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American Morning
North Korea Threatening Military Action Ahead of Joint South Korea-U.S. Military Exercises; Stores Open Early Across the U.S. For Black Friday; Gulf Oil Spill Payouts; Piano Man on the Mend; Crash Course for Sidewalk Santas; Black Friday Deals Beckon; Royal Wedding in the Works; CNN's Hero of the Year
Aired November 26, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Are you full of turkey? Because I am. I'm feeling good, though. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING for this Friday, November 26th. I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran.
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: And hopefully, you slept well after all the tryptophan.
COSTELLO: I'm still sleeping.
JOHNS: Right. Absolutely.
I'm Joe Johns. John Roberts and Kiran Chetry are off today. There's a lot going on, so let's get started.
North Korea sounds a new warning. The unpredictable and increasingly aggressive regime promising to pounce if it's threatened. The tough talk just as U.S. warships enter the region. We're live with the tough choices facing the U.S. this morning.
COSTELLO: A day of extreme shopping -- Black Friday kicks off the official holiday shopping season. And you already know it starts earlier. But this year stores are upping the ante. We'll show you how and if bargain hunters are taking the bait.
JOHNS: And the men overseeing a $20 billion funded pay for damages from the BP oil spill say they have received four times the number of emergency claims than expected. So will everyone get paid? We'll ask the man in charge of BP's $20 billion fund when he joins us just ahead.
COSTELLO: But first, tensions running dangerously high on the Korean peninsula this morning. Reports of new explosions as U.S. warships steam toward the region. Just days after it shelled the South, North Korea warns the peninsula it's edging closer to the brink of war.
The North seeing red because of America's joint military exercises with South Korea.
JOHNS: These exercises are nothing new, but the predictable North says it is ready to unleash a "shower of fire" in order to defend itself. That's for South Korea to ramp up security and change defense ministers. Our foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is live in Washington. And Jill, what can Washington really do here in the situation?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Joe, you've got the immediate situation. And then you have the long-term situation. The immediate situation is you've got the USS George Washington headed to that region for these maneuvers, these exercises that are going to be taking place on Sunday through Wednesday.
And that is what the North now says it's very angry about. That live fire, by the way, that we heard earlier today apparently is just artillery falling within North Korea. In other words, they're practicing. But that worry is they could pull the same thing that they did earlier this week and actually attack.
So it's a very delicate situation. Right now, the U.S. in joining those exercises, it's really a show of force, show of force to North Korea that it's serious when they take military action like that, killing people, killing civilians and soldiers. And obviously the message is don't do it again.
But it's a circular situation. Because the North wants the U.S. to pay attention, wants to sit down with the United States. But the U.S. says unless you are serious about taking action here, not only not destabilizing the situation but getting rid of your nuclear program, then we're not going any place. We're not negotiating. It's a very, very delicate situation.
COSTELLO: You can't figure out North Korea at all. So the USS George Washington is going to go for the military exercises. What could the North Koreans do? I guess it is possible that the North Koreas could open fire on a U.S. warship.
DOUGHERTY: It is. You'd have to think that might seem a little bit unlikely because there's no question that they would face overwhelming power. But there are other ways that they can create mischief.
And actually, you know, again, we were saying it looks sometimes as if they are irrational. But what they do -- if you take away all that rhetoric, what there is say you've got to take us seriously. We're a nuclear power. Come to the table, talk to us. And also they want aid.
So is this a way of shaking down South Korea and the United States? If so, it's a very, very dangerous game.
COSTELLO: With tragic consequences. Jill Dougherty live in Washington this morning. Thanks.
JOHNS: More now on a developing story this morning. The rescue of three teenage boys after 50 days lost in the south pacific on a six-foot boat. The first mate on the fishing vessel that found them telling us this morning the boys were, quote, "skin and bones," and their vessel not the kind of boat you'd want to be in the open ocean.
All three back on dry land dehydrated and sunburned, but OK. The trio was trying to reach a nearby island and ended up drifting 800 miles off-course. They survived on rain water and raw fish.
COSTELLO: Also new this morning, four years worth of government documents. Hundreds of thousands now have to be reviewed in just days as the Pentagon fears of another WikiLeaks release. The website is threatening to go public with classified papers by the end of the week.
The State Department says the information in the documents could hurt international relations.
JOHNS: Back down to earth, a Russian spacecraft makes a perfect landing in Kazakhstan this morning with two Americans and a Russian onboard. The three crew members returned from the international space station where during their five-month-long stay, Astronaut Douglas Welaw used twitter to post pictures of space.
COSTELLO: Of course.
A thanksgiving day call, the old-fashioned kind, from the commander in chief. President Obama took some time yesterday to call ten service members stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He picked two from each branch of the military to telephone and thank them for their service to the country.
JOHNS: Another Thanksgiving tradition is going strong -- camping out on black Friday. These shoppers in Knoxville, Tennessee, wasted no time in staking their claim outside a Target store. The discount giant opened its doors at 4:00 a.m. Good grief.
COSTELLO: The race to score the biggest and best deal, of course, that's what black Friday is really all about. Poppy Harlow live at Macy's in New York's Herald Square where thousands of people lined up at 4:00 a.m. to get in.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: At 4:00 a.m., unbelievable, they were lining up at midnight. This was one of the stores not open on Thanksgiving. And at 4:00 a.m. we had 7,000 people, 7,000 people here in New York trying to get in these doors. That is up from 5,000 last year. That's a good indicator for this company that is make or break time, holiday shopping season.
The retailers do about 50 percent of their business for the whole year in just November and December. To give you a sense of what it was like, the madness this morning, take a listen to these folks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Five, four, three, two, one.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: So some intense shoppers. Since we last spoke in the 6:00 a.m. hour, I had a little time to shop for the two of you. I want to show you some of the gifts I got. Carol, this is for you, a mini cupcake maker, $9.99. I know you need this. Yes, $9.99. You're the reporter, you're the homemaker, you're all this. So $9.99 down from $40. Joe, I didn't leave you out.
JOHNS: Awesome.
HARLOW: Relaxing foot bath. Relaxing foot bath, $14.99. I'll bring it back to the studio.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: I get to make cupcakes and he gets a foot bath?
JOHNS: I work too hard.
(LAUGHTER)
HARLOW: You guys can battle it out on your own. But honestly, those are the best deals I've found so far, more than half off. But let's bring in Lizette. Lizette is like a master shopper, you bought gifts. Show us some of the deals you found.
LIZETTE MOREHEAD, BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPER: They have wonderful cashmere sweaters on the third floor. They were $39.99 and they were $59.99 or $99.
HARLOW: All right. Guys, these were $99, down to $39. These are gifts, right? You're buying for other people too?
MOREHEAD: Yes. My strategy is to do the shopping online first. So it's either I shop online at home, on the computer, or I keep my Blackberry on me at all times. I even got coworkers call me to let me know if there's shopping sales other places and I go there.
HARLOW: And you have your eye on a watch here today. You're not going to buy it if you don't find the best deal here, right?
MOREHEAD: Yes, I've got a co-worker looking out for a sale for me on the actual fossil store because there's a watch I want for myself for my birthday.
HARLOW: Let us know if you get it.
One other hint for folks. If you're into social networking -- I'm not good at it, but if you're on Facebook places or some of these sites like Four Square, check in today when you go shopping at the store. What they're going to send you are additional deals at those stores.
So 10 percent, 15 percent, add it up, you're going to save big. And also go online. A lot of the savings in the stores we're already seeing here, they're all online, as well. We've got a full list on CNNmoney.com. Toys R Us, Best Buy looking out for the best deals. I'm going to go get you a foot bath, Carol.
COSTELLO: I do like the cupcake maker.
HARLOW: I know.
JOHNS: I'll take the cupcake maker. It's no problem.
HARLOW: I want to see those cupcake, Joe.
JOHNS: Yes, I'm going to work on that.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: He's a good cook. Thank you, Poppy.
HARLOW: You got it.
JOHNS: I get e-mails from all of those discount offers.
COSTELLO: You know where to go. That was a savvy shopper. She had it going on.
JOHNS: Well, I'd check the label to make sure it was pure cashmere, but that's just me.
(LAUGHTER)
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Coming up, a flood of last-minute claims from victims of the Gulf oil spill. The man overseeing the $20 billion fund says many won't see a dime from BP. He'll tell you why, next.
JOHNS: The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton shaping up to be one of the biggest events in a generation. We're live with brand new details about the grand affair.
COSTELLO: And radioactive material is missing this morning. It was being shipped by FedEx, but this morning the package is MIA. It's out there somewhere. Where could it be? It's ten minutes past the hour.
JOHNS: This is not good.
COSTELLO: No.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baghdad, Iraq, I want to say hello to my wife Iris and our two boys. Happy holidays, and I love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The deadline for emergency claims related to the Gulf oil spill has just passed. And this morning the process of handing out billions of dollars in final settlements is underway.
But there are concerns that many oil spill victims won't be compensated. Kenneth Feinberg is the man in charge of BP's $20 billion fund. He handled a similar fund for the victims of 9/11. And he joins us live now.
Thank you so much for coming in the day after Thanksgiving. We appreciate it.
KENNETH FEINBERG, ADMINISTRATOR, GULF COAST CLAIMS FACILITY: Glad to be here.
COSTELLO: Now, 450,000 claims. I can't even imagine going through all of those claims.
FEINBERG: It's unprecedented. In 90 days, I've received 450,000 claims. We've already paid out about $2.2 billion to eligible claims, individuals and businesses. And we will continue to process these claims. We're around for three years. The goal is to try and make everybody whole in the gulf who was injured by the spill.
COSTELLO: Which is a difficult task, because of those 450,000 claims, you said half of them have no merit.
FEINBERG: They have no documentation or just a fisherman's license with no backup as to the damage. We're working through them. But eligible claimants will be paid. We've got over a thousand claims that is suspicious, that might be fraudulent. They go to the Justice Department, but we'll get through the process.
COSTELLO: Wow. You're moving on to final settlements now. So tell us what that means. If you accept a final settlement, that means you give up your right to sue BP.
FEINBERG: That is correct. Every claimant who's eligible and can document damage now has two choices. Choice number one, take a final lump sum payment and waive your right to sue BP or anybody else arising out of the rig explosion. That's one choice. If you feel that you're not ready to give up that right, that you don't know about the future in the gulf, fishing is uncertain or whatever, and you want to not waive your rights yet, you can take quarterly interim payments for documented damage and not release any rights to sue. So you have two choices and each claimant can make that choice.
COSTELLO: Well, the Republican governor of Alabama does not think that's fair. He calls that extortion. He says you should always have the right to sue BP. You should get the money, whatever they owe. BP owes the state of Alabama for lost wages and business, and you should have the right to sue.
FEINBERG: Well, you can have both. If you want to take the interim payments, the governor is obviously looking out for his constituents in Alabama. If you don't want to give up that right to sue, you don't have to. You can document every quarter your damage, if there is any. I mean, things are looking up in the gulf. But if you want to document your damage, take every three months a check from this facility and not give up your right to sue. That is a perfectly acceptable alternative.
COSTELLO: I think the attorney general there -- they've issued consumer alerts. So doesn't that concern you as far as what people -- I mean people are trying to figure out what to do in Alabama and they're getting mixed messages.
FEINBERG: Well, again, I think that elected officials in the gulf want to make sure that their constituents are protected, that they make the right choices. I have no problem with that. It goes with the territory. We're doing our best to make sure that every claimant has a full and fair opportunity to make a choice. And they don't need to do either. If they'd rather go to court than litigate for years, that's a prerogative also. But I don't advise it. I think we've given them the choices and I hope they'll make the right choice.
COSTELLO: Some businesses in Florida, let's say, say they should get some money because of the oil spill. How do you figure that out? I mean, how far away from the oil spill can someone be and still receive a payment?
FEINBERG: This is a big question. A big issue. I mean, it's one thing to pay a motel or a hotel right in Pensacola or right in Panama City in that zone where the oil threatened to come ashore. Those are easy cases relatively speaking. But when you get a claim from a golf course 100 miles from the spill, or you get claims as we have from dentists, chiropractors, veterinarians, all asking for money, there's going to have to be some eligibility restrictions placed. We'll look at each claim. We'll see if they can document damage based on the spill, but we're going to be --
COSTELLO: Dentists?
FEINBERG: We've got to exercise some sound discretion.
COSTELLO: OK. So let's say you're a restaurant in Washington, D.C. and you couldn't get shrimp from the gulf and that kind of like killed some of your business, you know, people who love to eat seafood. Would they have a valid claim?
FEINBERG: I don't think so. A restaurant in Washington that claims I can't make shrimp scampi because I can't get shrimp from the gulf, well, you can get shrimp elsewhere. Now you can get shrimp from the gulf. The gulf I'm told, the shrimp are plentiful. But if you come in with a claim, I'll look at any claim, but I've really going to reserve the eligibility criteria and the bulk of this money for injured victims along that coast who really were businesses or individuals, victims of the oil spill.
COSTELLO: Are you glad you took this job?
FEINBERG: No good deed goes unpunished.
COSTELLO: Thank you for coming in.
FEINBERG: Thank you very, very much.
COSTELLO: I so appreciate it. Kenneth Feinberg, thank you very much -- Joe.
JOHNS: The man with a tough job for sure.
A massive search underway this morning for a package containing radioactive materials. It was sent by FedEx. And this morning, no one knows where it is. We'll have more on this story.
Also coming up, school for Santa. What to do, what not to do when you're sporting that red suit.
It's 20 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: "Morning Talkers" time. And a massive search underway to find out what happened to a radioactive package that went missing from FedEx. It's believed the item is somewhere in Tennessee, not Mississippi. FedEx plans to speak to two employees who handled the shipment when they return to work today. The radioactive material in the package is said to have been for a medical device and not for any type of military use. FedEx also says the package is safe as long as no one tampers with it.
COSTELLO: I think it's interesting they're not talking to the two workers until they come back to work today.
JOHNS: It's Thanksgiving.
COSTELLO: Radioactive package --
JOHNS: Thanksgiving. Come on.
COSTELLO: Billy Joel, you know, the piano man, he's said to be doing extremely well. He underwent double hip replacement surgery.
JOHNS: Good grief.
COSTELLO: Doesn't that make you feel old?
JOHNS: Yes, it does.
COSTELLO: Yes. His rep tells CNN (INAUDIBLE) he should be back at his home on Long Island, New York by the end of the weekend and he should be A-OK.
JOHNS: (INAUDIBLE) thing perhaps.
I've got a feeling the Black Eyed Peas are going to the Super Bowl. The NFL announcing the group will perform during the halftime show at Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 6th. It's the first time a hip hop act has played the gig since Janet Jackson -- remember this? -- and Justin Timberlake notorious wardrobe malfunction in 2004 which nearly brought down the republic.
COSTELLO: So they're taking a chance on the Black Eyed Peas.
JOHNS: Right. I know.
COSTELLO: Fergie not bearing her breasts. I'm just glad they're under 50, the performers this year.
JOHNS: It would improve the ratings.
COSTELLO: So you want to be a sidewalk Santa? There's more to it than a red suit and a fake beard. In New York, they're teaching techniques to students who want to be Santa. Kind of a ho ho how to, if you will. Thank (INAUDIBLE) this morning.
Among the do's and don'ts, the boots go on first.
JOHNS: Right.
COSTELLO: And, Joe, please explain why.
JOHNS: Once again, if you put on the big belly, you are unable to reach the boots.
COSTELLO: So you cannot bend over to put --
JOHNS: Right. So you put on the boots first, and then the big belly.
COSTELLO: Got you.
JOHNS: Right.
COSTELLO: No garlic and onions, I understand that one.
JOHNS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: No smoking.
JOHNS: Right.
COSTELLO: And no texting because if they can't -- and you're texting, you could tell the kid you're texting the North Pole to the elves.
JOHNS: The elves. Exactly. Yes, I'm sending the message to the elves. I think it works. Ho, ho, ho.
All right. This story many of us are talking about, the prince and his soon-to-be princess, Harry and Kate. The wedding is just five months away. So how is the couple preparing? We're live in London with details. And I don't know where the clock is, so I can't tell you how many minutes --
COSTELLO: It's just about 30 minutes past the hour.
JOHNS: There you go. Thirty minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: That song just doesn't bring back memories of shopping for me.
JOHNS: I wonder why.
COSTELLO: Brings back other kinds of memories.
JOHNS: Yes, exactly.
COSTELLO: Twenty-nine minutes past the hour. Time for a check of this morning's top stories.
Retailers trying to get a leg up on the competition this Black Friday. Many stores like Sears and Toys R Us opened even earlier this year as in yesterday --
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Last night on Thanksgiving night.
JOHNS: It's incredible.
COSTELLO: Then after over sales were lackluster for the past two years, they're trying to get more people in the stores earlier. An estimated 138 million people will be on the hunt for bargains.
JOHNS: There they are.
COSTELLO: There they are.
JOHNS: All 138 million.
COSTELLO: Going into Macy's in New York. Lucky Macy's.
JOHNS: Incredible.
The U.S. hopes a show of force can convince North Korea to hold its fire. Right now it's sending warships to the region to take part in a joint military exercise with South Korea this weekend. But the move has the North seeing red and accusing Washington of pushing the peninsula "closer to the brink of war."
COSTELLO: Rescuers say three teenage cousins were just skin and bones when they were found alive after 50 days adrift aboard a tiny boat in the South Pacific. Boys are back on dry land after surviving on rain water and raw fish at sea. They'd actually been given up for dead. Their families held a memorial service just a couple of weeks ago.
JOHNS: From Wal-Mart to Target and the Gap to Best Buy. Stores are hoping to lure the masses with extremely low prices.
COSTELLO: Martin Savidge has been keeping an eye on the pre-dawn action in Atlanta. He is at a Best Buy store right now. How is it going, Martin?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, well, you know, Carol, unfortunately, it's the early hours, probably the stress of people trying to get into the store, but already, a fight has broken out here at Best Buy. And I'm - I'm right in the middle of it as you can see.
Marshall and I are trying out what is the latest gaming sensation, which is the XBOX 360 Connect. And as you can see, it's one of those full participating sports. Anyway, that's one of the hot items.
We're going to show you the rest of the items here. Walk this way. Say hello to the two Als. This is Al Senior whose back you're seeing right here. This is Al Jr., They're both from Decatur, Georgia. And they're right in the middle of a game. As you can see, another gaming sensation here. This is what? You're the Green Bay Packers? And how are we doing so far?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm winning so far. And my dad is losing. Well, the game's over now, but I won.
SAVIDGE: All right. Al, I hate to hit you at a moment like this, it's probably really depressing but how are you taking the loss?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Replay.
SAVIDGE: Replay. What time did you get up this morning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got up about 4:30 this morning.
SAVIDGE: And what dragged you out of bed at this hour to shop?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good sales. Wal-Mart, Target, and now Best Buy.
SAVIDGE: What was the one item you had to have?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That LCD big-screen TV.
SAVIDGE: They're very, very popular this year. You got one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two of them.
SAVIDGE: Two of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good price. $400.
SAVIDGE: How much?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 400. I think 488 somewhere.
SAVIDGE: Wow, great price. Are these your gifts or somebody else's?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the kids (INAUDIBLE).
SAVIDGE: Well, good luck. We'll let you have that rematch.
Come on over this way. I'm going to introduce you to Howard and Soshi. Good morning to you. All right. Howard, what has you out of bed at this, well, it's not so bad not, the early hour earlier? HOWARD: Well, I had to drop off my son off here. He works here and I wanted to look for TVs.
SAVIDGE: So TVs are the biggest items you're interested in this year?
HOWARD: Yes.
SAVIDGE: You were the second person that point it out to us. Soshi, I saw you trying the connect game, I was just boxing there. What's your favorite?
SOSHI: I like the volleyball. It helps me get better at my skills if I play.
SAVIDGE: We should point out that Soshi actually is a volleyball player. So is it real or realistic?
SOSHI: Pretty realistic, it helps me.
SAVIDGE: Would that be on your Christmas list?
SOSHI: Yes.
SAVIDGE: Yes, there you go. The Christmas lists are pretty extended here. This store opened at 5:00 in the morning, you had about, I think 300 some people in line. So for the hot items as you heard were the games, they're always popular, the television sets. You've got the e-readers which are also very popular.
I should point out, you know, if you're going to be shopping here, you need a gadget just to get gadgets. Something like this would be very good for you because you see the Best Buy is advertising on Facebook. They're also advertising on Twitter. It's the first time they've done that. There are also several apps on the telephone so you can use those to do your shopping and try and get it done early.
It's just exhausting. I really want to get back to the fight if you don't mind. I'll send it back to you guys.
COSTELLO: Yes, we were amazed you were so winded after that.
JOHNS: Well, you look pretty good. I mean, you did a really good job.
SAVIDGE: Thank you. I'm working on the upper cut.
JOHNS: Yes. Very good.
I wish I knew how large those big screen TVs were selling for $400. If it's like 17 inches, who cares, right? But if it's, you know, 40 or 50 inches -
SAVIDGE: I think - I mean I'm not on the payroll here at Best Buy, but I think they're around 42 inches, it seems. That's the size that they're talking about. So, yes and I checked with the guys in the back room, they're the ones that have to haul them up to the front and load them into people's cars and they're saying it's about the 42 to 44 that seems to be the most popular. However the guys in the back room said they like the 50 to 55-inch ones.
JOHNS: Yes, right.
SAVIDGE: Either way the shelves are clearing pretty quick.
JOHNS: Yes, exactly. I understand. Those guys are after my own heart. I got them. All right, thanks so much, Martin Savidge.
SAVIDGE: Mine too.
JOHNS: Here's some amazing video you must see this morning. Perhaps on a 40-inch big screen TV, from a mall food court in Canada. A group of about 100 people serenading unsuspecting shoppers with the "Hallelujah" chorus.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
JOHNS: And it's gone viral now, of course. That's pretty good video. It's been viewed more than a million times on the web. And I mean they sound great. But I still am trying to figure out where the organ music's coming from.
COSTELLO: I'm sure somebody brings along their organ and they set it up in the food court.
JOHNS: Yes, right. Pipe organ, the whole thing.
COSTELLO: Good for them. Go on YouTube, you'll see it this morning.
We're going to be talking about the royal family, again. Because we want to find out how actually you can get an invitation to the wedding. Well, maybe not here in America -
JOHNS: Yes, right.
COSTELLO: But how commoners can get an invitation to the wedding and why Kate Middleton is undergoing counseling.
JOHNS: I'll be right over.
COSTELLO: Yes, Joe will help you, Kate.
We'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
COSTELLO: We had to wait a while, but there's finally another royal wedding in the works this morning. Have you heard about it? Have you?
JOHNS: No.
COSTELLO: Prince William and Kate Middleton plan on getting married on April 29th at Westminster Abbey in London.
JOHNS: And the run-up to the royal event gives Kate just five months to prepare for both the wedding and her new role.
So joining us now from London is royal biographer, Mark Saunders. He has covered the royal family for years.
I guess we should start out with just how intense this process is that Kate's going through right now to prepare to be a princess. And what kind of support would she be getting from the palace? We're hearing media reports, she's getting counseling to try to help prevent depression and isolation of the type that Princess Diana felt.
MARK SAUNDERS, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: Well, with the counseling, what you've got to remember is the counseling has got nothing to do with depression. In order to be counseled for depression, you would need to have depression in the first place.
Kate certainly isn't depressed. She's about to marry the man she loves. She's going to be the queen of England. She's going to lead a life of wealth and privilege. The like of which, we can only dream of. So there is very little for her to be depressed about. Well, what they're trying to do is make sure that she knows all the rules and regulations, all the etiquette and all the protocol.
Because there is a great deal of that when you're going to be the queen of England. You got to remember, I know we shouldn't really be comparing Kate with Diana. But Diana was the worst-prepared queen to be in history. When Diana and Charles began formally dating to the time of their engagement was roughly 28 days. And when Princess Diana woke up on the first morning of her marriage, there were two things that she had absolutely no idea what to do about.
One was her husband's snoring and the other was everything else. So they're going to - Kate, on the other hand, is the most prepared queen-to-be in history. She's been dating William formally now for about six years. And there is very little about him that she doesn't know. When she wakes up on her first day of her marriage, the only thing worrying her will be who's going to cook breakfast today.
COSTELLO: She probably has already figured out that (INAUDIBLE).
JOHNS: Yes, you would think because of them living together.
COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) just kidding.
You know, I just wondered, are people as frenzied over this marriage as they were about Charles and Diana? Or is it just kind of we're really happy for them and happy to see these two wonderful young people getting together? And is it more than that? A lot more than that? SAUNDERS: Well, I -- when just after Princess Diana died, I remember saying the circus has left town. But I think they do still - and basically the circus is back in town. It's an absolute frenzy. There's so much news, there's so much reporting going on about Kate and William.
Everything you would need to know we're being told and a lot that we don't need to know. The problem we're facing now is the queen is worried about the paparazzi. She doesn't want Kate to suffer the way Diana did to some extent. And of course, it's a very different world today. The media, the technology. It's so much easier for photos to be sent around the world very quickly. That's the only concern. Apart from that, it's just a tremendous joy here in London. Everybody's really looking forward to it.
JOHNS: Realistically, though, number one, how could they keep the paparazzi away if somebody's really determined to take a picture? And number two, tell us a little bit about this golden lottery where they're going to actually figure out a way to make sure that some of the regular people in Britain can come to the proceeding?
SAUNDERS: The terms of the golden lottery, I don't think they have actually figured it out yet. They're going to try to emulate what happened at Princess Diana's funeral where many of the people from her charities and people close to her were invited rather than having such a large military aspect. I think they're going to have more of a kind of civilian aspect at William and Kate's wedding.
But that's yet to be decided how they're going to do it. Concerning the first question, I don't know how they're going to stop the paparazzi from pursuing these, William and Kate. As you know, the newspaper industry at the moment is fragile, circulation is low. Very good pictures on William and Kate would increase circulation in whichever paper published it. But I think the test will be when the first pictures come in, who will publish them?
The paparazzi - the Pentax paparazzi, the photographs (INAUDIBLE) outside the nightclubs, forget about them. They wouldn't have the resources, the finances, or the contacts to cover the royal family. Because the royal estates, Balmoral, Sundrum, Windsor, they are vast. And you really do need to know what you're doing. And you need to have some muscle behind you, as well. But there are a lot of lenses being taken out (INAUDIBLE) at the moment and being cleaned off in preparation for what will probably be a bonanza for someone.
COSTELLO: Yes, big moneymaker too. Because even here in the United States, Kate Middleton's picture is on a lot of tabloids.
JOHNS: That's for sure. Just about everywhere. So who's on the guest list?
SAUNDERS: The usual suspects. The heads of states of every country in the world, particularly looking forward to seeing Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. And obviously Nicholas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni. I think the side show is going to be which one of those two ladies dresses the most elegantly and stylishly. We also have a number of celebrities. I believe they're in discussion with Elton John to get him to play. Elton always felt that "Candle in the Wind" Princess Diana's funeral was possibly a mistake in retrospect. He would like to perform a joyous occasion rather than a sad occasion.
And I'll give you an exclusive for CNN. David Beckham is going to Zurich next week with Prince William as part of the World Cup campaign for this country. And Victoria Beckham has told him, "Don't come home unless you've got a ticket for that wedding."
JOHNS: Well, there you go. That is quite a (INAUDIBLE).
COSTELLO: Wouldn't it be nice if Victoria could design the princess' dress?
JOHNS: It just worked.
SAUNDERS: No, no, no, no, no.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: Oh, come on, Mark. Mark Saunders, thank you so much for all of those details. And we will have to get back to you pretty soon.
COSTELLO: Bye.
SAUNDERS: Great, thanks.
JOHNS: All right. Soaking storm, there we go with the alliteration again. It is moving east and big temperature changes are on the way. Your holiday travel weather is next.
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JOHNS: Beautiful Atlanta, or is it Hotlanta? Not so hot today. Cloudy, 55, showers later, 56 degrees.
COSTELLO: I think I'll take that.
JOHNS: I know, exactly. Very overcast right now.
COSTELLO: Yes. Karen Maginnis in the extreme weather center in Atlanta. And it's dreary kind of in Atlanta and dreary in many other parts of the country, as well -- Karen.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. But yesterday, Thanksgiving was crazy in Atlanta, crazy nights. It was 73 degrees, just about three degrees shy of tying the record.
Just to compare that with -- oh, I picked Minneapolis out of the hat, yesterday the high temperature in Minneapolis was 27. So, we had a very sharp temperature contrast there. Eventually high pressure will move in.
This is the Sunday forecast. Why am I showing you Sunday already? Because it is the busiest air travel day of the year. That is the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
High pressure moves in. You can see from New York to Atlanta, down towards Miami, things are looking pretty quiet as high pressure dominates this region. Denver should be about 45. But we'd also watch a weather system move out of the Northwest and into the Great Basin. And it looks like a pretty good blast of some wintry weather.
Right now, the wind gusts between 15 and 20 miles per hour, some occasional gusts up 25 to 30 across this northeastern corridor, along that Interstate 95 corridor region. And I think as the day progresses and that frontal system moves through, we'll see the southwest winds that we're looking at right now, they'll shift out of the west and as a consequence, that's going to drop the temperatures down fairly rapidly as we go through the afternoon.
So, you've probably seen your peak high temperature for the day in New York City and in Boston and in New York. But as those west winds move through, then you'll know that the front has moved through, the rain will start to taper off. But into these Eastern Great Lakes region, this is where we're looking at the possibility of as much as a foot of snowfall across some of those regions.
I'll be back with just about 20 minutes with another update. Carol, Joe, back to you.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Karen.
JOHNS: A foot of snow.
This morning's top stories minutes away, including the hunt for a radioactive package. It was shipped using FedEx and this morning, it's missing in action. So, where could it be? How dangerous is it? Plus --
COSTELLO: Plus, an unbelievable story -- we're going to say unbelievable story to tell you this morning but it really is. Three teenagers lost at sea for 50 days. They are found alive. We've got new details on their amazing rescue. Those stories and much more at the top of the hour.
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PFC. LORI MCKENZIE, U.S. ARMY: Hi, I'm PFC McKenzie. I just wanted to say hello to my family and friends in Pensacola, Florida. I love you and happy holidays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: It was a night for heroes last night, an all-star CNN tribute to everyday people who are working to change the world. All of the 2010 heroes were on hand and Anderson Cooper revealed the winner of the year's top prize.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: 2010 CNN Hero of the Year is Anuradha Koirala.
ANURADHA KOIRALA, 2010 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: Please try to respect the youth and do something for the youth. They're the one who are going to build our next generation. Thank you. Thank you so much.
(APPLAUSE)
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COSTELLO: Anuradha is an incredible woman. She's worked to rescue thousands of girls and women in Nepal from human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Anderson spoke with the newly-minted hero of the year moments after she won.
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COOPER: You've been named 2010 CNN Hero of the Year. How are you feeling?
KOIRALA: Well, I feel that there are more responsibilities now on me.
COOPER: You feel more people are now looking at you, more people are -- know of you?
KOIRALA: Yes, of course. Now I feel that they will be not only looking at me -- but they will know the issue, more issue, the issue which we have taken up, the sex trafficking.
COOPER: You seem like such a quiet lady, but I know your nickname is "the terminator." Why do they call you "the terminator"?
KOIRALA: If your daughter or mine, it doesn't matter whose daughter. Everybody's daughter was trafficked. And if you got hold of a trafficker, do you think you're going to go -- oh, how sweet you are, you did such a nice job, you took my daughter, or would you start giving him blows? If I have to confront a trafficker, then I can really hit hard.
COOPER: When your children see you winning this award tonight, what do you think they will -- they will think?
KOIRALA: I've already sent a message, and they're all crying. And I know they will be very happy about it and I know they will be very happy.
COOPER: This award comes with $100,000 -- in total, $125,000. What will that money mean to your work, to your mission? KOIRALA: There is only one woman's hospital in whole of Nepal. That's in the capital. What about the other parts of the country, where there is poverty, poverty, poverty? So, I'm thinking that I'll build a women and children's hospital with this.
COOPER: Have you ever thought of giving up? Have there been days when you thought I'm going to stop this?
KOIRALA: Never.
COOPER: Never?
KOIRALA: Never. Never.
COOPER: Well, congratulations. It's such an honor to meet you.
KOIRALA: Thank you.
COOPER: Thank you.
KOIRALA: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: And you can see the entire CNN Heroes program tomorrow and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. You can also donate to Anuradha's cause and to each of the CNN Heroes' organizations at Facebook.com/CNNHeroes.
COSTELLO: Top stories coming your way right after the break.
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