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Recovered Jawbone Isn't Natalee Holloway's; North & South Korea Exchange Fire; Trending On Internet; Hot Off The Political Ticker; Taking Fido On A Trip

Aired November 23, 2010 - 11:57   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take you to Aruba now. You're looking at Taco Stein, and that's his name. HE is the solicitor general on Aruba, and let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

TACO STEIN, ARUBAN SOLICITOR GENERAL: -- wisdom tooth had been extracted and in this his bone, there was a wisdom tooth present so that made the exclusion possible.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

STEIN: It's a human bone.

QUESTION: Female?

STEIN: The experts will not take a guess on that. They say it's too much mixed material here to say whether it was either female or male.

It's human and it's of a relatively young age. That's the only thing they can say.

QUESTION: So, again, the identification was made as a result of dental records?

STEIN: Yes, that's correct.

QUESTION: The bottom line would be, Natalee Holloway didn't have wisdom teeth, but the tooth on the skeleton was a wise wisdom tooth?

STEIN: That's correct, yes.

QUESTION: Can you explain that?

STEIN: What do you mean?

QUESTION: Well, can you sort of put it into context? What did they find it's proof it's not Natalee?

STEIN: We obtained the dental records from Natalee Holloway from the United States, they were sent in last week. Late Friday, in the afternoon, they were sent to Holland. And during the weekend, it had been established that the molar that was in the jawbone that has been found is a wisdom tooth, and from the dental records we got from the United States we learned that with Natalee her wisdom teeth had been taken out.

QUESTION: So it was obvious right there?

STEIN: It was obvious. Right then and there it was obvious it wasn't Natalee.

QUESTION: Can you describe the condition of the bone?

STEIN: Bad. It's porous. It has been in the water, probably in the water for a very long time.

QUESTION: What do you mean by that? How many years?

STEIN: I posed the same question to the experts and they said, we cannot tell. I cannot tell either.

QUESTION: What happens next?

STEIN: Well, within the investigation into the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, this is, well, business as usual. We go on examining every lead we get, every information we get will be examined. And as to this particular bone, we are now checking together with colleagues from Curacao whether or not we have missing humans which we can match with this material.

QUESTION: Do you have missing currently from Aruba?

STEIN: There are a few people missing, but we have no information as yet if they can be matched with this material.

QUESTION: From the prosecution's point of view, this has been another moment where we get expectation and then --

STEIN: Yes, well --

QUESTION: What does this do for your investigation?

STEIN: The investigation is ongoing, as I'm saying, and even if this bone would have been Natalee's, this wouldn't have brought us a step closer to what has happened because the material present would not have given us any leads into the cause of her death. So, in that respect, it wouldn't have mattered any much, anything more. But it's only for the family that this is another tragedy that they still don't have closure, and that is a bad thing, of course.

QUESTION: And what about the ups and downs? There have been so many of them in this case.

STEIN: Yes, what about them? I cannot say very much about that. It's a prolonged investigation. I know that. A hell of a lot has been done, and at this point in time, we have no new leads to proceed upon. QUESTION: Have the parents of Natalee Holloway been personally notified on this?

STEIN: We have notified their lawyer, and he is the one who will notify them.

QUESTION: There is a name of a woman, Amy Black (ph), that is a missing person in this area. So, does that name ring a bell at all to you?

STEIN: No, not to me.

QUESTION: There are reports that another bone had been found on another part of the beach.

STEIN: Another bone has been found and presented to the police, and we have had this bone looked at by a pathologist and he determined that it was not human. So, we're not investigating that any further.

QUESTION: Was there any notification given to Joran Van Der Sloot or his attorneys?

STEIN: No. There's no reason to do so at the moment.

QUESTION: We had heard several months ago that Aruban authorities would be going Lima to meet with Joran Van Der Sloot. Is there a plan at the moment?

STEIN: There are no specific plans at the moment. Not as long as Joran is not giving any valuable information. Up until now, nothing he has said has been proven to be correct. So, in that respect, there's no reason at this moment to go.

QUESTION: Are you following the Stephany Flores case in Lima?

STEIN: As an interesting third party, yes. Not involved in it. Let's put it that way. Yes.

QUESTION: How frustrating is it for your office to spend this time, to have the expectations --

STEIN: In any case you don't get answer -- it's a frustration. And this case is a long-running case. So, for certain, it's really high in that respect. Yes.

QUESTION: The human bone that was found on the beach, are you going to cordon off the area?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK. So, you've been listening to Taco Stein, and that's his name. He is the solicitor general on the island of Aruba.

And he is following up with a news conference based on the statement that was issued, oh, in the last hour, last 15 minutes of the 11:00 a.m. Eastern Hour, indicating that the jawbone that was found by tourists on the island of Aruba, turned over to Aruban authorities and then sent to the Netherlands for analysis has come back negative as being the jawbone of Natalee Holloway.

And the moment when that exclusion was made, and, of course, it was made through dental records, the jawbone contained a wisdom tooth and Natalee Holloway's had been removed. So, t hat excluded Natalee Holloway. The investigation continues because that jawbone belongs to someone, and that someone is still undetermined at this point.

But the critical point here is that the jawbone is first of all human and is not that of Natalee Holloway. We'll continue to follow developments and get to Marty Savidge shortly here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So, many of you are heading out now for Thanksgiving holiday celebrations around the country. Travel this season might be a bit of an obstacle course for a lot of you. Forty million people are expected to hit the roads according to AAA forecast. That is the highest percentage of automobile travelers ever recorded by AAA at Thanksgiving.

And you can plan on delays at airport security checkpoints and in a bit of an uproar over the TSA's enhanced scans and pat downs and you have got the potential for one big holiday headache.

Chad Myers now -- and some of the weather conditions around the country --

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

HARRIS: -- are going to be a little tricky for folks.

MYERS: Have you ever flown into Salt Lake City?

HARRIS: I have. Forever ago. Yes.

MYERS: You fly into Nebraska for whatever random reason.

HARRIS: Yes. To watch your corn huskers, that's why.

MYERS: I know. I don't even get there.

KUTV here out of Salt Lake, I love snow on the benches, which is what they called the mountain range out here. This east of the city kind of looking of there, and it is snowing in these key resorts. They are loving it. They are loving Thanksgiving skiing because it always boosts the travel.

If you can get there, this is part of the problem, all the snow here that you're seeing here is the next 24 hours. There are areas here with pink along here, this -- right there, Salt Lake City. That's where our shot was right there. Just to the north and to the east there. That's 10 to 12 inches.

There are darker purples through the sierra here and over here, through that looks the big horn is going to see some and maybe toward the Tetons. And, boy oh boy, just great snow for skiers, but you just need to be careful out there trying to get there because it is going to be one difficult travel adventure across the west.

When you talk about blizzard conditions, things will change foot by foot, 100 feet by 100 feet, as you go up the passes. You may get nothing, then, all of a sudden, it could be a whiteout out there.

Let's go to a couple pictures that we have for you right now. Let's just kind of just bluddle (ph) across the country because I know people are just -- they're driving everywhere. So, it doesn't really matter.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

MYERS: Here we go. This is what it looks like and looked like kind up here -- this is California. If you take the 80, I-80, if you go west of San Francisco, you go into the ocean, you go east, you go up the hill.

This is Koufax, California, KXTV -- our affiliate there showed the pictures for a while. It's a mess. Open for everything except for the trucks.

And here's Truckee from KGO, our affiliate there. The ski resort -- can you see anybody moving? No. But I bet they are going downhill - although it's definitely going to be goggle weather. If you got a brand new set of beautiful sunglasses, you might not need them. Go grab the goggles out of the box from somewhere.

I don't want to be on that motorcycle. I've owned two and they both went on the ground on dry pavement, and I don't want to drive that on that. And it got cold last night in Seattle, down into the upper teens in some of the suburbs.

And so, the slop that happened even got the ice slippery but also got Sea-Tac slippery for a while. If you remember we had a cargo plane off the end of the runway that just didn't get enough traction to slow down. So, this is going to be one adventure after another.

We also had severe weather in Illinois and Wisconsin. The weather teams are out there from the national weather service determining whether they're tornadoes or not. So far, one, of course, is a tornado in Wisconsin. The other team still out there, northern Illinois. I suspect they'll find the same thing.

HARRIS: Yes, I think you're right. Chad, appreciate it, sir. Thank you. Good to see you.

Breaking news in the five-year-old disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway. CNN's Martin Savidge is on Aruba and he joins me live now.

And, Marty, we just heard from -- let's see here, Taco Stein. He is the solicitor general on the island and he pretty much confirmed on camera the information that was spent electronically, oh, about 20, 25 minutes ago.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And the way he described how that identification was made was basically through dental records. And when they got the dental records, first of all, they had a jawbone -- excuse me -- had one tooth in it. That was sent off to the Netherlands in the forensic investigation unit there. They began looking at that one tooth and they determined that it was a wisdom tooth. Pretty clear identification right then and there, what kind of tooth, it was human, it was a wisdom tooth.

Then they asked from the dental records to come from Natalee Holloway. They get those dental records. What was significant that Natalee Holloway had had her wisdom teeth removed. Instantly, they knew this was not Natalee Holloway.

So, clear cut, black and white, this is how they know it's not Natalee Holloway. Of course, it is somebody and that is the question that still remains open, and what they will do is they will go over their missing persons reports from Aruba and Curacao and see if they can ascertain if, in fact, this is a missing person or where the bone came from. They explained that this bone has been very weathered, it's been out there for quite some time, and there may not be enough clear, good DNA inside to make any kind of determination.

But the one big determination, at least for the family of Natalee Holloway is that this bone is not her. The mystery of her whereabouts remains. And that was really the sad news that was going to come out.

Either way, it was going to be sad news for the family. They were either going to confirm the fate of Natalee and that would, of course, remove all hope whatsoever that one day, no matter how stretched that hope might be, that she would come home. Or you have another dead end, and that's what it is. It's another dead end. They just haven't gotten any real solid evidence at this point.

Where does the investigation goes? It remains open. But right now, there aren't many leads.

HARRIS: Yes. Well said. All right, Marty, appreciate it. Thank you.

Threats and accusations following deadly strikes and counterstrikes between the two Koreas. We'll have a live report for you.

Plus, look what doctors found lodged in a child's head. Ouch, ouch? A random moment in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. A bad headache. The source isn't what you'd expect. That's why it's the "Random Moment of the Day."

A CAT scan on Alexis McCarter's skull shows a large safety pin lodged in her sinus cavity and the pin is open. It's a safety pin. It's not supposed to be in your skull.

Well, doctors think she swallowed the safety pin when she was a baby so it's been there perhaps six years. Mom is stunned. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN MCCARTER, MOTHER: I couldn't say nothing. I just -- because it broke my heart that, you know -- and it all makes sense now. She has headaches sometimes. She'll point and it makes sense. She'll say my head's hurting, and she'll point. You know, you look at the picture and it's right where she'll point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Doctors will remove the safety pin in early December. Good luck to Alexis.

There you go. A "Random Moment" for Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Tensions between North and South Korea ratchet up after the two countries exchange artillery fire. South Korea's president is calling for, quote, "enormous retaliation."

Now, according to South Korea's defense ministry, the North fired toward its sea border, shelling an island in the Yellow Sea. South Korea was conducting military exercises at the time. Officials say the attack killed two South Korean troops and wounded 15 others. South Korea fired back and deployed fighter jets.

This latest flashpoint comes on the heels of North Korea showing off its nuclear facilities. The U.S. has more than 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea. And the White House has strong words for North Korea.

Let's get the latest from CNN's Brianna Keilar. She's at the White House.

And, Brianna, what is the White House saying about all this?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Press Secretary Robert Gibbs making it clear that the White House is in touch, Tony, with South Korea, condemning this attack, and calling on North Korea to, quote, "stop its belligerent actions." Also, he said in a written statement, "The United States is firmly committed to the defense of our ally, the Republic of Korea and to the maintenance of regional peace and stability."

That said, we're hearing from Pentagon sources that there's no expectation of the U.S. getting involved here in any sort of military action.

And, Tony, it's really interesting to note that while you see -- we just heard from Bill Burton, spokesman from the White House, as he was on his way to Indiana on Air Force One, President Obama heading there today -- he said the president is expected to make a call to President Lee. But what you see Press Secretary Robert Gibbs putting a statement out there today, Burton told us not to expect that from President Obama, Tony. HARRIS: Yes, it's interesting. You wonder in what way the administration will support South Korea's president's call for enormous retaliation. I suppose we'll just wait and see.

Brianna Keilar at the White House for us -- Brianna, appreciate it. Thank you.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are rattling world markets including the Dow. Let's check the numbers. They have been down most of the morning.

Look at the big board. OK. We are down 145 points. We'll follow these numbers for you throughout the day in the CNN NEWSROOM. The NASDAQ is down 34.

So, it is a down day all around here in the States and for most of the major indices around the world as well.

Let's take a break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's do this. Let's get you caught up on some stories making news across the country right now.

In New York, the ninth annual holiday train show rolled into Grand Central. Check it out. The trains actually run through a miniature Manhattan, all the way to the North Pole. That's pretty cool.

To Knoxville, Tennessee, right now, where volunteers are putting finishing touches on the fantasy of tree celebration which starts today. Fifty thousand people are expected to attend. It features some of the most ornate tree decorations in the country to be found anywhere.

And in Brockton, Massachusetts, more than 800 merrymakers gather to celebrate the city's role as home of the first ever department store, Santa. There he is, huh? The town came up with the idea some 120 years ago.

OK. You have got questions about investing and rebuilding your credit. Our Stephanie Elam gets answers at the CNN Help Desk.

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 so much for being here, guys.

All right. First question is coming to us from Will, who writes, "I want to start investing in futures but don't know where to start, what's the best thing to do?" How do you help this novice out here, Ryan?

RYAN MACK, PRES., OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, first of all, futures is one of the most risky things you can think about. I would advise it unless you want to put time in terms of research.

There's a good book out there by Russell Wasendorf, "All About Futures," in terms of getting a good overview. They have different classes that you might be able to take here in New York, have New York Society of Security Analysts that might give different classes on how to invest in futures and how to go out doing it. You want to talk to professionals, network.

I see a lot of individuals lose money real quick by putting money into the futures game. So, again, unless you're putting the time into, then I would advise maybe doing something a little bit more conservative -- mutual funds, exchange traded funds or maybe some individual stocks, as oppose to futures. But just do you research as well.

ELAM: Just know what you're getting into.

MACK: Exactly.

ELAM: All right. Next question is coming to us from Debby in Maryland, who writes, "After going through foreclosure, is there any way to reestablish good credit?" Which I guess should be a goal for a lot of people.

CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PERSONAL FINANCE AUTHOR: Absolutely. Absolutely. There are a couple ways: first is time. That's something you don't necessarily have control over.

But as time goes by, your credit report is going to look better, but only if you really manage your credit well from this point on. That means if you have credit cards, you want to make sure you get the balance down if they have a balance below 20 percent or so of your credit limits so your score can go up more quickly.

If you don't carry balance, or what if you don't have any other debt whatsoever at all, you still got to build credit. So, go get a secured card, this is a card that acts like a debit card but actually reports to the credit bureaus and will rebuild your credit. But you have to be meticulous about your credit for the next at least two to three years, and actually, she'll qualify for mortgage in another two, three years if she does that.

ELAM: Yes, and it's probably something just to keep your eyes on anyway as you go through this for the rest of your life.

WONG ULRICH: Absolutely.

ELAM: All right. Well, thank you so much, Carmen and Ryan, for helping us out.

Now, if you have a question you want to get answered, go ahead and send us an e-mail anytime to CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com.

HARRIS: Good stuff, Stephanie. Thank you.

Kids and concussions -- you will meet a young man whose life changed forever with one hit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: If you have been to a high school football game lately, you know how rough it can be. The stakes are pretty high, right? The hits are hard and players get hurt, some so severely that they never get back on the field.

Here's our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, here's what we do know. We know that a concussion can confirm much more damage to a developing brain, and that a young person has -- takes a longer time to recover from concussion.

So, today, we investigate the story of Max Conradt, 17 years old, played through concussions. A lot of -- something that a lot of high school players do. But what he teaches us, Tony, is the urgency of all this.

(voice-over): Friday night, game night.

SPORTSCASTER: Crosses at 20.

GUPTA: On a kickoff return, 17-year-old Max Conradt takes a hit.

SPORTSCASTER: I think he's tripped up by Conradt maybe.

RALPH CONRADT, MAX CONRADT'S FATHER: He took a knee to the head and went down for several seconds and was staggering off the field.

GUPTA: A week later --

SPORTSCASTER: Conradt under center.

GUPTA: -- another game.

SPORTSCASTER: Back to throw, here's come the blitz and he's mauled over.

GUPTA: Another hit.

SPORTSCASTER: The ball gets taken away from Conradt.

R. CONRADT: He drills his forehead and helmet right into Max's chin.

SPORTSCASTER: For some reason, Conradt let him catch the ball.

GUPTA: Astonishingly, Max continues to play, but then --

JOY CONRADT, MAX CONRADT'S STEPMOTHER: He was walking toward me and he looked at me and he said, "My chin hurts," and then he collapsed.

GUPTA: Max Conradt, star athlete, stellar student, was dying. What happened: second impact syndrome -- one concussion closely followed by a second one, before the brain has time to heal. In Max's case, his brain began to swell uncontrollably.

(on camera): Now, during a concussion the brain, which is the consistency of jell-o, is stretched and twisted, all sorts of things are happening. As the brain is rocked, chemicals start to flood it, damaging all sorts of different cells within the brain and throwing the brain into a sort of state of crisis.

Now, with rest, those damaged cells can heal. But when a second concussion happens too soon after the first, brain cells die, and that's when permanent damage sets in.

(voice-over): Max was rushed to the operating room.

R. CONRADT: The head surgeon comes over and puts his hand on my back and he just goes, "I'm really sorry," to basically telling us he's not going to make this. He's not going to survive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throw the ball. Throw the ball.

GUPTA: Three operations in 10 days. Max is alive, but barely conscious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Max's first time back.

GUPTA: It took months before he finally woke up.

MAX CONRADT, SUFFERED MULTIPLE CONCUSSIONS: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened?

M. CONRADT: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were hurt in a football game.

M. CONRADT: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

J. CONRADT: Yes.

M. CONRADT: Oh my God.

GUPTA: That was 2002.

M. CONRADT: I don't remember this season. I don't remember the football season. GUPTA: This is Max today. He's 26, living in a home for brain injured adults. He still has no memory of the hit that changed his life. In fact, these days, he has problems remembering, period.

M. CONRADT: Once in a while I get upset about if I can't remember the stuff I want to remember. I wish it never happened.

GUPTA (on camera): Tony, I'll tell you that Max still has no recollection of that particular game. In fact, the whole football season is just a haze to him.

His parents, incidentally, were instrumental in getting a law passed in the state of Oregon, Max's Law, which requires that coaches at the high school level do have some training with regard to concussions and that if a player has any signs or symptoms of concussions, that they are kept out of the game for at least a day and only after a medical professional has cleared them.

A lot of people ask about the signs and symptoms of concussion. There's no blood test or particular scan, but the symptoms are, you know, headache, pressure in the head, nausea, vomiting, balance problems or dizziness, vision problems, light sensitivity, confusion, or attention and memory problems. Again, a lot of these exams done right at the sideline.

Good luck to Max.

Tomorrow, we're going to talk to Fred McNeill, former NFL football player, and he's going to tell us a story about the long-term impact of concussions.

Back to you, Tony.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Sanjay, appreciate it. Thank you.

We have got some crucial advice on how to avoid scams, and hidden fees for all of you online shoppers -- 134 million people hit the stores last year for Black Friday sales. You might be surprised to find out what expectations are for this year.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, we told you 134 million shoppers hit the stores for Black Friday. Those sales in '09. This year, 4 million more are expected to join them.

Of course, it is never too soon to start your holiday shopping online. But before you do, you need to know how to avoid traps like fake Web sites, hidden fees. Christine Romans is in New York with some important tips.

Christine, great to se you. Happy holidays. Where are you going to start here?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony. Well, I want to start first with a warning here.

HARRIS: Good, good.

ROMANS: We all want to -- we all want to get back out there, right? And we want to have a great holiday season. But frugal fatigue shouldn't be replaced by, let's say, spending money we don't have. So, let's be real careful here. Just because you're tired of being frugal doesn't mean you should spend money you don't have. So, be careful on the first front.

Fifty-seven percent of people polled by the Consumer Federation of America and the Credit Union National Association say people plan to spend the same amount or more. So, you're creeping out there. You're going back to business. Forty-one percent plan to spend less.

A lot of people are already shopping online, Tony. They were online sales starting before Veteran's Day for Christmas. So here's a few things you really need to watch out for because there are good deals. There's no reason to pay for shipping. We talked about this before.

But you need to look out for restocking fees if you're buying electronics online or one-of-a-kind kind of gift or something that's unique. You could send this thing back and have to pay 20 percent of it. So, don't do that. Be very careful. Look at the fine print.

Don't shop using public wi-fi, Tony. Because there are people out there cruising around, cafes and airports and the looking for nonsecure connection to find your personal information, credit card information. Be careful.

Don't wire money to pay. If you are especially out there Googling, looking for something in particular, it's a small store you've never heard of it, they want you to wire money, don't do that.

Beware of social network URLs. What do I mean by this? If you look on Twitter, it says, hey, I found this really great thing, there's a shortened URL and you can't really see what it is. It could direct you some place you don't want to go, some place where somebody is going to be able to try to get your information. It could be a scam. So, be careful there.

Use your judgment. Always shop with a list whether you're shopping online or in the stores, Tony. And don't buy something if you can't afford it. How's that?

HARRIS: Boy, how about that? And you know, we understand that the retailers are starting to ramp up right? Didn't you tell us that they're hiring more people in anticipation of more folks getting out shopping and spending a bit more?

ROMANS: They are. And that's good. I mean, spending your money for the holidays is good because it puts people to work, but spending money you don't have is not good for you. So, remember that.

HARRIS: You first. Yes. Great advice, great tips as always, Christine. Good to see you. Thank you. Happy holidays.

William and Kate. William and Kate set a date. We now know when and where the royal wedding will take place. You will, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Taking a look at top stories now.

President Obama is planning to call South Korea's president after today's deadly attack by North Korea. Two South Korean marines were killed and 15 soldiers and civilians wounded in the attack on the South Korean island. South Korea returned fire and is threatening further retaliation through, quote, "action not words."

Part of a jawbone and tooth found earlier this month on an Aruban beach does not belong to missing teenager Natalee Holloway. The Aruban prosecutor's office says the jaw does not match the Alabama teen's dental records.

And a royal wedding date and venue has been set. Britain's Prince William will marry Kate Middleton April 29th at Westminister Abbey.

The royals and Snoop Dogg? What's the shizzle forizzle, as Snoop might say?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Ooh, good!

HARRIS: Brooke, was that okay? I think I totally botched that trying to be cool. I think I totally botched that, trying to be cool when I don't have a cool bone --

ANDERSON: No, no! It was fantastic.

HARRIS: Was it all right?

ANDERSON: I think you're super cool. You're uber-cool. This story does deserve explanation, Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, it does.

ANDERSON: According to reports in UK newspapers and tabloids and hip hop Web sites, Snoop Dogg is in talks to perform for Prince William and his fiancee, Kate Middleton, at their engagement party. Now, you may ask what in the world could Prince William have to do with snoop?

Tony, I'm here to cut through the confusion, help you connect the dots. Before you go writing this off, I should add that it's Prince Harry who is reportedly is planning the party which they say will have a hip-hop theme. Harry apparently wants both Snoop and another one of his favorites, British rapper Tiny Tempa, to perform. In addition to being the better known partyer of the brothers, Harry has never hidden his love of hip hop. He's been seen about town with Diddy and Pharell Williams.

And listen to this. He recently shot a reality show in Buckingham Palace with UK artist Goldie and Miss Dynamite. That was for the BBC. Times have changed.

Tony, William is also a fan of hip-hop. Remember 2007's big harity and memorial concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium spearheaded by William? He brought in Kanye West and Pharell Williams for that show. So, I think this is great, Tony, if anybody can loosen up the royals, it's Snoop Dogg.

HARRIS: Think about this for a second. It's Snoop Dogg and the royal couple here, sipping gin and juice. OK. So everyone --

ANDERSON: Can you imagine?

HARRIS: Yes! Everyone, Brooke, is waiting to see who will win "Dancing with the Stars" tonight. Now, the truth is Bristol Palin could win this. She's really considered a top contender. I know she's some outrage attached to this, isn't there?

ANDERSON: There is, Tony. She's considered a top contender, even though Bristol Palin landed in last place again, at least by the judge's scores on last night's "Dancing with the Stars" finale show. But the viewer votes have not been factored in yet.

"Showbiz Tonight" was right there last night after Bristol and her partner, Mark Ballas, performed. They had a few words for everybody who is still angry, who's still outraged that she is in it. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK BALLAS, "DANCING WITH THE STARS" INSTRUCTOR: People complain regardless. Like, when you have Nicole Sherzinger in the final, you have Mel B., you have Kristy Yamaguchi, people are like, "That's not fair. They have dancing experience! That's not fair! I want to see someone with zero dance experience." You got what you asked for.

But still, "That's not fair!" --

ANDERSON: Stop complaining!

BALLAS: It's like, either way, you're never going to win them all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Mark Ballas is fired up. Well, Bristol could win it all tonight. She really could. Once the viewer votes are calculated, they count as 50 percent of the score. We asked in our "Showbiz Tonight" exclusive poll, if Bristol winning "Dancing with the Stars" could hurt the show. Seventy-seven percent say yes; 23 percent say no.

Tony, people are floored, but the fact of the matter is it's not just a dance competition. It is in part a popularity contest, and she's very popular.

HARRIS: It's a TV show, friends. It's -- let's keep it in perspective.

ANDERSON: People are taking it seriously.

HARRIS: Yes. Brooke, great to see you! It was great seeing you over the weekend as well.

ANDERSON: You too!

HARRIS: Want more information on everything breaking in the entertainment world? Brooke's got it this evening. "Showbiz Tonight" at 5:00 and 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

Sarah Palin's road trip. Her book tour could be a roadmap to her plans for 2012. Details in our political update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: North Korea, its deadly attack on South Korea is one of our top stories and it is one of the top things you're talking about online right now. Josh is tracking that for us. Good to see you, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good to see you, too, Tony.

You know we look for how to get information to people online.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: But we also do keep an eye on what people are talking about. And there's something really interesting going on today I want you all to know. Usually when you look at Twitter, you look at what the most popular topics are. You're going to see Justin Bieber, a lot of pop culture things, some random phrase someone came up with. Today, number one, as of a few minutes ago, and number four, were both people around the world praying for peace in the Koreas. And this tells you something. It tells you something about how many people are concerned about what's going on there with the attack by North Korea and the retaliation being threatened by South Korea.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: And also how many young people are focused on this today. What they're saying about it. Some see it as central to world peace. I just want to share a few of these tweets for you.

"God, please bless the Koreas and the world. Make this world peace." And people are adding this at the end, "pray for Korea and Korea peace." Let's bang through a few more of these here because they are going to need it. Here's another one. "I hope everyone manages to stay safe and that they all come together to support each other. Hope those in the army are doing OK."

And I've got two more here. This one, "God, please bless the Koreas and the world. Make this world peace." And I'll get you to one more here. "So many people are dying all over the world because of diseases, natural disasters and accidents. We don't need more deaths." And they're adding this "pray for Korea" at the end.

So this shows you how many people are concerned about this, Tony. And I want all of you to see, it's a very complex region, as we all know. Sometimes it's hard to understand what's going on there. We do a really good job at cnn.com of breaking this down. Let's zoom back in. I just want you to see a few of the features that we have. You'll find them through our main page.

This right here is an exploration of just the DMZ, that demilitarized zone at the border, what's been going on there over so many years. This is about life inside Korea, with photos, talking to you about what it's like inside North Korea and what people who have gotten out describe life to be like there. And, finally, we have an explainer section that takes you through the hostility between the two countries going back through the history. Definitely want to empower yourself with knowledge when you're getting on FaceBook and Twitter and giving you view.

HARRIS: Oh, that's good stuff, Josh. A lot of folks concerned about Korea right now, that peninsula.

Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: You got it. Thanks.

HARRIS: Sarah Palin back in the headlines, or should we say still in the headlines? Mark Preston, Paul Steinhauser, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," live from the political desk in Washington.

Guys, good to see you. What do you have for us this hour?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Tony, let's talk about the book. Here it is. This is it, "America By Heart." This hit the bookshelves this morning. And I think we have some video right now from Phoenix, Arizona. This is just brand new into CNN. And this is at the bookstore where Sarah Palin will be a little later today. This is where she kicks off her book tour across the country. And people were camping out overnight to get -- to be first in line to meet Sarah Palin a little later today.

And, you know, Tony, a little later today we're going to have our Shannon Travis out there live in Phoenix and we'll have some live coverage tonight as Sarah Palin signs some books.

This is interesting, too. Will John McCain be there? Remember, this is Phoenix, Arizona. John McCain's home state. I spoke to a McCain spokeswoman and she said that while Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin are very friendly and speak all the time, he will not be there. He is with his family on vacation.

And, Tony, one last thing. That book tour is going to take Sarah Palin to Iowa and South Carolina. What do those states have in common? They're pretty important. They run pretty high in the race for the White House, Tony.

HARRIS: That is terrific.

All right. Let's see here. Where is your partner in crime? Ah, there he is.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Over here.

HARRIS: What are you following there, Mark?

PRESTON: You know, Tony, the midterm elections were earlier this month, but they're still ongoing.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

PRESTON: Last night another Democrat conceded, allowing Republicans to pick up yet another seat. The count right now, 62 seats Republicans have picked up in the midterm elections.

HARRIS: Right.

PRESTON: Solomon Ortiz represented Corpus Christi in the Brownsville area down in Texas. He was elected in 1983. He conceded last night to his GOP opponent, Blake Farenthold. So, again, 62 seats Republicans have picked up. Four House races still remain unresolved. Two in California, two in New York, and, of course, we still have that ongoing battle between the two Republicans up in Alaska for that Senate seat.

And closing, Tony, this whole race out to replace Mayor Daley in Chicago is getting a little bit crazier. You know we have Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff to President Obama running. Danny Davis. He's a congressman. Carol Moseley Braun, who's a former senator. And Roland Burris now is considering running. In fact, supporters yesterday filed nominating papers on his behalf for him to run to mayor. I spoke to one of his top aides just a few hours ago and he said that, in fact, Burris is considering running for mayor. Right now, 20 people are running for mayor to replace Daley.

HARRIS: Are you kidding?

PRESTON: Twenty people right now, Tony. That election is going to happen in February.

HARRIS: Oh, my goodness. That will be something to watch.

Gentlemen, good to see you. Appreciate it. Thank you both very much. Your next political update coming up in one hour. And for the latest political news, you know where to go, at cnnpolitics.com.

NetFlix changed the way you borrowed movies. Now they want to revolutionize the way you watch them. We'll tell you about that.

But first, a question. What was the first movie on DVD? We'll have the answer for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. Sandra Endo is in Washington with trending stories on the Internet.

So, Sandy, what was the first movie released on DVD?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hmm, I only know this, Tony, because of your stellar producers, but the first DVD that was released was "Twister." Do you remember that movie?

HARRIS: Oh, yes. Absolutely.

ENDO: Back in 1996. Yes, starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt. Boy, I haven't seen that one in a long time.

But, anyway, you know what, DVDs may be a thing of the past, or at least really a dying breed because even NetFlix, the popular DVD by mail service, is now offering consumers a subscription for streaming video. And you can check out their website right here. They are promoting it, a month-free trial. They're offering it for $7.99 a month. And basically you can download movies and TV episodes and it would just come on your computer. It would be streamline video. And it's also offering their DVDs as well, and that's for a couple dollars more, and they'll mail you the DVDs. But, you know what, this is really a sign of the evolving market.

Now, some people would say they prefer getting a DVD in the mail. It's easy, it's tangible. They know what they're getting. But others say that streaming video is just faster and easier for them to use. And NetFlix actually launched this program first in Canada in September and now it's available online immediately here in the states. But a word of caution, Tony. I know you're a video fiend.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. Yes.

ENDO: You may not get the whole library that they have on DVD just yet. It's a more streamed down version so far.

HARRIS: OK. I'll be patient, I promise. I'll be good. I'll be patient.

ENDO: All right. I'll tell you what else is trending today. 911. Did you know that the national 911 system was established back in 1968 and right now it handles more than 230 million calls a year. Well, 70 percent of those calls, now, Tony, come from cell phones, obviously. People are out on the street calling in reporting what they're seeing. Well, now the FCC wants the system to be able to field text messages and streaming video. And the FCC says it would give first responders a way to get more real-time knowledge when they get to the scene. They'll know what's going on because of people's text messaging and videos and really citizen reporters would be able to tell people what is going on. And really the last upgrade to the national emergency line was back in 2001 when 911 started to tap into GPS locaters to see where those calls were made. So really a sign of the times here in this trending report. Yes, and this is trending on cnn.com if you want to take a look at that story.

HARRIS: That's terrific stuff.

Sandy, great to see you. Thank you.

A new iPhone app gives you security wait times and airports. Yes, true. And something else we found pretty interesting. You can type in any item to see whether you can bring it on your flight. Yes to knitting needles and some other odd items you may be interested in. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. The rules for what you can bring on a plane can get pretty confusing, right? A new iPhone application eliminates a lot of that confusion. You type in the item and it spits out your answer. So we tried it. Turns out you cannot bring toy swords, right, baseball bats or machetes onboard the flight with you. Huh? Yes. OK, you have to check those items. No huge surprise there. But you can bring along pizza, sporks, a cross between a spoon and a fork, and even knitting needles. Here's the strangest one. We plugged in goldfish. It says, yes, but they have to be transported in a clear container and the TSA officers will visually inspect your live fish at the checkpoint. Who knew?

OK, your bags are packed and you're ready to go, but want about your pet? Our Jacqui Jeras has some tips on how to fly safely with your four legged pals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a Joyful union for Tim Sampson (ph) and his two dogs, Ben and Jack. They started their day in Costa Rica and just arrived in Houston.

JERAS (on camera): So tell us why you decided to travel with your pets?

TIM SAMPSON: Well, they're my kids. They travel with me and go wherever I go.

JERAS (voice-over): Most major airlines allow pets to travel in cargo or in the cabin for a fee. Each has its own regulations. Continental allowed us to follow their Pet Safe program for a day. Lisa Schoppa is in charge of it.

LISA SCHOPPA, CONTINENTAL AIRLINES PET SAFE PROGRAM: And they're the last thing put on the plane and they're the first thing taken off so that they just don't get exposed to the extreme weather temperatures. And that's how we move animals, you know, 24/7, 12 months a year.

JERAS: Pets check in just like passengers.

SCHOPPA: We have a couple of Mulipins (ph), two of those headed to Orlando. We've got four French bulldog puppies.

JERAS: With a health certificate, food, ice chips and proper labeling, the animals are driven to the tarmac and loaded into the cargo hold.

SCHOPPA: And all of our aircraft are pressurized, heated. It's the same atmosphere down below that the customer's feeling upstairs. The only difference is, we turn the lights off.

JERAS: Continental flies about 120,000 animals annually.

JERAS (on camera): Traveling with your pet can be stressful for both you and your animal. We're going to visit with veterinarian Dr. Nancy Sorenson to get some tips on how to make that trip a little easier.

DR. NANCY SORENSON, VETERINARIAN: Hi.

JERAS: Hi.

JERAS (voice-over): Dr. Sorenson checked my dog, Astro.

SORENSON: If you're going probably for either, whether it be car or air, you'd want to have a copy of maybe their most recent medical records with their vaccination history, rabies history.

JERAS: Sorenson also advises not to sedate your pet and to get them used to a crate. But the key to safe and healthy pet travel, according to both Sorenson and Schoppa, is planning ahead. Just like Ben and Jack's dad did.

SAMPSON: Oh, this is great. They're going to miss the beach.

JERAS: Jacqui Jeras, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Oh, we have got to go. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Kate Bolduan in for Ali Velshi. Take it away, lady. Have a great day.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Thank you, Tony.