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Pakistan Furious Over NATO Attack; Stalemate in Tahrir Square; "The Craigslist" Killings; Deal to End NBA Lockout; U.S. Troops Pulling Out of Iraq
Aired November 26, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ted Rowlands in tonight for Don Lemon.
U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan face a new crisis tonight. Pakistan blames those forces for a cross border attack that killed 24 soldiers. In response, Islamabad has cut off two crucial supply lines across the border. Now our soldiers will have to hold out while desperately needed supplies just sit across the border.
CNN's Reza Sayah joins me from Islamabad with more.
Reza, first off, what do we know in terms of specifics about the attacks?
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ted, the most detailed account we're getting is from Pakistani officials. And it's important to note that U.S. and NATO officials have yet to say that this is exactly what happened. This is what Pakistan is saying happened.
Essentially officials here are saying in the early morning hours of Saturday a NATO air strike hits two military check posts on Pakistani soil killing at least 24 Pakistani soldiers. They say this incident happened in a place called Mohmand. This is a district in Pakistan's tribal region right along the Afghanistan border. There's a lot of militant activity in this region. What you have often is Pakistani troops, NATO troops carrying out a lot of operations here but the agreement is for Pakistan to stay on its side and NATO to stay on its side. But officials here in Pakistan say that's not what happened.
These air strikes hit these two check posts on Pakistani soil. Not the first time this has happened, Ted. Last year, another NATO air strike killing two Pakistani soldiers also in 2008. Another NATO air strike killing at least 11 Pakistani soldiers.
ROWLANDS: Two in 24 in terms of casualties is a huge difference. Is NATO admitting any responsibility at all right now for the attack?
SAYAH: Not exactly. And it's interesting, NATO's approach and the U.S. approach has been very similar. A lot of high ranking officials have come out and made statements. They're contrite. They are remorseful. People like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense secretary Leon Panetta saying they regret the loss of life but they have stopped short of saying that this strike happened on Pakistani soil.
They acknowledge that there was a ground operation that they called in an air strike and the soldiers died because of this air strike. But they're stopping short at saying Pakistan's account is exactly what happened. But clearly, they're taking this very seriously. They say they're investigating and result of the investigation is going to come sometime soon.
ROWLANDS: Now, clearly it is daylight there now, and yesterday, there were some folks that took to the street. By and large, how are Pakistanis reacting to what happened?
SAYAH: They're angry. There's a lot of anti-American sentiment already here in Pakistan and this only fuels it. There has been some protests. Not a lot. They haven't been widespread. But a couple took place in Lahore on Saturday, and also the Pakistani government is absolutely incensed.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani issuing a blistering condemnation. The government has already taken some measures. We are already seeing the fallout. Two NATO supply routes that go from Pakistan into Afghanistan already shut down. So you're already seeing at least 40 percent of nonlethal NATO supplies sitting here in Pakistan, not clear when they're going to move out to Afghanistan.
Also, Pakistan shutting down an air base in southwestern Pakistan that at some point was used for U.S. air drone strikes here. So they're already taking measures to respond. It's not clear what other measures they're prepared to take. But, clearly, this is an incident that's made a lot of people angry here in Pakistan.
ROWLANDS: And an incident obviously that is still developing. Reza Sayah, thanks for joining us from Islamabad.
While, the U.S. and Pakistan have been going at it, if you will, for weeks if not months, their relationship reduced in terms of the way that the two have gotten along. Frustration has been growing in both Washington and Islamabad.
We're joined now by retired General Wesley Clark. He served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe for NATO.
General Clark, first off, how crucial is Pakistan's cooperation to the war effort against the Taliban in Afghanistan?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED): Well, it's very, very important. The United States has to work with Pakistan as an ally.
ROWLANDS: The long and the short of this in the short term we're talking about two crucial supply lines. It's been estimated that about 40 percent of the material brought into Afghanistan goes through these two. How crucial are these lines, and the fact that Pakistan right now has stopped the flow of goods going back and forth? How will that impact the effort, if you will, in Afghanistan?
CLARK: Well, the supply lines are important. But there are stockpiles in Afghanistan. So, it's not the first time that there have has been trouble on the supply lines. Earlier in the week, a NATO convoy was attacked, a fuel convoy in Pakistan. So the supply lines are important. It's also important to have intelligence and the United States and Pakistan do share intelligence. And it's important to work together controlling the border. And trying to dampen down the use of Pakistan territory by the militant Taliban and Haqqani networks.
ROWLANDS: In the age of GPS systems, how could NATO or U.S. forces launch an attack on a checkpoint on the wrong side of the border in two spots and 24 Pakistani military members end up dead?
CLARK: Well, that's the question that has to be answered. So, so normally in these events, what happens is mistakes are made. But usually, the first report is not accurate. So we really need to wait until we get the information as daylight emerges and NATO officials can investigate. But we have to ask ourselves, how would this happen? It could be that somehow the aircraft simply misidentified a target on the ground. It could be that the locations are off. It could be that inadvertently, forces were actually exchanging fire. And there was lack of mutual recognition between the two forces as to who was who.
So all of those things could come into play. And it has to be -- we have to wait and investigations have to be done and witness statements have to be taken and radio logs have to be checked and GPS coordinates and aerial photographs taken and compared with maps and so forth before we can get to the bottom of this.
ROWLANDS: All right. General Wesley Clark, thanks for the insight. Obviously a developing story out of Pakistan tonight.
Three American students can rest easy tonight after being at the mercy of Egyptian police for days. One of them, Gregory Porter, arrived in Philadelphia earlier tonight.
Police in Cairo accused Porter and two other students of throwing Molotov cocktails near Tahrir Square. They've been in Egyptian custody since Monday. All three were attending American University in Cairo on a semester long study abroad program. Porter was clearly happy to be back in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
GREGORY PORTER, AMERICAN STUDENT RELEASED BY EGYPT: I'd like to thank the embassy in Cairo for all of the things they did for us. As well as the administration at the American University in Cairo for all of their help and support. And my lawyers Ted, both in Egypt and here, who worked tirelessly to obtain my freedom. I'm just so thankful to be back and love to be in Philadelphia right now.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
ROWLANDS: The two other students arrested with Porter, Derrik Sweeney and Luke Gates, are also returning to the United States tonight from Egypt. The pressure is growing on the military to give up power in Egypt. These are live pictures of early Sunday morning in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Last February, this of course, was the site of huge celebrations when President Hosni Mubarak stepped down.
But this time the revolution is far from over. There was -- this was Friday. Takes of some shots of video from Friday. This seething crowd of people demanding that the military give up power immediately. And this time, they say they won't be so quick to leave Tahrir.
Ben Wedeman has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
BED WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The protesters in Tahrir Square continue to ratchet up their pressure on the military council that runs Egypt calling for them to step down and hand over two civilians. On Sunday, they're planning yet another million man protest to press their demand.
At the same time, Muhammad el-Baradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has come out and said he's willing to relinquish his bid for the presidency if he is asked to serve as prime minister in a National Salvation Government. This happened after he met today with the members of the military council who are clearly trying to bridge the gap between the demands of the people in Tahrir Square and what they can actually offer.
The military has expressed no intention to step down in response to the calls from Tahrir Square. In the meantime, Egyptians are preparing for the first round in a long series of rounds of presidential elections to begin on Monday.
They've already been extended from Monday to also Tuesday, as well. Much tension in this country as it prepares for the first elections since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Cairo.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
ROWLANDS: Syria activists say the relentless crack down by the government there claimed 29 lives today. Among that number, four children. This campaign against protesters led arable finance ministers to call for sanctions today against Syria.
New video on YouTube showed enthusiastic demonstrations in the city of Homs with Syrians pledging with the lead to hit the regime hard. The sanctions would freeze assets belonging to the government and Syrian officials, travel restrictions would be enforced as well. Sunday morning, foreign ministers will decide whether to accept the decision to enforce those sanctions.
A developing story in Ohio. Is a killer getting his victims from Craigslist?
Also, four victims have been identified and three of them are dead. Police are wondering, could there be more.
And marching bands at historically black colleges. They're almost as famous as the institutions themselves. But the death of a drum major at Florida A&M could cause fallout beyond that campus. Those stories coming up in two minutes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: Now to the so-called "Craigslist Killings." Police believe at least four victims including one who managed to escape had responded to a phony job ad on Craigslist.
Susan Candiotti is working the story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Ted, four men, all strangers, separately lured to rural Ohio because they shared a common goal in these tough times. They needed a job.
(voice-over): Timothy Kern is the most recently identified victim. The medical examiner says he was shot multiple times in the head. The divorced father of three was found in a shallow grave in a wooded area behind a vacant Akron Shopping Mall. His son says Kern was enticed by an ad on Craigslist as were three other victims.
Fired from his previous job as a street cleaner, Kern accepted a $300 a week offer to manage cattle on a 600-acre farm, including a place to live and a truck to drive. Before disappearing, he wrote this now eerie in hindsight on his Facebook page.
"Just got one of the strangest job offers. A good offer, but strange. Life can be such a sometimes."
When Kern's son learned of his father's murder he wrote on his blog, "The years ahead of me will be so hard. I love you, dad. Rest in peace."
The possible Craigslist connection surfaced three weeks ago when a man told police he was driven into the woods by two men who advertised a job on a farm. He narrowly escaped after being shot in the arm. Nine days later, police found a fatally shot man in a shallow grave in the same area. Authorities say a fourth man from West Virginia also reported missing answered a similar Craigslist ad.
On Friday, police found a shallow grave of an unidentified man found in eastern Ohio in the same area the first two victims were discovered. Police have two suspects in custody. The father of 16- year-old Brogan Rafferty tells CNN affiliate WJW his son is one of them. He's charged with attempted murder. A second suspect is being held on unrelated charges. His mother identifies him as Richard Beasley and says he mentored the teen. This man says he also answered the ad and was interviewed by Beasley but it didn't sound right.
RON SANSON, INTERVIEWED FOR JOB: I'm like wait a minute. He owns 688 acre farm, and he doesn't know the exact deficit of that? Something's wrong there now.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Police say a possible motive is robbery, though it's unclear what killers could have gained from unemployed victims. Also not known, whether there are more victims of the online ad.
Ted?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: Susan Candiotti, thank you.
Florida A&M's long time band director is fighting to keep his job after a band member's death was linked to hazing. Police say Robert Champion, a drum major in the marching band died after a performance last Saturday. He reportedly vomited and complained of not being able to breathe. Later he was pronounced dead at an Orlando Hospital.
Band director Julian White has been put on administrative leave until December 22nd when he will be officially dismissed. The school's president accuses White of failing to address hazing allegations. But White's attorney says his client has demonstrated, quote, "exemplary anti-hazing leadership and should not be fired."
Earlier I talked with defense attorney Holly Hughes who says evidence may exist to support that claim.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We've actually heard some of the others students' parents coming out, mothers of other band members saying, "I went to him," meaning the director, Mr. White, "and complained, and he did address the issue. He did try to stop the hazing of my child. He sat other students down and said, don't do this."
So, there seems to be some evidence, some proof, even if it's a low threshold that, this band director did in fact try to stop the hazing and some of the students just went rogue off on their own.
ROWLANDS: And we should point out, because we're now talking about, we don't know the actual details of what possibly was alleged, but you have a sneaking suspicion likely that somebody is talking here.
HUGHES: Somebody is absolutely talking. I mean, they may play an instrument but they're about to start singing, OK? Because -- you know, I mean, think about it. They're not going to come out and say this is due to hazing if somebody has not put the idea into their head; if somebody hasn't given them at least some credible evidence.
And you got to figure there's probably more than one student involved. So, only one person is getting the deal. That's not a hard choice. Let's see, graduate college, go to prison, graduate college, go to prison. Somebody is going to start telling what happened to get a deal. (END VIDEOCLIP)
ROWLANDS: Officials are awaiting autopsy results to determine whether charges should be filed.
For more on the Florida A&M story and to learn more about the significance and culture of the marching bands at historically black colleges and universities, check out the article on CNN.com. That's already generated more than 500 Facebook recommendations and hundreds of comments. You'll find a link to the article right in the middle of the main page.
It's time to hit the hardwood. A tentative agreement is reached to end the NBA lockout, but it's not a done deal yet. Will those big Christmas Day games take place?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: NBA fans have suffered enough. Let there be basketball. Looks like the season and abbreviated one will happen after all now that players and owners have agreed to end the 149-day lockout. It's a tentative deal but if it holds, the season would be 66 games instead of the usual 82, and it would start Christmas Day. Players' union president Derrick Fisher and NBA commissioner David Stern made the announcement this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: The greater good required us to knock ourselves out and come to this tenet of understanding. And so, I think that there is still a lot of shall we say other issues to be finished because we have the broadest outline.
DERRICK FISHER, PLAYERS' UNION PRESIDENT: The most important key thing here is that, you know, our fans and the support from the people and the patience, you know, through a large part of this process, you know, that's to a lot of this credit goes to.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
ROWLANDS: Will 80 percent of the season be enough to win fans back? Earlier I asked Jon Wertheim, senior investigative reporter for "Sports Illustrated" that question.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
JON WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: I think basketball is lucky in this sense. You know, if you missed a month and a half of football, you've missed the third of the season, you missed November and part of December in basketball and I don't think too many fans are so concerned.
You know, we missed meeting more games called years ago during the lockout in the, you know, 1999-2000. I hope if anybody was terribly dissatisfied that -- 55 games season there.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
ROWLANDS: A lot has to happen in the next month for the season to tip off as planned, here are the key dates. December 9th training camp starts. The same day December 9th, free agency opens and trades will start happening fast and furious.
Then, as we mentioned, December 25th, the regular season would begin with a TV triple header. Here are those matchups, the Miami Heat against the Dallas Mavericks, the Boston Celtics, of course the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Investigators have searched the home of a Syracuse University assistant basketball coach who's been accused of sexually molesting two ball boys. Authorities scored Bernie Fine's house. Police, state troopers even the secret service and the United States attorney's office reportedly took part. It's not clear what they were looking for, but CNN affiliate WSYR is reporting that they left with three filing cabinets labeled evidence. Fine is on paid administrative leave from Syracuse University. The former ball boys Bobby Davis and his stepbrother, Michael Lang, accuse Fine of molesting them years ago.
ROWLANDS: New developments tonight in the search for missing Missouri baby Lisa Irwin. Volunteers searched the area around a closed casino in Kansas City after a tip from a psychic.
The psychic blogged about visions she had of Baby Lisa and volunteers connected that information to an area near Sam's Town Casino, according to our affiliate KCTV. The volunteers didn't find anything during their search of the property. Baby Lisa disappeared from her crib on October 4th.
More than 40 years after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, lawyers for Sirhan Sirhan are trying to get him a new trial. Papers filed this week in federal court cite, quote, "formidable evidence as the basis for the appeal." Sirhan is serving a life sentence in California. Among other things, Sirhan's lawyers say expert analysis of the new evidence shows two guns were used and that Sirhan's revolver was not the one that killed Kennedy.
The court brief goes on to say that Sirhan was an involuntary participant in the crimes being committed because he was subjected to sophisticated hypno programming and memory implantation techniques which rendered him unable to consciously control his thoughts and actions at the time the crimes were being committed.
Well, it is like an assembly line only in reverse as U.S. troops begin their pullout from Iraq, a ton of supplies, equipment and thousands of vehicles must get packed up, too. We'll take you to where the long trip home begins in two minutes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: It was a deadly day in Iraq. According to police, seven people were killed and 28 wounded when roadside bombs exploded in a busy commercial district of central Baghdad. Another six died and ten were wounded when a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying construction workers near Fallujah. Violence in Iraq has declined from its peak, but the attacks continue.
Almost all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year. Getting them their gear, supplies and thousands of vehicles packed up is proving to be a major undertaking.
CNN's Martin Savidge has more from Camp Virginia, Kuwait.
(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 Kuwait 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?
SGT. VALERIE CARTER, U.S. ARMY: They are getting out oil, fuel, batteries, anything that was not issued to them or that they bought, 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 this is 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.
LT. COL. 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)
ROWLANDS: Well, you might have seen the wild pictures or you might have even experienced Black Friday turning ugly yourself. Fellow shoppers, pepper sprayed, shots fired all in the fight to get a Black Friday deal. What makes people act this way?
And after all the turkey and the family time, the shopping, it is time for millions of Americans to head back home. We will have your coast to coast forecast in seven minutes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: Police in Southern California now know the identity of the shopper who reportedly pepper sprayed other shoppers at a Walmart on Black Friday. The woman turned herself in to police last night. She hasn't been charged in the case because police are still interviewing witnesses. The woman was seen pepper spraying a crowd of people who were scrambling to get their hands on discounted Xbox video game consoles.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
JUAN CASTRO, WITNESS: I didn't see it 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 it was worth it. No deal is worth that.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
ROWLANDS: Ten people required treatment after being sprayed. So what triggers this bizarre behavior on Black Friday?
Earlier tonight, I put that question to human behavior expert Dr. Wendy Walsh and psychologist and relationship expert Alduan Tartt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. ALDUAN TARTT, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: Well, it's the principle scarcity. We state simply, we want or we can't have. And so, we have limited supplies and we create the demand, people get in competition for one another for what they want and need, and they think other people, they are the competition.
ROWLANDS: Wendy, what do you think?
DR. WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Well, I think I would add to what Dr. Tartt said and say, there is also some actually political reasons. In a more socialist country, people are more conditioned to line up politely in queues and wait their turn, but America's all about individual rights and freedoms and that means the right to be first in line.
On top of that, we're talking about a bad economy where people are hurting. But it doesn't mean that we're not still consumers and we want to consume, consume, consume. And so, because of these dissidents, people can get a little frantic.
ROWLANDS: But Alduan, do you think that people have a plan that they think they're going to get XY and Z in there, and they get there and they realized, they're not the only ones there and then they start to panic.
TARTT: Absolutely. We don't like to lose money, we don't like to lose resources, we don't like to lose power, and we get there and we see people in our way, then we try to eliminate them. And just like Dr. Walsh said, in a short economy, an economy that's in recession, we feel like we need to make this dollar stretch. And you're getting in the way of buying my son that play station, I'm going to eliminate you.
ROWLANDS: All right. Wendy, obviously, retailers love the fact that people are coming out at midnight, 4:00 in the morning to hit the stores in this frenzy actually creates a sport in shopping. Do retailers hold some responsibility in these incidents in that they're bringing more people into the game than they have actual sales items to sell?
WALSH: Absolutely. They have a huge responsibility in this because they're upping the ante. They're taking a limited quantity of items and selling them in only a limited amounts of time and allowing masses of people to go for it.
Now, what we have to remember, though, that overall, human beings are becoming less violent than ever. I mean, in the Middle Ages, there's somebody upset you, you clubbed them right there. And so, these few incidents that we have video of really don't reflect all the orderly people who did have a happy shopping experience. Millions of people on Black Friday. And we have to remember we are becoming more peaceful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And Walmart agrees with that saying while there were a few unfortunate incidents at its stores on Black Friday, the vast majority of shoppers had a safe and enjoyable shopping experience.
Some interesting crowd control strategy at a Best Buy in the Puerto Rico. Employees used the store's metal gate to help them limit the number of shoppers inside the store at a given time.
As you can see, even the gate didn't slow some of the folks down. And if early estimates are right, Black Friday shoppers spent a record-breaking amount. Shopper Track which tracks foot traffic at malls and stores says sales climbed 6.6 percent this year to just under $11.5 billion. Sales in the two weeks before Black Friday were also brisk. Up 3.6 percent and 3.8 percent respectively.
Well, if you missed out on those bargains, don't worry. Cyber- Monday is only two days away. That's when retailers slash prices for online merchandise. And there are a lot of deals to be had. A survey by Shop.org says eight of ten online merchants will be offering promotions and many shoppers don't let work get in their way. 60 percent of workers plan to shop for holiday gifts from their decks at work. And despite a weak economy, analysts expect sales to hit a record $1.2 billion this year.
Well, Karen Maginnis is in the weather center. A lot of folks around the country here thinking about leaving grandma's house. They may have some tough times getting home because of some weather.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and about 38 million people hit the roads, and they're going to have some big problems, especially as you head towards the east. But we also have problems for travelers who are going to some of the airports.
Want to show you, this is very impressive. On our last few model runs of where the rainfall is going to be and where it's going to be the heaviest, take a look at this. Across the lower Ohio River Valley, from Paducah towards Louisville towards Columbus, Ohio, some of these areas over the next 48 hours could pick up one, two, three inches of rainfall. But that's in 48 hours.
We've got a stubborn area of low pressure that's just going to swirl around the Central Tennessee River Valley. As a matter of fact, Nashville looking at two or three inches of rainfall. As I mentioned, that's a 48-hour total. What we can expect may be two to four with some isolated heavier amounts of rainfall. All the way from Columbus towards Nashville.
Now for Atlanta, here comes a frontal system. This is going to be problematic for air travelers at the nation's biggest airport as this area of low pressure just kind of stay stuck in the atmosphere, but on the backside of this, in Nashville, also into Memphis, we can expect maybe a few flurries. But it looks like it's not going to stick around. It's mostly going to be maybe a rain/snow mix but very breezy weather conditions there, as well.
All right. As we take you through time. This is what we're looking at in Chicago, temperatures falling throughout the day. Only in the 40. Say good-bye to those 50s that you saw this afternoon. For Atlanta, the showers continue for the next several days with much cooler temperatures. And as we take a look a little bit further towards the north for Sunday and Monday, OK, in New York, but the rain showers move in by Tuesday. Ted?
ROWLANDS: Could be an interesting travel day to say the least.
MAGINNIS: We'll have updates tomorrow.
ROWLANDS: All right, thanks, Karen.
And now a look at what's ahead tomorrow in the CNN NEWSROOM. FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Tune in Sunday beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Big travel day snags. We have team coverage.
And in the 4:00 Eastern hour, there's a new movement called No Labels. They want to put aside party labels and get things done. We'll talk to the founders about where they think this is going.
Plus, at 5:00 Eastern, face to face with actor Isaiah Washington. Four years after his controversial departure from "Grey's Anatomy," he explains how that role shaped his life on and of screen. Ted?
ROWLANDS: Thanks Fredricka.
And next, the race for the White House is heating up. The most famous sheriff in the country is heading east hitting the campaign trail for GOP presidential candidate. We'll tell you who coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: A sheriff who's become a lightning rod in the immigration debate will campaign with Rick Perry. Joe Arpaio, Sheriff Joe of Maricopa County, Arizona, will join Perry in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
Several GOP presidential hopefuls have courted Arpaio known as America's Toughest Sheriff by some. He has generated national controversy over his crackdown on illegal immigrants and his strong support for Arizona's immigration law.
Some believe that frankly Perry could use his clout. Conservative critics jumped on Perry after he suggested that people who don't support education for children of illegal immigrants, quote, "Don't have a heart."
As we reported, there's a tentative deal in place to end the NBA lockout. Among those relieved is the country's basketball fan in chief. President Obama was asked about the deal after he finished playing basketball at Ft. McNair. Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President, what do you think about the NBA strike?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good deal.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
ROWLANDS: The president also spent his afternoon in Maryland watching Townsend Fall to Arizona State which is coached by his brother-in-law.
Voting is under way right now for 2011 CNN's hero of the year. TV host Nate Berkus introduces us to one of the top ten finalists -- Chef Bruno Serato.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATE BERKUS, TV HOST: Hi. I'm Nate Berkus. And as a member of the American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet, I am committed to emergency preparedness, disaster response and lending a helping hand to those in need.
Now, I'm thrilled to help introduce one of this year's Top Ten CNN Heroes.
BRUNO SERATO, CNN HERO: I came to this country 30 years ago. I love to cook, but to be in the restaurant business, you must love the people. How is your lunch, ladies?
In 2005, my mom was here on vacation from Italy.
I said, "Mom, let's go to the Boys and Girls Club."
This little boy, 5 years old, eating potato chips for his dinner. He was a motel kid.
I find out, a poor family who has nothing else live in a motel. When they go back after school, there's no dinner. There's no money.
Mom said, Bruno, you must feed them the pasta.
I'm Bruno Serato. I listened to my mama. Now, my mission is feeding hungry children.
Spaghetti.
I don't give the kids leftovers. I prepare fresh pasta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bruno brings a tray, and all the kids get excited.
SERATO: Are you hungry? Are you hungry?
Right now we are between 150 to 200 kids.
Who like the pasta?
My mom, she made me start. Now, I could never stop.
They're customers. My favorite customers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: Less than two weeks to vote for the CNN Hero of the Year. Just head to CNNHeroes.com and don't forget to watch live on Sunday, December 11th as Anderson Cooper hosts "CNN Heroes: An All- Star Tribute" live from Los Angeles.
Well, will Curiosity solve the mysteries of Mars? A spacecraft bearing that name is now on the way to the red planet and asteroids. They're the stuff of video games, great movies. And the occasional real life threat. See what NASA is doing to keep us safe. That coming up. Stay with us.
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ROWLANDS: NASA's biggest and most advanced probe yet is on its way to Mars.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one. Main engines start. Zero and liftoff off the Atlas 5 with Curiosity. Seeking clues to the planetary puzzle about life on Mars.
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ROWLANDS: A successful launch this morning. It is the start of a very long journey. The Curiosity rover should make it to Mars next August. Curiosity is a self-contained science lab on wheels facing some very high expectations, years of work and $2.5 billion have gone into this mission.
Well, it was just about two weeks ago that an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier zipped relatively close to earth. It wasn't a real threat this time. But scientists as the NASA know that that won't always be the case.
CNN's John Zarrella reports.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A nuclear blast. Humanity never wants to see another one of these on the planet, but off the planet, that's a different story. Rather than destroying life, it could save us from asteroid extinction.
JONATHAN MCDOWELL, ASTROPHYSICIST: If you don't think they're a clear danger, ask your nearest dinosaur.
ZARRELLA: While scientists are making great strides searching for life in the universe, they are also working on ways to prevent massive asteroids from ending life here, like one did the dinosaurs.
MCDOWELL: Bad things happen to good planets. We know that the earth has been hit by asteroids before. In the long run, I think our species has to learn how to protect the earth in that way.
ZARRELLA: Scientists say there are methods that should work, a nuclear blast, knocking the asteroid off its collision course or simply running into it with a spacecraft. To get a better handle on these flying rocks, NASA's first human deep space mission, around 2025, is going to an asteroid.
Down in the Florida Keys, they're already planning.
MIKE GERNHARDT, ASTRONAUT: If I chip a rock on an asteroid, it's going off. It has escape velocity so --
ZARRELLA: Astronaut Mike Gernhardt is developing tools astronauts would need.
GERNHARDT: This is a soil collection device that we cock.
ZARRELLA: And just off shore, an asteroid proving ground of sorts, where the tools are tested in the near weightless environment beneath the surface.
But don't go losing any sleep over an asteroid impact. New findings show there are fewer of the really big ones, the size of a mountain, than was thought and none will threaten the earth for centuries.
There is a down side, those smaller ones, like the one that flew by earth a couple weeks ago, well, astronomers say they don't know where most of those are, about 15,000 of them.
AMY MAINZER, ASTRONOMER: We only have found a very small fraction of those objects yet and they could still cause considerable damage.
ZARRELLA: Like taking out a metropolitan area or an entire state. But, scientists are confident, if there's enough lead time, say 10 to 20 years before it would hit, they're pretty sure they'll get the asteroid before it gets us.
John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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ROWLANDS: Well, remember the pepper spraying cop caught on camera? He's being ridiculed all over the Web for the video of him dousing a line of protesters sitting on the ground. Our Jeanne Moos takes a look coming up.
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ROWLANDS: Checking our headlines.
Pakistan has cut off two supply lines into Afghanistan after a deadly attack by NATO forces on Pakistani troops. 24 soldiers were killed. Trucks carrying vital supplies are now sitting idle at the border while Pakistan reassesses its relationship with the U.S. and NATO. NATO hasn't accepted blame for the incident but is promising a full investigation.
One of the three American college students detained in Egypt is back in the U.S. Egyptian police accused Gregory Porter and two other Americans of throwing Molotov cocktails from a rooftop during recent demonstrations. The other two U.S. students are expected to arrive home later tonight.
The federal government is investigating the Chevy Volt over fears the electric car 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 had been no accidents involving fires and there's no recall. GM insists the car is safe.
Well, pepper spray can hurt, but online mockery stings for a lot longer. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First, an officer hosed down protesters with pepper spray. Now he's getting hosed back, peppered with ridicule for watering my hippies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was like watering the garden like this.
MOOS: Now he's spraying everyone from Santa to Jesus at the Last Supper. He's spraying Lassie. He's spraying Snoopy. He's become what's called a meme, an idea reproducing across the Web, even spraying another Internet meme, the keyboard cat. He's spraying the Beatles. He's spraying to stop the flag raisers at Iwo Jima.
His pepper spray replaces the torch on the Statue of Liberty. He's spraying in famous paintings, at historic moments, at national monuments and now we know why House Speaker John Boehner cries. He, too has been pepper sprayed by the now infamous officer.
(on camera): His real name is Lieutenant John Pike but has been tagged with the nickname Pepper Spray Pike. That's the name on his fake parody twitter account full of bellicose tweets. "Want to see the super committee do something? Give me 10 minutes with them in a locked room with spray."
The hacker group anonymous went after Lieutenant Pike by publicizing his phone and address.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to make you squeal.
MOOS (voice-over): Someone even created the pepper spray cop's lament.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, kid, sorry I pepper sprayed you.
MOOS: And when Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly described pepper spray this way -
MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: It's like a derivative of actual pepper. It's a food product essentially --
MOOS: She was mocked. Megyn Kelly on the electric chair, "It's a massage chair essentially." Megyn Kelly on mustard gas, "It's a hotdog condiment, essentially."
(on camera): Megyn Kelly would probably like to eat her words, as long as they weren't seasoned with pepper sprays.
(voice-over): On Amazon.com, critics are writing reviews of actual pepper spray, calling it the Cadillac of citizen repression technology. Pepper spray is being aimed at old people and the village people. It's even being shot up Marilyn Monroe's dress. Anyone care to give thanks for pepper spray on turkey day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move or you're going to get it in the face. Move! Move!
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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ROWLANDS: I'm Ted Rowlands at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you back here tomorrow night at 6:00, 7:00 and 10:00 Eastern. Good night.
