elf. who thinks of this stuff? is it legit? nurses delivering baby eva lori farmer to her parents in a christmas stocking. the snow can be dangerous. elizabeth joins me with what you need to know to stay safe. seven years ago, i had this idea.

to make baby food the way moms would. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with the farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product. we've gone from being in 5 stores to 7,500. booming is using points to make connections that grow your business.

do we have these picture s from julian? pictures from not that long ago. julian cummings is driving around manhattan right now and we have got the hook up so we can show you his video live and take a look at this. can we put this on a bigger monitor so i can see this. it looks like certainly not much traffic on the road right now.

but julian take your time. be careful and give us more of these cool shots from new york city right now. manhattan, and you can see where the plows are pushing the snow to the side here. we have got some -- i guess we can't say drifting because there is not a lot of wind out there but people are taking their time getting across the street. be careful. this is going to be with us for a while. you have been looking into this. what are common snow injuries that send folks to the hospital during this kind of weather? trying to shovel it and back problems? >> trying to shovel it and using snow blowers. apparently americans are not so great at using snow blowers. people put their fingers down into chutes and it doesn't always end very well and tens of

thousands of people end up with snow related injuries every year. these first numbers are pretty incredible. 600 plus amputations of fingers and extremities. and shovel strain is 26,000 plus. that is mostly back but things like wrists and elbows and necks and shoulders and that kind of thing. the winter is more hazardous than you might think. >> how about being an empowered patient and preventing injury. >> let's talk about amputations. let's talk first about shoveling and back strain. think of it as a sport is. you need to go out there, shoveling your driveway. >> you got warm up. >> you got to warm up. you got to warm up exactly as if you were going out to do a sport. you need to stretch your muscles

and stretch your back out. if you are not in good shape you need to take it easy. do a bit of shoveling and then rest or change the position of your arms. if you are not used to doing this you will not feel great. as far as amputations go, i want you the take note of this. i am going to give you first aid advice if you lose a finger from a snow blower accident. you may need to know this. you take the finger and you rinse it off. you don't scrub it off, you rinse it off. then get a clean cloth or piece of gauze and wrap the finger. so you have got this nice packet all wrapped up. then a zip lock bag, put ice in it and put the wrapped up finger in the ice and seal up the bag you give foit the person who lost the finger and send it to the hospital. you don't give it to the spouse. that is the best way to get

reattached. people do all sorts of crazy things when they lose a limb but that is the way to do it. if you go to cnn.com slash empoweredpatient you will see more details. >> how warm is it where you are now? >> not very warm. we came all the way down here thinking it would be lovely but it's cold. no snow. >> yay. you are with the rest of us. enjoy your time down there. tuesday night football. you haven't heard that since 1946. that's topping our big play. forced to move the vikings eagles game. the eagles are already champions of the nfc east. mike singltary's stint ends. and ed rooef is too hot to handle. the man was on fire, literally.

the safety sat too close to a heater and lit up his jacket. he's fine. he is going to be okay. the ravens also clenched a play off spot. ooh, a brainteaser. how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less.

my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. president obama recharging his batteries in hawaii and looking ahead to the realities of a new year. ed, good to see you. five days on the island. what's the president been up to? >> he's mostly really been playing golf, hanging out with his family at their vacation rental. he does go to a marine base

nearby for a workout and on christmas day he and the first lady went there to greet troops and thank them for their service. we see a president who likes to be very private. guards his time here in hawaii very jealously. he was born here. when you talk to friends who live here year-round, people in hawaii are used to celebrities coming out here. so when the president comes out, especially a favorite son they like to keep their distance and they don't really bother him. he is at the more quiet part of the island here. they are not so gaga here as they may be elsewhere in the country. they have the whole hang loose mentality if you will. this is a real opportunity for him after what has been a pretty bruising year. >> what are the realities for the president when he returns

back to washington? >> he has got a pretty heavy plate. at the year end news conference back in washington before he took off for hawaii talked about how he wants to get the dream ak done. he got a lot of big wins obviously in the lame duck session there is a lot of unfinished business he will have to shuffle staff a little bit. hehave to get cracking on the state of the union address. not just lay out specific agenda items. kwha r what does he think of the power dynamic? this will be the first chance to

see what his approach will be. >> ed henry for us. great to see you. nice shirt. we will see you neck hour. the money gap between the rich and middle class is larger than it has ever been. the richest 1% of u.s. households are how much ritcher than the average american family?

>> the top homes in america are how much ritcher? 65 times? 100 times? 225. the answer is -- can you believe that? 225 times ritcher.

man. the economic policy institute says that is up 18% from the prie previous record set in 2004. the average family's net worth has plunged 41%. if you can get through the snow a lot of you will be headed back to the mall today. tips on trading in some of the -- i don't want to say bad gifts. gifts that can be improved. >> they're lemons. >> okay. >> look. one in three will return at least one gift according to the national retail federation. most americans expect to spend at least an hour in a line returning gifts this year. my advice is don't do it today if you are living in the northeast. you don't have to rush around in this and don't be dangerous but don't wait too long. some of the return policies are

prety specific. you got to return things within 30, 60, or 90 days. toys are us you now have to return a gift with a receipt within 90 days. it had been shorter than that. on amazon, full refund up to 30 days. be careful of the restocking fees. i have told you about those. some of the retailers have become a little more generous with that. i say try to fight the fees as bst you can. one other thing, gift cards you can't return them, obviously. if you get a gift for a place that is not a place you normally

shop there are websites out there. auction sites where you can sell your gift card back. probably won't get face value but at least it won't be in the bottom of your purse. >> i gave a couple and i thought about it before giving them. they do often times end up lost somewhere in the bottom of a purse. is there a time limit on those things. >> $5 billion in gift cards go unreturned. poof. that's just money in the retailer's pocket and out of yours. be careful. i say use them or lose them. another interesting tidbit. do you know that spring merchandise is least likely to be marked down.

>> we will be checking back in a couple minutes with our guy stuck in the snow. we're back in a moment. rememben with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these symptoms or behaviors, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. if you develop serious allergic or skin reactions, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away

as some of these can be life-threatening. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown. "ben, how many days has it been?" "5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting. [ male announcer ] it's a new year. so, ask your doctor about chantix. and find out how you could save money on your prescription go to chantix.com to learn more and get terms and conditions.

[ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast. [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kao. new york is a city that never sleeps. even in a snowstorm. these pictures from justin watkins. he took them about 4:30 this morning walking the dog and the dog must be walked. must be. trying to get around in all that snow can be treacherous to be

sure. rob can attest to that. rob i guess you are knee-deep in this stuff. is it a giant pain in the neck or have you come across some folks who are actually making the best of it? >> reporter: we haven't had too many people with aable attitude. some folks have been shivering. for the most part for the folks that needed to get out and about have done so in a fairly orderly fashion. traffic is beginning to pick up the snow. and the roads not too bad. we're getting to about the point where yo can't be doing any kind of skitching safely. just going for a ride on your heels grabbing on to the back of a car. you don't want to be doing that. still haven't done much as far as the sidewalks are concerned. i grabbed this at my parent's

house. i used to use when i was a kid. old school. it does the job. if there is one thing that reynolds wolfe has taught me is is you got get to work when you are doing the television live shots. you don't want to come across as a premadonna. they are trying to get back on their feet. a lot of people are suffering. a lot of people are without power. winds gusting to 80 miles an hour along parts of cape cod. it is still snowing. this is town hall or city hall which is shut down at least for today. and metro north, which is the main commuter line that runs from here down to new york city is shut down at least for now.

we just got to try to to what we can, reynolds, how am i doing, pal? these are your moves i learned. that's a lot of work. i could never broadcast and do that at the same time. i am done already. >> i am turning beet red. you will be shoveling quite a bit. you're not alone. take a look at snowfall totals. people will be doing that in places like lyndhurst. you see monroe and cape may. very impressive snowfall. there you have them. at a foot or higher in philadelph philadelphia. hoping you might get a few snow showers popping through the

region. snow is still coming down. you will get a little bit of drier air coming through. looks like boston back into maine. going to have quite a bit more snowfall. strong wind gusts we have live images for you. here it is a shot of new york. snow is down. people going nowhere. more on that coming up. you are watching cnn.

♪ you know, there was a wild ride back in 2009 when the heene's made us think their son was flying around in a hot air ballo balloon. what are they doing now? >> reporter: october 15, 2009. if you were awake. >> norad is monitoring.

>> you probably stopped whatever you were doing. >> figure out what the altitude of this child or balloon is. >> and just watched anxiously. authorities had a good reason to believe that an out of control balloon had a passenger on board. a little boy. >> the son is the one who came in and told them that his brother had climbed in the basket when it took off. >> for two hours covering three colorado counties that balloon spun, listed rose and fell through the air. the phrase balloon boy was born. >> it's come down. you know how that flight ended. balloon? yes. boy? no. the subject of the worldwide anxiety was never in danger. he was hiding in the attic the whole time.

falcon's parents were accused of staging an emergency to get a little attention and drum up a little reality show interest. no they said. no hoax. but then this happened during the live interview on that night's larry king live. >> they said that we did this for a show. >> yeah. >> it was a hoax and it unravelled. fast forward. prosecutors charged that the heene's wasted public money and manpower for the publicity stunt and the judge approves a plea deal. falcon's father and mom both get jail sentences, community service, a hefty fine, years of probation and they are not allowed to make any money from the story for at least four years. in august, the family moves from colorado to florida to get a fresh start settling outside

tampa. >> hi. i'm richard heene. >> it appears that he is an eye on the money kind of guy. he is pitching again. not phoney terrifying stories about kids in balloons but a got to have it product he invented. >> bear scratch is fun for the whole family. >> and young falcon heene now seven years old. he and his brothers still being home schooled and helping dad move some of that product. >> that is a bear scratch! >> so all week we are taking a look at the top ten most intriguing people of 2010. go to cnn.com to vote on who you think should make the top ten list. the big reveal for the top ten will be thursday. it is too early for happy hour but check out this piece of video here. look at that there. you see it?

no spill, no excess foam. a perfect head. bartenders are trembling. a plastic cup with a hole in the bottom is coupled with a magnetic disk that sales the hole. here is another pretty good one. a woman out in texas says she lives too far off the main road for her neighbors to enjoy her christmas lights so she is turning her car into a moving snow globe. it is fully loaded with lights, snow, santa and frasty. if your racing thoughts keep you awake...

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of nfl training camp to put our 24-hour frequent heartburn protection to the test for two weeks. [ diehl ] people think we're indestructible, but if you're out there and you're feeling burning it's gonna affect the way that you play. prilosec otc is the one thing i can count on to block my heartburn. when i take it in the morning i'm ready to go for the rest of the day [ male announcer ] prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn! buy two 42-count boxes of prilosec otc. get $25 back. top stories right now. italian police say they found explosives in the package at the greek embassy at rome. they are investigating suspicious packages days after

package bombs detonated at the swiss and chilean embassies. an anarchist group claimed responsibility. the compound was hit first by a car bomber and ten minutes later by one wearing an explosives vest. now the miners who spent more than two months trapped underground are going disknee world. they will receiver as grand marshalls at a parade there next month. ring ring.

progresso. oh yes hi. can you please put my grandma on the phone please? thanks. excuse me a sec. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay i'll hold. she's holding. wha? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >> the stock ek change is open for business for the few that were able to make it into work. allison couldn't get there for all the snow so she is covering the action from the new york bureau. is the snow having any kind of

effect on the trading today? >> you know, it definitely is. even without the snow today the trading volume at the new york stock exchange would have been light. now with all the snow we have had it is extremely light but the new york stock exchange is open for business. we haven't seen a trading session shortened by snow since 1996 and the nyse has not had a full snow day since 1969. so that surprised investors today. >> retailers taking a bit of a hit today. can that be? >> we are watching retail shares. they are mostly flat today. there are reports saying that snow is digging into the holiday sales because it's keeping everybody home. it has been a good holiday season especially online. home depot is telling us there has been strong demand, no surprise here, for snow related product. >> i can understand that.

what are the chances for something like a santa clause rally? >> history says that they are pretty good. since 1950 the markets have had an average of 1.5% gain in the last five days of the year and the week between christmas and new year's day that time period tends to be good for stocks because investors are dressing up their port fol year that wen trend. this year the dow is up 10%, nasdaq up by 17% and this one we keep an eye on, the s&p 500 up more than 12%. we watch it because that's what our 401(k) pays. we're happy to see it's up 12% for the year. >> thank you. the founder of "playboy" magazine hugh hefner got engaged this christmas eve, his fiance is former playmate of the month, crystal harris.

age, wait for it, wait for it, 24. heff's first marriage ended in 1959, his second earlier this year. this got us thinking, how many have tied the knot at least twice? 2%, 12% or 24%? the answer in a moment.

so here's the question, how many americans who have been married have gotten hitched at least twice? the answer is, there it is, highlighted, there you go, 24%, almost one out of every four and 5% of those have married three times or more.

on the night shift now a new york tramway attendant, part of our "favorites in focus" cnn's look at stories behind the headli headlines. we're taken for the ride. >> as i say, the city never sleeps. there's always action. my name is michael finnan, cabin attendant for the roosevelt island tramway, public transportation between manhattan and roosevelt island, the island in the middle of east river. please hold on while the cabin is docking. my shift is from 10:00 at night to 6:00 in the morning.

♪ the skyline of manhattan is always overpowering but i think mostly at night when all the buildings are lit up and reflected on the east river. tonight is pretty calm. another night it could be foggy, quiet and mysterious. i prefer the night shift. i'm cuused to it now. let's go, please, we're late. >> thank you. >> sorry. >> okay. closing my doors. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. if you are standing, please hold on while the cabin is in motion. thank you. it is a different lifestyle in reverse. eating patterns are all off, our sleeping patterns are all off. the best thing about the job is

it leaves my days free, especially, and the waushl weathwarm weather you get out and walk around. the downside is you lose contact with a lot of friends and family. working nights is a sort of pleasant to have the sun coming up. some people say i have one of the nicest jobs and i tend to agree with them. >> "favorites in focus" brings you the stories behind the headlines. don't miss this compelling hour of television hosted by tom foreman, 2:00 p.m. eastern new year's day, the award winning cnn photo jurmist team is known for. what a way to end the christmas holiday, thousands of people stranded at airports because of this east coast blizzard. we'll take a live look at the mess and you may be looking for more store discounts over the

holidays. you're in the cnn newsroom. ooh, a brainteaser.

how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia.

gaue grmatains heyesy.rc g the brits know their sea but lately getting a claim for an activity traditionally left to their european neighbors, making wine. cnn's jim bolden reports. >> reporter: on this monday, back in september, ridgeview winery southern england packed up 400 cases for shipment, not unusual for this 14-year-old winer ye, but this was ridgeview's first shipment to the united states. and ridgeview says the first english sparkling wine ever shipped to the u.s. in bulk.

england, a country not known for wine, shipping to a country with its own thriving wineries, it's a far cry from when ridgeview and a handful of other english wineries started up in the 1990s. >> english as a marketing adjective was actually a pretty negative word to be honest and in fact for many years the word "english" didn't appear on our bottles. >> reporter: how that has changed. ridgeview in august won an award for the best sparkling wine in the world, hands down, beating every french champagne for its 2006 whites. >> absolutely astonished. >> reporter: those shipments back in september were so ridgeview wine would be on a few american christmas tables. its 2008 sparkling rut on "the wall street journal's" wine list at about $30 a bottle. >> we have the wine on trade, we offtrade in the supermarkets,

and importers in other countries knocking on our door saying we must have an english wine on our list. >> reporter: the u.s. of state of virginia has been coming the other way since 2009. more than two dozen selling their bottles into the uk for between $20 and $40 a bottle competing from new world wines from australia to california, not to mention french and of course home grown wine. >> entering any market with a new product is an uphill battle. i don't shy away from that. the uk market is the single largest importer of wine in the world. yes it is a complicated market but the uk-wide consumer is generally ex-employertory wide. >> reporter: he recently took wines to paris and got a thumbs up from the french wine media and new wines benefit from one

trait shared between young drinkers weather in london, paris or new york. >> the younger wineries are interested in learning more about wine. it's not just grabbing a bottle of wine off the supermarket shelf. >> reporter: virginia hopes wine tourism will follow new drinkers. >> lovely, small, fine bubbles. >> reporter: back at ridgeview the roberts family will have to wait until the new year to see in their sparkling wine brings any american tourists to the sussex coast. live monday december the 27th, the faa is uncertain when new york's three major airports will reopen. travelers trying to get home from their christmas holiday got stuck instead. >> overnight we had about 250 passengers that were stranded here at the airport. we did our best to accommodate them with cots, pillows, blankets, food and water, so the

hotel laguardia is up and running. an arizona state lawmaker recovering from a severe beating. frank pratt went to check on his small business christmas day, sfwurpted an intruder, his wife found him tied up, beaten and bloodied. friends are stunned. >> extremely shocking. i couldn't believe it. it was devastating news. frank's been a good friend and good neighbor all this time and i just can't believe something like that could happen to him. ♪ sugar all i want to do is be your one and only lover ♪ >> what a terrific talent. i'm not kidding you. fans shocked by the death of r&b singer teena marie, the rick james protege, one of motown's first white artists. the label kept her picture off the first album fearing the audience wouldn't buy it. she died from a seizure.

she was 54 years old. chad, in the severe weather center, do we have enough severe weather? >> do you any time left? i can take it all. let me show you what's going on here, still the satellite showing the radar with clouds moving up, the low pressure as deep as a category 2 hurricane off the coast of nantucket, off the coast of cape cod, moving up into atlantic, canada. we've been talking about the u.s. and airports here. we will also talk a lot about atlanta, canada, in the coming hours. new york, laguardia, jfk, newark, closed, closed, closed, finally getting some times when they expect to be opening somewhere around 6:00 tonight, another six hours from now. one you don't notice is boston. they're in the middle of almost a hurricane. how come they're not closed. tony in. >> why is that? >> that's every plane on the way to boston and they're all being

slightly optimistic in the southwest flight there. >> look at that. that's it. >> that's it. >> boston is open technically but it's all technically right here. expect airport delays like this. one of our producers smack dab in the middle of it in fairfield, connecticut, with pictures. katie byron is there. this is probably not getting better for a little well. >> reporter: hi, chad, 16 inches on the ground in weston, connecticut, fairfield county. people around here are no stranger to snow, though. my dad and i are going to go out and start shoveling out the cars this afternoon, and it's pretty cold but the snow stopped finally, but the wind gusts are just astronomical, all night through the night you could hear it just banging against the windows and we did lose power around 10:30 p.m. and for most of the night. >> what was like inside the house without power and heat?

>> my parents have lived here all their lives so my dad is very prepared. we have a generator in our basement. >> okay. >> we know what we're doing here, how to handle this. >> obviously it is vented to the outside and when people use generators, tony, you can't use them in the garage because we hear about devastating stories about this all the time. people hook up a temporary generator, put it in their garage, think it's okay and die of carbon monoxide poisoning. katy's dad has taken care of that. wind gusts reported around 65 miles per hour near you. >> definitely. we knew this was coming. my younger brother went into manhattan last night so he wouldn't get stuck in the storm for the commute this morning so we were well prepared. my mom and i went out, went grocery shopping yesterday and the lines were just out the door for people doing the same thing as us, stocking up on shovels and salt and food, just because i mean you have the forecast but you never know how bad it's going to be until it's actually

here. >> clearly you're a lot closer. tell me what commute? >> right, we're, well my brother commutes every day pretty much to manhattan from connecticut using the metro north railroad system which is suspended. i hope he's going to be able to come home tonight. >> yeah -- great night in grand staal centra central? a lovely granite marble floor they have there to sleep on. katy, and again with the generator and people around you, when you lose power you need to be careful so take care of yourself up there. >> thanks very much. >> tony, one cold night if you lose power in any of these areas because now windchill factors not only temperatures like in the teens tonight with winds at 40 to 50 miles per hour, that wasn't take listening to blow all of that cold air through the house, temperatures in your house could go down to 30 quickly. >> i'm think being katy and her dad shoveling. be careful. >> it's heart attack snow. >> we do talk about that, too. the wind speeds blowing and

drifting, right? >> it is. it's still a ground blizzard in some spots although for "blizzard" you need to have heavy snow and low visibility with the wind, but ground blizzard means even though the snow might have stopped that the shovel that you just put into the ground got covered right back up again with snow that blew across it. snow will be tapering off in all of massachusetts and new england in the next few hours, but it will be going back up, snow will be coming in hard in atlantic, canada, live pictures for central park, so you can see some blowing across but not the i can't see in front of me pictures >> not the stuff we're used to in buffalo and cleveland and some areas where you get the blowing and drifting. >> people in the makeup room "when i grew up in new york that's what it was like" so seems like 30 years ago we had this weather, a big lull and the big weather seems to be back. >> back with a force. see you later. thank you, sir.

>> yes. a lot of people spent the night in airports, no flights going in or out, places like new york and still not flying. you heard that from chad. cnn's senior correspondent allan chernoff is at log wardia airport. >> reporter: the mood is fine. most of the people stayed overnight in very good moods, because they figure look, what else can we do? the weather right now actually has cleared up. chad should snow, nice and sunny outside, a little bit of wind but not all that bad. we've been telling you about their nightmare scenarios of staying overnight, even though they're pretty good moods about it but nonetheless, boy, what a hassle. consider this, what about the folks who actually drove through the night to get to the airport, thinking that their flights were still on. we have one of those gentlemen with us, roger moscaso, roger left westchester county at what

time? >> 3:30 in the morning. >> reporter: normally 45-minute drive in. >> yes, 45-minute drive, two and a half hours. >> reporter: you get to the airport, crack of dawn and what do you hear? >> the counter says the flight is canceled. >> reporter: checked online, called the airline in. >> i checked online, called the airline, many times before i left and everything was okay, come here and they say the flight is canceled. >> 9:45 down to miami? >> first in atlanta then miami, florida. >> reporter: what do we do now? here we are at the airport. i actually found roger sitting on one of the cots that the people who had stayed overnight were using. you're ready to crash here, huh? >> yeah, well it's kind of handy. i wanted to stay until 4:00 which is the official hour, then i'm going to head for a hotel maybe. >> reporter: you don't have any word on when you may get out of here? >> no, and i have to pay for that, you know that, right? >> reporter: i guarantee you the airline is not paying for a hotel. a lot of people were surprised

to hear about that. we did report earlier that some folks actually came last night hoping that the airlines would put them up. they ended up on the cots here at the airport. >> no such luck. allan, appreciate it. thank you, sir. we are told president obama kicked the habit. if you're quitting smoking and it is your new year's resolution, elizabeth cohen joins me with what you should know if you plan to follow the president's example. first a random moment in 90 seconds. didn't quite catch that last bit. i said i really love my bank. right... is there a problem ? it's not really raging, man. uh, we were hoping for more raging ? well, you said write from the heart. yeah... don't do that. at ally, you'll love our online savings account. named the best of 2010 by money magazine. ally. do you love your bank ?

got to tell you, the wheel will always be one of mankind's greatest achievements, right, the wheel? it is also a random moment of the day. you're about to witness the definition of ingenuity. can we drop the fonts and everything so the folks can see it? oh, shoot. okay, so the moral of this story, that's a better look at it. can you see? can you see? look at that. so the moral of the story, keep an ax in your trunk in case of a flat. a tree limb may not be around but it helps make things go, like this "random moment of the day."

so the white house says president obama has done it, certainly you can, too, and you should, we are talking about kicking the cigarette habit. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen join us from miami. good to see you again. how long has it been since the president quit, do we know? >> reporter: according to his spokesman robert gibbs he has not had a cigarette in about nine months. this is incredible for a guy who has been smoking since the late '70s, tried repeatedly to quit.

hear what mr. gibbs had to say. >> i can report that it's been probably about nine months since he last smoked a cigarette. he has done enormously well in quitting. it was a commitment that i think he made to himself at the end of health care, and with his two daughters in mind. >> reporter: robert gibbs says that he has known the president for eight years and this is the longest he has seen him go without a cigarette, and as for how he's done it, gibbs says nicorette gum and sheer will power. >> he's just been able to quit over the course of the last nine months. what are we to learn from that, elizabeth? >> reporter: right, i mean it's really pretty incredible when you think about it. this is a smart guy, it goes without saying, columbia, harvard law school. he knows that smoking is bad. he knows that it puts him at a higher chance of having lung cancer or heart disease and terrible things. that's number one. number two, he has two daughters

to think about and number three, he's the president of the united states. he and his wife run around the country talking about, you know, health care and the need to be healthy, and here he is smoking. that is not a great role model. he knows that, and still it has been incredibly difficult for him to quit. now, as for why it's been so difficult i'm actually going to let a doctor explain that, we have a quote that dr. michael fiore in charge of the smoking program at the university of wisconsin says, "if a man this accomplished is still struggling with this addiction, it speaks volumes regarding how powerful this addiction truly is." the best way to say this, tony, this is a drug addiction that the president is trying to quit and even someone as smart as him with all of the reasons to quit, this is how hard it is. >> a drug addiction. is it safe to say he has quit. is there a chance he could slip back and start smoking again? >> reporter: that is a possibility. we asked an expert at the national cancer institute who knows a lot about smoking cre

cessation. once you get over the three-month hub the chances he'll relapse are small. is it possible? it is possible. >> 46 million americans smoke, just like the president. used to, the president used to. what's the best advice on how to quit? >> reporter: okay, here's a couple of tips for how to quit smoking and i really hope that these help people just as hopefully they've helped the president. first of all, set a target quit date, say on this day i'm going to quit smoking. in the meantime get rid of your cigarettes, shouldn't have any in your car, house, purse, nothing. tell your friends and family you're quit so long they can support you. you need someone you can call at 2:00 in the morning when you want a cigarette so they could be there to say no and talk to your doctor about anti-smoking medication, nicorette gum. not everyone needs them but a lot do. apparently the president being one of them. >> absolutely, great information as always. elizabeth good to see you. thank you. >> reporter: thanks.

this just in to cnn we've been following the faa's website to get some kind of indication when some of the airports particularly in the new york area might reopen and just come across an update on the faa website that jfk international airport will reopen at 6:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. so some good news if you're traveling out of that international airport, jfk in new york, and the other two new york airports are still not clear, no update yet on when they might reopen. we're back in a moment.

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let's go cross crane check stories our affiliates are covering today. in scituate, massachusetts, two houses burned to the ground today. firefighters had to rescue people because the blizzard pushing 15 to 20-foot waves into the coastal town, causing serious flooding. as many as 40 people were forced out of their homes by the high water. a san diego county deputy saves a family of five from a christmas morning house fire. deputies smelled smoke patrolling his instincts to the source he pounded on the floor to wake everyone up and get them out in time, and riverton, utah, unforgettable christmas visit from the stork, one baby's initial spells out e.l.f., eva laurie farmer was delivered to her parents in a christmas stocking. a big storm the last thing you want to be doing at

traveling but for those of you already stuck in flight-delay limbo we've got a survival guide to make your ordeal a little more comfortable.

if you are trying to get out of the northeast today forget about it. new york's three main airports are still closed although we did get an update moments ago that jfk international airport will open at 6:00 p.m. tonight. snowplow crews have been out clearing major streets but a lot of roads are still pretty slick. police from d.c. to maine are urging folks to stay home but our rob marciano is home in

stamford, connecticut. you provided so much entertainment in the last hit last hour we thought of reracking that and running that but of course we have to extract our pound of flesh from you so take it away, doctor. >> reporter: good i'm glad you're not doing that. i'll try to be as entertaining as possible. there there's getting to be a little more traffic so that makes this cross street live shot more difficult. i'll climb up here. these are the steps of city hall, this is gorgeous, i wouldn't mind cutting tracks through that but these are steps that hopefully will be cleared tomorrow but city workers at least that work in city hall are furloughed today because it's just dangerous to get out and about. plows have been out, buses have been working. we've seen a number of accidents with those and the rail lines at least the commuter rail lines have been shut down, they hope to get those up and running later on this afternoon and tomorrow to get folks out here, a lot of which work in new york

city out of here. conditions are obviously improving as far as the snow has stopped, the sun come out a little bit, the winds shifted just a little bit. walking not only up the stairs but down the sidewalk has become it's quite an ordeal so unless you get a shopowner doing his due diligence clearing some of the sidewalks, throwing down some salt it's tough to get around and people walking up and down the streets because of that. the buses have been working and this hasn't been a bad spot either but if you go in here you may miss the bus but at least, tony, gets you out of the elements here. >> there you go. >> and considering how long it may be before you and i get to work again together, i may just take a load off and wait on you. >> you are unbelievable! you are a real keeper. all right, rob, and give my best to your family. happy holidays, doctor.

good stuff. the weather has thousands of travelers stuck at airports, including atlanta's hartsfield-jackson international airport. eric byfield from affiliate wsb talked to some of them. >> reporter: there's nothing like spending a holiday weekend stranded at the airport. ask patty expenser? >> reporter: i'm not planning on getting home any time soon. >> it's like a nightmare that never ends. >> reporter: the plan was to change planes on the 25th before moving on to washington, d.c., for their son's wedding on monday but since the dress and the bride are also here, it looked iffy. that was until sabin's wife showed up with the news they waited nearly 36 hours to hear. >> we got our boarding tickets for this evening's flight to washington. >> reporter:? n spanish the bride-to-be told me -- she's thrilled to be able to leave. while it worked out for them, it won't for many others. the wicked weather forced airlines to cancel almost all flights to the northeast sunday.

delta alone canceled 850 flights. airtran 94. some people tell me the worst part about the waiting game is finding somewhere to sit because the stress level is running high. >> it's not comfortable. >> people's nerves are on edge. >> absolutely. >> what do you do if you're stuck in the middle of this mess? i c >> if you're already at the airport i can't lie it's a difficult situation. you want to make yourself as comfortable as possible. you want to talk to someone live at the airport, if there aren't this many employees around to talk to, you want to make sure you get on the phone, call your carrier, call the 1-800 number, see what they can do about getting you rescheduled on the quickest flight home. >> do you have priority, meaning if you are already stuck at an airport, let's say you missed your connection, do they try to place you first as opposed to the people at home or no?

>> they won't place you ahead of people who are ticketed to fly out, say today or tomorrow. those people will go out as usual on their flights, if their flights in fact leave so the people who are stranded will be put on any available seats over the next few days but as you said, 2,000 flights canceled yesterday that, translates into tens of thousands of people now competing for very few available seats. this is the time to be as flexible as possible, if you're supposed to go to new york but find a seat open on a flight to philadelphia, start making your way home, it's better to move in the right direction than to be stuck in one place. >> it is because in some cases the tough part is that you think okay i'll grab the amtrak then at that point or take a local bus but they're not running either. >> they're not running either. they will be running. rest assured everyone you will get home, this will end and you'll get home eventually. be as patient as you can and try to move in the right direction whenever you can. >> checking top stories, italian

police say they found's ploes e i explosives in a package at the vend way lan and danish embassies, days after package bombs detonated at the swiss and chilean embassies in the italian capital, an anarchist group claimed responsibility. no bail for nine men arrested in the uk last week on terrorist charges. three other suspects have been released. they've been to universal studios, to the cnn heroes program, now the chilean miners who spent more than two months trapped going underground will go to disney world, serve as grand marshals at a parade next month. what kind of christmas was it for retailers? we'll look at the view from wall street, that is next when we come back. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. pictures, information, insight, you won't find anywhere else. cnn newsroom with tony harris, anything can happen. take a look at these live pictures we've got going on for you now, all right, let me get to the one in the upper left-hand corner first and roger, maybe we'll take that full because i can at least -- oh that's central park, it will overrule me. i love that that's a beautiful shot of central park, that's new york and on the ground now in

central park ogood call, roger. what else do you have for me? you've got one more, don't you? there's another, that's the view from the window at the time warner center there in new york. good stuff. it really is. if you don't have to travel in it, it's really good, if you have to travel in it, it's a bit of a nightmare. if you don't have to go out the advice is stay put and make the most of it, grab the shovel, clean off the walkway, the sidewalks and maybe build a snowman. 'tis the season. happy holidays to you. the new york stock exchange three hours into the trading day, and we are still in negative territory. looks like we're off of session lows though down 24 points in the nasdaq, the tech heavy nasdaq as we like to say is down 8 points. we'll follow the numbers throughout the day. how about retail stores, rolling out the sales, bargains and discounts. simply too hard for consumers to resist. allan chernoff reports. >> reporter: in the face of depressing headlines,

persistently high unemployment and trepidation about employment prospects, shoppers tossed aside malaise and put credit cards to work this holiday season. >> there's so many sales now might as well go for it. >> reporter: economists say spending was far higher than anticipated, with apparel purchases particularly strong. how did retailers get consumers to spend so freely? the gloomy news was no match for the deep discounts retailers offer, right from the start of the holiday season. it seems nearly every retailer has had a sale sign in the store since thanksgiving. it's not so much that they're desperate to move merchandise, but they know that's the way to bring customers into the store. >> retailers have been quick to respond to understand that the only way to get consumers to open their wallets to get back into the stores, to shop, is to tell a very strong value story. >> reporter: they've been

telling that story everywhere, not just in traditional ads but online. >> you've got mail. >> reporter: via e-mails and text messages. sale there. >> amazon, hollister. >> reporter: all today. >> yeah. >> reporter: all received today? >> all received today. >> reporter: and the messages are targeted, based on the shopper's prior purchases. >> five for $25, they have a lot of sales. >> reporter: digital messages connect especially with younger consumers. >> a lot of stores e-mail me, gave me discounts to go into so it was worth it. >> reporter: a merry holiday shopping season means retailers should have relatively lean inventories for their after christmas sales, meaning the bargains will last only so long. allan chernoff, cnn, new york. a blizzard buries much the northeast, we will check the big store's progress with our meteorologists, our star meteorologist chad myers, back in a moment here in the cnn newsroom.

when there is so much snow on the ground and you can't go anywhere, what do you do really? here's what you do, you build a snowman of course. i-reporter joan ferrer in norfolk, virginia, says they don't normally see this much snow. carla ann lowery created a snow couple, chillin' on the beach. after all, they live oceanfront in virginia beach, and here is young shawna crumbly's first white christmas in the south in tennessee. the first white christmas in the south where a lot of folks in atlanta as well, chad. it was kind of cool actually >> since like the 1800s for some people. who was keeping track back then. >> yes. >> you remember a band called the talking heads? >> i do. "burning down the house" big song. >> yes, my favorite was "i'm on a road to nowhere."

>> there you go, perfect. >> i won't sing it but all of these planes, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven -- eight now, going to newark. well, that's probably not going to happen because all those airports are closed. jfk, laguardia, newark, these are planes taken off from distant places like honolulu and london and all that, hoping by the time they get over newark air space that it will be open, they'll probably be diverted somewhere else. jfk, laguardia, newark, not getting these open because of the snow but finally this last 30 minutes ago canceled for new york and boston. snow not coming down hard enough to qualify for a blizzard. doesn't mean you're not going to see wind gusts like we're seeing here that may not blow the snow around. this is on downeast maine. 54. 53 miles per hour, and off the cape, a gust i saw just happen there somewhere around 48 miles per hour, and you can bet that

that kind of snow, that kind of wind will blow around for a while, even when you get it all shoveled off your driveway, it may not be going away any time soon because it may literally come back. the snow moving away, the good news and what i'd like you to do if you could is go to cnn.co cnn.com/ireport, assignments, winter weather near you and drop this down. if you'd like to see them go to most viewed or "on cnn." click the ones "on cnn" those are the ones we've called the people and verified they are of age and real pictures that this is not 1954. so there is the blizzard of 2010, no music, chris oliver 84 shot video t takes up a couple seconds, go on ireport.com and look at the misery. if you're in sunny san diego look at what's going on in newark. >> i feel so bad for my friends in the east. it's 63 degrees and if you're in buffalo.

>> living in san antonio, you feel bad, take a look >> chad, appreciate it, thank you. working all night to get fresh produce out by day, part of our favorites in focus, cnn's look at story behind the headlines. deborah brunswick gives us a revealing look at one man's commitment and sacrifice. >> as i said the city never sleeps. there's always action. my name is michael finnan, cabin attendant for the roosevelt island tram way. it's the public transportation between manhattan and roosevelt island, the island in the middle of east river. please hold on while the cabin is docking. my shift is from 10:00 at night to 6:00 in the morning.

♪ the skyline of manhattan is always overpowering but i think mostly at night when all the buildings are lit up and reflected on the east river. tonight is pretty calm. another night it could be foggy, quiet and mysterious. i prefer the night shift. i'm used to it now. my whole life is geared around it. let's go, please, we're late. >> thank you. >> sorry. >> okay. closing my doors. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. if you are standing, please hold on while the cabin is in motion. thank you. it is a different lifestyle in reverse. eating patterns are all off, our sleeping patterns are all off.

the best thing about the job is it leaves my days free, especially, in the warm weather you get out and walk around. the downside is you lose contact with a lot of friends and family. working nights is sort of pleasant to have the sun coming up. some people say i have one of the nicest jobs and i tend to agree with them. >> "nafrts focus" brings you the stories behind the headlines. don't miss this compelling hour of television hosted by tom foreman, 2:00 p.m. eastern new year's day, the quality storytelling from the award winning cnn photojournalist team that you are so aware of and they are so known for. we are back in a moment. you're in the cnn newsroom.

♪ the music world lost a big name over the weekend. kareen wynter joins us from los angeles. kareen, boy, how is the music industry reacting to the loss of great teena marie? >> tony she was definitely an icon. as you can imagine so many people from fans to stars alike, they're saddened, surprised by the news. r&b singer teena marie passed away sunday morning. she was born in santa monica, california. she famously paired with the late bonk legend rick james you know him and also nominated for

multiple grammy awards according to her official website, her hits included "lovergirl" "ooh lala"and "i'm a sucker for your love" the cause of her death still are not sure what it is but her publicist tells cnn she suffered from a grand malseizure about a month ago, that may have been a warning sign. teena marie had so many fans in the world, they've all reacted to this very, very sad news via twitter. hear one of her hits driving in to work today, i heard so many radio stations playing her song in her honor. we'll miss her. >> she was absolutely terrific, square biz, if you want to see all-out energy and teena marie, ooh, boy, square biz. >> really brought it. >> and portuguese love is what comes to mind. kareen, let's talk about some good news and you knew it would probably happen again, hugh hefner announcing his

engagement to another "playboy" playmate, correct? >> i don't know how the next marriage will go but you can bet the public "playboy" foundler keep us updated. i was surprised. the 84-year-old broke the news of his engagement via twitter, there's his lirl darling and i can just say who knew heff had a twitter account. that blew me away. >> me, too. >> he announced he and crystal harris are engaged. she burst into tears when he proposed christmas eve but in a good way. he added this was his happiest christmas in years. as the original "playboy" the new marriage fits into hf's image. she's appeared in his magazine several times, of course she has and as for his track record hefner talked about how he doesn't believe in monogamy which may explain why his previous two marriages ended in divorce after around a decade

but we won't go there. as for critics, go heff. it doesn't matter you're 84, whatever, you're never too old to find love, my little theory. not that i'm an expert at it. >> 84 and she is 24. fill in the time line, if you would, please. all right, kareen, great to see you. >> doing the numbers. bye, tony. >> my gosh. if you want information breaking on the entertainment world, watch "showbiz tonight" tonight at 5:00 and 11:00 on hln.

america's view of the new health care reform law, national

political correspondent jessica yellin part of the best political team on television live from washington. what do you have for us? >> a new poll from cnn shows americans want all the game bin none of the pain. that's what the polling suggests. the so-called mandate, the provision requiring all americans get health insurance only 38% of americans support that, but 60% oppose it. but check this out. flip those numbers, when you ask people do you want, do you like the provision preventing insurance companies from dropping coverage for seriously ill people, 61% favor, 39% oppose and the provision preventing insurance companies from denying people with coverage to preexisting conditions, 64% of people favor that. a lot of approval for those protections, but not for the mandate. the problem with that, tony, many experts say it's that mandate requiring even healthy people to get insurance coverage that allows for those other

provisions to exist so that insurance companies can afford to cover the ill. hard to see how you have one without the other, that's the challenge as people take on this law as policymakers take on the law going forward. another story and challenge when congress comes back into session next week the gop has said that they want to slash $100 billion in spending, john boehner is going to do it he says but doesn't want to cut social security, medicare or defense, the big ticket items so that means that money is going to have to come from other programs that most voters really, that many voters really like at least, things that come to you in the form of benefits to education, health and human services, and they're going to have to find ways in some of the soft programs to find the cuts, that's going to be a huge political challenge in the new congress. >> yeah. >> those are two hard news stories. >> i've got one more question, keeping you here for a second, jess. >> yes. >> it's also a time of lots of

year-end polls. you've got one on popular men? >> yes, who is the american that people most admire, the man and the woman, the most admired man, president obama. the most admired woman, secretary of state hillary clinton, together when it. it's pretty remarkable that they remain hugely popular no matter what your politics are, people seem to admire their accomplishments, tony. >> jess, good to see you. happy holidays. >> great to see you too. >> for the latest political news go to cnnpolitics.com. rimer in one -- so it goes on bold, and looks even better. it means getting more done -- in half the time. and it means the shade you see on that swatch -- ends up on that wall... and is as durable as it is colorful. you know where to find it. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. try it for yourself. get your own 8-ounce sample of the number one-rated behr paint.

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♪ so all week we are taking a look at the top 20 most intriguing people of the year. comedian dave chappelle turned down $50 million saying he was misunderstood by tv execs. kareen wynter looks at what he's up to now. ♪ >> reporter: dave chappelle was a comedy prodigy, earning standup success in his early teens.

>> man, white men can't jump. >> reporter: movie offers rolled in like "robin hood, men in tights" all before he hit 20. how old are you? >> 19. >> reporter: 2003 brought the debut of his comedy central series, and super star tom. on the strength of sketch humor that often touched on race, his show became a me fwa hit. then came the showbiz stunner. chappelle walked away and traveled to south africa to reflect on his life and career. he told anderson cooper he felt misunderstood by network executives and put off by show business >> these aren't bad people in hollywood but it's so vicious. >> reporter: he never cashed that $50 million check. since abandoning his show, chappelle has laid low, living on a farm in ohio with his family.

he was spotted at a 2008 obama campaign event. and he's made surprise appearances, like this one in portland, oregon, in 2009. he's also given impromptu performances at the laugh factory in l.a. his friend, club owner jamie masada says we haven't seen the last of dave chappelle >> i know he's coming back. he keeps telling me "i'm coming back." >> so who do you think should make the list of cnn's top ten most intriguing people of the year? go to cnn.com to vote. you have until midnight tomorrow, the big reveal for the top ten will be thursday.

an explosive christmas tradition lighting up the skies over cue pa. cnn's patrick oppman gives us a look. >> reporter: christmas in this small cuban town starts with a bang.

lots of them. local fireworks specialists called artieros, light the fuses. crowds take in the show, and take cover. these pyrotechnics will go on for another 12 hours. this is ramedios, usually a sleepy place, until christmas eve. that's when las parandas starts up. the street festivals began over 200 years ago to lure ramedios citizens to the town's midnight mass. but the town priest says las op. parandas now dwarf the services. >> translator: we're afraid that rockets will fly into the church and kill someone, so we have canceled mass. >> reporter: the homemade

fireworks dazzle, when they fly up. las parandas are much more a celebration, also a competition between two rival neighborhoods and to the neighborhood with the best fireworks goes the bragging rights. but claiming victory isn't easy. "that's bull!" yells this supporter when a san salvador man boasts their pyrotechnics are the best. battle lines aren't always so clear. jolie is a san salvador neighborhood die-hard. her daughter, claudia, is for el carmen. >> translator: we discuss, argue and fight about it. >> reporter: a winner is never declared, since townspeople say no one from here could possibly be considered an impartial judge. it's a tense time for