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Other Airport Security Options; Searching for Natalee Holloway; President Obama, NATO Allies Meet in Lisbon; Hot Off The Political Ticker; The Help Desk; How Dogs Think

Aired November 19, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour here now. Hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Tony Harris. Let's get started here with the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Here are some of the top stories and some of the people behind those stories.

Fire the TSA? A congressmen suggests some airports should stop using the agency for air travel security amid the complaints of invasive body scans and pat-downs.

We're digging deeper on this story and what airports can do.

Also, Natalee Holloway, that mystery. Today forensic tests could reveal whether a new discovery is connected to the disappearance of the Alabama teenager.

Also, how smart is your dog? New research on the intelligence of man's best friend and the unique connection between people and their pooches.

Let's get this thing started, folks. Let's start with this busy travel holiday that actually gets underway today.

There's a 12-day travel season, not just next weekend's travel season. For many of you, it does begin today.

This year could be more turbulent, though, than most. This is going to be a first this year, with these enhanced security measures that are in place for the first time for a holiday season.

Here's something you don't want to see or hear in the middle of your flight though. Check this out. The pilot announcing an emergency landing because of a crack in the windshield.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys can come in here and take a look at what we're dealing with, but no air's leaking into the airplane, no glass is breaking or anything like that. It's just that we cannot continue on to Santa Ana, as you can imagine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, that will make you feel better. The plane was headed from Atlanta to California. It did land safely in Dallas.

You saw a picture there of the actual windshield. The 145 passengers were put on another flight heading to California, so they did make their way. But you do not want to see that or hear that on your flight.

Meanwhile, most Americans say they support the new body scans and more intense pat-downs that have been so controversial over the past couple of weeks. Critics, of course, are in an uproar. And images like this do not help.

That's a nun getting a pat-down by a woman wearing a scarf. Now, this is adding to a lot of the controversy. Images like this, people see those, and they get to say, of course, what they want on the Internet. But it's really blowing up out there online. And also, look at this, video of a little boy being searched.

A grassroots group is calling for people to refuse body scans and to opt out for pat-downs on the day before Thanksgiving. The protest is designed to be just that, a protest, but also meant to slow down screenings on one of the busiest travel days.

Now, you can make a decision for yourself, whether or not you want to have that kind of a protest. But if others do decide to do this, it's going to cause you a problem at the airports. It really could severely slow things down.

So, what in the world are passengers supposed to do? What are airports supposed to do? Is there an alternatives for this security?

CNN's Christine Romans joins us now to talk about that.

Christine, always good to see you.

Is there an alternative? We have to have security.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We have to have security, you're right. And, look, you have a Republican congressman whose district includes an airport in Orlando who says we should just fire the TSA and allow private screeners to take over this job, because private industry would be more responsive.

And TSA has turned out to be just a big, huge, behemoth bureaucracy that has made people unhappy. TSA, of course, says it's doing the best job that it can, but let's talk about the options here.

Can you use better technology? Can you use the technology differently? Can you return to private screeners?

First of all, in Boston, here's a solution at Boston's Logan Airport. They're going to be using the body image scanning in a different way. It's going to be more like a stick figure, where it will highlight an area that could be problematic like a belt or a cell phone or a wallet, and then that will be raised for further examination. They say that it's going to go a lot more quickly there. How about private screeners? In Orlando, they are considering at Sanford International Airport private screeners. They must still follow TSA guidelines, they must still even have to have the advanced pat-down, if necessary, but they are considering kicking out the TSA, basically.

There are actually 16 airports that don't use the TSA, and some of those executives say that they've been doing just fine. They have private screeners, and that they are able to meet all of the guidelines without some of the headaches and complaints. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Rochester are two of them that have been studied extensively by the Sanford International Airport as it considers switching to private screeners.

And frankly, San Francisco International Airport has had private screeners since 2002. It's the largest airport using private screeners.

But, T.J., here's the thing -- wasn't it private screeners that were the reason in the first place that we said that the federal government had to take over this role to make sure that we were safer post-9/11? So, the pendulum has shifted, flung completely in the other direction again because people are so upset, and there's been just so much buzz about what the travel experience is like these days.

HOLMES: OK, but one other thing there. Nail this down for the viewers, Christine. Say you do put private screeners back in charge. But aren't they having to follow the same guidelines?

ROMANS: Yes.

HOLMES: You just have different people doing it, but some think you won't have the bureaucracy in place.

Is that just the advantage of having private screeners?

ROMANS: The TSA must follow -- they must follow TSA guidelines, they must do the same kinds of pat-downs, if necessary. I mean, they're not allowed to have their own different set of rules. But there is this -- and I will say it's a minority opinion, but there is this minority opinion that maybe you need to go back to having private industry do it again, because a lot of people are unhappy with the way the TSA is doing it.

But, look, we went from a time when we said that private industry couldn't do well enough and keep us safe, and now the complaints are we've gone too far in trying to keep us safe. You know, where do you go from here?

It's interesting what's happening in Boston. It's interesting that some of these other airports that have private screeners are not reporting the big problems that you're seeing at other airports as well.

A lot of people fly every day. Frankly, a lot of people fly. So there's a great variety of experience with the system, I would say. HOLMES: Where is that balance? Some will tell you, as long as that plane lands safely, you can do to me what you want to do. Just get me where I need to go safely.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Christine Romans, always good to see you, dear lady.

ROMANS: Sure.

HOLMES: You have a good weekend if I don't get a chance to talk to you again.

ROMANS: Bye, T.J.

HOLMES: Well, let's now talk about who is subject to those enhanced screenings that the critics are complaining about. Not everybody is going to have to go through these when you go to an airport, it's not automatic. So, I need to make that point clear.

So, according to the TSA, these are the reasons someone might be subjected to the new pat-down search.

If an alarm goes off at the metal detector, they might need to pull you to the side. If they can't figure out exactly what's causing it to go off, they might have to give you that pat-down to reconcile that issue.

Also, if there's some kind of anomaly during your screening, or if someone opts out of the advanced imaging body scan. Again, on that advanced imaging body scan, not everybody is going to go through that either. You might be randomly selected to do it, or if the metal detector goes off and they want an advanced screening, they might put you in that.

So, again, not everybody who is going through the security line is going to get either of these, but the pat-downs are a little different these days.

Reynolds Wolf, don't know if you have been through one yourself just yet. I have experienced this thing.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: How did that work for you?

HOLMES: It is different. It is different. It will throw you off, and you need to be prepared for it.

But it's like one of the experts said, make up your mind before you even get to the airport. If you're in that position, what are you going to do? What are you going to choose? But they do get up in your business.

WOLF: You know, there was a time when we'd go to the airport and the idea was, am I going to get an aisle seat or am I going to get a window seat? Now we've got a few more curveballs thrown our way, so kind of bizarre. (WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: And be sure to join Reynolds and I tomorrow morning. We're going to be dedicating a special half hour on our "CNN SATURDAY MORNING" to this topic, the busy travel season.

It will be a travel season like we have never seen before, the first time a lot of these new systems are in place, these new procedures, security measures in place. So it could change things a lot this travel season, everything from the grassroots revolt over TSA pat-downs. Also going to be debunking some myths, and also give you facts about the new rules this weekend.

Plus, the editor of "Travel & Leisure" is going to be looking at some of those last-minute deals, tell you when you need to get your tickets. Do you need to get it now, maybe wait last minute?

Again, that's a special half hour as part of our "CNN SATURDAY MORNING."

Well, they have been through a nightmare for five years now. Now Natalee Holloway's family hoping they're closer to getting some answers in their daughter's disappearance.

First, though, your "Random Moment" coming up in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And your "Random Moment of the Day."

A school principal thinks that two brothers tried to pull a Ferris Bueller on him. And that's where our "Random Moment" picks up.

Parents say the Chester Academy principal barged into their home, marched upstairs to the boys' bedroom. He found the two asleep and, by all accounts, they were sick. The parents are furious here, though. They have gone to the Chester, New York, Police Department over this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL DIQUATTRO, FATHER: My kids were in their underwear. All right? Again, you're talking a 12-year-old and 16-year-old. All right? Where does he get the right to violate my children's rights?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF PETER GRAZIANO, CHESTER POLICE DEPT.: The parent has filed a complaint. We're treating it as a regular criminal complaint. The school district is cooperating with us with any information that we need or any interviews we need to conduct.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Well, the principal may be calling in sick now. The principal's wife though says there are facts the public doesn't know about this case that will explain our "Random Moment of the Day."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, could this be the break that leads to closure for Natalee Holloway's family? A jawbone found on a beach in Aruba now undergoing tests in the Netherlands. There's a chance we could know the results today.

Our "In Session" correspondent Jean Casarez joins us now on the phone from Aruba.

Jean, what do we know? What is the possibility that we could get some results about this jawbone today?

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT "IN SESSION," TRUTV: Well, the prosecutor's office here in Aruba tells me that they are in a holding pattern. They are calling throughout the day the Netherlands Forensic Institute that's at The Hague that is doing the testing. They will rely on their confirmation when it comes in. But at this point, they say that they're just in that waiting pattern.

I want to tell you where I am right now. I am literally on the beach here in Aruba at the Phoenix Hotel.

You know, we haven't gotten a lot of information, but what we have been told is that this jawbone was on the beach, found on the beach -- and I'll say alleged jawbone at this point -- by a couple staying at the Phoenix. And when I look at this beach -- and we don't know exactly where, but I can tell you, it's a really clean beach.

I don't see a lot of debris or shells or seaweed. So, if anything was washed up by the waves, it would be really, really visible.

HOLMES: And I want to go back to a point you just made. You wanted to make sure you used the word "alleged," alleged jawbone. What are we sure of? Or what are authorities at least telling us for sure about what was found?

CASAREZ: Well, here are the facts. The Aruban forensic authorities -- and I understand there is an anthropologist here on the island that has said this is a human jawbone of a young Caucasian woman.

However, Aruban authorities are also saying, we want proof from The Hague. So we will rely on the findings of The Hague. But that is what led to Aruban officials taking it themselves on a plane from Aruba to the Netherlands earlier this week.

HOLMES: All right.

Jean Casarez for us there in Aruba.

Jean, we appreciate the update. Thank you so much.

It is time for us now to go "Cross Country" for a look at what's making news around the nation.

First stop, Hollywood.

Well, smiles and cheers for the 33 miners. You remember these guys, those Chilean miners who were rescued last month. They were taking pictures, waving at the crowd. They were dancing, doing all this on a double-decker bus as they took a tour through Hollywood. This comes ahead of the CNN Heroes tribute that they'll be attending.

This was not the typical trip to the grocery store for a California couple. They came out to find a huge snake in their car. They had to actually put some cooking oil on this thing to get it unstuck. It took about an hour for animal control to get this thing untangled from the engine.

Finally, in Atlanta, it's a boy. This giant panda was born in Georgia's Zoo Atlanta November 3rd.

It's a male, not that we couldn't tell. That's clearly a male, right? It weighs about 11 ounces. It's the only giant panda born in the U.S. in 2010.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Going to give you a look now at some of the stories making headlines.

Rescuers in New Zealand are hoping to get inside a damaged mine soon to search for 27 workers. They were trapped by an explosion. One report says the miners may be almost a mile deep. Two men stumbled out of the mine minutes after that blast. They are now getting medical treatment.

Also, the full House will vote on a censure for New York Congressman Charlie Rangel. That's going to happen after Thanksgiving. The House Ethics Committee recommends that punishment. The Democrat -- Rangel's colleagues found that he violated House rules 11 times.

Meanwhile, the president is at the NATO summit in Portugal today. Afghanistan being the chief focus.

White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now from Lisbon.

Suzanne, always good to talk to you.

What is at the top of the president's priority list on this trip?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Sure, T.J.

Well, you know, having covered a lot of these NATO summits, you often see the pomp, the circumstance, the pageantry. We've seen a lot of that this morning.

Obviously, the president meeting with the president and prime minister of Portugal. But this summit is really important, T.J., for all of us here, especially American forces and their families, because it really is, what happens in the next 24 to 48 hours will determine whether or not they're going to stay in Afghanistan, how long, whether or not they're going to have to go back for a second or third tour of duty.

This is about the president meeting with NATO allies and figuring out, how do we get those allied forces, U.S. forces, out by 2014 and allow the Afghan troops, the Afghan forces to take responsibility of their own security? It is far from certain whether or not that really is going to be able to happen in that time frame, a lot of things working against the president and this mission.

We're talking about at least 16 of these countries that have decreased their defense spending, their budgets there. Their economies are in shambles.

The president himself, T.J., has said, look, we want to start getting U.S. troops out by July of next year. So, all these things taken together, they have got to figure out whether or not that is even realistic.

We heard from the president early this morning talking about the fact that all of these allies want to pull out, they want to pull out fairly quickly. But how do they realistically manage that in terms of how Afghanistan looks?

I want you to take a listen to what he said early this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I expressed my gratitude to the Portuguese armed services who are serving alongside of us in Afghanistan. And here in Lisbon, I look forward to working with our NATO and our ISAF partners as we move towards a new face, a transition to Afghan responsibility that begins in 2011, with Afghan forces taking the lead for security across Afghanistan by 2014.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: OK, T.J. So that's the typical diplo-speak that we have come to expect from the president when he is off American soil.

I want you to take a listen. This is the vice president, what he said on "LARRY KING LIVE," very much a blunt message to the Afghan government and Hamid Karzai.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of our critics say you shouldn't set a deadline to get out. The reason we needed to do that is the same reason we did in Afghanistan. We had to say, look, you've got to step up, man. Let me tell you, we're going to start -- daddy's going to start to take the training wheels off in October -- I mean in next July -- so you better practice riding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, T.J., he says, "Daddy is going to have to start taking the training wheels off," you guys are going to have to step up here. Obviously, that's the kind of language the vice president is using. The president, a little bit more diplomatic in his language, but the bottom line is that is the message to the Afghan government.

What we want to see is this meeting that's going to take place tomorrow between President Obama and the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, when he presents his case to the rest of the NATO allies and explains how it is that he's going to help govern, how he's going to fight corruption, how he's going to help his country take over security. Because that's what he wants as well. Very uncertain whether or not it's going to happen in such a quick timetable, in the next three or so years -- T.J.

HOLMES: And Suzanne, you did a great job of putting it in perspective at the beginning there, just why this meeting, this summit is important for many families and soldiers back here in the U.S.

But walking out of that summit, do we expect -- do we anticipate, or are they actually working towards, coming out of there with not just a statement at the end of it, but some kind of an agreement, something on paper, something binding, some kind of a commitment, a hard commitment?

MALVEAUX: Sure. Sure.

There'll be a statement. There'll be an agreement.

But I have to tell you, in covering these summits from before, even just last year in Strasbourg, the NATO summit, there were a lot of countries that came forward and said, you know what? We're going to provide training. We're going to help you train the Afghan forces, the Afghan police in particular. That's what President Obama asked them to do last year, so you saw all those leaders come forward.

T.J., they have not come through. There are a lot of these countries, these NATO allies, who have not put up those trainers. And so you've got President Obama coming back again and saying, look, this is what we need.

So, a lot of times you've got various countries and leaders who will make commitments in principle, but will not follow through. It's one of the frustrating things that President Obama is experiencing now, it's a frustration that President Bush had as well before.

HOLMES: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, always good to see you. We appreciate you. Thanks so much.

Well, coming up, he stood firm with Congressman Charlie Rangel in his ethics fight. Now civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis makes headlines for another reason.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, Georgia Congressman John Lewis has just learned he's one of 15 people that will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February. It is the nation's highest civilian honor, and it's what we're talking about today in our "What Matters" segment.

Lewis played a large role in the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s. He's the last surviving speaker from the 1963 march on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech.

He spoke early this morning to our Atlanta affiliate, WXIA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: When the president called me on Tuesday, Tuesday morning, early Tuesday morning, and said, "Hello, John, I want to let you know that I'm going to award you the Medal of Freedom," and he kept talking about the contribution that I have made and the people that I would be honored with.

And I said, Mr. President, you need to stop. You keep talking, you're going to make me cry. He said go ahead, John and cry.

I met Dr. King at a very young age. I first met Rosa parks in 1957 when I was 17. I met Dr. King the next year in 1958 when I was 18 and I got involved in the civil rights movement and I have been involved now for more than 50 years.

We organized a student nonviolent coordinating committee in the spring of 1960. During a sit in, we would be sitting in at lunch counters here in Atlanta and all across the South. Black people and white people couldn't sit down together at a lunch counter in a department store, in a Wolworth's store and get a Coca-Cola hamburger or hot dog together or a milkshake, and we had to change that. I saw signs that said white men, colored men, white women, colored women, white wait, and colored wait. And I would ask my mother, my father, grandparents, my great-grandparents why. And they would say, that's the way it is. Don't get in the way, don't get in trouble.

But when I heard of Rosa Parks and heard of Dr. King and met them, I started getting in trouble and I've been getting in trouble ever since.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And to read more stories that matter to all of us, pick up the latest issue of "Essence" magazine. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. A beautiful live picture for you right now. This is out of Lisbon, Portugal. This is of course, where the NATO summit is currently taking place. This is right outside what's called the Lisbon International Fair. That's a huge conference center where this - convention center -- summit meeting is going on. The top NATO countries figuring out how to dial things back. For many of those countries, their commitments in Afghanistan to possibly sometime in the next four years having the Afghans take over their own security.

Take you to another live picture that's way away from Lisbon, Portugal. That is - recognize that? That is Music City. Hello there, Nashville. How you doing? Another live picture from there, and we're telling you about Nashville right now. A lot of sunshine, good temperatures today also and always good music.

But we're talking about the Opryland Resort. It kicked off the holidays with a huge fireworks and lights display. They did this just days after reopening. Take a look. The workers have been stringing up more than two million lights since July. Country stars Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan, just a couple that performed in a benefit concert there as well. A lot of people will remember that flooding shut the resort down six months ago, but they're up and going once again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: I'm going to tell you about some of the stories making headlines right now. We could know today whether a jawbone found on a beach in Aruba is from Natalee Holloway. Experts in the Netherlands are now running tests on the bones. Holloway's family provided dental records to Dutch authorities earlier this week. The Alabama teenager disappeared in Aruba five years ago.

Also, police in Ohio say the man accused of kidnapping a 13-year- old girl helped them find the bodies of three people who were missing. One of them was the girl's mother. The bodies were found stuffed inside a hollow tree.

The U.S. Senate expected today to approve $1.15 billion to fund a settlement between the Agriculture Department and minority farmers. That word from Senate sources. The case involved racial bias. This settlement was reached more than a decade ago.

"Glee," I understand is a pretty big deal these days, pretty popular show. I haven't jumped on the bandwagon just yet. But I keep hearing about it, but not everybody thrilled with the show lately.

Also there's a Brandy and Bristol controversy. And "Harry Potter" is back? Let's turn to Hollywood and our Hollywood watcher, Kelly Carter joins us now. Kelly, we'll get to some of this other stuff. And Harry Potter, what is this? The 22nd Harry Potter movie? If feel like. We'll get to that in a second.

But apparently I missed a good "Glee." This was one to see. KELLEY L. CARTER, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Yes, you know, it was. Gwyneth Paltrow guest starred on the episode earlier this week, and she played a substitute Spanish teacher. And in her voice-over narration, she said that the way she engages her students is by using topical subjects that are interesting to them. And she decided to talk about Lindsay Lohan and her rehab and her issues in the news as of late, and her mom did not like that one bit. Deena Lohan sent out a statement saying she felt her daughter was defamed and suggested she may even go after "Glee's" producers because of it.

HOLMES: OK, how bad was it? I didn't see it. You just described it there, but to send out a statement, it sounds like she must have said something just terrible. How bad was it?

CARTER: I don't think it was really that bad to be honest with you. What she said in Spanish was, "Lindsay Lohan is crazy, yes? And how many times has Lindsey Lohan been to rehab? Five times." And that was the extent about what she said about it. But the Lohans did not like that one bit.

HOLMES: Aw, okay. Is all that true, though? Has it been five times rehab? Was it accurate, though? It seems like it was.

CARTER: You know, she was pretty much right on in espanol, so.

HOLMES: In espanol! All right, let's move to - OK, I need to be up on some of this stuff that's popular. Because I haven't watched "Glee" and I'm not a "Dancing with the Stars" guy, but I understand the draw. People just love this show. But now there's controversy surrounding, which could only be good for ratings, but Brandy and Bristol Palin.

Brandy and Bristol Palin. They're not exactly duking it out. But Brandy was eliminated earlier this week and Bristol Palin was kept in the show, which really shocked a lot of people. And it was probably perhaps the most shocking elimination so far this eleventh season. And that's really because Bristol has been consistently grabbing the lowest scores almost all season long.

And Brandy was in the top two scores pretty much all season long, so people are starting to question the process that happens with regards to voting. But the thing about "Dancing with the Stars," much like "American Idol" is that there is no rhyme or reason to it. You can call in and vote as many times as you like. So, it's not as if you've got a voter registration card and you can only go one time and vote.

HOLMES: OK. So, it doesn't matter what the judge said, as long as the people like you, you can win that thing. And that's simply that.

CARTER: If people like you, it accounts for 50 percent of your tab. So, you know, the judges give you a score, but then the other 50 percent comes from the American viewing public, so --

HOLMES: OK. All right. And let's hit the last one here. And another thing I'm not up on, "Harry Potter." Haven't seen a single "Harry Potter" movie. How many have there been? And we've got another one now.

CARTER: This is the seventh one coming out. And it's part one of part two. And it's going to be the end.

HOLMES: Did you just say it's part one of part two?

CARTER: It's seven, yes. And they divvied it up into two different movies, so the second film that will be the last in the installation. It will come out next year.

HOLMES: Part one of part two, and it'll means it's actually part eight in the series? I got that right?

CARTER: Exactly.

HOLMES: OK. And they're about to surpass -- how close until they past "Star Wars"?

CARTER: You know, they need another $300 million in box office totals to say, even catch up to "Star Wars." And that's very realistic, because this weekend alone, box office watchers forecasting that it will bring in anywhere between $130 million to $160 million this weekend alone.

HOLMES: OK. Well, I just got an education. Clearly I didn't pick these topics because I'm not up on any of them. But you helped to educate me about what's going on out there.

Kelly, good to see you, dear lady! You enjoy your weekend.

CARTER: Nice to see you too.

HOLMES: If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, you can watch "Showbiz Tonight" with that guy. A.J., that's tonight, this evening at 5:00 and 11:00 on HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The vice president discusses those pesky trading places rumors. Our Ed Henry, part of The Best Political Team on Television, joining us live from the political desk in Washington. The last hit we had last hour to do the political ticker, it took two guys to do the work of only one. Ed Henry, you can handle this on your own?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know me. I got this, T.J., all right?

Let me tell you, Vice President Biden you mentioned. He was on "LARRY KING LIVE" last night. Big interview. A lot of interesting news nuggets there. The vice president trying to shoot down once and for all this speculation that maybe he'll switch jobs with Secretary of State Clinton. Saying, quote, "Here's the deal." That's the way he talks, as you know, "the president and I, there was never any serious talk ever that anyone ever heard about me not being on the ticket with him or her not staying at state."

He also talked a little bit about Sarah Palin, the vice president saying, look, my mom used to have an expression, quote, "be careful what you wish for, Joe, you may get it. So I never underestimate anyone." The vice president seeming to talk to some Democrats out there who think, look, if Sarah Palin has a GOP nomination in 2012, she'll be easy to beat because she'll be polarizing. Vice President Biden saying, not so fast. He went head to head with her, obviously, in that debate in 2008.

Secondly, our own Jessica Yellin's out there in San Diego at the Republican Governors Association Conference. She spoke to Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi. He said he's still keeping the door open on a possible run for president in 2012 but he's urging Mayor Bloomberg from New York to not get in and run a third party bid or anyone else for that matter. The reason being that Haley Barbour says he thinks a third party bid would pull votes away from the Republican nominee. Obviously that third party candidate would probably tap into some of that anger out there, anti-incumbency, and Haley Barbour said, quote, " that would be the best thing that can happen to President Obama." So you can see Republicans already saying no third party bid. They don't want to see that.

And, finally, James Carville, our CNN contributor. Now this is a -- this is a -- I've got to be cautious with this one. He got into a little bit of hot water maybe with the White House and fellow Democrats. He told a little bit of an off-color joke yesterday. And I'm just going to quote it. It's on the ticker right now. Quote, "if Hillary gave up one of her balls and gave it to Obama, he'd have two," Carville said. He explained later on "John King USA" last night that this was a joke, that he had said it once before in the campaign and he told John King, quote, "if I offended anyone, I am not sorry and I do not apologize." He said it was said in jest. He said it in 2008 slightly different. He used the word cojones at that time. But, look, James Carville -- Jim Carville is going to be on "The Situation Room," first time on camera talking about this, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. So we'll let Wolf deal with exactly what noun is being used this time there, T.J.

HOLMES: OK, what hour of "Sit Room"?

HENRY: 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Everyone's going to be wanting to watch that. I mean he -- James Carville's point was, he was talking about "don't ask, don't tell," some of these tax fights with Republicans and he was suggesting that he thinks maybe Hillary Clinton would be tougher with some of the Republicans in some of these fights.

But, again, Carville says, look, he was joking. He made a similar joke in 2008. At that time, in fact, candidate Obama commented and said, look, Jim Carville, he's on TV as a performance artist. I'm focused on the issues. I'm not going to get bogged down by that. But I can tell you, folks at the White House none to pleased that this joke was rehashed, I guess, a second time, T.J.

HOLMES: Well, I will make sure I watch. Wolf is the consummate professional and love to see how he navigates around that conversation with James Carville.

Ed, good to see you, as always, buddy. Thanks so much.

HENRY: Great to see you, T.J. Have a good weekend.

HOLMES: All right, your next political update coming up in one hour. For the latest political news, you know where to go, cnnpolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Carmen Wong Ulrich, she's a personal finance author, and Ryan Mack is the president of Optimum Capital Management.

Thanks for being here, guys.

Let's get right to our first question. It comes from Weijan in Connecticut writes, "I changed jobs and spent more than I contributed in my health care flexible spending account. Do I need to pay back the shortage?"

Carmen.

CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PERSONAL FINANCE AUTHOR: Oh, this is a good one. You know the whole use it or lose it with the FSAs, right?

ELAM: Right.

ULRICH: Well, for folks who don't use it and lose it, it goes into a pool that the employee administrator has with the FSA. So like Weijan, if you basically leave your job and you basically spent the money, that comes from that pool. So it all goes into a pool. So whether you've overspent or you've underspent, it all goes in and out of that pool. Now I've heard of folks getting asked by their company, their former company, to pay this back. They really shouldn't do that. If they haven't done it so far with Weijan, they probably won't.

ELAM: OK, so then leave it alone.

ULRICH: He got a discount.

ELAM: You're going to be OK there. You got away with a little bit.

All right, our next question comes from Bernard in Maryland who writes, "a friend has about $100,000 in savings but about $23,000 in credit card debt resulting in a monthly interest charge of about $400. I told him to pay off his debt immediately. Was this the right advice?" Doing a little back checking here.

Ryan, what do you say?

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Yes. Well, first of all, if the money was in a qualified account like a 401(k) or some sort of individual retirement account, I would probably say you might have to do some more research, penalties, taxes, all those things you have to pay in order to take the money out to pay down your debt. But if the money was in just pure cash and liquidity, it probably was. And the average APR runs about 14.78 percent so -- on credit cards individuals are paying. So getting about maybe 1 to 2 percent return into a high yield savings account this way. The numbers don't add up, so in that case it probably was a safe -- the right advice. But, nonetheless, you want to make sure you can do a good long-term strategy, see what your goals are, see what your risk tolerance is. But, overall, you're never going to hear an argument from me of paying down your debt early.

ELAM: No, keep that. It's great. Right?

MACK: Exactly.

ELAM: Yes, all right. Well, thanks so much, Carmen and Ryan, for that.

If you have a question you'd like to get answered, go ahead and send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, dogs and humans have kind of been living together for quite a while now. There's some fascinating new research about how dogs think. They say this long partnership has actually shaped the way dogs see the world. Our Randi Kaye shows us how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you've ever wondered what's really going on behind those puppy dog eyes, this may be the guy to tell you.

BRIAN HARE, DUKE UNIVERSITY: Good boy. Good boy.

KAYE: Professor Brian Hare, the director of Duke University's Canine Cognition Center, is one of only a few people in the country who study how dogs think. Professor Hare and his team put pups through a series of games, similar to those you might play with young children.

HARE: We don't want to look at cute pet tricks. What we want to know is, what does a dog understand about its world.

KAYE (on camera): For years, researchers didn't even study dogs. They thought they were too domesticated. Brian says that's exactly why dogs do need to be studied. For 15 years he's been analyzing how dogs think. What surprised him most, he says, is that dogs have figured out how to read human behavior better than any other species, even chimpanzees.

HARE: The way they think about their world is that people are super important and they can solve almost any problem if they rely on people. KAYE: How do dogs think compared to children?

HARE: Probably around 12 months. Young children start using -- relying on their adult's gestures and they start making gestures themselves and that's at about the point where it looks like dogs have that -- sort of a similar level of flexibility.

KAYE (voice-over): Watch this. I just met Tazzy (ph), Professor Hare's dog, a few minutes before this test. When we both point to a cup, which may hold a treat --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready, set, point.

KAYE: Will she trust me, a stranger, or her owner.

KAYE (on camera): Oh, I'm crushed.

HARE: That's my boy. That's my boy.

KAYE: How could he -- how could he trust you over me.

KAYE (voice-over): Over and over, Tazzy chooses her owner's gestures.

HARE: He's grown up with me. We, you know, do lots of stuff together. He's never met you before. And so he says, look, if they're both telling me where to go, I'm going to trust the guy that I'm with all the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now we know it's hard to hear, but try not to take this personally. Ahead, we'll find out what researchers are trying to pinpoint in these dogs that may help them become better companions for the disabled. That's coming up after the break. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, if your dog misbehaves, does that mean he's actually being disobedient? Not necessarily. Here now, CNN's Randi Kaye with part two of this fascinating study on dogs and what they're trying to accomplish.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (voice-over): Dogs are complex social animals who understand they have different relationships with different people.

HARE: They really narrow in and pay attention to you and they want to know, what is it about the world that you can help them with.

KAYE: Because, let's face it, dogs can't solve every problem. When a treat is hidden inside an opaque tube, this Gordon Setter can't see it. But figures out right away she can reach the treat by going around to the side. But watch what happens when the tube is switched and the dog can see the treat. She forgets how easy it was to get just moments before.

You might call it a doggie meltdown. We tried this same test on Napoleon, a Yorkshire Terrier.

KAYE (on camera): OK. Let's see how you do. All right, here's your treat. Put it in a clear cylinder. OK.

HARE: Wow.

KAYE: Oh, you are impressive, my little friend.

HARE: And a lot of time the best solution requires a bit of a detour. And so what this says is that Pole is able to sort of take a detour, a mental detour, and realize, wait a second, even though it looks like that's the shortcut easy answer, it's the wrong thing to do.

KAYE (voice-over): Researchers here are studying dogs to better understand their limitations by identifying why they make mistakes. They believe they can make them better at working with people with disabilities or working with the military. Professor Hare says domestication has made dogs smarter. So smart, in fact, they're even able to understand the principal of connectivity.

HARE: They know that they're connected on a leash and that will now have to listen because if I don't do what you say, you can stop me. Whereas, if I'm not on a leash, well, yes, I know the command, but I don't have to listen to you now.

KAYE (on camera): How do you know that?

HARE: Well, --

KAYE: Just from studying them?

HARE: Yes. If you have --

KAYE: Master these tests.

HARE: It's from owning a dog.

KAYE (voice-over): Just like children, he says, dogs also understand they can misbehave when you turn your back, even after you've told them not to go something.

HARE: And you're really upset because your dog disobeyed you and you think the dog's not obedient. Well, no, no, no, your dog was obedient, but it realized that it could get away with it.

KAYE: Like it or not, researchers have figured out dogs use their skills to manipulate the world and those of us in it. So next time you catch yourself thinking