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American Born Al Qaeda Leader Killed by CIA Airstrike in Yemen; Homeland Security Official Warn of Retaliatory Attacks by Al Qaeda. Florida may Move up Presidential Primary Date; Trial of Michael Jackson's Doctor Continues; Herman Cain Surges in GOP Polls; Financial Planner Gives Advice about Holiday Shopping; Idaho U.S. Center for Preventing Cyber-Attacks; China Increases Number of Pandas
Aired October 01, 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: You're in the CNN Newsroom where the news unfolds live this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
Topping the hour, a new security concern for Americans this weekend. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security say the drone attack that killed an American-born Al Qaeda leader in Yemen could spark revenge attacks here in the U.S. Anwar al Awlaki was considered a key recruiter for Al Qaeda. The new bulletin warns of possible attacks carried out by homegrown extremists.
And reports say a Saudi bomber who plotted against attacks against the United States may also have died in that strike. Authorities say he was involved in a number of plots including the so-called underwear bomber case.
And funeral services for Troy Davis took place today in Savannah. The Georgia inmate was executed last week for the 1989 slaying of an off duty police officer. Amnesty International is urging supporters to observe today as a day of remembrance.
It's an anxious weekend for American Amanda Knox as she awaits to hear her fate. She's appealing her 2009 conviction for the murder of Meredith Kercher, her former roommate in Italy. Knox's attorneys say she's a victim of overzealous prosecutors who decided her guilt regardless of reason. Knox is expected to address the court on Monday.
And two more people are dead after eating Cantaloupe contaminated with listeria from a Colorado farm. The Centers for Disease Control says one person died in New Mexico and another in Colorado this week. The listeria outbreak was traced to Rocky Ford cantaloupes Jensen Farms. A total of 15 people from eight states have died.
FBI and Homeland Security officials are on alert for retaliation attacks this weekend one day after a CIA drone strike killed this man, Anwar al Awlaki, the American-born recruiter for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. A federal security bulletin warns that supporters who consider him a martyr may use the occasion to lash out in revenge.
Also today, more information emerging about the men who were with Anwar al Awlaki and also died in that drone attack -- Samir Khan, also born in America and who also ran an online magazine and website for the terror group. More on khan and some people who knew I'm in North Carolina coming up in one minute.
And a third man that U.S. officials tell us today they believe a known bomb-maker who may have been killed. CNN's Athena Jones is following that for us today from Washington. Athena?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, U.S. officials say al Asiri the bomb-maker, there are indications he might have been there on the scene. It's unclear at this point whether he was killed. I just heard from another official who said they are still looking into it. This is in line what we heard from a Yemeni official today saying the other operatives who were killed still haven't been identified, so at the moment the idea that he was also killed is a rumor. So we're looking and watching to hear more about that.
Now the reason that al Asiri if he was killed would be important is because of his technical skill. He was considered the top bomb-maker for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. And as you mention ad few minutes ago, he was behind that thwarted Christmas day bombing attack or attempt, the so-called underwear bomber who wanted to blow up that plane heading into Detroit. He was also behind a plot later in 2010, the end of 2010 to put explosives on cargo planes, to put them in printer cartridges and load them up on cargo planes headed into the U.S. So it will be interesting what we find out, whether it is confirmed that he was killed, Fred.
WHITFIELD: What are officials willing to say about this bulletin that was issued today?
JONES: Not much more than what you said earlier. They said this drone strike, the killing of Awlaki and Samir khan could provide, quote, "motivation for homeland attacks by homegrown violent extremists." Of course, these are people who may have been born in America, these are the kinds of people that al Awlaki and his group were trying recruit, trying to inspire with all of their recruiting English language magazine and that sort of thing. As of right now officials say there are no indications of specific plans being made for any specific attack. The idea is that everyone should stay vigilant.
WHITFIELD: Athena Jones, thanks so much.
More on the man we mentioned earlier, Samir Khan, who was also killed in that drone attack yesterday in Yemen. Khan was a U.S. citizen and lived in North Carolina. Who he was and what he did was not top secret in the Charlotte, North Carolina area as our affiliate station WB-TV found out. Here now is Molly Grantham.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOLLY GRANTHAM, WB-TV: We started off by ringing the doorbell of Samir Khan's parents' house. No answer. So we talked with Jibril Hough, the spokesperson for the family.
JIBRIL HOUGH, FAMILY FRIEND: As you can imagine if it was your child a number of emotions -- embarrassed, frustrated.
GRANTHAM: He said that the ideology that Samir promoted was wrong. He said Samir dangerous. But he won't take the next step.
(On camera): Was he a terrorist?
HOUGH: That's a good question. He definitely was a terrorist supporter.
GRANTHAM: But you wouldn't say and he was terrorist?
HOUGH: Did he actually commit an act of terror? You know, I don't think it's ever been proven that he has.
GRANTHAM: Would propaganda, the words he used against people online would that not be considered an act of terror?
HOUGH: I don't know because he was doing the same thing while he was here. If he did that while he was here I would say he should have been arrested and tried for that.
GRANTHAM (voice-over): The federal government might agree with him on that one. At one point Khan was listed as the number two guy when it came to propaganda.
If he's the number two guy how did federal intelligence let him get away, move from Charlotte, hop a plane, go to Yemen, when I can find him in a parking lot?
REP. SUE MYRICK, (R) NORTH CAROLINA: I know, Molly. Those are the questions I'm asking right now.
GRANTHAM: Jibril says he tried to counsel Samir years ago as did other Muslim-Americans in the Charlotte community, including Samir's own father. It didn't work. Even so, Jibril says this is not a day to celebrate.
(on camera): Some Americans say this is a huge day to rejoice, because he was a terrorist and now he was taken out along with Anwar al Awlaki.
HOUGH: Yes, but I'm not one that rejoices in the loss of human life regardless of whether they had it coming or not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRANTHAM: The online magazine Samir Khan produced was called "Inspire" and it included bomb making instructions and Al Qaeda propaganda. Sources tell CNN that he traveled to Yemen in 2009 on a round trip ticket but never returned.
And the man we're about to tell you about lived on stream water and leaves for six days. Coming up, how a 68-year-old man's children helped save his life after he drove into a steep ravine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: An incredible close call, and now a California grandfather is recovering after spending six days trapped in a ravine. David Lavau drove off the road and landed about 200 feet below. Lavau's children refused to stop looking for their father, and that led rescuers to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA LAVAU, VICTIM'S DAUGHTER: We stopped at every ravine and looked over every hill. And then my brother got out of the car and we kept screaming and next thing we heard dad say "help, help," and there he was.
My dad would never not call his kid. There's four of us. By the time the fourth day, the fifth day and then the sixth day we knew something was wrong. He supposedly just lost control. There was a bright car. If you saw where the accident happened several cars have gone off. The car is horrific. I don't know how he survived. He's been living on water from the stream and leaves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Incredible. Lavau broke several bones and fractured his back in that crash. And there was another driver whose vehicle went off that same ravine a couple of weeks earlier, and his body was still in that vehicle.
Game one of the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays began on a rather emotional note last night. The kid there you see is Cooper Stone. His father, Shannon Stone, died in July after falling 20 feet trying to catch a ball from the stands. Cooper got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Josh Hamilton, his favorite Ranger. Hamilton consoled both Cooper and his mother. It was his first trip back to the stadium since his father's death.
And there's enough food in the world for everyone, so why are so many people dying? Scarlett Johannson has this week's impact your world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCARLETT JOHANNSON, ACTRESS: I'm Scarlett Johannson. You too can impact East Africa.
I was first struck the mass of it, the largest refugee camp in the world. People are just surviving. Basically I was there as an ambassador of Oxfam and to hopefully highlight not only the crisis but also to highlight all of the work that Oxfam is doing and what they are providing for people.
It doesn't need to be this way. There is enough food in the world to feed everyone.
Join the movement, impact your world. Go to CNN.com/impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And you can learn more about Oxfam by locking on to CNN.com/Impact.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Getting your financial house in order is the number one issue in American homes, and today in our weekly financial fix, is it too early to holiday shop? Karen Lee, financial adviser, and author of "It's just Money, So why does it cause so many problems?" is joining us right now. So I say the answer is no, it's never too early for a little holiday shopping.
KAREN LEE, FINANCIAL ADVISER: you know what they say -- people don't plan to fail. They fail to plan.
WHITFIELD: You're helping with us the plan.
LEE: It's all about planning and not going crazy the week before, being impulsive and getting out of control.
WHITFIELD: So it begins with making a list. And you don't mean at crunch time, a couple of weeks before the holidays you're supposed to give your gifts but start way in advance.
LEE: Start right now. We got three months.
WHITFIELD: It's not even Halloween.
LEE: First thing you need to do is figure out how much you can afford to spend total. Divide that over your three months. And then make your list.
WHITFIELD: Interesting.
LEE: Because you got to start with the dollars.
WHITFIELD: When you make that list, even designating how much you can afford for --
LEE: Exactly. Start a list with everyone who gets a gift. And then put down a dollar amount for each gift and add it all up to see if you'll stay under that budget and you've got to leave a little wiggle room because don't we always forget somebody that we got to add to the list.
WHITFIELD: True.
LEE: Now you got your list. Next thing I want to you do is not rush out to the store with your list. Think through, get some ideas in advance of what you're going to buy each person. Is at it book, a piece of clothing. And make sure you can get it within that dollar amount. We got our list, our dollar amount.
WHITFIELD: Sounds stressful.
LEE: No. If do you this in advance it alleviates all the stress. Now start checking the advertisement, the Sunday paper, go online. See who -- WHITFIELD: Find them on sale?
LEE: Absolutely. I want you to space out your shopping over the next three months so you're not is going to blow your budget all in the month of December.
WHITFIELD: Because we know what happens when you wait until the last minute. You end up spending more. You panic. This isn't what I wanted to get them but they are going to get this anyway.
LEE: Exactly right. We've been racing down the aisle, throwing stuff random.
The next thing I want to tell you, really important. Save all your receipts and don't take tags off. Don't start wrapping anything.
WHITFIELD: If you buy something three months in advance, are you giving that receiver an option to actually --
LEE: You know what you're going to do, you're going to watch the prices, and when those prices come down as they get closer to the holiday you're going to go back to the store or the online vendor and ask for a price adjustment, and they do it.
WHITFIELD: Really?
LEE: They rather you still buy it at the lower price than return it completely.
WHITFIELD: OK. That's very impressive.
LEE: If we have time I want to talk about the gifts for people who don't have known spend. You have parent or grandparents, everybody loves homemade. You would love the nicest thing you could get.
WHITFIELD: Not just homemade edible goodies.
LEE: Could be. But crafts, cards, kids -- kid gifts to parents, I love to see homemade. Between adults I love the IOUs. If you have a friend with little kids how about a night of babysitting, you got a friend taking care of an ageing parent, how about a day off where you sit with the parent and give them a free day.
WHITFIELD: Create like a little card or gift certificate.
LEE: Between husbands and wives, back massage, foot massage, all those things we crave all year long.
WHITFIELD: I am noticing to that there's some stores that are bringing back the whole layaway.
LEE: I just saw that.
WHITFIELD: Helping people --
LEE: I was in a store yesterday. I saw a woman with a bag this big and it went into layaway, and I bet she will go and get a little bit each month.
WHITFIELD: Something tells me you can go for the layaway as long as there's no interest bearing attached to it.
LEE: Most layaway isn't. But I think we're come back to a lot of old-fashioned things like that, like shopping with cash, not credit, like not using our debit card because we see these new fees coming up.
WHITFIELD: Do you wait until the last minute or do you adhere to this three month card rule?
LEE: I'm pretty good about planning. Mine is more about the stress level than so much of the budgeting. I get so stressed when I wait until the end.
WHITFIELD: I'm telling you, if I'm in a store I see something, oh, that looks like somebody might like. I'll get it and squirrel it away.
LEE: Ever forget that you bought something?
WHITFIELD: Yes, I have.
(LAUGHTER)
LEE: Watch out for that.
WHITFIELD: But it is to reduce that stress level.
LEE: That's right. Keep you in the budget.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Karen Lee. Hoping to save money as we get ready for those usually stressful but we'll make it a non-stressful holiday season right around the concern. Get more information by reading Karen's new book "It's just Money," or reach Karen at KarenLeeAndAssociates.com
Oh, my goodness. We all face stress, and here we are talking about it. We're trying to avoid stress during the holiday season but sometimes it's unavoidable. There are ways to handle your wears and anxiety without damaging your health. Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has this week's "Health for Her" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What does laughter, exercise, and enjoying somebody's company have in common? They all can help reduce treasure.
DR. ANDREW WEIL, ARIZONA CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE: Stress can kill you, it can make you sick. We can't live without it, stress but you need to learn methods to protect yourself from its harmful effects.
COHEN: Job number one, learn to relax, really relax. WEIL: There's some specific breathing techniques. Most are derived from yoga. It just takes a few seconds to do that really change stress levels in the body.
COHEN: Simply make your breathing deeper, slower and more regular. You can do it at your desk or in the car or whenever you think about it. Another way to calm the mind and body is through daily meditation. And exercise is a great stress reliever. If you feel angry or upset, a brisk half hour walk or some other form of exercise can relieve tension and elevate your mood.
And what else should you add to your list of stress busters.
WEIL: Make sure you get good sleep. Avoid excessive use of caffeine, which can worsen stress.
COHEN: Learning how to relax and manage stress takes work. It's worth the effort and can help protect your health.
With this week's "Health for Her," I'm Elizabeth Cohen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, it's October so there are plenty of fall festivals, haunted houses, and of course some scary movies as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sweetie, are you OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's something out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, no, I would not be seeing this one. But you might want to. "Dream House," we'll find out more about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories right now. A new warning from the FBI and department of homeland security after the killing of an American-born Al Qaeda leader in Yemen. The bulletin warns that Anwar al Awlaki's death could spark attacks in the United States by home grown violent extremists. Anwar al Awlaki was killed by a CIA drone strike in Yemen.
Aid workers are still trying to get medical supplies into the besieged Libyan city of Sirte. A spokesman for the International Red Cross said they were forced to turn back the first time. Revolutionary forces have surrounded the city, and inside are about 5,000 fighters inside loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.
And there will be no one rappelling down the side of the Washington monument today. Cloudy weather there has forced the National Park Service to suspend operations for the day. A team of engineers is assessing damage caused by the August earthquake. Work is expected to resume potentially tomorrow.
New video of Casey Anthony has been released. It shows the moment in 2008 that Anthony found out the remains of her two-year-old daughter Caylee had been discovered. A judge said the tape was to inflammatory be played in court. Anthony was acquitted in the murder.
Attorneys for Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray may be in hot water in his involuntary manslaughter trial. They could face contempt charges for violating the trial judge's gag order and participating in a nationally televised interview.
The trial has entered a new phase. Jurors heard from the paramedics who tried to save Jackson's life. Paramedics said Murray didn't tell them what drugs the singer was on when they arrived and that he was evasive about Jackson's health.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD SENNEFF, PARAMEDIC: I asked what his underlying health condition was. He did not respond. I asked again what his underlying health condition was. He did not respond. And then I think it was the third time he said "nothing, nothing. He has nothing." And simply that did not add up to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is that?
SENNEFF: Doctors in the house, IV pole, IV hooked up to the patient -- it didn't seem normal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Our Ted Rowlands recaps the trial so far and previews what's ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Next week at the Conrad Murray trial is expected to be an extension of where last week left off. Prosecutors were laying out their case, using witnesses. They were with Michael Jackson in the days leading up to his death and those people that were around him while they were trying to revive him.
On Friday we heard from two paramedics that responded to the 911 call to Jackson's home. They told the jury what it was like inside that room while they were trying to resuscitate Michael Jackson. They both testified Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray was asked what drugs he had given Jackson and they both testified that there was no mention of Propofol. That of course is what caused Jackson's death.
We started to hear a little bit of testimony from the emergency room doctor who treated Jackson at UCLA medical center. More testimony early in the week next week and get the same story as those paramedics told. Murray was again asked, what did you give Michael Jackson? Again, no mention of Propofol.
We're also expected next week to hear from the detectives who were assigned to this case. These detectives have been sitting in the courtroom all the way through this trial so far the first week and have been referred to many times by the lawyers, so the jury is just starting to get to know. They will get to know them because they will be on the stand for some time.
And we also may hear from two of Dr. Murray's girlfriends. One of his girlfriends lives here in Los Angeles. This was the place where Murray was having all the Propofol he purchased shipped to. The other girlfriend we may hear from is based in Houston, Texas. That's the woman that Murray was on the phone with when he realized Michael Jackson was in trouble.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: American Amanda Knox is expected to plead for her freedom when she addresses the court in Perugia, Italy, on Monday. She's appealing her 2009 conviction for the murder of Meredith Kercher, her former roommate in Italy. Kercher's half naked body was found with her throat slashed in 2007. The defense is challenging the evidence in the case and the prosecution. They say Knox is a victim of overzealous prosecutors who decided her guilt regardless of reason. Knox learned to speak fluent Italian while in prison.
And old-fashioned movie theaters still manage to thrive amongst the cinema multiplexes of today. A newsletter called dailycandy.com just released the 10 great places to see a movie in splendor. First, there is Byrd theater in Richmond, Virginia. Next Music Box theater in Chicago, the Egyptian in Los Angeles, Inwood theater in Dallas, and the Cinerama in Seattle.
So what are the over top five theaters? The answer after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Before the break we showed you five of the ten great old- fashioned places to see a movie in splendor. So what are the other five places? According to the newsletter dailycandy.com, there is the State Theater in Travers City, Michigan, the Castro theater in San Francisco, the Brattle theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Tower theater in Miami, and finally Ziegfield in New York.
It's Saturday, and that means you might be thinking about heading to a theater this evening. Let's see what's playing with our movie critic Grae Drake from Fandango. We got a date movie, a thriller. Let's begin with the date movie. Let's take a quick peek.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Faster?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Faster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's your hook, man. It's what you got. That's what makes you different. It sets you apart. You're sympathetic. Try it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great song.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Totally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was wrong. I was wrong. It was weird. It's weird like that. It doesn't sound cool.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: OK. All right, Grae, what do you think? This sounds like it's one of those movies where a lot of people are talking at one time. It's confusing but somehow it's funny?
GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, FANDANGO AT MOVIE.COM: It's fantastic.
WHITFIELD: It's fantastic?
DRAKE: This movie -- it is. It's so good. It's "Terms of Endearment" minus the estrogen plus medical marijuana.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: It's called "50/50."
DRAKE: Those are his odds. And the good news is your odds of going into this movie are 100 percent good.
WHITFIELD: Really?
DRAKE: Because everyone in this movie is spectacular. I can even count the number. I like to call him GGL, personally. Watching GGL and Seth Rogan on screen together is perfect. Angelica Houston is in this movie for only like 15 minutes. But it's a credit to her that she made me cry.
WHITFIELD: Your grade will be spectacular?
DRAKE: It is. I want to hug every single person involved in making this movie. This movie gets an A.
WHITFIELD: Wow. A bit of a tear jerker too?
DRAKE: Yes. I cried in the movie, on the way home in the car, actually on the way to the studio.
WHITFIELD: OK. But somehow it's uplifting as well because you laughed.
DRAKE: It is. It's not the terminal illness movie you're expecting. You get to watch these guys use cancer as a way to score with chicks.
WHITFIELD: That sounds different. We'll take your recommendation. You like it.
How about "Dream House," this thriller. We've been seeing it all over the place. It looks like it will make everybody to be afraid in their own home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. They are right there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute. Look at this. Watch. Look at the window. And -- see, see it was your own reflection. When the light was turned on it wasn't a man it was you, little one.
(SCREAMING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts. It looks scary. You were screaming like the kids were there too?
DRAKE: No. I was asleep. This movie is better than ambien.
WHITFIELD: It put to you sleep? How could that be? Maybe your threshold --
DRAKE: I don't know. The thing is this should have been good movie and it absolutely wasn't. It's really hard to figure out what happened because Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, they are fantastic together.
I think it has two major problems.
WHITFIELD: What?
DRAKE: First, the movie borrows most of its major plot points from other better films. So, we've seen it, we're done with it. And the second problem was if you have seen the trailer for the film you've seen the most important part of it. They ruined their own movie. I hate it when they do that.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Brutal.
DRAKE: Oh, my gosh, I had to give this movie an F. Thanks for the nap but forget about this movie.
WHITFIELD: You're kidding. I don't think you've ever given an f to anything that I can recall.
DRAKE: It was so bad I just couldn't even comprehend it. I couldn't believe what I was watching. This is James bond for crying out loud.
WHITFIELD: All right, sometimes it's the actors or script, a lot of stuff.
DRAKE: Absolutely. Who knows who to blame, but in this instance but I want to point fingers. I want answers.
WHITFIELD: Oh, no. Not a good way to spend 90 minutes. We have a hit and a miss in your view?
DRAKE: Yes, very much so. But "50-50" is so good it makes everything else average out OK.
WHITFIELD: OK, thank you very much. And remember you can, of course, get all of her movie greats at fandango at movies.com.
All right, a brisk jog along Chicago's north shore turns downright treacherous. Jacqui will be joining us in a few minutes with an explanation about what we're seeing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A one-two punch smacks the Philippines this morning. The island nation was hit with a second typhoon in less than a week. One person reportedly died as a result of today's flooding and landslides. Millions in the Philippines were just beginning to recover from the first typhoon that hit Tuesday and soaked much of the country with floodwater. And 52 people died in that storm, 31 are still missing. The concern right now, the ground is so wet more landslides could prompt more misery and loss of life.
Then take a look. Off to Chicago we go. They are dealing with high water, and a very different way. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my goodness this is miserable. Huge waves along the north shore knocking down the joggers right there. I guess the problem is right there there's nowhere to go. The jogger can't go anywhere.
Chicago is known as the windy city, but in this case the weather service warned of wind gusts of 50 miles per hour could bring dangerous 10 to 16-foot waves to the path. Oh, boy. This is bad
(WEATHER BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Time for a CNN = Politics update. Crossing right now on CNNpolitics.com, Florida shakes up the Republican primary calendar. It has officially moved up its primary to January 31. That would make it the first state to hold the presidential contest, and that's not sitting well with New Hampshire, which traditionally hold the nation's first primary. So state leaders are talking about moving theirs now to December, two months from now.
And Texas Governor Rick Perry, who entered the race two months ago, is in New Hampshire today. This morning he held his first town hall meeting, standing firm on his plan to create more jobs and his view that Social Security needs to be overhauled.
And fellow Republican Herman Cain has been having a fun after winning last week's straw poll in Florida. Here's what he told Jay Leno last night about something Sarah Palin said about him. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If she actually called me flavor of the week, if you look what has happened, that might be true with some people. But I happen to believe there's ice milk and there's Haagen-Daz black walnut. Substance, that's the difference. I got substance here. I'm Haagen-Daz black walnut.
(APPLAUSE)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Black walnut?
CAIN: I'm the black walnut. It lasts longer than a week.
LENO: All right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Former President Bill Clinton is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his first bid for the White House this weekend. The event is being held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Clinton announced his candidacy there October 3rd, 1991, in the middle of his fifth term as governor.
And former President Jimmy Carter has two reasons to celebrate in Atlanta today -- his 87th birthday and the 25th anniversary of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. A film about the former president will be screened and a brand new exhibit on the secret service is also opening.
And for the latest political news you know exactly where to go, CNNpolitics.com.
What do you get when you take a recording of wolves howling and add a curious puppy who decides to show what she's got? You want to stick around to see this viral video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Jacqui Jeras with me now checking out the latest viral video.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Saw you dancing to that video.
WHITFIELD: Hearing that music makes you jiggle. Monkey see, monkey do or it is puppy see puppy do. Let's take a look. Can't go wrong with you have pooches.
JERAS: So the owner is playing like this, you know, howling wolves on the computer and look what happens to the little Pomeranian. He's trying to compete.
WHITFIELD: Her name is Elli. She's so cute. This is sweet. She's definitely relating with her cousins.
JERAS: My dog will do that now and then when they hear loud pitches or high pitch noises.
WHITFIELD: My dog won't do that. I have a lab. We had her for weeks and weeks before we heard her bark. We were wondering if she ever would. But, no, she would not respond that way.
JERAS: OK. Let other people do the barking.
WHITFIELD: But she's been so popular she's gotten a million hits.
JERAS: A million hits. So cute.
JERAS: I love the pooches.
JERAS: You do?
WHITFIELD: All the time.
All right, Jacqui, thanks so much. You know what? We're going to check back with you a little bit for a little bit of weather. And we also -- we're going to kind of be overcome by a lot more cuteness coming up?
JERAS: More cuteness?
WHITFIELD: I think so.
JERAS: Can you get more cuteness?
WHITFIELD: Take a look. More cuteness. China's newest baby pandas, all 12 of them.
JERAS: Twelve?
WHITFIELD: Yes. They made their debut at this panda research center this week. And their arrival raises the panda population at the research center to 108 now. It's an important benchmark because when this panda center opened 24 years ago it started with just six endangered pandas. Look what's happened, a big boom. This summer China began it's once a decade panda census to learn how many pandas it has.
JERAS: Wow. That's a lot.
WHITFIELD: It's beautiful.
JERAS: It's amazing to see so many of them. There's something about a baby panda, they are like a stick of butter when they are born.
WHITFIELD: Look at them. They look a good what I don't know 12 inches or so long.
All right, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Taking out entire power grids with a click of a mouse -- cyber criminals have the skills to do it, and Homeland Security be officials are trying to counter that threat by simulating cyber- attacks in an unlikely place. Here's CNN's Dan Simon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you think about the state of Idaho you're thinking about one thing -- potatoes. It is after all the driving force of the state's economy. But just a few miles away from here in the town of Idaho Falls, government workers are trying to protect them from terrorism, not from bullets or bombs, but from computers. It turns out that Idaho is ground zero in the fight against cyber terrorism.
MARTY EDWARDS, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: This is an example of one vendor's systems that we have under test.
SIMON: Leading that fight is Marty Edwards. His job is to prevent cyber criminals from breaking into systems.
EDWARDS: As these systems become more connected to networks in general and to the internet there's a lot of concern about people being able to manipulate these systems.
SIMON: To show what can happen and what's being gone it the department of homeland security invited CNN and other media outlets for a rare look inside the Idaho National Laboratory. This section was made to look like a water treatment or chemical plant. Another was built to represent a power substation, both where specialists can run experiments. The key is to see how the system reacts and what software upgrades could be done to prevent it from happening in the first place.
(On camera): We don't want to unnecessarily frighten people but these threats are real.
EDWARDS: They are real. The average American doesn't understand that the vast majority of the infrastructure around them is controlled by computer devices and as we all know we can get viruses on our systems at home, these systems are susceptible to similar types of events.
SIMON: And viruses have a potential to leave regions with contaminated water and without power. In 2007, for instance, the lab conducted a then-classified experiment known as Aurora. It showed how hackers could not only shut off an electric generator and destroy it.
Any major knockout could be dubbed a "cyber Pearl Harbor." Worse yet, even if there were an attack, the experts might not even know it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE WEISS, APPLIED CONTROL SOLUTIONS: Can there be a cyber Pearl Harbor? Absolutely. Would we know if it's a cyber pearl harbor? I don't believe so.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Security specialists like Joe Weiss worry about cyber criminals staying one step ahead by being able to inflict damage without leaving a trace.
WEISS: Can you hide a plant shutting down the lights going off? No. Can you not know that it was cyber that caused it? The answer is yes.
SIMON (on camera): Just like the potatoes, cyber terrorism comes in many different varieties. The Idaho National Laboratory is trying to identify all of them, but most important to try to prevent attacks from happening. Dan Simon, CNN, Woodville, Idaho.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
