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Paralyzed Dog Needs Home; Bristol Palin Advances on "Dancing With the Stars," Stirring Controversy Over Partisanship; Willow Palin Makes Anti-Gay Remarks on Facebook; Engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton

Aired November 17, 2010 - 09:00   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 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast. 6:00 a.m. out west. I hope I'm dressed OK. I'm Kyra Phillips. And here's some stories that made us talking this morning.

Violent storms rake the country from the Pacific Northwest to the crowded northeast. Thousands of homes without power. More severe weather looming today.

A murder mystery in Hollywood just minutes after leaving a star- studded premiere. A long-time Hollywood publicist dies in an explosion of gunfire. Police are baffled. The film industry in shock.

And have you seen this new video of Dick Cheney? Skinny and kind of frail when he made his public appearance yesterday, but he still managed to poke fun at the White House.

We are now eight days away from Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel holidays of the year. And the airline security horror stories just keep coming. Travelers telling TSA agents not to touch their junk, crying toddlers getting a pat-down and just last week, I saw senior citizens getting hassled for their yogurt.

Humiliating security screenings that go something like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS MOLLMAN, TRAVELER: A hand in between my underwear and my skin. You know? And did a 360 all the way around touching certain sensitive points in the back and the front.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But the TSA says it's all in the same of safety and the administration chief will be defending new security measures to Congress later this morning. We're going to talk about that in just a moment, but let's get down to the facts. What you need to know before you actually catch your holiday flight.

At 68 airports across the country, fliers will be given two options when they head through the security line. Under go a controversial full body scan or get ready for a hand's on pat-down. You're going to take -- you're looking rather at a map right now of those airports. We're posting the full list on my blog, CNN.com/Kyra. So if you're flying into or out of any of these cities, here's the advance airport screening 101.

This is what the TSA actually sees when you go through a full body scanner. Some people say it's too revealing. Others are concerned about radiation but a report posted on the FDA Web site says that the scanners pose very little risk.

Now, still, you can opt out but that'll cost you sometime. Going through a traditional metal detector takes a few seconds. A full body scan takes about 30 seconds. An enhanced pat-down lasts about two minutes.

Now there have been calls to protest the scanners by opting for the pat-down on the day before Thanksgiving. Talk about a security line traffic nightmare.

Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve standing by in D.C.

So, Jeanne, are airports even prepared for this?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, are the airports, are the TSA, are airlines? It's a big question. Nobody really knows how successful these opt-out campaigns are going to be. There are several.

One individual who I spoke to yesterday is telling people not to fly at all if they have that option. So that could theoretically cut down the travel but you're right. If a lot of people opt into these programs that say, say no to scanners, do a pat-down, ask for it in private, have a witness present, that could, in fact, slow things down on what is going to be one of the busiest travel days of the year.

And they're expecting more traffic in the airports this year as compared to last year anyway, so build in some extra time would be my advice.

And one point of clarification. You might have to under go one of the pat-downs at the airport that don't have the body scanners if, for instance, you go through a metal detector and it pings, it finds some anomaly, or if you're picked for random screening.

So it could happen to you at any airport.

PHILLIPS: So Jeanne, today's hearing, what can John Pistole really say that's different from what we've heard? He did the network interviews in the past two days.

MESERVE: He had, and he was on Capitol Hill yesterday. Although the topic of the hearing was cargo security, he was asked about this. It's possible that there will be some different questions that could provoke some different answers.

I think that even though they have said children under the age of 12 won't be subjected to the pat-downs there are still some concerns about what's going to happen to children. There are still concerns about people who are saying for religious reasons they shouldn't be subjected to either the body scans or the pat-downs.

So there some areas that could be explored. Whether the members of Congress both seize that opportunity and do it, we don't know yet.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jeanne Meserve will of course be following this up to the day if indeed it does happen and there are major back-ups.

Well, on Capitol Hill, all eyes are on January and the changing balance of power. Today, lawmakers will choose the leaders who will navigate those challenges. One person under the gun is Nancy Pelosi who loses the speaker's gavel when Republicans assume control of the House. She's fighting to keep a leadership role in her own party.

Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joining us now.

So, Dana, there was an unusual meeting ahead of these leadership votes yesterday, wasn't there?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There really was. It was a -- it was a regularly scheduled meeting for all Democrats to meet. It was supposed to last maybe an hour. It lasted four hours, Kyra.

And that is because there was a motion that was made for people to be able to air their views out. And, you know, this is obviously a Democratic caucus that is still licking its wounds big time.

And one interesting thing about the tenor of the meeting that I was told by several sources who were in there is that Nancy Pelosi kind of got an earful from some of the members who were defeated.

Some of them said, look, you should not be our leader still. It was very polite, I was told, but very direct. Lucky for Nancy Pelosi, those members are not going to get a chance to vote for her in the leadership election that are going to start about an hour from now.

She is likely to remain the leader -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So meanwhile, the so-called Slurpee summit. All these various summits -- beer summit, Slurpee summit -- when President Obama and bipartisan members of Congress, it's now postponed. It was supposed the take place tomorrow, right? What happened?

BASH: It was supposed to take place tomorrow. You know, what happened is Republicans said, look, the president made public that this was going to happen in a very kind of open way without the Republicans say checking with Republicans to check to see if their schedules worked for this.

The Republicans say, look, we have all of these new members in town. We have lots of events scheduled. We have people who are leaving. Dinners and so forth around that, so we could never really make this work.

And in fact I've got to tell you, I've been hearing from Republican sources since last week. They were kind of laying the groundwork privately on the phone saying, you know, don't be so sure that this is going to happen.

Democrats, though, on the other side say wait a minute. You know, the president reached out to Republicans. Everybody on both sides of the aisle are talking about the need for bipartisanship and how do we get along, and Republicans can't clear their schedule just for one afternoon and maybe an evening to come and sit with the president?

Not just to sort of deal with each other personally but to deal with some pretty important issues that they've got to come together on in the next few weeks, namely, the Bush tax cuts.

PHILLIPS: Dana Bash on the hill. Dana, thanks.

This is also a critical week for legendary Congressman Charlie Rangel. Tomorrow House Ethics Committee will consider his punishment for violating 11 House rules. A panel returned that verdict yesterday after refusing his request to delay the proceedings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: I am really disappointed because I've never heard of the possibility of someone being accused of something and not having the time to get a lawyer.

They say, well, you've known about this over two years. Well, for over two years I have had a lawyer and $2 million bill so that I really don't see what the issue is that I've screamed for a hearing and, of course, I meant a fair hearing with counsel, with witnesses.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The full ethics committee will recommend a penalty to the House. The penalty can range from a fine to expulsion. Most of (INAUDIBLE) actually believe that Rangel is likely to just be reprimanded and not expelled.

The nasty storms in Maryland are leaving thousands of Baltimore residents in the dark this morning. Roofs were blown off, buildings, trees were toppled. Rescue crews going door to door now to check for injured or trapped people.

A lot of people made their way to the fire department command post to report injuries but nobody was hospital iced.

Now the storms also caused damage in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Power lines were downed and trees were snapped in that area, as well.

Rob Marciano has been tracking all those storms for us. So it's that time of the year, right?

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: But you're right, Kyra. It is that time of year when we get some turbulent weather. Makes my job a little bit more fun, but you've got to keep your head down when things get a little bit --

PHILLIPS: Our director Scott Reagan (ph), as you know, fresh powder, baby.

MARCIANO: Yes.

PHILLIPS: That's all I'm hearing in ear.

MARCIANO: It's that time of the year to get excited.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Well, Sarah Palin is everywhere on the campaign trail, on TV, in the bookstore, on Facebook, Twitter, in the dictionary. Whoo. I'm pooped just naming the list.

And influence, boy, it's creeping into "Dancing with the Stars," too. Literally keeping her daughter Bristol on her toes. Vast right-wing conspiracy or vastly ridiculous paranoia?

We're talking about it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's head "Cross Country." First to Mishawaka, Indiana. That's where a 6-year-old Grace Zerbel bagged her first deer on the first day of hunting season. She learned the tricks of her trade from her father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE ZERBEL, DEER HUNTER: Daddy took me turkey hunting and he got a turkey but he called it mine, but this is in really mine because I shot it. He shot the turkey. I shot the deer.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh my. Grace says that she spotted the 160-pound deer twice before her dad steadied the gun while she pulled the trigger.

In Laguna Beach, California, lesson in what not to do when arrested on suspicion of DUI. Check out the dash cam video. Actually shows an officer asking a driver to step out of this car. Oops. The man mistakenly put the car in reverse, slammed into the arresting officer's car.

Yes, it just keeps getting worse. And the man put it in drive. Crashed into the pole. He's been charged with driving under the influence. Naples, Florida. This special dog needs a special home. RuRu the Dachshund is paralyzed from the waist down after another dog accidently stepped on him as they played. RuRu's family placed him in a no-kill shelter that specialized in disabled animals. Now all he needs is a loving family to claim him.

Did you see "Dancing With the Stars" last night? You and 19 million of your best friends did. And how about that audience gasp at the end?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: I can now reveal that the couple with the lowest combined total of judges scores and viewer votes is -- Brandy and Max.

(AUDIENCE DISMAYED RESPONSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Bye-bye, Brandy. Bristol lives to dance another day. And you heard the crowd's reaction, so tell me. How is it that Alaska's most famous daughter is still dancing even though the judges aren't exactly gushing over her? There's talk that a liberal number of TV- watching Tea Partiers might have something to do with it. We're talking about it with Carol Costello this morning.

So, Carol, really? Is "Dancing With the Stars" like the new Tea Party town hall?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a vast right-wing conspiracy, right?

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: You know, if Bristol --

PHILLIPS: Infiltrated everything.

COSTELLO: I know. Exactly. If Bristol Palin's presence on "Dancing With the Stars," though, proves anything, it does prove how partisan we've become as a nation, right? I'm sure you heard this. Some believe the only reason Bristol Palin remains on the show is because of the Tea Party Republican conspiracy.

There are conservative Twitter campaigns for Bristol Palin, and websites like Conservatives for Palin urging people to vote for Bristol. On the site today, if you go there, it says "liberal heads are exploding all over the place because Bristol Palin advanced." But here's what Bristol Palin and her partner told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK BALLAS, BRISTOL PALIN'S DANCE PARTNER: I've had loads of people come up to me, especially out here in LA, and be like, "You know what? I'm 100 percent Democrat, but I vote for you guys every week because I have a normal life. I have a normal family. I come home to my normal TV set, tune in, and I think to myself, 'If I was on that show, that's exactly how I would be.' And I enjoy watching the journey and it's inspiring."

BRISTOL PALIN, CONTESTANT, "DANCING WITH THE STARS": I work my butt of here. I come in every day. I rehearse every day. I'm totally out of my element here, and I think I deserve to be here.

And when people say that, "Oh, it's just because of the Tea Party," I always think of -- think of all the people out there that hate my mom. Why don't we talk about that? Why don't that be another topic of conversation? It can work both ways, me being Sarah Palin's daughter. They can either hate me or they can love me. And I'm just thankful that we're still in this competition, and I really don't care who's voting for us, but thank you for voting for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's what I would say if I was a contestant on the show. But just to show you how politics kind of invaded every part of our television viewing enjoyment, in a new study by Experian Simmons, a media research company, it came up with a list of shows Republicans supposedly like and those Democrats supposedly like.

And I'll name a few. Republicans watch, you guessed it, Kyra, "Dancing With the Stars." "Modern Family," "Big Bang Theory." Democrats, apparently, watch shows about damaged characters like "Mad Men," "30 Rock," and "Dexter." All shows with much lower ratings.

Republicans, it seems, are more devoted to their favorites and watch in greater numbers. This supposed partisan divide in TV viewing habits has, of course, erupted over the Bristol Palin controversy, if you want to call it that.

PHILLIPS: Well, I guess I'm nonpartisan, because I love "Modern Family," and I love "30 Rock," so, there you have it.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: Let me ask you a story about Willow Palin, Sarah Palin's teen daughter. TMZ, apparently, got some screen shots off of Facebook that shows Willow using some -- unfortunately, some gay slurs to slam some Facebookers that she felt were trashing her family. Now, you'd think Mom would put the kibosh on this Facebooking immediately.

COSTELLO: Well, this is all over the internet. We have to keep in mind that Willow Palin is 16 years old, and sometimes teenagers say things without thinking. So, in fairness, keep in mind, she is a teenager. But, apparently, some kid on his Facebook page was maligning Sarah Palin's new reality show. And Willow replied on the boy's wall, supposedly she said, "Ha ha, you're so gay. I have no idea who you are, but what I've seen pictures of, you're disgusting. My sister had a kid and she's still hot." And then, she used a worse slur, she used the f-word in relation to gay people.

PHILLIPS: Oh my. COSTELLO: And perhaps she should not have -- there's no question, no one should ever use that term. But again, she's 16 years old. And it's, of course, on every liberal blog you go to is this terrible thing about Willow Palin and will Sarah Palin come out and say, "Oh, my gosh, my daughter was wrong and she should apologize." I guess the world has to hold its breath and we'll all wait.

PHILLIPS: I tell you what. If I said things like that when I was 16, I wouldn't be leaving the house for a very long time, Carol. I don't know about you.

COSTELLO: You'd have your mouth washed out with soap.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes, I would. That happened plenty of times. Mom needs to talk to that girl. Carol, thanks.

COSTELLO: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Britain's crazy in love royal couple. An engagement sealed with a diamonds and sapphire. Prince William and Kate Middleton talk love, marriage, and the legacy of Mom. The newly-engaged pair in their own words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, people around the world are still buzzing today about the engagement of Britain's Prince William to his longtime sweetheart, Kate Middleton. British comedian Russell Brand even weighed in last night on CNN's "Larry King Live."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": What do you make of your royalty getting engaged?

RUSSEL BRAND, COMMEDIAN: Well, I don't know about all of this, Larry. I mean, what's going on? Is he ready? Is he rushed into it, young William?

KING: Do you care?

BRAND: Oh, yes. In here, it's just some posh people are exchanging jewelry. Do we care? I don't know. If it makes people happy, if it makes him happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: News of Britain's next royal wedding is on the front page of every British newspaper today following their stunning announcement. And the couple sat down for an interview with British reporter Tom Bradby. The two talked about the legacy of William's mother, Princess Di.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MIDDLETON, PRINCE WILLIAM'S FIANCEE: Well, obviously, I would love to have met her. And she's obviously, she's an inspirational woman to look up to. Obviously on this day and going forward and things. It's a wonderful family, the members who I've met have achieved a lot. And, you know, very inspirational. So, yes, I do.

PRINCE WILLIAM, UNITED KINGDOM: There's no pressure there. There's no pressure, because like Kate said, it's about carving your own future. No one's going to try and -- no one's trying to fill my mother's shoes, and what she did is fantastic. It's about making your own future and your own destiny, and Kate will do a very good job of that.

TOM BRADBY, ITV CORRESPONDENT: People are bound to ask, it's a bit of an obvious question but, children, do you want lots of children? Is, you know -- see what comes? What's your -- ?

PRINCE WILLIAM: I think we'll take it one step at a time. We'll sort of get over the marriage thing first, and then maybe look at the kids. But, obviously, we want a family. So, we'll have to start thinking about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Prince William sealed his engagement to Kate with the same sapphire and diamond engagement ring that his father gave to Princess Diana.

The Beatles might have symbolized the '60s, but they clearly belong to the ages. The band that broke up 40 years ago in the vinyl age is creating a major buzz in the digital age.

(MUSIC - "Here Comes the Sun")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: 9:30 on the East Coast. 6:30 out west. Here's some of the stories that have us talking right now. A Russian man, known as the Merchant of Death is supposed to face a judge in New York today. This is Victor Boot, an arms-trafficking suspect facing terrorism charges. He's a former Soviet military officer accused of arming failed states and insurgents since the '90s. Boot was extradited from Bangkok yesterday in spite of a last-minute push for his release by Russian diplomats.

It could be a major break in the Natalee Holloway case. A jawbone found by tourists on an beach in Aruba. Dutch forensic experts testing it now for a DNA match to see if the Alabama teen -- if it is the Alabama teen's. Holloway was last seen on the island, back in 2005.

The party may be over for Four Loko and other caffeinated alcohol drinks. The FDA could move on a ban as early as today. Doctors say those drinks are dangerous because the caffeine covers up some of the effects of the alcohol. All right. Baby boomers, here's a reminder that something old can be new again. It's been nearly a half century since Beatle Mania first swept America. Get ready because a new day is dawning.

(MUSIC)

Now this time yesterday, we were telling you that the fab four was about to make its long-awaited debut on iTunes. Well, since then, Americans have listened, logged on, and loaded up. The Beatles are once again climbing the charts in the digital age and John Roberts is our resident expert, shall we say, on all things music. He joins us with the AM Extra.

So John, this really is -- I mean, it's old music meets new media and I bet you're not surprised at how strong the sales have been so far.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": I am not surprised at all. You know, I was hearing analysts -- music industry analysts saying yesterday, why would anybody want to have the Beatles catalog on iTunes? Any Beatles fan already has all of that music that they want. There's no reason to want to download it.

Well, the Beatles proving people wrong yet again. Eight of their albums are in the top 20 on iTunes. Ten of them are in the top 25. Leading the pack an album that fans voted was the best Beatles' album ever made "Abbey Road" released in 1969. It wasn't their last album released, though it was their last album they ever recorded just before the break-up. It went immediately to number one in the UK, stayed on the American charts for number one for 11 weeks.

So we're talking about a great album here, great music. "Come Together," "Something," "Maxwell Silver Hammer," "Here Comes the Sun," iconic songs like that. And, Kyra, it just goes to prove that while the Beatles might have broken up 40 years ago, they are still as much a force in the music industry now as they almost ever have been.

PHILLIPS: And I'm sure you were spinning a few of those records as J.D. Roberts back in Canada during the day.

ROBERTS: You know, we didn't actually -- when I was in top 40 radio, we didn't actually play too much Beatles. But the Beatles were the first records that I ever bought. "Help" was the first album I ever bought. Got a lot of the Beatles singles, as well. You've looked at my iPod, you know how many Beatles songs are on there now. Yes, I've been a fan for a long time.

PHILLIPS: I know you have this song. Let's listen to a little "Come Together."

(MUSIC, BEATLES, "COME TOGETHER")

PHILLIPS: Two reasons to pick this song. Not because it's one of your favorites but also "Abbey Road" is the most popular album selling right now on iTunes. And you've got a documentary coming up in just a week and a half. We'll talk about that in a minute. But the John Lennon connection to this song and to the "Abbey Road" album has got some pretty good history.

ROBERTS: Oh, yes, yes. It does. I mean, so many of these Beatles songs have so much history to them. And if you really want, sort of the definitive look at the Beatles songs and what they were all about, there's an interview that David Chef did with John Lennon in 1980, just prior to his death, in which they go through, literally, the entire Beatles catalog and John talking about all of the songs and what they meant to him. So, some good research there for you.

PHILLIPS: And you're coming up with your John Lennon documentary. Cannot believe how many decades it's been since he lost his life. And you have interviewed some amazing characters for this one-hour presentation coming up next week.

ROBERTS: Yes, Kyra, it's very significant that the Beatles catalog comes out now because in October -- October 9th would have marked John Lennon's 70th birthday. And coming up on December 6th, the 30th anniversary of his murder.

On December 4th and 5th, at 8:00 and 11:00 p.m., we're going to give you a look at that time, the days leading up to it, what happened that night, what happened in the aftermath in losing Lennon. A special documentary. We have never before heard audio tapes of Mark David Chapman talking about the murder.

Here he is talking about what was happening immediately after he shot John Lennon. We're also going to hear from Pete Cullen. He was one of the first NYPD officers on scene. He was the one who actually arrested Mark David Chapman, put him in the back of the patrol car and took him up to the 20th precinct.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They left me alone in the car in the back. Which frighten the heck out of me. I kept thinking someone was going to shoot me. Kill me.

OFFICER PETE CULLEN, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: At one point while we were driving from the scene into the station house, he even apologized to us for giving us a hard time and ruining our night. I said, you got to be kidding. I says, you're apologizing for ruining -- you know you just ruined your whole life. And he said, well, he said, I have two people inside of me. I have a little person and a big person. And he said the big person won the battle the last few weeks. Tonight the little person won the battle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: And that's what Chapman said. Chapman said there was a war between the little people in his head who were telling him to do the wrong thing and the big people in the head who were telling him to the do the right thing. And, of course, that evening, December 6, 1980, the little people won out. It's a really fascinating look back 30 years, Kyra, talking to all of the people who were there on that day. And I got to say 30 years later, the vivid recollections that they have of that night are just extraordinary.

PHILLIPS: Yes. It's pretty amazing how John Lennon lives on in so many people's minds and I mean, just what's happening on iTunes, the music continuing to make history in sales and in another way.

ROBERTS: Pretty incredible.

PHILLIPS: John, thanks so much.

Well, Dick Cheney appearing thin and using a cane. He actually makes a rare public appearance since his long hospital stay for heart problems. But Cheney was still strong enough to take a jab at President Obama. That's coming up next in your political update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. CNN deputy political correspondent or director, I shall say, Paul Steinhauser -- better make sure I get the title right. I know you'll get upset with me.

The big talk today, Paul, we saw that video of Dick Cheney looking pretty thin and frail last night. But still keeping his sense of humor.

PAUL STEINHEISER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. Sure did. That video, of course, and Kyra, you can call me whatever you want. It doesn't matter, I still get paid either way. (LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: OK.

STEINHAUSER: Let's start with Dick Cheney and then we'll talk about some of the other stuff. But look at the video. This is from yesterday, this was from Texas. This was the groundbreaking for the George W. Bush Presidential Center. And you can see Cheney looking pretty thin.

His spokesman said that this was a result of a long hospital stay following heart surgery over the summer. His spokesman said that the former vice president's trying to keep the weight off to improve his health after spending several weeks in the hospital. You don't see it here but he also used a cane during some of the ceremony yesterday. That's not because of the heart surgery, Kyra. That's because, what his spokesman says is an old high school football injury. But, you know, a lot of people talking about that saying, boy, he looked thinner than he did back in the White House.

Let's talk about a few other things on the CNN political ticker hitting right now, Kyra. Let's start with the Republican Governor's Association. They're meeting out in San Diego. This is their annual meeting. It kicks off today and it'll go through tomorrow. And we have a lot of coverage on this. Why? Because it could be, I guess, the first early cattle call for the Republican presidential nomination. Because guess who's going to be there? Haley Barbour of Mississippi. He's RGA chairman. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, the governor there. Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana.

What do all of these three men have in common? They may, may want to run for the White House in 2012. Also there, he's not a governor, but Newt Gingrich will be there, as well. He's speaking. He, of course, also a possible contender -- possible contender -- for the Republican presidential nomination. So much to talk about there. That's why we've sent Jessica Yellin, our national political correspondent out there. You'll see her live starting later today.

Hey, let's go to Alaska right now and that vote count. Today may be the final count of counting those write-in ballots, absentee ballots and other ballots from overseas in that Senate battle between Joe Miller -- remember he is the Tea Party-backed Republican nominee -- and Senator Lisa Murkowski, who after losing the GOP primary was forced to run as a write-in candidate.

Here is the count right now. Murkowski, 100,868 votes; Miller, 90,468 votes. That's a margin of 10,000 for Murkowski. Even if you throw out the 8,000 votes that were questioned by Miller but still allowed she would still be ahead.

So Kyra, the big question now is if when they give the final count later today or tomorrow and she is ahead, does he give up? Does he continue legal action? Stay tuned.

And finally, let's talk about the House last night, Melissa Bean, Democratic Congresswoman from Illinois, she conceded. That now gives Republicans a net gain of 61 seats in the House. And check this out. Here we have new balance of power; as of now in the new Congress, 240 seats for the Republicans, 190 seats for the Democrats.

And Kyra, we've got those five races remaining and I make that pledge to you. I've done it before we will be here, your political unit for you until every race is over, every vote is counted.

PHILLIPS: I feel like I'm just getting sold something. I'll buy it. Thanks, Paul.

Your next political update in one hour and a reminder for all the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site 24/7 CNNPolitics.com.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, putting the speculation to rest: he says he's not running for president in 2012. Jindal is on tour promoting his new book "Leadership in Crisis" and last night he appeared on CNN's primetime program "Parker/Spitzer."

Jindal criticized the Obama administration's tepid response to the BP Gulf oil spill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Don't worry about the criticism, don't worry about the -- the pundits. Go get the job done and everything else will take care of itself. And what was frustrating was you say -- it wasn't just one or two isolated examples. You would have thought five years after Katrina that -- that we would have learned this lesson.

I think what happens is when the federal government gets so big and so expensive, it tries to do too many things. Tries to run car companies, tries to get involved in health care, tries to do all these things it loses its core competency.

Now look, I wasn't shy about criticizing the federal government during Katrina. So this isn't a Republican/Democrat issue --

KATHLEEN PARKER, CNN CO-HOST, "PARKER/SPITZER": Right, right.

JINDAL: It's -- it's a competence issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You can watch "Parker/Spitzer" every night 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Well, they won't be calling her Waity Katie anymore. After years of courtship, Prince William pops the question.

Obviously -- obviously that's not Prince William popping the question. But can you guess who this is?

"Flashback", November 17th, 1938. Gordon Lightfoot, my friends, maybe Prince William likes Gordon Lightfoot. He's an Ontario, Canada boy, he's a hero there. And he's been singing and writing songs ever since. You know some of his big hits, "If You Could Read My Mind", "Sundown", "The Wreck of Yemen Fitzgerald" and at 72, he's still going strong. He performs tomorrow night in Idaho and he's already announced that his tour schedule will continue for 2011.

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STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: Well they don't say something, this is no surprise but as an American, I don't care for the British. Frankly, I wish they shut their steak and kidney pie holes but evidently those coffee-nosed pudding-faced crumpet suckers still make news. What is it this time Jim?

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Big news out of England where the royal family announces there's going to be another royal wedding after all the rumors and the speculations. The royal family says that Prince William popped the question to his long-time love Kate Middleton.

COLBERT: Oh, my God, there's going to be a royal wedding. Oh, my God, oh my God, God it's been so long. I'm so excited. I didn't think this day would ever come.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Yes, we are following the royal wedding in addition to many other developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's start with you, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it is last call for college students or anyone who would like those caffeine and alcohol drinks, like Red Bull is one of them, Four Loko. We'll tell you why at the top of the hour.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. Guess what. Thanksgiving dinner is going to cost you more this year. How much more? I'll tell you; that's coming up in the next hour.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Not one, not two but three potent storm systems affecting the U.S. We'll run it down at the top of the hour -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks guys.

Also next hour, a stray, abused dog that saved dozens of soldiers in Afghanistan rewarded with a loving home in Arizona euthanized by mistake in an Arizona shelter, a mistake that cannot be undone. We're trying to find out how something like that could even happen.

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TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good day Kyra. What's the music today?

PHILLIPS: That is your music, Tony Harris.

HARRIS: I love it. I love it.

PHILLIPS: Tony Harris -- let me tell you. Did you like that? We like to mix it up for you.

HARRIS: I love it.

PHILLIPS: Tony Harris has the news. Good to see you. You're kind of mellow on that move in, but Shaquille O'Neal, he doesn't hold back from singing.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.

PHILLIPS: Here we go. Get ready.

HARRIS: He is singing the cheers theme.

PHILLIPS: So Shaq should stick to basketball, I think, although I love that he went to Boston's famous Watering Hole.

Here we go. Here's the theme.

Here you go. This is where everyone goes crazy.

HARRIS: This is the only part that anyone knows, right?

PHILLIPS: You got to love it though. I mean what a way -- it's like, you know, the green bay packers, how they hang out at the local bars with all the people. I mean this is great.

HARRIS: Look, he's a bigger than life figure. Right. I mean literally, he's 360 pounds and 7 feet and he's really come into Boston and really sort of adopted the town. The town has taken to him. He went to Harvard Square, remember that. And he sat there as a statue and let everybody who wanted to come on up and get a free picture with him.

PHILLIPS: He's working it.

HARRIS: He's working it.

PHILLIPS: He's working the people.

HARRIS: We could have used him here in Atlanta. He didn't make a deal. He's in Boston. And they are 8-2 and they're playing well too. So that's the other side of it.

Do you want to talk about the girls here? Can we talk about the girls?

PHILLIPS: Oh boy. Yes, let's talk about the girls.

HARRIS: Let's hear it for the girls. UConn, the women's basketball team. Forget about the Celtics. You are talking about the best basketball team on the planet. The UConn Lady Huskies, last night opening this season; it was a rematch of the national championship game with Baylor, a terrific game down the stretch.

Here's the thing. UConn has this habit of just destroying opponents. This was a one-point -- a real nail-biter for UConn to keep its winning streak alive; 79 wins in a row right now. The all-time record is 88 games set by the UCLA men's team.

UConn wins, moves on. This is likely to be the toughest game of the season for the Lady Huskies. There maybe a couple of hiccups along the way, but they seem poised now, the women's basketball team at UConn.

PHILLIPS: So, who is the star player?

HARRIS: The center.

PHILLIPS: I had it written down.

HARRIS: Did you? Did you? Did you?

PHILLIPS: Do we have it? Yes. Do we have it -- oh, we don't have the name, darn it.

HARRIS: But she's terrific. She is just the star player. Maya Moore is the superstar player. PHILLIPS: There we go. Thank you. M Squared -- I knew it was a unique name.

Ok. What else have you got?

HARRIS: You want something else close to perfection?

PHILLIPS: Ok.

HARRIS: So, take a look at this. We have all been to these arcade games. Right.

PHILLIPS: Right.

HARRIS: And you step up there and you --

PHILLIPS: I do pretty well at this. This is one of my better ones.

HARRIS: You're good at this.

PHILLIPS: Not as good as she is.

HARRIS: Are you this good?

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh, she's not missing one.

HARRIS: Watch this for a second here Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Does she get like --

HARRIS: How many do you think she makes in a row here?

PHILLIPS: She has to get like 300 tickets and the biggest stuffed animal in the joint.

HARRIS: How many do you think she makes in a row here?

PHILLIPS: How many?

HARRIS: Take a guess. Take a guess.

PHILLIPS: Fifty.

HARRIS: 128 consecutive shots for this young lady --

PHILLIPS: No way.

HARRIS: Didn't miss once. Making it look easy, right.

PHILIPS: That's amazing.

HARRIS: So she gets everything in the arcade.

PHILLIPS: Did she win everything?

HARRIS: Just box it up. Pull up the U-haul. She gets everything in the arcade.

PHILLIPS: So she should be playing for UConn.

HARRIS: Look at this. There you go.

PHILLIPS: There you go, Mia-Mia is going to be your mentor.

HARRIS: So, she makes it look very easy, right?

PHILLIPS: That's great. That's great.

HARRIS: Sometimes we can make the easy look really difficult. Case in point: let's take you to the soccer picture, shall we?

Take a look at this. The goalie whiffs, so the guy from Qatar has a wide open net. Look at his face. I can't believe I missed the empty goal. Here it is again. The goalie whiffs. That's Uzbekistan.

And then the striker from Qatar strikes out.

PHILLIPS: We get that look. Every now and then we get that look.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, and we get that a lot from 11:00 to 1:00.

PHILLIPS: Tony, that's not true.

HARRIS: You rock.

PHILLIPS: Great to see you, my friend.

HARRIS: All right. Oh, I'm done? Ok.

PHILLIPS: I wanted to have your back after the whole Michael Vick.

HARRIS: Do you want to talk about it tomorrow?

PHILLIPS: Black radio throwing you under the bus, and so unfair. We need to call in Michael Baisden for his help.

HARRIS: I have broad shoulders -- broad shoulders here.

PHILLIPS: See you Tony.