Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Boycotting Airport Body Scans Protest Could Snarl Holiday Travel; Prince William Gets Engaged; Charles Rangel Convicted of Violations; Hot Off the Political Ticker, Dolphins Through the Looking Glass

Aired November 16, 2010 - 12:01   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour.

Hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.

Travel troubles. People protesting against revealing airport screening could slow down your holiday travels. We are talking with the man behind the protests just ahead.

Royal engagement. Buckingham Palace makes it official. Prince William is about to wed.

We are digging for more on his fiancee and the wedding plans.

And just how smart are dolphins? A revealing test with a mirror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They show interest to look at themselves. So one thing is to understand it's themselves, it's a whole other thing to say, I want to look at myself. I want to look and see what my face looks like, or what does it look like when I turn upside down and blow a bubble?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK.

Let's get started with our lead story.

Millions of you will be taking to the roads, the rails, and the air during the busy Thanksgiving travel season -- 42.2 million of you, according to new projections out today from AAA. That would be an 11 percent increase over last year.

And if you're flying to your holiday destination, don't be surprised if you get stuck behind someone who is upset about the new screening methods. The advanced imaging body scanners and more intense pat-downs are striking a nerve with some travelers.

The backlash over body scans is gaining momentum over the Internet. Some Web sites are calling on Americans to opt out. The boycott is being called for one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Josh is here with that story -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. Let's take a look at one of those sites right here which is called optoutday.com.

They have been presenting this idea. And a lot of people, what they're doing is they're focusing on the day before Thanksgiving, and saying that people should refuse to go through the advanced imaging technology.

Here's another Web site that is using it, as well. WeWontFly.com is doing the exact same thing, and they're encouraging people to refuse to go through this.

We have some video for you. It's of this advanced imaging technology that we've been hearing so much about, some of these techniques at airports right now that can basically take an image of the body and see if there's anything untoward there. There are more and more groups complaining about it.

Now, I want to show you a couple of quotes here from optoutday.com and what they're calling for on a screen right here.

The first one, "The government should not have the ability to virtually strip search anyone it wants without cause." Here's another quote from it. It says, "Be sure to have your pat-down by TSA in full public. Every citizen must see for themselves how the TSA treats law- abiding citizens."

What they want people to do is refuse that technology, and instead go for the pat-down, and then do it in front of everyone. They say at Thanksgiving, they want people to be talking over the dinner table about what that experience is like, about what they saw at the airport, and kind of get that conversation going.

I spoke earlier with the man behind optoutday.com. Here's a little piece of what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN SODERGREN, NATIONAL OPT OUT: Basically, what was happening with the new procedures, with the body scanners and with the enhanced pat-down, are really a gross invasion of privacy. And there's got to be some reasonable standard that we can imply that keeps us safe, but also doesn't violate people's privacy in the way that's currently being done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: His name is Brian Sodergren. He's in Virginia. He's one guy who started this.

But more and more people talking. Other groups picking up on it.

Now, the government is rejecting this whole uproar. We've heard Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano say the vast majority of Americans have said that they prefer the scanner over the pat-downs, and that the whole point here is to protect the country from terrorism, from threats like the underwear bomber last Christmas. She says the scanners are not these horrible things that they're made out to be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: They in no way resemble electronic strip searches. All they do is ping in a private area, away from the gate, with an image that is neither retained nor transmitted. We've built privacy screens into the machines. We've built privacy concerns into the procedures when they were deployed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Now, in normal screenings at airports -- I'll just remind everyone of the facts here -- the devices are not supposed to hold on to images. But we have reported that in test mode, they allow for capturing and sharing of those images.

And there was one incident in the U.S. Marshal Service that admitted it stored images of more than 35,000 of people who visited a courthouse in Orlando, Florida. That information was obtained by this group over here, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which, in turn, is pushing National Opt Out Day on its main page.

We're talking about it all this hour on Facebook and Twitter. I'm at JoshLevsCNN.

We've got a conversation going. And, Tony, one of the big questions right now, what will this do to travel the day before Thanksgiving?

So many Americans traveling. If a lot of people do take part in the boycott, it could slow down the process for everyone. We're going to keep an eye.

HARRIS: OK. Hey, Josh, stick around here. Take a look at these new pictures of Prince William and his fiancee, Kate Middleton. That's a good-looking couple.

LEVS: You know, good for them. I'm so happy for them.

HARRIS: That's a good-looking couple.

LEVS: We're all looking forward to that wedding.

HARRIS: That is the late Princess Diana's engagement ring.

LEVS: That is?

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Yes. That was the news that we learned last hour.

They plan to -- boy, that's a nice ring. LEVS: That is chilling. That's her engagement ring?

HARRIS: Yes, it is. It is.

LEVS: Wow.

HARRIS: They plan to get married in 2011. That makes sense. 2012 -- you wouldn't extend it beyond 2011.

2012 is a big year in the U.K. You've got the Olympics. The Diamond Jubilee for the queen is also, I believe, in 2012.

But that is -- we can't really get a good look at Kate, can we?

LEVS: Oh, we'll be getting a good look at her a lot --

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

LEVS: -- in the days, weeks, months, years to come. It's nice to get a little bit lost in it. You know? Good for them.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: That's good. All right. We'll keep an eye on that story.

I think we've got a segment planned for later in the hour.

Is Brianna Keilar available to us? OK.

Let's get to Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill.

And Brianna, if you would, bring us the latest information on news that broke just moments ago. The Subcommittee of the Ethics Committee back with its ruling on the allegations against Charles Rangel.

KEILAR: And they found him, in essence, guilty of 11 of 12 allegations. To kind of split hairs here, there were 13 counts initially, Tony, of alleged violations of House rules. They rolled one of those into another one, so, in the end, there's only 12, and they actually found him guilty, for lack of a better term -- they don't really use that word -- of 11 of these things.

So, let's just remind people exactly what we're talking about here.

So, a dozen alleged violations are now violations having to do with really four different incidents. One, and Rangel admitted to this, not paying taxes on income from a rental property that he owns in the Dominican Republic, keeping in mind that at the time this happened, he was the chairman of the very powerful House, Ways, and Means Committee. This is the tax-writing committee, and he didn't pay taxes on that rental income.

Also, he failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets on his congressional financial disclosure statement. He also misused a rent-controlled apartment in New York City as a campaign office.

And then this is interesting, because one of the things that we've talked about is that he was using congressional letterhead, as well as staff time, to solicit donations to the Rangel Center at the City College of New York, a center there bearing his name. And some of these companies that he was soliciting donations from had business before the tax-writing committee.

That one count that the Ethics Subcommittee couldn't come to agreement on, they actually split 4-4 on it, presumably a party line, had to do with one of those violations, an alleged violation of the House gift rule, because it was deemed that these benefits to this college center were indirect gifts, that they were not direct gifts to Rangel. And so that's the one that he didn't get in trouble for at this point -- Tony.

HARRIS: Right. And now the committee has to determine a sanction. Is that what's next in this process?

KEILAR: Yes. This plays out like a trial.

HARRIS: Yes.

KEILAR: They call it a sanctions hearing, but it's really like the sentencing process. So they're going to decide exactly what kind of rebuke Rangel will get.

We've told people, the worst thing is that he could be expelled from the House of Representatives. But that is very unlikely. That's normally reserved for a member of Congress who has already been convicted of a criminal -- in a criminal proceeding.

Rangel has not. He's not facing criminal charges.

HARRIS: Right.

KEILAR: And so you're looking at kind of different degrees of rebukes here. Could it be a censure? Perhaps just a slap on the wrist, a reprimand, maybe he pays a fine. And depending on how severe that level of rebuke is, it may or may not go to the full House for a vote.

HARRIS: Hey, Brianna, I'm not sure whether you have a monitor. Are these new pictures of Charles Rangel?

OK. Do we have new pictures of Charles Rangel?

KEILAR: We do. And actually, we're going to have them for you momentarily. I don't think we've fed them in.

But I do know that he was heading to the Democratic Caucus, which is their meeting. And he didn't make any comment, I should tell you. I know our producer, Eric Siegel (ph), is on the ground there, because we're following him around -- following Rangel around today, and he didn't say anything. He just sort of made his way down the hallway.

HARRIS: OK. These are the new pictures. We've got them turned around.

All right, Brianna. And I know you're just outside of the congressman's office. If he pops out for a statement, just let us know and we'll get you back on the air.

Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill.

Let's go to the break now with new pictures from moments ago of the happy couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Oh my. OK. When caught with your pants down, the "Random Moment of the Day" says keep your sense of humor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUELINE CUTRIGHT, ROBBERY VICTIM: This character in a clown mask threw open my bathroom door. I was on the commode, so it was kind of a surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I'd say.

Here's the robber police say was behind the clown mask. Right?

The young man caught 70-year-old Jacqueline Cutright in the wee hours going wee. Police say the man confessed when a knife fell out of his pants.

Clowning around with the "Random Moment of the Day."

OK. You may know them as pet projects, congressional pork, or wasteful spending. Senate Republicans set to approve a moratorium on earmarks today. Historic, if it happens. House Republicans have already agreed to ban them.

Nine thousand earmarks in the 2010 budget. How much do you think they cost taxpayers? A, $16 billion; B, $5 billion; C, $43 billion?

The answer when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. With Republican senators planning a vote to end earmarks today, we asked you how much Congress spent on pork in 2010. Here's the answer -- did you get it right? There it is -- $16 billion taxpayer dollars. There you have it.

Got to tell you, it is one of the big issues before the lame-duck Congress, Medicare reimbursement payments to doctors. If Congress doesn't act by December 1st, Medicare recipients could have a difficult time finding a doctor.

Let's bring in Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash and Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Ladies, appreciate it.

Let's start with you, Elizabeth. What's the problem? Outline it for us.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. The problem is, is that doctors say they're already not making enough money from Medicare, that Medicare doesn't reimburse them well, and it's hard to take care of those patients.

Now, this is the proposal, to cut Medicare payments by 25 percent in 2011, starting January 1st. So let's take a look at what that means.

I think sometimes, Tony, we go to the doctor and we don't really know, how much is the doctor getting paid for all this? Well, if you're a Medicare patient, right now for an office visit would be about $100. That's what the doctor would get paid. Starting January 1st, he or she would get paid $75.

Let's go on to something a little more expensive, cataract surgery. Today, the doctor would get paid about $700. Next year, your doctor would get $525 for doing that same surgery.

And here's a third one. Here's something that's quite expensive -- triple bypass surgery. If you were to have that today, your doctor would get reimbursed $2,600. Starting January 1st, it would be $1,950.

So, you can see that if you've got a lot of Medicare patients, taking that cut can really make a cut in how much money a doctor makes.

HARRIS: OK. So this is clearly a big decision for Congress to make here.

What impact will this have on patients?

COHEN: You know, the folks that I've been talking to say, look, doctors -- patients are already having a tough time finding doctors who will take Medicare. I mean, I'm sure you've heard the stories, Tony, about people trying to find someone who will take Medicare. It's not across the board, but many people are having problems.

And if this goes through, more doctors might say no. Now, some doctors can't say no. If you do cataract surgery, most of your patients are going to be older people, and you can't say no to Medicare or you'll probably be out of business. But if you're a family doctor and you've got younger patients that you can see, you might tell your Medicare patients to go away, basically.

HARRIS: Yes. OK. Elizabeth, appreciate that. Let's get to Dana Bash.

Dana, why are we at this crisis point again? And what is Congress likely to do about it?

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the answer to the first question is that the reason is because Congress really can't come up with a long-term solution. They have not been able to do that. Or, maybe more to the point, they haven't had the stomach to do it.

Have a look at this number, $300 billion. That is what the Congressional Budget Office's latest predictions are on how much it would cost to just overhaul this and not have to deal with this crisis at a time.

That's a lot of money. And, in fact, in the early days of the health care debate, there was a part in there that dealt with this. About $300 billion was added to that, and they just did away with it because it's so much money. That's part of the problem.

How are they going to deal with it? I just walked down the hall with Senator Mitch McConnell, who is the top Republican in the Senate, who said he just doesn't know how or when they're going to extend this.

As Elizabeth mentioned, December 1st, that's in two weeks. That is the deadline for this to go up. And if they don't deal with it, all of those cuts will happen for the doctors that the doctors are so concerned about.

It is entirely possible, probable, I would even say, that Congress will come together and at least do a couple of months. But then, what happens after that? You know, we just don't know. But it's very likely they are going to deal with it. Kicking the can, though, has been part of the problem.

HARRIS: Kicking the can. That's exactly what I was thinking as you were saying that, kicking the can.

All right.

Dana Bash, our senior congressional correspondent.

And Elizabeth, appreciate it.

Thank you, both.

Ground being broken for the George W. Bush Presidential Center. It is taking place. Live pictures right now from the campus of Southern Methodist University. That's in Dallas. More than 2,500 of the Bush family friends are there, including former Vice President Cheney and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

We understand the center will consist of a library, a museum, and an independent public policy institute. What's the cost on this? Well, it costs between $200 million and $500 million to build this facility. And this will be the nation's 13th presidential library expected to open to the public in 2013.

She said yes. Well, it would be kind of hard to say no to the future king of England, wouldn't it?

By now you already know Prince William popped the question to Kate Middleton. These are the first pictures of the happy, happy couple since the announcement. We got them, I guess, a little less than 15 minutes ago.

We will tell you more about the royal engagement.

And remember this from 1981? It seemed like the world stopped to watch Prince Charles and Lady Diana get married.

So I'm asking if you can guess just how many people watched the royal wedding. The answer in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. So how many people actually watched Princess Diana and Prince Charles' royal wedding? A whopping -- are you ready for this -- 750 million.

Roger, did you watch? Of course you did.

If you want to factor in the number of people listening on the radio, more than a billion tuned in.

Now Diana's son, Prince William, heir to the heir of the British throne, plans to marry longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton. The royal family announced today that the two are engaged.

Roger Clark, he is "Mr. Everything" down there at our international desk.

Roger, good to see you.

ROGER CLARK, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK: Hi, Tony.

HARRIS: All right. So here's the thing -- you don't -- and I get that this is big news.

Very big news, yes.

HARRIS: But you do not interrupt the prime minister in the middle of a cabinet meeting when there are serious issues being faced by the U.K. You've got austerity programs that have to be put into place, you've got people storming the party headquarters because you're cutting funding to education. And yet, you interrupt a cabinet meeting for this announcement and there is applause and banging on the tables?

Come on. CLARK: Isn't it nice to get some good news out there for a change? I mean, in amongst all the misery, let's get a bit of good news out there.

So, look, I mean, the prime minister will have known for some time about this announcement, because the queen would have to consult her prime ministers around the world and get approval from them. And there are laws in place so that, you know, members -- senior members of the royal family can't just marry who they like when they like. It all has to be approved by the queen, and there are some historical precedence for this kind of thing not being approved.

HARRIS: Yes.

CLARK: You remember Princess Margaret. She wanted to marry a man. The queen would not allow the marriage to go ahead.

So, you know, why not? Why not celebrate? Why not have a bit of cheer around the cabinet table?

HARRIS: OK. OK.

CLARK: There's not a lot of cheer around there with these ministers talking about austerity measures and so on.

HARRIS: Yes.

Hey, I think we've been seeing these pictures that came into CNN just inside, oh, say, the last 15 minutes or so, the first pictures of the couple together since the announcement.

And I believe we have a bit of sound here from Kate Middleton. I think folks want to hear her voice.

So do we have that queued up? Let's roll it.

That really wasn't it, was it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MIDDLETON, ENGAGED TO PRINCE WILLIAM: We've been together for a long time, and, you know, we have spoken about our future. And (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lovely. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Were you able to make it out? What is she saying? What is she saying?

CLARK: Well, she talked about it being a very romantic proposal. It was very personal.

William was asked whether he went down on one knee to propose, and he said, well, that will always stay between the two of them. HARRIS: Very nice, William.

CLARK: She said that, yes, of course she's a bit daunted by joining the royal family. But it's interesting, isn't it?

HARRIS: Yes. Look at the ring.

CLARK: Well, that was Diana's ring. That was the ring that Prince Charles gave to Princess Diana back in 1981. You remember first seeing that in the garden of Buckingham Palace when the two of them posed for the media.

But it's interesting, isn't it? Kenya, a very symbolic location, really, because Kenya, of course, was the location that the queen became queen back in 1952. She was on tour there when the king died.

HARRIS: That's terrific. Closing that circle a bit. Yes, that's nice.

I think America -- I'm going to speak for America now, but I think America likes this couple. They really do seem to be in love. A longtime couple, right?

Do Brits like this couple or do they love this couple?

CLARK: I think so. I mean, Prince William has been very popular throughout his whole life.

The British people have gotten to know Kate over the last 10 years, not intimately, but we've got to know her through newspaper articles and so on. So she's kind of been a regular in the newspapers, but she hasn't given interviews. So, we know a little bit of her background, but we don't know anywhere near what we're going to find out in the months and the years ahead.

But isn't it different? It's very, very different to Diana. And some people have been saying, is there a comparison between Kate Middleton and --

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Yes, we've asked the question.

CLARK: Yes. And the answer is absolutely not.

I mean, these two have been dating each other now for the better part of 10 years. Charles and Diana only met each other, I think, on 13 occasions before they actually got married.

Big age difference. Diana was 19 when she went into the royal family, straight in there, whirlwind stuff. Kate Middleton has been groomed for many, many years.

So I think it'll be quite different. And she, of course, is much more mature than Diana was when she married into the family. HARRIS: I tease. This is a good story. I really tease about this, because I can have a little fun at your expense. But I think folks are really excited about this.

They're a good-looking couple. They really are.

CLARK: Yes. And I'll tell you what, it's a little bit of uplifting news in amongst a tide of miserable -- and you know what? You remember 1947, when the United States --

HARRIS: Right. Sure I do.

CLARK: Yes, you remember it, 1947, 63 years ago next week, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip -- or Princess Elizabeth, as she was, and Prince Philip married. And the country was totally without money.

There was rationing of food, and everything was really, really poor after the Second World War. The country really was on -- you know, on the bones of itself. And now, you know, 1947, everybody came out, lifted the national spirit, and I think this royal wedding will lift the national spirit too.

HARRIS: The country was on the bones of itself. That's Roger Clark. Only a Brit can say that and get away with it.

Good stuff, Roger. Good to see you, man.

CLARK: A pleasure.

HARRIS: Many of you are online right now, possibly ordering your favorite Beatles song through iTunes. Big news on this today.

We thought we'd help you out by giving you the top 10 most played Beatles songs.

Number 10: "Here Comes the Sun."

Number 9: "Something."

Number 8: "Help."

Number 7: "All You Need is Love."

Roger, take number 6 here.

CLARK: "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."

HARRIS: And the top five in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. We are checking your memory on the Beatles tunes. Here are the top five most played songs.

Number 5: "Hey Jude."

Number 4: "Eleanor Rigby."

Number 3: "Yesterday."

Number 2: "Come Together."

And number 1-- there it is -- "Let it Be."

So, the Beatles are now on iTunes.

CNN's Christine Romans is at the business desk for us.

And Christine, I would have to think, you know, the Beatles' catalog is a bit of a coup for Steve Jobs and Apple.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Steve Jobs, I mean, the king of Apple, the king of iTunes, that guy had to use a CD and download his music -- download his Beatles, and he was a Beatles fan, right?

HARRIS: Yes.

ROMANS: So now this is definitely a coup for Steve Jobs.

And I found myself, Tony, sort of sucked into the typical Apple media hype machine over the past 24 hours, you know, as they were trying to build momentum to this. There was a 10:00 announcement this morning, and in the minutes before 10:00, even maybe a half an hour before 10:00, people were on iTunes actually downloading the Beatles songs.

So they knew that it was real. They knew that this is what it would be.

So, this is after years of acrimony between these two companies. Don't forget, they were fighting for, like, 30 years in court over the name "Apple," because that is the business name of the company of the Beatles. And then Apple Computer, fighting back and forth over that.

Now this is really the last big mega-mega name that has stayed off of iTunes. You know, iTunes -- 10 billion songs have been sold on iTunes. And just in this country, the Beatles have sold 177 million albums. So, these are two giants in the delivery of music and the creation of music. They're coming together.

HARRIS: Coming together.

ROMANS: You could do the whole report in Beatles lyrics. It helps for Beatles fans who finally wanted to get their music via iTunes.

But this is -- it's always been said that all of the band members or their heirs would have to agree on this, and it would have to be the right thing for the band before they would ever do it. And looks like whatever changed because now Beatles fans will be able to get their -- for $1.29.

HARRIS: I was going to ask you, what's the price on this?

ROMANS: $1.29. Now, there's something interesting, you can download the entire Beatles box set for $149.99 on here. And that also has a film of the live at the Washington Coliseum 1964 concert. It's also on the site on iTunes. They're allowing users to watch -- watch that particular film. And that's the band's first concert in the U.S., so you can see that for free on iTunes.

HARRIS: And you can see it in its entirety. This is not about a clip here or a song there. You can see the entire concert in the entirety. That's terrific stuff.

ROMANS: Trying to build some buzz about -- I mean, it's amazing. They just keep selling songs. It's just -- they got -- they were just perfect in a perfect moment of time, Tony, a cultural touchstone. I'm talking about the Beatles, not iTunes. Maybe both.

And boom, there you go, changed the world. And now it's completely digital.

HARRIS: It really is. Boy, like that!

All right. Christine, good to see you. Thank you.

Me, more, now. Just forget those three words. The reality of the financial game has changed. Christine Romans' new book is entitled "Smart Is the New Rich." Pick it up in bookstores today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Okay. Let's do this, time to go "Cross Country" now. First a tour of downtown Chicago with a wily coyote. Not coyote. Ca- yote, as our tour guide. Don't worry, animal controllers say he's timid, not dangerous. Plus, he has a tracking collar so officials can keep tabs on him while he hunts for rats and mice. Pretty busy, as I understand.

To New York, where Kobayashi has tried his hand at gulping down pizzas instead of hotdogs. The competitive eater finished a 12-inch pie in -- get this -- two minutes and three seconds. Can you believe the world record is 18 seconds faster?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Taxes and debt, two of the big questions being tackled by the CNN Help Desk. Here's business news correspondent Stephanie Elam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the Help Desk where we get answers to your financial questions.

Joining me this hour, Carmen Wong-Ulrich. She's a personal finance author. And Ryan Mack is the president of Optimum Capital Management. Thanks for being here, guys. CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PERSONAL FINANCE AUTHOR: Thank you.

ELAM: First question is coming from Jerry in Texas who writes, "Must you itemize your tax return in order to take advantage of the energy saving tax deduction on windows and similar purchases?". What do you say, Ryan.

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: The answer is no. You can get up to $1,500 or 30 percent. You can spend up to $5,000 on cost-effective stoves and different installations around your pieces of property. And it goes on a Line 52, on a separate document that you attach to your tax return so you don't have to itemize it, whether or not you can make sure you can take advantage of these things.

Check out a good contractor, make sure you get good rates and make sure you can -- at the end of the day, you spend a little money, but you'll save money in the long run to make sure your home is more cost effective.

ELAM: And that's what it's really about. Saving money in the long run.

MACK: Exactly.

ELAM: All right. Our next question comes from Joan in Pennsylvania, who writes, "I have $16,000 in unsecured debt on one credit card, and I'm unable to pay. I haven't used this card for a year or made payments in six months. I'm 61 years old and work full- time. My husband is collecting unemployment, which will soon end. I'd like to get rid of this debt, and I'm concerning bankruptcy. Can you help me?"

Carmen, this is a tough situation.

WONG ULRICH: Well, I may not be able to help her get rid of the debt. Because the hard part is, Chapter 7 will help wipe out, right, the credit card debt.

The problem is she's full-time employed. She's employed. Even though her husband is unemployed. So, they're less likely to allow that to happen. Now, Chapter 13 if she files, is a debt repayment plan. That's more likely.

But before she does that, I'd really love her to talk to a nonprofit credit counselor. You can find one at nfcc.org, and see what her other options are. We don't know her other financial situation. And they can also help you in terms of looking about settlement.

What about if you settle? What if you call the credit card company and ask them to settle for less than you owe? Know two things, though. One, you're going to need the cash payment up front, even though you may get a huge discount. And two, you may pay taxes on the difference, but you could still end up paying only half of what you owe. ELAM: Which is still easier.

WONG-ULRICH: It's worth looking into.

ELAM: All right. Good to know. Thank you, Carmen. Thank you, Ryan for that.

If you have a question you want to get answered, go ahead and send us an e-mail any time to CNN's Help Desk at CNN.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. So what's Hollywood saying about the Beatles hitting iTunes? And it seems like the drama never ends with Mel Gibson and Oksana.

"Showbiz Tonight" co-host Brooke Anderson joining us from - Brooke, are you in Los Angeles with us?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": I am indeed.

HARRIS: Yes! Good to see you!

OK, it's about time we started getting our Fab Four hits off of iTunes. What took them so long, Brooke?

ANDERSON: Well, you know, anything regarding the Beatles being released in a new form, Tony, is going to take awhile. Because a whole lot of people have to sign off and agree before it can happen. And to that end, the Beatles' surviving members, Paul McCarteny and Ringo Starr, along with the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, had been among the music industry's last major holdouts against making their songs available online.

So, really the fact that the Beatles are on board here is making this huge for the entire music industry. It's also worth noting that this is the same band which also resisted putting its music on compact disk, on CD, for several years until 1987. They're really classists when it comes to their music and protecting it.

But earlier this year in interviews, Paul McCarteny began acknowledging he'd like to see a deal happen with iTunes. And he said in a statement on Apple's Web site today, quote, "It's fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around." Ringo Starr says this, quote -- I love this - "I'm particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes."

So, he was just sick of the question, Tony. And I know that you and Christine Romans mentioned it a few minutes ago. But in the 40 years since they've been broken up, the Beatles have sold more than 177 million albums in the United States alone. That's according to the Recording Industry Association of America. So, Tony, as Ringo would say, peace and love, peace and love. HARRIS: That's good! That's good, Brooke.

Hey, I know this is another item you're following on the big show later today. Mel Gibson's court battle with his ex-girlfriend, and the judge getting pretty ticked off about what's happening here.

ANDERSON: Yes, and I'm not surprised. This whole mess is enough to give anybody a headache, Tony. But it seems like somebody involved in the custody battle between Mel and his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva maybe talking too much. And the judge overseeing the case has had it. Has had enough. He's ordering a probe into the leak of court documents, some of which were published on the Web site TMZ. Grigorieva and her attorney discussed those leaks in an interview scheduled to air Wednesday night with our own Larry King on CNN.

Now, TMZ is reporting that Oksana did that interview with Larry King despite the judge telling her that if she spoke to the media, she might pay when it comes to awarding custody. TMZ is citing sources that she did the interview because, quote, "she feels she's been silent too long and feels bad for other battered women if she stays silent."

Of course, Tony, we can all see the interview for ourselves. It'll air Wednesday night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." Obviously, Oksana felt it was a risk worth taking.

HARRIS: That's a rock solid entertainment segment. Brooke Anderson. Brooke, good to see you. Thank you.

ANDERSON: Good to see you.

HARRIS: And of course, if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, Brooke's got it this evening on "Showbiz Tonight." That's at 5:00 and again at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So a challenger steps up. Dana Bash, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," joining us from Capitol Hill.

Dana, good to see you again. What are you following?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, put this in the category of this just in. Heath Shuler, the Democrat from North Carolina, has said all along that if nobody else steps up to challenge Nancy Pelosi for the top Democrat in the House, than he will. Well, it is official, he is going to challenge her.

Now, does this mean that Nancy Pelosi is threatened? Does it mean that she is perhaps going to get toppled? The answer to that seems to be, no. In fact, Shuler himself talking to reports just moments ago said he can add and subtract pretty well and it doesn't look like he has -- this is a battle that he can actually win. Unless, he said, some of his fellow conservatives and others beyond the shrunken conservative caucus go along with him and say it's time for new leadership and Nancy Pelosi is not that person right now.

Second, on the other side of the Capitol, both the Republicans and Democrats have settled on their new leadership in the United States Senate. They both -- both of those teams came out and talked to us about an hour ago about the fact that they had both reelected virtually the same teams. Not a lot of drama there.

One interesting note on the Democratic side, though, Tony, and that is that Chuck Schumer has kind of a new post. He is going to be in charge of messaging and communications for the Senate Democrats. Very interesting there. And Harry Reid made a point coming out to reporters saying that he wants to work with Republicans. It's not, in his words, the Democratic way or the highway, Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Dana.

Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash with us. Your next political update coming up in one hour. For the latest political news, you know where to go, it's cnnpolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. You will soon be seeing killer whales at Sea World again. No word yet on what the new attraction will be exactly. But park executives tell "The Orlando Sentinel" it will debut in the spring. It will replace "Believe." That's the show that was shut down after a trainer was killed in February. The new attraction is slated to open at the SeaWorld's in Orlando, San Diego, and San Antonio.

Another sea creature people just love to watch, dolphins. We've heard how smart they are. So our Randi Kaye decided to find out for herself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spend a day with a dolphin and you're quickly reminded of why they've always captured our imaginations. They are playful, sociable, and just incredibly fun to be around. But scientists say there's a lot more to these animals and they're just beginning to understand the intricate thinking of these so-called big-brain mammals.

KAYE (on camera): Here you go, Nani (ph). Good girl!

We came here to the Baltimore Aquarium to see just how intelligent dolphins are. You see them playing with their trainers all the time. But scientists who study them say there's a lot more happening there than just play. That their intelligence actually rivals ours.

Here you go.

KAYE (voice-over): To see up close what has scientists so excited, we climbed down into a tiny underwater lab with a window into the aquarium, where scientist Diana Reiss puts a two-way mirror up against the glass. The dolphins can't see us, but Reiss can study how the dolphins react to the mirror.

DIANA REISS, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK: We used to think we were the only species on the planet that could think. And now we know that we're amongst many thinking species. So the questions are no longer can they think, but how do they think? And what's amazing is, in this capacity, with giving them mirrors, it looks like they're doing a lot of things very similar to us.

KAYE: Reiss has been studying dolphins' behavior for 25 years.

REISS: Most animals don't even pay attention to mirrors. So if you put a mirror in front of your dog, most dogs won't even look in a mirror. Cats don't pay much attention. Other animals do pay attention but never figure out it's themselves. They think it's another of their own kind.

KAYE: But dolphins do figure it out.

REISS: And not only do they figure out that it's them, but they show interest to look at themselves. So one thing is to understand it's themselves, it's a whole other thing to say I want to look at myself. I want to see what my face looks like or what does it look like when I turn upside down and blow a bubble.

KAYE: We saw in awe as this group of dolphins explored themselves before us, unable to ignore the mirror. Several did hang upside down.

REISS: He's upside down. He keeps on doing that. He's going to get wild now. He's being very innovative. Watch this. (INAUDIBLE) show.

KAYE: Other dolphins opened their mouths and stuck their tongue out. They put their eye on the mirror to get an even closer look.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Not convinced yet? Wait until you see some of the other experiments. We're watching dolphins in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Have you ever watched your pets when they see their reflection in a window? What do they do? They usually slap it, right? They think it's another animal. But what about dolphins? Our Randi Kaye has been checking their reactions under water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (voice-over): Take a look at this video of an earlier experiment from 2001. Scientists mark this dolphin on the side with a black pen, but did not mark the other. When released, the dolphin with the mark swims directly to the mirror and turns the mark towards the mirror, like he's trying to take a look at what's been done to him. The unmarked dolphin doesn't show the same behavior.

Dolphins aren't the only big-brain mammals who recognize themselves. Elephants do too. Watch what happens when Reiss tested them at the Bronx Zoo. This one with a white x marked on his face turns towards the mirror, over and over, to take a look.

Back at the Baltimore Aquarium, Reiss is now focusing her research on younger dolphins.

REISS: Bo is five.

KAYE: Just like human children, younger dolphins make lots of movements and watch their reflection. They quickly learn they are watching themselves.

KAYE (on camera): What are you trying to figure out with the younger dolphins?

REISS: So we're trying to figure out at what age, at what developmental age do they start figuring out that it's them in the mirror? And when are they showing interest in the mirror?

KAYE (voice-over): Foster, who is three, started recognizing himself in the mirror about the same time toddlers do, when he was about a year and a half. Reiss says some dolphins pick up on it at just six months, much earlier than children.

REISS: This is Spirit. Now Spirit's testing this. She's still figuring this out. And what's funny is, we recognize this because it's so similar to what kids do, what chimps do. It's amazing. And they go through the same stages. These are animals that have been separated from us for 95 million years of evolution. Big brains, processing things in similar ways.

KAYE: With a mirror providing a window into the dolphin's mind, Reiss believe she is discovering that their super high levels of intelligence are in many ways much like our own. And if that's true, the question is, what does that tell us?

REISS: In the end, what this tells us is that we need to look at these animals in a new light with a new respect and really provide much more protection in terms of conservation efforts and welfare efforts for these animals. And also appreciate that we're not at the top anymore. We're not alone. We're surrounded by other intelligence.

KAYE (on camera): Oh, wow. So smooth. She's beautiful.

KAYE (voice-over): Remember the old saying, that it always seems like dolphins are smiling at you. Well, maybe they are.