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Digging America Out of Debt; Offshore Drilling Ban to Remain in Eastern Gulf; Brutal Storms Pound Southeast; Best Job Growth in 3 Years; Ohio Man Bowls 3 Perfect Games; Tricky Holiday Season Shopping

Aired December 01, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the news and information you need for Wednesday, the first day of December.

Big-time thunderstorms and a tornado risk for the East Coast today. And the South cleaning up after twisters strike three states.

Protests as 1,000 Los Angeles school staffers lose their jobs today. Thousands more get reassigned at much lower pay.

And we meet Mr. Perfect. Ohio's Matt Latarski bowls three perfect games in a row. Are you kidding me? We'll speak with him live.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

Those stories and your comments right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So the problem is real, the solutions are painful, and there are no easy choices, the bottom line from the co-chairman of the panel on reducing the country's crushing debt. The commission released its updated report within the last hour. The combination of spending cuts and tax changes would slash $4 trillion in deficits over 10 years.

Some of the recommendations for you now.

On spending, about $200 billion in military and domestic cuts by 2015. On taxes, reforming the tax code by lowering rates, but scaling back tax breaks. The plan would also raise the federal gas tax by 15 cents a gallon.

On Social Security, gradually raising the full retirement age to 69 and reducing benefits for wealthier recipients.

The question is whether the lawmakers have the political will to make the tough choices.

Now, the co-chairman of the debt commission says it's time to get real.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN SIMPSON, CO-CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: We all know the figures and we all know the math. And the fact really is this is it. No more fun and games, smoke and mirrors, alchemy, trickery, cunning CYA demagoguery and making promises we can't possibly keep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Let's do this -- let's get serious here. Let's bring in our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

Dana, what happens next with the commission's report?

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as we speak, Tony, the commissioners are going around the horn, so to speak, one by one, all 18 of them, and giving people a sense of where they stand. And so far we are hearing a lot of Republicans saying that they're for this, that they know it's tough, but they know that this is something that they have to do, and some Democrat saying that they do have a lot of problems with this, some of the things that you pointed out, raising the retirement age on Social Security, cutting big time to Medicare. Those are some examples of problems Democrats have with this.

So, at the end of the day, meaning Friday, when they're going to have a vote, what you need is 14 out of the 18 commissioners to approve this in order to force the Senate and the House to actually take this up. It is looking pretty unlikely that that is going to happen, so right now it is a major discussion. It is putting these things out there, but unclear at this point, maybe unlikely, that it will actually force Congress to do something.

HARRIS: But at the end of the day, the congressional members of this committee have to vote, correct?

BASH: They do. They do have to vote. There is a vote scheduled in this commission for Friday, Tony. You're right.

HARRIS: OK. All right. So we're going to know exactly -- I mean, these are difficult choices. We're going to know exactly where at least the 12 congressional members on this commission, where they stand and what their issues are.

BASH: Exactly.

HARRIS: OK. So let's do this -- let's shift gears to the debate over extending the Bush-era tax cuts. It sounds like Republicans are playing a bit of hardball here. I'll let you explain.

BASH: They sure are.

All 42 signed on to a letter that was delivered to the Senate majority leader this morning, and what they said is they are not going to let any piece of legislation go forward until the Senate deals with extending the Bush-era tax cuts, how to deal with that, and funding the government. This is something that Republicans have talked about, but now they're putting pen to paper. And what it means practically is "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the DREAM act, things are on the Democrats' agenda, they're not going to get anywhere unless and until the tax cuts happen.

Listen to what Senator McConnell said on the Senate floor, followed by the response from the Senate majority leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: It says that every Republican will vote against proceeding to any legislative matter until we've funded the government and protected every taxpayer from a tax hike. Basically, what it means is first things first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: With this letter, they have simply put in writing the political strategy that the Republicans have pursued this entire Congress; namely, obstruct, delay, obstruct, delay action on critical matters, and then blame the Democrats for not addressing the needs of the American people. Very cynical, but very obvious and very transparent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, Tony, what this also means is that the group of tax cut negotiators that were set up at the White House meeting yesterday -- they're actually meeting as we speak right now, here on Capitol Hill -- there's a lot more pressure on them to act pretty fast to try to find a solution to bridge the divide between Democrats and Republicans, which is pretty deep, on how to deal with these tax cuts.

Republicans, of course, want to extend all of them permanently. Democrats say let's just do those for the middle class. So it's going to put a lot of pressure on them to act pretty fast to come up with a solution if the Democrats really want to get to these other issues on their agenda during this lame-duck session.

HARRIS: Well, speaking of speed and pressure respect don't we have to have a continuing resolution to fund the government by -- is it Friday?

BASH: That's right. That's right.

The government will officially shut down by then. Nobody expects that to happen, but politically, what Republicans are trying to do is get that extension to go far into the year so that Congress doesn't have to keep dealing with this, so that they, especially on the House side, when they take control in January, they don't have to deal with this right away. So that is part of the issue here.

They're not going to -- unless something crazy happens -- let the government shut down. The question is how long they're going to continue to fund the government, and in what way and what spending levels. That's key.

HARRIS: And the other issue here is the idea of extending unemployment benefits. Based on this note from the Republicans, it's not going to happen.

BASH: That's right. They've already run out. We know that. They ran out, many of them, I should say, at midnight last night.

Republicans have said all along they're not going to vote for this unless it is funded. And the proposal on the table is about $12.5 billion to fund these unemployment benefits. I will tell you, what Democrats who are in that meeting right now on tax cuts are hoping to do is maybe negotiate on tax cuts, say, look, if we give a little bit on tax cuts, maybe you'll give us something, meaning extend these unemployment benefits.

So it's not just tax cuts that are on the table, as far as the Democrats are concerned. There's a lot of wheeling and dealing on a host of issues that are before this Congress in the next three weeks.

HARRIS: Boy, your post, the Hill, is where the action is. It really is.

Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.

We will have more --

BASH: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: -- on the debt panel -- thank you, Dana.

Next hour, commission member Senator Judd Gregg will join me, and CNNMoney.com senior writer Jeanne Sahadi. We will dig deeper into the panel's recommendations and what happens next.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. We've got some breaking news. We want to get to our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian, right now.

And Dan, I won't steal your thunder, but everyone can see behind me, it has to do with oil drilling.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. And as this wind is blowing through here, I thought I was going to blow away.

But, yes, a senior administration official telling CNN that President Obama will be banning offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. This is a direct result of the BP oil spill.

Now, this is a change in the administration's policy. You might remember that prior to that oil spill, the administration announced expanding oil drilling to that region, but, of course, there was the disastrous BP oil spill, and so that changed everything.

Later this afternoon, at 1:30, Secretary Salazar will be holding a conference call to give more details on this announcement -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Dan. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Want to get to weather now. Suspected tornadoes swept across the Atlanta area yesterday, damaging a lot of homes.

Jacqui Jeras is in Buford, Georgia.

And I will tell you, Jacqui, that -- in some parts of the Atlanta area, those winds were really fierce.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. They're really howling at this hour. It's making it really cold out here right now, too, Tony, which isn't helping with the efforts for cleanup, for sure.

We're in a neighborhood in Buford. It's about two miles away from the Mall of Georgia, if you know the area.

And the question is, is this a tornado or is it not? And I'll tell you, by what I've seen here today, I would say the answer is very likely going to be yes. We'll hear that official word from the weather service relater today, but 56 homes have been damaged, and this is the worst of it that we've seen.

I mean, take a look -- this is a roof of a house. This whole thing has just been pushed over and picked up. It's just amazing.

If you look over here, you can see there's some clothes that have been falling over on a clothes rack. This is parts of the roof. Trees are down. There you can see a desk, as well as a TV monitor.

Thankfully, nobody in this house was home at the time, but the dog, the family dog, was stuck in this rubble overnight and was rescued this morning. So a little bit of good news out of this, in addition to the fact that nobody was injured.

Now, living next door, right here in this house, check out all the damage here. I have Linda, and Linda is the homeowner.

And you were actually home during the time of this storm yesterday, Linda. Tell us what your experience was like.

LINDA PEZZANITE, HOMEOWNER: It was just raining, and then it rained harder. And it sounded like -- I don't know, just like something -- a real major noise.

And then I heard a "boom," and I think that was Matt's house. And a board tried to come through the wall, and that's when I took off running into the laundry room and just hung out in there.

JERAS: I'm sure those were some very frightening moments for you. At first it didn't look like the damage was that bad.

PEZZANITE: No. It wasn't until I actually went upstairs, and then the entire office is gone -- the walls, the roof. And then the guest room, the ceiling is gone, the roof's gone from there. Water was running through the electrical outlets, the light sockets, and they're filled with water now. JERAS: Oh my goodness. And on the side, if we can look over here just a little bit, Linda, we can see some of the gaping hole. There's basically no back to your house there, is there?

PEZZANITE: There isn't. It looks fine from the front, but when you go around to the rear, that's like nothing.

And you can't get to the -- like, you can see the air conditioner ducts. That's the office, everything there. And it was pulled out.

JERAS: OK. And so you were in there earlier. Your insurance agent just showed up to check on that for you with a little bit of good news. But he said that you've got get out, you can't even go inside the house anymore.

Is that right?

PEZZANITE: We were in there, and we were just getting toward get the last bit -- like, the clothes are in a pile and we were going to grab those. And literally, the floor started shaking, you heard a "boom," and it's like, we got to get out of here. So everybody had to clear the house and we can't go back in.

JERAS: Some scary stuff. Well, we wish you the best of luck. And thank you for taking the time on this day to speak with us. Thanks, Linda.

PEZZANITE: Thank you.

HARRIS: Yes, boy.

JERAS: OK.

Tony, so just one of many stories that we're hearing like that. This happened about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. And that's the good thing, is that Linda was one of the few people that was actually home. And we think that's why there were so few injuries. A lot of people in this neighborhood were at work at the time.

HARRIS: All right. Jacqui, I know you're joining us later with the forecast for the rest of the nation, as well. See you then.

JERAS: Yes.

HARRIS: Let's do this -- let's go "Cross Country" now for stories our affiliates are covering.

First stop, Brooklyn Park, Maryland, where the attempted armed robbery of a pizzeria was stopped cold with an oven spatula.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNIS CHOUDHRY, PIZZA STORE OWNER: He said, "I'm not playing, I have a gun. Give me everything." And I had a chance. I said, let me take my chance, and I just hit him with the gun and he dropped the gun. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was pretty intense.

CHOUDHRY: I couldn't believe that. The (INAUDIBLE) that good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right.

Now to Cutler Bay, Florida, where two battling bee colonies decided to make this home their home. We are talking two million bees here at war with one another, each group battling the other.

The owner had to lock himself in the bathroom. No exterminator was needed because the bees attacked and killed each another.

In Des Moines, Iowa, the sculptor who creates the famous butter cow for the annual state fair has turned her talents to the reason for the season, a sculpture of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in butter. She calls it her most reflective work of art yet.

And think about this -- you have a burning question you need answered right away. You go to the Internet.

So what were the top 10 questions among billions asked in 2010?

Yahoo! compiled a year-ender list.

The 10th most asked question was, "How do you boil an egg?"

Number nine, "What causes lightning?"

Number eight, "What is love?"

Number seven, oddly enough, "What natural disaster shortened Earth's days?" We thank that may have something to do with all the disaster films out this year.

Number six, "Which city has the best tap water?"

And the number one most asked question of the year was -- the answer in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We showed you what Yahoo! says are the most searched questions online in 2010.

Here's the rest of your countdown. Ready for this?

Number five is kind of bizarre. "What's the world's only immortal animal?" Huh?

We went on Yahoo! with that question and found out it's some kind of jellyfish that can reverse the aging process. Oh, yes.

Number four, "How to write a resume." Three, "How to kiss."

Two, "How to lose weight."

And the number one most asked question on it the line in 2010 was "How to tie a tie."

Yahoo! says people are going online on Friday and Saturday nights to figure out how to dress for their dates.

Looking live now at Dallas, where a TV evangelist fesses up to an affair. Marcus Lamb claims three people demanded $7.5 million to keep quiet about his tryst. Instead of paying, Lamb admitted he strayed during a live broadcast on Tuesday.

Live to Washington, where the White House is wearing a huge red ribbon today in honor of World AIDS Day. This is the 12th year for the global event. The United Nations estimates 33.3 million people worldwide are living with HIV.

On this World AIDS Day, a positive trend to tell you about. New HIV infections fell almost 20 percent across the last decade.

CNN's Sandra Endo now in New York.

And Sandy, you've got more stats, and I understand some pictures of the commemoration.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony, making some strides on this global community to combat AIDS and HIV on this World AIDS Day.

Let's take a live look now at the World AIDS Day quilt in Atlanta, part of the commemoration to combat the deadly disease.

Now, while the number of new infections is downs, as you mentioned, Tony, there are also some sobering numbers out there today. The World Health Organization says the number of children living with HIV or AIDS in 11 Asian countries has increased by 46 percent between 2001 to 2009. But there are also some improvements when we talk about the number of deaths. In 2009, about 1.8 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses, compared to the roughly 2.1 million who died in 2004.

Now, World AIDS Day is also trending on Twitter, and here's what some people are tweeting about today. Let's take a look at the Twitter board right now.

All right. One tweet says, "Get tested. Know your status."

And another tweet says, via the Web, "It's World AIDS Day. Remember those lost. Know your status, get tested, talk to other people, spread education and awareness, not the disease."

So those are some tweets out there right now trending on Twitter. And, of course, Tony, despite all the good news, the United Nations says the demand for resources still surpasses supply, so there's still a lot of work out there to be done.

HARRIS: Yes. Sandy, appreciate it. Thank you.

More on this next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. I am speaking live with filmmaker Sheila Johnson about her new documentary called "The Other City." It looks at the still-surging AIDS epidemic in the nation's capital.

And watch Alicia Keys as she talks about getting off Twitter, Facebook, and other social media to raise money and awareness for World AIDS Day. She is in the CNN NEWSROOM at 3:00 Eastern today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is urging the Senate to act quickly on repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. It bans gays from serving openly in the military. But a year-long Pentagon study finds most service members are not opposed to repealing the law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I am determined to see that if the law is repealed, the changes are implemented in such a way as to minimize any negative impact on the morale, cohesion and effectiveness of combat units that are deployed, about to deploy to the front lines with regards to readiness, the working group report concluded that, overall, and with thorough preparation -- and I emphasize "thorough preparation" -- there is a low risk from repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Earlier today, our Kyra Phillips went behind the stats on the Pentagon's new study on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and got answers from the man in charge of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Gentlemen, let's talk privacy concerns. A lot of comments in this study about showers, sleeping quarters. One trooper even saying, "Well, tell him if he hits on me, I'll kick his ass."

Now, taking all of this into account, General, will there ever be bathroom, showers just for gays, gay barracks? Is that a reality?

GEN. CARTER HAM, "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" REVIEW CO-CHAIRMAN: Kyra, as we traveled around the force and talked with many thousands of service members, privacy concerns was near the top of the issues that we heard about. Having studied this and looked at it, our recommendation is that the Department of Defense should not establish separate facilities. We think doing so would be divisive and it would be prohibitively expensive.

We do think that there are already authorities and mechanisms in place so that if a service member is uncomfortable in a barrack situation, or aboard ship, or any other environment with some other service member, there are means already for the non-commissioned officer leaders and for commanders to deal with those situations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, last night on CNN's "PARKER/SPITZER," Anthony Woods, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, talked about why he came out after leading his fellow soldiers into battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIOT SPITZER, CO-HOST, "PARKER/SPITZER": Based on your experience, is the military ready to take that next step and basically say sexual orientation simply isn't material to somebody's capacity to perform in the military?

ANTHONY WOODS, DISCHARGED FROM ARMY DUE TO "DADT": Absolutely. And I made my decision to be honest about who I was after leading soldiers in battle.

I realized that someone's sexual orientation has nothing to do with their ability to accomplish the mission on the battlefield. And if we have a policy in place that ultimately hurts our military by firing experienced people, people need to stand up against that. I think the military is more than capable and more than professional enough to handle the change that certainly will come.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tony, were you ever discriminated against?

WOODS: I don't believe that I was. I don't believe that I was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you re-enlist?

WOODS: I absolutely would, and I certainly plan to. I am looking forward to the day that I am able to put on our nation's uniform and once again say that I am ready and willing to serve anywhere you want to send me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Boy.

Tonight on "PARKER/SPITZER," a top Republican about the GOP's willingness to work with President Obama as they take power in the House.

The private sector posts strong job numbers for November. We will check the figures and what they mean.

We're back in a moment.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good news on the jobs front, private sector employers added -- listen to this -- 93,000 positions last month. OK, that's good news.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with details.

And, Alison, it's good news, but how significant is this number?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This really is a big deal, Tony, because 93,000 jobs added is really the biggest job gain that we've seen in three years. Even better, the October jobs numbers that were added were also revised higher. So that means we've gained jobs almost every month this year compared to job losses we saw every month last year.

Look at this chart, if you remember, Tony, in the months of January and March of 2009 -- look at that bar chart -- we lost 749,000 jobs. The fact that we're adding jobs is a huge improvement -- Tony.

HARRIS: You know, but we keep hearing that the unemployment rate is going to stay above 9 percent for a while. How do we reconcile that number with today's strong gains, 93,000 jobs, nothing to sneeze about?

KOSIK: Sure. I mean, yes, you make a good point. OK, 93,000 is really a strong number if you look at it as in a healthy economy. Right now, we're not in such a healthy economy, so the truth of the matter is 93,000 jobs really isn't enough.

We look at what Ben Bernanke said yesterday, the Fed chairman. He said the big problem here is those people who are out of work for a long period of time, I'm talking six months to years, you know what happens, skills erode. Companies, you know, they become really skeptical about these applicants. You know, hey, why haven't you gotten a job yet?

So it really winds up being this catch-22 situation. They try find work but they complained fin can't find it because they're out of work -- Tony.

HARRIS: And, Alison, the real number is about 150,000 or more jobs just to sort of handle natural growth. Is that correct?

KOSIK: Yes, we need to add anywhere from 150,000 to 300,000 jobs a month just to start chipping away at the unemployment rate. We're not seeing that level yet, but we are moving in the right direction.

HARRIS: Yes. Can we get a quick market check, a professional market check before we say good-bye for the hour?

KOSIK: You got it.

We've got the Dow up 190 points. It's a really good day on Wall Street, those jobs numbers helping. Also some other economic reports. We found out that the manufacturing sector is growing both here in the U.S. and China, construction spending is up. We could pull off a rally today.

HARRIS: Lovely. All right, Alison. See you next hour. Thank you.

Today is the last day on the job for more than a thousand Los Angeles education workers, a result of the latest round of budget cuts. These are the people who staff school offices, run libraries and maintain campuses in the nation's second largest school district. About 1,500 workers will have to take positions with less pay or fewer hours; another 2,000 or so are being shifted to new workplaces.

The U.S. Senate failed to pass an extension of unemployment benefits, the checks ended this month for about 2 million Americans. More hardship for those out of work and struggling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Means I don't have any money. You know, we're cutting way back. I'm losing -- I can't do anything really. I got to sit home and call and look for jobs and I just save enough money for getting enough gas to go to the next interview.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to work so that I can get out on my own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Federal benefits last up to 73 weeks and kick in after the state funded 26 weeks of benefits expire, but many have exhausted the combined 99 weeks.

Dozens of homes in several southern states damaged by severe storms. We will get a live look at the damage in suburban Atlanta with Jacqui Jeras.

Back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: I know a lot of you watching are bowlers, but -- you play in your leagues, right? I'll bet you've never seen anyone come close to bowling a perfect game. Oh, you have?

How about two perfect games? I bet you've never seen anyone bowl three perfect games in a row. Why? Because it just hasn't happened that often. Matt Latarski is the latest bowler to join that elite group, and I'm talking exclusive.

Hey, Matt, how are you? You good?

MATT LATARSKI, BOWLED PERFECT 900 SERIES: I'm doing good. You?

HARRIS: Great. Not as good as you, but great.

We'll talk to Matt in just a couple minutes. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: I couldn't believe the e-mail when I received this yesterday. Here's the thing, every bowler has this dream, this fantasy, right, three perfect games in a row. It's a series, it's a perfect series. Only 17 people have ever done that.

Matt Latarski is now part of that exclusive group bowling a perfect 300 series. Matt is joining us from Cleveland.

Matt, good to see you. How are you, man?

LATARSKI: I'm doing OK. You?

HARRIS: You pick up any coins for that? Did you put any side wagers down as it was getting close here?

LATARSKI: No, I just kind of took it as it came and tried to make it the best shot possible and hoped for the best.

HARRIS: I need to be your agent is what I need.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: Had you ever bowled a perfect game before?

LATARSKI: Yes, I have. I had five prior to those three that I bowled on Sunday.

HARRIS: So you've been in this space, so you have mental frame of reference of what it's like to bowl a perfect game. Had you ever come close to two perfect games in a row?

LATARSKI: No, I haven't. It was funny, because my buddy, two weeks prior, had the first 33 strikes and I was just talking about how I couldn't even imagine having the first 33 strikes in a row. And just -- I couldn't believe it. It still hasn't even sunk in. It's amazing.

HARRIS: OK, let me get some basic background, nuts and bolts here.

When did this happen for you? When did you do this?

LATARSKI: This happened on Sunday morning of this week, at a bowling alley called Roseland Lanes in Oakwood Village.

HARRIS: That's terrific.

OK, so what is happening in your mind? When is the moment -- and describe the moment when you begin to sense, hey, this is a really good day, oh, this is a really great day, this is -- this could be a special day. When do you start to sense that and how do you process that emotionally?

LATARSKI: It took about two or three frames into the third game where it really started to sink in what was going on was really happening.

And I was talking to my buddy and I just looked at him and I was like I can't even explain to you what's going on right now through my head. And he was like, you know, just keep your head in there and make good shots and hope for the best. And you know, I just kept my mind clear.

HARRIS: But, Matt, the pressure mounts, right? This is escalating pressure here. You get to the seventh, you get for the eighth frame, you get to the ninth frame of the third game, perfect series on the line. What are you thinking?

LATARSKI: Oh, man. There were so many things going through my head at that moment like just -- I can't even explain to you about, you know, house record and 900, just everything.

And it was great, because my family was there to watch me. My dad, my grandfather, my uncle, my brother all bowl in the league together, and we've been doing it for about five years. So it was really special to have my family there to see it.

I was just upset my brother had to work that day and he got to miss it. So he was a little upset, as well.

HARRIS: I think we ran a bit of the video, I think I missed it. Are you a righty or a lefty?

LATARSKI: I'm righty.

HARRIS: Let's put that card up again, I missed that as well. Let's see the card from the Roseland Lanes. You've got it there. That is -- hey, why haven't you framed that yet, sir?

LATARSKI: I'm working on it. Trust me.

HARRIS: Do you have any aspirations? I mean, come one, do you want to do this professionally and get a check on the weekends?

LATARSKI: Oh, absolutely. It's always been a dream of mine to get sponsored by a company and go out there and bowl with the professionals.

I've been bowling with my buddy, Matt Summers (ph), he's like my competition and we've always bowled together. For the past eight year, we've always talked about how great that would be to get on tour and bowl together.

HARRIS: Terrific, well done, and thanks for taking the time to be with us. What an achievement, a perfect series, 900.

Matt, good luck and let's see you bowling on television on ESPN the weekends. Thanks for your time today. LATARSKI: Absolutely.

And I just a shout out to Columbia 300 for making the perfect ball for me, I guess. It's funny because it's a 15-year-old ball and everyone still laughs at me how that thing still hits the pocket pretty hard.

HARRIS: Yes, we like shout outs around here. Congratulations, Matt. Thanks for the time, appreciate it.

It is billed as the most dazzling holiday spectacle south of the North Pole. We're talking about the Festival of Lights in downtown Riverside, California. Let's watch Friday's switch-on ceremony, as it's called.

(VIDEO CLIP, IREPORT BY ALLEN MEALEY)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Taking a look at "Top Stories" right now.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange now on Interpol's wanted list for an alleged sex assault. He's in hiding since releasing thousands of classified State Department documents. The Justice Department and the Pentagon have launched criminal investigations.

Black farmers discriminated against by the U.S. Agriculture Department are getting closer to getting money from a settlement. The House has passed a $1.15 billion measure to fund that settlement.

And 55 years ago today, civil rights legend Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. That triggered a boycott and led to a court ruling desegregating public transportation in Montgomery and eventually the entire nation. Rosa Parks died in 2005.

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HARRIS: The battle over Bush-era tax cuts is heating up. Brianna Keilar, part of "The Best Political Team on Television" live from Capitol Hill.

And what your following, Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, new on the Ticker, Tony, Senate Republicans are promising to block legislation on any issue in this lame duck Congress if that dispute over whether to extend these Bush-era tax cuts is resolved and if they can find an agreement and approve funding of the federal government.

As you know, Democrats are trying to deal with a whole host of other issues before the end of this month. Among them "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," but Republicans are saying no and they are making a point here saying we have to deal with these economic issues. And also on the Ticker, turning now the race to lead the Republican National Committee. This is pretty interesting. We're six weeks out and this race is wide open. There's going to be a forum tonight.

There are a number of conservative members of the RNC that you could say are not fans of the current chairman, Michael Steele, who hasn't said if he's running again, and they're teaming up with the Tea Party aligned group FreedomWorks for a forum to grill some of the candidates.

But, Tony, here's the thing, there are only three candidates who are definitely going to be there tonight. A lot of the big names, not going to be there. Michael Steele, not going to be there. Who's in? Who's out? It's all on the Political Ticker -- Tony.

HARRIS: Terrific, Brianna. Appreciate it, thank you.

You're next political update in an hour and for the latest political news, you know where to go, it's CNNPolitics.com.

Some of the stories we're working on, four convictions and two years later, the California attorney general's office releases this video of a teen boy escaping from a year in captivity. The shocking details of this story in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

And British billionaire Richard Branson launches new magazine that will be hard to leave behind in some waiting rooms. We will tell you all about his new project for iPads only.

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HARRIS: As you cruise the stores this holiday season, keep in mind merchants are trying to trick you to buy more than you planned. The CNN Money Team's Stephanie Elam in New York with top tips today.

Stephanie, good to see you. Tricks are OK for Halloween, but not Christmas. What's a shopper to do here?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right. We're past Halloween now, we're looking at the holiday spirit. And before you hit the mall, Tony, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Believe it or not, "Consumer Reports" says the average person will spend 15 hours shopping for holiday gifts. You've probably already gotten a slew of flyers and catalogs from department stores, other retailers.

And there's really something about those promotional gift cards that really get people in the door and makes them spend. And Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, tell us this tactic is being used more than ever than before this year.

So you walk into a store, one of those promotional gift cards for 10 bucks off your purchase and you often end up spending more than you ever anticipated. It works out great for the stores, but maybe not so great for your wallet.

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HARRIS: Hey, Stephanie. Stephanie, I apologize. We have some breaking news going on right now.

You see Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. He's talking about extending the Bush-era tax cuts, what's going to be done there. Let's listen in.

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HARRIS: You see Max Baucus, Senator Max Baucus there as well. He's absolutely someone that you want to listen to. I don't know -- let me just -- all right, let's do this.

Dana, I know you're getting into position. We'll give you a moment to get set. We can work in a quick break here and we'll come back in just a second. Let's do that.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll get back to Dana Bash in just a moment.

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