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CNN Saturday Morning News
Richardson: "This is a Tinderbox"; Divided over Tax Plan; Avoiding Holiday Travel Headaches; International Dating 101
Aired December 18, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, good morning, everybody. It's 8:00 Eastern time here in Atlanta, the CNN center. This is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could be here.
A lot of things we are keeping our eye on, a lot of moving, breaking even stories this morning. Extreme weather, one thing we're keeping an eye on. California could blow up travel plans for people making an early holiday get away.
Also, treacherous in Europe of all places where travel is snarled there, as well. Also this morning, 141 criminals are on the loose right now, many of them dangerous criminals after they broke out of prison allegedly with the help of guards.
Also, the man in charge of the prison is missing. We'll tell you about that this morning, kind of bizarre.
Also, it is the fight before Christmas. This weekend, two major things going on on Capitol Hill. The president still sticking around right now in Washington, D.C. even though his family's about to head out for the holiday vacation. He's still got some work to do.
The Senate has some work to do and they are doing it this weekend. Yes, they are in session and two major votes could take place. We could see the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" this weekend.
All of that to get into this morning, but again, some of the stories that are making headlines, one that really jumps out. The former U.S. ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson is in North Korea. He is trying to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Bad weather has actually played a role in this. It canceled because of bad weather. South Korea canceled their planned military drills that were supposed to start today. North Korea has threatened to launch a military strike against the South if those drills take place.
Richardson is there, he's trying to urge restraint on both sides.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO (via telephone): I'm concerned because there's a potential for a miscalculation. I've raised with the North Koreans the importance of being extremely restrained, to cool down, to not overreact. We started these discussions yesterday. This morning, we're going to meet with a top adviser to Kim Jong-Il, Kim Kye Gwan, head of the military, tomorrow.
But I am concerned because these routine exercises of the South Koreans could cause a miscalculation. My sense from talking to the North Koreans is they want to tamp things down a bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, he is on this trip. He is not an official U.S. envoy, but still, an envoy there unofficially or not trying to keep the peace, literally, there.
Along for this trip is our own Wolf Blitzer. He's the only television correspondent who is going to be reporting, the only one traveling with Richardson, only one reporting life from there. Wolf joins me now on the phone.
Wolf, hello to you.
I know that Bill Richardson has been having meetings with the North. He has some proposals, apparently that he put out on the table. Are we learning any more about those proposals yet?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM" (via telephone): They're designed, T.J., mostly to see if they can restore some dialogue between North and South Korea, some dialogue, if you will, between the North and the United States.
They're aggressively seeking China's involvement. China's got enormous influence in North Korea and they'd like China to play a much more positive role. So far they say that hasn't happened. But there's a whole series of steps apparently that Richardson's putting forward in his meeting he had with one of the senior foreign ministry officials on Friday.
The official is in charge of U.S. affairs for North Korea, (INAUDIBLE). He put -- he started to put some of these proposals earlier today. He met with the chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan and they elaborated. Those meetings are going to continue.
Now, Sunday morning, local time, he's going to meet with the top military official in charge of the DMZ and the armistice, Major General Pak Rim Su. And that's going to be a critically important meeting because Richardson is aggressively pushing for some serious restraint on the part of the North Koreans.
I know they're going to be very happy that the weather has delayed any South Korean military maneuvers at this point, which the North Koreans have threatened they would retaliate if the South Koreans went forward, at least not happening this weekend. It's going to be delayed.
And what Richardson's trying to do is urge restraint on all sides to calm things down because he's pointed out repeatedly, this is like a tinderbox. One miscalculation, T.J., this whole situation here on the Korean peninsula could explode. He's really worried about it and we'll see what happens. But that's a very, very sensitive moment.
HOLMES: Well, Wolf, back to those military drills. It is amazing that weather is playing a part right now. The weather is going to, you know, it's going to go away at some point. Do we know yet what's going to happen? And is Richardson urging South Korea to not go forward with those drills once the weather does subside in the next few days or wherever it may be?
BLITZER: The fear is that the North Koreans would retaliate. The North Koreans have already publicly said they will retaliate if the South Koreans engage in these live fire exercises around this island Pyongyang. That was the island the North Koreans shelled back on November 23rd, killing four South Koreans, two military, two civilian. It's a sensitive moment because the North Koreans say they were provoked.
The South Koreans deny that and the South Koreans have been criticized back home for the South Korean government not doing enough, especially after the North Koreans -- they knocked out this South Korean warship. North Koreans deny that they did it, but the South Koreans, the U.S. almost everybody else accused the North Koreans of doing it back in March; 46 South Korean sailors died in that incident.
And there was a big uproar in South Korea that the South Korean government wasn't responding tough enough. And then after the shelling of the island, they didn't respond tough enough. They fired their defense minister. They got a new defense minister in place right now. So under domestic political pressure, the South Koreans have to show some determination.
And there's concern, Richardson I know is concerned that if the South Koreans go ahead with these exercises at this sensitive moment, that will provoke the North Koreans and who knows what will happen. So they're trying to calm things down. But it's -- it's by no means easy. It's a lot easier said than done.
HOLMES: Wolf Blitzer again, Wolf Blitzer traveling with former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson right now in North Korea again trying to calm things down. Wolf, we appreciate you being able to hop on the phone and report there from -- for us. And Wolf Blitzer, the only TV reporter there traveling and reporting from North Korea. Wolf, thank you so much. We'll continue to check in with him.
Now, we'll turn back to Washington, D.C. now. Washington is abuzz right now. And Washington is busy today because the Senate is in session. Some key votes are taking place today, expected within the next couple of hours, we could see some movement on the dream act and also on ""Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Our congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is on the Hill for us.
Brianna, always good to see you. I believe the first vote is going to be on the dream act. But a lot of people, not so optimistic about what will happen with it. But a lot of optimism from some, at least the supporters of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" about what this day or this weekend could mean for them.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We're going to be seeing two key votes, key procedural votes because they require that all important 60-vote threshold. And the first one is going to be on the dream act, which, of course, is that act that would give the children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship if they were to go to college here in the U.S. or they were to join the military. It's a controversial measure and that is expected to fail.
But today, we're expecting to be a very big day for advocates of ""Don't Ask, Don't Tell." If that dream act vote fails and this is going to be here in about a couple of hours, maybe two or three hours, they move -- the Senate moves on to ""Don't Ask, Don't Tell." And from what we understand, we are expecting -- and we have been serving senators who are onboard with repealing ""Don't Ask, Don't Tell." It appears that it's going to pass.
There are four Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine as well as Olympia Snowe of Maine and also Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who have said that they support this appeal. You do the math, you add those four to the 57 Democrats in the Senate and also independents who caucus with the Democrats, and this thing looks like it's going to be moving through pretty closely, obviously, there through the Senate.
And it's been a really long time, T.J. because this effort failed last week when it was attached to a big defense bill that also had some other controversial items involving Guantanamo Bay detainees, also abortion.
This is a standalone bill that's already passed the House. If it clears this hurdle today, then it's basically smooth sailing through the Senate and through Congress.
HOLMES: All right. One other thing I want to remind our viewers of right now. We were told tonight was the deadline -- the government was going to run out of money. You have to fund this government and there are specific times and things you have to do.
But at midnight, we're supposed to run out of money. But they came to the rescue and continued to fund the government, but just through the weekend essentially. Explain this right quick.
KEILAR: Yes, barely. This kind of cracks me up a little bit. We're going to be talking later and the lights would go out maybe, right? They were supposed to run out of funding for the Federal government at midnight tonight.
Last night, the Senate passed funding at the current level for a few more days. It gets them through Tuesday. The whole point here is it just buys them a little time so that then they can then pass another bill or they can pass, yes, another bill later that will get them probably through February when the new Congress comes in. Lights aren't going out, T.J..
HOLMES: Good to hear. Thank you so much. Brianna, good to see you.
We're going to talk to Brianna plenty throughout the morning. Again, things are going to get wrapped up here in the next two or three hours and again really could be a monumental vote on ""Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Brianna, thank you so much, always good to have her with us.
Also, these new tax cuts, the new bill has everybody talking about taxes right now. And that's just around the corner when you're going to have to be filing your taxes again. So with taxes on your mind, we are asking you to send us your questions. And we will ask them specifically to a tax consultant that we have coming in at 9:00 Eastern time.
Send those questions to weekends@CNN.com or you can send them to Facebook or Twitter at T.J. Holmes CNN on both. We'll be asking your specific questions to our tax consultant.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: We'll be checking in with Reynolds plenty throughout this morning. He talked about the travel. A lot of people traveling right now. You need to see that forecast. And a lot of people are traveling home for the holidays, including America's servicemen and women. They are streaming through U.S. airports right now and getting the welcome that so many of them deserve. We're going to be going live to one airport that's certainly rolling out the red carpet.
Also, Usher. Usher gets kicked in the face, but he wasn't in a fight. We'll explain this overly excited fan, 13 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Not a big fan of Christmas music, love that one, though, Mariah Carey.
Fifteen minutes past the hour.
The next story is the kind we like to see more often. Take a look. OK. What you see happening here. Three little guys, those brothers, they thought they were going to a school play, they saw Santa. Santa turned out to be pops, dad surprised them there. They hadn't seen him in six months. He was serving a second deployment in Iraq. Lieutenant Colonel Brian Champagne (ph) came home a week early, was able to pull off that surprise.
Well, a lot of reunions like that are taking place around the country and they will be for the next week as a lot of America's young men and women are coming home for the holidays. About 2,000 Marines and sailors stationed in Pakistan and Somalia arrived in Camp Pendleton, California. That was yesterday.
We love, love, love seeing these scenes.
A lot of them, of course will be coming home, a lot of them not ending deployment. Some of them have to go back even to basic training or whatever it may be, but at least they get the holidays.
You see our Catherine Callaway standing by live for us at Atlanta's airport. She has been talking to a lot of the troops, thousands of them coming through.
Hello again, Catherine.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, yes. We are here right at the top of the escalator where the military personnel have been coming up this escalator and greeting their families and it has been just heartwarming to see the reunions and behind me now is the Wood family.
This is Megan Wood. She's waiting on beloved Michael Wood who has been in Afghanistan. Tell us about Michael.
MEGAN WOOD, FAMILY OF DEPLOYED SOLDIER: He's been gone for six months. He's with the second striker cavalry regiment and I can't wait to see him.
CALLAWAY: She's actually shaking. I'll tell you why. She's been talking to him on her cell phone and he's one train stop away, which is why she can't stand still. We may get this reunion live in just a minute. Behind Megan is her mom who has been in tears just talking about how much they have missed him and what you're planning on doing this Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot wait just to have him with us. This is a gift from God. This is our Christmas.
CALLAWAY: And you said the best part of this is not just being with him but knowing that he's safe at least for two weeks.
WOOD: Yes, for two weeks, at least, I know nothing's going to happen.
CALLAWAY: You haven't seen him in six months?
WOOD: No.
CALLAWAY: And after two weeks, he's gone again.
WOOD: Yes, ma'am.
CALLAWAY: Back to Afghanistan?
WOOD: Yes, ma'am.
CALLAWAY: She's not being able to complete her sentences she's so nervous at this point. We do expect him in the next couple of minutes. But I want to show you this line here of people, members of the USO here.
Tell us what you do when you see a soldier coming, you say -- where's Michael? There he is. He's coming! All right. This is what we've been waiting for. Yes, we're going to give them a little moment here and then we're going to try to talk to them. But just give them a moment. How you doing, Megan?
WOOD: Hey, Michael, we've been waiting on you. Say hi to CNN.
MICHAEL WOOD, U.S. SOLDIER: Hey, CNN.
CALLAWAY: How does it feel to be home?
MICHAEL WOOD: It's good. Really good.
CALLAWAY: Really, really good. Was it worth the wait?
MEGAN WOOD: Every minute.
CALLAWAY: All right. Well, we know you guys need a moment. There's a woman over there who is also going to be very happy to see you and that's Megan's mom. Oh, the tears are flowing, tears of joy. We've got the whole crowd involved in this, T.J., everybody's crying. All right. Everybody happy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yay, thank you!
CALLAWAY: Is that dad? Your dad, your mom -- how are you feeling right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm relieved. I'm so glad he's here.
CALLAWAY: And safe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CALLAWAY: The whole family's here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a little dirty and dusty, but we'll get him cleaned up.
CALLAWAY: And fed right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep.
CALLAWAY: Thank you for letting us butt in on your happy reunion.
HOLMES: You know, that's going to be the highlight of our day here on CNN. Unfortunately we have to report things happen around the world, unfortunately it's not always pleasant news. But we're happy we're able to see a moment like that and bring it to you live.
A lot of scenes like that playing out across the country. We hope to bring you some more of that this morning, 20 past the hour. We're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 22 minutes past the hour.
Usher, Usher he's been around for a long time, been in the game, still at the top of the game in R&B. And he's been kind of a sex symbol in some ways. Ladies always throwing themselves at him or throwing things at him on the stage during concerts. He's not used to any of the fans throwing a roundhouse kick towards his face.
Look at this -- Usher serenading a young lady, inviting her up on stage. She was happy as all get out. This was at Madison Square Garden. This was this week. Now check out what happens -- oh, yes in the face. Yes, she kicked him in the head with her heel.
Now, he was fine, played it off, made light of it, just one of the hazards of his job. You know she was just mortified. She's up there, the time of a lifetime and blows it by kicking the man in the head.
Let me turn now to another piece of video. This video. What would you say? Is this too hot for TV? Is this too hot for country music TV? That's what the singer says, at least.
That's Julienne Hough. She's telling people that the video for her song "Is That So Wrong" was just too hot for CMT, Country Music Television. And said that's why they're shying away from the video, which has her dancing around a bit in a tank top. CMT, though, is saying there was a contract negotiation issue and that's why they pulled it. But either way, this is the only place you're going to see it right now. It's not on CMT.
Also, another piece of video that was awfully interesting. A party hosted by Diddy -- you know tendency to get out of control. But just keep a close eye here on what's happening in the back. There's a girl in the tub. It's hard to be sexy when your hair's on fire, isn't it? That's Kevin Hart, actually, who is hilarious, he's a comedian. But as you can see, nobody came to the girl's rescue, everybody ran away from her instead.
But you've seen that sometimes in clubs, women will be in pools. Have a few rose petals in there. I've not saying I've seen this a lot. I'm just saying, I've heard about things like this taking place in clubs. But the young lady is apparently OK. She didn't realize she was having her Pepsi moment there, if you will. But she's OK.
All right, 24 minutes past the hour. A lot of people traveling right now for the holidays. You're traveling maybe to visit family. You'll be one of more than 90 million people that are planning to get out and travel. We've got some tips, some important stuff you need to hear. Make sure you don't get slammed. Make sure you're not in too much of a crunch. We're going to help you out.
Also, cracking the international dating code. It can be easy as complimenting the right body part. Which body part is that? You're going to have to stick around for that one. It's 25 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Taking a live picture of the White House there. Got some snow on the ground, looks awfully ready for the Christmas holiday.
Are you ready for the Christmas holiday? You're running out of two things right now probably. Certainly time, but also maybe money. So we're going to help you save both right now with our digital lifestyle expert who I see out of the corner of my eye getting suited up here.
Come on, man. We're trying to make you legitimate here.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: No, no, sir.
HOLMES: We're trying to make you legitimate.
ARMSTRONG: No legitimacy whatsoever.
HOLMES: They need to listen to you right now because everybody wants tech, everybody wants some kind of tech gift. But you run out of time, you run out of money and are they going to have a hard time finding some of these things, as well? What's hot?
ARMSTRONG: So what's hot is -- here's the deal. I'm playing digital Santa because I want to give you some ideas on some gadget gift ideas that you can get rather quickly. Here's right off the top. It's very cold outside, T.J., a lot of people are wearing gloves. These are gloves for the gadget generation. These gloves expose your thumb and you fingertip so you can be able to use touch-screen devices, play games, send off text messages. They come in all types of colors and styles and fashion, even in cashmere and they range from $16 to $80 depending on the type of glove that you buy. It's made by a company called free hands. It's great, practical gift and it's inexpensive and affordable.
Also, for those devices, a big deal is for a good stocking stuffer, you want to cover those devices with a screen protector.
So Rapsol is a company that makes these screen protectors for your iPads, or tablets, or handheld phones, inexpensive, like $24 for these, as well -- really, really good.
And then lastly, I want to show you real quick, customization is big to me. So when you think about mobile devices and good stocking stuffers, I look at a company called Coveroo, which enables you to basically personalize your own custom covers for your phones or tablet computer.
So you can even upload your own family image and then place some message on that so that could be the cover of the phone. Nice little personalization tip --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: OK --
ARMSTRONG: -- for about $20.
HOLMES: -- that is cool. But are we out of time? If -- if somebody -- if they like that gift you just show, do you have time --
(CROSSTALK)
ARMSTRONG: Yes.
HOLMES: -- to get it personalized and get it to the house by Christmas day?
ARMSTRONG: Great question. Yes, yes you do and you do for that particular product. But you do need to pay attention to the shipping dates and delivery. I would suggest if you're shopping online, get your shopping done by the 22nd, by midnight of the 22nd to make sure that that package will get to you by the day before Christmas.
HOLMES: OK. We still got time. I got -- still got a couple of days here at least.
ARMSTRONG: Yes that's right.
HOLMES: And a lot of people out, as well at the -- at the malls this weekend. But something else online --
ARMSTRONG: Right.
HOLMES: You shouldn't use your debit card. Why not?
ARMSTRONG: No, no, no -- digital Santa doesn't want you doing that, man.
HOLMES: Go ahead.
ARMSTRONG: Because here's the deal, the debit cards do not have the same protections as your credit cards. In other words two things can happen, number one, it's accessed directly to your checking account. So you don't want to use your debit card, use a pre-paid card if you do not have a debit card.
Number two, if you order an item and it's not as advertised and you want to have a complaint. They already have your cash from your checking account. So it makes it harder for you to fight that battle when you -- when you purchase it via credit card, you have some better credit card protections for you for -- for those online purchases.
HOLMES: You know there are so many people at home right now say, why didn't you all do this segment two weeks ago --
(CROSSTALK)
ARMSTRONG: Last week? Right.
No, you know, they're saying, oh, my gosh. So check the receipts, check and make sure everything is OK. Now, banks have been very proactive about online fraud. So I don't want to scare people.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes.
ARMSTRONG: But, let's be proactive about that.
HOLMES: Yes. All right. Digital -- Digital Santa, we appreciate you.
(CROSSTALK)
ARMSTRONG: Yes, happy holidays, T.J.
HOLMES: Really, thanks so much. Mario, you've had some good segments over the past few weeks that have helped people out with gifts --
(CROSSTALK)
ARMSTRONG: Yes.
HOLMES: -- on what they need to do. So I hope everybody appreciated your information. I certainly have. So thank you so much and good to see you and happy holidays to you, buddy.
ARMSTRONG: Happy holidays to you, T.J., as well, man. I really appreciate the time and I hope everyone is having a safe holiday. Have a safe holiday.
HOLMES: As well, I appreciate that, as well. And as our viewers know, you can join us every Saturday at this time for our digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong, who also doubles as Digital Santa. He'll give you the scoop on the latest technology.
Its 32 minutes past the hour.
Stay close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. At 34 minutes past the hour.
We'll take a look at some of the stories making headlines. How does this make you sleep at night? Knowing that 141 inmates have escaped from prison; this was a Mexican state prison, according to Mexican news agencies, that they escaped from. This happened, though in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, that is just across the river from Laredo, Texas.
Inmates escaped through a service entrance last night. Public officials say the inmates probably got help from some prison employees. In fact, the prison director is missing right about now.
Also, the Food and Drug Administration wants to phase out the use of a controversial cancer drug. Avastin often prescribed for women with breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. But the FDA says the drug's dangerous side effects may outweigh the benefits. Also, recognize that purse? Yes, some call it the most famous purse in America right now. And it was on the auction block for a short time. It was put up on eBay. But it's not there anymore. The Panama City Florida school board member who swung it at the government -- excuse me, not the government -- the gunman. She was trying to disarm him.
You've seen that video. She wanted to put it up for sale for a charity. Ginger Littleton would have given the money to a security guard -- the one who shot it out with the gunman. He fixes bikes and toys for less fortunate children. But eBay says Littleton still has to meet some legal requirements. Bids, though, reached $1,200 at one point.
Well, this is the direct quote. "This is a tinderbox". That's the word from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson who's in North Korea trying to calm down tensions between the North and the South. But would you believe of all things weather is playing a factor in this right now? Bad weather, canceled today's South Korean military drills that are raising tensions in that region.
North Korea threatened to launch a military strike against the South if those live fire drills go through.
Richardson concerned, CNN's Wolf Blitzer is traveling with the former U.N. Ambassador.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER (via telephone): It's a very, very tense situation by all accounts. And Kim Kye Gwan basically told Richardson he didn't sleep last night because of the tensions on the Korean peninsula. It's a -- it's a very serious situation.
Richardson just told me that even though he had what he called a good meeting with the Kim Kye Gwan, the chief nuclear negotiator, he said the situation is extremely tense. Richardson said he urged maximum self-restraint on all sides. He says everyone has to show maximum restraint right now.
He also said to Richardson, he -- he -- he provided Kim Kye Gwan with a series of proposals, his proposals to try to calm things down. I asked him what those proposals were, he wouldn't say what they were. He said, but there are a bunch of serious proposals that he thinks that if -- if implemented could ease the crisis, which by all accounts right now is the most serious crisis on the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 Armistice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Richardson arrived in North Korea Thursday on a four-day trip. He is not there as an official U.S. envoy. The governor is urging both sides to use maximum restraint out of those scheduled South Korean military drill. We don't know if or when they'll go forward, again, canceled for the time being because of bad weather. We turn to Washington now. That tax cut extension. It's a done deal at this point. That seemed to split some Republicans who are thinking ahead. Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser standing by for me in D.C.
And it's amazing. They -- they have learned, they know this game well. What they say right now -- their words -- are going to come back and bite them if they want to run for president in 2012. So they're being very careful here.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Oh, very careful. And this is a tough one, and this is a tricky one for some of these Republicans who may want to run. Remember, we don't have any candidates yet, but we have potential candidates. And why is this one tricky for these Republicans because well, this compromise which the President signed into law yesterday, T.J., it extends those tax cut lower rates for all Americans. So that's good, right?
But remember, this tax -- this deal also puts the country deeper and deeper into the red. And that's bad when you want to trim the deficit. And of course, Tea Party activists, other fiscal conservatives they're going to play a huge role in those primaries about a year from now.
So take a look at this. We put a little list together. And if I left you off I apologize but, Sarah Palin, one of those who came out against the plan. And she's not alone. Mitt Romney also very vocal against the plan; Mike Pence, the Congressman from Indiana; and Rick Santorum the former senator from Pennsylvania -- all of them were pretty vocal against it.
People who accept the plan they say, you know what, we don't love it, but it's better than nothing: Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker; Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota Governor.
Senator Thune of South Dakota is also thinking of running. He actually spoke out against those who say -- went against it and say, listen, it's very easy for you on the sidelines, but I have to actually vote on this. And Mitchell Daniels, the Indiana Governor also saying, you know what, it's better than nothing -- T.J.
HOLMES: Right, they are certainly thinking ahead. CNN thinking ahead, as well, to 2012. What have we got going here? What have we got cooking at this network?
STEINHAUSER: Oh yes, we're thinking ahead, as well and we made some announcements this past week, T.J. Yesterday we announced that CNN is going to be holding, I guess you can call it -- maybe the first Tea Party debate, the first Tea Party presidential Republican primary debate. We're teaming up with the Tea Party Express. It's one of the larger Tea Party organizations. You know them from their -- from their bus tours across the country.
And we're going to hold it in Florida. We're going to hold it next Labor Day, early September and why Florida? Because Florida is a very influential state, a must-win state for any Republican who wins the nomination.
So it should be a fascinating debate.
We also this past week, T.J., announced a debate in June in New Hampshire. Of course, New Hampshire is the first state in the nation to hold a primary. And we're going to be teaming up with WMUR, a big television station in the state and "The Union Leader" their main newspaper. We've teamed up with them before.
So we are getting in the game and let it begin.
HOLMES: Oh let it begin. Can we just -- just give us a couple of months? We just got past the midterms. Come on --
(CROSSTALK)
STEINHAUSER: OK, OK.
HOLMES: I know how you all get down there in Washington, D.C. That's all right. That's what we pay you guys to do -- I say we like I'm paying you. All right, Paul, it's good to see you as always buddy, we'll check in with you again.
And we're talking a lot about the new tax cut deal this week. The bill of course has been signed by the President now. But that has people thinking about taxes and tax changes and what they need to be doing actually beginning next year because it is that tax season again.
So we've been taking your questions and we have some lined up. We're going to be asking your specific questions. If you have any more by all means, get them in to us. We're going to be asking your questions to a tax consultant to help you out as you think about the tax season.
That's coming up at 9:00 Eastern. Send your questions WEEKENDS@CNN.com or on Facebook and Twitter at TJHolmesCNN.
It's 41 minutes past the hour. A quick break and we are right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 42 minutes past the hour.
You plan on traveling this holiday season? You are not alone. Ninety-two million people -- that's how many AAA is predicting. And they're going to be traveling between December 23rd and January 2nd. It sounds like a blast. Doesn't it?
Well, can you really avoid the headaches of holiday travel? Genevieve Brown thinks so. She's the senior editor at Travelocity. Genevieve, good morning to you and we pose that question -- can -- can -- but can you really avoid the headaches of travel? It's just going to be a headache, is it not?
GENEVIEVE BROWN, SENIOR EDITOR, TRAVELOCITY: Good morning, T.J.
You know, if you plan ahead, it can be less of a headache.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Sigh.
BROWN: Certainly the busiest days around the holidays are going to be the most stressful, the most crowded at the airports. But, for example, there are a few things you can easily do to cut down on that stress. So you want to make sure you're checking in online at your carrier's Web site at least 24 hours before your flight. That'll allow you to skip check-in lines, get a discount on your checked baggage. Move through the airport a little bit more quickly.
If you can avoid checking bags altogether and carry on. That will help you if this bad weather continues and say your flight is delayed or canceled. It's much easier say for the airline to reroute you on a different flight or even on a different airline.
HOLMES: OK, Genevieve, you said something very important there, as well. You talked about which days to travel on. Now, which days should you absolutely avoid because they're going to be the worst travel days? And then what are some options for some other days that it won't be so bad and maybe you should consider those?
BROWN: By far the most expensive and busiest days are going to be Sunday, December 26th, and Sunday, January 2nd. The better days to travel are going to be December 24th and 25th if possible, not ideal for a lot of people. Then December 31st and January 3rd.
So those are the least busy. They're also the cheapest. So if there are people out there still shopping for their airfare, those are the days you want to concentrate on. Those are the days where you're going to get the most bang for your buck, the -- the better values.
Average round trip domestic airfare over the Christmas and New Year's holiday, $398. Keep that price point in mind; use it as a gauge to know if you're getting a good deal.
HOLMES: OK. That's the average now. Is that up from last year?
BROWN: It is. It's up about three percent from last year. So -- not a dramatic increase at all, but use that price as your gauge.
That's how you know at this late date if you see something -- if you see something in that price range, you're actually doing pretty well.
Keep in mind that this is one of the more expensive times of the year to travel. So you have to kind of adjust your idea of what a deal really is. A deal right now is not the same as a deal, say the first two weeks in January, which the travel industry calls the dead weeks because nobody's traveling. If you're looking for a vacation, those are two great weeks to get away -- very inexpensive. HOLMES: OK. At this point, though, it's a week from Christmas. For the most part, though, are you going to find a deal? And unless you want to travel on Christmas day or Christmas Eve like you mentioned, for the most part, are you going to be stuck paying higher prices?
BROWN: Well, it's definitely going to cost you a little bit more at this late date. But there are a couple of tactics that you can employ to get a better deal. And these are things you should be doing all year-long, but especially during a holiday season.
So the first thing you want to do is book your trip as a vacation package. All that means is bundling your flight and hotel together and booking them at the same time. Travelocity did a study and found a savings of $525 per booking. That is a great chunk of change -- a great chunk of change to save.
If you're looking for a hotel between Christmas and New Year's, think about booking a top secret hotel. This is when you book a hotel without actually knowing the name of the property until the booking process is complete. But you get up to 55 percent off published rates. You get some great information. You get the location. You get a star rating. You get a list of amenities, but you don't know the name.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: That's a risk there. That's a little scary, Genevieve.
BROWN: It's when -- it's when location and price are more important to you than brand. It's a great option for a last-minute get away to a big city.
HOLMES: OK. Genevieve that is great stuff this morning that people need to hear because a lot of people still trying to book flights and get out there. So thank you so much for that this morning. You enjoy your holiday.
BROWN: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: Thanks so much.
BROWN: You too.
HOLMES: All right.
Need to talk to some of the single men and women out there, but don't change the channel if you're married right now. Don't want you to do that. But still, you need to listen up.
Talking about online not just dating, but flirting. What works and what does not? Our Nadia Bilchik is here and she's going to flirt with you after the break.
It's 47 minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: Yes.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: -- comes from bardu.com, which is a multilingual social media Web site. It was started in Russia. It's headquartered in London. And it's owned by a company in Turkey.
HOLMES: OK. That says it right there. We're going all over the world.
BILCHIK: And it's got 17 languages. But the survey was done in 11 of the 17 languages. And they said, what are the pick-up lines that work the most? And they rated it on: is there a response, and is there a conversation? What do you think the most obvious one is?
HOLMES: To compliment someone's eyes. You look into their eyes.
BILCHIK: Exactly. Now, I'm looking at your eyes. And for those of you who haven't seen T.J.'s eyes close up, they are rather beautiful so, yes, T.J., you have beautiful eyes.
HOLMES: That works on me all the time.
BILCHIK: That worked. But there is another line that worked across all language countries and what --
HOLMES: No matter what, this line worked?
BILCHIK: This line worked. And it was, "You have beautiful lips."
HOLMES: OK. I can see that.
BILCHIK: That worked. Men and women have got beautiful lips.
Now different women in different countries and different men in different countries responded to different things. So, for example, British and Turkish women responded to compliments about their legs. Women in Spain responded to compliments about their hair. German and Canadian women responded to compliments about their skin. Dutch and Portuguese women responded to compliments about their ears.
HOLMES: About their ears?
BILCHIK: About their ears.
HOLMES: What is a good compliment for an ear?
BILCHIK: You just have the cutest ears.
HOLMES: You have the cutest ears? OK.
BILCHIK: But getting back to lips. Let's talk about lips. Psychologists analyze this, and they said what about "you have beautiful lips" really works? And it was the fact that they weren't being wishy-washy, they were being bold.
Think about adornment on the lips. Age immemorial, people have been adorning their lips, painting them with roots and dyes and various things and how often do we just do --
HOLMES: Do that.
BILCHIK: Yes.
HOLMES: And that's a -- there are some things -- I was surprised about the legs part because sometimes you can't say things about certain parts of a woman. Like you can say hair, that's safe. Eyes, that's safe, but you can't really --
BILCHIK: I suppose when it gets to online dating, though, how safe are you and what goes on? I mean this particular site is fascinating. They have over 89 million users. And I have been gauging this. Literally people join to the second. If you're on, it goes 89 x-million, two, three, four, five, six; such a need for social media and dating online.
HOLMES: One last thing. What did men like to be complimented on?
BILCHIK: They also liked their lips.
HOLMES: Lips?
BILCHIK: What would you like to be complimented on?
HOLMES: I'll tell you on the break.
Oh, Nadia, she gets us in trouble sometimes, but we always enjoy the conversation with Nadia Bilchik. Good to have you as always. Great stuff here.
Well, going to turn to one of the big questions of the morning. Would you pay someone $40 million to just carry a clipboard for you? That's what's happening in Washington, D.C. We'll explain.
It's nine minutes to the top of the hour.
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HOLMES: All right. We're about six minutes to the top of the hour. Did you see what LeBron did to New York? Not just the Knicks, but the whole city last night. Joe Carter joining me here with HLN Sports; and this is kind of the same way it played out in Cleveland when he went back. This is what you're missing, folks.
JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: Yes, you know what? Really the only different feel for LeBron being on that court was that he was with a different team and a different jersey. Every time he steps on Madison Square Garden's floor, he plays a phenomenal game. He elevates his game. And you could see from the video, New York fans still burned that he didn't pick New York City, instead he decided to take his talents to South Beach. And 32 points last night, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, another triple-double for LeBron. He really is the difference maker when he joins a team. And that's why obviously why New York fans are so upset that he's not with the Knicks.
Miami's now won 11 games in a row. I'm excited for this upcoming game Saturday, against the L.A. Lakers, that Christmas day special; really going to be able to gauge where these two teams are at, at this point this season.
HOLMES: They've got it going now. I think they start out with 9 and 8 or something at one point. You said they're on an 11-game winning streak now. But they seemed to finally have this --
CARTER: They have got their groove.
HOLMES: All right. D.C. -- OK, Washington Redskins fans are some passionate folks who deserve better, quite frankly, than what they've been getting. It's been a whacky year, and now this Donovan McNabb on the bench?
CARTER: You know, Mike Shanahan, the head coach brought Donovan McNabb to D.C., you know, they gave up two draft picks to bring Donovan to D.C. And ever since he's come to the Redskins, he's quite frankly just been a bust for them. Guy's thrown 15 interceptions, only 14 touchdowns, the Redskins are 5-8. Out of play-off contention so Shanahan made a huge move this week and said you know what, Donovan, you're going to the bench for the last three games of the season.
People are scratching their heads in D.C. saying, wait a second, didn't we sign this guy to a $78 million contract? Well, that $78 million contract is full of incentives and full of, you know, different stipulations, and apparently he's only going to get $3 million of that $78 million if he stays on the team this year. He gets none of that money if he's not on the team this time next year.
He's going to be 34, 35 years old next year. He's not having a very good season. He's clearly not happy with the way Mike Shanahan's been running the offense and the decisions being made, but his agent -- Donovan McNabb's agent said that this is the most disrespected he's ever been in his entire career.
Remember, this was a guy who was booed on draft day by Philadelphia fans.
HOLMES: That's just Philly, by the way. But no, he had -- they learned to love him and he had great years in Philly. But D.C. a lot of -- he was benched earlier this year. A weird situation for a two- minute drill for Rex Grossman; no offense, Rex isn't -- this isn't an all-star we're talking about here.
CARTER: Donovan McNabb has played in the league a long time. He's gone to Super -- excuse me -- the Pro Bowl six times, been to a Super Bowl. I mean he is a potential hall of famer. I mean this is a great quarterback.
And you have to be wondering, if you're a Redskins fan, what's going on there? Why Rex Grossman and not just stick with Donovan McNabb?
HOLMES: And again, no disrespect to Rex. And I've been a fan of Rex for a long time when he was in the SEC. But, yes.
CARTER: Questionable.
Mike Shanahan's digging his feet in the sand here, though.
HOLMES: All right. It's good to see you as always.
CARTER: Good to see you.
My guy, Joe Carter, HLN Sports; thanks as always. Good stuff this morning.
Well, we're getting close to the top of the hour here. Just ahead, we've been telling you about this, this morning. A lot of people have questions about their taxes right now, you know, the new tax bill that was passed up in Congress. The White House, the President did sign it.
Now, that's not necessarily going to have some big effect on you filing your taxes this coming year. But it's got a lot of people thinking about taxes at this point.
So we're taking your questions. We've gotten several. Got a tax consultant coming in, going to answer your specific questions this morning. That's coming up shortly.
Quick break, we're right back.
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