today in a 65-31 vote. the house already passed it. now it's awaiting the president's signature. white house press secretary robert gibls released a statement saying, as the president has long said, ending don't ask, don't tell and allowing gay then and women to serve in our military, will strengthen our national security while upholding the basic equality on which this nation was founded. and joe lieberman says this has been a long time in coming. >> a thrilling day. honestly, one of my best days in my 22 years in the senate. not just because i was so committed to the cause, but because at a time when the people of our country are so justifiably cynical about the partisan politics that prevails so often here in washington and stops us from getting anything done, we've come together and proven across party lines that you can get something done. >> let's go to our congressional correspondent breanna keeler. it is a big day on capitol hill. this is historic. tell us how this vote breaks down. >> reporter: 65-31 was the vote, don. there were eight republican senators who joined the 57 democrats and independents who were present and voting. you can see it's bipartisan with a significant amount of republican support there. this was the final passage vote that i'm talking about. there were two very significant votes today. the first one earlier on in the day, it was a key procedural vote that showed us that there were more than 60 votes definitely paving the way for this repeal of don't ask, don't tell to head to president obama's desk, don. >> it's a controversial issue and it's been going back and forth for years since the clinton era. what are lawmakers saying about this? >> after the vote, we saw a press conference from the two key co-sponsors of this bill, joe lieberman, who caucuses with democrats, though he's an independent. he was say thing is one of the best days in his 22 years and he said this was about righting a wrong. his co-sponsor on the bill, senator susan collins, who is a republican from maine, she said this is about making sure anyone can serve in the military as long as they're willing to put on the uniform and fight for the freedom of all americans. but senator john mccain, one of the leading critics said he's concerned this is going to be a distraction that is going to cost lives. >> and this has failed before in the senate, didn't it? >> reporter: it has. the thing that was different about this bill is it was a stand alone repeal of don't ask, don't tell. this failed in the senate when it was attached to a larger defense bill that had controversial items on it that had to do with abortion, detainees at guantanamo bay. >> one more question. we said it's failed before, but even a week ago, everyone thought this bill was all but dead. what happened? >> reporter: it really made you wonder. there was some republicans who said even though i support this, i want to make sure some of the other business in the senate and the clock is really winding down here ahead of the holidays, there were a lot of republicans who said we want to make sure some of the economic measures that we're dealing with are dealt with first. so it just seemed like a matter might be the clock was going to run out, not that there wasn't republican support. in the end, they got it done. >> maybe the clock and them running out of time, maybe that worked in favor, you know, the people who wanted to repeal this bill. thank you, breanna. we want to go now to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr on the phone. what does this mean for the military and what is going to be the reaction? what is that going to be like? >> reporter: the president's policy had been he wanted to see this repealed and of course, civilian control of the military, the military supports the president. so those inside the military who perhaps do not support this, there are two choices. salute smartly and follow the rules and this is the new law of the land, or leave military service. it's a volunteer force, and people can make arrangements to leave. that's pretty much the two choices. this will now undergo -- they're calling it a certification process, don. there's been some period of months making sure all of the rules, regulations, policies, training, they will certify that this will not impact military readiness or effectiveness, and then 60 days after that, it all goes into effect once and for all. so there's still a ways to go, but it's pretty clear that the pentagon's not going to move to separate anyone or put them out of the military at this point while this process is under way. >> so what does this mean for members of the military? can they start coming out now? they can't do it right away, because it won't go into effect right away. >> that is what they are already being advised by some of the advocacy groups out there. don't do anything yet. be careful, be cautious, and advocacy groups are already calling for defense secretary robert gates to make a clear statement that no one will be separated or booted out of military service while this period's under way. there is another wild card sort of on the other side of the equation, which is the federal courts have been looking at this for some time. there is a growing body of court rulings across the country that don't ask, don't tell is flat out illegal, and it should be done away with immediately. so there could still, unless the federal government files some sort of motion before the federal courts, saying hang on, we're taking care of this now, there could still be some sort of immediate lifting of it if there's a final separate court ruling in the coming weeks. >> barbara starr, thank you for that. as we mentioned, the repeal now awaits president obama's signature. our kate bolduan is standing by for us at the white house right now. so kate, do we know when the president will put his pen to this bill? >> reporter: we're getting a little guidance, but there's no date certain quite yet. this is a major victory, don, for president obama, and this obama white house, really making good on a promise, a pledge made all the way back on the campaign, the presidential campaign to repeal the military's policy of don't ask, don't tell. this is one of the exact reasons that the president delayed his vacation to hawaii in order to stay in town while congress remained in session. in a statement that the president released a little earlier today, he said in part, and i'll read what he said, it's an emotional statement. he said by ending don't ask, don't tell, no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic americans forced to leave the military, despite years of performance because they happen to be gay. he says, no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie to serve the country that they love. president obama said that it is also time to close this chapter in our history, and you can be sure from the perspective of this white house that it is what happened on capitol hill today. white house press secretary robert gibbs released a statement a short time ago confirming that the president is very much looking forward to sign thing bill into law, and the guidance that we are being told from the white house is that that will be next week. don? >> kate bolduan at the white house. kate, thank you, as well. i want to bring in someone who has been one of the loudest voices in the fight to end don't ask, don't tell. former army lieutenant dan choi, who famously outed himself last year, while he was in the service, earning a discharge. this is a historic day for you. >> it's something that we've all expected. we know that when you're on the right side of justice and history, you don't ever go backwards. so this is the real moment. it's not for me that is the most excited. i'm sure this is sending shockwaves to all the closeted and fearful and self-hating people all throughout america who are afraid to come out because they're gay. and they're saying finally the government is saying that we're taking steps closer for you to access your integrity. that's why it's so amazing. not just amazing for me. i'm already out. i'm fairly openly gay, i guess you can say. but this is for all of those people in the military who are languishing, not able to come out to themselves, because they are so engrained with this self-hatred and it's a message. and i hope it stiffens their spine. >> listen, dan, you're in the military. is it not true that most people in the military know who the gay men and women are around them and they're okay with it, so this is -- this is something that is -- it seems, you know, sort of -- what is the word i'm looking for? not hypocritical, but people are already there and now people will know? >> yeah, it's already a reality that, look, we're not only acknowledging the truth that we already know, we know that we're serving with openly gay people in other countries, as well. you know, we're in these operations with nato allies. there's openly gay people that we're already serving with. so it's ridiculous when you hear people say, omg, as john mccain said, wow, this is going to cause the amputations of soldiers and marines. and that is probably the most ridiculous thing that i've heard in a long -- and i've heard a lot of ridiculous things, but when i heard that, i felt sorry for him. he must have lost a screw somewhere, because he was saying that. >> dan, i want to ask you this, because there have been lots of reports that you were hospitalized for a breakdown. i spoke with you earlier about it today. you say you're doing okay. part of it was the stress of dealing with this don't ask, don't tell. what happened? >> well, this year has been a very tumultuous year. it's not easy to come back from war. i was diagnosed with combat post traumatic stress disorder, which essentially a lot of the soldiers coming back from the war zone are dealing with, the coming back home and reintegrating. i've come back to a country where i'm being discriminated against for telling the truth of who i am. coming out in itself is a traumatic event for some people. my dad is a southern baptist minister. my mom and dad came from korea and i came out to them just two years ago. i'm dealing with all of this, and on thursday, when we had the senate vote, i was so disappointed and dismayed, it really got to me. i think that triggered an anxiety attack, which i had, and i was taken to the hospital by a fellow west point graduate here in cambridge, massachusetts. i went to the veterans hospital here. they treated me so professionally, so wonderfully. and i learned a lot about ptsd. and i want to just allow this -- i didn't want to publicize this in the beginning. it's hard for me to deal with this. i just want to let people know that for soldiers, veterans who need the help who are dealing with their own private hell, they need to get that help. and the resources that are available to them are top notch. and they will show you the way that it can be treated and with all the stresses that we're going through, i know that there are many others that are in the same boat, particularly gay people who are dealing with it. today is a great day for them that they can see some hope, as well. >> dan choi, we wish you the very best. and all of our men and women in uniform who are dealing with any type of ailment. our thanks to dan choi and our guests this evening. the internet is on fire with the news and we'll take a look at what people are saying. i'm online and i know you are, too. check out my social media accounts and talk about these issues. if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. it's li boss: and now i'll turn it over gecko: ah, t, ecko. as we all know, geico has been saving people money on rv, camper and trailer insurance... ...as well as motorcycle insurance... gecko: oh...sorry, technical difficulties. boss: uh...what about this? gecko: what's this one do? gecko: um...maybe that one. ♪ dance music boss: ok, let's keep rolling. we're on motorcycle insurance. vo: take fifteen minutes to see how much you can save on motorcycle, rv, and camper insurance. breaking news, everyone. welcome back. we continue our coverage of today's historic senate vote to repeal the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. the vote was 65-31 to repeal. and president obama says he will sign the bill into law. i want to talk more about it now with michelangeael angelo, a wr and columist. thanks for coming in after this vote. >> thank you, don. >> you've been listening to all the people in washington, you heard dan choi. you talk about it every day with people on the radio. what's your reaction and what have you been hearing? >> it is a great day, certainly for gays and lesbians serving in the military. but a great day for our country and for civil rights. and it's a monumental day for gay, lesbian, bisexual people. the military is the largest employer in the united states and it is the last department, the last institution within the federal government that was discriminating against people. we now have the federal government of the united states not discriminating against people on the basis of sexual orientation. that is a big deal and it will go far for people across this country. >> i want to ask you this, and i will ask some of my colleagues who are in the civil service. do you think it's fair to compare this moment to the integration of the military? >> i think in many ways it's similar, except for the fact that gays and lesbians have been serving in the military, they just haven't been open. now they're allowed to come out, they're allowed to actually say who they are. there are similarities in that. there was a lot of fear, there was a lot of bigotry. it took political will and political coverage, and it didn't cause any problems. the same thing applies here. >> it's interesting, because back in 2000 when they did it in the uk, i've been watching a number of reports and there was this big uproar and then nothing once it did happen. nothing happened. so you think it will be the same thing here? do you think all of those things will come true with senator mccain and others who oppose this bill? >> absolutely not. gays and lesbians have been serving. the only problem is the stress that they feel to have to keep it a secret. that has been the problem. otherwise, there has been no issue at all. and now people are going to be able to serve with dignity. not feel they have to hide. and most of the people who are in the military who are not gay in the surveys, in the studies we saw, said that it didn't matter to them. they knew gay and lesbian people and it wasn't a big deal. >> are you surprised by this bill? because it seemed like it was dead, even just a week ago and then it came back up. i was sitting here reporting, i think it was yesterday. and john king came on and said listen, there's been some interesting developments when it comes to don't ask, don't tell. all of a sudden we hear just within a week. are you surprised by that? >> you know, you're always surprised when you have all of these losses and letdowns and you don't want to get built back up again. but it happened because there was a real will to get it done and because activists pushed really, really hard. and i hope that -- >> okay, i get that. and i don't mean to cut you off, because i think you're a smart guy and i want to get some -- i think you have an interesting perspective. where do you think we go from here? is this a watershed moment for other issues when it concerns gay rights? >> absolutely. we are now waiting for a decision in the ninth circuit court of appeals in proposition 8 and marriage, that may go to the supreme court. the society is changing, the country is changing. this is going to send an enormous message throughout the country that discrimination is not acceptable. it is going to have an effect on private industry, as well. it is a very big deal. and we will look back on it. >> michael, appreciate your perspective. >> thank you, don. >> my twitter account has been going crazy since the senate vote took place. our josh has been monitoring the social media storm. josh, i've been watching it every second i get a beep, a little bling with more people responding to don't ask, don't tell. both for and against it. what are you seeing? >> so many people responding all over the place. i'm going to talk you through that. i want to do something. we have some helpful information for you in our coverage at cnn.com. i want to go to a couple of screens here to contextualize. what this is going to talk you through is people in u.s. history, the idea here is how many people over the years have been discharged because of don't ask, don't tell. if you look back to the beginning, it's more than 13,000 gay and lesbian service members. the numbers there show you what's happened over the past decade. go to the next screen. look at these countries. these are the countries that have openly gay people serving in the military. so the u.s. is now joining a couple dozen other countries there. there's more details on cnn.com. come back to me. i want to give you some of the responses we're getting here from our viewers, which is a lot. by far, most people that you're seeing weigh in are in support of the decision, but not all. this is one from matt. amazing that in 2010, people still have to fight for civil rights. this is a good step in the right direction. here's someone who disagrees. i think having gay people serve openly now is just going to cause more trouble. keep going here. craig, thank you, president obama, and the more open minded and fair people in the senate. it's long overdue. kenneth, big moment for civil rights in america. again, one more here from facebook. volunteers volunteering all should be welcome. on the people posting on twitter, here's an interesting one. ellen degeneris has come out with a tweet. thank you, senators, for pushing us one step closer towards full equality. senator john mccain sent out a bunch of twitters the last week, but nothing from him today. senator lindsay graham, nothing from him today. we are certainly watching all takes on this, don, and throughout the night, cnn will be following your responses on social media. it's been a busy day on capitol hill and it wasn't all great news for the president. another vote has failed. supporters fell five votes short of the 60 senate votes needed to advance the dream act that offered a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants that entered the u.s. as children. president obama called it a disappointing vote and vowed to continue fighting for the legislation. the house passed its version of the bill earlier this month. also a huge prison break -- also, president obama signed a short-term spending bill that will keep the government in business through tuesday. the spending measure passed both houses of congress yesterday. it's necessary because senate budget negotiations broke down thursday night and the current budget resolution expired today. the goal is to pass another temporary spending bill that will last into the new year when the new congress takes office. now to that prison break. a huge prison break across the border in laredo, texas. more than 150 inmates walked out of a prison in mexico. and 15 minutes of fame, that's the hand thelma hart was dealt. now she's one of the millions looking for work this holiday season. asked people all over aa where the best potatoes come from. the best potatoes? 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(sighs) not all potatoes come from idaho. so if you want the best, you have to do one important thing. always look for the grown in idaho seal. i knew that. i knew that. look for the grown in idaho seal. three. two. one. ♪ don't cha wish your work phone was hot like me?... ♪ 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. finally a work phone worth taking home. let's check system of our top stories right here on cnn. actor shelly malil has been sentenced to life without patrol for stabbing his former girlfriend. you may remember him for his role in the movie "the 40-year-old virgin." he was found guilty of premeditated attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. his former girlfriend survived. federal officials in mexico are blaming local authorities for sloppy security that led to a major prison break. 141 inmates escaped after having help from prison workers. they broke out of a penitentiary in mexico. former u.n. ambassador bill richardson met today with north korea's chief nuclear negotiator as that country continues to threaten south korea over military exercises. the south announced that scheduled military drills would not be held this week end due to bad weather. the north threatened a massive military strike if south korea goes ahead with the exercises. someone who is now in north korea is our very own wolf blitzer. this is a rare thing for reporting from there. wolf, i talked about those military exercises and bill richardson, as well. you want to start with bill richardson first? >> reporter: it's sunday morning and richardson is getting ready for a third round of meetings, this time with top north korean military officials in charge of the demilitarized zone between north and south korea and the armistice that was signed in 1953 ending the korean war, arguably that this is the most serious crisis in north-south korean -- on the peninsula since 1953. so he's going to be meeting later this morning, and that meeting will certainly be significant in terms of richardson has been consistently urging the north koreans to exercise maximum restraint right now. he's described the situation as a tender box, that one miscalculation could result in god forbid all-out war. he did meet saturday with the top nuclear official of north korea. this is the individual who invited richardson to come here. on friday, he met with the top foreign ministry official in charge of u.s. foreign affairs. he's had all these meetings, but it's still not enough, even though the south koreans have delayed for the weekend the start of these military exercises at this island, yeonpyeong which was shelled by the north koreans back in november. it's still a tense situation and someone richardson is pushing forward. he hasn't told us what the proposals are, but he's putting forward a series of proposals that would try to ease this crisis. it's a tense situation, don. >> the fact that those drills were postponed because of weather, that's good news but it's only temporary. that >> that's right. the north koreans said if these exercises go ahead, the north will retaliate. there's a lot of pressure for the south koreans to respond more assertively. the south korean defense minister was forced to resign because there was a lot of pressure that he didn't respond tough enough not object by this shelling but what was the sinking of this south korean warship back in march, killing 46 sailors. the north koreans denied they were responsible for it, but a lot of the world has accused them of it. hovering over all of this are these nindications that the norh korean nuclear program is more advanced that everyone had thought earlier, based on inspections that other u.s. experts have had over the past few weeks. so all in all, it's a rough situation. what i'm going to try to do, don, at the -- near the top of 7:00 eastern, i'm going to try to get richardson to come with me and brief us directly, you, me, our entire audience on what's going on. hopefully he'll do that. just as he gets ready to into into this next round of meetings with the north korean military. >> wolf, look forward to that report at 7:00 p.m. eastern. back in a moment here on cnn. we're following breaking news on don't ask, don't tell. back in a moment. you probably don't remember her name, but you probably remember her moment in the spotlight and you'll remember her face. that's thelma hart, the woman who questioned president obama and passionately during a televised town hall meeting and told him how worried she was about the economy. it turns out she had good reason to be. she was recently laid off, a casualty of the recession. she joins us now from washington. thanks for coming in, and i want to start with you and talk about the president, because i want to know your opinions on his policies and if you still defend him. but i know one of his policies now will be the legacy of don't ask, don't tell, and i understand that you have -- you're very passionate about it. >> i am. i certainly respect the fact that there are extreme opinions on both sides, and some not so extreme. and that some of the concern may be well founded. but i want to believe that the passage of this bill is significant in that it recognizes a wrong. civil rights violations in any era should never be tolerated. so i see that as a correction that is long overdue. and i'm very, very excited about this for the president and quite frankly for the congress, because it looks like a bipartisan support on this bill. >> you said civil rights is what you call it, are you comparing it in a way to the civil rights movement and passage of civil rights legislation? >> i heard your question earlier about the comparison. i don't think it is comparable in every way. you know, the color of your skin is not something you can hide. so the reality is that when you have a sexual preference issue, that's something you can hide. so from my perspective, it's not the same, but equally as important. because i've worn the uniform of this country, would wear it again if they would let me in and give me a bigger size. but volunteers should be allowed to serve this country. >> maybe that's your next thing. and thank you for talking about it. i understand that you wanted to comment on it. so let's talk about you being laid off. maybe you can go back into uniform and that would be a way for you to work. >> i think there's an age and a weight thing, but that's okay. >> you can be the exception. do you blame the president for your layoff? >> absolutely not. i don't know what country everybody else lives in, but i live in a democracy. that means there are three legislative branchs of government and there are lots of people, more than 500, who make the decisions about what happens in this country. am i disappointed? absolutely. i don't know anybody who wouldn't be. the community i talk to often are certainly concerned. but the fact of the matter is, this is not a problem for one man. this is a problem, though, that at least from the base that i come from, we want leadership and results. it's time, and it's long overdue. >> you said that you were exhausted. you still support him, it sounds like you do. >> absolutely, i support this president. >> let's talk about the tax cut deal between the president and republicans, what do you think? >> well, here's where i come down on it. i listened to the president's message that wednesday, i believe it was a wednesday when he talked about why he thought this was the right direction for the country to go in. and i believed what he said. i bought it, because at the end of the day, his driving agenda was his constituent base. i think his heart was in right place, the concern i have is the concern he shares and many in congress shares and that's the added debt. but i also believe that was the first and many decisions that will have to be made and some are going to be very hard. i'm hoping further effect on the people can be averted but i don't know that's possible. >> in the short time we have left, you are not so concerned about finding a job. of course, you would like to. everyone needs a job. but you're focusing on what right now? >> i'm focusing on the holidays, my family. i'm very excited. christmas is special. as a christian, but even beyond that. christmas is a special time of year for a lot of families around this country. and one of the things i've been saying in the forums i've been in, not all people are blessed with a loving family and extended support systems. you know, i'm trying to remind people to check on everybody. make sure everybody is doing okay. these can be challenging times. my friends, several of them has told me christmas is canceled in their household. i hope that's not true, but we're just trying to make it through. i think we're going to make it through just fine. >> thelma hart, thank you for those inspirational words. i haven't put up one light or the tree. i'm not going to have a party this year. my mom said, you're a grinch, son. thank you. >> thank you. and also, just thank you guys for focusing on our men and women serving in the military. i'm very excited about the soldier story program going on. while the economy is important, we still have hundreds of thousands of people in harm's way. and i'm just so grateful that you continue to pay attention to that. >> merry christmas, thelma hart. >> merry christmas to you, too. following breaking news out of the white house. the senate has voted to overturn the controversial don't ask, don't tell policy. coming up, a closer look at what that means. [ male announcer ] let's be honest. no one ever wished for a smaller holiday gift. ♪ it's the lexus december to remember sales event, and for a limited time, we're celebrating some of our greatest offers of the year. lease the 2011 is 250 for $349 a month for 36 months with $3,399 due at signing. see your lexus dealer. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor about your medical history and find an arthritis treatment that works for you. ask your doctor about celebrex. and, go to celebrex.com to learn more about how you can move toward relief. celebrex. for a body in motion. breaking news here on cnn. we're talking about don't ask, don't tell and repealing don't ask, don't tell is a big deal for the u.s. military and really for the country. but gays serving this the military have some historical precedence. psychologist wendy walsh joins us with what this means. it's historic, doctor. >> it certainly is. it's long, long overdue. you know, fear happens when we're not exposed to people different from us. so if you suppress it and tell people, don't ask, don't tell, you increase fears. in a military society, which is extremely masculine, even in some of the female ranks, extremely masculine gender identity, you're going to have fears. it's so homophobic. if they start getting exposed and realize the people they're fighting beside, are two they love and are great friends, maybe a little different. it's all good. it's going to change the military in a positive way. >> why is it so homophobic? i think gay people is the has bastion of discrimination where you can say fag or that something is so gay and people go, what? what's wrong with that? i don't understand. i say it all the time. why is that? >> it's not the only last one. we have people with disabilities. we have troops coming back who are, you know, disfigured and disabled who are being discriminating against more than ever here. >> one of the last, i said. >> one of the last ones for sure. but it's just that when you get mixed up jenlter identity and gender role with sexual orientation, i promise you, there's some macho dudes, men and women in the military, who may be straight, who may be gay. we don't know because sexual role and sexual -- sorry, gender role and gender identity is not necessarily linked. some historians believe that homosexual relationships were actually encouraged by alexander the great and napoleon because they felt that a man would fight harder for his lover or an intimate than a family back home he hasn't seen in two years. so it's not a bad thing. not to say we should be encouraging homosexuality in our troops today but let people be who they are. >> very interesting. that's something i didn't know, and you taught me something today and probably our audience, as well. thank you for coming only. >> good to see you. a major winter storm slams europe. thick snow covering everything from the uk to bulgaria. anyone trying to fly out of london right now, well, will have to find other travel arrangements or stay put. if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. amanda knox won a major victory today when an italian appeals court agreed to independent testing to evidence in her case. she was convicted of murder of her roommate in 2007. the judge is allowing new tests on the knife believed used in the attack and agreed to allow testimony from new witnesses from the defense who are said to have information showing knox was not involved in the killing. a massive winter storm has grounded all flights, all flights at london's heathrow airport. as of right now, it is closed indefinitely. it was the same story across much of europe today, with blizzard conditions from northern ireland to bulgaria. up to 40 inches, more than three feet has fallen in parts of bulgaria. triple-a says the number of americans planning trips during the holidays is expected to jump more than 3%. about 93 million americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home. "tron legacy" hits theaters this weekend. also ahead, our dr. sanjay gupta will introduce you to a 16-year-old who has fought an uphill battle since he was born. his mom has lost 30 pounds to try to save his life, and now a 14-year-old friend has joined the fight. right now we want to focus on ordinary people doing extraordinary things. we call it the human factor. and tonight it's about a 16-year-old who's been living with a life threatening illness his mom and a friend he met while he was sick who's now trying to help. our dr. sanjay gupta reports. >> reporter: it's 5:15 in the morning hooer morning, he's arriving at the hospital for dialysis. he's been fighting a battle with his kidneys since he was born. he needs a kidney transplant. >> yes. i lost 30 pounds so i could give him a kidney. >> reporter: like most moms, she wants to do everything she can for her son, but just paying for treatment is a real struggle. >> just do what i have to do for my son and i've been doing it for 16 years. so i figured that i'm a great mom. >> how hard is it financially on your family? >> real hard. >> reporter: this is the physical, emotional and financial hardship, he's 15 years old. he's about to get help from a pretty unusual source. his friend kyle over here, come on in, kyle, 14 years old. have a seat. how do you guys know each other? >> i met kiwan in the clinic. >> reporter: you were here as well? >> i was on the machine as he was about three hours monday, wednesday and friday. >> reporter: kyle cobb looks like any healthy teenager. it wasn't always the case. in 2009, kyle's kidneys failed. and it took months of dialysis and a new kidney to save him. kyle never forgot his friend, kuwan. what made you decide after all that you'd been through that you wanted to give something back? >> i just wanted to help him in any way i can. it gives me a sense of joy, make me think that i'm thinking outside of myself for once in life and to help someone else is a blessing to me also. >> reporter: so far, kyle's raised $3,100 for kiwan and his family with help from the local motorcycle club. >> it helped with everything that wikan needs. >> reporter: you didn't really get a christmas last year. >> no. >> reporter: he's going to this year? >> yes. >> reporter: kiwan continues his fight with kyle by his side, both agreeing a kidney would be the best gift of all. >> dr. sanjay gupta. dialysis drains patients of their energy. he wasn't feeling well and it was a strain for him to talk to dr. gupta. dialysis doesn't cure the kidney disease which means he'll have to be on dialysis his whole life unless he gets a transplant. let's hope so. it's science fiction for the 21st century. i'm talking about "tron legacy." it takes moviegoers to the digital frontier. our favorite tech expert is here. she's going to -- i have some tron swag, too. don't you go away. i'm going to show you mine if you show me yours. you want some fiber one honey clusters? yeah. you must really care about him. what? you gave him fiber. this tastes way too good to be fiber. they're delicious crunchy clusters with sweet honey and half a day's worth of fiber. you care about my fiber? not really. 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[ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nurspregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. let's go, boy, go! whoo-whee! if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. b. all right. if you're making this a movie night, you might want to get your tickets early for disney's "tron legacy." >> if i ever imagine what happened, my creation turned against me. >> where are you now? >> that looks really cool. a sequel to president 1982 sci-fi movie that's become a classic is the odds-on favorite to win at the box office this weekend. the special effects changed a lot in 28 years since the original. cutting edge movie technology. it's up katie's callalley, a te wiz for cnn. tron legacy sets first in cinematic history. i have a sweatshirt. i was going to put it on. i'm already wearing a crazy sweater. my producer got this. i'll probably have to send it back if it's worth more than 25 bucks. it says kr s tron. it's big cinematically. >> it is. the 1982 version which was low tech is ahead of its time. they used a decent amount of cgi which back then was a big deal. this film uses a lot of graphics. there was over 60 scenes and settings rendered in computer graphics. you couldn't the difference. you and i chatted. one of the coolest things in the film, jeff bridges had to play a younger version of himself at 35 and also himself at 60. they put four high def cameras on his face, marked 52 dots on his face and transferred his face to a digital body to create the younger character. top of the line technology, newest 3-d cameras, great in terms of special effects. >> how much money did they put it into? how much will it gross? >> $170 million disney dropped on it. i have say the midnight showing on thursday, the first day, $3.5 million ties avatar for an opening. we're expecting $47 million projected from this weekend in sales. i tell you what, don, i don't know about you. you give us $1 million and four red bulls i'm going to create a blockbuster for you. >> did you see the movie? >> i did. i thought it was incredibly stunning. a lot of glitz and glamour. as expected. the effects, see it in i max. they're over the top incredible. there's a lack of story line which is a