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Stranded Freighter Getting Towed; Iran Says It's Making Yellowcake; Katherine Schwarzenegger's Teen Angst; Flagged for Post- Touchdown Prayer; Clinton Will Lead North Korea Talks; High-Tech Holiday Cards; Tiger Woods Could End Up Slump Today; Burgers are Back

Aired December 05, 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: Christmas cards that come to life. They're part of a new wave of high tech holiday greetings. We'll show you all the options this hour.

And a thousand people dive into the frigid waters of Lake Erie. They were actually paid for their polar plunge. Hear why in the "Chat Room" at 4:00 Eastern time.

And then, at 5:00 looking forward to your holiday work party? Well, there are some definite dos and don'ts that you need to know before you go to that party.

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

We begin today with a rescue underway in the frigid waters off the Alaskan coast. A troubled cargo ship is trying to get back to safe harbor, but it faces some serious obstacles.

First off, the giant freighter lost engine power in a very remote area off Alaska's Adak Island. Secondly, the weather right now is terrible, with waves reaching 26 feet. And, thirdly, the freighter is carrying nearly a half million gallons of crude oil.

We have Chief Petty Officer Dana Warr of the U.S. Coast Guard on the phone from Anchorage. So, Dana, what can you tell us about the status of this freighter and where help is and in what form?

DANA WARR, CHIEF PETTY OFFICER, U.S. COAST GUARD: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

Tensions have eased a little bit since the tow was hooked up last night. They - the tug and the Golden Seas have moved south the Aleutian Chains a little bit because the weather was going to maintain 20-foot seas and 30-knot winds, so the captain made a decision to move below the island, so a little better weather.

However, that's increased the time it's going to take before it could reach (ph) Dutch Harbor and the safety of the harbor in there, which is probably not till Tuesday afternoon now.

WHITFIELD: So the tug is already in place. It's actually towing this vessel. For how long is it able to do that, especially with 26-foot high seas? WARR: The - the tug is designed for this. It's a purpose-driven vessel. It's an ocean-going tug. It has about 2,400 feet of tow line out the - out the back, towing this vessel into Dutch Harbor. It has - the fuel capacity, it has the horsepower capacity of 18,000 horsepower.

Towing evolutions are absolutely dangerous. They're doing this very professionally, doing it very safely. They're taking steps to be safer.

So, right now, everything is going as planned and we're happy with the results but we wouldn't be fully happy until the vessel is anchored in Dutch Harbor.

WHITFIELD: And so, how difficult and frightening or harrowing was it to actually hook up this tow and this freighter?

WARR: The crew on the tug is - they practice this. This is - it's what they do. They got on scene yesterday about 5:30 Alaska time, and it took them about three hours before they actually got the tow set up and they were underway.

So they had to go through some safety procedures and make sure both captains were comfortable with how things were going to go. But the crew on the tug is - this is what they do. They're an ocean going tug. They can handle the sea states, and so far everything's gone very well.

WHITFIELD: And your greatest concern or worry would be what?

WARR: Right now is if the tow is to break. That would be our worst concern. We do have backup emergency towing systems. We have the Alex Haley, and it's just around the corner. That can also respond if that tow is to break. Or we can fly out by using helicopters and other towing system onto the tug and they can reconnect something again.

So this is - this step one, or Plan A. We have Plan B in place in case something happens.

WHITFIELD: Dana Warr of the U.S. Coast Guard. Thank so much for your time and all the best in this endeavor.

WARR: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, an announcement from Tehran today is raising new concern around the world. Iran says its nuclear program is now self- sufficient.

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization says his country has started producing yellowcake, an intermediate stage in turning uranium into nuclear fuel.

CNN's Reza Sayah is watching developments from Islamabad, Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Iranian government on Sunday touting its production of yellowcake as a major achievement for its nuclear program. And whenever there's news of progress with Iran's nuclear program, those who are alarmed about Iran immediately question whether the achievement was legal, whether it was done secretly, and whether Iran is closer to building a nuclear bomb.

We should say from the outset that it takes a lot more than yellowcake to build a nuclear bomb, and on Sunday both U.S. officials as well as officials from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog came out and said this is not a surprise, that they knew all along that Iran was looking to produce yellowcake.

Yellowcake is a powdery substance produced from mined uranium ore. Without yellowcake, you can't produce enriched uranium, which is the fuel that nuclear reactors use to generate electricity. Also, if you enrich uranium to 90 percent levels, you can build nuclear bombs, something experts say that Iran is not capable of doing at this point.

It is highly unlikely that Iran's announcement on Sunday, a day before talks with the U.S. and its allies over its nuclear program, was a coincidence. Of course, for the past few years, the U.S. and its allies have been doing what they can to weaken and undermine Iran's nuclear program.

This announcement by the Iranian government on Sunday was a message to the U.S. and its allies that despite the U.N. sanctions, that despite the outside pressure, it's moving forward with its nuclear program and specifically moving forward with enriching uranium.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to lead new talks tomorrow on the nuclear and military threat posed by North Korea. She'll meet with counterparts from South Korea and Japan.

The meetings come two weeks after North Korea launched an artillery attack on South Korea, killing four. China, which is considered key to controlling North Korea, wasn't invited to tomorrow's meetings. We'll have more on what's at stake a little bit later on in this hour.

Katherine Schwarzenegger. She's a member of a powerful and famous family, who has managed to empower herself by overcoming serious insecurities. Schwarzenegger tells me "Face to Face" how she did it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A blast of frigid air will make for some pretty miserable weather conditions across much of the Eastern U.S. during this week ahead. And in some areas you can add heavy snow to the mix. They're still digging out from up to three feet of snow in Buffalo, New York, even though they're accustomed to that stuff, a little early, isn't it? More, by the way, is on the way. Other areas from Chicago to North - North Carolina got their first significant snow this season this weekend as well.

Bonnie Schneider in the Weather Center. Oh, my gosh, this is seriously winter.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is.

WHITFIELD: Forget the fall part.

SCHNEIDER: It just, like, snapped and all of a sudden December came, and it's freezing outside and snow is falling. And if you're in the Great Lakes you're probably wondering how much longer. Well, you have all winter ahead of you.

But it's interesting, this particular lake effect blast of snow was very intense and very varied. We had reports of seven miles apart from one neighbor to another, three feet of snow and then nothing. That's very typical of lake-effect snow.

It's an interesting phenomenon. As cold air comes over the colder - the warmer waters, rather, of the Great Lakes, the cold air grabs the moisture, then it comes back over the colder land. The air temperature in the 30s, sometimes in the 20s, and depending on the direction of the wind and where you live, you could get hammered with heavy snow, and that's what we saw with this event where we had up to three feet snow drifts.

Now, we talk a lot about lake-effect snow, but that's not the only snowfall pattern that we've been watching. We actually had a different system. This one's called a clipper, a fast moving storm that comes out from Canada, and it really can bring a quick dumping of snow, and that's what happened in the Midwest.

Chicago, it started snowing last night, and you could see we had five inches of snow on the ground. So, yes, winter is very much here, even though it's not quite officially here. Indianapolis also saw their first snow, but not too much, about two - a little over two and a half inches, so not too bad.

All right. Let's see what's going on right now. I want to take you to areas of the Great Lakes where we're seeing snow showers across Cleveland. Also northward towards Buffalo.

What's good about this situation right now is that even though it's very blustery out there, the winds are as strong as 35-mile-per-hour gusts, so it's very cold and blustery, but we're not seeing really heavy, heavy snow. Cleveland, for example, you'll see maybe an inch or two today and then another inch or two tonight, possibly, maybe not even that.

But the big picture shows that this big cold air mass is so cold and so far south that it's penetrating all the way into Tennessee where we - we have some snow showers in the mountains there. So definitely feeling like winter's here. Just check out the temperatures, 44 is the high today in Atlanta; 37 in New York; and 40 in Kansas City. Now, if this doesn't seem right to you, there's a reason. These temperatures that you see from, I'd say, the eastern two-thirds of the country, 10 to 25 degrees below normal, and not just today but all week long. I'm the bearer of such great news, right?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Thanks a lot. Yesterday it feels -

(CROSSTALK)

SCHNEIDER: -- in the 20s this week.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my God, you know, it feels colder than 44.

SCHNEIDER: That - well, that wind today, that northwesterly wind, absolutely. And it will stay like that through most of this week from - even Florida is getting down to really unbelievably cold temperatures.

WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh. And a lot folks, at least in South Florida, don't have heating.

SCHNEIDER: No.

WHITFIELD: So that will be particularly miserable. But hopefully just temporary.

SCHNEIDER: Just temporary. Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Bonnie. Appreciate that.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, parts of Europe, they're underwater after days of heavy rain. In Southern Bosnia-Herzegovina, floodwaters have washed across roads and bridges and into homes and businesses. Several major rivers in the country are out of their banks.

And in Albania at least 12,000 people have been evacuated. With the flooding also triggering massive landslides, the Albanian government has declared a state of emergency.

Floodwaters also cover parts of Northern Italy. More than half of Venice is underwater, including the city's famed St. Mark's Square.

Severe insecurities and social anxieties - Katherine Schwarzenegger experienced all of that growing up. But, unlike other young people, she had to do it in the spotlight as the daughter of two famous people - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and journalist Maria Shriver. Schwarzenegger emerged from those tough teen years with a healthy sense of self and a lot of information, which she now shares in her new book, "Rock What You've Got."

In my "Face to Face" interview with the 20-year-old author, I asked her why she was so insecure as a child.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And so, it's "Rock What You've Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty from Someone Who's Been There and Back."

I guess folks would be really perplexed to know that you've been there. Where's "there"?

KATHERINE SCHWARZENEGGER, AUTHOR, "ROCK WHAT YOU'VE GOT": I had times of being insecure and having doubts about my appearance, like every girl does. And, you know, that's really what this entire book is about. It really shares all my experiences in middle school and elementary school and high school, and even a little bit in college of, you know, stressing out about my appearance constantly and, you know, going on every fad diet in order to be exactly like what's on the cover of a magazine.

So, I really talked about everything, kind of want to let girls know they're not alone.

WHITFIELD: So, what provoked you to say, you know what, I do want to put this in book form. I want to, you know, reach an audience of seven million young ladies and - and girls who don't feel good about themselves, who have eating disorders, in particular.

SCHWARZENEGGER: I did an internship at Dove, when they were coming out with their campaign for Real Beauty, which I thought was an amazing message, and one that I had never seen anything like that before. So, I was really inspired by that.

And I took a class at USC that talked about the effects that media have on young women, which I thought was so interesting and really sad. And I have so many young girls in my family and young girls in my life, and I know my experiences in high school of how much pressure is put on young women to be thin, to be beautiful all the time, to be over-sexualized at a young age. You can't be beautiful unless you look like what's on the cover of a magazine.

And so I really wanted to kind of change that and let girls know that you can be beautiful in your own beauty and your own size.

WHITFIELD: So, you mentioned as early as elementary school you started questioning your own beauty, looking in the mirror and not liking what you're seeing.

SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Will you describe for me, what is it that you were feeling or seeing, and at what age?

SCHWARZENEGGER: I was 10. I was in 4th grade, and that's how I start the book. And I was talking about a - an instance where I kind of had a temper tantrum with my mom and I felt like everything was terrible in my life, and I was on an airplane and I wasn't doing well in school because I wasn't good in math.

And I felt like I didn't have a lot of friends, and that - it's the first time for me, I noticed that my body was different than another girl in my grade's body, and that really freaked me out. And I didn't feel like I was pretty. I thought I was chubby and ugly. And I think, you know, for a lot of young girls, that's an age where that happens, and even younger, now.

So, it will continue to get younger unless we give this issue the proper attention that it needs.

WHITFIELD: So, your mom kind of read you. She saw that something was wrong. Here you all were, getting ready to go on a family trip, on a ski trip. Everyone's supposed to be happy -

SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- great, but there's something is going on with you.

At what point does your mom reach over to you and try to make you rethink about the qualities about you, what you like, what you don't like?

SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, I think I was talking to my mom about it, and I was crying, and I think she really realized that, you know, doing an exercise which she did with me, where I write down what I like and what I don't like about my - my life and my body is the best way to go about this. Because no matter how many times she told me I was beautiful and that I was smart, it didn't mean anything to me because I thought, as my mom, she had to do that and that she was obligated to say those things, as my mother.

So I think, you know, really writing everything down, in my opinion, and seeing how much longer the likes column is than the dislikes column was a really eye-opening experience for me and one that I recommend every woman do.

WHITFIELD: Why do you suppose you didn't believe it? You would look at your mom, Maria Shriver. She's a very strong individual. She's beautiful. She's smart. And it's almost like looking in the mirror, is it not?

But you were somehow looking at yourself and not seeing the same qualities that you endeared about your mom.

SCHWARZENEGGER: We, as women, we look in the mirror and we don't see what other people see. We automatically jump and only focus on the flaws, the things we wished we could change about ourselves, and I think that's really true for women of all ages.

I was in 4th grade and I was doing exactly that. And I think, you know, to me, my mom wasn't Maria Shriver, the beautiful journalist, she was just my mom to me. And so, when she told me, you know, you're beautiful, Katherine, I was like, yes, sure, whatever. You have to say that. And I think that's what a lot of young girls think.

And I really want young girls to know that if your mom is saying those things to you, it's important to believe it, because your mom wouldn't say you're doing a great job, you're really smart in school, unless she believed it. So, I obviously didn't believe it when I was in 4th grade, though.

WHITFIELD: So, your target audience, you are thinking about what young lady, what young person, as you were writing this book?

SCHWARZENEGGER: I think I was really thinking of every young girl who's ever felt, you know, insecure about their - their appearance and who will feel insecure about their appearance. But I think, you know, with this experience of meeting a lot of people and going to book signings and talking about this issue, I really realized that this is a book that's really a - a read for women of all ages.

Body image is something that stays with women throughout their entire life. So a girl as young as six years old can read this book, and then a woman as old as 75 can read this book, because every day you have to deal with this issue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Katherine Schwarzenegger.

But not everyone has to deal with having the Terminator for a dad. In part two of my "Face to Face" with Katherine Schwarzenegger, find out what it's like growing up with Arnold Schwarzenegger as dad, and how her instantly recognizable last name proved problematic in middle school.

That's coming up in the 4:00 Eastern hour today. "Face to Face".

President Barack Obama is joining the country in celebrating the achievements of five extraordinary artists. And they're all being awarded Kennedy Center Honors this evening.

Queen of Talk Oprah Winfrey is among them, and she's excited about receiving her award, alongside singer Paul McCartney. When she was young and struggling, the only decorations on her apartment wall were Beatles posters.

And singer Merle Haggard, composer Jerry Herman, and choreographer/director Bill T. Jones round out the list of honorees this evening. The president, by the way, will hold a special reception for them this afternoon before that big ceremony.

All right, there's a lot of buzz across the country about a high school football player and what he did after scoring a touchdown. Should he have been penalized for kneeling down and pointing to the heavens? We'll find out what some students are telling our Carl Azuz.

There he is, ready for a nice, candid conversation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A football player kneeling and pointing to the sky at a game gets a penalty flag. That's straight ahead. But first, a quick look at the headlines.

One day before stalled nuclear talks are set to resume in Geneva, Iran says its nuclear program is self-sufficient. Iran state media reports that Tehran is producing yellowcake. That's an intermediate stage in producing uranium.

Until now, Iran couldn't make yellowcake and had to import it.

After suffering engine problems in the frigid waters off Alaska's Aleutian Island, a stranded freighter is heading home. The 738-foot long Golden Seas is being towed to an Alaskan harbor. Among other things, it's carrying more than 450,000 gallons of crude oil and some diesel fuel. Rough seas could hamper the trip.

And the State Department is telling U.S. citizens not to travel to the Ivory Coast. Fear about civil unrest is growing in the wake of a contested presidential runoff election. Two men are claiming victory.

Americans are urged to avoid the area or exercise caution if they're already there. The country has been unstable since a failed coup attempt eight years ago.

So, in any sport, scoring and celebrations usually go hand in hand. But when does a football celebration become excessive?

Carl Azuz with CNN Student News is here to explain a very tough call, and one that has a whole lot of folks in an uproar.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. Absolutely.

I want to first start off just showing you the play, showing you what the student did. High school running back, name is Ronnie Hastie. You see him here. Breaks a tackle, scores in the end zone. Now, watch what he does here. Kneels, points to the sky, and he is hit with a penalty flag, literally, from a referee.

Ronnie Hastie asked the referee, OK, what - what did I do wrong? What happened here? And the ref said this is excessive celebration. You are not supposed to draw attention to yourself. But if you listen to what Ronnie Hastie has to say, it wasn't himself he was trying to draw attention to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONNIE HASTIE, HIGH SCHOOL RUNNING BACK: I do that to give glory to my Heavenly Father, Jesus, something I just do after, like, He gives me the strength. He's the one who gives me these abilities to do in the first place.

I've done it every time I've gotten in the end zone, and nothing's - no one's ever said anything about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: But the plot thickens right here, Fredricka, because now Ronnie says he is not going to do that anymore in the end zone. Instead, he'll score and then give thanks from the sideline.

WHITFIELD: Is it all - is also at issue here the whole separation of church and state? Is it really that not necessarily excessive, you know, show of celebration?

AZUZ: There were some students who brought that up. And I'm going to show you that in just a few minutes. Some people are concerned about First Amendment rights when it comes to this sort of thing.

But there was a representative from the Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association who said there was a specific rule broken here. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE COLBRESE, WASHINGTON INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION: The point is to make sure the game goes on, that - that something that happens after a score or after a spectacular play, whatever, doesn't slow down play.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: And so, for those reasons, we're having some people talk to us about how there might be a way to kind of adhere to the rules but still give thanks. Some students are saying, well, I would have given the ball back and then given thanks. Whether that would have caused a penalty, that's hard to say.

WHITFIELD: So this has or has not changed the behavior of him or other players who feel like they want to give some acknowledgement?

AZUZ: It's going to be up to them on a case by case basis, and certainly up to the referees on a case by case basis to evaluate whether or not this would be an excessive celebration call.

But if you listen to some of what our student audience is talking to us about, there was a student named Brianna who wrote in - we asked our studio audience, would you continue to celebrate if you've been penalized for something like this? She's saying, yes, if that's what he believes in. He's been doing it all season. And then, as I said, she starts bringing in the First Amendment, saying, "Religion is an individual freedom and right."

On the other hand, we have comment from Laurie's class, a teacher named Laurie's class, who're saying, drop the ball first, then pray off the field if you want to.

And they're kind of, you know, best of both worlds here. They're saying people of faith should be able to show it, but they still got to follow the rules.

So they were - you know, these - these comments were divided, but 94 percent of our audience is saying the kid should not have been penalized. And that, in an audience that's usually split on issues, is huge.

WHITFIELD: And, instead, there is a strong sentiment toward the referee making the call.

AZUZ: Well, a strong sentiment toward the student, actually. A lot of them are saying they don't agree with the call. They believe that the student should have been able to have knelt, have pointed to the sky and prayed and not having been penalized.

But there was one exception to the rule. I remember a student named Andrew wrote in our blog, saying, well, church is a place for worship. The football field is a place for the game. But, again, he was in the minority of about percent compared to the 94 percent who were saying no penalty should have been called.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So strong sentiment against the referee.

AZUZ: Oh, yes. Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right. Carl Azuz, thanks so much.

AZUZ: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you.

AZUZ: Appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: All right, the threat from North Korea. Two weeks after they attacked their neighbors to the South, critical meetings are planned in Washington now.

Coming up, we'll take a look at what is at stake.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So what to do about North Korea. That's the agenda for U.S. Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton's meeting tomorrow with top diplomats from South Korea and Japan. China and Russia who are both part of proposed six-party talks on the situation were not invited this time.

Joining me right now via Skype from Athens, Greece is Marco Vicenzino from the Global Strategy Project. I said it well last week when we spoke. This week was a disaster. I'll give it another shot, Marco. All right, good to see you.

So give me an idea why this is so important to have these meetings between the U.S., Japan and South Korea and not involve China this go around?

MARCO VICENZINO, GLOBAL STRATEGY PROJECT: First of all, South Korea and Japan have been traditional U.S. allies bound by pact, treaty and there are American forces in South Korea and American forces in Japan and you have to coordinate a policy and coordinate your action with your allies.

And if there is an aggression, further aggression from North Korea those who would be participating with a counterattack would be U.S. forces, South Korean forces and possibly even Japanese forces also.

WHITFIELD: Now, the U.S. has tried very hard to establish taking the lead in getting these talks, getting some sort of resolution going between what North Korea and its recent behavior has been. Why is it so important that the U.S. take this position?

VICENZINO: If the U.S. is not directly engaged. If the U.S. is not taking an elite position, that will further embolden and encourage the North Korean to take more aggressive actions against the south.

So I think the U.S. involvement is key as a deterrent to further North Korean aggression and once again if you look at regional stability and international stability, will be at stake if there is not direct U.S. engagement in this situation.

WHITFIELD: Is it likely that any future planned military exercises will continue even as these talks get under way?

VICENZINO: Most definitely. Preparedness must dominate in this situation. Once again, this is a very unpredictable situation. Has been for years and will continue to be for a long time to come.

Military preparedness can only be done through regular constant and consistent exercises. With one taking place between U.S. and Japanese forces something that was planned well in advance to mark the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-Japanese security pact, but also as a show of force to everyone else in the region that the U.S. will remain engaged.

It involves not only North Korea, but recent times we've seen some aggression from China in the South China Sea and in territorial disputes with Japan. So it's a way to remind everyone that the U.S. is engaged and will remain engaged with its closest allies in the region for a long time to come.

WHITFIELD: Marco, talk about South Korea because this past week. South Korea kind of changed its position a little bit, changed its language, kind of beefened (sic) it up saying that if there's another strike more activity from North Korea that they would consider and use their air artillery. Why was that so important for South Korea to strengthen its language and maybe even articulate this threat this way to North Korea?

VICENZINO: It's extremely important. The last South Korean defense minister had to resign firstly because when the North Korean sunk a South Korean vessel in March of this year and 46 South Korean sailors died, the reaction and response from the government was a very weak one.

And then when this one happened, the defense minister once again there wasn't immediately a quick strong response and there was a lot of pressure internally from domestic politics within South Korea for a stronger reaction.

As a result the South Korean defense minister resigned and new one is coming in and they have to show a stronger stance and a stronger face not only rhetorically, but also in action. That if they, the North Koreans take further actions, the South Koreans will react. It's important to do so.

WHITFIELD: Marco Vicenzino, see I told you I could do it. It such a beautiful name. I'm sorry I destroyed earlier, with the Global Strategy Project coming from Athens, Greece, today. Appreciate your time and insight. Thanks so much.

VICENZINO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, back in this country. The latest jobs report paints a dismal picture for the number of Americans out of work. The Labor Department figures show employers added 39,000 jobs last month. That's a major slowdown from the 172,000 jobs created in October. Also, the unemployment rate is now at 9.8 percent. Economists say employers are being cautious about hiring.

One laid off engineer has spent more than two years looking for work and he's finally found a new job. Well, yesterday Calvin Ratchford explained to me how he stayed positive and survived unemployment all this time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALVIN RATCHFORD, JOB SEEKER: During those two years, I had to use all of my 401(k) and unemployment benefits and when those ran out, I had to make a decision. So it was time to move away from a lofty apartment and move back home to family and there I got a lot of support and helped me find a job and helped make ends meet. So just had to do whatever I needed to do to stay afloat.

WHITFIELD: It seems like you had done all of the right things. We met you at a job fair. You had been going to a number of job fairs religiously. You updated your resume. You were networking. You were checking job sites online all the time.

But in the end even after doing all of those things and not landing a job right away but eventually landing something two years after being laid off, what do you suppose was the key ingredient in finally landing this job?

RATCHFORD: Well, one of the key ingredients is to don't give up. Never give up as well be patient. It's going to take time. I had a lot of no's before that yes came.

So during that time use this opportunity to kind of beef up your skills. Get some certifications if you need to. Volunteer. I did a little bit of that and just do whatever you can to stay marketable.

WHITFIELD: It sounds like --

RATCHFORD: Even if it means going back to school.

WHITFIELD: We heard that from a lot of job counselors. Sometimes, it meant being laid off meant an opportunity to go back to school and kind of freshen up your skills.

I know that you'd also told me that you were persistent while a job doesn't necessarily pan out the one that you're pursuing at first when you went to web site of the West Virginia D.O.T. Along the way perhaps through interviewing skills and perhaps through being persistent on calling when there was another job available, you were one of the first people they thought of.

RATCHFORD: Yes. I applied to West Virginia about a year ago and got on their registry. I did land a few interviews, but as well I had to turn down some offers because at that time, the time wasn't right to leave.

So I just had to keep trying and then some of the positions also might not have been paying as much, but at the same time I was willing to accept them, but I had to turn it down. Until one day the right offer came up so just during that time, I just kept being patient and just staying in contact with them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Congratulations, Calvin Ratchford. He is expected to start his new job with the West Virginia D.O.T. in about a week from now.

All right, green cards, they go high tech for holidays. Details straight ahead in today's "Tech Time."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Holiday offerings in a minute, but first a look at our top stories.

A giant freighter that's been disabled in the frigid seas off Alaska since Friday is now getting towed to safety, but it faces rough seas with waves as high as 26 feet. The freighter is carrying 450,000 gallons of crude oil.

Iran now claims it has everything it needs to make its nuclear program self-sufficient. Iran state media is reporting today that Tehran can now produce yellowcake. That's an intermediate stage in producing uranium. Until now Iran couldn't make yellowcake and had to import it. Iran's announcement comes one day before stalled nuclear talks are set to resume in Geneva.

Israeli police say they finally have a deadly wildfire under control. Two teenage brothers have been reportedly detained suspected of inadvertently starting the worst wildfire until Israel's history. More than 40 people have been killed since the fire started Thursday. Today Israel's government approved a plan to speed up aid to victims.

All right, let's talk about those holiday greeting cards. You know what? They have gone high tech just like everything else. What they can do just might surprise you.

Joining us right now via Skype from Toronto, per usual syndicated technology writer Marc Saltzman. Mark, good to see you. Happy holidays. Happy Hanukkah.

We're in day five right now and then people are also looking towards buying more gifts for the holidays. So get us started with some Hallmark cards, right, that are a little different?

MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: You're right, Fredricka and happy holidays to you and your viewers as well. Now, Hallmark, these look like regular Hallmark cards and they are. They are about six bucks. They also say a personal greeting when you open them up, but it has a little hidden high tech twist.

On the back, there's a code that you go online, there's a little web site, I should say and it starts what's called an augmented reality animation. So what you do is you open up the card in front of your web camera and when you see yourself on the screen with the card open, you will see animated characters dancing around inside the card.

It's awesome. You are probably having a look at it here. I've a great video clip of it. So it's augmented reality. So it looks like it's really happening to the card you're holding when you see it on screen. There are about 12 of these augmented reality cards in total. Four of which are holiday related. My favorite is Hoops and Yoyo, the one you're watching so great stuff.

WHITFIELD: I bet kids would love that one too. OK.

SALTZMAN: And kids at heart.

WHITFIELD: Yes, of course. Kids at heart. We're all kids at heart, you know. How about the Jib-Jab holiday cards. They just bring it to the next level with every season.

SALTZMAN: I love them. Yes, absolutely. There are five new holiday related cards. Two of which are free. One is disco-themed and the one that we're going to see here Rock and Roll '80s metal style.

So you know the drill with the Jib-Jab cards, you superimpose your family's faces on the animated characters and then you could e-mail them around to friends and family for free. The scary thing about this video is that my hair really did look like this in the '80s.

So that's me on lead. My wife, Kelly, is on base. My sons, Jacob and Ethan are on guitar and my daughter, Maya, is on drums. So this is a medley of Christmas songs sung with '80s metal spin.

So those are free to send. If you want to join the Jib-Jab Club for 12 bucks a year, you've got access to nearly 1,300 Jib-Jab videos for all holidays including birthdays and then if you want to save the card, $2 if you're a member and $5 without if you want to download it and save it.

WHITFIELD: Because you want to go back and look at them again because it's too fun and I like seeing you in all that hair. That's very cute. I like your hair as is, but it is fun going back to the '80s with you. OK, so now let's also talk about personalizing a video greeting from Santa.

SALTZMAN: Right, portablenorthpole.TV. It does give you a personalized greeting from Santa Clause himself and Fredricka, I understand you have been more nice than naughty this year so have a look. I created this for you this week. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTA CLAUS: Let's take a look at your file. I hope you have been a good little girl since last Christmas. Here we are. Right now you are 20 years old. Is that right?

And Santa knows that there's a special gift you have been hoping for like a certain electronic gadget. Do you think you've been nice enough? Ho, ho, ho. I guess we'll have to wait for Christmas and see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Very cute that Santa.

SALTZMAN: I filled in information about you. Said you were 20. Hope you're OK with that.

WHITFIELD: I'm good with that.

SALTZMAN: And you can upload photos and then Santa gives you this great greeting. There's a few to choose from. There's also an iPad and iPhone app as well. It's free to use if you want to download it to save, it is $5 a pop, but otherwise free to use at portablenorthpole.tv.

WHITFIELD: That is so fun. Santa, you know, is something else as are you, Marc Saltzman. Always good to see you. Thanks so much. Have a great holiday season.

WHITFIELD: And to you, thanks.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. See you next time.

OK, so he just might be the greatest golfer of all time, but it's been more than just a bad year since Tiger Woods -- you know, all that mess kind of happened. How do we even begin on that one.

So he's back in play on the course and things are looking pretty good. We're going to talk about how his day is shaping up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK, is it time to welcome Tiger Woods back into the winner's circle? He had a four shot lead going into today's final round of the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament in California.

Marc McKay from CNN international sports is here now. So he's kind of gone back to familiar territory at Thousand Oaks there in California. He's been doing well.

MARK MCKAY, SPORTS ANCHOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Four-shot lead, he has been in the lead ever since opening round. Right, Fred, this is his own tournament. He hosts this tournament every year in his hometown basically in Thousand Oaks. The area is very surrounding. He's very familiar with what's going on and he's also relaxed. You know, this is not an official PGA tour event. So if he comes away with a tour title, it's not going to be a PGA tour title, but it will go toward world rankings and that's important because he's no longer number one in the world, Fred. He's number two behind Lee Westwood.

So this could really serve if he finishes it off today. Certainly I suspect he would four-shot lead going into the final round. This could be huge momentum going into the New Year.

WHITFIELD: He was quoted yesterday as saying, you know, I'm really excited about today because of the way that I'm playing. I wonder if there's anything in him that says, you know what, I'm reluctant even to talk about how I'm doing because I don't want to jinx myself.

MCKAY: Well, he's so - you know, his mindset -- first of all what's been going on for the past year is totally all behind him now. So maybe he has a more relaxed atmosphere now and relaxed attitude out there, Fred. When he is playing golf and he can do what he does best play golf.

A year ago, it was all crashing down around him. Remember, Thanksgiving weekend, the SUV crashed. Everything then spiraled out of control after that, didn't it?

Now, he lost his marriage, you know, unfortunately for him or depending on where you come down on that he can concentrate on what he does best. He's a golfer. When we look at it from sporting perspective, us as fans, we want to see him play golf. Some want to see him do well. Others, you know, may not.

WHITFIELD: Sure and people always love a comeback story, a second chance story especially in the world of sports. So what about the fans there at Thousand Oaks? Has it been fairly audible? How people are thinking and feeling about him playing?

MCKAY: Friendly crowd, very friendly crowd and you'll see that in the United States. I think all of that came out this year. I think anything that was going to happen played out in 2010 and I think this is a fresh start for him.

I'm really on record as saying everything that happened in 2010 is going to really motivate him in 2011 to get back into the major circle. He is within reach of Jack Nichols all time the record with it comes to majors. He could very well be very focused going into the New Year. Regain his number one ranking, Fred and be a dangerous and focused golfer again.

WHITFIELD: What a way to end the year and begin one too. Mark McKay, thanks so much. Good to see you.

MCKAY: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

MCKAY: OK.

WHITFIELD: The all-American burger is making a comeback. Yummy. We're not talking about fast food either or frozen meat patties.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK, so the hamburger. It never really went away, but have you noticed a boom in new hip burger joints popping up in American cities everywhere? Well, it's not fine dining, but it's not fast food either. CNN's Don Lemon checked out a few.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got the veggie burger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a regular burger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got a chicken burger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grass-fed beef burger.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Your burger ate grass?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess the cow ate grass at some point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our ingredients are natural and organic and local.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing is frozen. We don't have a freezer in the place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ham patty are always custom grounds.

LEMON: What caused all these burger joints to pop up? It's you and Flip Burger?

ERIC MAIER, MANAGING PARTNER, YEAH! BURGER: People are sick and tired of the flavorless, dried out, frozen patty that's become the norm in fast food.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never eat fast food.

LEMON: The click burgers are like chic again. There are so many of them. You can come and you can get like so many different kinds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burgers are like the new like hipster food.

BARRY MILLS, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, FLIP BURGER BOUTIQUE: The economic climate that we've been in the last couple years, people want to sort of return back to comfort food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come to Flip virtually every day of the week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an American food. It's what people love to eat it. It's an easy food that's been around forever.

LEMON: Have you noticed the new trendy burger joints popping up everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have. This is my first experience at one though.

LEMON: You know, I usually smash mine first. It's trendy. You're not going to a fast food restaurant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We call this a date right now.

LEMON: This is a date.

MILLS: Make for a cheaper date. One of the things I like to call this is $16 fine dining.

LEMON: Can I have some of your burger? No.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You did not expect a yes, did you, Don? All right, thanks so much. I'm hungry now.

All right, coming up today at 4:00 Eastern Time, 1,000 people dive into the frigid waters of Lake Erie. They're so ready to go. They were paid for their polar plunge. Hear why in the chat room.

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