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Amanda Knox to Speak in Court; Travel Alert for Americans Posted; Supreme Court Is Going To Hear Arguments On GPS For Surveillance; Hallmark's New Cards for Jobless; A Dog Reunites To Its Owner After Two Years; Ways To Fight Stress; Things To Do On Christmas Shopping

Aired October 02, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Tomorrow is an all important one for Amanda Knox. The American exchange student will have 15 minutes to convince an appeals jury to overturn her murder conviction and set her free. She's serving 26 years for the killing of her British roommate. A live update from Italy in minutes.

And week two of Conrad Murray's trial in the death of Michael Jackson begins tomorrow. Murray is accused of involuntary manslaughter in the pop icon's death. Friday jurors heard from the E.R. doctor who testified Jackson did not have a pulse when he arrived at the hospital. She's expected to return to the stand tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a peaceful march!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In New York, protests known as Occupy Wall Street are under way again today. The protests began last month and have now spread to several other U.S. cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Folks, sit down, please. Folks, everyone, step down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That was the scene yesterday. Today the Brooklyn Bridge is open after the group shut down one side of the bridge in protest of what they call corporate greed. 700 people were arrested.

The U.S. State Department has issued a worldwide travel alert for Americans living or traveling abroad. It warns that followers of Al Qaeda figures killed on Friday could stage revenge attacks. Read the entire warning on the U.S. State Department's website. And a former CIA contractor who went to prison in Pakistan was arrested in Colorado yesterday. Witnesses say Raymond Davis fought with another man over a shopping center parking spot when Davis was eventually released from prison in Pakistan early this year. He was charged with killing two men when we worked for the CIA there.

And take a look at this live picture of the Washington Monument in our nation's capital. No work being done today to locate damage caused by an August earthquake. For a second day, weather is keeping crews away.

And take a look at these spectacular pictures from last week showing just how dangerous the inspection work is. The only way for crews to get a close look is to go to the very top and then repel down its steep side.

The freedom of John Hinckley Jr. who tried to kill President Ronald Reagan in 1981 is back on the front burner. The government mental hospital where Hinckley has spent much of the last 30 years is asking a federal court to let him go live with or near his aging mother in Virginia. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity back in 1982.

All right. Turning to, excuse me, politics now and the GOP playing field. With early voting states expected to move their contest even early on the primary collar, will Republicans on the fence now feel pressure to jump into the race? That and other political questions generate a lot of debate on the Sunday morning talk shows today. Here are the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Question. Is he too liberal to be the Republican nominee for president?

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. I believe that a lot of conservatives once they know his position, they're going to not be able to support him. So I think that that is absolutely a liability for him if he gets in the race.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: If Governor Christie decides to run, I wish him luck. I think that there is a bit of a caution that always - the swimming pool looks better until you jump right in. The water may not be quite as warm as you think.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shaking hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a troubling story on the front page of the "Washington Post" today about Rick Perry, the governor of Texas. It indicates that for years his family had a hunting camp in West Texas and the name of it, written on a stone and was "n" head. But obviously it wasn't just any head.

CAIN: My reaction is, that's just very insensitive. That is in a much, that is in a more vile, negative word than the "n" word and for him to leave it there for as long as he did before I hear that they finally painted over it, is just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't believe in the kind of smallness that says it's OK for a stage full of political leaders being silent when an American soldier is booed.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, ANCHOR, ABC NEWS' "THIS WEEK": We've just seen what President Obama said last night about that incident at a Florida debate when there was booing in the audience when a gay soldier started to speak. Nobody said anything.

CAIN: In retrospect because of the controversy it has created and because of the different interpretations that he could have had, yes, that would have been appropriate, but at the moment it was not the focus of the people up there on that stage, I can assure you.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Is the president on the right side of history on these issues dealing with gay and lesbian rights?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I think the decision that's been made with respect to allowing gays to serve openly in the military is a good one. It's the right thing to do. I'm a little bit leery of the notion that somehow we ought to hammer the Republican candidates because they didn't respond to booing in the audience.

CROWLEY: Hasn't this administration waged a successful war against terror?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but they need to call it what it is. When he goes to Cairo and in effect says we walked away from our ideals, we forgot our core principles, core values on our watch, that's a big mistake. If you have the president of United States out there saying we overreacted to 9/11 on our watch, that's not good.

CROWLEY: You'd like an apology it sounds like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would. I think it would not be for me but for the Bush administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. The tough economy apparently is forcing thieves to get creative. Last week we told you about bandits targeting pigs. 1,000 porkers stolen from farms in Minnesota and Iowa. That's $100,000 in bacon and the like. So what other unusual items are being taken? We'll name five of them right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Before the break we told you there are reports of swine swindling in the U.S. so in addition to pigs, what else is being stolen these days? Purebred dogs. Grocery store coupons. Human hair from beauty supply stores and brass. All stolen and sold to scrap buyers, that's according to moneyland.time.com.

All right. The Wall Street protests that are entering their third week in New York are now spreading to other cities. Large groups of protesters are turning out this weekend in Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston as well as a few other cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Folks, step down, please. Folks, everyone, step down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, today in New York, a smaller quieter crowd compared to what we saw yesterday, that's when a large crowd shut down one side of the Brooklyn Bridge protesting what they call corporate greed. 700 were arrested. New York Congressman Charlie Rangel showed up and was met with this resounding message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a peaceful march! This is a peaceful march! This is a peaceful march!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. "This is a peaceful march," they say. So who is in this group and what are the demands as a whole? Let's go to Wall Street where our Susan Candiotti is with the crowd that is gathering today. So Susan, who's there right now? What are they saying to you?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. It's a pretty quiet group here this day after a pretty busy day yesterday. But certainly a large crowd here, as you look at this public park, which has now become the main campgrounds for occupy Wall Street. As you look around, you can see a mattress sitting here, someone's black wig sitting right here in front of me on a sort of a makeshift tent.

But they also are trying to get organized. So they food lines that have been set up here for days. They're collecting compost. You might be wondering, well, where do they use the facilities? Frankly, there are a few places around. Some businesses who are letting people use the bathrooms as just one example.

But as you walk around this way, you meet all kinds of people. I've met students. I have met people who say, for example, they work for charities and are currently unemployed. You see over here a couple of guys playing their guitars. People have a lot of different reasons for being here. And that's part of what's happening. They're still trying to organize to get together a common message and what kind of solutions they want to try to, as they put it, "fight corporate greed."

Take a look at what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Their message, "end corporate greed" they say is killing America's economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Solidarity forever.

CANDIOTTI: But will they be heard in Washington?

EDDIE MAHONEY, PROTESTER: Politicians can be bought. Political influence can be bought through political donations. This needs to be addressed.

CANDIOTTI: But organizing isn't easy. Admittedly, most of the time is spent trying to figure out what they're trying to say and how to organize. No one's in charge and that's the way they like it.

ROBERT SEGAL, PROTESTER: We're gathered here in this place to join the craft, that mission statement. To shape a statement of what it is we want and how we're going to get to it.

CANDIOTTI: This New Jersey mother used a school holiday to take her four-year-old and five-year-old to join a peaceful protest for a day.

ANDREA, PROTESTER: We are 99 percent. You know, the rich and the powerful are one percent. We need to be a lot more equal than that.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Is it hard to put together a solution?

ANDREA: Very hard. Very hard. That's why I'm skipping on my words here. There are so many ways you could come to the end to a solution, but, you know, in the meantime, it's just awakening people up to know, you know, what's going on out there.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The New York group insists it's staying put with no exit strategy. And police say they have no plan to move them out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: I talked with one young man who is here today who said he has slept here for five straight days and he is willing to wait, he said, to see how organizers do in trying to put together a cohesive plan for what they're supposed to do next.

In the meantime, big rally scheduled for this Wednesday. A march on City Hall. Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. And so this kind of goes on in perpetuity until people are just exhausted or until they receive a message from someone that they're hoping to hear?

CANDIOTTI: In the vernacular, I guess you could say many of them until the cows come home. They plan on occupying here as long as it takes to a, formulate a message and then try to come out with a way to carry it out and they hope the movement of course will spread.

WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Candiotti, thanks so much, in lower Manhattan.

All right. Next, a team of treasure hunters working to recover a ship wreck carrying a cargo worth millions of dollars.

Also coming up, my interview with Isa Ray, the creator of the web series that is sweeping the internet. "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl." After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A costly and deadly mistake in Yemen today. Security officials there say 29 members of its armed forces were killed. Mistakenly targeted and bombed by the country's own air force. It happened in a province where Yemen's military is actively battling Islamic militants.

High water misery in the Philippines. Two typhoons in one week slammed into the northern islands flooding entire towns and causing millions of people to flee for higher ground. More than 50 people are dead from the storms.

And take a look. This is one happy brother and sister. Shane and Shannon Bauer after Shane's release from two years in prison in Iran on spying charges. Shannon Bauer is convinced her brother's arrest and conviction were pure politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANNON BAUER, SISTER OF SHANE BAUER: I don't think at all that Iran ever thought they were spies. And that it's so much has to do with relationships between two countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were jailed after allegedly crossing into Iran while hiking in Iraq. They were released September 21st, after two years in prison.

All right. It's an amazing underwater discovery worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And now a team of treasure hunters is working to recover what may be the biggest ship wreck haul ever. CNN's Ralitsa Vassileva has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR (voice-over): An eerie scene from the bottom of the sea. Here lies the SS (INAUDIBLE), the British cargo steamer was torpedoed by a Nazi U-boat back in 1941 taking but all but one of the 85 people onboard its in precious cargo to a watery grave. Using the latest high tech and deep water robots, Florida based treasure hunters, Odyssey Marine Exploration located the wreck about 300 miles off the island coast.

The ship went down carrying tea, (INAUDIBLE) iron, and some 200 tons of silver, now valued at more than $210 million. Making this a highly sought after salvage. MARK GORDON, CEO, ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION: And you know what, if the tea hasn't floated away, good chance the silver hasn't floated away either.

VASSILEVA: While the wreck now lies in water even deeper than the Titanic, Odyssey's chief executive believes that won't prevent a full cargo recovery.

GORDON: We're very fortunate because we found this ship wreck sitting upright on the sea floor with the cargo hauls open. And the process of unloading the cargo won't be to different than if it were sitting alongside a dock, although we're going to be doing it in about five kilometers of water depth.

VASSILEVA: Odyssey crews hope to start bringing that silver to the surface next spring.

Ralitsa Vassileva, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Also, coming up, a live report on Amanda Knox. And we'll talk to our legal guys about the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Top stories are straight ahead including this. Angry customers, lots of them, threatening to divorce Bank of America over a debit card fee. Details on that straight ahead.

But first, will tomorrow be the day Amanda Knox gets out of prison in Italy? The American exchange student convicted of killing her roommate is expected to address the jurors right before they consider her appeal.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Perugia. Matt, any idea what Amanda Knox might say tomorrow?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she's obviously, Fredricka, going to plead her innocence. This whole thing is called a plea of innocence. She gets 15 minutes to stand in front of the jury and the judges inside that court. And in her own words essentially beg them to overturn her 26 year prison sentence and overturn her conviction for murdering that British exchange student, Meredith Kercher.

We expect Raffaele Sollecito's, who is Amanda's former boyfriend, will do something similar to that. Shortly afterwards, the jury is going to retire and decide whether to keep Amanda behind bars or to set her free.

WHITFIELD: Now, we know we're going to hear from her tomorrow. Might we also get a verdict tomorrow?

CHANCE: Yes, I mean, that's the expectation. I mean, in theory I think it could go on longer than tomorrow. But the expectation is that what the judges said, what the lawyers have said, is that in the morning we're going to hear from Amanda and then very quickly afterwards the jury is going to retire and it's going to take a few hours, perhaps as much as five, six, seven hours for a verdict. But it could go on until midnight. And so, you know, the expectation very much is that by this time tomorrow we're going to know whether she's free or not.

WHITFIELD: So Matthew, besides media crews, have there been a lot of, you know, people who have gathered outside that courtroom to get a glance of her or other people who have been attending this appeals process?

CHANCE: Yes. I mean, it attracts a certain amount of local interest, of course. Particularly because there are so many media here now so people come to see the media as well as the proceedings in the course. You need a special pass to get in the court, so you can't walk in off the streets.

So, yes, the Amanda Knox case, the Meredith Kercher killing has been something that has absolutely obsessed this town, obsessed Italy as well as well as many other places around the world. It's a point of great interest. That's why there's so much media here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matthew Chance, thanks so much from Perugia.

Well, I talked to our legal guys, Richard Herman and Avery Friedman about Amanda Knox's chances of getting out and what she needs to say to convince the jury to let her go. Here's what they said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She has to be pristine when she speaks to these people and pray basically plead with them to let her go. But I don't think it's going to be enough. I think there is enough evidence to keep the conviction.

WHITFIELD: Avery, how much time does she need to spend on that night of her recollection of what did or didn't happen?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, she's the only one who really knows at least at this point. Rudy Guede is in the penitentiary. His term was reduced. He actually was convicted on substantial evidence. So that's going to be a focus. But the other thing that these jurors and two judges have to see is the sobriety by which she is presenting herself. She's going to demonstrate to them that, "Look, I've done everything. I've always been a good student. I've always been a responsible person." These circumstances are being used by the prosecution who basically called her names, Fredricka, instead of dealing with the evidence. Bottom line, her natural presence, I think, will sell and it will work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can catch our legal guys every Saturday noon Eastern time right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The U.S. Supreme Court reconvenes tomorrow, setting a stage for a constitutional clash over a landmark health care law. A live report from the Supreme Court right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

The U.S. State Department has issued a worldwide travel alert for Americans living or traveling abroad. It warns that followers of Al Qaeda figures killed on Friday could stage revenge attacks. Read the entire warning on the U.S. State Department website.

And testimony resumes tomorrow in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray in the death of Michael Jackson. Among the witnesses returning to the stand, Dr. Richelle Cooper. She's the E.R. doctor who pronounced Jackson dead. Cooper is expected to describe how the medical staff tried unsuccessfully to bring Jackson back to life.

And the death toll is climbing from a Listeria outbreak triggered by contaminated cantaloupes. 15 people have died. The melons are from Colorado-based Jensen Farms. 84 people in 19 states have gotten sick. More could follow. The CDC says there's a lag time between eating the bad cantaloupes and then actually becoming ill.

And Bank of America customers are furious and many say they'll switch if the bank starts charging a $5 fee for using their debit cards. The outrage may actually benefit Bank of America. Analysts say even angry customers are reluctant to change banks and if they switch to credit cards, the bank can make even more money. Read all about it on cnnmoney.com.

And "60 Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney is calling it quits. He'll deliver his final regular broadcast tonight. Rooney has been working for CBS News for more than 60 years now. His commentaries have been a part of "60 Minutes" since 1978.

The U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term tomorrow. A major case the justices are expected to review, a legal challenge to President Barack Obama's health care reform law.

CNN's Athena Jones joins us live now outside the high courts. So Athena, how did this health care challenge make it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. This law has been being challenged ever since the president signed it into law in March of 2010. Right now you have 28 states and numerous, dozens of groups and individuals who have brought lawsuits, challenging this law. And at issue is the whole idea of the mandate. Whether or not the federal government can require people to purchase health insurance. That mandate isn't set to go into effect until 2014. That's really the issue here. It's a central key provision of that health care law. With all the different states laying down different arguments in this case and different results coming out of these Appeals Court, people believe that the Supreme Court is going to take it up.

WHITFIELD: So the expectation is the Supreme Court will review it. However, this case is not even on the docket. What's that mean?

JONES: Well, that's right. The Supreme Court right now has 49 cases that are already on the schedule. But it's expected as many as three dozen more could get added to that schedule in the coming months. The case load is usually settled around February. And so even though right now it's not on the docket, most legal analysts you talk to say that the Supreme Court is going to have to take this up. They're not going to dodge this issue. Mainly because it's such a politically important issue right now. And because you have these different courts coming down with different rulings on the matter. And so it's up to the Supreme Court to really lay out the final say in all of this, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. There are other cases that are - the Supreme Court is expected to review. We're talking about privacy concerns with the GPS tracking for one. And then another case involving obscenity on television.

JONES: Right. And these are cases that are already on the docket. That first one you mentioned is about electronic surveillance. At issue here is whether or not motorists have a right to privacy when they're out driving their car on public roads. What happened here, you have this drug suspect, a man suspected of trafficking in cocaine. An FBI agent attached a GPS device to this man's vehicle without a warrant. And so, using that GPS device, they were able to track him around and track down where he kept this huge stash of drugs. It was 100 kilos they found and a lot of money. That man was convicted to life and so, sentenced to life in prison. And so the issue here is whether or not, police, the FBI needed a warrant in that case.

On the indecency charge, this is about the federal communications commission indecency law, rules. And whether or not they infringe on broadcast networks' right to free speech. And so, that's the issue in that case, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. It is going to be a very busy session. Athena Jones thanks so much from the high court.

JONES: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: If you love hot air balloons, who doesn't, head for Albuquerque, New Mexico, where thousands of people are there taking part in the 40th annual balloon fiesta. In about four hours from now, these brightly colored creations will actually be lit up from the inside making them look like the giant lanterns. And you get a sneak peek of that. And all this fun ends apparently on Sunday.

Jacqui Jeras with us now. It's nice to see whether you've got the blue skies behind them or whether it's, you know, sundown and see them lit up like lanterns. What a gorgeous sight.

JAQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They're so pretty. WHITFIELD: Look at that.

JERAS: They become old-fashioned sort of when I think of hot air balloons, do you?

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes.

JERAS: Remember wizard of oz? He takes off in the hot air balloon at the end?

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's right.

JERAS: So pretty.

WHITFIELD: Taking us down memory lane.

JERAS: I know.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much Jaqui. Yes, it is beautiful. It's gorgeous. Like a postcard.

JERAS: It is. Isn't it? You can see it for miles and miles you know in the distance.

WHITFIELD: Neat stuff. What do we have? Do we have blue skies everywhere else?

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: Well, we do across, you know, the nation's midsection. I want to talk about something also with cool pictures for today. This is something that's been happening off the coast of California. Take a look at that. Your eyes are not fooling you. That looks like glow in the dark waves.

WHITFIELD: It does.

JERAS: Doesn't it? This is from an ireporter, photographer David Hatfield took this at Tory Pine State Beach in San Diego.

WHITFIELD: What's causing the glow?

JERAS: Well, it's called the red tide. Have you heard that term before?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: Basically, it's an Algae, it's an algae bloom. What happens is that little you know, basically microscopic pieces of phytoplankton we call it develop very, very quickly and spread out and during the day it looks red so you don't see the glow. But at night time because it's dark out, when it gets agitated, you'll see the bioluminescent.

WHITFIELD: Really? Nothing is helping to illuminate that? Not like, an incredible moon light or something? JERAS: No, it's the algae. When the wave breaks, you'll see it. I also, by the way, if you have time to Google it, check it out. There's video of a surfer who's in it. You see off of his surfboard, it's lit up at night.

WHITFIELD: What a picture that is.

JERAS: Yes. It's been going on several weeks now, by the way. So, if you have a chance to see it. Sometimes it can be toxic, too. By the way -

WHITFIELD: Usually we don't want to welcome red tide. But now, when you see it in that fashion, it's like, I want to see more of it.

JERAS: But it can be toxic. It can also deplete the ocean of oxygen, too, so can kill fish.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we don't want that.

JERAS: But the west coast is going to be busy this week too by the way, Fredricka. Look at the storm out in the pacific. We have two of them at least which are lined up. And this is really going to impact the weather here the next couple days. Heavy rainfall is going to be expected. This is really the strongest storm of the season. We're going to see coming in here Tuesday into Wednesday. So, we could see as much as six inches of rain in some of the foothills and higher elevations here.

We also have our east coast storm which is continuing to hit you with low clouds and dreary conditions. I now you're sick of it. It's been two weeks already, right? And if you're trying to travel today, look at the delays there? They are abundant out there. So, over an hour in Philadelphia, Boston delays, JFK, Montreal. Everybody is in on that.

I also just want to show you last but not least, a quick shot of hurricane Ophelia here, category 2 storm. It did by passed Bermuda. But look how close it's getting to the Canadian Maritimes. This thing is pushing off to the north and east. So, it's pulling away from the U.S. coast. But, I just kind a want to put it in perspective, its kind a blocking up our weather pattern, too and as part of the reason why the upper low has been sitting there and spinning for so very, very long. The big picture for today showing you the coast of the country really getting the worst of the weather here and the nation's midsection is feeling very, very warm, in fact, your high temperatures have been above average. We're talking 20 to 30 degrees for some people. Look at that, 82 in Kansas City tomorrow, 86 degrees in Denver. Stay cool.

WHITFIELD: Summer again. Yes. Alright, thanks Jaqui. We'll check back with you later on and of course, see you in the chat room, too, coming up. Don't go anywhere because you know we're going to be talking about those Hallmark cards that are now I guess you know are making sure they don't leave anybody out. They got unemployment cards now. We're going to be talking about that in the chat room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Alright, time to leave the newsroom for a little bit, enter the chat room with Jaqui and I. We talk about the kind of funny things that are off radar, we think they should be on radar. Sometimes they make us laugh.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: They do. Sometimes might want to make you cry a little bit.

WHITFIELD: I know. We don't have tears today but we'll have a range of emotions. And Hallmark, well, they've made a business of being able to tap into those emotions. Haven't they?

JERAS: They have. You know, the word on the street is right they have a card for everything, absolutely everything.

WHITFIELD: They really do. Because we know the unemployment rate is so terrible these days, and Hallmark said, you know what, we want to make sure we have cards specifically for people who are out of work, lost their jobs.

JERAS: People who lost their jobs.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And they're trying to make them feel good. There are some cure examples.

JERAS: Some of them are cute and funny. Some of them are kind of serious. One of the serious ones says, losing your job doesn't define you, what you do about it, does.

WHITFIELD: And then a couple playful messages like, don't think of it as losing your job. Think of it as a time-out between stupid bosses.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: I like that one. It's a hard subject. There's a little controversy about this. Some people say, that's crazy, don't give a card for something like that. Other people say, you don't know what to say when somebody loses their job. So, maybe this is an easy way to say, I'm thinking about you but I know you don't want to talk about it. So, just so you know I'm here for you. It happened to a good friend of mine who lost his job. And you don't know what to say in those situations.

WHITFIELD: but now, there's a Hallmark card. They answer for you. Well, Chris Chriswell (ph) used to have a job at Starbucks.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Until -

JERAS: Not so much anymore. WHITFIELD: Yes. Let's take a listen to what he did. He kind of went on a rant while he was employed with Starbucks, criticizing customers, criticizing the whole process, criticizing his job, too. Take a little listen about what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Frappocinos, they take forever to make, you know. There's about a pound of fat in you RF coffee mate. You ordered a Grande chip and my coffee is out. I'll just pour you something fresh from the decaf spout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: OK. He's creative but you know what, Starbucks didn't like this.

JERAS: It's funny. Well, he is making fun of customers and you know people who have really long drink orders and I kind a happen to be one of them.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: It takes me, like, 16 seconds to order my drink. He's making fun of that and people who are rude. I mean it's a service job. It's not always an easy job to have.

WHITFIELD: But still Starbucks didn't like the message and what he took. And actually came out with this statement that they released shortly thereafter. "These remarks about our customers and company are unacceptable. So he's going to continue to not have that job with Starbucks."

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Starbucks saying we justifiably let him go and this is serious business for us. Not funny. He's only wearing the apron. Oh, I just noticed that.

JERAS: The whole thing is on you tube if you want to listen to it. It's funny, though.

WHITFIELD: Here's something that should make people feel good, dog lovers out there. Your dog really loves you no matter how far apart you are. This dog, in particular, Cooper, got separated from its owner for a matter of years.

JERAS: Two years to be exact.

WHITFIELD: Yes. He ran away from his home in Sacramento, California, in 2009. Guess where he was found? In Brandon, Florida.

JERAS: Wow, Good Samaritan took him -

WHITFIELD: Completely across the country.

JERAS: Found him with a microchip. So, those things do work.

WHITFIELD: They really do work. And the microchip company actually is covering the cost of sending the dog back home. And hopefully when we say the dog ran away, maybe he just lost his direction.

JERAS: Yes. Sometimes dogs.

WHITFIELD: He wasn't trying to get away because now he's going to find his way back home.

JERAS: I'm sure he's happy to be home.

WHITFIELD: Whether he likes it or not, but happy ending.

JERAS: We were talking on the break how cool it would be if there was a cam that had been on Cooper to see what he'd been doing the last two years.

WHITFIELD: What is the survival story like? You know, who has been feeding Cooper along the way? What scraps did Cooper find? But -

JERAS: I bet he needs a bath.

WHITFIELD: The dog actually has real sentimental meaning to the family. Apparently the youngest of the family that was a gift from his dying grandfather. We're glad the family is reunited again.

JERAS: Good story.

WHITFIELD: Alright Jaqui. Thanks so much for being in the chat room. We're going to head back to the news room now.

JERAS: OK.

WHITFIELD: How about that? Because Christmas is closing in, are you counting the days yet? You'll soon be doing a whole lot of shopping out there. But with money tight, we'll tell you how to plan for great holiday that you can afford. You starting to make those plans now, Jacqui?

JERAS: I'm thinking about it, I'm saving for it.

WHITFIELD: Karen Lee is going to be happy to hear that. She's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So you may not know her now, but it's only a matter of time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me introduce myself. My name is Jay and I'm awkward and black. Someone once told me those were the two worst things anyone could be. That someone was right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, later, Issa Rae tells me why she decided to quit her job and produce her own Webisode series called "the misadventures of awkward black girl."

All right. We all face stress just about every day. There are ways to handle your anxiety and worries 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 do laughter, exercise and enjoying someone's company, have in common? They all can help reduce stress.

DOCTOR ANDREW WEIL, ARIZONA CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE: Stress can kill you, it can make you sick. We can't live without it, but you've got to learn methods to protect yourself from its harmful effects.

COHEN: Job number one, learn to relax. Really relax.

WEIL: There are some specific breathing techniques, most of them derive from yoga, that are very powerful methods that take 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 meditate. And though it's hard to fit it into our day, 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: Be sure you get good sleep. Avoiding excessive use of caffeine which can worsen stress.

COHEN: Learning how to relax and manage stress takes work, but know 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: And now, making a difference. There isn't enough food in the world for everyone. So why are so many people dying? Scarlett Johansson has this week's impact your world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCARLETT JOHANSSON, OXFAM AMBASSADOR: Hi, I'm Scarlett Johansson. You, too, can impact East Africa.

How are you?

This first struck by the mass of it, the largest refugee camp in the world. People are just surviving. Basically I was there as an ambassador to Oxfam and to hopefully highlight not only the crisis but also to highlight all of the work that Oxfam is doing and what they're 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 logging on to CNN.com/impact.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A woman fed up because she didn't see herself reflected in any character she saw on television quits her job to create her own Webisode series. Issa Rae is the creator and star of the hugely popular Webisode, "The Misadventures of awkward black girl". I talked to Rae about what inspire her create the show and why it has such broad appeal.

(BEGIN VIEOTAPE)

ISSA RAE, CREATOR, MISADVENTURES OF AWKWARD BLACK FIRL: I felt like I didn't see myself represented on screen or in television or in film. And, you know, I love these shows like parts and recreation, like 30 rock, just because they have this awkward humor. Curb your enthusiasm, sign field. These shows represent my sense of humor. And so, I thought it would be funny to sort of have a series based around this, you know, African-American girl who goes through everyday awkward situations.

I just decided to stop sitting on it after reading an article about where's the black live lemon? And I said, that's my idea. That's what I want to do. And so, I just decided to shoot the first episode. I essentially called on friends. I had a friend who was in L.A. who I just know is really talented. And I asked him to be in it. And I called my best friend to film it. And that was it. That was it. I was with 'Gorilla star wars". Hey, I have a camera. I need you to film this. I have the idea, let's just you know act it out. And that was the first episode. And the response was just ridiculously positive.

WHITFIELD: So, it's a misadventures of awkward black girl but you got this situations that have very universal. Your character is Jay. How much of what we see in Jay's life is really your life or your experiences?

RAE: I would say that Jay is more of an extension of me. Like, her life is an exaggerated version of my own life.

WHITFIELD: The title says, awkward black girl, but you were trying hard to send the message that these are universal experiences.

RAE: I think that we just wanted to demonstrate that you can be awkward and you can be black. Awkwardness doesn't have a race. And that can be universal. So by watching this character on screen, you can relate to her. You can relate to her no matter what her color is, no matter what her background is. That was important to me. I wanted to make her race clear but at the same time show you can still relate to her. I hate parties. They're so competitive. A blatant contest of looks, styles and sexy moves.

You know I just created a series because I thought awkward and black would make a great brand. But the response, I didn't realize but I don't make my friends laugh. But I didn't realize so many people would share the same sense of humor.

WHITFIELD: What's the future of digital content of productions on the web like this in your view?

RAE: In my view, this is the future. This is what we're going to be watching on television. People are going to see awkward black girl on their TV screens in the future because they'll be watching Internet from their TV screens. Many already are. So, I think especially for minority content creators, this is the way to go. This is there's no gatekeeper on the Internet. You can release whatever content you want. And I think that this is the best route to take. Honestly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And viewers have helped keep Rae's show in production. Viewers donated more than $50,000 through a fund-raising Web site. And that money helped keep the awkward black girl series on the web. The ninth Webisode airs this Thursday as awkwardblackgirl.com.

Alright, time flies. Christmas decorations are already popping up in the malls. All designed to get you to shop early. We have some financial advice to help you avoid the money stress.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Getting your financial house in order, it's the number one issue in American homes. Well, today in our weekly financial fix, is it too early to do holiday shopping? I put that question to our financial adviser, Karen Lee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREN LEE, FINANCIAL FIX: Figure out how much you can afford to spend, total. Divide that over your three months. And then make your list.

WHITFIELD: Oh, interesting.

LEE: Because you have to start with the dollars.

WHITFIELD: Right. So, when you make that list, you're even designating how much you might be able to afford for -

LEE: Exactly. What I'd like you to do is 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're going to stay under that budget. And you've got to leave a little wiggle room because don't we always forget somebody that we have to add to the list.

WHITFIELD: True.

LEE: OK. Now, you've got your list.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEE: The next thing I want you to 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 it a book, a piece of clothing? And make sure you can get it within that dollar amount. So now we have our list, we've got the dollar amount, we've got our idea.

WHITFIELD: Kind of sounding a little stressful, I must say.

LEE: No. If you do this in advance, it alleviates all the stress. Now I want you to start checking the advertisements, the Sunday paper, go online.

WHITFIELD: See if you can find them on sale.

LEE: Absolutely. And I want you to space out your shopping over the next three months. So you're not going to blow your budget all in the month of December.

WHITFIELD: What happens when you wait until the last minute or you've got a couple of weeks, you end up spending more, you panic?

LEE: That's right.

WHITFIELD: This is what I want to get them but they are going to get this anyway because this is what I have time to find.

LEE: Exactly right.