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Egyptian Parliament Dissolved; Cairo Gets Back to Work; Weirdest Grammy Showdowns; Believing What You See Online; Reservation Fire Spreads Fast; eBay and Coach Don't Mix; Gadgets for Valentine's Day; Eyeing the Big Business Picture; Egypt's Military Dissolves Parliament; Massive Fire Spreads to 20 Homes
Aired February 13, 2011 - 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: Internet hoaxes, children are especially vulnerable to them. Well, this hour we'll have tips to help your kids separate fact from fiction.
And celebrating Valentine's Day, an online campaign that says, don't, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
And then at 5:00 hear how vacations can actually help your career.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
New developments today from Egypt. The military high command now firmly in charge has dissolved parliamentary, suspended the constitution and will run the country at least for the next six months. You'll have an up-close look at life in the Cairo streets today in just a moment.
And in the small town of White Swan, Washington, one house caught fire and then it spread to at least 15 others. Amazingly, no one was reported hurt. Firefighters blame high winds for the fire's fast spread. It happened yesterday in the Yakama Indian Reservation.
And two murder charges have temporarily been dropped against Jared Lee Loughner. He's the man witnesses say shot Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others in Tucson last month. Prosecutors call it a procedural motion and say they will re-file the murder charges in a later indictment.
All right. Back to Cairo now. On the same piece of ground that gave birth to an historic revolution, shops are open today, offices are open today. And people in the capital are putting the most normal face possible on their new lives. Frederik Pleitgen it there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Only a few days ago, this place here was a battleground right on Tahrir Square. But now what's happening, ever since Hosni Mubarak stood down, is that shops are actually reopening here on the square. This is a souvenir shop. We've also seen travel agents that are reopening in a bid to try to get life back to normal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am very happy, because we are open today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egyptian need to leave the square now.
PLEITGEN: There are still a few protesters here in Tahrir Square. But many are telling us that now they feel is the time to go home. They don't believe that the protests should continue. They think it's time to go back to work. Like these people over here are saying that now is the time to rebuild Egypt and to stop protesting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, the most important thing we have to clean our square and then we have to go back to our work and to do our jobs. So Egypt has a great job and we have to do our best to make our country high.
PLEITGEN: At the same time, you have a lot of traffic that has come back to Tahrir Square. Most of the area here is now open to cars. And, as you can see, there are a lot of vehicles that are going through here. The streets are jam-packed as they were before the demonstrations although right now it's army soldiers who are directing traffic rather than the traffic police. We have only seen very few traffic police. But is another sign that life is getting back to normal here on Tahrir Square, and indeed in all of Egypt. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Cairo, Egypt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's get more now on today's announcement of the Egyptian parliament being dissolved. CNN senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson is on the phone joining us from Sharm el- sheikh, Egypt. What can you tell us?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENCE (via telephone): Well, the suspension of the constitution, the Supreme Military Council announcing that they will run the country until elections or until six months, the Supreme Council say that they will represent the country, both domestically and internationally, an indication of the continuity that they're providing with the previous regime.
They say that they will form a committee and amend some parts of the constitution. They have, of course, at this time now, announced that they have suspended the constitution. So these are seen as the main -- main highlights of the military's announcement in their fifth communique today. They have said that the serving prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, will remain as the serving prime minister. That they -- however, they have dissolved the parliament. He will remain as serving prime minister until the new election.
WHITFIELD: Also, Nic, we were looking at images of a kind of a white wall around the compound while you were talking at the beginning. And that happens to be the same location where the former president, Hosni Mubarak, is believed to still be staying. What more do you know about his whereabouts, if he is indeed there? And how long he plans to stay? Or if he's simply declaring that this is going to be residence in perpetuity? ROBERTSON: It's not clear. He hasn't made a declaration of what he intends to do at this time. He is in Sharm el-sheikh, which is where we are. The prime minister has said that. The white walls were the exterior walls surrounding his palace complex here in Sharm el-sheikh. The security around that complex is very, very tight.
There are soldiers with heavy machine guns covering many sections of that wall. And policemen and plainclothes security men checkpoints on the road leading towards that compound.
So he is here amid very tight security. It's not clear what members of his family are here, or what he may be planning to do at this time. He -- there have been rumors that he may -- that he may leave the country. The Sultanate of Oman was one of the most recent rumors. Saudi Arabia has said that if he chooses to come and -- wants to come and liver there, then the door is open for him to do that.
But he has indicated -- the last indication he has given is that he wants to remain in Egypt. And that appears to be part of his idea to have had a dignified exit. To have -- want to be seen as a positive Egyptian leader and to stand his last days in the country. It is very much for him at this time after everything he's been through, about saving face, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Nic Robertson, thanks so much from Sharm el-sheikh, Egypt.
Well, now that Hosni Mubarak is out, will Egypt become a democracy? Or could it fall into the hands of radical Muslims? Two Republicans in this country discussed that on television this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I believe that we should always listen to those who are crying out for freedom, crying out for democracy. What we should not tolerate are those who want to push some radical ideology to take control of those governments. And I think that's the real concern of the administration and, frankly, all of us on the Hill.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If we can pull this off, if the Egyptian people can create a democracy in the heart of the Arab world, it will be a more significant contribution to civilization than the great pyramids.
It really will have a long-lasting effect. I worry that we will rush to an election where the Muslim brotherhood, who is the most organized but doesn't represent the true will of the Egyptian people, will have a disproportionate effect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: The drama of Egypt's revolution up close and personal, we have incredible pictures and videos from our i-Reporters who watched the events unfold in Cairo. This iReport is from an Iranian-American who lives in the Egyptian capital describing Friday's scene in Tahrir Square as the world's biggest party after news President Mubarak was stepping down.
And back here at home, it is Grammy night, and this year the competition is anything but typical. We'll explain that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. It's Grammy night, a lot of folks very excited about it. But when you think of Grammys, you don't usually think about comedy, do you?
Well, this year, one category has names that you will recognize and you might even giggle over it. It is "Best Spoken Word Album." And here are this year's nominees. We've got late-night show -- talk show host, Craig Ferguson with "American on Purpose." Sarah Silverman with "The Bed Wetter." And "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth." And then, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future" this by Michael J. Fox. All right. Some very interesting names here.
And then, Carol Burnett. Who knew? "This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection." And "The Woody Allen Collection: Mere Anarchy, Side Effects, Without Feathers, Getting Even."
All right. It's the music, of course, that always takes center stage at the Grammys. And this year, the competition includes some rather unusual matchups -- more unusual from the comedians. Here's "Showbiz Tonight's" host, A.J. Hammer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Thirteen-time Grammy winner, Michael Jackson, up for a posthumous 14th award. His biggest competition -- seven-time winner, John Mayer.
KEITH CAULFIELD, BILLBOARD: Best Pop Male Vocal Performance, you have Michael Jackson for "This Is It" and John Mayer with "Half My Heart."
HAMMER: In another strange Grammy showdown, it's a battle of the YouTube stars. Justin Bieber, who rocketed to fame with his musical YouTube videos, is up for Best Pop Vocal Album from "My World 2.0."
Susan Boyle, who became a worldwide YouTube tear-jerker is up against Biebs for her first album, "I Dreamed a Dream." So, which of these viral superstars will we see soon call Grammy winner?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going with team Bieber on this one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're going to lean toward Susan Boyle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure if either one of them will actually win this category.
HAMMER: Young versus old, dead versus alive. It's the weirdest Grammy showdowns. (END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: OK. So don't miss those unusual Grammy showdowns. A special edition of HLN's "Showbiz Tonight" airs tonight at 5:30 Eastern time.
All right. By the way, there's so much information on the Internet. But do you know what's real, what's not?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Take a look at this number -- 128,147,676. That's the number of active Web sites according to domaintools.com. So do you know what information is really real? What's believable?
Well, seeing to some folks is believing. There's an interesting study out, recently involving students and the Internet. And it suggests that if kids see something on a Web site, they take it as fact. No matter what. CNN's Carl Azuz is here with the details on this. So, Carlo, students believe just about everything apparently that they see on the Internet. I'm very surprised because I thought a lot of today's kids were very suspicious.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Well, if you ask any student, do you believe anything -- everything you read on the Internet, you'd be very hard-pressed to find one who's going to say, oh, yeah. I mean, it's like a knee-jerk programmed reaction, they all say no, no, don't believe everything you read.
But this study would suggest otherwise. And it's about elusive and completely fictitious tree octopus. There was a fake Web site set up before the study was taken. This Web site's a few years old. You see it right here. And it talks about the Pacific Northwest tree octopus. It says where you can find it, why it's endangered. All kinds of -- you know, there are legitimate-looking links. There are T-shirts, "Save the Tree Octopus."
The site looks real. And so, what they did is they got 50 top-reading seventh graders to participate in this study. By top-reading seventh graders, I mean bright kids. And a few other facts about this study. The site, of course, total hoax. There's no such thing as a tree octopus, nothing like that. Forty-nine of these 50 kids believed the site and here's the real kicker. After they were told it was a hoax, about half of the kids insisted the tree octopus existed based on the site alone.
WHITFIELD: Because they thought that this site was so authentic and the whole premise behind it just made sense to them and it was on the Internet. That's the bottom line, right?
AZUZ: And, you know, and that's one of the things -- one of the conclusions that researchers drew from this is that students are not thinking critically, at least at this particular seventh-grade level when it comes to what they see on the Internet. They're not looking for second sources as you and I have to do all the time.
And in addition to that, if a site looks like they think it should, this study concluded, that they'll go with it, that they'll buy it.
WHITFIELD: So, I wonder, did they reveal what's it going to take for them to be suspicious or, you know, feel like, all right, I can -- I can safely say this is real or this is not real?
AZUZ: We asked students exactly that. I mean, how do you know that what you're seeing online is the truth? And I've got a couple of comments for you from our audience at CNN Student News. This one from Donald saying his teacher taught them check the four W's, who gave the research, where did the study take place, when it did it start to appear and what were they thinking?
Sort of a variation on the W's you and I know --
WHITFIELD: Right. A little journalism there.
AZUZ: Yes. On the other side of that though, listen. There's another comment we have from Sherry and she didn't like the fact that they were giving the site to seventh graders. She felt that was sort of a cheap shot. They were too impressionable. But on the other hand, she says, the internet should not be your only source. She asked, what happened to libraries, magazines, encyclopedias? And there were a number of students who told us that they felt more confident when their sources. They felt more confident in the printed word on paper than they do with the printed word online.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. I wonder if there are any real parallels with young people and some of the adults. Because you hear it all the time from a lot of adults who say, you know what, if it's on the Internet, I believe it. Or they'll you about something, well, it was on the Internet, so it must be true.
AZUZ: I think -- you know, you bring up a great point and I think what's interesting about this is that young people have a better excuse. These are digital natives. These are people who have never known a day without the Internet. I think a lot of adults who remember the Dewey decimal system and the card catalogue, we should probably know better.
WHITFIELD: All right, Carl Zeus, thank you so much. Appreciate it, good to see you.
AZUZ: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: I'd say it's time to go cross-country now and check some of the stories our affiliates are covering.
A prominent Phoenix businessman faces child prostitution charges. Michael Gilliland resigned from his position at CEO of Sunflower Farmer's Market after he was arrested in a child prostitution sting. He is accused of soliciting sex with a girl who reportedly identified herself as a minor. Police say Gilliland set up a meeting with the girl online and then drove to a location to have sex.
And then in Los Angeles, health concerns at Hugh Hefner's "Playboy" mansion. At least 80 people said they got sick after attending a fundraiser and a party at the mansion earlier this month. Symptoms included fever, respiratory problems and violent headaches. The health department is now investigating.
In Oregon, a polar plunge for the Special Olympics. About 1,500 people jumped into the frigid Columbia River to raise money for the group.
All right. People will sell just about anything and everything on eBay. So why a lawsuit over some used handbags? Our legal guys had quite a few things to say about this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's the case of a handbag designer versus a woman with used purses for sale. First, a quick look at this hour's top stories.
A fire at the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State is under control. At least 16 homes burned. The families are OK, but thousands of stacked logs at a nearby sawmill are still burning and will be for several more days.
A New York man is in custody, accused of killing four people and injuring at least five others. Police say Maxim Gelman was arrested yesterday after stabbing a passenger on a subway train. Among those killed, his stepfather, ex-girlfriend and her mother. Police say Gelman also hijacked two vehicles, one driver fought back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHELDON POTTINGER, CARJACKING AND STABBING VICTIM: When he came in the car (INAUDIBLE) he looked crazy. He looked like a crazy guy. And I said, oh my, this is it. (INAUDIBLE) I was going to fight my way out. As soon as he reached my car door, he pulled out a knife and started pushing and saying, get out of the car, I'm going to kill you. He cursed. Get out of the car, I'm going to kill you. At the same time, I was shocked, I didn't know what to do. So I pushed myself over in the passenger seat and I was trying to kick him to get him out, but he forced himself in. I hold on to his hand and he stepped on the gas and the car took off. And I hold his hand and he was trying to fight me so he could stab me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are these knife wounds?
POTTINGER: Yes, with this hand I hold onto the knife and right here the knife sliced me right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. Well, today in Egypt, the military dissolved parliament and will run the country for six months or until elections are held. And volunteers are sprucing Tahrir Square, the center of the protests that brought down the Mubarak regime.
And among the voices reacting to the uprising in Egypt, Iman, the global fashion icon, former model, current business mogul and co-host of a fashion reality TV show. Born in Somalia, Iman spent part of her childhood in Egypt. And she told me face to face about her ties to the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IMAN, FASHION ICON: I was there during the 1967 war. I was going to high school there. And I was -- I'm in love with Egypt and have always been in love with Egypt since the day I went there for school and including my youngest daughter with David Bowie, her name is Alexandria, after the city.
WHITFIELD: So did you ever see this potential of this kind of rise of a revolution, even then, in the late '60s?
IMAN: Yes. Because, you know, I was -- I was in Egypt when Nasser was around, you know. So there was always that kind of a feeling that especially just in the Third World and especially in volatile spaces like the Middle East. There's always that you're on that edge, that anything can happen at any given time. But to have something a revolution like this happen so peacefully, is quite unheard of. And it's quite brilliant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Catch my entire face-to-face interview with Iman, next Saturday. She'll talk about building herself as a fashion icon and business mogul and she reveals the secret to her 20-year marriage to rocker David Bowie. Iman, next weekend.
All right. People sell a lot of things online that we know. But now there's actually a lawsuit over some used handbags. Here's what happened. A Seattle woman was selling her used Coach purses online. And then she received a cease-and-desist letter from Coach's law firm. What does this mean for people selling goods on eBay? Our legal guys, Avery and Richard were all over this topic yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: That Coach and their lawyers are a bunch of bullies, in my opinion, in trying to push people around. Look, the fact of counterfeiting is a problem. They have to be aggressive about that. They knew that Kim was -- was a former employee. It's a used purse. How are you going to buy a used purse at Coach, for goodness sakes.
In fact, eBay acknowledged that she was right, Coach was wrong, put the ad back up there. And now there's a countersuit under consumer protection laws for trying to interfere with commerce against Coach.
WHITFIELD: So she's suing Coach --
FRIEDMAN: So I hope this woman actually prevails.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. So, Richard, Coach is suing her, she claims that's intimidation. Now she's countersuing. When does it end?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It ends when -- when coach turns around and silently gives her a few dollars and the whole case walks away. But Avery is right, Coach were bullies here. She has every right to sell that bag on eBay, every, every right. And for them to send the kind of letter that they sent out. Obviously, counterfeiting is a huge problem on eBay. Coach is suffering from it. So they send this vicious letter, suing for $2 million, legal fees, treble damages and pay us $300 immediately. How many people, Fred, do you think just automatically send $300, whether they're right or wrong, just to end this problem? It's a big problem for Coach and they're going to be called to task on this one, Fred.
WHITFIELD: So in general, our legal guys say, don't worry, you can sell your stuff on eBay. This just might be a unique case.
All right. Jacqui Jeras in the weather center. You ever sold anything on eBay?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, Craigslist, yes, eBay, no.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JERAS: No.
WHITFIELD: No, neither.
JERAS: OK. I sold a car on Craigslist once.
WHITFIELD: Did you?
JERAS: I did, in one day. How about that?
WHITFIELD: That's impressive. Well, that's why people turn to Craigslist and eBay.
JERAS: It's tough to be on the computer on a day like today though.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes, it's beautiful out, huh?
JERAS: So nice.
WHITFIELD: I finally got a taste of it this morning.
JERAS: Oh, did you? Oh, good. Hopefully, a lot of people having the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Although there are a couple of hot spots we have to tell you about where the weather's been somewhat dangerous and that's mostly because of the gusty winds. Things are really changing. You know, the weather pattern has been pretty much the same over the last couple of weeks. Where things have been beautiful in the west. They've been cold and stormy in the east and that weather pattern has reversed now.
We're going to see a series of storms impacting the West. There you can see the first one that moved through in the last day and a half and there's another one that's going to be making its way onshore.
This latest storm across the upper Midwest has been bringing in an incredible amount of strong winds. We're talking gusts, almost hurricane-strength. Yes, we're talking 70, 80 miles per hour, and that will continue to be a threat across the upper Midwest at this hour.
Let's go ahead and take a little sampling. There we can see the winds. This is sustained winds in the 20 to 30 mile-per-hour range. And so, that's enough to make things very difficult for you travelers as well as maybe knock down some tree limbs and that type of thing. So be aware of that.
Wind in the east is also causing a little bit of trouble for you in terms of the airports. There's a ground stop right now at JFK because of some gusty winds. Looking at volume issues in Orlando, 30-minute departure delays. Ground delays in San Francisco because of the low clouds and fog. San Francisco, this is going to be a lousy week for you, really heavy rain expected, starting tomorrow and then another storm by the middle of the week.
And Washington Dulles, this is just a volume issue, but getting out of there, it's going to take you about an 30 minutes.
So here's the big picture then for tomorrow as you head back to work and you head back to reality. Our wind maker moves across the Great Lakes and into the northeast. So we do expect additional airport delays for the big airports in the northeast because of the winds. Mild conditions though, those winds kicking up those warmer temperatures and high pressure dominating the nation's midsection, making it beautiful. And there you can see the next storm arriving across parts of the west. And it's going to be a really, really soggy week for those folks, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Oh, well you gave them a nice little warning. Wear those -- pack those galoshes and pull out the raincoats, all that good stuff.
All right. Thanks, Jacqui.
All right. So what's the most popular Valentine's Day gift out there. We'll tell you after the break. Here are some thoughts on the worst gifts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The worst Valentine's gift I've ever received was some socks, some socks with little hearts and stuff all over it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cheap bad assorted gas station flowers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not one, no Valentine's gift is the worst gift I've ever received.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The worst Valentine's gift I've ever given was a toaster. I thought that was a good, creative gift, but it wasn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. Before the commercial break we asked, if you knew what the most popular Valentine's Day gift is, a card. That's according to the National Retail Federation. Jewelry is also high on the list and here's what some of you have to say about what you think are the best gifts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best Valentine's gift I've ever received definitely involved chocolate, the more expensive, the better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A brand-new Mac computer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A tennis bracelet with a nice dinner, candlelights and a night to remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The best Valentine gift I've ever given is I took my girlfriend to Atlantis in the Bahamas and stayed for five days and stayed at the cove.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. Fancy gifts, but remember, the most popular, a simple card. Keep it simple. Valentine's Day is tomorrow. However, and instead of chocolate and flowers, maybe your favorite gal or guy would like a gadget. Our tech guru, Marc Saltzman has some ideas for all of us, so what do you have?
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: All right, Fredricka. Well, I was worried that some of these prices would be high, but hearing what some of the streeters have to say, a Mac computer? Well now I don't feel so bad.
But let's start off with an iPod preloaded with her favorite music. I think that's a nice touch. This is the iPod touch, which starts at about $229. So you can gift it already, with her favorite music on it. Maybe she likes to exercise and get a great dance mix on there.
And if you order it online, while it's a little too late for tomorrow's Valentine's Day, you can also have a free inscription engraved on the back. This one here, by the way, says, it says I love you in spite of your musical tastes. Don't know if you can see that one. But --
WHITFIELD: Yes. I like that, that's a nice gift. Who wouldn't like that and then there are the real book lovers out there who might enjoy a new way to receive a book, read a book. What do you have?
SALTZMAN: Exactly. So digital books or e-book readers are very trendy right now and they make for a gift for book lover. Two of my favorites, this is, of course, the Amazon kindle. This is a refreshed version of it that came out in the fall. It's lighter, faster, better-looking screen.
And of course, you know all the advantages e-books give. You can adjust the font, size of the text to your liking. Shop 24/7. In the case of the Amazon kindle, you can have a book read back to you. If you're fatigued on a plane ride, press a button, have it read to you.
If you want something a little bit beefier, almost like a tablet, the new nook color from Barnes & Noble is a good pick. This is a seven- inch e-book reader that's got colors and it's got the ability to read children's books out loud as well. You can surf the net, pick up your email and use some apps like games, this is $249. The Amazon kindle starts at $139 for the Wi-Fi version.
WHITFIELD: Very fancy stuff. OK, now what about those loves who are in long-distance relationships? What do you have for them?
SALTZMAN: Well, yes, definitely a web camera and a high-definition one could help spice up a long-distance relationship. I'll leave it at that.
WHITFIELD: Watch out, Marc.
SALTZMAN: You know, just for blowing kisses and things like that.
WHITFIELD: Right.
SALTZMAN: But this is the Microsoft Life cam. This is the studio that sells for about $70. It's a 1080P or the highest video quality in a web camera that lets you send video greetings by e-mail or chat in real-time for free around the world. So this is the top of the line model.
If you don't want to spend quite as much, there are other models. This one here from Logitech is called the Quick Cam C310 and it sells between $50 and $60, and it's still high-definition, but not quite top of the line. But you know, there are lots of options out there that are better than the web cam that came with your laptop.
WHITFIELD: Fancy schmancy stuff. All right, Marc Saltzman -- do you have more for me?
SALTZMAN: I just wanted to add, a digital camera is also a great pick and companies like Sony for example have pink and red ones, which are nice for Valentine's Day.
So if your significant other could use an upgrade when it comes to a compact digital camera you can buy one that has engraving and pick a Valentine's color as well. I wanted to throw it out there as food for thought.
WHITFIELD: I love that. I think everyone loves a new digital camera and with engraving on there too? That's, you know, cherry and icing on the cake, all that good stuff, whipped cream and all. All right, Marc Saltzman. Thanks so much for joining us, appreciate it. Happy Valentine's Day.
SALTZMAN: Thank you and to you.
WHITFIELD: Thank you. All right, well, the field is wide open, but who will emerge as the top GOP presidential contender? We're going down the list of potential candidates after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: CNN Equals Politics update. For the second year in a row, Ron Paul is the winner of CPAC's presidential straw poll. The Texas congressman won 30 percent of the conservative group's vote.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney placed second. He was followed by Former New Mexico Governor, Gary Johnson. The New Jersey governor, Chris Christie and former House speaker Newt Gingrich. As for former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, she received just 3 percent of the vote. All right, despite the straw poll results, the field of Republican contenders for president is still wide open. Here's CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One year out from the primaries, take a look at this crowd. Do you see a future president? Each of these potential contenders for the Republican nomination has some reason to hope 2012 might be the year.
NATE SILVER, POLITICAL BLOGGER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: You would rarely have an opportunity where the field is quite as wide open as it would be this year. That can be kind of self-reinforcing, right? Because you know, the better the opportunity looks, the more people get in and kind of you know, the more the votes split.
JOHNS: So let's break it down. Who are these guys? Past and present governors, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Mitch Daniels of Indiana, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, John Huntsman of Utah.
There are past and present senators, John Thune of South Dakota, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. And one man who ran for the nomination last time around, Texas Congressman, Ron Paul.
Seven potential candidates, no consensus. We asked the last Republican to get the nomination about them. He was as noncommittal as it gets.
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like all of them. I think -- and I think you're going to see a very interesting campaign coming up.
JOHNS (on camera): Translation, John McCain is not endorsing anybody right now and does anybody really know the field, anyway? They aren't exactly household names outside their home states, though low name recognition isn't so important this early, just as long as New Hampshire knows their name on primary day.
MCCAIN: The reason why the people of New Hampshire is so unique is they realize the effect of their votes and their support. My favorite joke, Mo Udall, the guy in Manchester said to the other one, what do you think about him for president? And he said, I don't know, I only met him twice.
JOHNS (voice-over): Frankly, it's impossible to choose the most likely Republican candidate right now, though the resume of former Governor John Huntsman makes some Democrats nervous.
SILVER: He's been ambassador to China and served in a democratic White House, I mean, that's pretty interesting, right? The fact that he's a Republican governor of Utah who supported civil unions for gay couples and you know, was moderate on environmental issues, I mean, that's interesting.
JOHNS: Interesting, but perhaps too progressive for the GOP's conservative base so another more classically conservative candidates like Santorum and Barbour have solid standing on the right, but will have to work hard to lure independents, which is where the campaign end game gets played.
At that stage, some say picking losers may be easier than picking winners. Nate silver is betting against Tim Pawlenty and South Dakota Senator John Thune.
SILVER: It seems like he's a good, competent, you know, average senator. There's nothing wrong with that, but, you know, why would you pick one of 100 senators to be president when you don't have that much kind of unique standing out about you.
JOHNS: We asked Thune what's unique about him, but he declined an interview. Indiana governor, Mitch Daniels, has a different problem. He's a big budget hawk, which is a good thing in the eyes of Republican politicians, but he wants his party to declare a truce on social issues, and that includes abortion, which Daniels is said to be 100 percent against. That doesn't sit well with social conservatives like Frank Cannon.
FRANK CANNON, AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT: If that's what you really believe is a moral matter, how can you accept that as president, you will spend years not doing anything about something that you see as moral tragedy?
JOHNS: Full field, plenty of time to get in the game, get out of the limelight, make some progress or fall flat on your face. Welcome to the presidential race of 2012 or not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: That was Joe Johns reporting. President Barack Obama has not officially announced whether he will seek a second term. And assuming he runs, he is not expected to face serious opposition for the Democratic nomination.
And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, cnnpolitics.com.
Let's talk movie, coming up, romantic comedy, and animated love story and a medieval legend, all hitting the movie screens this weekend. We'll separate the good, the bad and the ugly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A little something for everyone at the movies this weekend. Yesterday, I spoke with critic Matt Atchity with rottentomatoes.com and the first one that he weighed in on was "Just Go With It" starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Brooklyn Decker.
It's a romantic comedy about a doctor who weaves a web of lies in order to win over a young teacher even pretending to have two young kids.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you act professional? For at least two more days until I kill you off in a boarding school train accident?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was a car accident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know, either that or a science explosion, you're going to be dead soon, that's the good news. Can you just focus for a few more days? Good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. So Matt, is this kind of -- Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston as usual, or do they bring something different to this romantic comedy?
MATT ATCHITY, ROTTEN TOMATOES EDITOR IN CHIEF: Sadly, it pretty much about what you would expect. There's nothing new here. And what's unfortunate, as much as this movie is supposed to be a romantic comedy, they forgot the funny part. In the theater I was in where we watched it, nobody was laughing.
WHITFIELD: That's kind of embarrassing. So what kind of grade are you willing to give it, then?
ATCHITY: You know, it's -- Jennifer Aniston is not unwatchable, but it's disappointing to see Adam Dandler here, I gave it a D.
WHITFIELD: My gosh, because he's supposed to be the really funny one.
ATCHITY: Yes and he's just not funny here.
WHITFIELD: No.
ATCHITY: Yes, he used to be.
WHITFIELD: But not anymore, not in this one. "Just Go With It" and you say, don't go with it at all.
ATCHITY: Just don't go to it.
WHITFIELD: All right, how about "Gnomeo and Juliet." What's the premise behind this one?
ATCHITY: So "Gnomeo and Juliet" as the title indicate it's about garden gnomes who are re-enacting the story of "Romeo and Juliet" star-crossed or gnome-crossed lovers. WHITFIELD: Maggie Smith, Emily Blunt, all of their voices are in this. Let's take a quick peek at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That's the extent of it. OK, so where in the world with this idea come from, these little garden gnomes. You give them life and -- make them funny, maybe? Is this 3D, by the way?
ATCHITY: It is in 3D. The 3D is not bad. You know, it comes from actually it's an idea of Elton John's, he's been working on this movie for ten or 11 years and it's finally made it to theaters. You know, it's OK. It's got a lot of his music in it. It's a decent movie. If you're taking the kids to it, the kids will enjoy I it, you'll have a good time. But it's not something that you're going to look at ten years later and say, that's one of Disney's best movies. It's OK, but you know, it's not great. I give it a C.
WHITFIELD: A "C". OK, some tough grades here. All right, maybe "The Eagle" will get a better grade. This one -- tell me what the premise behind this one is, what is this one all about?
ATCHITY: The premise of this is it's based on a true story of the Ninth Legion, the Ninth Roman Legion, which disappeared in Britain in the Second Century A.D. and the mystery was, nobody knew what happened to them.
And Channing Tatum plays the son of the slain or disappeared leader and he's on a quest to bring back the standard of the Ninth Legion and reclaim his family's honor. He picks up a slave along way played by Jamie Bell who some people might remember from Billy Eliot from a few years back.
And they have to go north of Hadrian's Wall and find this golden eagle or bronze eagle and bring it back to civilized Britain.
WHITFIELD: And he's a cutie-pie, does he make this movie worth watching?
ATCHITY: You know, he does. Actually I say, I will say I enjoyed this movie. It's not try to be an epic like say "Gladiator." Where that had a cast of thousands, this one has a cast of dozens. But with a lower budget, they make it work. I actually really enjoyed this movie --
WHITFIELD: Donald Sutherland.
ATCHITY: Donald Sutherland is in this. Mark Strong, a British actor who I think is this year's British William H. Macy. I enjoyed this movie. It's not brilliant, but it's decent.
WHITFIELD: So you gave it better than a "C" then maybe?
ATCHITY: I did. I give this a "B". I think if you like action movies, definitely check this one out.
WHITFIELD: OK, and so I don't think I'm going to hold you to a grade on Bieber fever. He's got something coming out, "Never Say Never." That's coming so close to a James Bond flick. You better watch out, Justin Beiber. What did you think about this documentary about the singer's rise to fame?
ATCHITY: You know, as someone who is not a Justin Bieber fan, I went into this trying to be an open mind. This movie is far better than I thought it was going to be. I'll be honest I'm willing to give it a grade. I give it a "B".
This is a decent film. This is a decent movie. I will admit I actually enjoyed it. If you go to this, you need to be prepared you're going to be in an audience, a theater filled with 12, 13, 14- year-old girls, so bring earplugs, they scream the whole time.
WHITFIELD: He liked that one. He gave it a "B." That was the one he liked out of all of them. Jacqui Jeras in the weather center.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Go figure.
WHITFIELD: Of those four, which one are you going to hit?
JERAS: I don't know? Which one comes out on Netflix.
WHITFIELD: The weather is too nice to be inside.
JERAS: This is the story of the week. That it's good news, actually, right? Is that we're going to be seeing more of this. How do you like that? Yes. A live picture of downtown Atlanta.
There you can see, a nice shot of the skyline, it's 62 degrees at this hour in Atlanta. If you think this is good, hang in there until Wednesday, because things are just going to be getting better and better.
WHITFIELD: Pull out the sandals and the shorts?
JERAS: You know, it depends on what your criteria for shorts? But maybe high temperatures tomorrow, look at this pushing 70 in Dallas, 71 in Houston, still kind of chilly in the northeast. Here you can see, I put together a couple of cities to show you the trending that we're going to be experiencing.
So it's good news that everybody is going on the up-and-up. A little bit of good-bye to winter with one exception, Fredricka, with what's been going on out west and a series of storms, is going to be a wet and ugly week.
WHITFIELD: All right, see you again. Thanks so much, Jacqui. All right, it is a huge challenge for President Barack Obama, how to reduce the nation's massive deficit. Straight ahead, how he's expected to tackle it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, get ready to hear about spending cuts, investments and some tax moves. Let's start with Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. It was another solid week for stocks. The major averages gained more than 1 percent each, despite uncertainty about developments in Egypt. Investors focused on the positives.
We had a round of mergers, strong sales from McDonald's and improvement in unemployment claims. Mortgage rates are rising, the national average for a 30-year fixed is above 5 percent. That's according to Freddie Mac.
Rates haven't been that high since last May. Higher rates can temporarily boost home sales because it pushes buyers to jump in before those rates go any higher. Stephanie --
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Alison. More Americans are relying on plastic. Credit card debt rose by $2 billion in December, the first increase in two years. Because of the recession Americans had been paying down debt and using cash.
This may mean that consumers are feeling better about spending again. Calling all tax cheats, if you're hiding money in an offshore account, can you avoid jail time if you confess to the IRS by the end of August.
You still have to pay back taxes, interest and fees, last year's program reeled in 15,000 tax evaders, Poppy has a look at what's coming up in business news. Hi, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Thanks so much, Steph. Well, President Obama set to unveil his 2012 budget proposal on Monday and one thing is for sure, there are going to be cuts. Right now, the nation's debt stands at $14 trillion.
And the president is expected to propose temporarily freezing spending on non-security discretionary items and also he may call for cuts in defense spending. He also wants to let those tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire.
The big question though is whether the president will or won't address Medicare and Social Security. They make up the bulk of the federal budget and their costs have been climbing. We'll certainly be watching on Monday, Fredricka and we'll track it all for you on CNNMoney.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, ladies.
As the recovery continues, many wonder, where are the jobs. Coming up, on "YOUR MONEY," Christine Romans looks at what it will take to get Americans back to work. But first, another look at the top stories.
In Egypt, the military dissolved the parliament and announced it will run the country for six months or until elections are held. The military released a statement today, saying it is suspending Egypt's constitution and will appoint a committee to propose changes that Egyptians can eventually vote on.
And in Italy today, hundreds of thousands of women turned out in protest across the country, angry over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's latest sex scandal. Protesters turned out in more than 200 towns. Wednesday, Italian prosecutors filed a request to bring Berlusconi to trial. They accuse the prime minister of paying to have sex with an under-aged dancer.
And some really dramatic pictures coming out of Washington State where a massive fire spread to 20 homes before the fire crews were able to contain it and it happened in White Swan. Crews say the fire started at one house and then was fuelled by 40-mile-per-hour winds.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield, see you about an hour from now. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
