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Herman Cain Dropped His Candidacy; Newt Gingrich Tops Recent Primary Polls; Iran Fired on U.S. Unmanned Aircraft; President Obama Honoring America's Five Accomplished Performers

Aired December 04, 2011 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Topping the news this hour, Iran state media reporting that unmanned American spy plane has been shot down. State television cites military sources as saying the U.S. drone was seized after minimum damage not long after Iran's announcement, we got a response from NATO with a possible explanation.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, joining us now from Washington. Barbara, there are conflicting reports, which one should we believe?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point we really don't know, Fredricka. Now first, Iranian authorities say indeed they shot down a highly classified U.S. unmanned spy plane over its territory along the eastern border with Afghanistan.

Iran says the drone they shot down is something called an RQ-170. Now, that's one of the most secret drones in the U.S. military and intelligence arsenal. It is a stealth drone. It can fly largely undetected, gathering intelligence and targeting information.

So far, what is the U.S. saying? Well, using the NATO alliance in Afghanistan to issue a statement, all it is saying is this, quote, "the UAV to which the Iranians are referring may be a U.S. unarmed reconnaissance aircraft that had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week. The operators of the UAV lost control of the aircraft and had been working overtime to determine its status."

So, you know, in fact U.S. officials are saying the crew reported right before they lost this plane, unmanned plane, that they lost flight controls right before it went down. But so far the key thing is they're not saying it was shot down. They're not saying what kind of drone it is. But shot down or not, the real question here is the real bottom line, do the Iranians now have their hands on classified U.S. technology. The U.S. knows it is not going to get it back.

WHITFIELD: That's right because in this particular case, Barbara, the U.S. can't go in retrieve it or destroy it as it might be able to do if this material would have ended up in another country.

STARR: Well, that's absolutely right. You know, when helicopters or drones go down in places like Afghanistan, and they want to make sure the insurgents don't come in, or it happened in Iraq over the years, make sure the insurgents don't come in and get their hands on this classified material, this classified technology. What you will see happen very quickly is a U.S. air strike; they'll bomb the wreckage, so the insurgents can't get their hands on it. Don't look for that to happen in Iran, there will be no U.S. air strike inside Iran. They'll have to figure out if the Iranians have their hands on this what shape it is in, what kind of centers they may have gotten their hands on, what, if anything, they really have here. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And so Barbara, what is the U.S. willing to say or even NATO willing to say about the use of this Iranian air space that this drone would have been in its proximity in the first place?

STARR: Well, what they're saying so far privately is that it was on the border area, but that it was flying inside Afghanistan. U.S. officials for quite some time had made it very clear they won't fly anything inside Iranian air space for this very reason. The fear, either it could have an accident and go down or get shot down, they don't want the Iranians to get their hands on this technology.

And you know, they can fly these planes and see an awful lot inside Iran anyhow. So, what would they have been doing on the border? That border between Iran and Afghanistan is something the U.S. watches very carefully this he worry about Iranian weapons coming into Afghanistan. We don't really know yet a lot of answers still to come.

WHITFIELD: All right, Barbara Starr in Washington. Thanks so much.

STARR: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, the U.S. military pullout from Iraq is in the homestretch and it is moving rather quickly. On American military bases all over the country, a welcome home celebration, just like this one, have been happening almost daily as troops pour out of Iraq and heading right back to U.S. soil.

Here is how fast the U.S. military is leaving Iraq. Fifty thousand troops were there in the summer and there are fewer than 13,000 right now. And according to President Barack Obama's plan, by the end of this month, not even 200 will remain.

CNN's Catherine Callaway is at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson international airport.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A plane just landed here at the Atlanta international airport. It was full of troops from Afghanistan who were headed home for a couple of weeks of R&R, but it was also full of troops from Iraq who are heading home for good. And we talked with a few of them. Here is what they had to say.

How do you all feel about not having to go back to Iraq? I know it is a difficult deployment, you're all smiling, but what are your thoughts about that? UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY MALE: It was nice just to see trees and grass and when we were landing and this is little things you miss the most, plumbing.

CALLAWAY: Plumbing, did you say plumbing?

UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY MALE: Yes. It will be nice to be able to take a shower in the house instead of walking outside to go take a shower. So --

CALLAWAY: And of course, I know you missed your families. You talked about your children.

UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY FEMALE: Yes. My children, my being constantly staying in touch with them, thank you to the U.S. phone that provided us free internet and phone service. And mostly you appreciate the little stuff at home, the freedom, able to walk down the store and buy whatever you want, and not wait until it opens, so the little stuff, freedom is very, very priceless.

CALLAWAY: What is the best thing about coming home from Iraq?

UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY FEMALE: I hope all the last ten years all going to be worth it and after 9/11 I was deployed, mobilized right after the next day, so hopefully now we come back, we close the end of the mission and it will be worth it, I hope.

CALLAWAY: So they're well on their way home now. They will be redeployed but they will not be sent to Iraq. This is a scene we'll see repeated many times between now and the end of the year as the approximately 11,000 U.S. troops that have been in Iraq will be reduced to less than 200 by the end of the year.

At the Atlanta international airport, I'm Catherine Callaway, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And in Washington, a standoff of sorts between police and occupy D.C. protesters. At issue, a wooden structure the demonstrators erected overnight. The protesters ignored a police deadline to tear down the structure. Some arrests have been made, but about a dozen demonstrators are on or clinging to that wooden structure. Streets around the area are cordoned off with police tape and at least two dozen officers are in that area. We have a crew there and of course, we'll watch the developments and bring them to you.

The mega church pastor at the center of a sex scandal involving young men is taking some time off. Atlanta-based bishop Eddie Long made the announcement before his congregation this morning. This comes just days after his wife filed for divorce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. EDDIE LONG, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: No. We're not hiding nothing or anything like that. I'm going to take a little time off to work with my family.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And there was some confusion about when the divorce was on or off. Friday, Eddie Long's church issued a statement saying his wife, Vanessa Long, was withdrawing the divorce petition. But her attorney insists the divorce is still on.

The Atlanta-based pastor gained national attention last winter after four young men alleged the past her sex with them. The suit was settled this past summer. The men claimed Long had pressured them into having sex with him when they were just teenagers.

Celebrations get out of hand after a big college game in Oklahoma, 13 people were hurt. The chaos broke out when fans stormed the field after Oklahoma state beat arch rival Oklahoma. Two people fell or jumped from a high retaining wall and are in critical condition. Several others were trampled.

Alright, turning now to the race for the White House. We're less than a month from the Iowa caucuses and right after that the New Hampshire primary.

Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is with us now from Washington. Good to see you, Paul. So, you've got new polls on the race in those two states.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Exactly. And yet Tuesday, four weeks until the Iowa caucuses which kick off the presidential primary caucus calendar, brand-new poll out just in the last 24 hours, two of them and they are both in Iowa.

And let's start with Iowa. This is a Des Moines register poll, conducted earlier this week before Herman Cain dropped out. You can see at the top though, Newt Gingrich. And you know, Fred, the former house speaker has really been jumping in the polls over the last four weeks. And you can see right there, basically in first place.

Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, basically knotted up for second place, everybody in single digits. Herman Cain at, is 8 percent in the poll. He was at 23 percent in late October, the last time the Des Moines register had a poll. So, you can see his numbers had been dropping.

Go to the next number. This is NBC Marist. And they did their poll as well late or during the week. But what they did here, they took Herman Cain out of it. So, what would the race look like with Herman Cain out who has suspended his campaign of course, there is Gingrich with 28 percent, Paul and Romney knotted up at 19 percent. Rick Perry, the Texas governor, 10 percent, everybody else in single digits.

And you mentioned New Hampshire. NBC Marist also out with a brand-new poll today in New Hampshire. Remember, their primary, that's the second contest that comes one week after Iowa, there is Mitt Romney, still the front-runner, has been in New Hampshire polls for two years, Fred, of course, he was the governor of neighboring Massachusetts, very well known in the state. But look at Newt Gingrich's numbers on the rise for sure in New Hampshire.

Fred, that's a quick snapshot of where things stand, as you said, we're just creeping up the primaries and caucuses are almost here.

WHITFIELD: Yes, quite the horse race. OK. So with Herman Cain out, of the candidates who stands to gain the most?

STEINHAUSER: A lot of them stand to gain the most but maybe one in particular, Newt Gingrich. Cain was considered the anti-Romney and now Gingrich is being considered the anti-Romney. Remember, maybe some of the voters come to him. But Paul and Michele Bachmann, the congressman from Minnesota, also very well known among the tea party and Cain had a lot of tea party support, take a listen to those two candidates today on state of the union today make their pitch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are a lot of people who call themselves tea party people and that did like the independent mindedness of Herman Cain. So, I think that we'll probably do better, even though some people are saying, they're all going to go to so and so. But, no, I think that -- we're paying a lot of attention to that, because obviously they're going to go somewhere and the next week or so, that's going to happen. So I'm optimist make we'll pick up some votes from there.

MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have been talking with the Herman Cain campaign and I look forward to having a full conversation with him. One thing we have seen is that a lot of Herman Cain supporters have been calling our office and they have been coming over to our side. I think part of that is because people see that I'm the tea party candidate in the race. They saw Herman Cain as an outsider. And I think they see that my voice will be the one most reflective of his.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: All the other candidates saying nice things about Herman Cain. Here is another reason why, Cain, yesterday, he suspended his campaign, said he would very soon make an endorsement with one of the other candidates. Stay tuned on that one, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Alright, we will. Thanks so much, Paul.

And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, CNNpolitics.com.

Alright, from the capture of Osama bin Laden to the death of Steve Jobs, CNN is counting down the top stories of 2011. This countdown won't be complete without you. I'll tell you how you can participate in the voting. And I'll tell you why this little guy right here is acting a little shell shocked. He's taking a long flight to a better home. Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Alright, this has been an incredible year of news, from calamities to uprisings and to elections. So, it means it is time to take stock of the biggest news stories of the year. And you can actually be part of the process through a project set up at CNN.com. Mallory Simon is here to explain how this project works.

So, we're talking about year Enders. Everyone is used to seeing the end of the year, kind a reflection of the year in news. And that's what this is about on dotcom. And it really is compiling all of the big stories then allowing viewers at home to decide what are the most meaningful and impactful ones to them.

MALLORY SIMON, CNN.COM WRITER, PRODUCER: That's right. And you know, as you said, there has been a huge number of news stories this year. And what we're asking readers and viewers to do is log online. You can go to CNN.com/yearinreview. We have got 20 of the biggest stories of the year. And what want readers to tell us you know which are the big ones for you. Which are the most impactful. There are so much that's happened.

WHITFIELD: But you've given them a little help by whittling it down to 20. Because they were so many and there is kind of a resounding consensus, Osama bin Laden up there. The Japan earthquake and tsunami.

SIMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: What else?

SIMON: You know, the other big story we're seeing is, obviously everything that has been happening with the Arab spring. Started early this year and still continuing. You had big uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, people are interested in that. But we're also seeing on the other spectrum, you know, huge interest in Steve Jobs' death.

WHITFIELD: Was it difficult to do this year because there have been so many? I mean, this has been a year and a news cycle where it seems like, you know, it is not just one after the other, but there is a lot of dove tailing of big, big stories that took place all at once this year. And it was up to you and your team to kind of at least highlight the 20 and allow people to select from there.

SIMON: Yes, I mean, it was obviously a difficult task to narrow it down. You have so much. I mean, just looking at the economy, globally, looking at the economy and the U.S. and the unemployment, how that led to the occupy movement, which is another story we're seeing huge traction with. There is a lot of big news and what we're hoping is people are going to tell us what is the most important this year for that. WHITFIELD: How will they do that? They'll go to the dotcom site and then what?

SIMON: That's right. What you are going to do is you are going to logon on and you'll see the list of the 20 stories. You then drag and drop in the ten in the order you think an are the most important. You got until December 15th to do that.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, they have a couple of weeks. And when is the unveiling?

SIMON: The unveiling will be on December 30th. You'll find out what is the number one story that our viewers, our readers across the globe said we think this is the most important story.

WHITFIELD: They'll see that in terms of in pictures too. Some of the most, you know, most captivating pictures that captured that moment?

SIMON: Absolutely, you'll see that in pictures. You will see that in text. We have got stories making the rundown, so we're going to go the gamut and show them everything.

WHITFIELD: All right, good luck.

Alright, meantime, live pictures right now of the White House because this is kind of the prelude to the big Kennedy Center honor, taking place this evening. And this is an incredible reception taking place right now. Among those who will be honored, singer, Neil Diamond, you've got actress to Meryl Streep, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, singer Barbara Cook and saxophonist and composer Sunny Rollins.

You usually see this taking place at the Kennedy Center, the honor. That is as this 34th annual Kenny Center honors taking place.

But first, the president of the United States will be wishing them well and congratulating them right there at the White House, at the special reception before things get under way. You can see there, actor John Lithgow and among many other dignitaries there, Hollywood stardom as well as some of the political stars as well. They're filling the room.

And, of course, we'll continue to watch the developments there and if the president emerges, we'll take his comments live before this evening's big gala, just down the street at the Kennedy Center.

Coming up next, international diplomacy comes in many forms. China sends more four-legged ambassadors to the west.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAT KINSMAN, CNN EATOCRACY.COM: I'm Kat Kinsman, managing editor of CNN Eatocracy. And this is you eatocracy minutes.

Now, at eatocracy, we love the word scorpacciata. It is an Italian term love bites. Food writer in celebrity chefs like Mario Botalli and it translates roughly into consuming copious amounts of an ingredient while it is in peak season.

Now, scorpacciata isn't just fun to say. It is also a really great way to eat. Because when you're following along with nature's rhythms, you're guaranteed to get the freshest, best tasting produce that hasn't been sitting in a warehouse for weeks or even months.

Now, right now that means you should be digging into Bushels full of apples and beets and broccoli, kale, potatoes, pumpkin, winter squash, so much more. All you have to do is talk to your local farmer or produce manager about how you can sink your teeth into some scorpacciata. Where even where delicious food tips, go to eatocracy.com.

Kat Kinsman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Alright. Overseas today, Israeli leaders are concerned about how the historic election in Egypt is taking shape. Early results from the first round of voting for Egypt's parliament show strong support for moderate and hard-line Islamist parties. Israeli officials call the results disturbing. It is first democratic exercise in Egypt since the ouster of long time President Hosni Mubarak.

Bomb squad today managed to diffuse two enormous bombs discovered in a river in Germany, the bombs date back to World War II, nearly half of the residents of one city evacuated for safety reasons while the bombs were diffused.

And talk about traveling in style. This endangered turtle flew first class from Portugal to Florida and is bound for the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. So, the turtle mysteriously turned up in Europe, just a few years ago. Thousands of miles from its natural habitat and scientists plan to check it out medically and then release it. They checked it out as best they could. They think it is OK for flying and now it is on to its long awaited home.

Other endangered animals in the news today, this charter plane you're about to see touched down in Scotland, short time ago. It was a private flight that originated in China. On board, the little stickers are the indicator there, pandas, a giant panda, a male and a female. They're a gift from the Chinese government and they'll live at the Edinburgh Zoo for ten years and hopefully make a family of their own. They're the first pandas in Britain in nearly 20 years.

Look at the fanfare and you can hear the bagpipes there. Of course, the federal express -- yes. That's so sweet, Ralitsa Vassileva. OK. So, this is a big deal.

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNNI ANCHOR, CORRESPONDENT: It is.

WHITFIELD: When China gifts a panda or a pair and the idea is that, you know. It is very difficult. VASSILEVA: Yes. But they use it to improve relations. They call it panda diplomacy. We heard of all sorts of diplomacies, but this is a very specific Chinese thing. Because China is the only place which offers a habitat to the species, which is a very rare species close to extinction, only 150 of them left in the wild. So when it makes this gesture it really wants to improve or boost relations with the country, and the timing is very significant.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean?

VASSILEVA: The vice president of China announced this loan in January, when he came to secure some trade deals in Britain. The pandas are arriving now as the first secretary of Scotland, guess where he is, China, securing trade deals. So, it is quite obvious and China is not making a secret about the use of pandas to improve relations.

WHITFIELD: And this will be a first for Edinburg today. They never had a pair of pandas before? U.K. may have, but --

VASSILEVA: Yes. But that was 17 years ago. So, the country as a whole hasn't seen pandas, you know, up front and personal for 17 years.

WHITFIELD: So people are reacting how, overall? They have to be thrilled.

VASSILEVA: They were - as you see, the red carpet was rolled on, dignitaries were there, crowds at the zoos, the zoos get an immense boost the first year. You know, you've seen the pant pandas in Atlanta. We actually talked to a woman from the zoo this morning, a scientist, Rebecca Snyder. And we asked her of, you know, what does it do? Why do zoos fight to have pandas? And here is what she had to say.

WHITFIELD: Like a stuffed animal, so cute.

VASSILEVA: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA SNYDER, CURATOR OF MAMMALS, ZOO ATLANTA: Well, for our zoo, it was just a decision that this was a species we really wanted to commit to. Certainly, they are an attraction. People are excited about them. Our attendance did increase first year we had them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VASSILEVA: So, the attendance increases. Actually, the Scottish zoo is expecting attendance to double first year. However, it goes back, until there is a baby, once there is a baby, attendance shoots up again.

WHITFIELD: Off the charts.

VASSILEVA: Absolutely. WHITFIELD: Yes. And the marketing madness will now begin, if it hasn't already.

VASSILEVA: Expecting to boost the tourism, the economy, even the wildlife advocates are not happy, they say, this is exploitation, that the pandas are not happy in those habitats. But the woman we spoke to, Rebecca Snyder claims they adjust very well and that helps them in their survival.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. I love that. Thanks so much, Ralitsa, for bringing us that.

VASSILEVA: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Alright, this week, we'll remember a day of infamy. December 7th, 1941, but this year something new is on the horizon, the children of Pearl Harbor survivors step up to fill the gap.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Adult onset diabetes can be influenced by weight or your genes. But gestational diabetes, a condition which develops during a woman's pregnancy, can be a risk factor as well.

Elizabeth Cohen explains in this week's health for her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When she was pregnant with her first child, Sarah Wallace learned she had gestational diabetes.

SARAH WALLACE, PREGNANT: I was surprised and kind of worried.

COHEN: Doctor Michael Randell says the condition, which develops during pregnancy, can be treated and usually goes away when the baby is born.

DOCTOR MICHAEL RANDELL, OB/GYN: Somewhere between 7 and 14 percent of all pregnant women will develop gestational diabetes.

COHEN: Those women need to be concerned for several reasons.

RANDELL: These risks for the mother include elevated blood pressure or preeclampsia as well as an increase risk for cesarean delivery.

COHEN: And for a baby, an increased risk for obesity and developing diabetes later in life.

While all moms to be are screened for the condition, certain factors increase the risk for it. Those include a family history of diabetes, being overweight or obese, and older age and race. American Indian, African-American, and Hispanic women are at a higher risk.

Wallace improved her diet and gave birth by c-section to a baby boy. Now, expecting her second child, she's being monitored closely, but Wallace says the diagnosis was a warning sign.

WALLACE: To know that I am at higher risk to develop diabetes later in life and to be aware of that and to make the right choices in food and exercise and diet, to try and prevent it.

COHEN: For today's health minute, I'm Elizabeth Cohen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The Republican presidential race gets a little smaller now that the Cain train as they call it has departed. Where is the campaign headed? The best of Sunday morning talk next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Live pictures now of the presidential reception at the White House for this year's Kennedy Center honors. These are America's most accomplished performers that are being honored. Among them five, Meryl Streep, Sunny Rollins, Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma, and I'm forgetting one more, Barbara Cook. Let's listen in to the president right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- past the school auditorium. That's why we dance, even if as Michelle says, I look silly doing it.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: It is one of the downsides of being president, your dance moves end up on you tube.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: But tonight's honorees take it a step further by expressing themselves, they help us learn something about ourselves. They make us laugh. They move us to tears. They bring us together. And they push the boundaries of what we think is possible.

And each of them has been blessed with an extraordinary gift. Tonight, we thank them for sharing that gift with us.

Barbara Cook has been said to have the most magnificent voice in popular music. But she was born into a family that didn't know the first thing about singing. Growing up while the other kids in her neighborhood were out playing hide and seek, Barbara would be inside listening to opera on the radio.

By the time she was 23; Barbara was starring in her first Broadway show and went on to win a Tony for her performance as the original Mary Ann, the librarian, in the music man. But success didn't come without pain and she faced more than her share of challenges before a show stopping concert at Carnegie Hall in 1975 catapulted her back into the spotlight. Barbara's greatest strength has always been her ability to put her own feelings and experiences into her songs. And she says if I sing about emotion, and you say, yes, I felt that too. Then it brings us together even if it is just for a little while. These days Barbara has been through enough to sing just about anything. So now, she teaches up and coming singers to do the same. The lesson always starts with be yourself, a piece of advice that she has always taken to heart.

Maybe that's what has kept her so young and Barbara says some day she feels like she's 30 and tonight you look like you're 30. Some days she feels like she's 12, though her knee apparently does not agree. All we know is we never heard a voice like hers, so tonight we honor Barbara Cook.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now, Neil Diamond's song writing career began like so many others. He was trying to impress a girl. The difference was that it worked and he went on to marry the girl. As Neil says, I should have realized then the potential power of songs and been a little more wary.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Even after such a promising start, music wasn't Neil's first choice. He wanted to go to medical school and find a cure for cancer. But then he met reality, which for him came in the form of organic chemistry. Neil ended up dropping out of college to take a $50 a week song writing job. And the solitary man was born, with a voice he describes as being full of gravel, potholes, left turns and right turns, he went on to sell more than 125 million records.

Elvis and frank Sinatra asked to record versions of his songs, and today Neil is the rare musician whose work can be heard everywhere from kids' movies to red sox games. When someone asked him why "sweet Caroline" is so popular, Neil said, it's because anybody can sing, no matter how many drinks you've had.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Now, his shirts aren't as flashy as they used to be. I notice you're buttoned up all the way to the top there. Neil can still -- Neil can still put a generation of fans in their seats and so tonight we honor one of the great American songwriters for making us all want to sing along. Thank you, Neil Diamond.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: When Sunny Rollins was growing up, he and his friends would sneak into jazz clubs by drawing mustaches on themselves with an eyebrow pencil to make them look older. Did that work, Sunny?

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: We don't know if it fooled anybody, but they did get into the clubs. Harlem in the 1930s was a hotbed of jazz. And for a young musician with a big horn and bigger dreams, it was heaven. Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins lived around the corner. Sunny learned melody and harmony from the Lonious Monk and Miles Davis was a regular playing partner.

It wasn't long before Sunny earned the nickname "the saxophone colossus" and became known as one of the greatest improvisers in the history of jazz. Today, he often plays hour long solos without any repetition, leaving audiences speechless. People sometimes wonder how he can play for so long, but in Sunny's words, it just means there is something out there and I know I have to find it.

Sunny also loves to roam the crowd during a performance. One story goes he was halfway through a solo one night when he jumped off the stage and disappeared, just when the band was about to go looking for him, the solo started back up. Sunny had broken his foot and was lying on the floor, but he finished the set with so much energy and passion the audience didn't notice.

To hear sunny tell it, he's just keeping things pure. The worst thing in the world to me is to play by rote, he says. You have to play from the inside, that's real jazz. So, tonight we honor a real jazz master, Mister Sunny Rollins.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama recognizing the nation's top artists receiving the Kennedy Center Honors tonight. You heard from the president on four of them. The fifth one he's about to talk about Meryl Streep, actress, of course you know of "Sophie's Choice," of a "Devil wears Prada," "It's so Complicated." The list goes on and on. Sorry, we are going to depart from that. But this is the reception taking place before the Kennedy Center event.

Alright, it is a date that will live in infamy, December 7th, 1941, but this year a passing of sorts, children of survivors stepping up to fill a gap.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: With this country marks the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. This Wednesday, it will be the last time the Pearl Harbor survivors association takes part. After this year, it will be up to their children to keep the memory of what those survivors endured during that day.

Louella Large is the national president of sons and daughters of Pearl Harbor survivors. She's joining us now on the phone from Canton, Ohio.

Louella, so glad you could be with us. So, why are the sons and daughters feeling like this is the time to take over?

LOUELLA LARGE, PRESIDENT, PEARL HARBOR SURVIVORS ASSOCIATION (via telephone): Well, actually, first and foremost, sadness and realization that one day in the very near future all of the survivors will be gone, that's our parents. And those of us who have already lost our parents seem to adopt every survivor that we meet. It is our obligations to let students of America, adults of America know what the survivors experienced that day. We know each individual story. And we can tell them and like the survivors always felt, remember Pearl Harbor and keep America alert, and we are going to do our best to make sure that everyone knows what happened at Pearl Harbor. And try to keep America alert because of it.

WHITFIELD: So, Louella, there are an estimated 8,000 or so alive today, many of them in their 80s and older. How is it you, and other daughters and sons, are going to try and keep this memory alive?

LARGE: Well, first of all, for some time now many of us across America have been speaking in schools and to organizations, not only on December 7th, but throughout the year, trying to teach what actually happened as we know it from the stories from our parents. And we will continue to do that hopefully some day we will be able to have a library within the continental United States for more students to go to and learn about our parents and what they did that day, how they survived or how they perished. Hopefully we can do that in the future. But in the meantime, we will continue to keep speaking at every organization that wants to hear about it, every student that wants to hear about it.

WHITFIELD: So this Wednesday there will be the annual memorial ceremony, and so far only about 120 Pearl Harbor survivors have signed up to be in attendance. Do you worry that sending the message of their legacy will not be the same without their direct input?

LARGE: Actually, no. It is so important to us, the sons and the daughters, the grandchildren, the nieces and nephews, that everyone know and understand what it is like when someone fights for your freedom, the freedom that we enjoy today, and I believe that through the sons and daughters we will be able to keep their memory alive, and tell the facts of December 7th, 1941.

WHITFIELD: Louella Large. Thanks so much for your time. All the best.

LARGE: You're quite welcome. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, perhaps you are tired of driving the car that you own. How would you like to get behind the wheel of one of these cutting edge cars, something like that? We'll show you the cars of tomorrow straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: Should parents medicate children with disorders like ADHD? Education contributor Steve Perry looks at a family who chose medication and how that choice made the difference for their child.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Jared Jagiello is full of energy, just what you would expect from a typical 10-year- old boy.

JARED JAGIELLO, 10-YEAR-OLD: Down we go.

Reporter: But his life has been anything but typical. He was adopted before Russia before his first birthday.

CATHERINE JAGIELLO, JERED'S MOTHER: When he first came home, he had a lot of medical issues. His respiratory system was not used to germs.

PERRY: As a result, Jerry experienced many physical and developmental problems. When his mom enrolled him in preschool at 3 years old, she met resistance.

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: They virtually told me he was autistic, and that he would never go to regular school. And I said, no. He's going to spend two years in an integrated classroom and he's going to be entering when he's five. They said, that's a nice dream but it is not going to happen. I said it is.

PERRY: How did you know you were right?

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: I didn't. I just had a gut feeling that, you know, we can improve this, but would it all go away, I didn't know.

PERRY: Thanks to various therapies, Jared made strides in preschool. But his transition to kindergarten was rough.

In what ways?

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: First of all, with more children and less teachers and he's not blending in.

PERRY: What did Jared do that made him stand out?

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: He was moving al the not getting up and walking around, but he's moving in the chair.

PERRY: Jared was diagnosed with ADD and started taking medication. Now four years later, Catherine is confident she made the right decision. Did the meds help?

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: Yes.

PERRY: Were they necessary?

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: Yes.

PERRY: Some say they're not, that we're drugging our kids.

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: I was on the same side of the fence for a long time. Do I need to give him medication just to be in medication to be socially and academically successful? But then he's in cub scouts. He goes to camp. He has to go along with the program. PERRY: Got to fit in.

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: Got to fit in. Am I happy he has to take it, no. Does it work for him, yes!

PERRY: Are you proud of how well you do in school.

JARED JAGIELLO: Of course.

PERRY: Do you have a lot of friends?

JARED JAGIELLO: Yes.

PERRY: You are a popular kid.

JARED JAGIELLO: Yes.

PERRY: That feels good.

JARED JAGIELLO: Yes.

PERRY: What do you want to be when you grow up?

JARED JAGIELLO: Pilot, monster truck driver and architect.

PERRY: Those families who are making a decision about meds, what do you say to those parents?

CATHERINE JAGIELLO: You have to do what you have to do.

PERRY: Steve Perry, Oakland Gardens, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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WHITFIELD: OK. So everyone loves cars, right? Well now, let's talk about concept cars. Jackie is here with me because I don't know, it is pretty fascinating to think about the cars of the future and get a chance to maybe see some of the cars of the future, as they are in Tokyo.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, you know, electric and hybrid and all of that have been kind the wave of the future but we are seeing some really cool new techno things, where cars -- have you seen the chameleon cars? You can change the color. You can change form of them.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So, instead of fantasizing about having more than one car, you can have one car but make it appear as though you have a lot of cars. Maybe you are tired of the exterior and want it to be, you know, black anymore. You want it to be red or maybe you design on it, like stripes and there is a design that there show you a pattern of flowers. So, you feel a little flower child that day.

JERAS: So, you can connect it to your Smartphone and have your Smartphone like change all these kinds of studs for you. And there is a key pad on the car where you can change it.

WHITFIELD: And you can change the interior, I don't know how you do that.

JERAS: The color.

WHITFIELD: The interior color. They are showing you can press the buttons but I'd love to see how it happens on the inside.

JERAS: It is distracting. If you are driving down the interstate and see a car come by that is purple and yellow.

WHITFIELD: Yes, very fantastic.

JERAS: Maybe you don't make the changes while you are driving.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating. This is another vehicle called the aqua.

JERAS: It is supposed to be the cheaper version of the Prius and could get 50 plus miles a gallon. I'd like 50 plus miles a gallon.

WHITFIELD: Of course, who wouldn't? These are all beautiful cars and folks who have turned out in big numbers. People go to car shows no matter what city they're in around the world and this is a hot one is a hot ticket, the 42nd Tokyo motor show. Fun stuff.

Alright, like a chameleon, the weather will be changing too.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: It always does. And if you are in the car whether it be, you know something economical or not we will have some travel trouble. We will take you to the magic wall and show you what I am talking about.

Well, two big stories really that we are going to be dealing with here. Tonight we are concerned about the heavy rain. And so, if you are on the roadways this is going to be a real problem with a couple of problems at the airports. But we're real concerned in particular about the potential for river flooding and places like Arkansas, stretching up in the western Tennessee and then on up in to the western Ohio River valley. This will be an area we are watching as the rivers start to swell with. We have seen as much as six inches of rain in the past couple of days.

Now, weather story number two and this is a biggie for those of you across the western half of the U.S. because this storm is going to be affecting everybody in one way, shape or form. A strong cold front's coming through followed by a strong area of high pressure. And as that high pressure dips down, it's going to bring incredibly strong winds.

We are looking at another wind event, very similar to what we saw last week. Not quite as strong this time around but enough to cause additional power outages and bring down more trees. The National Guard has called it out in Utah around Salt Lake City in the county to clean up debris from the last storm so they can prepare for the winds that come tonight.

In addition to that we are looking at heavy snow late tonight through Tuesday. And with those winds it will be near blizzard conditions. It will be terrible travel along i-25 tomorrow, Denver proper looking at three to six inches of snow. So, another big event, Fredricka, with the wind and snow, it is going to be a real traffic.

WHITFIELD: Alright, you are going to talk more about this throughout the evening, as well. Thank you so much, Jacqui.

Alright, much more of the NEWSROOM is coming up later on with my colleague Don Lemon. Right now he's on the phone. But when he gets off the phone we're going to switch places here. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Have a great week.

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