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Jailed Hikers Return to U.S.; Saudi Women Get the Vote; Michael Jackson's Death and the "CSI" Effect; Greece's Impact on the U.S. Economy

Aired September 25, 2011 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM this Sunday, September 25th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Two American hikers jailed in Iran are back on U.S. soil four days after being freed. Just three hours ago, they arrived at New York's JFK airport. These are pictures of the pair last night leaving Oman. We're going to get more on their journey in a moment with live reports.

And five days and 10 hours -- that's how long U.S. lawmakers have to agree on some type of temporary spending plan to keep the government running. If they don't, some federal agencies could shut down. The big sticking point, money for disaster relief. And the finger pointing continued this morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: There is a group, and I do believe it is mostly centered in the House in terms of some of these Tea Party Republicans, who say on every issue, We're going to make this a make-or-break. We saw it on the FAA when they shut down the Federal Aviation Administration. We're seeing it now on this debate about FEMA. We should be able to have a legitimate debate about emergency aid. Why link that into a government shutdown or not?

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: I'll give the Senate Democratic leader most of the credit. He manufactured a crisis all week about disaster, when there's no crisis. Everybody knows we're going to pay for every single penny of disaster aid that the president declares.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: U.S. lawmakers are supposed to be in recess this week, but Senate majority leader Harry Reid has ordered a Monday session for a possible vote on a compromise package.

And with more assertive vigor, President Barack Obama is talking job creation. He's taking his pitch on the road. This hour, he'll be in Seattle, Washington. Last night, he delivered his message in the nation's capital to the Congressional Black Caucus. This was his straight talk message and challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now! I don't have time to feel sorry for myself! I don't have time to complain! I'm going to press on! I expect all of you to march with me and press on!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So again, the president is on the road today, Seattle. Tomorrow he has a town hall meeting in California and then Tuesday he's in Denver, Colorado.

All right, now back to our top story, those freed American hikers and their homecoming in New York. Just about three hours ago, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer arrived at New York's Kennedy Airport. Last Wednesday -- pictures right now -- they were released from an Iranian jail after being held on two years on spy charges. Their first stop then was Oman, reuniting with family members.

CNN photojournalist Todd Baxter was on the commercial flight with Fattal and Bauer from Oman to New York. So Todd, you have an interesting perspective. What did they say, or what did you observe?

TODD BAXTER, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST: Well, I was sitting in a different section from them, but I did see them come on the plane. Josh came on first. There were a couple family members with him. And Shane came on, and he had a huge bunch of flowers, which there was a -- you know, the stewardesses took them -- took the flowers off him and put them away in a cupboard so that he could go to his seat.

They were all dressed -- you know, dressed down pretty much in jeans or hiking-type pants. They looked tired, was the main thing. They looked tired. It was an 8:30 AM flight in London on a Sunday morning. So you'd expect people to be tired. But they looked tired.

They weren't together per se. They -- Josh was with his family -- with what I imagine was some of his friends or family. And Shane was following up in the rear. And I did talk to Shane briefly and said, Hey, are you the guys who got released from Iran? And he said, Yes, and I told him, Congratulations.

WHITFIELD: And then did they say anything more than that?

BAXTER: They didn't. After I said congratulations, Shane walked on to the back of the plane, and I couldn't see them. They were sort of -- I tried to walk back there later on, and I was kept back from going back to the back of the plane.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes. I'm sure they were tired and they needed their privacy. So I wonder -- this was a commercial jet, Todd. I wonder if other passengers on board -- were they aware that these were the American hikers that had been jailed in Iran? And if so, did anyone have anything to say? Were people trying to, you know, get a glimpse of them, say anything to them even? BAXTER: I didn't get the sense that anybody else knew. But they did -- they did go through two more sections probably before they sat down, but I didn't get the sense that anybody knew. I mean, they looked like everybody else. They looked tired. They looked -- in casual clothing. You know, they didn't look any different, frankly.

The only thing that was different was that towards the end of the flight, about 20 minutes before the end of the flight, the cabin crew moved them to the front of the plane, to the very front of the plane, and I think they let them go off first.

WHITFIELD: Oh, right. Well, I'm sure they got a great rest during the journey from London to New York. So Todd, right now, you're at the location there in New York where later on today, we do expect to hear from the two young men. Of course, they'll be with their family. It might be a similar style, we think, than what we remember seeing when Sarah Shourd was released, as well.

Todd, thanks so much for your perspective, and I know you're going to be helping to bring us some of those images a little bit later on.

CNN's Susan Candiotti reporting on the hikers' families since this ordeal began more than two years ago. She, too, will be joining us in about 30 minutes or so from now with an intimate view of what that family has been going through and what they're feeling right now. And she'll also be walking us through what the hikers just might say when they address the cameras and the reporters later on this afternoon from that very location in New York.

All right, well, she was hoping -- everybody was hoping the third time would be the charm. Today, 62-year-old endurance swimmer Diana Nyad was pulled out of the Florida Straits about three hours ago. She was once again attempting that swim from Cuba to Florida. But guess what? She had made it two thirds of the way. She had to quit after painful jellyfish stings and strong currents. And of course, I'm sure we will be hearing more about how she's feeling about that third attempt some time later.

All right, and now to this historic decision today by Saudi Arabia's king. Women can vote and run for office. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Mohammed, how did the Saudi king make this announcement?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the king made this announcement at the gathering of the shura council. That's the consultative council in Saudi Arabia. It's a council of advisers that the king hand-picks.

It was significant because he was telling them that not only could women in the future serve on this consultative council, that he would pick more full-time members as women, but also that they would be able to participate in the next round of municipal elections, that they would be able to nominate themselves to participate in the next round of municipal elections. Now, it's important to point out that while the king did not use the word "vote," that it's being taken that women will be able to vote. I've spoken to many women's rights activists in the past several hours after this announcement was made. They are elated at the news. They say it's about time. They say it's one thing to be able to vote, but to be able to also nominate themselves as candidates in the future round of elections, even though the date for those elections hasn't been set yet, they say they are over the moon about this.

This is a big step forward towards the empowerment of women in Saudi Arabia. They say that is something that's much needed in this country, a country where there's a male guardianship system, where women can't drive, they can't open bank accounts, they can't have education unless their male guardian signs off on it -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so the hope is among many women there, while they're celebrating what they think the interpretation is, is that they will get to vote, they're hoping that this might lead the way to one day they will also be able to drive and have other freedoms that they do not enjoy right now?

JAMJOOM: That's exactly how they're taking this. And what we've seen over the past few months -- we've seen women in Saudi Arabia -- really, they've empowered themselves. They have been starting a campaign by which they are encouraging women to drive, to go out and drive, even though they're not allowed to drive there.

They are really participating in sort of -- in basically trying to push the envelope in Saudi Arabia, and they think that this is a big step forward by the king in trying to encourage women there to ask for more rights. And they say it's really sorely needed in that country, which is a patriarchy. A lot of women that I speak with in Saudi Arabia say that they feel like prisoners there, they feel trapped, they feel like they can't do the most basic of things without getting the permission of a male guardian, and that has to end as soon as possible -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Mohammed Jamjoom, thanks so much, from Abu Dhabi.

All right, back here in the States, you're probably familiar with the "CSI" television series, right? Well, attorneys in the Michael Jackson death trial worry about that "CSI" effect on jurors, a case that starts to trial this week. Details of that next week (ph).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And now for the international headlines. The Palestinian president is back in the West Bank, where he was met today by a celebration. And then tomorrow at the U.N. General Assembly, the Security Council will be meeting Monday to discuss this idea of statehood involving the Palestinians.

To Indonesia now, a suicide bomber today targeted a church in central Java, detonating himself in the church's entryway as worshipers were filing out. About 20 people were wounded, but police say only the bomber was killed.

And in Iran, a string of explosions shook the city of Karbala today. Four blasts in all killed at least 10 people and wounded 70 others. Officials say the bombs appear to have targeted people on their way to the government office that issues passports.

In California, a hearing is scheduled tomorrow in the trial of Michael Jackson's physician, Conrad Murray. Prosecutors want jurors to know that Murray ducked investigators' questions. The defense says such testimony would actually be prejudicial. Opening statements in this complicated trial are expected on Tuesday.

But as Ted Rowlands explains, don't look for it to be like an episode of television's "CSI."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Jurors in the Conrad Murray case will hear testimony from crime scene investigators and from the coroner, but it won't be like an episode of "CSI." Many attorneys believe that shows like "CSI" can have an effect on real jury trials. They say some jurors who watch the shows expect to be shown the same kind of clear evidence that they see on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just take a look at this!

ROBERT DAVID HALL, ACTOR, "CSI": Our show has impacted the culture, I guess you'd say, to the point where people expect "CSI" type of evidence.

MARY HONG, SR. FORENSIC SCIENTIST: It's really frustration because it's unrealistic.

ROWLANDS: Mary Hong is a senior forensic scientist in Orange County, California. She says the good thing about the "CSI" effect is that now when she takes the stand in a criminal trial, jurors know what she does. And she says they're usually riveted to her testimony. The problem is that sometimes they expect too much.

HONG: I think they do understand that we don't have fancy cars to go out in a crime scene and that we can't solve a case within hours. But I think a lot of people feel that what they see on TV is realistic.

ROWLANDS: The "CSI" effect usually works to a defendant's advantage. Jurors are reluctant to convict without some clear scientific evidence. One of the jurors from the Casey Anthony trial said there wasn't enough physical evidence to find her guilty.

JENNIFER FORD, CASEY ANTHONY JUROR: There's no solid evidence that there was a crime.

ROWLANDS: On the juror questionnaire, potential jurors in the Dr. Conrad Murray case were asked if they watched "CSI." The prosecution case against Murray will include crime scene evidence taken from Michael Jackson's bedroom, but jurors aren't expected to get any of that "CSI" type of "Ah-ha" evidence that clearly shows exactly what caused Jackson's death.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And all eyes on Greece this week. What their money woes could mean for the U.S. economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's not just the U.S. but global markets that are taking a beating. And there's worry this week that Greece will default on its mounting debt. And if it does, will Americans feel the ripple effect?

Financial consultant Eric Amado back with us from Dallas. So Eric, why is it that what happens in Greece does affect so many?

ERIC AMADO, CEO & PRES. AMADO CONSULTING LLC: That's a great question. What's happening in Greece is very, very serious. If Greece was to default, it can have a real concern global-wide. First of all, it can affect other euro zone countries that might have problems. Also, it can affect the United States. And you could have a run on the banks in Greece and some European locations. So it's very, very important that the IMF and the other leaders get a handle on what's happening in Greece.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Asian markets will be opening a few hours from now. Will European and U.S. markets be influential? (SIC)

AMADO: Absolutely. What happens in the Asian markets will come around to Europe and it will also come around to the U.S. markets tomorrow morning. Now, some of the things they're going to be looking at is that, what kind of results came out of the IMF meeting over the weekend? What did the leaders do? Do they have a credible plan?

Also they're going to be looking at, is Germany on board with the European bail-out fund? Germany is a key cog in the European bail-out and they must be on board. And also, they want to see what type of confidence does our leadership have on fixing this problem because a lot of people think we might have a vacuum of leadership, not good leadership, to fix the problem we have on hand right now.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, let's talk a little bit about the U.S. leadership. Now, Federal -- you know, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke -- well, he's keeping interest rates at historic lows. Does that help?

AMADO: You know, that's a great question. He's really in a tough situation right now because when you keep interest rates very, very low, you increase your chance for inflation long term. But the reason why he's doing this -- he's trying to drive growth in our economy. Interest rates are almost a zero percent right now.

And right now, the credit markets are pretty, pretty -- you know, pretty, pretty stable, but a lot of companies aren't doing any M&A transactions. And right now, the credit markets are pretty good for refinancing homes, but a lot of people can't get refinancing. So by keeping interest rates low, he's trying to drive growth. But right now, it's just not working.

WHITFIELD: OK. And more specifically, just last week, the Federal Reserve announcing "operation twist," the plan to replace short-term bonds with long-term ones. How does this also help? Or what's the idea that's behind it?

AMADO: Yes. I mean, I'm not sure how much this is going to help. It's a $400 billion program. You know, take the short-term bonds, buy long-term bonds. But the reason why they're trying this -- they're trying to increase investing in more riskier assets long term. They're looking at interest rates that'll be lower for 6-year to 30- year bonds. And so overall, this is another way to try to stimulate the economy.

But with so much debt in the European markets and in the U.S. market, I mean, I'm just not sure how long this is going to go. We need to unlock the cash that are sitting on companies' balance sheets right now, about $2 trillion. Once that goes into the economy, that'll really help stimulate jobs and help get the economy back going.

WHITFIELD: OK. The markets -- U.S. markets took a dip, quite the dip, on Friday. Any hope, in your view, that Monday we may see more green than we saw red?

AMADO: That's a great question. Actually, on Friday, the markets did a little better because people are thinking that they're not going to let Europe go under. But what happens in the IMF meeting this weekend will be a big, big factor.

I do think that the markets will do OK tomorrow because I don't think we're going to let Europe go under. It's not going to happen. But expect more volatility in the markets over the next couple weeks until Europe comes with a concrete plan on fixing their debts.

WHITFIELD: All right. Eric Amado, always good to see you, and especially on a Sunday now, too. We got you twice this weekend.

AMADO: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

AMADO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: It's all green for us right now. Thanks so much. And of course, you can get more information from Eric by going to his Web site at Amadoconsultingllc.com.

All right, and more coming up on our top story of the two American hikers back on U.S. soil. In two hours, they will be talking to the media. Our Susan Candiotti joins us with details of what they just might say. We'll be checking in with her next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: A look at the top stories we're following. After more than two years, two American hikers are back on U.S. soil. Their plane landed in New York three-and-a-half hours ago after an overnight flight from Oman, stopping in London. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were released from an Iranian prison last week. The pair claims they accidentally strayed over an unmarked border between Iraq and Iran. More on them in a minute, a live report from our Susan Candiotti in New York.

In Saudi Arabia, a historic decision expanding women's rights. King Abdullah says Saudi women will be able to vote and run for office in future municipal elections. That doesn't include elections, however, coming up this Thursday. A prominent women's rights advocate in Saudi Arabia is celebrating that decision. She says women's voices will finally be heard in those elections upcoming.

All right, even though Congress, U.S. Congress, is supposed to be in recess for the week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called a session for tomorrow. The federal budget year ends Friday, and there's still no agreement on a temporary spending plan to keep the U.S. government operating.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in Seattle, Washington, any minute now. And over the next few days, he'll actually be pitching his plan to create jobs by hopscotching across the country. And he'll try to raise money, as well, for the Democratic Party.

All right, folks who live near Seattle are reeling today after dramatic gun battle there. A man armed with rifles opened fire near an elementary school. It was closed, but right next door, a high school football game was going on in a stadium packed with fans. Listen.

Police shot and killed the 51-year-old gunman. No one was hurt. It's still unclear whether the president's visit to Seattle will in any way be impacted by this investigation.

All right, back to those freed hikers now. CNN's Susan Candiotti has been covering the hikers' families for the past two years, since those young men were still in jail in Iran. She's joining us right now from New York at the very location where it's expected that these two young men will be speaking just about two hours from now.

Susan, what more can you tell us about kind of the buzz and the excitement about what they may have to say?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've learned something just a little while ago about what's happening right now. The two hikers, the two freed hikers, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, are now enjoying their first lunch on American soil, a vegetarian lunch, to be specific. And then in a couple hours from now, they will be coming into this room at a hotel, where they will hold a press conference of sorts. It's the very same location where Sarah Shourd was one year ago this month after she was freed. What will happen is that they will come into the room along with their families. And of course Sarah Shourd will also be with them. They will make prepared statements, in the very same way that you've been hearing from them in Oman the last few days. And then after that, then their families will speak. The families will likely take questions, but we are told, just as in Oman, that Fattal and Bauer are not prepared to take any questions at this time.

I am told that the statements will be -- it's been described to me -- very frank, frank about their conditions under which they were held in prison in Iran for the past two years. You'll recall that some of the things we heard from Sarah included being blindfolded. We don't have the details that are releasable at this time yet, but it will be interesting to hear, of course, what they have to say.

After that, they plan on taking a break. I'm told that they plan to, in their words, "chill out," and it's not really clear when they will give individual interviews about their experiences, whether that will happen in the next few days, in the next few weeks, or perhaps some time after that, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Candiotti, thanks so much. We'll be looking forward to that. That's expected to happen about maybe an hour-and-a-half or so from now. We'll check back with you. Thanks so much.

All right, also coming up, FaceBook making changes that not everybody's really happy about. We'll have more on that in our next "Gaming and Gadgets" segment.

But first, which country uses the most social media? Is it United States, Japan, the United Kingdom or Germany? We'll have the answer after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Before the break I asked which country uses the most social media? The answer, the United Kingdom, 82 percent of the people there use social media.

So among those things they're using Facebook and Facebook has redesigned its pages, Google has launched a new app and rumors of a release date for a new iPhone. All this fits into our gaming and gadgets segment.

We're going to check in with our Marc Saltzman right now to break down all these new things that we can be anticipating as early as this week in some cases.

So let's begin with Facebook. What are the new changes and how are people reacting? Those changes were kind of unveiled last week?

MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: That's right. So if you log into Facebook today, it will look different than a week ago. Some of the new changes have provoked some strong reaction from its nearly $800 million users. You know, Facebook is a personal thing.

So any time they tinker with the user interface, you're going to have a group of people unhappy with it. The two biggest changes, Fredricka, are a news ticker along the right-hand side. It's much very like Twitter.

You see real-time update of what your friends are doing, what they are liking at that moment, what they're posting and uploading, it's a quick glance. It's a way to get a quick snapshot on what's happening now.

And then on the other end of that spectrum instead of seeing what's happening now, the other big change is called timeline. It's what Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls the story of your life. This is basically a long-term look at your Facebook profile since you created an account.

It's creeping some people out because it's a chronological view. So you can easily see what music you were listening to back in 2008. You can be see what photos you unloaded, what comments you made, your status updates and you know, you'll love it or loathe it. But these new changes are getting a strong reaction.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. Ok, well, it will be interesting to see what people might think about Google. It's kind of -- it's about to come out with something called Google wallet app and some cases it's already up and running?

SALTZMAN: That's right. So Google has unveiled its solution to turn your Smartphone into an electronic wallet of sorts. Phones that are equipped with what's called NFC or Near Field Communication, allow you to make payments at retail if you have one of those terminals.

There are about 135,000, you know, set up across the U.S. so the Google wallet app is only available at this time pushed out to Nexus S4g Smartphones with sprint

And called Google Wallet that lets you tap your Smartphone on one of the terminals at retail and soon vending machines and that's all you need to do to complete the transaction.

At this point the time, it only works with Citimaster card, but Google has confirmed other major financial institutions like Visa and American Express and Discovery have also gone -- also going to be on board turning your Smartphone.

If forget your wallet at home, well, depending on where you are it may not matter because you will have your Smartphone with you. Now, a lot, I'm sure, lot of your viewers are saying what about security, what if you lose your Smartphone.

There are two security measures in place. One is a pin so a number that you'll type in to confirm it's you to make that transaction. Secondly, that wireless hand shake between the Smartphone and terminal is encrypted to prevent hacking of any kind.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

SALTZMAN: So we'll see if this catches on. It will be pretty cool.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, speaking of Smartphones, let's talk about iPhone, iPhone 5 right around the corner. Maybe in October 4th date launch date is being floated around. What more do you know about it?

SALTZMAN: Sure. So, you know, Apple has confirmed there is an event coming up. They've confirmed with me last week, but they haven't confirmed that exact date. It's looking like Tuesday, October 4th is a rumor from a reputable source.

So they'll host a smaller press event in San Francisco hosted by the new CEO, Tim Cook to unveil hopefully the iPhone 5 and maybe a slew of new iPods as well. The iPhone 5 depending on which rumors you believe, it can be everything.

So let's just look at some of the more realistic ones. A bigger screen so instead of a 3.5 inch screen, 4, maybe 4.3 inches. It will have better camera so maybe 8 megapixels instead of 5, a faster processor.

So perhaps using a dual core A5 chip, which is what is powers the iPad 2 tablet and finally it may also have NFC, similar to what's in the new Android devices we were talking about and Blackberry Bold 9900.

And that's your Near Field Communication can turn the iPhone 5 into an electronic wallet. So those are some of the more I think realistic rumors. But we'll know in due time, of course.

WHITFIELD: All right. All cool stuff. Thanks so much, Mark.

SALTZMAN: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'd know we count on you. So for more on high-tech ideas and reviews, just go to cnn.com/tech and look for the gaming and gadgets tab.

In other tech news, Apple opened two new stores in China this weekend. They include the chain's first store in Hongkong. Apple plans to open 25 retail stores in China by 2012. The chain's four previously established Chinese stores are the busiest Apple stores in the world.

And speaking of Apple, we're talking the kind you eat, I don't know, our Jacqui Jeras says today may be a great day to actually go apple picking. She did. She's got details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, guess what? It is beautiful. It's almost like summer like even though it's supposed to be fall in most places. So much so that Jacqui and her family got out and really enjoyed the weather today. Went apple picking.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLGIST: We had a great time. Awesome, yes. This time of the year I love it, get the wine saps or the Macintosh, make pies or apple crisp.

WHITFIELD: You have serious baking to do now.

JERAS: Absolutely. That's what I'll be doing the rest of the week.

WHITFIELD: OK. In between letting us know all the other good things and not so good things happening weather wise, right?

JERAS: Almost warm to bake. It's like 85 degrees right now. I know beautiful up and down the east coast, but it does feel very cool and fall-like across the nation's midsection. This is our big story not just this here on this Sunday, but throughout much of the week.

We've got an area of low pressure and this thing is cut off from the regular jet stream, which means it's not going to move a lot. So it's going to bring scattered rain showers, nothing terribly severe though. A few thunderstorms could produce severe wind gusts along with it.

But for the most part we're going to be seeing cooler than normal temperatures. We're going to be seeing the heavy rainfall, and just kind of a cloudy, dreary day. This is going to last at least through Thursday before something comes in and picks this up.

Now temperature wise, it will stay below average, only 61 degrees tomorrow in Chicago because of this and 76 in Memphis. But look ahead of it, things are still warm and still feeling very much summer like and that's going to be the same case across the Rockies as well.

So that big low causing that big dip. Now another area we're watching, with showers and thunderstorms, is Florida. My gosh, the rain is coming down extremely heavy here. We've got flash flooding going on in the Tampa area and we're seeing rainfall rates around 2 inches an hour.

This is going to continue throughout the evening. We're also keeping our eyes on the tropics, just past the half point in the hurricane season. We've got Tropical Storm Ophelia. We also have Tropical Storm Philippe. These are both out in the open Atlantic right now not bothering anybody, neither of which are expected to do so.

We have to watch Ophelia for Bermuda. We've also had a pretty active Pacific season and we're on the H storm already. And we want to point out Hurricane Hillary because it is a major hurricane and could be moving towards Baja, California.

But also Fredricka, believe it or not, need to watch it for next weekend. Some of the moisture could get into the south western United States.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. OK, we'll be watching. You'll be watching for us.

JERAS: I'll be watching. Not apple picking I promise.

WHITFIELD: OK, in between and the baking. Thank you, Jacqui.

All right, CNN reporters, anchors and producers, including our Jacqui Jeras, she is also one who goes around the world in the country, which means all of them, us, have great tips on some of the best restaurants, hotels and travel spots. And in this week's travel insider, we're off to San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Simon in San Francisco. One of my favorite places in the city is here, downtown at the historic building. I love coming out here on a nice day and checking out the views.

For more than 100 years, this place has been used to ferry people to different communities across the San Francisco Bay. But now the ferry building is used for all kinds of different things.

Inside the major theme is food, high-end gourmet food from fruits and vegetables to caviar to olive oil to cheese. It's a really foodie's paradise in here.

But I think I like it outside is even better. A few days a week they have a farmer's market and this is the freshest stuff you can imagine. Grab a sandwich, sit down at one of the picnic tables and have lunch.

So that is the ferry building, restaurants, shops, good people watching. I think it's one of the best places San Francisco has to offer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Beautiful. Thanks so much, Dan.

All right, two key battle ground states, talking politics now, to straw polls and some surprising results. We hit the political trail, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Presidential candidates got the SNL treatment last night. Here's how the GOP hopefuls were portrayed on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight's debate is between former Governor Mitt Romney and Governor Rick Perry, and also six other people who will never be president, but showed up anyway. Their names are Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, tough crowd that SNL. All right, you may have noticed that Alec Baldwin was Rick Perry. SNL may have been wrong about Herman Cain however. The former Godfather's Pizza CEO crushed all other candidates in a straw poll in Florida yesterday.

The race for the White House this week could very much be shaped by what happens this weekend in Florida and in Michigan, earlier today, Mitt Romney won the straw poll at Michigan's Republican Conference.

Of 681 votes cast, Romney captured 51 percent and Rick Perry was a distant second with 16 percent. And then in that Florida straw poll yesterday as we mentioned Herman Cain was the winner collecting 37 percent of the vote. Rick Perry came in second but way back behind Cain and Romney was just behind Perry.

Cain said his win shows he cannot be ignored. Political blogger Danielle Belton, joins us now from Washington. So Danielle, leading up to the straw polls some were willing to say this was a two-man race between Romney and Perry. Herman Cain's win in Florida, the straw poll, how much of a game changer is this?

DANIELLE BELTON, POLITICAL BLOGGER: You know, as exciting as this probably is for Herman Cain and people who support him, this is a poll that people pay to vote in.

So you got the most motivated insiders and activists who basically want to send a message to Governor Rick Perry about his poor performance in the most recent debate and about some of the other concerns they've had about him.

He didn't really campaign as vigorously as Cain did in Florida. Cain did a lot more talking to the folks, people who are going to be participating in the straw poll. I feel the poll reflects that. It really reflects how insiders feel about the current race, not so much how they feel about Herman.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. So it might have been also as it pertains to Perry maybe, his comments about Social Security and it being a Ponzi scheme and knowing the audience in Florida that perhaps that backfired for him?

BELTON: I think so. I mean, Perry is a very astute politician. He's very personable. He's really good at winning people over to a certain extent, but he lacks some of the polish. I mean, the reality is he rarely had a debate when he was in Texas.

He's been the governor for a very long time with little competition. So if anything he's probably a little rusty. So I feel like a lot of times he's trying to say things to appeal to his base.

He's saying things that would normally work for him in Texas where everyone already knows how they feel about him. But if take that on a national stage, do deal with a national audience, criticism from opponents it gets a little tough, a little bit nasty at times I think he struggled with that.

WHITFIELD: OK, all right, the name, you know, Chris Christie, New Jersey's governor, his name not on any straw poll as far as we can see thus far. However, his name is being floated around as a possible, you know, candidate who would join the Republican Party in this race.

He has already said though he's not running for president. What's going on? Is the Republican Party trying to push him to kind of change his mind? Is that what you're hearing?

BELTON: Well, yes, Christi is really popular within the party, within lots of members of the establishment. They want him to run because they feel he's more personable. He's got good experience with running a large state like New Jersey, a very influential state.

And so he's a little more attractive candidate for them. I feel like right now with the exceptions of maybe, you know, Perry and Romney, you basically have a lot of people I don't feel like are electable in a general.

They would struggle. They have a lot of different flaws, issues within either with the base or trouble appealing to a larger audience. So I feel like there is a little wishful thinking, hoping that Christi could get into the race.

WHITFIELD: All right, real quick, President Barack Obama, the Congressional Black Caucus last night trying to address those who have given him a lot of heat lately on where he is focusing his attention. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm going to press on for jobs. I'm going to press on for equality. I'm going to press on for the sake of our children. I'm going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now.

I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on. I expect all of you to march with me and press on.

Take of your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying, we are going to press on. We've got work to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Danielle, is this the president, you know, taking a new direction in his presidency or even his campaigning? Is this a different year and while we're talking we're going to be showing live pictures of the president of the United States arriving in Seattle where he will be pushing a job creation. What's your interpretation of the tone from last night?

BELTON: I thought he was trying to get people pumped up, especially his base, especially African-Americans. A lot of the criticism during the midterm elections was that the DNC and the White House was really slow in reaching out to the African-American community to get them to turn out for those midterm votes when the president needed them.

And so you don't want, you know, African-Americans, you don't want the democratic base to become jaded and sit at home and not show up in 2012. He's going to need them to get re-elected. I felt this speech was targeting them specifically to get them revved up.

WHITFIELD: Danielle Belton, thanks so much. First time on the air this weekend, we'll have you back. Appreciate it. Again, the president is right now arriving in Seattle, Washington.

He is taking his campaign for jobs creation on the road. He is crisscrossing states out west from Seattle, Washington, he'll be making his way to California and then on to Colorado as well. Danielle, thanks so much.

All right, for the latest news, you know exactly where to go, cnnpolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories. President Barack Obama just arrived in Seattle, Washington, the first stop of his trip out west. For the next few days, he will be pitching his plan to create jobs and raise some money for the Democratic Party.

And in about 90 minutes or so from now, we will be hearing from two American hikers freed last week from an Iranian jail. The plane carrying Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal landed in New York just about four hours ago.

The pair had been imprisoned in Tehran for over two years convicted of spying. They had been in Oman since their release last Wednesday. Again, right now they're in New York. We'll be hearing from them about an hour and a half.

I'll be back in an hour from now. When you will hear from a woman who overcame a hearing impairment to become a two-time Olympic gold medalist and now a WNBA MVP.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMIKA CATCHINGS, 2011 WNBA MVP: I always wanted to fit in and, you know, I remember countless days going to school, coming home crying. All the kids were making fun of me and it telling my mom and dad, I don't want to go back. Please don't make me go back. They just kind of brushed my tears off and pushed me back out there and I think just the determination from that has helped me with my basketball.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Tamika Catchings coming up one hour from now.