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Enhanced Airport Security 101; Hollywood Publicist Murdered; Royal Engagement; War Zone Dog Hero Killed Accidentally By Shelter; Political Ticker Update

Aired November 17, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: See you, Tony.

It is 10:00 a.m. in the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Here are some of the stories that got us talking this morning. The Republicans big midterm victories mean that Nancy Pelosi will no longer be the speaker of the House in January but she hopes to remain the leader of the party.

Today lawmakers are electing leaders for the next session and Pelosi is expected to beat back a challenge to unseat her.

In Salt Lake City, jurors here are much different description of Brian David Mitchell, the man who snatched Elizabeth Smart from her bed. Now that the prosecution has rested, defense witnesses describe a man who was once a clean cut, devout family guy. The attorneys for Mitchell are using an insanity defense.

And the future king of England announces his engagement and reminds the world of his parents' wedding a generation ago. In fact, Prince William proposed with the ring worn by his mother, Princess Diana.

We are now eight days away from Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel holidays of the year, and TSA chief John Pistole is on Capitol Hill right now testifying about controversial new airport security measures. He says the revealing full-body scans and patdowns are all in the name of security. The security horror stories just keep coming in. Travelers telling TSA agents not to touch their junk, crying toddlers getting patted down. Just last week I saw senior citizens getting hassled for their yogurt. Humiliating security screening that goes something like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS MOLLMAN, TRAVELER: He put his hand in between my underwear and my skin, you know, and did a 360 all of the way around, touching certain sensitive points in the back, and the front.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: There's a good chance that you're getting ready to travel next week, so let's get down to the facts. Here is what you need to know before catching a holiday flight. 68 airports across the country will have those full body scanners. So flyers can either pass through or opt out in favor of a pat down. You're looking at a government list of those airports now. We're posting the full list on my blog, cnn.com/kyra.

So if you are flying into our out of any of these cities, here is the advance airport screening 101. This is what the TSA 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 the scanners pose very little risk. Still you can opt out but that will cost you some time. Going through a traditional metal detector takes a few seconds, a full-body scan takes about 30 seconds, and an enhanced pat down lasts about two minutes.

Now there have been calls of protests, protesting those scanners by opting for the pat down on the day before Thanksgiving. Talk about a security line traffic nightmare. Senior national security contributor Fran Townsend, live in New York.

So Fran, not just irritated passengers anymore. That's not what we're talking about. Pilots, there's lawsuits out there, and even our American hero, Sully Sullenberger has spoken out against this. Is there anything that John Pistole, the head of TSA, can actually say today to calm all this outrage?

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I doubt it, Kyra. Here's the problem, you know, having served in the White House myself in the prior administration, when you are trying to catch up to the story, you have lost it. And so, the problem government typically has is they institute these measures after there's been some attempted attack, and the American people sort of think that the government fails the common sense test.

If this was necessary, why weren't you doing it before, and if you're going to do it, why don't you explain to me how this reduces the threat and protects me before you institute it? So here we are. They've instituted the procedures and used the back scatter and now they're trying to catch up to the story and explain it to people after we see the horror story like you just showed.

Here is the thing. There is a real aviation threat. Al Qaeda is obsessed with using airplanes as a means of an attack. They do need to use these measures. The backscatter, the images that we just showed are in a separate room. The same individual standing at the checkpoints aren't the people reviewing those images to see if you're carrying a weapon.

And so they've done what they can with the back scatter to protect your privacy. It's invasive, yes, but, you know what, I think in fairness, while they may not explained it very well, it is not necessary. I just went through airports over the last several days. But patdowns seem to be what irritate people the most. They are very invasive. They do tend to touch private parts, and you know, I think the screeners are equally uncomfortable as the American people who have to endure this.

PHILLIPS: Fran, here's the problem. There is no consistency. I mean, we talked about these invasive patdowns. We got passenger interviews where they claim that, you know, they have gotten hands in the pants, hands up the skirt. I mean I had a pat down a couple weeks ago, nobody felt me up. Maybe I don't know, maybe I should be insulted, but, anyway, there really is no consistency from airport to airport, Fran, and I think that's what's frustrating because people get used to one thing at one airport, and then they go to another airport and wonder why am I being treated differently. Seriously, you cannot go to every single airport and get the exact same protocol. It doesn't exist.

TOWNSEND: Right, and that is a problem, Kyra. That they can address. John Pistole needs to make sure that the training across the TSA, regardless of what airport, whether you are in Atlanta or New York, when we go through, the pat down ought to be exactly the same. Yes, they've got to go between the breasts and underneath, but they shouldn't under any circumstances ever be touching your skin inside as the one man said inside his underpants.

Inappropriate, wrong and does not follow the protocol. And you ought to be able to have some sense of certainty, as you say, so you know, when to complain and when to not tolerate an inappropriate search.

PHILLIPS: All right. We know that - we are all concerned about, a lot of people are concerned about the radiation of these body scanners, but even more so, people are concerned about where these images go, once they go through and they're out there fully exposed. Do we know for sure that those images are erased and gone forever? Do we know that for sure?

TOWNSEND: Well, I hesitate to say we know it for sure. That has been the representation, but, Kyra, again, the president has the power to have a bipartisan privacy and civil liberties boards, with the Republicans and Democrats to look at just these programs and then come out, ensure the American people and Congress that these programs are implemented appropriately.

We are told that those images are not retained. They are not saved and they're reviewed and you moved on to the next scan but I do think there needs to be more transparency and more congressional oversight so the American people can rest assured that those images aren't saved and aren't inappropriately used.

PHILLIPS: Here's what else is interesting. Finally, this new CBS News poll came out saying four out of five Americans actually support the full-body airport scans. So what do you make of that? Does the TSA just need a PR makeover?

TOWNSEND: Well, look, I think people understand, you know, in the wake of 9/11 and the almost 10 years since then, Al Qaeda has continued to target planes. And so nobody wants to worry about it, when they get on and for the most part, I think that's why you see in the CBS poll, most Americans do agree that you have to have these back scatter scans but I do think they need to talk about it and be more transparent. It's more than PR. I really think they need a full- blown education effort to explain to the American people why such an invasive scan is necessary and safe. PHILLIPS: Fran, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

TOWNSEND: Sure.

PHILLIPS: In Washington, it may be a case of political brain freeze. The bipartisan Slurpee summit is on hold. Republican leaders in Congress have postponed tomorrow's scheduled meeting with President Obama. Republicans say they're too busy and have pushed the gathering back until the end of the month.

The Slurpee summit draws its nickname from two sources, the president's peace broker and last year's beer summit, and his campaign trails jabs that the GOP were idly sipping Slurpees while his administration struggled to fix problems.

Now, in Capitol Hill, all eyes on January and the changing balance of power. Today, lawmakers will choose the leaders who will navigate those challenges. One person under the gun, Nancy Pelosi. She loses the speaker's gavel when Republicans assume control of the House and has been fighting to keep a leadership role in the next session. It now appears that she will after beating back a challenge from the more conservative blue dog Democrats.

Bad weather is being blamed for a massive pileup and a series of other crashes in interstate 77, near Danville, Virginia. At least two people are dead, we're being told 16 people hurt. The police say that the trouble started when heavy fog moved into that area early yesterday. This crash has actually forced authorities to temporarily close a portion of the interstate.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano is tracking all the storms for us. So what do you think? Is it going to continue to get worse? Settle down?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, this storm has yet to settle down. It's moving across the northeast. These are live pictures from one of our affiliates in Baltimore. Someone get my ear and tell me which one so I can give them credit. WBAL sending us these shots, and it's just kind of raw as they come in. Obviously, we have been showing video of damage, nighttime video of damage throughout Baltimore all morning long, the northeast part of that city especially.

Winds gusting 50, 60 miles an hour late last night. The storm came in through the night. I wish they would pan out so we could get a better grasp as to what this is but, unfortunately, we're at the will of that particular helicopter pilot and cameraman. Nonetheless, you get an idea of just how potent the storm. There you go. He just zoomed out a little bit. So that's part of a - look at that. That's an apartment complex or town home complex, serious damage there.

No reports of tornadoes officially, but certainly strong, strong straight-line winds at the very most there. They will probably go out there and do a storm survey just to be sure.

All right. Here's the storm itself. Where it is right now, it's pretty much centered over Buffalo, and we are getting some serious winds that are getting into the New York City area as well. The rainfall from this is pretty much done. It's just now rotating out of New England, but the winds behind this are going to be potent. We got wind advisories that are in effect, you can see wind gusts 50 mile an hour today and tonight as well.

Another storm system. This one across the corn belt here. Some of these is some snow across the back side of that, and we've had blizzard conditions across Eastern Colorado and also central Colorado through Silver's Thorn. They have snow. I think we probably add a little bit of this in that snow video. Tough to get around yesterday. I-70 at one point was closed. This looks to be more Baltimore and Washington, D.C. video.

Regardless, peaking of Washington, Washington state has gotten banged around pretty good. Winds gusting late Monday night over 100 miles an hour at some of the mountain passes and they continued to get infiltrated with storm system. It's going to be a stormy week right through the weekend, and then cold air is going to drive down across the western half of the country. It certainly will be going to be very, very interesting.

We do have winter storm warnings that are up for the Cascades, you could see 10 to 20 inches of snowfall, and windy conditions expected there. And your day time highs, you really got to go across the southern corridor of the country to get temperatures that are a little bit more palatable for those who like to go without a jacket. Rain jack for some, and certainly if you are wearing a hat in the northeast, you want to hold onto it because it's going to be gruesome.

PHILLIPS: Hang onto it. Do you consider yourself a sexy man?

MARCIANO: No, no, definitely not.

PHILLIPS: Really?

MARCIANO: Where is this going?

PHILLIPS: How would you describe yourself?

MARCIANO: Very humble, and appreciative of my so far mediocre life-style.

PHILLIPS: Well, "People" magazine has unveiled the sexiest man alive - and the winner? Drum roll please, Rob got honorable mention. Ryan Reynolds, star of "The Proposal" and the upcoming superhero flick, "Green Lantern." Sure, he's married to Scarlet Johanssen. And he has got chiseled abs and a smile that can definitely make women melt but I'm sure a lot of ladies out there think that Rob Marciano got gypped.

MARCIANO: I'm very hurt by that. He's very cute.

PHILLIPS: Here's other men from Team Kyra that I'm offering up for consideration next year, in addition to Rob.

MARCIANO: How do I get roped into this?

PHILLIPS: Always. It gets much better rider/ladies man Ed Perry. And ladies and gentlemen, he is single and looking for love. Then there's associate producer extraordinaire Allen. (INAUDIBLE) use last names. All right. Check out the swagger on Allen. He's got that look.

MARCIANO: He's confident.

PHILLIPS: Then there's our charmer of the group, our writer, Pete. Back off, ladies, though, he's married and has some very adorable children. And then there's our director Scotty. That's a whole other story but you can't deny that handsome face.

MARCIANO: No, no.

PHILLIPS: You should hear when he gets mad in the control room, ladies.

MARCIANO: You have to appreciate the fashion.

PHILLIPS: He's got the sweet side though.

MARCIANO: Of course, he do.

PHILLIPS: All right. "People" Magazine you'll hopefully listen up and nominate my men on my show next year.

MARCIANO: On behalf of all your men, we appreciate the mention.

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Rob.

The dancing is done, and the votes are in, and the people want to see Bristol Palin more and more and more. The story behind the reality show shocker.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Did you see "Dancing with the Stars" last night, you and 19 million of your closest friends. Well, check out what made the crowd gasp at the end of the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can now reveal that the couple with the lowest combined total of judge's scores and viewers' votes is - Brandy and Max. Which means Kyle and Lacie -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Jake picked Vienna, John dumped Kate, Susan Boyle sang like an angel. There has been plenty of reality show shockers, but Bristol Palin winning "Dancing with the Stars" would top them all. "Showbiz Tonight" host, A.J. Hammer, joins me with that. So A.J., what's the inside scoop? A.J. HAMMER, HOST "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, that Bristol has proven naysayers wrong, Kyra. This is really a gigantic dancing shocker last night. You saw American voted. Brandy's out, Bristol in and on her way to the "Dancing with the Stars" finals that will happen next week.

Last night's week nine elimination episode of that show brought those audible gasps and boos that you heard from the audience when frontrunner Brandy was sent packing. "Showbiz Tonight" was right there, backstage after the show and Bristol told us she is just as stunned as anyone that she is still in the running.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRISTOL PALIN, "DANCING WITH THE STARS" CONTESTANT: I'm blessed to still be around in the competition. I never thought I'd make it this far. I'm just thrilled to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Well, Palin faces off against Jennifer Grey and Kyle Massey next Monday in the final. But, Kyra, wow, a lot of people right from the start were saying, even if they liked Bristol, she's not going to make it far, and here she is going into the finals.

PHILLIPS: Yes, interesting to see what happens next, too.

I'm going to switch gears a little bit to another story. It's got Hollywood talking and as you know, it's the murder of this well known publicist. What can you tell us about what happened?

HAMMER: Yes, Kyra, this is just one of those stories that has everybody in Hollywood in simple disbelief today. Longtime Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was gunned down on Sunset Boulevard on Beverly Hills, it happened early Tuesday, just minutes after she left a star- studded party celebrating the premiere for the new movie "Burlesque."

Now police say Chasen died after multiple shots were fired into her Mercedes seconds after she drove past the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard on the way home. Chasen was a very well known fixture on the red carpet. She was always standing there with her A list clients. Everyone in Hollywood just blind-sided by the news. Take a look at some of the stunned reaction "Showbiz Tonight" has been getting to the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very tragic. I have stunned by that.

CHRIS MCDONALD, ACTOR: She loved actors, that's for sure. That was one great thing about her. You kind of loved the buzz and the craziness of this nutty business that we're in.

DANNY ELFMAN, COMPOSER: It's full of life, and really energetic and great. You know, it's one of those things I still haven't quite adjusted to. That really happened here last night? It just seems impossible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: And authorities don't really seem to know what happened. As of now, police are calling it an open investigation. They have no suspects or any motive for the attacks. So Kyra, really just a shocking and very, very sad story in Hollywood.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow the investigation. A.J. Hammer, thanks so much.

And if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. has got it for you every night "Showbiz Tonight" 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on HLN.

The party may be over for folks who like caffeine mixed with their alcohol. A government crackdown on the dangerous drinks could come today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, last call for caffeinated alcohol in a can. The Food and Drug Administration could effectively ban the drinks as early as today. Critics say four Loko and others pack the combined punch of three cups of coffee and almost a six pack of beer. Doctors say its a dangerous mix.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen join us now to talk about these drinks. What's the deal?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Here's the deal. These have a ton of alcohol and a ton of caffeine in them, and college kids have been getting so drunk on them when that when they show up at the hospital, sometimes the officials there think they have been drugged. I mean, that's how drunk they're getting. So the FDA is expected today to say, forget it, get them off the market. Because the problem is that the caffeine keeps you awake enough to keep drinking.

PHILLIPS: To keep going.

COHEN: You don't get the headache you get when you drank. The caffeine sort of allows you to keep going. And there is this blog where kids or I guess anyone can go on line and say sort of what happened to them when they drank Four Loko. So these are, we can't - you know, we're not sure who these people are or whatever but it's interesting the kinds of things that they say.

They say that Four Loko caused me to jump out of a two-story window and grind strawberry cake into the hardwood floor of a friend's home.

PHILLIPS: OK. That's very kind of odd.

COHEN: (INAUDIBLE) as a parent.

PHILLIPS: Exactly.

COHEN: "Deep into a blacked out state, I began running through campus in my underwear making death threats to anyone around me." Here's another one on this blog. "I tried to light a cigarette on a gas stove but instead I lit my hair on fire. Then cried because I thought everyone was making fun of me.

This is fourlokostories.com, and there are definitely reports of kids driving places and not knowing where they are and showing up at these hospitals extremely drunk.

PHILLIPS: Now, one manufacturer is already making changes, right?

COHEN: Right. Four Loko yesterday afternoon said we're going to take the caffeine and other stimulants out of these drinks. I guess, they were in some way some would say try to take, you know, sort of take the punch out of the FDA, out of what they were about to do.

PHILLIPS: Right.

COHEN: But they said in their statement, you know, look, people have been drinking Irish coffees, rum and Cokes. You know, this is sort of part of a tradition of mixing alcohol and caffeine.

PHILLIPS: But even if you take the caffeine out, this isn't like drinking a beer?

COHEN: No, it's not like drinking a beer for two reasons. One, take a look at the size of these things. These are huge. Secondly, these are like fruit punch flavors and watermelon and whatnot, so you might not even realize how much alcohol you are drinking.

And thirdly and most importantly, these are 12 percent alcohol by volume. 12 percent. A beer is usually something around five. So that's a huge difference. There's just a ton of alcohol in these things. So even without the caffeine, you can still get incredibly drunk on them.

PHILLIPS: Wow. All right. Well, I mean, I guess as a parent - parents are probably, they're the ones that will be glad these changes are being made because kids - I mean, if you look at it, too, it's like - I'm drinking, just looking at it and holding it, it is like you're having a soda pop.

COHEN: It says juice. It's called juice.

PHILLIPS: Right.

COHEN: Exactly. That's how it feels and that's how it tastes, I imagine.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: OK. Thanks. PHILLIPS: Well, T minus eight days until Thanksgiving. The holiday feast going to eat more out of your pocket this year. The bird is going to cost more. Potatoes are going to cost more. You might be surprised at what's about 40 percent more expensive than last year. We'll tell you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's talk dollars and deals, shall we? Thanksgiving just around the corner, and it's going to cost you more for your turkey day dinner this year than ever before but there are expected to be a lot of black Friday deals as you kick off your holiday shopping. That's good news.

Stephanie Elam is working that for us. So Steph, for people who will be buying their turkey this weekend, what are you advising?

(LAUGHTER)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That you go shopping now? I don't know.

PHILLIPS: Maybe not have turkey?

ELAM: Yes. I was going to say for some people out there, it is all about the centerpiece about the turkey. Well, that is really going to be the big bulk of the expense this year. It's actually going up. Actually, according to some of the numbers we see out there, turkey prices are up nearly 33 percent. So, you are looking at paying about $1.05 more a pound for your turkey. This is coming to us from The Food Institute.

Take a look at this. Potatoes up 17 percent, canned pumpkin up 6.5 percent, pecans up 41 percent. And something that's really important to me as far as what I cook for Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes are up nearly 23 percent, Kyra. So, it's a lot more expensive this year. That's for sure.

PHILLIPS: Why are the prices so much higher this year?

ELAM: There's a few reasons. In the case of the pecans, it's because of increased demand in China. But if you take a look at turkeys, it's really kind of interesting. They're saying the cost of feeding the bird -- they eat a lot of corn, and we all know about all the other things corn is being used for. That is up about 56 percent this year to feed the turkeys. And then on top of it, there are less turkeys to be purchased, so there's that whole demand issue. And so, therefore because there are only 242 million turkeys to be purchased for this Thanksgiving, there's a bit of shortage. That adds to the price.

And then, I don't know if you remember this, but last year there was a huge deal with pumpkins. There was just a shortage. There wasn't enough out there, so people were, like, hoarding up on canned pumpkins just so that they could make all of their things for Thanksgiving. Well, that's still part of the issue this year for pumpkins.

PHILLIPS: Well, if folks are cutting back on turkey, well, maybe they'll splurge on the Black Friday deals and help boost the economy?

ELAM: Right. Maybe after they get over the food comas, they can head out to a store and Thanksgiving, because guess what? Some of the stores are actually opening up on Thanksgiving this year because midnight is just not early enough. Stores like Toys'R'Us, Sears, Wal- Mart, I believe, is opening up at midnight this year.

But you know, Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, is seen as the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season. That's when people start going gangbusters and finding their deals. Retailers really want to take advantage of that this year. They've had a rough couple of years.

Americans are feeling a little bit better now. They're still being tight with how they spend, so they're going to the discounters first. So, Wal-Mart has made it veryclear. They are trying to get as much money away from consumers this year, and that means other retailers are following suit as well.

So, the National Retail Federation says that for 2010, the actually see holiday sales up 2.3 percent. And that will put it at $447 billion that we will be parting with for all of the holiday shopping going on. That's much better than the 0.4 percent increase the year before, and the year before that, we saw a drop of 3.9 percent.

So, you think about the fact that Wal-Mart has all those free online shipping for no minimum purchase, for 60,000 items on their Web site. They are really trying to get your dollars, Kyra. So maybe, just maybe, some people are going to try to work off all of that dinner and then go to the mall at midnight or 10:00 p.m. on thanksgiving.

PHILLIPS: Got to have your turkey, got to shop. End of story. Thanks, Steph.

ELAM: Right! That's the American way.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Exactly! Be a true American. Thanks, Stephanie.

10:30 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:30 out west. Here are some of the stories we are talking about this morning.

A Russian man known as the Merchant of Death is supposed to face a judge in New York today. Viktor Bout is an arms trafficking suspect facing terrorism charges. He's a former Soviet military officer accused of arming failed states and insurgents since the 90s. Bout was extradited from Bangkok yesterday in spite of a last-minute push for his release by Russian diplomats.

Dick Cheney looking thin and using a cane at the groundbreaking for the George W. Bush Presidential Center. He says he lost the weight during his last hospitalization. But he still made the crowd chuckle, poking fun at the Obama administration. He called the library groundbreaking, quote, "the only shovel-ready project in America."

The Republicans' big midterm victories mean Nancy pelosi will no longer be the speaker of the House in January. But she hopes to remain a leader of her party. Today lawmakers are electing leaders for the next session, and Pelosi's expected to beat back a challenge to unseat her.

Sarah Palin tips her hand about a potential run for the White House in 2012. Find out more right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Time to check in our latest political ticker. Dana Bash is joining us from Capitol Hill. Dana, what do you have for us?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have the leadership elections for Republicans and Democrats in the House today. And if you see behind me, a lot of people. That's because the Democrats, it's underway as we speak.

The first order of business that's going to go on behind closed doors is whether or not to delay these elections. Some House Democrats say they should take a little bit more time after the shellacking the Democrats got and wait and see whether or not it is appropriate to put forward Nancy Pelosi as what will be the House minority leader. That's not expected to happen. These are expected to go forward.

But we are expected to see a challenge from Heath Shuler, the Democrat from North Carolina in these elections. Again, he is saying that he is going to make clear on behalf of conservatives that Nancy Pelosi from their perspective is not the right person for this job, but he doesn't believe he has the votes to do it.

Second item on the ticker, "don't ask, don't tell." The repeal is on the long, long list of items for this lame duck session. Not many people think it has a chance of getting through the Senate, but the Senate Armed Services chairman says he is going to try a couple of tricks up his sleeve to try to get it done.

And last item on the agenda is Sarah Palin. Will she or won't she? Kyra, it's the question everybody keeps asking. She has sort of given some hints, but I think probably the biggest hint she has given so far was in "The New York Times Magazine" that's going to come out this weekend. She said she is thinking about it. She's had discussions with her family, with her advisers. Probably not a big surprise given what we have seen her do recently, but it is the most definitive she has been about the fact that she has that toe out almost in the water. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Dana Bash, thanks. Put that toe out, just barely. Next political update in an hour. And a reminder, you can get all of the political news on our Web site, of course, 24/7 at CNNpolitics.com.

After you hear this story, you might want to get your dog microchiped ASAP. A dog that survive the war zone in Afghanistan could not even survive animal control in Arizona. Target was a pregnant, abused stray that helped save dozens of soldiers earlier this year from a suicide bomber. She attacked him. Her reward? A loving home with one of the most grateful soldiers, Sergeant Terry Young and his family. But Target got loose somehow, ended up at the shelter and was put to sleep by mistake. This was a dog that Afghans abused and tried to kill. Americans finished the job, thanks to some bungled procedures.

A little bit more on that story now from Joel Waldman of CNN affiliate KGUN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOEL WALDMAN, KGUN-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The eerie sound of caged dogs barking and howling fill the air at Panal Animal Care Control just one day after news of a tragic accident here. Two-year- old Target was mistakenly put to sleep, but there's no mistaking Target. Just ask her owner, National Guard Sergeant Terry Young.

STAFF SGT. TERRY YOUNG, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: So, you go through such an intense experience with somebody, albeit a dog. You just grow a very, very strong bond.

WALDMAN: Target along with friends Rufus and Sasha attacked a suicide bomber in Afghanistan back in February, saving 50 soldiers, earning Target a home back here in Arizona and even an appearance on "Oprah." But no one ever expected her to survive war only to die here because of a lapse in procedure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's an error that cannot be undone. The employee who made the mistake was on leave during the investigation. The shelter director says she's heartsick. No one is more heartsick than Sergeant Terry Young and his family. He's with us via Skype to talk with us. And in just a second, we are also going to talk about shelters in general with Betsy McFarland. She's with The Humane Society of the U.S.

Terry, let's start with you. Tell us how Target got out.

YOUNG: We have a backyard with a fence the whole way around it, and there's a fire gate that goes out to the front of the house, which is what we use when we take the trash bins out to the curb. Basically, when I noticed that she hadn't eaten her food we put out for Friday morning for breakfast, it kind of triggered something. I was wondering where she was at.

So, I looked around the house, looked at her usual sleeping spot. So, I looked in the backyard, and I looked in the backyard and at that point, when I came out to part of the house where the gate was, the gate somehow was completely just wide open. And at that point, you know, the worst came to mind.

PHILLIPS: Hey, Terry, I'm going to ask you to lean forward just a little bit because we're having trouble with your audio. Can you come a little closer?

Good, great. Thank you so much. Skype is always so tricky. Thanks, Terry.

All right. So, she got out in the back. Now, I saw in the video that she had a collar on. Did she have a microchip, and did you ever consider a microchip?

YOUNG: No, she did not have a microchip, and, actually, yes. Unfortunately my wife and I had discussed several times about going in and having a microchip. It's just as soon as she got to the U.S., it was just a whirlwind of media. We were traveling to New York and Chicago, and it's one of those lapses in judgment where, unfortunately, you're putting it off, and so things started to settle down, and then we were going to have it done. And, you know, unfortunately -- I wish I could go back in time and do that.

But, you know, on the other hand, you know, people have asked me about that, and I keep telling them, the microchip is good and all, but say for some reason the shelter wouldn't have been able to get ahold of it even if she was microchiped, you know, it wouldn't have mattered. Because that particular officer, for whatever reason -- well, I know why. The fact that she called Target a bag of bones, kind of gave me the indication that she targeted Target -- no pun intended -- because she did not look like a completely healthy dog. But considering her diet was kind of still kind of adjusting to actual dog food and not the scraps from soldiers there in Afghanistan, she was a little bit thin.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. Well, let me ask Betsy about that. Betsy, 7 million dogs are euthanized every year. Why is that number so high? And you heard what Terry said. Sometimes shelters get so overwhelmed. If they see a dog that looks unhealthy and doesn't look like it has a home, they just go ahead euthanize it, even if it has a collar?

BETSY MCFARLAND, HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE U.S.: Actually, in the United State, between 6 million and 8 million dog and cats enter shelters every year, and approximately half are euthanized. So, about 4 million. Those numbers have continually, steadily declined over the last several decades. But clearly, we still as a society have a long way to go to prevent and the need for euthanasia.

Typically, animal shelters do have standard holding periods to allow a family to come and find their animal that in this case with Target, for example, accidentally escaped from a yard. Of course, an animal shelter's goal is to be a safe haven. Obviously, that went tragically wrong in this case, and a serious mistake was made.

But it is illustrative of a larger problem in that so many animals still enter shelters in this country. And either if they're not wearing identifications or tags, it can be challenging to reunite them with their families. But also, the majority of these pets are loving, wonderful family pets. If more people would choose to go to the shelter and adopt, we would not be euthanizing that many animals in this country.

PHILLIPS: So, what can pet owners do though, to prevent something like this? Unfortunately, it is not the first time we heard about it. And it's heartbreaking, especially when you hear about a dog that saved 50 soldiers from a suicide bomber.

MCFARLAND: Absolutely. In this case, it is clearly a tragic error and should not have happened. But pet owners can certainly take measures to prevent their animal from ending up in the shelter to begin with. First and foremost, it is important to put a collar and identification tag on your pet. It's a quick, easy-to-see way to reunite your pet and ideally keep them out of the shelter to begin with. If someone finds your pet, and they are wearing a collar and tag, they can bring them right to you instead of making that trip to ---

PHILLIPS: Well, that obviously - yes, and that didn't happen in this shelter. They obviously made a grave mistake.

And Terry, before we let you go, it's such an incredible story about -- how did Target know that this suicide bomber was a threat to all of you guys, and how did she know to go after him? Was it instinct?

YOUNG: It had to have been. That's the only explanation that any of us over there could kind of grasp. She just had that sixth sense that this man was about to do something very evil to everybody inside that building. And, you know, the three dogs, Target, Rufus and Sasha all went after this individual. Thank God they did. Thank God we befriended them and adopted them as our friends and mascots while we were on that Afghan compound, or I guarantee a lot of people wouldn't be here today.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's heartbreaking. We sure hope that that shelter there where you live there in Tucson takes -- owns up to what happened and doesn't do it again. Terry Young, Betsy McFarland, thank you both for your time today.

We'll be back in just a moment.

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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, and we call it "Home and Away." Today, we are lifting up Private First Class Andrew Martin Ward from Kirkland, Washington. He was killed when his unit was attacked by enemy forces in Ramadi, Iraq December 2004.

And his brother wrote us and sent in these pictures. Walter Ward says his older brother was truly a special individual. He loved his family, was intelligent and was very adventurous. He had something set in his mind, well, he would do it. Walter tells us the last moments of Andrew's life are documented in a book entitled "New Dawn: The Battle for Fallujah" by Richard Lowry. Walter adds that all of our troops have a story to be heard, major battle or no.

Well, if you have a loved one you would 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, your pictures, and we'll keep the memory of your loved one alive.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": OK, I tell you something. This is no surprise, but as an American, I don't care for the British. Frankly, I wish they would shut their steak-and-kidney pie holes. But evidently, those toffee-nosed pudding-faced crumpet suckers still make news. What is it this time, Jim?

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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 speculation, the royal family says that Prince William popped the question to his longtime love, Kate Middleton.

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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: Well, Colbert may not be excited but there is all kind of excitement surrounding Prince William's engagement. And people are already speculating on the specifics.

If you think you have a hunch on any of the details, you may be able to make a quick buck. Ireland's biggest bookmaker is allowing people to place bets on the royal event. You can bet on almost anything, like the date of the royal wedding. August 13th, 2011, that seems to be a 3-1 favorite. Where will it be held? Westminster Abbey, that's a big favorite. And how many Brits are going to watch? More than 36 million is the best guess right now. Ahe color of queen's hat? Pink, a 9-2 favorite.

Remember the Snow White tune "some day my prince will come"? It's been a theme song for one princess in waiting. For several years, Kate Middleton has been dating Britain's Prince William.

And CNN's Jeanne Moos has the story.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Talk about a royal hot flash. For the prince and the commoner, the long wait was over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The British papers have been calling her Waity Katie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Waity Katie.

TINA BROWN, "THE DAILY BEAST": Her nickname is Waity Katie because she spent so long waiting for him to propose.

MOOS: And how long have then known each other?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've been on-again, off-again -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eight years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have been a couple on and off again for nine years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They knew each other for ten years.

MOOS: Let's let the happy couple answer.

KATE MIDDLETON, PRINCE WILLIAM'S FIANCEE: I guess -- how many years?

PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES: A long time. Three, four.

MOOS: In the obligatory post engagement interview, he modestly looked down -

PRINCE WILLIAM: -- to share my romantic side.

MOOS: and bit his lip. She smiled and looked poised. The prince made a few funny faces, and the only public display of affection was when he patted her. They did well. No gaffes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You both look incredibly happy and relaxed.

PRINCE WILLIAM: We are. We are. We are sort of like ducks, sort of very calm on the surface but little feet going under the water.

MOOS: He talked about the engagement ring, the same sapphire his father gave Diana.

PRINCE WILLIAM: It was my way of making sure my mother didn't miss out.

MOOS: The news of the engagement was so sudden, networks were left scrambling.

MEREDITH VIERA, NBC'S "TODAY SHOW" CO-HOST: Jim, what else can you tell us?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm not exactly sure what you have already said. This has been a real rush --

MOOS: CBs tried to interview the prime minister.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, good morning to you. Are you able to hear? Oh, he is speaking to the public there, and so we are able to listen in. Unfortunately, we are not able to listen in.

MOOS: And his f word was the word of the day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finally. That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finally, finally, Prince William has seen the light.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally engaged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finally.

MOOS: But the prince laughed off their long relationship.

PRINCE WILLIAM: Well, it's a long time ago now, Tom. I've had to rack my brain.

MOOS: And even those who parodied Kate Middleton's wait.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Oh, when will he marry me? I'm in bloody purgatory --

MOOS: Offered congratulations. What's eight or nine years when --

PRINCE WILLIAM: We are looking forward to spending the rest of our times and lives together.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): His crown jewels are in my grasp -

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Oh. True love, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I love it! And you know, and I wasn't a big fan of the story yesterday. I just figured it was --

PHILLIPS: You got caught up in the hype, didn't you? HARRIS: Then I got caught up! As the day wore on, I was all into it!

PHILLIPS: You'll be talking about it more for the next two hours, from now until next spring or summer.

HARRIS: Hello! You have a great day, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Tony.