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Stock Markets Tumble; White House Party Crashers; Diabetes Cases Could Double by 2034
Aired November 27, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, if you have been feeling better about the economy, here's an unsettling reminder of just how fragile the world's financial system really is. While you were sleeping stock markets across Asia plummeted. Among the hardest hit, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong. It tumbled almost five percent and now Wall Street is bracing for what could be an ugly day.
The reason for today's volatility, one of the world's financial hubs now says it is swamped with debt. Dubai World, the sovereign wealth fund of Dubai is swimming in $60 billion in debt and is asking creditors to wait until May for any payment.
So now you are probably asking what does it mean really to me? Take a live look right now of the big board. The Dow down 168 points. In fact, it was down almost 200 points at the opening moment. So what now exactly? Ali Velshi is CNN's chief business correspondent. Today, he is here with us in Atlanta. So, you know, right now Dubai's debt and the U.S. markets making the connection for us.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What do they got to do with each other?
WHITFIELD: What do they have to do with one another except both seem to be, you know, pretty bad?
VELSHI: Yes, and we have learned probably in the last two years that things are more connected around the world financially than we probably initially thought. Let me just start from the beginning. Dubai World is as you said the sovereign wealth fund of the government of Dubai. That's a state investment arm of the government of Dubai.
Years ago you may remember Dubai Ports was going to take over some U.S. ports and there was a cry about that. Well, this company, Dubai World, is a major port operator. A major developer. A major finance company and it's got $60 billion in debt. It has to make monthly payments on those because it has bonds and it has now said that it wants the bond holders to wait six months to put a complete standstill on all payments for the next six months or so.
This came as a surprise because this is a government controlled entity. So they figured that the wealth of Dubai which is part of the United Arab Emirates would stand behind this fund. So it was a surprise to investors and what this means is that banks or bond holders who have lent Dubai World money now might be at risk and that makes people think about last year and it makes people think about Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns and what happens if I don't get paid.
You remember when banks didn't have money or when companies didn't pay people last year, it resulted in a credit freeze around the world and pretty much everything stopped for a while. That's why you're seeing a market reaction to this.
WHITFIELD: So I wonder, why is it considered not as bad as Lehman Brothers when you are talking about Dubai which really is symbolic of wealth. And when members or financial institutions in Dubai are able to say I can't pay you for six months -
VELSHI: Right.
WHITFIELD: That sounds pretty rock bottom.
VELSHI: It's not small potatoes. First of all, Dubai and the Arab Emirates fueled by both oil prices and by sort of a worldwide boom have had a property boom basically. And what's happening is that bubble has burst and property values have come down. But the reason this isn't as serious as those other ones is because it's not happening in the full light of day.
Lehman Brothers, we all knew what was going on. Here we got a week where all sorts of trading is not happening. The New York Stock Exchange is on a shortened week. The London Stock Exchange had some technical difficulties and had some trading problems on Monday. The Arab countries are all shut down because of Eid (ph), a major holiday there and what happens is you can never really feel how serious these things are until everybody is open and you're getting a sense of liquidity.
So we thought the Dow is going to open down based on the futures that we look at overnight. Much worse than it did. It did open down and it's starting to gain back some momentum. I don't think we've seen the full story here but I don't think it's the world crushing enterprise that Lehman Brothers for instance was.
WHITFIELD: Wow, and we're talking about a short trading day today.
VELSHI: That's right.
WHITFIELD: The market's closing at about 1:00 today, at least, we're talking Wall Street.
VELSHI: So everybody is in the game, and a lot of people are just off this week. Until everybody who is trading money is in the game, you don't get a full reflection of what the world response to this crisis is actually going to be.
WHITFIELD: Wow, nonetheless sounds kind of scary.
VELSHI: We'll follow. We'll stay on top of it. If it gets scarier, we'll make sure we let you know how it's going to affect you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you. Ali Velshi, good to see you. VELSHI: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our fourth year. So we're been second every year and this year we're actually first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Black Friday specials longer hours at the stores online deals. Will they add up to a boost to merchants' bottom lines and of course, the economy? CNN's Sean Callebs is at a Wal-Mart in Marietta, Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. It got off to a very hectic start here at Wal-Mart. A lot of people came in early this morning. Around 5:00 Eastern time in search of great deals.
They had flat screen TVs less than $300. Blu-ray disk players that were incredibly cheap, laptop computers and of course, the most popular video games. That's what brought people out.
What Wal-Mart and other stores want is once people come out for those great deals, they want them to load up their cart, like you can see here with just about anything else they can think of. And here on the electronic section, it has been one of the busiest areas throughout the day. And what we're hearing from managers here at this Wal-Mart is this has been a very, very busy start to the holiday shopping season.
We don't know how it's going to fare across the nation but they say this one store has done extremely well. We know what happened last year, too, big crush of humanity people trying to crash in a Wal- Mart in Long Island, New York. Well, they tried to make sure that didn't happen again this year. So Wal-Mart went to great lengths to make sure there was security in place and they had lines about 20 different lines where people could buy TVs or the computers or whatever. We talked to one individual who got in line. I think he waited seven hours to buy a laptop. Listen why.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been here all night. I was trying to find out, I was trying to figure out if I could get a good deal and maybe, you know, hit the nail on the head.
CALLEBS: If you want that one item, you got to come out early. And we have this word of warning. While supplies last. This popular GPS item is moving quickly but what we're told is the distribution center is told, look we're running low on this. They stock up so if you come in looking for it tomorrow, it should be here.
Sean Callebs, CNN in Marietta, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: OK. Now, I'm feeling really, really out of it since I'm not at a store early in the morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, it certainly feels a lot more like Christmas once you see the tree go up at the White House and even Rockefeller Center. So we know that tree is now just about in position there at the White House. It has made its journey from Shepherdstown there all the way to the nation's capitol and thanks to the generous donations of a family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the baby here now. We have to figure out how we're going to get this loaded.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Eric and Gloria Sundback, this is a holiday tradition. Growing a Christmas tree fit for a president.
ERIC SUNDBACK, CHRISTMAS TREE GROWER: You're helping make a Christmas for the whole country.
LOTHIAN: The West Virginia couple, both in their 80s, have grown four presidential Christmas trees - one for Jimmy Carter, two for Ronald Reagan and now this 18 1/2 foot Douglas fir destined for the Obama White House.
E. SUNDBACK: What we really like this year is that it's going to a family. The children are there. The family is well knit.
LOTHIAN: To provide the White House tree, a farmer has to be crowned by the National Christmas Tree Association. Then White House officials make a visit.
GLORIA SUNDBACK: They're looking for trees that have good form and for trees that have stronger branches because they use a lot of decorations.
LOTHIAN: And it takes a lot of hard work to grow that perfect presidential tree. Careful pruning, experimenting to get the right mix of characteristics, and a little tough love.
E. SUNDBACK: She had a word when she would get up in the morning and say, well, fellas, you want to be a Christmas tree now or are you going to wait until later and be toilet paper? That gets the tree growing.
LOTHIAN: These college sweethearts who have been growing trees for 50 years are hoping to shake the Obamas hands when they drop off this holiday gift but then it's back to work.
E. SUNDBACK: You have to come back out and work again.
G. SUNDBACK: That's right. LOTHIAN: But they say they're happy knowing their gift will bring joy to the first family.
E. SUNDBACK: We hope they enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed Christmas as kids so if the tree is good and they enjoy it, that's what it's about.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The tree will be decorated and displayed in the blue room where it will take center stage to a host of White House holiday celebrations.
Dan Lothian, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Oh, surely since that family said good-bye to that tree they're going to get to say hello to it when it's decorated in the White House. I'm sure they're going to get their own invitation.
All right. Pictures right now what took place, not that long ago. The Space Shuttle Atlantis making a beautiful picture perfect landing there at the Kennedy Space Center. The astronauts landed safely in Florida and you saw it here live take place. They were in space for 11 days making a delivery to the International Space Station.
They took 14 tons of equipment and they came back empty. All of that equipment making its way into the International Space Station and by the way, there are only five more planned shuttle missions. Endeavour is next and it's supposed to launch come February.
All right. Crashing the president's big party. A Washington couple may now be getting more attention than they actually expected or wanted.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: So we're learning more about the couple who walked into the president's state dinner this week without an invitation. Them, right there. A film crew from the Bravo Cable Network was actually following Tareq and Michaele Salahi as part of a tryout for a reality show. So the Secret Service is investigating now how the couple actually got into the party.
They stressed that the couple was screened at checkpoints and that the president was never in any danger once they got in. Charges could be filed. Nonetheless, their publicist says the Salahis did not crash the event. They say they were legitimate guest. So how do these events really work? And how do you keep track of all of those guests? Because apparently here is a list.
And joining me from Washington who would know this best, Amy Zantzinger. She was the White House social secretary during the final years of the George W. Bush administration.
Good to see you, Amy. AMY ZANTZINGER, 2007-2008, WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY: Nice to see you.
WHITFIELD: OK. There was a list. Their name was not on the list so how shocked are you that they actually got in?
ZANTZINGER: Oh, I think everybody is very shocked. There are actually only two real ways this could have happened.
WHITFIELD: How?
ZANTZINGER: Well, they clearly calculated that they were going to somehow slip into a White House state dinner, which is really a game of luck. They would have had to assumed they would catch a guard off guard and that statistically seems very impossible. The other way that they could have gotten in would have been having been assisted by somebody within the complex.
WHITFIELD: All right. So the investigation is now, you know, under way. The White House, Secret Service, they want to know how in the world this could happen. And apparently Bravo Television, they were filming a lot of, I guess, their approach to this dinner, might that videotape be seized or requested by the U.S. Secret Service as it investigates the holes in this perimeter.
ZANTZINGER: Oh, I don't know how they're conducting their investigation. But as I said, it just seems such a game of luck that they could control this whole thing and just somehow slip in without someone assisting them.
WHITFIELD: So is it your idea, when you were social secretary then and there were big events that were being hosted. There was a list. You know, a manifest so to speak. A list of all of the guests. Is there, you know, real meticulous check of the list and if for some reason someone is not on the list, wouldn't there be instructions of actually calling the social secretary, identifying whether this person should be there? Give me an idea what likely happened?
ZANTZINGER: Most definitely. I don't know how exactly this administration is handling the gate, but I now that we always had a White House staff person at the gate to assist in anyone that was an unexpected visitor that may have shown up. But I have to be honest with you, we never had a situation for a seated dinner where guests were trying to come into the White House. So this is a very unusual set of circumstances.
WHITFIELD: So this is certainly bad reflection for the U.S. Secret Service but I imagine also for the social secretary office, how embarrassing would this be for them.
ZANTZINGER: Well, I can tell you right now both the social office and the Secret Service worked incredibly hard on this event. But there's a bigger issue here. The fact that we got parents, you know, claiming that their children are in grave danger in a hot air balloon and couples crashing White House social state dinners, it says something about what our society is endorsing and I think people need to take personal responsibility. This is all a big publicity stunt for these people and it's really appalling.
WHITFIELD: Yes, appalling and I've heard the words embarrassing and, you know, and really it is tantamount to that breach of security that, you know, something terrible really could have gone wrong when you're talking about all of these heads of state, all these invited guests that were there including, of course, the president of the United States and the first lady.
Talk to me about, you know, I guess your initial thoughts about what really could have gone terribly wrong here.
ZANTZINGER: Well, it sounds like from what I've heard and read that they actually did go through the magnetometers. So I don't necessarily think they were a security risk. But you have to realize, this administration like every administration is dealing with really important issues and they should not be dealing with these shameless people who are just out for self-promotion. I mean, it's ridiculous. This is now becoming the focus.
WHITFIELD: Amy Zantzinger, a former social secretary for President George W. Bush. Thanks so much for your time, appreciate it from Washington.
ZANTZINGER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And of course, this is the topic of our blog today. We want to know what you think about these party crashers at the White House state dinner. You know, Bravo Cable Network following them. The Secret Service now investigating. The Salahis publicist insisting that the couple actually didn't crash the event, even though their name wasn't on the list. What do you think about this and what does this say to you?
You just heard the former social secretary of George W. Bush talk about how embarrassing this really is for the social secretary and for the White House and how terrible it is that our society, I guess, would encourage, she says in part, something like this from happening. So what do you think? We want to hear from you. We'll be reading your comments on the air as soon as we are able to get through them.
All right. So the number of Americans with diabetes is expected to double in the next 25 years. What it means for your health care costs?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Swiss officials say Roman Polanski will remain behind bars for at least three more days. A judge in Switzerland agreed to release the Oscar winning director on bail and place him under house arrest while he fights extradition to the United States. He must post $4.5 million bond and meet other security conditions before he's actually released. Polanski is wanted in California for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.
A new anti-smoking law is about to go into effect in a state where tobacco is king. Starting today, in Virginia, smoking will be banned in most restaurants. Restaurants that want to continue to allow customers to light up must build specially ventilated smoking rooms. About 70 percent of Virginia restaurants have already banned smoking.
The number of Americans with diabetes is expected to skyrocket over the next 25 years along with the cost of treating the disease. That, too, will be on the rise. CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with the sobering statistics from a new report out from the University of Chicago.
So, Elizabeth, what's going on here?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about a huge increase in diabetes over the next 25 years, Fredricka. You got to take a look at these numbers. Because they made you go, oh, my goodness. Right now there are about 23.7 million diabetics in the United States.
In 25 years that number will rise to 44.1. That means that we will almost double the number of people with type II diabetes in this country in the next 25 years. Now, Fredricka, you and I were talking, what's behind all that? You might think obesity.
However, for the sake of doing the study, the University of Chicago researchers sort of pretended that we're not going to get any fatter over the next 25 years. They kind of made that assumption. And so you see this jump because Americans are getting older. The baby boomers are ageing. With age comes more diabetes.
WHITFIELD: So it's going to cost a lot.
COHEN: It will. And will cost a lot more. They sort of ran the numbers to see what it will cost the country to treat that many people with type II diabetes and here's what they found. The cost now is about $113 billion a year. In 2034, its projected to be 336 billion. That's an incredible number.
And here's another one. Let's say we could stave off this increase of diabetes. Let's say we could keep more people from getting diabetes. We would save $217 million a year. Wouldn't that be amazing?
WHITFIELD: That would be amazing but how would you actually do that? Because we're talking about baby boomer generation, they are consequently getting older and that's the result.
COHEN: And nothing you can do about that. And some people are just going to get type II diabetes no matter what. However, some people get it because they are overweight. So it's the same old message we've heard before. You've got to keep your weight down and you've got to exercise. It doesn't have to be like an Olympian. You can take a 30-minute vigorous walk every day and that will decrease your chances of getting diabetes. It's that easy.
WHITFIELD: Get a dog and walk the dog. COHEN: There you go and the dog won't get diabetes either. There you go.
WHITFIELD: The dog will keep you in shape.
COHEN: That's right.
WHITFIELD: All right, Elizabeth. Thank you. Appreciate it.
All right. Well, the deeper meaning of kids letters to Santas. Psychology professor tells us what to actually look for.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Fredricka Whitfield.
WHITFIELD: All right. Not much for investors to feel thankful for going into this holiday weekend. Stocks in Wall Street are selling off due to some big problems in the Middle East.
Alison Kosik is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with more on the day's tumble.
Hello to you, Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And hi, Fredricka.
We are watching the Dow Industrials slide into triple digits right now, the Dow down to 165 points. And that's all thanks to Dubai World as Ali Velshi was talking about at the top of hour.
And what's happening here is that the finance arm of Dubai is considering postponing its debt payments totaling around $60 billion. These are funds were used to pay that huge construction boom in Dubai that we heard about in the past few years. But the real estate crunch has hit Dubai, one the United Arab Emirates, very hard and we are watching what is happening.
This is a big deal, but it is important to keep in mind -- keep the big picture in mind here that this is not like a Lehman-like collapse in the financial industry. Still, it is a blow to investor confidence as we continue this global recovery. There are some questions whether the global recovery is strong enough to last.
Markets we've been watching have been largely been able to shrug off this kind of bad news. We've watched the markets and all the three major averages rise over the past three weeks. One analyst we talked to said what this essentially is, is, quote, "a nasty wake-up call" for Wall Street.
All right, let's go to that nasty wake-up call, got straight to numbers again. The Dow Industrials off 163 points; the NASDAQ down about 43 points.
And keep in mind -- we could see some really big price swings today on Wall Street. We do have a shortened session. Trading ends at 1:00 today, so three hours shorter than usual. That usually adds to volatility. The light trading I'm talking about.
We could see dramatic price swings because of the lighter trading, and, also, this news out of Dubai -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. So, you know, what do we know about, I guess, the American exposure to -- you know, American companies in particular, their exposure to Dubai world?
KOSIK: Yes, and that's what's really unsettling to investors today. They really don't know how much money that they have invested there, how much exposure these banks have in Dubai. The AP is putting a figure for European banks at $87 billion in the UAE. That's really big bucks. And we're also seeing shares of American banks fall today.
It really makes investors wonder just how much money, how much risk they want to take in these emerging markets. I mean, there's lot of money to be made in emerging markets, but it's also very risky. And we can see what can happen when the coin flips to the other side when these -- when these investment companies can't make these debt payments -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Alison Kosik, thanks so much -- from Wall Street. Appreciate that.
All right. This time of year, children are also getting those pens and pencils ready to write letters to Santa, asking for a new bike or a toy perhaps. Well, sometimes, the elves get a bit swamped and need help to make wishes come true, and they're actually getting it.
Reporter Breck Thomas of our affiliate WDRB shows us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRECK THOMAS, WDRB CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the rush to get mailed delivered to the right place at the right time, you might expect a few letters to get lost in the bunch. But not these. Each and every letter addressed to Santa Claus is opened by a few of his elves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one wants the slim curling book and a lot of Rudolph things.
THOMAS: And each letter writer will get a letter back from Santa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This letter (ph), they think it's the greatest thing in the world to hear from Santa Claus.
THOMAS: His elves say they can't help but get a chuckle out of this job.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the children's letters were just cute. I mean, some of the spelling -- the creative spelling of some of their words was cute. What they asked for was cute. Some of their messages to Santa Claus was cute. THOMAS: But there are also the letters that tug on the heartstrings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "And I will do any kind of work for you, Santa, if you can help my family. We all have been real good this year. Love, Courtney."
"This Christmas will be the saddest Christmas of all. Can you help my sister who is having so much trouble with her kids at Christmas?"
THOMAS: A few of those "Dear Santa" letters will get more than a response. Some will get a sack full of presents courtesy of some big hearts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody can identify. Everybody has had a hard time. Everybody knows what it's like to need some help and not really want to ask for help.
THOMAS: The postal employees do their best to sort out the neediest of the needy. This year, that's about 150 of the thousands of letters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of our needy ones was asking for help for a tombstone for his grandmother. His parents didn't have any money and grandma died, and they need a tombstone. One of our workers off the floor took the name.
THOMAS: The postal employees say they try to help as many families as possible, but they do so on their own. The rest of the help comes from the community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So, you can see right there when kids write to Santa and maybe they're asking for a new toy, or a truck or something. There could be much more to it than that.
Carole Slotterback is the author of "The Psychology of Santa." She has actually analyzed more than 1,200 letters to Santa Claus over a six-year period. She's a psychology professor at the University of Scranton.
Good to see you and happy holidays.
CAROLE SLOTTERBACK, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON: Thank you so much for having me.
WHITFIELD: OK. So, you really are reading between the lines. Sometimes, kids are just not asking about things but maybe they want favors. They are looking at Santa, as, you know, authoritative figure, a grandfather figure, and sometimes, a father.
SLOTTERBACK: Yes. Yes. In many ways they'll ask -- I think the thing that really surprised me the most was variety of requests that are made to Santa as you said. WHITFIELD: Like what?
SLOTTERBACK: Everything from soup to nuts, from a bag of Lettuce to, you know, "Can you send an angel to watch over my grandma who's having cancer surgery?"
WHITFIELD: Wow. That's heartbreaking stuff.
You have some letters, some examples, of some of the letters that you've actually been reading. What have the kids been saying that really kind of catches your attention?
SLOTTERBACK: One of the children -- this was from Christmas of 2001. "Dear Santa, Santa, it must be hard being you. First, I want to ask you to tell God to take care of the people that died from the September 11th attacks. One thing I want is a ping-pong table. Thank you for reading this note. P.S. I believe in you."
WHITFIELD: Oh. So, are you surprised these letters are so mature coming from these little people?
SLOTTERBACK: It was. And especially, the Christmas of 2001 was different in a number of respects from Christmases of other years -- much more patriotism in the letters. You see them drawing pictures of Santa in his sleigh with flags hanging off the back, and that kind of thing. More requests for others that year. Fewer toys requested for themselves.
WHITFIELD: And there really is a lot of good will. A lot of these kids, as you have been finding, are asking for, you know, good wishes for other people.
SLOTTERBACK: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And sometimes, they're not asking for things or toys but simply they want to spend more time with their parents. That really has to be pretty heart-stopping when you come across a letter like that.
SLOTTERBACK: It is. To Santa Claus for Christmas, I don't want toys. I want to be with my family.
WHITFIELD: Oh.
SLOTTERBACK: And yes. So, definitely it does. And that's about at least 3 percent to 6 percent of the letters every year, have what we called "family concerns," where they would ask for an angel to watch over their grandmother, or ask that all they want for Christmas is for their mother and dad to stop fighting, for once, be nice to each other.
WHITFIELD: You know, and I think in these tough economic times, too, a lot of kids are probably asking, you know, some real relief for the family. So, perhaps, you have some advice for some families just as you're, you know, reading a lot of this material from kids, maybe you have some advice for families where times are kind of tough. Parents can't afford to, you know, buy gifts for their kids; be the role of Santa for their kids. What do you advise for them?
SLOTTERBACK: I think they should talk to their children and certainly, you know, communicate that to the children that, you know, it's hard times. Santa is going to be really stretched thin this year because so many people need him.
And also, to ask their children what is it about Christmas that really makes the holiday for them and do those things that are most important to the children --and what's most important may really surprise you, and that it's just so simple.
WHITFIELD: Yes, just being together, just spending some time together. They just might put it just that simply.
SLOTTERBACK: Right. Or it could be -- absolutely -- it could be a special meal or wanting one special dish that they -- that they really -- that they really like.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that's nice.
All right. Carole Slotterback, thanks so much. "The Psychology of Santa" is the book. Appreciate it.
SLOTTERBACK: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And thanks for sharing some of the kids' letters with us as well.
All right. Braving the cold in search of bargains. We're going to go back to that. The material things that a lot of people do seem to want for holidays, Black Friday shoppers are out in full force. We'll go live right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. So, we asked you the question: what do you think about the Salahis for crashing that White House party? And you have been commenting on our blog here.
This is what you're saying. Michelle writes, "I wonder why they crashed the party? Were they just crazy? Seems to be a lot of that going around. I pray this does not encourage some right wing wacko. I pray for the safety of our president," she says.
And Serge writes this, "If anything, we should congratulate the Salahis for having the gall to calmly walk through security, and make their way into the event."
And Art Lane writes, "Their pathetic attempt for 15 minutes of fame will have a real consequence. The idea that someone could lose their job because of these hounds is truly sad."
So, remember, we're taking in your comments on our blog. Thanks for writing in already this morning, giving us your point of view on the party crashers at the White House.
Much more in the NEWSROOM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Braving the large crowds and taking advantage of the best shopping deals this Black Friday. Of course, patience is key.
Our Nicole Collins is at the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, Virginia, with what is being done to make sure that everyone has a great time while helping out the retailers as well.
NICOLE COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Fredricka -- trying to make sure everyone is safe. A shopper can certainly get some bumps and bruises on Black Friday. It's not exactly known as being friendly or having a very calm feel to it.
But before we get to that, let's take a look at what some of the kiddos are looking for under the tree this year. My 4-year-old nephew tells me Transformers and Power Rangers are at the top on his list. But here's a look at what other kids have put on their list to Santa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): Shoppers lined up in stores and began loading their carts with discounted items in what is traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year.
ANTHONY GRIFFIN, BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPER: I wonderful day, so far, having there too much (ph). I've been stuck in one store for probably about one hour.
COLLINS: And what are must-have items this season?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I'm here for two laptops and a plasma TV.
COLLINS: And according to toptoysguide.com, the most popular toys this Christmas will be the Zhu Zhu hamster, the Barbie dream town house, Mindflex and TRIO King's Castle, and Screecher, an interactive dinosaur.
Video game consoles are also hot, with many brand names offering deep discounts and updated technology. Knowing there will be a rush for these items, many retailers have taken precautions to ensure everyone's safety.
JOE LAROCCA, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: You'll find they'll post when there is limited quantities. You'll see retailers doing a good job of signing those products well, encouraging the employees to interact with customers and let them know exactly what to expect once they get inside and what quantities are available, where to line up and where to check out.
COLLINS: Wal-Mart has made changes to its Black Friday procedures following the trampling death of an employee at a Long Island store last year. Some of those changes, lines starting inside, sales scattered throughout stores, and some stores staying open on Thanksgiving to avoid the so-called door busters and overzealous consumers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Let's take a look at some of the traffic here. It's not too bad at Pentagon City right now. You can see just a few people down this aisle. It's been getting busier and busier throughout the day. We're seeing a lot of Macy's bags. A lot of Victoria Secret bags. People have told us that people are getting pretty aggressive down in Macy's with 10 percent off today on this holiday.
But, listen, the National Retail Federation expects traffic to be up more than 16 percent this year over last year. Fredricka, that's a whopping 57 million people that have said they are definitely hitting the stores on this Black Friday.
WHITFIELD: That's good. Our retailers need that. You know, the mall doesn't look too so bad. It looks like a typical Saturday. I've shopped there many times and it looks a lot like that on the weekends. So, that is very encouraging.
But I guess it is kind of early, isn't it?
All right. We have a long way to go...
COLLINS: It's early.
WHITFIELD: ... on this Black Friday.
COLLINS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. Nicole, thank you. Appreciate it. Happy shopping. I know you'll sneak in shopping in between these live shots.
Oh, look, Jacqui Jeras is in the holiday spirit.
I love a purple Christmas tree.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. You asked me earlier if I had a tree, and I did not.
WHITFIELD: And voila! Now, you do.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: Betsy Anderson, one of our special projects producers, brought down a Viking tree.
WHITFIELD: I love that.
JERAS: So, she's also my Minnesota sister. So, I got to love her.
WHITFIELD: Oh, sweet.
JERAS: So, now, I have a tree for the office. WHITFIELD: I love it.
JERAS: And Andre (ph) is wearing his Christmas clothes already.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: All right. Well, hey, my Christmas present is that we have pretty good travel weather so far. I can't believe it.
No airport delays. Knock on wood. Not a single one reported on the FAA site all morning long. There's like 3,700 airplanes in the air.
But this is what we're worried about for later on today, especially when the winds start to kick in. We've got rain showers that primarily focusing now into parts of New England. A little bit of snow trying to mix in in Upstate New York and a few flurries over there towards the Pittsburgh area.
But we do think that delays will start once the winds kick up and they could be gusting as strong as 40 to 60 miles per hour into the northeast. So, yes, that's going to kick in probably around 6:00 p.m.-ish and continue through early tomorrow.
The nation's midsection is lovely. Temperatures very mild through the Dakotas. You know, who would have thought 60-degree temperatures maybe in Rapid City today?
And in the west, we've got a storm system here that's making its way onshore and its bringing in some very moist air, some rain showers possible, and cool air behind it. We could even see some snow, say, in the Los Angeles County mountains for tomorrow.
Of course, another big travel day is going to be Sunday. This is when a lot of people are going to be heading home and we're expecting to have travel delays here from the Great Lakes down to the gulf coast, especially concerned about heavy rain in places like Dallas, Little Rock, and Memphis.
So, of course, we'll keep you up to date here in the CNN travel headquarters.
WHITFIELD: Excellent. Thank you so much, Jacqui. Appreciate it. I love that you're now festive and in the spirit of things.
All right. Iran versus much of the world. More than two dozen nations are demanding that Iran shut down its once secret nuclear facility and that may be just the first step.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Iran's nuclear program is facing more international criticism. In Vienna today, 25 member nations of the International Atomic Energy Agency demanded that Tehran immediately shut down its newly revealed nuclear facility. The watchdog group also raised concerns that there could be even more nuclear sites that still remain secret.
It's a complicated story, but the stakes could be huge.
Here to explain, CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance in Moscow.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, thanks very much.
What we saw at the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency in Vienna earlier today was a resolution which amounted to a very strong rebuke, indeed, of Iran -- perhaps the strongest words from that U.N. body for several years. The resolution that they passed was fiercely critical of Iran's decision to build a second uranium enrichment facility secretly without telling the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, talking about the facility you may remember that was revealed in September, near the Shia holy city of Qom. The resolution is saying that that did not contribute towards the building of confidence in Iran -- in the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.
It also, as you mentioned, raised several questions, the resolution says, about whether there are more nuclear facilities across the Islamic republic that simply the U.N. has not yet being told about. So, it's still a great matter of concern.
Iran is also criticized for failing to freeze its nuclear activities as it's demanded of it by the United Nation Security Council, and criticized for failing to answer particular questions to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency regarding the nature of its past nuclear activities.
So, a very critical report, a critical resolution indeed of the Islamic republic -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Matthew Chance, thanks so much -- from Moscow. Appreciate that update.
All right. One year ago, a Black Friday sale turned into a human stampede and left one man dead. Find out what Wal-Mart is doing differently this year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. This next story is a shocker. Authorities in north Georgia are warning that there's actually some fake money circulating this holiday season. One trucker says he actually cashed his paycheck at a bank and got stuck with $600 in counterfeit $50s. He didn't realize it was fake for several days and he says the bank wouldn't take it back. So, now, he's out of that money.
Authorities say using an iodine-based counterfeit pen will help detect phony money. But who carries that around? Put a small mark on the bill apparently and if it is a fake, the pen will leave a dark mark on the money.
All right. Large crowds and little crowd control turned a Black Friday sale into a tragedy last year. This year, the store has made changes. But are they enough to avoid a repeat of last year's chaos?
CNN's Susan Candiotti investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mad dash for bargains can be funny, but last Thanksgiving weekend in New York, it was horrific. A Long Island Wal-Mart security guard was trampled to death in a stampede on Black Friday, arguably, the biggest shopping day of the year.
EMMANUEL MOULTRIE, SHOPPER: People screaming and people coming into the store passing out and falling out. It was -- it was a horrible sight.
CANDIOTTI: Emmanuel Moultrie took us back to that Wal-Mart. He says, when the stores opened at 5:00 a.m., an hour later than expected, the crowd surged forward, glass shattered, and guard Jdimytai Damour was caught in a human steamroller.
MOULTRIE: I mean, you had at least seven to eight people on top of each other. You didn't even see him. He was on top of them. And they were stuck. They were, of course, compacted in there.
CANDIOTTI: Moultrie says he felt like he was swept up in a tidal wave, trapped against a vending machine.
MOULTRIE: I said I will not hit that ground, because if I hit that ground, it would have been -- I couldn't even get my arms from my side.
CANDIOTTI: Wal-Mart avoided criminal prosecution by agreeing, among other things, to improve crowd control at all New York stores. The giant retailer says it's also voluntarily instituting changes nationwide this week. Wal-Mart declined a CNN interview. Instead, the company provided a pre-taped statement that said sports and entertainment crowd control experts gave them help.
DAPHNE MOORE, WAL-MART SPOKESWOMAN: We're committed to looking for ways to make our stores even safer for our customers and our associates this holiday season.
CANDIOTTI: Changes may include snaking lines outside and inside stores similar to airport checkpoints and scattering sales items. Some stores will remain open 24 hours starting Thanksgiving Day through the weekend, so when Black Friday sales start at 5:00 a.m., shoppers can already be inside possibly avoiding chaos.
For shoppers up before dawn for door-buster deals at any retailer, this safety advice from police...
CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE: If you see pushing and shoving, arguing for no valid reason, you know you have a potential problem right there. And if that's the case, I go to the end of the line. Let them all go in.
CANDIOTTI: Emmanuel Moultrie, who received a settlement from Wal-Mart, says he won't be burned again.
MOULTRIE: If you reach to a store and you see that that behavior is not being demonstrated, you need to leave fast -- leave fast.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): As part of its agreement with prosecutors, Wal-Mart paid nearly $2 million to a victims' fund and a community grant. OSHA (ph) cited the retailer for exposing its employees to danger when it should have known better.
Wal-Mart says in a statement, "Safety is always a top priority."
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Take care this Black Friday and throughout the holiday weekend as you hit the stores. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
