[Chetry:] Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. You know Halle Berry as the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for best actress, but did you also know that she's been raising awareness for a problem that many women hide.
[Roberts:] Our Alina Cho is here to explain that is part of our special series, "Big Stars, Big Giving." Good morning to you.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning. And it is very personal for Halle Berry. You know, she is committed to the Genesee Center, a shelter for domestic violence victims in Los Angeles. She donates her time and her money there, and there's a big reason for it. she lived with domestic violence herself, and it's inspired her to give back.
[Cho:] It's been a personal crusade for Halle Berry for more than a decade. A secret that she's kept hidden for the early part of her life, watching her mother being abused. How does that shape you as an adult?
[Halle Berry, Academy Award-winning Actress:] Well, you know, honestly, I think I've spent my adult life dealing with the sense of low self-esteem that that sort of implanted in me. Somehow, I felt not worthy.
[Cho:] Do you know how many people in the world would say, are you kidding me? You're Halle Berry.
[Berry:] I'm sure because that's Halle Berry, but before I'm Halle Berry, I'm Little Halle who was a little girl growing in this environment that damaged me in some ways. And I've spent my adult life trying to really heal from that.
[Cho:] This is amazing. Part of that healing happens here at the Genesee Center, a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Los Angeles where she volunteers. And she often shows up unannounced.
[Berry:] I come here sometimes, and I play with the kids. I see the children, and so, I'm just regular old crackers to them. you know?
[Cho:] Really?
[Berry:] And I love being regular old crackers. I have to say.
[Cho:] A far cry from the glamorous screen siren we know from the movies. But it is this work that Berry says is more important. More meaningful.
[Berry:] Please help. Any way that you can. I have a spot in my soul that understands the devastation that this causes a family and how hard it is to rebuild your self-esteem when you suffered.
[Cho:] It's the reason why she's taking on a personal project. Renovating these rundown apartments, so women who flee their abusive partners have a safe, happy place to live. Very happy.
[Berry:] Happy and where they can rejuvenate and feel hugged and loved.
[Cho:] And see what life can be like so they can dream of a better future.
[Berry:] Well, we can turn these apartments around in two weeks.
[Cho:] It is something she couldn't do for her mother give strength to women who have been beaten, battered, and broken down. What is your message to any woman who might be watching out there who might be in a relationship that's abusive?
[Berry:] Get out. Don't stay a moment longer. If there's no shelter, go to a friend. Go to the police station. Go somewhere, but go.
[Cho:] She is so committed to the Genesee Center. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of hours with Halle Berry in Los Angeles recently. So for all of the behind scenes photos or to get involved with the Genesee Center, go to CNN.comamfix to make a difference. All of the interviews this year from big stars, big giving will live on "Impact your World." I talked to the director of the Genesee Center and she said she does what she says and better than her word. And meeting with the women, she said, well, you know she says this beautiful thing. She said. I care, and they can see it.
[Chetry:] And also just so inspiration to know living it and got through it. It is just wonderful.
[Cho:] That's right. She is someone they look up to. You hear the women talk about her and inspiring to hear.
[Chetry:] Beautiful person inside and out. How about tomorrow?
[Cho:] Tomorrow I'm talking to Edward Norton, a real actor's actor. He spent a lot of time off camera raising a lot of money for charities, more than $100 million. And what he noticed is there's something lacking on the internet, that the fundraising platforms really weren't there. And so he created something himself with a couple of friends called crowd rise. It's really an innovative new web platform to raise money. There's a gaming aspect. You can earn points, you can win prizes. He's enlisted the help of celebrity friends and he's really an interesting guy. We'll talk to him tomorrow.
[Roberts:] Looking forward to that. And don't miss Alina's one- hour special "Big Stars, Big Giving" airs Christmas Eve at 7:00 p.m. eastern and on Christmas Day at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
[Chetry:] Well, we are at 32 minutes past the hour. A look at the top stories. A monster storm still battering the Midwest leaving some cities buried in five feet of snow. The system is moving to the northeast right now where more snow and frigid temperatures up and down the east coast are in the forecast today.
[Roberts:] His last words were, "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan." Richard Holbrooke, one of the world's most known and distinguished diplomats dead at age 69. He had emergency surgery to fix a tear in his aorta, but it couldn't save him. President Obama calling him one of the giants of American foreign policy.
[Chetry:] Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private accused of leaking thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks earler this year could be officially declared a hero by the city of Berkeley, California, today. Council members there scheduled to vote on a proclamation urging the military to release Manning from custody. Berkeley's resolution declaring, quote, "Blowing the whistle on war crimes is not a crime."
[Roberts:] After spending a week in a prison cell, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will appear in a London courtroom today. His attorneys are expected to argue for his release on bail.
[Chetry:] They also plan to fight extradition to Sweden where Assange is wanted for questioning on sex crimes charges. Atika Shubert is live this morning outside of London's Westminster Magistrate Court where all of this is getting under way in little more than an hour. Hi there, Atika.
[Atika Shubert, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi there. Well, we're outside the court and I just want to show you a little bit of the chaotic situation happening here. You can see the amount of press that is come out here, the line of cameras, the amount of press trying to get inside to the hearing. And in addition to the press, there's protesters out here, and that's also expected to grow somewhat. In the meantime, we have been seeing people going into the hearing. Julian Assange's mother flown in from Australia. She is here as well as his lawyers are here, and some of his supporters, namely, two celebrity names here. Now, what we expect to hear today, basically, is the lawyers requesting for him to be released on bail, trying to assure the judge that he will remain in the country. There has been some discussion even of him wearing some sort of a tracking device to make sure he doesn't leave and that they can monitor his movements. And we also may find out whether or not another hearing will be set to fight the extradition and whether or not the on what grounds the lawyers may try to set up that fight. So those are some of the things hoping to hear from today, John and Kiran.
[Roberts:] And at the same time that all of this is going on, Atika, "TIME" magazine is getting ready to unveil the person of the year for 2010 and there's growing speculation that the person may be Julian Assange.
[Shubert:] Well, you know, if you go by the online polls, certainly Julian Assange is way ahead of others. And one of the reasons for that is because he has tremendous online support as has been evidenced by the sort of online campaign we have seen. And it's interesting to note that even here among the British public, he does have quite a bit of support. We did a poll showing that 44 percent of people felt that WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was right in releasing the classified documents, and they also 44 percent felt that the Swedish charges were a set-up. Sorry. There's a lot of police coming by the area. But basically 44 percent of the people here believe that the Swedish charges a set-up to get him into U.S. custody. So there is a significant amount of support for him.
[Chetry:] All right, Atika Shubert for us this morning, we'll see how it goes as this hearing gets underway shortly. Thanks. And still ahead, we are heading live to Hollywood. Which TV show with the most sizzle, what about the best movie of the year? The Golden Globe nominations coming up next and we'll take you there live. It's 36 minutes past the hour.