Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Pakistan Condemns a NATO Helicopter Attack on Checkpoints Near the Volatile Border with Afghanistan; NBA Season to Start on Christmas Day; More Sales on Cyber Monday; Violence Mars Black Friday; "Curiosity" Off to Mars
Aired November 26, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Topping our news this hour, growing tension between Pakistan and the U.S. after a deadly border attack. The government blames NATO for the death of 24 Pakistan soldiers at two military checkpoints. Pakistan has called for a review of its relationship with the U.S. and NATO. Pakistan's military is calling it an unprovoked attack of aggression.
And three American students arrested during protests in Egypt are headed home. They were accused of taking part in the violent protests in Tahrir Square. Egyptian officials said the students threw Molotov cocktails from a rooftop during the demonstrations. The students denied the charges. They are due to arrive home tonight.
And bargain hunting got ugly with Black Friday violence reported in at least nine states. This video from CNN I-Reporter David Chad shows a grandfather bloody during a shoplifting arrest in an Arizona Wal-Mart.
Police say Gerald Newman hit his head on the floor and knocked himself out while resisting. Officers say Newman put a video game under his shirt to steal it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAMELA NEWMAN, WIFE: Everybody was grabbing everything, because you could see it. It was like a mob. People were stepping on people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Newman's grandson says that his grandfather was concealing the game under his shirt to keep the crowd from snatching it out of the boy's hands.
And in Southern California, police say a woman at a Wal-Mart in Los Angeles allegedly doused many of the other customers with pepper spray. They're trying to track her down. The woman was apparently trying to get a great deal on a video game console. A witness describes what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUAN CASTRO, WITNESS: I didn't see her personally, but I sure got the scent of the mace. I got it in my throat, it was burning. I saw people around me, they got it really bad. I tried to get away from it as quickly as possible, because I didn't think that was worth it. No deal is worth that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: NBA players and owners reached a tentative deal this morning to end a month-long lockout. Play is set to resume on Christmas day. If players ratify the agreement, the plan is to start a 66-game season with a triple header. The NBA lockout has lasted 149 days. President Obama even commented on the deal, giving it a thumbs up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the NBA story?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And the family of a Florida A&M drum major who died last weekend may be preparing to sue the school. Authorities suspect Robert Champion's death was caused by hazing. No one has been charged but Champion's family has hired an attorney. The school fired the band director this week and he has hired a lawyer to fight for his job.
The federal government is investigating the Chevy Volt over fears the electric car's batteries may pose a fire risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the Volt's 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 car is safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And liftoff of the Atlas 5 with "Curiosity."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And NASA launches a mission to Mars this morning. The rocket carrying the rover named "Curiosity" will take eight and a half months to get there. It's about the size of a compact car. Curiosity will look for life in Martian rock soil samples for about two years.
All right. Back now to our stop story. Outrage in Pakistan today after a deadly border raid. The government has called for review of its relationship with the U.S. and NATO. Pakistan blames NATO choppers for killing 24 of its soldiers. Our Reza Sayah is looking into reaction in Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Angry reaction here in Pakistan, so what government officials here are calling a NATO air strike that hit two Pakistani military check posts on Pakistani soil killing at least two dozen Pakistani soldiers. This is an incident that sparked some anti-American and anti-NATO protests in Pakistan. Some of those protests taking place in the city of Lajor. Government officials here say this incident took place in Mohmand. This is a district in Pakistan's tribal region that sits right next to the Afghanistan border. This is an area where there is a lot of militant activity. NATO troops oftentimes conduct military operations there, and that's what was happening, according to NATO officials in the early morning hours Saturday morning when this 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 Pakistani 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.
MAJ. GEN. ATHAR ABBAS, PAKISTANI SPOKESMAN (ON THE PHONE): There is a great resentment, because in the past also these kinds of incidents happen 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 they got together and exact locations were exchanged, and (INAUDIBLE) that these were the border posts being manned by Pakistani soldiers.
SAYAH: Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani calling 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 take supplies from Pakistan to Afghanistan. That means roughly 40 percent of NATO supplies are parked near Pakistan, not clear when they're going to move again, not clear what other measures Pakistan is prepared to take in response to this incident.
Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: The outcome of Pakistan's review over this incident is likely to impact already strained relations with the U.S.. Our senior national security analyst Peter Bergen explains just how bad things have become.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER BERGEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (ON THE PHONE): Part of a, patter of incident which have angered the Pakistanis and which contributed to the fact that this is one of the most anti- American countries in the world. In the last poll that I saw, the favorable views for the United States were around 12 percent. So you know, close to zero in Pakistan right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: This is hardly the first time the relationship between these two countries has been put in jeopardy. Back in April, supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan were halted for three days in protest over drone attacks. In May when the U.S. took out Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan was not warned in advance of the raid.
In June, top U.S. military chief Admiral Mike Mullen admitted significant cuts in U.S. troops in Pakistan. In July, the U.S. suspended $800 million of military aid to Afghanistan. And in September, outgoing U.S. Admiral Mike Mullen accused Pakistan of supporting the Haqqani militant group in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies that.
And as Egypt gets ready to vote Monday, this is what the streets of Cairo look like today. We'll take you there for a live report from Tahrir Square where the mood is tense after the death of a protester earlier today.
And later, face to face with actor Isaiah Washington. Four years after his controversial departure from "Gray's Anatomy," he explains how that role shaped his life on and off screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISAIAH WASHINGTON, ACTOR: Like you say, it's a pinnacle. I won. I'm winning, right? No, I'm not. I was almost that close to losing the most important thing to me, and that's my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Checking some international stories now. The man suspected in the disappearance of American high school student Natalee Holloway in Aruba will stand trial for the murder of another woman in Peru. Jordan van der Sloot's Peruvian murder trial is set to begin in six weeks.
And then on to Syria now where protests continue in spite of a government crackdown. An activist group monitoring the situation in Syria claims at least 11 civilians, including three children, and claimed that they've been killed by civilian forces today.
And just moments ago, the Arab League recommended sanctions against Syria over its crackdown on the protesters. On Egypt now, where streets are filled with protesters again today or earlier today, one protester was killed in Cairo after being struck by a police truck that was trying to flee the chaos. At least 42 people have died in Egyptian clashes this past week. Egypt's parliamentary elections begin on Monday.
And our Ben Wedeman is in Cairo right now. It is nightfall. People who are in the square demonstrating, what is it that they're demanding tonight?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're demanding what they've been demanding for the last week, which is for the supreme council of the armed forces, the military council that took over from Mubarak, step down. They want a transition to some sort of civilian rule. Now, this evening Mohammad el-Baradai, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he did say, put out a statement that he would be willing to drop his bid for the presidency and serve as the prime minister in a national salvation government.
Now, we know he did meet today with the head of the military council, field martial (INAUDIBLE). Nobody discussed or mentioned or stated what was the content of that meeting, but clearly the military is looking for some way to bridge the gap between the people in Tahrir and the government at the moment. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And how powerful a movement is it, then, for those who are not necessarily taking the side of the demonstrators who want the government change? Those who are supporting of the military rule.
WEDEMAN: Let me put it this way. The people in Tahrir, they are very good at mobilizing large numbers of people and really getting people's attention. And certainly they have a very loud voice. But there are many other Egyptians who have been standing on the sidelines, who are concerned about the failing economy, the disappearance of tourism, foreign investment is drying up. They're worried about crime in the streets, way up since a year ago, and they feel that there's been enough political change, enough instability and now it's time for the country to get back to normal, to hold elections as are scheduled to begin this coming Monday, and to restore some form of stability so the country can get back on its feet.
So those people who, in fact, have their own demonstration yesterday in another part of town feel that the Tahrir people are taking the country in the direction they're not comfortable with.
WHITFIELD: All right. Ben Wedeman, thanks so much from Cairo.
All right. We are in the holiday season and that usually means eating a whole lot. Are you trying to fight the temptation to eat your way through it? Well, we'll show you some foods that you may not know actually or you might not know actually do fight fat.
Tomorrow, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a new show on CNN. On "The Next List," Dr. Gupta profiles exceptional individuals. This week he talks to Homard Cantu, a molecular gastronomer obsessed with experimenting. He's talking edible menus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOMARD CANTU, MOLECULAR GASTRONOMER: We serve an edible menu here, we have almost since day one and that's because serving edible menus makes a lot of sense. Every month about 20 tons of paper are wasted in restaurants alone, so with that rationale, people eating menus that was made from organic local products, you could eliminate that paper waste. It looks like a sushi roll tastes like a sushi roll but it's your menu.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: interesting. Hopefully you'll indulge in "The Next List." That's tomorrow at 2:00 Eastern time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at top stories straight ahead including more violence in Iraq, just weeks before U.S. troops are set to leave.
But first, with Thanksgiving barely behind us, we wanted to look at some ways to lose weight during the holiday season. Studies showed that weight gain during the winter is more likely to remain. In today's weekly look at get and stay healthy, Dr. Bill Lloyd, our healthy living expert, joins us to talk about kind of fat-fighting foods. This could be encouraging because, you know, it's a tough trying to make decisions about what to eat. But you say among the three, yogurt, but a special kind of yogurt, is in the mix.
DR. BILL LLOYD, HEALTHY LIVING EXPERT: It's important that everybody rediscover the benefits of yogurt, Fredricka. First of all, it's high in protein which means it's slow to be absorbed and slow to metabolize in your so you won't get hungry right away. You can get the low fat kind or the non-fat kind. Yogurt is filling. Fredricka, you know, yogurt comes in small individualized serving cups, not large ones. It only takes a little bit of yogurt to make you feel full. And as you mentioned, the popular Greek yogurt is out there now and it's loaded with extra protein, so everyone should try a little more yogurt over the holiday season.
WHITFIELD: I love that. But you know, it seems that every one has gotten on the Greek yogurt bandwagon and you have to wonder if some of the things that are labeled Greek yogurt really are different than your average yogurt out there.
LLOYD: Well, it's true and it's Christmas time and people always do on the bait and switch. I will say that with brand names that you trust but again all the added protein makes the hunt worth it for quality of this yogurt.
WHITFIELD: And then, there's tibouleh and in don't even know what this is, quinoa? I've never heard of that.
LLOYD: Quinoa. Yes, these are two great examples of fiber beyond whole wheat bread, these are grains that are loaded with proteins instead of starches. No fat and the great thing about these two fibers, you can mix them up in anything, you can serve them by themselves, you can add spices and vegetables to them as well. Great satiety after you eat them unlike rice, you won't be hungry 10 minutes or an hour later. So you don't get that rebound, and they're loaded with all kinds of bonus nutrients. So think about quinoa and tibouleh whether it's at the party or during the week between the parties.
WHITFIELD: You learn something new all the time. And then you know, also sometimes a pretty good appetite suppressant is great for other kind of acidic things. And why is grapefruit pie on your list? For that very reason?
LLOYD: I can speak from - I can speak from expertise because we have grapefruit in our own yard here in northern California. Well, technically, it's in the neighbor's yard, but the grapefruit hangs over.
WHITFIELD: Well, then it's yours.
LLOYD: Grapefruits are loaded with water, so again naturally they're going to fill you up. Again, we mentioned lots of fiber and lots of good nutrition that goes with it. Now here's the important part with grapefruit. It's loaded with soluble fiber which absorbs fat, lipids that are in your intestines as well, and it also lowers that bad kind of LDL cholesterol. As everyone knows, grapefruit is loaded with vitamin C which will help you get through the cold season, and before you're tempted, Fredricka to add sugar (INAUDIBLE) -
WHITFIELD: No.
LLOYD: Pick a variety of grapefruit like the Texas red that is naturally sweet and you won't have to deal with the added calories.
WHITFIELD: Gosh, I had no idea that grapefruit was fiber filled, a better added bonus to that, another added bonus to that great fruit.
LLOYD: The soluble fiber, the good stuff.
WHITFIELD: I love that. All right. Thanks so much, Dr. Bill, always good to see you and happy Thanksgiving weekend. I love the wintery holiday sweater you got going there.
LLOYD: We're ready, we're ready for winter.
WHITFIELD: All right. Good to see you. Thanks so much, Dr. Bill. See you next time.
And he has stretched himself as an actor over the years playing a love interest, a gay Republican and a surgeon, not all at once, of course. Isaiah Washington Face to face on how his role on the hit show "Grey's Anatomy" may have been the most life-altering in his career.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's been a long time since actor Isaiah Washington played Dr. Preston Burke on the hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy." In the four years since the controversial departure from the show, he has opened a school in Sierra Leone and starred in TV's "Law and Order." He also wrote "A Man from Another Land." And in his book he writes it didn't take long to realize the impact his character, Dr. Burke, had on himself, viewers and his family. Isaiah Washington tells me face to face he and his career were riding high.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So before you get knocked of that horse and you were at the pinnacle of your acting career success, and you were able to say, you know, these have been some of my favorite bodies of work, what were they before "Grey's Anatomy"?
WASHINGTON: It almost seemed like projects that I would choose like "Love Jones," which was 10 years before its time. I get on the bus. It's always been 10 years before it's time.
I did it intentionally because I wanted people to think. And ironically, this character's name was George Washington. So that was my favorite film. And you know, "Clockers." Any of my psych films, but "Dancing in September" I think for me was one where I got to play at the height of my intellect, so to speak.
WHITFIELD: So when "Grey's Anatomy" came calling, no one could predict it would be the kind of success that it was.
WASHINGTON: Oh, I did.
WHITFIELD: You did?
WASHINGTON: I was the one who suggested calling it "Grey's Anatomy." They changed it to another name, "Complications" for eight days and I was the only one including all of my fearless leader, (INAUDIBLE), saying that it's going to be "Grey's Anatomy" because this is going to be one of the greatest ensembles in the history of television.
WHITFIELD: You were loving this show. You were loving Dr. Burke.
WASHINGTON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: You have become him, he has become you. What was the most gratifying thing about this role?
WASHINGTON: Actually, understanding the mysticism and the glory of heart, of the human heart. And actually participating in several open heart surgeries. I didn't want to participate in one with a child and an infant because I had children, and I just couldn't bear it.
WHITFIELD: So what came with this role was greater than, here's an acting opportunity, a regular gig every day, the popularity grows, the salary grows. There became a personal responsibility.
WASHINGTON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: - that you embraced as being this Dr. Burke of "Grey's Anatomy."
WASHINGTON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Explain that to me.
WASHINGTON: I really started believing that I could change the world with this guy. I never really knew the power that Isaiah Washington have. I didn't know (INAUDIBLE) 18 hours a day, six days a week. I didn't know the power that existed out there until after the whole crisis, I thought nobody cared about anything I said or thought because I was so busy doing what I was doing.
WHITFIELD: You loved the work but it took a physical and emotional toll.
WASHINGTON: Yes. It took its tool. WHITFIELD: You had to be totally invested in this role working how many hours a day?
WASHINGTON: 18.
WHITFIELD: Everyday.
WASHINGTON: In the beginning of the season, six days a week. I would come home at 6:00 on a Saturday morning and then sleep through the weekend, and the kids trying to pull my eyes open. So it took its took but yes we had all the money in the world, had all the adulation.
WHITFIELD: $5 million a year.
WASHINGTON: You know, it's great, but the moment I was off the show, I went to pick up my son, who was born in 2002, and he pretty much didn't see me his whole young life because 2004 the show took off. He was running around the school, and I thought he was running around playing. I got out of the car and he was crying. He had seen me pull up, and I got out to see what he was doing, and he was crying, running around telling the children, "See, I do have a father. He really is my father. I do have a real daddy. I told you I have a daddy."
WHITFIELD: My gosh, how much that had to hurt when you are thinking, I've done all the right things to get my career where it is, to be able to provide for my family the way I want, but then come to find out there is some deprivation that my child is expressing right here.
WASHINGTON: That one rocked me. That one rocked me to the core. Like you say, it's a pinnacle. I won. I'm winning, right? No, I'm not. I was almost that close to losing what I considered the most important thing to me, and that's my family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Actor Isaiah Washington remains busy. He continues his book tour promoting "A Man from Another Land" and over the last few months, Washington says he has produced two movies and one documentary, and you'll also see him on the big screen soon in the movies, the movie "The Suspect" and "Area 2" out soon. And coming up tomorrow at 5:00 Eastern time, Washington reveals details about his controversial departure from "Grey's Anatomy" and does he ever tune in from time to time to watch.
All right. You had filled up some turkey and pumpkin pie, and now it's time to head home but hold on, there are a few things you should know about the weather.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: ALL RIGHT. We're heading into the second busiest travel day of the year. Karen Maginnis with the forecast of what it might look like.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We've got a lot going on now, but it looks like as we go into towards the Sunday, that's when we start to see the back end of a frontal system that's going to usher in snowfall. All the way from Jackson, Mississippi into Memphis into Nashville.
Right now we're looking at some delays, airport delays, ground delays being reported at Chicago's O'Hare airport, but not just there. We're also looking all across the midwest where this weather system is trying to move now. The back side of this - this is where we're looking at winds that are ushering in bitterly cold air, so that cold air, moisture in place, and you've got the ideal ingredients for snowfall. (INAUDIBLE) snow in places like Nashville, may see a little bit could be ice, snow mix perhaps.
But down in Houston, we were looking at some delays earlier in the day but right now, we're beginning to see that break up just a little bit. Most of that has moved off towards the north and towards the east, so Houston's weather situation is definitely improving.
All right. As we go into the next, oh, 12 hours or so, here are what we're expecting. Chicago, already the delays have taken place there, but for Dallas, Memphis, Minneapolis, those wind gusts could be up close to 60 miles per hour.
Now, we've already seen some reports that they've been as high as 65 miles an hour in sections of Oklahoma, also into Texas. Cool weather is going to prevail here. Shiny skies, you'll need it because these wind chill factors are going to be exceptionally cold.
This rainfall though, Fredricka, is kind of the key. Here is the front going into Sunday.
For Atlanta, the rainfall begins to pick up. Lots of people on the roads trying to get different places for this extended thanksgiving holiday, but you're headed back to home. Try to get home in time for work. For Atlanta, for places like Nashville, also into charlotte, it's going to be a wet forecast.
More so into Monday, along that i-95 corridor into New York, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, that's where we're looking at some of the rainfall. This Tennessee River Valley, some of the rivers here are beginning to fill up, and as a result we do have flood warnings in effect, so if you're traveling through some of those areas, we saw that last week in Arkansas where the heavy deluge really impacted this region. Now it shifts more toward the east.
We haven't talked much about the Pacific Northwest, but you have a pretty good weather system that's moving in here. They're staying along to the Eastern edge of the Cascades. You're looking at snowfall, so that cold air is getting dragged in. Also with the Golf of Alaska, rainfall, and you know what, Fredricka, you know I'm a big birder.
WHITFIELD: Yes, I know.
MAGINNIS: We've got snowy owls here. We saw it with the last system that moved in and there will be another one moving in. They're saying this could be a big owl year for the west coast --
WHITFIELD: That's incredible.
MAGINNIS: Big storms moving. And they are saying, the weather has an influence on kind of the migration of these birds.
WHITFIELD: Wow. We've got to get some of your images on the air one day. We have some extraordinary images from the bird watching that you do.
Alright, thanks very much, Karen. Appreciate that.
Some of our top stories now. Pakistan is condemning a NATO helicopter attack on checkpoints near the volatile border with Afghanistan. Pakistan said at least 20 soldiers were killed. The government is calling for a review of its relationship with the U.S. and NATO, and that could have a big impact on future military and political arrangements between the two countries.
And, homeward bound for three American students arrested during protests in Egypt. Egyptian officials accused them of taking part in invite lent protests in Tahrir Square. The students denied the charges which included throwing molto cocktails from a rooftop during the demonstration. They are due to arrive home tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liftoff of the Atlas 5 with curiosity.
WHITFIELD: And NASA launches a mission to the red planet this morning. It will take eight and a half months for the rocket carrying the rover dogged curiosity to reach Mars. It weighs a ton and is about the size of a compact car. Curiosity holds up for signs of potential Martian life.
And a series of bombings claimed more than a dozen lives in Iraq today. Seven people were killed when three roadside bombs exploded in central Baghdad. Another six men died when a bomb hit a mini bus carrying young people in Eastern Fallujah.
Nearly 300 deployed marines and sailors returned home to Hawaii and to the open arms of waiting children, spouses, et cetera family members for the thanksgiving holiday weekend. They were filled with joy and lots of love upon their arrival. The marines and sailors were coming home for the holidays from southern Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIRST LIEUTENANT THOMAS UPCHURCH, U.S. MARINE: That's the best thing in the world. That's one thing the deployment taught me. I wan seven months away, the only thing that really matters is your family and just coming back home soon. So yes, I'm thankful for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Iraq's army says it will take full responsibility for security when U.S. forces leave next month. Almost all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year. And as CNN's Martin Savidge reports, it's been a massive undertaking.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If the war of Iraq has a finish line, then camp Virginia is it. For the last six weeks, as many as 350 vehicles a day have been rolling into this remote base on the desert, delivering soldiers and equipment.
Here teams workday 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.
And so, what sort of stuff are they getting out at this particular port?
SERGEANT VALERIE CARTER, U.S. ARMY: They are getting out oil, fuel, batteries, anything important to them that they downloaded here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fill all that up.
SAVIDGE: Everything is sorted and collected to be thrown out, recycled or put back in service.
We brought you to this motor pool because it's really one of the few places you can go to get a sense of just how much we're talking about, how many vehicles, how many trucks, how much stuff. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Camp Virginia has the capacity to house close to 7,000 troops and more than 5,000 vehicles. And even though officials say they're below those levels, they admit it's been challenging keeping up with what's been coming out of Iraq.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL BRYAN BOBO, CAMP COMMANDER: It's very busy, and I will 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, listen up. And Welcome to Camp Virginia. My name is --
SAVIDGE: But there are signs of string. The bases 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 a convoy to a flight back to the U.S. within five to eight days, but officers admitted it can sometimes take longer.
And the next convoy to camp Virginia is not expected until November 30 to allow the system time to catch up. Yet despite such problems, morale remains high as every soldier who makes it here knows the next stop is home.
Martin Savidge, CNN. Camp Virginia, Kuwait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: It sounds like they have a deal. So, when is it game on for the NBA? Sports attorney Daniel Meachum is here to talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Alright, it looks like we'll have an NBA season after all. Basketball commissioner David Stern says a tentative agreement was reached this morning to end the lockout. The plan is to start the season on Christmas day with a triple header, but players still have to ratify the deal.
Notice sports and entertainment attorney Daniel Meacham joins me live right now to talk about this proposed deal.
Ok, so, the players still have to ratify it. Would they back out at this juncture?
DANIEL MEACHUM, SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY: I don't think so, but they can't ratify it until they reform the union. They de-certify the union on November the 14th, so there are a lot of legal hoops that need to be overcome before there is a collective bargaining.
WHITFIELD: Really? So, a lot?
MEACHUM: A lot.
WHITFIELD: So, no one should celebrate, December 25th, possibly the start of the regular season?
MEACHUM: They say the boys are the most pessimistic people, so maybe my opinion isn't the one to rely on, but there are two lawsuits. They placed of all the most is in Minnesota, and they have to withdraw that. They almost filed a lawsuit in New York. They better withdraw that lawsuit.
I think one of the bargaining chips that allowed this to happen is that the players do it to gain $6 billion in damages in a lawsuit. But you've got to reform the union. The owners, 15 of 29, have to ratify the agreement. Now, there is an economic committee within the owners that have to approve it and recommend it to the board. That has to be done.
WHITFIELD: Now, is it your contention and perhaps even that some of the players you do represent, some of them being players by the way. That some of the players are saying, you know, they had to give up the most in this in order to even reach this tentative deal, that they're losing millions.
MEACHUM: The collective bargaining agreement the players receive, they're guaranteed 57 percent of the revenues. That's $4 billion. Now it's 50/50. So I don't know what the math is, but I think 7 percent of $4 billion is a significant number. The other thing is they did not mess so much where the cap or restrictive agencies, but what they did is they used the luxury tax as a restriction from a player like Kevin Durant, welcome a small market in Oklahoma to a large market in New York. And I don't think what people understood, it was a three-pronged fight here. It was the owner of large markets versus the owners of small markets and then the players. WHITFIELD: So, how does it either, change the game, change the structure of the NBA or change the contracts from this day forward?
MEACHUM: I don't think right now you're going to know until these things like luxury taxes start to really be applied and be in place. If they become very restricted, it's going to do a couple of things. It's going to have a restriction on the players' salaries, which is what they don't want to have, and it's going to have a restriction on the movement of the players' free agencies.
So, I think it's kind of wait and see, but the problem is you have to have players and owners voting on that agreement without really knowing how smart will be applied and how it's going to play out.
WHITFIELD: So, the point of view of many fans are with demand, this is over, you know, a lot of money when most of the players and owners are making a lot of money, and so, a lot of fans are just more disappointed that it disrupted the regular season. And they feel like feel these are spoiled kids who are fighting over their territory. Do I have that right?
MEACHUM: I think - well, the fans have the right because the fans make the game. But I think its relative, because the players -- I heard Michael Jordan at his hall of fame induction say that though the front office put together a good team, the players won the championship.
These players are the highlights. They're the entertainment. The owners take an economic risk in putting the team together. The players take a risk as well and so, one of the things of guaranteed contracts and economic risks. I mean, it's a real relative kind of situation. It's like saying secretariat was a good horse, and so why did he get a chance to do all the things he did?
Well, it's you know, it's relative. It's not a swayed back horse. It's relative. These guys are at least at the top of their game. They played this game all their lives and they're entitled to be compensated for it. I've friends on both sides, owners and players, but I think I probably land with the players a little bit more.
WHITFIELD: Alright, we'll see if we're, indeed, are going to see that triple header on Christmas day.
MEACHUM: Sounds good.
WHITFIELD: Alright, Daniel Meacham, good to see you. Thanks so much.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you. Thank you.
And here's a recipe for disaster. Ok, what would be your reaction if you walked into your living room and saw this? Flour everywhere, all because of two little boys. You're going to have to stick around, I guess, to see the video.
Two little boys kind of had a field day with a five-pound bag of flour. And it's everywhere. Would you kind of blow a gasket or would you say, it's all right? They are just being kids.
MEACHUM: I would probably blow a gasket. I would blow a gasket. That's my daughter.
WHITFIELD: OK, so this happens before? You'll have to stick around for our viral video. This was the end result.
MEACHUM: My God.
WHITFIELD: I know. Alright, we'll be right back with more of this viral video.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Alright, here's what's crossing the political ticker right now. It's a little more than six weeks until the first in 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 the Republican race, an endorsement from the paper considered a major boost for any candidate.
And Republican candidate Newt Gingrich is standing firm in his call for a more human approach to the illegal immigrant issue. He says illegal immigrants who came here recently should go home, period. He said those here with longer ties in the U.S. should not be uprooted from their families and kicked out.
This comes after rivals blocked at him as the supporter of amnesty.
And the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will not serve an eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Charlie Gonzalez of Texas says he's been in Congress 14 years and he wants to do something else.
And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, CNNpolitics.com.
Alright now, a little time for some virals. Karen Maginnis back now. This is really zany, crazy, over the top. We kind a hinted to it earlier, flour everywhere, the toddler.
MAGINNIS: These poor little -- one and three years old, left alone, five-pound bag of flour. He's already wearing the prison stripes.
WHITFIELD: That's right. That's funny.
MAGINNIS: Just for a hot second or a couple minutes, apparently mom went to the bathroom. And when she came back, this is what she saw. They had a field day with flour. A five-pound bag of flour can do that much damage.
WHITFIELD: And would possible?
MAGINNIS: I would like to think I never did that as a little one. WHITFIELD: I don't think I did, either. I think I'd still hear about it today, right?
MAGINNIS: Sitting around the picnic table.
WHITFIELD: How in the world do you vacuum all this stuff up?
MAGINNIS: Well, I think you would have to make two or three passes over that.
WHITFIELD: I mean, I saw this and I'm thinking, my God, they're going to get new furniture, take the carpeting out and et cetera. But you know, what's really remarkable here is mom makes the discovery, she gets the video camera and they get to continue playing as you saw there.
MAGINNIS: Three million viewers later, there you go.
WHITFIELD: Pretty remarkable stuff. Alright, thanks so much, Karen, for that crazy video. OK, now we got this coming up, now that Black Friday. Were you into it, black Friday?
MAGINNIS: I did.
WHITFIELD: Well, you didn't lose your mind like of folks did, right?
MAGINNIS: Allegedly.
WHITFIELD: OK. Good. Good. And now, there's cyber Monday. Are you excited about that?
MAGINNIS: Yes, and I already began.
WHITFIELD: I'm way ahead of the curve here.
MAGINNIS: My goodness.
WHITFIELD: Alright, well here's some cyber Monday related comes strange here. It involved a very warm place.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Alright, with black Friday over, the countdown is on to cyber Monday now. And it's the biggest on-line shopping day of the season, and you may see it as day to get someone that Ipads on holidays or a new TV that you've been wanting. Well, you may also want to consider booking a trip, a flight to some place warm or just wherever you need to go for the holidays.
Josh Levs is here to explain. This is great news. I didn't know that.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. People don't realize, you know. It's like you're saying, people hear cyber Monday and they think, OK, it's time to get stuff. What a lot of people don't realize is there are cyber Monday deals that expire Monday night, 11:59 p.m. I mean, earlier we talked about some of the stuff you can actually get cheaper if you wait until after cyber Monday with a lot of these deals. But we have a really great spread on CNN.com right now that talks about these travel deals and how you might want to grab them. And you know the whole different angle on us.
So, let me talk you through some of these complied by our--. I think ahead to you know, where you might want to go with the cold weather coming, but if you have something else in mind, so be it.
OK, first this one, Hawaii, alright. So, Orbits has a pretty good deal going. They're offering up to half price on hotels in some sires of places, including Hawaii, also places in the continental U.S., San Diego, Orlando. They also have it for overseas locations like Paris and they're referring to it as a cyber sale, and this cyber sale ends Monday night. So it is a really good example of taking advantage of it.
WHITFIELD: That's gorgeous right there.
MAGINNIS: Yes, that's why. Now, let's go to Cancun, so Marriott has a deal going that will help you get discounts if you go there. It's for a bunch of warm locations, including Cancun. Discounts, big percentage off, also going to Aruba, Puerto Rico, a bunch of good places. And I am going to mention one more. This is a site few people know about this, but it's good right now, called Upon with two uses - and it will appear on the screen. It's offering what they're calling -- not a typo -- black Friday and cyber Monday sale. They're offering deals to all sorts of places, including Vegas. They have a lot of discounts for shows in Vegas.
So, these are the kinds of things you want to tray advantage of right now if you can. Just take a look at her sites and I posted all this stuff for you as well as everything that we've talking about this afternoon, the scams to watch out for and when cyber Monday is going to be a good deal for you, when it's not. It's all up in all my pagers.
So, CNN.com/josh is the blog, and on facebook and twitter, I'm at josh joshlevsCNN. You'll find - I put like a dozen length there. That should really serve as a guide to you to get to cyber Monday.
WHITFIELD: So, most likely, when you try to search for these deals, you need to go to say, the airlines Web site or to the hotels web site, not necessarily to the travel you know, Web sites that have package deals?
LEVS: A lot of these kinds of deals are going to be the sites where you can book everything at once, where you can book your flight and your hotel. So, it's like that. But some of the airline could be doing it directly as well, but a lot we're seeing in terms of cyber Monday focus is definitely at those sites that book your whole trip for you.
WHITFIELD: Very exciting cyber, looking at cyber Monday in a whole different way.
LEVS: I'm telling you, if you've got a vacation plans, this is a great way to use it.
WHITFIELD: Alright Josh, appreciate that. Thanks so much.
Alright, speaking of traveling, a bill now before the U.S. Senate would make a lot of airline passengers very happy. The Senator Mary of Louisiana has introduced a bill that would accept one checked bag and one carry-on bag for free of charge.
Some airlines now charge as much as $35 for a first check bag and Spirit charges 45 bucks for carry-on bag. Landrieu says when airline advertise a flight, that's how much it should cost, plain and simple.
Alright, just one week after "Twilight, breaking dawn" was released. Reports are surfacing that the movie has been causing seizures. A California man was said to have suffered a seizure while watching the movie's birth scene. According to the Hollywood report medical expert say the scene could have triggered episodes of photosensitive epilepsy.
Wow. And an Alabama sky diver is taking a huge leap, been taking it again and again and again and again until he jumped a hundred times in one day. He's doing it to remember a Mike Spann, the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan in November of 2001. Money raised by that event will go to a trust fund for Spann's children.
Alright, that's going to do it for me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for hanging out with me this afternoon.
More of the NEWSROOM, straight ahead with Ted Rollins, in for Don Lemon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
