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Parts of Connecticut Suffer Power Outages; Banks Customers Encouraged by Movement to Leave Big Banks; Greek Parliament Votes to Retain Current Government; Andy Rooney Dies; Movie Critics Evaluates New Box Office Arrivals; Greeks Moving to America
Aired November 05, 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 this Saturday, November 5. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Andy Rooney is being remembered as a man who loved what he did and lived life on his own terms. The legendary CBS News commentator died last night weeks after making his last regular appearance on "60 Minutes". He was 92. CBS says Rooney's funeral will be private.
In Connecticut some 215,000 people remain without power more than a week after that freak October snowstorm. Connecticut Light and Power is promising 99 percent of their customers will have electricity by tomorrow night. This morning the governor said that a 99 percent threshold must be reached.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. DANIEL MALLOY, (D) CONNECTICUT: Anything less than 99 percent restored number is unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And we'll get a live update on the situation in Connecticut later on this hour.
In the race for the White House, the campaign trail led to Iowa's capital city last night. Five of the Republican candidates spoke at the annual Ronald Reagan dinner in Des Moines. Mitt Romney and Herman Cain were no shows. Texas Governor Rick Perry drew applause with his plan that would freeze the pay of a lot of federal workers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Until the budget gets balanced I'm going to impose an across the board pay freeze for Congress and all federal employees pay outside of the military and the public safety areas.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Iowa's first in the nation presidential caucus is on January 3rd. Across America now growing anger at big banks and their rising fees, and some of those banks could be losing customers and deposits today. Moveon.org is sponsoring a "move your money" day. Another group is backing a bank transfer day. Organizers are calling on customers to pull their money out of big banks and shift it to credit unions. The bank transfer idea started with a California woman and her anger at big banks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTEN CHRISTIAN, FOUNDER, BANK TRANSFER DAY: I'm encouraging the transfer of funds from the corporate level to the local not for profit level because I feel it will have a greater impact on our local community's growth. Big banks for far too long have mismanaged funds and utilized unethical business practices. So it's time we vote with our dollar and help restore our local communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The story ahead. Financial advisor Eric Amado will be joining us to talk about bank fees and why you need to look at your monthly statements.
Turning now to Greece, a nation on the brink of bankruptcy. The prime minister has survived a confidence vote. Now he's trying to form a new coalition government and push through a controversial bailout package. Jim Bolden is joining us from Athens where all of this is unfolding. So Jim, what is latest?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest is as you said the prime minister George Papandreou survived a confidence vote very early Saturday morning. He went to see the president of Greece today and he asked that he form a new coalition government, that means bringing people from other parties into a larger power sharing agreement, as it were.
Tomorrow some of the parties are going to get together with the president and try to hash this out. The bottom line is, Fred, this government with whoever leads it needs to try to get that massive austerity package past this parliament. It's very unpopular here in Greece, as you know. Over the last year or so we've seen demonstrations and riots. Lots of job cuts. Pension freezes, people losing their homes, people losing their jobs. It's been very painful in Greece. It has to go through this in order to get money to pay its bills from the IMF and the EU. If it doesn't do that, as you said, it can go bankrupt. That's the big worry. You don't want a Eurozone country, a country that shares that currency, going bankrupt. That's why you saw so much market gyration over the past week, because the worry was Greece wasn't going to get its house in order. Right now a bit of a respite, I have to say.
WHITFIELD: So now there's been that vote confidence. How much does that help Greece get that IMF money or EU money sooner rather than later?
BOULDEN: What it really means is you didn't have the fall of government. You didn't have a prime minister government collapsing in the middle of the night two years before an election. So it gives us some breathing room to relax, try to form a coalition government, have enough people in parliament who would automatically be part of that government. Then they would be able to pass that austerity package, massive austerity package.
It works in fact, cut Greece's debt to some banks by 50 percent. Simply wipe it off the books to help Greece get back. But this economy is suffering. It's in recession last year, this year and next year. So the last thing they need is to have some stagnant parliament that can't vote through any tough measures.
It's a bit like the U.S. in that sense except in here they are trying to get everyone agree before they push it through. But they won't be able to do that if they can't create some kind of coalition government. Fred?
WHITFIELD: Jim Bolden, thanks so much coming to us from Athens, Greece.
All right, let's dig a little deeper into Greece's financial crisis and its effect on the U.S. particularly the impact on U.S. jobs, tourism and trade. Let's bring in Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. So Mark, there are a lot of unemployed people right now in the U.S. How is it that the possibility of losing more jobs is directly correlated to what's happening in the Greek financial situation?
MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY' ANALYTICS: Yes. Unfortunately we're tethered at the hip with Europe and if Europe has trouble we do too as well. The most obvious and direct link is through the stock market. A large number of our big multinational corporations do a lot of business in Europe and their stock price reflects what's happening there.
And if you go back to the start of the European debt crisis almost a year and a half ago the stock market has been up, down, all around, but it's really gone nowhere and that's largely because of the European situation. There are other links but that's the most key and immediate one.
WHITFIELD: A lot of folks have been looking at their 401(k)s and especially so with the Greek debt crisis. They've seen the numbers fluctuate. How is it that people can feel, I guess, more confidence if confidence is the right word in their 401(k) while Greece tries to work out its money problems?
ZANDI: Well, you know, I don't think you can. The ups and downs in our stock market and people's 401(k)s and other pension assets is a directly related to what's going on in Europe almost day-to-day. And it's not only that stock market has gone nowhere for the last year and a half or two years, the problem is the volatility. It's the ups and downs. With those kinds of swings it's very difficult to know what you're worth. And so that has a big impact on people's thinking, on their psyche and spending and the broader economy. WHITFIELD: And what about trade? How will trade, whether it be between Greece and the U.S. or Greece and other countries impact the overall U.S. economy?
ZANDI: Yes. That's another key link between the United States and Europe. If you total it all up, nearly one fifth of U.S. exports go to the Eurozone and U.K. If the Europeans are having difficulty, if their economy is weakening they will buy a lot less of what we produce here, and that means fewer jobs and weaker just a U.S. economy. That really hasn't shown up to a significant number yet, but it will.
WHITFIELD: Then let's talk about tourism. Certainly the U.S. economy relies greatly on tourists from Europe coming here and spending their money and then vice versa, especially Greece is a big tourism attraction. What can we expect in the coming months?
ZANDI: Yes. That's also a really good point. A lot of European travellers here in the U.S., you just walk down Fifth Avenue, Orlando, there's a lot of European visitors. The euro has been strong relative to the dollar so the U.S. has looked cheap up to now. So we've had a fair number of European visitors.
But that likely will change with a weak European economy, more European unemployment, and in all likelihood a weaker euro, stronger dollar, it will make it more difficult for European visitors to come here. So that's something also that will begin to weigh as we make our way into next year.
WHITFIELD: Thank you so much for your time. Have a great rest of the weekend.
ZANDI: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: America is still a destination and not just for tourists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came over with 500 euros in my pocket. It's like a decision of a lifetime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The economic turmoil in Greece has many people packing their bags and then heading west. The story later on in the newsroom.
And bank fees taking more of your money than you want. There's something you can do about it coming up in our "Financial Fix."
But first we remember Andy Rooney, the award-winning journalist who always thought he was just a regular guy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Witty, engaging, just a regular guy that's how a lot of people are remembering Andy Rooney. The legendary CBS news commentator died last night at the age of 92. Gary Tuchman now with a look back at Rooney's extraordinary career.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY ROONEY, FORMER CBS COMMENTATOR: The funny thing is over the years our opinion of how our hair looks changes. I used to think I looked best with long side burns. Why in the world would I have ever thought that? I didn't realize I looked so funny back then or I probably would never have gone on television at all.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Andy Rooney did not have a look that was especially TV friendly, but it was his talent as a writer that set him apart and eventually made him a star.
Andy Rooney was a "60 Minutes" original, starting with the show as a producer. He became a regular on air contributor in 1978. Rooney's diatribes documenting the struggles of modern life were an instant success.
ROONEY: Part of my success is how average I am. I'm a very normal guy. And it does not occur to me walking down the street that anyone recognizes me, and it bugs me when they do, too.
TUCHMAN: Rooney started his writing career in the U.S. military. He was assigned as a correspondent for the military newspaper "Stars and Stripes" after being drafted into the army in 1941. Rooney often wrote about the men in those bombing missions, eventually having a book published about their experiences in 1944. After the war Rooney became a freelance magazine writer. He later moved to television, running for some of the biggest names in the business.
ROONEY: I started in this business, I wrote for a lot of people. I wrote for Arthur Godfrey for five years. I wrote for Sam Levinson. I wrote for Gary Moore. And I wrote for Harry Reasoner. I'm basically a writer. And I lost Harry Reasoner so I started doing my own stuff on television, but it was just an emergency. I liked it perfectly well when I was a writer.
TUCHMAN: Andy Rooney's writing talents earned him six Writers Guild of America awards. He was also honored for his other work in television, winning a total of four Emmy awards. Two of those Emmy's came from "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" on "60 Minutes."
ROONEY: If it's any good I can write it in a couple of hours. And if it isn't any good it takes me a couple of days.
TUCHMAN: Andy Rooney appeared numerous times on "LARRY KING LIVE," also running and syndicated column that appeared in more than 200 newspapers daily, and more than a dozen books published. His wife of 62 years died of heart failure in 2004. On October 2nd, 2011, after 33 years on the show he gave his final regular commentary for "60 Minutes," a style and dry with it as unique as the man.
ROONEY: I recently bought this new laptop to use when I travel. Look at that, though. It fits right into the brief case here, weighs less than three pounds. I lose that much getting mad waiting to get on the plane through security at the airport. TUCHMAN: The common man with the common touch about problems that hit close to home.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: International headlines now. Officials say bomb and gun attacks killed 63 people in Nigeria today. Attackers targeted police stations, mosques, churches, and a military base. Most casualties were police officers. A military official blamed Islamic radicals.
In Syria now. Violence flared today. Activists say 13 civilians died there. Opposition groups reported explosions, shelling, and machine gunfire. State-run media reported the deaths of security and army personnel and one civilian.
And at least seven people are dead after a 34 vehicle traffic pileup in southwest England. Officials fear more bodies are still trapped inside burnt vehicles. Poor weather and a nearby fireworks display may have been factors.
Bank of America has changed its mind and decided not to charge customers to use their debit cards after all. In light of that, can you guess which state has the most people without a bank account? Where do you think bank accounts are the least popular? The answer next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Before the break we asked you where in the U.S. bank accounts are least popular. The number one state, Mississippi, where 16.4 percent of households do not have bank accounts. After that Washington, D.C. and Georgia with 12.2 percent that do not have bank accounts. The number is 11.9 percent in Kentucky. And in Texas, 11.7 percent of households do not have bank accounts.
All right, the number one issue in American homes, getting your financial house in order. Today in our weekly financial fix this is bank transfer day, an online movement encouraging consumers to abandon big banks that charge multiple fees. Financial advisor and CEO of Amado Consulting Eric Amado joining us from Dallas. Good to see you.
ERIC AMADO, CEO, AMADO CONSULTING: All right, glad to be here.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: So Eric, public outrage recently forced Bank of America to drop plans for that $5 debit card fee. What other banks have stopped charging debit fees?
AMADO: Absolutely. It's been a nightmare PR for banks. SunTrust was charging $5. They said they're no long going to do that. Of course you have Regis Financial was charging $4. Then Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase was doing a pilot program to charge $3, but based on what happened with Bank of America they are no longer going to do that. The big banks are saying they will stop charging fees.
WHITFIELD: Why are banks increasing fees when the economy is doing so poorly? I mean, why would they even initiate such fees?
AMADO: Well, you know the main reason for this is something called the Dodd-Frank act and more specifically the Durbin amendment is saying you can't charge as many fees or as much fees for debit cards. So basically what happening is this is lost revenues to the banks, billions of dollars in lost revenues. And so basically what they have to do and what they are going to do, they are going charge customers more to make up for their revenue. They might do it with debit cards, but they will do it somewhere else.
WHITFIELD: OK. Another area where people oftentimes experience fees might be checking accounts but there are banks that are still offering free checking accounts to the customers to avoid that, right?
AMADO: Yes. There are some banks but very few. Now you can get free checking, you know, won't get any fees, for example if you have like a minimum checking account balance they won't charge you for that or you have direct deposit. Banks have requirements. But just having a free checking account, very few banks are doing it because it's not worth it anymore and they don't make a lot of margin on it.
WHITFIELD: Really? Who is actually benefiting from, you know, this big banks kind of bad rap these days?
AMADO: Yes. I mean right now credit unions and community banks are having a great time. They are loving the situation with the banks, because they are saying, you know what, we're willing to treat you better. We don't invest in all these exotic loans like some of these banks do. So what's happening the application rate for a lot of credit unions are going through the roof. So right now credit unions and community banks are having a great time.
WHITFIELD: Credit unions might be here to stay for a while. But a lot of people lost their confidence in community banks because a couple of years ago we saw a lot of banks close. What's restored the confidence in so many people?
AMADO: Well, you know, that's a good point. The FDIC closed a lot of banks over the past couple of years. That's slowing down a little bit. But the credit unions say we're more conservative, more conservative with our assets. We don't do risky lending. Some of the interest rates they charge or they give you on your investments is pretty good. So credit unions will do very well right now.
WHITFIELD: What are some ways that banks might be getting back some of their money?
AMADO: Yes. There's no free lunch. They will get their money back. Read your statements. They could get their money with ATM fees. If you have a late payment they could get their money there. Foreign transaction fees, for example, if you go across seas and use your ATM card. They will get their money back. So when you check your mail, make sure you check for these different types much fees because they have to let you know.
WHITFIELD: Eric Amado, thanks so much. Appreciate that. Of course, you at home can get more information from Eric by going his Web site at amadoconsultingllc.com.
Being responsible for your own safety, it's something every woman should consider. Elizabeth Cohen has more in today's "Health for Her."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This woman calling 911 was hoping to be rescued. The police arrived too late to stop the attack. She was raped, but survived.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She gave 100 percent responsibility for her safety to somebody else.
COHEN: These women are learning about that case and how to avoid becoming a victim. The average police response time in mid to large cities in the United States is more than 10 minutes. What you do before police arrive can mean the difference between life and death.
T.J. ALVARADO, SELF-DEFENSE INSTRUCTOR: If they want your purse give it to them, because your life is worth protecting. It's valuable. And we can replace a purse.
COHEN: If they can't diffuse a dangerous situation, these women learn to fight.
ALVARADO: What is your target area? The face.
COHEN: They practice thrusting fingers to the eyes, fists or palms to the face. They aim for the grow in, never forgetting --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they want to you move to a different location do not do it. It is a death sentence.
COHEN: These women now know they have a fighting chance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Armed thug taken down by a 76-year-old grandma.
(LAUGHTER)
COHEN: They take charge of their own safety.
With this week's "Health for Her," I'm Elizabeth Cohen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And more than 200,000 people in Connecticut have been without power for more than a week now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT SLIFKA, WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT: I'm running out of words to describe how furious I am about it. It's been hideous. Right there, there's somebody who agrees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: After the break we'll go Connecticut where our Susan Candiotti talks to some very cold and angry residents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We're going to take you to Hartford, Connecticut for an update on the power outage one week after that bizarre snowstorm right after a look at these other top stories.
Representative Gabrielle Giffords promises to go back to work. The Arizona Congresswoman was shot in January during a public appearance. A new book by her astronaut husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, will be released later on this month. Giffords wrote the last chapter and vowed to return to Congress once she's strong enough. She made a surprise appearance there back in August to vote on that debt ceiling deal.
Fans and colleagues are remembering the wit and wisdom of Andy Rooney. The veteran commentator died after complications from minor surgery opinion. He was 92. Rooney retired from CBS's "60 Minutes" just over a month ago. Earlier today I spoke with his colleague Bob Simons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SIMON, CBS NEWS/"60 MINUTES" CORRESPONDENT: I think people looking at him on camera might not realize what a nice guy he was. He really was. When I joined "60 Minutes," and "60 Minutes" was not the easiest club to join, he was awfully, awfully nice. He invited me to lunch. He called to see how I was doing. He's a sweetheart of a human being, which didn't always come across in his commentary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A memorial service is expected to be scheduled.
COHEN: The jury in the Conrad Murray involuntary manslaughter trial will continue its deliberations on Monday. Jurors worked for seven hours yesterday after getting the case. They are trying to decide if the doctor was responsible for Michael Jackson's death from a drug overdose.
Accusations of sexual harassment continue to dog Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain. The attorney for one of Cain's accusers says there were several incidents of inappropriate conduct and advances back in the 1990s. Joel Bennett also tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he has been contacted by another woman claiming inappropriate conduct by Cain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": When they say they are willing to waive the confidentiality matter, would that allow her to go public, do a long interview, explain what she meant at the time by sexual harassment?
JOEL BENNETT, ATTORNEY FOR HERMAN CAIN ACCUSER: Yes, theoretically it would. And earlier in the week I used the phrase "waive the confidentiality," but I was using it in the sense of allowing us to make the kind of public statement we have made today. My client never had any intention of revealing all the details of the complaint she filed in 1999.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Solar panel maker SunPower has announced a $370 million third quarter loss. The loss will trigger layoffs and the exit of two top executives. The slowdown one sales and flood of low cost panels coming from China is blamed for the company's losses this year.
It's been more than a week now and 215,000 customers are still without power in Connecticut after that big October snowstorm. The power company vows to restore electricity to 99 percent of its customers by tomorrow night. Susan Candiotti has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At nearly every turn, fallen trees, twisted limbs, and tangled lines leaving hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents in the dark more than a week after a freak storm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At night we come home and do the best we can with no heat and cold water.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): No generator?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have one.
CANDIOTTI: You just have to bundle up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bundle up. We haven't bundled up like that in years.
(LAUGHTER)
CANDIOTTI: Come on. What do you have here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inflatable bed.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Audrey and Bob Hugle (ph) are keeping their fireplace going, sleeping on an inflatable bed in their den.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm cold. Oh, my god do, we have to go through another day like this?
CANDIOTTI: Residents are fed up waiting for power to come back on. The state's attorney general is investigating whether the utility company failed to properly prepare. West Hartford's mayor is frustrated.
SLIFKA: I'm running out of words to describe how furious I am about it. It's been hideous. It's -- there's.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): She agrees with you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody agrees.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): As we spoke, a resident chimed in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm furious. This is ridiculous.
SLIFKA: She should be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We've been without heat since Saturday. It's cold. Where are the trucks? Where are they?
CANDIOTTI: Connecticut Light and Power crews are hard at work, now getting help from 22 states and Canada and the National Guard.
(on camera) Do you think you were prepared enough?
BILL QUINLAN, CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER: I do. I think we were as prepared as we could have been for this storm, and, you know, it has hit us a bit harder than we anticipated, but I think we have ramped up our workforce just as quickly as we can.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Governor Dan Malloy is keeping an eye on the cleanup, and the utility's promise to get 99 percent of its customers back online by Sunday night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm worried that they are not being realistic about it and that's why certainly I'm out here.
CANDIOTTI: Bob and Audrey Hugle (ph) are skeptical too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forget it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll believe it when we see it.
CANDIOTTI: For now they are holding on to hope and each other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: We certainly have seen more crews out than ever before, crews working very hard to get the lights back on. But this neighborhood, for example, still no power since last Saturday night. Take a look at what happened here. A tree that was here, you see what's left of it, fell down on some lines, snapping off the power pole, still sitting in the road. It's been roped off. The lines are still strung out across the middle of this street. The neighborhood is a bit worried about it, but they're steering clear of it.
We hear from the power company that 83 percent of customers service has now been restored, but, again, will they make that midnight tomorrow deadline to have 99 percent back online? I don't know, but the governor says if they don't it will be unacceptable, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Then coming Tuesday there's an election that's scheduled, so I wonder how a continued power outage might impact that.
CANDIOTTI: Exactly. You know, they are doing a lot to make sure that that does happen, the elections do take place. So today they are working towards a midnight deadline of making sure the power is back on at all polling stations many of which are at schools. So the good news is at least they think the schools will have power so they can at least reopen next week. We'll see.
WHITFIELD: Susan Candiotti, thanks so much from West Hartford. Appreciate that.
(WEATHER BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We all love to laugh, right? Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, just the names will make laugh. They are on the big strength now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, two pair of drawers don't cost no $50.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a $12 scented candle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we'll get to work tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute, we all just proved ourselves. How do we know you pull this off?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stole $264 in cash. Rule number one, never give your wallet to a thief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, movie critic Grae Drake is going to be along to tell us what the grade is on "Tower Heist."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's the weekend so let's see what's playing at the movie theater. Our movie critic Grae Drake from Fandango and Movies.com joining us today. We're looking at two very different comedies. We love to laugh. This is going to be fun. We got "Tower Heist," we got Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller. Where can you go wrong?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a robbery things can change quickly. Go from hot to cold, just like that. You have to be ready to adapt to the situation. You have to be able to think on your feet. I was on a job a few days ago when my homey got shot in the face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's kidding right? If you get shot in the head it's over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you get shot in the face the bullet will go in the cheek and come out the other side. Then what will do you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK, did you like? What is this about? They are trying to plan a heist. "Tower Heist" is the title.
GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, MOVIES.COM: The employees of Ben Stiller's building he manages have been swindled by a Bernie Madoff type character played by Alan Alda. There's a lot of words I could use to describe this movie, like competent, tolerable, like it's fine.
WHITFIELD: Those are not words I want to hear with side splitting comedy.
DRAKE: I know. It's not really side splitting, although there are some good laughs. That's due largely to Mr. Eddie Murphy, who is doing two things in this right. The first one is that he is not wearing a fat suit of any kind.
(LAUGHTER)
DRAKE: Ah-ha. And secondly, he is making fun of lame white people, which is exactly what he should be doing.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: OK.
DRAKE: So, yes. I'm hoping he remembers this when he hosts the Oscars next year.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
DRAKE: The movie is filled with good actors and they are doing their job. But the script is ho-hum. It's really heisty enough and it's not really cool enough to be any one thing.
WHITFIELD: I'm not hearing a big grade from you. You are building to a very low grade.
DRAKE: You know what? It's completely average so I give it the average grade C.
WHITFIELD: Oh, darn.
DRAKE: Buy low, sell high money metaphor.
WHITFIELD: OK. Maybe when Eddie Murphy is hosting the award ceremony you can give at it higher grade.
Let's move on to the next movie "A very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas." I did not see the previous ones. Do I need to in order to appreciate this?
DRAKE: Yes.
WHITFIELD: OK. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't smoke any more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just felt a lot of time when I got high things would go really wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, Harold, it gets you high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have nothing against weed, OK. I had plenty of fun times with weed but I'm an adult now and frankly I'm glad the craziness is behind me. Do you smell something burning?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. Is this going to make us laugh?
DRAKE: It really, really is. I have got sugar plum fairies dancing in my head and shaped like Neil Patrick Harris.
(LAUGHTER)
DRAKE: Now, if you haven't seen the previews to the movies or if anybody hasn't this really isn't -- it's not the best one to start with because it's really building on the success of the first one. I didn't think the second one was very good, but these two pot smokers have proven me wrong. They revitalized the franchise.
"Harold and Kumar" is filled with inappropriate and offensive humor. It is very depraved. There's a lot of inebriation.
WHITFIELD: It sound like a much better build than you gave to "Tower Heist".
DRAKE: Very much so. I love it when stoners prove me wrong. I give it an A. Yes. It's really fun for fans of the series. They took the story in a new direction. If you go to this movie, you'll have a dope time.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: All right, very good, dangerous stuff. All right, Grae Drake, thanks so much, appreciate that. Remember, you can get all of Grae's movie grades at Fandango and Movies.com.
All right, allegations of a sexual harassment keep dogging Herman Cain. What one accuser is saying about the presidential hopeful.
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WHITFIELD: It's time for a CNN = Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines at the CNNpolitics.com desk. And here's what's crossing right now. Freshman Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown is calling for a little quid pro quo in the weekly GOP address. Brown asked Democratic Senate leaders to support a bill he introduced last January. Brown says the bill would increase employment by eliminating stealth tax on small businesses. Brown suggested that a little bipartisan goodwill could lead to other breakthroughs.
And five GOP presidential candidates singing the presidents of Ronald Reagan last night. Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich spoke at a Republican gathering in Iowa. They noted the accomplishments of the late President Reagan while keeping criticism on President Obama.
And one of the women accusing presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment is standing by her decades old complaint. But she is not coming forward. She issued a statement through her attorney alleging that Cain made unwanted advances and engaged in inappropriate behavior.
And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, CNNpolitics.com.
And join us every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 eastern time when we dedicate an entire hour to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election.
It's not unusual for a bride to dance with her father at her wedding, is it? But one recent wedding dance is way outside of the box. We'll show you, and it's gone viral, right after the break.
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WHITFIELD: It seems to be tradition to have a father-daughter dance at wedding. Is that something did you?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Did you?
WHITFIELD: No. I don't remember doing that. I know.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Anyway this family does take to it another level.
JERAS: Normally you think of father-daughter doing something you know, slow or whatever.
WHITFIELD: That's so cute.
JERAS: Check it out.
WHITFIELD: I like it. Dad's got some moves.
JERAS: A little M.J. in the background. They had 10 different songs. The Jackson Five, Sugar Hill Gang, Beyonce, Temptations.
WHITFIELD: That's cute. JERAS: This is Ashley Richmond and her dad David Sparks. They choreographed this dancing together. It lasted for about four and a half minutes.
WHITFIELD: Look at dad.
JERAS: It's gone viral. I see why. Dad is stealing the show.
WHITFIELD: It's had 900,000 views on YouTube. Very cute.
JERAS: I love that. So Fred and I are going to bust a move.
WHITFIELD: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
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WHITFIELD: World leaders are meeting this weekend to discuss Greece debt and the potential short fallout. While they do that many Greeks are coming to America to stay. Here's CNN Maggie Lake.
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COSTAS MASTORAS, TITAN FOODS: These are actually imported grape leaves from Greece.
MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Costas Mostoras sells a wide variety of Greek delicacies, including a dizzying array of feta cheeses in Queens.
MASTORAS: These are the famous Kalamata olives.
LAKE: This summer he began noticing something extraordinary in his store.
MASTORAS: It's been now three months now we have on a daily basis we have people coming, new immigrants from Greece, walking into the store, asking for employment.
LAKE: It's an almost 5,000 mile trip from Athens to New York. Due to unrest in the Athens streets and Greek unemployment close to 20 percent, young Greeks are hazarding the journey to find a new life in the States. Many begin here in Queens which has one of the largest Greek communities outside of Greece. One of them, 29-year-old, Eva, came in the spring without a work visa. She spoke to us on the condition we hide her identity.
"EVA" LEFT GREECE IN THE SPRING: I came with one suitcase and 500 euros in my pocket. That's it. It's like a decision of a lifetime. You're leaving everything back. You're here alone. And you're starting from zero.
LAKE: She says working off the books is stressful, but she says the trip was worth it. "EVA": For me it's better to leave the country instead of staying there and like dying there, especially when you're young and you have dreams and you want to do things.
CHRIS GIANNAKAS, OWNER, OVELIA PSISTARIA: So this is the ouzo machine.
LAKE: Chris Giannakas, the owner of this store, says Eva is one of the luckier ones. Many Greeks who come to the area come quickly without finding employment.
GIANNAKAS: People are coming here from Greece trying it out, staying few weeks, staying with friends, trying to figure out a situation for them, and then they disappear. You don't hear from them. Or they will come back a few months later. Or you'll find out that their brother came and they left.
LAKE: Many believe it's inevitable more Greeks will soon make their way to Astoria.
"EVA": Every day I have, like, five contacts, five people from Greece asking asking me about New York and if they can come here and if we can help them to make a new start.
I think in the winter, it's going to be very hard, it's going to be even more people here.
LAKE: Eva says she hopes to go back to Greece one day.
"EVA": Greece is the place close to paradise. I think, at the end, we're going to make it. We just have to be patient and go through this.
LAKE: Until that time, these are the streets of dreams for many who come from a troubled land thousands of miles away.
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