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CNN Saturday Morning News
Occupy Wall Street Gets Bigger; Storm System Pounds Great Lakes; Jury Could Get Murray Trial Soon; London's Big Ben Tower Leaning; Nevada Debate In Spotlight; Strong Storms For Great Lakes; Red Sole Shoes; Women Succeeding to the Throne; Singing Sensation Wows Pop Star; Occupy Wall Street Gets Bigger
Aired October 15, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. T.J. Holmes is on assignment. 6:00 a.m. in Atlanta, 3:00 a.m. in Las Vegas. That's where T.J. is right now for the upcoming presidential debate. He'll be with us later this morning.
But first, Occupy Wall Street goes global. Protesters taking to the streets all over the world. And in some cities, they're being met with strong resistance from police. We'll show you what's going on.
Plus, you know the fact, J.R. Ewing, from the 1980s hit TV series "Dallas," announces a very public health battle. But the actor, Larry Hagman, has no plans to step down.
And we're all guilty of it, eating and driving. But one community is working to put a stop to it.
The Occupy Wall Street movement just keeps getting bigger. More protests inside and outside of the United States, along with more arrests. In New York alone, 14 arrests after protesters staged a sit- in in the street blocking traffic.
In Flint, Michigan, dozens of demonstrators protested in front of a Bank of America building.
And in Seattle, Washington, dozens more remain in a downtown park. Just yesterday police in riot gear arrested 41 people there.
And in San Diego, police clashed with Occupy protesters who had formed a tent city. And things got pretty intense. Officers used pepper spray to make the demonstrators comply with an order to remove their camping gear. Here's Salvador Rivera of affiliate KGTV.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALVADOR RIVERA, KGTV REPORTER (voice-over): Protesters try to hold their ground as officers try to hold protesters back. "We don't need police" is what they were saying as officers formed a wall and pushed protesters away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame on you!
RIVERA: A few minutes later, officers used more than just their might to get a handle on the protesters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow! They (EXPLETIVE DELETED) when I was already on the ground.
RIVERA: Some protesters scramble to get water and other liquids to wash away the effects of the pepper spray.
DANTE, PROTESTER: And they shouldn't come in here and just do this (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Everything (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I mean --
ERIC HAUSER, PROTESTER: That's not right. We're trying to protect something we stand up for, we believe in, and they're coming in there with force?
RIVERA: Eric Hauser says the officers went too far. Only one person was arrested during the confrontation.
HOUSER: We're not the violent people. They are.
RIVERA: This all happened after officers began removing tents, especially this one, which, according to protesters, held a symbolic meaning.
"FISH", PROTESTER: To us that tent represents every house that's being closed, that's being foreclosed on. That tent represents every kid that's going to be out on the streets.
RIVERA: Police say they were very patient, but the tents had to come down to prepare for the World of Dance event taking place this weekend at Golden Hall.
CHIEF WILLIAM LANDSDOWNE, SAN DIEGO POLICE: We understand that people have a right to protest. But somewhere along that line, people have a right to conduct business. That's what this is all about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Occupy Wall Street and the discontent behind it has even gone global. Protests are happening today in Europe, North America and Asia. In Japan, about 200 people marched through the streets of Tokyo. One target, the Tokyo Electric Power Company and its handling of the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. In Canada, organizers have been drumming up support for protests in at least 15 Canadian cities. Thousands of demonstrators are expected to turn out.
Two Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide attack on a U.S.-run facility in northern Afghanistan. One official says four attackers armed with suicide vests and weapons tried to storm the base. One exploded his car at the gate. The others tried to rush in. Two detonated their vests, and two were fatally shot by police before their devices went off. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The son of U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al Awlaki is dead. A security official says he was killed in a series of drone attacks in Yemen last night. The attacks killed a total of seven suspected militants. Once a key member of al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula, he was killed in a drone strike a little more than two weeks ago.
In Libya, the streets of Tripoli are tense this morning after new fighting between revolutionary forces and pro-Gadhafi loyalists. Watch. Yesterday a group of about 10 Gadhafi loyalists opened fire in a neighborhood that has remained mostly loyal to Gadhafi. Revolutionary soldiers surrounded the area and fought back. Two Gadhafi loyalists and one national transitional council fighter were killed.
Prosecutors will ask for the death penalty against a California man charged in what they call a two-minute murder spree. Police say 41- year-old Scott Dekraai shot and killed his ex-wife and seven other people inside a hair salon. It happened in Seal Beach, California. The district attorney said Dekraai wanted revenge for a custody fight he was having with his ex-wife over their eight-year-old son. The ex-wife was a stylist at the salon.
The catholic bishop of Kansas City faces criminal charges for failing to tell police about child pornography he found on a priest's computer. Bishop Robert Finn pled not guilty to a misdemeanor. If found guilty, the bishop could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The diocese, incredibly, was also charged.
A federal appeals court temporarily blocks key parts of Alabama's tough immigration law, at least until they decide whether the law is unconstitutional. Most notably, the move stops public schools from checking the immigration status of students. But police will still be required to check someone's immigration status when they are stopped or arrested if the officer suspects the person is in the country illegally.
And now to a sign of the times. A Chicago suburb may put a stop to drivers chowing down in the car. This certainly caught my attention. The village of Oak Park is considering a proposal that would ban eating while driving. That's right, this has nothing to do with a cell phone. An effort to get distracted drivers to pay more attention to the road, of course. Now, if Oak Park ends up enacting such a law, it would be the first in the nation to do so.
"Men's Health" magazine released its second edition of "Eat This, Not That," and it's a list of what the authors call the worst foods in America. Here's what you should not get next time you go out.
The worst fast food burger in America, Wendy's Triple Baconator is what it's called. Take a look at that, 1,350 calories, 90 grams of fat, 40 grams of saturated fat and almost 3,000 milligrams of sodium. Now, to give you some perspective, that's as much saturated fat as you'd get in a medium supreme pizza from Pizza Hut. If you're still hungry later on, I'll tell you which chain got the honor of worst fries in America.
All right, Bonnie Schneider is in the severe weather center.
You're always a good eater, aren't you?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I'm pretty healthy. I can't -- I was thinking, that's almost calories for the whole day in one burger.
CHO: It is the calories for a whole day. Who are you kidding?
So you've got a storm system in the Great Lakes that you want to talk about, right?
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. We'll be monitoring that. This one's going to be a big one in terms of wind and waves. Right now in Atlanta, it's a beautiful morning out there. You can see behind me, it's still dark outside. We'll be looking forward to a nice day. Temperatures will be pleasant, Near 80 degrees. I'll tell you all about the rest of the forecast for the nation coming up.
CHO: All right, Bonnie, thank you.
A huge championship boxing fight happening tonight, but it's this 52- year-old ex-con fighting on the undercard who got a good-luck phone call from, you guessed it, the president of the United States. We'll have his inspirational story in a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Just before the break I told you the worst burger in America is Wendy's Triple Baconator -- that sounds bad -- you know, according to "Men's Health" magazine. Now for the worst fries. Drum roll, please. Five Guys large fries. Eat this by yourself and you'll chow down on nearly 1,500 calories and 71 grams of fat. Now, remember, the FDA recommends that adults eat just about 2,000 calories a day.
So, Bonnie Schneider, you were right.
We want to go from bad food to the bad weather. Two thousand calories a day. And that's a lot for people our size, you know.
SCHNEIDER: That's probably for a man. Maybe not a woman. We're eating (INAUDIBLE).
CHO: Maybe not a woman. At least not a woman our height.
So, there was a tornado that touched down in Virginia last night, right?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, and it was a big one.
CHO: Was it?
SCHNEIDER: You know, now we're cleaning up from the damage and we're looking at a much calmer day today, but there is an exception. I'm going to talk about the Great Lakes, because we are looking at some severe storms rolling through the region. And what that means is some very windy weather. You could already see the rain picking up across Detroit. That's going to continue for a good portion of the morning. So we're watching for that.
We have rain moving into Buffalo, on into upstate New York. And a lot of that precipitation will continue and become vigorous. Let's take a look at the current wind speeds because they are intense and only climbing up higher as we go through the day. You can see the winds are climbing all the way to 20 miles per hour. Now note, the gusts could get as high as 50 miles per hour and that's going to make for damaging conditions. So if you haven't already, I would say pull in anything from your backyard that could get picked up by the winds and cause some damage. To secure your trash cans, things like that, because the winds will pick up later on this afternoon.
And that stretches all the way from Wisconsin to New York. We'll be looking for the potential for windy weather in New York City, for example. Not as strong as what we're going to see in Michigan, but I am anticipating that to impact travel for today. So keep that in mind if you have a flight in the New York area, Philadelphia. The winds may cause some delays. So windy weather across much of the northeast and Great Lakes.
Warm conditions across the south. And notice the Pacific Northwest once again. Cloudy and cool, but sunny and feeling pretty mild for an October weekend right in the middle of the month for much of the country. Memphis up to 79, 76 in Kansas City and 88 in Dallas.
So, Alina, we're still holding on to the warm weather, at least in the south. But there is -- there are going to be some changes this week. We're expecting a cold front to come in and make it feel a lot like -- more like fall for much of the country.
CHO: All right, Bonnie Schneider, thank you very much.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
CHO: To sports now. And listen to this story of inspiration. The name of pro boxer Dewey Bozella doesn't ring many bells to many people, but when it was announced tonight that he'll have a lot of supporters in his corner, of course a lot of people were very happy. That's because Bozella is making his boxing debut tonight at the age of 52. And get this, after spending 26 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. He described the joy of finally, finally getting his shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEWEY BOZELLA, BOXER: So to take the time out to, you know, to do what he did, you know, is an honor. But not only that, you know, just to, you know, to take the risk, you know, with a person like me over 50 years old, you know. And I think that, you know, I don't want to prove anybody wrong, but as well as myself. That's what this whole thing is about. You know, a one-shot deal. You know, in out, you know, and -- you know, to be able to say that I went all out to say that I was a pro one time in my life and I'll be happy about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Bozella was given the 2011 Arthur Ashe award for his courage to never give up fighting. And even the president called him to wish him good luck. Good for him. No end in sight for the lockout in the NBA. Owners and players still can't seem to find common ground. At least one player says some of them may be ready to fold. But other players strongly disagree. Owners and players remain separated on key issues, such as how to divide revenue, the length of contracts and the structure of a new luxury tax system. The NBA and the players association meet on Tuesday with a federal mediator to try to resolve the lockout.
The involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, resumes in Los Angeles next week with the prosecution's final witness expected to take the stand. Now the case could go to the jury a lot earlier than everyone expected. We'll have details ahead.
But first, CNN Money lists the top jobs for flexibility, social meaning and relatively low stress. Listen up. The best part, none require an advanced degree.
Number five, tutor. Private tutors are in demand by parents looking to give their children an edge.
And number four, online marketing writer. Companies are looking for writers to write and edit digital content for social media and the Internet. No surprise there.
Number three, energy field auditor. Many homeowners looking to save money and go green. I'll tell you the top two best jobs for people over 50 right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Before the break I showed you some of the best jobs for people over 50 who are looking to start a new career. Now, according to CNN Money, they include tutor, online marketing writer and energy field auditor. Now for the top two.
The second best career for someone over 50 years old, personal trainer. That's surprising. Companies and communities are apparently looking for wellness trainers. So if you're in good shape, it could be the perfect job for you. And the number one job for flexibility, relatively low stress and a sense of social meaning, grant coordinator. Great way to match your job skills to a cause you believe in.
The Conrad Murray trial could go to the jury a lot quicker than expected. Our Ted Rowlands takes a look at the prosecution's case so far and what the defense strategy might be. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When court resumes in the case against Dr. Conrad Murray, the prosecution's final witness will be on the stand. An expert in Propofol. They're expected, the prosecution, to wrap up their case either late Monday or early Tuesday. And then it will be the defense's turn to put on their case, which we expect to last two to three days. They, too, have a Propofol expert on their witness list.
They also are expected to bring on some character witnesses, including patients of Dr. Murray. And they're likely going to try to shift the jury's attention to the insulated world that Michael Jackson had created for himself. And also bring up the other doctors that treated Jackson in the time during Murray's treatment and before.
We do expect that there is a chance that the jury could get this case as early as the end of next week.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Federal authorities have accused a Florida man of hacking into computer accounts and electronic devices belonging to Hollywood celebrities. Thirty-five-year-old Christopher Chaney is accused of hacking into accounts belonging to, among others, Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and Mila Kunis. Police say he loaded some nude photos onto the Internet, including recently seen photos of Scarlett Johansson. Chaney allegedly was able to access passwords by monitoring social media and other online sites that celebrities use.
The leaning tower of London? Well, it could be a new tourist attraction in the near future. That's because Big Ben, the famous British landmark, is apparently starting to tilt a little. We're going to take you there in a few minutes.
Thousands of college freshmen getting settled into their first-year routine. So which schools have the happiest freshmen? According to the Center For College Affordability and Productivity, Williams College in Massachusetts is number five on the list. Coming in at number four, Stanford University in Palo Alto. Third happiest freshmen on this list can be found at Princeton University. Beautiful campus in New Jersey. So which two schools have the happiest freshmen of them all? Find out after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Twenty-two minutes after the hour.
Which schools across the country have the happiest freshmen? Well, before the break we showed you three of the top five, Williams College, Stanford University and Princeton University. Now for the top two, according to the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, the second happiest freshmen can be found at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. And the happiest freshmen of them all, at Yale University in New Haven. I have to say, that's a little surprising to me.
If you visit London soon, you might notice something a bit odd at the famous clock tower that holds Big Ben. It's leaning. That's right. Bonnie Schneider has checked this out for you.
So, Bonnie, good morning. Does this have anything to do with the weather? SCHNEIDER: It actually does. You know, it's interesting, in an indirect way. Look at those cloudy skies over London in that shot. You have the double decker bus. Big Ben, of course, is that famous landmark around the world. And when you talk about why it's tilting and what it's doing, it does have a little bit to do with the weather because when the ground gets saturated and moisture builds in, it can affect some of the expansion below. And that is one of the reasons we're starting to see that shift. Another is possibly the construction in 1990 for the London underground. All that rumbling below tends to cause a little bit of a shift in the soil as well.
But let's zoom into Google Earth. You see the Thames River here. We're going to zoom in to Big Ben. So that really cool shot. Once again, I think whenever anyone goes to London or thinks of London, this is what they think of, Big Ben standing 315 feet tall. But it is tilting ever so slightly.
I want to show you in comparison to another famous landmark that's know for its tilting or, in this case leaning, its leaning, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Which, when you see that you know that tower is definitely leaning. As you can see, it's about 12.8 feet just off center, whereas Big Ben is 1.5 feet. So quite a difference there.
Now, if you're wondering, do we have to worry that Big Ben is going to shift and become the next leaning tower of London? Well, probably not in our lifetime because it would take about 10,000 years at the rate it's moving millimeter by millimeter for that shift to occur. It is moving, but remember, it's moving very, very, very slowly. So, something to keep an eye on and to watch carefully. But that's what's going to happen with all monuments and landmarks. Anytime we have just a little bit of movement in the earth below, everything is impacted up above.
Alina.
CHO: That's scary to hear, although it's nice to see that Big Ben doesn't really to, at least to the naked eye, look like it's leaning too much.
SCHNEIDER: No, it really doesn't.
CHO: Bonnie, so -- and 10,000 years, that's a very long time. So, all right, thank you very much.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
CHO: Coming up, Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is boycotting next Tuesday's GOP debate in Las Vegas. We'll tell you why after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: It is 27 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Alina Cho. Thanks for starting your day with us.
Checking our top stories. A federal appeals court has blocked the enforcement of parts of a controversial immigration law in Alabama, including a provision requiring state officials to check the immigration status of public school students. But the state is allowed to try to find out someone's immigration status during lawful police stops.
TV veteran Larry Hagman is battling cancer. He isn't saying the type of cancer he has, only that it's a very common and treatable form of the disease. Hagman says it won't affect his return to television in an upcoming remake of "Dallas." Of course, best known as J.R.
Nevada, the next stop in the GOP run for the White House. The Western Republican Leadership Conference and CNN are sponsoring Tuesday's presidential debate in Las Vegas. But not all the candidates will be there. CNN senior political director Mark Preston has that.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Alina.
Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman says he will not appear here Tuesday night at the Western Republican Presidential Debate. He's doing that because he is siding with New Hampshire in a dispute with the state of Nevada over when the scheduling of the presidential primary process should happen. In fact, let's listen to what Jon Huntsman said in New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm honored and delighted to be a candidate for president of the United States of America. And I'm happy to be here in New Hampshire, not Nevada, where they're trying to leap frog the system ahead of New Hampshire in such a way that I think it steals a little bit from our democracy. Because this is a state in which citizens get to know the candidates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON: Alina, as you see, Jon Huntsman siding with New Hampshire in this dispute, which really centers on when Nevada would hold its caucuses, their presidential nominating caucuses. Nevada is going to hold them on January 14th. But New Hampshire state officials say that that is not enough time for that state to hold its presidential primary in the new year. In fact, one state official has threatened that the first in the nation presidential primary could, in fact, happen in December.
Jon Huntsman, which is betting his campaign all on winning in New Hampshire, is putting all his chips on the line. He will not appear at this debate. He will boycott the caucuses. In fact, he has some support in that. At least four other presidential candidates said they will also boycott the caucuses, but they will participate in Tuesday's debate here at the Venetian Resort.
Alina.
CHO: Mark Preston, thank you. Why so much attention on Nevada? The state has been hit hard by the economic recession. It has some of the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the country. Later this morning, our T.J. Holmes, my good friend, will join us for a closer look at some of the issues that resonate in Nevada.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think people don't get how bad you hurt?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's a disconnect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The economy is closing down businesses and they're moving (ph) jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foreclosures have gotten so bad, it's now one in every seven homes in the state of Nevada.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Apple's new iPhone is out, but one competitor is offering a whale of a deal. An $850 cell phone for $2? You've just got to get in line really, really, really early to get it. We'll have that story in a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Rescue workers are racing to prevent monsoon floodwaters from drowning Thailand's low-lying capital of Bangkok. It's already a losing battle in some of the suburbs. Rescuers are helping stranded residents to higher ground, as you see there. Crews are stuffing sandbags and shoring up flood walls to try to protect Bangkok's inner city. Flooding has killed nearly 300 people and affected 8 million across much of the country.
A strong storm system is moving across the Great Lakes. Damaging winds and waves up to 16 feet are possible. Bonnie Schneider tracking the weather this morning.
Hey, Bonnie, good morning.
SCHNEIDER: Good morning, Alina.
This is a big storm system impacting a lot of places. And it will impact air travel. So for those of you that are looking for a weekend getaway, be careful, there may be some delays out there.
Another place you have to use caution, I would imagine, this morning is in Virginia, because a tornado rolled through and it really caused for some concern. Take a look at this video. This was actually shot by a woman in her car. You can see that flying debris circling around as it becomes airborne. Imagine how scary this is to be driving and seeing something like that and then thinking quick on your feet to capture it on video. This is in Quantico, Virginia. Wow, that is scary stuff.
It's been a stormy start to the season certainly in October across the mid-Atlantic. But now we're shifting our focus a little bit to the Great Lakes. You can see rain sweeping across Michigan, Detroit, on into Buffalo. But rain is not the biggest concern with this storm system. It really is the wind. This is a whipping wind that's going to take the waves and rise them high into Lake Superior, Lake Huron. We're going to see those wave heights get up to 12 feet, possibly higher. Up to 18 foot waves even with this system. So this is really big.
Notice how strong the wind is even at this early hour in northern Wisconsin, into Michigan, on up towards upstate New York, we're seeing some vigorous winds. And as we shift the focus and slide to the east, the winds aren't as strong in New York City, but they're strong enough that I anticipate we're going to see airport delays there at LaGuardia, JFK, Islip (ph) and probably a little further south towards Philadelphia as well.
You can see the further you head a little bit northern west, that's where we have stronger winds. However, the coastal areas will always see those winds pick up. And we're seeing that right now in Rhode Island, out on the east end of Long Island. So keep that in mind. We'll probably see some wave heights increase on the south coast of Massachusetts, as well as the east end of Long Island and then down towards the Jersey shore. Any time you have wind, you also have rip currents. So just be careful out there for those of you that are going to be traveling.
The advisories are posted and they extend pretty far from the west to the east, all the way from Wisconsin across to areas of the Cape Cod and the islands. So, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket also impacted by this system. And you can see the winds kind of drift a little bit further south to the mountains of Virginia and into West Virginia as well.
Elsewhere across the country, we're also tracking some stormy weather in the northwest. It will be cool across areas into the northwest. Temperatures for highs today only in the 50s. And this front that brought all this severe weather to Virginia is pushing a little further south and east. So in advance of the front, we'll have warm winds coming up from the south. So it will still feel very nice and mild in the southeast, but, nope, that's all going to change this week because now we're going to see a transition into the latter part of October where we start to get some cooler air.
You can see it starting to come up here from the west. And that will drop further to the south and to the east. I think we'll all be feeling much more like fall in the second half of October as opposed to the first half. But highs today are still mild. Tennessee, 79 in Memphis. And we'll climb to New York City's high of 64. Remember, that wind will make it feel cooler, so batten down the hatches and get ready for a windy day in much of the country -- Alina.
CHO: All right, Bonnie. Fall is my favorite season.
SCHNEIDER: It is?
CHO: So that's music to my ears when you say that the temperatures are cooling a little bit.
SCHNEIDER: Great.
CHO: Thank you so much.
SCHNEIDER: Thanks.
CHO: You know, stick around because the new iPhone 4S is out and people are going crazy for it. Thousands lined up for the release of the new phone which has a lot of cool new features. Among those in line, Steve Wozniak, Apple's co-founder with Steve Jobs. The new phone has a faster processor, improved 8 mega pixel camera. And, get this, Bonnie, a digital assistant named Siri that responds to voice commands. Ask a question, and Siri gives you an answer. I wish I had a real assistant. A digital assistant, I'll take that too. I might be the only person in America who doesn't have an iPhone yet. Do you use one?
SCHNEIDER: No, I'm the second person in America who doesn't have one.
CHO: OK. All right. There you go. You know, stand in line.
SCHNEIDER: But I like the idea of an assistant. That is really cool.
CHO: You know the cool thing about the 4S is they're saying it stands "for Steve," for Steve Jobs, because that's the last phone that he actually worked on.
SCHNEIDER: Oh, that's great.
CHO: And so anyone -- a million of them sold before they even hit the stores. So it's crazy, crazy, crazy. But this always happens with the iPhones.
Bonnie, thanks.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
CHO: You know, in Sydney, Australia, Samsung was trying to take some of the spark generated by Apple's new iPhone. Samsung offered its latest Galaxy S II for, ready for this, $2. The phone normally sells for $850. There was a catch, however. Samsung held the special sale for five days only. And the only the first 10 people in line each morning got the phone for that price. The Samsung store is only one store away from Sydney's Apple store. Smart.
When it comes to shoes, his name stands high above the rest, literally. Christian Louboutin and his iconic red-soled shoes are all the rage, but they don't come cheap. I was recently in Paris and got a rare glimpse inside his studio. I'll talk to him after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back.
He's the man behind those iconic red-soled shoes with prices starting at $395, skyrocketing into the thousands. Christian Louboutin is the shoemaker to the stars. I recently spoke with the iconic fashion shoe designer about his love for shoes and how he came up with the idea for those famous red soles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Made famous by Jennifer Lopez and "Sex and the City" --
SARAH JESSICA PARKER, ACTRESS, "SEX AND THE CITY": Hello, lover.
CHO: -- Christian Louboutin is the shoemaker to the stars. A man who doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk. The designer behind those iconic red-soled shoes.
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN, SHOE DESIGNER: You have a farashism (ph), ding, and then (INAUDIBLE) and then it conforms the person from head to toe. Well, a pair of shoes, a bit like that.
CHO: They're on Oprah, Beyonce and the first lady of France. This year alone, he's sold 700,000 pairs of shoes. But don't call them comfortable.
LOUBOUTIN: The only compliment that has come out of the design, I would be unhappy. So I have nothing against the comfort, but it's not the thing I'm sort of fighting for.
CHO (on camera): So what are you fighting for?
LOUBOUTIN: Beauty. That's different.
CHO (voice-over): Beauty doesn't come cheap. Louboutin's shoes start at $395 and can skyrocket to $6,000. More if they're custom made.
CHO (on camera): These are 4,200 euros, that's nearly $6,000 U.S. dollars. Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why not?
CHO (voice-over): This is his laboratory. Each season Louboutin sketches 400 to 500 styles. About 150 are produced. Each pair is carefully handmade, taking anywhere from a day to a year to make. And on the walls -- mademoiselle Renee Zellweger.
LOUBOUTIN: This is a bit of a secret.
CHO: Shoe molds for his a-list clients. Louboutin is celebrating 20 years in business with a commemorative book and a lawsuit against Yves Saint Laurent, which recently came out with, you guess it, a red-soled shoe.
LOUBOUTIN: You cannot say that you can own a color. I do not own a color. I own a red lacquered -- a red lacquered solo on the back of my shoes.
CHO: Just how did he come up with the idea for the red soles? Louboutin says an assistant who happened to be painting her nails.
LOUBOUTIN: So I grabbed her nail polish and polished the sole, which became red. And immediately it became like a (INAUDIBLE). You know, it popped up.
CHO: Throw them on, but run at your own risk.
LOUBOUTIN: It's not a good thing to run through life. I appreciate life.
CHO: Appreciate shoes. Beautiful shoes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: I certainly do. I also spoke with Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs and the designer of Lonvan (ph) all from Paris, all coming together in my special "Fashion Backstage Pass From Paris." It airs today at 2:30 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Watch or set your DVR.
New rules for British royals could be on the horizon. After 300 years of being passed over, first-born daughters could soon be given a clear path to the throne. We'll have that story next in our "Morning Passport."
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CHO: Reeling economies, public fury, tough to be a banker these days. And the International Monetary Fund's senior representative for Turkey, well, he found out the hard way. Did you see that? Some students pelted him with eggs. And not just one. During a lecture in the Turkish city of Bursa, security officers jumped in and hauled some of the protesting students away. At least one person was injured in the scuffle.
Equal opportunity in the royal family. That's right. Britain's prime minister wants to update the 300-year rules on royal succession that some say are outdated. That's so that the monarch's oldest child would inherit the crown even if she's a girl. Now, with everybody on baby watch for Kate and William right now, a lot of people are thinking about this one. That's why our Nadia Bilchik is here talking about it in our "Morning Passport."
Of course, being two women, this is something that caught our attention. And, you know what, I did not know about these gender rules. Of course, it does make sense that it's been in place, but how about that, they're thinking about reversing it?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: And it would be a good thing because it's very sexist when you really think about it. So let's look at the current royal family. So Queen Elizabeth has four children. So Charles was the first. And then there was Princess Anne. The minute Andrew was born, what happened was Anne got leapfrogged by Andrew.
CHO: Wow.
BILCHIK: And then when Edward was born, she got leapfrogged again. So although Anne is the second born, she's only fourth in the line of succession. And then remember that it's all the children of the boys. So it's Charles first, and then Charles' children. And then Andrew, and Andrew's children.
CHO: Before they even get to Anne.
BILCHIK: Of course. So Anne realized this. And that's why Anne said, I don't know if you remember when Zara Phillips recently got married. Anne said, I don't care that my children have titles because they're so far down the line. Now, interestingly enough, the queen's third son and fourth child, Edward, has two children. So this is how it goes. He has a little girl called Louise, who is the oldest, and then a son called James, Count Severn. But because Count Severn is a boy, he leapfrogs his sister Louise.
CHO: But let's get to the news with what's going on right now because, obviously, everybody is watching Kate and William.
BILCHIK: Yes.
CHO: And they're on baby watch for them. They could very well have a boy. They could very well have a girl.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
CHO: If they have a girl, the British government wants to do something about that.
BILCHIK: Well, exactly. And David Cameron will meet the signatures of the 15 other realms. Now, what the realms are, are places like New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica where the queen is the head of state. So he can only make this happen with the 15 other signatures.
CHO: But effectively then what would happen?
BILCHIK: Then what would happen is, if Kate and William, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have a daughter and then let's say they have a son afterwards, the son cannot leapfrog the daughter. So the daughter then becomes the next in line to be the monarch.
CHO: So, right now, as it stands, Charles, then William, then William's child, provided it's a boy. But if they change the rules --
BILCHIK: It wouldn't matter.
CHO: The girl could be next in line.
BILCHIK: The idea is that in the family -- so, for example, Queen Elizabeth had a sister. So because she had a sister, there was no boy to overtake her or leapfrog her, so to speak. But I love what the economist says because they really put this whole issue in a nutshell. They said the idea of tweaking a centuries-old royal succession has been raised for simplicity's sake, don't you think it's best to agree before Prince William and his wife, as you said, announce they're expecting a child.
CHO: Well, it seems to me that's what they're trying to do.
BILCHIK: Exactly, because imagine if a little girl is born and then a little boy and then the boy leapfrogs the girl. So we're going to be very confused.
CHO: That's right.
BILCHIK: Now, obviously, this will only apply to this generation.
CHO: Right.
BILCHIK: So it's not that suddenly Anne is going to increase her role --
CHO: It's not retroactive.
BILCHIK: Exactly. But it's about time. I mean in the year 2011, to have a rule that is so sexist --
CHO: Well, good for them.
BILCHIK: And it's just showing -- I think David Cameron is saying, let the royal family keep up with the times. Let's be relevant.
CHO: That's right.
BILCHIK: And that's important. But he will need the signatures of prime ministers of 15 other realms. And apparently the queen will agree. If he gets the signatures, she usually does take the advice of her prime ministers.
CHO: Well, that's good, because people are high on the royal family right now because of Kate and William.
BILCHIK: Absolutely.
CHO: Nadia Bilchik, thank you very much.
A pop star meets her mini-me. YouTube's newest singing sensation has got the moves and the voice and now a thrilling surprise of a lifetime. You'll meet her after the break.
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CHO: She may be small in size, but a little girl sure has a big belting voice. YouTube's newest singing sensation is thrilling her pop star idol. What's that about? Jeanne Moos has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When eight-year-old Sophia Grace Brownlee hit YouTube --
SOPHIA GRACE BROWNLEE: Let's hit it now. MOOS: She was a hit doing her version of the Nicki Minaj song "Super Bass."
(BROWNLEE SINGING)
MOOS: OK, so maybe Nicki Minaj had a few more pelvic thrusts. But Sophia Grace's version has gotten around 9 million views on YouTube and landed the little girl from Essex, England, on "The Ellen Show."
ELLEN DEGENERES, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW": Is that your favorite singer, Nicki Minaj?
BROWNLEE: We love Nicki Minaj. (INAUDIBLE) starlight (ph).
MOOS: That's nice, because Nicki Minaj tweeted the same thing about her -- "I have to meet her. She is a superstar." A superstar with a sidekick, her cousin, Rosie.
BROWNLEE: Rosie and I just feel more confident when I'm -- because I've got someone with me.
(BROWNLEE SINGING)
MOOS: But Sophia Grace's heartbeat really started running away --
DEGENERES: Come on out, Nicki.
MOOS: When Ellen introduced her idol. Even the parents were overcome. Dad asking for a tissue.
NICKI MINAJ, SINGER: She blew me away.
MOOS (on camera): Now, there's some bad language in "Super Bass," but when Sophia Grace sings it, the "f" word and the "n" word are gone, though the panties stayed.
MOOS (voice-over): At least in "The Ellen Show" version.
(BROWNLEE SINGING)
MOOS: As if meeting her idol wasn't enough, Nicki promised Sophia Grace a shopping spree. She also got a wig so she could look like Nicki.
BROWNLEE: I'm the second Nicki Minaj!
MOOS: And then they sang a duet.
(MINAJ AND BROWNLEE SINGING)
MOOS: Her boom booming heart never slowed as she danced relentlessly through the commercial break. Even her sidekick couldn't get her to kick it down a notch.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Where do you learn to dance at that age like that?
A runner in tomorrow's Toronto marathon has set his sights on a record all his own. His name is Fauja Singh. And, get this, he's 100 years old. No joke. His goal is to become the first person to finish a full- distance marathon past the age of 100. He says he's going to do it no matter how long it takes.
