Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Iraq War Ending December 31; GOP Candidates Flock to Iowa; Herman Cain's New Special 9-0-9 Tax Plan; Dealing with Student Loan Debt; Murray Trial Look Ahead; Missing 5-Year-Old in Arizona; How to Earn Quick Cash; Family Reunion after 22 Years; Inside the World of KISS
Aired October 22, 2011 - 11:00 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 to you all from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING for October 22nd. I'm T.J. Holmes.
U.S. troops in Iraq are waking up to a whole new reality this morning. Their military mission will be over by the end of this year. President Obama's decision to end the war is generating a lot of reaction from military bases to the campaign trail. You will hear it all just ahead.
Also, college students drowning in debt: What you need to know about student loans and the best way to get them paid off.
And the marketing genius behind the mega rock band "Kiss", we'll go behind the backstage and reveal the secrets of "Kiss, Inc."
But let's start -- let's start here with one of our top stories. Military families across the U.S. are gearing up to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones who are now serving in Iraq. One of the nation's longest wars will be over by the end of the year and nearly 39,000 U.S. service members will be heading home.
That decision we just got from President Obama yesterday. It's been nearly nine years since the war started with bombs and missiles exploding in Baghdad and that "Shock and Awe" as it was called. Since then, more than 4,400 service members have died in Iraq. The cost of the U.S. military operations: more than $700 billion but billions more in related expenses.
Listen now to the President as he made the announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over. Over the next two months, our troops in Iraq, tens of thousands of them will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the end of the war. Can you imagine? The holiday gift a lot of military families across the country are now going to get. Many of them already celebrating, but many of them who've lost sons, their daughters, mothers or fathers in Iraq, this is a bittersweet moment for them.
Reporter Dan Ponce with our affiliate WGN has reaction from some families and troops in Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one there's picture in the house.
DAN PONCE, WGN REPORTER: Every wall of this home in West Rogers Park is covered with pictures and paintings of Army Corporal Albert Bitton, who was only 20 years old when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq three and a half years ago.
His parents Elie and Sylvia Bitton had mixed reactions. They're relieved for the families of troops who are currently serving in Iraq, but regretful the full withdrawal didn't happen sooner.
ELIE BITTON, FALLEN SOLDIER'S FATHER: It's too late for my son. It's too late.
PONCE: Fighting back tears, he recalled the moment he found out his son had been killed and says no family should ever have to experience that kind of pain. His message to the troops, who finally get to come home.
BITTON: They're the lucky people in the world. They were very lucky, my son was not lucky.
PONCE: Soldiers we spoke with who are serving in the Illinois National Guard are also happy about the President's announcement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a good feeling. It was definitely a good feeling.
PONCE: Specialist Michael Rose from Dekalb served in Iraq for ten months.
Do you know a lot of people who are still serving over there?
SPC. MICHAEL ROSE, ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD: Yes. Currently my -- our sister -- my sister unit is over there. They took over for us when we left. And they are, from what I hear, doing a great job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More reaction from families of soldiers serving in the Illinois National Guard. Sandy Holz's son Staff Sergeant Adam W. Smith from Hanover Park returned home from his second deployment to Iraq last month.
SANDY HOLZ, SOLDIER'S MOTHER: I'm very happy because a lot of families will be thankful that their soldiers are coming home. And we put on a sacrifice, as well. You know our children are home during holidays or home with us getting on with their lives. But we're glad. We're glad that they're all coming home. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, Athena Jones is at the White House for us. Good morning to you once again.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HOLMES: And there is no doubt the President stepped out yesterday and he clearly was putting a check by promise kept.
JONES: Exactly. This is one of his campaign promises, one of the issues that the President ran on. You'll remember back in the Democratic primaries, candidate Obama's opposition to the war was something that set him apart. And he had been against it for years.
In the lead up to the war in Iraq, he said he wasn't against all wars; he was against a dumb war, against a rash war. And so yesterday, when he came into the briefing room, among the first words out of his mouth were the fact that as he pledged as a candidate -- he pledged to put a -- to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end.
And so the White House sees this as a promise kept. Let's listen to what the President had to say this morning in his weekly address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Iraq, we've succeeded in our strategy to end the war. Last year, I announced the end of our combat mission in Iraq. We've already removed more than 100,000 troops and Iraqi forces have taken full responsibility to the security of their own country. Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, the Iraqi people have the chance to forge their own future. And now the rest of our troops will be home for the holidays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so one thing that is important to note that the President didn't stress yesterday or today is that there were security agreements reached during the Bush administration in 2008. It was those agreements that set this end date, this end date of December 31st, 2011.
And so what the President is doing is fulfilling that commitment, T.J.
HOLMES: We know the end date now. They'll all be home by the end of the year. But a lot of people have questions. Well, when will the first couple of waves? How soon might we see some of those reunions at airports, at bases across this country?
JONES: Well, it's already happening. And these deployments are already happening. There's still of course a lot more, tens of thousands of more to come back, this 39,000. There's something like 800,000 pieces of equipment that remain to be the redeployed.
So this is going to be a massive operation. It's going to take hundreds of convoys, thousands of trucks. And so it's really a big scale operation. I don't have any dates yet for what ports can expect troops home, but it's all happening now and over the next couple of months, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. And even though this is welcome news by a lot of troops, a lot of family members, there is some criticism out there from some familiar names.
JONES: Yes. Not surprisingly, you have Democrats applauding this, calling it a victory for -- showing the victory of American troops and for taxpayers. But you have Republicans expressing concerns.
I'll just read to you from the statement that Senator John McCain put out yesterday. He said, "Today marks a harmful and sad setback for the United States in the world. I respectfully disagree with the President. This decision will be viewed as a strategic victory or our enemies in the Middle East, especially the Iranian regime which has worked relentlessly to ensure a full withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq. It is a consequential failure of both the Obama administration, which has been more focused on withdrawing from Iraq than succeeding in Iraq since it came into office as well as the Iraqi government."
And so what Senator McCain is doing is echoing some of the concerns of its fellow Republicans. And also other people more broadly that Iraq may not quite be ready to handle its own security and that Iran, its neighbor, that Iran's influence in Iraq could grow as the U.S. withdraws.
So these are some of the criticisms we've been seeing -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Athena Jones for us at the White House, thank you so much.
And over the years, the war in Iraq has steadily lost support from Americans. In a new CNN Opinion Research Poll one-third of the respondents favor the war; 69 percent against it. When the war started, more than half favored it and in a Pew Research polls, just over a third of the respondents says the war has been worth fighting; 57 percent say it has not been.
Also a CBS News Poll, only four percent say things are going very well in the U.S. or for the U.S., I should say in Iraq. Just over half say somewhat well; 25 percent say they're going badly.
Now, reacting to the troop withdrawal from Iraq, the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Does the exit of U.S. forces have an immediate impact on Iran, a relative outsider in the international community. CNN's Fareed Zakaria is in Tehran scored an exclusive interview with President Ahmadinejad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": President Obama had said that all American troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year. In light of this announcement, will your government increase its efforts to train the Iraqi army, since there will be a need in Iraq for training and support? Will the Iranian government be providing greater support in that area?
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): I think we should have done it sooner, maybe seven or eight years ago. And they could avoid killing so many Iraqi people or Americans, as well. I think they should have done it much earlier. But the people and the Iraqi government did not accept the increased presence of the Americans. The Iraqi government is independent and sovereign. They should decide how to provide trainings for their military personnel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Again, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking with our Fareed Zakaria in Tehran. You can watch the full interview Sunday on GPS, that's 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time and 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, as well.
And we turn to Libya now and the body of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi is being held in cold storage in Misrata literally in a meat freezer. His burial on hold for now, the family wants the body, but the United Nations and two major human rights group want an investigation.
That's in response to questions about how the former dictator really died. The National Transitional Council says its forces captured Gadhafi alive, but he was fatally shot in combat crossfire. Others have suggested Gadhafi may have been executed.
Well, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta he highlighted the U.S. role in Gadhafi's death hailed it as a success for NATO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It was a U.S. drone combined with the other NATO planes that fired on the convoy. And that, I think, is a reflection of the -- of the partnership that came together in NATO and in Libya.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, the Vice President, Joe Biden, says the operation has shown that the U.S. did not have to carry the weight of international military interventions alone.
Well, we're 11 minutes past the hour now. And the man first in line for Saudi Arabia's throne has died in a New York hospital. The crown Prince Sultan was the defense minister and one of the most visible members of the royal family. He was thought to be in his 80s. The Saudi government says the Prince died from an illness but did not give specifics. He had reportedly been battling cancer.
Well, prosecutors wrap up their case against Conrad Murray. We'll tell you what they did that got him visibly upset. That's just ahead.
Also, a squeak well to 9-9-9; it's called 9-0-9. Herman Cain, trying to explain. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're at 14 minutes past the hour now. And Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, he's addressing critics who say his 9-9-9 tax proposal would increase taxes on the poor. Under the plan the current tax code will be replaced with a nine percent corporate tax, nine percent income tax and a new nine percent national sales tax.
Cain says despite what the critics say, his proposal would not require the poor to pay income tax. And to make the point crystal clear, he gave this new provision a new name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you're at or below the poverty level, your plan isn't 9-9-9; it's 9-0-9. Say amen, you all. 9-0-9; in other words, if you are at or below the poverty level based upon family size because there's a different number of each, then you don't pay that middle 9 tax on your income.
This is how we help the poor. Another way we help the poor is that we get this economy going so we can let people find jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Cain also wants to allow businesses and high unemployment areas to deduct certainly payroll expenses from their corporate taxes.
Cain and his GOP rivals are in Iowa this weekend for the Conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition Forum. And CNN political reporter Shannon Travis is there to shed a little light on this situation. Shannon, tell us which candidates will these social conservatives actually be watching pretty closely tonight?
SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, they're going to be watching all of them. Let's just run through really quickly who is going to be there: Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and the man that you just were talking about, Herman Cain. They're going to be especially paying special close attention to him. The reason is because of something that he said on Piers Morgan on Wednesday.
They were having a conversation about abortion and Herman Cain made it very clear that he is very much against abortion. But something else that he says that has some conservatives wonder if he's against abortion but also against the government declaring it illegal.
Take a listen at this quote. Piers Morgan asked Herman Cain if a family member of his were raped, if Herman Cain would want the family member to raise that child. Herman Cain said it's not for the government to decide.
But listen to this quote. Quote, "So what I'm saying is it ultimately gets down to a choice that the family has to make, not me as president, not some politician, not a bureaucrat. Now his critics, some conservative critics to be sure T.J. have seized on that and said, hey, you know what; this is pro choice, like President Obama's decision. President Obama's personally against abortion -- personally against it but doesn't believe that the government should declare it illegal.
So some of Herman Cain's critics are saying, you know what; this is not different from what a lot of Democrats are saying. These conservatives tonight, about 1,000 of them here in Iowa are definitely going to be grilling Herman Cain. Tell us exactly what your stance on abortion is -- T.J.
HOLMES: And Romney didn't think this was worth showing up for tonight?
TRAVIS: Yes. Romney is not coming. We're trying to nail down exactly why not but the organizers of this event, they are not happy about it. They're saying, you know what; if you become the nominee, Mitt Romney, you will need these evangelicals in Iowa and elsewhere throughout the country to canvas you, to volunteer for you. And what signal does it send by you not showing up at an event like this?
We want to just be clear that Romney has been -- has been - to other large gatherings of social conservatives in the past. He was just at that Values Voter Summit two weeks ago in D.C. -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. And we all remember with much fanfare, so much attention on that Iowa straw poll that was back in August. Michele Bachmann won that. Does she still -- I mean, do they still love her there, the state of her birth? She's focusing a lot on New Hampshire. She's having some issues with staff up there. What does she have at stake in this?
TRAVIS: Well, in terms of Iowa, her crowds have been dwindling from the ones that I've been covering; events that I have been covering for Bachmann in the past few weeks. I would say that there's still a lot of passion for her, but her poll numbers have definitely plummeted.
And in terms of New Hampshire, one of five staff members is leaving. WMUR, up in New Hampshire, is reporting that all five are going to go, as well. They're saying that she's not committed to New Hampshire --
HOLMES: All right. Shannon Travis in the state that he now resides, Iowa. We'll be seeing you plenty. Shannon, thanks so much.
We're at 18 minutes past the hour now. Student loans can keep you in debt for years, sometimes a lifetime. Well, how do you deal with that student loan debt? We'll tell you after the break.
Stay with us on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 21 minutes past the hour now.
Americans owe, on average, more than $29,000 in student loans. Collectively, Americans owe more in student loans than on credit cards. I talked to our financial analyst Clyde Anderson this morning. He told me, you need to know that student loan debt is not like other debt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Student loan debt is a debt that you cannot get rid of. It will be with you until the day that you die if you do not pay at all.
HOLMES: Why?
ANDERSON: You cannot file bankruptcy. You cannot just get rid of it. It doesn't go away.
HOLMES: Now, why is it --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: The government had made sure of that --
HOLMES: The government --
ANDERSON: When they set up these federal programs to allow more people to go to college and wanted schools and banks to feel more comfortable about doing these federal programs and lending and so they allowed them to make sure that you can't just get rid of it.
HOLMES: Now, they -- I mean what are kids supposed to do? You need a loan. But after the fact, don't you have options. Don't they try to work with --
ANDERSON: To the best, they can. They do. And to get it -- you know, to make sure everybody understands, this is some of the lowest interest rate loans that you can take. But you do have a certain time frame when you get out of college. Usually it's about nine months -- six months in some cases, but you can work out repayment plans.
They're lenient with you. You just have to communicate with them, whether it be a standard repayment plan, extended repayment plan, they really work it out based on your income. And so you don't have to pay as soon as you get out. Sometimes it can be six months, sometimes it could be nine months.
HOLMES: Now, that's an important point, there. Because so often times, people want to run from debt, avoid the problem, don't answer the phone. But this debt is different. This is one time, you need to call and reach out because this is one they will help you with.
ANDERSON: They will help you with it because otherwise they can garnish your wages, they can sue you and they can do a lot of things that really will hurt you or delay you from starting your life cycle.
So you know, when you're thinking about that, you're coming out of school, you may not be able to pay, you may not be able to buy a house, you may not be able to buy a car. Some people have decided not to have children.
HOLMES: All right. So help folks -- the parents out there and students, as well, how do you know how much is the right amount? Everybody wants to go to that good school, a little more expensive because that looks good on the resume, right?
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: That's going to get me the job. How much are you supposed to take out?
ANDERSON: Well, it's really -- about 10 percent of your pre-tax income of the job that you're planning to get after graduation.
HOLMES: Oh, lots of planning, you have to think this through.
ANDERSON: Yes. You've got to think it through and that's key. Because I mean, if some people -- you're planning with your counselor and a teacher, you've got to realize maybe that's going to decide which university I should go to and how much many student loan should I take out based on what that income is going to be on the other side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, thanks as always to our Clyde Anderson. At 23 minutes past the hour now.
Big changes are coming in the Conrad Murray involuntary manslaughter trial. We'll tell you about that and catch you up on what happened this past week. That is immediately after this break. Stay with me.
HOLMES: We're getting close to the bottom of the hour now.
We know celebrities open restaurants all the time, but not quite like this. Jon Bon Jovi opened his Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, New Jersey this week. But there are no prices on the menu because customers can pay only what they can afford or they can volunteer in the kitchen in order to get a meal for free. Bon Jovi says the restaurant whose time has come when one in five households now living below the poverty level.
Meanwhile, Lindsay Lohan made sure she got to the Los Angeles morgue early yesterday; that's where the actress has been ordered to serve 120 hours of community service as a janitor. It's part of her sentence for necklace theft conviction. She was supposed to start her first day of work Thursday, but was turned away after she showed up late.
Well, we could be seeing closing arguments sometime next week in the Conrad Murray man slaughter trial. This comes after some critical testimony this past week from an anesthesiologist who specializes in Propofol. CNN's Ted Rowlands is following this case for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., this was the week that the trial came to a screeching halt, two and a half of the five days were dark mainly because of scheduling issues. When court was in session, Dr. Steven Shafer was on the stand and he is by far the most important witness for the state. He's not only an expert in Propofol and anesthesiology but he laid out for the jury what the state believes happened to Michael Jackson the night he died and it contradicts what Dr. Conrad Murray told police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. STEVEN SHAFER, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Michael Jackson died while the infusion was running.
DAVID WALGREN, PROSECUTOR: So the Propofol was going into his body even as his heart was stopping.
SHAFER: That is correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Also this week, T.J., we saw for the first time some emotion out of Dr. Conrad Murray. He was visibly upset when David Walgren the district attorney took off a little piece of plastic at the handle on a very important piece of evidence; it's a bottle of Propofol. Both sides were brought into the judge's chambers after this happened, the defense was very upset, they ironed it out and explained it to the jury.
The bottom line, though, the sense inside that courtroom has changed, T.J., the defense is very aggressive. Ed Chernoff was aggressive on the cross-examination of Dr. Shafer and we're seeing a real change in the courtroom.
We do expect when court resumes on Monday that Shafer will be on the stand for a little bit in the morning, but then the defense will get to its case in principal. Their most important witness will be Dr. White, we expect him to take the stand either Wednesday or Thursday, closing arguments are still expected despite the slowdown some point -- at some point next week -- T.J.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Thanks as always to our Ted Rowlands.
With the war in Iraq drawing to a close now, the holidays are here. It's going to be a little something extra special for thousands of American troops and their families. They will be home and the President says the war will be over by the end of the year.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Some of the stories making headlines today, one of America's longest and costliest wars drawing to a close. President Obama is ending the war in Iraq at the end of the year. Nearly 39,000 men and women in uniform will be home for the holidays. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Iraq, we've succeeded in our strategy to end the war. Last year, I announced the end of our combat mission in Iraq. We've already removed more than 100,000 troops, and Iraqi forces have taken full responsibility for the security of their own country.
Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, the Iraqi people have the chance to forge their own future. But now, the rest of our troops will be home for the holidays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, after the pull out, only a small number of U.S. forces, just about 150 left in Iraq to assist in arms sales.
Well, world leaders are expressing their condolences on the death of Saudi Crown Prince Sultan at a New York hospital. He was in line for Saudi Arabia's throne. He was also defense minister and a very public member of the royal family.
The Saudi government says he died from an illness. He reportedly had been battling cancer and was thought to be in his 80s.
The burial of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi is on hold while his body remains in cold storage. The United Nations and two human rights groups want an investigation into his death. The National Transitional Council says its forces captured Gadhafi alive, but he was fatally shot in combat crossfire.
Meanwhile, other reports have suggested Gadhafi may have been executed.
And a private ceremony happening today in Birmingham, Alabama for Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. The civil rights activist who helped lead the fight against segregation and co-founded the Southern Leadership Conference died earlier this month.
His body will lie in repose on Sunday at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. His funeral and burial will take place on Monday.
And a cadaver dog smelled something in the Missouri home of an 11- month-old girl who's been missing since early October. The dog got a hit on something, the scent of a body in the home. You know this story now - by now. Baby Lisa is her name.
Her mother has admitted recently that she was drunk the night the baby disappeared. Police did a new search of the home this week and that's when the dog smelled something. No one has been charged in this case.
Meanwhile, in Glendale, Arizona tonight, there will be a candlelight vigil for a missing five-year-old girl. Jahessye Shockley has been missing since October 11th. Family members say she wandered out of her home while her older siblings were watching her. Her family members appeared on our show a little earlier today. I asked the grandmother why she thinks race has something to do with her granddaughter's disappearance and why it hasn't gotten more national attention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIRLEY JOHNSON, MISSING GIRL'S GRANDMOTHER: There's no way that you should stop looking for a five-year-old child that come - come up missing after two days. When I first arrived from California, I - I was so happy. I saw the command post and all this activity was going on.
But not once did I see somebody going through that house, which I just assumed they probably did before I got there. But I - they were just sitting at this command post all day every day. And then, after - the day after I got there, they just left. You know, they told me they was in the - moving the command post.
But you don't stop looking for a child after two days, take an Amber Alert down after two days, and just - and we don't hear anything else from anyone for over a week until I just was outraged about it and started speaking out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Glendale police say finding Jahessye is the number one priority and they've investigated hundreds of leads.
We're at 36 minutes past the hour now. In this economy, a lot of people looking for jobs, but also could use some quick cash. We will show you an app that literally can earn you some money.
Also, it's a day of celebration for the family of a former presidential candidate mired in legal troubles. It's wedding day for John Edwards' daughter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, about 39 minutes past the hour. Let's say good morning to our Reynolds Wolf, keeping an eye on the tropical weather.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right.
HOLMES: We've got a long ways to go still with this.
WOLF: Yes, we do. November 30th is when the season ends, at least in the Atlantic, but that doesn't mean things are going to come to a screeching halt. We still have some activity out there and it's a long way, quite frankly, gets in November 30th.
Here's the latest. We've got an area of concern, the National Hurricane Center's keeping a very sharp eye on this development just off the coast of Central America. To be more exact, this is the Western Caribbean. This earlier today had about a 70 percent chance of further development. Now, the National Hurricane Center has scaled it back to that 60 percent chance. But still, computer models show that it may, indeed, continue not only to strengthen but maybe even move in a very and sudden (ph) direction.
These are our spaghetti models, tier (ph) models that give a sign to you of where they may be moving. Some of them have been going right on towards Nicaragua or into Honduras, some over shores of the Yucatan Peninsula. And a few of them, alarmingly enough, bring them up right through parts of the Caribbean and then through, right past Cuba and the Yucatan, perhaps into the Gulf of Mexico. That would be by Thursday at 11:00 A.M. A lot can happen between now and then. We'll just keep a sharp eye on it for you.
We're also going to keep a sharp eye on the chance there's some stronger storms developing in the Central and Southern Plains. The best chance that these will occur by late afternoon. You might have some backups and say - let's see, maybe Dallas, Fort Worth, maybe even Love Field, perhaps even some of your smaller airports, over towards parts of, say, Oklahoma. Also for the big game today between Texas Tech and Oklahoma, you can expect a chance of some severe showers and maybe some storms later in the day.
For the East Coast, pretty nice, high pressure building in. Nice and cool for you in parts of the southeast. In the northeast, some (INAUDIBLE) and clouds, with highs, New York going to 59; Atlanta with 69 degrees; 70 in Denver; to a high in San Francisco, 78; 81 in Los Angeles; 68 in Salt Lake City; and Dallas 81 degrees.
That's the forecast. T.J. Back to you.
HOLMES: Reynolds, thank you kind sir.
Well, we're at 41 minutes past the hour now. A lot of people, as we know, have been looking for jobs in this country. It can take quite some time to go through that long process of finding a job and people needing some quick cash sometimes.
Well, I talked to digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong. He had some tips on where you can find that quick cash, starting with a website that you heard of.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: A lot of people know that, though, T.J., for buying goods and selling goods and maybe, you know, looking for apartments and things of that nature. But, when it comes to jobs, Craigslist has started to - really proven to be a hotbed for people not only posting for positions, whether they're part time, full time or just a special project, but also actually people saying I'm available to be hired.
So use Craigslist to put your skills out there, what you're good at, what you're willing to do and see if people will be willing to hire you for those short-term projects.
HOLMES: OK, this next one actually helps people who are already working for themselves? I have that right? ARMSTRONG: Yes. Absolutely. So this is - this one is called Elance.com.
This one is for people that are either already working for themselves or have skills and have been laid off and need to find short term income. Elance.com is a place where they - where companies post short term projects.
So maybe I need a new proposal written, maybe I need a website design, or maybe I need someone to do my data entry for me, administrative tasks. So everything, from legal to everything in between, they have over like 30 categories that you could be putting your skills up so that you could be getting paid for the work that you do.
So this is all about the freelance economy and helping people pursue their passions and make money on the side.
HOLMES: And you said about 30 categories, but - I mean, is that thing jam packed with projects?
ARMSTRONG: Fifty-five thousand projects -
HOLMES: Oh, wow.
ARMSTRONG: -- were posted in the last 30 days.
HOLMES: All right, then.
ARMSTRONG: Fifty-five thousand projects.
HOLMES: All right. Elance. Let me get that one down. I'm free this afternoon.
ARMSTRONG: You're good. You're good. That's right.
HOLMES: All right, let's turn to the - the iPhone app now. Now this is one - it helps you make some money here with an app. Let me hear this one.
ARMSTRONG: This one is called Gigwalk. So you go to Gigwalk.com or you download this app. Unfortunately, right now, only available on the iPhone, as you mentioned.
But here's the - here's the idea. The idea is that companies can go on to Gigwalk and post short term gigs. A short term gig might be go check my - my competition's restaurant and take a photo of their menu. So I want to get competitive intelligence. So anyone with an iPhone could then go and take - accept that gig, get paid for it. They pay anywhere between $6 to $50 per gig that you do. So there's everything on here - shopping experience, all types of competitive information, looking for, like I mentioned, what your competitors may be doing.
Or even - I saw one example where a company said why am I losing sales? Do I have long lines on the weekends? And they hired a couple of Gigwalkers to come into their store, take pictures as to what was actually going on with the shopping experience.
HOLMES: Now, that is interesting. That is really short term cash. If you -
ARMSTRONG: Exactly.
HOLMES: If you need to go on a - a date in that night, you could go -
ARMSTRONG: No, that's right. No, it's - that's right.
HOLMES: But these aren't - are all of them those type of smaller jobs where you're going out on a little assignment?
ARMSTRONG: That's right. They're - it's just a little assignment. You can get more and more assignments and then you can build up your cash flow, depending on the amount of assignments you take on. But that's exactly what this is all about.
So I think, really, people need to understand, technology is enabling us to really put our skills out there, pursue our passions and find smarter ways to try to make those ends meet in between trying to look for a full time gig.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And, important to note, Gigwalk, that app, he said it is a free app.
Well, coming up, want you to know first of all, Fredericka Whitfield is in the building. She's in studio. I'll be sitting down, talking to her for our Saturday segment.
But, also coming up, a Georgia woman that finds her long lost family. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES (voice-over): We'll tell you why it actually took 22 years for this reunion to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now to give you a look at some of the stories making headlines across country.
Former presidential candidate and North Carolina Senator John Edwards will walk his daughter down the aisle today. Cate Edwards is marrying her long time boyfriend near Chapel Hill. Cate's mother, Elizabeth Edwards, helped her daughter plan the wedding before passing away from breast cancer last year.
John Edwards, as you may know, faces a trial for campaign finance law violations in January.
And, take a look, 78 feet of shelving just coming crashing down under the weight of 7,000 bottles of wine.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: What?
HOLMES: This surveillance video - I know. It's painful to watch. Fredericka, turn away.
WHITFIELD: Well, I didn't think (ph) it's painful. I mean, wow, to see something like that happen is -
HOLMES: To see this happen. It took 25 people to clean up the broken glass -
WHITFIELD: Really?
HOLMES: -- and all of that spilled wine. Say it isn't so.
Also, a Georgia woman now who was sold as a baby by her drug addicted mother has now been reunited with her family. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRYSTAL SMITH, REUNITED WITH SISTER: I said, you know, where's the baby? And they - they said, we don't know.
TIERA RICE, YOUNGER SISTER WHO WAS SOLD: Like they have been looking for me for a lifetime, and I never knew that I was lost in the first place.
RICE: So I thought that she was so much better off, and then when I found out she wasn't, it broke my heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Tiera Rice embraced her two older sisters this week after being separated from them for 22 years. Two (INAUDIBLE) were all they had to remember her by.
Tiera grew up - grew tired of actually not knowing who she was, so she hired a private investigator. And, would you get this, Fredricka? It turns out she grew up just 40 miles away -
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.
HOLMES: -- from the two sisters and just had no idea.
WHITFIELD: That's incredible.
HOLMES: But we see these stories, it seems, every once in a while. These big reunions.
WHITFIELD: Absolutely. And I think those - the kinds of stories like that usually do span, maybe the separation was at least 20 years ago. But now, with the advent of social media, when families are separated or adoptions take place or things like that, people are going to be able to reunite much quicker because of social media. And we've seen that start to take place as well. HOLMES: So it's another plus for social media out there. You know that -- @FredrickaWhitfield -- @FWhitfield.
WHITFIELD: Don't remind me.
HOLMES: That social media you're not really getting into just yet.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, I know. I have a problem.
HOLMES: You don't have a problem.
WHITFIELD: I do. I'm just not good at that. I like interface, real contact. I'm really not -
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: A big admission, I'm really not good at the whole reaching out and connecting via technology.
HOLMES: Have you sent a single tweet this morning? Fredricka -
WHITFIELD: OK, so we're digging the hole deeper for me.
HOLMES: OK, sorry.
WHITFIELD: I'm already - I'm already here. I'm on the sofa and I'm admitting I have a problem. Now, don't beat me down.
HOLMES: OK, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
WHITFIELD: That's OK.
HOLMES: It's all right.
WHITFIELD: How are you doing? I'm so glad to see you, back from Vegas.
HOLMES: It's good to be back here with you. It was good to chat with you all out there, but still, it's good to be back. I'm still getting over the highs. They're not quite right. They hadn't gotten the red out, you know?
WHITFIELD: Oh, because - yes. The time difference. Yes.
HOLMES: I'm exhausted, but still -
WHITFIELD: It's tricky.
HOLMES: It's all good.
WHITFIELD: But you did a great job. I'm glad to have you back.
HOLMES: It's all good. You know who I saw while I was out there?
WHITFIELD: Richard Herman.
HOLMES: Richard Herman. Your guy.
WHITFIELD: That's right. I know. Our New York criminal defense attorney who is often - most often in Las Vegas. I'm glad you all connected.
HOLMES: Yes.
WHITFIELD: We will see him today during our legal segment, our noon Eastern hour, he along with Avery Friedman. We're going to talk about an interesting case.
Well, you know the case of Casey Anthony? The - the interesting portion about it now is that you know of high-profile cases, the jurors like the idea of their identities being protected for a long time. In this case, the judge who made the decision that he's going to keep the identity of the jurors private until a cool off - cooling off period, is to arrive. Well, next Tuesday, the names of those jurors are going to be made public.
So our legal guys are going to talk about that, and really what's at stake for high-profile cases when the jurors want anonymity. Can they get it? Does a court try to extend that to them? And then, what happens when that anonymity goes away?
HOLMES: Should they get it, you know? I know that some -
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HOLMES: Like news organizations have gone and argued -
WHITFIELD: Right.
HOLMES: -- to get them released.
WHITFIELD: Right. So we're going to see how that plays out and what Richard and Avery think about that.
And then, 2:00 Eastern Time, our "Financial Fix," online banking. Everyone does it. You can do everything from set up your personal savings, you can pay your bills, et cetera. We're going to have an expert who's going to be along with us to talk about some of the things that perhaps you don't take advantage of with online banking.
And are you still a check writer?
HOLMES: On a couple of things. Not a lot. Just a couple of things.
WHITFIELD: OK. She's going to be along to say checks, get rid of them.
HOLMES: What?
WHITFIELD: Sayonara. Bye-bye. Yes.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: And I still do the same, too.
HOLMES: I need to hear that then.
WHITFIELD: I write checks on some things.
HOLMES: I need to hear that then.
WHITFIELD: She says, no more.
And then Mark Whitaker.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: Managing editor for CNN. He is now an author. Add that to the many things that he does. He's done extraordinary things in his journalistic career.
He and I sit down, talked "Face to Face" about "My Long Trip Home." This is an incredible, very personal book that he writes about his own personal journey with identity, his own personal journey with the relationship with his family members.
So you want to catch some of that Noon Eastern, and then, again, at 2:00 Eastern Time.
HOLMES: Fredricka, always good to see you.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you, too.
HOLMES: She's @FWhitfield on Twitter. Quick break. Be right back.
WHITFIELD: Help me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: So their images are everywhere, four musicians with iconic painted faces. They've created one of the most enduring and successful rock band.
It's the world of Kiss, a rock empire that still tours after first hitting the stage 38 years ago. And we got a rare look at the band and the brand. CNN Money's Poppy Harlow has a preview of KISS, Inc.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, rock USA! You wanted the best. You got the best. The hottest band in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now, the fun begins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: KISS!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-eight years ago, we put together the band that we never saw on stage, but wanted to, and we did it by the seat of our pants. We were not marketing gurus. We didn't know what a brand meant. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fundamentals of how KISS is run are the fundamentals that make for a successful business.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Look at these heels. Look at these heels.
What man gets to put red lipstick on nightly?
How many people can say that they have done Gene Simmons' makeup?
GENE SIMMONS, KISS BAND MEMBER: I would say, none.
HARLOW: Gene, is this all your hair? Where did that hair come from?
SIMMONS: That's a good question.
I can carry my lunch in there.
Watch this.
HARLOW: Wow.
SIMMONS: I have no problem wearing the suit here and getting up on stage and looking like your mom's worst nightmare. And I know your mom, so cut it out.
We literally invented the idea of licensing and merchandising.
Come on in. You'll see what I mean.
HARLOW: This is what we heard about, the KISS shrine, right?
Oh, my goodness.
SIMMONS: We have KISS lotteries. Scratch, but you don't sniff. Kiss Mr. Potato Heads. The KISS boots.
You know, you kind of - you go like that. One foot forward then put all your weight forward.
HARLOW: Is that good?
SIMMONS: That's really good.
HARLOW: Am I rocking?
SIMMONS: Not so much, but pretty good.
HARLOW: I've heard there's a KISS coffin. Is that true?
SIMMONS: It is true. Would you like to crawl in it?
Look at the quality. They also double as coolers.
HARLOW: What's your favorite piece of merchandise in this entire place? SIMMONS: My favorite piece of merchandise is me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have created four iconic images known around the world. Have we always been on top? No, but we've always stuck to what felt right.
For 38 years, we've defied the odds. We've buried all the critics in our backyard. We are mythic gods who actually do walk the face of the planet.
We are rock gods.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: This Sunday, part of a special "CNN Presents" hour, 8:00 and 11:00 Eastern Time, "THE WORLD OF KISS, INC."
Were you a KISS fan, Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: I think I liked the artwork that came with KISS more than probably the music.
