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CNN Saturday Morning News
Let's Make a Deal: NBA and Players Reach Hand-Shake Agreement Overnight; Pakistan Accuses NATO of Bombing Pakistani Military Check Posts; Cyber Monday Tips; Mars Mission Ready for Launch; A Royal Affair in Swaziland; Ringing in the Holiday Season; Room With A View
Aired November 26, 2011 - 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: Good morning to you all.
We are getting some breaking news from the NBA. A tentative deal is in place that could end the lockout and save the season. Breaking developments from overnight. This was happening while you were sleeping. We'll give you the very latest here in just a moment.
Also, those line baggage fees. Some of them could be a thing of the past. Are you kidding me? Yes. Congress is doing folks something that could actually help you out this time folks. A new bill that could save us all some money.
Also, I know. You don't want to go out to the mall right now. It's too crowded. You've got a computer, don't you? Well, Cyber Monday is right around the corner. We'll tell you what you need to know and where you need to be to get those deals online.
But let's start right now with that other big deal for you NBA fans, if there are still some of you left. The NBA could have a season. Let me bring in HLN sports Joe Carter, good friend of our show here. Tell us, first of all, people wonder when they might see a game, first of all?
JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: It looks like right now December 25th, Christmas Day, they're going to have a triple header, a blockbuster splashy national television audience lineup there. You're going to have three games. It should be good, but the tentative agreement was reached early this morning around 3:00 a.m. Eastern time. It gives you an idea how much pressure they were feeling internally.
These guys met for 17 hours yesterday, hammered it out, got the deal done. Looks like we're going to have a 66-game season, which is only 16 games less than they would normally have. So all things considered, they got the job done.
It's a 10-year deal. Each side can opt out of the deal after six years. But just remember, one week ago, David Stern called this time as a league and the owners were heading into a nuclear winter, totally different tone this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: We've reached a tentative understanding that is subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that that will come to pass and that the NBA season will begin on December 25th, Christmas Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARTER: That's the owners' take on this new deal. The players take (ph), Fisher representing all the players, basically said this morning that they felt the pressure both from the players' side and for any person, any business making a living off the NBA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEREK FISHER, PRES., PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: The most important key thing here is that, you know, our fans, and the support from the people and the patience through a large part of this process. You know, that's where a lot of this credit goes to. You know, the efforts that have been made have been largely with them in mind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARTER: All right. We're looking at about 30 days before the basketball season gets up and running and a lot has to happen between now and Christmas Day.
First of all, the players have to recertify as a union. Secondly, got to get this tentative deal official which means they actually have to write the deal. Then a fast frenzy of free agency will begin, which is going to be kind of exciting as it was with the NFL. We see a lot of trades, a lot of moves in about a week's worth of time.
They're going to open training camp around December 9th and then the tip-off to the season tentatively planned for December 25th, Christmas Day, like I said, with a triple header. At this point, there was going to be some match-ups we already knew about, David Stern says to be announced but expect big teams like the Heat, the Lakers, the Mavericks -- those kind of teams -- the Celtics, the Knicks going out at Christmas Day.
HOLMES: And this works out that nobody was paying attention to the NBA agents on Christmas Day anyway, a lot of people would make that argument, but, still, good news we think, a tentative understanding whatever that means, a handshake deal.
Appreciate you as always. Thanks so much. We'll see you a little later.
We're about four minutes part the hour now. Let's turn to some international news now in an incident that could strain U.S. relations with Pakistan even further. At least 26 Pakistani soldiers killed; international security force in Afghanistan is now investigating this.
We have a couple reporters on this for you today. Reza Sayah is live for us in Islamabad. Nick Paton Walsh is live for us in Kabul.
But, Reza, I want to start with you. What is Pakistan saying? These are the only folks giving us any kind of really official word about this incident, but who are they saying is responsible for this attack?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, T.J. Pakistan is not happy at all with this incident. First off, let's pass along some new information just in to CNN.
The Pakistani military now telling us that it wasn't just one military check post that was hit with these NATO helicopters, but it was two Pakistani check posts that were hit killing a total of 24 Pakistani soldiers earlier.
A government official told us that 26 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Now the military is saying 24. Pakistan, outraged with this incident.
We're already seeing the fallout from this. Pakistan's prime minister issuing a blistering condemnation saying he's going to take this matter up with NATO officials and U.S. officials. He's already cut short a trip. He's coming back to Islamabad tonight calling an emergency meeting with government officials. He is also calling on the military to investigation this matter.
So details that we've confirmed, this was a military check post, according to Pakistani officials, in (INAUDIBLE). This is a district that sits right next to the Afghan border. There's a lot of militant activity here.
One way NATO troops have addressed the militant activity is by holding operations, but they're supposed to stay on Afghan soil. In this case, according to Pakistani military officials, for some reason these NATO helicopters allegedly crossed into Pakistani airspace and hit these two Pakistani check posts.
A statement by the U.S. ambassador today, I regret the loss of life of any Pakistani servicemen said Pakistani ambassador -- U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter and pledged that the United States will work closely with Pakistan to investigate this incident, but this is an incident that's surely going to raise tensions between Islamabad and Washington, T.J.
HOLMES: Let me bring in Nick who is in Kabul for us now.
Nick, what official word or how much are you getting from officials there about this, what appears to be or at least what Pakistan said is this NATO-led assault and also even though this was maybe a NATO-led assault, why could this still strain relations between the U.S. and Pakistan?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean most people construe NATO's presence, certainly in Pakistan, as being American led. Clearly most of the force here is U.S. Much of the assets and helicopters in that area, if there was a helicopter strike, would be American, from my experience of being there.
Let's also talk about what ISAF have said in the past hours or so, head of ISAF here, NATO commander, an American General John Allen coming forward with a statement which in many ways recognized the enormity of this instance but was very cautious to not actually corroborate the Pakistani version. You see it here now.
He said, "This instance has my highest personal attention and my commitment to thoroughly investigate to determine the facts. My most sincere and personal heartfelt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of any Pakistani security forces who may have been injured or killed."
Remember the "may" there. So nothing clear from ISAF that they would stand up what Pakistan is saying, but clearly a recognition. This is obviously a huge potential strain on their already very fragile relations.
But I should also point out, T.J., this part of the world, this border, enormously hard to demarcate, delineate. The NATO American troops on the Afghan side, never quite sure whether they're being attacked from Pakistan when they take incoming shell fire, never quite sure where Afghanistan ends and Pakistan begins, huge amount of violence in Kunar (ph). That's the Afghan side of the border where this happened.
And we hear from Afghan border officials, there was an operation going on there at that time to root out insurgents, that could, perhaps have been linked to this, not entirely clear. But at this point certainly, concern from ISAF for the enormity and the damage this could do, but caution in terms of standing up the Pakistani version of events. T.J.
HOLMES: Nick Paton Walsh for us in Kabul and also thanks to our Reza Sayah standing by for us in Islamabad. We'll stay on top of that story, some fast-moving developments in it.
Also at nine minutes past the hour now, three American students arrested during protests in Egypt are all expected to be headed home this weekend. They were accused of taking part in the sometimes violent protests in Tahrir Square. Egyptian officials say the students threw Molotov cocktails during the demonstrations. Parents, though. of at least two of the teenagers say they didn't do anything wrong.
Also, one protester in Tahrir Square was killed this morning when he was hit by a police vehicle. The interior ministry says the truck was trying to get away from the chaos there in Cairo when it hit the man. Tens of thousands of Egyptians have been gathering to protest the government ahead of Monday's scheduled elections.
Now, they're chanting the military wants to overthrow the regime. These are some of the defectors from Syria's government taking part in a march. Protests continue despite the government's bloody crackdown there. Meanwhile, Arab league ministers are meeting in Cairo to discuss sanctions against Damascus for failing to meet Friday's deadline to allow observers into Syria.
Turning back to some politics in this country. Newt Gingrich, he's firing back at his rivals who say he supports amnesty for illegal immigrants. Gingrich expressed support at Tuesday's Republican presidential debate for a process to allow some undocumented immigrants who had been in the U.S. for years to remain legally. In Naples, Florida yesterday, Gingrich said his opponents twisted his words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not for amnesty for (INAUDIBLE) people. I'm actually not for amnesty for anyone. I not prepared for citizenship for any of the people (INAUDIBLE) but I am for a path to modality to those people who (INAUDIBLE) have been deeply in America that it would truly be tragic to try to rip their family apart and so they couldn't become a citizen unless they went back home and applied from back home, wherever that is (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Gingrich also said that controlling the border and making English the country's official language would be among his first tasks as president.
Fears over car fires are leading to a formal safety investigation into the Chevy Volt. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the Volt's batteries could catch fire in a crash, but they admit this has not happened in a real accident just yet. It's only happened in simulations. Chevy says they are working with the Federal government on this investigation.
And we are just under two hours away from that thing lifting off and where's it going? Mars. The curiosity Rover is attached to the top of that rocket you see right there. We have a 10:02 Eastern time scheduled liftoff.
This is a new mission supposed to look for evidence of water and life on the red planet. This is an ambitious, very bold mission that they are undertaking now. You're seeing some animations of this thing, a Rover. This curiosity is about the size of a Mini Cooper. They say it weighs about a ton.
It's going to take about eight months for it to get to the red planet. NASA will then let the mobile laboratory get to work investigating one of the craters on Mars and these are always cool as I bring in Bonnie Schneider here keeping an eye on weather for us today.
Weather going to cooperate down in Florida today?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think so. You know, a lot of times when we've talked about these missions in the past in the summer, we're always watching the skies for thunderstorms. This time of year normally the weather in Florida is pretty nice.
Let's take a look at what's going on on the maps. I'll show you the high pressure that bringing about fair conditions to much of the southeast and that includes Florida. That means more stable conditions. So as we zoom into the forecast, 77 degrees, winds fairly light out of the east-southeast. If they were a little bit stronger, there may be concern. But overall I'd say the weather's in good shape. As John Zarrella's has been reporting, they have a lot longer extended window for the weather. It looks like they'll have enough time to get it in, enough good weather to make a successful mission, but I think overall it's pretty nice down in Florida.
HOLMES: Looks like it. Bonnie, thank you, always good to have you with us and Bonnie will be along here shortly. A lot of people of course trying to get back home after this holiday. See how the weather might cooperate. We'll see her again here shortly.
Meanwhile, the deadline for U.S. troops to leave Iraq is December 31st. Before they make the trip home, many of them have a stopover in Kuwait. They've got to turn some stuff in. We're take you to Camp Virginia to see how the big move is coming along.
It's 13 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Fourteen past the hour now.
Virtually all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year, a little more than a month from now. Many though have a stopover in Kuwait before they make it back home, troops rolling into Camp Virginia last month to drop off equipment.
Our Martin Savidge spoke to one service member who is part of the convoy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Those are getting to be very busy days at Camp Virginia. This is the transient point. It's where the convoys come in from Iraq and it's where the equipment gets processed and some of the people. In fact this convoy left about 2:00 in the morning and Captain Carpenter here was on the convoy. How did it go, first of all?
CAPT. CARPENTER, U.S. ARMY: It went very well, very uneventful convoy.
SAVIDGE: That's the way you'd like it to be.
CARPENTER: Yes.
SAVIDGE: You come across the border there, into Kuwait. I'm just wondering, is there any sense of, OK, that's it. It's done?
CARPENTER: Most definitely. It was a short deployment for us this time, but there's a lot of guys that have been there multiple times.
SAVIDGE: You've been there a couple of times.
CARPENTER: This is my third trip and to be here when it's over, it's a relief and kind of fulfilling in a way. So it brings a closure to what has gone on in previous years. SAVIDGE: And then to go from potentially a war zone into Kuwait. Does the stress seem to leave you, things seem to change?
CARPENTER: Yes, it does. Iraq's not at dangerous as it used to be, but still a little dangerous and when you come across the border, the fence is kind of a defining moment now that, you know, things are a little bit better.
SAVIDGE: So what lies ahead for you?
CARPENTER: Well, we finish unloading our equipment and get on a plane and fly home. For me personally, I'll go back and transition back to my family and I'm going to get out of the army here shortly and go home, find some kind of work.
SAVIDGE: Good talking to you. Take care of yourself. Good luck to you.
CARPENTER: Thank you.
SAVIDGE: Pretty much the way it's going to end for a lot of soldiers. Some will go home. Some will re-deploy. For a lot of them, Camp Virginia is the end of the line and the end of the war. Martin Savidge, CNN, Camp Virginia, Kuwait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Sixteen minutes past the hour. Let's get a check of stories across the country. We start with the protest in California.
In San Francisco, demonstrators in the streets causing traffic jams. The police, ready in riot gear as part of the "Occupy San Francisco" movement going on now for more than 60 days.
Also, Washington may be getting rid of some airline baggage fees. A proposed bill would require every U.S. airline to accept one checked bag and one carry-on bag for free. Right now some airlines charge up to $35 for the first bag and one airline wants to you pay up to $45 for a carry-on.
And this Alabama man is skydiving 100 times in a day. He's going to do about 12 jumps an hour. He's doing it to remember the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SOUDERS: Put himself in harm's way for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Johnny Mike Spain died in September of 2001.
Well, 17 minutes past hour. You didn't even have your turkey digested yet and already they were bombarding you with Christmas commercials. Weren't they? Yes, the new tradition out. This black Friday, but have you heard what some people did on the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season? They were not behaving well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 19 minutes past the hour.
Black Friday, supposed to be fun, Christmas shopping, getting into the holiday spirit. This ain't very spirited, some of the stuff we saw across the country. It got ugly in several places. We're talking about violence breaking out. At least nine states where there were reported violent incidents connected to black Friday shopping.
Yes. That looks like holiday cheer, doesn't it? This is actually at a Wal-Mart in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Shoppers -- got a riot going on. Do you know what they were after, folks? They were after a waffle iron. Now, granted, the waffle iron only cost $2. It's a good deal, but a $2 waffle iron set off this melee.
Also, in Kissimmee, Florida, two men got into a fight at a jewelry counter. I'd like to think that they were fighting because they wanted to get something nice for their wives and for that, maybe I'll give them a little bread, but not really. One man ended up resisting arrest as he's wrestled to the ground by police.
Also, in Los Angeles, this is an incident you may have heard a lot about. A woman pulled out a can of pepper spray and she started using it on other customers. Now, what were they after -- Xboxes that were on sale. A number of people were injured from this stampede.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUAN CASTRO, WITNESS: I didn't see her personally but I sure got the scent of the mace. I got it in my throat. It was burning. I saw people around me, they got it really bad. I tried to get away from it as quickly as possible, because I didn't think it was worth it. No deal's worth that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: No deal's worth that.
Earlier we asking you, what do you think is behind awful this violence? Is this a new phenomena necessarily? Here's what some of you said to us.
One saying the recession is what's behind the violence. If people didn't feel so desperate in this economy, things would be more peaceful.
Another saying violence is never the answer, but it is stores that create these problems. Offering great prices by providing 10 -- but providing rather only 10 of those items per store.
Another one saying retailers need to organize better on black Friday. They need to have better control of how many people they let in at one time. Also, one more saying, opening stores the night before is wrong. Different crowds, different motive. It become a huge game to get a $2 waffle maker. That is just unreal.
Let me bring in our Bonnie Schneider.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Always good to have you with us. We'll see her again here shortly.
Did you try to go out and try to fight for some deal on black Friday? It was a waste of time. We've got Cyber Monday coming up right around the corner. We'll tell you where you need to be on Monday morning to get that deal. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Getting close to bottom of the hour now and you might have been out in the melee for black Friday, but a lot of people just sat it out because they knew something else was around the corner. That Cyber Monday. That is when these retailers want to you take advantage of online shopping deals.
But tech expert Katie Linendoll who joins me now, are they just messing with our minds here? Are they really giving us the best deals on this day or is this just another made-up holiday, if you will?
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: T.J., I have to first tell you, I'm still recovering from the waffle iron. That was a debacle.
HOLMES: A mess. Wasn't it?
LINENDOLL: Yes, let's talk about Cyber Monday, just to give you a little back history on it. The phrase Cyber Monday was actually coined in about 2005 and since then there's only been an annual increase in spending year after year. So much in fact last year over $1 billion was spent on the holiday shopping day and according to shop.org eight out of 10 retailers are going to be offering special deals on Monday.
So you can bet that all the retailers online will be ramping up. The best part about this T.J. is over half of people that will be shopping Monday will be doing it naturally from their work computers.
HOLMES: Of course they will. Will you miss something? If you don't jump on it on Monday, are you actually going to be missing out on an opportunity?
LINENDOLL: Yes. I think there's a lot of opportunities out there and just to give you some of the sites that I'm keeping my eye on, first off, let's go to cybermonday.com. It's a great site to aggregate a number of the ads, a number of the deals. It's a subsidiary of shop.org, really a great site to look at to make sure that you're staying in touch with everything that's going to be on sale. Also, if you're really into a big brand, what I recommend doing is going on to their Facebook page and hitting that light button. Because now more than ever, online retailers are using social media sites to make sure they are rewarding their loyal fans and also two sites that I use year-round, T.J., retailmenot.com and also savings.com. They typically will always have a promotional code at the least for free shipping. But sometimes you get about 10, 20 percent off.
So this is definitely a day that you want to stay tuned. Again, big bonus. You don't have to be fighting with people in the store over a $2 waffle iron.
HOLMES: Yes. OK. But if everybody knows that we're going to be online on Monday, you know, you've got some criminals out there who are pretty smart and they're getting ready for Monday as well.
LINENDOLL: Yes, absolutely. And some things to take precautions on Monday. First and foremost, phishing schemes; all those cameras are going to be trying to lure you with big ticket items and promises that are too good to be true. And it still amazes me how realistic these ads look like. Make sure you know what you're clicking on before you click on it.
Also, make sure that you're using credit cards instead of debit cards. You're going to be better protected from fraud and face less liability in the event that your credit card number is stolen.
Also, when you are shopping online, look for that https that in the address bar, that's going to mean that you're in a secure site before you're putting in your info. And this is kind of not so much as scamming thing but something I like to say, hey heads up.
Look for restocking fees. People see a couple hundred dollars off on those big ticket electronic items and they impulse buy. But sometimes you can get hit with a 25 percent restocking fee, especially with it comes to TVs, laptops, computers. You want to make sure that you absolutely do want that product and make sure that you're not making any purchases on public Wi-Fi.
And last but not least, protect your Smartphone, 53 percent of consumers are planning to shop on their Smartphones this holiday season. Download an app like Lookout that will protect your Smartphone and also wipe all your data should you happen to lose it.
HOLMES: Wow. That's a good one, I didn't think about it enough. Don't do it on the Wi-Fi. That's an important tip there. Good stuff this morning.
Katie Linendoll, I haven't seen you in a while. Good to see you.
LINENDOLL: Yes thank you.
HOLMES: I hope you a good Thanksgiving and I'm sure we'll talk to you again during this holiday. Thanks.
LINENDOLL: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, we're just past the bottom of the hour now, and we are just about 90 minutes away from launch. NASA is heading to the stars once again. In particular, though, they're heading to Mars.
Our John Zarrella he is standing by for us to tell you why this is such a big deal today, and John, you've got me on -- on board now. This is a big deal.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, T.J. As you mentioned, about 90 minutes to go before liftoff of NASA's most ambitious Mars mission ever; I'll have that story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're just past the bottom of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Hello to you all. Thank you for spending part of your weekend here with us.
I'll give you a look at some of the stories making headlines today.
The NBA could be back. A tentative deal reached. They could have them playing by Christmas Day. Owners and players have reached this understanding. It's a handshake deal right now but it could end the lockout, it's been going on now for 149 days. The league is planning a 66-game season with training camp opening on December 9th. This deal still has to be ratified by both players and owners.
But this is the word we're just getting a few hours ago. Overnight, about 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time, they announced they have reached this tentative deal.
Also Pakistan saying NATO helicopters opened fire on two military checkpoints killing 24 soldiers; this happened near the border with Afghanistan. Pakistan military officials say another 14 soldiers were injured in that attack. NATO's commander says he is committed to a thorough investigation.
Also three American students arrested and detained during protests in Egypt are expected back in the United States this weekend. They were accused of being involved in the recent violent clashes in Tahrir Square. All three had been attending an American University in Cairo on a semester long study abroad program.
All right, 36 minutes past the hour now. We are just about an hour and a half away from a mission to Mars. The "Curiosity" rover is going to take off here in just a bit. But it won't arrive on the Red Planet of Mars for another eight months or so.
John Zarrella is keeping an eye on all things space-related for us; he's at Kennedy Space Center. And again, I asked you this question first last time I talked to you. But it's important for this perspective for our viewers. Just how big of a deal is this and ambitious of a project is this for NASA?
ZARRELLA: Well, it's ambitious, T.J., on a lot of fronts. It's ambitious from the standpoint that the landing system that they're going to use, they've never done before. It's the first time they'll ever have landed with what they call a sky crane system. Lowering it on tethers to the surface, then the tethers break and fly off. That's ambitious.
It's ambitious from the standpoint that for the first time in history, they actually are going to be able to sample rock, sample dirt on the Martian surface, put that -- those samples into detectors and if they're really, really lucky and that's important to stress, they might be able to find organic material, and that is a key to the building blocks of life as we know it.
So for NASA, this mission has high expectations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Mars. Does life exist there? Did it ever? NASA is poised to take its boldest step towards answering questions that could change forever our view of humanity's place in the universe.
ASHWIN VASAVADA, DEPUTY PROJECT MANAGER: I think the best way of saying why we're so excited about this mission is that it sets us up for the future of finally answering that that really age-old question of, does life exist on other planets?
ZARRELLA: The mission is called "The Mars Science Laboratory" or MSL. The most sophisticated vehicle ever sent to Mars, it has the capability to detect signs of life. If it works, come next August after traveling 350 million miles, a 2,000-pound six-wheeled rover called "Curiosity" will arrive at the Red Planet.
Using a tether system never tried before -- it will be lowered down to a place called the Gale Crater (ph). The size of a small car, "Curiosity" is the Cadillac of rovers.
JESSICA SAMUELS, SURFACE SYSTEM ENGINEER: For two things to make the rovers bigger and bigger, because we want to cover more ground. We want to be able to put an arm out and drill a rock.
ZARRELLA: Drill a rock? Why?
ROB MANNING, MSL CHIEF ENGINEER: On Mars, if life exists as single cell organisms or if it ever existed we believe it will be under the ground or inside rocks.
ZARRELLA: Inside Gale Craters sits what scientists believe is a layered mountain. In essence, the history of mars told in the layers, and if water ever flowed on Mars it might have been in that crater. "Curiosity's" arm will collect samples and place them in its onboard laboratory with the ability to detect organic material.
VASAVADA: Now, if we discover organic materials on Mars that -- then it gets very exciting. The chances of it may be low, but the payoff is huge. Organic materials are required for life as we know it.
ZARRELLA: But it won't mean life exists, just the building blocks.
MANNING: If you go to the driest desert on earth, can you find life on your -- on your samples if you do a year of robotics study? Probably not. It's actually quite difficult. Life has to stick up and -- and make itself seen.
ZARRELLA: Finding life itself would be left to the next wave of explorers, robotic and perhaps even human.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: You know, and T.J., the weather looks pretty good here this morning as well. Some onshore clouds moving in. It's a little windy but well with the limits for the Atlas 5 rocket. Good chance they'll get off the ground this morning -- T.J.
HOLMES: OK and when they're going to get off ground, we know it's about just after 10:00 Eastern Time. But we have some questions from our viewers. They are curious about this -- this countdown clock which can actually confuse people, frankly, when you see the time. So explain how this is going down.
ZARRELLA: Yes. They always have a built-in hold even in the shuttle launch, as we saw that over the years. They have a built-in hold so that they can check the systems. Make sure everything is OK. Make sure they're on track. Then they'll sync up the times and pick up the countdown. So that's what that's for; just a built-in hold.
HOLMES: All right, John Zarrella is with us throughout the morning. Again, we're less than an hour and a half away for this. So we'll be talking to John plenty. Thank you always a pleasure my man and there it is, that's a live picture to our viewers; that rocket taking off 10:02 Eastern Time, so just under an hour and a half away.
It looks like the weather is going to cooperate as well. A mission to Mars an ambitious mission to Mars about to get under way here in just a bit; we'll have that for you live.
Also coming up at 41 minutes past the hour, "Rolling Stone" has a new list for you -- this one, the greatest guitarists of all-time. There's a good chance you can guess who's going to be at the top of that list.
Stay with me on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: OK. We're just enjoying that for a second there. We're at 43 minutes past the hour.
What you're hearing there, "Foxy Lady", that's by Jimi Hendrix who was just named the number one guitarist of all-time. "Rolling Stone" came out with its list and put it together. And just behind Hendrix, Duane Allman, from the Allman Brothers and then, number three, B.B. King.
Well, it's 43 minutes past the hour now let me turn to our Nadia Bilchik who has the story about a man who's got 14 wives and he just put one out.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well this is King Mswati III.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: He is the Swazi king, he is the constitutional monarch, one of the few constitutional monarchs left in the entire world. He has complete control, all political parties are banned in Swaziland.
And there he is King Mswati III. The actual name of Swaziland comes from the 19th century King Mswati. But what happened was his wife, number 12, young Nothando Dube, known as LaDube --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: -- apparently had illicit relations with his Justice Minister and they literally found him underneath the bed. There are photographs.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: Unfortunately we can't show them to you but they do exist and I have seen them. And the photographs are taken and he is literally hidden underneath the bed.
HOLMES: So he can't necessarily deny this, right.
BILCHIK: So he has been imprisoned.
HOLMES: Imprisoned?
BILCHIK: Now, he had been imprisoned.
HOLMES: Wow.
BILCHIK: Because they were good friends. It's quite sad they were great friends and shared a lot of memories and secrets and all kinds of things. They say he's a danger to him. But Ms. Dube --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: -- was under house arrest from around August, September last year when the incident happened, but this all came to a head recently because she wanted to leave the compound and the story goes that she had a child who was bleeding -- one of her children -- two or three children with the king, she wanted to leave and the guard wouldn't let her. She sprayed him with pepper spray.
Anyway, the whole story has come to a head and the newspaper are saying she has been banished. And human rights groups are not happy about this, of course. But the court is saying she hasn't been banished; she has just gone to visit her parents. There you see her, Nothando Dube with the King of Swaziland, actually the Prince of Thailand -- that photograph was taken in 2006. That is the King of Thailand -- King Bhumibol Adulyadej's son --
HOLMES: Oh, yes. That guy.
BILCHIK: (INAUDIBLE). And that was 2006 when she was still in favor. But she is no longer in favor and is not allowed to see the king, in fact.
HOLMES: OK. So what is going to be her fate? You say she hasn't been banished necessarily.
BILCHIK: Well, it's going -- yes -- this is what they're saying. Now, it's interesting to know that Swaziland is not only ruled by King Mswati but also his mother. She is known as "she elephant". So apparently the mother was very much guarding her, but what happens next -- now here you're seeing what is known at the reed dance.
And once a year the young virgins from around Swaziland come and parade themselves in front of the king and he chooses his next virgin bride and they also pay homage to she-mother.
HOLMES: How many does he get up to? You said 14.
BILCHIK: Well, he's 42. This is again allegedly in 2004, escaped to London because they were also caught having illicit relations. But you know, can he possibly meet the needs of all 14? I mean he's 43 so one would think he might be able to.
HOLMES: Man, but it's tough enough to -- guys know with one.
BILCHIK: To keep up with one.
HOLMES: All right.
BILCHIK: So what is going to happen to LaDube remains to be seen but the world's spotlight is on her. One hopes that she's at least allowed to see her children, because at this point she's not allowed to see her children, not allowed to see the king.
HOLMES: Keep us up updated on this, will you? We'd like to follow-up on this one later.
Nadia Bilchik with our "Morning Passport", thank you so much.
We're at a quarter of the top of the hour now and the Salvation Army needs you to be a bell ringer. You don't need to go outside, though. Stand in the cold and ring that bell. You can actually be a virtual bell ringer this holiday season. Yes. They're going high-tech.
Stay with us.
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HOLMES: Ah, it's that time of year for the bells and the red kettles. They've been a staple across America for more than a century. And now the Salvation Army is finding a new way to get you to give, virtual bell ringers who are using social media to get the message out. I talked with Major George Hood, national community relations secretary for the Salvation Army and asked him about the new efforts to go high- tech.
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MAJOR GEORGE HOOD, SALVATION ARMY: It's important as technology is introduced that we are at a point where we can communicate with consumers and donors who want to make contributions. And more and more we're finding people don't want to be carrying money in their pocket when they're out shopping. So we've created some online opportunities not only to make contributions but also to select angels to provide Christmas presents for needy children.
So we've really gone to the online environment, the digital age, and we're finding that many people, particularly the emerging generations, love these options as they want to become loyal donors.
HOLMES: So is it a matter of, say if I was a virtual bell ringer, if you will, am I actively seeking people out online?
HOOD: It's a viral relationship where you volunteer to be an online bell ringer, and you send e-mail blasts to all of your friends, people you work with, your neighbors, your relatives, and you ask them to donate to your red kettle. And there's a thermometer there in the software package that allows you to set a goal and then track how much contributions you're receiving, and see if you can reach your goal before Christmas Day.
HOLMES: Oh. OK. That's pretty cool.
Now, tell me about the traditional bell ringers. Do you find to that that still works? You mentioned that a lot of people just not carrying a lot of cash these days, but does that still work and you still are able to pull in a good number of contributions during the holiday season?
HOOD: Well, I tell you, about eight years ago I forecasted that we looking at the end of the red kettle. How much did I know? Last year we raised $142 million in those red kettles across America.
HOLMES: Wow. So that still is going to be what gets it done for you. Can you imagine a day, though, when online -- the online, the virtual red kettles will be pulling in more than those out in the streets?
HOOD: Well, we think that that may happen over a period of time. It's not going to happen in the next couple of years, but the idea is, let's be accessible where the donor wants to find us, that's what the technical world and digital world is all about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So maybe you want some more information. Maybe you'd like to sign up to be a virtual bell ringer. You can check out the Salvation Army's Web site at salvationarmyusa.org.
We're about eight minutes of the top of the hour now. We've all been there. You've booked that hotel online and you booked the one with the scenic view of the city. Then you get to that hotel room and you look out the window, just at an empty alley or brick wall.
After the break, we'll tell you where, though. The state that will give you glorious views of New York, San Francisco, even Hong Kong.
You stay with us.
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HOLMES: Before the break we said we'd tell you which hotels to stay in to get the best views of major tourist destinations.
Well, in New York, the Hotel Americano in Chelsea has spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline. Also in San Francisco, this is a good one, the Fairmont Hotel. It's on Knob Hill, great views in all directions. And also, in Hong Kong, the Grand Hyatt, angled windows give you views of the Hong Kong harbor.
We're just about five minutes until the top of the hour now.
Always good to have Bonnie Schneider here with us. My guy, Reynolds Wolf is probably doing something Auburn Tiger related.
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
HOLMES: This weekend, people trying to get home today and tomorrow. What is that mess you have on the screen, though?
SCHNEIDER: Unfortunately, it's a lot of rain and wind behind it. This is a powerful system that's going to bring some snow tonight to Minnesota. We actually have winter weather advisories in Northern Minnesota.
To the south, though, it's all rain and strong wind too. Dallas got hit with some strong thunderstorms at this hour. A lot of that is working its way to northern Louisiana and into Arkansas for today and behind it, there's a whole lot of wind. And that means we have a lot of wind advisories posted pretty much from the north to south.
You can see low pressure up to the north and then right in the Mid- South. But behind it, and not too far away is high pressure. And anytime you have high and low pressure close together you get a strong pressure gradient. And that's really what's going to kick up the winds across the Plain States from north to south. Severe storms may ignite as well in advance of this system, and particularly in Louisiana.
As we kind of advance this map just to show you what's ahead for tomorrow, more people will be traveling on Sunday than Saturday. We're looking at a lot of rain into Detroit all the way down through Lexington, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee. And a lot of this on Sunday evening will work its way to the southeast and impact cities like Atlanta and Charlotte on Sunday night.
So big changes in the weather; we had a beautiful Thanksgiving, a pretty nice black Friday but now the weekend, we're going to keep an eye on it because we're looking at the potential T.J. for airport delays throughout the weekend.
HOLMES: All right. Bonnie Schneider for us; we'll talk to her plenty throughout the morning.
And of course, a lot of you all that are going to be shopping this weekend, out at malls and whatnot. You need to stick around. You need to watch where you put your hands. We're going to tell you about the germiest places in the mall, and there are places that you actually touch and put your hands all the time.
Stick around.
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