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NASA Sending New Telescope into Orbit; NBA Reaches Potential Deal to End Lockout; Small Business Saturday Commences; Film Critic Looks at Recent Box Office Arrivals; Pakistan Accuses NATO Helicopters of Killing 24 Pakistani Soldiers; U.S. Troops Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan

Aired November 26, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN Newsroom where the news unfolds live this Saturday, November 26th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The Chevy volt is being investigated by the federal government for a possible fire risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the volt's lithium ion batteries could catch on fire and crash. GM insists the car is safe and is cooperating with the federal investigation.

Three American students arrested during protests in Egypt are headed home, arriving later on tonight. They were accused of taking part in the violent protests in Tahrir Square. Egyptian officials say the students threw Molotov cocktails from a rooftop during the demonstrations. The students deny the charges.

NBA players and owners reached a tentative deal this morning so play may resume December 25th. The players still have to ratify the agreement but the plan is to start a 66 game season with a Christmas Day triple header. The NBA lockout has lasted 149 days. President Obama commented on the deal this morning saying it's good and gave it a thumbs up.

An Arizona family says police were too rough during a take down at a Wal-Mart store. CNN iReporter David Chad captured the scene and sent us this video. It shows Gerald Newman's arrest during a black Friday sale on Thursday night. Newman's face is bloody after he apparently hit his head on the floor. Police say he knocked himself out. Officers say Newman put video game under his shirt and then resisted arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA NEWMAN, WIFE: He kept saying that cop was aggressive to everybody. He was just way too aggressive.

ASST. CHIEF LARRY HALL, BUCKEYE POLICE DEPARTMENT: There's nothing on the surface to determine that the officer acted inappropriately at this time.

NICHOLAS NAVA, GRANDSON: Never go there on black Friday because if you go you will get hurt. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And that was Newman's grandson. He says Newman only put the game under his shirt to keep the crowd from snatching it out of the boy's hands.

And one group says stay away from big box stores. There's a huge push today for customers to shop at small businesses. We'll talk about the importance of small businesses coming up in our financial fix with Eric Amado.

Outrage now in Pakistan today. The government cut of NATO's supply routes in retaliation for a border raid that killed 24 Pakistan soldiers. According to media reports Pakistan has called for a review of all military and political arrangements with the U.S. and NATO. CNN has not been able to confirm this. NATO says it is highly the deaths happened as their helicopters provide air support for an operation in Afghanistan.

Our Reza Sayah is looking into reaction now from Islamabad.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Angry reaction here in Pakistan to what government officials here are calling a NATO airstrike that hit two Pakistani military checkpoints on Pakistani soil killing at least two dozen Pakistani soldiers. This is an incident that has sparked some anti-American and anti-NATO protests in Pakistan. Some of those protests taking place in the city of Lahore.

Government officials say this incident took place in a district of Pakistan's tribal region that sits right next to the Afghanistan border. This is an area where there's a lot of militant activity. NATO troops oftentimes conduct military operation there's and that's what was happening there according to NATO official the early morning hours of Saturday morning when the incident happened.

The agreement between Pakistan and NATO is for NATO troops to stay on Afghanistan soil, but in this case, according to Pakistani officials, that didn't happen. These NATO air strikes hitting targets on Pakistani soil and government Pakistan government officials not happy. The prime minister issuing a blistering condemnation, saying he plans to protest this incident with U.S. and NATO officials. Here's what Pakistan's top military spokesperson had to say about the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. ATHAR ABBAS, PAKISTANIS SPOKESMAN: There is a great resentment because in the past also these kinds of incidents happened and the excuse was given that it was by mistake or it was confusion because somehow there was a chase because of the militants crossing over. But the fact is that we got together at exact locations were exchanged and these are the border posts being manned by Pakistani soldiers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: Prime Minister Gilani called an emergency meeting on Saturday night with military and government leaders trying to formulate a response to this incident. We should also point out that Pakistan has shut down the two NATO supply routes that takes supplies from Pakistan to Afghanistan. That means roughly 40 percent of NATO supplies are parked here in Pakistan, not clear when they will move again, not clear what other measures Pakistan is prepared to take in response to this incident.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's get some analysis now CNN senior national security analyst Peter Bergen joining us by phone. So Peter, according to these NATO reports, Pakistan is calling for a review of all military and political arrangements with the U.S. and NATO. If so how potentially damaging is this particularly as it pertains to the U.S. and NATO arrangement on the fight against terrorism?

PETER BERGEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Fredricka, I think it could be quite damaging. As Reza said in his report, 40 percent of material destined for Afghanistan ran the sits Pakistan. Now, at the beginning the year that number was more like 75 percent. So the Pentagon has been and the U.S. government in general has been making alternative arrangements, what they call the northern distribution network which basically goes through Russia and Central Asia, in order to make the NATO/U.S. effort in Afghanistan less dependent on the Pakistan overland route and also the Pakistan air corridor.

So that's one area that, you know, even though there have been changes in the way this material has been going over the border, Pakistan still has a very substantial ability to cut down on those transits.

Another area that Pakistan will look at is the area of CIA drone strikes, which have been done with the acquiescence of the Pakistani government. Indeed there is a U.S. airbase in southwestern Pakistan where some of these drones take off. The drones are very unpopular, as you know, Fredricka, in Pakistan, the drone attacks. They could say we're not going to have these any more. So that also would have an effect.

WHITFIELD: So, Peter, shutting down these NATO supply routes that you underscored, this sounds like punishment not necessarily review.

BERGEN: Well, I mean the Pakistanis have done it before. I mean they have every reason to be quite angered by this incident. It's not the first time it's happened. And this is one of the ways that they can put pressure on the United States to, you know, to make sure it doesn't happen again or to investigate what happened.

But, you know, typically these shutdowns have happened for, you know, a day or two. You know, you'll see pictures of hundreds of lorries backing up at the border because hundreds have been going over every day as this continues.

But the context of all this this has been the worst year for U.S./Pakistani relations. It began with the shooting of two Pakistanis in Lahore in the middle of the detain January. The U.S. government said a lot of conflicting thing about what his job was and finally admitted what was painfully obvious from the beginning, which is that he was working for the CIA.

Then you have the Osama bin Laden raid in Abbottabad, which the United States chose not to give the Pakistanis a heads up about that and they were very angry about that, particularly in the context of the fact that we've been promising some sort of strategic partnership with them and then people came, the U.S. government came out and said they couldn't be trusted. Hence they were not given a heads up about the bin Laden raid.

So this incident today is, you know, it's part of a pattern incidents that have angered the Pakistanis and which have contributed to fact that this is one of the most anti-American countries in the world. The last poll that I saw, the favorable views of the United States is around 12 percent, so close to zero in Pakistan right now.

WHITFIELD: OK, Peter Bergen, thank you so much.

So as Peter was saying this could, indeed, make the Pakistan/U.S. relations even that much more fragile. Our Nick Paton Walsh is in Kabul with more details on that. Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let me just update you on the last we're hearing from ISAF in terms of how they view this incident, which would of course impact U.S.-Pakistani relations very clearly. They have said, a spokesperson said they think it was, quote, "highly likely" that the Pakistani deaths here most likely soldiers were caused by what they refer to as close air support. That's some kind of air strike what was an operation by NATO and Afghan troops hunting down insurgents.

They are not exactly clear the target was inside Pakistan. They say an investigation still has to investigate that. But at this point you're seeing NATO really looking to reconcile, make gestures towards the Pakistanis at an early point while still giving themselves potential wiggle room to say their investigation has found the facts on the ground to be different.

But certainly a very tense moment here, absolutely. Bear in mind this particular border region, a hugely hilly, rugged terrain, very difficult for American troops to police. They are never sure when Afghanistan ends and when Pakistan begins, that border very poorly demarcated. American are very concerned they will get hit by insurgents who run back across the border into sanctuaries.

And I'm sure there will be many people concerned in the U.S. military at this point how was it if this occurred these two Pakistani military checkpoints were hit with such precision and such tragic consequences. There surely must have been a reason or a tragic mistake if that's what really occurred. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much from Kabul.

A NASA rocket blasts off for Mars this morning. We'll tell you what scientists hope to discover on the red planet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- two, one, main engines start, zero, and liftoff of the Atlas five with Curiosity, seeking clues about the planetary puzzle of life in Mars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: NASA launched a mission to the red planet this morning. It will take eight-and-a-half months for the rocket carrying the rover dubbed Curiosity to reach Mars. It weigh a ton and is about the size of a compact car. Curiosity will look for signs of potential Martian life.

NASA's replacement for the Hubble telescope will gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "worldwide web." The James Webb space telescope will allow scientists to look farther into the universe than ever before. But there is a down side. John Zarrella looks at the astronomical price tag.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the future, outside the Maryland Science Center. It's a full scale model of NASA's James Webb space telescope. Scientists believe the real thing will redefine our understanding of our place in the universe. It will be so unique it can look further back in time than the Hubble telescope, almost to the dawn of creation.

JOHN MATHER, SENIOR PROJECT SCIENTIST: The James Webb telescope is to help us find our entire history from the first things after the big bang to how first galaxies are born.

ZARRELLA: And astronomers say if they look in the right place and get just a bit lucky --

ADAM REISS, ASTROPHYSICIST: This may give us our first clue about the existence of life in another solar system.

MATHER: If we can see a planet like earth with an ocean, I think that would be really cool.

ZARRELLA: Webb will orbit 1 million miles from earth. It's instruments are designed to image primarily in the infrared range, light we can't see. Webb's capabilities will allow to it literally look where Hubble could not, into gas and dust clouds, at the birth of the first stars and planets. Sounds incredible, right? Webb might get us another step closer to solving the puzzle -- are we alone?

REISS: I don't know how you would put a price on being able to answer questions like how old is the universe, how did this all start, where is it going, what is it made of, are there other people out there like us. These questions are just so intrinsic. ZARRELLA: But there is a price tag. When Webb is finally launched in 2018 it will be years behind schedule and cost about $8.8 billion, $6.5 billion more than the original estimate. At one point Congress came close to killing it. So what happened? How did it end up astronomy at an astronomical cost?

RICK HOWARD, WEBB PROGRAM DIRECTOR: When you're doing inventions and things for the first time, you don't know exactly what you'll run into. And we found several things we had to work around.

ZARRELLA: And it better work from the get go. When Hubble ran into problems space shuttle astronauts came to the rescue. But Hubble was only 300 miles up. At 1 million miles away, even if the shuttle was still flying it couldn't get there to fix Webb.

John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Small businesses are on every corner throughout the United States. But do you know how many are owned by minorities? We'll tell you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, it's small business Saturday and we'll be talking about it in just a minute. But do you know how many small businesses in America are owned by minorities? Hispanic-Americans own 8.3 percent, African-Americans 7.1 percent, Asian-Americans have 5.7 percent, and Native Americans and native Alaskans owning nearly one percent of small businesses.

So it is the number one issue in American homes, getting your financial house in order. Today in our weekly financial fix is small business Saturday, a new push to get you away from the big name stores and into shops owned and operated by your neighbors. Financial consultant and CEO of Amado Consulting Eric Amado joining us from Dallas. Happy Thanksgiving weekend.

ERIC AMADO, CEO, AMADO CONSULTING: Same to you.

WHITFIELD: So how important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

AMADO: Well, small businesses are very for the overall health of the U.S. economy. In 2010 there were 28 million small businesses in the United States.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That's pretty significant. And they are important not just because they are providing a service because they're great employers, right?

AMADO: Absolutely. Small businesses generate about 64 percent of overall jobs in the United States over the last 15 years. So I know when we look at big business to create jobs also small businesses have a very important part in that aspect. WHITFIELD: So when people are going about their holiday shopping, does it matter how they are paying for their merchandise when they go to some of these small businesses?

AMADO: Absolutely. Let's say, for example, you'll spend $100 at a local small business. About $68 of that money goes towards taxes, payroll and other expenditures. You spend that money at a big box retailer, about half of that money will go to your local economy. So you can see the importance of shopping at a small local business.

WHITFIELD: We left an "s" off that business. A lot of big sponsors for the small shopping day are big businesses like FedEx and American Express. Why it is -- what is at stake for these big businesses to try to get people to shop small?

AMADO: Absolutely. You mentioned American Express. American Express actually started small business last year in 2010. So they are very big sponsor of this. But Federal Express will give $1 million to small business Saturday. Also you have Dunn and Brad Street, Facebook and Google, they know the importance of investing in the small business and it's important for our economy.

WHITFIELD: And so how many people are expected to take advantage of this campaign and shop at these small businesses?

AMADO: Well, right now estimates show about 89 million people are planning on shopping in small local businesses today. That's outstanding. Hopefully small businesses will do very well at the cash register today.

WHITFIELD: Will you find yourself in a store this weekend, small or large?

AMADO: Absolutely. I'll do something. I'll do a little shopping. Buy something.

WHITFIELD: How about that cyber Monday?

AMADO: Cyber Monday, I might not do anything with that. But we'll try to contribute to the economy.

WHITFIELD: All right, fantastic. Eric Amado, always good to see you. Thanks so much. And of course you can get more information from Eric by going to his website at amadoconsultingllc.com.

If you're planning to do most of your shopping on cyber Monday, our Josh Levs there's an important warning for your, how to protect yourself and your money coming up in the newsroom.

Also coming up, the finish line -- U.S. soldiers in Iraq start crossing it into Kuwait.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. soldiers packing up and moving out of Iraq, details on this right after a look at our top stories. A spokesman for NATO's Afghanistan mission says it's highly likely its forces opened fire on Pakistan soldiers. Pakistan says 24 soldiers were killed in the Mohmand Agency near the border with Afghanistan. In response Pakistan has blocked NATO supply lines into Afghanistan.

The federal government is investigating the Chevy volt over fears the electric car's batteries may be posing a fire risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the volt lithium ion batteries could catch fire in a crash. So far there have been no accidents involving fires and there is no recall. GM insists the cars are safe.

NBA players and others reached a tentative agreement this morning that will lead to a shortened season starting December 25. The players still have to ratify the agreement, but the plan is to start a 66 game season with a Christmas Day triple header. The NBA lockout has been going on for 149 days. President Obama commented on the deal, saying it's good and gave it a thumbs up.

Nearly 300 deployed marines and sailors returned home to Hawaii and to the open arms of waiting children and spouses all this Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Bases were filled with anticipation, joy, and lots of excitement. The marines and sailors were coming home for the holidays from southern Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIRST LT. THOMAS UPCHURCH, U.S. MARINES: It is the best thing in the world. One thing that the department taught me was seven months away, the only thing that matters is your family and just coming back home to them. So, yes, I'm thankful for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And halfway around the world, in Kuwait the beginnings of another homecoming this weekend for soldiers who have fought in Iraq. CNN's Martin Savidge reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If the war in Iraq has a finish line then Camp Virginia it is. The last six weeks as many as 350 vehicles a day have been rolling into this remote base in the Kuwaiti desert delivering soldiers and equipment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No water, no MREs, no water no MREs, no brass, no ammo.

SAVIDGE: Here teams work day and night guiding convoys through a series of stops, each one like an assembly line in reverse, taking off, or as they say, downloading equipment accumulated over years of war.

(on camera) And so what sort of stuff are they getting out at this particular point?

SGT. VALERIE CARTER, U.S. ARMY: Any oil, fuel, batteries, anything that was issued to them or they bought they download them here.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Everything is sorted and collected to be thrown out, recycled, or put back in service.

(on camera) We brought you to this motor pool because it's one of the few places where you can go to get a sense of how much we're talking about, how many vehicles, how many trucks, how much stuff. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

(voice-over) Camp Virginia has the capacity to house close to 7,000 troops and more than 5,000 vehicles. And even though officials say they are below those levels they admit it's been challenging keeping up with what's coming out of Iraq.

LT. COL. BRYAN BOBO, CAMP COMMANDER: It's very busy. I'll say we're making use of every available cot we have, all the space we have, but it's going really well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At ease. Welcome to camp Virginia.

SAVIDGE: But there are signs ever strain. The base has had to greatly increase housing and office space and the dining hall now remains open 24 hours a day just to keep everyone fed. The goal is to move the soldiers from convoy to a flight back in the U.S. within five to eight days, but officers admit it can sometimes take longer. And the next convoy at camp Virginia is not expected until November 30th to allow the system time to catch up.

Yet despite such problems morale remains high because every soldier who makes it here knows the next stop is home.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Camp Virginia, Kuwait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: We know a lot of folks can't wait for them to finally get home.

(WEATHER BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Josh Levs is going to be along to tell us a little bit more about that cyber Monday. Scams or not, how do you buy without getting had?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this weekend means a lot of things for the U.S. economy as billions of retail dollars start flowing for the holiday season. But unfortunately it's also high tide for scam artists looking to get you even online. Josh Levs is here to tell us all about that. E-mail boxes are flooded with incentives on sales.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's just the beginning of it. Think of it this way the expectation is $1.2 billion will be changing hands cyber Monday. So to scam artist physician they can get 0.1 percent it's a ton of money. People spend more than a year to scam you on cyber Monday.

So I want to give you some tools that will help you protect yourself. People like me try to make sure you're not one of those people that get taken.

First of all from the Better Business Bureau, the first thing to know before you start shopping on cyber Monday make sure that the computer you're using has updated anti-virus software. As part of that you want to make sure you have the most recent spam filters. Also use a secure firewall.

Next go to trustworthy websites. This is a big one. On cyber Monday you may do some Googling and find some website you never heard of. Here's what you can do. Go to BBB.org, the website for Better Business Bureau. Check out the company online. To a search of that company before you buy something it from and that will help you know.

WHITFIELD: People are good with their artwork and graphics and look like a legitimate site or a site that you are accustomed to because it has certain trademark colors or a look but then that's not the one you want or need.

LEVS: Exactly. And you might see and I temple for $300. Another Web site for $200 and think I'll drag it from this mystery website. Check it out. Do research. Too good to be true can be too good to be true. Actually read the privacy policies. Nobody reads them.

WHITFIELD: The little box. Did you read it. People check yes, I did, but didn't read it.

LEVS: I've done that. We've all done that. But cyber Monday, when you're giving a place money and credit card information not the time to do that.

Let's get through a couple more here. This is the one a lot of people skip and it's very helpful. Look for the https at the point in your purchase when you're buying, actually paying the website address will say https which means you have a secure site instead of regular http. This is at the point in your system when you're ready to buy it will take to you a secure site. And at the top at the address bar right before the actual address there will be an s in there, it's a secure site. It's holding on your information secretly.

WHITFIELD: That's a great secret.

LEVS: The last one I'll mention is to check your credit card statements often. If you check them now, even check them online that day or in the coming days and weeks, make sure there's no mysterious, strange things that appeared on there that will help you make sure you haven't been taken.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. You should be a little reluctant about any purchase you make online so now this will make people smarter about that.

LEVS: And everything I just mentioned to you I put up on my blog, CNN.com/Josh. Check it out. Take a good look at that before you start spending that money on Monday.

WHITFIELD: You'll be along later to help us navigate the whole field of travel, trying to book those reservations. Josh has some great tips on how to save money and secure a fairly good deal.

LEVS: Yes. Monday is a good time to book travel.

WHITFIELD: I can't wait to hear more on that. Thanks, Josh.

There's so many choice at the movie theaters as well this weekend, including the Muppets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We all grew up with the Muppets. Now they are on the big old screen, song and dance. It's enough to get our movie reviewer actually excited. Here's the grade next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. It's a holiday weekend. You know what that means -- lots of movies at the theater. Movie critic Matt Atchity with RottenTomatoes.com joining us right now from Los Angeles. OK, we're looking at a few films with wide releases right now, meaning they are nationwide. Let's begin with the Muppets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look familiar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So do you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, have a seat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We're going have a seat now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't sit down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going down. Going down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, Matt. We know "Sesame Street" to be all about teaching and learning. This sounds like a musical. Is it?

MATT ATCHITY, EDITOR IN CHIEF, ROTTENTOMATOES.COM: It absolutely is a musical. Songs in this movie, we got some classic Muppet songs and some new songs. This is a fantastic movie. I really enjoyed it. It stars Jason Segal who co-wrote the movie. Amy Adams is in it, Chris Cooper. I'd say it's worth the price of admission just to see Chris Cooper rapping in this movie. It's really funny. And you have the classic Muppets, Kermit the frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie the Bear. My only issue with this movie is the story is really thin.

WHITFIELD: What is the storyline?

ATCHITY: The storyline is that no one has seen the Muppets in a long time. They quit showbiz. And it turns out Chris Cooper is part of this evil conglomerate that will buy the Muppet studio and drill for oil and destroy it.

And Walter, show is Jason Segal's brother, has decided he'll get the Muppets back together to put on a big show so they can raise the money and to buy the studio. And that's about it for the story. The story is really thin. You don't get a sense of why they stopped show business. It's a little light. But nonetheless it's a lot of fun. The jokes are fast and furious. The kids love it. It's a good one to go see.

WHITFIELD: This is G, by the way?

ATCHITY: This is rated G. Bring Kleenex. They play the nostalgia card pretty heavy here.

WHITFIELD: What's your grade?

ATCHITY: My grade is a B. I think it's a very solid movie. I hope to see more of the Muppets in the future.

WHITFIELD: Then we have a Martin Scorsese flick. This one is called "Hugo," right?

ATCHITY: Yes it's a Martin Scorsese kids' movie. It's based on a book about a kid that lives in a train station that comes across this old man who may have a mysterious past. It's a really neat little film.

WHITFIELD: Nice set up. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGO: Machines never come with extra parts, you know. They always come with exact amount they need. So if you could fit the entire world was one big machine -- I couldn't be an extra part. I have to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh that scene is making me think Edwards Scissorhands. But a different movie. What do you think? Tell me about it.

ATCHITY: I loved this movie. This is probably Martin Scorsese's most personal movie. It's a beautiful movie. If you had told me that somebody would be able to make a movie set in the '20s about a kid who discovers the glory of film preservation, I'd have said you are crazy. But this movie is fantastic. I really enjoyed it.

You get great performances from Ben Kingsly, Sacha Baron Cohen. This is a really sweet story. Ben Kingsley plays man who turns out to be this filmmaker. I don't want to giveaway who it is. But you go on this really neat journey. I would actually, this is probably a first for me I would recommend seeing this in 3D. I think the filmmaker has made the most effective use of 3D I've seen yet in a film. He makes this film very immersive.

WHITFIELD: Interesting view of the city of lights. Grade?

ATCHITY: I would give it an A. I think it's absolutely worth seeing although it's a hard sell for some people because they are not really sure what they will get into. But I think it's a really fantastic film.

WHITFIELD: It's hard not to like something with Ben Kingsly.

"Arthur Christmas." Christmas movie just in time for this holiday. Let's look.

ATCHITY: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for your letter and brilliant picture. Your request for a pink twinkle bike will be passed on to Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What's unique about this Christmas story in your vow?

ATCHITY: This is the perfect never start off the Christmas season. I really enjoyed this movie. The humor is really fast paced. There's jokes every other minute and they're all pretty funny. This movie was animated from the Ardman animation studio. You got great voice casting. This is the story of how Santa Claus gets presents to everybody's house in one night. It's a major organization. Things go a little bit wrong and up to his younger son to save the day.

I think this is the perfect movie to get you in the mood for Christmas shopping and the Christmas season. It's one of the best Christmas movies I dare say I've ever seen.

WHITFIELD: It looks like a sophisticated children's movie.

ATCHITY: It is a children's movie and it's a lot of fun.

WHITFIELD: OK. Your grade on this one?

ATCHITY: I give it an A. Between this one and "Hugo" and the Muppets, some excellent choices this weekend.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Authors wide release. We'll see you again and talk about some of the limited releases, including "My Week with Marilyn" and George Clooney's new flick or the one he's starring in, "The Descendants."

ATCHITY: Yes, we definitely have much to talk about there.

WHITFIELD: Good, I can't wait. Thanks so much, Matt.

All right, 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.

It's a little more than six weeks until the first of the nation presidential primary in New Hampshire, and tomorrow one of the state's most influential newspapers, the "Union Leader of Manchester" will announce its endorsement in this Republican race. An endorsement from the paper is considered a major boost for any candidate.

And Republican candidate Newt Gingrich is standing firm in his call for a more humane approach to the illegal immigration problem in the U.S. He says illegal immigrant whose have come here recently should go home, period. He says those with much longer ties in the U.S. should not be uprooted from their families and kicked out. Gingrich's plan includes an earned path to citizenship.

Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann criticized the plan, calling it amnesty.

The chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will not seek an eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Charles Gonzalez of Texas says he has been in Congress 14 years and wants to do something else. He says right now he doesn't know what his future plans are.

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 this 2012 election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We got some viral videos out there. Actually have one. Karen McGinnis with me on this one. And some might look at this and say oh, my gosh, I have zero tolerance on that. Others say hey things happen. Let's take a look at what we're talking about here.

All right, here's a case. That's flour everywhere. These two little kids age three and one got a hold of five pound bag of flour.

KAREN MCGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Mom I guess spent a little too much time in the bathroom. And she came out now to this.

WHITFIELD: What's interesting her instincts I'll grab a camera.

MCGINNIS: You're right.

WHITFIELD: They are going to continue to frolick in the flour.

MCGINNIS: A lump of coal for each one. WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. What a mess. And this has gone viral. People keep looking at this over and over again. There's not an area of this living room or, you know, family room that isn't covered with flour.

MCGINNIS: You need a shop-vac to clean it up.

(CROSSTALK)

MCGINNIS: It gets gooey. I don't know how they did that.

WHITFIELD: I'm glad they had a sense of humor about it and shared it with everybody else, because 3 million viewers have taken a look at it.

MCGINNIS: You can't argue with success.

WHITFIELD: We'll see you in a bit, Karen. Thanks so much.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the NBA and players have struck a tentative deal. Basketball commissioner David Stern says the plan is to start the season on Christmas Day with a triple header. NBA TV contributor David Aldridge joins me now by phone from Key West, Florida, with reaction to this proposed deal. So David, what do you know about what's in this deal, potentially?

DAVID ALDRIDGE, NBA TV CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Fredricka, it's a big win monetarily for the owners. The players are going to give back about 12 percent of the money that they made in the last NBA, About $300 million a year, and if it goes 10 years, $3 billion in salaries they will return to the owners. The owners also got a lot of restrictions on the teams that spend the most money like the Lakers and Celtics and the Knicks that have spent more money than other teams. It's going to be harder for those teams to spend money than it was in the past.

The players, however, do get some benefits that are new in addition to what they had before, and the owners did kind of concede some points. They wanted to make it harder for those teams to acquire players that spend money. They gave up some of those things in exchange for a ban that they call it, anywhere between 49 percent and 51 percent of the revenues that come in will be split between the players and the owners.

WHITFIELD: So it sounds like a lot was at stake over 149 days in the end. This isn't a done deal yet but who had to give in the most, so to speak, the players or the owners in order to come to this tentative deal?

ALDRIDGE: No question the players gave a lot more. I mean, again, they gave up $3 billion in money, in salary. So, I mean, if that's the starting point, you know, they gave up a lot. The owners gave some things up at the end. They'll tell you they didn't get everything they want to make the system as competitive as they believe it could be, but the reality is the NBA has never been especially competitive. There have only been seven teams that have won four out of five championships in league history going back to 1947. So this has never been an especially competitive league.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder if this sets the stage, or does it set the stage for this new or this reduced regular season that starts possibly December 25th, a lot of players will be a little disgruntled or disappointed they didn't get more out of this and the season may be a little lackluster as a result, or does it give them a greater incentive to make up for the losses of this season, the games not played?

ALDRIDGE: Well, I think -- you know, I think players want to play and I think they will have a great incentive to play. This is what they do for a living. They are professional athletes. They want to be out on that stage performing at the highest level and competing against the best players in the world. And so they will be ready to play.

The question is will they be in shape to play. They were supposed to get started in October and it's going to be December before they get started. So athletes, it doesn't take them very long because they are in such great physical shape to get out of that great physical shape. So the first month may be difficult because I don't suspect everyone has been running sprinting every day, if you know what I'm saying.

WHITFIELD: Well, they're going to - they're going to be counting on that muscle memory then, right? David Aldridge -

ALDRIDGE: Yes, absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, David. Appreciate you joining us from Key West, Florida.