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The 2012 Presidential Candidates' Reaction on Moammar Gadhafi's Death; Travelocity Released the Top Haunted Hotel in U.S.; Newsweek Posts the Most Green Company in US; Iraq War Ends December 31; Nevada Caucus Date Changed; "Fortune" Magazine's "40 under 40" List

Aired October 22, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Today has been an emotional day for friends and family members of racing veteran Dan Wheldon. They paid there final respects at funeral servies in St. Petersburg, Florida. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner died in a crash at a Las Vegas race last weekend.

Saudi Arabia is mourning the loss of a royal family member. The Crown Prince Sultan died early today in a New York hospital. He was first in line for the Saudi throne, and was the country's defense minister. The prince was believed to be in his 80s and he had reportedly been battling cancer.

Folk music icon Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie joined the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators last night in New York. Seeger who is 92 years old joined marchers after performing a concert. Arlo Guthrie says the protests remind him of the unrest of the '60s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARLO GUTHRIE, FOLK SINGER/ACTIVIST: When people were sort of without leaders, without agendas, just something happened back in around, I don't know, 1964 or '65. People felt like they had to say something because the world went in a way that didn't seem right, (INAUDIBLE) crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And an update - the protester who climbed a 70-foot-high sculpture in Zuccotti Park this morning actually made his way down safely and when he did, police immediately arrested him.

All right. Turning to political news now. Just about an hour ago, the state of Nevada announced it was moving back the date of next year's presidential caucus. It was scheduled for January 14th but Nevada will now hold the caucus February 4th. New Hampshire Republican leaders had encouraged Nevada Republicans to make the change.

And Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry went hunting in Iowa this morning. This pheasant hunt was also about politics. Perry took part in an annual hunt hosted by Iowa Republican Representative Steve King. King is an influential figure in Iowa. And his endorsement is highly sought after especially since Iowa holds the country's first caucus.

All right. Now back to our top story. The end of the war in Iraq. And what a costly war it has been on several fronts. The price tag for the nine-year conflict, more than $700 billion. And all those battles in Iraq, well, they took the lives of more than 4,400 U.S. troops, 34,000 others were injured. Most of the remaining 39,000 troops in Iraq will be home by the end of the year.

Many U.S. military families are excited about having their loved ones home for the holidays. Our Martin Savidge is talking to some of them at Ft. Bliss outside of El Paso, Texas, where a number of the troops will be returning. Martin?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and this is one of those days that you could say that Ft. Bliss definitely lives up to its name. It's an emotion many of the military families are feeling today. There's an air show going on. So if you hear noise in the background, don't be too alarmed. But for many of the families yesterday's announcement by the president was so welcomed. Because they only recently saw their family members left to Iraq.

We talked to Denise Young. Her husband, John, left in July. She didn't expect perhaps to see them all home again until next year. Now she finds out it's going to be in time for Christmas. She feels great. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENISE YOUNG, HUSBAND IN IRAQ: It's always a worry. Anytime he's gone, whether at a training exercise - especially obviously when he's in Iraq because you don't know the situation they're going into. You don't know - the last time, we were very concerned. He was doing missions. You know, that's their job. That's what we signed up for. We knew it going in. And you just have to take it one day at a time.

SAVIDGE (on camera): I know from a personal sense, it's wonderful news. From the nation's point of view, do you think it's time these soldiers come home?

YOUNG: It's hard for me to speak for the nation. I as a military spouse who's lived this life for five years, grew up in this life. My dad was a Marine for 28 years, I've seen our fair share. You know, obviously I have trust in our president. I think you know, he's there for a reason, he's going to make the decisions he's going to make. I hope it's the right one. Whether it is or not, I guess time will tell.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And Fredricka, we should point out that there are about 3,500 members from the First Armored Division that are now serving from Ft. Bliss over in Iraq. At the same time, 5,000 soldiers from the same base are serving in Afghanistan. Of course, that's the next worry for many of these families as their loved ones come back from Iraq is when or could they be going to Afghanistan any time soon? But they're not dwelling on that right now, Fred. WHITFIELD: And so Martin, what kind of work generally does the First Armored Division do?

SAVIDGE: Well as far as what they've been doing in Iraq, and I made some notes of this. Their missions include advising and assisting the Iraqi army and police, so training there - establishing training areas for the Iraqi military and also performing what they call limited route security. You know, it should be pointed out you were talking about the toll that this war has cost. There have been 18 members from the El Paso community that have died serving in Iraq and 52 from Ft. Bliss. So as we point out, there has been a cost endured by everyone here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Martin Savidge, thanks so much from Ft. Bliss.

And so the announcement coming from the president that U.S. troops will be pulling out of Iraq. Well, it's also created at least one business opportunity. A Texas sign company is expected to be working overtime now that the U.S. troops will be heading home. Buildasign.com offers free welcome home banners to military families. Initially, they decided to give away about 10,000 signs but with so many homecomings over the past nine years, the company has donated nearly 200,000. That number is expected to climb with the return of the remaining troops from Iraq.

Support for the war in Iraq has steadily declined among Americans. This CNN ORC polls shows Americans' opinion of the war was highest shortly after it started. Today, the number of people who say they favor the war in Iraq is down sharply. This Pew Research Center poll shows just over a third of the respondents say the war has been worth fighting, 57 percent say it has not.

And in a CBS News poll, just four percent say things are going very well for the U.S. in Iraq, 25 percent say somewhat badly.

Iranian Americans from around the world rallied in front of the White House this afternoon. They turn out to urge a regime change in Iran and to show support for the U.S. government's uncovering of an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. that linked between that planned assassination and the Iranian government.

The president of Iran says the United States made the situation in Libya worse by getting involved. CNN's Fareed Zakaria talked to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about the death of Moammar Gadhafi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Moammar Gadhafi is dead. What is your reaction to the news of his death?

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): I wish everybody would respect justice, freedom. And there was no need for any conflict or clash. In the beginning, we recommended dialogue between the two sides and all parties. But they did not pay attention to our recommendations. And, of course, NATO intervention was effective in exacerbating the conflict. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can see the rest of Fareed Zakaria's exclusive interview with the Iranian president tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. That's right after "State of the Union."

Tomorrow will be declared liberation day in Libya. That's before the body of Moammar Gadhafi is even buried. The new transitional government is also planning the first post-Gadhafi election for the coming months. A little while ago, I talked to a professor of Middle Eastern politics who told me the death of Moammar Gadhafi does not tie up every loose end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROF. FAWAZ GERGES, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: A cloud will likely overshadow tomorrow's announcements of liberation. How he was killed, whether he was executed after he was captured, these are not academic questions, as you know. Not just the United States and the United Nations have called for any investigation. But I think it tells us about the post-Gadhafi Libya. The role of justice. It should not be tribal vengeance and summary justice like that in Iraq. The question of accountability, I think the Libyan people deserve to know even though Gadhafi, as you well know, brutalized Libya for many years and he instituted a culture of fear governed by the sword and died by the sword.

I think we need to know that Libya, the post-Gadhafi Libya, will be governed not by tribal justice and summary justice but by the rule of law. This is a big, big challenge facing the new leadership in Libya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: NATO officials also made an announcement shortly after the death of Moammar Gadhafi. They'll wrap up operations over Libya within the next 10 days.

And ahead, the Republican candidates for president have been critical of President Obama's handling of Libya. What do they think now that Gadhafi is dead?

And if you are in the mood to catch a flick this weekend from horror movies to humor, we've got you covered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's even the odds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Look familiar? Yes. "The Three Musketeers" returning to the big screen. So what does our movie critic think of this remake? Find out next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Turning now to the race for the White House and an event in Iowa that nearly all the Republican presidential candidates are attending, the Conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition Forum in Des Moines. Noticeably absent, however, frontrunner, Mitt Romney. CNN's political reporter Shannon Travis is live at the forum right now. So Shannon, why isn't Romney there and why is it all the other candidates are?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, that seems to be the question of the hour. That's certainly the question that a lot of these conservative evangelicals that will be attending will be wondering. I spent a large part of yesterday, Fred, trying to contact the Romney campaign and say, "Hey, why aren't you coming?" They didn't get back to me.

But let me tell you what the organizer, the president of this group that's organizing this event said. Steve Scheffler - he says, in his words, he believes that Mitt Romney is not comfortable in this kind of setting. When I pressed him, I said, "What do you mean by that? What do you mean by this setting?" He said, he doesn't believe that Mitt Romney in a forum that has economic conservatives and social conservatives. Of course, I then said to him, "Well Mitt Romney's been to many, many forums," just even two weeks ago at the Values Voters Summit with lots of conservatives? But Steve Scheffler says "You know what? This is Iowa. If he is the nominee, he will need Iowa and if he is the nominee, he will need these conservatives, these types of conservatives to campaign for him. Fred.

WHITFIELD: So if there is a candidate who stands to gain the most at this event, who might that be?

TRAVIS: A few of them stand to gain a lot. When you talk about Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, even Herman Cain, they're kind of vying for this Christian conservative vote. But let's talk about Herman Cain really, really quickly. There are going to be a lot of questions for him after he appeared on "Piers Morgan" on Wednesday. They had a discussion about abortion. Piers asked Herman Cain what would he do - Herman Cain is pro life. Let's state that very clearly first but he was asked, what about in the case of rape or incest? And Herman Cain made some comments saying that, you know what? It's not up to a politician to decide. That's being interpreted by some critics as, is he pro choice or what? So that's certainly a question that he'll get today, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, any reaction from any of the candidates about Nevada making its announcement that it will delay its caucus into February as opposed to previously scheduled January?

TRAVIS: Yes, that seems to be another big news item today. We're not hearing reaction from the candidates yet. But I can tell you that that will basically almost settle this calendar. We're still waiting on New Hampshire. But it looks more and more likely like we won't be having our first presidential contest in December, a few weeks away from now, now that Nevada's pushed its date back to February 4th. You know, New Hampshire had threatened because of Nevada's move, they threatened to move their primary into December, possibly even early December. Not many people wanted that. So now that we have Nevada settled, we expect to have New Hampshire settled soon. All eyes probably point to a January primary. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Shannon Travis not in Nevada, not in New Hampshire but instead right now in Iowa. All right. Thanks so much, Shannon.

And you want to join us every Sunday afternoon in the 4:00 Eastern hour when we dedicate an entire hour to the presidential contenders in this 2012 election. We'll take you all over the map, what they're saying, what they're doing and what's next.

All right. After decades at the center of the media world, a journalist uses his reporting skills to cover the story of his own family. CNN's managing editor Mark Whitaker talks to me about his new memoir, his family memoir "My Long Trip Home." (INAUDIBLE) for this hour.

Plus, "Fortune" magazine has named the world's hottest young stars in business in this year's "40 under 40" list. Can you guess who just might be number one? We'll tell you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Much more news straight ahead in our top stories including the republican presidential candidates' reaction to the United States' involvement in Libya.

But, first, at just 27 years old, he's already worth $17.5 billion. You recognize him. Perhaps it comes as now surprise that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg top's "Fortune" magazine's second annual "40 under 40" list. A roster that ranks the hottest young business stars in the world joining Zuckerberg on this year's list 38-year-old Larry Page from Google who comes in at number two. Thirty-seven year old Greg Jensen, co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, rounding out the top three, right there on that list.

Joining me now to talk about the list, assistant managing editor of "Fortune" magazine, Leigh Gallagher. So Leigh, thanks so much for being with us.

LEIGH GALLAGHER, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Thanks for having me, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: It's a fascinating list. So much of this talent is from Silicon Valley. Tech stars from Facebook, Google, Twitter and so on. This really does seem to be the wave of the future, is it not?

GALLAGHER: Yes, it does. I mean there's definitely a lot of - there's always a lot of tech people on this list that we do, in large part because that tends to be where a lot of young people go these days. But I mean one of my favorite things about this list is the people that you might not expect. It really is rounded in a lot of different industries. We have people from finance, as you saw, number three is Greg Jensen from Bridgewater. We have people from the pharmaceutical industry, from the clothing, and apparel and retail industries, from the entertainment industry, music. So it really is pretty well-rounded. But you know, I would say tech is probably the sector that's the best represented, although very high on the list, there are people from other industries.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you know, I think I kind of misspoke. It's really not the wave of the future because it is - the future is now. You know, it used to be that it seems Silicon Valley was the wave of the future. But it really is here and now. So now let's talk about the first woman on the list coming in at number 20, Marissa Meyer or is it Mayer.

GALLAGHER: It's Mayer.

WHITFIELD: OK. Mayer.

GALLAGHER: Marissa is great.

WHITFIELD: Tell me more.

GALLAGHER: She was one of the first - I want to say number 20. She's one of the first employees at Google which makes her an old-timer by Google standards. She's an engineer. Her title is VP but she does a lot of things there. She heads up Google's local division and she was heavily involved in the recent acquisition of Zagat. But what's interesting about Marissa this year, she's really started to leverage her influence beyond Google. She had become sort of an angel investor, investing in start-ups herself. And she's definitely one of the top, I would say, public faces of Google. So she's been on the list the past three years.

WHITFIELD: When you all came up with this list, did you find it was difficult because you a, you first had to define power and reach because it seems, since many of these people on the list, are not all necessarily household names, we don't know who they are. You had to figure out how influential they are, how great their reach is? What was the criteria?

GALLAGHER: Well, it's really a list of power and influence within the business sphere. So, you're right, that's not exactly - you don't have to be worth a certain amount of money to make this list. It's a little bit more subjective and gray than that. But you know, it really is - some of them are going to be household names like Mark Zuckerberg. But we love really discovering people that are wielding a lot of power behind the scenes or pulling major levers in business that you might not know about.

To me that's the real beauty of this list. So someone like Brian Dees, who is the deputy director of the National Economic Council, one of the top economic advisers in the White House and really drafted the plan for the auto bailouts a few years ago which is one of the administration's sort of most, you know, unalloyed victories. I mean, that is sort of hands-down in the business down a definite victory and he drafted the jobs bill as well. So power like that you might not know, behind the scenes.

WHITFIELD: OK. One of CNN's own is actually on this list, Erin Burnett, host of "Outfront." Why?

GALLAGHER: Erin, she was actually on the list two years ago. And you know, Erin made a big move this year. To have your own primetime cable show on a network like CNN, that's a pretty powerful and influential platform. She's going to be talking. I mean she obviously addresses more than just business now. Before this, she was already a household name among our readers, among people that followed business and the markets. But now her reach is bigger and broader. And so we thought that was significant and we thought this was the year to put her back on the list.

WHITFIELD: All right. And maybe that meant while you made room to make sure she could be on the list, it meant that some other people had to be bumped off the list, including COO of News Corp.'s James Murdoch, on the list once before and not the case this time. All right. Leigh Gallagher.

GALLAGHER: Yes, we just. We felt like that would have been a mistake. So -

WHITFIELD: All right.

GALLAGHER: The beauty is it changes every year.

WHITFIELD: That's the way it goes. This is the second annual list so we look forward to next year's as well. Thank you so much. From "Fortune" magazine.

GALLAGHER: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: The "40 under 40."

All right. Name one American city that's home to not only several Fortune 500 companies but also one of the poorest African-American companies in the nation. See if you can guess where. I just might be talking about - I think we just gave you a little hint on there. So Albany, New York, Omaha, Nebraska, or Detroit, huge growth and crushing poverty. Same place. The answer, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories straight ahead. Also coming up, rocker Jon Bon Jovi talks about his soul kitchen in New Jersey this week. Customers pay what they can afford or volunteer in the kitchen for a free meal. We'll have more top stories in about 25 minutes, more on that actually in 25 minutes.

All right. But first, before the break, I asked you to guess one of America's most economically diverse cities where monumental business success co-exists with the biggest percentage of black children living in poverty. Albany, New York, Omaha, Nebraska, or is it Detroit? The answer? Omaha, Nebraska.

Omaha is eighth in the country for African-American unemployment. And one of the highest school dropout rates in the United States. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez takes a look at this tale of two cities and talks to people trying to beat the long odds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Omaha, Nebraska, in the country's heartland.

IVAN GILREATH, CEO BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB MIDLANDS: You've really got a lot of big-time companies here.

GUTIERREZ: Ivan Gilreath earned his MBA here and launched a successful corporate career. He drove us through a predominantly white neighborhood.

GILREATH: This is where the majority of your African-American population resides.

GUTIERREZ: To the other Omaha that Gilreath knows just as well.

GILREATH: This area here has been really the site of a lot of violence over the years.

GUTIERREZ: He says the disparity between whites and blacks is shocking and deeply rooted in Omaha's segregated past when many black families were denied banking loans, higher paying jobs and equal education. The percentage of black children who live in poverty here ranks number one in the nation.

GILREATH: You can be shocked and say, "Oh, my god, it's an awful place, or you can be shocked with feeling like we need to galvanize."

What are you doing over here, young lady?

GUTIERREZ: For Gilreath, that meant leaving a lucrative corporate job to return home to his community as CEO of the Boys and Girls Club, to make sure that kids like 14-year-old Markell Vaughn have a safe place to play and study.

(ON CAMERA): What are some of the challenges that you're up against being a single mom?

CORINA VAUGHN, MARKELL VAUGHN'S MOTHER: I don't want to see anything happen to my son. He's a good kid. You know - I'm sorry. You know, I'm thankful everyday that I had him in life.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): In the past seven years, five children from the Boys and Girls Club that Markell attends have been killed.

GILREATH: There is still a need for as many of us African-American men who can come back and provide that same kind of influence that these young people that I receive at the club.

GUTIERREZ: Like Markell, Gilreath also grew up in this neighborhood.

(on camera): What are your goals for yourself? What is it that you want for yourself? MARKELL VAUGHN, HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN: I want to be able to go to college and be able to make it to the pros. But if that don't work out, I want to be a veterinarian or zookeeper or something.

GUTIERREZ: As an honor student and a star athlete, Markell is well on his way down the same road that Ivan Gilreath traveled.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Omaha, Nebraska.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The violent death of Moammar Gadhafi is a moment of "justice." That's according to some relatives of those killed aboard PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. You'll hear from one of them feeling some satisfaction today, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Among the people cheering the end of the Moammar Gadhafi era, those who lost loved ones on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that was the terrorist bombing many believe was sanctioned by Gadhafi. The brother of a Lockerbie victim tells CNN his reaction to the news surprised even himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN FLYNN, BROTHER KILLED ON PAN AM 103: I was thrilled. I didn't expect to have that reaction. I had been dreaming about this for more than 20 years. But it was always with the sense that you don't want to be the vengeful one that think, I want my brother's murder killed. But in a way, you do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Two hundred seventy people died when Pan Am flight 103 was blown out of the sky over Scotland in 1988. The bombing was pinned on Libyan intelligence officials.

Alright, let's turn to the Republicans running for president. Many had been sharp critics of President Obama's actions in Libya. With the recent death of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, the candidates are now responding.

CNN's Joe Johns takes a survey of their positions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pattern perhaps, Republicans running for the White House praising the elimination of yet another bad guy in yet another country. But so far, this time at least, they were kind of quiet about whether the guy they want to run out of office should get any of the credit.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The world is a better place with Gadhafi gone. JOHNS: Rick Perry, when asked about Gadhafi, talked about what's next, the need to move to elections and democracy in Libya and securing Gadhafi's weapons.

Jon huntsman called it positive news but just one step though he was once sharply critical of the administration's decision to get involved.

JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no financial security strategy in place. No defined exit strategy. I say, what are we doing?

JOHNS: As for Michele Bachmann, seems incredible for a member of the house intelligence committee. But she suggested in the CNN debate this week that she didn't know where Libya is. Though she took issue with all the money the U.S. has spent there.

MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Defense spending is on the table. But, again, Anderson, now with the president -- he put us in Libya. He is now putting us in Africa. We already were stretched too thin and he put our special operations forces in Africa.

JOHNS: Libya is in Africa by the way, North Africa. But when Bachmann was speaking gears she was apparently talking about the administration's recent decision to send 100 troops to Uganda in West Africa to deal with a notorious gang of thugs called the lord resistance army. But putting geography issues aside, Bachmann was also sharply critical of the administration's position on Libya from the very start.

BACHMANN: Our policy in Libya is substantially flawed. I believe that it was wrong for the president to go into Libya.

JOHNS: Sentiments echoed by presidential candidate Ron Paul who even asked how many dictators the president is planning on helping to take out?

REP. RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are a lot of bad people in the world. Does he want to do that in every dictatorship around the country?

JOHNS: Herman Cain tweeted after the death of Gadhafi that the question now is, what's next?

Rumor House speaker Newt Gingrich has both supported and opposed the administration's Libya policy on occasion.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And join us every Sunday afternoon, 4:00 Eastern time, when we dedicate a special hour to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election.

And a bit later this hour, movie reviews including a scary one on the big screen "Paranormal Activity 3." And of course it is October, Halloween right around the corner. So, do you know what the top haunted hotel in the U.S. is? Could it be the Queen Mary, Stanley Hotel, Hawthorne Hotel, or the Bourbon Orleans? The answer, after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Before the break, we ask you what the top haunted hotel in the U.S. is According to Travelocity if you answered b, Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado then you are correct. This is the hotel where Steven King stayed apparently when he came up with the thriller book "the shining" before it became a very frightening movie, "the shining."

There have been reports of phantom piano players, ghostly guests and even thieving spirits. You don't want to stay there if you are weak at the knees.

Alright, so it's Saturday and you're thinking of heading to the theater. Maybe you do want to take in a little thriller something. Our movie critic from Grae Drake from fandangoandmovie.com, she's with us. Good to see you? Halloween, oh my gosh, just a week or so away. So, people really get excited about seeing some kind of thriller, scary stuff. We're going to begin with "Paranormal Activity 3." let's take a quick peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is going on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi Christie, I saw you talking to somebody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's very sweet. He's my friend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't see him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's standing right next to you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honey, he's not there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say hi to the camera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: No. I will not be seeing that. But it's about these two little sisters who -- I don't know, I guess sense or feel or discover that there's another being that is in the house. So Grae, you like that kind of thing?

GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, FANDANGO & MOVIES.COM: Yes, listen, I thought that my home videos of my great aunt Millicent doing the Lambadi were scary? Huh-uh. This "Paranormal Activity 3." This movie delivers way more scares than the second one. And the thing about it is the series is liked or disliked for exact same reasons. Long static shots, kind of slow but then it blindsides you out of nowhere. And this movie takes that to a whole new level. I love it. WHITFIELD: You loved it? . You kill me.

DRAKE: Yes. You and I will go to the theater and I will be your rock because I have seen it and I am prepared.

WHITFIELD: You will hear nothing and you may not even see anything? Because I will be the loudest one in the theater and then arms might be flailing so you won't see anything. You don't want to see a scary movie with me. I'll ruin it for you.

Let's talk about the next movie and see if it is made great for you. We are talking about "the Three Musketeers," yes, a remake. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 2:00, I'd say. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look out of the window.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They weren't the decoys. I was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, so in the spirit of Halloween, a little dress-up in this movie. How about that? Is that enough to hold our attention?

DRAKE: Well, I would rather spend the next two minutes talking about the three musketeers candy bar than this movie. But yes. You know what, one thing that you are not going to hear me say again is that Charlie Sheen did it better.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Really?

DRAKE: This remake -- yes, you know what, the older versions of this movie had a lot more pizzazz and they were a lot more masculine, surprising and everything that the musketeers should be. This one was pretty passive. And it has some good fight scenes, including a really good climax with you know good year blimps warring and on fire which you know, who doesn't love that? But they kind of forgot a script. This movie was pretty average. So, I gave it a c-minus.

WHITFIELD: OK. Film critic Grae Drake telling us like it is, so much for that.

Alright, some cats, they spend their time sleeping or chasing birds outside. Well, not this next kitty. He likes flaunting his kitty muscles. Stick around to find out exactly what I mean.

And this week, "Newsweek" released its list of the greenest companies in the U.S. among the top five are Dell, Baxter and Sprint Nextel. The top two companies right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Before the break, we named three of the top five greenest companies in the U.S., according to "Newsweek." rounding out the top five are Hewlett Packard and IBM.

Alright, CNN reporters, anchors and producers cover stories from around the world, though you'll know. But we also get great tips on some of the best restaurants, hotels and travel spots. In this week's travel inside we're off to San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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 ferry 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty three?

SIMON: Inside the major theme is food, high-end gourmet food. From fruits and vegetables to caviar, to olive oil to cheeses, it's really a foodie's paradise in here.

But I think I like it outside even better. A few days a week, they have a farmers market and this is the freshest stuff you can possibly imagine. I usually like to 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.

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WHITFIELD: Alright, you know when stuff has gone viral? It's really gone viral if it involves a kid --

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A cat.

WHITFIELD: Or an animal. Earlier we saw some basketball hoops and all that -- this is kind of fun Alexandra. This is a nice little sea line that's got a fixation --

STEELE: And he's blind. He was born without eyeballs.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, it has a fixation for air blowing.

STEELE: Five months old. His name is Oscar. Now, this family has two cats and this cat was born without eyeballs but it's playing with this blow dryer, like it.

WHITFIELD: It doesn't know what it is.

STEELE: That explains the heightened sensation then.

And you know, the woman who owns this cat owns another cat named Klaus and said Klaus is 100 percent healthy and they can do everything the same.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

STEELE: Can you imagine? It's interesting looking in and a little setting at the same time.

WHITFIELD: So, somehow they're mimicking one another even though Oscar, the kitty cat here, cannot see.

STEELE: Yes. 700,000 people have view this had.

WHITFIELD: It's so sweet.

STEELE: Now add two more.

WHITFIELD: Add two more?

STEELE: Seven hundred thousand and two.

STEELE: Seven hundred thousand and two, OK. I'm with it now.

Alright, thanks so much. Coming up, we are going to talk to -- I get a chance to talk to somebody who's very familiar to many of us around here, he is the managing editor of CNN. But he's also penned a family memoir which is very, very fascinating. We're talking about a journalist who had travelled the world extensively and reporting on so many different things. And this perhaps was one of the biggest assignments he gave himself. And now it's a book. So, a conversation with Mark Whitaker, after this.

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WHITFIELD: In red bank, New Jersey, singer Jon Bon Jovi is giving back to his community. The rocker opened the soul kitchen to help struggling Americans. It is a pay what you can restaurant. Diners can be the donation or volunteer in the kitchen to actually pay for their meal.

And he is an accomplished journalist rising to the rank of top executive at "Newsweek," NBC news and now managing editor at CNN worldwide. Mark Whitaker's curiosity with his own family became the subject of a family memoir on bookstands now. He tells me about this amazing story of his parents, an interracial couple who fell in love in the '50s. He tells me how their relationship, the family's life all had a profound impact on who he is today. I spoke with Whitaker about his long trip home.

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WHITFIELD: You're a very accomplished scholar, journalist. And then you get to this point where you say, you know what, I am not going to write primarily about that, but I'm going to write about something very intimate, very personal. What was that, I guess, evolution of thinking?

MARK WHITAKER, AUTHOR, MY LONG TRIP HOME: I had thrown myself into my work for 30 years as a journalist, partly to get away from my childhood and my upbringing and a lot of the pain that had been involved. But when I finally decided that I was ready to write the story, it was, I think, my training as a journalist that, first of all, allowed me to report the story but also gave me a little bit of the emotional detachment that I need to put knit perspective as I went along.

WHITFIELD: The relationship with your father was one that you struggled with for a good part of your life.

WHITAKER: That's right. It's interesting because when people who over the years had heard about my story said, you should write a book one day, they knew sort of the romantic parts. So, my parents were an interracial couple who met in the 1950s. You know, it was illegal in most states in the country at that time. My father was a student, an undergraduate in college. My mother was his teacher. So it was illicit in that sense, too, a teacher-student relationship. So they had to keep their relationship secret for couple of years before they married.

WHITFIELD: So, you were conflicted too, weren't you because while you write that your dad was very charismatic, you adored him, you really looked up to him, at the same time, he was the root of depression for you?

WHITAKER: I had for better or worse a 50-year relationship with my father. And there are a lot of twists and turns and ups and down that is you'll see in the book. And part of the story is the evolution of my feelings towards my father. Worship as a young child, depression when I was separated from him, incredible clashes that we had when I was a teenagers and his life was really falling apart. A kind of gradual getting after he finally stopped drinking, we gradually got on better terms. But I was very prideful. I was establishing my own career and my own family. I didn't need his help.

WHITFIELD: Writing this was a personal journey for you, too, trying to piece this relationship together. When you decided to write this, it really came as a result of the death of your dad?

WHITAKER: That's right. He died two days after thanksgiving 2008 at 2:30 in the morning. And I know this because the next morning, I had a voice mail from his widow, his third wife, who was with him, stamped 2:30 in the morning saying he had passed away. And I thought you know not only is he gone, but at that point, I thought, well if I had ever thought about writing about him, you know that's over. I can't talk to him and so forth.

A year later, two days after thanksgiving 2009, I woke up at 3:00 in the morning, almost to the hour and I said I want to try to write the story now.

WHITFIELD: What are the pieces that you wanted to get down? WHITAKER: Well, you know it's interesting because at first I thought I was going to write the story from memory, like a traditional memoir. And I got out literally at that point got out of bed and started writing down my memories in a laptop computer. And I kept writing like that for several weeks. But then I realized, you know trained as a reporter, there are a lot of things that I don't know or things that I think I've heard or might know but I don't know for sure. So I said I've really got to report the story. So, at that point, I started calling everybody who was alive who lived through the events. My mother --

WHITFIELD: They were open to sharing --?

WHITAKER: They were. But what was interesting is their first response almost to a person was I just don't remember that. It was kind of painful. I've forgotten a lot. And I said, well, let me come and talk to you. And then one after another, it was go on for hours and hours. I would fill notebooks. Once they got to talking, you know they remembered a tremendous amount. But it was really -- then I would ask them for letters and documents. I became obsessed.

WHITFIELD: And do you feel like it has lifted a burden to have written all this down to discover, to reach out to family members in a way that your reporter instincts had you do?

WHITAKER: Traditionally people say, you know to understand is to forgive. I point out that sometimes you have to forgive before you can understand. I had -- there's a certain amount of forgiveness in my instance that had to take place before I could embark on my journey.

WHITFIELD: My long trip home. You came up with the title?

WHITAKER: I did and have a couple of meanings. So, the first meaning is that I look a lot of long trips as a child. A lot of them were unhappy trips, toward a new home where I didn't know anybody and I didn't know what awaited me. The second meaning obviously is that the reporting of this book and the writing of this book was a long trip, a long journalistic and emotional trip for me.

WHITFIELD: Mark Whitaker, thank you so much.

WHITAKER: OK. OK.

WHITFIELD: Managing editor of CNN worldwide.

WHITAKER: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

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WHITFIELD: Very fascinating read, my long trip home.

Alright, Alexandra Steele, give us the football forecast. STEELE: Alright, well here's a trip over a distant sort, right? Unbelievable! V STEELE: Very cool temperatures, especially tonight. College football, college we're going to see it today and look what we have in terms of temperatures. Kick off at 7:15 tonight. So, can you only imagine 57 at that point so, big games here in the South. Oklahoma versus Texas tech, 70 degrees at 8:00 tonight. But again, of course, by the time you pack up and go home, so certainly getting things together and getting out there and see your friends before how about 47 degrees East Lansing, Michigan, Wisconsin versus Michigan State tonight. So Certainly, cold if you're tailgating that.

WHITFIELD: People love that for the football season.

STEELE: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Alexandra.

Alright, much more of the "Newsroom" straight ahead, Don Lemon's not in this evening but Deb Feyerick is. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. See you again tomorrow.

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