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Major Antiterrorism Sweep in Saudi Arabia; FedEx Loose Package Containing Radioactive Materials; Teens Survived 30 Days At Sea; Early Birds Chase Bargains on Black Friday; S. Korea Names New Defense Minister; The Most Expensive Art Piece Created
Aired November 26, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I think it's time to look at the clock. It is 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast now, 7:00 a.m. out west.
Good morning again, everyone. It's a day after Thanksgiving. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Philips. Here's what we're talking about.
A major anti-terrorism sweep in Saudi Arabia. Suspect and their weapons captured. Security forces have arrested 149 people believed to be members of Al Qaeda. The arrest came over an eight-month period.
And FedEx facilities (INAUDIBLE) are on alert. A package containing radioactive materials is missing. The company says the package may be somewhere in Tennessee.
And the Black Friday madness is already underway, forget the recession, 138 million Americans are hitting the stores, hunting for deals.
This story is astounding. The survival, even that much more mind blowing. Rescuers, even their families, say it's simply unbelievable. Three cousins are alive after 50 days adrift in the South Pacific Ocean. The boys rescued near Fiji set foot on land for the first time since early October, after getting lost. They survived on coconuts, rainwater and whatever they could catch, fish, birds, et cetera. The cousins drifted 800 miles across the remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
Zain Verjee joins us now from London. A New Zealand boat actually spotted them in the middle of nowhere and Zain, I understand the boaters said this wasn't even the raft that they would have ordinarily taken. It's a complete happenstance.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, was totally what they were doing is they were just going around the area. It was a total miracle they even ended up there. And they stumbled upon this and said "hey, is that land or what is that?" And it ended up being fortunately, this boat, but you know, Fredricka, imagine the families. Imagine thinking that your son is dead. He's never coming back.
The family has even held a memorial service. They totally gave up home, and then all of a sudden this New Zealand crew makes a phone call and says, "hey, guess what, your kid is alive." It was pretty amazing. I actually spoke to one of those rescuers. And listen to what he said about how he felt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAI FREDRICSEN, RESCUER: Words can't explain it. 20 of us on the vessel and we all have the same feeling at the moment. I don't think any of us had a smile on our face for this long. It's still with us even though we did drop the boys in Fiji early yesterday morning, but yes, just having their presence on board and knowing that they should be reunited with their families very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: He also told me that the boys were very dehydrated. They were very weak, and they were sunburned, but boy, were they happy to see them. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: It's an extraordinary story. And so they just kind of survive on rain water, they caught tarp, and how they had the strength to fish or even catch fish is beyond me, but apparently that helped nourish them a little bit, too, right?
VERJEE: Right. Exactly. They had coconuts. Actually used the tarpaulin on their little dingy to capture some of the rainwater. They drank that and they caught a sea gull and ate that, too, to survive. So that's pretty amazing. But they were drifting for such a long time. What they were doing is, actually they were going from one island to the next and so they just get in that dingy and took off. And this is what happened. It could have been a real tragedy, but they were lucky. They improvised, they were able to survive and they look like they'll be in good shape. The family though is celebrating, the entire island.
WHITFIELD: I mean, just a couple of weeks ago, they had a memorial for them. So the family thought they are done. But extraordinary survival story. Thanks so much, Zain, for bringing us more details on that. Appreciate it.
Meantime, a new warning today from North Korea is ratcheting up tensions with the South. The North says if the U.S. and South Korea go ahead with those military exercises this weekend, it will place the region on the brink of war. The warning comes just three days after the north shelled a South Korean island, killing four people.
CNN's Stan Grant joins us now from Incheon, South Korea. Stan?
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, as you say, North Korea warning taking the region to the brink of war. It seized these exercises, military exercises between the United States and South Korea as a direct provocation, but the exercises are going to go ahead.
The USS George Washington heading to the Yellow Sea for these exercises. They were some time in the planning, originally meant to be defensive. Of course, they've taken on a very different meaning after those clashes between north and south Korea, earlier in the week.
Now, on the streets of Seoul where I'm standing now, there's been a discernible rise in tension. Veterans of the Korean war almost 60 years ago, protesting today saying they'd like to see Kim Jong-il dead. We had a chance to speak to some younger South Koreans who say "they are tired of North Korea slapping South Korea around. And they want to see more action from their own government."
A new defense minister as well has been announced here. The former defense minister resigning after criticism that South Korea did not hit hard enough in that crisis with North Korea. So the tensions rising and a lot more expected from the government here. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Stan Grant. You'll be watching it throughout the day and the weekend. Thanks so much for that update.
Meantime, it's been two years since terror attacks in Mumbai killed 164 people, but today, India marked its anniversary with a peace march and prayer. Police and security officers captured 10 Islamic gunmen, paraded through the city as other Indians gathered at the sites where the attacks actually occurred.
Militants terrorized the city for three days. President Obama visited the city this month meeting with survivors and victim's family members.
U.S. officials say the threat that WikiLeaks could publish thousands of sensitive diplomatic cables has promoted a massive review of documents by the U.S. State Department. James Collins, former U.S. ambassador to Moscow tells CNN that if the documents are made public, it could be "detrimental to U.S. relations abroad." Other envoys voiced similar concerns.
Last month, WikiLeaks released nearly 400,000 military reports about operations in Iraq, and in July, WikiLeaks leaked more than 70,000 reports about the war in Afghanistan. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning is charged with illegally providing classified documents and videos to WikiLeaks.
Let's talk about some nasty weather out there. Is it standing in the way of a lot of these Black Friday shoppers? Might be? At least in the Eastern portions of the country, right?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and folks were camping out in places like Target or you know, at the big bucks stores and yes, it was a rainy kind of miserable night, but the temperatures fairly mild. But here's a frontal system that is tracking towards the Eastern sea board.
Now, behind it, we're picking up these little areas. We've got some freezing rain, maybe some sleet, maybe a little isolated snow. Not a significant event. However, things are going to change. An area of low pressure that will move across southern Canada. That's going to usher in wind out of the west and it's going to blow in fairly swiftly. So in Washington, D.C., let's go ahead and show you Washington, D.C., we've got a live picture there. They have some light rain. The temperature is 58 degree and you know what, Fred? A temperature of 58, but by about 3:00, 4:00 this afternoon, that temperature is going to be about 37 or 38.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.
SCHNEIDER: So this is about as good as it gets for the entire day. Just about as warm as it's going to be. High temperatures for today, a little misleading because New York City, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Virginia, Boston, you probably, if you have not seen your max temperature for the day, well, you will shortly because those temperatures just fall throughout the afternoon and we're looking at gusty winds here as well.
Well, as we go through time, what we're expecting is a storm system that's going to move out of the Pacific northwest and as it does, that's going to usher in some snowfall. Snow levels for the Cascades for today, about 2,500 feet, but it looks like eventually over the next several days, it pulls into the great basin, into the Rockies and we've already seen exceptionally cold temperatures even in Southern California.
So another round, this one a little bit farther north, in the southern California region. But look at these, overnight, low temperatures, Los Angeles was 42 degrees.
WHITFIELD: Quite chilly.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHNEIDER: It is. It is about 10 degrees cooler than it should be for this time of year.
WHITFIELD: All right. Something tells me among those 138 million people who are expected to be, you know, in the stores, no matter what the weather, it's not going to matter. No Black Friday in full swing right now from coast to coast and shoppers are on the prowl for those bargains at places like Wal-Mart, Toys 'R' Us, Best Buy, Target.
Some of those shoppers, as always, were camping out for days beforehand. The National Retail Federation predicts that this year will be a little better than last year for sales and much better than the year 2008.
CNN's Martin Savidge has been right there in the Black Friday madness. He's at a Best Buy in Atlanta where it looks pretty crowded back there.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're checking out the checkout. As you can see, television sets, they're going out the door here. I want you to say hello to Alex and Azaila (ph). They're from Atlanta. They've been shopping.
Alex, how did you pay for this? Because we're worried about debt. Are you?
ALEX: Everybody worries about debt. I paid for it straight up with my debit card. I didn't want to finance anything. You end up paying twice as much.
SAVIDGE: So your idea is pay for it with a debit card, pay cash now, not worry about the bill later.
ALEX: Right. This is a small purchase. (INAUDIBLE) If it had been a bigger purchase, like a TV, something that you want (INAUDIBLE) that's a different kind of story, but with this being your day-to-day purchase, just really no point in financing it.
SAVIDGE: And quickly do you think you're going to spend more or less this year, Azaila (ph)?
AZAILA (PH): Probably the same as last year.
SAVIDGE: All right. We look forward to seeing more of the happy shopping.
Let me bring you over here to Renee (ph). Renee (ph), you purchased a computer monitor, right?
RENEE (PH): Yes, I did.
SAVIDGE: All right. Again, how did you pay for it?
RENEE: A credit card.
SAVIDGE: Credit is not a worry for you?
RENEE: No, it isn't.
SAVIDGE: Tell us why.
RENEE: We pay off our credit cards every month.
SAVIDGE: So you're not running up a debt to do your shopping.
RENEE: No, we don't. We pay everything off because we don't let the credit cards run us.
SAVIDGE: Have you always been this way or is this something that's new because of the economic times?
RENEE: No, we always do that because we don't ever want to be in debt. Whether it's recession, or whether it's anything, we just want to make sure that we control what our financial situation is.
SAVIDGE: Renee, thank you very much. Happy shopping and merry early Christmas to you.
RENEE: Thank you.
SAVIDGE: A lot of people here have been very concerned, Fredricka, about that issue of debt and when they use their credit cards, they've been telling us that they pay them off or a number of people say that they saved up for their Black Friday purchases and that they paid cash for them.
WHITFIELD: That is very clever.
SAVIDGE: (INAUDIBLE) in one way or another in the mail.
WHITFIELD: That's right. Well, it sounds like all the shoppers you're encountering are doing it the right way. Either cash or paying off those credit cards as soon as they give them. Very smart shoppers taking advantage of the Black Friday special.
Martin Savidge, thanks so much (INAUDIBLE) here in Atlanta.
So some of those early birds can actually be rather territorial. Just check out what happened in front of a Best Buy yesterday. Not in Atlanta, but in Phoenix.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The door, right -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I put my chairs -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why I lie to you? This is our car.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please come help me.
These two people in front of me, only two people are going to be in front of me. Anybody who wants to be in front of me, this is an issue, you have to go back there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. So, the young lady called 911. Police and mall security came in, they straightened things out and hopefully, everyone got the deals that they standing in line for.
All right. the black eyed peas have topped the music charts and performed for sold out crowds and now, they can add yet another honor to their list of accomplishments. More on that next in our showbiz update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. You can bet the Black Eyed Peas are feeling super about an upcoming gig.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK, that's the group's hit, "Don't Funk with my Heart." And it's going to be one of those songs they'll be performing for millions of people around the world during a February concert. The band will headline this year's Super Bowl halftime show in Dallas, quite a change from the recent acts booked for the big game. Why? Sharon Waxman from thewrap.com is here with our "Showbiz Update." So Sharon, this is the first time kind of more newer group actually, performed during the Super Bowl. I want to say that they're not classified but doesn't come out right. Usually, the classic kind of bands.
WHITFIELD: Right. They're no Paul McCartney. (INAUDIBLE) exactly.
SHARON WAXMAN, THEWRAP.COM: They're not going to be singing ballads with a guitar.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
WAXMAN: Apparently, the NFL's feeling that it's safe to go back in the water again. I think that's probably what's going on her here. It's been pretty much since -
WHITFIELD: The wardrobe malfunction? Is that what we're saying?
(CROSSTALK)
WAXMAN: The wardrobe malfunction of Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake. Years ago, it feels like a really long time ago now, doesn't?
WHITFIELD: I know. It does.
WAXMAN: They've chosen much safer acts for the halftime show since then, you know, the FCC got up in arms and CBS had to pay a fine and it just became kind of a national joke in a way. A scandal and then kind of a joke. But you know, they're moving back into slightly riskier territory. At least that's the really, it's an edgier group and who knows what Fergie might do -
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Have they been on record - really?
WAXMAN: I don't know. I mean, you know, that really was a stunt last time and I doubt that they'll go there. That's a big gig.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, let's talk about another group or performer of the Jonas Brothers, Joe Jonas, got a little bit in trouble in Abu Dhabi's airport. What happened?
WAXMAN: Yes, apparently, he was trying to check knives through his handbag. Stopped at security.
WHITFIELD: Who does that?
WAXMAN: So apparently -
(LAUGHTER)
WAXMAN: I guess he was - I think he had bought like cheese knives or something like that. That's what he said it was. So he had to remove the knives and it became a little to do at the security check through. I think he put them in his regular bag and he got to pick them up when he got back to the United States.
WHITFIELD: OK. Big old oops.
All right. Meantime, "Dancing with the Stars," who wasn't watching "Dancing with the Stars" and they end up with a huge ratings spike. Tell me more.
WAXMAN: Yes, they had actually the biggest show of the series history. 24 million - biggest finale of the show's history. 24 million people watching. That means everybody already knows Jennifer Grey won. I don't need to tell you that Bristol Palin didn't win. But that's very big. In the meantime, that other sort of spin-off idea, "Skating with the Stars" did not do well. (INAUDIBLE) but "Dancing with the Stars," with incredible juggernaut and I imagine this is just going to go on and on for the moment. It's kind of like the new "American Idol." That show is quite amazing.
WHITFIELD: Well, I'm kind of surprise that had the "Skating with the Stars," that there was another attempt. We had it a while back and then it went away, and now, it's back again. So give me another shot, hoping it will stick this time.
WAXMAN: Well, when you have - yes, but then but this is what always happens. When you have a show like "Dancing with the Stars," a show that really works so incredibly, and it's hard to find something that does work. There's always going to be spinoffs, knockoffs and imitation shows and rarely do they take off. You know.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
WAXMAN: It doesn't (INAUDIBLE) and rarely do they take off. You know, but it doesn't seem to stop the networks who are trying to do not cost every single time.
WHITFIELD: Exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
Nothing beats a failure but a try, right? Sharon Waxman, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
WAXMAN: Thank you.
All right. A California priest is a perfect example of the holiday spirit. He has given thousands of dollars to the homeless in Los Angeles and he has been doing it for more than 30 years. Meet the man who's making his mark, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Time now to travel across the country. First up, Winston Salem, North Carolina, where a three-year-old girl is being called a hero today. Serenity Dickson, she called 911 after her mom suddenly collapsed in their home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emergency Services, can I help you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mommy's stuck on the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll save my mommy's life.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. Just three. Paramedics say Serenity even helped them get inside the house to treat her mother, who was dehydrated and had a virus. Next up, Cincinnati, Ohio, a proposal of marriage and a 10-k turkey trot.
Chris Manjar (ph) donned the lime green T-shirt that read "Will you marry me Kate." As you see right there. Thank goodness she said yes, right? It's the end of the race, Chris got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. Katie (INAUDIBLE) and they will ride off into the sunset. Happily ever after.
Finally, hundreds of New Yorkers pushed back from the Thanksgiving table early yesterday. They lined up instead outside Toys 'R' Us to be among the first to rack up Black Friday shopping deals. She looked like she was happy about that. Yesterday marked the first year that several major retail stores opened for business on Thanksgiving day.
For more than 30 years, Father Maurice Chase has been making his mark and this year was no different. Father Chase, who is always known as Father Dollar Bill, is a member of the Skid Row Charity Fund. He spent Thanksgiving day giving out $15,000. Mostly in singles to the homeless on skid row in downtown Los Angeles. His goal each year is to let each person know that they count.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FATHER MAURICE CHASE, "FATHER DOLLAR BILL": I get to tell people that they count, you know. I mean, a lot of these people feel neglected. I mean, who loves them.
I'm going to give it to my niece. It's probably going to be the only thing I can give her this year for a Christmas present.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me and my mom, we live in a shelter and we've been there for two months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you going to do with it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to try to feed my little cousins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. What an incredibly generous heart he has. 91 years old, making everyone feel so special there. Father Maurice says he simply wants to go to heaven and this is his way of getting there. If you're afraid this holiday shopping season will put you in deep debt, you don't want to miss Christine Romans' story coming up, to show us one way to get yourself out of the wreck.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's 10:30 a.m. on the East Coast, 07:30 a.m. out west. Here are some of the stories making headlines.
A startling new study on smoking. A study of 192 countries found second-hand smoke kills 600,000 people worldwide every year. One third of those killed are children.
South Korea named a new defense minister today. The appointment comes as tensions mount over Tuesday's attack on a small island there. South Korea and U.S. forces planned military drills in the yellow sea this weekend. The exercises were scheduled months ago, but North Korea officials warn, quote, "The peninsula is closer to war."
And back in this country, Shoppers are not shying away from chasing Black Friday deals this year. Malls and stores across the country report huge crowds. Retailers say they're seeing long lines, hot ticket items like gaming consoles, toys and clothing.
Which brings us to Nicole Collins. She's on Black Friday patrol at Washington D.C. She's joining us right now from Fashion Center, a mall in Arlington, Virginia. So, how are things going there?
NICOLE COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, happy holiday shopping season, Fredricka. It's well under way here at Fashion Center in Pentagon City. The hustle and bustle well under way since very early this morning. A lot of people coming out making big purchases, small purchases, some people not making any purchases at all, just getting their coffee, sitting on the benches, strolling around, and taking it all in as a holiday experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not a big crowd person, but sometimes, you got to come out and, you know, see what the people are all about and see what kind of deals. So, I think it's a little bit of both. Tradition and see what kind of sales we can get, too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we woke up, I didn't do no makeup, no hair. Just, you know, get right to the mall and get it done with, go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Yes, she had it right there. Her priorities were set straight today when she woke up. So, look, the National Retail Federation is predicting 138 million people will come out and shop over the next three days, Black Friday weekend, that's what it called. That's 4 million more than came out last year. So, over all, the National Retail Federation predicting that holiday spending will be up 2.3 percent this year. That's much better that last year and extremely better than the year before.
The last two seasons have been pretty disheartening for retailers and the economy, in general. So, looking perhaps at retailer spending upwards of 447 billion this holiday season. Again, lots of big ticket items out there. We're seeing a lot of people with clothing purchases here, and experts do think that gift cards and clothing will be the big winners this holiday season, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so, I wonder, Nichole, you know, the big anchor stories there at the Pentagon City Mall, Macy's, Nordstrom's, are they competing with some of the smaller stores in the big way offering kind of a better deal, the bigger stores?
COLLINS: You know, to me, the deals look all pretty similar. You have certain percentages at every store here. There's something going on and nothing really jumps out to me. I think it depends on what you're looking for. So, I spoke to one woman earlier who is very excited about a deal at Macy's where some coach bags are 20 percent off. To appearing (ph) to coach, you know that that's a big deal.
But, you know, other people just sort of depending where they want to go. It's a deal on a coach purse isn't a big deal for a man, right? So, Apple today is only day that they have their products on sale.
WHITFIELD: Right. OK.
COLLINS: But no, if you're looking for a Mac, it's a big day because Apple, only on Black Friday do they have deals and sales at Apple, but today would be the day. If you want to go out and get an iPad, you can get about $41 off and about $101 off on Mac computer, laptop, or desktop. So, those are good deals out there.
WHITFIELD: Well, Nichole Collins, maybe you'll get a chance to take advantage of a nice little deal in between your life shops throughout the day. Happy shopping. Thanks so much.
COLLINS: Perhaps.
WHITFIELD: All right. Retailers are pretty optimistic about the sales this year. The National Retail Federation predicts a 2.3 percent increase over last year to more than 4447 billion. That's better than 2009 when sales were up 0.4 percent and much better than 2008 when sales were down nearly 4 percent that year.
So, Black Friday for retailers can turn into red Friday for you if you're not careful. After all, debt is America's dirty little secret, and now, smart is the new rich. Here's CNN's Christina Romans with an idea on how to dig yourself out of debt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You're on the ropes, right? You've got renter mortgage. You got a car loan. You've got groceries.
DAVID FLORES, GREENPATH DEBT SOLUTIONS: Yes.
ROMANS: You've got a student loan. And you can't afford -- you just lost a job. How do you prioritize the basics even? Student loan, you get a deferment.
FLORES: Yes. I was going to say you want to take a look at this and say, OK, where is there assistance?
ROMANS: Right.
FLORES: Student loan companies typically will help with hardships.
ROMANS: They usually have lower interest rates, too, right?
FLORES: They do. They usually do. But yes. So, putting these into deferment or forbearance can help, so you're eliminating this even if it's temporary.
ROMANS: You got to get tough on the groceries and tighten up.
FLORES: You got to get tough on the groceries, on the renter, or mortgage. Long-term, is your situation going to -- do you see it changing?
ROMANS: You might need to downsize.
FLORES: Yes. And this is the hardest part. A lot of times when it comes to rent, downsizing an apartment, people don't want to do that, but sometimes, it needs to be done if their situation is a long- term situation, not a short-term.
ROMANS: Any bottom line, $13,000 of credit card debt at 29 percent interest, if you paid only the minimum, it would take 35 years to pay it off. (INAUDIBLE) know that.
FLORES: They don't. They don't.
ROMANS: They just don't know it. That's a lifetime.
FLORES: Right. And so, that's why, you know, if you can afford to make the minimum payment where you can pay off your debt sooner, great, but if you can't afford to pay the minimum payment, that interest rate, 30 percent, that's a lot. Seeking credit counseling will help to try and get those payments manageable, get that interest rate down to, you know, maybe a 10 percent interest rate, a 6 percent interest rate, something manageable so you can pay off that debt without shelling out, you know, a ton of extra money.
ROMANS: David Flores says one of the toughest parts of digging out of debt is getting started. Realizing what that number, the balance, is. He says once you come to terms with it, start paying down your debt in manageable chunks, little by little. After all, little by little is how most people get themselves in debt to begin with.
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. I know you know this by know, but, by the way, it is Black Friday, and Wall Street will have a shorter trading session today. Take a look at the big board right there. Dow is 11,118, down about roughly 69 points. We'll keep close tabs on it for the remainder of the open.
All right. Oh, by the way, it's also Kids Day at the New York Stock Exchange. Sounds like a good time to talk about toys, too. Alison Kosik, she has had a closer look at what kids are looking for this holiday season in between spending a little time on Wall Street.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Hi, Fredricka. Well, as you know, it's a really critical time of the year for retailers and especially critical time of the year for toy makers, especially the country's top two toymakers. I'm talking about Mattel and Hasbro. And now, think of it this way, each of these companies see more than 30 percent of their sales for the year in the last three months. So, that's how important these holiday shopping sales are to them.
Of course, the big question everybody wants answered, what do kids want this holiday season? Well, here's what the National Retail Federation says. It says the boys really want video games. They top the list. Then Legos. And then, of course, any kind of cars. That comes in third. And Disney "Toy Story" toys are also hot this year.
All right. Let's not forget about the girls. It's all about Barbies. Mattel (ph) Barbies to be specific. Generic dolls come in second, then Dora the Explorer, and video games. And notice, Fredricka, video games come on both of these lists. So, it's really an important time of the year for these game makers to make some nice profit, too -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Wow. It seems to be the newest and only thing that, I guess, unusual for the list, over, you know, across generations. All those other things we've seen those for decades. Barbies, cars, always top sellers, top pleasers for the kids.
KOSIK: That's right and true.
WHITFIELD: Yes, right.
KOSIK: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right. Alison Kosik, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
Art work so valuable it's been tucked away in a high security vault. That right there. Have you ever seen anything like it? Human, diamond encrusted skull going on public display. We'll tell you where in the morning passport.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A night to honor CNN heroes, ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And CNN Hero of the Year is Anuradha Koirala.
(CLAPPING AND CHEERING)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Our CNN viewer saluted her for her work rescuing more than 12,000 women and girls from sex slavery.
ANURADHA KOIRALA, 2010 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: Please try to respect the youth and do something for the youth. They are the ones who are going to build our next generation. Thank you. Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD (on-camera): Koirala who is from Nepal will receive $125,000 to continue her work. Halle Berry, Bon Jovi, they're just some of the big names featured at Fourth Annual CNN Heroes all-star tribute. If you missed it on Thanksgiving night, tune in to CNN Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. You can catch it there.
Scanning our morning passport now. We begin in London where a British artist, Damian Hurst, is about to display one of his most priced work. It's a platinum-plated 18th century human skull covered in, as you see it there, diamonds with an estimated value of $80 million. It's the most expensive work of art by any living artist. For almost two years, it's been tucked away in a high security bank vault. Well, now, it's on its way to Florence, Italy, where it will be on public display.
All right. Still in the U.K. now, next stop, Anglesey, Wales. Have you heard of it? Well, now, get very used to it. It's now being called the love island and home to Prince William and his bride to be, Kate Middleton. CNN Dan Rivers talked to the locals about how the royal have now put Anglesey on the map.
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DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This green, luminous island framed by white mountains is about as far as Prince William can get from the glare of publicity that surrounded some of his life. Until now, Anglesey has been a very quiet corner of the U.K. A small island off the north coast of Wales, where solitude is in great supply.
Two months ago, Prince William qualified to fly a search and rescue helicopter here at Royal Air Force Base Valley. For his colleagues, and in fact, most people we spoke to, he's treated simply as an ordinary guy doing an extraordinary job. And the local press seems happy to give him and Kate space.
FFION WILLIAMS, JOURNALIST: They're very much protected. I don't know of any agreement, you know, which stands, you know, telling us that we're not allowed to publish, you know, his whereabouts. But I do think that people do respect his privacy as well.
RIVERS: It's a far cry from the goldfish bowl of London. Prince William may be used to this, but Kate Middleton must have found this level of scrutiny uncomfortable. Rather than the ocular greens (ph) of a palace, the couple has actually spent a lot of time in much more modest accommodation on Anglesey in a cottage near here.
If Prince William wanted to buy here, what would be the options?
DAFFYD HARDY, REAL ESTATE AGENT: Well, it will be something like this, I would think a sort of traditional-type cottage with stone elevations, hardware (ph) windows --
RIVERS: Local estate agent, Daffyd Hardy, shows me the kind of place the couple could buy if they want to put down more permanent roots. He thinks the new royal connection can only boost the flagging housing market.
HARDY: I think it's obviously going to have a very positive effect on prices. I was talking to someone the other day, and we were discussing it, and we were saying it could have sort of 10 percent, maybe, on the top end of the market.
RIVERS: Most locals have stories of William and Kate doing their shopping, going to local restaurants and pubs with little fuss and zero intrusion. And the unanimity extends to William's job. He's regularly involve in rescues helping the local lifeboat crew then never sure if the (INAUDIBLE) above them is the second in line to the throne.
RON PACE, ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTE: We could be operating quite regularly and not even know that he's actually driving the helicopter.
RIVERS (on-camera): Most people here think that for the next few years, Prince William and Kate Middleton will have the chance to live a relatively normal life on this beautiful, but isolated island. It's an opportunity they may never have again and everyone here is hoping they make the most of it.
Dan Rivers, CNN, on Anglesey, North Wales.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Back to this country now where shoppers are out in force today. Many are scooping up must have toys as retailers try to outdo each other with the prices. Head inside the toy wars between stores.
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CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST: The turkey that President Obama pardoned is, you know, that ceremony where he pardons a turkey, that turkey is being sent to live at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate. How is that doing? Isn't that nice? Yes. In fact, as we speak, the turkey's at the airport getting an invasive pat down.
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O'BRIEN: But it's -- nice. It's -- but, it's says it's a turkey, it's with butter. Yes.
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O'BRIEN: Likes it.
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WHITFIELD: A freshman congressman making a name for himself early on. Capitol Hill, our Ed Henry is at the White House with Political Ticker. So, expound on that, please.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you know, last hour, we talked a little bit about the president, his weekly address, talking about Thanksgiving, and having a bipartisan tone. He's going to be meeting with Republican and Democratic leaders here at the White House, slightly a different tone from the Republican address. Basically, you had this freshman Republican, Austin Scott, from Georgia, saying look, Republicans have a mandate to stop what he called job killing policies, runaway spending here in Washington.
And he also said they're going to bring a lot of energy and vigor. These 85 new Republicans coming into the House and he listed out. You got seven farmers, six medical doctors, three car dealers, one pizzeria owner and a partridge -- no, no partridge, but you get the idea, quite a mix of people coming into these freshmen Republican class, 85 of them. So, it's going to be very interesting to watch, all of them as they come to Washington in the next few weeks ahead.
Secondly, in Nevada, there's a big story brewing there because you'll remember that in 2008, the Democrats had sort of a hotly contested presidential contest. The caucus there in Nevada and Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton were going back and forth, campaigning aggressively there. Republicans did not because it was non-binding. Basically, the delegates there would not have to vote at the Republican convention for whomever won the caucus.
So, it really was not hotly contested. This time around, Nevada Republicans want to change that for 2012, so that it will be binding. So, they're expecting it will be very early in the 2012 process once again, Nevada. And they think, this time, Republicans will have to campaign aggressively there because the votes will actually be binding, and they could become a big player.
By the way, reporters like it as well because this will mean that we will have a lot of official trips to Las Vegas in 2011 and 2012.
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HENRY: But make sure that, you know, we're checking out the electorate there, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Make sure you bring us a little change in your pocket when you do that.
HENRY: Yes, I get some.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, what's about this war of words between Sarah Palin and Barbara Bush. It seems to be never ending.
HENRY: Yes. It's getting interesting. You remember, this started on "Larry King Live." I think it was last week, where the Bushes were interviewed. And Barbara Bush was asked by Larry, look, what do you think about Sarah Palin, and she had a couple of shots at her. First of all, she said, look, I sat at a dinner with her one time. She's quite beautiful and sort of stopped there. Didn't say she's also smart. She's a great candidate, a great governor, or anything like that.
And then said, you know, she's from Alaska, and I hope she stays there, suggesting look, you know, the Bushes don't want to see her run for president in 2012. Well, Sarah Palin fired back on a Laura Ingraham radio show saying, and I quote, "I don't think the majority of Americans want to put up with the blue bloods." Kind of interesting little pop there at the Bushes. We'll see.
You know, while the second President Bush, you know, was the first President Bush who was in the Larry King interview, but the second President Bush left office a little unpopular, but now is on a book tour and some Republicans sort of coming home and saying, look, maybe unbalanced, it was a good presidency.
And so, it will be interesting because, you know, Sarah Palin by sort of attacking what she calls the blue bloods, sort of plays to her base and the tea party folks who sort of want to take over the party, but there's still a lot of sort of the old Republican faithful who might not like that kind of a shot. So, we'll see, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes. It will be some interesting strategy if that was, indeed, the case.
HENRY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Ed Henry, thanks so much. Appreciate it from Washington.
OK. Well, now, let the toy wars begin. The search for that hot new toy moves into high gear today. Put on your armor, and we'll help you find some deals.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Finding that must have toy can be like waging war this time of year. You may remember the scene from the holiday movie "Jingle All The Way."
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And by the way, according to the loss of supply and demand, the new less price on each figure just doubled. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. So, there can be a little frustration and frenzy when it comes to holiday shopping. But less all (ph) works that OK for you. Retailers are waging war for your business. CNN's Karin Caifa reports, let the toy wars begin.
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KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Full steam ahead into the holiday shopping season. The wishes of little people mean big business, which means lots of retailers want to be players in the toy game.
SEAN MCGOWAN, TOY INDUSTRY ANALYST, NEEDHAM & CO.: If you don't want to be in it this time of year, then you don't want to be in it.
CAIFA: The National Retail Federation says nearly 42 percent of holiday shoppers have toys on their list, and despite in expectation they'll part with more green this year, retailers still believe price is key.
STEVEN RESTIVE, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, WAL-MART: We'll actually have more than 4,000 toys on sale at Wal-Mart between our stores and WalMart.com and our goal to be the everyday price --
CAIFA: At this Wal-Mart store in Alexandria, Virginia, shelves are stocked with items topping early wish list from "Toy Story" to Legos. Along with their other big boxed rivals, they'll have competition from Toys "R" us and the toy business year round. And after opening 90 seasonal pop-up stores last year, they brought back that concept and then some.
JERRY STORCH, TOYS R US CEO: We like what we saw, so this year, we're opening over 600 express stores in malls and shopping centers. Our objective there is to make it even more convenient to shop at Toys "R" us.
CAIFA: As for the season's must-have-item, whatever it is, shoppers will go searching.
MCGOWAN: There may yet be that sort of dark horse that comes on and becomes the it toy that the kids are going to hold their breath and their parents are going to pull their hair out on again (ph).
CAIFA: Because toy fads come and go, but holiday memories can last forever.
In Washington, I'm Karin Caifa.
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