“Big Stars, Big Giving” is a CNN special series for "American Morning" and one-hour network special aimed at shining a spotlight on celebrities and the causes they support.

In a series of rare and revealing interviews, CNN National Correspondent Alina Cho goes one-on-one with Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Julianne Moore, Edward Norton and Justin Bieber.

The series will launch on “American Morning” the week of December 13th, 2010. The one-hour special debuts December 24th and airs again on December 25th.

Click here to see the full series schedule, watch the interviews, see behind-the-scenes photos and find out what you can do to help.

CNN's Jason Carroll sat down with 10-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater for a story on American Morning. Here's the full interview.

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By Stephen Samaniego, CNN Producer

Kelly Slater is just another surfer. Sure, he has surfed the best waves this planet has to offer while being paid lots of money to do so, and in the process he’s become the best surfer this world has ever known. "

But...he's still just a guy who loves to surf.

I arrived to Mollusk surf shop the morning of the shoot and started to set up without really knowing what kind of Kelly Slater was going to show up.

Slater had spent the entire night flying from Puerto Rico and landing in beautiful Newark, New Jersey at 6:00am. I'm not sure if you're familiar with either Puerto Rico or Newark, New Jersey but I can promise you that no matter who you are, the chances of you being in a good mood after a journey like that on a red-eye are slim.

With this in mind, we worked hard to make sure that when Slater arrived, we would be ready to go so that he could be in and out quickly if he wanted to. The shop’s owner, Chris Gentile, had already given marching orders to his employees to make coffee and bagel runs so that Slater would be well taken care of.

We had scheduled the interview for 10:00am. When Slater's people contacted me at 9:00am to say they were on their way, things went into overdrive. We had an hour with the star surfer and we wanted to make the most of it.

A white van with tinted windows pulled up and out came Slater. Dressed in jeans with layers of clothing and a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head, he looked like a guy who had just flown overnight and had 15 minutes to freshen up in a hotel room. He walked up the stairs and into the shop, stopping to greet everyone he came across.

Once he stepped into the shop though, Slater’s eyes lit up. His formality disappeared and he bolted straight for the wall lined with boards. He grabbed board after board, pulling each off the rack to hold it in his hands, feeling its body and imagining how it would ride. You could feel the intensity this man has for riding waves. He pulled almost every single board in the rack with the enthusiasm of a grom (an excited newbie surfer).

We started the interview, and Slater talked about his passion for wave riding. It was a point he couldn't make enough. He LOVES to ride waves and be in the ocean. It’s an unexplainable connection that only people who do it can feel and can't fully explain. As the interview progressed it was the one thing that he kept coming back to. The more he talked about it, the more I began to see him not as 10-time world champion Kelly Slater but as another surfer. As someone who was born in Guam and grew up by the ocean, I connected with Slater’s special bond with the surf.

And that feeling you get after an amazing session or dropping into the biggest wave of the day? That surging energy? That stoke? Slater still feels it. He's practically dripping in it

Kelly ended up hanging out with us for more than two hours at the shop. His passion for all things surfing is beyond words. Kelly Slater, the guy who's surfed all the best waves and should be the most jaded one among us, is the most stoked.

By Dr. Jeff Gardere

On CNN this past Friday morning I participated in a discussion with a mother from Kansas City who was criticized for allowing her five-year-old son to dress as a female character from Scooby-Doo.

During that discussion, I made a comment about the mother “outing” her child. Many viewers objected to that point. In today’s world, though the word “outing” has taken on a significance about sexuality, let me be clear I was not using it in that way. I specifically said, “whether he is straight or gay,” I questioned why she put her son’s photo out on her blog. The fact is that I said and truly believe this mother has been very courageous in supporting her child. Her acceptance and unconditional love is a model for other parents in how to raise happy and healthy children.

Now comes the gem! I articulated that in speaking with straight and even gay parents, some of them consider it their “worst nightmare” to have a child who may be coming to terms with being gay. I have made this same statement before but have always completed the thought with "because they were worried that their child would face, isolation, hostility, emotional and physical bullying from people who are anti-gay.”  FULL POST

"The Teaser” is a preview of the guests we have lined up for the next day – so you know when to tune in (and when to set your alarm!). Guests and times are always subject to change.  We start at 5:00AM Monday and Tuesday and 3:00AM Wednesday for the latest elections results.

5:40AM Michael Scheuer, Former CIA Counterterrorism Analyst and headed the CIA's Osama Bin Laden, with the latest analysis on the cargo plane bomb threat. Was this a test run for a bigger plot?

6:24AM Ed Rollins, CNN Senior Political Analyst and Republican Strategist, Hilary Rosen, CNN Political Contributor and John Avlon, CNN Contributor and Columnist for the Daily Beast, on the midterm elections, we’ll look at close races across the country and what happens in the final hours.

6:40AM Paul Cruickshank, CNN Terrorism Analyst and Fran Townsend, CNN National Security Contributor, on the latest terror threat. How does the U.S. stop something like this from happening in the future?  What are the risks to  passengers; could we be flying on planes with bombs in the cargo hold?

7:10AM Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) Maryland and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman, on the midterm elections and the Democrats’ ability to maintain control of the House.

7:30AM Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, on Tuesday’s midterms.  Is he worried the Republicans won’t do as well as expected?  What’s happening in Alaska in the battle between Senator Lisa Murkowski and candidate Joe Miller?

8:24AM Amy Kremer, Chairman of the Tea Party Express, with one day until the midterms, what is the Tea Party Express doing as a last minute push before voters go to the polls?  How influential will the Tea Party be in this election, has the organization lost any steam?

8:40AM Jeffrey Toobin, CNN Senior Legal Analyst and Adam Sessler, Host of G4 Network's "X-PLAY" and Editor in Chief, G4 Games Content, on Schwarzenegger v. Electronic Merchant Association/Entertainment Software Association. The case going before the Supreme Court Tuesday which will determine if states can keep kids from purchasing violent video games.

Have questions for any of our guests?

Tweet 'em at Twitter.com/amFIX or post them below and we'll try to use 'em!

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E-mail your story ideas and questions to am@CNN.com.

By Erica Fink, American Morning Producer

It's time to party like it’s 1773.

This Halloween, sales are up across the board; but sales of Colonial costumes are beating the spread.

Retailers think it’s the influence of the Tea Party and election-year patriotism, but they’re not asking too many questions as they bring in more revenue from Revolutionary officer uniforms and breeches.

"It’s all about the scallywag hats. People are interested in anything they can get for that look," says Andrew Perry, a Halloween Express franchise owner in Charlottesville, VA. Perry has resorted to looting pieces from his pirate costumes to meet the demand for Colonial-style costumes. The category is doing twice as well for him as it did last year, and the vast majority of his Colonial inventory has already sold.

Perry’s store is not alone. National online retailers CostumeCraze.com and BuyCostumes.com have both seen an increase in sales of about 50 percent for their “Colonial” items in the past two months. In both cases, that represents a bigger rise than they’ve seen in overall sales.

FULL POST