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Mystery Missile that Streaked Across the Sky; Huge Setback for Boeing; New Study on Social Network and Teens

Aired November 10, 2010 - 09:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. It's the top of the hour; 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.

Have you seen these images from southern California? The Pentagon is knocking down speculation that it's some kind of mystery missile that streaked across the sky. The problem is the military can't or won't say what witnesses saw. One theory, optical illusion from an airplane's vapor trail.

Then a huge setback for Boeing's next generation of airliners. The company cancelled all test flights of its 787 Dreamliner after one of its plane made an emergency landing in Texas because of smoke in the cabin.

And parents, if your teens spend a lot of time texting and social networking, this may make your stomach turn. A new study says that those teens are more likely to have sex, smoke cigarettes and use drugs.

All right. Let's talk about this mysterious orange streak over the L.A. sunset. It just kind of had everybody scratching their heads, asking what the heck was that? But we still can't seem to get any straight answers from the FAA, the Pentagon, or from anyone else for that matter. A lot of people think it looks like a missile launch but the Department of Defense says none of its people are reporting a launch.

Other people say it's an optical illusion, a distortion of the jet contrail and then, there are the wackier explanations, theories about UFOs, close encounters, Lochness monster, you name it.

Josh Levs has been digging all through the possible explanations, and Josh, really this is pretty bizarre, because at the highest level, and even from NORAD and NORTHCOM, we're hearing not quite sure.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And not only back here, Kyra, but I'm about to bring you two experts. One of them who says this is absolutely, obviously an airplane and the other one saying it is absolutely, obviously not. The first thing I want you to do though - let's get back to that video that we were just showing because I want all of you to understand how it is even possible that the words optical illusion could be involved here. It is a little bit of a Rorschach test. Understand what people are talking about when they say contrail. Contrail is a condensation trail. If this is an airplane that's traveling through the sky, that instead of it being something that took off the ground and shooting directly upward, what's actually been happening is that airplane has sort of been coming toward you, and over time, the smoke, the vapor that it leaves behind widens out a little bit, broadens out.

Our eye thinks broader means lower to the ground and if you think about how the horizon looks, when you look up to the horizon it kind of feels like the earth is flat and things are going down. So the idea is if that other vapor that's wider there is really just farther away, then the plane is just kind of coming toward you and it's not this thing that's just taken off from the ground. That is what a lot of experts say that this is an airplane contrail.

One of those experts is named John Pike. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PIKE, DEFENSE EXPERT: The vehicle at the tip of the contrail is moving far too slowly to be a rocket. Since the contrail is illuminated by the sun, you are able to see hundreds of miles of it all the way to the horizon and this creates an optical illusion that it was fired out at the ocean a few dozen miles away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: All right. But some other experts are saying absolutely no way. I just now spoke to an MIT professor who studies and teaches these technologies and international security, his name is Ted Postol. Here's what he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF THEODORE POSTOL, MIT PROFESSOR, SCIENCE, TECH & NAT. SECURITY: It certainly appears to be a missile that was shot into the air. The video appears to be tracking the object after what looks like a separation between two rocket stages. There's a later part of the video that has a bright point of light followed by a very dilute contrail, not nearly as intense as the contrail at lower altitude. That's typical, also, for a rocket motor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: He is convinced there it's some kind of rocket or missile. Another thing he's asking and a lot of people are asking, if this was an airplane, why can't U.S. officials tell us which one it was. We have records of our aircraft in this country, especially since 9/11.

Well, earlier our Chris Lawrence reported on just the complete lack of answers coming from the government.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: NORAD took a look at this and found out, you know, they say, no foreign military launched any missile at that time, there was no danger to the homeland. The FAA went back and did radar replays of that time period. They didn't track any fast-moving, unidentified object. None of the pilots in that area at that time reported seeing anything, and now the Pentagon is saying all D.O.D. entities with rocket and missile programs reported no launches, scheduled or inadvertent during the time period in the area of the reported contrail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS: So lots of questions. I have a strong feeling that about 40 percent of you right now are screaming at the TV that you know which one it was. Here's how you can get in touch with me. You got my Facebook and Twitter pages there, @joshlevscnn. If you're an expert or got some ideas we haven't heard yet, you got to let us know.

In the meantime, we here at CNN are calling just about everyone we can think of to find out what the deal is with this aircraft. And Kyra, in the end, we got a couple of questions. Not only what is the deal with this. But, also, why doesn't the government know what the deal is with this? We'll get it to you as soon as we have it.

PHILLIPS: All right. You may want to try calling god. Looks like he or she is the only one with the answers right now.

LEVS: If only.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Josh.

LEVS: All right. Thanks.

All right. Thousands of passengers still stranded on a broken down cruise ship but they are getting hauled back toward California this morning. A couple of tugboats are towing the "Carnival Splendor" right now that's bobbing in the Pacific Ocean, just south of San Diego.

It's a ship that's 950 feet long, way bigger than the "Titanic," by the way. An engine room fire actually cut the power to the ship on Monday stranding about 4,500 people on board. They got no air conditioning, no phone service, no hot food, and we're told, the toilet service was just restored overnight.

So the crew of the "USS Ronald Reagan" is helping out handing out food, water supplies, all of it, to hold passengers and crew members. Hopefully hold them over until they are back on dry land. The "Carnival" says that could happen late tomorrow. The company also says that "Splendor" passengers will get a full refund and it's offering a credit for a free cruise.

Also this morning, President Obama is in South Korea for some of the key events of his 10-day tour of Asia. Tomorrow, he is scheduled to deliver a Veterans' Day speech to U.S. troops serving in South Korea. He's also going to take part in a wreath laying ceremony at a war memorial.

Also on the agenda, bilateral meetings with the Presidents of South Korea, China and Germany's chancellor. Those talks at the stage tomorrow, the start of the G-20 economic summit. Leaders of the top global economies will focus on stabilizing the world's financial markets and shoring up a shaky international recovery.

Elizabeth Smart says her life as a captive was her quote "my nine months in hell" and now she is telling jurors more about the man who robbed her childhood after snatching her from her bed at knifepoint. Jean Casarez is following the trial in Salt Lake City. She is a correspondent with "In Session" program. That's on our sister network, TruTV. And Jeanne, you know, yesterday you were talking about the emotion in the courtroom, how it's affecting so many people.

Now hearing from the homicide detective that actually approached Elizabeth inside a public library. So many people wondering, oh my gosh, that could have been the moment that she was saved.

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: it was an amazing moment in court, Kyra, when she started to describe this. I'm going to show you. It is the headline today in the "Salt Lake Tribune." You see right there, she said, "I felt like hope was walking out the door." That is what she testified to.

Kyra, we want to show everybody this picture right here. It's on the front of the newspaper. That is a party. It was a rave party. The three of them went to. Elizabeth testified about it yesterday where there was a lot of drinking and alcohol and psychedelic drugs. Somebody shot that photo, and there she is right there.

But you see Kyra, the veil she has on, the gown she has on, and the homicide detective went to the Salt Lake City Library when they were there one day and he went up to Elizabeth and he said, you know "I'm looking for Elizabeth Smart, and we're getting a lot of phone calls, and you look like her. Can you take your veil off" and Mitchell stepped in and he said, "no, based on religious grounds, she cannot take off her veil. Only her husband can do that."

And the homicide detective said, "well, can I be part of your religion for one day to take off this veil" and Elizabeth just stared at him, and Mitchell refused based on religious principles, and the homicide detective left. And that's when she said, "what should I do? Should have I take that chance? Should I have and she said that she was just so upset when they left that library.

PHILLIPS: That's just amazing, Jean, because it shows the power he had over her mentally, how he had completely brainwashed her.

CASAREZ: Brain washed, and continually told her, "if you leave, if you do anything, I will kill you. You will be dead." Kyra, at one point, he brought out that knife again and said, "Do you remember this knife? Do you remember what I said to you? And she testified that he verbatim said to her again what he said to her at her bed that night that "I will kill you with this knife if you make one sound."

PHILLIPS: God, just to be so close to a rescue. It's just amazing. What's this about Mitchell apparently trying to abduct Smart's cousin back in 2002? CASAREZ: That's right. Well, he testified that god had come to him. God had made him a prophet, and because of that he must have pleural wives, and Elizabeth was the first but he must go out and get others as the word of god is spoken.

Well, he decided he was going to get Elizabeth Smart's cousin because she have talked about her cousin and how much she loved her cousin. So he went down from the camp site one night, packed with a lot of things, including that knife, went to the cousin's home, found an open window, cut the screen, trying to push the blind in, and a lot of figurines on the ledge of the window fell down, made a big noise. He heard a scream in the house so he ran and he went back to the house, and he said, "god has told me we shouldn't have another wife at this time."

PHILLIPS: Jean Casarez, it's pretty amazing testimony that you're hearing there in the courtroom out of Salt Lake City. We'll continue to follow this case, obviously, with you daily. Jean, thank you so much.

We're also following some breaking news right now, coming to us from London, England. Take a look at this massive protest. It's all over college tuition hikes, and it's turned pretty ugly, it's just outside the headquarters of Britain's governing conservative party there in London. We are told about 40,000 students have been demonstrating, and things took a pretty ugly turn when some of them actually broke into the building, set off flares and came back outside of that building and started to light fires.

Our Atika Shubert s actually right there among those protesters. She has been following this story for us. Now joining us live, I understand. So Atika, it got pretty crazy and pretty hairy at one point, but it looks like things have calmed down a bit

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): They have calmed down a little bit over here but they have actually still taken over the plaza in front of the conservative party headquarters. In fact, if you can look down there, you can probably see a mass of hundreds of students that have gathered there in front, and basically what's happened is they have just taken over the plaza. The road in front of the conservative party headquarters. They've lit a huge bonfire as they smashed their way into the lobby, effectively taking over the lobby.

So it's gotten quite a little bit out of control. And there was a very minimal security presence initially. It was a very peaceful demonstration at the beginning, a very festive atmosphere but now it seems it has gotten out of control. Riot police have arrived, however, on the scene, and are trying to gain some control over it. It's going to be tough though because they have taken over the road and they have taken over the lobby of that building there. So we'll have to see. But clearly a lot of students are angry about these tuition hikes.

PHILLIPS: We're talking about that tuition hike tripling, right? From $5,000 to $15,000. I mean, that's a tremendous increase for these students.

SHUBERT: It really is, and we're talking about families. You know, they have very specific budgets, especially in this recession. They're already really tightening their belts, and now they've been told that if their child wants to go to university, they may have to pay three times as much, and this is something students say they simply can't afford and what they're worried about is they're going to end up with an education system that is increasingly stratified where only the wealthiest can really afford a university education.

Right now students paying about $5,000 for tuition, and that is due to triple to about $15,000. That's how much universities can charge. And on top of that, the government says it's going to be slashing university budgets by 40 percent. So this is going to really impact students and universities, and that's why these students are so angry. I can see more police are now being called into the scene.

Clearly they are trying to get some more officers in here to try to get control of the situation but as I said before, it's going to be tough with so many students on the street.

PHILLIPS: All right. Atika, I know you talked to number of students there in the crowd. Take a listen to some of the interviews you did a while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Access to the university and higher education is so important to our entire society, and that by raising the fees to 9,000 pounds a year, you are excluding the poorest people. You need to choose your university on the best institution for you, not on how much you can afford to pay. If you are good enough to go to a university where you need a grades to get in, you shouldn't have to pay 10,000 pounds instead of 3,000 pounds. It should be about academic ability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And we're talking about how many schools affected, Atika?

SHUBERT: We're talking about really most of the universities here. They are going to be very deeply affected. You know, remember the education system here relies largely on public funding. So when the government says they are going to be slashing budgets and allowing tuition fees to rise, it's going to be affecting most of the students here.

This is why you have been seen an outpouring of about 40,000 students out on the streets. What's remarkable about this protest, not only is the size but the fact that when the austerity budget went into effect, when the government announced it, there was actually a lot of restraint. There weren't that many organized protests and people seemed to accept it very sort of British reserve with a stiff upper lip. On the other hand, the students are clearly very angry and this is the first really angry organized-protest we've seen against that austerity budget. So this is probably going to shake the government quite a bit and they'll be asking questions about moving forward.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow it. Live pictures out of London, England, you can see the protests right there over the tuition hike. About 40,000 college university students showing up there, hopefully, to get their voice heard.

Our Atika Shubert on the story. Atika, thanks so much.

Well, straight head, from the "Situation Room" to the Soul Train line. Wolf Blitzer will make a special presentation tonight at the Soul Train Awards, and radio host Michael Basin will be there, too. We're talking to both of them about what the show means in 2010. Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes, that brings back some memories. Yes, indeed. All right. Alicia Keys, Usher, Drake, Wolf Blitzer? Three of those performers are up for awards at tonight's "Soul Train" Awards but our own Wolf Blitzer will be mingling among the stars as well. He's making a special presentation at that show. We're going to talk to him in just a minute but a lot of us remember soul train for this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

PHILLIPS: A little moving, a little shaking, moving down the world famous "Soul Train" line. That show started back in 1971 and ran, are you ready for this? 35 years. It's definitely a mark on culture. Definitely, it's undeniable, and the awards show lives on as well, which leads us to radio show host Michael Baisden. He's going to be there tonight.

You remember the days of "Soul Train." Was that you coming out? Was that you -

(CROSSTALK)

MICHAEL BAISDEN, RADIO SHOW HOST: Yes, that was me back in the day. I did have a big fro, by the way. Great to see you again, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Great to see you too. I know we've - boy, it's been a long time since you and I were in Louisiana.

BAISDEN: Yes, it's something else.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it was.

BAISDEN: Great to see you again. PHILLIPS: Yes, likewise. All right. Let's talk about the awards ceremony tonight, and maybe just why it's so important and it's history.

BAISDEN: "Soul Train" is classic. You know, it was one of those times when blacks and whites watched both American bandstand and we all watched "Soul Train" together. We had a chance to see black artists for the first time. Some people may not remember that "Soul Train" actually had comedians back then as well. So I have a lot of respect for what Don Cornelius and the soul train family have done.

PHILLIPS: I mean, you bring up a good point. We did ... we watched. I mean, my mom was Dick Clark and, you know, American bandstand and if I remember when Soul Train came about and this was a totally different vibe.

BAISDEN: Everybody watched.

PHILLIPS: It did do something for cross-cultural relations.

BAISDEN: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Was it the music? Was it the fact that we are seeing blacks and whites together? What do you think it was it?

BAISDEN: I think that - we, I think like everything else, like the election, we really all do want to come together and music is one of the best ways to bring people together. The dance, of course, was very entertaining for a lot of people more loose. Because American bandstand was a little stiff.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it was a little stiff. The poodle skirts.

BAISDEN: Exactly. You know, something I've notice when you think about American bandstand and especially "Soul Trail," how skinny we all were back then, right? We were all very skinny.

PHILLIPS: And how tight the pants were.

BAISDEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Come on now.

BAISDEN: Everybody was free, and it's just a great time. So I'm really excited about the award ceremony.

PHILLIPS: OK. And you are giving a very special award to Miss Anita Baker.

BAISDEN: Yes. What can I say?

PHILLIPS: Tell me why do you love her so much?

BAISDEN: I love Anita because she personifies class, you know, she reminds you of the old school classic singers. You know, the Diana Rosses. You know, so for me being able to give her this award and have a chance to meet. I have never met Anita Baker. So I'm a little nervous. I have a crush on Anita.

PHILLIPS: Really.

BAISDEN: Anita Baker, I have a crush on you. OK. So I'm very excited. Ron Isley will also be awarded a lifetime achievement award as well. So it's going to be exciting.

PHILLIPS: Well, as you know, our Wolf Blitzer (INAUDIBLE) Oh, yes. "Soul Train awards, Michael Baisden is going to join us with all these performers and yes, Wolf.

BAISDEN: Wolf Blitzer.

PHILLIPS: The whole team what, huh? Wolf Blitzer?

BAISDEN: Is wolf going to (INAUDIBLE)?

Wolf Blitzer, are you going to dougie (ph)?

PHILLIPS: Let's ask him. Wolf Blitzer, you're going to doughie (ph)?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST (ON THE PHONE) You know, everybody is going to have to watch on November 28th on BET and they'll see what I do. But I'm going to say this, it's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be exciting. And like all of us, like all of us, we all grew up watching "Soul Train." I did growing up in Buffalo New York. This is just a thrill to me that they asked me to do this about a year or so ago. I said, are you kidding me? It would be my pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Well, which reminds me, I don't know. Michael, did you see Wolf dance on Ellen?

BAISDEN: I missed wolf on "Ellen."

PHILLIPS: Michael, did you see Ellen or Wolf dance on "Ellen?"

BAISDEN: On Ellen, please show me the tap. Let me bring back the tape shall we? Let's roll it. C.C., Scott, can we do it? This is our own Wolf Blitzer. You ready? Here we go. This is our own Wolf Blitzer. He's getting ready. We go. He's going to roll up sleeves. There's the head move. OK, Michael you narrate.

BAISDEN: Wolf is warming up right now. He's building up to the throw down, as we call it. Now he's getting jiggy with it and now we don't know what the heck Wolf is doing here. Wolf, loosen up, bend the knees, breathe, Wolf, breathe.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Wolf, take us back, how was the moment? Did you feel you were getting ready for the Soul Train Awards maybe at that moment?

BLITZER: I was just happy to be on "Ellen's" show. She's a great dancer. I'm not a great dancer, but I enjoyed it. I have a lot of enthusiasm and that song by Flo 'rida. It's a great song. PHILLIPS: Yes, listen to him. He's up on the music and the whole deal?

BAISDEN: I saw all those "Saturday Night Fever" going on there, with this move right here, you know.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we could talk about the days of "Saturday Night Fever" John Travolta. Well, you know, John Travolta, he has some "Soul Train" moves.

BAISDEN: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: All right. Wolf before we let you go, are you rehearsing right now? What's going on?

BLITZER: We got a major rehearsal, Kyra, going on. It will - this will be something that you will want to get the videotape of when it actually airs. I don't know if you are going to have rights to it. Maybe I can talk to some people to see if we can get you that video.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you have your people call our people. We'll make it happen.

BLITZER: I have people.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you do. You got lots of people, Wolf Blizter. All right. from the sit room to the "Soul Train Awards." That's our Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, thanks so much.

BAISDEN: Keep practicing, Wolf.

PHILLIPS: He's working on those moves.

BLITZER: This is going to be a moment.

PHILLIPS: Michael, while I have you, the midterm elections, obviously, yes, it was historic, and depressing, depending on which side you are on, right?

You had a chance to interview Barack Obama.

BAISDEN: Many times.

PHILLIPS: What was your take? What was it like to have him on the show? What was your response from your listeners because the hype has died and the love has died?

BAISDEN: Well, the reality setting in. I mean, the economy is always going to be the thing that drives folks. Look, if you have an economy as bad as this, anything is possible. I think that a lot can be accomplished with the Republicans managing one house. It has to be, right. You have no choice. They're in.

Clinton was able to achieve a lot of great things with a Republican Congress. So I don't think it's the end. I think it's the beginning. The question is now that all of the rhetoric is over, now that all these people are actually in office, now they have responsibilities, don't they? It's not just a matter of sitting on the sidelines and criticizing. You have to be accountable as well. So I'm very excited to see what happens next.

PHILLIPS: So do you still have faith in Barack Obama?

BAISDEN: Sure I do. You look at the deficit, which is the big problem now, right? You have no specifics coming from the Republicans. I have been following this closely. They don't want to cut rich folks' monies, OK, which is $700 billion, according to everyone's estimates, which is very disappointing. That $700 billion on the table, that's not going to stimulate the economy.

I mean, I would be impacted by that. I have no problem paying additional taxes, and neither do many people who are doing well. If you are not going to use that money, you're not going to cut defense, where are you going to get the money? I mean, this a fantasy they're living in. The fact that they may delay that just in order to get middle class people their cuts, is unfortunate but it looks like it's going to happen.

PHILLIPS: Do you and you know, remember the day that Barack Obama won, and I'm thinking of Will-I-Am's video and song.

BAISDEN: It was magical for the country and African-Americans.

PHILLIPS: It was magical on the country. It was magical for African Americans. It was magical on so many levels. Do you think and you tell me how your listeners have been responding that - let's talk about the black community in particular. Are they looking more at, well he's been up against a lot?

BAISDEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Or, are they looking at, "oh, man, we had the first African-American president and this is just not good. This is not the way we wanted it to go.

BAISDEN: If we're smart - which is part of the problem is that people don't have enough information is we didn't know how deep the whole was. And I know you all have heard that a thousand times but no one knew how bad this thing was. We had the T.A.R.P. and we had the bailout, and we had all the things happen and it has helped if anybody really know the facts and not listening to just the rhetoric, they would know that it has had an impact. We need more time, you can't dig a hole for eight years and expect to get out in two. It's just -

PHILLIPS: No matter who you are.

BAISDEN: No matter who is in office. So I understand people turning that way that they did, and independents voting for the Republicans, the way they did. We are stuck with the reality of having these Republicans in and we have to find a way to work together.

PHILLIPS: Listen to your show. WE got to watch B.E.T. and the "Soul Train" Awards. It's so great to have you. We can talk -

(CROSSTALK)

BAISDEN: Thank you B.E.T. for bringing me Wolf Blitzer. I can't wait to see you at the awards tonight. It's going to be a lot of fun.

PHILLIPS: Help him with a few moves.

BAISDEN: I'll teach him a few steps, step and ballroom. (INAUDIBLE) I will work with Wolf. Nice seeing you again.

PHILLIPS: Michael Baisden, great to see you.

BAISDEN: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: More from the CNN straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. We are getting new pictures in now, these from the ground. We have the protests going on right now in London, England. About 40,000 students have showed up to protest the tuition hikes that have taken place.

We are talking to our Atika Shubert, and apparently some of these protesters actually broke into the headquarters of Britain's governing Conservative Party there in London and started lighting flares. They came back outside, as you saw -- you saw some more flares go up there -- and starting lighting some fires. It was calm, and then it picked up, and then it was calm and now, as you can see, it is picking up right again. They are actually breaking into the windows there of the governing party headquarters.

We're following this closely. How much is the tuition going up? Normally $5,000 a year. Now getting reports it's going to triple. $15,000 a year. And as you can see, students are not happy. We are going to continue to follow this breaking news out of London, England, these pictures coming to us. Our Atika Shubert is there on the scene as this is all going down right now, about 10:30 Eastern time here in the United States.

Stock market opening bell just rang about an hour ago. Let's go ahead and check those numbers really quickly. Down 66 points right now.

Google employees have a big smile on their faces. The company is giving them a hefty raise and on top of that, a pretty good bonus. No surprise, given that we probably all Google every day, Stephanie Elam.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We use it as a verb. We're like, "I'm going to go Google such and such" -

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: It's part of our morning wakeup routine.

ELAM: Exactly! I have a Google app on my phone. Google all the time!

So, apparently, Google is doing something right. They had a nice, strong third quarter earnings and so what are they doing with that? They are rewarding their employees with a nice 10 percent raise for all 23,000 employees. All of the Googlers out there are going to get a raise. This is reportedly going to happen in January.

And it has a lot to do with competition. Crosstown Rivals, Facebook, has been taking a few people who have been coming from Google. So, they want to keep their employees happy. And this is what they said. This is their statement that Google gave to CNN. "While we don't typically comment on internal matters, we do believe competitive compensation plans are important to the future of the company," end quote. That's what they're going to do to keep their people happy.

Now, remember, Google already has a pretty fun campus as it stands. So, this is on top of all the other cool things they can get, like whatever -- the massages and have people come by and take care of your dry cleaning for you, maybe walk your dog. You know, all of the Google perks that are out there.

PHILLIPS: They must be very relaxed, calm, zen people there in the Bay Area.

ELAM: There should be a lot of mellow people there. In fact, on "Forbes'" new list of the most relaxed cities, San Jose is number ten. Now, San Jose is not exactly where the Google people are based. However, I bet there are a lot of people who cruise down 280 to get home to San Jose. So, I'm sure there's a lot of people there.

But to take a look at this list of the most relaxed cities, "Forbes" put together a list based on a few things like the unemployment rate. If the unemployment rate is low, that means people tend to be less stressed. They also took a look at how long people spend commuting, the average number of hours they spend at work, free time, access to health care, and, of course, exercise.

Here are your top five cities. Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Twin Cities topping it off right there. Unemployment rate low at seven percent. Lower than the national average. You've got Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Get this, they spend 38 hours a week at work, among the lowest in the nation. So, Milwaukee is doing something right. Boston has access to great health care and Portland, Oregon, a lot of outdoor activities, so people are doing more exercising. And Columbus, Ohio. They have very short commutes.

So, those people tend to be pretty chill. If you are at work 38 hours a week, I guess you could be.

PHILLIPS: I grew up in the Midwest. It is very chill people. Yes. Good people, that's for sure.

ELAM: Wait a second, this is news for me. You're from the Midwest? I didn't know this. PHILLIPS: Yes. Jacksonville, Illinois. You probably never heard of it. Blink your eyes and you've already gone through it. Then all my Irish relatives right there, Milwaukee, Green Bay, (INAUDIBLE), you name it.

ELAM: All of this time I thought you were from San Diego. I was thinking you were one of my California sisters.

PHILLIPS: I am, I promise. I got there in the fourth grade. Does that count?

ELAM: Oh, that counts. That totally counts. I will stop giving you a hard time.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: See you in a little bit.

All right. Coming up after the break, you are not going to want to miss this. Have you heard of Granny Dot? Pretty amazing woman. She's in her eighties, but for more than a decade, she's been writing letters to our troops. She doesn't even know them. They write her back. She's going to talk about those relationships, coming up right after a break.

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PHILLIPS: Well, here's a story of a woman who had tons of grandchildren that she never met or seen. Heck, she wasn't even related to them. But they meant the world to her and she meant the world to them.

Dorothy Langraff, also known as Granny Dot, of Newabany (ph), Indiana spent 12 years handwriting letters to U.S. troops during the Gulf War. They were addressed to, quote, "any serviceperson." She thought it would be nice for troops who might not get mail from home. Her letters said things like "I wish all of you could be home and getting on with your life in peace and happiness." Her words and her warmth became their home away from home.

Over time, Granny Dot couldn't write anymore, and she lost touch with a lot of troopers, but you're going to meet one soldier who never forgot her or her letters. So, he just had to let her know how much she touched his life.

So you know what he did? He reached out 18 years later, afraid he missed the chance to thank her. Sergeant First Class Brian Vazquez joining us live from Shreveport, Louisiana.

And Brian, you actually found her. How did you do it?

SGT. FIRST CLASS BRIAN VASQUEZ, U.S. ARMY, EXCHANGED LETTERS WITH GRANNY DOT: I was going through some paper work and looking through stuff for the Army, paperwork I was using to retire. And I found an old letter and I looked at it, and said, oh, wow, great. Because I was trying to get in touch with her, and I lost the letter 18 years ago.

PHILLIPS: Tell me what those letters did for you, Brian, and the other guys and women around you in the armed forces.

VASQUEZ: Well, it was very motivating because at the time we were all young, 18, 19-year-olds, going to another country to deploy. So, it was kind of inspirational to keep us going so we wouldn't give up or feel alone. It was very inspirational to me and all of the soldiers around me, and I never forgot her. And I wanted to give her her rightful credit and due by telling her story to the world.

PHILLIPS: And so, what would happen? Would just bags of mail come in and you would see letters "To any soldier," and you would just reach in and grab one? Is that how it worked?

VASQUEZ: Yes. It was a box full of letters, and he name was on all of them. And I decided to pick it up and read it. And once I did, it was like, wow, this lady is special. And a lot of the soldiers just sat down and we were talking about her one day, and I said, well, I'm going to write her. And I did, and she wrote me back several times.

I promised I would call her when I got back to the States, but I couldn't find the letter and I was very discouraged about that. Luckily, 18 years later, I found it. Don't know how, but I found it. And I called her, and I thanked her for what she did.

PHILLIPS: We have a special surprise for you, Brian. We actually tracked down Granny Dot. We were told she wasn't writing letters, she wasn't feeling real well, but she's joining us on the phone now. Granny Dot, can you hear me?

DOROTHY LANDGRAF, "GRANNY DOT," WROTE GULF WAR TROOPS (via phone): Yes.

PHILLIPS: Aww, thank you so much for being with us. Do you remember Brian Vasquez?

LANDGRAF: Yes, I do.

PHILLIPS: Do you remember when he called you up, and how did that make you feel?

LANDGRAF: Oh, it made me feel wonderful. I cried afterwards because I was so impressed that he bothered to call me. I talked to a lot of the men since they got back. A lot of them I never heard from again. And I mean, it was just a wonderful thing.

PHILLIPS: And Granny Dot, why do you care so much about our men and women in the military, men like Brian Vasquez?

LANDGRAF: For one thing, I loved my own son, and I know how I loved him. And I felt how could their parents stand it? And I loved them, and I just did. I don't know.

PHILLIPS: Oh, and, Brian, do you have Granny Dot's letter with you, by chance?

VASQUEZ: Yes, I do.

PHILLIPS: Is there a part that maybe, if you don't mind, pull it out. Yes. Oh, my gosh. Oh, Granny Dot, if could you see this letter. Oh, wow. Is there a part of it, Brian, that you don't mind reading, a couple of sentences, maybe a part that meant a lot to you, what that Granny Dot wrote?

VASQUEZ: Sure. Yes. She said, "You are so kind to remember me with a very nice letter. It made me so happy. I'll add it to my souvenirs for all my friends that are serving in the armed forces in the Middle East. The cards and letters I receive from all of you are very dear to me. There is so much history to that part of the world. I would love to visit there one day. For now, I will live it through you and my friends serving their country there."

PHILLIPS: Aww. Granny Dot, he saved that letter almost 20 years later.

LANDGRAF: I can't believe they kept them that long.

PHILLIPS: Granny Dot, anything you want to say to Brian while we have him here?

LANDGRAF: Other than I wish him the best in the world, and --

PHILLIPS: Brian? Oh, go ahead, Granny.

VASQUEZ: Yes?

LANDGRAF: I just wish him the most happiness in the world. I think he deserves it, and the other ones, too. All of them do. And I sent -- I mean, I felt as close to the black ones as I did the white ones, and I'm not prejudice in any way and I could love all of them.

VASQUEZ: I appreciate that.

LANDGRAF: And they were all so brave. They were so brave to go. I was scared to death what Hussein was going to do. I was, and I watched it every day on the news, and I talked to some, in my workplace, even. They called me there when they couldn't get me at home. And all kinds -- I had all wonderful, wonderful experiences.

PHILLIPS: Well, Brian, anything you'd like to say to Granny Dot after all these years of writing letters and touching your heart? And, hey, she's celebrating her 59th wedding anniversary. Hallelujah!

VASQUEZ: Wow, congratulations! I just wanted to say now after I'm about to retire after 20 years of service, I want to say thank you on behalf of all of the soldiers that served in the wars. And I want to say you've been an inspiration in my life and allowed me to even consider to stay in and do 20 years because your letters were so loving and caring.

And on behalf of all of is the soldiers who read your letters and responded, I say thank you. We love you. And we'll never forget you.

LANDGRAF: Well, thank you. I don't deserve that --

VASQUEZ: Yes, you do.

LANDGRAF: -- but I really appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: Granny Dot, we sure hope you're feeling better and happy anniversary. Sergeant First Class Brian Vasquez, thank you so much for your 20 years of service. You make us so proud, Brian.

VASQUEZ: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks to you both.

More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: If you think your teenager is texting too much, there could be reason for concern. Listen to this new study from Western Reserve School of Medicine. It says teens can actually increase the likelihood of risky behavior. The study says teens who send more than 120 text messages a day are two times more likely to try alcohol and 40 percent more likely to smoke. They're also more likely to use illegal drug and have four or more sexual partners. The case Western Study also points to concerns about the health risks of social networking in general.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SCOTT FRANK, CASE WESTERN RESERVE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: They're spending really an excessive amount of time online, and connected with friends through social media. And in doing so, they've, perhaps, taken peer pressure to a cyberpeer pressure level, a high-tech peer pressure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, too much texting is under scrutiny by 19 states and the District of Columbia. They all have banned texting while driving.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get right to our political ticker for this hour. CNN senior congressional reporter Dana Bash on the Hill.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra. There are going to be a lot of the interesting things going on here next week when Congress returns for the lame duck session. One of the most interesting dramas, though, is going to be inside the Senate Republican conference. Senator Jim DeMint is going to push a vote forcing his Republican colleagues to stop the practice of earmarking, and that in many ways is a direct -- confronting the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell. Kyra, he has given millions of dollars to his state back home, and he thinks it's the right thing to do to keep it in Congress' hands not nameless, faceless bureaucrats, as many people in his camp call it.

Now, the second item on the ticker is about the race for the number two slot in the new House Democratic minority between Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn. Nancy Pelosi, who is going to stay on as the top Democrat, is now getting involved in that fight and trying to broker some kind of compromise, some kind of deal, to avoid a divisive fight between the two men. Both claim they have the votes for that number two slot, but there are hard feelings, I'm hearing more and more, Kyra about the fact that Pelosi is staying in the spot and forcing this fight between Clyburn and Hoyer.

PHILLIPS: Now, Dana, your cover story on CNN.com, which just posted. It's on women in the next Congress. What did you find?

BASH: It's really interesting. And that is that when you talk to Republicans in the House, they are ecstatic because they have more women than ever before. Eight, right now, freshman Republican women, maybe nine depending on an outstanding race in New York.

But Kyra, despite that, the overall number of women in Congress for the first time in three decades is not going to go up, and it might even go down. A lot of interesting facts and conversations I've had with female members of Congress about why that is and what they need to do in the future to change that.

PHILLIPS: All right. CNN.com. Check out Dana's right (ph) - Dana Hill --- or Dana Bash live from the Hill. Dana, thanks so much.

We're going to have the next political update in just about an hour. Quick reminder, all your political news you can get from our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.

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PHILLIPS: Well, every day at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan for us. We call can "Home and Away." Today, we are lifting up Lance Corporal Abe Howard from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He died after an insurgent attack in Helmand province, Afghanistan on July 27th of this year.

A family friend wrote in to us. He says, "Abe was a great son, great friend, a terrific sportsman, and avid hunter, a musician, a prankster, and above all, a true patriot. Abe was the 12th member of his family to become a Marine. The tribute ends this way. We love and miss you, Abe Howard. Rest in peace."

Well, if you have a loved one you'd like us to honor, here's all you have to do. Go to CNN.com/homeandaway, type in your service member's name in the upper right-hand search field, pull up the profile, send us your thoughts and pictures. And we promise to keep the memory of your hero alive. On that note, tomorrow is Veteran's Day. Tony Harris, lift up our troops all day.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A ton of special programming and content all day long. Right?

PHILLIPS: You got it.

HARRIS: On your show, on my show as well. Can't wait. It will be a special day.

You have a terrific one, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You, too, Tony. Thanks.

HARRIS: See you tomorrow.