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Day 22 of 'Occupy Wall Street'; Perry Backing Away From Controversial Pastor; Interview With Pastor Robert Jeffress; Bullying Victim Speaks Out; Military Adapting Latest Social Media Technology; Movie Critic Evaluates Films in Theaters; Financial Consultant Advises on Health Insurance Purchasing; Studies Show Pregnant Women With Healthy Diets Less Likely to Have Children With Birth Defects

Aired October 08, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM, where the news unfolds on this Saturday, October 8th. I'm Kyra Phillips in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Happening right now is day 22 of the "Occupy Wall Street" protest, and the movement is spreading. Rallies have now been held in more than a dozen cities across the country. Protestors are demonstrating against a number of things, including income disparities and what they say is corporate greed.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry backing away from a controversial remark by a supporter. Robert Jeffress is a prominent pastor in Dallas. He introduced Perry yesterday at the Values Voters Summit, a conservative gathering in Washington. Speaking with reporters afterwards Jeffress said Republicans shouldn't vote for Mitt Romney because he's Mormon, and Jeffress called the Mormon church a cult. Perry says he disagrees with that remark.

The Values Voters Summit continued today with appearances by two other presidential contenders, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. Romney while not addressing yesterday's controversy, directly told the gathering, quote, "Poisonous language does not advance our cause," unquote. We have a live interview with pastor Robert Jeffress coming up in just about one minute.

A towering figure in the NFL has died, legendary coach, commissioner, and owner Al Davis. Over the years his Oakland Raiders won countless championships including three super bowls. And who can forget that saying, "just win, baby." Commissioner Roger Goodell says that Davis' impact and legacy will forever be part of the NFL. Al Davis was 82.

Two days after his death Steve Jobs reportedly was laid to rest in a private funeral. A source tell the "Wall Street Journal" services were held yesterday at an unnamed location. The source says that the funeral was a small, family affair. He died Wednesday in California from pancreatic cancer.

Now, back to that controversy that's overshadowing the Values Voters summit in Washington. Prominent Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress, who backs Republican Rick Perry's candidacy, told reporters at the event that Mitt Romney should not be the GOP nominee because he's Mormon, which the pastor says is a cult. Jeffress stood by those comments later during an interview with our political correspondent, Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS, SENIOR PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF DALLAS: The Southern Baptist Convention, which is the largest protestant denomination in the world, has officially labeled Mormonism as a cult. I think Mitt Romney is a good, moral man. But I think those of us who are born again followers of Christ should always prefer a competent Christian to a competent -- to a competent non-Christian like Mitt Romney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Pastor Robert Jeffress joins me live from Washington. Pastor, first of all, did Rick Perry know what you were going to say when you introduced him?

JEFFRESS: No, not at all. Neither he nor his advance team had any indication of what I was going to say in the introduction.

And by the way, in my introduction, as you accurately noted, I did not say anything about cults or Mormonism or didn't mention Mitt Romney by name. All this came about as a result some reporters' questions after the introduction in which one reporter asked me why I personally wouldn't vote for a Mormon, and that is really sort of set all this off.

PHILLIPS: So let me ask you, why did you even decide to bring this up now and bring up the issue of Mormonism and the fact you believe it is a cult? It was debated and discussed in 2008.

JEFFRESS: I'm not the one that brought it up. A reporter asked me. And you know, my primary role is not of a politician or a pundit. I'm a pastor, and when somebody asks me a theological question about Mormonism, I have a responsibility to tell the truth. This is no surprise, as you said. I'm not a Jeremiah Wright on the fringe making fanatical statements. Mormonism has never considered a part of evangelical, historic Christianity.

I believe Mitt Romney is a good, moral man. If it's a choice between Mitt Romney in the general election and Barack Obama I will vote for Mitt Romney.

PHILLIPS: Pastor, I understand you say you responded to reporters, but you introduced Rick Perry. He's running for president of United States. You're a supporter of his, and we asked Perry what he thought about what you said. This is what he told our reporters right after.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you associated yourself with the comments?

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I answered your question. No, I don't think it is. Thank you all. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now here's a man that you support. He's saying right there to reporters he doesn't agree with what you said with regard to Mormonism being a cult. So does this change your mind about him and how you feel about him?

JEFFRESS: Oh, not at all. Listen, there are plenty of reasons. I believe conservative evangelicals ought to vote for Rick Perry over Mitt Romney, and Mormonism is just one issue for evangelical Christians.

I think an equal issue is going to be Governor Romney's lack of consistency on core issues those of us that are evangelicals, like the abortion issue. I think many conservatives are suspect of his flip flopping on the issue, and because of that they have grave doubts about his suitability to the conservative candidate for president.

PHILLIPS: All right, Romney, as you know, is a very successful businessman, since we're talking about issues now. He's been a CEO of a successful company in addition to running a state. Many people believe he'd be a very competent chief executive to run this nation in brutal economic times. So are you suggesting that religious beliefs should trump competence to be president?

JEFFRESS: Yes. But to religious people, Kyra, religion matters. And I'm a pastor speaking to a group of conservative evangelicals. And I said in my introduction of Governor Perry, I certainly tout his economic platform and his success in Texas. But what I care about most as a Christian is his stance on biblical issues like the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage. And Governor Perry has a strong, long track record of being consistent. For example, he signed the Texas sonogram Bill and defunded Planned Parenthood.

PHILLIPS: I understand, we know you support Rick Perry. But what does religion have to do with being a competent president, and I'm talking about what you said about Mitt Romney?

JEFFRESS: Well, John Jay was the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, the author of "Federalist Papers," and he said, quote, "We have a duty and a privilege as Christians to select and prefer Christians as our leaders." I hardly think John jay was a bigoted person.

The fact is those of us that are evangelicals have every right to prefer and select a competent Christian over a competent non- Christian. And Kyra, it's not the only issue. It's certainly one issue that we evangelicals consider.

PHILLIPS: Well, let me throw something back at you, then. Let's talk about article six, paragraph three of the constitution that says there's no religious test to be president. So are you going against the constitution?

JEFFRESS: Kyra, that is an outrageous statement. That refers to government can't impose a litmus test. But as individual citizens we have every right to impose litmus tests on the person that we prefer. Is it bigoted to choose a conservative over a liberal or a liberal over a conservative. You can show preference without being a bigot and certainly without violating the constitution. The most simple constitutional student knows article six applies to government imposes no test. It has nothing to say about individuals having their own test.

PHILLIPS: All right, finally, are you concerned about creating a split among the GOP candidates with your statements?

JEFFRESS: All I've done is highlight a schism that has always been there and will continue to be an issue. And I believe, Kyra, we need to be able to talk about the issue of faith in a sane way. The fact is this will continue to be an issue.

And this idea that religion is private and it shouldn't be an issue and has nothing to do with the election is ridiculous. Our religion is the essence of who we are, and it has great impact on how we govern and the other choices we make. This is going to be a continuing discussion whether politicians like it or not.

PHILLIPS: Oh, I indeed think it will. Pastor Robert Jeffress, thank you for your time this afternoon.

JEFFRESS: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Mitt Romney did not directly address the pastor's controversial comments during his appearance today at the Values Voters Summit, but he did criticize another speaker who in the past has claimed that Mormons and Muslims do not deserve First Amendment protections because they have a different definition of who Christ is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our values are noble as a citizen, and they strengthen the nation. We should remember that decency and civility are values, too. One of the speakers who will follow me today has crossed that line, I think. Poisonous language doesn't advance our cause. It's never softening a single heart nor changed a single mind. The blessings of faith carry the responsibilities of civil and respectful debate. The task before us is to focus on the conservative beliefs and the values that unite it. Let no agenda narrow or vision or drive us apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Candidates at the Values Voters Summit hope to win the event's straw poll. Results are expected in less than an hour. We will bring them to you as soon as they're announced.

"Occupy Wall Street" protestors are not backing down, and the movement is spreading. We'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: It's safe to say New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg isn't a fan of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests. In a radio interview he says the movement's campaign is out to destroy jobs of the working people in the city's financial district.

The protest is marking day 22. It spread to more than a dozen other cities and shows no sign of letting up. And iReporter sent us these pictures from New Orleans. Back in the epicenter the group is planning a march in New York City today, voicing anger over high unemployment and corporate greed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX GRAYSON, IREPORTER: That's basically all we're here to do is express the frustration. We're not here to solve the problems. We're here to make people deal with the problems that are supposed to deal with them. The more people rise up the more they're forced to deal with the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: New York City just announced its cutting 700 education jobs, and one out of five people there are now living at or below the poverty level. To track "Occupy Wall Street" and to contribute your own angle, visit CNN.com/openstory. It's a new way to get involved and share your voice. Again, that's CNN.com/occupystory.

As NASDAQ winds down the season you may think the checkered flag is the finale. However, driver Tony Stewart tells how racing keeps moving to impact children in need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY STEWART, NASCAR DRIVER: I'm Tony Stewart, and we can make an impact on children in need.

The prelude basically started seven years ago. It was just wanting to come up with a fun night of racing for everybody. We thought while we're here, we can raise money for charity. Last year, we introduced the team concept. We took the entire field and split them up in four teams so they each represent the children's hospital. The winning team gets 30 percent of the proceeds. So the higher the team finishes the bigger the percentages of the proceeds.

It doesn't just stop because the checkered flag drops here. There's still a way to go.

Join the movement. Impact your word. Go to CNN.com/impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You can help NASDAQ reach its finish line to assist children's hospitals by going to impactyourworld.com.

It's open enrollment time for many companies, so you need to figure out how to get the best coverage for your money. We have got some ideas next in our financial fix.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's the number one issue in American homes, getting your financial house in order. Today in our weekly financial fix, we're examining health care costs. This is open enrollment season at many workplaces, the time of year when employers can make changes, or employees, rather, can make changes to their health plans.

Eric Amado of Amado Consulting joins us once again from Dallas.

So, Eric, good to see you. First of all, let's talk about what makes a good health care plan?

ERIC AMADO, FINANCIAL CONSULTANT: You have to look at the fundamentals of a good health care plan. First of all, make sure you look at benefits of your medical, your dental, your vision. You want to make sure you understand the benefits of those, what kind of co- pays you have and deductibles before you sign up. It's a very, very serious process.

You want to look at cost analysis and make sure what you pay for your health care is what you want. Health care is very expensive and you want to sit down with your family and make sure you afford it.

PHILLIPS: Why does it cost so much?

AMADO: That's a great question. A lot of people ask that question. There's several variables going on. Modern medicine is expensive right now. We want to get into the doctor's office faster. We want better care, but that costs money. It costs money to do that.

Also, more Americans are sick right now. What I mean by that as far as people have diabetes, more heart disease. I mean, you have a lot of things going on with that, and that costs more as well.

Finally our demand as far as the economy is growing, and we have about 300 million people in the United States, somewhere in there. More people are living longer, and that puts more pressure on health care overall.

PHILLIPS: You know something that we've covered a lot here at CNN, and that's medical bills with numerous mistakes. I can't tell you how many times even a lot of us here have experienced that. What is your best advice to how consumers can protect themselves from overcharges?

AMADO: Absolutely. You want to track the different types of treatments that you're getting. You want to make sure that, OK, if I get a Bill in the mail, if I wanted to get my ear exam, for example, I'm not getting charged for eyes or something like that.

You want to make sure you look at the bill. You want to foot the Bill and recalculate the statement and make sure that everything is adding up properly, and also you want to be a financial auditor or a forensic accountant. You want to look at errors. You'd be amazed. You may be charged $300 for aspirin. You don't want to do that. PHILLIPS: Most of us have been charged for things never used or wasn't necessary and you can challenge those bills. I've been there, too.

AMADO: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: All right, millions of Americans as you know have been laid off. They're unemployed. So how can they get health insurance or the best health insurance?

AMADO: That's a great question. Of course, you know, if you're married, you know, you have the benefits of married and your spouse is still working, you can get on your spouse's plan. That can help. A lot of people are doing that.

Also you can look at individual coverage out there. A lot of small business owners do that, and they're very good at getting good benefits sometimes.

And also you can look at COBRA. We know COBRA is very, very expensive, but it is insurance. You don't want to go through too many gaps where you don't have insurance because something can happen and cost you a lot money. It's tough out there to continue to look for a job, but insurance is very, very important. These are things you can do if you don't have any insurance.

PHILLIPS: Real quickly, a lot of people think it's cheaper to have an HMO than a different type of plan. Are the doctors not as good because its less expensive? But really there are fantastic doctor no matter what plan you have, you just have to seek them out, right?

AMADO: Absolutely. Other plans have different variables and different things they offer. But if you look into the plan and do your research, if you have a job, talk to your benefits department and find out more about the plan, there's always something you can find for yourself and your budget. So there's always something good there, but you have to do a lot of research and find it.

PHILLIPS: Eric, thanks.

AMADO: All right.

PHILLIPS: And you can get more information from Eric by just going to his website, Amadoconsultingllc.com.

When women are expecting, what role does diet play in the baby's health? Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has this week's "Health for Her."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Researchers asked 10,000 pregnant women in the United States to keep track of what they were eating, and what they found is women who ate healthier diets were less likely to have babies with birth defects like cleft palette. Now, of course, the question is, what does it mean to eat a healthy diet? So let's look at what they found. The women who were less likely to have babies with birth defects ate lots of fruits and vegetables, lots of healthy grains, and foods high in foliate, iron and calcium. So, for example, fortified breakfast cereals, low fat dairies, foods like that. And they limited the amount of saturated fats they eat and limiting the amount of sugars that they ate.

Now eating a healthy diet doesn't guarantee you'll have a baby without a bitter detect. It just lowers the risk. Eating a bad diet increases the risk of having a baby with one of these birth defects. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A desperate search for a missing little girl in Missouri. A live report on where federal agents are focusing their search in the disappearance of 10-month-old Lisa Irwin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A gathering of social conservatives, the Values Voters Summit, continues in Washington this hour. Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul spoke earlier today. In a little while they'll announce the results of a straw poll. CNN Political Reporter Peter Hamby is standing by live. So Peter, any idea who is going to win the poll?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: They're counting the votes right now. You got to think this is a crowd for Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. The social conservatives in the presidential race, that's who turned out today. There's over 3,000 activists participating today.

Rick Perry has been on a little bit of a slide lately, but this is his audience. He gave a really forceful speech yesterday. He's an unapologetic Christian. A good showing in the straw poll today could give him a little bit momentum after a shaking few weeks there.

PHILLIPS: Talk about shaky, as we know. Last night the controversy at the summit when the pastor who had just introduced Rick Perry called Mormonism a cult. Those remarks appear to be directed at Mitt Romney, who is a Mormon. Romney hadn't said anything as of last hour. Anything since we last spoke?

HAMBY: He did not directly address this. These comments from the pastor were directed at Mitt Romney. And, you know, today, Mitt Romney gave a speech. He did not address it, as you said. But a former education secretary Bill Bennett, talk show host did address it, and then Romney gave him a pat on the back. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BENNETT, CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOW HOST: Remember George Washington, his manly advice to us to us -- despise all forms of racial and religious bigotry. He who was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen counseled we should give to bigotry no sanction, persecution no assistance. Let's follow him.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Speaking of hitting it out of the park, how about that Bill Bennett? Isn't he something else?

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMBY: So, you know, there you have Mitt Romney. Romney sort of obliquely addressed it. Obviously he does not want the conversation to be about his Mormon faith. He wants to keep the focus on jobs. But he couldn't resist giving Bill Bennett there a pat on the back for defending him after that suggestion from the Pastor Jeffress yesterday.

PHILLIPS: You know Bill Bennett will say something. He's not going to hold back, that's for sure. Peter Hamby, thank you so much.

Governor Perry is on the campaign trail in Iowa. He didn't address the controversy. But take a listen to what he had to say a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: I'm reminded almost daily that the pundits don't choose presidents, Iowans choose presidents.

(APPLAUSE)

And Iowa voters are not always looking for the most polished candidate. They're looking for somebody that's authentic, somebody that will look them in the eye and tell them what the challenges are and then give them a picture for the future, a vision of where this country needs to go and, from my perspective, a very positive vision of where this country can go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.

Monday is the new deadline to reach a labor deal between NBA players and owners. If there isn't one commissioner David Stern will cancel the first two weeks of the season. He also said the entire season could be in jeopardy. At issue is how to split the profits between the owners and the players.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone's got to stop her from going through with this fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: The fight between 20th century FOX and the producers of "The Simpsons" is over. Both sides have agreed on terms for a 24th and 25th season. Negotiations had stalled over pay for those voice actors.

New developments in the legal woes of Casey Anthony. She's giving a video deposition at a secret location in Florida today. She's expected to plead the fifth. The deposition is against the defamation case against Anthony. The lawsuit is brought by the woman who shares the same name of the fictitious nanny Anthony claimed abducted her daughter.

In Kansas City new developments in the frantic search for the missing baby girl. The FBI has been rummaging through a landfill looking for clues in the disappearance of Lisa Irwin. Despite mixed signals, the baby's family says they are cooperating with police.

Our Ed Lavandera is following the investigation -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

The bottom line is the disheartening news that still after little Lisa Irwin, 10-month-old baby has been missing since Monday night, early Tuesday morning, police say they still have no leads to go on as to why she is missing and where that little girl might be.

But all of this kind of clouded by the situation revolving around her parents who came out a few days ago, and police here said they had stopped cooperating. Lisa Irwin's parents say they are talking to them. The Kansas City police say they have opened up communications again with Lisa Irwin's parents but no meetings or anything else have been scheduled so far.

The search continues. You mentioned that the FBI search going on. But as I mentioned, all of this kind of clouded by the fact that all of this swirling around her parents. In a morning show interview, Lisa Irwin's mom mentioned police told her she had failed a polygraph test. She came out and admitted that in an interview.

And now she says despite all of this, we've talked to other family members, despite all of that they're standing by her and supporting her. We asked a relative in particular last night in front of the home if they believed her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LERETTE, DEBORAH BRADLEY'S COUSIN: Absolutely. There's zero, zero doubt in Deborah. You know, I don't want to go into it too much, but the police are doing their job, you know. If you don't have any other suspects, then the one person there that night, the last person to see her, you know, who do you point your finger at?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: So that search continues. Yesterday afternoon, Kyra, you mentioned that the FBI was searching a landfill. That didn't turn up anything. Later in the afternoon FBI teams and other police officers returned to the scene. They searched with metal detectors this wooded area behind the home. There's a little creek that runs through it. They spent several hours going through that. So far police still saying there are no leads in it case, almost five days little Lisa Irwin has been missing. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: What's the deal with the family? There are mixed signals that they are cooperating with police or not.

LAVANDERA: Basically the bottom line is that the family is no longer staying at the home. They've got out of this neighborhood. They say that they were bombarded in endless questioning by authorities on Thursday, and that's when they said they couldn't take that anymore. That's kind of when the communications broke down.

That one relative we spoke to last night chalked it up to miscommunication between police officers, investigators, and this family. However, police are still saying there hasn't been a whole lot of talking going on between them and these parents here in the last two days.

However, the family says they're open to doing that, but it sounds like they're trying to change the atmosphere or the way those communications are handled. So a lot of this still kind of playing out as the search continues for Lisa Irwin.

PHILLIPS: Ed Lavandera, appreciate it.

LAVANDERA: George Clooney is back and doing double duty in the political thriller "The Ides of March." One iReporter sent us his endorsement:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT MARTIN, CNN IREPORTER: I give "The Ides of March" a solid four out of five. The film has nothing to say about American electoral politics that we don't already know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A new movie made it onto the list of the top 10 highest grossing films of all time at U.S. theaters. Here's the new list starting with the newest edition at number 10. "The Lion King," "Toy Story," "Pirates of the Caribbean -- Dead Man's Chest," number seven "Star Wars -- The Phantom Menace," number six, "E.T." So what movies are on top? Find out after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Before the break we gave you five of the 10 highest grossing films in U.S. history. Here's the top five. "Shrek 2," "Star Wars," "The Dark Knight," "Titanic," and holding on to the number one position, "Avatar."

Well, it's Saturday, and if you're thinking of heading to the theater, our movie critic Grae Drake from Fandango and Movies.com joins us today. Let's go ahead, Grae, and start with "Real Steel."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's get to work. Nice. Let's do that again. Nice. Three-pinch combo. Combo. Again. Again. Faster. Faster. Nice. You're not even out of breath. See how you move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh, Grae, it is sexy Hugh Jackman who is the washed-up Boxer barely making a living as a promoter. Robots have taken over the boxing ring. So you've got Jackman playing Charlie Kenton who reunites with his estranged son Max to build a winning robot.

GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, FANDANGO, MOVIES.COM: Yes. He is so much fun to watch. That kid sasses everybody within like a five-mile radius, and it makes this movie really, really entertaining. I say "Real Steel" is real great, and I was really surprised.

PHILLIPS: So how would you grade it?

DRAKE: I would grade real great as being a B because boxing robots are fantastic. So if you're a kid or like watching real animatronic robots punching each other, you're all set. This is better than "Transformers 3."

PHILLIPS: Sugar Ray is all over the film. He actually helped out.

DRAKE: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: "The Ides of March" is a political thriller about loyalty, courage, and, of course, playing dirty, right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just spoke to Ida Horowitz. She's threatening to release the story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did she find out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't play dumb, Tom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think I linked it to her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't link it to her, Steve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know I didn't, so that leaves you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does she know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She knows whatever you told her.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: We have all the Hollywood hunks this morning, George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and then of course Marissa Tomei. An idealistic staffer for a newbie presidential candidate getting a crash course of dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail. What did you think?

DRAKE: I don't think how much of a thriller this movie is, per se, but there's plenty of scandal. And watching these actors stare each other down and give each other crazy eyes is really, really interesting. They're led by George Clooney as their director, and he is spectacular. I think he's really telling a story here about the, like, innocence of youth being lost really. And that's something that we don't often see in movies that are supposed to be about politics. There's a lot going on here.

PHILLIPS: And your grade?

DRAKE: I give this one an A because I love watching Ryan Gosling give crazy eyes, my new official favorite past time.

PHILLIPS: How do you do the crazy eyes?

DRAKE: I'm so excited. I get to demonstrate. Here we go.

PHILLIPS: Wait. We have to get gray up on the cam. There we go.

DRAKE: Bring me up.

PHILLIPS: Let me see it.

DRAKE: Here we go.

(LAUGHTER)

DRAKE: There's a lot of that at the end of the movie. You know George Clooney, too, everybody.

PHILLIPS: It's so good.

DRAKE: If anybody can pull it off, it's this cast.

PHILLIPS: You actually probably taught him how to do the scary eyes. Thanks, Grae.

DRAKE: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Bullies in schools -- we're going to show you what a student and his mother are doing about it coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Time for a CNN = Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines at the CNNPolitics.com desk. Here's what crossing right now. It looks like the Iowa caucuses take place right after New Year's. Reporters say Iowa Republican leaders have agreed to reschedule the caucuses for January 3rd. The events were scheduled for February, but that was before other states started changing the dates of their contests. So by holding its caucuses on January 3rd, Iowa will retain the first in the nation status.

Then in his first major foreign policy speech Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney promised for funding for the Pentagon. Romney blasted President Obama, accusing him of gutting the defense budget and jumping from crisis to crisis.

Under fire over loan guarantees to a solar panel company, the White House has sent more than 2,000 pages of e-mail records to Congress. Solyndra went bankrupt this summer 15 months after receiving federal loan guarantees worth $535 million.

And for the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com

It isn't really news that kids get bullied, and in a new CNN poll more than a third of teens say they've been ridiculed, humiliated and even threatened. One high school student is taking action. Our education contributor Steve Perry has the story in "Perry's Principles."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT: For some bullying victims like Joey Kemmerling, school must be survived.

JOEY KEMMERLING, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: We don't go to school to get an education. We go to school to make it through the day without being killed or without being to the point where we feel the need to kill ourselves.

PERRY: Joey's troubles started in middle school when word got out that he was gay.

(on camera) So what did the kids do to you?

KEMMERLING: A lot. They -- a lot of threats. One kid said that he wanted to light me on fire like the faggot I was.

PERRY: The child was not reprimanded?

KEMMERLING: The child was not suspended. The child was not given anything other than a talking to and then sent back to class.

PERRY: If I'm your son's principal and this has happened, what can I do to help you as a mom feel like I'm doing my job?

JOYCE MUNDY, JOEY'S MOTHER, EDUCATOR: Teachers need to be trained or be given permission in their classrooms to simply, succinctly address intolerant comments and behavior.

PERRY (voice-over): Joyce Mundy is Pennsylvania's 2010 middle school principal of the year. She's also Joey's mom. Together they're teaching current and future educators how to stop bullying.

MUNDY: The culture in schools doesn't really change until the whole school community takes it on.

KEMMERLING: Most schools have a 45-minute tolerance assembly in their schools. But if it's only once in the entire year, it's like putting a Band-Aid on someone needing surgery. It's just not going to work.

PERRY: Joey created a Facebook page where everyone can share stories and lend support to those being bullied.

(on camera) "I really want you to keep up the amazing work. I wish I had the guts to help you without people judging me."

KEMMERLING: The messages are all the same. Schools across America do not know how to deal with the issue of bullying.

PERRY (voice-over): But Joey and his mom are hoping that will change.

KEMMERLING: There is a part of me that is dead, and that no matter how hard I work will always be gone. And I don't want any other child to have to deal with that.

When I get that diploma, it's not going to be about the education I received. It's going to be about finally I can go through life in peace and I can get out of that survival mode and move into my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A quick update on this story -- Joey and his mom recently moved from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, and Joey now goes to a high school where he feels safe because, as he puts it, "the administration is more accepting." He's looking forward to graduating in the spring and heading to college.

It's time for all of us to take a stand. Tomorrow Anderson Cooper hosts a town hall conversation about bullying. Watch it Sunday night at 8:00 eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A plane trip from California to Hawaii turned into an emergency. Take a look at this. The pilot of a small plane had to actually ditch it in the Pacific Ocean about 13 miles off the coast of Hawaii on Friday. He just ran out of fuel. The Coast Guard rescued the pilot, 65 years old by the way. He had radioed in saying he was in trouble. He was taken to the hospital for observation. He appears to be OK. So far authorities are not releasing his name.

It's pretty amazing pictures and the fact that -- that's his rescue that was captured there.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Really running out of fuel, not a great thing, but when you call the Coast Guard and you say, hey, I'm not going to make it. Come and get me. On that kind of plane, it's a Cessna, you lose the engine you have control of everything else. PHILLIPS: Your husband is a pilot. You know these things. He knows how important it is to have water survival too as a pilot. No matter what you fly, you should know how to survive the waters and egress from the aircraft and hang in until the Coast Guard comes in.

JERAS: Kind of Sully Sullenberger the way he was so flat. When you look at that, nice and smooth. He glided it right in. The plane did sink, but he got out safely. That's great.

(WEATHER BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The iPad for many people, it's indispensable, and for some top secret. We'll look at how the military is going mobile.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, get this. A top secret iPad and only a few people in the military can use it. Our Barbara Starr goes in depth as the military goes mobile.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Not only does the commander in chief use an iPad, but his top military adviser, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says his iPad is indispensable.

(on camera) I'm noticing the red sticker.

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Sure.

STARR: Secret.

DEMPSEY: Yes.

STARR: So this is an iPad that contains some of this nation's most critical day-to-day military secrets?

DEMPSEY: Well, I don't want to overdramatize it, but it does information on it that certainly you wouldn't want anyone else to have access to.

It's not wireless yet. We can't have secret information sitting in a cloud for the chairman. But they load it up and send it to the house and have the daily brief and intel brief. It will have a walk around the world. It will answer my commander's critical information requirements.

STARR (voice-over): General Martin Dempsey says his iPad is not only crucial for him, but it's the kind of technology the entire military now depends on.

DEMPSEY: What I'm interested in, by the way, is, you know, we have -- one of the lessons we've learned over the last ten years of war is the extent to which we've pushed capability to the edge to empower that junior leader at the edge of all of this with the information he needs to understand what's going on. STARR: The military does have to be careful. Due to worries about viruses and worms, most devices must be used in a stand-alone mode. They cannot be directly connected to military computer networks.

DEMPSEY: This is probably the tactical outpost of the future, because the power, the generating power and data management power of these devices in the future, and I'm looking out to about 2020 or such, that wherever the commander is, if he and his staff have these devices, this can be your tactical operations center. Every bit of information you need at some point will be available to you right here.

STARR: But even pilots flying over Afghanistan and Libya used commercial maps loaded onto their iPads when flying combat missions.

(on camera) Apple, of course, isn't the only company with this kind of technology, but in one sign of the military's high regard for the company, last year a number of senior army officers went to the company headquarters in California to see how Steve Jobs and Apple made it all happen.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)