made? no wonder bo was barking. >> don't drink and drive. you might spill it. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> do not listen to that santa, kids. don't take his advice. that's just all in good fun on this christmas morning. merry christmas to everybody. >> nicer king with you, too. your parents are here. >> safe travels. >> i will be home soon, mom. don't worry. merry christmas. >> thank you. it was not such a merry christmas for the pope. now security concerns over and around the pope at the vatican. u.s. troops celebrating christmas in the war zone. we will take you there. and quite the deluge of snow in the plain states. we will give you an idea of what travel might be like this christmas day for them. good morning, everybody. merry christmas. you are in the "cnn newsroom." >> there were two other cars over here besides us. we were stopped. they were just going too fast. i have two dogs in the back of the car and my wife and son are sitting in the police car, because all of our windows are blown out in the back. we cannot be inside the car. >> nearly 50 vehicles pileup after a chain reaction in midwest city, oklahoma. oklahoma's governor ordered every highway, interstate and turn bike closed due to the winter storm. the storm is spreading northward to minnesota as well where people are being told they are putting their lives in danger if they choose to drive. more than 20 inches of snow is expected in the duluth area. let's check in with bonnie schneider in the weather center. it's nasty out there. pretty, but with this kind of depth, dangerous. >> yeah, on christmas day a lot of people are where they want to be, but many are not and have to travel. but this is for blizzard warnings. the areas that you see in the blue-purple color. that's where you will see 8-12 inches of snow on top of what is already on the ground. and then wind gusts from 40 to 50 miles per hour. if you are wondering what it looks like outside, have you to see this. a live picture of kansas city. this city is under a blizzard warning right now. it's tough to make it out because the visibility is so poor. you can see traffic lights in the distance. overall, conditions are not the type of weather you want to be traveling in, not at all. so what else are we tracking. not only do we have the advisories, we have are watching heavy snowfall into northern minnesota, and the northern plains. and then chicago, they will have a wintry mix later in the evening hours. it will be a tough go for those of you heading out. unfortunately, not the best weather we can expect for christmas. >> when people ask for a white christmas, sometimes you can get too much. >> that's true. >> this is not exactly what everybody had in mind. we'll check back momentarily. pope benedict xvi, he appeared unphased this morning as he delivers his traditional christmas morning, because hours earlier a woman knocked him down as he was preparing to leave the christmas eve mass. and cnn producer terence burke is on the phone with us. this is not the first time this particular woman has tried to get to the pope, this time however she was successful. >> that's right. according to the vatican spokesperson, the woman holds a swiss and italian passport. she tried to do the same thing last year. last year she was unsuccessful in reaching him. how is it the same woman two years in arow tried to approach the pope. there were a mass of people gathered as the pope made his way down preparing to present and give christmas eve mass here, and all of a sudden this woman successfully jumped over the security corden, and tries to approach the pope before she is pulled down by security. aloud gasp went out by the people there inside st. peter's basilica. and the pope continued to proceed with the mass. and then a french cardinal suffered a broken leg in the incident. this obviously is raising considerably security concerns that security around the pope is not tight enough and how is it possible the same woman who tried to reach him two years in a row could do this. the feel something this was not a conspiracy to take the pope's life or anything along those lines, but this was an isolated incident where this woman clearly has mental issues. >> what kind of security concerns might they have? how do they look into this when it looks like she was part of the crowd in the vatican, and jumps over the cordened off area as the pope is making his way down. this happens to take place weeks after in italy, by the way, as well. the prime minister, berlusconi was attacked by somebody who allegedly has a mental condition? >> exactly. that's the question that all vatican officials and vatican security forces are looking at now. the pope travels the world and meets with people all over the place all the time. but it is, it's a major concern here right now, and the question is how is this possible? one thing they will have to look at is they will have to address the situation of how this woman was able to get in two years in a row. tickets go out on christmas eve mass, and do they need to do more thorough procedures and look at who is getting in. this is somebody that sees millions of people around the world. it's just not possible to do a security background check on everybody e-every person that gets close to the pope. >> we appreciate that report. still overseas, the taliban released a video showing what they say is a u.s. soldier captured in eastern afghanistan. private first class bowe bergdahl, vanished more than five months ago. nato says the release the video is in a front to bergdahl's family and friends. the man shown in the video gives bergdahl's name and rank and emphasizes he has been treated humanely according to the idaho national guard. the family in idaho has been anxiously awaiting to see the video every since it was going to be released. new developments out of pakistan today. bombs blew up at three schools in the troubled northwest, including one near peshawar. no injuries have been reported. the army has an offensive to route out the taliban, and that has sparked retaliation. police allege these men were collecting material to carry out terrorists activities. the muslim men are from the washington, d.c. area and not not yet been charged. as america pauses to celebrate christmas today, more than 100,000 u.s. troops remain on duty in iraq. cnn's diana magnay joins us now live and is in baghdad. >> reporter: well, the chef is cooking this morning at 8:00 a.m. you can see them behind me, wearing the red santa hats. they are preparing eight turkeys and four hams and a lot of corn on the cob. i am joined by sergeant jason fisher. this is your third christmas in iraq. how was the food? >> the food was very good, diane. >> and your third christmas. you spent too much time here. how does this compare to the last christmases? >> the last christmases that we were here were not as peaceful. there was more going out in the town and stuff. we can relax and enjoy a good dinner for christmas. >> reporter: you are sitting around and talking about family. have you had a chance to talk to your family in the states. >> yeah, i talked to them and told them to record it. >> reporter: do you have a message for them. >> i wanted to say hi, and i love them and will be home soon. >> reporter: this is your last christmas here? >> yes. >> reporter: i hope this will be the last tour of duty in iraq. and somebody said to me every day is a monday here, today a monday with a turkey dinner. >> thank you, and merry christmas to you and all the christmas troops there. thank you so much for their giving of their service. and there is a rule being dropped banning pregnancy. a top general in iraq created a rule that would punish soldiers that became pregnant. it was designed to, quote, make soldiers think before they act. the updated policy no longer includes a pregnancy provision. back together after five years. a bitter custody battle over david and sean goldman head to florida for some father-son time. >> we want to wish all of our family in ottawa, illinois, a merry christmas. >> merry christmas and happy new year. we love you. national car rental knows i'm picky. so, at national, i go right past the counter... and you get to choose any car in the aisle. choose any car? you cannot be serious! okay. seriously, you choose. go national. go like a pro. ♪ merry christmas to everybody. a father and son reunited after five years. david goldman returned from his son sean. why disney? >> one of the interesting things is that after a really long and public custody battle, david goldman is hoping to spend private time bonding with their son now they are together here in the u.s. >> the plain carrying david g d goldman and his son sean touched down. and the stopover in florida was shrouded in secret see. unlike the morning in brazil. clutching his stepfather, the 9-year-old made his way through the swarm of cameras to meet his father. the scene marks the end of a five-year international custody battle. the chief justice of the brazilian court ordered tuesday sean be returned to his biological father who had been battling the boy's deceased mother. the reunion between father and son took place privately inside the u.s. consulate in rio de janeiro. and goldman flashed a thumbs up after they boarded a chartered flight. >> it was arm and arm, and david had his hand around him, and it was a father and son. a picture of a close relationship. >> the u.s. congressman, chris miss, was there to support their efforts. he was there when sean talked about his father about basketball, and the new life that awaits them. the legal battle may be over, but for sean, who just lost his mother last year, another traumatic turn. for the goldman's, the emotional journey may be just beginning. >> sean will have to go through a huge readjustment. start a new school and make new friends and reacquaint himself with his paternal grandparents in new jersey. >> won't language be a barrier? i understand his english is not fluent. >> well, we were told he does speak english. you can imagine. he has been in brazil for five years. at this point, many are saying okay, he must be speaking portuguese better than english, but kids, they adapt. >> kids are very resilient. >> thank you so much. >> they learn quickly. bye bye. it's christmas, so the markets must be closed. and yesterday there was a bit of a shortened session, rather. it did end up. that's good. it climbed after numbers on unemployment and the s&p was up about six points. and both gauges are at the highest level since the first week of october of last year. christmas, hawaiian style. president obama and his family are waking up this morning in his home state of hawaii. they arrived there to begin a two-week vacation there. ed henry has the assignment of covering the obama's trip. >> reporter: merry christmas from honolulu. the water is a little chilly, but i don't want to rub it in because in a lot of parts around the world it's chilly. but here it's 80 degrees and i will spend two weeks covering president obama's holiday vacation. and people are poking fun at me for being here for two weeks, but after covering many vacations in crawford, texas, with president bush, this is change i can believe in. before he left washington, the president hailed his senate victory on health care reform. his aides say he has a lot of work to do to push through the passage. but he is on the north side of the island. i will put on suntan lotion, and i will eat a sandwich here, and say merry christmas. ed henry, cnn, honolulu. >> he has two weeks to get a little practice of how to rub in the suntan lotion. and then what better tropics here. yesterday marked the 24th anniversary of the christmas eve tradition. and santa was joined by a knee boarding reindeer, and the grinch. you don't see it, but believe me when i say it's there. and then the health care vote called historic, but a lot of stuff to do. a checklist of what is left to do. headaches know when you're stressed. tired. running on empty. to relieve headaches doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand of pain reliever. tylenol rapid release gels... release medicine fast... to silence headache pain fast, so you can feel better... knowing you can stop a headache... as quickly as it starts. the chevy malibu and toyota camry received 5 star crash safety ratings. but only malibu has onstar. big deal. i'll just use my phone. let's say we crashed. whoops, you lost your phone and you're disoriented. i'm not disoriented. now you are. onstar automatic crash response can call to see if you're ok. onstar emergency. is everything ok howie? you don't answer, they can automatically send help to your exact location. i think i'll ride with you. the award-winning malibu. from chevy. a look at the top stories right now. a mixed bag. a search is under way for two suspects in the shooting death of a salvation army major. authorities say major fill up weiss was gunned down in front of his children on christmas eve. police say two gunman demanded money, and then shot weiss and killed him. a 6-year-old colorado boy is helping those less fortunate get in the christmas spirit. rob collected unused toys and then delivered them to a homeless shelter. his mother is recovering from cancer. she says she is so proud of him for thinking about others instead of what he is getting for christmas. a lot of you are opening your presents, which makes us wonder what is the best christmas gift you received this year? share your thoughts here, and i will share with the world some of your best gifts this holiday season. . health care reform passed congress, but still a lot of work to do. our medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta tells us what has to be done before it gets to the president's desk. >> let's look at where health care is going, certainly over the next couple months. take a look at the time line. the bill passed the house and now passed the senate. the next step is called the reconciliation or conference trying to merge these two bills. about three quarters of that will be done by the staffers of the senate. and there is an idea of a public option. that was something passed in the house but not in the senate, and also with regard to abortion funding, can federal dollars be used to pay for abortions? how will that be reconciled. if that gets passed, it will go to the president's desk and it could get approved. it's important to keep in mind the final benchmark which has a lot of things we have been talking about over the last few weeks and months, won't take place until 2014. we had a question about medicare specifically. how does the bill affect a senior on medicare? this has been a very important question, and a common one, too. one thing to point out right away is to pay for all of this, one of the things that has been proposed is dramatic cuts to medicare. a lot of seniors wondering where that will come from specifically. we find a lot of it comes from what is known as provider rate cuts, cutting down the reimbursement to hospitals and providers for specific care. people are worried if that could lead to some of the increased costs being passed down to patien patients. and the medicare advantage plan could be something that affects consumers directly. this has enhanced benefits like vision and dental. there is concern if you are starting to cut medicare dramatically, some of the enhanced benefits will be not as available or available at all. it's worth pointing out when you are trying to estimate costs, usually we are way off. this is what it was supposed to cost. and the point is it's very hard to project a lot of numbers. so what the impact will be on seniors? we don't know yet. but the $500 billion in cuts, people will notice that's, at least, as part of the bill is a way to pay for what we have been talking about. last minute shopping, or going to church, that's how many may have spent christmas eve. we will show you how others around the world celebrated. >> this is captain david maryfield. i want to wish my mother and father a merry christmas in vermont. god bless you. ( music playing ) if toyota gets credit for being the most fuel efficient car company in america, well, then how do you explain all this? chevy malibu, cobalt, silverado, and the all-new equinox. compare them to anyone. may the best car win. [ laughs ] what do i get my wife? [ note plays ] yes, she does. [ ding ] you guys rock! yeah, we do. [ male announcer ] smartphones, plans, and no annoying mail-in rebates. the best gifts come from best buy. so, at national, i go right past the counter... and you get to choose any car in the aisle. choose any car? you cannot be serious! okay. seriously, you choose. go national. go like a pro. a blizzard hitting parts of the midwest is making this an extreme white christmas. parts of ten states are under blizzard warnings. slippery roads have been blamed for at least 18 deaths. conditions are so bad authorities have closed interstates in texas, oklahoma, and south dakota. and the storm knocked out power to thousands in oklahoma. snow, ice, rain, you name it. not exactly what you want to see christmas morning. not to this degree? >> no, not a good christmas present to wake up to, to have a blizzard in kansas city. and oklahoma city, they shattered an all-time record for the most snow in one day. and i want to show you what is going on. if you are driving in kansas city, you probably should not be. not only do we have a blizzard warning, but look at the temperature. the windchill factor is 6 degrees. let's say you were getting in your car and heading to st. louis. it's 40 degrees. notice how the temperature is falling? that's because the force of the storm system is pulling down the colder air. you will see temperatures falling throughout the day. in st. louis, i would be prepared for the big chill there. rain changing over to sleet at times tonight. and we have tornado watches in effect for areas of the southeast. coastal sections of south carolina and georgia, you are still under a tornado watch. this system has a history of producing tornadic winds, so take it seriously. we are watching for that. and one final note, so far even though we have over 2,000 planes in the air, no delays just yet. we are anticipating them in many locations. i will keep you up-to-date on that throughout the morning. >> and lots of folks could be delayed because of two big snow systems that came through earlier. hopefully they will get there today safely. >> christmas is a day christians celebrate the birth of christ. this morning we thought we would show you how people in bethlehem and beijing and london were getting ready for this day. first to the west bank. >> reporter: i am in bethlehem, where some 15,000 visitors are here to celebrate christmas eve. there are marching bands and schoolchildren coming through the square all day against the musical back drop of the church of the nativity. this is built on the site to where jesus was traditionally believed to have been born. many christians come here from all over the world. politics have been put on the back burner. and now we have a band, the more conservative christians, they would not like to say that next to the church. there will also be silent nights. >> i am in beijing. christmas is still relatively new here in china only really celebrated within the last ten years. there was a time when you couldn't display a sign which read merry christmas because of the religious meanings, but now it means christmas is everywhere. it's a commercial holiday, a chance for retailers to cash in. and on christmas eve, many go out to the restaurants, bars, and clubs to party into the wee hours. and on christmas day, it's a working day, like any other. >> reporter: i am morgan neill in london. we are loo