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Elizabeth Smart Testifies Again; Luxury Retail Rebound; Employers More Willing to Negotiate Salary; Mysterious Light in the Sky; Chris Rock's Promise to the Highest Bidder; The Racial Gap for Broadband Internet in the U.S.; Soledad O'Brien's New Book "The Next Big Story"; Two More Races Decided One Week After Elections
Aired November 09, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from Studio 7, CNN world headquarters, the news and information you need for Tuesday, November 9th.
A Florida community overcome with grief today. Five brothers and sisters die in a horrific house fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole front of the house was engulfed in flames, and I heard the mom saying, "My babies -- my babies are inside."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And we look at America's broadband gap. A government report finds a sizeable racial divide when it comes to Internet use.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At this moment, Elizabeth Smart is set to be back on the witness stand. In her words, she was raped at least every day during her nine months of captivity.
Moments ago, she arrived at the courthouse in Salt Lake City. Video from just moments ago.
No cameras, as you know, are allowed inside federal court, where her accused kidnapper is on trial. But her words are creating terrifying, disturbing images.
Ben Winslow of CNN affiliate KSTU recaps her testimony so far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WINSLOW, REPORTER, KSTU (voice-over): Soft spoken, but confident, Elizabeth Smart told the jury about the night she was awakened by a stranger with a soft but very serious voice. "I remember him saying, 'I have a knife to your neck. Don't make a sound. Get out of bed and come with me or I will kill you and your family.'"
Smart described the fear she felt as a 14-year-old girl. "I knew how deadly the situation was. I was scared. I was extremely scared."
She was forced to put on her sneakers, led out of the house, and up a trailhead. In the moonlight, she could see the man who kidnapped her. It was Emanuel (ph), a man the Smart family hired to do odd jobs around the house.
"I remember asking him why he was doing this. My parents had only tried to help him."
When she reached the campsite, she testified that she encountered Wanda Barzee, who hugged her. She said she was forced to change from her pajamas into robes.
"I was crying a lot. I didn't realize what was going on at first, and then I heard him say, 'By the power of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, which I hold, I seal you to me, and you will be sealed to me in the hereafter, and I take you to be my wife.'" It was then, Smart testified, that she was raped.
She tried to fight him off, but a 14-year-old girl against a grown man doesn't even out so much. Smart said she cried herself to sleep, she woke up, and he had a cable tied around her ankle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Oh man.
OK. We will have more details on the trial next hour. I will speak to "Salt Lake City Tribune" columnist Peg McEntee. She was in court to hear Elizabeth Smart's often emotional testimony.
Other big stories we're following for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A faulty space heater may be to blame for a deadly house fire in north-central Florida. Five children, brothers and sisters between 6 and 15, died in the massive inferno. Three adults escaped. Neighbors called 911, but it was too late.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I told my husband, "I think the neighbors are in trouble" when I hit my front door. The whole front of the house was engulfed in flames, and I heard the mom saying, "My babies -- my babies are inside."
It's very, very sad. She wanted to get the babies out. My kids play with their kids, and it's just very hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh, boy. Grief counselors are on hand at Marion County schools this morning. This will really tick you off. He says, "We were making it up day to day." Former BP boss Tony Hayward now admits the company wasn't prepared for disaster on the scale of the Gulf oil catastrophe.
You think?
In a BBC interview, Hayward says he could have done a better job with the media if he had studied acting, not geology.
So, he didn't study acting, but he did have a memorable cameo on the show "South Park." You remember this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SOUTH PARK")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What should I do? Should I admit we made mistakes? Should I remind you we've done this before? Should I find newer and better ways to say I'm sorry? We're sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP, "SOUTH PARK")
HARRIS: OK. So that's new, right? The commercial, of course, is their take on the LeBron James' Nike rise commercial. They managed to nail LeBron, Nike and BP in one take.
You always know you're doing something very right or wrong when you suddenly show up on "South Park."
President Obama back in his old stomping grounds, reliving some fun childhood memories. So why is he looking out for a quick exit? We have got pictures you have got to see.
And let's take a look at the markets here. The markets open for better than 90 minutes now. And I guess we've been trading in negative territory most of the morning, and it continues right now. We're down 12 points.
Following the numbers throughout the day. Nasdaq up 5, so a mixed day so far.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: People, animals, towns, literally caked in thick, gray ash, and it is still spewing out of Indonesia's Mount Merapi. More than 150 people are dead. Hospitals are overwhelmed with the injured, many suffering burns and respiratory problems.
The volcano began erupting, as you know, two weeks ago. And it is forcing President Obama to change some of his plans.
The president is cutting his visit to Indonesia short because ash from the volcano could have grounded Air Force One. During a stop, he said it was wonderful to be back in the country, even for a brief visit. He spent part of his boyhood there. The president hopes to expand U.S. ties in areas such as trade and security. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim majority nation. In a news conference, the president was asked about his outrage to the Muslim world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our efforts have been earnest, sustained. We don't expect that we are going to completely eliminate some of the misunderstandings and mistrust that have developed over a long period of time, but we do think that we're on the right path.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Indonesia was the second leg of the president's Asia trip.
So, the industry took a huge hit the last couple of years, but it appears luxury items are making a bit of a comeback.
CNN's Felicia Taylor says there are more people entering stores who are ready, willing and able to splurge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, Dior, Vuitton or Dolce and Gabbana -- you can almost pick a name. High-end goods are coming back strong.
STEPHAN SADOVE, CEO, SAKS: We took a big punch to the stomach, and it was a big decline. So the luxury sector took a bigger hit than other sectors. So you're coming off of a lower base. I think what surprised me has been the rapidity at which the high-end prices -- the best price points have come back even stronger than I thought they would, more quickly.
TAYLOR: And it's not just in the U.S. The Asian shopper is feeling a little less shy about showing off, too.
ERIKA SEROW, BAIN & CO.: The market is absolutely exploding. Part of what's happening is an expanding class of consumers in China who are able to spend more money and to consume more goods. And, in fact, if you play China forward over the next five years, we expect that China will be the third largest market in the world for luxury goods.
TAYLOR (on camera): Reports show that the rebound in luxury sales is really dictated by those stores that are owned and managed by the brands themselves, such as Hermes. In 2010 alone, sales were increased by about 20 percent. At Hermes, it was more like 23 percent.
And it's all about the accessories, whether it's handbags, scarves, wallets, or even shoes. Those sales increased by about 16 percent. And frankly, it's even beating out the leader of the luxury sector, which is, of course, apparel. (voice-over): But it's not just women who are making cash registers ring.
ROBERT CHAVEZ, CEO, HERMES: Our men's business has increased significantly, and actually, in the last 12 months, has really outpaced the growth in the women's category.
TAYLOR: And when you browse through the top-dollar shops, you may be hard-pressed to find a sale sign -- a sign of pricing power.
SADOVE: No question that you have seen less promotions. In the first half of the year, our gross margins improved 60 basis points. We reduced the amount of promotions by about 30 percent.
TAYLOR: Of course, this is very small piece of the retail pie, as overall consumer spending is expected to remain weak. Just six percent of consumers are driving more than 70 percent of the purchases in luxury goods. So the rebound comes from a very small portion of the population, indeed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: You know, also making a comeback, costly weddings. It seems that in the first half of this year, the average cost of a wedding increased nearly 22 percent over last year.
So the question for you is: How much do you think the average wedding cost this year? We are doing this a little differently this time. What we're going to do, we're going to put up a bunch of numbers up here on the screen, and you can unscramble it.
Is it back there? Where is it?
OK. Oh, there it is. All right.
So we're going to have you unscramble this number, all right? It will reveal the answer, but not until we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. So I got a little confused here. I looked back at the big Vista wall here, and I thought we had put the numbers all over the place and we were going to ask you to put the numbers in the right sequences.
But, no. We've just sort of blurred out the number.
OK. And now we're going to un-blur it.
But in the segment before the break, we asked you to think about how much the average wedding cost in the first half of this year. Now, according to WEtv's wedding report is -- un-blur that number, sharpen it up. There you go, $23,867.
Are you kidding me? That is up more than $4,000 over last year, when folks were much more budget-conscious, right? Apparently, brides are feeling better about the economy this year.
Former President George Bush out with his new book, "Decision Points." Candy Crowley welcomes him as a guest this Sunday on a special primetime edition of "STATE OF THE UNION."
The painfully slow economic recovery is forcing more Americans into bankruptcy. The government says 1.5 million people filed bankruptcy during the fiscal year that ended September 30th. That is a 14 percent spike over 2009 and the largest number of filings since 2005, when Congress tightened bankruptcy laws.
Here is one way to get a little more money in your pocket. Ask for a raise.
Are you kidding me? In this day and time?
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details.
Alison, people might have been afraid to ask before. I think many are still afraid right now. But could this actually be a good time to ask for that raise?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Sure, go ahead. Ask for that raise, Tony.
I mean, look at how things are right now. The economy is rebounding, so employers are actually the ones who are worried about losing their top talent.
It's really become more of an issue now that people are actually able to find jobs. Look at this. I want to show you.
There's this new survey out that shows that more than half of employers say they are willing to negotiate with new workers, a little fewer employers say they would negotiate with current workers. But the fact of the matter is, now is as good a time as any to ask for that higher salary -- Tony.
HARRIS: So, if you think you can negotiate with the boss, how do you go about doing that?
KOSIK: Well, you know, first of all, be confident. I mean, don't walk in there with your feathers all puffed out, but really go in there and be prepared.
Talk up your accomplishments. Also, know the exact salary that you want and justify it. Compare it to what other people in your position are getting paid.
And finally, show that you understand what the company wants. You know, ask yourself, are you willing to help accomplish what the company's goals are? And if you can show that you're an asset, chances are you can go ahead and get that salary increase -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. So yesterday we talked about markets hovering around a two-year high. How are things looking so far today? (STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, see you next hour. Thank you.
Tiger Woods in Australia, working on a new swing and looking for his first win of the year. We are talking sports, a couple of items for you, in the next 75 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Rafer is here. Where's my microphone? OK, there it is.
Time right now for some big plays.
Rafer, good to see you.
RAFER WEIGEL, HLN SPORTS: Nice to see you.
HARRIS: What do you want to start with, the helmet-to-helmet hits, right?
WEIGEL: Right.
HARRIS: Because there were some over the weekend. Some were illegal, some were in that gray area. And then there was one play I'm thinking about in the Indianapolis/Eagles game.
WEIGEL: Eagles game, right, with Austin Collie.
HARRIS: That was really bizarre.
All right. So what are we going to see here? Let's roll the tape.
WEIGEL: This is -- let me just first preface, this is a seminal moment in the NFL.
HARRIS: A seminal moment.
WEIGEL: Seminal moment, because you have got two helmet-to- helmet hits. One was penalized -- I'm sorry, one is fined and one is not.
HARRIS: Yes.
WEIGEL: This is the one you're talking about. Austin Collie was knocked out cold by Kurt Coleman. The league ruled that this was accidental, but it still accrued a penalty on the play. A lot of people are curious about that.
HARRIS: So, was this fined or was it --
WEIGEL: This was not fined.
HARRIS: But it was just a penalty.
WEIGEL: But it was a roughing the passer penalty.
HARRIS: So what about inadvertent head shots? Because this guy was hit by another player, and then you could make an argument that -- all right.
WEIGEL: Right, and that's the point. The league is saying that that is accidental.
Now, let's go to the other hit, Nick Collins of the Green Bay Packers fined $50,000 for this hit.
HARRIS: Let's see this.
WEIGEL: They're saying this was intentional, as opposed to the other one. That was accidental.
HARRIS: Let's see it.
WEIGEL: As he hits Roy Williams on the back of the head --
HARRIS: All right. Now, we need slow motion, we need reverse angle.
WEIGEL: Well, we should be getting it here. Roy Williams laid out cold right there.
HARRIS: We need to see all-access CNN vision on this. Here we go.
WEIGEL: Here it is right here. Here it is right there.
HARRIS: Here we go.
WEIGEL: OK?
HARRIS: OK. He sort of lowers his head in there.
WEIGEL: So they're saying that that is intentional, and Roy Williams actually said that Nick Collins should not be fined and Nick Collins is a good guy, he apologized.
HARRIS: Got you.
WEIGEL: Here's what's interesting about this, Tony, is because what they need to do now is you need to have two different kinds of penalties for roughing. OK?
You've got to have flagrant and you need to have accidental. Like you have running into the kicker and roughing the kicker, one is a --
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Work it. Work it. WEIGEL: You've got flagrant fouls and regular fouls in the NBA.
HARRIS: Yes.
WEIGEL: So that's the next step of the evolution for the NFL, intentional, flagrant fouls, and unintentional.
HARRIS: Yes. Why? Because at this moment you have a confused workforce.
WEIGEL: Exactly. And it might affect the outcome of the game.
HARRIS: Tiger Woods back, some would say, to the scene of the crime, right?
WEIGEL: Very much so.
HARRIS: In Australia.
WEIGEL: Literally coming full circle here, because it was a year ago when Woods went and played the Masters and won the Masters that the whole Rachel Uchitel --
HARRIS: Now, were they ever photographed together in the same hotel? They were just staying in the same hotel. But we know now that there was --
WEIGEL: And we know don't really know, but we know that after this, the car accident happened. But here's the deal.
HARRIS: Fooling around? Is that what that means?
WEIGEL: It means there was something going on that got him in trouble, right.
HARRIS: Something going on, right.
WEIGEL: But here's the deal -- he comes back to -- this is the last tournament he's won. He has not won a tournament in a year. So he wins this tournament --
HARRIS: Yes. And this is not even a PGA-sanctioned event.
WEIGEL: No.
HARRIS: OK. All right.
WEIGEL: It's not a PGA. But if he wins, doesn't that rewrite the script totally? I mean, doesn't that change the course of the conversation?
HARRIS: Well, he needs a better 2011. Let's just say that. Write off 2010. You need a better 2011.
WEIGEL: Right. This is the way to do it.
HARRIS: Hey, do we have time to show this video of T.O.?
WEIGEL: Terrell Owens doing the miming?
HARRIS: Yes. Now, he's playing pretty well.
WEIGEL: He's having a career -- you know, this man has been humbled.
Look at this miming, though, after this touchdown. Marcel Marceau would be impressed with this.
HARRIS: Oh yes.
WEIGEL: This guy is going to make $4 million in incentives. I don't know if miming was part of his incentives, but this guy has been humbled and he's having a heck of a year.
HARRIS: Work it.
WEIGEL: He's 37 years old. You know, we can't revive our career. I don't know when he practiced that dance.
HARRIS: One more time as we say so long to Rafer.
Good to see you.
WEIGEL: They did lose that game, unfortunately.
HARRIS: They lost the game?
WEIGEL: Yes. The Steelers won.
HARRIS: I like Marvin Lewis. I need them to win some games.
See you next time.
WEIGEL: All right. Thanks, buddy.
HARRIS: The man.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: What's trending right now? Our digital expert, D.D., Derek Dodge.
What are you following?
DEREK DODGE, CNN DIGITAL PRODUCER: Twinkies.
Do you like Twinkies?
HARRIS: I did when I was a kid. I had to give those things up because I've got to lean this thing out a little bit.
I'm following you? I'm following you. OK.
DODGE: Yes, take a look at this.
So, if you go to CNN.com, and you click on "News Pulse," you can see where the most popular story is on CNN.com.
The most popular story on CNN.com in the last 24 hours has been shared over 75,000 times on Facebook.
HARRIS: Get out of here.
DODGE: The Twinkie diet.
HARRIS: What is this all about? "Shrinking professor loves" --
(CROSSTALK)
DODGE: It's a nutrition professor who says he lost 27 pounds by eating Twinkies and other junk food.
HARRIS: That's the story?
DODGE: That's the story. OK?
HARRIS: All right. OK.
DODGE: He says he was eating healthier before the diet, but he wasn't -- let's see, "I was eating healthier, but I wasn't healthy. I was eating too much."
HARRIS: Yes. OK.
DODGE: The whole point was, lower the calories, you lose weight.
HARRIS: All right. OK. I guess there's an argument to be made there.
What else are you following?
DODGE: OK. This is the Trendsmap. OK? So we can see what stories are trending on Twitter based on the size of the word.
HARRIS: Oh, nice, Derek.
DODGE: Now, there's a rapper. His name is Wiz Khalifa. Everyone is waking up this morning and they're tweeting about him because he was arrested last night for marijuana possession.
Why is this important?
HARRIS: Yes. That's not a story in the rap world, is it?
DODGE: Well, it could be a case of Twitter karma, because he tweeted just before his show in Greenville, "Smokeouts in Greenville tonight. Fall through with your finest plant life."
(LAUGHTER)
DODGE: He smokes in his videos.
HARRIS: Yes, he does.
DODGE: And he's not afraid of it.
HARRIS: OK.
DODGE: But this could be a case of be careful what you tweet.
HARRIS: And he was pinched, right?
DODGE: Yes. He woke up this morning, "Wakin' bacon (ph), wrist still achin'. Thanks for the love and support."
HARRIS: Oh lord. OK. All right.
That's what's trending his hour?
DODGE: Everyone is tweeting about this, this morning.
HARRIS: OK. And you're back next hour? Perfect.
Derek, appreciate it.
A break. We're back in a moment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: It is a critical tool for a country to move forward, especially our children, access to the Internet and knowing how to use it. A new study shows a big racial gap in that effort.
Josh Levs has more on that story.
And look, Josh, this speaks to all kinds of problems.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does.
HARRIS: The findings and conclusions in this report.
LEVS: It does, yes. And you know what? You and I have talked in the past about education gaps in this country. This is important, as well, what people are doing at home, what kids are being exposed to at home, what kind of access to the internet they have.
Let's take a look at this. A new study from the Commerce Department finds 70 percent of U.S. households used the internet last year. That's a substantial number. It's pretty good. On the flip side, you have 23 percent of homes in this country that did not have a single internet user. And what you want, obviously, is more and more people to have access to internet, to know how to use it, to be part of the future. Now, look over here. This is where we start to get at some of these racial gaps. When we look at the big picture, Tony, 68 percent of white families had broadband access at home. Only 49 percent of black families. That's basically a 20 percentage point difference right there, in what kids and people are getting access to in their homes when it comes to access to high-speed internet.
Look at this, in this country, 77 percent of Asian families have high-speed, broadband internet access within their homes; 48 percent of Latino families. You see how big that gap is. Now, big picture is that racial inequalities do persist and they are a problem. We've talked about the problems in our school that exist right now. You have a racial gap when it comes to resources, to opportunities that people are getting.
Well, this problem is continuing at home. Broadband means access to all sorts of learning tools and other things that families can do without the web. If they want, they can try to access it elsewhere. Small portion of them have dial-up access, but that's very small. Big picture is more minorities in this country without the web.
In fact, Tony, the thing that strikes me most about all this is that even if you take families in this country, black, Latino, white, the same income levels and the same educational levels, you still see a huge racial gap. I'm going to show you that in 80 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We are back with the racial gap in this country when it comes to the internet, and, Josh, you're saying it's bigger than a lot of us thought.
LEVS: It is. This new study from the Commerce Department is saying that even when you look at families that have the same amount of money coming in and the same educational levels, big gap. Take a look at this. It's a 10 percentage point gap between white families and black families in this country, even when they have the same amount of money, the same education. Ten percentage points. Whites are more likely to have access to high-speed internet at home.
Take a look at these. If you take a look at white versus Latino families, it's a 14 percentage point difference, which is huge. So what the experts are doing is they're looking at these numbers and they're saying, why is it that minorities are having substantially less high-speed internet at home? Part of it, they're saying, is cyclical. A lot of internet activities are about being part of a group. Right? You're interacting with your friends, you're socializing.
If right now a lot of your friends aren't doing it, and this applies to adults, too, who make the decisions about what you have in your house. If the friends aren't doing it, then they're less likely to do so it becomes cyclical and just sticks around in that process. The experts are also saying that especially for Latino families, there can be a language problem to getting broadband set up at high speed inside their homes in this country. But look, as we move forward, it is critical something be done about this. The government's talking about it. And that's why I do have a little bit of good news for you, which is that the gap that we're looking at is getting a little bit smaller. It's narrowing. More and more Americans are getting high speed internet, and what's happening -- partly through stimulus funds and some other things -- the government is working on putting more broadband lines out there so people in rural areas, people in underserved areas are now going to have more opportunity to get it. And the hope is that gets more high- speed internet to more families, help us all move forward in the future.
HARRIS: To the extent that the government is, I recall, offering up contracts and stimulus money, right, Josh, to companies who will actually wire some of these more rural communities.
LEVS: That's right. When I do the Stimulus Desk for a couple of months during the year this year, one of the projects we looked at was in Alaska, where they're actually having to go through some incredibly frigid areas and set up specially protected broadband lines that will help some people in these far out areas who didn't have access to it, get it. But sometimes you even have areas inside big cities that are underserved communities who don't have access to it. So that's part of it, as well. All of this together can help us move forward.
HARRIS: Josh, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.
Chris Rock with an offer many people out there can't refuse. And he's doing it for charity. I'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Hey, Rob, we've got some video here.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Which one are you showing me here? Chris Rock?
HARRIS: Let's do this together. Have you seen the Chris Rock video?
MARCIANO: I have not. I've heard about it. I haven't seen it.
HARRIS: This (INAUDIBLE) is the Night of Too Many Stars, Jon Stewart, right, and Chris Rock on stage together. It's the idea of if you could get your thoughts, your real thoughts off your chest and express them to your execs (sic), your bosses -- well, we wouldn't do that -- let's not say we did. But, here's Chris Rock who says I got your back on this one.
Have a listen.
MARCIANO: All right. Let's hear it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: Tonight, to the highest bidder, we'll get on the phone, and I will curse out your ex.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
ROCK: Jeff, Jeff, is this Jeff?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's me.
ROCK: Jeff, you dirty mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED), you.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: Did we bleep that? Did we get a good bleep on that?
MARCIANO: I hope we did.
HARRIS: Did we get a good, hard bleep on that?
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: What is the next bit here? Oh, "Dancing with the Stars." Last night, this is Jennifer Grey, right? Check this out, Rob. Ready? Wait for it, wait for it. She's doing really well in the competition, by the way. She's my pick -- wow.
MARCIANO: Did she hurt herself? Is she all right?
HARRIS: Look at this. Are we going to see this one more time?
MARCIANO: This is why nobody leaves baby in the corner. Right there. Goodness, I need to take a shower.
HARRIS: There it is. There it is. That's Jennifer Grey who is wonderful on that show. That was so effortless and wonderful.
MARCIANO: As we say down south, God bless her heart.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. All right, Rob. You have a super day, sir.
MARCIANO: Thanks for having me.
HARRIS: Thanks for sharing that moment.
Several of my co-workers have penned their own books in the last couple of years, right? My favorite business correspondent, that's our Christine Romans, "Smart is the New Rich." Ali Velshi's "Give Me My Money Back." The question for you is this, who is the latest CNN'r to share her story? Unscramble this picture. Where is the picture? the answer is 60 seconds. Where's the picture?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Several of my co-workers have penned their own books in the last couple of years. My favorite business correspondents, right? Christine Romans, "Smart is the New Rich," which is out right now. Ali Velshi's "Give Me My Money Back." Before the break, I asked you who is the latest CNN'r to share her story and the answer is, wait for it, wait for it, big reveal -- no, one more. And the big reveal -- come on. There was go. CNN's special correspondent Soledad O'Brien. Soledad brings you CNN's eye-opening in America documentary. She joins me live to talk about her book. The next big story in just a couple of minutes. OK.
Chris Lawrence is following a developing story for us. Chris, what are you working on?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, you really got to see it to believe it, but there is this stream of light that a local Los Angeles helicopter caught. It's really stunning. There have been all kinds of reports that it looks like some sort of missile launch.
The mystery here is that no one seems to know exactly what it was. You take a look at this. It was something and it happened around sundown Monday night. But the Pentagon is saying, we didn't launch any missile. Right now, we're not sure what it is. We asked the FAA if they had approved any commercial launches, maybe a commercial company launching a satellite into space. They said they approved no commercial launches, space launches for yesterday.
So right now, it is a mystery. NORAD is looking into it, trying to figure out exactly what happened here.
HARRIS: Wow, look at that.
You know, it's beginning to feel like one of those teasers we give folks right before we go to a break and we'll tell them the answer on the other side of the break, but we don't know the answer on this one.
LAWRENCE: I wish I could give you an answer in 60 seconds. Believe me, Tony. I would not leave you hanging that long if I knew.
The folks here at the Pentagon are saying right now they just don't know what that was but they say they've got various agencies in the U.S. government all talking to each other, pinging each other, trying to figure out and narrow it down to try to figure out what it was.
HARRIS: Let us know when you know. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon for us.
Chris, appreciate it. Thank you.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: The next big story, it is what every journalist waiting to cover. It is also the title of a new book from CNN's Soledad O'Brien. Soledad brings you CNN's eye-popping and really eye-opening "IN AMERICA" documentaries.
Soledad, good to see you. Congratulations on the book. Congratulations.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much. Thanks so much. Yes, it's been a great process and interesting to write.
HARRIS: Well, talk about that process. What has sort of being a reporter in these extraordinary days and types -- you would agree -- taught you about Americans and how we respond to a crisis?
O'BRIEN: You know, I think sometimes a number of the books you read talk about America as wrong, failing, struggling, on a downward decline spiral and actually, what I found in my travels, whether reporting documentaries like "BLACK IN AMERICA" and "LATINO IN AMERICA," "GAY IN AMERICA" or our upcoming "MUSLIM IN AMERICA," or even as we go cover disasters in Haiti, the tsunami and Katrina and the aftermath as well is that people usually try to do the right thing. I mean, as many stories as we had as a devastation, we had a lot of stories, people who would dig people out of an earthquake in Chile, people who would try to find housing for people who were desperate in Haiti, people who camped out and devoted their lives to rescuing orphans. So I've had a chance in my work to cover those stories, in addition to the aftermath and the disaster. But I have been amazing by the goodness of Americans to help out and I wanted to tell some of those stories as well.
HARRIS: You know what occurred to me as you were sort of running down the list of some of the really horrible stories you've had to cover on a human level, but as you rightly point out, the great work done by so many in those crisis situations. Do you ever take -- because I'm asked this question often -- do you ever take those images, those sounds, do you ever take those items home with you at your conclusion, at the conclusion of your reporting?
O'BRIEN: Yes, absolutely, and I think one of the greatest things about being a mother is when you walk home and be around your family, it sort of brings you back to a new reality when you've left a disaster behind.
But this year, I brought my daughter, Sophia, back to Haiti to volunteer in an orphanage because I wanted to make sure she had a chance to see some of those images -- she's now 10 years old -- up close. And I write about it in the book, you know, the value in both having my daughter get to see my work, but also understanding, again, there are lots of positive things you can do. Even if you're 10 years old, you can sit and play with other children, you can hold a baby, you can help feed people who desperately need to be fed. That's all doable for a 10 year old. Some problems, although they seem like they're so big, sometimes they just need to be tackled one little piece at a time.
HARRIS: Before I let you go, I want to ask you one more here.
A lot of this book is about race. You recount an incident where the Reverend Jesse Jackson actually told you that you didn't count as black. What was that moment like? O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, that's a comment I've had sort of my whole life. As you know, my mom is black, my dad is white and I grew up in an all-white neighborhood in the north shore of Long Island, New York. And so, one day, I was having breakfast with Reverend Jackson and he said, you know, sort of touched my skin and said, well, you know, we were talking about the number of black anchors on TV and they're not that many, and he said -- well, you know -- and I said you've been on my show and he said, you don't count.
And it kind of threw me even though that's been a question that I've tacked for a long, partly because it came from a person who really is knee-deep in racial issues all issues all the time. And later he apologized, he also said he didn't really realize, this was several years ago, he's like, I didn't know you were black, I thought you were Latina.
But to me, what it taught me is that you have to basically plow forward and not be thrown. And what I've tried try to do in my documentaries in talk about race is force people to have the those uncomfortable conversations about race and skin color and ethnicity and what some people call the third rail sometimes. You know, in "The Next Big Story" we have a lot of those conversations and it's been a joy to get to cover those stories.
HARRIS: You give us an extraordinary window. Keep doing what you do, Soledad, and let's put the book jacket cover up again so everyone can see it. "The Next Big Story" Soledad O'Brien. Good to talk to you, thanks for your time, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: My pleasure.
The voting may be over, but the counting is not. A look at undecided races in our political update.
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HARRIS: How about this? Stay out of 2012 presidential race. That's the message from one state to its governor. Paul Steinhauser joining us from the Political Desk in Washington.
Paul, give us more on this story.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It's been a week since the midterm elections and already talking about 2012 and specifically, we're talking about Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey. There's been a lot of buzz out there, will he run for the presidency in 2012. He's said repeatedly no, not interested, don't want to do it. Guys, enough already.
A brand new poll out today, Tony, from Quinnipiac University of New Jersey voters and they agree. While they give Christie a big thumbs up for what he's doing as governor of New Jersey, six in ten say he's not ready to be president and six in ten said they don't think he should or will run for the presidency. So, take it as you will.
I'm going to ask our cameraman, Worth Kimlaw (ph), to zoom right in here to our Political Ticker. From the same poll, brand new numbers about Robert Menendez, the freshman Democratic senator from New Jersey, and some troubling numbers. I guess a wakeup call for him.
Menendez is one of 23 Democrats up for reelection in 2012 and only four in ten in that poll, Tony, say they think the that Menendez is doing a good job. When you look for the battle of the Senate in 2012, 23 Democrats up, only 10 Republicans.
And before we're done here, Tony, let's talk about the election. It's been a week, we just said that, there's still some races to go, but we just called two. CNN just projected Gerry Connolly, the Democratic incumbent Congressman from Virginia's 11th Congressional District, we projected him the winner in a very close race against Keith Fimian, the Republican challenger.
And in Washington state in the 2cd Congressional District out there, we just projecting Rick Larsen, the Democrat, as the winner out there. That keeps the Republican gain at 60 seats. That's a lot, 60 seats.
Now here's what we have left, Tony. Take a look at this. We have the Alaska Senate contest. Vote counting begins today up there in that crazy race. We've got the Minnesota governor's contest still undeclared or uncalled. That could go to a recount, it could be awhile. And we've got seven House races left.
So that's where it stands right now, one week since the election, Tony.
HARRIS: That's a solid update. Paul, appreciate it, thank you.
And your next political update in an hour. For the latest political news, you know where to go, that's CNNPolitics.com.
A tragedy that didn't have to happen. Four Atlanta-area teenagers accused of beating another teen to death. They make court appearances to face murder charges and await a probable grand jury indictment. The victim 18-year-old Bobby Tillman weighed just 125 pounds and didn't stand a chance against his four attackers. Why didn't other people at the party help him? You will hear from the young man's mother next.
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HARRIS: A Georgia mother wants to know why nobody out of dozens of people stepped up to help her son. Eighteen-year-old Bobby Tillman was beaten to death at a party in suburban Atlanta for no reason other than he was the next person to walk past his attackers. That's it. Fifty-seven partygoers stood by and did nothing, four teenagers are charged in Tillman's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MONIQUE RIVARDE, BEATING VICTIM'S MOTHER: My son died for nothing. I don't know why they did it, but whatever it was, he did not deserve it. There would be no reason or justification for it.
And these young men, I want them to go to prison and I want justice to be served for my son. But if my son's death can change someone else's life, can save another young man's life, then that's what I pray for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: More than 800 people arrested for preying on small children and selling them for sex. We are inside a federal bust on a nationwide child prostitution ring.
And building a better future for women in Afghanistan, our Jill Dougherty with an exclusive look at how this country is helping women there one paycheck at a time.
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