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Herman Cain Suspends Presidential Campaign; Financial Planner Gives Advice; Jerry Sandusky Gives Another Interview; Movie Critic Reviews Recent Box Office Arrivals; Soldiers Return from Iraq; Analyst Examines Recent Technology Items
Aired December 03, 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: Thanks so much, Candy. All eyes have been on the political scene there with the headquarters of Herman Cain. You're in the CNN Newsroom where the news unfolds live this Saturday, December 3rd.
We're watching that, of course, and many other items beginning with the headquarters of Herman Cain's campaign, now former Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain. He is spending his campaign. He spoke in Atlanta a short time ago. Cain blasted what he called false accusations about his personal life. He is battling serious image problems, this after a woman said she had a 13-year extramarital affair with Cain. He's also been dogged after weeks of allegations about sexual misconduct. Cain made the announcement a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Becoming president was plan A. Before you get discouraged, today I want to describe plan B. So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The decision means Cain can still raise funds to retire any debt his campaign may have.
In other political news now, Mitt Romney supporters in New Hampshire called today "super Saturday." It's a day of making calls, knocking on doors. The candidate himself had a rally this morning with former candidate, now supporter Tim Pawlenty. Even with Newt Gingrich surging in the recent polls, Romney today kept his focus on criticizing President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He doesn't understand our economy. He thinks it's not free people and free enterprises that make America strong but instead a government that can guide our lives, tell our businesses where they can build and what they can build, tell our people how they can live their life. He's wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Romney still leads GOP opponent Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire, but Gingrich now leads the polls in Iowa, South Carolina, and Florida. Boosted by his recent surge in the polls Newt Gingrich is campaigning today in New York. The Republican presidential candidate is at a town hall on Staten Island. One poll now shows the former House speaker leading Mitt Romney in Iowa.
In the Penn State child molestation scandal, Jerry Sandusky speaking out again and giving his side of the story. He says he is innocent and never had sexual contact with young boys. The former football assistant football coach sat down with an interview with the "New York Times." Asked why he did things like showering with kids, sleeping with them alone in hotel rooms, he said he saw them as his own children. And Sandusky insisted he never sexually abused children. But he confirmed details of some of the events prosecutors cited in charging him with 40 counts of molesting young boys.
Lots of happy reunions in Fort Hood, Texas. The last of our brave men and women who served in Iraq are now back with their families. This unit coordinated logistics of the drawdown, and now they are home.
Back now to our top story, Herman Cain's decision to suspend his campaign. Our Shannon Travis was there when Cain stepped before the cameras. And, really, Shannon, it was difficult to discern what he was about to say, because he talked very much like a man who was still on the campaign trail. It was only until he revealed there was a plan B, that he is suspending his campaign.
SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Fred. I mean up until the moment he uttered those actual words that he was suspending his campaign, everybody was pretty much guessing. He was talking about the people going on to victory. Someone got up on stage before him and talked about going out and supporting and volunteering in Iowa and New Hampshire. So it seemed as if he might actually go on until he dropped those words. Take a listen at what Herman Cain said himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Becoming president was plan A. And before you get discouraged, today I want to describe plan B. So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign. I am spending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we are not fighters, not because I'm not a fighter. It's just that when I went through this reassessment of the impact on my family first, the impact on you, my supporters -- your support has been unwavering and undying -- as well as the impact on the ability to continue to raise the necessary funds to be competitive, we had to come to this conclusion. But we had to come to this conclusion that it would be best to suspend this campaign. That's the bad news.
Here is the good news. The pundits would like for me to shut up, drop out, and go away. But as my grandmother, who lived to be 104-years- old used to say when somebody was dead wrong, bless their little hearts. (LAUGHTER)
CAIN: I am not going to be silenced and I'm not going away.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS: Now, Fred, right there at the very end you heard cheering, but I can tell you here on the ground it was hushed. You could almost hear a pin drop even outside at moments when he was talking, especially when he talked about the pain that these allegations that he steadfastly denies, the pain that it's caused himself, his wife, and his family.
Also, you could -- there was total silence when he was talking about this plan B, this plan B to have the people's voices heard even more. And also it was really interesting, really interesting that I picked up and a lot of people did on the fact that he would say that he's going to endorse somebody in the very near future. Fred, I have to tell you, this is definitely going to go down as a unique moment in political history.
WHITFIELD: Indeed. You know, there was almost an audible kind of sigh when he said I am suspending the campaign, because the buildup until that moment was as if he was corralling the supporters there, saying you're still with me, right? But they were very disappointed. Now, what about where these supporters might throw their support next, or the staffers of Herman Cain?
TRAVIS: Yes, I suspect that a lot of Herman Cain supporters will have to go through a moment of grief that their guy is not going to be in the race anymore, the guy they wanted to put in the White House apparently won't be making it this time, and then they'll probably start to scrounge round.
We reported earlier some of his supporters have told Michele Bachmann's campaign they're going to support her. That's coming directly from the Bachmann campaign themselves. So you are absolutely right. They will now -- Herman Cain supporters now have to figure out who do we support but I suspect they'll want a moment to kind of reflect and look over it all.
WHITFIELD: All right, Shannon Travis, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
Meantime, let's get a little bit more analysis about this decision from Herman Cain to suspend his presidential campaign. Joe Johns in Washington, we can now call him former presidential candidate Herman Cain. However, he did underscore that while he maintains peace, his wife maintains peace, his family maintains peace, he said that he will launch Cain solutions.com so he will still be driving home his message and pushing for one of his most notable messages, which is that nine- nine-nine plan. How does he intend to do that by way of another candidate? JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I think we're going to have to look and watch and see exactly how he plans to do that. But I have to tell you the nine-nine-nine plan has certainly made its way into the political lexicon this election season to the extent that Newt Gingrich, top tier candidate, possibly the front-runner depending which poll you're looking at, just put out a statement a moment ago, Fred, and says in part, Herman Cain's nine-nine-nine plan got our country talking about the critical issue of how to reform the tax code and he elevated the dialogue of the Republican presidential primary, says he is proud to know Herman Cain, considers him a friend, has worked with him for more than a decade and says he'll be a powerful voice in the conservative movement for years to come.
So this notion of revising the tax code, which is certainly very important in the debate among Republicans and conservatives is probably going to go on. He has had a lot to do with that.
But, Fred, when you look at this in the big picture, there are a lot of things standing against Herman Cain. I talked to many Republicans well before all the controversy involving allegations of sexual harassment and adultery or whatever, and there were many Republicans who said he would never be the nominee. And that's out of no disrespect to him, just the simple fact of his organization, his feel or lack thereof of foreign policy, the fundraising question, and his name recognition, which was an uphill battle until sort of this point. So there are a lot of things working against him when you think about it.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JOHNS: And not just all the controversy.
WHITFIELD: Well, then that leads you to the thought of, will another candidate want his endorsement?
JOHNS: Yes. I think another candidate will want his endorsement, and I think the important thing that you have to say here is that there is a segment of the public and many of those Tea Party Republicans who are very conservative who started following Herman Cain as an alternative, if you will, to Mitt Romney who don't believe a lot of media reports and certainly thought that this was Herman Cain under attack and inappropriately so. So those Tea Party Republicans and conservatives, if you will, will be looking for somewhere else to go, and it'll matter who Herman Cain says he is going to endorse.
WHITFIELD: All right, Joe Johns, thanks so much in Washington. Appreciate that.
And for the latest political news you know where to go to hear more about this and others on the campaign trail -- CNNpolitics.com.
And join us every Sunday afternoon 4:00 eastern time when we dedicate a special hour to the presidential contenders in this 2012 presidential election.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: International headlines now. Early results are in from Egypt's first post-Mubarak election. The Islamist party tied to the Muslim Brotherhood is making a very dramatic advance, claiming 40 percent of the vote after the first of several rounds of campaigning for Egypt's parliament seats. The election for president is tentatively slated for June.
Vice president Joe Biden is in Turkey today. He urged those attending a business summit to further open private enterprise and work to widen Internet access around the world. Biden travels to Greece tomorrow.
And some Iranian diplomats are back in Iran today. The British government ordered them out of London in retaliation for this week's attack on Britain's embassy in Iran.
It's like two gifts in one. Many retail stores are teaming up with charities this holiday season. Charity Navigator is an independent website that evaluates charities and it has released a list of what it considers the best well known chairs. Number five is PATH, which stands for Program for Appropriate Technology in Health. Number four is the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Number three is the Carter Center. And the top two when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. We're looking at the best well known charities according to Charity Navigator. Number two, Direct Relief International. And number one is Map International, which works to improve the health of impoverished people in over 115 countries.
All right, it's the number one issue in American homes, getting your financial house in order. Today in our weekly financial fix, shopping and charity. Many retailers, you may have noticed, are now making charitable contributions when you buy certain products.
Let's bring in the author of It's Just Money, so why does it cause so many problems?" Financial Consultant Karen Lee joining me now. A lot of retailers are doing this in lots of different ways. You buy this a certain percentage goes toward a charity. Or sometimes a cashier will ask you can you make a donation, Round it up to the even dollar. OK, So what do we know about these chairs? Can we trust that they are legit, that our money should be --
KAREN LEE, FINANCIAL PLANNERR: This one is really not about charities. This is about the retailer. Why are the retailers doing this?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEE: Fred, you know I like to talk about how they play on our psychology.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEE: They're expert marketers. When we go to make a purchase, we're a little not sure should we or shouldn't we. If part of it goes to charity it puts us over the edge. It makes us feel good to contribute to charity. SO That's why so many retailers are getting on that bandwagon of donating a little bit.
WHITFIELD: So as a consumer, though, how are you judicious? How do you kind of take control of your personal finances this moment of, ooh I should do this because, you know, part of this money goes toward a good cause?
LEE: Right. Well, the first thing we want to do is say be careful. When you're purchasing something that has a charitable donation connected to it, realize that the deductions going to be extremely hard to calculate. I'd rather you just look at that contribution as a bonus, OK. That should not be your primary reason for buying that item. So the real question should be, is this thing I need or want to buy as a gift, is it still a good deal?
WHITFIELD: All right.
LEE: That's really the question. So what are you going to do? You're going to comparison shop.
WHITFIELD: How are you going to do that though?
LEE: The same way you would with any kind of shopping, which we've said in the last two segments. You've made your list, set a budget. Now you're going on the Internet to see where you can find that item for a good deal. Now if you can buy something and it connects to a charity, then win-win, right? But I'm going to recommend that in general if you want to separate your charitable giving from your gift giving.
WHITFIELD: You want to not be I guess emotionally attached to this purchase, that I'm not making the purchase because I need it or somebody is going to like it but because I think it goes toward a good cause.
LEE: That's not the best reason in that case. Remember, the corporation is going to get the charitable deduction. You're never going to track it. It's going to be hard to calculate.
WHITFIELD: Also at the end of the year you can't even say I made a donation to this organization.
LEE: Your charge went to the corporation. So it brings up a good point, which was what about charities that also have a retail operation?
WHITFIELD: OK.
LEE: Now we're talking about something.
WHITFIELD: You're talking about -- OK, a retailer that is also a charity.
LEE: For example you probably got some catalogs just this week.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEE: I've got one myself. It's a charity I normally give to, an animal group, and it was Symbolic Adoptions. Now you would never in that case pay $50 or $100 for a stuffed animal. So in this case the thing they're giving you, t-shirt, sweatshirt, stuffed animal, that's the bonus. If you're going to give to that charity anyway what is wrong with getting a little something that you could re-gift to your child?
WHITFIELD: Then you're starting to wonder what are you doing with the money I'm giving you? Is it really going toward those efforts or the merchandise?
LEE: A great question and I just want to tell you I called this charity this week.
WHITFIELD: You did?
LEE: I did.
WHITFIELD: You challenged them on that?
LEE: I asked how much of my -- how much of the amount I give is going to the charity and how much can I tax deduct? And they told me I would get an acknowledgment letter with 100 percent --
WHITFIELD: Wow.
LEE: -- of my donation, and it said that it goes to their general fund.
WHITFIELD: OK. All right, well, 'tis the season of giving.
LEE: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Don't forget those charities as well. Be smart about how you make those donations.
LEE: I am very big on charitable giving so I want to encourage people that can afford to give to charity. But let's not let the retailers trick us into buying something we really can't afford.
WHITFIELD: Yes, because sometimes it is a little enticing. All right, Karen Lee, thanks so much, always good to see you.
LEE: Thank you, too.
WHITFIELD: All right, get more information by reading Karen's new book, "It's Just Money, so why does it cause so many problems?" Or reach Karen at KarenLeeandAssociates.com.
All right, it's a once in a decade event ahead. Details on the incredibly strong Santa Ana winds ripping through southern California.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has suspended his campaign today. He again denied accusations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity, but he said those charges have taken an unacceptable toll on his family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Becoming president was plan A. Before you get discouraged, today I want to describe plan B. So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Cain said he will endorse another candidate in the near future.
Elsewhere on the Republican presidential trail, Mitt Romney campaigned in New Hampshire today with former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty ended his own race for president earlier this year. New Hampshire will hold the first 2012 presidential primary on January 10th.
In the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal new comments today from Jerry Sandusky. In an interview with the "New York Times" he is readdressing his earlier comments about his alleged attraction to boys. Sandusky faces 40 charges in the case.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is with us from New York. So Susan, how does Sandusky defend himself in that interview?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Fred, Jerry Sandusky says he sat down with the "New York times" for nearly four hours to defend his work with children, work he says has been, quote, "twisted" to make his motives appear sexual.
He says his life has been spent helping boys over the years through his second mile program and that those boys, quote, "might say I was a father figure." Sandusky also tries to explain his controversial answer to NBC's Bob Costas. You'll recall Sandusky hesitated at first when he was asked whether he is sexually attracted to boys before saying no, he is not. In part, here's how Sandusky now elaborates why he answered that way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY SANDUSKY, FORMER PENN STATE ASSISTANT COACH: If I say, no, I'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth, because I'm attracted to young people, boys, girls --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But not sexually --
SANDUSKY: Right. I enjoy -- that's what I was trying to say. I enjoy spending time with young people. I enjoy spending time with people. I mean, my two favorite groups are the elderly and the young.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, that voice you heard in the background whose words you just saw on the screen is Mr. Sandusky's lawyer. He's trying to help Mr. Sandusky during his answer.
The coach, who stands accused of 40 counts of raping and molesting boys also repeats his assertion that his boss Joe Paterno never talked with him about any allegations that he'd allegedly raped or molested boys. In statements Joe Paterno has said he reported alleged abuse to his superior as he was required to do and now regrets that he didn't do more. Fred?
WHITFIELD: Does Sandusky say anything about Joe Paterno?
CANDIOTTI: Well, yes, what you mentioned there, and he certainly also said that he hopes that he hasn't helped bring down Penn State University as a whole because of this whole controversy. But, of course, he has a long, legal fight ahead of him. And, frankly, some lawyers are questioning why it is that Sandusky would have sat down to do yet another on camera interview that obviously raises a lot of questions every time he does it and certainly the words that he says here could be used against him in any criminal proceeding, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti in New York, thanks so much.
U.S. marshals in Arkansas found singer Mindy McCready and her five- year-old son. Officials say they were hiding in a closet at a lake home. McCready earlier this week defied an order to return the boy to his grandmother. McCready's mother and step-father have legal custody of the boy. The singer, who has fought a very public battle against drug addiction, has visitation rights.
And there are high wind warnings in Los Angeles again today. The annual Santa Ana winds in southern California have been fierce this year. They've had hurricane force winds, knocking over trees, which ended up crushing cars and even homes, and, of course, a lot of power outages as well. Thousands are still without power. It's not just southern California but Utah and Nevada also saw these winds. It was pretty devastating in a lot of places.
(WEATHER BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Meantime, a silent film is making a whole lot of Oscar noise, and it's now open in certain cities. Your sneak peek of "The Artist" and whether it lives up to the hype.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Perhaps you're planning on going to the movies this weekend. We have a couple flicks for you. Our movie critic Grae Drake form Fandango and Movies.com joins us now. And today we're looking at a few limited releases as well that could be Oscar contenders. You're giving the big old nod on "The Artist" in particular. What is it about?
GRAE DRAKE: Oh, it's so wonderful. It's actually similar to the real life story of John Gilbert, the silent film star, who was incredibly talented but, unfortunately, had a lot of horrible addictions. And his career kind of went downhill. And it's a heartbreaking story. And although the movie is not his biography necessarily, it just has notes of him in it, it also is like "Singing in the Rain," "A Star is Born." And I know it's silent.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
DRAKE: I know it's black and white.
WHITFIELD: Which is so unusual. People are not used to seeing a brand new movie, 2011, a silent film, no dialogue, you got to read lips or just watch the motions.
DRAKE: Exactly. But it's like I'm your mother and this is cinematic Brussels sprouts and I'm telling you to try it you'll like it.
WHITFIELD: Let's try it out a little bit, just a tiny little taste of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK, so among those starring in this one, John Goodman.
DRAKE: The actress is Argentinian, I believe, and please do not forget the magnificent Jean Duhardine, who is I think Gene Kelly reincarnate. He is phenomenal and just magnetic to watch. At the movies these days I'm use today week after week being visually assaulted by 3D and bright colors and things coming at me all the time. And this movie was such an amazing reminder that there was a time in film where actors just used their faces to tell you the story.
WHITFIELD: Right. I saw an interview with John Goodman and he said he really loved this because he didn't have to worry about memorizing the script but it really gave him a chance to improvise in a whole different way, to stretch himself, and just exaggerate movement, and like you said facial expressions. A lot of fun by the actors too.
The other movie "Like Crazy". You want to set us up for it? I'm sorry. "The Artist" grade?
DRAKE: Oh, the grade, if I were a silent film star this is what the grade would be.
WHITFIELD: OK. Give me that expression one more time. OK. That's an A for sure.
DRAKE: Absolute A.
WHITFIELD: OK. Good. So set up "Like Crazy" for me.
DRAKE: "Like Crazy" stars Antoine Elchin and Felicity Jones as a young couple graduating college and having that incredible love affair that only happens when you're young and you've met your soul-mate, the life-changing kind of love that hopefully everyone watching has experienced and this movie has the real American independent film feel where even a shaft of sun light is what broadcasts their love for each other. It's really a hypnotizing movie.
WHITFIELD: OK. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can't do that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK, family hour. What were your thoughts?
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Sorry kids at home.
DRAKE: Sorry about that. No, it's beautiful and very, you know, all about people. And it's just our bodies. What's the big deal? No. This movie is beautiful and incredibly painful to watch for anyone who finds it an autobiographical at all. It is really exactly like what that kind of love is, frenzy and full of energy and meaning.
And it's really technically a well put together film because the performances are wonderful but also well supported by the filmmaking. It's pretty hypnotizing, and at times incredibly annoying, just like love.
WHITFIELD: So there were a couple recognizable faces in there, but the stars of the show are fairly new to the scene or unfamiliar to most of us, yes?
DRAKE: They are. They're younger stars. They're way too young to be as fine actors as they are. That was horrible grammar, but the sentiment is there. Jennifer Lawrence is also in the film, who is coming up in "The Hunger Games" next year and who has also already been nominated already for an academy award. There are a whole bunch of young kids to watch in this film.
And, again, it is not the world's most perfect film because it's young people making horrible choices, but it really is just a love letter to love.
WHITFIELD: You're gushing over this one. What was your grade?
DRAKE: It was sweet. Thank you. I gave this movie a B because I found it infuriating at times. It does tend to meander a little bit. But it did remind me of, you know, a lovely time in my life, as well. So I couldn't help but be charmed by it.
WHITFIELD: Oh, you're the romantic. You like this, romantic movies, love stories.
DRAKE: That's why my hair is pink.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: All right, Grae Drake, thanks so much. Good to see you.
DRAKE: Likewise.
WHITFIELD: Now I need a hanky.
Remember you can get all of Grae's movie grades at Fandango and Movies.com.
All right, many Americans are looking for technology jobs these days. "Forbes" just released a list of the cities with the most jobs in technology, coming up. And coming in at number five, Salt Lake City, Utah, number four, Raleigh, North Carolina, number three, Columbus, Ohio. And we'll tell you the top two cities for technology jobs right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Before the break we showed you three of the top five cities to find a job in technology. Now let's see what "Forbes" considers the top two, with a little sound effect there. Claiming second place is Baltimore, Maryland, and the number one city for jobs in technology, Seattle, Washington.
All right, this week for the gaming and gadgets high tech gift guides as we head into the holiday season, today we'll be looking at a few gadgets for geeks. Joining us via Skype is technology analyst and syndicated writer Marc Saltzman with some very cool specks. Let's begin with that.
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: You want to start with these? We'll get to them in a moment, BECAUSE I think we've got some pictures, Fred. That was my tease however.
WHITFIELD: I liked it.
SALTZMAN: Just in case we have to stick to a certain order we might as well. It was nice to see you yesterday, by the way.
WHITFIELD: I know. Good to see you in person, too. Too bad you couldn't stay here. But now you're back in Toronto.
SALTZMAN: You got it. And we are talking about great gifts for geeks so if you have a tech enthusiast on your list I got four great products to show you.
The first one is called the Magic Cube. This is a virtual keyboard believe it or not about the size of a zippo lighter or pack of tic- tacs, but it beams a red laser keyboard onto a nearby surface like a table or a desk. It's kind of hard to see in this room. It's a bit bright. But there is a red qwerty keyboard being beamed on to the table. You synchronize this via Bluetooth via your smart phone, tablet, computer, and you have a full sized keyboard to type on. It's pretty cool. You can hear a little clicking noise.
WHITFIELD: That is very cool.
SALTZMAN: It's a projected virtual keyboard.
WHITFIELD: It'll essentially work anywhere?
SALTZMAN: As long as it's not too bright. I can see it here very clearly but I don't think through the web cam you're able to see it when I splashed it on to a piece of paper. But yes, coffee shops, in your own home, it works great. You just synchronize it to your favorite tablet or smart phone, something that isn't that easy to type on to begin with, and now you have a virtual key board on a desk. This is a new version and it's a lot better. The price is $169.
WHITFIELD: You got to have the price. People are shopping right now. All right something else out of the page of "Get Smart" we're talking about a video watch from thinkgeek.com. You have to have one of those at least every year.
SALTZMAN: This is it. This is a wrist watch that can play video. So it's got eight gigabytes of memory so that's ample storage for TV shows and music videos. I wouldn't say you'll want to watch a full length movie on a one-and-a-half inch screen, but as you can see here there's full video playing on this watch. You get a little cable with it to connect it first to your computer and then you drag and drop over video, photos, music. You can store 2,000 songs, by the way.
And then when you want to watch the video or listen to music you just pop in the head phones in the side and you've got it on your wrist. You'll never lose it. It is a great gadget especially if you're an active type.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
SALTZMAN: You know, you want to be hands free.
WHITFIELD: That is great. Back to the glasses, those specks now that you had earlier, do tell?
SALTZMAN: All right, so this is called the wrap 1200. This is the company's latest video eye wear. As the name suggests, you plug in one end of the glasses into your favorite device. So here I have an iPhone connector. But you get other connectors as well. You plug it in, press play, and it simulates a 75-inch screen inside the glasses.
So they look like sunglasses on the outside albeit a little bit big. So let's say you're traveling over the holidays and you want to tune out the world. You simply press play and you lean back in your seat and you've got a 75-inch experience from your favorite mobile device. It could also be a tablet, it could be a portable DVD player, lap top. You get all the different connectors in the box including rechargeable batteries for the glasses themselves. And that's the idea that instead of having to bring a big screen with you if you want to simulate a big screen TV you can do that with video eye wear now. It'll cost you. $499 for this product here.
WHITFIELD: That is a pricey gift. And you don't walk while you're watching those.
SALTZMAN: They're not see-through.
WHITFIELD: Sit down and relax. So now there is other apparel, something else someone can wear and still be very cool, like what you have right there.
SALTZMAN: Right. I'm wearing it right now, $15, a nice stocking stuffer. This is also from Think Geek. This is called as you'd expect the Wi-Fi t-shirt. It's a Wi-Fi detector t-shirt that is full blue right now on the sides because I am in a wireless hot spot in my home. That's how we're talking over the camera. The idea is it is fashionable. Well, that's questionable, but fashionable and functional. You can walk into your hot spot like a cafe or an airport lounge or, you know, a hotel lobby, and if it has Wi-Fi, the signals will get stronger and you'll see it. It is a bright room here so you may not see it but the blue lights get wider as the signal strengthens. That way you know if you should take out your favorite digital device and logon to the internet.
WHITFIELD: That is definitely for the person who has a hard time disconnecting. Golly.
SALTZMAN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Geeky for sure, but cool. Mark, looks so good on you. I like it. Nice color.
SALTZMAN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, always good to see you. Thanks so much. Even better when in person, but, hey, we like to see you from Toronto, too.
SALTZMAN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Thanks, Mark. And for more high tech ideas and reviews go to CNN.com/tech and look for the gaming and gadgets tab.
Coming up, we'll take a journey on the world's longest model railroad. It's pretty spectacular and you're not going to believe what you'll see.
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WHITFIELD: For anyone who likes trains you are going to love this. Jacqui, the boys in your house, would they be thrilled over this?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Beyond thrilled. The adult as well as the small children would like this.
WHITFIELD: Boys plural.
JERAS: Yes. WHITFIELD: OK. So this looks real but this is all one big model.
JERAS: It's amazing how real this thing looks. It takes you on kind of a 3-D tour like you're moving along with it.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JERAS: This thing has 13 kilometers of track, which is eight miles by the way just to put that in perspective. It took 500,000 working hours to put this thing together. And more than a million people have come to view it. It's a huge tourist attraction.
WHITFIELD: I'm not surprised so many people would turn out. You have to spend a whole day because we're talking 39,000 feet of tracks. So the expanse of the building in this museum that this covers, you know, that means you'll kind of traverse it as you're looking and then stop and, you know, spot little things along the way, the ship.
JERAS: The lighthouse. It takes you through a bunch of different countries including the U.S.
WHITFIELD: That's right. We did see a New York skyline at some point. And Las Vegas, too. That was cool. Nice stuff. I like it.
JERAS: All right.
WHITFIELD: We'll see you a bit later.
JERAS: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Thanks for hanging out.
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WHITFIELD: Checking your top stories -- former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain suspends his campaign today. He again denied accusations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity, but he said those charges have taken an unacceptable toll on his family.
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CAIN: Becoming president was plan A. And before you get discouraged, today I want to describe plan B. So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Cain said he will endorse another candidate in the near future.
And I'll be back in an hour. One woman's story is a wakeup call to millions at the age of 68. She ran out of her retirement money. And Valerie Burton joins us during our 4:00 eastern hour with a point-by- point financial plan to make sure this doesn't happen to you, retired and penniless. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We'll have much more in the NEWSROOM at 4:00 eastern time. Right now time for "YOUR MONEY."
