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Icy Chaos in Minnesota; Ireland's Bailout Could Impact U.S.; Black Friday Secrets; Dishing with Anthony Bourdain; High Tech Tools for Holiday Shoppers; Clinton Won't Run for President in 2012; Jindal Leaves Door Open for Vice Presidential Bid; Pawlenty: Tea Party Here to Stay; Huckabee, Palin on Pre-Campaign Trail; JFK's Assassination: New Details

Aired November 21, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Saving time and money this holiday season. Some high-tech tools will help you do it.

Here's proof that rocking out has no age limit. It's just one of many memorable images in today's viral videos at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

And then at 5:00, a humorous take on the week in news. Comedian George Wallace joining us live.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Getting home for the holidays might be snarled because of bad weather in some parts of the nation. In the Sierra Nevada, drivers are chaining up for an early winter storm that has already dumped two feet of snow there. In Minnesota, freezing rain and ice are making roads downright impassible. Hundreds of spinouts and accidents have already been reported on what's turning out to be a very icy and nasty Sunday.

Let's go straight to Minnesota right now, where Eric Roeske of the Minnesota State Patrol joins me on the phone from St. Paul.

So you're dealing with mostly ice. How bad is the situation?

ERIC ROESKE, MINNESOTA STATE PATROL: Well, the situation has greatly improved from overnight. Temperatures warming now, and the ice has been melted by chemical on the roadways. However, from about 10:00 p.m. tonight -- or last night, I should say -- until early this morning it was a very treacherous road conditions.

WHITFIELD: So what are you telling people as they set off to hit the road and to visit their loved ones this holiday season?

ROESKE: Well, between the snow last weekend and the ice last night, I think most Minnesotans are probably in that winter driving mode. But we want to remind people to take extra time, check the weather forecast and the road conditions before they head out.

WHITFIELD: All right. Eric Roeske, thanks so much, from the Minnesota State Patrol. Appreciate that.

(WEATHER REPORT) WHITFIELD: All right. Well, for those of you who will be taking to the skies this holiday week, the head of the Transportation Security Administration is again defending those added security measures at some of the nation's busiest airports. We're talking about the use of full-body scanners and even pat-downs for some passengers.

John Pistole appeared this morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: I think it really come down to the person. I've talked to a number of people who said, hey, this is exactly what we need to be doing, it is thorough. And I want thoroughness when I get on a plane, to know everybody has been screened properly. To some people it is demeaning.

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": What's over the line? What's over the line?

All those things are fine. You saw a woman whose breasts were being felt. You saw a man who had another man's hand in his crotch.

What's over the line?

PISTOLE: I think that's for the public, to help inform that discussion. Clearly, if we are to detect terrorists who have again proven innovative and creative in their design and implementation of bombs that are going to blow up airplanes and kill people, then we have to do something that prevents that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Bottom line, Pistole says the challenge for the TSA is to find the right balance between security and privacy.

And if you're traveling this week, CNN is your holiday travel headquarters. We have got lots of great ways for you to stay on top of what's happening. You can log on to CNN.com/holidaytravel. You can also find us on Twitter at CNNTravel. And you can check out iReport.com for pictures and videos as well.

All right. Overseas now, to North Korea, where a Stanford University professor toured that country's main nuclear research site this month. The professor says he saw 2,000 centrifuges. That's many more than expected.

He says the equipment was apparently designed to generate power, but could easily be converted to make bombs. A U.S. envoy arrived in South Korea today to discuss restarting six-party talks with the North.

A military review of the war in Afghanistan is due next month, but U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen is already making some assessments. On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning, Mullen said beefed-up U.S.-led forces have made progress in efforts to keep Afghanistan from becoming a haven for international tourists, but he warns the progress is fragile.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Really, from my perspective -- I've fought Afghanistan for years from an economy of force standpoint, and I have said for a long time that we didn't have enough forces there. We didn't have enough U.S. forces and we didn't have enough NATO forces.

That was, from my perspective, because we were heavily focused on Iraq. And I was literally looking at the resources that were headed in both directions. And so as we have changed the strategy, focused, and gotten the resources right over the course of the last year, this is the first time we really are where we need to be in terms of executing a comprehensive strategy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Mullen also reaffirmed President Obama and NATO's goals of handing over security to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.

The al Qaeda published magazine called "Inspire" is coming out with stunning details on the foiled plot to send parcel bombs on UPS and FedEx flights to the U.S. The magazine, which is affiliated with al Qaeda in Yemen, says the entire operation costs just $4,200. It says al Qaeda bombmakers designed the bombs disguised as printer toner cartridges to bypass detection devices, and even bomb-sniffing dogs, but they were intercepted.

"Inspire," the magazine, also writes this same quote: "It is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve less players and less time to launch, and thus we may circumvent the security barriers America worked hard to erect." Inspire calls this "the strategy of a thousand cuts."

It is a waiting game at a collapsed mine in New Zealand. Rescue crews are standing by for the go-ahead to try to get to 29 trapped coal miners.

Nothing has been heard from the miners since an explosion three days ago. Right now, underground gas levels are high, making a rescue attempt dangerous. But we're getting new details about two miners who escaped that blast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER WHITTALL, CEO, PIKE RIVER COAL: I was asked several times if, by interviewing them, we'd know any more of value that we could apply to the situation we have currently got, and I can say not really. It was very interesting and obviously quite distressing to listen to Daniel's (ph) story of coming from the mine, and how he got out, and the fact that he got out OK, and he's now home with his wife and his family, and his father and mother and his other brother.

But as I said the other day, there's not a lot of detailed informing they can give, because both of them only had their own experience, and none of them were up far enough into the mine to actually know where the explosion initiated. All we know, as I knew before, that it came from further into the mine than where they were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, those Chilean miners know all too well what the folks in New Zealand are going through. However, just last night they were in Los Angeles. Take a look right there.

The 33 rescued miners were there for the taping of the "CNN Heroes" special. Some were speaking for the first time about their underground ordeal, and they were talking with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": That moment when the first drill came through, what was that like?

MARIO SEPULVEDA ESPINACE, CHILEAN MINER (through translator): It was exciting -- very exciting. Hope, life, the desire to continue living.

It was beautiful, like a party. It was outrageous. It was like a carnival. It was as if Chile played Argentina in a soccer match and Chile won.

We had a note prepared, a letter ready to send up. Otherwise, we would have forgotten everything, because it was such an exciting situation. So that is why we wrote the note.

COOPER: Did you write it out before the drill came? I mean, did you know the drill was coming?

JOSE OJEDA VIDAL, CHILEAN MINER (through translator): Yes. The minute we heard them drilling, the minute it started, I wrote, "We are OK in the shelter, the 33 of us."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can watch the "CNN Heroes: An All-Start Tribute" with Anderson Cooper Thanksgiving night. It all begins Thursday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

All right. The dreaded B-word -- bailout, I'm talking -- well, it's making headlines again, this time overseas. How it's going to impact your money right here at home, in the U.S., next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. Folks are trying to get to those loved ones somewhere across the map, but there are big problems like ice and snow. And it's standing in the way.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, this just in. The lawyer for two Americans being held in Iran says their court date has now been postponed until February 6th.

He tells CNN the court's reason is that Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal failed to show up for their initial trial date even though they are in custody of the government. Bauer and Fattal were arrested for espionage nearly 16 months ago after hiking over the border from Iraq. Their companion, Bauer's fiancee, Sarah Shourd, was released in September, if you remember that.

Ireland now, like the U.S., has been hard hit by the global recession. The government has slashed its budget, but it still needs financial help. Now a new bailout plan could have an impact on the dollar and on Wall Street.

Let's bring in our international business expert, Richard Quest. He's joining us, actually, from Abu Dhabi.

But give me an idea why this is so, I guess, earth-shattering in the world economy, and for the European Union as well. Why do people need to pay attention to what's happening in Ireland?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, because, of course, Greece took the first bailout. This is now the second European economy that's required to be bailed out. And although we don't know the amount involved, we expect it's going to be in the tens of billions of dollars, according to the Irish finance minister.

And it's all because, A, they've got a huge budget deficit. But, B, Irish banks are just about broke.

So, now the European Union, or eurozone, is going to have to stump up the cash. But, of course, it only comes along with a certain number of strings.

It's going to be a very hard road ahead for the Irish people with further budget cutbacks. And the totality of the effect, I think, Fredricka, is that having said they didn't need the money, having said they wouldn't require a bailout, tonight Ireland has effectively gone into reverse and said, yes, we'll take the money you've offered.

WHITFIELD: So what potentially could be the ripple effect, taking the money, or if, ,for any reason, there were a change of heart on that?

QUEST: The money -- well, what's going to happen tonight, first of all, the Irish cabinet has discussed it and has agreed to do it. Next, there will be a telephone call or a conference call with eurozone -- European finance ministers. Then the G-7, of course, which part of the United States is a major leading part of the G-7. And if all that comes together as expected in the next few hours, Ireland will be promised the money.

The ripple effects are that it shows the depth and severity of the crisis. It proves that what happens in one part of the world can affect dramatically what happens elsewhere.

After all, just think about it. We have said this before, Fredricka, you and I. How could subprime mortgages in Florida or in California explode the world economy as they did, and to such an extent, of course, that now we also see those over-lending, those mortgages in Ireland, those ghost towns that now exist? They literally blew up the Irish economy.

WHITFIELD: So how would the U.S. be directly impacted if Ireland does indeed need this bailout, takes the bailout? What would be felt on this side of the pond?

QUEST: I think, initially, obviously, there's no direct impact. It's not like A to B to C to D. But what I think you're going to notice is, for example, as tension in Europe perhaps shifts to other countries, Portugal or Spain, maybe even Italy, the U.S. dollar, which had been weak -- you know, the one thing, quantitative easing, QE2, Ben Bernanke's printing money, has weakened the dollar.

But I'll tell you this -- it will be a jolly sight weaker if it wasn't for the European crisis. They are literally -- the euro and the dollar are like two drunken men swaggering down the street on a late Saturday night. It really is a question of which is the weaker at any given point. They are propping each other up, but I would expect to see the dollar be a marginal gainer on this one.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right.

Richard Quest from Abu Dhabi.

Thanks so much on the perspective of what's taking place in Ireland. We'll check back with you throughout the week, I know.

Meantime, deals you just can't pass up, but maybe you should. There are secrets behind some of those Black Friday bargains. We'll tell what you to look out for next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We know you're thinking about the turkey, the black-eyed peas, the yams, and you're also thinking about the shopping the day after. But while there are deals out there, you better read the fine print. We'll tell you why in just a moment.

But first, a look at the top stories.

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Back to that shopping and indulging on Thanksgiving. Retailers are getting ready to roll out some pretty big discounts to lure holiday shoppers this Friday, but some of those deals might not be what you think they are.

Josh Levs says read the fine print and everything else.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You've got to watch out for some of these things.

You know, I've been learning a lot. Our folks at CNN Money put together a list of Black Friday secrets, and let me just get you a couple of them.

The first one won't shock you, probably, limited supplies. But you might not realize how limited some of these doorbusters are.

Sometimes you see something you really want, some amazing deal. It turns out there's only three or four in the store. It's just to get you in. You waited through the night.

Some of you already knew this, but you know what? Tens of thousands of people don't, because every year they end up getting disappointed.

Check the supply. You can even call the store in advance. It's better to do that than to wait all night.

Now, the next is called beware of the derivative. And here's what that's about.

Sometimes you go in and you get an item, and you don't realize until you get home that it doesn't have all of the standard features of what you expected it will have.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. You feel totally ripped off at that point. You feel bad.

LEVS: Yes. I mean, it might be one of these TVs or something. But it turns out the standard model, right, has a whole bunch of features. This is actually a derivative model, which is why it's cheaper, which is why it was the doorbuster deal.

You have got to read the fine print.

And another one that we're talking about this year, avoid bad bling. You know, because of the economy and some things going on with commodities and gold supplies, you're seeing a lot of jewelers advertise "GOLD" in big letters when, really, it's just gold-plated or gold-filled, because gold prices have gone up.

So, more than ever, this year, check what's going on with that jewelry, if it's got any gold in it. You definitely want to make sure that you know how much gold you're actually getting and how much you're not getting.

WHITFIELD: So you need to be asking questions.

LEVS: Yes, ask a lot of questions.

And the last one is, don't assume price matching. There's some stores out there, Fred, as you know, that offer price matching through the year. There are people who think that that's also going to apply on Black Friday -- you find a great deal at one store, and you figure, oh, I'll ask this other store to do it.

It doesn't happen. So another good thing to watch out for there.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, of course, drum roll, please. The hottest toys -- because usually people are lining up at 4:00 a.m., midnight, et cetera, to get their hands on that hottest toy on Black Friday.

So what would they be looking for?

LEVS: Yes, we have this great breakdown. Take a look at this one.

Like, this is one of them, the hottest toys of the year. This is the Air Hogs Moto Frenzy, this little guy who rides around on this motorcycle. I love it.

Here's another one over here, Tonka Chuck Truck. I actually spoke to an expert about this one. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Nothing can stop Tonka Chuck Truck. This is so cool.

You turn him on here. And even if he falls off, the dude keeps going. Look at this.

He can go upside down. He can when he's hanging off the bridge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

LEVS: Now, what do you say about this? Is there a bad age group for this? Is there a good age group?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think there's a bad age group for this, except I want to take this home and I can have it and play with it. What I love about this though for kids is they're natural experimenters.

So, a kid's going to take this set and he's going to rearrange everything and see how Chuck works. And then he's going to do it another way. They're natural experimenters. And girls are going to love this toy just as much as boys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And I think that's true.

And by the way, I have another one of the hottest toys of the year right here in my hand. Check this out.

WHITFIELD: You know that's hot.

LEVS: Paper Jamz. I love this little guy. I don't know how to play anything, but it just starts playing music.

Links to everything posted online for you, you can see there at the blog, Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN.

WHITFIELD: That sounds pretty decent.

LEVS: Fred, do you want to play with this thing? I'll bring it over.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I'll give it a shot when we're not on the air, because I don't know how to play the guitar either. That sounded a little Led Zeppelin there.

LEVS: Yes. Oh, it even sings.

WHITFIELD: Wait a minute. OK. That's a nice little trick there. I like it. I think I will try that.

OK. Bought. Sold.

All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thanks so much.

LEVS: You got it. See you.

WHITFIELD: All right. By planes, trains, automobiles, Americans are on the move this holiday week. Next, some great Web sites to check before you leave home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We know you are hitting the road. This is what you are about to encounter in some places like Minnesota with icy roads are making it difficult to travel as you see right there.

Minnesota's Department Of Transportation is actually reporting hundreds of spinouts and accidents and in many areas drivers are being asked to simply stay off the roads. That's the best bet.

So you have to delay those plans a little bit in some parts. Jacqui Jeras has a look at some interesting web sites and tools for those of us who will be hitting the road.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we're going to try to hit airways and roadways today. A lot of people taking different modes of transportation whether you are just going across town or maybe flying thousands of miles to get where you want to be.

We're going to start out with one of my favorite web sites. I literally use this almost every day. This is www.fly.faa.gov. It pulls up this map for you. There you go. Do you see it just flash like that because it automatically updates all of the time.

All of the green dots mean things are looking good, but if you take a look in Chicago ORD that's the web site there or the airport identifier. If you mouse over it, it will show you that they're having some delays here due to weather.

Low ceilings so looking at a ground delay program if you double click on it, it will tell you just how many minutes and I'm having a little bit of trouble getting on this (you touch) here.

But I will tell you that those delays are about two hours. There it goes. There you can see it. Chicago, 1 hour and 56 minutes. That's not so much fun for all those folks.

All right, let's go to the next one. This is a good traffic web site. If you're travelling along the interstates. It this is traffic.com and what it does, it pulls up a map of the United States and you can either click on that or you can click on the city.

I'm going to click down here on the Birmingham area, I think it was and it will show you red, green and yellow where you are having problems. You can even click on that and find out how much time you could potentially be delayed and then last but not least this is from Caltran in the state of California where they are dealing with a lot of snow.

If you click on travel button here and go can to highway conditions or my favorite the live traffic cameras to see what things look like out there actually on the roadways and pick from a variety of different ones.

I want to show you down here. I-80 at Truckee where they've had two feet of snow in the last 24 hours. You can see how things are going very, very slowly. Fredricka --

WHITFIELD: Wait a minute, where was that again?

JERAS: This is Truckee, California, on I-80. They've got 26 inches so far with this storm.

WHITFIELD: OK, Truckee is getting stuckey. That's not good.

JERAS: I know and by the way, we want to hear from you. We want to know how your trip is going. We want to know if you're having road delays or air delays or what your security wait time might happen to be.

You can go to CNN.com/holiday travel to find out information. You can follow us on Twitter at CNN travel and tweet us to tell us how it's going and send pictures to ireport.CNN.com.

WHITFIELD: In the end when it comes down to Thanksgiving, we want to hear about how people got to their destinations. All right, thanks so much, Jacqui.

This name may sound very familiar to you. He started in the kitchen, but now the world is his dining room. Once best known as a chef, Anthony Bourdain is now an author and a world traveler.

He's the host of "No Reservations." A popular show on the Travel Channel and his latest book "Medium Raw a Bloody Valentine To The World Of Food And People Who Cook." I caught up with him earlier this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You have the most admired job on the planet.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CHEF, OUTHER, TRAVELER: I'm well aware of it. I really have a lot of pinch-me moments. I have to pinch myself to realize how lucky I am.

WHITFIELD: Yes to travel the world and allow your tummy to lead you along the way. What's the most exciting thing about it? BOURDAIN: I getting too anywhere I want. Any place I ever dreamed of as a kid or saw in a movie and I think because everybody worldwide seems to feel very proud of their food and well disposed to a wandering stranger who's interested in what they love to eat.

It gives me a degree of access that even hard news reporters might envy because it's not that resistant. All I want from you, when I visit you in your country and let's sit down and eat and get drunk together.

WHITFIELD: How did this come about? Because in your book, "Medium Raw," you kind of talk about some of your feelings about food network and some of the chefs who have become famous or on TV and how you weren't necessarily that impressed with a lot that was out there.

But this opportunity to be able to travel the world and you kind of created it, but it was also happenstance. And then you thought, you're actually going to buy this. You're actually going to let me do this.

BOURDAIN: Yes, I really -- I can't just believe I'm getting away with it. I had an overnight success with an over testosterone obnoxious memoir of a not very distinguished career in the restaurant business.

One day standing, I was standing next to a deep fryer and then the next I had this gig chorum traveling around the world, making television in any way I want, anywhere I want.

Living the dream. That said, in this book I talk about the fact that having made the first half my career making fun of celebrity chefs I've become part of the problem.

WHITFIELD: So do you take all that back?

BOURDAIN: No, I mean, I still fair. I was a chef for 28 years. I'm somebody who takes food very seriously. It hurts me physically to see someone abuse food on television or lie about it or you know, sort of demean the profession.

If nothing else is funny. It's fun and funny to make fun of it. And you know, if you can't make fun of Gary (Feiry), comedy is pretty much dead.

WHITFIELD: So when you do tour and you're with the Travel Channel and you are embarking upon the most obscure of places and then some that are just, you know, it's so hugely popular among tourists, but you kind of rediscover these cities by your stomach and by the food that's being offered, do you open yourself up to I'm just willing to try anything? Is there a moment where you say I will go, but so far as it pertains to something raw or something living or whatever the creature may be.

BOURDAIN: I see myself, I mean, in a tiny - my own tiny recipe. Every American abroad as an ambassador for culture as I people take their food seriously. I try very hard to not, but to be a good guest and to try anything that's offered to me. I have gone out of my way to do everything possible to not be offered cat or dog. I managed to avoid those two things. I don't know what I would do if I was confronted with it at the last minute with a proud family.

WHITFIELD: Because like you said you want to be polite.

BOURDAIN: I want to be a good guest and it reflects on people to take it very seriously. I'm grateful so I've never said no.

WHITFIELD: What's the strangest thing you've eaten and most fascinating thing you've eaten? How do you remember?

BOURDAIN: I don't know what strange is. It's relative to a rural Thai ranch dressing would be the most appalling thing ever. Surely there's nothing more bizarre than a grand slam breakfast if you look at it from the point of view of people abroad.

I have gotten sick of course, but only twice in 10 years. I eat locally. If the locals are eating it from, you know, the street vendor selling, you know, food in a dirty looking stall in Mexico.

They make a living feeding their neighbors. They're not still in business from poisoning their neighbours. You're much, in my experience much more likely to become ill eating at your major chain hotel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: He's a fascinating individual. Anthony Bourdain host a "No Reservations" holiday special on the Travel Channel December 6th. Just for those of you who are trying to plan that holiday meal, he says do not depart from turkey and all of the trimmings no matter how creative you get people just want turkey and trimmings.

That's his little piece of advice this Thanksgiving. All right, saving your shopping dollars with high tech tools. We'll show you how in today's "Tech Time" coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, some high-tech help for your holiday shopping now, but first, a check of the top stories. New worries about nuclear materials in North Korea. A Stanford University scientist visited the nation and said it was new uranium in Richmond Facility. He posted his findings on the university's web site. The chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff says the report validates concerns about North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Utah police are looking for a gunman in the shooting of a park ranger near Moab. They've discovered a rifle, a back pack. A blood soaked t-shirt and a car. All are believed to belong to the suspect. Investigators believe he was wounded when he exchanged gunfire Friday night with Ranger Brody Young. Young is in stable condition.

And residents in western and mid-western states are dealing with a string of fierce storms today. Two to three feet of snow has been dumped in the Sierra, Nevada, mountains and winter storm warnings spread out from there on the Rockies. At lower elevations freezing rain and ice are making roads treacherous at best.

So if the thought of running up your bills this holiday season is making you anxious, you'll want to hear about some high tech tools that could actually save you money and time.

Joining us now via Skype from San Francisco CNN.com technology reporter Mark Milian. Good to see you, Mark. So first up, you say that you can actually scan yourself. How do you do that?

MARK MILIAN, CNN.COM TECH REPORTER: Well, I mean, there's a lot of scanning technologies you can use that will you save money and help you try on clothes. Facebook has been pushed as this very helpful medium for try on clothes and snap a picture and then post it online so your friends can tell you, you look ugly in that.

WHITFIELD: So you got a little help out there.

MILIAN: Maybe that helps your buying decision.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MILIAN: Now Facebook also has this relatively new component that they rolled out a few weeks ago called places which has Facebook deals so you can -- when you are at the mall you pull up Facebook on your Smartphone, on your iPhone and it will tell you know, Gap has a sale nearby or it will present coupons for a bunch of different stores and you can bring that up. Hit a button on your phone and show it to the cashier and says, all right, you get 40 percent off or whatever they're offering.

WHITFIELD: That's GPS coupons you're talking about?

MILIAN: Yes. That's right. There's actually a bunch of different companies that build apps to offer these sorts of functions. There is this rewards program called shop kick where you can open up your phone and download shop kick app and they'll have a bunch of different stores that opt in like Target will offer coupons the more you shop there.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MILIAN: Or go to their stores.

WHITFIELD: OK, I'm sorry that image is freezing up a bit. We can hear you. So now what is this self-checkout mode all about? How does that work?

MILIAN: Well, the self-checkout you find in a lot of supermarkets, but you also find a lot of stores are working these into their routines to save on manpower. You can actually -- some stores invest in technology called RIFD where you don't even need to physically put the item against the scanner. It will just ring it up for you and you put your bag of items on the counter and it reads some wireless chips. Now this hasn't rolled out in very many stores yet.

Another forward looking interesting technology is something called NFC, Near Field Communications. A year or so or a couple years down the line, your phone will be your credit card so you kind of wave it in front of a machine and then it charges your phone bill.

WHITFIELD: I've already seen that being used for some people with their boarding passes. I remember someone checking in before me and his boarding pass was right there on his phone. The sky is the limit on this stuff. It's unbelievable.

All right, Mark Milian. Thank you so much from San Francisco joining us via Skype. Thank you for those money saving tools there right at our disposal right now.

MILIAN: All right, thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, Hillary Clinton, she ran for president in 2008. Will she do it in 2012? We will tell what you she says in the political update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, time for a CNN Equals Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines in CNNPolitics.com desk and here's what's crossing right now.

Hillary Clinton says she will not run for president in a television interview today. Clinton laughed off speculation that she might challenge President Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination.

She says she's happy in her current job Secretary Of State. Also talking about 2012 today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, he suggested will not be seeking in the Republican presidential nomination either, but he left the door open for a vice presidential seat.

Republican Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty says the Tea Party is here to stay. He calls it a positive force that is driving accountability and change in the country and that it will continue to play a large role in national politics.

Less than three weeks after the 2010 election and potential presidential candidates are looking ahead to 2012. CNN Deputy Political Editor Paul Steinhauser previews the week in politics.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Mike Huckabee is in the political spotlight today as he headlines a speech in front of a major gathering of social conservatives in Iowa.

The former Arkansas governor who ran for the White House in 2008 is considering another bid this time around for the Republican presidential nomination. And Iowa plays a very important role in the road to the White House as its caucuses kick off the presidential primary calendar. Huckabee scored an upset victory in the caucuses back in 2008. Sarah Palin another possible White House hopeful is also in the political spotlight this week.

The former Alaska governor's new book, which is titled "America by Heart" comes out. Palin who is John Mccain's running mate in the last presidential election kicks off a book tour on Tuesday in Phoenix and that book tour will take Palin to Iowa and to South Carolina, which is also another important state that votes early in the road to the White House. Fred -

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Paul. All right, members of JFK's secret service speak out for the first time telling what happened in the hours following his assassination.

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WHITFIELD: Tomorrow marks the 47th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy. Over the years there's been no shortage of commissions, reviews or conspiracy theories questioning what really happened in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963.

Well, now, in a new book JFK's secret service agents break their silence. CNN's Brian Todd talks with two of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're a pair of stoic 78-year-old grandfathers. Gerald Blaine and Clint Hill still carry themselves in that upright tradition and still have that bond that only secret service agents know. And still have vivid memories of the clear, crisp day in November nearly half a century ago.

GERLAD BLAINE, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: We couldn't help, but we felt like we failed. We all had the same mission and it was a terrible feeling.

TODD: Blaine gives new accounts of that period in his just released book "The Kennedy Detail." He reveals how less than 24 hours after John Kennedy's assassination, he almost caused another unspeakable tragedy. Blaine stood guard outside Lindhen Johnson's house in the early morning darkness, exhausted adjusted and on edge and heard approaching footsteps and readied his machine gun.

BLAINE: Put it to my shoulder and steadied my feet and I recognized right away it was President Johnson by his profile.

TODD: Johnson had just come out to get some air. How close did you come shooting him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My finger was on the trigger. I had nightmares about this for months afterwards.

TODD: Johnson, he says, turned white, said nothing and went back in the house. I spoke with Blaine and Clint Hill just a few feet from John Kennedy's grave. Hill wrote the forward to Blaine's book, but has rarely spoken about that day.

(on camera): You had a tough time there in those years after the assassination after your resignation. Can you talk about what you went through?

CLINT HILL, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: I had nightmares and seemed like every time I turned around there was something that reminded me of what had happened. So I just clammed up and went in my basement with some alcohol and some cigarettes and stayed there for a few years.

TODD (voice-over): Clint Hill was the first secret service agent to get to Kennedy's car in Dallas. He broke into a sprint after the initial shot was fired. He said if he could relive the moments, if he could jump on the back maybe two seconds earlier.

HILL: Without a question I would be taking a bullet for the president and be dead.

TODD (on camera): Do you think that would be a happier ending if you weren't here to talk to us?

HILL: It would be a happier ending for the country and for everybody.

TODD: How do you feel about that? That's a tough thing to live with for a number of years.

HILL: It's just one of those things you do live with it that you have to accept the fact that you had a certain responsibility and you failed in that responsibility. You just have to accept it and live with it the best you can.

TODD (voice-over): Hill says he still goes through periods where he's almost unable to talk about the assassination. He brushes it off when people call him a hero. Heroes, he says, are people who are able to do extraordinary things and, quote, "unfortunately I was unable to do that." Brian Todd, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Dallas police tomorrow plan to honor an 82-year-old man for his action on the day JFK was assassinated. Temple (Boley) saw a dallas police officer lying dead near a police vehicle. He immediately got into the police car and radioed for help.

He had no idea that the man who had just shot the officer was the same man who had also killed President Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald. Officers swept into the area and soon arrested Oswald.

We're monitoring all those nasty storms that could cause problems with your holiday travel plans this week. Tune in for the latest conditions and the travel information at 4:00 Eastern Time then at 5:00 making the most of the job you have.

We'll give you tips on how to tackle annual performance reviews. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.