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CNN Saturday Morning News

NATO: We Will Not Abandon Afghanistan; Airports Consider Congressman's Call To Ditch TSA; First Black Friday Shoppers Already in Line; Beyonce's Heat Too Hot for U.K.; Carville Defends Comment as a Joke; Tokyo Vending Machines Decide for You

Aired November 20, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

The TSA is making changes. Some people will now be exempt from those enhanced pat-downs and those body scanners. But chances are you are not going to be one of them.

This now comes as some airports are opting out of using the TSA altogether.

Also, it's a football Saturday - college football. But even if you don't like college football, there is a game that you absolutely must see today. Not because of the teams playing, but because of some wacky rules that are going to be used. Only one end zone is going to be used. Yes, both teams will have to share an end zone. We'll explain - explain why a brick wall is going to cause chaos at today's Northwestern and Illinois game in Chicago. It's happening in Wrigley Field. You got it. Here it is. It's crazy.

From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Six a.m. here in Atlanta where I stand; 5 a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Wherever you may be, glad you're right here. I'm T.J. Holmes.

Also coming up for you over the next 90 minutes, Democratic strategist James Carville - you know, he's used to every once in awhile saying something that just rubs people the wrong way. This time he's talking about President Obama. He said the president needs to grow a pair, if you know what I mean. He didn't put it so delicately, however. We'll let you hear from Carville himself about why he's actually not backing down from his joke that was about the president, Hillary Clinton and yes, testicles.

Also, I understand wanting to get there early, line up for those Black Friday sales. But this is a bit ridiculous. The woman you see there is already lined up. Here we are a full week before Black Friday. They're already roughing it. We'll explain why.

Also, millions of Americans are looking for a job this holiday season. But there are jobs out there. We'll tell you exactly where those jobs are. Also, how to stand out when others want the same job you do.

But here at the top, we want to start now talking about the future of American troops in Afghanistan. That is under discussion this hour with world leaders. President Obama right now meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, for the NATO summit. You've been hearing about this NATO summit; you hear NATO thrown around a lot. But just as a reminder to you here, this is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's essentially a military alliance of democratic states in Europe and North America.

The president is meeting with leaders of NATO right now. And a big focus are troops in Afghanistan.

We want to turn to our Chris Lawrence, who is standing by for us. He is in Lisbon covering this.

And Chris, for a lot of people, this seems a long ways away from the United States, the meetings that are happening there, world leaders once again getting together and talking. But really, this could mean a lot for American families and the future of troops - American troops in Afghanistan.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

What it all boils down to, T.J., when you look ahead to what we're going to hear today - if you are sitting at home right now thinking that a lot of American troops are going to be on their way home soon - they are probably not going to be on their way home soon. In fact, there's going to be a message to the Afghan government today that NATO - by NATO you mean primarily the United States - is going to be sticking in Afghanistan through at least 2014.

That's the hoped-for date by which they would want to transfer combat operations to the Afghan government. But even there, you're - what we're really hearing is, we hope to be done by 2014, but our commitment is going to extend for years after that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERS RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: Success matters as much to us as it does to the Afghan people, which is why we will agree here today, a long-term partnership between NATO and Afghanistan, to endure beyond the end of our combat mission.

If the enemies of Afghanistan have the idea that they can just wait it out until we leave, they have the wrong idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: But again - you know, and sometimes you get these mixed messages, because even as NATO is making this very strong statement, the United States is saying, we're going to stick it out as long as it takes - the British are saying, 'Look, by 2015' - they don't care how violent it still is in Afghanistan, they say, by that time, our combat operations are going to end.

So there is a real chance that down the road, the U.S. could find itself with fewer and fewer partners taking on more of the load as this goes forward - T.J. HOLMES: Chris, what do we expect from this meeting coming up shortly, I do believe, between President Obama and the Afghan President Hamid Karzai?

LAWRENCE: Well, from what we're hearing from sources - you know, there's been a lot of talk about, you know, some of the statements that Hamid Karzai has made lately, critical of the United States being there in Afghanistan, the number of troops that are there. And a lot of people, you know, there's no way we can do this mission if the government of Afghanistan is - is publicly opposed to it.

Well, sources are saying - well, privately, the United States is ready to move on. General Petraeus talked to President Karzai before they left Kabul.

But some of the European officials that we've been speaking to say, they still plan to tell President Karzai he can't make these kind of statements publicly. They say, 'Look, Afghanistan is not fully sovereign yet. You need our help. And these public statements only undermine the transition. They're not doing anything to support it.'

HOLMES: All right. Chris Lawrence for us there in Lisbon, covering things for us at the NATO summit. Chris, I know we're checking in again with you this morning. We'll see you here shortly. Thanks, buddy.

We want to turn now to New Zealand, where people are keeping an eye on yet another mining disaster. A lot of people hoping this one will end the same way the one in Chile played out. But you have going here is that 29 coal miners are trapped at this point.

The rescue is not quite under way because they're having to check the air quality and make sure it's safe for rescuers to go down there. There was an explosion here on Friday. This was in New Zealand. Two men were able to get out; they walked out with minor injuries. But again, you have another 29 miners who are still down there and trapped.

Their ages are between 17 and 62. Now, they are believed to be as much as a mile and a half from the mine entrance. Now, a lot of people will hear that and think back to the Chilean mine disaster, where they were about a mile before the surface.

This mine here in New Zealand is a little different. The mine shaft doesn't go down; it goes across. It goes horizontally. So it's not the same as they would have to dig down necessarily to get to them. But still, they have some work to do to try to get to them a mile and a half in.

Now, authorities have met with members of - of the families of these trapped miners, and right now they're doing their best to try to find out just the condition - they don't even know what kind of condition these miners might be in. We're keeping a close eye on that story.

The other story everybody here seems to be talking about here in the U.S. - the TSA, the enhanced pat-downs, the body scanners. Well, some airports - they want to get rid of the TSA now. And one of those airports is Orlando, the Orlando-Sanford International Airport. This is one of two international airports there in Orlando.

This is the - the smaller of the two there. But still, a significant airport there. A - an increasing number of critics, of course, don't like these full-body scanners. You see some images of them there. They call those a little too invasive, if you will. But people don't like the new pat-downs either; they certainly call those invasive and intrusive.

So Sanford, the airport - they don't have the scanners just yet, but they could get them down the road. So what they're doing - they say they want to replace the government security workers, the TSA, with private contractors, saying they'd do a better job with more customer satisfaction.

Now, Florida Congressman John Mica told Anderson Cooper the TSA is too inefficient. Meanwhile, Congressman Sheila Jackson Lee defended the need for more security.

Listen to the two of them spar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN MICA (R), FLORIDA: The TSA, in opinion, is out of control. I have 3,000 - 3,590 administrative personnel making on average over $105,000 just in Washington, D.C. I never intended, when I wrote the TSA law, to have that kind of bureaucracy, or another 8,000 out in the field, and 67 - growing to 67,000 people.

It's a massive, bloated bureaucracy. It needs to be trimmed and tamed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: I'd like everybody to be reminded that we might have wanted to have this kind of equipment on 9/11. We saw 3,000 or more Americans lose their lives.

This is a different America and a different world. And so we have to confront issues head-on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY DALE, SANFORD AIRPORT AUTHORITY PRESIDENT: What I have a problem with is the pat-down - standard pat-down procedures that I've seen demonstrated that I can't do as a law-enforcement officer unless I have probable cause to put cuffs on you and take you to jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: All right. Even if the Sanford Airport gets rid of the TSA, that's not going to change pretty much anything for the passengers, for the most part. They say there might be some better customer service. But still, even if a private contractor is in charge of security at the airport, they still have to follow the TSA guidelines for searches. So you would still be subject to the same type of pat-down and the same kind of security scanners.

The Department of Homeland Security would still pick up and train and the private security company. But still, they say maybe, there could be better customer service. But other than that, same pat-downs; it wouldn't change a whole lot.

To be sure, we want you to join us this morning for a special half-hour on this travel season. This is going to be at 9:00 Eastern time. We're going to be talking about this grass-roots revolt over these TSA pat-downs.

Also talking about a lot of myths out there. There's a lot of misinformation. We're going to try to debunk some of those myths, tell you about the new rules and procedures.

Also, the editor of "Travel & Leisure" magazine is going to be looking at some last-minute travel deals for you. So some important information about your travel season as we coming up on this busy holiday-travel season.

Now, again 9:00 Eastern time. We're dedicating that half-hour. But we will certainly be talking about the new TSA rules throughout this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

Also, going to be talking about Black Friday. Take a look here. You know, we expect to see this, maybe, early morning on Black Friday. You expect to see this maybe even the night before Black Friday.

But we're a full week, Reynolds, before Black Friday. This woman has already set up camp outside of a Best Buy store. Nobody, Reynolds, should want a couple hundred dollars off a flat screen that bad, should they?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Have you seen some of those flat screens?

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF: There - there are some nice ones. I mean, we got to be honest.

But to camp out - there's no way. If you're camping out in parts of the nation, it would be just shear madness, because, folks, let me tell you, we've got winter weather that is just going to come crashing down like a sack of hammers. We're going to talk about that coming up in just a few moments.

You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Flat-screen TVS are really cool. HOLMES: OK. There's a - a good deal. OK, maybe - maybe she has - she's justified in what she's doing.

WOLF: You got to love this.

HOLMES: But before we go away, we want to give you a quick news quiz. Today's topic: holiday spending. There's a new survey out that gives us an indication of how many shoppers plan on spending money on a technology device for the holidays.

So what percentage is it? Is it 50 percent of shoppers; 75 percent of shoppers; or 85 percent of shoppers?

We got that answer for you in 90 seconds. It's 11 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: OK. I do like that song though. I do like it. Alan Jackson, yes.

All right. So before the break though, we asked, "What percent of shoppers plan on spending money on a technology device for the holidays?" Fifty percent; 75 percent of 85 percent?

Your answer is, B, 75 percent, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. It's the highest percentage of shoppers looking for tech devices in the 17 years they've been tracking holiday trends.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: But unfortunately, the story about the Auburn football team has not been about all their success on the field. Unfortunately, there's been so much about what happened with their superstar Heisman front-running quarterback Cam Newton off the field.

You probably heard about this by now - but accused, possibly, of a pay-for-play scheme, that possibly someone in Cam Newton's camp - maybe his father of a representative actually tried to get a couple of schools to give the family money in exchange for Cam Newton going to school there.

Now, Auburn has not been implicated just yet in this. I should be clear there. But we're hearing this week for the first time from an attorney representing the Cam Newton camp.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE LAWSON, ATTORNEY FOR CAM NEWTON: I don't think there's any question that Cam Newton knew nothing about money discussions, if any discussions were had.

I am a million percent confident that Cam Newton took no money from no one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, again, you have to pay attention to his words there. He's 100 percent of a million percent certain that Cam Newton took no money. However, Cecil Newton, Cam Newton's father, is a one - is the one so many of these accusations have been geared towards. He's accused of initiating a pay-to-play deal with Mississippi State University, another school that was recruiting Cam Newton.

It's an NCAA violation for anyone to solicit cash on a student athlete's behalf.

Meanwhile, throw something else into the mix in this story - the ballots for the Heisman Trophy have been sent out to the guys who vote - a lot of sports writers, a lot of former Heisman winners as well, they get to vote. So now we're just weeks away from when those ballots need to be sent back - I believe it's December the 6th.

So everybody's wondering now - and some have come out and said, 'I don't want to vote for Cam Newton for the Heisman because what if he's guilty and then we have to go back and take the Heisman from him, just like recently happened to Reggie Bush?'

So unfortunately, it's not about all the success he's had on the field, which has been substantial. The guy is clearly the best football player in the country right now.

Well, coming up, we're going to turn back to those Black Friday deals. You know, they're still about a week away. A lot of you bargain hunters out there. But you ain't got nothing on this woman we're going to show you coming up next. She is already camping out for her deals. Yes, a week ahead of time. We'll tell you about her deal.

Also, joining Josh Levs this morning. It's time for us to say good morning to him. Hey there.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, T.J.

You know, there are secrets to Black Friday shopping. They involve things you've probably never heard of, like avoiding derivatives and double-checking the goals, especially this year.

I am going to break this down, and I'm going to show you some of the most popular toys of the season. I'm even going to play one for you.

We are back in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, at 20 minutes past the hour now, take a look at this picture. A Florida family - in particular, you're seeing here a Florida woman - she is getting a jump on the holiday-shopping rush. They have already set up a tent - already, folks, a full week before Black Friday - set up a tent in front of a Best Buy store in St. Petersburg.

Lori Davenport is the name. She says about 10 members of her family are working in shifts to hold their place in line. She says getting a good deal at the checkout counter makes it roughing it worthwhile.

You know, sometimes you do what you got to do. They (ph) are tough times out there for this entire country, and a lot of people, if you can save a lot of money, hundreds of dollars, Josh, sometimes, on these deals, then you could see what she's talking about, and certainly makes it worth it, and you can justify. But we're just not used to seeing that.

Kind of a - a funny picture there. But that woman ain't playing.

LEVS: No - look, and people are lining up for stuff like this. Check it out - one of the hottest toys of the season, it makes even me look like a rock star. Check this out.

I love it. I love it. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. But if you look at me from really, really far away, it looks like I do. I'm going to be giving you a breakdown of some of the hottest toys of the season.

But first, I got to tell you about some secrets. I'm going to this to our VJ, Joey (ph).

All right. Take a look at this. You probably know some of this stuff, and if you are among of the millions, literally, of people who are going to be lining up on Black Friday, take some notes.

First of all, majorly limited supplies. A lot of the times, you see these doorbuster deals for Black Friday. People are - are really excited about a handful of things. Often, there's only three or four in the store. Read the fine print in the ads; you even call the store in advance. Even if you're on hold for awhile, it saves a lot of time over waiting in line at the store, getting there and being upset. Every year, tens of thousands of people upset about that.

Next one to know: Beware of the derivative. There's something called "the derivative," and you've got to watch out for this. Our folks at CNN/Money write about this.

If you're shopping and there's an item you're excited for, you might not realize that you're not getting the standard model, especially with electronics. It might actually not have some of the things you think it's going to have until you've left the store with that major deal. Watch out for the derivative.

Avoid bad bling. This is also from our CNN/Money list. Now, this year especially, because of the price of gold, what you're seeing is, a lot of times, there's these items that are advertised with "gold, gold, gold," written all over the place, where it's actually just gold-plated, maybe gold-filled. Not the gold that you think it is. Avoid bad bling. And one more here: Don't assume price-matching. A lot of people expect stores to do price-matching because they hear general ads about price-matching, and they don't realize that, in fact, that price- matching promise doesn't apply to a lot of those great door-buster deals on Black Friday.

So all of these are really helpful.

Now, let me show you a little piece of video here. Not long ago, on this show, we showed you some of the hottest toys of the season. That was us there. And that is one of the many things that you can now see if you take a look at CNNMoney.com. It's going to talk you through all of these special information - the hottest toys of the season, the things to watch out for, the hottest tech gadgets - everything you need to know. We're also reposting that video. And you can even see some of the coolest toys to play with.

I've put all of it for you up at Facebook and Twitter, at joshlevscnn.com. It's also up at the blog, cnn.com/josh.

And, you know, if you any ideas while you're there - any tips, any great information for other people - go ahead and post it. Hopefully, it'll help others in the future.

So T.J., a little basic information there. Coming up later in the show today, we're going to talk about two more things that are happening this year. There's going to be something called "Small Business Saturday," a week from today. And then, the following Monday, you got Cyber Monday. So a lot of opportunities to do some shopping in different ways, all coming up in the next 10 days.

HOLMES: All right, Josh. Thank you.

LEVS: You got it.

HOLMES: People can certainly use that information this morning.

Also coming up for this CNN SATURDAY MORNING, it's bad enough when you hear someone is in trouble and it has to do with a stripper and some meth. But when the person in trouble now is a federal judge - we'll tell you what happened and what he is actually admitting to.

It's 24 minutes past the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Stick with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, at 27 minutes past the hour, I'll give you a look at some of the stories we are keeping a close eye on.

Certainly keeping a close eye on what's happening in Lisbon, Portugal, right now. The president is there with other leaders of the NATO nations. This two-day summit is taking place, and a big focus is on Afghanistan and the future of that country and when many other nations will be able to pull their troops out and hand over security to Afghanistan. The president will be meeting with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai a little later today.

Also, Jack Camp Jr. is now a former federal judge. He has pled guilty to charges involving him, a stripper and drugs. Apparently, there was money exchanged to buy drugs for the two of them to use together. All of this was caught on surveillance camera in a FBI or a federal investigation in a sting. The sentencing for this judge is going to take place on March 4.

Also, there has been a settlement now for Ground Zero workers who were exposed to toxic debris during the cleanup after 9/11. They have agreed to a $625 million payout. These are some 10,000 workers who sued because they weren't given the proper equipment to protect themselves, and many of them have, of course, as you know, been hit with all kinds of illnesses and ailments and even some deaths after working down in those toxic conditions.

Quick break here. We're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Coming up on the bottom of the hour here, CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, a beautiful shot of downtown Atlanta this morning and listening to the sounds of an Atlanta native, Usher Raymond (ph), this morning.

Tell you about a couple stories that got a lot of people's attention this week, one having to do -- a lot of people were asking this question. Why would anybody want to cheat on Eva Longoria?

Well, that is what her husband, Tony Parker, NBA superstar point guard for the San Antonio Spurs, is accused of doing, and it's possible he might have to give up now some chunk of that $50 million contract he just signed with the Spurs. That's because his wife, actress Eva Longoria -- you're seeing there -- she filed for divorce this week, and apparently, she is seeking spousal support.

Now, according to many reports out there, and some in the Longoria camp, say he carried some sort of affair with the wife of one of his former teammates. Eva Longoria, Tony Parker have been married just for the past three years.

So we'll turn to Conan O'Brien. Now, Conan -- he's back, as you know, second week on since coming back to late night. And ratings -- I mean, he got a huge spoke his first week, but things are evening out a little bit with the other big dogs of late night, but still, he is holding his own against those other giants of late night television, Jay Leno and Letterman, in particular, David Letterman.

According to the ratings, his audience, Conan O'Brien's, we know predominantly younger folks. He has a brand of humor that a lot of younger folks do seem to like. But he's pulling in a much younger audience, around the average of about 32 years old.

Also, for you "Dancing With the Stars" buffs out there, a lot of people were surprised, shocked, even upset by the elimination of Brandy this week. There she is. You know here, singer, entertainer -- she and her partner booted out, beaten out by Bristol Palin.

Of course, a lot of people think -- have some conspiracies out there, thinking that a lot of Palin supporters are out there trying to really jam up the phones in their voting and whatnot to make sure that Bristol Palin gets through.

From what I understand -- and I don't know, some of you "Dancing With the Stars" folks -- they actually have the judges' scores only count for so much and then a big chunk of it, as well, is from the audience that votes. So if you get a lot of the audience that likes you, that apparently can carry you through.

Somebody out there was really upset with the vote, apparently, but what he or she did yesterday certainly not funny and this is not the way you direct your anger, law enforcement sources telling us that a powder, some kind of a powder or substance, was discovered by a member of the "Dancing With the Stars" staff. It was delivered to the "Dancing With the Stars" production office sometime late yesterday. A section of that studio had to be evacuated.

ABC did release a statement, and it says, in part, "An envelope containing an unknown substance was delivered to the `Dancing With the Stars' production office on Friday. Security and the Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Police Department were immediately notified, and measures were taken to secure this area and ensure the safety of personnel. Ultimately, we were advised by the fire department that the substance was determined to be talcum powder."

Well, Mama Palin made some news of her own this week. She's talking about winning a contest of her own. You can probably guess which one we might be talking about. That story coming your way next.

Also, the dancers who shut down the Lincoln Tunnel. You got to see this one. Stay with us. It's 33 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hello, again, everybody. Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes, about 36 minutes past the hour now.

The Senate has approved more than a billion dollars to fund a legal settlement between the government and black farmers who claimed discrimination. The suit was filed against the Agriculture Department about 11 years ago. The black farmers could get about $50,000 each. This measure also includes $3.4 billion to settle complaints the government mismanaged Native American money accounts. The House is now expected to pass the bill.

Also Sarah Palin -- she's been asked a lot about whether or not she wants to have a presidential run in 2012. She is sometimes a little cagey with her answer, but the former Republican vice presidential candidate was asked by ABC's Barbara Walters if she could beat President Obama. Her response, "I believe so."

CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser with more.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, T.J.

So that's what Sarah Palin says. But what do Americans think? Well, check this out. CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation -- we did a national poll about three weeks ago and got some -- what we asked, among other things, a hypothetical match-up between Palin and President Obama in 2012. Take a look at these numbers. If Sarah Palin decides to run and if she becomes the nominee, would Americans vote for her or Obama the president? You can see right there the president has an 8-point advantage over Palin.

What's interesting, we also have some other hypothetical match- ups between some other possible Republican contenders, and two of them, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, who both ran last time -- they actually have an advantage over President Obama in the polls.

Check out this number, as well. This is Sarah Palin's favorable or unfavorable rating. And you can see right here, according to our poll, only about 4 in 0 Americans have a favorable view of the former Alaska governor, with 49 percent saying they see her in an unfavorable light.

Hey, one thing I want to just warn because I always give this caution. Remember, polls are a snapshot of how people feel right now, and the 2012 elections is a long way from right now, T.J.

HOLMES: All right, thanks to our Paul Steinhauser.

Well, coming up, you know Beyonce, the singer, entertainer, actress, as well. She has been accused, you know, over the years of being, oh, attractive, if you'll say. Some might even say she's hot. But some folks in the U.K. think maybe she's a little too hot. She has a new television ad that is being banned from being played at certain times in the U.K. We will show you the ad and let you be the judge. We might even loop it and let it run several times for you to see, as well.

But first, Reynolds, our weekly "News Quiz." While the November sales are up for most electronic devices, projections are down for one item in particular. Which one would you say it is, a flat-screen television, camcorders, MP3 players. Give me your answer, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now?

HOLMES: Right now.

WOLF: Flat screens.

HOLMES: Flat screens. All right, we've got Reynolds's answer. We'll see if Reynolds is correct after the break. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, at 41 minutes past the hour now. Before the break, we asked about sales predictions. November sales predictions are down for what electronic device? Is it flat-screen TV, camcorders or MP3 players? This is why I asked you before, Reynolds, to get your answer, before you saw it up there on the Teleprompter. But the answer is camcorders. No, the camcorders, the sale of the camera, are expected to drop from about 2.65 million in October to 2.4 million in November. By comparison, consumers are expected to buy more than 10 million flat screen televisions.

Any one of those on you guys' lists?

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, I was wondering, is it because flipcams are more popular now than camcorders?

HOLMES: What -- I mean, I don't know what qualifies as a camcorder anymore.

BILCHIK: Well, what I would like to know is (INAUDIBLE)

WOLF: We got so many things, though, that can now take video.

HOLMES: That's a good point.

WOLF: Your phone can take video --

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF: -- a toaster can take -- a toaster can't, but wouldn't it be cool if it could?

(LAUGHTER)

WOLF: You know, Hey, hold on (INAUDIBLE) I got some waffles in here, but hey, smile.

BILCHIK: Take a picture.

WOLF: You know? But how incredible would that be?

BILCHIK: How many TVs do you have in your house already?

HOLMES: Oh!

WOLF: Oh, gosh, maybe three, but --

HOLMES: Don't ask me that.

WOLF: Bring (ph) it.

(CROSSTALK)

BILCHIK: Exactly. You already have (ph).

HOLMES: Let's turn to this next story.

WOLF: Here we go. HOLMES: This is one -- everybody's been waiting for the answer to what's going to happen with Wesley Snipes, you know, the actor. There he is. Well, apparently, he is going to prison. He has been freed on bail for more than two years. He was appealing his tax evasion conviction. But a federal judge said enough is enough. He denied Wesley Snipes' appeal and request for a new trial, ordering him now to begin serving that three-year sentence. He's supposed to make plans for this. But again, this is a guy -- I don't know, he's been in so many movies over the years, and popular movies we all like. "Blade," I guess, is probably one of his latest and biggest hits. But he's been working. But he claims his guys kind of swindled him. Sometimes these superstars just hand things off, they claim, to other people you trust to take care of it.

Do you guys buy that?

BILCHIK: But he's so creative. I know him. He'll make a movie of something that happens in jail.

HOLMES: Well, he's got three years to work on that script now because he's supposed to be going to prison.

All right --

BILCHIK: Hopefully --

HOLMES: -- let's turn to this next one here, all right? I'm not going to say anything about it, but everybody at home, I need you to look at the television right now. If you're just listening to us, you need to pause for a second and look at the TV. Check it out.

(VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Some are saying this is too hot for TV. Certainly not CNN SATURDAY MORNING TV. But in the U.K. is what we're talking about. Now, has anyone figured out yet what she is selling in this ad?

WOLF: I don't even care.

BILCHIK: Now, for viewers, they can only see the two of you, but I can actually feel the heat.

HOLMES: Can you feel the energy? That's just us anyway. That's me and Reynolds. Anyway --

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: But some are saying -- and I'll ask you, Nadia, and you, as well, Reynolds. But do you consider -- and we have seen her in so many provocative poses and pictures and videos over the years. But in the U.K., they're not putting this on on daytime because they find it too racy -- Nadia.

BILCHIK: But they -- I don't think so. I don't think it's any more provocative or racing than anything else we're seeing.

HOLMES: Reynolds?

WOLF: That's called a snow melter, what I'm seeing right there. That's a special thing, and I'm -- you know, I mean, this -- what she's trying to sell, obviously, is -- is -- is --

BILCHIK: Sex.

WOLF: Yes, in a word, that's what she's trying to sell. And I think the best way to do that is by showing what we just showed. Boy, wasn't that fun!

BILCHIK: Well, sexy sells.

HOLMES: Sexy sells.

BILCHIK: Sexy sells. Provocative sells.

HOLMES: But it's a perfume called Heat. But again, that's really not that bad compared to some other stuff, not just saying anything else is bad that she does, but I mean, we're used to seeing provocative photos from her.

BILCHIK: And if you've seen those British "Sun" magazines and what people --

HOLMES: Yes! Oh, goodness!

BILCHIK: -- do, I mean, why is this any worse? I think it's quite tasteful.

HOLMES: Well, there you go, from our Nadia. It's not just me and Reynolds here. We have the backing of Nadia.

All right, one more thing here, the images that -- well, do we have these pictures up? This dance troop you're seeing here -- they got in a bit of trouble. They were trying to make it to an appearance in Manhattan. They were trying to -- you know, traffic in New York can be brutal. They were trying to get to a BET show called "106 and Park" to do a performance. They had driven up from Jacksonville, Florida. They got stuck in the New York traffic. They didn't want to miss their appearance. So what did they do? They ditched the cars and they took off running down the freeway in New York. The thing is, they were in camouflage outfits for their performance. That turned some heads. They got in a bit of trouble, and they did miss their appearance.

WOLF: You know, it's not how you do it -- well, it's not what (INAUDIBLE) it's how you do it. If they had been dressed and if they looked like Beyonce and they were running on the side of the road, trying to get to an appearance, this would not be an issue. It'd be, Hey, go right ahead. May I drive you? You know, it'd be that kind of thing.

(LAUGHTER)

BILCHIK: But surely, a reasonable person answering them would say, We understand where you're going. I mean it doesn't seem that --

HOLMES: But a lot of --

BILCHIK: But we're living in difficult times.

HOLMES: But they were running behind, so a lot of questions asked to make sure everything was on the up and up. They missed their appearance. I'm sure they will eventually be back.

BILCHIK: It's called more haste, less speed.

HOLMES: There you go.

WOLF: Nice.

HOLMES: What would we do without Nadia?

Quick break here. I'm going to tell you about James Carville. The latest thing he's talking about -- and I'm not making this up -- the president, Hillary Clinton, and yes, testicles. It's James Carville. We'll explain this. He's explaining himself, as well. It's 46 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 47 minutes past the hour now. Conservative MSNBC anchor and co-host Joe Scarborough has been sidelined for making contributions to political campaigns. According to a statement from MSNBC president Phil Griffin, Scarborough didn't get prior approval for the contributions. Scarborough has been suspended for two days, won't return to work until Wednesday, November 24th. This, of course, the second MSNBC anchor to be suspended for such contributions. The first, of course, was not long ago with their other -- Keith Olbermann, who was suspended for a couple of days, as well, for making contributions.

Also, Democratic strategist James Carville -- he is in kind of some trouble once again for something he said. This time, he was talking about the president. He gave an off-color remark to "The Christian Science Monitor" when asked if the president was misunderstood leading up to the mid-term elections. Listen to it right from Carville's mouth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he being a wimp or is he sounding the right tone and being on the right course (INAUDIBLE)

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't know because I'm the guy on the campaign that said if Hillary gave him one of her balls, they'd both have two.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: OK. You heard it. If you didn't, I'm not going to repeat it. Well, last night on "AC360" Anderson Cooper gave Carville a chance to apologize or maybe explain himself. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC360": James, referencing your comment about the president's manhood, I guess -- this is the Democratic president we're talking about here, the leader of your party, pretty tough words. Do you stand by them?

CARVILLE: Look, it was a joke I told during the campaign of 2008. It was reported in "The New York Times," reported in "Newsweek." And I said -- as I (INAUDIBLE) joke I told in 2008. I kind of repeated it. To me, it's not that big a deal. I'm not sorry I told it. I don't apologize to anyone. The only thing, I would feel sorry for somebody to be offended by it. It's just a joke, and I was making a larger point that I thought that the president should be tough on these banks. And that's about what it is. That's about what it amounts to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, again, this wasn't the first time that Carville had made this joke. He did it for the first time back in 2008 during the campaign. Carville, of course, was supporting Hillary Clinton during that time. But at the time he made the joke then, this is what then candidate Obama said. Quote, "Well, you know, James Carville is well known for his spouting off his mouth without always knowing what he's talking about. I intend to stay focused on fighting for the American people because what they don't need is 20 more years of performance art on television, and that's what James Carville and a lot of those folks are expert at, a lot of talk and not getting things done for the American people."

Well, coming up, you don't have to decide what you want when you step up to vending machine. the vending machine can already tell you what you want. Nadia Bilchik back with us in just a moment with another story that'll have you shaking your head, scratching your head. At the very least, she'll have you thinking. Stick around. Ten minutes to the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Anderson, you could use a Guinness right about now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. You all remember this, "Minority Reports." This is a clip from that movie, one scene where he's pretty much walking through, it identified him, all this technology around him, and knew what he wanted or tried to cater the advertising to him. Sounds far-fetched, but that kind of technology could be just around the corner in Tokyo, a company rolling out soda vending machines that know what you like just by looking at you. CNN editorial producer Nadia Bilchik, who we always enjoy talking to on these type of topics, bringing us a little something maybe that wasn't on our radar. How is this thing going to look at me and tell what I want?

BILCHIK: OK, so at the Shinagowa (ph) train station in Tokyo, in Japan, you walk up to the machine. As you walk up, sensors identify you by age and gender. And they first give you an array of drinks based on your age and gender -- interestingly enough, also time of day and weather.

HOLMES: OK.

BILCHIK: So you're a man in your 30s. So you would have something that has quite a bit of caffeine, especially in the morning. Whereas someone like me, they would suggest a sweeter drink or probably a diet drink, interestingly enough!

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Will they do that, as well?

BILCHIK: They will do that, as well.

HOLMES: OK. How can they tell -- what's the technology they're using to identify you?

BILCHIK: They say it's a very, very sophisticated technology based on sensors that take a photograph of you. So they're probably not always completely accurate. So for example, if an older woman looks younger, then she'll get the suggestion of a younger woman. They're not exact. But it's very interesting. Then after they've suggested your drink -- which, by the way, has increased sales three times --

HOLMES: OK.

BILCHIK: -- they will then give you the full array of drinks. Now, you have to understand Tokyo is a place that they have a vending machine for every 23 people. They even have live crabs in vending machines. They have underwear in vending machines. It is the city of vending machines!

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: OK.

BILCHIK: So this is very sophisticated. It's the J.R. Eastwater company that's come up with this. And -- but you know, here in America, we have the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. Have you ever seen that?

HOLMES: Now, what does that do? I think you told me about it once.

BILCHIK: It's Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. It's very sophisticated. Instead of just eight drinks, it has 106 flavors. And it is such sophisticated technology, as well, it is the same exact technology that actually will create dialysis and cancer drugs in that amount. So that's how sophisticated it is.

HOLMES: OK, let me go back to Tokyo for one second. Do you have to walk up to it so it already knows you're about to buy a drink, or can you really just be walking by and it kind of solicits you?

BILCHIK: No. You would have to stand in front of it.

HOLMES: OK. Stand in front of it. OK.

BILCHIK: You would have to stand in front. The minute a person stands in front, automatically and very quickly. I mean, that's what's so extraordinary about this advanced technology. A couple seconds.

HOLMES: Is there some criticism of it, since it's taking pictures and profiling you? Do people have some issues?

BILCHIK: Well, there is some sense of, as you say, Big Brother and what next. And also, what are they doing with the data? For example, with the Freestyle machine, the Coca-Cola data goes straight to the Coca-Cola company. This data goes to (INAUDIBLE) collecting data, more and more data on us. Maybe Big Brother is really out there and telling us what to drink.

HOLMES: Big Brother telling us what to drink. What's next? Nadia, always great talking to you.

BILCHIK: What do you feel like right now?

HOLMES: What do I feel like?

BILCHIK: They've even got lattes in the machine.

HOLMES: I'm more of a Gatorade, water guy. Plus, you know, my doctor from the -- you know, last week, he got me on some --

BILCHIK: Coke Zero.

HOLMES: Yes. All right, quick break here folks. It's about three minutes to the top of the hour. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)