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CNN Saturday Morning News
Heavy Snow Headed For Northeast; Crackdown on "Occupy" Camp; Victims of the Gadhafi Regime; Vote For CNN "Hero of the Year"; Etiquette for the Digital Age; Saudi Arabia's New Crown Prince; Big Weekend for GOP Candidates; Celebrating Diwali
Aired October 29, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's October 29th. Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. T.J. Holmes is off. Thanks for joining us.
And we begin with the crazy, snowy weather that's headed to the northeast. Bracing for a big storm in October. We'll tell you what to expect and where it's headed.
Victims of terror attacks sponsored by Libya were promised millions of dollars by the U.S. government, but many of those victims say they haven't seen a penny. What does the government say about that?
And certainly something to cheer about. They barely made the playoffs. But now the St. Louis Cardinals are the World Series champions. We will show you the celebration.
But we begin this morning with cities throughout the northeast getting ready for a major snowstorm. And it's happening before Halloween. Let's take a look at New York right now. The city is preparing for up to a foot of snow. And they aren't alone. Snow is expected from Baltimore up to Boston.
And take a look at the radar. Here's what it looks like right now. One of the biggest problems, potential power outages. Heavy snow could leave about a million people without electricity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCH GROSS, CONNECTICUT LIGHTS & POWER: The trees still have plenty of leaves on them. You have forecasters saying heavy, wet snow, high winds. Those are all the perfect ingredients for potentially a large problem with the electric grid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: All right. Let's bring in our Alexandra Steele with a closer look at what we're expecting in the Northeast.
So, Alexandra, good morning.
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.
CHO: When is this snow going to start falling?
STEELE: All right, we're going to see it. Here's a look at the big picture. It's rare but it's not unprecedented.
So, look, you just saw the radar, she showed you. But here's the rain, of course, the green. There is the white. We've already got the snow beginning to fall here in western Pennsylvania, in western Maryland, in western West Virginia as well. So what we're seeing with the rain will change over to snow in the Northeast, especially that 95 corridor, points north and west.
So here's the big scenario. It's a quick-hitter. A one-day event just today. It will wind down tomorrow morning. Heavy wet snow is the key, plus 30 to 40-mile-per-hour winds, gusts to 60. Power outages. At least 60 million people impacted, potentially, with snow, with wind and with rain.
And let's take a look and show you what we're going to see in terms of how much. Right, that's the key. Well, just to give you a little perspective of how rare it is, the average snow in Philadelphia and in New York is about a month to a month and a half away. So it is certainly early. The earliest snow ever in October, on October 10th in 1979. So it has been a long time.
So here are the computer models pointing out what we can expect for the next really 48 hours. Look at this swath. These pink colors. Those are up to 10 inches of snow. Again, we've got rain right now. The colder air is being to work in. And later tonight -- really tonight is kind of the time frame for the heaviest snow. We're going to watch the changeover. Look at this, 12 inches in Allentown. Yonkers, 7.5. New York City, this is the computer model printing out 4.7 inches. So, could see anywhere between three and five inches. Even in Philadelphia, three to five inches certainly not out of the question. Boston, look, 5.1. Again, this is the computer model projections. But Poughkeepsie, look at this, in the Hudson Valley of New York, all the way up to Albany. Hartford, you can see the Litchfield Hills, 13, 14 inches.
So some substantial snow. Again, a one-day event. Really today we'll see that rain change over to snow. The winds will kick in especially tonight. So tonight's really the worst of this storm in terms of the winds kicking in and where the heaviest snow will be. Then tomorrow we'll see it die down and we'll also see the sun come out and temperatures will rise into the 40s. So a quick melt.
Back to you.
CHO: All right, that is good news for someone, me, who's headed back to New York tomorrow.
All right, Alexandra, thank you.
STEELE: Sure.
CHO: Also in the path are the Occupy Wall Street protesters. They're camped out in parks in New York and elsewhere. The heavy snows, well, that could impact the demonstrations, but the protesters, they are vowing to ride it out, even in the rain that you see there. Here is how Michael Moore described it to our Anderson Cooper last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER: The snow in the winter is not going to stop the collective anger of tens of millions of Americans who have suffered as a result of the economic policies of corporate America. If you think a bit of snow or cold weather -- I mean I think it will only harden peoples resolve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: One big problem facing the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators is the fact that police have removed power generators they said were unsafe. So what's that all about? We will have more about that in 10 minutes time.
In other news, Bank of America may now amend a plan to charge customers a fee for making purchases with their debit cards. They're considering new ways for users to avoid the $5 a month fee by carrying minimum balances or having other Bank of America credit cards. Meanwhile, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo announced they, too, have abandoned plans to charge fees on their debt cards.
The high tide rolling into Thailand right now could mean even more flooding and more damage to the capital city of Bangkok. Residents were urged to leave, but many have stayed put. Many areas around the city are already under water. Nearly 400 people have died with millions more forced from their homes. Our Sara Sidner is in Bangkok.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This lady has told us that she has run out of money. She is afraid for the safety of her animals. These are her dogs. She's got a few rabbits there. And she's just trying to get them to higher ground. She's starting to become very, very worried. That's what's happening in a lot of this area. We are seeing some elderly people also getting into trucks the army has brought and jumping in there because their homes are inundated with water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: This has been the worst flooding in Thailand in more than six decades.
Well, Michael Jackson caused his own death, that's according to defense attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray. Their theory is that Jackson injected himself with the powerful drug Propofol while Dr. Murray wasn't around. On the stand, the key expert for the defense testified yesterday about the danger of combining Propofol with other sedatives that Jackson was already taking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PAUL WHITE, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: I believe it potentially could have lethal consequences.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now why is that?
WHITE: Because you're rapidly administering a bolus dose of Propofol on top of a very high concentration of a benzodiazepin, Lorazepam, and also, additionally, small amount of midazolam. So you've got drugs that have additive or even synergistic effect. And I think the combination effect would be very profound.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying this combination right there, that's potentially lethal?
WHITE: Precisely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Closing arguments in the Conrad Murray manslaughter case could come as early as Tuesday.
We have this just in to CNN. New violence in Afghanistan. A suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy in Kabul today. The Taliban is claiming responsibility for the blast which killed at least four civilians. There are reports of coalition troop casualties as well. A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force say they do not have exact numbers of casualties just yet.
A big problem for Occupy Wall Street protesters. And this time the police may not be the biggest problem. It could be the weather. We'll have details.
But first, traditionally California has been on the cutting edge of being green. But did you know it is no longer the country's most energy efficient state? After four years, there's a new number one. And we'll tell you which state that is when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back.
We asked you before the break which state replaced California as the most energy efficient state this year? Well, it's Massachusetts. This according to the American Council for an American-Efficient Economy. Snappy music there. California dropped to number two, followed by New York and Oregon.
We've seen arrests this week in Oakland and some other areas as cities crack down on those "Occupy" protesters. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg says there are no plans to move the protesters out. But as our Mary Snow reports, police are cracking down in a different way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An unexpected wake-up call for Occupy Wall Street protesters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: City law does not allow for the storage and use of generators and fuel in a manner that threatens public safety.
SNOW: New York City firefighters, accompanied by police, showed up to inspect and remove generators and fuel containers the city says are a fire hazard sitting among the hundreds of protesters camped out in New York's Zuccotti Park. Both the city and protesters say there was no resistance. But among people like Nicholas Isabella, who shot this video, it's raised suspicions.
NICHOLAS ISABELLA, OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTER: I think that the city, while they publicly say that we are allowed to be here, internally they're trying to find ways to wean us out, slowly. And this is their way of doing that.
SNOW: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, during an interview on WOR Radio, said the generators and containers are fire hazards that are against the law.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Our first two concerns, First Amendment and safety. And this was safety.
SNOW: Protesters say they've taken precautions, including fire extinguishers, and questioned why the city acted now.
BILL DOBBS, OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTER: And the timing is a little odd because it's the first cold day. It comes after a terrible, violent attack by law enforcement on Occupy Oakland. Of course we're concerned. Legitimately concerned because sometimes the explanation we're given in this city is not what's really going on.
SNOW: The move follows violence against demonstrators this week in Oakland, California. The mayor there has since apologized. In New York, the mayor says there's no plans to move protesters.
BLOOMBERG: The property is not city property. And so far Brookfield hasn't complained to us and asked us to remove people. So we -- that's not a consideration.
SNOW: And then there's the weather factor. Protesters like Nicholas Isabella are bracing for cold weather and snow, vowing to stick through it.
SNOW (on camera): You don't see the cold weather effecting this at all?
ISABELLA: It will turn some people away. I'm not going to stay everybody will still be here. But for the most part, we're not going to stop. It's not going to have a negative effect on us.
SNOW: And in another development here in New York, one union of the NYPD, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, pointed to recent violence at other Occupy Wall Street movements across the country, saying it will sue protesters if officers here get hurt.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHO: And we'll have much more on the "Occupy" protest later this morning. Throughout the day, in fact. That includes a conversation with one of the Occupy Atlanta demonstrators about the movement and the message. That's coming up in our 8:00 Eastern Hour.
To sports now. Big news. They're celebrating in St. Louis, of course, now that the Cardinals have beat the Texas Rangers to win the World Series. They were never expected to get this far, but each time they were faced with elimination, well, the Cardinals delivered. Hometown star David Freese had a key hit last night to help clinch it 6-2 for the Cards. He was named the series MVP. It's the Cardinals 11th World Series win and their first since 2006.
Meanwhile, as baseball wraps up its season, the NBA just can't seem to get theirs started. All NBA games have been canceled through November 30th and the NBA commissioner says there will not be a full season.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: As I said, we made good progress, then we turn to the subject of how to divide basketball related income. I summarized the positions of the parties previously and said that the NBA owners were willing to go to 50 percent.
DEREK FISHER, PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: We didn't want to rush through this today just to, you know, build this artificial pressure to close out a deal today that's going to impact our members for the next 10 years. So, you know, with that being said, we're not sure when we'll meet again, but we're hopeful that, you know, soon enough we can get back at this and try and close this out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Just a couple of days ago, both the players union and the owner seemed to be making some headway, but negotiations collapsed again last night.
Victims of the Gadhafi regime now being seemingly ignored by the U.S. government, or are they? Promised payment for their pain and suffering. So far some haven't seen a penny. Their story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back.
The International Criminal Court says it's having informal conversations with the son of Libya's late dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, seen here before the fall of his father's regime, is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity. His whereabouts are unknown.
The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, may be the most famous case of Libyan-sponsored terrorism, but it isn't the only attack that can be traced back to the Gadhafi regime. The U.S. government promised to compensate victims of those attacks if they dropped lawsuits against Libya. At the time it seemed like a really good deal. But now some are calling it a deal with the devil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHO (voice-over): These victims came to us with their stories of horror.
JONATHAN POLLACK, VICTIM OF LIBYAN TERROR ATTACK: I saw people dying in front of me.
ALEX ALIMANESTIANU, FATHER KILLED IN LIBYAN TERROR ATTACK: And my kids ask about him a lot. And --
MARIA DIAZ, VICTIM OF LIBYAN TERROR ATTACK: I look on my hands. I have skin and blood.
CHO: Maria Diaz was just 15 when she and her aunt were caught in the crossfire in the 1972 Lod Airport attack in Tel Aviv. Diaz was hit with a grenade. Her aunt, just six years older, 21 and newly engaged, was killed.
DIAZ: I would have given anything for that to happen to me, not to her.
CHO: After all these years, this is Diaz's first TV interview.
DIAZ: Four minutes, and it changes my whole life.
CHO: In the nearly 40 years since, Diaz says she still has pain in her legs, has endured eight surgeries, and has not seen a penny of the money the U.S. government promised she would get. Money that's supposed to be taken from a $1.5 billion fund set up to compensate victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism. Instead, what Diaz got was this letter from the U.S. Treasury Department saying she would eventually get a pro-rated payment, 20 percent of what she is due.
CHO (on camera): How much of the money have you seen?
DIAZ: At this point, I haven't seen any.
CHO (voice-over): The problem, say these victims, is that the government miscalculated and that there's not enough money left in the compensation fund for more than 200 victims. An estimated shortfall of $350 million. But the State Department says it's too early to say there will be any shortfall. The State Department would not go on camera, but told CNN, quote, "it is premature to determine that there will be a shortage of settlement funds, roughly half the claims are still being processed."
CHO (on camera): Some of the money was distributed to some of the victims.
POLLACK: Lockerbie and the La Belle Disco tech (ph), which, at the time, as you probably recall, were the attacks that most people knew about.
CHO: The most high-profile. POLLACK: The most high-profile attacks. There were a lot of attacks that most people don't recall.
CHO (voice-over): Like the one in which Jonathan Pollack was injured at the Rome Airport in 1985.
POLLACK: If you were injured, you were entitled to $3 million. If you were killed, $10 million, your family, of course, for wrongful death.
CHO (on camera): So you thought, OK, eventually I'll get this money?
POLLACK: I did.
CHO (voice-over): Pollack has received $600,000, but it's 20 percent of what he's owed.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: That's insulting. To say you'll get a pro-rated amount now and not guaranteeing that you'll get the whole amount later is insulting.
CHO: Neither Pollack nor Diaz were among those who sued Libya for damages, but they are entitled to claims from the same fund under a law Congress passed to cover victims of state-sponsored terrorism.
ALIMANESTIANU: We did fight in federal court.
CHO: Alex Alimanestianu was a litigant in the historic case that led to the U.S./Libyan agreement to compensate victims. He lost his father on UTA Flight 772 when it exploded over the African desert in September 1989. His family has been paid $2 million of the $10 million that was owed to them.
ALIMANESTIANU: I blame the U.S. government. I mean clearly they -- they didn't do their homework and they were rushing to make a deal with the devil. The amount of the money is not really the issue. It's really about justice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: The $1.5 billion compensation fund was set up in 2008 under President George W. Bush when relations with Libya and Gadhafi were softening a bit. It covered nine attacks in all, including Lockerbie.
Well, it's time to vote for CNN's "Hero of the Year." Our Josh Levs will join us after the break to tell us about some of the amazing honorees and how you can vote.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: It's 24 minutes after the hour.
They are some of the most inspirational people in the world, working against the odds to help those in need. And now you can vote for your CNN "Hero of the Year." Our Josh Levs is here to show us how.
Hey, Josh, good morning. JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you.
And, yes, those votes are going to make a big difference. I'll tell you the stakes coming up. But, first, their stories are amazing. The 10 honorees this year are helping people in poverty, kids affected by HIV, military widows and many others all over the word. Here is one of the heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDDIE CANALES, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I'm Eddie Canales. My goal is to be there for young men that have suffered spinal cord injuries playing high school football.
We hear about an injury. We go to the families as soon as we can.
Since we started, and we've worked with 19 families just in the state of Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: One example there. And, by the way, every time I pop in, I show a different one, so everyone gets some airtime.
But I want to show you all this. You can learn about all 10 of this year's CNN Heroes at cnnheroes.com. We have a section that tells you all about them and it's a chance to learn.
Now, here are the stakes. Each of them will get $50,000. The CNN "Hero of the Year," chosen entirely by you, will get $250,000.
So, how do you learn about them? Well, at cnnheroes.com, each of them has what's called a fan page this year. And I'll show you one example right here. This is Diane Latiker. She works in Chicago. She created an organization that networks with young people to help them avoid gang violence and stay off the streets.
Now, after you've learned about all 10, here is how to vote. You just click on the vote tab at cnnheroes.com. And what you will see is a really simple system. You just highlight the person whom you want to choose as CNN "Hero of the Year." You then give your e-mail address or you hook it up to your Facebook account and then your vote can be shared with all your friends on social media. And now you can do all of this on your mobile device as well using your browser. Alina, it's all there for everyone to do right now, cnnheroes.com.
CHO: You know you really want to just vote for everybody because their stories are so inspiring.
LEVS: So amazing.
CHO: I was actually part of the voting committee one year --
LEVS: That's right.
CHO: And you do read all of these stories and you think, how do you possibly choose. Now having said that, is this like "American Idol"? Can you vote as many times as you want or is there a limit?
LEVS: Right. That vote -- first of all, let's point out to everybody, you were part of that committee, which was great, and that committee decides the 10. And then who is the CNN "Heroes of the Year," "Hero of the Year," that one is ultimately entirely up to all of you.
And, yes, folks, you can vote up to 10 times a day. So it's not the same as "American Idol." But if you start now, you can vote every day all the way up. So, you know, you can get a lot of votes in there. And the announcement will take place live at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." That will be Sunday, December 11th, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific here on CNN. And everything I've just showed you, I've put up for you online. Real easy for you to find. Cnn.com/josh. I'm at Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. And Alina is rocking Twitter these days, too, by the way.
CHO: That's right.
LEVS: So we'll make sure she gets the link there too.
CHO: At AlinaChoCNN. At AlinaChoCNN.
LEVS: There you go. All right.
CHO: Please follow me.
Anyway, Josh, thank you very much. By the way, the deadline for voting is December 7th.
LEVS: December 7th.
CHO: All right, Josh, we'll see you later. Thanks.
LEVS: Thanks a lot. You got it.
CHO: The northeast braces force an October nor'easter. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is tracking the snowstorm and she'll bring us the latest.
And good news in the disappearance of a young autistic boy. We'll have the details. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Good morning, everybody. It's 30 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. I'm Alina Cho in for T.J. Holmes. Thanks for starting your day with us.
And some serious snow is in the forecast for much of the northeast today. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is tracking it all for us in the Severe Weather Center.
You know, I was just e-mailing with my producer in New York, Adam Riess. He's headed to York, Pennsylvania with Chad Myers right now -
STEELE: Right. CHO: -- where they're expecting 10 inches of snow. So CNN correspondents are fanning out across the region. How bad is it going to get, Alexandra?
STEELE: Well, you know, what's so interesting about it, it's certainly rare in October. About a month and a half rare for New York and Philadelphia, but it's not unprecedented. But this would be, in New York City, the first time in 59 years that we had measurable snow in October. And measurable is the key.
I mean, in Boston even Thursday, just a few days ago, they had some flakes. But flakes don't count in terms of meteorological acumen and making sure, you know, you're getting the correct amount. Measurable means at least a tenth of an inch.
So here's the big picture and we will certainly see that in all the big cities. Here's the radar right now. Of course, look at this. The white already showing up in Western Pennsylvania, in Western Maryland, look at how close to Washington, D.C. that snow is already. It's really going to be contingent upon the cold air coming in and we're going to see a changeover from rain to snow. So it's going to be a very heavy, wet snow.
This is more of the problems with it, it will be pretty, but we're at full foliage in the northeast. So the heavy, wet snow coupled with the 50- to 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts, sustained in the 30s, power outages aplenty tomorrow. So kind of plan for that today, because you certainly could see that.
Sixty million people will most likely be impacted by wind, by rain or by snow. New York City, the average first snow is December 18th, so, again, we're about a month to a month and a half early. It only snowed measurably three times in October in New York City. So only four times in Boston.
So how much, right? Let's just get to the nitty-gritty. Here's the look. This is the swath of over 10 inches. North and west of the big cities, where the greatest snowfall will be, 12 inches in Allentown; Philadelphia even 3.5 inches expected, so on average between three and five; New York City between maybe three and five as well.
Yonkers - this is the computer model projection spitting out, looking out all the data in the computer models and kind of putting together some information and kind of detailing it. Hartford, Connecticut, over a foot. And, again, even from New York to Boston, between about four and seven inches potentially.
Quick, though. One day, quick-hitter, in today, out by tomorrow morning. Boston will see the latest of it. Tomorrow morning, still snow, changes over to sun by the afternoon.
CHO: That's the kind of snowstorm I like to hear. Thank you, Alexandra.
STEELE: Quick hit.
CHO: All right. Thank you so much.
STEELE: Sure.
CHO: Let's see how things are shaping up right now, as a matter of fact.
Here's a live look at New York City. Still dark outside, of course. As much as a foot of snow could fall between now and later tonight as that rare October nor'easter set to barrel into the region. Millions of people from Virginia to Maine could be impacted. As you heard Alexandra say, 60 million to be exact.
Now, here's how the storm looks on radar. One of the biggest problems facing people in the storm's path is, of course, potential power outages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCH GROSS, CONNECTICUT LIGHT & POWER: The trees. Still plenty of leaves on them. You have forecasters saying heavy, wet snow, high winds, those are all the perfect ingredients for potentially a large problem with the electric grid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Checking our top stories now -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Banks got bailed out!
CROWD: We got sold out!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The banks got bailed out!
CROWD: We got sold out!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Occupy Wall Street protesters take their movement to the doorsteps of big banks. A group of demonstrators marched across Midtown Manhattan Friday delivering thousands of letters to the executives of five major banks. The letters detailed some of financial hardships many Americans are facing.
Bank of America may be softening its stance a bit on the proposed $5 a month charge for customers using their debit cards. You will remember this has gotten a lot of attention. Now, according to a person familiar with the matter, the bank is considering waving the fee for customers who use direct deposit, maintain a minimum balance or use Bank of America credit cards. The fee is scheduled to begin in January and set off a wave of public outrage when it was announced last month.
And in St. Louis, the champagne is expected to flow all weekend long. The St. Louis Cardinals just won the World Series, beating the Texas Rangers in Game Seven last night. Final score, 6 to 2. This is the Cards 11th World Series title and their first since 2006. The city has a parade planned for tomorrow. Good for them.
New violence in Afghanistan to tell you about, a suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy in Kabul today. The Taliban is claiming responsibility for the blast, which killed at least four civilians. There are reports of coalition troop casualties as well. And a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said they do not have exact numbers of casualties just yet.
Investigators in Canada are trying to find out why a charter jet crashed near a runway at the Vancouver International Airport. The pilot of the twin-engine Beechcraft survived the crash but later died in the hospital. Eight others onboard were injured and were pulled from the wreckage. One of the passengers talked about the flight's final moments from her hospital bed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROLYN CROSS, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR (voice-over): I looked at the pilot, his hands were shaking. A huge tremor. And I was struck with the instant knowledge that we were going to die. So I grabbed my cell phone and I wrote letters to my two children, inside was full of gasoline.
I got to the door, not knowing how I was going to leave it because I didn't feel my legs. And I reached out and four amazing people dragged me out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Officials say several people on the ground saw the crash and rushed to help pull survivors to safety.
Well, there's better news to tell you about in the search for an 8- year-old autistic boy who disappeared last weekend. Authorities in Richmond, Virginia say Robert Wood, Jr. was found yesterday. The boy wandered away from a family outing in a nearby park last Sunday. His disappearance prompted thousands of volunteers to help in the search for him.
Deputy is saying one of those volunteers who found the boy in a creek bed curled up in a fetal position. Doctors say despite spending five days in the elements, he will be OK. And that is good news indeed.
Apple may have sold four million of its latest iPhones during its opening weekend, but it seems another manufacturer takes the crown when it comes to shipments of smartphones. Now, according to research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung shipped almost 28 million smartphones between July and September. That's compared to Apple's 17 million. However, it is unclear if Samsung passed Apple in actual sales since the company doesn't disclose those figures. Guessing Apple may have done a little bit better.
Etiquette for the digital age, there's a list of dos and don'ts from social media sites from the people who should know. CNN's Karin Caifa takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Emily Post's Etiquette" first set standards for American manners almost 90 years ago. Now in its 18th edition, great, great granddaughters Anna and Lizzie Post are among those making sure the family business keeps pace.
ANNA POST, CO-AUTHOR, "MANNERS FOR A NEW WORLD": Emily used to have an entire chapter in 1922 about chaperons. I think, well, maybe some parents wish we had that. But on a whole we do have to keep moving and adapting.
CAIFA: So "Emily Post's Etiquette: Manners for a New World" covers dos and don'ts of Facebook, e-mail, tweeting, texting, like the digital breakup, for example, a big don't.
LIZZIE POST, CO-AUTHOR, "MANNERS FOR A NEW WORLD": No. You can't sorry.
A. POST: No. In person. Phone if you have to, but Facebook, you know, changing the status is the way of letting them know -
L. POST: No. It doesn't work that way.
A. POST: Not the way to go.
CAIFA: Eager brides and grooms updating their Facebook status at the altar or guests that tweet as soon as they hear I do, that's taboo, too.
A. POST: Not that there's anything wrong with tweeting, but is that really your priority at the altar? I think not. So that's a definite no. As for guests, who are you tweeting, people who weren't invited?
CAIFA: It's perfectly OK to unfriend or unfollow if a connection wall posts, pictures or tweets make you uncomfortable, but if it's someone you're close to offline, follow up face to face, because the Posts say common courtesy stays the same even if lots of other things change.
L. POST: There is not some electronic brick wall between you and the other person. It's a real person over at the other end, so think about them.
CAIFA: Karin Caifa, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Great tips.
Traditions dating back centuries are changed in the United Kingdom. I'll explain why gender no longer has any bearing on who will rule, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHO: Welcome back.
A huge development this weekend for the British monarchy and Commonwealth countries. First-born daughters can now ascend directly to the throne. Leaders of the 16 Commonwealth countries where the Queen is head of state unanimously approved the changes at a summit in Australia.
Under the old succession laws which date back 300 years, first-born daughters were passed over for their younger brothers. Now the change means a first-born daughter of the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, will eventually become queen. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl anymore. A ban on the monarch being married to a Roman Catholic was also lifted.
And the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has named Interior Minister Prince Naif as next in line for the throne. The former heir died last week after being ill for quite some time. But the new Heir Apparent's conservative leanings have some questioning what direction he'll lead the country. So why does it matter? Our Brian Todd reports from Washington.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He could be the next King of Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally who America will count on to keep the oil flowing in the Middle East and to counter the growing threat from Iran.
He's Naif bin Abdelaziz just named Crown Prince by the aging King Adubdullah. Prince Naif, as he's known, has been Saudi Arabia's Interior Minister for 36 years and for some to say he's a hardliner is putting it mildly.
ALI AL-AHMED, INSTITUTE FOR GULF AFFAIRS: The main problem with Prince Naif is his human rights record. It's a very ugly record. He has cracked down on women activists, religious freedom activists, and any democratic activist reporters, journalists, bloggers, all types of activists.
TODD: Ali al-Ahmed with the Institute for Gulf Affairs is a long-time vocal critic of the Saudi ruling family. Saudi Arabia has had almost no Arab spring protests, and al-Ahmed claims that's thanks to Prince Naif ordering the arrest of protesters and to clamp down on social media. He's seen as not enthusiastic about allowing Saudi women to drive or vote.
In a cable two years ago, published by WikiLeaks, American diplomats called Naif conservative, authoritarian, pragmatic and not pro- Western. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, blamed on mostly Saudi hijackers, Naif caused a stir when he said in an interview, "It is impossible that the al Qaeda organization did that alone. I think they, the Zionists are behind these events.
(on camera): Despite our repeated attempts, we couldn't get anyone here at the Saudi Embassy to clarify that or to respond to the criticisms from Ali al-Ahmed and others. But analysts point out it was Naif's job as Interior Minister to clamp down on social protests, but he may not behave that way as king. Naif's also praised by the Obama administration for being relentless against al Qaeda.
(voice-over): Analysts say Naif's stance as a hardliner virtually wiped out the terrorist network inside Saudi Arabia.
(on camera): As a matter of security, that's something that America has appreciated, right?
THOMAS LIPPMAN, AUTHOR, "SAUDI ARABIA ON THE EDGE": Absolutely. Once they finally realized that their own support of extremism around the world that they have created a monster that came back to bite them, they did begin to work quite closely with the American authorities, which was difficult for them.
TODD (voice-over): So difficult that it almost cost Naif personally. In 2009, a militant who pretended to surrender blew up a bomb which might have been concealed inside a body cavity in the same room as Naif's son, his deputy. The son survived.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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CHO: Heading out on the campaign trail, it's a critical day in Iowa, but that's not where you will find the front-runners. We'll tell you why, next.
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CHO: It's a big weekend for the Republican presidential candidates, who are trying to get a foothold in those early voting states, key voting states, well, at least some of them are. We'll get more now from CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Good morning, Alina.
You know, we're just 66 days away from the first votes in the race for the White House, but Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain wouldn't be found this weekend in any of the states that vote first in the primary and caucus calendar. Today, he finishes up two days of stumping in Alabama which doesn't hold its contest until mid-March. But the businessman and former Godfather's Pizza CEO, who surged in national state polling over the past month, he says he's in it to win it.
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HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not supposed to be running. I'm not supposed to win. And I'm not supposed to be standing up here with this hat on, but I'm doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) STEINHAUSER: Cain is also bringing in the bucks. His campaign told CNN they pulled in more than three million in fund-raising this month, that's more than Cain raised in the entire third quarter.
Two other Republican candidates, Congressman Ron Paul and former Senator Rick Santorum are in Iowa today for a GOP forum and straw poll, in the state that votes first in the race for the White House. Texas Governor Rick Perry's wife is there as well.
Now, yesterday the Texas governor was asked if he will be skipping any of the upcoming debates, as he's hinted.
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RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know if we're going to forgo any debates or not, you know? There's going to be a lot of debates. I mean, shoot, I may get to be a good debater before this is all over.
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STEINHAUSER: Perry made those comments yesterday in New Hampshire, that's where Jon Huntsman is today. He's spending just about all of his time in the first of the nation's primary state.
Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich makes the rounds in South Carolina today, the first southern state to vote - Alina.
CHO: All right. Thank you very much, Paul Steinhauser.
Through this week, a billion people around the world are celebrating the Festival of Diwali. We're going to take you inside this world of colorful lights, fireworks and fantasy next in our "Morning Passport."
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CHO: Welcome back.
Nadia Bilchik joining us now with our "Morning Passport." So this is the Festival of Diwali. A time of reflection and celebration in India.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: And great, grand -
CHO: Exactly. I was going to say, when do you get an opportunity to wear something like this on television? It's spectacular. It's a sari, obviously.
BILCHIK: It's a sari. And the Festival of Lights, Diwali, is really shrouded in the most beautiful mythology. It's the story of Lord Rama, who is exiled for about 14 years, he's one of the Hindu gods. And during that time his wife Sita is kidnapped, and he then overcomes evil. What you're seeing now is the fireworks.
And the whole idea of Diwali is light through darkness. Good overcoming evil. The conquering of light over darkness. Si a grand celebration as you can see with the fireworks happening. And all kinds of celebration happen over. Then people dress magnificently, eat delicious food.
CHO: But this isn't just limited to India. I mean, more than a billion people around the world celebrate.
BILCHIK: People all over the world -
CHO: That's right.
BILCHIK: -- celebrate it this week. So on Wednesday, it began with really paying homage to the Goddess of Prosperity. Thursday was the New Year. And Friday is a beautiful - this Friday was - it's known as Bajduj, and that is a celebration of brothers and sisters.
CHO: I like that the fireworks are used to chase away evil spirits. That's a nice reason to -
BILCHIK: Isn't that the source? Exactly.
CHO: -- to celebrate with fireworks.
BILCHIK: The whole idea of conquering evil. Conquering as Lord Rama did with Ravana.
CHO: So it's a week-long festival.
BILCHIK: It's really three days. So it's the Wednesday, the Thursday, the Friday of this week, which is, as I said, the celebration of brothers and sisters. And all kinds of beautiful festivities.
CHO: So they weren't just celebrating the St. Louis Cardinals win in the World Series?
BILCHIK: I'm sure there are many Hindus around the world who were celebrating that, too, right.
But what we say to all our Hindu viewers, is we say basically Diwali Mubarak, or we say Saal Mubarak, which is Happy Diwali or Happy New Year.
CHO: Wow. I'm not going to butcher that and try saying that myself, but I'll practice that later.
BILCHIK: It's a colorful, glorious celebration of Hindus around the world. And one of the most beautiful parts is the Rangoli or the pictures that they create, patterns on the floor of homes that you're seeing.
CHO: And what is that made of?
BILCHIK: That is - different things, chalks, different materials, but the idea is let's create a home that is very welcoming and very colorful.
CHO: So happy.
BILCHIK: That's a big part of it. So happy, so colorful and so joyous. As you can see, full of color.
CHO: I don't want to even know how long it took you to get that on. Probably a good half hour. All right, Nadia Bilchik -
BILCHIK: It looks much more simple than it really is, right?
CHO: It's beautiful. I've tried to get into one of those before, it's not easy.
BILCHIK: You need help.
CHO: OK. You do. Nadia Bilchik, thank you.
Winning one battle in the war against drugs, and the U.S. Coast Guard unloads the spoils of a massive multimillion dollar cocaine bust. You got to see it to believe it. That's next in Cross Country.
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CHO: Checking stories Cross Country, check out the U.S. Coast Guard unloading a massive amount of cocaine that was seized in a bust three weeks ago in Central America. Now, this is the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Cyprus offloading more than seven tons of the drug. To put that in perspective, that's 15,000 pounds. It equals roughly $180 million. And this haul alone represents roughly a third of all land- based drug seizures in the United States for an entire year.
Near Charleston, West Virginia, folks can tell it's time for Halloween by all of those Jack-o'-Lanterns adorning the mayor's house. There are 3,000 pumpkins cleaned, carved and lit up. Three thousand - hundreds of volunteers help out in this annual community effort. And, boy, is it beautiful.
North of the border in Halifax, Canada, plenty of canines are getting into the Halloween spirit and costumes, from dressing up as a pug as a punk rocker to a hound dog wearing an Elvis outfit. Retailers say they see more dog owners embracing the holiday with their four-legged friends.
There's a new Barbie on the scene, and this one is causing quite a buzz. It's called the Tokidoki Barbie. And if you check it out, you'll see the tattoos on the arms and neck. That is what's causing all the buzz. And some are wondering why an iconic doll would promote body art? Does it send the right message?
To be true, it's quite a departure from the classic Barbie. This is what she looked like when the little plastic woman first came off the assembly lines way back in 1959.
But it isn't the first time that Barbie has sported tattoos. A couple of years ago you could get stick-on tattoos for Barbie. At the time some stores pulled those Barbies because of complaints from parents. The same happened with Harley Davidson Barbie which also had tattoos. But Mattel may have a hard time dumping this latest one. Why? Because it's pretty much sold out.
A puppy in New Jersey has become something of a celebrity because of something that didn't happen to him. Daniel is a beagle mix. He was supposed to be euthanized along with 17 other dogs. But when shelter officials opened the door, there was Daniel standing and waging his tail. He's now in the care of Eleventh Hour, that's a no-kill shelter. And Daniel is now waiting to be adopted.
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LINDA SHILLER, ELEVENTH HOUR RESCUE: Even though Daniel is the celebrity dog at the moment, there are a million Daniels in shelters right now that are going to be killed today or tomorrow.
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CHO: Some states like New Jersey ban the practice of animal euthanasia and officials say, as you just heard, there are millions of animals just like Daniel waiting to be adopted.
