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Holiday Travel Outlook; Uneasy Korean Peninsula; Portland Bomb Plotter Arrest; Military Police Sweep in Brazil; Elections Under Way in Haiti; White House: WikiLeaks Release "Reckless"; High Tech Giving; START Treaty May Have to Wait

Aired November 28, 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: Millions of Americans on the move, heading back home from their holiday break. We'll tell you what to expect at the airports and on the roads.

And still haven't gotten enough shopping? Well, tomorrow is Cyber Monday, when stores offer big deals online. But shoppers may find something they never bargained for -- cyber scammers. More on that at 4:00 Eastern Time.

And then at 5:00, holding on to the job you have, 10 ways to wow your bosses by boosting your productivity.

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

This is a big travel day, with people trying to get home after that long Thanksgiving holiday. We're tracking everything from the runway delays to problem roadways.

Take a look at Spokane, Washington. Road crews there are working around the clock. It is the snowiest November on record.

And look at live pictures from our tower cam in New York City. It looks pretty beautiful there. Weather is expected to cooperate with travelers along the East Coast.

And then check this out. This Flight Tracker shows just how busy the skies over the U.S. are right now with air travelers.

Our Sandra Endo is at Reagan National Airport in the Washington, D.C., area.

Sandra, are people experiencing any delays? Does it seem like smooth sailing from your vantage point?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, pretty much smooth sailing for a lot of travelers coming out to the airports today. We looked at the monitor just a moment ago. The flights seem to be on time as well.

Now, take a look at the security line behind me. It is so short, and it's moving so smoothly.

What passengers will see though when they get through this security area is signs, signs indicating what they can carry on, also the screening procedure they will face, and also this new measure by the TSA which indicates that passengers cannot carry or check in toner and printer cartridges. And as you know, that stems from last month's terror bomb plot targeting the United States.

Now, also in place are those controversial body-scanning machines. That technology is still being used. Of course, also, we've talked about and heard about the controversial enhanced pat-downs. So people will have to undergo that.

And we talked so to some passengers today, what they thought about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leaving from D.C., I had to go through the body scanner.

ENDO: How did you feel about that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not bad. I mean, it's not a big deal. It's increased security. So willing to go through it if it makes us safer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of ridiculous at a certain point. I mean, it's a little bit over the top. I don't see -- I mean, I can see it used in some certain situations, but for every passenger, I feel like it's a lot to ask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENDO: But keep in mind there are 400 of these body scanning machines spread out nationwide throughout 70 airports. So, if you do the math, Fred, there's only a small percentage of travelers who will actually have to go through those scanning machines. But, again, pretty much smooth sailing here. The only really long faces we've been seeing are people saying good-bye to their loved ones.

WHITFIELD: Right. So very few people may have to go through the scanning machines. Very few people may actually get the pat-down as well.

Well, give me an idea of something else folks might be encountering as they travel. They may want to bring home some leftovers from grandma or mom. What is the TSA allowing in terms of food stuff to go through, or gifts?

ENDO: A good question. Yes, everyone wants to hang on to those leftovers.

The TSA will allow people to carry on turkey, stuffing, pie -- that is, if they make it to the destination. I'm sure people will be eating it on the plane.

What they won't be allowed to carry on though is cranberry sauce, gravy, creamy dips, jams, soup, maple syrup, anything that has kind of a liquid consistency. All of that should be bundled up, packed up, and checked in your luggage. So you will have those leftovers when you get home.

WHITFIELD: Checked in your luggage?

ENDO: Yes. It sounds good. I'm hungry now.

WHITFIELD: Oh gosh. Hopefully not the food. Hopefully you can eat that while you're on the plane.

All right. Sandra Endo, thanks so much, from Reagan National Airport.

ENDO: Exactly. You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Overseas now.

And a U.S. and South Korea military exercises now under way in the Yellow Sea. This, six days after that deadly attack by North Korea, putting South Korea and its allies on alert.

The threat of further aggression from the North has led to protests and evacuations in the South. And right now, China is proposing emergency talks between the six nations involved in previous nuclear talks with North Korea. That's China, the U.S., Japan, Russia, and the Koreas.

Even before the military exercises started this morning, North Korea warned that the maneuvers could lead to retaliatory strikes. Earlier, Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen spoke to our Fareed Zakaria about North Korea's Kim Jong-Il and his role in the region's stability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: He's got a country that's starving its people. His economy is absolutely dreadful. And he continues to take actions, and I think very deliberate actions, to destabilize a region that could be very dangerous for all of us including not just the regional players, although I think certainly China has a great deal at stake with stability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, China just might be the key to settling down the Korean crisis. It's North Korea's top trading partner, but it also has even bigger dealings with the South.

Marco Vicenzino is director of the Global Strategy Project. He joins me now from London.

So, Marco, is China's call for these new talks a strong enough first step to try to stabilize or calm things down in that region?

MARCO VICENZINO, DIRECTOR, GLOBAL STRATEGY PROJECT: I think it's a step of desperation. I mean, if we look in March, 2009, when the six- party talks broke off, China didn't demonstrate a sense of urgency to restart the talks. In March of 2010, when the North Koreans sunk a South Korean vessel, the entire international community condemned it except for China.

WHITFIELD: So why is it now?

VICENZINO: The reason why now, because obviously the situation is escalating, it's intensifying. When the event took place on November 23rd, once again the international community condemned it. The Chinese didn't.

Now that the U.S. aircraft carrier is approaching, and you're going to have these military exercises, the situation is escalating, out of a sense of urgency and desperation, it's finally calling for a restarting of the six-party talks. This is a diplomatic embarrassment for China, what happened on November 23rd, and it's a failure of Chinese diplomacy to actually use their influence on North Korea, because, after all, China is the lifeline of the North Korean regime.

WHITFIELD: So, if, indeed, these six-party talks happen sometime in December -- one would think the early part of December -- what would need to be discussed or even promised?

VICENZINO: Well, the issue of North Korea's nuclear capability has been the central and key part all along. And it's there that the North Koreans have not shown seriousness. And the Chinese, in my opinion, have not applied the pressure necessary.

So, if it's going to be a dialogue just for the sake of dialogue, then nothing will be accomplished. The Chinese need to be directly engaged, need to be more proactive, need to be more vocal in their condemnation of the actions of North Korea. The backroom quiet diplomacy is simply not yielding dividends.

WHITFIELD: Now, that North Korea would say these military exercises, if they continue on, then the U.S. and South Korea would be putting this region into the brink of war.

Is North Korea bluffing, or do you believe they really would deliver in helping to precipitate this war?

VICENZINO: Generally bluffing, but once again, if there's a skirmish that happens, a skirmish that spins out of control, it can develop a dynamic. An independent, irrational dynamic can lead to a vicious downward cycle, and you can see full hostilities.

Once again, would it be a full-blown war? No, but a serious skirmish leading to deaths, and it can seriously escalate the situation.

Now, in my opinion, these exercises are not the provocation that the North Koreans are provoking. These military exercises were planned long in advance, and the reasons why they were planned were to be able to be prepared for situations such as what happened on November 23rd.

WHITFIELD: So you think North Korea is simply using it as an excuse?

VICENZINO: It's a pretext. The pretext, once again, is trying to extract concessions, escalate the situation, start talks, and extract concessions, predominantly economic aid and aid -- because once again, one-fifth of its population is nearly starving. So it needs aid. It needs international help to be able to survive.

WHITFIELD: Marco Vicenzino, thanks so much, of the Global Strategy Project.

VICENZINO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: In Oregon now, a suspicious fire at the mosque reportedly attended by the suspected Christmas tree bomber. Police in Oregon are calling the fire now arson. The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information.

This all follows Friday's arrest of Somali-born Mohamed Mohamud in Portland. The 19-year-old faces up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine after the feds say he plotted to bomb a crowd at a Christmas tree lighting on Friday night. Undercover FBI agents say they managed to slip him a fake bomb, so they say no one was ever in any real danger.

A high school friend of the suspect expressed shock at his arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICARTE MARTIN, HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND OF BOMB SUSPECT: He's a pretty good person. I mean, in class he was a jokester, and he always cracked jokes, and everyone found him to be pretty funny.

I mean, here I see the kid I knew in class, the pretty fun kid. But then I see that picture and it's actually pretty scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is in Portland, asking, who is Mohamud?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nineteen-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Somalia. He lived here in Corvallis, Oregon, a college town an hour and a half outside of Portland.

Here, FBI investigators say Mohamud hatched a plan of attack against fellow citizens that dates back to the summer of 2009. The government's case against Mohamud is outlined in a 38-page affidavit.

DWIGHT HOLTON, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR OREGON: This defendant, as is set forth in the complaint, demonstrated at every turn a very serious determination to commit violent jihad.

GUTIERREZ: So, last summer, an FBI undercover agent contacted Mohamud, saying he was an associate of an alleged Pakistani terrorist. They met in Portland, where Mohamud told the agent he wanted to put together an explosion where people would either leave dead or injured. He allegedly said he had identified the target where there would be many people, a tree-lighting ceremony in Pioneer Square in downtown Portland.

ARTHUR BALIZAN, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: He's the one that selected the location. He stated why he selected the location because of the mass of people that would be here.

GUTIERREZ: Friday, Mohamud and the agent drove a van that Mohamud believed was packed with explosives to Pioneer Square. He allegedly attached a blasting cap to the device he believed to be a detonator. That's when agents swooped in and arrested him.

CHIEF MICHAEL REESE, PORTLAND POLICE: It's very difficult for me to comprehend how a young man who we gave -- this country has given great opportunities to could waste those opportunities and be willing to commit a horrific crime. It's very sad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thelma mentioned the 38-page affidavit the FBI filed against Mohamud. It is filled with comments the undercover FBI agents say Mohamud made during their sting operation.

At one point in planning the bombing, agents say Mohamud said, "Do you remember when 9/11 happened, when those people were jumping from skyscrapers? I thought that was awesome."

Mohamud is due in a Portland courtroom tomorrow.

And shoppers be wear. That perfect gift that you've spotted just might not be the real thing.

U.S. Customs officials say they are running across more counterfeit items every day, including online. Authorities have shut down more than 70 Web sites suspected of selling fake goods.

If you visit one of those sites, you'll be greeted with this name, stating "The (the domain name) has been seized by Immigration and Customs"

So, if you plan to do some shopping online, how can you keep from getting taken? Our Josh Levs is looking into that.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know what, Fred? You've got to watch out for this, because scammers look forward all year to tomorrow, to Cyber Monday. They're waiting for you.

I'm going to show you how to protect your computer and how to find the best deals. It takes a strategy. It's coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: I know you can't wait. Tomorrow is Cyber Monday. A lot of you will be shopping online.

And Josh is here to tell us about some ways to avoid some nasty pitfalls that come when shopping online.

LEVS: Right. Exactly. So I want to do two things for you here.

I want to talk to you about finding the best deals, and I want to talk to you about protecting your computer. And you don't need to write any of this down, because at the end I'm going to show you all where to find all this.

Given how big it's going to be -- 70 million people are expected to shop from work tomorrow -- so it's some lost worker productivity, but it's good for the economy. So I'm hoping bosses across America will be cool.

WHITFIELD: Well, it means they can stay at work longer because they are not going to go to the shopping malls. You know?

LEVS: Well, look at you. I like that.

WHITFIELD: Think of the upside.

(LAUGHTER)

LEVS: Anyway, hopefully bosses will be cool about this.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: All right. So a few things to do to get the best deals.

Now, search for the same item on multiple sites. A lot of the times, you'll see a great deal. What you should do when you have a great deal up on your computer is leave that browser up, then open a separate one and look for the same item elsewhere.

You don't want to lose the deal that you kind of locked in temporarily. But look around. See if you can find the same deal somewhere else, because throughout the day retailers are actually following each other, trying to beat each other's prices. You might find someone has just dropped it.

Make a list and check it twice. What we have found is that on Black Friday, people are pretty good about following lists and keeping to them.

On Cyber Monday people get lost. You're on a Web site, you go to another Web site. All of a sudden --

WHITFIELD: Oh, you see a deal and it takes you to another place.

LEVS: Yes. And then you don't get half the things you planned on getting. So, stick to that list and be careful about it.

Now, study the shipping deals. Sometimes these things are really enticing because they're so cheap, and then the shipping is, like, 30 bucks, which is ridiculous. You should be able to get free shipping or really good deals on shipping, or tell the store you'll go pick it up there. Take advantage of that.

Now another thing to do -- because I'm saying that, during the day, they're going to change -- they're going to lower prices -- sign up for e-mail alerts from Facebook and Twitter from all these retailers.

Now, you were just talking about protecting your computer. This is critical, because the scammers, the phishers are out there. They want to find you. Tomorrow is, like, the perfect field day for them.

So, update your spam filters and your anti-spyware before you go searching. And also do this -- if there's a Web site out there, a business that you're not familiar with -- it might offer a great deal on a great price -- look on the Web site for the Better Business Bureau, because they'll talk to you about that business, they'll tell you if it's legit or not.

Let's show my screen, because what I've done there is I've linked for you about a dozen links that should help you organize your Cyber Monday strategy. It's up on the blog, CNN.com/Josh, and on Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN.

My goal, Fred, is for people to get rockin' deals tomorrow, for bosses to be super-cool about you shopping from your desk, and for you to not get taken. So we'll see.

WHITFIELD: Yes! Wouldn't that be nice? Well, h everybody has a successful Cyber Monday.

LEVS: Yes, ,I hope so.

WHITFIELD: Because we know so far a lot of the retailers are very excited about what happened on Black Friday. The verdict so far I think, thumbs up. Bigger crowds, but not a huge increase in sales. Just a little bit.

ShopperTrak looked at 70,000 stores and malls across the country. It estimates that sales rose only 0.3 of a percent of last year even though those stores seemed packed. Experts say all the deep discounts offered earlier this month likely cut into Black Friday spending.

So, he may be best known for his controversial novel "The Satanic Verses." But now Salman Rushdie is out with a new book, and the target audience just might surprise you.

My fascinating "Face to Face" with the acclaimed author next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: When you hear the name "Salman Rushdie," you probably think of the author's 1989 book, "Satanic Verses" and how Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini declared that book blasphemist to Islam, then issued a death edict against the author, forcing Rushdie into hiding for nine years.

Well, Rushdie never stopped writing. In all, he has written nearly 20 books. His latest book is for younger audiences, children, and perhaps their parents.

I talked "Face to Face" with Salman Rushdie, who explained the unique inspiration behind "Luka and the Fire of Life." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Salman Rushdie, so good to see you.

SALMAN RUSHDIE, AUTHOR, "LUKA AND THE FIRE OF LIFE": Hello. Nice to be here.

WHITFIELD: So of course you're most famous known for "Satanic Verses" and for the following fatwa of the Iranian government putting out a death threat back in 1989.

Is it your hope that people will become more familiar with you now as the writer of children's books?

RUSHDIE: I did write one before. I wrote one 20 years ago for my oldest son.

WHITFIELD: That was your first.

RUSHDIE: And that did OK. And now I've got another young son of that age. He was 12 when I wrote it. He's 13 now.

He became -- he's actually the bigger reader of the two boys. You know? And he read the first book and immediately began a campaign for justice.

WHITFIELD: Right. What about the book for me --

RUSHDIE: Yes, "What about me?"

WHITFIELD: -- since the other children's book was for your other son.

RUSHDIE: Exactly. "Where is my book?" This went on -- this built up in vehemence until I cracked.

WHITFIELD: So, then, does that mean you collaborated with him on what to come up with? What kind of story will this novel be, "Luka and the Fire of Life"?

RUSHDIE: Well, no. I didn't exactly collaborate with him, but he did have some input.

Well, for a start, the character of Luka, the boy in the book, is quite obviously modeled on him. I mean, for example, my son, whose middle name is Luka, by the way, is left-handed. And it's very odd in my family, because nobody is left-handed.

And so, in the book, Luka also has that obstacle, if you like. And what I wanted to do was to turn it on its head so that during the course of the story the left handedness becomes an advantage, and the things he has to do in the story, it's actually better to be left- handed.

So, that came out of him, and he helped in other ways. For instance, the villain in the book -- what happens in the book is that Luka's father falls into a kind of coma, and the fire of his life, if you like, is going out. And Luka meets this essentially figure of death which looks exactly like his father, but is translucent, and is slowly filling up with his father's life.

WHITFIELD: He can see this, Luka, because he's got this magical power even though he didn't really know it.

RUSHDIE: He didn't -- exactly. He sort of slips into this magical world which lives in parallel to our own. And there, he meets essentially his father's death and realizes he doesn't have very much time if he's going to save his dad.

WHITFIELD: And he has the power to save his dad's life.

RUSHDIE: If he can find this magical substance called the "Fire of Life," which, of course, the trouble is he's being asked to do something impossible. Nobody has ever stolen it. And so, of course, that's what he sets out to do.

But I worried a little bit that this figure, the villain, the death figure, might be too scary for him. Because children like scary stuff, they like Darth Vader, but they don't like to be disturbed. And so I did show it to him when I'd written the first couple of chapters.

And I told him nothing. I said, "See what you think." And to my relief, A, he did like it. And B, it was his favorite character. And so it made me think --

WHITFIELD: And you were like, "Phew."

RUSHDIE: Yes. No, really, because I would have been in a lot of trouble if he hadn't liked it.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Well, it's interesting, because you talk about the parallels of your son and Luka. And there are parallel even with you as the father figure, right?

RUSHDIE: Yes, the father figure is kind of like setting myself up, you know. He's a comic, slightly pathetic version of me, I think. I think there's a sense in which all sons see their fathers as comic and slightly pathetic.

WHITFIELD: Although I was really thinking about the age --

RUSHDIE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- because there's a 50-year (ph) gap between this father and Luka, and that's very similar to you and your sons.

RUSHDIE: Well, that's really the engine that drives the book. I think if you're an older parent, if you have a child later in life, then the subject of mortality, of life and death, becomes just something you think about more. I remember when my son was born thinking, when he's 20, I'll be 70. How much of his life will I see? And you obviously want to be around to bring up your children. And you want them to have a father in their life and so on.

And so you just think about it more than you would if you have a kid when you're 25. And so that became really the thing that drives the story. How do you face the possibility that you might lose a parent? You know?

WHITFIELD: Which is a heavy topic for a children's book, isn't it?

RUSHDIE: Yes, but children can face a lot of stuff these days. You know?

And if you look at what's in books for -- and we're not talking about "children" children. You know? I'm talking about 12, 13-year-old people on this very interesting frontier between children and adulthood.

In some ways, very sophisticated these days. And in other ways, of course, still very childish. But if they are interested readers, then they can take a lot. I mean, you have to find a way of making it palatable, but I think children will come up -- these days, children's books deal with all kinds of very dark stuff.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In part two of "Face to Face" with Salman Rushdie, I ask him why he decided to make his new book so scary. He revealed some detail about whether it will be played out on the silver screen as well.

That's coming up at 4:00 Eastern Time. Join us for that.

Millions are packing the airports, heading home after Thanksgiving. So how is it going?

But first, a teenager decides to live life to its fullest after a devastating brain tumor diagnosis. Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a remarkable high school football player.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An 11-year-old boy stricken with a brain tumor and not expected to live. But after four brain surgeries and months in a hospital, this young man refused to let his illness dictate his life.

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go! Go! Go!

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seventeen-year-old Zach Lederer is a high school football player in Ellicott City, Maryland. He's loved sports for years.

But he's no ordinary player. He was just 11 years old when his entire world came crashing down.

ZACH LEDERER, HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER: I started experiencing terrible, terrible headaches, like nothing I've ever felt. I had had headaches before, but these were just unreal.

GUPTA: Migraines, his parents assumed. But an MRI found a brain tumor the size of a large walnut. Zach was rushed to Johns Hopkins Hospital. The diagnosis there was devastating.

CHRISTINE LEDERER, ZACH'S MOTHER: -- that our son was not going to make it, that he had a very short time, and he was going to take a big turn for the worse, probably that night.

GUPTA: But Zach hung on. He overcame incredible odds. He had four brain operations in one week. He was put in a medically-induced coma and had radiation therapy to shrink the tumor. He then spent three months hospitalized and then rehab.

Z. LEDERER: Here I am 11 years old wearing diapers and re-learning how to walk.

GUPTA: The small piece of the tumor is still there. Doctors think it's dead and disintegrating, but Zach never let it any of this stop him from pursuing his dream of playing high school football. After three years as team manager, the coach talked about getting him in for one play. But Zach, now a senior wanted to play on a regular basis. He's a running back.

Z. LEDERER: I wanted to prove to anyone any obstacle can be overcome, even something as big as a brain tumor.

GUPTA: His parents agreed to let him play. Now, he wears a special helmet with 18 shock absorbers. His parent's main concern is not concussion, it's damaging the shunts still inside his brain, but Zach refuses to live his life in a bubble.

Z. LEDERER: It's not about getting knocked down, it's about getting back up. The fact that I did get back up and I have become what I am and have done everything that I would dream of doing, I think I'm all better because of it.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, if you're traveling today and you want to know if you will encounter rain, snow, and sunshine. Jacqui Jeras will be along with a quick look of the weather.

But first a quick look of the headlines, U.S. and South Korean joint military exercises under way. North Korea calls the drill an attempt to ignite war. Tensions between North and South Korea reached a boiling point Tuesday when the North launched a deadly attack on a South Korean island. China is calling for emergency talks in December.

A 19-year-old Somali-American accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Oregon will appear in Federal Court tomorrow. Mohamed Osman Mohamud faces up to life in prison for allegedly planning a bomb attack at a Christmas tree lighting event in Portland. The FBI is offering $10,000 reward for information about an apparent arson attack on a mosque Mohamed occasionally attended. Officials say the fire was quickly extinguished and no one was hurt.

And military police in Brazil used tanks in a massive sweep today hunting for gang leaders in the northern slums of Rio De Janeiro, 2,600 soldiers and police trying to end violence that killed at least 35 people. It started after a government crackdown against drug trafficking.

And voting is under way in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Eighteen candidates are running for president as the country struggles to recover from January's earthquake and a cholera epidemic. Some of the candidates are already making fraud allegations. One front-runner says the vote should be annulled.

All right. Back in this country, you're probably trying to get back home after the holiday weekend. Jacqui Jeras tells us what we can encounter.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, a long car ride for many people. Did you know the average person travels over 200 miles for Thanksgiving, an average traveler anyway.

WHITFIELD: Not bad.

JERAS: Yes, I mean, that's going to be a couple of hours in the car. Hopefully you're not traveling out west because we do have problems out here once again although this is not nearly as intense as it was yesterday. That's the best thing I can tell you.

There you can see we've got some snow in higher elevations across parts of Montana, Wyoming, Utah as well as Colorado. Salt Lake City, one of the hardest hit metropolitan areas right now where we're looking at four to eight inches of snowfall in the valley areas.

A little heavier maybe even up to a foot in the benches and then higher than that as you get into the higher elevations, and in fact it might be up to two feet before all is said and done up there in the mountain tops.

Winter storm warning in effect, I-80 here's going to be a problem, I- 15 is going to be a problem as well. So keep that in mind if you're going to be traveling for today. Now, the other thing we're going to be watching in the nation's midsection is going to be the wind really, really strong.

We've got wind advisories as well as fire danger all across the plain states here as well as the western high plains. Take a look at current winds, 17 miles per hour. This doesn't mention guts by the way. This is sustained winds, 20 miles up there in Kansas City and check out Oklahoma City, 25 miles per hour.

We do have a live tower cam to show you from our affiliate out of Oklahoma City from KOKH TV. You can see that shaking on the camera as winds are gusting up to 39 miles per hour. Wind advisory is in effect until 6:00 tonight. So those east-west travel roads are going to be problematic especially in the southern plain states.

Airport so far pretty good with the exception of two. Thankfully there are small scale airports (inaudible) there in New Jersey two- hour delays as well as white plains so they've got a lot of problems, there. That's kind of rough.

WHITFIELD: Miserable. Just have snacks or something to read.

JERAS: Just relax. It might be your one moment of relaxation before you go back to work tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: That is true. Take advantage of it. All right, thanks so much, Jacqui.

All right, the White House is strongly condemning the release of classified State Department documents by the whistle blowing website WikiLeaks. Details of the secret diplomatic cables were published by several news outlets and WikiLeaks is expected to release the documents tonight.

The White House says the leaks could seriously damage diplomatic relations and endanger the lives of intelligence workers and human rights advocates who work under oppressive regimes.

So everywhere you look, there are deals, deals, deals, but if you're searching for that perfect gift, why not think high-tech. We are, if you want to check out our list.

Plus 26 hours to travel for turkey that's what one Australian did after he accidentally got on a Florida family's Thanksgiving e-mail chain. We'll meet him and a member of the family he visited in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Perhaps you're still looking for some holiday gift ideas. Well, how about a high-tech gadget? Technology analyst Marc Saltzman joins us via Skype from Toronto with the best of 2010. I can see the one thing that's topping your list, it's one of what? Voted product of the year, the iPad?

MARC SALTZMAN, TECHNOLOGY ANALYST: Absolutely. This is -- a lot of techies are going to hope for this underneath the tree this year if they haven't picked one up already. Millions have sold. There's little reason why this isn't the best tech toy of the year.

This is a, you know, a nearly 10-inch tablet that weighs a pound and a half. It boots up immediately. It lasts 10 to 12 hour on a single charge. You use your fingertip to navigate all the different apps. There are more than 300,000 downloadable applications from the apps store, many of which are free.

It's really a great advice for consuming media, watching video, playing games, reading e-Books and then some so this is the one that hasn't left my side this year, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I wonder if that is going to sell out because something tells me just about every tree will have that under it.

SALTZMAN: Yes. This is the calm before the storm because next year tablets are going to be the category to watch for.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So then there's the new Amazon kindle. You like it?

SALTZMAN: I love it.

WHITFIELD: What makes it so different?

SALTZMAN: So this is redesigned one. So if you don't need the bells and whistles of a $500 plus tablet and you just wanted a dedicated e- Book reader, something to download and read books comfortably even in the sunlight, I really like the new Amazon kindle, which debuted.

This is a redesigned one with Wi-Fi for $139 or 3G for $189. This is much lighter, smaller, faster and with a better screen. A higher contrast, so you really can see that text pop out at you.

It also has a little known feature, which is if you're fatigued, you want to close your eyes maybe on an airplane, but you still want to be entertained, you can press a button and have the book read back to you.

It's a neat feature. A lot of people don't know about that. I'm not talking about playing audio books. I'm talking about taking the text that's on the screen whether it's a magazine, newspaper or book and having a human-like book read it back to you, which is a neat feature.

WHITFIELD: I like that, OK and then let's move onto 3D. Boy, this is splurging, isn't it?

SALTZMAN: Well, there's still a lack of 3D content, but it's still an exciting category to watch. I think in 2011, we're going to see an explosion of Blue Ray disks that have 3D content, 3D cameras and camcorders, 3D gaming machines. All that will help justify the purchase.

So if you've got 3D pockets and ready for an upgrade, my favorite 3D TV of the year is the Panasonic VT25, it's one of their VR models. This is a huge 65-inch television that really excels in both 2D and 3D performance.

It's a plasma TV so amazing contrast for darker blacks and whiter whites, more vibrant colors. It excels in fast motion compared to LCD TVs. It also has the (inaudible) so you can get online through on demand news and video. Even the ability to add a web camera for Skype chats like what we're doing now, but through the TV.

WHITFIELD: On a 65-inch TV. Big TV and that's a pretty big price, too, $4,200. Now let's move onto something for the X-box. What is it?

SALTZMAN: Right, we looked at this a couple weeks back, Fredricka. This is the new Connect for X-box 360. It is a peripheral that sells for $150 with the game and you plug this into your X-box 360 and it lets you control games using your body and your voice.

So instead of pressing buttons on the controller, you are the controller. So kind of taking what Nintendo has done with the motion sensing phenomenon, but making -- allowing you to control your games and other digital content without having to hold anything at all.

So it really sort of broadens the appeal of games. It's really exciting especially with kids. So I expect this to be a very hot seller.

WHITFIELD: Very popular. What is HTC Evo 4G? I can't pretend to know what that is.

SALTZMAN: This is fastest cell phone, the fastest Smartphone, it's the HTC Evo 4G with Sprint. It's the first 4G Smartphone riding on the Android platform from Google.

So you can now download things up to 10 times faster than 3G. So this is the beginning of a huge trend, very fast computers for your pocket. I like this Evo 4G phone with a huge 4.3 screen. Great Smartphone if you're looking for one.

WHITFIELD: Right. It just doesn't stop, my goodness. All right, thanks so much. Very cool stuff for giving to someone or giving it to yourself.

SALTZMAN: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Marc Saltzman, thanks so much from Toronto. Appreciate it.

All right. So how long would you travel for turkey and stuffing? How about 26 hours? Coming up in just a few minutes you'll meet one Aussie who got his long distance dinner wish.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now a CNN programming note, Hale Berry, Bon Jovi, just a few of the big names featured at the Fourth Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute. If you missed even a second of it, you can see it again tonight. You have one more chance to watch tonight 8 p.m. Eastern right there on CNN.

All right, time for CNN Equals Politics update. Here is what's crossing the Ticker right now, Arizona Senator John McCain says "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is working just fine for the military. He says the attempt to repeal the directive is a political promise made by an inexperienced president. A new Pentagon report on the policy is due out this week.

McCain is also weighing in today on his former running mate Sarah Palin. Appearing on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," he compared her appeal to that of former President Ronald Reagan. He says she's doing a great job motivating the Republican base.

The START may have to wait until next year. Republican Senator John Kyle says there isn't enough time in next month's session of Congress to get the treaty ratified. Democrats accuse Republican of trying to stall the treaty to damage President Obama.

Holiday gifts stolen, but this crime story actually has a happy ending. Details coming up as we look at the headlines cross-country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Going to great lengths for Thanksgiving dinner. An Australian man traveled 26 hours for a taste of turkey after accidentally being included in one family's e-mail exchange. It seems he has the same name as one of the members of that family.

So earlier I talked with two James West about how this all came about, American James West and the Australian who got an invitation, James P. West. The Australian said he'd been receiving misdirected e- mails for some time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES P. WEST, AUSSIE INVITED TO THANKSGIVING DINNER: For three years dozens of e-mails like this enduring case of mistaken identity, Fredricka and I would just ignore them.

It was about who is going to bring the cheese broccoli or famous devilled eggs to Thanksgiving. It was like these normal family e- mails. I didn't think about it until this year, when I went, this is enough. I need to know who these people are, where they are. Their food sounds good. I want to be there.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then how did you go about trying to track them down?

WEST: Well, I first put out a YouTube video because I wanted to let the family know what I looked about. I knew a little about them basically and I wanted to put myself out there and go, look, I'm not a freak. You know, I'd like to meet you. I know so much about you.

WHITFIELD: So you didn't want to say, let me return an e-mail on this one. Hey, you guys, I think you have the wrong James West. I'm actually over here. I don't know what you're talking about, about this Thanksgiving dinner stuff. You know what, I'm in now, so can I come? You didn't want to go the simple route.

WEST: Where is the fun in that? A good question. It kind of started off as an experiment. In 2010, we're told this world is incredibly interconnected. You can get onto Facebook or YouTube and we know everybody. I wanted to really test that idea out.

WHITFIELD: OK, so James West, I'm going to include you, American, I want to include you as well. But first, you know, James P., Aussie. You hatched this plan like four days before Thanksgiving meaning. I'm going to get my plane ticket. I'm going to just arrive there. Did you arrive empty handed or did you bring the thing promised during e- mails you were supposed to bring?

WEST: Well, look, to give a bit of context to that, a couple of weeks ago I wrote back to this big e-mail group saying, what should I bring? And they wrote back canned corn, which I later learned was a joke, but I was going to go through with it, you know. I have to say, it's difficult flying this time of year, because it got confiscated in security.

WHITFIELD: That's right, no liquids. OK, so now you get on the plane, 26 hours. You arrive at the (Tran) family house, Port St. Lucie, Florida. Now American James West, what were your impressions when James P. showed up and what was it like?

JAMES WEST, TRAN FAMILY MEMBER: Well, I love the fact he went onto YouTube, because if he hadn't of done that and gone public like this, I think we would have been like, we really don't know you. But after watching his few YouTubes that we did, we all agreed, we need to invite this guy down. He seems like a lot of fun.

WHITFIELD: OK. So now you're part of the family, James P. You've got two James Wests in the family here now, James West squared. So how long do you plan on staying? Will you be wearing out the welcome mat? What's going on?

WEST: Well, you know, I fly out tomorrow. I only have a couple days off work. It's so last minute. I pleaded and begged to come. Since I've been here, it's been all on. They have been throwing me parties.

I walk down the street and there's people that go, hey, you're the YouTube guy. You're the guy that came to thanksgiving. Everyone has been so welcoming. You know, the food has been amazing although, I don't ever want to see turkey again in my life.

WHITFIELD: That's the way most of us feel, too. You do it in a big way on Thanksgiving Thursday. So American James West now, give me an idea how thankful you and the Tran family are that all of this came about in a circuitous, kind of roundabout way?

WEST: Yes. It's been a great experience. We'll never forget this Thanksgiving. I don't know if we can do this all the time, but I'm sure we'll extend invites out to James for other family events. You know, we talked about trying to get out to Australia. Don't know if we can do it but we're certainly going to stay in touch.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Aren't they the cutest? They had a great holiday weekend. All right, a quick look at news across the country now. Let's start in West Palm Beach, Florida, where a crime story we told you about yesterday actually has a happy ending. On Black Friday, a woman had all of her Christmas gifts stolen from her car after camping outside the store for more than 24 hours to buy them.

A New York man saw the story on CNN.com and is sending the shopper $1,000 to replace all of her stolen presents. The two connected by phone this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY ANN BROWN, ROBBERY VICTIM: My God, I can't speak. I mean, I don't have words to comprehend how I'm feeling right now.

ALAN HOWARD, PLESSER'S APPLIANCES, BABYLON, NEW YORK (via telephone): I was going to give back. I hope you use the money well.

HOWARD: Well, I don't want to cry on TV but thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Too sweet. More holiday spirit in Carroll Count County, Maryland where volunteers are packing up and shipping two-foot tall Christmas trees for troops overseas. The project called "Operation Christmas Tree" met its goal of sending out 2,000 trees. They will arrive in Iraq and Afghanistan in a few weeks.

Plus just moments ago we received new details of classified documents released by the whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks. Well, we're reading through them all right now and we'll bring you the very latest tonight at 4:00 and 5:00 Eastern time with much more of the NEWSROOM.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.