going in a mad dash. we're seeing violent scenes even. they're tearing down doors. people being arrested. you know what they're all after? a shoe. not just any shoe, though. an air jordan. we'll explain. also, possible ground breaking lawsuit against the nfl. a number of former players suing over concussions they say they got while playing the game. one of those players, jamal lewis, in studio with me in just a matter of minutes. don't miss that. let me start with this major political road block now for newt gingrich and rick perry. both candidates failed to qualify for the virginia primary. neither of them came up with enough valid signatures. this means now that there are only two candidates that will square off in virginia's march 6th showdown. let me bring in our athena jones. first of all, how could this happen? how could they not make the ballot? >> virginia has stringent rules. among the most stringent of all the states. you have to get at least 10,000 signatures from across the state including at least 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts. it's a little more complicated than other places. the gingrich campaign, on thursday he told a gop breakfast in virginia that he was going to have 12,000 to 14,000 signatures. now, we don't know exactly where he fell short. maybe he did have enough of the 10,000 but didn't have every one for each of the congressional districts. it's a little complicated there. you know, t.j., this is all about newt gingrich's ground game and there's ban leen a lot questions and concerns when he was surging to the polls. there were questions whether that caught his campaign off guard. he doesn't have nearly as much organization as a mitt romney, for instance. this is really telling here, t.j. >> and also only two names on the ballot now. >> exactly. mitt romney and ron paul are going to get to divide up that state's 49th delegates. the state, virginia, allocates its delegates in kind of a complicated way. but, still, the fact is it's now a race between two people in that state. you know, recent polls have shown gingrich ahead. he was at the top of the recent quinnipiac poll just about five points over romney so not a big lead but still he looked to do pretty well in that state which is where gingrich lives. so not good news for gingrich and perry this christmas. >> all right. agtena jones, thank you so much for us in washington and just how big of a blow is this? we'll be talking more about gingrich and perry. meanwhile, south carolina's newly passed voter i.d. law is already running into trouble with the federal government. justice department is blocking the law from going into effect saying it would, quote, create significant racial disparities. south carolina's governor calls the decision outrageous. you can join cnn tuesday, january 3rd. the iowa caucuses, finally it's time to start voting. a special, "america's choice" right here on cnn. just three minutes past the hour now headlines from overseas for you. a bloody debris on the streets of damascus, syria. two suicide car bombers blew themselves up there yesterday. 44 people killed. more than 160 hurt. both sides blamed the other for the attack. state run media reports said the bombs carried the blue prints of al qaeda. also today tens of thousands of protesters surging in moscow for a day of demonstrations turning out in sub zero weather to protest what they claim are rigged elections. this is also seen as a challenge to the domination of vladimir putin over russia. security is tight in moscow where russian media is reporting bus loads of riot police lining up along the streets. similar protests taking place all across russia. britain's prince philip will spend christmas eve in the hospital. queen elizabeth's husband, you see him there, he had a procedure yesterday to unblock the coronary artery. prince philip is 90 years old. also the cuban government will pardon and set free almost 3,000 prisoners. the castro administration published an announcement saying prisoners over the age of 60, women as well as six inmates are among those being released. president castro cited the upcoming visit by pope benedict xvi as the reason for the mass pardon. meanwhile an american contractor who has been in prison there since 2009 is not among those to be freed. at five minutes past the hour let me get you to your all important travel weather. for the weekend, for the holiday, got problems? >> looks like we'll see some especially in the lone star state of texas where we have rain, sleet, even some snowfall. in speaking of snow, the big question a lot of people have is will we or will we not have a white christmas or is it going to be, well, quite frankly, one without snow? we'll have the answer coming up in a few moments plus we have a game day forecast to show you some of the big nfl games we'll have this weekend. what you as a fan can expect. >> all right, reynolds. we'll check in with you in a moment. thank you so much. meanwhile, fist fights. police using pepper spray, glass being smashed. these are shoppers doing all of this stuff. why? because they're after a pair of shoes. air jarodans. there it is. retro jordans re-released and people are kicking down doors and kicking each other to get them. stay with us. coming up on eight minutes past the hour taking a look at news across the country. in aurora, colorado three firefighters had to be taken to the hospital after a chimney exploded. they were trying to put out flames inside a home and that back draft you hear about sometimes caused an explosion and knocking them off their feet. a back draft happens after a fire suddenly flares up after being exposed to fresh air. >> grab on. go get them! >> one way to put it. grab 'em, go get 'em! and they did. this is in orlando. military families got quite the gift for the holidays. 128 army reservists returning home after spending six months in iraq. they are some of the last soldiers to leave that country. we see this every year. santa surfing. this is in malibu, california. no sleighs required here. i-reporter julie ellerton says surfing santa was taking part in his annual wave ride at surf rider beach. santa was joined by the mrs., frosty, even a surfing elf out there. nine minutes past the hour now. you remember spike lee told us, it must be the shoes. >> and this is my main man, michael jordan. this is a pair of nikes. this is something you can buy. this is patented. this is high flying, 360 slam dunk. this is something you cannot do. let me repeat myself. this you can buy. you cannot do this. can, can't. can. no! >> yeah. must be the shoes, right? here we are 20 years later. it is still the shoes. a new version of air jordans went on sale yesterday. it is an updated version of an old shoe, version 11. there are long lines. people want to get the shoes. but people went into a frenzy in many places. take a look at this, an all out sprint. this is at mall in kansas city, missouri. look at these folks going after shoes. but here, this one got a bit ugly. this is in indianapolis. hundreds of people rushed the door at two separate malls. at this store in particular you see people getting trapped on the floor down there and people trampling over them. they tore the doors off their hinges. also in georgia four people arrested as they tried to get a pair of shoes. our affiliate wsb is reporting that also a mother left her two young children in the car to go in and try to buy the shoes. also in omaha, nebraska a man called for police backup when crowds there got out of control. john oakley picks this up from our affiliate katv. >> police descend on crossroads mall after help an officer calls go out. the reason? large crowds trying to get inside to buy the newest jordans. >> all these cops came up here, ar-15s, it was fights and crazy. it really wasn't worth it. i wish i could have ordered them online at midnight. internet was crashing so i had to figure out a way to get them. >> a lot of pushing and shoving and excitement ready to get in there and get these shoes. >> this is the prize. jordan concord 11s retail around $175 bucks. montgomery waited five hours. >> for a shoe. holiday season shoe. everybody had to get them and i was lucky to get them. >> reporter: same story at village point. large crowd gathering at finish line for one thing. >> they're a real popular shoe and everybody wants them. you see the demand for them. there are just not enough for everybody. that's the bad thing. >> reporter: payne got out there at 10:00 p.m. the crowd was quickly disappointed when the store ran out. >> folks, they are out of the shoes. you might as well go. >> reporter: katv, news watch 7. >> a shoe, folks. it's a shoe. $180 shoe. all right. so we're asking you this morning. go ahead and be honest. have you ever stood in long lines for something and maybe got a little crazy? what item was it you went crazy over? we've been talking to some of you on twitter. got that up on my desk right here right now. you know where to find us on our blog as well as on facebook. also up next, a white christmas? well, doesn't always live up to the hype. reynolds wolf with your ice and holiday weekend travel forecast. paperless discount. paid-in-full discount. [yawning] homeowner's discount. safe driver discount. chipmunk family reunion. someone stole the nuts. squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today. because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. ♪ t.j. holmes, unbelievable. thank you very much. >> amazing. unbelievable. >> all of us from arkansas know how to play the saxaphone. we do. >> basically you learn how to walk, your first steps are walking to pick up some of the brass and you did and it is amazing how you developed that skill over the years. >> i stayed with it. i put it down for a little while but i'm glad i have that talent. >> man, that skill. a reed instrument would be tough to play in cold weather like today. >> okay. cold weather. texas, the southwest was having issues. >> right. >> but travel this weekend. who is going to have a problem? >> it really is going to be limited to texas for most of today. you get rain, sleet, and snow, the trifecta. >> ooh. >> you can see what happens over toward el paso. whenever you're driving on ice, hitting the gas as hard as you possibly can probably not the best thing to do. >> it worked out here. >> hold on, turbo. >> look at that skill. >> good times. look at this guy. i mean, he is trying to make his way through very -- a lot of trepidation and understandably so. slippery conditions. it's funny. it doesn't matter. the biggest, strongest, toughest vehicle can be humbled by just a little bit of ice. it's amazing how it can happen. snow, actually easier. just take your time. come on. come on over here and let me show you what we've got. this is going to be the big issue for the day. if you look at the national perspective, the big bulls eye is going to be on texas where you happen to see the blues and even the greens is where we've seen the rain drops and precipitation. the rain drops in terms of say back in austin, a little bit of the hill country. when you get back into the higher elevation, south of lubbock, from the palo duro canyon you'll have a lot of snow, several inches, not several feet like they had up to three feet of snowfall outside of boulder, colorado within say 72 hours ago. another place we'll see a lot of that snowfall begin to pile up is going to be in the highest levels of the cascades. the valleys though, i'm telling you, mainly in seattle all rain. back out toward the great lakes especially lake eerie. lake effect snowfall is going to be with you a good part of the day. as long as you have the prevailing wind out of the northwest, snow is going to be a thing for you especially along parts of i-90. now take a look at what we have for you. even though we've got some precipitation in the northeast some in parts of the deep south and some in the pacific northwest, for the most part the rest of the nation is going to be pretty nice. cold conditions, though, are going to be experienced especially in the northern and central plains as we wrap it up, take a look at the highs. 41 in denver. 42 degrees kansas city. 39 minneapolis. 45 in billings. 62 in san francisco. 53 in memphis. 81 in tampa. 81 miami. 45 washington, new york, and boston in the upper to lower 30s. plain and simple, if you're driving with your family and going where conditions are kind of slick, either just pull over on the side of the road and take it easy or don't rush. especially when you have people that you care about. isn't that right? >> a good reminder. we know that but we're always in a hurry trying to get somewhere on time, get to the family. you're right. just take your time, folks. reynolds, thanks. >> you bet. >> game day forecast coming up in a little bit. >> very soon. i know you want to see that. we'll share with you. >> thank you, buddy. also in a few minutes we'll be talking nfl again. we saw a number of formal nfl players come out in lawsuits suing the nfl saying they did not do enough and they did not inform players properly about the risks of concussions. we got a former running back jamal lewis here in studio with us. stay here. i joined the navy when i was nineteen. i was a commissioned officer at twenty-three. i was an avionics... tactical telecommunications... squad leader. i think the hardest transition as you get further into the military is... you know it's going to end one day. chase hired me to be a personal banker. i'm a business analyst... manager. i'm very proud to work for chase. when you hire a veteran, you get... great leadership... decisiveness... focus. chase knows, when you hire a veteran, you're hiring america's best. chase is proud to help 100,000 veterans find jobs at home. hey, hey, hey, hey. i can see who's on my network people! lance? lance? yes, yes you are next. all right. dave, i'm in. ♪ katie! what are you doing, sweetheart? supplementing my allowance. how long have we been gone? [ male announcer ] get low prices on the latest 4g phones, starting at $28.88. save money. live better. walmart. just in case you weren't getting enough christmas music at the mall, we thought we'd -- we told you you'd get a little more this morning. no. we've been having a lot of debates about christmas music this morning but there is another little jingle for you. well, got a timely story for the holiday right now. about karma and good things happening to good people. jeffrey peltier is a good example. a few months back he found some money in an envelope just lying out in the middle of the street but instead of keeping it, he went through the effort of tracking down the rightful owner and he returned it. now something nice has just happened to jeffrey in time for the holidays. he joins me now from his home in massachusetts to tell this story. jeffrey, first of all, tell me how much money did you find? >> they said it was about $2,000. i seen it on the road. i thought it was fake. lo and behold it was real. i had seen a deposit slip. added it all up. >> okay. $2,000. be honest with me here. how much thought did you give to maybe going ahead and pocketing that money? >> about two seconds. >> two seconds. that's all? >> yeah. that's it. >> okay. >> i really wouldn't want to. >> how difficult was it to go through that process and how long did it take to track down the rightful owner of the honey? >> it was pretty quick. her house was right around the corner and her name was on the envelope. i just put it in my gps and went right to the house. >> you sounds like you returned it from the time you had the money in your hand to when she got it back was how long? >> probably five minutes. she didn't even know it was gone. >> okay. now, jeffrey, the woman when she saw you, she had to have been a little shocked. >> i knocked at her door. i had an envelope. she's looking at me like what? i'm like, i think this is yours. >> was she appreciative? >> oh, yes. yes she was. yes she was. >> okay. now you tell me what just happened to you not too long ago. you ended up being a pretty big winner of an item i assume can help you out in your day-to-day life. >> yeah. it really could. i won a new car. my old car was about 14 years old. we needed one. we really did. >> we're showing a picture of it here now. how did you end up winning the car? >> i filled out a raffle that was during a radio marathon for giving food to homeless people through the open pantry i believe. and rock 102 in springfield. they're a local station with two great disc jockeys. they were just -- they sat out in a trailer for two days and collect food for homeless people. jeffrey, would you say you've been a lucky person? are you one that wins raffles? are you that kind of guy over your lifetime? are you one that never really wins anything? >> well, i win quite a lot. small things but nothing like a car. >> nothing like this. now, what are your thoughts now? because i think a lot of people, even, not necessarily they're bad people but around the holidays, tough economic times right now, find $2,000, they would consider that part to be lucky and they would be blessed by that. but what are your thoughts, now, that it's kind of come back around and something nice and really nice and timely has happened to you? what is the lesson here you have learned at least and you'd like other people to know about karma? >> basically i think if you're a nice person people will be nice to you. that's pretty much it. i don't know how to add to that. i really don't. >> jeffrey, could you have used that money? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> but only gave it a couple seconds thought and now something nice has happened to you. jeffrey, we love this story. when we heard about it, and good to see that something good happened to a good person and you did the right thing when it wasn't convenient necessarily. like you said, it could have helped you out. thank you for spending time with us on this christmas eve. congratulations on the car and happy new year and merry christmas. thanks so much for taking the time. >> thanks. merry christmas to you. >> all right. jeffrey, thanks so much. good story. karma. pays off sometimes to do the right thing even when it might not be convenient for you. well, coming up next we go from that positive story to another positive story. politics. just kidding. we got a story here though about presidential politics and the republican presidential nomination. there is going to be a problem for these two men. they failed to get on the ballot in a key state. we'll explain exactly what happened to them. also ahead, this is video that we just love here on cnn saturday and sunday morning. we showed it to you. see that guy on the left? he is the head of state. you see that pen in his hand? he thinks he's slick. whoa. transfer it over here. let me get it into the pocket. yes. he got caught on tape with some sticky fingers. this is some other embarrassing moments caught on tape when we come back. at aren't on your lis. jumper cables, camo anything, a power drill -- ooh! [ male announcer ] the only place to go for every guy on your christmas list with great deals throughout the store. walmart. ♪ ♪ we are coming up on the bottom of the hour on this christmas eve. thanks for spending a little time here with us. you had a busy weekend and we'll get you caught up on things you need to know including some of these top stories. over in syria the president is blaming terrorists for twin suicide bombings in damascus. opposition groups say yesterday's attacks are the work of the regime. one opposition group says violence this week killed almost 300 people. the u.n. says more than 5,000 have died since president al assad start'd crackdown on anti-government protesters back in march. also, cuba announcing it is pardoning more than 2900 prisoners from dozens of countries. but american allen gross is not one of them. president reuel castro says pope benedict xvi's upcoming visit motivated the move. also president obama's delayed vacation now under way. got a little pep in his step. as he arrives in hawaii. he got there after that fight in d.c. over the payroll tax cut extension. he met up with his wife the first lady and their daughters. they have been out there a week ahead of dad. we got the news overnight. both newt gingrich and rick perry have failed to qualify for the primary. the virginia primary. how big of a deal is that really? let's bring in our good friends and start a little early, maria cardona and republican strategist mcallister, good to see you both. lynny, let me start with you since we're talking republicans here. big deal they won't be on the ballot in virginia? >> yes it's a big deal. it's virginia. i don't know how in the world you can have all the money that rick perry has and you can be the front-runner like newt gingrich is/was, and not get on the virginia ballot. this is a fumble of epic proportions. unfortunately, what it signals to supporters out there that are still undecided is, look. we were wrong about rick perry. the debates we saw from him were absolutely correct. this newt guy, we wanted to believe in him. he did really well at the debates but maybe he is not as serious a contender as we thought he was if he can't even get on the virginia ballot. >> yes, a little embarrassing but for practical intents and purposes is it really going to change the game and their ability to get the nomination? >> well, if they're serious about getting the nomination, absolutely, t.j. i agree with every single word that came out of lenny's mouth. so merry christmas. >> wow. >> of course you do. >> and i have to say, you know, lenny is right. this goes to credibility. this goes to competence. look, you can't say that gingrich and perry just got into the race and so therefore you might be able to excuse them not getting on the virginia ballot. let's remember, the race for the nomination, we can talk about iowa and new hampshire and all the early states and whether you do well and then you can go on but it is all about the number of delegates that you get. and so not qualifying for a state as important as virginia in terms of delegates, perception, it's an important swing state. it's in the south. everything that you can talk about that is something that you want to avoid in terms of being a presidential candidate and not qualifying for it is absolutely astounding. i think it goes to credibility. >> we've only got two on the ballot. romney and ron paul are the only two qualified in virginia so we'll see if that plays to somebody's advantage. but let me get back to ron paul here. lenny, in iowa now we know he has been doing really well in the latest polls we have seen even leading in a lot of those polls but he is being dogged now by these newsletters from the '80s and '90s that had his name and some really provocative just explosive racial comments on them. is he going to survive that? can he hold on now that maybe a lot of people are not paying attention baufs tecause of the holiday, paying some attention, you get what i'm saying, but is that going to cause a problem in iowa? >> two things are going on. number one, the ron paul structure is very good for a caucus type situation so his supporters will still be behind him. however, let's see if mr. paul has a herman cain moment. it's not necessarily the actual incident. it's how you respond to the incident. he hasn't responded very well. when gloria borger tried to ask him about this his responses to those questions did not come across as smooth as a presidential candidate should. how is he going to respond to this in the last week leading up to the caucus is going to determine if he can be the surprise winner in iowa or not. >> go ahead, maria. >> it must be christmas because i agree with everything lenny said yet again. i think what's important, though, here, is i don't think that this will affect ron paul in iowa because his supporters are dug in. in fact, they see something like this and they think it is either a media conspiracy or something that his rivals have dug up. i think if he gets out of iowa and he comes out of there first or second with some real credibility in terms of his competence, it is something that he will absolutely have to deal with because with the broader electorate, this is atrocious. he has not answered it to the extent that he needs to in order to be credible moving on after iowa. >> before everybody gets a little too excited about this peace on earth and good will toward lenny and maria this morning you all are coming back for another segment and we'll be talking about this payroll tax cut fight. i give everybody my word they will not be in agreement completely on this one. lenny, maria, good to have you all. on christmas eve i'll see you all again. >> good to be here. >> they're coming back for their regular time. >> happy holidays. coming up, we just couldn't forget this video. an embarrassing moment for the czech president. the man got caught stealing a pen. we've got it on tape. that is just one of the embarrassing moments we've got to show you from 2011 that was caught on tape. also look at this. dancing and cheering in the most unlikely places. pakistan and india take patriotism to a whole new level. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. and video chat with up to 9 of your friends with the galaxy nexus by samsung, or get the samsung stratosphere, and for a limited time, get twice the data for the same low price. verizon. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ ♪ i don't want a lot for christmas ♪ one of only two christmas songs that i can stomach is that one. we're playing plenty this morning, christmas jingles for you today i love christmas music. >> do you really? >> it puts my in such a great mood. >> only some of them. >> the woman we are about to talk about today loved christmas music too much and loved christmas drinks too much so she got rather inebriated and got off a train in england at barnsly station in yorkshire and was so tipsy from her christmas drinking that she literally gets off the train and -- >> uh-oh! >> wiped out. that's called fall down drunk. and the video was released to warn people not to do that. >> i wonder how she feels about this video being released. >> put it this way. i'm sure it's embarrassing but she is fine. she was just slightly injured. >> we have other embarrassing videos of the year. can you top that one? >> absolutely. the pennsylvania mole this year, you remember that? she was texting, so busy texting she fell into the fountain. of course the caveat was that after this she then sued the mall saying you should have warned me. anyway, she hated that the video was released. >> the judge threw the case out i certainly hope. >> i think so. but you loved the one of the czech republic president when he took that pen. do you remember it was the pen encrusted with gold and lapis and there he is with the chilean president and this is what he does. let's take a quick look. he takes that pen and he very surreptitiously puts it in his pocket and then you're about to see him closing his jacket. >> wasn't this the case where he didn't realize he could take the pen so he thought he had to steal it? >> something like that. but then the czech republic government said, you know, that's what people do. we take ceremonial pens. it's part of our tradition. >> embarrassing. >> something was very embarrassing for an entire country in the maltese. employ people go to the maltese to get married. it is a tourist attraction. here you have a swiss couple going to renew their vows and there you have the person conducting the ceremony doing this in the native language of the maldives but really he is cursing them. the most terrible thing is i can't even tell you how bad they were cursing them and wishing them a terrible life. >> they had no idea. >> that was very embarrassing. >> wonlder how they're doing. >> let's wonder what happened to their marriage. was it cursed? this fedex guy arrives and look what he does with this television monitor. >> hey, at least it arrived on time. >> exactly. but, you know, again, what does this all say? i wond fer that monitor broke is what i want to know. >> definitely the guy went to look. he said because it arrived and had broken and then he checked out this video surveillance camera was up and that explains why it was broken. fedex say they were shocked by the video as well. >> put it this way. they say no advertising is bad advertising. what video will make it in 2012. >> i'm sure they'll come up with something. other video i know you like, the daily closing of the gates at the pakistani/india border. beautiful video, a patriotic display here. it is a light moment despite pretty intense tension there between the two countries. who's tougher? who's stronger? who's got more swagger? this is the daily showdown between nuclear neighbors pakistan and india at the border crossing just outside of lahore. >> it is intense. >> this war dance is a symbol of six decades of bad blood and mistrust sparked by a violent separation in 1947 after british rule and fueled by three wars, a nuclear standoff, and a seemingly endless barrage of accusations from both sides. ever since 1959 the long-time rivals border guards have met here at sunset and faced off in a flag lowering ceremony. >> it is just the most patriotic -- >> each angry stomp, each glare another dagger in this battle of bravado. >> if you want to know what india and pakistan's rivalry feels like this is where you come. >> reporter: the ceremony starts with a furious, 50-yard march to the border gates. then comes the stare downs followed by the synchronized lowering of the flags. the event is one of the region's most popular tourist attractions. thousands line the stands on each side of the border. the stronger the scowl the louder the war. few electrify the pakistani crowds than sergeant mahmoud. at 6'6", 240 pounds, no border guard here is bigger. the towering figure who doesn't speak on camera but makes clear that his country is not to be messed with. but over the past year or so there's been some developments and some signs that show just maybe this icy relationship is gone. pakistan and india are meeting again. leaders are talking peace, not pointing fingers. and work is under way to expand trade. despite signs of improved relations, the border gates are still slammed shut after every ceremony. erasing half a century of mistrust takes time, analysts say. until then, conflict, not peace defines pakistan/india relations. cnn, pakistan. >> i told you you'd want to stick around and see that. coming up next, a fearsome running back in the nfl. jamal lewis is here in the studio with me this morning and like a lot of young football players, he led with his head on the field, got his bell rung more than once and now he and a number of other former nfl players are suing the nfl. he'll explain. stay with us for that conversation. beauty, huh? 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what kind of physical issues have you been having? >> it's not really about the lawsuit but awareness being put out there about concussions and the fact that everybody needs to know exactly the symptoms so you can monitor things and parents can monitor their kids even better when they're out there on the field playing this sport. >> what have you gone through yourself? i know, i asked jerome bettis this question when he was in the studio with me once. what would you guess, how many concussions would you say you've had? not diagnosed concussions but how many would you think you've mad in your playing career? >> now, knowing the symptoms, i would say probably eight to nine. maybe ten concussions or whatever. but mainly just a memory loss. eyes very sensitive to light. migraines -- these are things you pretty much deal with periodically but these are symptoms that arise in trying to get over what is due to the post con cu concussive syndrome. will the lawsuit not seek any damages from the -- or monetary damages from the league? >> sure. it will, t.j. any lawsuit that's filed these days, and this is a personal injury type of lawsuit, can only ask for damages nan this case it's financial damages but it is asking for a change in awareness. i know you mention epd the other lawsuit talking about medical monitoring. it's to provide for these guys in the future to make sure they're treated for this and are compensated for these injuries. >> what are we talking about here from the league at least from the nfl? were they telling you you're okay and can -- not necessarily concussions aren't anything to worry about. we all know that. just a matter of common sense. but are you saying they had some interest and you all not knowing the full extent -- how would your playing have changed? how would you have changed the type of player you were on that field if you knew about concussions and what we know now? >> basically because it's just you being aware and knowing your body and yourself and knowing these symptoms are from a concussion and a brain injury. i would think it would change your decision about going back on the field after a certain hit or if you're feeling a certain way letting somebody know. >> now, you have to explain because we have seen even with all the attention to concussions now just about every week there is some case of a player getting his bell rung and just fighting to get back on the field. i mean, even with all the information we have now. are you sure that would have changed anything? we see these guys still doing this. >> well, i think it would have changed. and i think it's on the individual. it's on the individual person. and, of course, you know, due to football and the competitive edge and the competitiveness of the sport you want to get back out there and fight for your position. you don't want anybody to step in that place. but at the same time, being aware and knowing the consequences of the concussion and what could actually happen and the results in the future, it would probably alter your decision about going back out there. >> what would be in the nfl's interest of -- do you actually believe the nfl misled the players? >> absolutely. >> you're saying yes. why would they want to mislead? haven't we all just learned more about concussions and brain injuries over the past several years? >> well, we're learning more about it now because the focus is on it. what you asked jamal about going back in the game, the key here is not just that jamal and these players. it's the league. the league is known now for almost two decades the long-term effects of concussions. it's dealing with those players when they have those symptoms. and diagnosing those symptoms from the sideline and doing something about it. >> you say known but they didn't tell the players. >> they didn't tell the players and very much like the tobacco industry with cigarettes, it's downplaying whatever research there is out there and saying there is no causal connection and only until 2010 when the league changed their committee on concussions did they acknowledge that. and you're seeing more obviously day by day to jamal, a lot of people look at this and you mentioned cigarettes, no matter what everybody knows cigarettes are bad for you. you have to know that. you don't necessarily need research. there is a warning on the side of the package. you chose a career where every play you're getting knocked around in some way. how much responsibility do you bear for choosing that career, one, and putting yourself in that position, for leading with that head sometimes? how much of this is personal responsibility? >> well, i think going into the sport you know that there are going to be injuries and things that happen, whatever, but being aware and knowing what's going on and knowing that you could possibly have brain trauma or some kind of brain injury, like i said, it adds to your decision. it helps alter your decision. i played ten games, ten weeks with a concussion not knowing i had these different symptoms until i actually brought it out to the forefront and made them get me checked out for a concussion and found out i did have it. so if i had known before hand, i could have made a different decision and not played ten games and constantly put myself through more brain trauma. >> i want to put up a statement here we did get from the nfl saying any allegation that the nfl intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit. it stands in contrast to the league's actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions. so this really could as we say be a game changer in this all. but mike, attorney for -- lead attorney on this case and also jamal, appreciate you both for being here. we'll follow this down the road. merry christmas to you both. >> same to you, t.j. >> we're getting close to the top of the hour now. speaking of football here we go. reynolds wolf is going to be talking football in a second. a lot of people going to actually be concerned about the weather. a couple games today. we'll have that for you. also we've been asking is there anything you would stand in line hours to get like some people did for the air jarodans yesterday? got plenty of responses. keep sending them in. stay with me. >> i'm alison kosic reporting live from jersey city, new jersey. it's down to the wire. you say you haven't even started your christmas shopping yet? no worries. i have top gift ideas for you and i'll show you why people are procrastinating, coming up after the break. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! all right. reynolds, you have the forecast. travel forecast, yes. we'll get back to that in a second. but game day. >> go ahead. you're a journalist. >> they won't notice. >> okay. first game we'll talk about is the one taking place at east rutherford, new jersey, the giants and new york jets. kickoff is 1:00 p.m. it is an outdoor game. not expecting any precipitation. pretty but certainly nippy. 38 degrees. that'll be your expected high for game time. in order field ford field in detroit, san diego and the tigers -- heavens to betsy. talking about the detroit lions rather. if you're going to walk around say greek town or even making the walk from the people mover to ford field it will be chilly. kickoff is 4:05. temperature at 36. winds south-southwest at 5 or 10 miles an hour. my apologies to you lion fans. the cowboys stadium in arlington talking about the eagles and the cowboys. kickoff is 4:15. if you plan on doing any outdoor cooking, maybe some grilling and that kind of thing you'll have to dodge the rain drops. 40% chance of showers. then we fast forward to tomorrow. christmas day there will be a game in chicago or rather at green bay, chicago, the bears at the packers. kickoff at 8:20 p.m. at lambeau field. temperature around 30 degrees or so. winds stronger by later in the game so with the wind chill factor by the fourth quarter looking at the low 20s. >> t.j.? >> that sounds about right. >> we'll just put up these comments. we've been asking you and showing you pictures of people just about rioting over the new air jarodans that came out but we've been asking what have you food in line and maybe gotten crazy for? one says, do you remember the furbie? >> i remember the disaster sure. >> says she waited for hours in line for her kid. the kid is now 18 and can't even remember the toy. another from steve saying, and everybody would like to wait in line for this, a new political system. one that lives for the good of all rather than for the good of me and us. another here saying, he'd wait in line and go crazy for a good paying job. another from john saying willy wonka golden ticket. another -- got a few more. people saying a ticket to heaven they'd wait in line for. somebody else saying taylor swift. >> taylor swift. all right. >> willy wonka. what was the other one, the furbie? the 18-year-old kid doesn't even remember that. this is like the old tickle me elmo thing. stood in line for tickle me elmo. gone. >> no idea where it is. >> in the trash, broken and forgotten toys. >> we'll reset this thing on this cnn saturday morning. on this christmas eve. here is a look at some of the stories making headlines. we start in syria. the government is blaming the opposition for bombings. the protesters say it is the work of regime. out of russia thousands of people braving the cold in moscow to protest what they call rigged elections. the elections earlier this month returned vladimir putin's party to power. in cuba the government will set free nearly 3,000 prisoners. the castro administration published an announcement saying women over the age of 60, women as well as sick inmates among those released. president reuel castro cited the upcoming visit of pope benedict xvi as the reason. we turn to the republican battle for president. it just got a little tougher for newt gingrich and rick perry. both candidates failed to qualify for the virginia primary in march. they didn't come up with enough valid signatures. virginia is not only an important super tuesday state but the state where newt gingrich currently lives. our athena jones has been on this for us this morning. i was talking to some of our political players this morning and they could not say strongly enough just how big of a deal and embarrassment this is. if you're a serious candidate. you got to be on the ballot in an important state like virginia. >> exactly. of course you have to be on the ballot. as you mentioned, newt gingrich is living in virginia. the most recent quinnipiac poll had him at the top of the polls, five points ahead of romney. so it looked like he could do well in that state. there are 49 delegates at stake. you can't do well if you're not on the ballot as you mentioned. that is the real problem here. it really does show what a lot of people have been asking questions about these last several weeks when we've seen gingrich surging in the polls. it's really whether he has the campaign organization to do this long slog. whether he has the ground game as you'll know. as you remember from back in 2008 it ended up being a really long slogan it is important to rack up these wins in state primaries and caucuses. that's where obama ended up besting hillary clinton was by racking up those wins sometimes in various states that maybe she wasn't paying attention to. so it really, really matters to be on the ballot and in all of these states especially a state where he was expected to do well in. >> we know there are several candidates but only a couple are going to be on the ballot in virginia. >> right. so mitt romney and ron paul get to divide up the delegates and that is a big deal. we don't know as i mentioned where the campaigns will stand, who will have how many delegates by march. it's not one of the first primaries but it is a really important state and as these -- your earlier guests mentioned and as we all know it really matters whether you have the organization and so people who may have been giving gingrich a real look before might now be scratching their heads and thinking maybe he doesn't have it all together. that is a real problem clearly for him and for perry. >> all right. athena jones for us this weekend in washington. thank you as always. >> thanks. >> we'll turn back to one of the candidates who is on the ballot in virginia. we talked about ron paul. and a problem, an old problem just won't seem to go away for him. old newsletters being deemed racist and homophobic. our brian todd looks at the letters and the issues that continue to haunt this republican presidential candidate. >> reporter: as he surges in the polls before iowa, ron paul is again having to defend himself over language in a letter written on his behalf. we've reported recently and in previous campaigns how ron paul has disavowed newsletters with his name on them, newsletters from the 1980s and '90s with racial insults toward african-americans and others. with those newsletters paul said he didn't write them, didn't know who did, and that he rarely read them. now we're learning of a solicitation letter for those newsletters not only written on paul's behalf but with what appears to be his signature on them. theincindiary. in the direct mail tay'ler warns of, quote, the coming race war in our big cities. it mentioned, quote the federal homosexual coverup on aids and says in brackets my training as a physician helps me see through this one. it references the israeli lobby, which plays congress like a cheap harmonica. the letter is an effort to get people to send in money to subscribe to three newsletters put out by paul, including one called "surviving the new money" where they lay out what they say is a government conspiracy to track people through new currency. but unlike those letters, there is one item worth mentioning with the solicitation letter. this letter has ron paul's signature indicating possibly a closer connection. the reuters news agency, which first reported on this and obtained a copy of the letter says this solicitation was written around 1993. reuters says it got the letter from james karcik contributing editor of "the new republic" magazine. we contacted ron paul's campaign. quote, dr. paul did not write that solicitation and the signature is an auto pen. it does not reflect his thoughts and is out of step with the message he has espoused for 40 years. the campaign says he disavows the letter and abhors the content. they say there were multiple ghost letters involved in writing these letters and paul does not know who wrote the offensive material. but the campaign also says that because they appeared under his name, quote, he should have better policed it and that he has assumed responsibility and apologized. we also tried to find out whether ron paul's campaign is going to try to find out who wrote the letter and maybe admonish that person. we didn't hear back. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> six minutes past the hour now. you can join cnn tuesday, january 3rd, for live coverage of the iowa caucuses. a special live "america's choice" 2012 coverage of the caucuses begins tuesday night, january 3rd, at 7:00 eastern time. a lot of you all aren't done yet. it's christmas eve. and you got something to do today. you forgot a couple gifts. you got to head out to the mall. we'll be out there with some last-minute shoppers in new jersey. our alison kosic, we sent her out and we'll talk to her and see who she has been talking to. reynolds wolf has the important forecast for you. good morning to you once again. >> good morning, t.j. we got two big weather stories we're following. first and foremost your travel weather. you got to know what is going to happen if you're trying to get from one side of the country to the other or right down the street to get the last-minute presents. second big thing we're following is who is getting a white christmas and who is going to miss out on mr. snow man? we'll let you know coming up in a few moments. i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of 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[ male announcer ] the only place to go for every guy on your christmas list with great deals throughout the store. walmart. 17 minutes past the hour. hello, los angeles. a little earth, wind, and fire for you on this christmas eve. got a couple entertainment headlines for you. listen to this. mel gibson is officially divorced from his wife of 30 years robin. that is not the biggest headline out of this story. the two have been separated since 2006 right after his drunken driving arrest in california and a slew of racial remarks. you remember that. now tabloids are reporting robin is going to get half of gibson's $850 million net worth. that would make it the largest hollywood divorce settlement in history. by the way, robin is going back to using her maiden name so now it's going to be robin moore. christmas time here. let's talk about happier news, shall we? robert deniro and his wife, grace, have received a very special holiday gift, a healthy 7 pound, 2-ounce baby girl. the newborn's name? ellen grace, arrived via a surrogate. also, some happy people. maybe another happy guy here. i don't know if he's happier than deniro with a new child but it is reported leonardo dicaprio, they gave me this story this morning. i haven't seen the woman yet but that is we're told his new woman. she dresses a little funny but i'm sure she is a nice lady. that is victoria's secret angel erin heatherton. the two were seen together in sydney, australia. they were filming "the great gatsby." in the past the titanic actor has been linked to other angels and just about every gorgeous woman in los angeles. but let me move on. it's official. a lot of people still trying to come up with a christmas gift. we know it is last minute. you might not want to hit the mall. if you're desperate it may be time to consider regifting. that is not my advice. other people will tell you about that. we're told it is not as tasteless as you may think. newspaper columnist and blogger carol townsend has some of the dos and don'ts. this is incredibly tasteless. you can't do this. >> i personally do not do it, no. but i have been the victim of a regift. >> it's okay. when you say you don't do it and you say victim it sounds like something we should not do. >> it's not something that we own up to. but i think in this economy people are forced to be resourceful. >> yes. >> so if you're going to do it follow some rules. >> follow some rules. okay. what should -- let's go with what we should do. does it matter who you give it to? maybe somebody you're close to, not that close to, family member, distant cousin, what? >> i believe if you're going to regift it shouldn't be your mom. shouldn't be your husband. >> okay. >> probably not one of your children. >> okay. >> but there are always last-minute gifts, things that pop up you didn't expect to have to purchase. there are some gifts that are perfectly fine to regift someone what types of things are we talking about? >> one example i like to use is those beautiful food baskets, wine, cheese, chocolate. you maget something you can't u, something you don't care for. great hostess gifts. same season. don't stick it in the closet and use it next year. >> okay. so are we getting over, we talked about this being taboo. you said people still don't own up to it so if you don't that means it's still taboo? >> it is still taboo. i think that will always be the case. i think again in this economy people are being forced to be resourceful. as long as you do it with taste you can still show consideration and care in selecting a gift. a lot of times what people will do is regift say a wedding present. >> okay. >> to someone during the holidays. it can be something very nice. >> we'll get to the don'ts in a second. but two things here. how do you handle, i guess, who is it more offensive to, the person you are giving the regift to or the person who gave you the gift that you're now giving away? >> i think it's about an even call. >> okay. >> if you're caught it is. >> should you ever own up to it? >> i believe, no. you should not. >> oh! >> you just have to be careful about it. so yeah. >> okay. let's go through the don'ts. you said, okay. one big don't is don't own up to it. don't tell somebody you're doing it. what else do you need to watch out for if you want to do this? >> i'm going to add there if you have young children don't tell your children that you're -- this is our secret. we're going to give this to aunt so and so. that is the first thing they'll say when they walk in the room. don't share the secret with your children. >> okay. >> another don't is oh, my goodness don't scratch out the to/from name on the tag. rewrap the present. yes i've seen that dog. rewrap the whole thing. that makes it yours plus you can check for personal notes that might be tucked inside of some things say if it were a wedding gift. you don't want to hand someone a present that has a note written to you tucked inside. >> makes sense. >> just be careful. >> how about this? would you be offended if you knew someone regifted to you? okay. gave you a gift that someone had given them? >> depends on who did it. >> okay. >> and truly, i mean, if i knew that they had to make the choice of regift or be embarrassed, and not have a gift, it depends on the circumstances. >> okay. reynolds, are you hearing this? this is so disturbing it me sometimes. i get that about the tough times, tough economic times. >> i'm perplexed. i'm with you, t.j. when i think about the type of gift for example if someone gives you a rolex watch and it's regifted i'm all there. i think when it does come to food it has to get sketchy. for example, hold on, america. hold on one second. t.j., one thing i was thinking of giving you was a half eaten box of donuts. if you open up the box itself you don't have to zoom in or anything because i am going to hold it up. look at this. delectable donut. this could be a decent gift. watch this. not anymore. it's not a delectable -- t.j. does not want this for christmas you're saying that is a don't. >> that is a don't. >> did you see a time that over time and inpart of it is the economy and it is more understandable but do you see over time that this could become not even common practice but an accepted practice that's out there in the open? >> you know, i read the other day that regifting is being considered now under the umbrella of the green movement and recycling. >> oh, okay. >> that may be the in. >> that may be it. >> if it is going to become an accepted practice, i mean, that's politically correct. >> all right. well, again, carol townsend here schooling me on regifting. but whatever you do, don't tell anybody. good to have you. thank you so much. really timely here on christmas eve. a lot of people might need to go this route. >> exactly. you don't want to go to the mall. >> thank you so much. reynolds, i'm learning here. >> i know. it's amazing. everything is relative on things you can regift and not. just as a heads up, tomorrow afternoon after my three kids are full of punch and cookies i think my wife and i are going to regift our kids to you and your wife at your house. okay? only a temporary gift but still a gift all the same. consider it from one dear friend to another. we're getting the gift of snowfall in parts of texas especially back toward parts of west testas, amarillo, lubbock. a light dusting. when you get into dplas it's all going to be rain in dallas. everything flowing from the gulf of mexico. some might be heavy but we aren't expecting any flooding or anything like that. we might also have a little snowfall forming in parts of the great lakes back into lake eerie talking about you. we got the prevailing wind out of the northwest. that northwest breeze is going to give you that wind off the lake, the moisture so expect light snowfall there. chilly conditions through the northern plains into the rockies where highs are going to be into the 40s. 45 in billings. this is as high as you're going to go. 41 in denver. 42 in kansas city. 62 in san francisco. 45 in dallas and 61 in atlanta. t.j., your turn. >> all right. reynolds, thank you, kind sir. we're getting close to the bottom of the hour and it is a major setback for two republican presidential hope fumfuls. the former house speaker and the governor. neither will have their name on the ballot on super tuesday at one state. what in the world happened? stay with us. [ indistinct conversations ] nice, huh? yeah. you know what else is nice is all the savings you can get on cruze and traverse over there. oh! that's my beard. [ chuckles ] it's amazing. ♪ [ male announcer ] this holiday, chevy's giving more. now very well qualified lessees can sign and drive a 2012 cruze ls for around $199 a month. ♪ as we get closer to the bottom of the hour, a look at stories making headlines. in cuba nearly 3,000 prisoners will be set free. prisoners over the age of 60, women, and sick inmates are among those to be released. president reuel castro cited the upcoming visit of pope benedict as the reason for the mass pardon. also newt gingrich and texas governor rick perry, neither of those names will be on virginia's republican primary ballot. they both failed to generate the minimum number of signatures required. the primary is in early march. also president obama finally made it to vacation. hawaii. he was a bit delayed here. you see him arriving in honolulu. the sun was setting. he met up with his wife and two daughters who had been there a week already. the president was delayed by the tax cut extension fight in washington. coming your way, next hour, we'll take a look back at the celebrity headlines that got everybody talking this year and of course charlie sheen made the list. also, a new version of old shoes went on sale yesterday. we're talking about the new jarodans and everybody went crazy for these shoes across the country. sacramento, hundreds of people waited in the cold all night to get their hands on a pair. waiting in line is one thing. but look at some of the scenes. this one in kansas city. we'll show you this next one here. people in a mad dash, a sprint to get to the front of the line to get their hands on the shoes. sorry i don't have the sprint video but another, we could show, there it is, this one is out of kansas city. again, after jarodans. these are old shoes. the man