snowstorm, are you one of them? you know forecasters are calling for another round this weekend. an additional 2 to 4 inches of snow, in fact, forecast from southern illinois to new jersey, a pretty wide swath there. the storm has brought heavy rains, tornadoes, which we don't hear a lot of this time of year and high winds to several areas of the country and it's already being blamed for ten deaths. regrettable, politically motivating, saddening, statements made by u.s. officials about russia's decision to ban americans from adopting russian children. vladimir putin signed the ban into law on friday. lawmakers there cite a history of abuse of russian children adopted by american families. many believe it was a retaliation about a law signed by president obama that poses u.s. travel and financial restrictions on human right s abusers in russia. good morning. you were in the process of adopting a 13-year-old boy named -- and his name is daniel from an orphanage in siberia. >> yes. >> tell me the status. is that on hold right now? >> it's definitely on hold because of the law that putin just signed in. but i'm ever hopeful that things are going to change. and i'm hopeful that better communication between both countries might cause putin to rethink the thing he just signed. >> how far along were you in this process to adopt him before the ban went into effect? >> well, i had already met daniel. i had lived over there for a few months in 2010 and spent a great deal of time with him. i completed my dossier. the region created a law banning u.s. adoptions before the country did. and that was just recently changed but, unfortunately, not enough time for me to kind of squeeze in before putin signed this law. >> i want to hear more about daniel. i know he's 13. he has fetal alcohol syndrome. and as i understand it, one of the last times you were with him he said he didn't want to live if he didn't get adopted. is that the case? >> that is, but that's very common. when children age out of the orphanage at 16, there aren't many prospects for them, a number of them commit suicide. the last time i visited daniel, he had just found another child from the orphanage had hanged himself and daniel was the one that found him. it's very common. when i spoke to him there in june 2011 and talked about the possibility of adoption and what would happen if it didn't work through, he would say -- he said i don't want to be here if i don't have a home. >> tell me what's happening now, you know, today, tomorrow, in the coming days before this ban goes into effect. are you in contact with anybody? >> i have been trying to reach out to the orphanage itself, i have not been successful in reaching them. i am, of course, in touch with my of my friends in this adoption community. and we're all kind of coming together, pooling our resources and finding ways to help. and the most important thing is to get the word out there are still ways to care for these children even when the ban goes into effect. we can still send supplies, medical supplies, clothing, financial support, et cetera. because there are 740,000 children in state care in russia. >> it's amazing, i know. the u.s. state department has called this move politically motivated adding that american families have adopted over 60,000 russian children over the past 20 years and the vast majority of these children are now thriving thanks to their parents' loving support. but russian officials cite a history of abuse by american parents. now, you have already adopted a daughter from the same orphanage where daniel is. >> yes. >> you've been through this system before. did you get a feeling that officials were concerned about americans adopting russian children? >> officials, yes. but on the ground, the average citizen, no. the russian people in general are all the ones that i met are just wonderful, love the children, and do everything they can to support them. it's just the resources aren't there. and unfortunately, i think what has happened is just a breakdown in communication between russia and america and there needs to be more work on adoption diplomacy. there needs to be better communication. i feel like the act, which i believe putin is kind of doing this in retaliation of might have been better written so that this wouldn't have happened. i just feel like communication breakdown is the issue. there just needs to be better communication on both sides so this will not happen. >> when was the last time you spoke with daniel? >> the last time i spoke to him was about two months ago. i have sent several letters and i have received communication through some of the -- there are a few girls that aged out of the orphanage that aged out at 16 that i support financially. and i'm able to reach them on russian facebook every once in a while and they can communicate with daniel and send his communication to me. i have heard from him as recent as two weeks ago. but i haven't spoken directly to him in about two months. >> all right. we do wish you the best. thanks for coming on today. >> thank you so much. thank you. >> no doubt, hoping everything works out for them. thank you. if you're just waking up, feeling a little hungry, i'm about to make you hungrier, i'm sorry to say. take a look at this, celebrity chef ming sih is going to show you how to make this for new year's, and it'll only take you less than 20 minutes to make them. all morning, we're looking at your best moments of 2012. thank you so much for sharing them with us. look at this photo coming to us from swimming coach kathy peterson with a fear of heights. >> i don't think she does anymore. maybe she does so now. >> congratulations, cassie, you look great. you can do two things at the same time. you can watch videos and text. or you could watch the earnings report and take notes, like we're supposed to. so... can i get it? yeah. okay either of you put together the earnings report yet? yes, me totally. what? why don't you tackle the next quarter. you eat yet? polynesian? pu pu platter? yup! keep up the good work. i will keep up the good work. do more with the new samsung galaxy note ii. 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[ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8. or...try kids boxes! do tell, is your calendar overloaded? because i know this is the time of the year where you're likely going to a party or hosting one. and if you're like most, time and money, not really on our side, is it? so we brought in a celebrity chef to help. cnn's victor blackwell asked him to show us recipes that could be cooked quickly for under $20 and still have that wow factor. >> it's the holiday season, and that means a lot of holiday parties, most people know how to do the big simple things, but how do you do the party food? the hors d'oeuvres, the dishes to impress your friends? well, we have some help. we have celebrity chef ming tsai. and he's with us in the kitchen today. thanks for joining us. >> nice to see you, man. >> any good party has to have good food. >> absolutely. and has to start with a good cocktail. >> any party i'm going to. >> exactly. this is pineapple syrup. pour a little bit into the champagne flutes. has a great little flavor. and you're just going to top that off. the idea with this book is to teach people how to cook because a lot of people don't know how to cook, right? >> this okay? >> that's perfect. >> in your kitchen, those that are really scared, call it cooking for dummies, right? you -- this book will walk you through it. this is in the book, using pineapple syrup. >> happy holidays. happy holidays. >> you show up to a party, you bring an eggplant caviar, roast an eggplant pureed and this is whole wheat pita chips. salt and curry powder toasted in the oven. you put it in the bowl to host, you're done. >> very simple, impressive. and when you put the word caviar -- >> yeah, they think you banked it. so please try that and if you want, i'll get -- >> i'm sorry, i was busy drinking. >> no, no, no -- and i'm going to show you a great side dish. quite often people want a side dish. >> right. >> and you think sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. >> very good. >> but what i think of is why not a chow mein for a side dish. but keep it vegetarian. you don't have to put the pork in. what we're going to do, unless you can bring done -- and it'll hold for at least a half an hour in a stainless steel bowl or glass bowl and reheat it. >> there aren't a lot of ingredients. >> no, there's not at all. that was garlic, ginger, and mushrooms. any mushrooms you like, right? and what we're going to use to season this. this is going to take two or three minutes because you want to soften these mushrooms, vegetarian stock to help it cook along. and we're almost done. we're going to add some fresh noodles, you can buy dried ones, some bell peppers, scallions and vegetarian oyster sauce and your dish is done. >> these are good. >> now scallions, bell peppers, hicama and noodles. at my local grocery store. >> you could totally find it at the grocery store. >> i don't know. >> this is a veggie oyster sauce. usually it has oysters, of course, this is dried mushrooms. and you heat the noodles through and this dish is done. >> this smells so good. >> how is that? >> i'm trying to be patient, but it smells really good. >> this is good, right, a couple minutes to heat through. seriously, victor, for those that don't know how to cook, you can do this. >> it can't get any simpler. it's a great presentation. and here's what i like, no time at all. >> and inexpensive, right? >> right. >> and in this day in age, it matters. >> and all of the responsibilities of the season, this looks good. >> let's see how we did here. >> get one of these here. >> that's good. >> thanks for having me. >> it's not fair because he gets to taste it and we just have to look at it. >> he did it well. >> you're right. you can get much more holiday recipes from chef ming on cnn.com/randi, by the way. >> earlier we asked you about what you thought about the young woman who got a restraining order against her parents. were her parents really stalking her? or is she just a spoiled millennial. and we got a ton of answers. >> leanne asked, i'm wondering if her parents are paying for her education. >> ashley said simply spoiled millennial. >> and cherilyn added spoiled brat. >> drew wrote to us saying creepy helicopter parents need to let kids be kids, that's pretty ridiculous. >> great answers, everyone. keep them coming in. more to come on cnn saturday morning. we'll be right back. over the next 50 years, we needed more food produced than the last 10,000 years combined. >> we're pushing the limits on land, already seeing food shortages in some parts of the world. so we need to pick up the pace, i think. >> and really take it to the next level offshore and open up new frontiers for farming. 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[ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. welcome back, 47 minutes past the hour right now. so grateful for your company. i don't know if you're aware of this, but every 19 minutes, someone overdoses on prescription drugs in america. that's 20,000 cases a year making accidental overdoses a leading cause of accidental deaths even more than car crashes. according to the cdc, nearly 15,000 people in the u.s. died from overdosing on prescription drugs back in 2008. the alarming part of this story is how easy it's become to get a prescription for pills, people have become increasingly addicted to. 42 states allow anyone to own and operate a pain management clinic better known to law enforcement as pill mills. georgia is one of those 42 states. the "wall street journal" reported the number of these clinics in georgia has grown to fewer than ten a few years ago to 125 across the state today. so the big question is, how do you control this? joining me now is georgia attorney general sam owens. thank you for being here. >> my pleasure. >> i know that florida has been cracking down on their pill mill problem and they've implemented these new regulation laws. and some -- some people in georgia say, well, let's go to georgia, that's the place to do it. why do you think is happening here? >> well, a lot relates to the size of the airport, the logistics, interstates in georgia. clearly this wasn't a problem two, three years ago when everything was occurring in florida. but as florida has, in fact, passed the necessary legislation, they then moved north. when georgia hopefully passes the legislation this coming year, with the session starting in about two weeks, it will then probably go north of us once again. it's a national problem. we need to license and regulate these clinics. we need to understand that they're not practicing medicine, they're illegally selling drugs and selling very dangerous drugs. >> what has been your obstacle up to this point in getting that legislation passed? >> well, you know, you get ahead of the curve. everyone thought it's not a problem, it's florida's problem. but now it is it's florida's problem. but now it is a problem. we're having more investigation by the narcotics agency, the dea. as people see the legislation, i think we'll pass the legislation this year. it won't solve the problem nationally but it will solve the problem in georgia. >> what did you think when you heard that figure? there were ten of these clinics in the state two years ago and 125 now? how are they becoming so prolific? >> you know, the dea puts out an annual report every february of the doctors that prescribe oxycoaten, the alleged drug of choice for the pill mills. last year georgia had 21 of the top practices in the country. that's about 21 too many. clearly, we need get to rid of these practices, acknowledge there are some good doctors that treat people with attractable pain and needs to use the drugs but we don't need drug dealers selling drugs in our state and we'll put it to session. >> you brought up a good point regarding the doctors. is there any plan or does there need to be a plan to monitor doctors and the prescriptions going out? >> right. those that license the clinics, states anytime there's a new doctor, a new location, any type of crime, any type of theft, they have to immediately report it to the medical board and law enforcement. so it puts in place the necessary regulations to, in fact, assure the public we're doing something serious about this problem. >> what other help do you need, specifically, to crack down on some of these pill mills? >> you know, they're pretty easy to find. you look for license plates from out of state in a parking lot. you look for folks coming in and out. many of these mills also are not writing prescriptions to go to the pharmacy. it's a cash business. there's nothing resembling a medical office. if you see a place that opens in your area, that you see all the plates, for instance, are in tennessee or kentucky, give us a call. let us immediately start an investigation. we have numerous investigations pending now, both the district attorney offices and d.a. are working aggressively in this area. like anything else. call the police, take advantage of the call and get these bad guys in jail. >> attorney general, thank you so much for being here. best of luck with this endeavor. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. be sure to catch dr. sanjay gupta medical investigation "deadly dose" today at 4:30 p.m. eastern. from presidential politics to a rover landing on mars, 2012 was a year full of so many amazing stories. after this, we're going to take a look back at the biggest moments of the past 12 months. new prilosec otc wildberry is the same frequent heartburn treatment as prilosec otc. now with a fancy coating that gives you a burst of wildberry flavor. now why make a flavored heartburn pill? 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[ male announcer ] it's clearance time! up to 50% off seasonal decor. 50% off toys. apparel $3 to $9. walmart. all morning long we're looking at your best moments of 2012, and we thank you so much for sharing them with us. we want to show you ireporter -- think we just lost the picture. a story quick. in 2008 she had been told she'd never be able to have children without medical help. well, she has a son. a new son, alex, and his birth was her birth moment of 2012. congratulations to them. one big moment, too. isn't it? >> can you believe monday night we're going to bring in the new year. >> ridiculous. the past 12 months, were full of so many big moments. we're not going to forget them. a look back with the biggest stories of 2012. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you so much. >> a massive crowd has gathered here. >> we want to be free here. we want to be free. >> reporter: italian cruise ship capsized. >> nearly 23% unemployment. >> joseph -- >> viral on social media sites. >> outrage on social media. >> my name is sandra -- >> the affordable care act. >> this is a massive play by facebook. >> the largest ipo in tech history. >> breast feeding in the picture. >> one article passed has entire country talking. >> the president now believes same-sex marriage should be legal. >> we now know the name of the suspect blamed for the movie theater shooting. >> shooting at the temp in wisconsin. >> police now tell cnn people have been shot in front of the empire state building. >> bath salts. >> bath salts. >> bath salts. >> jerry sandusky sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison. >> an iconic statue honoring the late penn state football coach joe paterno is gone. >> the british people are goiag fo the diamond jubilee. >> someone sold photographs of prince harry naked during a strip billiards game. >> one of the hottest around. >> what went wrong? why now? >> isaac is forcing changes at the republican kwex. >> convention. >> what do you mean, shut up? >> thank you. >> all: four more years! >> christopher stevens and three other embassy staff, they are dead. >> we will bring those to justice who committed these murders. >> all the effects of hurricane sandy already. >> sandy's carved a path of destruction all along the eastern seaboard. >> we can't fully secure the crane until the wind dies down. >> they're doing another story on this? oh, my god. gangnam style. >> honey boo boo. >> live picture in los angeles from "endeavor" the shuttle rolling down the streets of l.a. >> and the man at the center, general david petraeus. >> despair in syria has gone on -- >> a morning talk. >> -- president barack obama will be re-elected president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] >> terror at as elementary sc