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TSA Defends Pat-Downs, Revealing Scans; Cars of the Future Today; Nancy Pelosi Elected Minority Leader

Aired November 17, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, I'm Ali Velshi, with you for the next hour. Here's what I've got "On the Rundown."

Baltimore battered by storms. Roofs ripped off homes. Thousands of people left without power.

Plus, we're headed to the L.A. Auto Show for a look at the hottest new cars on the planet. It's a good year for cars. There's a lot out there.

And we'll catch up with a veteran chef on a rare mission to grill steaks for thousands of U.S. troops. It is a smokin' hot "Mission Possible."

But we begin with a revealing controversy, in every sense of the word.

As Americans prepare for the busiest air travel time of the year, the folks in charge of keeping flyers safe are defending their procedures against a noisy and indignant backlash. Everybody wants to be safe, but it's pretty clear we all have our own private boundaries for scanning, screening and touching or being touched.

You've seen this viral video from San Diego. It's a pat-down that quickly became a standoff.

Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also, we're going to be doing a groin check. That means I'm going to place my hand on your hip, the other hand on your inner thigh, slowly go up and slide down.

JOHN TYNER, PASSENGER: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to do that two times in the front and two times in the back.

TYNER: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if you'd like a private screening, we can make that available for you also.

TYNER: We can do that out here, but if you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, we are going to have a supervisor here because of your statement.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

VELSHI: Now, that would be the passenger who walked out on the search. For that, he faces a possible $11,000 fine.

I asked about that, because I see the signs there that say, "If you don't want to be searched, you're welcome to leave." Well, apparently, not after the search process has begun.

We're now hearing though it's not likely he'll be charged. In any case, most flyers skip or are spared the hands-on approach in favor of machines. If you fly out of any of the airports on this map -- and there are a lot of them -- you could go through advanced imaging that raises its own set of concerns, privacy concerns, not to mention health concerns having to do with radiation.

Already, we are seeing lawsuits against Homeland Security and the TSA. And then there is this opt-out campaign urging folks to protest so-called "virtual strip searches" by not flying at all over Thanksgiving, or insisting on the pat-downs because they take longer and could tie up lines. Some people are insisting the pat-downs take place not in private, as you're entitled to, but in public, so that others can see how intrusive it actually is.

Through it all, most of us claim to be just fine with body scans, though. Look at this. A recent CBS poll shows 81 percent of Americans believe airports should use the state-of-the-art technology. Only 15 percent disagree.

But most of this debate is not around that state-of-the-art technology. Some of it's about the pat-downs, how these TSA screeners have to touch you to find out.

And just for context, remember that that Christmas Day bomber, the attempted bombing on the plane that landed in Detroit, the attempted bomber, the alleged bomber, had the explosive in his groin. Now, for the second day in a row, the head of the Transportation Security Administration is facing lawmakers who seem genuinely sympathetic to his position, which you could describe as damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Our Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve tells us more about that -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ali, John Pistole was in front of Congress for the second day in a row. For the second day in a row, he said, "Are you asking me if I'm going to change my policy? No, I am not."

But several members expressed their discomfort with the current screening procedures. Here's a sample.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. GEORGE LEMIEUX (R), COMMERCE COMMITTEE: I'm frankly bothered by the level of these pat-downs. I've seen them firsthand in airports in Florida. I wouldn't want my wife to be touched in the way that these folks are being touched. I wouldn't want to be touched that way.

I also understand that you would like to do everything to keep American people safe, but there are limits. There has to be a balance here.

What can we do to right this balance? I think we've gone too far afield.

JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: We know that there are additional things that we could be doing to detect things, and we know, based on pat-downs and AIT, we have detected dozens and dozens, say, artfully concealed objects that could pose a risk to aviation. So, for me, it comes down to that balance, as you say, and the fact that everybody wants to be secure on that flight knowing that you've been screened, I've been screened, everybody has been screened properly, and we have a high level of confidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Pistole noted that there have been a number of reports that said that the old pat-down procedure wasn't good enough. It wasn't finding concealed threat objects. That's why they made this change.

He did say, by the way, that he, Secretary Napolitano and other top officials within the Department of Homeland Security had undergone this pat-down. Yes, he said, it's invasive, but he argues that it's necessary to keep aviation safe -- Ali.

VELSHI: Did they comment on this movement to get people to either avoid flying on Thanksgiving Day or slow the process down by demanding pat-downs, as opposed to going through the enhanced security measures?

MESERVE: What Pistole and other officials keep underlining is we need the public's cooperation. We are here to try and keep you safe when you fly. Please cooperate with us. Do what we ask you to do.

Nobody really knows how big this opt-out movement is. The organizers say the numbers are growing. There certainly has been a lot of traffic on the Internet, indicating a lot of people are very unhappy with the procedures.

But just how many people are going to act on that unhappiness and choose either not to fly, or to opt out of those machines, we really aren't going to have a sense of that until next Wednesday, which is a very busy travel day and the day they're calling for this opt-out.

VELSHI: Yes. I would be curious to see how many who may have legitimate concerns about this are more interested in getting to their destination and making it on to their plane, than making a point. But we'll see.

Thanks, Jeanne.

Jeanne Meserve.

We'll stay on this story. It's not going away.

New concerns over cargo have prompted some new precautions and could spell a quick end to passenger wi-fi on airliners. That's by no means certain. It doesn't make me happy. But some experts fear airborne wi-fi could help terrorists detonate bombs.

My next guest is an expert who almost took the reins of the TSA. Erroll Southers withdrew his nomination in January after months in partisan limbo. He's now the associate director of the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events. He's an adjunct professor of homeland security and public policy at USC. He joins me from Los Angeles.

Erroll, I guess it doesn't take a lot of forethought to imagine that now if you've got passengers on a plane who are connected to the Internet, there is a whole new world open to them if they are people who want to do harm.

ERROLL SOUTHERS, TERRORISM EXPERT: That's true, Ali. And wi-fi is certainly another option.

Unfortunately, for every convenience and amenity that's afforded to travelers, there's going to be someone out there that's going to try to exploit it, whether they're trying to obtain that connectivity for free, or whether they're trying to obtain that connectivity for some nefarious purpose.

So, it does present a concern, but certainly this is nothing new as a vulnerability. And I know it's being studied. It was voiced as a concern by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Department of Transportation in 2005.

It's been around for about five years. It's being looked at. It is being taken seriously, but I don't think we should overreact.

VELSHI: OK. I mean, clearly, this couldn't have happened, they couldn't have authorized wi-fi on planes and a growing number of planes without some good discussion about this. So, clearly, smart people have talked about this and said we didn't really think -- we think the benefit outweighs the risks. And then we had this recent bombing attempt with these bombs that came out of Yemen, and there's some discussion that they might have had cell phone components that could have been detonated remotely in some way.

Does that up the ante on this discussion?

SOUTHERS: Well, Ali, you're actually very correct. There was a due diligence here. They have looked at this.

We're in the risk management business when it comes to counterterrorism.

VELSHI: Right.

SOUTHERS: And the American public has to understand that there is no way we can completely eliminate the risk. So, there is a risk always of things happening, although it is probably one of the safest forms of transportations in the world.

So, as we move forward, what's important here is not the device and not how a bomb could be detonated, but the human factor. We have to get better at finding a bomber instead of the bomb. And people should be able to get on board, not have that concern.

When we get a person to the airport, there are certain things you can control. You can control the knowledge of what's going to happen to you at the airport and how better to get through that process, and not be concerned with someone being on board with a bomb. Be part of the system and part of the solution.

VELSHI: But if you want to talk about controlling the human element, doesn't that lend itself more toward greater human action between TSA screeners and you, the passenger, versus less depending more on technology?

SOUTHERS: Actually, Ali, I think it lends itself to greater diligence and effort by the intelligence community. We want to find those people that might be prone to disrupt the system, attack the system. We want to find people that are plotting and people that are planning on building bombs.

We don't want to finds a device at the x-ray machine at the airport. We want to find people and thwart plots before they even get to these locations.

So, the onus here actually comes on the intelligence community in collecting raw intelligence, analyzing it. As the new slogan and a new initiative for "See Something, Say Something" rolls out, the American public must become part of the system in helping us thwart these plots.

VELSHI: Erroll, good to talk to you again. Thanks very much for being with us and so clearly explaining to us the importance of the new security techniques that we're seeing put into place.

Erroll Southers is a terrorism expert joining us from Los Angeles.

The cars of the future are here. We are taking you live to the L.A. Auto Show after this break. I'm telling you -- I'm a car guy -- it's a good year for cars. You're going to be fascinated by what's out there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Well, some experts say that electric cars will make up 10 percent of all cars sold by 2020. That might seem like a lot to you, it might seem like not enough. But some of the hottest electric and hybrid cars of the future are on display today at the L.A. Auto Show.

Joining us right now from Los Angeles is Ted Rowlands.

And Ted, I have to say, the auto shows have gone through a few years where things just weren't very exciting, attendance was down. People weren't buying the cars, so they weren't making them the same way. It seems like the excitement is back.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. We were here two years ago. It was like a morgue. Excitement is definitely back. And as you said, a lot of the attention is on the hybrids, the different types of alternative energy vehicles.

The Volt from Chevy getting a lot of attention, as you can imagine. They're rolling that off the production line in the coming weeks and they're starting to deliver it. Chevy has a lot riding on the Volt.

Twenty-five to 60 miles on a charge. A gas generator kicks in from there afterwards. Forty thousand dollars is the sticker price.

But it's not just Chevy, it's not just the low-end cars that are getting into it, and manufacturers. Check this one out here. This was just unveiled about 45 minutes ago by Mercedes.

It is the B Class F-Cell. We're going to hear a little bit more about that in just a bit.

Basically, this is a hydrogen fuel cell, but it's unbelievable, some of the concept cars out there, Ali. Check this one out. This one also unveiled here at the auto show in Los Angeles by Jaguar.

It's the CX-75. And you know concept cars, sometimes they make it to production, sometimes they don't. But this is a doozy.

It's basically powered by microturbines. They have two -- the turbines power two generators. Top speed of this Jaguar, if it actually comes to fruition, 205 miles per hour.

We're going to talk right now to Steve Cannon from Mercedes-Benz. We're going to do, though, the interview in the back of pretty much one of the most luxurious luxury cars out there.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: It's like a studio in the back there.

ROWLANDS: Unbelievable. A studio indeed.

First, quickly talk about fuel cells and the idea that each company has sort of a vision for the future, but we haven't ironed it out yet as a country.

STEVE CANNON, VICE PRESIDENT, MERCEDES-BENZ USA: So you can see, we're sitting in an ultra-luxury sedan and we're talking about fuel cell cars and zero emission. So that just kind of shows you the breadth and depth of what Mercedes-Benz is all about.

So, starting with fuel cells, it's one technology, a hydrogen electric vehicle, a small series production that we're just starting with this year. It's going to go into it next year.

So it's powered by hydrogen, but it has zero emissions. And the beauty of that is you've got the range that you have can't get with a pure electric, and you've got the recharge capability. I mean, you refill the hydrogen tanks --

ROWLANDS: Which you also need, obviously, infrastructure to do, which there is some of it in southern California. Bottom line, though, fuel efficiency is going in many directions. It's going to be years before it's ironed out.

Quickly tell me about this doozy.

CANNON: This is the fastest ultra luxury sedan on the planet. This is literally a private jet on wheels.

So this is the Maybach 62. It comes in two versions, 62 and 57. As you can see, it's got fully reclining seats, kind of every amenity that a driver -- and, in most cases, they're going to driven in this car. The 57 --

ROWLANDS: I would hope so.

CANNON: So it's for a chauffeur. You have got as much privacy as you want, and as much luxury and amenities as you want. So, for example -- go ahead.

ROWLANDS: Well, I'm getting the wrap because we have to pay some bills so that Ali can afford one of these someday.

Five hundred grand, Ali, if you want one of these babies for somebody to drive you to work.

VELSHI: Yes, you're right, I would like to hear more. But if I plan to get paid and ever get close as you are to one of those, we're going to have to take a commercial break.

Enjoy yourself, Ted.

Auto shows are possibly one of the best assignments we reporters ever get.

Good to see you.

ROWLANDS: Absolutely. It's a blast.

VELSHI: Ted Rowlands at the L.A. Auto Show.

They are deep thinkers, they know their numbers, and scientists hope to hear a lot from them. We'll tell you what smart animal we're talking about coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: OK. Some breaking news.

Susan Candiotti has been following the latest on a Russian arms dealer extradited to the United States, in U.S. custody, brought before a court, asked to enter a plea.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not guilty. It's to no one's surprise, of course. And it was entered on his behalf by a lawyer that had been appointed for him by the U.S. government.

VELSHI: Do you know this guy's name? Viktor Bout?

CANDIOTTI: Viktor Bout.

VELSHI: I really didn't know much about him before this.

CANDIOTTI: Well, you know, he's been around for years and years. If you follow these things, he's been written about a lot, called the "Merchant of Death," et cetera, et cetera, accused of being an international arms dealer. And in this case, to sell arms that he thought was going to be used to bring down U.S. helicopters and kill U.S. civilians working in Colombia against the FARC rebels there.

But in any case, what's interesting about this hearing is that it only lasted 10 minutes, but it was interaction between him and the judge. And he stood up, used a translator, even though he speaks six languages.

And the judge asked him about his financial statement to see whether he could afford his own lawyer. And she says, "It looks like you didn't provide me much information. Are you employed?"

And he just wrote -- he's been in custody since 2008 -- "True, in Thailand." "Any assets?" He says, "Not in the U.S."

"Cash?" "No." "Income?" "No."

So, obviously, we'll be finding out more about all of this in the days and weeks and months to come.

VELSHI: He has a lawyer, though?

CANDIOTTI: Assigned to him, a federal public defender, yes.

VELSHI: OK. This is going to be an interesting story. Russia wants him back?

CANDIOTTI: Yes, they do.

VELSHI: Russia doesn't think that this was a fair extradition.

CANDIOTTI: It doesn't look like -- it looks like he's going to stand trial no matter what Russia says. VELSHI: All right. Well, if you haven't heard about Viktor Bout, you're going to hear a lot more about him.

Susan, thanks so much.

Susan Candiotti with that breaking news.

Viktor Bout has claimed that he is not guilty of the charges being brought against him.

When you think about smart animals, lemurs might not be the first creatures that come to mind. But our Randi Kaye shows us that scientists are learning a lot from these little Madagascar natives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first thing you notice about lemurs are their eyes. They are big and wide and full of curiosity.

(on camera): There you go. You are just the sweetest little thing. What are you thinking? That's what we're here to find out. What's going on in that little brain of yours, huh?

(voice-over): That's what scientists at Duke University's Lemur Center are trying to figure out. And so far they are pretty impressed. They say lemurs are deep thinkers who understand numbers and sequencing, even abstract thinking.

(on camera): Here at Duke, they have the largest captive collection of lemurs in the world. Lemurs have actually received a lot less attention than apes and monkeys when it comes to researching how they think, but the folks here at the Duke Lemur Center are looking into how lemurs think because they believe that they can offer some insight into how our primate ancestors actually thought about 75 million years ago.

Isn't that right?

(voice-over): Duke University professor Elizabeth Brannon heads up the Lemur research here.

PROF. ELIZABETH BRANNON, DUKE UNIVERSITY: Hey, Pedro. Thanks for helping out today.

KAYE: She says lemurs are so sophisticated when it comes to numbers, they rival monkeys. And like human babies, lemurs understand numbers without actually understanding language.

We got to see for ourselves how smart lemurs are. My jaw dropped as I watched these primates from Madagascar take tests on a computer.

This lemur has learned to recognize which square has more red dots. He uses his nose. And if he picks the right one, which he mostly does, a sugar pellet drops down. Lemurs love sweets. BRANNON: We're asking, can the lemur learn an abstract rule about numbers? Can the lemur learn that he always has a choose the smaller number or the larger number and apply this to pictures that he's had no training on?

KAYE: In this next test, the lemur has to work from memory. Before the computer test, the lemur was shown seven pictures, but he never saw all the pictures together. Scientists want to know if he can remember which pictures came first in the sequence when he's shown just two of those pictures on the computer screen in no particular order.

Can lemurs think abstractly and infer things they hadn't been taught directly?

BRANNON: We're teaching him that one picture, picture A, comes before picture B. And that Picture B comes before picture C. And we want to know whether he can figure out the relationship between pictures A and C.

KAYE: Professor Brannon says this lemur successfully memorized the relationship between the pictures and still remembered it for this test, even though he hadn't seen the pictures in the last two years.

BRANNON: For a long time, it was thought that lemurs weren't capable of doing a lot of things that other primates were in the cognitive domain. So, in some ways, this is surprising, how well they're able to do in this task.

KAYE: What else surprised Professor Brannon? That lemurs, like humans, avoid risk.

BRANNON: We figured out that they really don't like to gamble.

KAYE: How does she know? Because in this test, Lemurs are taught that if they choose the photograph of the train, they could get a bunch of sugar pellets as a reward, or possibly no pellets at all. But if they choose the safe option, the flag photo, they always get one pellet. Brannon says lemurs are smart enough to make an association between the photograph and the outcome.

There are exceptions. But even when the risky choice will sometimes deliver more treats, most lemurs prefer the safer option, the photo that guarantees them one treat.

BRANNON: Even if we give them six, seven or eight pellets in the jackpot, they still prefer a single pellet even though the average payoff is much greater in the risky side.

KAYE: Why does any of this matter? Professor Brannon says it can help humans figure out how our thinking evolved.

BRANNON: What are the fundamental building blocks upon which complex human cultures and systems of knowledge are built? And by studying these kinds of thought processes in lemurs and monkeys and apes and other animals, we can begin to shed insight into that kind of question.

KAYE: And while Professor Brannon doesn't expect lemurs to be learning calculus any time soon, she does believe we've only scratched the surface of their amazing intelligence.

Randi Kaye, Durham, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: All right. Can't get enough of those little things.

If you want to see more of the amazing animals, tune into "AC 360" tonight at 10:00 tonight Eastern.

Thousands of homes without power, and some without a roof after severe storms pound the Mid-Atlantic. We're taking you to our Severe Weather Center in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: OK. Democrats in the House just had a vote about who they're choosing as their House leader. Let's go right to Dana Bash for the results -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is Nancy Pelosi. Nancy Pelosi will be the House minority leader in the new Congress.

The vote, Ali, was 150-43. Nancy Pelosi getting 150, and the person who ran against her, Heath Shuler, getting 43.

Now, that certainly is a big victory, but it does show that about a quarter of the Democratic Caucus voted for someone other than Nancy Pelosi, made it very clear they do not believe she is the person to lead into the next Congress. Again, it doesn't seem that big, but given the amount of power that she had wielded just a couple of months ago, that would not have happened. Very much an indicator of the fact that this caucus still is split on whether this is the right way to go -- Ali.

VELSHI: All right. Dana Bash with the news that Nancy Pelosi will be the minority leader of the Democrats in the House.

Thanks for that, Dana.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VELSHI: I'm going to have to remember to tell you when I'm traveling midweek. Because you're always good at the weekends knowing where I'm going and then - but when I travel midweek, I never get the report from you. I better get into the habit of doing that that. Good to see you, my friend.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right. Good to see you.

VELSHI: OK. It was an overwhelming smell that led police to a temple in Thailand. What they found was shocking. I'll have that story, coming up next in "Globe Trekking."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Time for "Globe Trekking." First stop, Bangkok, Thailand. A disturbing discovery at a Buddhist temple. Police were called to the site because neighbors complained of an overwhelming smell. Hidden in the temples were the remains of more than 300 human fetuses. Police say they came from illegal abortion clinics. The remains were wrapped in plastic bags and newspaper and placed in a mortuary storage area. Six morticians have been detained for questioning. It's common for Thai temples to have morticians who prepare bodies for cremation. Abortion is illegal in Thailand except when the pregnancy endangers the life of a mother or is the result of rape.

Going now to Haiti. The U.N. is making an urgent appeal for calm, warnings that riots triggered by the cholera outbreak are seriously hampering international relief efforts. These pictures sent to us by CNN's Ivan Watson and his crew tell the story. Riders have placed burning barricades in the streets of the northern city of Caphasian (ph). The only way Ivan could get into town was to ride on the back of a motorcycle.

The U.N. says all aid flights have been canceled and that water purification and training projects have been cut back. Demonstrators also looted and burned a World Food Program warehouse, destroying 500 tons of food aid. U.N. says at least one protestor was killed by a peacekeeper acting in self defense. Many Hatians blame U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal for the cholera outbreak. U.N. says peacekeepers were tested and the results negative. So far,cholera has killed 1,100 and has now spread to the neighboring Dominican Republic.

And just a short time ago, Florida health officials announced a woman who recently returned to Florida from Haiti has been diagnosed with cholera. We'll keep you updated with more information as it becomes available.

Next up on "Mission Possible," we'll talk with a veteran chef feeding on a rare mission to feed U.S. troops around the world in style.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: The Pentagon says it's planning to serve up 244,000 pounds of turkey for troops overseas this Thanksgiving. Today, we're going to talk about steak. Joining us now for today's "Mission Possible," someone doing his part to feed the forces by firing up the grill. Harvey Gough is in San Antonio, the founder of Steak Mission - Steak Team Mission. Harvey, welcome to the show.

HARVEY GOUGH, FOUNDER, STEAK TEAM MISSION: Hello, how are you?

VELSHI: Excellent. That is quite a hat you've got on there. Tell me about Steak Team Mission.

GOUGH: Well, back here after 9/11, a friend of mine named Franks, I asked to go serve steaks in Afghanistan and we had a little conversation about that. I can't tell you exactly what he said. He finally said OK, and so that started our career of serving steaks to soldiers in far away, dirty, nasty, smelly, sweaty, ugly places. And that's what we've been doing ever since '02. And we've been on about ten missions. I think this is 11 today.

VELSHI: And how -- who pays for this? Where do you get the money for this?

GOUGH: We get donations from our teammates. We get a few little small donations from suppliers. But typically it comes out of our pocket.

VELSHI: Let's talk about what it means to you to be serving these troops. Tell me why this is so important to you.

GOUGH: Well, what I say is freedom is not free, and somebody's got to pay. It's our way of paying back a little bit and to show our gratitude for the soldiers, airmen, sailors, et cetera that are out there in the dirty, smelly, sweaty, ugly places that nobody else likes to go.

We don't go where the USO goes, a bunch of dancers and things. We go feed soldiers where nobody else likes to go. That's our specialty. Today's a little different deal.

VELSHI: What is the reception you get from the folks you go out and feed?

GOUGH: Typically where we go to these dirty places is the Defact (ph) dining facilities feeds pretty good food. The Army food is pretty good. Usually what we see in the eyes of the soldiers that we serve is, you mean that you -- can't say the word -- came all the way over here to serve us a steak? That's what you get in the eyes of the soldiers.

The Navy is a little different. They enjoy our food more than they enjoyed seeing us on the ship.

VELSHI: And you are planning to expand this program?

GOUGH: Well, expand is not really a good word. We plan to do it again a time or two, depending on where it is and what the timing is and so on, so forth.

VELSHI: Well, it is excellent work, Harvey. Thanks very much for joining us to tell us about it.

Harvey Gough the founder of Steak Team Mission, joining me from San Antonio. To learn more about Steak Team Mission and how you can help, head to my blog, CNN.com/ali. I will link you to where you need to go to know more about Steak Team Mission.

So, from steak, the logical place to go is "The Stakeout." There he is, live and in person. I have not seen him for so long. And I think he's got a Slurpee with him. The president is going to have to wait for a while to get his Slurpee. Ed is getting ahead the game, as he always is. I'm going to talk to him right on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: I mean, it is unbelievable. It's "The Stakeout" with Ed Henry, and he is in person. He's live. I don't think the two of us have talked live in person and on camera in quite a while. And he is there celebrating with a Slurpee because there was supposed to be a Slurpee summit at the White House.

Ed, first of all, fantastic to see you. Thank you for all the great work you did while your traveling, waking up early in your hotel room in South Korea and talking to su telling us how things go on behind the scene. What's going on --

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's 4:00 a.m. I don't want to play a violin or anything or have you feel sorry for me, but it was 4:00 a.m.

VELSHI: You don't want me to understate it. Yes, it was 4:00 in the morning, and you were in your Snuggie, your CNN Snuggie. What's going on with the Slurpee?

HENRY: Well, you know, the bottom line -- by the way, there's an ultimate fighting guy, I think Randy Kutcher on here. Commemorative Slurpee cup.

VELSHI: Nice.

HENRY: So, at least I have that. That's about all I have from the official Slurpee summit here because it didn't happen. It's supposed to happen tomorrow but it's been pushed back. You remember, right after the election the president said he was going to invite Republicans over here for a summit and jokingly became the Slurpee summit because during the campaign, the president kept saying he was out there working on the economy, and the Republicans were on the side of the road with a Slurpee.

And the bottom line is that the president scheduled it for tomorrow. Republicans on the Hill, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, say they never agreed to that date. They're busy. They have freshmen orientation going on. They've got class photos, whatever is going on up on the Hill to get ready for the new Congress. Meanwhile, there's a lame duck session going on. The president is trying to talk about tax cuts and what not.

The White House is saying, look, we accept their explanation. They have now rescheduled this for after Thanksgiving, Tuesday, November 30. You have to wonder how the president deep down really feels about this when he sort of called this summit, and the Republicans are saying basically they have to get their hair done right now. You know, hey have got every other thing going on --

VELSHI: We've been reporting it was a scheduling problem. It's like -- I don't know what to think about that, but as a regular person, I think if my boss needs something to happen and I had something else scheduled, I'd reschedule it. I understand the president isn't the boss of Congress, but it does seem kind of the priority.

HENRY: Exactly, though. He's not the boss for them, and maybe the Republicans are trying to show, flex their muscles a little bit and say, look, we're going to work on our own terms. Robert Gibbs put the best face on it earlier and said if anything, it shows there's bipartisan because the president picked a day, the Republicans said it doesn't work. Rather than throwing a fit, the White House says fine, we'll reschedule it. Republicans say, fine, we can do that day.

But if you have to say basically because they agreed on a date for a meeting, that's bipartisanship, that-you know - that suggests right now that the president is trying to bring both sides together, and maybe the Republicans don't want to come along. We'll see.

VELSHI: All right. The high hopes here always with a new Congress is that somebody gets a message, and the people want the people's business done. An inauspicious start or should we just not read anything into it?

HENRY: I think that was Robert Gibbs' point. To say, look, we got time here. They're in the lame duck and this week. Next week is basically gone because of Thanksgiving, so not a lot will get done anyway.

But these Bush tax cuts are expiring at the end of the year. So they do hope to get some sort of compromise deal on that. Looks like things are headed towards, at least a short- or long-term extension of the middle-class tax cuts and at least a short-term extension on the tax cuts for the rich.

By the way, talking about the economy and what not, 7-Eleven now is trying to make a buck of the summit. that hasn't happened yet. They're on this Unity Tour around the country. They have this flavor, this Purple to the People flavor where they mix red and blue, and it becomes purple because of the red states, Republican and blue states, Democrat. And tomorrow outside Union Station, they're going to be handing out free Slurpees. So there you go.

VELSHI: Nice, nice! Slurpees for the people. I like this.

HENRY: Yes, trying to make some money off of this.

VELSHI: That's a good economy. That's capitalism for you.

Ed, good to have you back in the mix. I think we will spend some good time together over the course of the next few weeks. Ed Henry on "The Stakeout" with a side of a Slurpee at the White House where we're so used to seeing him.

Time now for your CNN political update. Bad news for anyone planning to run for president as an independent. CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger joins me from Washington with that news. Gloria?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Can I get a Slurpee?

VELSHI: Seriously. I'm chafing.

BORGER: It's not fair. We don't get to get them. Ed does.

Well, let's talk about the presidential race, Ali, because of course, we just got through the midterm elections and what's left for us political junkies, right, than talk about 2012? There is something getting a lot of buzz that was in "The Huffington Post" which is chatter that New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has been talking to talk show host Joe Scarborough about teaming up on kind of a third-party ticket with Bloomberg in the number one slot and Joe Scarboroguh in the number two.

Now, that sounds kinds of tantalizing, except for a couple of things. One is that Michael Bloomberg has been on the record just very recently saying that he didn't think that an independent candidacy could possibly win

(VIDEO GAP)

VELSHI: We've got some kind of "Star Trek" transmission thing happening with Gloria. Are you there?

BORGER: Uh-oh.

VELSHI: It's like you've been transported to another planet -

BORGER: Have i?

VELSHI: -- but you are back.

BORGER: Where did I leave off?

VELSHI: I mean, it's one of those things like, could have been aliens just invaded your body. But this is just regular Gloria back. That was weird.

BORGER: Ali, it's kind of like talking on a cell phone and you continue talking after the call has been dropped, but you're not sure how long you have been --

(LAUGHTER)

VELSHI: We only lost you for about five seconds, so I think we're okay.

BORGER: OK. So anyway, let's just say that Bloomberg and Scarborough not likely to happen. But there are some candidates, Ali, who are obviously getting into the race.

Let's talk about this. A close adviser to Newt Gingrich came out and said he would be surprised if his former boss were not running. Rick Santorum is courting the vote in New Hampshire. Remember him? He's a former Republican senator.

Then, of course, there's the candidate that everybody loves to talk about, and that is Sarah Palin. Will it be Sarah Palin's Washington? Not so sure, but she did give an interview that will be published this weekend in "The New York Times" in which she says, quote, "that she is engaged in the internal deliberations candidly about the possibility of running for the presidency," that she's beefing up her staff and that she's got to do more than just tweet about policy, which is probably --

VELSHI: All right. Well, what is the path to her? This has been the interesting thing. She's the most anticipated candidate quite possibly in the history of candidates. What is the path for her to becoming president?

BORGER: As you know, she's quite polarizing. But when you're talking about that Republican primary audience, which is what she appeals to, take a look at some of the early states like Iowa, which has a really large evangelical vote early on. New Hampshire, she might be able to play second. Nevada she could do well. South Carolina she could do well.

So, there is a path for her to the presidency. But getting back to our original topic, third party, if Sarah Palin is doing well and should get the Republican nomination, let's just say, then that could mean that lots of Republicans would form their own third party. I don't know. Could happen.

VELSHI: Interesting. You have said things in the past that have come to pass. So, I always hang on whatever it is you say. Now, I think you're kind of half an alien because of that thing that just happened.

BORGER: I am half an alien! But the other half is good.

VELSHI: But you are our friend. Gloria, great to see you always. Thanks so much. Our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger.

CNN is committed to keeping you informed on all the important political news. Your next update is just one hour away.

If you're looking for a used car, hold on to your wallet. We'll find out what is driving prices so high. We'll tell you how they're ranking when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: "Taking the Lead" now. Used car prices are at a record high. The average price $18,570 for a used car!

Why? Simple. Supply and demand. More people want used cars these days because the economy is so bad. There are also fewer cars out there. Car companies have been making fewer cars because of the bad economy, so there just aren't as many cars out there for sell.

In the past year, 16 million or 17 million used cars were sold each year. Now it's looking more like 12 million. Last year's Cash for Clunkers government program cut the supply of used cars by even more. Is it worth it to buy a new car? Well, manufacturers are cutting back on new car discounts, so the cost of a new car is going up. Interest rates are low and cars still pretty affordable, but those recession deals for the past few years are not as good these days.

That's today's "Taking the Lead."

But it does strike me that there was a question on there. I hope you got all that information, and you're welcome to submit answers to Twitter or Facebook to me.

While we're talking prices, let's hear it for inflation. I mean, sort of. If you don't believe there's a downside to falling prices, you need to stay tuned and listen to my "XYZ" when we come back.

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VELSHI: Time now for the XYZ" of it.

Let's talk prices. New inflation numbers came out in what economists call the Consumer Price Index. CPI increased by only 1.2 percent over the year ending last October. But that figure includes volatile energy and food prices, so let me draw your attention to what economists call core inflation, which tracks the cost of a basket of consumer goods without food and energy. The increase was much lower, 0.6 percent. That is the lowest year-over-year increase since 1957. In fact, core inflation has barely risen above zero for the last three months in a row.

Why am I talking about this? Because many economists fear that prices could fall in the future. Now as enticing as that sounds to a lot of you trying to get by in this economy, falling price are not a good thing. Here's why. When prices fall, demand for goods decrease. Think about it. Why would you go out and pay $500 to buy a new sofa today when the same couch could go down later? You're going to sit and wait for the right price. And when that sentiment spreads around, it forces businesses to cut back on production/wages for workers, lay people off again.

That downward spiral is what economists call deflation. It's no joke. Japan suffered a so-called lost decade during the 1990s because of deflation. It created a downward spiral in Japan's markets and economy, and it hurt growth for years. The U.S. Federal Reserve is taking no chances, recently announcing plans to inject between $6 and $9 billion into the American economy. Some economists complain could actually fuel inflation. But Ben Bernanke and his group are betting that America will ultimately be better off with prices going up slightly instead of spiraling downward uncontrollably.

We all like lower prices. But prices falling too fast is actually something that can hurt us all and hurt our economy. It's something to think about when you're thinking about inflation.

That's it for me. Brooke Baldwin continues now with NEWSROOM.