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CNN Sunday Morning

Crisis on the Korean Peninsula; Good Buy Could Just Be Bad Product

Aired November 28, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's 8:00 a.m. here in Atlanta and 10:00 p.m. on the Korean Peninsula. Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar, in for T.J. Holmes. And thanks for starting your day with us.

On alert and on edge -- the Korean Peninsula heats up as U.S. and South Korean forces conduct military exercises off the North Korean coast. The North calls the exercises a pretext for war, and is warning about dire consequences.

And the suspected Oregon would-be mass bomber -- we're learning more about him and his plans for killing as many people as possible during Portland's annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony.

(MUSIC)

KEILAR: Checking top stories now, police along the Ohio/Michigan border are looking for three children identified in an AMBER Alert. Police say the father of the 5, 7 and 9-year-old boys gave them to a woman he met online so she could deliver them to their mother. They've been missing since Friday. The "Detroit News" reports the father was hospitalized after a suicide attempt. He told police he didn't want the boys in the house when he tried to take his life.

If you have seen Tanner, Alexander or Andrew Skelton, you're asked to contact your local police agency. We also have more detailed information and descriptions of the children on our webpage, CNN.com.

Pakistan's civil aviation authority is raising the death toll from that plane crash in Karachi yesterday. In addition to the eight Russian nationals on board who were killed, now comes word that four construction workers on the ground also died.

Now, let's get to the breaking news out of the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. military and South Korea are conducting military exercises at this very hour. North Korea is calling those exercises a pretext for war.

CNN's Stan Grant is in Seoul.

And, Stan, North Korea is making some moves with its military. What's happening there?

STAN GRANT, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, as you can see, it's now starting to snow here in Seoul, but the political temperature has been very hot all day.

Let's talk about some of the tensions that have been building on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier in the day, South Korean military reporting that they detected North Korea had moved surface-to-air missiles along its border. Apparently, they started to deploy them after the clash on Yeonpyeong Island last week -- also detecting some military movement across the border and artillery fire being heard.

This created a sense of unease on Yeonpyeong Island and briefly, residents and media are being called to take shelter. That was lifted, but the South Korean government is calling on journalists to live the island, fearing further provocation from the North.

Now, the military exercises had begun between the U.S. and South Korea, the USS George Washington, four other battleships in that group, about 6,000 troops and the South Korean forces taking place about 100 kilometers, 60 miles south of this contentious border area that North Korea looking at that as a provocation, and warning against any incursions into its territory.

At the same time, diplomacy at a high level. China is sending an envoy here to Seoul for discussions with President Lee Myung-bak and a recognition from China that it will play a greater intermediary role, inviting another official from North Korea to travel to Beijing next week for talks there and trying to reconvene the heads of the delegation of the six-party talks. Those parties including China, the United States, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas to see if they can move this process forward as well, Brianna.

KEILAR: And let me ask you, Stan. With North Korea saying that these exercises are the pretext for war -- what is the very real concern that you can see that this really does, and not just the exercises but just the environment right now pushes this over the brink?

GRANT: I think the real risk here is some miscalculation, misunderstanding. It's always the risk that's an accident really sparks something much, much wider. There is a recognition here that the clash on Yeonpyeong Island, the North Korean attack there, has been a bit of a game-changer, putting civilians very much in the firing line and an attack on South Korean soil.

North Korea, though, accepting regret or expressing regret for the deaths of those civilians, but putting the blame on South Korea, saying that South Korea was using them as human shields.

So, at the moment, a lot of rhetoric. The rhetoric is probably higher than the threat right now, but with the military exercises under way, and with North Korea seeing that as a provocation, it does raise the prospect of something, of an accident, a miscalculation, a misunderstanding that could prompt something more serious -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Stan Grant, monitoring the situation there in Seoul, Korea -- thanks for that.

And, you know, you can see that it's snowing there in Seoul. Well, the temperatures have dropped as well. There's a lot of folks who are going to be seeing snow here if they aren't already. But do they know how to drive in that kind of weather? It can be tricky, you know?

And Reynolds Wolf -- he's standing by with some tips and a look at the forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Winter weather driving tips so necessary today in the snowy western U.S., especially for parts of Colorado, which is where our own meteorologist Reynolds Wolf takes us behind the wheel safely.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Do you know that according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more accidents occur during the wintertime as opposed to during the summertime. And this is the reason why: the ice and the snow, all that wintertime mess.

And it's the reason why we're here in Steamboat Springs at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School with Mark Cox.

Mark, what are we going to do?

MARK COX, BRIDGESTONE WINTER DRIVING SCHOOL: Well, basically, we're going to jump in the car, go out on the track and teach you the skills that you need to get around safely and have a little fun in the worst possible conditions.

WOLF: It sounds scary and fun and amusing all at the same time.

COX: Winter driving should be fun. There's no need for it to be scary.

WOLF: Let's get to it.

COX: All right.

WOLF: How can deceiving winter conditions be? Snow on the road, ice on a road.

COX: You know, winter conditions can be really deceiving because it may look like it's snow and underneath, it could be just black ice, just glare, shiny ice. And it's hard to tell. So, it's important that you as a driver make sure no one's behind you and every now and then hit your brake and see how much traction is available.

WOLF (voice-over): And on this course, traction will be hard to find. Coated with more than 250,000 gallons of water, this experience is like driving on a hockey rink.

COX: The more slippery it becomes, the more you have to anticipate each action from steering to braking to accelerating. WOLF: One of the first lessons: the weight transfer of your vehicle plays a bigger role controlling in your car than the steering wheel.

COX: Don't turn more, turn back street.

(CROSSTALK)

COX: So, how when you turn left, it steers more?

WOLF (on camera): Yes.

COX: It's totally counterintuitive, but sometimes, less steering is more effective. Choose the perfect amount of steering, not too much, not too little.

WOLF: I see.

COX: And if the car doesn't turn, don't give in to the tendency to just keep steering more. It won't help.

WOLF: I see.

COX: In fact, it makes it much worse.

WOLF (voice-over): Another difference-maker: the type and condition of your tires.

COX: You have to remember that a half-worn winter tire performs like an all-season tire. A half worn all-season tire performs like a summer tire. And, really, a summer tire has no place in winter conditions.

WOLF: But Mark says the best thing to have in place when facing those icy roads is the wealth of experience.

(on camera): Like a pro. Nice. That's a rap.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: I think he was terrified.

KEILAR: You are like a pro. He looked scared.

WOLF: Mark had good reason to be scared of me.

KEILAR: Very scared you.

WOLF: Yes, white knuckle driving, he's basically holding on -- no, he's great sport.

KEILAR: Turn less, steer --

WOLF: The basic -- the thing is: when you hit the brakes, the brakes aren't going to work as well.

KEILAR: Yes.

WOLF: When you accelerate, you accelerate, actually, it's just not going to work well. Everything is less effective when you have snow and you have ice on the roadways, then your visibility is hampered. You got a lot of issues out there.

KEILAR: I just follow the "drive really slow, slow, slow" rule.

WOLF: That's the best rule of all, the best one. Just take it easy out there.

KEILAR: I'm from southern California. I'm not going to -- I just realized, I'm not going to be very good at driving in snow. We had a lot in D.C. last year.

WOLF: They certainly did.

Today in D.C., though, things are going to be picture perfect for you. In fact, up and down the Eastern Seaboard, things should be fine. Out west is where things get a little bit dicey out there.

Here's a great shot that we have. You see the rotunda. You see the sunshine. Wow, what a great day in Washington, D.C.

If you're going for a jog around the ellipse, maybe going to Washington, maybe the Washington Memorial, maybe to the Lincoln Memorial, or perhaps over to the Jefferson Memorial, what memorial you choose, the results are going to be the same. It's going to be spectacular out there.

Eastern Seaboard -- well, you got high pressure a dominating the feature. Out to the west, that's where things get a little bit of crazy.

Now, yesterday, it was parts of Reno, parts of Tahoe, that really had the bull's eye on it in terms of the rough weather. Today, you're going to catch a break there and it looks like the real focus of that winter weather is going to drift down in parts of the southern Sierra Nevada, but still into the Rockies. They're going to have heavy snowfall. Some locations, the highest elevations, may get up to a foot.

Now, as this system moves eastward and it's not going to stay nailed to the ground, it will drift eastward, it is going to bring a different type of weather to different parts of the country. It's going to go from being a snowmaker to a rain maker, possibly some flash flood conditions can be expected in the mid-Mississippi Valley, back into Louisiana. Especially along parts of the I-10 corridor, you could deal with some rainy conditions. However, back in the Rockies, it's still going to be all snow, great for skiers, tough for drivers.

In terms of your temperatures today, it's cool in parts of the Southeast, warming to 58 degrees in Atlanta; for our friends in Kansas City, 60 degrees; and for our friends in Salt Lake City that are tuning in, your high is only going to 31, right below that freezing point. Have fun with that. Forty-one degrees in Seattle, 61 in Los Angeles, 80 degrees in Tampa, and 48 in New York City.

Very quickly, one last thing to share with you, Brianna, we've got some expected delays out there, all your airports in New York, and D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Miami -- mostly due to holiday volume. In Newark, we got the wind issues. Salt Lake City, again, the high 31, you've also got the low clouds, the wind and the snow, same story in Denver -- to be expected this time of year.

KEILAR: Yes, it is. I guess I will be hanging out with the masses at the Atlanta airport.

WOLF: Have fun. Go friendly.

KEILAR: Yes. Well, you know, Reynolds, we've already been dancing once this morning, right?

WOLF: We have.

KEILAR: I mean, who doesn't like to boogie? And this is a very big night for anyone who wants to get down -- including, oh, yes, our own Wolf Blitzer. There he is. I love it.

We're going to give you more of a sneak peek at his awesome moves and tell you what he was doing at this year's Soul Train Music Awards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Back on the couch --

WOLF: Yes.

KEILAR: -- boogying with Josh Levs and Reynolds Wolf.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just chilling.

KEILAR: You know what, though, our moves -- I mean, they just don't even compare to Wolf Blitzer. He stole the show at the Soul Train Music Awards last night. You have to check this out. He is holding his own.

LEVS: We heard it was coming. Wolf doing "The Dougie."

KEILAR: Oh, yes, there it is.

LEVS: There it is. I love Wolf. This is even better than when he was on "Ellen."

KEILAR: You see who he's dancing with? Dougie Fresh and Terrance Howard, one of my favorite actors.

WOLF: Very nice.

KEILAR: And, you know, he's doing -- yes, "The Dougie," right? This happened earlier in the month. He was right here in Atlanta. The Soul Train Awards, though, they're going to be airing tonight.

Good job, Wolf. Look, he had so much fun.

LEVS: You know how many women who work in the building heard the rumor who were asking if they can please tag along. They wanted the chance to do "The Dougie" with Wolf. Everybody wanted to do "The Dougie" with Wolf.

And there's Tony loving it.

KEILAR: Love.

LEVS: Tony said he brought the house down.

KEILAR: We have -- we also, our next story. This is some pretty amazing video out of Minnesota. This is, you know, one of our favorite animal stories -- a feel-good story. That is a swan, a young swan, actually had a broken wing and was stuck there in that frozen lake, all of its other friends flew away, I supposed.

And so, these are two professors. They went out to rescue the little guy. They took him in. They took him to a rehab facility. And all is right in the world with this little swan. It's OK.

WOLF: Sort of. I mean, he's got to have his feelings hurt. I mean, let's be honest. Swans are gregarious animals. I mean, where did his buddies go and they said, we're going to Sarasota. You stay here in the winter cold and good luck to you.

KEILAR: Yes.

WOLF: Had a rough time. But he is recovering. He is at a rehabilitation center?

KEILAR: Yes, he's doing better and, you know, he promises to take it out on his little swan friends when he sees them.

LEVS: They'll pay for that.

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF: Absolutely beautiful.

KEILAR: OK. So, we told you this story yesterday. It was kind of like a Debbie Downer story and now, we're going to bring you back up-to-date.

There were a couple ladies who had camped out since Wednesday to be the very first in line at Best Buy. And so, they put all of their stuff out in the car, a lot of electronics, and then someone robs them, right? They had been interviewed ahead of time, they were so excited, this was a first Black Friday experience.

WOLF: Goodness.

KEILAR: Well, a businessman, 1,000 miles away, he saw the story on CNN.com and he decided, you know what? I'm going to show these ladies the true meaning of Christmas. He gave them a $1,000 gift card.

LEVS: Wow!

WOLF: What a great guy!

LEVS: That's great. So now, they can go back and get all that stuff again, whoever out there stole that can live with the knowledge.

KEILAR: And I remember yesterday telling the story and I thought, oh, I feel so bad. This is such a horrible story. It was sort of a damper on the day. But in the end, you know, telling the story brings a happy ending.

WOLF: Yes. Someone they don't even know steps up and helps out. It's a beautiful thing.

LEVS: Way to feel the spirit. I love that story.

KEILAR: And saving it, saving Christmas for their kids. That's what it's all about. So, very good.

LEVS: Beautiful.

KEILAR: Well, armies of shoppers took advantage of Black Friday sales. In fact, as we mentioned, we had malls and stores reporting even longer lines of people this year. What we want to know, though, is if those lines translated into a lot of green for retailers. We're going to find out, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Yes, a very good morning.

And this morning, retailers adding up the receipts from Black Friday. The verdict so far: bigger crowds, but only a modest increase in sales. ShopperTrak measures sales and customer traffic at 70,000 stores and malls around the country. It reports just a 0.3 of a percent increase over last year. The founder of ShopperTrak says deep discounts in early November may have cut into Black Friday spending.

And many of you who are making your list and checking them twice -- but how closely are you checking the items that you buy? You may be surprised to learn just how many counterfeit items there are out there.

CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are in the U.S. Customs facility in New Jersey, where, day-in and day-out, they inspect and look for counterfeit goods.

All of the boxes you see over here, inside -- everything inside those boxes is fake. Today, yet another shipment has come in.

Robert Perez (ph) is in charge of this operation.

Why has this shipment been singled out?

ROBERT PEREZ, U.S. CUSTOMS: Well, Susan, what we have here is just another example of a shipment where our offices have actually looked at the manifest information and deemed it not to be quite right.

CANDIOTTI: All right. So, we got some shoes in here -- and that's certainly a Nike logo, isn't it?

PEREZ: From our experience, we're highly confident that these are in fact not the real thing.

CANDIOTTI: Talk about examples, you have a ton of them here.

PEREZ: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: These are all fake?

PEREZ: Yes, indeed.

CANDIOTTI: But this one really catches my eye. Tell me about this. Looking at this box, it's marked brand XMX. But it really isn't, right?

PEREZ: Well, when you take a closer look of what actually is in this box, although it looks like an alleged XMX nondescript boot, when you actually peel away the bottom of the sole here, you'll see that there is a counterfeit UGG marking.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The box that came in also peels away to reveal a fake UGG box. It's an attempt to fool the Customs inspector by concealing the knockoff UGGs with generic branding. Handbags made to look like a Chanel or Burberry.

(on camera): The lining does not feel or look the same.

(voice-over): Fake Christmas lights could be a fire danger. And speaking of dangerous --

(on camera): This looks like a cigarette lighter, right? But if you flip this switch -- the switch blade.

(voice-over): This cell phone, it's also an illegal taser.

(on camera): In the last two years, U.S. Customs seized $400 million worth of counterfeit goods, everything from those fake UGG boots that you saw, to this men's body wash.

But what about all of the bogus items that make it past inspection that flood in to the United States each and every day, including clothing and electronics and toys? Well, eventually, you'll find them in stores or on the street. JOE LAROCCA, NATL. RETAIL FEDERATION: It's a big fight and one that retailers, law enforcement and brand owners are working on worldwide.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): At stake for industry, billions in lost revenue. Loss prevention experts acknowledge the battle is far from won.

LAROCCA: We're going to continue to play this game of cat and mouse, unfortunately, for some time to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: The best advice when you are shopping: go to reputable stores. And remember: if the price is just too good to be true -- well, it probably is. And also, if an item looks funny, get in touch with the manufacturer.

Our Josh Levs now joining us with some tips for tomorrow's Cyber Monday shopper.

What's up, Josh?

LEVS: All right. So, you and I have been talking about this. What they're saying, at work tomorrow, 70 million people expected to do some online shopping while they're in the office. I'm saying employers are going to be cool about this because, you know, all that spending is good for the economy -- which ultimately and directly will benefit all of those businesses. So, hopefully, people are going to let workers get away with a bit of that.

More than half of the workers in America are expected to take part in it. And what I want to now is give you a little bit of strategy tips to help you get a jump on things. One thing to start off, keep in mind, some of these deals basically kick in at midnight tonight. Some places are already up with the deals. But some places, they are holding them for Cyber Monday will actually put them out at midnight.

Now, I have some tips for you, then I'm going to show you -- I put some links online.

First of all, check the same item on multiple sites. Don't get too excited if you see a deal on an item somewhere. Leave that browser up, open up a separate tab or browser, and look elsewhere for the same item. You might find the same thing cheaper because during the day, retailers are going to try to outdo each other. Some of them are going to be slashing prices as the day goes on.

Make a list, check it twice -- we've found and some studies have found this, that on Black Friday, people are pretty good about making sure they get everything on their list. Cyber Monday, you get on the Web, you see this, you see that, you get carried away. Pretty soon, you're surfing, you forget to get some things and you end up with six of something you don't need. So, make that list, check it throughout the day. Study the shipping deals. One way some Cyber Monday deals might get is by slashing prices on something and then the shipping is actually more. Look at the fine print, read about the shipping. You might even want to have the item sent to the store near you, go there and pick it up and skip the shipping all together.

Also, do this throughout the day: sign up for the e-mail alerts, sign up for the Facebook pages of the retailers you care about, follow them on Twitter as well if you're on the things, because they're going to send out tweets during the day saying we have just changed the price on this or that. You want to follow them as they come.

Next thing to know: scammers are out in full force tomorrow. They want to find you. They're going to find some people. Don't be one of the people who gets taken in.

Before you start your Cyber Monday shopping, do this: update your spam filters. Also, any kind of spyware you have in your computer, make sure it's up to date, make sure it's going to do all the things you need it to do to protect you.

And one more thing: if there's a company that you're not familiar with, a Web site you're not familiar with, that comes along and offers a great deal, check it with the Better Business Bureau. You can go online, you can check it there.

Let's find -- show my screen, because what I've done is I put about a dozen links for you online at the blog and at Facebook. So, my blog is CNN.com/Josh. And at Facebook and Twitter, I'm at JoshLevsCNN.

There are a bunch of sites that should help with you your Cyber Monday strategy and you can post links that help you as well. Hopefully, help some other shoppers out there.

So, Brianna, the goal here for as many people to get as many deals as possible during the day tomorrow, starting at midnight, and not get taken in by those scammers.

KEILAR: No, definitely not. And I realize how much homework I have to do after the show, signing up to follow all of these retailers and the such and such on Twitter.

LEVS: Cha-ching. Do it.

KEILAR: I'm going to do it.

LEVS: All right.

KEILAR: All right, Josh, thanks so much.

LEVS: You got it.

KEILAR: We have more on the breaking news out of the Korean Peninsula. We'll have details on today's military exercises and who is now weighing in on the latest developments. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Welcome back. I'm Brianna Keilar.

Checking top stories now the suspect accused of plotting to bomb an Oregon Christmas tree lighting ceremony is due in court tomorrow. Authorities arrested 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud Friday night in Portland but people who know him described him as just a regular guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICARTE MARTIN, FORMER CLASSMATE OF SUSPECT: He was a pretty good person. I mean in class he was a jokester and he always -- he always cracked jokes and everyone found him to be pretty funny.

I mean, here I see like, you know, the kid I knew in class, you know, pretty fun kid, but then I see that picture and you know, that's actually pretty scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: In a letter the State Department says the plan by WikiLeaks to release more classified documents could put lives at risk. The next batch of documents is expected to include communications from the State Department and its 297 embassies and consulates.

Joint military exercises now between the U.S. and South Korea under way as we speak. The drills are taking place during very high tensions after North Korea shelled an island in the Yellow Sea. Four South Koreans died in that.

Also today China called for members of the six-party talks to meet about this situation.

Let's get more perspective on this tense Korean situation from someone who has dealt with the North Koreans firsthand. Christopher Hill is the former head of the U.S. delegation in the six-party talks involving the two Koreas. He's joining us now from Denver via Skype.

Ambassador Hill, thanks so much for being with us. And right now, with China calling for these emergency talks with the Six-Party group to reconvene, how likely is that and how helpful would that be?

CHRISTOPHER HILL, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (via Skype): Well, first of all if you're going to have talks you need to have a plan for what the talks would try to accomplish, and it's not at all clear that the Chinese have a plan for that. Now, they did send one of their senior people Dai Bingguo (ph) to meet with President Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea.

But I think the Chinese really need to take a good hard look at their North Korea policy because right now it's based on this kind of moral equivalence that somehow the South Koreans are just as guilty for having been shelled as the North Koreans are for shelling them. KEILAR: And let me ask you right now, what is the role of the U.S. here? I mean, you're saying that China needs to take a stronger stance. Is there anything that the U.S. can do in relation with South Korea?

HILL: Well I think the first thing is that the U.S. kind of reached out to the South Koreans, made sure we're in lock step. I think the -- the idea of having an exercise clearly came out of these bilateral consultations. The second thing we've been doing and quite rightly is to go to the Chinese and say look enough is enough.

And you know, this is really an internal problem in China. They cannot make a decision to get off the dime about what to do with this relic of their past that is North Korea.

KEILAR: North Korea saying that these joint military exercises going on right now, Mr. Ambassador, are a pretext to war. Do you think that they're appropriate, these exercises that the U.S. and South Korea are doing?

HILL: I think the exercises are entirely appropriate. I think it would have been inappropriate not to have some kind of response with -- with exercises. I think the North Koreans look at every good will, every good gesture as a sign of weakness, and I think had we not gone through with this, I think we could have created more problems for ourselves down the line.

KEILAR: Ambassador thank you so much for joining us. Christopher Hill, former head of the U.S. delegations in those six- party talks.

And we'll be right back on CNN SUNDAY after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: CNN editorial producer Nadia Bilchik joining me now for a part two discussion that we had earlier -- part two to a discussion that we had earlier this morning. We're talking about countries where being obese isn't frowned upon, and it's Samoa that keeps coming up, right?

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes, Samoa is one of those places and the first on the World Health Organization's list of statistics of world's fattest countries was the island of Nauru. And here --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Which many people have never heard of?

BILCHIK: Exactly. South Pacific Island -- probably one of the smallest countries in the entire world but percentage wise around 95 percent of people according to the World Health Organization statistics are overweight, and they indulge in something called fattening ceremonies. They want their young women to be very voluptuous, in fact, more than voluptuous have roles, because that's seen as attractive.

I am fat because I have been well fed and married women (INAUDIBLE) the cause, in their case their husbands are looking after them. Samoa was also on the list, in fact sixth, and interesting of Samoa's -- Samoans used to be very lean, they used to eat fish and vegetables. Then what happened is they became increasingly poorer and they started eating a lot of corned beef, but not just regular corned beef, high fat corned beef. And then Australia and New Zealand sold their meat the highest fat meat and they resulted in being one of the fattest countries in the world.

But interesting, Samoa is the country that so many NFL players come from. They say that if your parents of Samoa, you have a 30 times, or have something like 56 times higher chance of being an NFL player.

KEILAR: Really?

BILCHIK: One of the famous being Troy Polamalu.

KEILAR: Ok.

BILCHIK: So here is --

KEILAR: Here he is right here.

BILCHIK: Here he is, very hunky, isn't he, a very handsome Samoan. Have you ever seen Samoans doing the Haka --

KEILAR: Oh the -- the --

BILCHIK: New Zealand war dance before games?

KEILAR: Yes. Yes, I've seen that. Yes.

BILCHIK: Isn't that marvelous?

KEILAR: Yes.

BILCHIK: So they -- and they have something that they call the Taro root which they call the Samoan steroid.

KEILAR: Really?

BILCHIK: But Samoans also are very high on the list and then comes in fact the U.S. and Kuwait after that, but certainly certain countries like Nauru or Mauritania, where it's very acceptable to be much more than overweight, in fact it's desirable.

KEILAR: That's fascinating and certainly as we talked about before that's not where you compliment someone for -- for losing weight. Nadia Bilchik, thank you for explaining that to us.

And you know, she is a fearless woman who takes on sex traffickers and corrupt officials almost every single day. We'll be introducing you to this year's CNN Hero. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Coming up in just about 20 minutes, "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley and Candy is joining me now from Washington with a preview.

Candy, you've got Senator McCain, he's talking North Korea and you have an interview with former President George W. Bush, as well as his brother, Jeb Bush. It's quite a rundown today.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Yes, it's a -- it's a fun rundown. Senator McCain we were sort of sitting around thinking ok, what subject areas and there are so many. As you know, Congress is about to gear up. We have "don't ask don't tell", the effort to repeal the ban that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. That's coming up next week.

We've got those Bush era tax cuts, whether to extend those, any number of things, and then we have North Korea, and of course a new report on Afghanistan out, on how the U.S. military is doing there, so lots and lots of things to talk to him about.

As for former President Bush and his brother, the former Governor Jeb Bush, this is a part of the interview we did a couple of weeks ago that we hadn't aired. It's just a look at the Bush family, with the Bush ethic, how they relate politics to one another, that kind of thing. I -- I think our viewers will enjoy it because there's a lot of back and forth between the two brothers.

And we also had David Obey, outgoing Congressman from Wisconsin along with Byron Dorgan, outgoing senator from North Dakota to kind of take a look on the rear view mirror as they leave Washington, what they think has gone wrong and what they see ahead. So it's a pretty -- a pretty packed show but a fun one.

KEILAR: Yes and such a busy week in Washington. Very good --

CROWLEY: Yes.

KEILAR: -- you're going to be kicking it off. Thanks, Candy.

CROWLEY: Sure thing.

KEILAR: And you can keep it here for "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley it starts in about 15 minutes at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Maybe you remember him as the hip-hop rapper called Shyne. His hard core lyrics chronicled street life in Brooklyn but one nightclub shooting and nine years in prison later he emerged as an Orthodox Jew.

CNN's Kevin Flower tells the story of his conversion and his comeback. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN FLOWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At least once a week, Moses Levy makes a spiritual visit, one of the thousands who come every day to the holiest site in Judaism, seeking a deeper connection to God at Jerusalem's Western Wall. But in both appearance and beliefs, Levy is not your standard ultra orthodox adherent to the Jewish faith.

SHYNE, RAP ARTIST: I don't think there's such a thing as half Jewish. I think and it's not even growing up as Jewish it's just growing I knew it was right and it just so happens that what was right comes from the Torah.

FLOWER: He was born Jamal Barrow, changed his name to Levy but is better known as the rapper called Shyne, a hip-hop recording artist known for his hard core rhymes chronicling life on the streets of Flatbush in Brooklyn where he came of age.

He was at the height of his career in 1999 that Shyne was involved in a New York club shooting along with rap impresario Sean Combs and then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. Three people were injured and in a high-profile trial Shyne was sentenced to ten years and ended up serving nine.

SHYNE: Because for me going to prison was an unfortunate situation, very tragic, but I was just defending myself.

FLOWER: But it was the start of a more formal exploration of Judaism, a process he says he had begun years before.

SHYNE: Going to prison just freed my schedule to continue to do what I was already doing. You know, so unfortunately some people think that you know going to prison was when the light switch went off in my head and I had an epiphany. But that wasn't the case at all.

FLOWER: Since his release he's taken up residence in Jerusalem where he studies at a number of ultraorthodox Yeshivas and has embraced the strict religious discipline.

SHYNE: I'm never a guy that does something just to do. I have to believe wholeheartedly in what I'm doing so I have to really understand the dynamics of being kosher. Why the food you eat is so important; why observing Shabbat is so important. I have to understand these things and believe these things in order to be that.

FLOWER: While getting closer to god, Shyne is busy plotting his musical comeback. He's releasing multiple albums over the next year and getting ready for a world tour.

The lyrics are cleaner than the past, but Shyne is not shying away from politics.

SHYNE: It's really just a change in direction. The anger's still there. The outrage is still there at the profanity and obscenity of poverty. I'm still angry that people are suffering in Palestine, the people that aren't terrorists, I'm angry that Gilad Shalit is captive right now and we're always in captivity, you know. But it's just a different way to channel that anger now.

FLOWER: Shyne hopes his music will inspire a new generation of listeners to fight injustice, and that his new kosher image will help spread his message in and outside of the Holy Land.

Kevin Flower, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: A Catholic priest helped the homeless on Thanksgiving not by dishing out hot meals but handing out cold, hard cash. We think he's someone that you should know.

Father Maurice Chase is 91 years old and he's known as "Father Dollar Bill". Thursday he handed out $15,000 mostly in singles and a few $100 bills to many living on skid row, a rundown area of Los Angeles, where hundreds of homeless families live in shelters. He's been doing this for the past 32 years, handing out hope during the holidays.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATHER MAURICE CHASE, "FATHER DOLLAR BILL": I get to tell people that they count, you know. I mean a lot of these people feel neglected, you know. I mean who loves them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to give it to my niece. It's probably going to be the only thing I can give her this year for her Christmas present.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me and my mom live in a shelter, and we've been there for two months. I'm going to try to feed my little cousin and stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: "Father Dollar Bill" works with the skid row charity fund, which receives donations from Mrs. Bob Hope, Mrs. Frank Sinatra, comedian Bob Newhart and sportscaster Vin Scully and many others.

And I want to take this moment to congratulate CNN's Hero of the Year for 2010, Anuradha Koirala. She truly deserves the honor for her tireless work helping thousands escape from sexual slavery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

ANURADHA KOIRALA, 2010 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: She went to India; you don't know who took her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know.

KOIRALA: Now she's traumatized. She's pregnant also and taken to India so she cannot say anything. We've seen children who have come back with, you know, broken legs, with HIV positive, when they are 14, 13, which is very sad. They're still a child, you see.

Maiti Nepal becomes a safe haven for them. It becomes home, their own place where they can now stay, work, be happy, and enjoy the rest of their life.

They call me diju (ph), that means the elder sister, so they have belief in me. I'm very proud of that that the children really believe in me.

We are doing awareness programs in the villages, we go from door to door campaigning.

The traffickers will say, "Oh she has lipstick. This is a flirty one. We can take her and sell her."

When the trafficker comes he never says I'm going to take your child and make her a prostitute. He comes and says there is a big job in the city.

What if the workers trick you into going with them and they sell you?

So we have message for everyone, so we are trying to educate all of them and say that trafficking is inhumane.

Just imagine what would happen if your daughter was standing there, and if your daughter was there, what would you do? How would you fight? So you have to join hands. You have to take each child as your daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even if we dedicated our life services to her, it wouldn't be enough to return for what she has given us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother only gave me birth. Anuradha gave me everything else.

KOIRALA: I want a society free of human trafficking. I hope I will make it happen one day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Halle Berry, Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend -- just some of the big names featured at the fourth annual "CNN HEROES ALL-STAR TRIBUTE". And if you missed even a second of it, it is worth checking out again. See it tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Well it is the end of the holiday weekend, so let's get a quick check of the travel situation with Reynolds Wolf -- Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. This is where it all ends, doesn't it? Or I guess the journey really begins; a lot of people heading home and you might have some tough times at the airport, much of it just due to the sheer volume of people trying to get to their destination.

At all your airports in New York and D.C. metros the holiday volume may give you an over an hour delay. So get to the airport early, take your time. In Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, same situation, about a 30-minute to a full hour delay; in Newark, issues -- you might have quite a few of them with the wind. Also wind issues in Salt Lake City and Denver but in those locations you're also going to have problems with low clouds, also some snowfall.

Now, a couple other things we're seeing and speaking of snow. More snow will be on the way especially out towards the west. We're seeing that area of low pressure really intensifying. The snow is going to be in and picking up in earnest from Salt Lake City northward to Pocatello and Idaho Falls. Any drivers on parts of 15 and I-80 will definitely have some problems.

And then as we fast forward from today into tomorrow, dense storm system in the Rockies will eject into the Central Plains and then move in to the eastern third of the country. And as it does so, it's going to become not just a snowmaker but a rain maker, possibly bringing some heavy rainfall through parts of the mid Mississippi Valley.

You might have some issues on the roads say in parts of -- let's go to -- well it would be Memphis, then even toward St. Louis might have some backups there as well so certainly be careful out there.

But in terms of your forecast today, just if you're out and about traveling, doing some shopping, it will be a nice day for you in Dallas, a cool start at 67 degrees the expected high. 55 in St. Louis, 44 in Boston, 31 in Salt Lake City, 27 in Billings, 60 in Phoenix and 53 in Raleigh.

That is a quick snapshot of your forecast. Brianna back to you.

KEILAR: Thanks Reynolds. And a check of your top stories, joint military exercises are under way between the U.S. and South Korea but North Korea says the drills are an attempt to, quote, "ignite a war at any cost". This comes after Tuesday when the north shelled an island in the Yellow Sea, killing four South Koreans.

And Michigan police issue an amber alert for three missing boys. Their father says he dropped them off with a woman he met on the Internet before attempting suicide. He's in a mental health facility. No sign of the boys ages 5, 7 and 9.

And a warning to the founder of the Web site WikiLeaks. The State Department says the plan to release more classified documents would put lives at risk. Officials say the information could jeopardize relationships with allies, military actions, and anti- terrorism operations. Of course, that is a leak of documents that would come on the heels of two further -- two previous document dumps.

"STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts now.