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Funeral For Kennedy Family Member Sargent Shriver Underway; Congresswoman Giffords Continues Her Recovery; Tension in Afghanistan Government May Result in Violence; Former Dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier Returns To Haiti; Analysts Speculate on Oscar Nominees and Winners; Man Breaks World Record For Most Rounds of Golf Played; Rudy Giuliani May Be Entertaining Presidential Run; New Mobile Phone App May Allow Owners to Pay For Goods and Services Directly

Aired January 22, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords spends her first full day at a Texas hospital where a new team of doctors gets her ready for rehab. We'll have the latest on her recovery live from Houston.

And remembering Sargent Shriver -- the powerful, the famous, and many others touched by his life are paying tribute. We'll take you to the services happening this hour.

From CNN Center, this is CNN Saturday morning. It's January 22nd. Good morning, everyone. Glad you're with us. I'm Randi Kaye.

We're also working on these stories. The Oscar nominations will be announced this Tuesday. Will your favorite superstars make the cut? We'll preview the odds-on favorites and what dark horses might be in the mix.

A shake-up in primetime -- after years of controversies and an ugly suspension, Keith Olbermann is out at MSNBC. What happened, and where is one of TV's most unpredictable personalities likely to land? We'll have the latest developments that broke late last night.

And enough already, we're only a month into winter, but several states are coping with the latest in a string of snowstorms and extreme cold. Your weekend forecast coming up.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has moved into the next phase of her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head. She was flown to Houston's Memorial Herman hospital. CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is at that hospital today. Elizabeth, what is the update from the doctors in Houston? How is she doing after all the travel and the transfer there?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Randi, the doctors here say she's doing great. She can move her arms and her legs. They say she's trying to speak although she can't speak at this point. But I'm going to let one of the doctors say it in his own words. This is her neurosurgeon who is now taking care of her in Houston. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DONG KIM, DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSURGERY, UT HEALTH: She looks spectacular. And always from a neurological point of view first, she came into the ICU and she was alert, awake, calm. She looked comfortable. I think we were already feeling some interaction, which is important. She's got very good movement on the left side of her body and was very purposeful.

And we were testing her vision, and she didn't like us shining the light in her eye and wanted to keep them closed. And these are all very good signs. She also had pretty good tone in her leg.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, you'll notice, Randi, that Dr. Kim said she got moved to the intensive care unit. She was moved from the intensive care unit in Arizona to the intensive care unit here at the University of Texas. The reason why is she still has a drain draining fluid from her brain. As long as that drain is in there, she has to be in intensive care. They hope to reevaluate and see if they can get her out of intensive care as early as next week.

KAYE: I know that her rehab is expected to last for months. What is next for her? Any idea when she might start the rehab?

COHEN: What's next is to try to get that drain out of her head so they can get her out of intensive care. Then they need to make sure all of her basic medical issues have stabilized, then they'd move her to a complete it will separate hospital, the institute for rehab and research. That's where she would spend months as an inpatient and possibly as an outpatient as well. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

KAYE: The nurse that we heard from earlier had a sweet store be the congresswoman. Can you share just a bit of that?

COHEN: Yes, there's in wonderful nurse named Tracy Culbert (ph) who took care of her from day one in Arizona. She told this story that during the flight from Tuesday on the Houston the congresswoman was looking at the ring that she was wearing. So Tracy took it off her finger and gave to it the congresswoman. And the congresswoman held up the ring and looked at it.

And then when Tracy went to take that ring back, the congresswoman kept it. And so Tracy said that that really indicated how shy was interacting with her, that she still had a sense of humor, that her personality was intact. With a brain injury, that's one thing they really look for, that the person's personality doesn't change after the injury.

KAYE: Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning with the very latest, thank you.

The funeral for Sargent Shriver is getting under way this hour in Potomac, Maryland. He passed away earlier this week. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to speak at today's funeral. Also there are the first lady Michelle Obama, former president Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, you can see Arnold Schwarzenegger, the ex-governor of California, his wife Maria Shriver. This is all happening at Our Lady of Mercy in Potomac, Maryland.

The government is taking a closer look at a flu vaccine used for very young children. The FDA says they found some serious reactions such as fever related seizures in some children. The vaccine being used for those kids is called Flu Zone, the only vaccine recommended this year for kids between six months and 23 months of age. Parents should contact their doctors if they have any concerns about this.

Baby Doc says he's there to help. The former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier spoke for first time since coming back to Haiti last week. Amnesty international says an investigation is getting under way into alleged crimes against humanity during his time in office. Duvalier said it was important for him to come back one year after the quake regardless of the consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN-CLAUDE DUVALIER, FORMER HAITIAN DICTATOR (via translator): From the moment I took the decision to return to Haiti to commemorate with you and our country this sad anniversary, I was waiting for all sorts of persecutions. But believe me, the desire to participate at your side in this national reconstruction effort is more important than all the problems I could face. The price to pay is not important. The essential thing for me was to be with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: He'd been in exile for a quarter century after protests and corruption allegations forced him out of office.

Police in northern California are searching for a four-year-old boy snatched from the arms of his grandmother. Jose Esteban Rodriguez is wanted in the disappearance of 4-year-old Juliana Cardenas from Patterson, a town in northern California. Police believe that Rodriguez may have driven into a canal.

A big shake-up in the TV news business, MSNBC has parted ways with popular host Keith Olbermann. Last night was his last broadcast for the network.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH OLBERMANN, FORMER MSNBC HOST: This is the last edition of "Countdown." There were many occasions where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me. But your support and loyalty, if I may use the word insistence, ultimately required that I keep going.

Again, all of my greatest thanks. Widen the shot out so we can do one of these last time. Thank you, Brian. Good night and good luck.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: Olbermann had been at MSNBC for years hosting their top rated show. He was suspended for a few days last year because of problems of political contributions he made to a handful of candidates, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Here is how MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow reacted to the news during her appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST, "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW": I know very little about it. All I know is that it was between Keith and the company, it didn't involve any of the rest of us, and he was really gracious and nice when he left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: There are very few details so far about this abrupt ending. NBC is basically saying thanks for the memories, but I'm sure we'll hear much more about this story very soon.

They are getting ready to restock the shelves on the International Space Shuttle. An unmanned rocket lifted off in Japan today carrying five tons of food and other supplies as well. It's the first delivery of spare parts that hasn't been made by the space shuttle. A Russian rocket is supposed to take off next week with even more good stuff.

Millions of us will be watching this one. We're talking about the State of the Union speech coming up on Tuesday. What do you want to hear from the president? What's at stake for him? That's what we're talking about today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: If you don't think it's cold enough, then just hang on a moment. We have another arctic blast coming. Is it coming your way?

(WEATHER BREAK)

KAYE: It's the biggest night in the movie business. We're talking about the Oscars. So who will be nominated? And who might be snubbed? We'll break that down for you right after the break.

But first, did you know that there were actually three times in the 80-plus-year history of the academy awards when the show was actually postponed? The first was in 1938 when massive flooding in Los Angeles put the show on hold for one week. Next was in 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated just days before that show. The show aired on April 10th, the day after his funeral. And the last year was 1981. The ceremony was postponed for 24 hours because of the assassination attempt on then-president Ronald Reagan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's 16 minute past the hour. Glad you're with us. The glow of the Golden Globes has not yet faded but the Oscar buzz has definitely begun. Next week the nominees for the 83rd annual Academy Awards will be announced, and then the anticipation begins. But for a sneak preview of who we might expect to get an Oscar nod and who might even take home an award, we're joined by Tom O'Neil of "The L.A. Times." His website goldderby.com is devoted to predicting the top show biz awards. Tom, good to see you.

TOM O'NEIL, GOLDDERBY.COM: Same here. Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: Let's start with your predictions in the major categories. Best actor?

O'NEIL: Best actor is the one race which is a slam dunk shoe-in for Colin Firth to win. In his lead role in "The King's Speech" he portrays a real life person, a handicap, a stammer and he lost last year nominated for "A Single Man." He's the one bet you can take to the bank.

KAYE: How about actress?

O'NEIL: Actress is a toss-up. This is an interesting race this year because Oscar voters have been treating the best actress race like a beauty pageant recent years. If you think of the winners like Charlize Theron and Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman. The lovely this year is Natalie Portman in "Black Swan" who had the big physical transformation thing going on and for what she learned in ballet.

At goldderby.com we issue racetrack odds. And we give her two- five to win but close behind he is Annette Benning because she's the veteran who is overdue to win. She's lost three times and she plays gay in "The Kids are All Right" and that got an Oscar for Sean Penn and Tom Hanks.

KAYE: What do you think for best supporting actor, Christian Bale?

O'NEIL: Christian Bale looks like he's probably going to win. He's never been nominated before. But in "The Fighter" he portrays a real life person. Eight out of 10 people who win Oscars win them for roles based on real life people. He's been a big commercial success with the batman franchise. He's proven himself that way.

KAYE: Supporting actress, do you have a pick?

O'NEIL: Supporting actress will probably be Melissa Leo from "the fighter."

KAYE: She was great.

O'NEIL: Yes, and you remember she had the big hair, the big working class bawdy accent, reminds me of Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinnie."

KAYE: What do you think for best picture? O'NEIL: This is the really interesting race, Randi, because "The Social Network" won everything so far. The golden globe, all the critics' awards. It has a problem heading into the Oscars. It doesn't have a sympathetic hero where Russell Crowe in "Gladiator" or Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker," they like to root for the character. It is favored to win. But "The King's Speech" is going to have the most nominations. Historically the film with the most nominations has won best picture 75 percent of the time, more of that traditional film.

We give "The Social Network" eight to 11 odds to win and "The Kings Speech" four to one. But watch out for "The Fighter," this could be a year that we saw an upset like "Crash."

KAYE: And dark horse.

O'NEIL: And a boxing movie. They love those.

KAYE: Do the Golden Globes always set the agenda for the Oscars in terms of winners?

O'NEIL: They tend to 60 percent of the time. Last year, for example, they got all the acting categories correct. Remember, of course, they have two sets of awards. They have for dramas and comedy/musical. For five of the past six years they failed to predict best picture. Last year they went with "Avatar" when the Oscars went with "The Hurt Locker." Maybe it's a curse that they won the globe.

KAYE: How about the host Ricky Gervais. Anne Hathaway, James Franco. I don't think we'll see the same type of performance from either one of them, do you?

O'NEIL: No. As a matter of fact, the Oscars have said, we're going to be a lot more respectful here. What Ricky Gervais did was a drive-by shooting at the globes. And these guys -- also he was in charge of his own script. James Franco and Anne Hathaway are reading what Bruce Valance puts on the card for them to read.

KAYE: All right, Tom O'Neil, appreciate your time. We'll see if your predictions come to be. Thank you.

O'NEIL: Thanks a lot, Randi.

KAYE: A science experiment to remember -- where in the world does boiling water instantly disappear into thin air? We'll tell you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Now, let's take a look at our always entertaining extremes of the week. We start with a little science experiment, if you want to call it that. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you doing, Sam? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what I'm doing is boiled water in the kettle. So it's boiling water. We're going to pour it in here, then throw it in the air and it's going to evaporate. Ready?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, wow. That's amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: This is what they're doing to pass the time -- that's right, in Canada's northwest territories, watching boiling water evaporate in midair, but then again what are you supposed to do when it gets that cold? How cold, you are wondering? Try minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now from hot water to a hot air balloon in trouble -- this is in Australia where ten tourists on a balloon ride didn't exactly get what they paid for. They got an adventure but not quite what was being sold in the brochure.

They hit the water. At that point you don't want to be in a very big basket like they were. A rescue boat got them out. The pilot said the second time he's had to be rescued in 26 years. I don't think that was a big consolation for all those water logged passengers of his.

You have probably seen this video from the Berkshire mall in Pennsylvania. It's not just reason to chuckle. It's also a cautionary tale about texting and walking and, yes, maybe even swimming. Kathy Cruz Marrero is the texter who wasn't watching where she's going. She fell into the fountain. Now she's thinking of suing mall security for not coming to her aid.

Now you have to wonder why she's speaking out. If she didn't come forward then no one would know it was her. Since she did, we're learning about her legal problems like identity theft allegations.

Planning a big night out? You don't need your wallet anymore. Coming up, a look at why your cell phone may be the only thing that you need to pay.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's 27 minutes past the hour. I'm Randi Kaye.

The funeral for Sargent Shriver is underway. Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the pallbearers. You see the casket coming in there, along with other members of the Kennedy family. The former Peace Corps chief passed away earlier this week. There's the first lady Michelle Obama. She's there with former president bill Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden. Who you see right there as well, expected to speak at today's funeral.

Just a short time ago, Wyclef Jean sang.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: There you see Bono from U2 in the crowd there. He's expected to perform as well. President Obama described Shriver as, quote, "One of the brightest lights of the greatest generation."

Ethnic violence in Afghanistan may be ready to bubble over again with new reports of serious political problems. Members of the country's new parliament are ready to get to work, but president Hamid Karzai is saying not so fast. CNN's Arwa Damon joins me now live from Kabul where the parliament is in a meeting in a hotel. Tell us what's going on and why this delay in inaugurating the new parliament?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's been quite the heated debate that's been going on pretty much all day here between members of parliament and afghan president Hamid Karzai. It got pretty angry at times and saw some members of parliament even storm out while others are staging something of a sit-in at the presidential palace.

All of this stemming from the result of the parliamentary elections that took place back in September amid allegations of widespread fraud and irregularities. The independent election commission of Afghanistan did launch an investigation and ended up throwing out more than a million votes, eventually certifying the results of the election in November.

Those results, however, saw President Karzai's Pashtun power base reputation in parliament severely diminished. Those who lost out mostly from the Pashtun south, and that's where all of the fighting has largely been concentrated, say that their constituents were prevented from going out, casting their vote because of security but also because of other allegations of fraud.

In December President Karzai set up a special court to look into these allegations. That court has asked for more time, hence the president's decision to delay the inauguration. This of course enraged most members of the new parliament with one parliamentarian saying they were willing to risk everything to see the inauguration happen on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL HAFIZ MANSOUR, MEMBER OF AFGHAN PARLIAMENT (via translator): Tomorrow we will inaugurate parliament even if it costs us our lives. Tomorrow is the day that will determine if democracy will remain in Afghanistan or if it will change into a dictatorship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: And, Randi, none of this really bodes well for the future of Afghanistan. Both the U.S. and the U.N. have expressed their deep concern and surprise at this delay.

KAYE: Arwa, where do things stand now, and what would you say the next step is here?

DAMON: Well, those deliberations are still underway. It's been about eight hours. They need to find some sort of a way to solve this impasse or else, according to one analyst, there could be very serious consequences for the future of Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDACE RONDEAUX, SR. AFGHAN ANALYST, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: This is an extremely critical juncture for Afghanistan. I think the security situation obviously has deteriorated over the last year, but this conflict between the president and the parliament has really heightened tensions to the extreme.

There is really I think -- if there is no resolution today, I think that there is the possibility of violence tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: Either way, this remains a very volatile situation that threatens to even further deepen the ethnic divisions that exist here. If parliament is not inaugurated tomorrow, that risk is the country could be descending into chaos. If it is inaugurated tomorrow as the current representation stands the risk is that the Pashtun population could feel increasingly disenfranchised, alienated and possibly turn towards the Taliban.

KAYE: Arwa Damon for us, thank you.

It's possibly the most watched speech a president will ever give. Of course I'm talking about the State of the Union. President Obama gives his on Tuesday. He'll lay out his agenda for the year, but it's a very different political landscape from a year ago. Joining me now from Washington to talk about the stakes for this speech is Craig Crawford columnist with CQpolitics.com. Craig, good to see you.

CRAIG CRAWFORD, COLUMNIST, CQPOLITICS.COM: Good morning, Randi.

KAYE: Good morning to you. First of all, what's different about this landscape? Set the picture for us and why this is such an important speech at this time.

CRAWFORD: Well, usually these speeches are not remembered for substance, more for ritualized pomp and circumstances. It's been said Washington is Hollywood for ugly people and this is our Academy Awards, so it gets a lot of attention. And it's hard for presidents to be remembered for them very much.

I think there's one difference here coming so soon after the Tucson tragedy, I think there's a chance we'll see a little more civility, a little more unity. There's even talk of Democrats and Republicans sitting together instead of apart. And the president, I think if he gave a speech like he did in Tucson, this one could be more remembered.

KAYE: What do you think -- what can we expect to hear from the president? What do you think the tone of the speech will be?

CRAWFORD: Unity, civility and, most of all, jobs. I think the president will talk a lot about jobs. We'll probably hear that word quite a few times. I don't know if he'll make any proposals, but that is something that I think he is paramount for him to focus the country on how he is working on getting more jobs.

The civility I think that comes after the Tucson tragedy gives him an opportunity to really get above the politics and put a lot of pressure on Republicans to be more bipartisan, and I think he'll reach out to them. He may even throw them some bones like talking about cutting spending, and so on, to show the country that he wants to get along. So if they don't get along in the future, they know it's not his fault.

KAYE: Right, make them look like the bad guys.

CRAWFORD: Right.

KAYE: Do you really believe the two parties are actually going to sit together?

CRAWFORD: I've already heard one delegation, the Colorado Delegation, is going to do that. There's talk about others doing it. That would be a big change, because usually these things turn out very partisan and you see the president's party stands up and cheers and the other side sits down. And the country never likes that. That never looks good. People want more bipartisanship in Washington and this would be a good way for the politicians to show that.

KAYE: You know, we've seen before some members of Congress have acted out a bit during the speeches. Do you expect everybody to be on their best behavior?

CRAWFORD: That's another change coming so soon after Tucson. That will be very dangerous for that to happen. You had one congressman stand up and yell at the president "you lie" in the last one. I would be very surprised to see that again.

KAYE: And after Tucson, the president really did get a boost, after that memorial ceremony and even his poll numbers are up slightly. How critical is this speech to sort of carry that forward?

CRAWFORD: I think it would be great for him if he took a page from his own notebook. That speech in Tucson was simple. It was direct. It was personal. That's the key.

I think Obama learned something in that speech that he ought to carry forward in the State of the Union. Usually these State of the Union addresses are laundry lists of lots of agenda items to generate lots of applause, speechwriters write a lot of applause lines in these because the media tends to count the number of times they get applause and compare that to past presidents.

And the speeches are usually fairly undisciplined. But I think that Tucson speech was a real model for him, particularly that personal tone and talking about individual people and getting back to the jobs scene. He should talk about people who have lost their jobs and personalize that more. Those are the kind of things he did in Tucson that he should do again.

KAYE: All right, Craig Crawford, columnist with CQpolitics.com. Thank you so much.

CRAWFORD: Good to be here.

KAYE: And remember, you can see the president's State of the Union address live right here on CNN, 9:00 p.m. eastern Tuesday. And be sure to stick around for complete analysis after the speech from the best political team on television.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's 20 minutes to the top of the hour.

(WEATHER BREAK)

KAYE: You may think that you love golf, but we'll show you one man that has an extreme fondness, and I mean extreme, for hitting the links. He set a new world record doing it.

Plus, remember Catwoman? So far five women brought this character to life. Lee Meriwether starred in the 1966 movie, Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt, one of my favorites, they were in the TV series. After the break we'll tell you who played the role more recently and who will be the next Catwoman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Nice. We continue our list of actresses who played batman's sexiest arch rival Catwoman, with Michelle Pfeiffer and her seductive "Meow" that you just saw there in the 1992 "Batman Returns." Then Halle Berry had a movie all to her own in 2004's "Catwoman." The newest actress to join this top feline club is Anne Hathaway, who will play opposite Christian bale's batman in "The Dark Knight Rises."

HLN's sports anchor Joe Carter here with us with more of the big sports moments of the week or do you want to talk about Catwoman? Which do you prefer?

JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Anne Hathaway, Catwoman?

KAYE: I think she'll do well.

CARTER: Catwoman can be mean, and she seems so sweet.

KAYE: Yes, mean but sexy. We can switch to sports now. CARTER: Great transition, by the way.

For any women out there that complain that the man in their life plays to much golf, listen, you don't have it that bad. Let me tell you, because this man plays golf every day and takes the sport to a whole new level. He's essentially obsessed with the sport of golf.

Now, he admits that this sport is his first love and that playing it so much has not only led to one divorce but two divorces. But on a positive note, it has landed him in the "Guinness Book of World Records." He played in one calendar year, 611 rounds of golf. He plays up to 54 holes in a single day.

KAYE: And the record was like 600, right? So I think he got to 611.

CARTER: Yes, 611. His plan was to play 600 and play them well. You know how golfers are, squeeze in an extra round here and there, sometimes 54. And he basically walks a half a marathon every time he plays because he doesn't use a cart. The "Guinness Book of World Records" people required him to sign in and sign out to prove that he had played each one of these rounds. But absolutely incredible in the Dallas area. So it snows, it rains, tornadoes, this guy was out there in the rain with six, seven inches of water on the ground putting away.

KAYE: That's amazing.

CARTER: He's got something to talk about on the 19th hole, if you will, every time.

Switching gear, Minnesota, you know it well.

KAYE: I do.

CARTER: Pond hockey, are you familiar with this?

KAYE: Oh, yes.

CARTER: Right now the world's largest outdoor pond hockey tournament going down.

KAYE: Look how cold it is.

CARTER: Despite the fact that temperatures are minus 20 below. Pond hockey, people who aren't family with it need to know, it's different than the indoor version. There's only eight players instead of 12. There's no goalies because the goal is only eight inches high. You got to be a good passer because you don't want to overpass somebody and end up losing the puck because then it goes in the snow. You don't want to be that guy.

KAYE: No. How you play in those temperatures, I'll never understand.

CARTER: I know. But you know Minnesota people, 20 is no big deal, minus 20.

KAYE: That's nothing. Throw on the ski jacket and you're out the door. Joe, thanks so much.

CARTER: You bet.

KAYE: As talk of the 2012 presidential election begins to swirl, could there be a Palin-Giuliani showdown in the works? What the former mayor is say about that possibility.

Plus, an amazing story of giving back, what some students did to help a school lunch room worker after she was injured in a terrible accident.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. Setting the table for the 2012 presidential election. GOP hopefuls are busy this weekend appearing in some very strategic states. CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is also very busy in Washington. Paul, interesting comments from Rudy Giuliani. Are we talking showdown here?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Let me set the table here. This is fascinating. Re-rack four years ago. The former mayor of New York City ran for the presidential nomination on the Republican side but he dropped out of the race early. Fast forward back to today, Rudy Giuliani now making the rounds on the cable shows. He's saying I'm not closing any doors to possibly running again in 2012.

And what about Sarah Palin? You got to listen. He says if Palin's in the race -- take a listen. He spoke with our Piers Morgan. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Would you be more tempted to run if she wasn't?

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Maybe the opposite.

MORGAN: Really?

GIULIANI: Yes, maybe the opposite because my one chance, if I have a chance, is that I'm considered a moderate Republican. So the more Republicans in which I can show a contrast probably the better chance that I have.

MORGAN: So you've become the acceptable face of the Republican Party.

GIULIANI: I don't know if I'm acceptable.

(LAUGHTER) But the question is the way I got elected mayor of New York City was not being acceptable. My slogan was you can't do any worse. Things were so bad you need me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: So I think you better write Rudy Giuliani on that list as a possible contender. That whole interview Monday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern.

KAYE: What about Minnesota's Michele Bachmann popping up as a possible candidate keeping people talking?

STEINHAUSER: And in a strategic state just south of Minnesota. That's where she's from. I know you know that state very well. She's a congresswoman from Minnesota, a darling of the Tea Party movement.

Last night she was in Minnesota. She spoke to a fiscally conservative group. She spoke to the Republican governor out there, the head of the Republican Party. She said the reception she got in Iowa makes her seriously consider maybe making a bid for the White House.

All right, Paul Steinhauser in D.C. watching it all for us. Thank you and have a good Saturday.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

KAYE: Let's go cross country now for stories our affiliates are covering. Let's start in charlotte, North Carolina. That's where a cafeteria worker lost part of her leg in a school bus accident gets a big helping hand from the students she serves meals to. She fights back the tears after discovering they raised money to help make her new home handicap accessible. They did it, get this, by selling cupcakes and taking donations. She moves into her new home this weekend.

And it will cost you more to go cross country. Analysts say we could see as much as $3.75 for a gallon of gas by this spring. Prices at the pumps have already risen 9 percent since the beginning of December. AAA says the national average for a gallon of gasoline is $3.12.

If you don't feel like taking your wallet with you when you go out, don't worry. There's a new way to pay for your purchases if you have the app for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Your smart phone is now so clever it's actually paying your bills for you. Lauren Siegel from CNNMoney.com explains.

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LAUREN SIEGEL, CNNMONEY.COM: Developers are coming up with different ways for consumers to use their phone as their wallet. Instead of something like this, we'd eventually be able to use this.

Starbucks is one of the first companies trying out a mobile payment app. You can literally plug in your Starbucks card number into the mobile app, take it up front and scan your phone.

SIEGEL: So can I get an Americano with steamed skim milk and foam.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What size?

SIEGEL: Let's go with Venti.

It's very easy. When I want to pay, all I have to do is touch this and then ready to scan. Right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It's $3.43.

SIEGEL (voice-over): And they're not the only ones that will let you buy a mocha with your mobile. The next time you're with a friend, why not split the check via text messaging. They let you pay a friend back for coffee or a movie ticket by texting them money. You can link the app to a bank card for free.

In addition they're working with smaller businesses so they can accept payments this way. There's another app called bump that allows people to bump their phones together to exchange money. Bump is now expanding its service for payments via PayPal.

This is when the phone itself has technology integrated inside of it that allows us to trade information with another device up to four inches away. It is just starting to be rolled out in the U.S. with this technology but you're be able to pay for subways, fast food and other goods and services by holding your phone near the receiver. Whether you want to Bump it, beam it or text it, your cell phone is quickly becoming an alternative to your wallet.

In New York, Lauren Siegel reporting.

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