Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Will Congress Extend Payroll Tax Cut?; Newt Gingrich Meets With Donald Trump;; Sentencing for Komisarjevsky; Assange Argues Against Extradition; Tech Expert Looks at Holiday Gifts; Herman Cain Quotes Pokemon Movie

Aired December 05, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. Watch this.

Hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin. What a busy news day here on this Monday.

First up, you have the Senate duking it out over the money in your pocket, also judgment day for a monstrous home invader. And snail mail about to get even slower.

Time to play "Reporter Roulette."

Kate Bolduan, let's begin with you on Capitol Hill, where Democrats have taken another shot extending the payroll tax cut before it expires at the end of the year. Here's my if to you. If Congress doesn't get it done, they can't compromise, your paycheck could be a lot lighter next year. What's the difference in this version of the plan today?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In this version of the plan, this is now the kind of the newest proposal to come forward, this coming from Senate Democrats.

This keeps -- what this proposal does is it would keep -- it would extend the payroll tax cut for employees and actually expand it so employees would be having to pay even less in the payroll tax. So it would go from 4.2 percent tax to a 3.1 percent tax.

A big change, though, is that this proposal does not include, it has dropped the payroll tax cut for employers. Democrats say that that was done in an effort to bring down the overall cost of the package. It's now about a third of what Democrats had originally proposed.

Also a change, Brooke, is that it's paid for in a different way. It still includes a surtax on income over $1 million, a so-called millionaire's surtax that Republicans are opposed to. But Democrats say in an effort to try to compromise with Republicans, that's their wording, not mine, they have made it a much scaled-down version of a surtax. No details yet on just how much less that tax would be.

Also, it would be paid for through some spending cuts, but still not clear if that's really going to be supported by many Republicans, Brooke. BALDWIN: There you go. What about the Republicans? Do some agree? Do any of them agree, A.? And, B., it seems like there's division among Republicans as well.

BOLDUAN: Well, there's he definitely real divisions among Republicans. We could do an entire different live shot on that. But on this proposal, it's not likely this will be the final compromise that they will end up using to push forward and to extend the payroll tax cut.

Right away, I started hearing from Republican aides that Republicans still do not support an increase, a tax increase on job creators, which is what they believe this millionaire surtax is. A very senior Republican, Orrin Hatch, he released a statement shortly after this proposal came out and said that it's pretty mystifying, in his words, that the majority is pursuing in his words more political show votes that won't go anywhere.

But I did hear from one top House Republican leadership aide that this does move in the right direction. So, as you're seeing, a lot of messaging going on this week where Democrats stand, where Republicans, stand and so maybe they're kind of moving in the direction toward each other. But at this moment, they're still far apart.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: -- About to be determined, Kate Bolduan. Thank you very much live for us on the Hill. Keep us posted, obviously, with what is going on there. A lot of Americans would like to know.

Meantime, whether a triple murderer and home invader lives or dies right now in the hands of a Connecticut jury. Jurors have just begun deliberations in the fate of Joshua Komisarjevsky, who killed a mother and two daughters.

Next here on "Reporter Roulette," Deb Feyerick in New Haven, Connecticut.

Deb, how long has the jury had this?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're still -- I will tell you, they are getting the jury instructions from the judge.

And as a matter of fact, they had to take a long break for lunch because this is so confusing, this penalty phase, that in fact the judge had the wrong verdict sheet. So they had to take a little bit of break, but they will be getting this really any moment. They're very eager.

This is what it all comes down to. For the last six weeks, the lawyers for Joshua Komisarjevsky were really trying to open a window into who this man did, why he may have done what he did. They portrayed him as a victim of repeated child abuse. They say he's a man who had no self- worth, that the adults in his life, through every stage of his life, never got him the mental health that he needed, that he was a follower, not a leader, that what happened in the house on July 23, 2007, when Dr. Petit, his wife and two children inside, the wife ended up strangled to death, the two daughters died of smoke inhalation after the house was set on fire.

Well, they're trying to portray this as a man who should be at least allowed to live out his days in prison. Probably the most poignant moment was last week when they actually brought his 9-year-old daughter on to the stand via tape.

And it wasn't what she said that really moved people in that courtroom. It was what he said, what the convicted killer said. He said, look, don't bring her into this. This is not about her. This is about what I did. I was trying to protect her and take responsibility.

His lawyer saying, look, this is a severely damaged human being, but he's a human being and his life has value -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Will it be life? Will it be death? In the hands, as we mentioned, of this Connecticut jury. Deb Feyerick, thank you so much live from New Haven.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: That's your "Reporter Roulette" for this Monday.

Still ahead, police say one man is behind 15 minutes of hell on board a city bus -- why this accused killer thought people were following him.

Plus, Newt Gingrich visits Gotham and Republican royalty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, CHAIRMAN & CEO, TRUMP HOTELS & CASINO RESORTS: But I'm not looking for the wrong person, because I don't think the wrong person will be chosen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Turns out Gingrich didn't just come up for a visit. He came to Trump with an idea, and Trump liked it. You're going to hear it.

Also, an actress is seen posing in her birthday suit, and now claims the magazine doctored the photos. Wait until you hear what she says they added.

Also, President Obama surprising everyone with an announcement just this past hour on taxes. Ali Velshi, Christine Romans in studio today. Don't miss it. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Twenty-six days until your taxes go up, that is unless Congress takes action. I want you to listen to President Obama who spoke just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know many Republicans have sworn an oath never to raise taxes as long as they live. How can it be the only time there's a catch is when it comes to raising taxes on middle-class families?

How can you fight tooth and nail to protect high-end tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and yet barely lift a finger to prevent taxes going up for 160 million Americans who really need the help?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joined by, drumroll, I feel like I never get to see both of you in person together at once, Ali Velshi, chief business correspondent, and Christine Romans.

Lovely to have you all here.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

BALDWIN: We will explain at the end -- this will be the little tease, why you're here, sitting here together with me. Stay tuned for that.

But, meantime, we heard from the president speaking at the top of last hour, sort of this plea again with regard to middle-class families, hoping that they can have $1,000, maybe even $1,500 extra in their pocket come next year. Are people aware you think overall that their taxes are about to go up if this doesn't go through?

ROMANS: I don't know.

I think people don't know that last year, this year, $934 per working family on average is what you got extra in your paycheck because of this payroll tax holiday.

What the president has done is he has really put the Republicans in a box, put them in a corner. He said, look, you said you were never going to raise taxes. If the House and Senate can't get this fixed, taxes will go up for 121 million families.

BALDWIN: Isn't it 160 million Americans, right, overall? Big picture, Ali Velshi, how does this affect the economy?

(CROSSTALK)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It used to be when unemployment was level, relatively steady, if you gave people a tax cut, that was money they generally used to buy something and stimulated the economy.

The problem we have got right now is we have got this in-flux economy where some people are worried about losing their jobs, even though our job situation is improving, but people worry about losing that money in investments, they're not getting it in their houses. So it's unclear what people do when they have these tax credits.

If the tax credit disappears, is that money they won't spend? Or are people living close to the bone? We saw a fairly successful Black Friday so folks are -- they're getting out they're and spending. So, bottom line, all this is to say, it's relatively unclear what people would do with $1,000 or $1,500 more today. It was much clearer two years ago.

ROMANS: I don't think they know that they're getting it right now, but they're spending it. It is going into the economy.

BALDWIN: Which is a wonderful thing. We just saw the numbers on Friday. We know that Black Friday was excellent. I think Cyber Monday was as well. And you saw the number finally. It was almost the psychological bit, right, below the 9 percent. Now it's at 8.6 percent.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: It's a big deal.

BALDWIN: It's a big deal. But then it's like these seasonal jobs, and once that dries up at the end of year, boom, are we back up at 9?

ROMANS: I can't believe -- this is what I can't believe. We live in a world where we say 8.6 percent unemployment, what a great improvement.

BALDWIN: We're celebrating it.

ROMANS: This is the world we live in, where these kinds of improvements are what we take as good news.

Look, there are too many people who have been out of work for too long. We know that if you have been out of work for six months or longer, your chances of getting back into the work force are diminishing every single day. Where there's activity in the labor market, it's for people who just were recently unemployed. But hiring is up. Unemployment is down. We can say that.

BALDWIN: Eurozone, we have to pay attention with what is happening in Europe, right?

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: That's a problem.

BALDWIN: It's an issue. There are big, big meetings this week, what, in Brussels. And so if Europe doesn't get its act together, how does that affect us?

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: That's major. When you look at economies in the world, the Eurozone as a sum total is as big as America. They are America biggest trading partner. They're the biggest buyer of Chinese goods.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: This is a major, major problem.

And what you have in Europe is you have to think about the healthy economies, France and Germany, vs. everybody else that France and Germany has got to help out.

BALDWIN: Bail them out.

VELSHI: And they are having discussions -- and Christine and I were just talking about this on the way in -- they're having discussions about doing things that we could never come close to having now. They're forced into discussions about capping their budgets, capping their deficits, balanced budgets.

We have been discussing these things for how many decades?

ROMANS: If you look at the front page of "The Wall Street Journal" today, there's -- I think the Italian finance minister. She is crying. She is crying because she has to tell people that you're going to have to work longer, you're go to get less retirement, and we have to do this now or we will be impoverished together.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: We can't let that happen.

In this country, we can't even decide about whether we're going to pass a...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Extend the payroll tax cut, right.

ROMANS: Those two optics to me are just really incredible.

VELSHI: But it does matter a great deal, because we depend -- for whatever we do manufacture and send out of this country, the Europeans buy a lot of it. If they start keeping their money in their pocket, we have got further problems.

ROMANS: It's about people. That's the thing. It's about people, all of this.

BALDWIN: You two, I love that you're coming in talking about this. Such finance nerds, I love it.

You're here in Atlanta because you got a book?

VELSHI: Yes. And we're signing books right here at CNN Center tomorrow.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: CNN tomorrow.

ROMANS: Tomorrow at noon.

BALDWIN: Tomorrow at noon.

ROMANS: The book is called "How to Speak Money." And it's because we speak money differently, we understand it differently, we speak it every day on TV.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: And we think that people in their houses do the same thing. They disagree. They don't see it the same way. So we will be here and talking to people and signing books right here at CNN Center.

BALDWIN: All right, you two, I have got a book. I will need some signatures.

ROMANS: Good. Awesome.

BALDWIN: Thank you very much, both of you. We will see you tomorrow.

ROMANS: Nice to see you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Meantime, still ahead, Newt Gingrich meets the Donald, Donald Trump, the presidential candidate, visiting the businessman and approaching Trump with an idea. Think "The Apprentice" with a twist. Jim Acosta there live. That's next.

Also, the man in charge of the country's aviation system is charged with driving drunk.

And just in to CNN, a major development. Don't move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The top man in the Federal Aviation Administration is charged with drunk driving. He is Randy Babbitt. He was picked up just over this past weekend in Fairfax, Virginia.

But we have just now learned that Babbitt has been requested and has been granted a leave of absence from his post. Fairfax police say an officer saw Babbitt's vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road. Babbitt was with alone at the time. Police say the FAA chief cooperated with the arresting officer.

So you remember Newt Gingrich catching a little flak for suggesting that schools have their students work as janitors? He said fire those union janitors and let the kids do it. Be good for them. As I said, he definitely caught some flak for that some weeks ago. And here he is speaking just a short time ago in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do not suggest that children -- and children up through 14, 15 years of age do heavy dangerous janitorial work. All right?

On the other hand, as all of you have probably noticed in life, there are a number of things done to clean buildings that are not heavy or dangerous. So what if you took kids in danger of dropping out and instead, you said, if you will stay in school, we will give you a three-four or four-hour-a-day job?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go Jim Acosta who is there in New York with an America's Choice 2012 politics update.

And, Jim, is that perhaps Newt Gingrich, I don't know, perhaps deflecting or maybe I will use the word clarifying something that to some voters some weeks ago sounded a tad draconian?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it did sound that way when he first talked about putting kids back to work in schools and that sort of thing. It sounded like something out of the musical "Oliver," little kids in orphanages and that sort of thing.

What the speaker was saying at this press conference just about an hour ago is that he did not exactly mean for little kids who are perhaps from poor neighborhoods and inner city schools to toil all night as janitors and that sort of thing.

So he was trying to clarify that. Obviously, that is a problem for the speaker, if that kind of idea gets across. And he tried to clean that up somewhat in his meeting with Donald Trump, Brooke, earlier today. He came out of that meeting with Donald Trump here in New York City and said that he had actually gotten the Donald to sign off on an idea or at least he said that he got the Donald to sign off on an idea to set up a sort of apprentice program, which sounds an awful lot like the Donald's TV show, in which inner-city kids would have a chance to work in their communities in sort of an apprenticeship-type fashion.

So, the speaker isn't really backing off the idea, but you could say he's massaging it a little bit.

BALDWIN: You mentioned the meeting with Donald Trump today. Something else that Newt Gingrich is certainly getting some flak about from specifically his fellow Republicans is the fact that he's there meeting with Donald Trump. In fact, listen to Ron Paul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't quite understand it. I don't understand the marching to his office. I mean, I didn't know that he had an ability to lay on hands and anoint people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Anoint people. I mean, you were in the room when Newt Gingrich was speaking during the Q&A. Was he asked about that? Was he asked whether or not he was up there to kiss Trump's ring, so to speak?

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: He was asked about Donald Trump. He basically said, look, this is a guy who's very influential inside the Republican Party, has a reality show, is very successful. And so it makes perfect sense to the speaker, to the former speaker, that he go up and try to get the support of Donald Trump. And it may not be terrible political strategy on his part. Brooke, you will remember as we were getting into the early stages of this presidential campaign, Donald Trump was leading in some polls. And so he is still hoping -- Newt Gingrich is hoping that he could get Donald Trump's endorsement in addition to Herman Cain's endorsement.

There's a lot of speculation that Newt Gingrich is working feverishly to get Herman Cain's endorsement. If he could lock down both of those endorsements, that would not be bad for Newt Gingrich.

BALDWIN: Right. But I think Donald Trump said he is not going to be endorsing anyone until end of December, after he, what, moderates that debate in Iowa. So we will have to see who he endorses later on down the line.

ACOSTA: That's right.

BALDWIN: Jim Acosta for us in New York, Jim, thank you.

And now to a guy who got his start painting dumpsters and billboards and getting in trouble with the law. Now he's creating 3-D art, he's on CNN "Next List."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRISTAN EATON, FOUNDER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR, THUNDERDOG STUDIOS: I'm Tristan Eaton. I'm the president and creative director of Thunderdog Studios.

There's a few projects that Thunderdog has done that are basically the perfect example of what I love about doing commercial art and collaborating with brands. I was contacted by the Obama campaign. And I ended up creating three posters for the Vote for Change campaign. To be able to be involved formally, to do something official, was so cool because it feels like you're making a piece of history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Don't forget to watch CNN's brand-new show. We're calling it "THE NEXT LIST," featuring some of America's brightest minds. Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosts Sundays 2:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Coming up next: a beautiful woman posing here on the cover of a magazine with barely any clothes on. But there is a controversy here and a lawsuit brewing as well. Sara Sidner is going to join me next. Don't miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: An attempt to sell magazines has really sparked outrage and legal action overseas.

This is all because of this. I want you to take a look with me, this magazine cover. This is "FHM" published in India that shows the extremely undressed actress and model Veena Malik. She's from Pakistan. We can't show you any more of this photograph other than her face. This is all about the rest of her body. This is the part that's gotten her so, so upset. But here's the part that's got all of India upset.

You see this? Letters, three little letters, marked on her arm that represent Pakistan's intelligence service, an agency that's distrusted in India and widely believed to be behind terror attacks there, the ISI.

Now, this model is Veena Malik. She's now suing this magazine. And not many Indian people see any humor in the letters ISI printed on a nude model from, of all places, Pakistan.

So, on the phone from Mumbai, India, I have CNN's Sara Sidner.

And, Sara, so this whole scandal, I imagine it's not exactly what this magazine "FHM" had in mind when it designed this sexy cover. Or is it?

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that's a good question, and I'm going to suspect that it is.

I mean, any time you want to sell a magazine that deal with celebrities, usually, the bigger the buzz, the better, right? That's anywhere in the world, that is the case. And certainly this controversy probably won't hurt the magazine that much.

I mean, people are going to at least want to see exactly what it is that all of this is about and why there's such a big controversy and try to see the images. So nobody knows exactly whether or not the agreement between this actress and the magazine was one that was carried out properly.

Now there is a big fight. She is now taking this to the courts, saying that she was misrepresented, saying that she was not nude and that the pictures had been doctored.

And there's even a question about the ISI, which stands for Inter- Service Intelligence agency, that Pakistani agency. There's even a question in the documents about whether or not the ISI image on her arm, whether she understood what that stood for, saying that it could stand for many different things and she was told by the people that were taking her picture, the magazine employees, that it would not hurt her reputation and it could stand for a lot of different things.

But everyone in these two countries usually when they see ISI, they are thinking about the Pakistani intelligence agency. So it's an interesting fight going on between her and "FHM" magazine.

BALDWIN: Yes. I guess whatever she thought that acronym stood for, it's quite significant, as you point out. And I guess the question then is, sort of these dueling stories of outrage. In Pakistan, is it bigger maybe for the fact that this photo is so immodest, or in India for that tattoo, that ISI reference, right there on the cover of the magazine?

SIDNER: SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'd say definitely probably the reaction is stronger in Pakistan. You know, in India there is a lot of this sort of controversy that goes around with different actresses. Sometimes you will see controversy because, for example, somebody had a long and extended kiss. Just recently in what is usually a pretty conservative society, kissing in movies had been widely accepted, although you still don't see it that often. For a long time it was banned. You couldn't see two actors kissing each other in a Bollywood film, for example.

So although India has some conservative thoughts, it was Pakistan who reacted in the past even with the same actress where Veena Malik upsets sensibilities there from the conservatives, saying she's acting immorally, she's not being Islamic when she took part in this big boss, which is the equivalent of big brother in the U.S., she was in a house, she was cuddling and snuggling with someone. So there was outrage then. Now I think this has pushed it to a whole other level in Pakistan.

BALDWIN: I suppose that scandal may not be a bad thing for an actress' career, just as this may not be a bad thing for selling magazines. Sara Sidner for us there, very early in your morning there, we appreciate it from Mumbai. Thank you.

A familiar TV face is taking an aggressive step against her breast cancer. Here's what "E! News" host Giuliana Rancic told NBC's "The Today Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANA RANCIC, E! NEWS HOST: The last time I was here I told you I was getting the double lumpectomy and radiation. But now instead of radiation I'm going to go ahead and move forward with a double mastectomy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Rancic underwent a double lumpectomy in but doctors were not able to get all of the cancer out.

Coming up next, police say it is a story of paranoia, schizophrenia, and murder. Why is a guy accused of storming a city bus and unleashing 15 minutes of hell? More on that.

Also, news just in to CNN. First, a body has been found in the desperate search for a little girl.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just in to us here at CNN, a little girl missing north of Atlanta has been found and, sadly, not alive. Seven-year-old Jorelys Rivera's body was recovered today by Georgia state investigators who say she had been sexually assaulted. They found her body in a trash container near the apartment complex where she vanished on Friday.

The founder of the whistleblower site WikiLeaks wins a round in court. I'm talking about Julian Assange. He is fighting being sent back to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault. Today he won the right battle to take his battle to Britain's Supreme Court. Let's bring in Sunny Hostin, always on the case for us. And Sunny, does Assange have much of a chance of winning here?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: You know, people are saying it's extraordinarily slim that he will get his case before the Supreme Court because what he has won is the right to petition the British Supreme Court to look at a really specific issue in the law. And so many people are saying even if he gets there it is unlikely that he will win in front of the British Supreme Court.

But this is an important win for him in terms of at least perhaps getting the petition in front of the Supreme Court, Brooke, because, had he not won this ruling, he could have been extradited to Sweden within 10 days. So a victory of sorts for him today.

BALDWIN: Remind us where he's been living while fighting this extradition order.

HOSTIN: Well, he's been living pretty well, Brooke. I mean, he does have one of these sort of electronic bracelets, but he's living at a supporter's mansion in northeast London. They are keeping tabs on him. He has to check in every day, but he is living in a mansion in northeast London.

BALDWIN: And to be clear he has still not been charged with any crime thus far, right?

HOSTIN: Certainly right. There are accusations he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden. Prosecutors have been looking at this for some time, and that's why they want him extradited. But he has not been charged with anything.

BALDWIN: Case number two, this man in New York allegedly shoots his girlfriend's son, kills him, then hops on a bus. This is where police say he shot two men because he didn't like the way they were looking at him. This is according to police. So the question is what prompted this? Do police know? Are they saying?

HOSTIN: They aren't saying, but I think certainly they think there could be some mental illness here. The judge indicated that. Some of the investigators have mentioned that there's no question he that many people, Brooke, said that after he got out of prison he felt that people were watching him, were following him, were out to get him. These are signs of perhaps paranoia, perhaps paranoid schizophrenia. And that is what investigators and the courts are thinking about right now. There were some signs that he may have been mentally ill.

BALDWIN: Who are these victims?

HOSTIN: Well, as you mentioned, the 18-year-old son of his girlfriend are Keith Morel, he is dead, also a 36-year-old home depot worker who happened to be on the bus, his name was Marvin Gill, and a 29-year-old man is expected, thankfully, to survive. But these are really, other than the 18-year-old son of his girlfriend, just people who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. He did not know these people. They were just people riding on the bus to and from work. BALDWIN: You know, I feel like in cases like these -- and there are too many we talk about here on television -- but generally they're warning signs, right? Someone just doesn't usually snap in a day.

HOSTIN: You would think so. Certainly sometimes people do snap. You have these crimes of passion, these fits of rage. But there are indications that he may have been suffering from mental illness. And I think that's one of the takeaways here, Brooke. Certainly there are places one can go. If you have a friend or loved one you suspect may be suffering from mental illness, they have to get the help they need so that things like this don't happen.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, thank you.

Coming up -- don't you hate it when your iPhone is running out of juice and you're nowhere near a charger? What is someone to do? You can actually carry a charger, Rocky come in, check this out. Here's the charger. It's right on your key ring, boom -- easier said than be done. Boom, there you go. One of the awesome tech gift ideas this season that Katie Linendoll is here in the studio. She's going to show me. We will be back. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Forget the same old gift cars for the people on your holiday shopping list this year. You've got to be creative and give them something they may never expect. So Tech reporter Katie Linendoll, hello.

KATIE LINENDOLL, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: In studio.

BALDWIN: In studio. It's such a treat. It's the little things we get excited over. Anyway, you're here with all of this stuff.

LINENDOLL: Yes.

BALDWIN: Talk what we could get our loved ones for the holidays.

LINENDOLL: Absolutely. I've geared this towards travel but I've also pulled it from my personal arsenal. I take two flights a week. Here are the best gadgets I think that anybody can benefit from.

BALDWIN: OK, hit me.

LINENDOLL: You start with a key ring. These are juice packs. For that person with the iPhone who says I ran out of juice, solution to that, these are $39.95 to $99.95. On my phone, I slide it in, eight hours of battery life.

BALDWIN: What about this one?

LINENDOLL: It's put more as a reserve. Put it on your key chain, only for a last call or two. $39.95, six different colors, perfect for the iPhone lover in your life.

BALDWIN: Next? LINENDOLL: The Zaggfolio -- I can't live without.

BALDWIN: I love my iPad. What is this?

LINENDOLL: The virtual keyboard is like literally impossible. Pick it up. There's a lot of cases out there for iPad. This clamps, don't be afraid. Swivel it right down, and it clasps right together. It's incredibly durable from Zagg.com. That keyboard slides out, works off of Bluetooth. And the base you can move it around, which is not typical of an iPad case.

BALDWIN: I'm not so gentle so I wouldn't even break this.

LINENDOLL: Exactly. Next on my list, Skull Candy --

BALDWIN: Had when you're running they fall out all the time.

LINENDOLL: The gym? Forget it. No ear-buds actually work. These work.

BALDWIN: You promise?

LINENDOLL: You're going to pay for them, 70 bucks but they're a nice option that will stay in without the big bulky headphones.

BALDWIN: Next?

LINENDOLL: Next up, go ahead and grab this. These are my favorite bags, Lambada bags, super chic and sleek. I kind of call this replace the purse. This one is obviously made for an iPad but you can see I have my iPad, I put my notes in here, my wallet. It's pretty generous in terms of carting stuff around. It also comes with a handle and there's bigger sizes for the laptop bags.

BALDWIN: My big MacBook would fit in here.

LINENDOLL: Yes. It's Italian made.

BALDWIN: How much is this?

LINENDOLL: It's $40 to $50.

BALDWIN: Not bad. Done. Like the colors.

LINENDOLL: Next, I'll give you these. These are free hand gloves. So this just in for people that are upgrading to a smartphone. You cannot touch the screen with your gloves on. The solution is conductive tips on your gloves. These allow you to get on the touch screen or tablet or smartphone. Plus there's two options here. So you have the conductive tip option or the free form option. These have little magnets so it will actually clasp on the back so you have access to your fingers. So two different options there. These are $18 to $35. You can get a cashmere pair for 80 bucks.

BALDWIN: If it's freezing cold but you must work --

LINENDOLL: We're tethered 24/7 to our gadgets. BALDWIN: Sadly we are.

LINENDOLL: Free-hand gloves.

OK, next up is one of my favorites in audio. This is the jambox. This is all about wireless speakers. This looks small, right?

BALDWIN: It's got good sound?

LINENDOLL: Oh, my gosh, the sound is incredible. I've given them to every person in my family. My dad was like, I cannot believe the sound that pumps out of this. You can play songs from your computer, your smartphone, your tablet. Obviously using any Bluetooth technology gives you that capability. But what's also cool is I travel with this. It is work as a conference call. It's a speaker phone.

BALDWIN: Plug in your phone.

LINENDOLL: Go Bluetooth and have your conference calls.

BALDWIN: And you can speak into this.

LINENDOLL: Yes.

BALDWIN: Wow, they got all kinds of great stuff now!

LINENDOLL: Last but not least. I take this everywhere I go everywhere I go -- 300 water -- it takes the place of all those bottled water, so not only are you saving money, but you're also filtering 300 bottles of waters for traveling and also going to the gym.

BALDWIN: Right on. I'll take this and the headphones and this thing.

LINENDOLL: Done!

BALDWIN: Thank you very much. Happy holidays to you and you. Good to see you in person, finally. We'll tweet out all of this.

So coming up here, a new pastor faces an old way of thinking, a ban on interracial couples in a rural church. See who won this one in the end.

And then I get to talk to him each and every day but I know some of you have very pressing questions for Wolf Blitzer, I guess, of a more personal nature. Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think you can dance?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": I'm not a good dancer, but I like to do it. It's fun. But dancing has never been my strength, you know. Adequate, not great. When with I went on the "Ellen" show, I came out and everybody sort of dances, although Anderson Cooper refused to dance. Unlike Anderson cooper I had the guts and the strength, the self-confidence and the ability to dance with Ellen. I'm very proud of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wolf brought it to Ellen. Who knew? Got a little swagger. Wolf Blitzer, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: An about face for a Kentucky church that had initially voted to ban interracial couples. We told you about this ban just last week. So this happened after a church member announced her engagement it a black man. The congregation of a Free Will Baptist church in Pike County voted and most of the 40 members abstained. But the ban passed nine-six.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For someone who has been going to that church for all her life, she was expecting support from them. But that -- everyone just fell off the bandwagon and passed a really harsh judgment on her and us and the family too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before I make a decision on anything, I like to go strictly by what the Bible says. I tried every way possible that I could to resolve this matter before it got to where it did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You hear that? So even the pastor, the church's pastor, was against the ban. A lot happened over the past weekend. Just yesterday the congregation voted again, this time against the ban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I vote to accept all people regardless of race, creed, or color, and to accept everyone into the fellowship of Christ. We'll do no more than grow from it. It's made me stronger. It opened my eyes up to what I need to do the next time I'm faced with an issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Apparently this was quite an experience for the church pastor. He had only been at the church one week when this hit.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" is mere minutes away, and always we talk to this man, Wolf Blitzer, with a preview. But first, Wolf, I guess you have been fielding some personal questions from iReporters and we found one asked by a fish about your beard.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

BLITZER: My beard, I just trimmed it, by the way, yesterday. And I have a little machine that has a little safety guard on it. It takes a few seconds. And I trim it usually once or twice a week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, so fascinating.

BLITZER: I get a lot of questions about my beard. I trimmed it this morning, can you tell?

BALDWIN: No, sorry, I can't. What other tips do you have? I remember not too long ago you were talking about your treat on the campaign trail, frozen Oreos. See, I listen to you.

BLITZER: I tweeted about it on CNN iReport. I took questions from viewers out there. I answered the questions. One of the questions was how do I take care of beard. And the fish's name, did you watch the whole little clip?

BALDWIN: No. Do tell me, though.

BLITZER: The last name was "Fishsir."

BALDWIN: I get it.

BLITZER: Last week I had a frog. This week a fish. We got a lot of good stuff going on.

BALDWIN: OK, we'll wait for you. We'll see what pops up in the next couple of minutes.

BLITZER: You may be surprised in the next couple hours who is going to emerge and who's going to show up in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

BALDWIN: All right, Wolf Blitzer, we'll see you in a couple minutes. As always we watch at 4:00 eastern.

Still to come, though, for me, what does a Republican buy a Democrat for Christmas? And no, this is an knock-knock joke trick question. This is a very real, albeit secret Santa question on Capitol Hill. Joe Johns explains. Political Pop is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now for a quick look at tomorrow's news today, let's fast forward beginning with Rod Blagojevich. He is scheduled to be sentenced after a jury convicted him on a corruption charge. Prosecutors are demanding the former Illinois governor get somewhere between 15 to 20 years in prison.

And President Obama visits Osawatomie, Kansas, talks about the economy. The president selected the town the mirror President Teddy Roosevelt, who also spoke there and called for a new nationalism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And more than five months after her death, the new Amy Winehouse album goes on sale. It is going to feature songs never heard before. All of that happening tomorrow.

Meantime, Herman Cain, he suspended his campaign just over this past weekend, and in doing so dropped a couple lines from the Pokemon movie in the process. Have you heard about this? This had "Political Pop" written all over it. Joe John says here. Joe, what got me, this isn't the first time he's quoted this.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: No, absolutely not. And I have to say, watching the speech, it was kind of stunning, because it was down toward the end of the speech and you're thinking, he's going to wrap up his campaign quoting "Pokemon" the movie? A lot of people couldn't believe it. Cain dropped out over the weekend, once again, quoting the movie, a lot of giggles about this one.

But the story actually does a have a history that we have reported here on Political Pop. The last time he quoted the movie, he didn't say where the quote came from. But this time as he was suspending his campaign, he gave full attribution. We put together a little mash-up, so you can see Cain giving words from a clip from the movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe these words came from the "Pokemon" movie. Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible.

CAIN: It's never easy when there's so much on the line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's never easy when so much is on the line

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That's fantastic.

JOHNS: What could you say, right? This is, you know, modern poetry. So why does this keep coming up in speeches?

BALDWIN: Why. Watch a lot of "Pokemon" on the bus?

JOHNS: In an interview with "GQ" magazine, Cain said he heard these words in a promo by NBC sports for the Olympics in the year 2000. This is 11 years ago and words apparently just stayed with him. Go figure.

BALDWIN: I don't know why that gives me the giggles so much. So I will move on.

JOHNS: It is funny.

BALDWIN: Secret Santa on Capitol Hill, senators, specifically, playing secret Santa.

JOHNS: Right, much more serious story. There are 100 seats in the Senate, 58 are playing secret Santa for the first time. Bipartisan effort, if you will, to bring good cheer to the Capitol Hill. We're talking about 37 Democrats, 21 Republicans. The gifts have to be wrapped and government no more than $10. I guess that's the way they get around the house Senate gift ban.

Where did this idea come from? Senator Al Franken from Minnesota. He says he got the idea from grade school when he drew the name of a bully in the gift exchange and ended up becoming friends with him.

BALDWIN: OK, maybe the love will extend into that whole payroll tax cut extension. We shall see, from this secret Santa game. Joe Johns, thank you so much. We'll see you back here tomorrow. I'll see you back here as well.

Meantime, Wolf Blitzer, "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts now.