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'Notable Gain' in Afghan War; Public Wi-Fi Could be a Trap; Jazzing up School
Aired December 16, 2010 - 14:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we all knew there would be drama over the tax cut vote that was coming out today in the House of Representatives. Well, we got drama to spare. And we might actually not get any vote at all.
At issue, of course, is the $858 billion tax and benefit compromise that sailed through the Senate this time yesterday. It centers on a two-year extension of the Bush-era income tax rates for everyone, and it extends for 13 months the emergency federal job benefits.
Let me just be clear. It doesn't extend them to you if you're already getting them. It means for 13 more months, people can apply for emergency benefits. If you've exhausted your federal benefits, this doesn't give you any more.
It also grants a one-year break in the payroll tax which funds Social Security. Normally, you pay 6.2 percent of your income for Social Security. For the next year, you're going to pay 4.2 percent.
It also restores the tax on estates. Until -- for this year, 2010, there was no tax on estates. Now it's going to be on big estates worth $5 million or more. This is when you pass from parent to child.
That's a major hang-up in the House. Some Democrats want a higher tax on smaller estates. And though this affects just a fraction, a minuscule fraction of the people who pay income taxes or payroll taxes or collect unemployment benefits, it may collapse the entire bill.
Democrat leaders pulled the bill last hour, fearing they didn't have the votes even to set the rules for the debate. And time is running out.
This lame-duck session is due to end in two or three days. If the House doesn't pass the Senate bill verbatim, it has to go back to the Senate again for voting. We're hearing rumblings that the House may yet find a way to get this done, but nothing is guaranteed except this -- we'll stay on the story and keep you posted.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick says he wants another dog. The convicted dogfighter told a reporter with THEGRIO Web site that he misses owning a dog and that his daughters would like one. It's today's "Sound Effect."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL VICK, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES QUARTERBACK: I would love to have another dog in the future. You know, I think it would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process.
I think just the -- you know, to have a pet in my household and show people that I genuinely care. And my love and my passion for animals, I think it will be -- I think it would be outstanding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: OK. Vick spends time on the field talking to children about why dogfighting is wrong. He served nearly two years in federal prison for it. As part of his probation, he's not allowed to own a dog.
But for all of his critics, one of his supporters happens to be the president of the Humane Society of the United States. Wayne Pacelle says after working with him, he feels confident that Vick would do a good job as a pet owner.
(NEWSBREAK)
VELSHI: All right. Listen to this. He is a genius with hits after hit. Next, I'll talk with the legendary Quincy Jones about a new honor that's just been bestowed upon him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: These days you can take your laptop with you and access the Internet just about anywhere in public using Wi-Fi. It's very convenient, but it can also be risky.
As part of our weeklong series on "The End of Privacy," CNN's Ted Rowlands sat down with a former hacker to show you how easy it is for someone to steal your information.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inside Terminal 5 at the Los Angeles International Airport, dozens of people are on their computers. Gregory Evans is a former hacker whose resume includes two years in federal prison.
GREGORY EVANS, CONVICTED COMPUTER HACKER: We were doing almost a million dollars, if not more, a week against some of the biggest corporations in the world.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): We set up in the corner of the terminal so Evans, who now owns a cyber-security company, could show us just how vulnerable people are to hackers.
EVANS: I will go and set up a fake Wi-Fi and watch everybody connect to it. And once they connect to it and they start surfing the internet, now what I'll do is just grab all their traffic.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): We launched a fake network named LAX Free Wi- Fi. Within minutes, people started connecting to it. Evans then showed us how a hacker can record everything off of a computer that joined our network by tracking what I was doing on my laptop.
EVANS: So, if they go to their bank, it'll grab all their banking information. If they go to their Facebook, it'll grab all that. Their Twitter accounts, if they're writing love letters, I can grab all of that.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Or, Evans says, even worse, if a hacker has enough time, spyware can be installed, which stays with the victim.
EVANS: You get on the plane, you go one to country, I go to another. But everything that you do, as long as you have that computer, is going to be e-mailed back to me.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): During our experiment, we stumbled across what appeared to be a real hacker at work. Along with our fake network, there was another one called Free Public Wi-Fi. Airport administrators told us T-Mobile is the only authorized Wi-Fi provider.
ROWLANDS (on camera): So, you think that there could be a hacker here right now?
EVANS: That's correct.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Catching and prosecuting a hacker, especially at an airport, is extremely difficult. EJ Hilbert is a retired FBI agent who specialized in cyber-crime.
EJ HILBERT, RETIRED FBI AGENT/ONLINE INTELLIGENCE: It's virtually impossible to catch them. Law enforcement's aware of this, and there's always the next piece. You steal the cards, you steal the information, you've got to use them somewhere. And that's when you start getting the real investigations going.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Experts say there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. If you're at an airport or a public spot, find out who the Wi-Fi provider is and use that. If it costs some money, pay the money. They also say change your password every now and then, and use different passwords for different accounts. Another tip, turn your computer off when you're not using it.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): And if you do go online using a public Wi-Fi, keep in mind that someone may be watching you.
EVANS: You don't know if you're getting on a true Wi-Fi or you're connecting to some hacker's network. Like, you don't know if you're connecting to me, or if you're really connecting to the airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Ted joins me now from Los Angeles.
Ted, I've got to say, with all the traveling I do, I love these Wi-Fi things. And like your hacker there, I have one of those devices that sends out my own signal. I suppose people could be jumping on that for free, but I could be a hacker.
It's remarkable that it could be that easy.
ROWLANDS: Yes. And, you know, if you're in an airport and you want to go online, pay the money. Find out who the real provider is, pay the $10, and go online. It's not worth the risk.
Another thing to watch out for, Ali, the home networks. Don't let any other people on to your network, and don't try to go off your neighbor's to save money, because you don't know what your neighbor could do with your information.
VELSHI: Yes. I mean, I guess I'm one of these guys who says, what could they possibly want from me? I'm sitting in an airport. How can somebody be so sophisticated as to think that they know what I might be doing. But, you know, we're so free with information in what we e-mail people, that you've got to be careful.
ROWLANDS: Absolutely. They could find out your password, get into your e-mail. And once they do that, you're done.
VELSHI: Yes. All right. Ted, thanks very much for that. We appreciate it.
Ted Rowlands, joining me from L.A.
All right. He is a music genius with hit after hit. I'm going to talk to the legendary Quincy Jones about a new honor that's been bestowed upon him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And now we go --
VELSHI: "Off the Radar."
MYERS: Love that music.
VELSHI: I just wanted to play it a little longer. I like it.
MYERS: Twitter trends.
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: Do you tweet?
VELSHI: I do tweet. I tweet a lot, yes. MYERS: You tweet a lot.
VELSHI: Yes -- @alivelshi you can tweet me.
MYERS: I'm ChadMyersCNN.
VELSHI: OK.
MYERS: OK. But what are the top trending topics on Twitter? Do we know? Do you know? You can go to Twitter.com and --
VELSHI: Yes, I love it. It's actually a great way to know what people are sort of talking about.
MYERS: -- go to "The Year in Review." We'll go ahead and double-click on that and hopefully it opens up.
We have seen the most powerful tweets. We've seen what's next in the tweets. And we've also seen what's trending.
VELSHI: So this is for 2010.
MYERS: This is 2010. What was the overall top topic ever?
VELSHI: The Gulf oil spill, right?
MYERS: Of course. But then, now that. I would have guessed that. I mean, for the rest of the world -- the rest of the world.
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: Not so much U.S., but the rest of the world, they're tweeting --
VELSHI: Number three actually confuses me, the movie "Inception," which I loved.
MYERS: Did you really?
VELSHI: But I wouldn't have thought that that would have been, Gulf oil, FIFA, and then "Inception"?
MYERS: I didn't get that movie at all.
VELSHI: Well, I didn't get it, but I thought it was very creative.
MYERS: I still wouldn't have thought it would -- sat there with my girlfriend, looked at her at the end and I went, "We should have left early." And she said, "I was thinking the same thing."
VELSHI: You wouldn't have known less if you had left early.
MYERS: Exactly.
VELSHI: The Haiti earthquake, obviously. MYERS: Of course.
VELSHI: Vuvuzela. Love the fact that vuvuzela was its own category.
MYERS: Absolutely.
iPod and the Android And Justin Bieber and all those things.
VELSHI: Justin Bieber -- good Canadian, by the way.
And then it breaks out by people and news events.
MYERS: Who are the most important people --
VELSHI: Come on! Justin Bieber? Number one?
MYERS: You have to understand the demographic.
VELSHI: Beating out Lady Gaga and Julian Assange? How interesting.
MYERS: Yes, but Julian only really started making inroads the past couple of months.
VELSHI: Yes, later -- yes, that's right.
MYERS: Where Justin made news all year long.
VELSHI: It's got something to do with the demographic I'm sure, too.
MYERS: Right. And 2011 will look nothing like this, because maybe Justin will get in trouble or something, or Mel Gibson will be back up here. It all comes back around it all.
VELSHI: "Inception," again, top movies. Fascinating. Fascinating. I love this stuff. It's just great to see what people are talking about.
MYERS: "Karate Kid."
VELSHI: Yes. Very interesting.
MYERS: I want to go get the old one and show my son, "Karate Kid," the original one.
VELSHI: The original. All right. Very good.
MYERS: All right.
VELSHI: OK. We're going to take a quick break.
When we come back, Quincy Jones on the other side.
You like Quincy Jones? MYERS: Absolutely.
VELSHI: I'm talking to him on the phone.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
VELSHI: OK. Everybody in the world knows that song. By the way, that's "Thriller," by the way, performed by Michael Jackson, produced by the legendary Quincy Jones, who is behind so many songs that you know. You may not even know Quincy Jones was behind them.
Quincy Jones has won more Grammy Awards than any other living musician, and he now has another honor bestowed upon him.
The Quincy Jones Elementary School was dedicated yesterday in his honor in Los Angeles. This school is the focus of today's "Chalk Talk." Interesting.
Quincy Jones joins me now on the telephone.
I can't even get my words out, Quincy. I'm all, you know, crazed because you're on the show.
QUINCY JONES, MUSICIAN, PRODUCER: I understand, Ali.
VELSHI: Good to have you on the show.
JONES: Good to have you -- before I say anything, I'm so excited about my daughter and "Social Network," Rashida Jones.
VELSHI: There you go. There you go.
Quincy --
JONES: That's as good as it gets.
But the school is one of the biggest honors I've ever had.
VELSHI: Well, the interesting thing about the school is that it is interdisciplinary, but it's focused on jazz. Tell me a little bit about this. There isn't another school in the U.S. that does this.
JONES: Well, see, the ironic part is America is the only country in the world without a musical culture, which I do not understand. I just got promoted to the commander of the Legion of Honor in France, and I almost cried. (INAUDIBLE) said the same thing.
You know, the country where everywhere in the world -- and I've probably traveled with anybody on this planet, and I'll take them on.
VELSHI: And there's so much culture. JONES: And our music everywhere from Cairo to Abu Dhabi to Monte Carlo to Shanghai, our music is everything where in the world. We're the only ones that don't have a musical (ph) culture. And most American kids are not aware of their roots. They're really not, and it hurts me a lot.
VELSHI: So you've taken jazz, which is truly an American invention, and you've --
JONES: Well, it's America's classical music.
VELSHI: Right. And you've come up with a -- you had another organization, by the way, that talks about American popular music and how central it should be to our kids and our learning, and you how helped develop curricula.
But this school is going to -- how is it going to do that? How do you teach math and science interdisciplinary with jazz?
JONES: Well, we're going to put it all together.
Here's the ironic part. Math and music are both absolutes. And it took me a long time to put my arms around that because it sounds like it was mechanical.
But I studied with (INAUDIBLE) in Paris, and she made it very clear that they were absolutes. And binary and ternary numbers, et cetera. They really get heavy with it.
And also, is that music is the only thing that engages the left and the right brain simultaneously, emotion and intellect all the time. And I've found that most kids get -- through music, they can understand any other subject much easier.
VELSHI: So your idea is that this jazz not only ties kids to this country's history and particular elements of American culture, but also makes them better learners because --
JONES: Absolutely.
VELSHI: -- they'll do it in this environment of music.
JONES: Absolutely. And it develops their brain. You know? It's astounding.
VELSHI: How is this going to get started? I mean, who goes to the school? How do they -- how do kids get into this?
JONES: Well, there's some kids -- they're from kindergarten to 5th grade. I've never met such beautiful kids at all.
And we also have a Quincy Jones music consortium that we put together. This is our fourth meeting coming up.
We've got everybody from Alan Kay (ph) to Shawn Fanning (ph), Herbie Hancock, everybody, all these people. Marilyn Bronnel (ph) is running it, and we have all of the universities.
They understand. The best advice I ever had in my life, I was 19 years old, going overseas, playing trumpet with Lionel Hampton. And Ben Webster says, "Young blood, let me tell you something. Everywhere you go in the world, eat the food that people eat, listen to the music they listen to, and learn 30 or 40 words in every language." And that's been the best thing that's ever happened to me.
VELSHI: That is good advice, "Young blood, eat the food" --
JONES: And what I'm trying to say really is to the young people especially.
VELSHI: Yes.
JONES: You've got to go to know. You've got to go to know.
You can't just watch TV and movies and eighth grade newspapers and get -- until you get them feeling the food and the atmosphere and the culture and everything -- we went to Iraq in 2003 during all the stuff, you know. And it's amazing what's going on in the world.
And China and Jordan and Abu Dhabi, Dubai, all over the place. It's just astounding.
VELSHI: Quincy Jones, congratulations. A great honor. And thanks very much for bringing music to our troubled education system. It, too, will make it a little bit better.
Quincy Jones, the legendary musician, joining me now, honored with a school in his name in Los Angeles that includes jazz in all parts of the curriculum.
OK. New Mexico governor Bill Richardson is in North Korea. Our Wolf Blitzer is the only TV guy traveling with him. What does Richardson hope to accomplish in the region? We're going "Globe Trekking" right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Happening now, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked out of a prison in London just a short time ago after being granted bail. Here's what Assange had to say upon his release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIAN ASSANGE, FOUNDER, WIKILEAKS: I hope to continue my work and continue to profess my innocence in this matter and to reveal as we get it, which we have not yet, the evidence from these allegations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: And in Washington, the House has set the tax compromise aside for now. There's a procedural hurdle that has to be passed before the House can vote on it. If it doesn't pass, that'll mean our taxes will go up on January 1st. President Obama says the war in Afghanistan continues to be very difficult, but he says the U.S. is on track to achieve its goals. A White House report released today says the U.S. is still on track to bring some troops home next summer.
And today's "Globe Trekking" takes us to Pyongyang, North Korea where New Mexico governor Bill Richardson just arrived with our own Wolf Blitzer. Blitzer is the only U.S. television reporter with Richardson on the trip. Before they left Beijing, Wolf asked Richardson about the tension in the region. We want to bring you those comments right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: It's the highest I've ever seen. I've been involved with North Korea for the last 10, 15 years. We've negotiated release of prisoners, of remains of American soldiers, negotiated on the nuclear agreement. I've been an envoy officially and unofficially in a Republican and Democratic administration.
I can't remember when the tension wasn't as high as it is now. And you worry about some kind of action hastening a potential war. And we have to avoid that at all costs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: You can see Wolf's entire interview today on "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Little background, by the way. Richardson, who will be in the region for four days, not going as a representative of the U.S. government. He was invited privately by North Korean officials, specifically Kim Gi-Gong, who you see here. He's the country's senior nuclear negotiator.
With regard to the tensions, there have been tough talk from both Koreas in recent weeks after North Korea shelled a South Korean island last month. Four people were killed; it was the first direct artillery assault on South Korea since 1953, when an armistice ended the fighting.
South Korea just announced today they will conduct naval fire drills near the attack site. This announcement is in addition to previously announced military exercises by the government. In March, dozens of South Korean sailors were killed in the sinking of a South Korean warship by North Korea.
This is Richardson's eighth visit to North Korea. In 2007, he spent four days there trying to bring back the remains of six U.S. troops missing since the Korean War. We'll continue to follow the story. And as I said earlier, you can see Wolf Blitzer's entire interview tonight on "THE SITUATION ROOM," 5 p.m. Eastern
All right. The head of the EPA is on the hunt for future scientists. So, she's touring schools of America to find them. We'll talk to her on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: This is the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA. To mark that anniversary, the head of the agency has been touring schools across the country trying to get kids, especially girls, more interested in math and science.
Lisa Jackson joins me now from Washington for today's "Chalk Talk." She is the administrator of the EPA.
Lisa, good to see you. Pleasure to have you on the show. You are a chemical engineer, if I understand correctly?
LISA JACKSON, ADMINISTRATOR, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: That's right. I have a bachelors and a masters in chemical engineering.
VELSHI: All right. So, Chad and I we just looking at the Twitter, the popularity - the trends of 2010. Right at the top was the Gulf oil spill. By the way, in a part of the country where you grew up. You grew up in Louisiana, in New Orleans?
JACKSON: That's right. I'm from new Orleans.
VELSHI: So the good -
JACKSON: And we --
VELSHI: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.
JACKSON: No, I was just pointing out, you're right. I did my undergraduate work right there at Tulane University. One of the places I went for advice was my professors back in chemical engineering when we were dealing with some of the issues on the spill.
VELSHI: So, I was going to say that maybe the positive outcome of this is that the EPA was central in what was the biggest news event of the year, and lots of people got to meet you and maybe think of you as a role model, as a woman who has been successful in science and engineering. That's got to kind of help you in your argument when you go around to schools that you're maybe more familiar to some people than distant.
JACKSON: You know, I think that's absolutely right. The news of the day certainly helps.
I'll tell you the other thing that helps. Young people get the issue of the environment. So, to have a head of the Environmental Protection Agency who is a scientist gives me an opportunity to speak to them about something they're really interested in and that they think is really relevant and really cool for them.
VELSHI: What is the main effect? When you're talking to people, young people in general, we have two issues really that we're facing. I want to actually show you some numbers we put together about women in science and engineering. You know the issue. You know the fact that there aren't enough women represented.
But generally speaking, we're not getting enough people into those streams. We need to make jobs in engineering and science seem sexier to people. Take a look at this. The number of women in computer programming, 22 percent. Chemical engineers, 13 percent. Mechanical engineers, six percent. I think we've got another screen that has some more disciplines on it.
There we go. Environmental scientists, 29 percent. Computer software engineers, 20 percent. Aerospace engineers, 10 percent. But Lisa, women are more than 50 percent of the workforce.
JACKSON: That's right. And you know, actually at EPA, they're almost 50 percent of the workforce.
I want to key in for a second on that 29 percent, almost 30 percent in environmental sciences. It is not high enough.
But I think one of the reasons young women and girls don't necessarily see themselves in science, especially engineering, is they think of it as a people-less profession. Very technical, maybe kind of cold and hard. And one of my messages is, listen, the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is protecting human health and the environment. We do that with some pretty sophisticated tools. Pretty sophisticated modeling.
But at the end of our day, our people go home feeling as though they are people people, the people persons, you know? So, that really resonates with young women who don't necessarily get attracted to professions that are too high-tech because they're worried it means they have to give up the other side of their brain, the emotional side, that calls them to their life's passions.
VELSHI: And yet, when you look at the problems that world faces right now, most of them are political, but - some of them are financial. But most of them, actually, are science-based. We have to deal with clean water, we have to deal with new water, we have to deal with cleaner air and new forms of energy. A lot of the people in your department are scientists and engineers.
JACKSON: That's right. EPA has a very high percentage of scientists and engineers. NASA has a higher percentage than us, but we're right up there with some of the larger agencies. And that's because whether you're talking about air pollution or water pollution, whether you're talking about clean energy or toxic chemicals, our science has advanced to the point now that we're dealing with very low concentrations.
And we have to come up with solutions that are very, very technical. We do that with the private sector. It's a wonderful opportunity for scientists who really want to make a difference in the world. But we first need to get those young women and young men trained and interested in staying in the math and science fields. VELSHI: Let's say you did that. Let's say - that's part of the battle. You get people interested, maybe thinking, hey, I want to be like Lisa Jackson or other people. I get what scientists and engineers look like, and that could be fun.
How much of it is the education system? We've heard that we're just not doing well enough in science and math in terms of the levels in which we graduate people and how they compete the students in other countries.
JACKSON: Well, we certainly need to improve our educational system. The president said that. He said listen, we can't afford to fall behind at the very highest ends of our educational system.
But for young women, we also need to focus on middle school. As you mentioned earlier, Ali, you know, we have to make sure they stay interested long enough so they can get to those really good schools.
And it's absolutely critical to their employment future as well. The jobs of the future will be in clean energy. There will be plenty of those jobs. And we want them to be here and we want to see a diverse workforce prepared for those jobs.
VELSHI: Love the message. We love the message. We're big fans of that message here on the show. Thanks for coming out there. Thanks for going to schools and giving kids someone to look at to say, I can do that.
Lisa Jackson, pleasure to have you on the show.
JACKSON: You're such a champion (ph), Ali, on such an important issue.
VELSHI: Thank you. Good to see you. We'll talk to you again soon.
The release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange tops our look at developing stories right now. Assange walked out of a high court in London a short time ago after a judge rejected a Swedish appeal of his six-figure bail in a sex crime case. Here's what Assange had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIAN ASSANGE, FOUNDER, WIKILEAKS: I hope to continue my work and continue to profess my innocence in this matter and to reveal as we get it, which we have not yet, the evidence from these allegations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Assange does have to stay put in a supporter's home outside of London. He also has to wear an electronic locator and check in with police every day.
A tax cut bill affecting almost every American household is in limbo in the House. A vote was expected anytime now on the measure that cleared the Senate yesterday. But many House members don't like it and may not even agree on how to debate it. If Congress doesn't pass it, income taxes go up January 1st and federal unemployment benefits remain out of reach for millions.
And U.S. officials say captured insurgents in Iraq are claiming al Qaeda is planning suicide attacks in the U.S. and in Europe over the holidays. We're told that claims are being taken seriously, but there's no intelligence on specific threats.
Larry King is hanging up his suspenders tonight after 25 years on CNN. We're looking back at some of his most memorable moments after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Fifty-three years in broadcasting. Fifty thousand interviews. More than 6,000 shows in CNN's own archives. Ten Cable ACE awards. An Emmy, a Peabody and an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. Those are just some of Larry King's accomplishments.
Today, we're marking the end of an era as King's 25 years at CNN come to an end. We look back at some of his more memorable guests and moments throughout the years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Good evening. My name is Larry King and this is the premier edition of "LARRY KING LIVE."
Every night at this time we'll be here for one hour. We're going to meet fascinating people from all walks of life.
You're a legend. I mean, you do know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody could be really legend would be nobody, no normal people in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fame is almost impossible.
GEORGE BURNS, ACTOR: From here up, I'm fine. From here down I need makeup.
PAUL MCCARTNEY, SINGER: Everybody going to dance around tonight --
ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR: Larry, kiss me. Just do it now. Don't be afraid hold me. I love your nipples are hard.
KING: A struggling Jew.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So press your body, wait. No.
KING: Dance, dance whoa.
SNOOP DOGG, SINGER: I told you low to the floor.
KING: I'm low to the floor.
Want more children? BRAD PITT, ACTOR: Oh, yes, yes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're pointing glance right here man, right back there. When a dog eats it --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get away from me. Get off of me.
HEATHER MILLS, FORMER WIFE OF PAUL MCCARTNEY: Paul is going to get upset. You're touching my leg, Larry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You must have conjured something in your head for you to come out and call me a murderer of my child.
BILL CROSBY, ACTOR: We went downhill carrying that coffin feeling like slaves and we're going uphill feeling like free people.
MARLON BRANDO, ACTOR: When the chapel bells ring out --
KING: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse --
BRANDO: Darling. Good-bye.
KING: Good-bye.
CHRISTOPHER REEVES, ACTOR: Like an accident didn't help. And that wasn't road I would have pick but a lot of times things you know get picked for you.
JOHNNY CASH, ACTOR: Why should I be bitter? I'm thrilled to death with life.
MATTIE STEPANEK: Is peace possible? Can we do it? Why are we even trying?
TAMMY FAYE MESSNER: Jesus, Jesus. You know, the Bible says that his name is all powerful. That his name is above every name.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS WIFE: Don't spend your time worrying about when it is you're going to die. Spend your time worrying about how it is you're going to live today.
STEVE IRWIN, ANIMAL PLANET: That's why I was put on this earth, to try to help conserve our trees, our wilderness, our oceans and our wildlife.
KING: Police radio are saying that Simpson, the passenger in the car, has a gun at his head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not run as either a Democrat or a Republican.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know, that's kind of a line you're trying to come across with. But either -- no. It's weak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said your sons -- BUSH: No that you guys never do anything but propaganda.
KING: Was there a holocaust?
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): You want to impose your viewpoint on me --
KING: No it's not a viewpoint it's a question.
RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I've never been in the Watergate. So it's kind of hard --
KING: Never been in? Never in the --
NIXON: No. Other people where in that. Unfortunately.
KING: Still a Texas driver's license?
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes. You want to see it?
KING: Yes.
VIRGINIA CLINTON, BILL CLINTON'S MOTHER: I don't have a question. I have a statement, please.
KING: Go.
V. CLINTON: I want to say hello to my son Bill Clinton.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hi, mother.
MARGARET THATCHER, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF U.K.: That's a strange question to ask.
KING: What happened with the submarine?
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRIME MINISTER OF RUSSIA (through translator): It sunk.
KING: Does it come with a curse of any kind?
ELIZABETH TAYLOR, ACTRESS: Oh, no. It comes with so much love.
KING: What's it like to kill someone?
If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
JERMAINE JACKSON, BROTHER OF MICHAEL JACKSON: It is his creation, his idea. To come here and to feel him here. I'm happy.
KING: We'll also go live to Haiti showing you specifically what your donations mean.
For now, for here, it's time to hang up the nightly suspenders. And who knows what the future's going to bring?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Again, Larry King's farewell show, tonight. A host of celebrities led by friend and protege Ryan Seacrest will pay tribute to Larry. We've also got a few surprises for Larry and for you. You don't want to miss it, tonight at 9:00 Eastern.
Obama versus Palin in 2012. Is it certainly not decided yet, but we have some new numbers on the potential matchup. It's ahead in your CNN political update next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Anger over a proposed spending bill in Congress tops our CNN political update right now. CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin joins me now from Washington. Hey, Jess.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ali. Soon members of Congress and members of the Senate are going to take up the omnibus spending bill - easy for me to say -- which is important because it funds government. After early next week, the government just doesn't have operating money to keep going. Congress has to approve it.
But the problem is there are about $8 billion - with a b - billion dollars worth of earmarks in that measure. And, remember, the GOP after the recent election, Republican members of Congress vowed not to vote for earmarks. So, they can't pass this bill unless they vote for earmarks. What are they going to do?
Well, the Tea Party Express and Tea Party Patriots have said if members of Congress vote for this bill with the earmarks, they will pay for it. They say they will post primary challenges to Republicans who support it. So, that is a serious note of caution for members who are considering a vote and one of the reasons Republicans are threatening to vote no and hold up that major funding. They'll have to find another way to pay for government services if that doesn't pass.
Moving on. Some new numbers for President Obama looking ahead to 2012. A "Wall Street Journal"/NBC News poll shows that in a match-up with Sarah Palin, right now voters would support President Obama by 22 points. The numbers show President Obama would have 55 percent support, Sarah Palin 33 percent. But, of course, it's still early days and a long way off.
And some mixed news for the president himself on other measures. According to the same poll, 45 percent of Americans approve of the job he's doing as president. Below the 50 percent mark is nothing any president ever wants.
But here's a positive for President Obama. Seventy-two percent of Americans still like him personally. So they might not like the job he's doing, but they like him as a guy.
And we want to move on to a lighter story. Let's look over here.
VELSHI: Elmo!
YELLIN: It's Elmo. Yes. You probably heard some important CEOs were at the White House this week, but you didn't hear that Elmo made a drop-by. He was in the kitchen with White House chef Sam Cass, who has a commitment to healthy cooking. And you know, that's a major initiative of Mrs. Obama. Elmo was there to support the president's new healthy initiative that he signed into law, legislation that would make sure that kids get healthier food at school.
And, you know, Elmo makes everything better. If you ever see a screaming kid, you give them Elmo and they start to smile. Right? I don't know what it is about Elmo. I think they should send him to Capitol Hill. Couldn't hurt. Could help.
VELSHI: If I were screaming, you could just give me unhealthy food, and I'd smile.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: So, I guess different strokes for different folks.
YELLIN: Got to change that, Ali.
VELSHI: Jessica, good to see you as always. My friend Jessica Yellin. Your next political update is just an hour away.
Dressing the part at work. One financial giant wants to go as far as telling women what color nail polish they can wear. There's more where that comes from next in my "XYZ."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Time now for the "XYZ" of it.
You may have seen this story floating around for the last few days. How Swiss financial giant UBS is piloting a project, what some think is a pretty strict dress code for employees who come in contact with clients at their bank branches in Switzerland. I'm a big fan of dressing well, and I suppose it catches on if you do it enough. For instance, if you're watching CNN this morning, you may have seen my friend T.J. Holmes dressing like - well, dressing like me. And after all the shenanigans that banks have pulled of in the last few years, I respect that UBS wants to institutionalize some of this professionalism.
They want what they describe as well-cut basic outfits in dark gray, black, or navy blue. Colors they say symbolize competence, formalism, and sobriety. No short skirts for women. No showy accessories, and no trendy spectacles. Black nail polish and nail art are off limits as are strong fragrances. Women can wear up to seven pieces of jewelry. Men up to three. Here's one I particularly liked. Wear perfume only in the morning and don't reapply it at lunch. Avoid garlic and onion-based dishes, and brush your teeth after having a cigarette. A little intrusive, but I get it. Sort of.
Here's where I think UBS and its 44-page document is taking it a little far. For men, they suggest good quality easily washable underwear that is, get this, undetectable. For women, underwear should be flesh colors.
Now, in my entire career, I don't think my colleagues have ever been able to determine the quality or color of my underwear. That's because it's underwear. In other words, it goes under what you wear.
Look, I've had my share of bosses who don't dig my dressing. They don't get why I always wear a vest or why I think stripes and checks and tartans all go together. I may have not always agreed with them, but that's all stuff you can see. At some point, you can only regulate so much before you issue a uniform and you pay for it like airlines do. Unclear as to whether UBS is prepared to do that.
Anyway, for now, this is just in Swiss retail branches of UBS, and it's just a pilot project. I will follow its progress with amusement.
That's it for me. The NEWSROOM continues now with Brooke Baldwin.
