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WikiLeaks Reveals U.S. Secrets; Mosque Fire after Bomb Plot; Cyber Monday Deals Online. Actor Leslie Nielsen Dies at Age 84; Oregon Bomb Plot Suspect Due In Court; Study: Old Mice Made Young Again; Brazil's Crackdown on Drug Gangs; Peyton Manning Intercepted Four Times; Fight Breaks Out in NFL Game
Aired November 29, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, you guys. Good morning.
It's 9:00 on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.
It's unlike anything we've ever seen. An online whistleblower WikiLeaks begins publishing more than a quarter million documents exposing how the U.S. handles its diplomatic maneuvering, backroom deals, secret dialogues, all going public.
It's Cyber Monday. One of the busiest online shopping days of the year. Internet retailers offering discounts and often free shipping to get shoppers to spend.
We'll never forget "Air Plane" or "The Naked Gun." And that's because of actor Leslie Nielsen. Today we look back at his life and humor as we say good-bye to the 84-year-old funny man.
But we begin this morning with WikiLeaks and that massive document dump. The whistleblower group is publishing a quarter million diplomatic cables from U.S. embassies from around the world.
Some of those secret messages are embarrassing, some are enlightening and all are controversial. We're sifting through this unprecedented peek into the complex world of diplomacy.
And here are some of the revelations. 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton extensively directed American diplomats to engage in intelligence gathering. Their assignment? Collect the names, addresses, even the credit card numbers of diplomats from other countries.
Here's another headline. Late last year, the U.S. fears that Iran has a long-range missile. If true it means that Iran has strike capabilities far more ominous than what's being discussed in public.
And the secret documents also show that even Arab leaders are worried about Iran's nuclear ambitions. In fact, U.S. allies in the Middle East reportedly urged decisive action to stop Iran's nuclear program.
We're following many angles to this story. CNN's Reza Sayah will focus on Iran and Washington's growing concerns over that nation. But first, foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty taking a look at the bigger picture.
So, Jill, how could all of these disclosures impact U.S. relations with other foreign leaders?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kyra, I don't think we know at this point because after all there are a quarter of a million documents, cables that were sent. And not all of them have been released, by the way.
And also, you know, we have to wait until we hear from other capitals, other leaders, what they are saying. And it's not only what the United States said, also in those cables are the opinions of leaders of other countries about third countries. So it gets very complicated.
It is a big web and the only thing that we do know as one U.S. official told me this could be very damaging to the United States. And also to the way it carries out foreign policy.
PHILLIPS: Now the State Department is downplaying the cable and -- so how is it really playing out in diplomatic circles?
DOUGHERTY: Yes, that was the one that said that Hillary Clinton had directed diplomats -- U.S. diplomats to collect information, things like credit card numbers, work schedules, frequent flyer numbers, et cetera, on diplomats from other countries.
Now P.J. Crowley, who is the a spokesperson for the State Department, of course, tweeted over the weekend that they are not spies, they are not intelligence agents, they are collecting information the way the diplomats from other countries around the world do collect information.
But that really has to be clarified. That one does cry out for some clarification. But we just have to see. You know we're expecting in the next hour that Secretary Clinton will make a statement. They are not saying specifically what she will be talking about but presumably we understand that it will be WikiLeaks.
And precisely what she will say we'll have to see. But you know over the weekend, Kyra, she was in touch directly on the phone with the leaders of eight different countries so there was great concern in reaching out and talking about the potential implications of all of this.
PHILLIPS: Got it. All right, we'll be talking a lot about it this morning and this afternoon.
Jill, thanks so much. Let's talk about Iran now and the secret diplomatic cables show that it's not just the U.S. that's worried about the potential threat that it poses.
CNN's Reza Sayah joining us from Pakistan's capital Islamabad.
So, Reza, it turns out that the U.S. allies in the region wanted Washington to actually neutralize Iran's nuclear program.
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And they wanted to -- the U.S. to do it very aggressively, I think this is one of the most eye- opening revelations when it comes to these diplomatic cables that some of Iran's Sunni-led Arab neighbors, countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, wanted the U.S. to attack Iran and they were repeatedly pushing the U.S. to do it.
Now we were well aware that throughout the past few decades these Sunni-led nations didn't see eye to eye on a lot of issues with Iran, which is a Shia dominated nation. But with these diplomatic cables there is a clear push by these Arab countries for the U.S. to attack Iran.
There's also mention of regime change. For example, the cable show the Saudi King Abdullah repeatedly pushing for military action, the king of Bahrain repeatedly telling the U.S. to stop Iran by whatever means necessary.
Another cable by U.S. officials saying Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has a visceral hatred for Iran. Now earlier today in Tehran President Ahmadinejad, in a press conference, tried to down-play these documents, describing them as worthless propaganda that won't impact relations with Persian Gulf states.
Remember, Iran sees itself as a regional power. It doesn't want the perception that even in its own backyard it's an isolated country.
But, Kyra, when you look at these documents it certainly seems that even with some of their neighbors, Iran lacks support.
PHILLIPS: All right, well, there's also information about North Korea supplying missiles to Iran.
SAYAH: Yes, there is. The U.S. has long been concerned that North Korea is providing military technology, long-range missile technology to Iran.
According to these diplomatic cables in a recent meeting with Russian officials, U.S. officials said they were convinced that Iran has 19 long-range missiles that it has purchased from Korea, based on Russian technology.
These missiles reportedly with a range of 2,000 miles, able to hit parts of Western Europe. The Russian officials according to these diplomatic cables asked the U.S. officials for proof, hard evidence. According to these cables the U.S. officials weren't able to provide them evidence.
So at this point it's not clear if Tehran has this long-range missile capability but certainly you see with these documents that the concern from Washington is there.
PHILLIPS: Reza Sayah, appreciate it.
Well, attackers on motorcycles reportedly targeted two Iranian professors today, attaching bombs to their victims' cars in separate but similar attacks. One was killed. The other seriously hurt.
Get this, Iranian news agency say that the victim that survived was involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities.
We don't know yet what the second professor's -- professor's area of research was. There have been no arrests and no one claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to a Tehran security commander, quoted by a semi-official news agency, by the way.
Much more on the WikiLeaks story ahead at the bottom of the hour. We're going to hear from a smokes person for the Web site and look at how the group may have gotten a hold of all of these documents.
Well, a new week and new tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The military muscle flexing and the political rhetoric both umping up. South Korea reportedly deployed more artillery guns and several rocket launchers on that front line island that was attacked by the North last week.
The according to the (INAUDIBLE) news agency. Now the deadly artillery shelling prompted weekend street protests in Seoul. Marchers upset that the government hadn't done enough to respond.
So just hours ago Korea's president gave a nationally televised address warning his country will respond firmly to any more provocations from the North.
Keep in mind this all comes as a U.S. super carrier and a South Korean destroyer are participating in war games in the Yellow Sea. The north accuses Washington and Seoul of trying to find a pretext to avoid a war at any cost.
Now North Korea's closest ally China is stepping in, calling for an emergency meeting to help diffuse this crisis.
Well, a teenage suspect due in court in just a few hours accused of plotting to set off a mom of a Christmas tree lighting in Portland. Nineteen-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamed is a Somali American. His charger tried to use a WMD at a holiday ceremony on Friday.
Mohamed recently dropped out of Oregon State University in Corvallis, it's the town just about an hour and a half outside of Portland where police say someone set fire to a mosque yesterday.
Mohamed worshiped there on occasion, but right now the FBI is not linking the apparent mosque attack with Mohamed's arrest.
Thelma Gutierrez is in Portland for us.
So, Thelma, this seems more like a coincidence then?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kyra, we talked to the imam of the mosque. He says it's hard to believe that they are not connected. After all, he says, the mosque has existed in Corvallis place. It existed very peacefully with our neighbors there in the community. They have hosted food drives. They provided shelter for the homeless. They are very, very settled and established in Corvallis. And he says, and it's just odd that after 40 years this would happen, that there would be this fire attacker, this apparent arson attack, on the mosque.
We visited it yesterday, Kyra, just as they were cordoning it off. And we saw all the contents of one of the offices of burnt out, laying there on the ground. And they said that they had, you know, many documents destroyed -- marriage licenses, will, death certificates, things like that.
He just thought it was odd that this would happen at this time. And he believes that there absolutely was correlation.
PHILLIPS: All right. So what we do know about this suspect and his background, Thelma?
GUTIERREZ: Well, we went to Corvallis where the suspect was going to school. He was studying engineering. You talked to his friends. They said this was a very likeable person, this is a guy who had a lot of friends. People wanted to hang out with him.
He was very smart. The imam told us that's what shocked him the most. He says he didn't appear to be overly religious, he only went to the mosque maybe once every two months or so. The regulars didn't really seem to even know him there at the mosque.
But the imam says that he felt very saddened that this young man, with so much promise, chose that path.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: What was your first reaction when you heard that he had been arrested?
YOSOF WANLY, IMAM: I was shocked and the greatest thing, you know, that affects me is I wish I could have intervened in a way to consult him. I wish he could have spoken to me in a way. And that's the -- that's the thing affected us.
GUTIERREZ: Seems as though you're saddened by this. It's very emotional time. Why?
WANLY: Because he destroyed his future, you know.
GUTIERREZ: And hurt the Muslim community as well?
WANLY: And he put, you know, civilians in threat, and the U.S. population as a whole. So it's a difficult situation.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: And the imam also told us that he wished he could have just had a conversation with him, that he could have reached out to him before all of this happened and so now this young man, he says, has ruined his future. Now faces life in prison if he is convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thelma Gutierrez, live for us in Portland this morning.
And some serious digging out going on in Oregon right now as well. IReporter Stephanie Williams from Weston sent us these snowy pictures over the weekend and she tells us since I submitted the pictures yesterday it's not stopped snowing and the roads are really bad and some are even blown shut.
We're not usually this cold and have this much snow at this time. Rumor has it this will be the worst winter in 50 years. Maybe we should ask the expert, and that would be Reynolds.
(LAUGHTER)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. It is certainly shaping out that way.
PHILLIPS: Is it a rumor or is it true? Really?
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: My little cousin will love it. But not the grown-ups.
WOLF: Yes. Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
Well, funny man Leslie Nielsen is dead at the age of 84. As you know he was one of Hollywood's funniest men. Not just for what he said but the way he said it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LESLIE NIELSEN, ACTOR: Can you fly this plane and land it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surely you can't be serious?
NIELSEN: I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: His comedic timing spot on in "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun" movie, among others.
He died over the weekend from complications of pneumonia. And all morning long we're paying tribute to a man who made us laugh for decades.
And you can get "Airplane", the "Don't call me, Shirley" edition on Amazon for $9.99 right now. Yes, we've done some cyber Monday shopping today. Surely you will, too. You and 107 million other people. We're talking about getting the most bang for your click, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Wait a minute. Shouldn't you be on the computer right now, distracted from work, ignoring your professional responsibilities, trying to find that cheap gift that looks lavish? Happy Cyber Monday, everyone. It's like Black Friday without all that human interaction.
It's actually believed that 107 million people will shop online from the convenience of their laptops or desktops, and about half of them will shop at work. That would never happen here, by the way, I want to make that clear.
Take a look at some of the hot Cyber Monday deals that we found. A Panasonic 65 inch HDTV for under $1800. Garmin GPS, $79. Remember when those things cost a fortune? And then a Razor electric scooter, just under $100, now.
Let's talk about Cyber Monday with Katie Linendoll. She's a tech expert and contributor for CNET. She's been all over the networks this morning. Is Cyber Monday really that big of a deal, Katie? Is it for real?
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT, CNET CONTRIBUTOR: It is that big of a deal. And a lot of people think that Black Friday is the biggest hot shopping holiday of the year. It's actually not true.
The biggest shopping day falls somewhere in that second week in December, and Cyber Monday takes a close second. So much, in fact, that according to comScore last year, 8.7 million people shopped on Cyber Monday, spending $887 million, which is remarkable.
And you said that stat that is my favorite. Over 50 percent of those sales originated from work computers.
PHILLIPS: OK --
LINENDOLL: Americans love to consume.
PHILLIPS: Not only that, but we love to take a lot of risk and get in trouble right now. This is the time where you don't want to get fired --
LINENDOLL: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Caught, get in trouble, lose your job. Do we just kiss off productivity at the office today?
LINENDOLL: Pretty much. And it's pretty good stat to say that nine out of ten retailers are going to be offering deals. So, if you're looking for a hot bargain, if you waited on the Black Friday deal, now is probably a really good time to shop.
And I've been recommending to people, check out their Facebook pages, check out Twitter pages of your favorite retail locations. Pretty much everyone will be offering a deal. So, get out there, get on the computer and, yes, over 50 percent of us will be shopping from work computers.
PHILLIPS: All right, now, Cyber Monday has been around for five years.
LINENDOLL: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Is it still that relevant? And why would companies put more deals online?
LINENDOLL: It's actually more relevant than ever. And while it is a relatively new holiday, again, it's only been introduced since 2005. Sales have only increased, which is great for the economy. And this year alone, it's predicted to go up a few more percentage points.
You might be saying, "Why are sales so strong?" Well, now more than ever, there's more deals and more coupons. And for retailers, too, we're talking about having Facebook pages and Twitter pages. These are free outlets for them to do even better publicity. And if they take the hit on the margin and put some phenomenal deals online for people to take advantage of, why not?
This is kind of a competition for retailers out there. And it's kind of blurring, too, a little bit. We know that Black Friday happens on a Friday, and Small Business Saturday happened on Saturday. But now, with Cyber Monday, we're seeing an extension of these sales that have been happening all weekend. On places like Best Buy and Target, some of the deals have already run out, even before Cyber Monday even started.
PHILLIPS: Got you. Katie, great advice, today. Appreciate it.
LINENDOLL: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: All right, here's more tips in addition to what Katie just told us. If you want to hit the cyber stores today, be sure to look for the https, the "s" stands for secure. That's very important. It protects your computer with anti-virus and anti-phishing software. Make sure your wireless network is secure, and think twice about using your credit card in a public Wi-Fi spot. Now, go forth and shop.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: One of our favorite funny men, Leslie Nielsen, has died at the age of 84 from complications of pneumonia. Sad news to start out the week, but I bet the comedy legend would want to leave us laughing. So, we're going to look back at his career in clips.
He actually started out as a serious actor. Movies like the "Poseidon Adventure" in 1972.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "The Poseidon Adventure")
CAPTAIN: Hard left. Get out the main.
(SIREN ALERT)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: But then, it was in 1980 that he actually got coaxed into playing a dopey doctor-slash-passenger on board a troubled flight in the spoof "Airplane," and a comedy star was born.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "Airplane")
TED STRIKER: Both pilots!
DR. RUMACK: Can you fly this plane and land it?
STRIKER: Surely you can't be serious.
RUMACK: I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.
RANDY: Doctor, I've checked everyone. Mr. Striker's the only one.
RUMACK: What flying experience have you had?
STRIKER: Single engine fighters in the Air Force. But this plane has four engines. It's an entirely different kind of flying, altogether.
RUMACK AND RANDY: It's an entirely different kind of flying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Since then, his classic one liners and deadpan delivery have earned him a place in the comedy hall of fame. And there's no forgetting the "Naked Gun" trilogy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "Naked Gun")
DETECTIVE FRANK DREBIN: Strike three. You're out! Three! Hey! Whee!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Always quotable, even after passing. Seems everyone was a fan. On Twitter, comedian Russell Brand says, "Rest in peace, Leslie Nielsen. Shirley, he will be missed." Singer Josh Groban says, "Shirley, this breaks my heart." And rock and roll icon Slash simply says, "And don't call me Shirley."
Leslie Nielsen dead at 84. Thanks for all the laughs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the results are in. We have Black Friday numbers, and it could have been big implications for the economy. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details -- Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. And you know, Black Friday is really important because it winds up setting the tone for the entire holiday shopping season. This time around, it was pretty good, not so great, though. Shopper track says more people were at the mall on Friday, even though, sales were up only a modest .3 percent from last year. And if you look at the whole four-day weekend, the National Retail Federation says sales rose to more impressive 9 percent.
Still analysts are kind of worried that stores may have wound up cannibalizing themselves. They were rolling out those big door buster deals, weeks in advance. Also, online shoppers getting bigger and bigger. Those online sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday were very strong. So, as for stop (ph), right now, we do have a lower start, the Dow right now down about 77 points, the Nasdaq off about 12.
Investors are still worried about debt problems in Europe. Ireland got a bailout. $90 billion worth that was announced on Sunday, but what everybody is going to be watching for, Kyra, are more of those holiday shopping numbers. You can't forget today cyber Monday, you know, if you look at the person next to you today at your office, and if they're typing away, they may be shopping more than working today. Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: But you wouldn't do that. You're strictly focused on your job, right, Alison?
KOSIK: Exactly. All about the numbers. All about the numbers. Exactly.
PHILLIPS: Amen. All right. See you a little bit.
Well, it's just past 9:30 in the east. Another hour until the sun rises in Portland, Oregon and that's where one of our big stories is happening right now. A 19-year-old Somali-American accused of planning to blow up a van load of explosives Friday near a tree lighting ceremony. The bomb was a fake part of an undercover operation. Authorities had been keeping an eye on Mohamed Osman Mohamud for months. He goes at court later today.
A possible first step for the real fountain of youth. Scientists say that they found a way to make old mice young again by working with a gene and playing with an enzyme. Basically, they took mice that were like 80-year-old humans and turned them into young adults. Of course, it's too early to tell if this would work with people. The study is published in the journal "Nature."
And Weight Watchers changing the way it calculates points. It won't, well, put so much emphasis on the calories. The new system increases points for fat content and reduces them for fiber.
Well, this morning, we are sifting through all the secret communications from U.S. diplomats around the world. The whistleblower group, WikiLeaks, says it's not releasing anything top secret in its massive document dump but that the candid messages are at the very least embarrassing.
Iran's president compared to Adolf Hitler, France's president called an emperor with no clothes, and Afghanistan's leader accused of being paranoid. Now, earlier on CNN's "American Morning," John Roberts actually spoke to a spokesperson for WikiLeaks. And John, what did he say about how the statements could impact relationships with foreign leaders? Did it even register?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He didn't really seem to care too much about that. We talked with Kristinn Hrafnsson who told us today that the public has a right to know how the government conducts its business. And certainly, we are in the business of making sure that people know how the government is conducting its business.
But people who work for the state department diplomats would say, wait a second here, there needs to be -- we need to be able to have these back channel communications so that if the president of Yemen says you can go ahead and attack terror targets in my country, but we're going to say the bombs are ours, that's probably something that's good for the war against terrorism.
American officials are making the claim that by releasing a lot of these documents showing how the sausage is made, if you will, it does jeopardize American operations overseas when it comes to anti-terror and could potentially put lives in danger. But when I put that question to Hrafnsson about putting lives in danger, here's how he responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTINN HRAFNSSON, WIKILEAKS SPOKESMAN: It is important to keep in mind that these cables are not in the top secret classification, even, I mean, almost half of them are unclassified. So, there is that little (INAUDIBLE) that could cause imminent threat to national security. And may I add to it because of the accusation that the information in these papers may cause danger to individuals that we have and will go to great length in scrutinizing the materials, both our organization and our media partners, in order to redact names of individuals that might actually be harmed by the exposure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
So, WikiLeaks is saying that it is acting responsibly not putting names out there that would put people in danger. But, you know, certainly Kyra, as you said, it is at the very least to some degree embarrassing. I talked to Jamie Rubin, who was the assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration this morning, who said it's a little bit ironic that an organization like WikiLeaks which would want to rely on diplomacy is opposed to war to solve the world's problems may actually be torpedoing diplomacy in this document release.
So, we'll watch this and see where it all goes. Certainly, a small fraction of the quarter of a million documents released at this point.
PHILLIPS: Sure. An interesting and still don't know exactly who or the group of individuals releasing these documents. We'll keep following up. Thanks, John.
All right. Let's look at a central question to this growing controversy. How exactly did WikiLeaks get its hands on the classified documents, as I mentioned. For a closer look at that, we turn to CNN's Atika Shubert in London -- Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, WikiLeaks operates -- basically, the website operates through anonymous whistleblowers who can upload information directly to the site with protected software. So, theoretically, WikiLeaks will not even be able to know who leaked them these documents. In this case, however, the Pentagon, the U.S. military believes it does know who it is.
Basically, a former army Private Bradley Manning is believed to have had access to the network that contained all of these documents. Not just the diplomatic cables but also the Iraq war logs and the Afghan war logs that were released earlier by WikiLeaks as well as that video you may remember from Iraq that showed the killing of a Reuters camera man by U.S. forces.
Now, all of these documents allegedly were leaked by Bradley Manning. The U.S. military is charging him with several counts of passing on this information to WikiLeaks. He is still remaining in the Quantico brig at the moment awaiting trial. But WikiLeaks has said they will not confirm or deny whether or not he is the source of the information that has all come out. WikiLeaks says it's standard policy for them not to confirm or deny, and so, they say that he is only the alleged source of this information.
PHILLIPS: So, can you tell us anything more about this hacker that's claiming responsibility for shutting down the WikiLeaks site.
SHUBERT: That's right. Last night, when WikiLeaks was putting out this information, they said they were coming under attack, a mass distributed denial of service attack. And this appears to have prevented them from putting out, releasing these documents earlier, but they were eventually able to get it up. It now appears quite color character calling himself the jester is claiming responsibility for the attack.
He claims to have had involvement with Special Forces in Afghanistan, but he won't give any other information or for which country. And normally, he says on his blog that he basically usually targets Islamist websites, but in this case, felt that WikiLeaks was undermining U.S. national security interests and this is why he attempted to launch this attack on WikiLeaks. Clearly, however, he wasn't able to stop the site from eventually releasing these documents.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Atika, thanks.
Well, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants to make a statement soon, but it's been delayed. The state department is not saying exactly what she will say, but it's presumed that her focus will be on the WikiLeaks documents. We will carry her comments live.
Also, about 11:35 Eastern Time, the president is supposed to make remarks as well. No word yet on what his topic will be. We're monitoring both for you.
You probably remember John Bolton as the ambassador to the U.N., couldn't forget his mustache either. Well, now Bolton, may be looking for a bigger job. President of the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Lawmakers back in Washington this week with lots of big issues on their plates. Deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, always has a big issue on his plate as well. Hey, Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, Kyra. You're right. The Thanksgiving holiday is over. It's back to work here in Washington. You mentioned the lame duck Congress returning this week, and you've also got that big meeting tomorrow at the White House between the president and top congressional, Democrats and Republicans. So, what do they have to deal with? Well, tax cuts, do they or don't they extend those Bush era tax cuts that are supposed to expire the end of the year?
What about unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of Americans? They may expire just in a few days from now. "Don't ask, Don't tell," that Clinton era policy that prevents openly gay people from serving in the military, should that be repealed? What about the star treaty -- weapons reduction treaty with Russia, will that be approved so. So, Kyra, a lot, a lot to do.
Talking about the star treaty, and I guess foreign policy, let's (INAUDIBLE) another name into the list of people who may, may want to run for the Republican presidential nomination and this is John Bolton. You remember, as you said, the guy with the mustache, used to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. He was on a radio show yesterday, and he said he's considering it. Bolton says he's not so happy with the direction of the national security policy under this current administration -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Sarah Palin hitting some strategic states this week, right?
STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes. The book tour continues. Remember, the book "America by Heart," she kicked off the book tour last week. She was in Iowa over the weekend. Guess where she's going on Thursday, back to Iowa again. And then on Friday, that book tour will take her to South Carolina.
Well, why does all this matter? Because Palin has hinted that she may want to run for the White House in 2012. And, of course, Iowa, they have the first caucuses in the battle for the White House, and South Carolina holds the first primary in the road for the White House -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Paul Steinhauser, we will see you again. Our next political update in about an hour. And a reminder for all the latest political news, you can always go to our website, CNNPolitics.com.
All right. Flashback. 1963, the Fab Four released their fifth and best-selling single. You remember what that was? Also, their first number one hit here in the U.S. "I Want To Hold Your Hand." And in sad incidence on this date in 2001, Beatles' guitarist, George Harrison would lose his bout with cancer. He was 58 years young.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, "Flashback", 1963, the Fab Four released their fifth and best-selling single. You remember what that was? Also their first number one hit here in the U.S. "I Want to Hold your Hand." And in sad incidence on this date in 2001, Beatles guitarist, George Harrison would lose his bout with cancer. He was 58 years young.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you can't come up with a name for your baby? Just go to Facebook.
And one nation's war on drugs hits the small screen big time.
Our Zain Verjee, live in London for our "Morning Passport". So lovely to see you.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You too.
PHILLIPS: Shall we begin with Brazil really breaking out with the big guns in their battle against drugs, huh?
VERJEE: Yes. Let's -- let's talk about that a little bit, Kyra. It's basically Rio's biggest crime stronghold. It's called "Alameo El Fabella (ph)" so it's kind of like this maze of slums that the security forces have just gone in there. You can see this video, they've gone in there with tanks, on their armored vehicles. You see there's smoke everywhere. They were burning buildings.
There was even a reporter there that was trying to cover a story. And you can see just in the middle of the live shot, see the tank there in the background.
So Kyra, why is Brazil doing this? Well, in 2014 they've got the football World Cup; that's soccer to you. And they got the Olympics in 2016 as well. So what they are trying to do is to fight organized crime and they are going in really hard in these slums called Fabella is where something like a million people all over Brazil live in.
PHILLIPS: All right and a soon-to-be mom in Canada giving the power to the people in naming their daughter. That's pretty smart, I guess, you if you're stressing out about how to name your -- your child. Seek everybody's opinion. And make it more stressful.
VERJEE: Right. That's right. It's pretty smart if you want everyone's opinion.
And there this woman in Toronto, she's pregnant, it's her first kid. She doesn't know what to call it so she went through all the baby books and the names. And she just didn't like anything. So she went on line, people on Facebook and elsewhere are giving their submissions. There are about 750 submissions, Kyra.
Now, tell me if you like these names. Because these are -- these are top ones, Aria. Yes, do you like that?
PHILLIPS: Ok, all right, I like Aria.
VERJEE: Melania, Sophia and Zain.
PHILLIPS: I like Zane. I pick Zain.
VERJEE: Thank you. Good answer.
PHILLIPS: And -- and lastly, a big rock on the auction block in Hong Kong, probably something you would love to see adorning your left hand.
VERJEE: Oh absolutely. I've only got this little silver thing here right now, Kyra. But you know, this -- this one, look at it, it's called Fantasy Intense pink, right? And it sure is. It is what's known as the perfect pink. Because it really is just pink, a lot of pink diamonds like this will have a hue of a different color. It may have a little bit of orange or a little bit of purple.
But this is just pink, it's got a great cut. I -- I from what I can tell, the clarity is fabulous. And size of course, it matters, Kyra, it is 14.2 karats. It is very rare and it's going to be going on sale at Christie's in Hong Kong today. I'm sure you can afford it though, Kyra. It's going to go for something like $14 million to $19 million.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I can think of a lot of other things to do with $14 million. That's for sure. And I know you could too, we could go on a really very fun girls' trip, Zain.
VERJEE: We could go on many, Kyra. So we wouldn't have to work here anymore, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Exactly. Oh boy, that would be double trouble. That's for sure. It's fabulous to see you.
VERJEE: It always is.
PHILLIPS: All right.
VERJEE: You too Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We're finding a lot of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Ed Henry who is at the White House. Hey, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kyra. Certainly a lot more WikiLeaks documents raising controversy all around the world. It is just an embarrassment for the White House? Or will this damage the president's foreign policy? We'll have inside details at top of the hour.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And on a much lighter note. If you are one of the tens of millions of Americans that braved the stores on Black Friday, you're probably shopping online today, too. It is cyber Monday, more than 106 million people expected to be shopping from work today. We'll have the details coming up.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we are following a massive storm system that's going to bring rain, sleet and snow to millions of Americans, and guess what, it's on the move. We'll tell you where it's heading coming up in just a few moments.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks guys.
And a business owner in Florida, facing a tough choice in a down economy. She had to lay someone off. And guess who she picked? Herself. We're talking to her about why she made that cut and the jobs it saved. Coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
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PHILLIPS: Come on give some oh --
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Kyra, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: That was great, great --
HARRIS: Good Monday to you.
PHILLIPS: I can't believe you don't know how to do the dougie.
HARRIS: How are you doing? I really don't how to do it.
PHILLIPS: I thought you we're a man with all the moves?
HARRIS: No, I've a few.
PHILLIPS: Wolf Blitzer --
HARRIS: And I just recycle them over and over and over again. The same move.
PHILLIPS: So Wolf -- Wolf Blitzer --
HARRIS: Fifteen iterations --
PHILLIPS: So basically Wolf Blitzer blew you out.
HARRIS: Oh, did he?
PHILLIPS: Wolf Blitzer could do the dougie.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. He really can. Do we have the tape?
PHILLIPS: We saw the Soul Train Awards. Of course, you were there to supervise.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. That's right.
Look at this because we think he's going to come out, he's going to say something like the latest update from "The Situation Room". And he says I'm here to learn -- that's the move. That's the signature move of the dougie.
PHILLIPS: He's got the white man overbite.
HARRIS: You have a little of that going. Yes, but there he is.
Oh, that's good stuff.
And here's the thing Kyra. I told you at the time, when we went to the taping of that -- that's dougie fresh with him.
Look at the man.
PHILLIPS: Wolf is totally working it.
HARRIS: You have big stars in the house, right. You have Terence Howard, up for an Oscar nomination, you have Anita Baker in the house, and Wolf Blitzer with this performance steals the show.
PHILLIPS: That's what I love about Wolf, you know.
HARRIS: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: He'll just go there.
HARRIS: Yes. And then he came out, and then Eminem wins an award, right --
PHILLIPS: And he accepts it for him.
HARRIS: And he accepts it for him. Done, shut down the show. It was terrific stunt (ph).
How are you lady? Good?
PHILLIPS: I'm doing great. What else have we got going on? A little Peyton Manning?
HARRIS: I have something good for you because you're so cowgirl. Your Chargers making a run again.
PHILLIPS: Right. That's my Chargers. I go all the way back to the days of Terry Bradshaw, that's how far back. Dan Fouts (ph). Yes.
HARRIS: Yes. So here's the thing. They're making another one of this late -- mid-season, late-season runs they get them into playoff contention again. And Peyton Manning, you know, arguably one of the best quarterbacks ever in the National Football League has one of those nights. One of those horrible nights where he throws four (INAUDIBLE) and Phillip Rivers the quarterback for your Chargers looks absolutely like an MVP.
He looked great. Peyton Manning comes off the field; disappointed, disgusted, flat busted. And Philip Rivers looks like an all-star.
PHILLIPS: Disgusted, flat busted; I have to remember that one.
HARRIS: Yes. Are you ready to see what happens when push comes to shove in the National Football League?
PHILLIPS: Yes. A little fist fight action?
HARRIS: Oh, this is joy. This is Andre Johnson, he's the wide receiver for the Houston Texans and Cortland Finnegan -- and this is what happens when --
PHILLIPS: Oh, he takes off helmet.
HARRIS: This is the preliminary and here is the main event. Main event. Have some. Helmets off. Here's one, take another right hand.
PHILLIPS: Here comes the flag. The flag goes down.
HARRIS: We're going to take you to field level on this. We have it covered from every angle. You little sneak -- begin again -- have another one of these again.
PHILLIPS: It's like two chicks fighting in the hallway in the 11th grade. I'm going to pull your hair. I'm going to pull your hair.
HARRIS: And I went my hair back and forth. I went my hair -- all right. So here's the thing. Both players are kicked out of the game and Andre Johnson --
PHILLIPS: Any apologies?
HARRIS: Yes, yes. Andre Johnson is a really good guy. I mean this is not sort of --
PHILLIPS: Funny how you can tell. I'd love to bring him home to mama.
HARRIS: Again, when push comes to shove in the National Football League, this is what you get. He apologized to fans, he apologized to his team. It's a bit out of character for him; he's actually a really, really decent guy.
PHILLIPS: And if fighting doesn't work, you just blame God.
HARRIS: If you can, yes. Did you see this?
PHILLIPS: I can't believe this.
HARRIS: Ok. So no one is more upset about this outcome than our friend Wolf Blitzer, grew up in Buffalo, raised in Buffalo, life-long Bills fan. Here is the play right here Kyra.
This is a deep bomb to Steve Johnson. This catch wins the game for the Bills. Steve Johnson, flat out, there it is, drops the ball. Drops the ball. He has five drops during the course of the game. Okay. So the Bills lose the ball game and then Steve Johnson decides -- I'm going to get on my iPad and I'm going to send out a little tweet.
Who does he write? He writes the -- he writes the big guy.
PHILLIPS: The big guy upstairs.
"I praise you 24/7, and this is how you do me? You expect me to learn from this? How? I'll never forget this ever. Thanks, though."
PHILLIPS: Just doesn't understand his relationship with God.
HARRIS: Kyra, you rock.
PHILLIPS: Happy Monday. Great to see you.
HARRIS: More of this in the mid-hour Michelle Beadle from ESPN. We love the Beadle.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll see you at 11:00. No shopping online.
HARRIS: Sorry, my devices. My devices.
PHILLIPS: Ok, don't forget all your phones. All the ladies are calling now. Tony Harris cannot do the dougie.
