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CNN Saturday Morning News
Times Square Prepares for New Year's Celebration; Some Controversial New Laws to Take Effect in the New Year; Republican Candidates Campaign in Iowa; Personal Finance Coach Gives Advice on Deductions; Woman Uses Couponing to Help Needy Families; Verizon Scraps "Convenience Fee"; Counting Down to Iowa
Aired December 31, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
E.D. HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And it is top of the hour straight up. We are at the CNN Center. It is CNN Saturday morning and it is New Year's Eve. It's Saturday, December 31st. I'm E.D. Hill. Thanks for joining us this morning.
Presidential politics -- less than 72 hours from the first in the contest of election 2012. The Republican candidates sprinting down Iowa's homestretch. We're live in Des Moines in just a moment.
Verizon, you know that $2 convenience fee they were going to charge you? The company says they heard the outrage and they're now backing off. Details coming up.
Times Square in New York City looks pretty normal right now, but a million people are on the way to fill it up for America's biggest celebration.
And 2012 arriving hour by hour around the world. Live pictures here. Happy New Year to Hong Kong.
Just three days until the Iowa caucuses. CNN's Political Editor Paul Steinhauser is in the thick of it live in Des Moines, Iowa. Paul, whirlwind day ahead, I'm sure, for you, right?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: No doubt about it. It's going to be nonstop on the campaign trail. This is the end of December in Iowa and it should be cold. Cold weather is coming, but it's not here today. That will probably help the candidates reach out to voters here in Iowa.
Let's start with Newt Gingrich. The former House speaker up early. He was in Council Bluffs reaching out to voters at Tish's Restaurant and bus stop. We've seen Newt Gingrich's numbers here in Iowa kind of collapse in recent polls. He was the front-runner here, but that's not the case anymore. But he's telling voters, don't count me out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would ask you to go Tuesday night, take all your friends and help us win. I do think this is wide open, no matter what the news media does to try to create some stampede.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Why Gingrich's numbers have been going down in the polls, Rick Santorum's numbers have been going up. The former senator from Pennsylvania used to be an afterthought in the battle for the GOP nomination, but he's seen his numbers surge in recent polls. He's out with a brand new television commercial, and in it he explains why he thinks he is the best candidate to take on President Barack Obama in the 2012 elections.
Another candidate on the trail today, Texas Governor Rick Perry. We saw he was the front-runner when he jumped into the race back in August, but after slip-ups in the debate he's seen his numbers drop. He will be across the state today trying to make those final pitches. Michele Bachmann is also going on be campaigning today, the congresswoman from neighboring Minnesota. E.D.?
HILL: You mentioned a lot of people. Two candidates apparently have not made appearances so far in Iowa so far today. Who is that?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. You know what? They're actually the front-runners in Iowa according to the latest polls. Starting with Mitt Romney, where was he this morning in last night? New Hampshire. New Hampshire goes second in the primary caucus calendar. He was in Hampton this morning reaching out to voters.
But he was here yesterday. He's coming back here later today to see the caucuses. While he was gone, he had two high profile surrogates stumping for him here in Iowa, his wife and a guy called Chris Christie, the New Jersey, somebody who is pretty popular, I think you could say, with Republicans. The other person who is not here and is not here at all this weekend is Ron Paul, congressman from Texas. He's back home. He's going to spend the holiday weekend with his wife. But he did spend a couple days here earlier this week. He hits the ground again on Monday. He'll campaign with his son, Rand Paul, the senator from Kentucky. E.D.?
HILL: Thank you, Paul.
The Iowa caucuses are the first test for the Republican presidential candidates, and it will be determined in places like the fire station in Van Horn, the community center in Anita, and the courthouse basement in Tipton, Iowa. Tens of thousands of Iowans gather in places just like that to cast their caucus votes.
Here is how it works. Thousands of registered Republicans gather in the caucus centers. It is about less than five percent of the population of Iowa that shows us for those. At 7:00 p.m. local time, the speeches begin. The candidates can speak or they can have representatives do the talking for them at small events. A lot of the larger ones, though the candidates show up themselves for those.
And then the folks who have attended these caucuses get to put the name of the candidate they want on a piece of paper. Then somebody counts the pieces of paper. They call the Republican office in Iowa. That's it. Celebrations for the winners, and the losers look ahead. Go east, young man, go east to New Hampshire -- and woman.
Coming up, we've got the candidates uninterrupted, not just the sound bites. Here you will join chief political correspondent Candy Crowley live in Iowa for "The Contenders 2012." That starts at 2:00 p.m. eastern.
(WEATHER BREAK)
HILL: At the stroke of midnight, the famous ball is going to drop, welcoming 2012. And the square will be a sea of confetti. David Ariosto has an update on the last minute preparations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ARIOSTO: If you look behind me, you'll get a chance to see Police have actually erected some of the first pens, one of 65 pens that will stretch all along this road here. And once you're in, you can't leave. No going for bathroom breaks. No coffee runs. Nothing. You are locked in. No alcohol, no backpacks.
Authorities are being very strict because this is, of course, New York City is always a terrorist threat, but there's also a big party. About a ton of confetti set to be dumped once that ball drops. Anderson cooper and Kathy Griffin will be ringing in the New Year starting at about 11:00. We spoke to the organizer of the world's biggest party to let us know exactly what goes into this whole process.
TIM TOMPKINS, PRESIDENT OF TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE: What you see behind me, this is like organizing the Super Bowl half time show except you've got half a million people every day in a city alive all around you. It's so different from setting up in some empty stadium until the crowd comes in. The crowd is already here. The crowd is in your way. It's great, but it makes it a lot more complicated.
ARIOSTO: Now, of course, New York City, like I said, is a terrorist threat. So police have come out in force. About 10,000, part of that task force through the streets. You have plain clothes police officers, helicopters flying overhead with infrared cameras. You have manhole covers removed. You've got an armada of ships protecting some of the cruise ships going along the Hudson and seeing fireworks takes place. So a heavy security presence here in New York as always.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And, as Dave, mentioned, Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin live in New York's Times Square tonight. The best party is going to be at your house in front of the TV with Anderson, Kathy, and the rest of the folks who are celebrating in Times Square. It starts at 11:00 eastern tonight.
Do you want to make 2011 go out with a bang and get a tax break? Easy ways to remove your burden when the filing time for taxes rolls around. And with the New Year comes new laws, thousands of them, like 40,000 new laws, some controversial issues like abortion and gay issues. Josh Levs runs down some of the ones that caught his eye. And the "USA Today" Gallup poll released its annual list of the most admired men. Newt Gingrich has dropped in the polls, but many people think he is admirable enough for sixth place, a tie with Donald Trump. Number five, Warren Buffett. Number four, 93-year-old evangelist Billy Graham. Graham has been on the list since the poll started in 1946. And we'll tell you the top two most admired men after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Welcome back. I'm E.D. Hill. We told you about some of the admired men this year according to the "USA Today" Gallup poll right before the break. But here is number two and one. Number two, former president George W. Bush. He lost the top spot in 2008 when president Obama took office. And President Obama is the most admired man in 2011 for the fourth year in a row.
If you want to take advantage of a tax break this year, time is running out. Earlier I got the chance to speak to personal finance coach Clyde Anderson. And he explained why making a donation now may mean you owe less later.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLYDE ANDERSON, PERSONAL FINANCE COACH: What a lot of people don't know is that if you're in the 25 percent bracket as far as tax income, every dollar that you get is about 25 cents off your taxes you're able to deduct. So it helps you. It helps minimize that.
HILL: Let me ask you something I saw in my notes and it interested me. Giving employees a bonus, small business, because that's payment forward. How does giving a bonus to an employee help you?
ANDERSON: As a small business owner, I can give you a bonus and today will be a great day for someone to get a bonus because now you're reducing your income. So this is less income that you have to claim as a business owner. So if I call you today and say, hey, here's $1,000 bonus, that's less income I made in 2011. So I'm able to write that off on my taxes.
HILL: OK, what about the energy efficient? What about the energy efficient appliances and things like that?
ANDERSON: This is the last year. This is the time to do it. You can do 10 percent of what you're purchasing up to $500. Whether that's a new HVAC system, heating and cooling, go out and get it now. Go out and make that purchase. And again, this is the last year that you can use to reduce your tax.
HILL: So you get the bonus first. Then you go out and you go buy is energy efficient TV.
ANDERSON: And it's a great time. You can buy equipment. If I'm a business owner, I can go buy computers, supplies, and those things help me. If I go today and make those purchases, save your receipts and make sure that you can go ahead and reduce that tax position. So you're reducing the income that you took in and less taxes.
HILL: Do most people go out and make these donations or buy these things on, you know, the last day of the year?
ANDERSON: A lot of people do. A lot of people make those last donations, swing by the Goodwill, they go by organizations. And as you mentioned, this is a great time because a lot of that's organizations have in need. Giving has been done. It will slowly come back up, but a lot of people are out there making purchases, giving, looking at church times before Sunday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Some good ideas. Maybe you can save some money last minute here.
There are thousands of new laws in the New Year. Josh joins us right now with those new laws going into effect with lots of stuff.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: All over the country nearly 40,000 laws. We're going to be telling you about that coming up. They include new laws on abortion, immigration, and required teaching about gay Americans. I will break those down for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: We're getting ready to ring in the New Year, 2012, and a lot of us have these lists of what I want in the new year. I don't think any of us had, I hope, for 40,000 new laws, but that's what you're getting, right, Josh?
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: Yes. Close to 40,000 laws were enacted in the past year, and some of them are coming into effect tomorrow. As you know we have so incredibly many laws on the books in this country no one knows half the laws in their state. It's almost impossible.
HILL: True. And a lot of them are outdated. What about those new ones?
LEVS: Last hour, we talked about some quirky ones. But now we're going to start to dig into some of the meaty and controversial ones, starting with one in California. You're seeing over my shoulder, but let's take it so everybody can see this language. California is creating this rule that is requiring schools to teach, quote, "the role and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans in the development of California and the United States." So California has these groups kids learn about and they're adding gay, bisexual, transgender Americans to the group that kids are required to learn about. It's a little bit controversial. Some people want it repealed. But that goes into effect tomorrow.
HILL: As long as the kids are learning reading, writing and everything else, I guess the more you can teach them, better?
LEVS: Yes. We'll see what happens.
Another interesting one, some controversy, you've heard of this kind of thing. This is in New Hampshire, requiring parental notification for a minor who wants to get an abortion or that minor can seek to get a court order to avoid parental notification. Sometimes there are parental consent laws. This is a parental notification law. A minor has to make sure that a parent is informed.
HILL: Gee, thanks. You're a parent. You have to sign a waiver for the school to give them aspirin, yet there are a lot of states who say a child can make this monumental decision and go through this by themselves without letting you know.
LEVS: The governor at first vetoed it, saying there should be an exception for rape, incest. But that was ultimately overrode, so it past despite that.
One more. This I find interesting because it shows the split in the country over immigration issues. That involves the e-Verify program. We have several states now that are requiring employers to use this e- Verify program to confirm whether a perspective employee is actually a citizen of the United States.
HILL: Doesn't that help them?
LEVS: It does in many ways or helps them make sure they have a legitimate immigration status. You've got Tennessee, South Carolina, all requiring that now. California is doing the opposite. They're creating a law saying state and local governments may not require employers to use that program unless they have to.
HILL: But isn't the whole thing in our country right now trying to get Americans more jobs? Why wouldn't you want to help verify you're giving an American a job?
LEVS: A lot of supporters say exactly what you're saying. Those opposed to this have a few arguments. One of the key things is it's not 100 percent accurate. There was a GAO study from the government saying it's gotten better, but there are still problems that persist. Also they say it drives undocumented workers further underground into potentially unscrupulous areas.
HILL: Which is a real problem?
LEVS: Right. So there real problems. I've posted the language so everyone can see the --
HILL: All 40,000?
LEVS: You know what? I'll tell you --
HILL: You did not do that. You do not have the time to do that, do you?
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: No.
HILL: If so, I want your life.
LEVS: Oh, man, no one wants my life.
(LAUGHTER)
HILL: I want that free time.
LEVS: There's a great organization National State Legislatures has a list of these, and they have links to the PDF of the actual language. I encourage everyone to get more details.
HILL: So someone somewhere did spend their working life putting all this together, compiling it together.
LEVS: Maybe you and I should have their lives.
(LAUGHTER)
HILL: Thank you very much.
LEVS: Thank you.
HILL: Extreme couponing. The trend may be pretty popular. But one Georgia food bank is using it to help people in need. What a great idea, and we're going to show you how they're doing it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: The sputtering economy has dealt some big financial blows to families across America this year. So one woman armed with an idea and books for of coupons found a way to help ease the cash crunch in homes in her community. CNN's Natalie Allen has her inspiring story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Expenses for gifts and holiday meals can strain a family's budget. For many people, the costs of basic things like groceries can be overwhelming this time of year. One woman has taken the couponing craze and turned it into an opportunity to help people in her local Georgia community.
RHONDA SMITH, FOUNDER, SAVE IT FORWARD: I was doing it for my family. I was amazed at what you could get for free or almost free. And god just really laid it on my heart, why not use the same concept to help meet the needs of others?
ALLEN: So she created "Save it Forward," providing more than 60 families groceries every month using extreme couponing. That means collecting every coupon she can find and using them to cut her grocery costs. School councilor Jessica High is familiar with seeing many students who don't have enough to eat.
JESSICA KAYE, SCHOOL COUNSELOR: I believe the pantry program supports their families by making the parents feel secure in knowing each month they're going to receive groceries and food.
ALLEN: Like Keith Braswell, whose wife had to stop working because of illness.
KEITH BRASWELL, PROGRAM PARTICIPANT: By them providing food for me and my family, it creates time for me to really be with them and do the things I need to do for them as a care giver.
ALLEN: Financial analyst Clyde Anderson sat down with Rhonda Smith to find out just how save it forward works.
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL PLANNER: So tell us a little bit. These are the bags that the families actually receive. How do you determine what goes into the basket?
SMITH: The thing that I love about extreme couponing is it allows us to love on people extravagantly. What people receive in our bags is not the normal food pantry type of food. We provide items, name brand items like brownies and fruit snacks for kids.
ANDERSON: How much have you actually saved with some of these receipts?
SMITH: On this particular receipt we spent $3.69 and we actually saved $63.36.
ALLEN: Volunteers help purchase groceries and stock the food pantry.
JENNIFER BROWN, VOLUNTEER, SAVE IT FORWARD: Save it Forward makes it super easy. They hand you an envelope and you go to the store, put it with your grocery list in your purse and you're done.
ALLEN: But no matter how much food fills the pantry, Rhonda is always looking for more coupons.
SMITH: In the economy that we live in, we're all trying to stretch every dollar that we can. And this is -- we make it easy for people to give back to the community without a significant impact on my wallet.
ALLEN: Natalie Allen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: That is great. Good for her, and I hope that she inspires a lot of other folks.
Verizon is buckling under the pressure of their customers, becoming the latest to drop some fees that had been planned. Plus, we're counting down to the Iowa caucuses. Coming up, my two guests hash out why voters just can't make up their mind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Top stories right now. GOP candidates are in their final acts of the race to the top of the Iowa caucuses. Mitt Romney is leading the NBC News/Marist poll. Congressman Ron Paul is second. Rick Santorum is surging to third, while in reciprocal move, Newt Gingrich is sliding down and Rick Perry is squeezing between them at fourth.
They're almost all in Iowa right now campaigning. Not Paul, he's ringing in the new York with his wife in Texas. (INAUDIBLE) out there.
Los Angeles authorities are offering $60,000 reward for the person or the people who set more than 20 fires in Hollywood yesterday. All the fires mostly set in parked cars, erupted for couple of hours within a two-square-mile area. No one was hurt. Investigators have no suspects yet.
Iranian officials say they have no intention of blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Iran again threatened to close the vital shipping route a couple of days, apparently in response to a U.S. planned ratchet of sanctions. The reversal announcement was broadcast on Iran's state- run television.
Hey, Verizon, can you hear your customers now? Well, initially, they announced they were going to charge $2 for you to pay your bills. A convenience fee. Convenient for who?
The nation's largest wireless provider then said, no, not such a good idea.
CNN's Alison Kosik has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, E.D.
Put another checkmark in the win column for angry consumers. And this battle, it didn't last for 24 hours. It began Thursday afternoon when Verizon Wireless announced it would impose a $2 fee for every one-time payment made with a credit card or debit card, whether you did online or over the phone. This fee sparked immediate consumer outrage on Twitter, on Facebook, on blogs, and the outrage worked.
By Friday afternoon, Verizon Wireless succumbed to pressure from consumers and a warning from the Federal Communications Commission and scrapped the fee. In a statement, Verizon Wireless said, "At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time."
Verizon had said the fee was designed to cover its costs associated with credit card payments and steer customers away from paying with a credit card at the last minute. Customers could have avoided the $2 fee by signing up for automatic bill pay, by paying with an electronic check, using a Verizon gift card or by going old style and putting a check in the mail. And even though most customers would not have been affected, just the idea that you have to pay a fee for the privilege of paying a bill was enough to set customers off. They spoke out and they won.
It's not the first time a company has bowed to pressure from consumers and it probably won't be the last. Consumer backlash forced Bank of America to retract a $5 debit fee it tried to enforce earlier year.
And outrage from Netflix customers over the summer pushed the company to reverse its decision to split its online streaming and mail order services into separate accounts. Netflix kept its price in the same bill and it cost them big time.
Now, there's no direct connection here, but I can't help believe that the outrage that we witnessed in the Occupy movements around the country has encouraged consumers to ban together and protest what they see as unfair.
The Verizon Wireless fee fight is another example of the growing power of U.S. consumers, especially when they take their case to the Internet -- E.D.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: All right. Thank you very much.
Many Iowa caucus-goers are still deciding who they'll cast ballots for on Tuesday. And you saw the polling just a moment ago. CNN/"TIME"/ORC polling has the same top three: Romney, Paul and Santorum at first, second and third place. But can this last weekend change the race again?
Earlier, I spoke with Republican strategist Lenny McAllister in Chicago; and "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" political blogger Jay Bookman joined me in studio.
And I asked why, if you watch the polls, the voters haven't been able to find a favorite and stick with it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAY BOOKMAN, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION COLUMNIST: Mitt Romney is the front-runner. People aren't comfortable with him yet. It's going to be interesting to see how long that takes. But I think what's really interesting is the fact that, you're right, it's gone back and forth.
HILL: Yes.
BOOKMAN: But if you were to have looked at the field six months ago and said, what is the likely outcome? You would probably have guessed an outcome very similar to what is being produced now. So, with all the ups and downs, and things going on, it's actually playing out as conventional wisdom would have.
HILL: Lenny, you know, Ron Paul is making a pretty good showing here. He did also, in 2008, I believe. And many people say, well, he's not electable. What impact does Ron Paul have in this race, depending on how he finishes in Iowa?
LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, he's dictated the conversation. I mean, think about it -- he's one of the two grandfathers of the Tea Party movement. The other one would be an antagonist, which would be Barack Obama.
The bottom line is, he is able to dictate what this platform is going to look like for the Republicans in 2012 the longer he stays in the race. Fiscal responsibility, the Federal Reserve, these were not things that were in the national lexicon just four years ago. Nowhere near as much as it is now.
When he's able to impact how candidates talk, what the message is going to be, and how the base is going to be invigorated based on the issues, that's the impact he's going to have, and it's going to be that much more if he comes in first or second place on Tuesday.
HILL: Jay, let me ask you about the process here. We go through the primaries. I'm a Texas resident. By the time it gets to me, basically, it's complete (ph). You know, it doesn't matter what I vote for you. It's already been done.
BOOKMAN: Probably.
HILL: Does it still make sense -- excuse me, Iowa. Excuse me, New Hampshire. But does it make sense for states like that to be first in whittling out the candidates ahead of states like Florida, Ohio, Michigan?
BOOKMAN: I think it does because, again, it's part of a process. There are fewer candidates coming out of Iowa than went in. But the ones who drop will be those who should drop out. The system will work.
It's not -- Iowa will not decide who the nominee is. Iowa will help decide who the nominee shouldn't be and those people will fall away. In a week later, we'll have New Hampshire and more people will fall away.
So, the weaker candidates, so to speak, are being called. And that's the process we're seeing today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Later, you're going to get a chance to see the Republican candidates making their pitch to be your president. It is uninterrupted. It is their own words. It is not a little bit of sound bites when you can't really get the whole gist of it. It's going to be good.
Join CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley live in Iowa for "The Contenders 2012." It comes your way at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
Well, there are a lot of New Year's Eve parties around the world. There are Vikings partying in Scotland since yesterday. We'll tell you how some countries are celebrating, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Kung Hei Fat Choi. Happy New Year, Hong Kong. My first memory was Hong Kong when I was 10 years old. And the New Year there is now 40 minutes old.
The city welcomes 2012 with the spectacular pyrotechnic show over Victoria Harbor. They love the pyrotechnics there, let me tell you. It included a golden dragon that spiraled up a building. 2012 is the year of the dragon on the Chinese zodiac.
Meanwhile, China's capital Beijing is ringing in the New Year with a celebration that city leaders hope will increase tourism. The event includes a spectacular light show that creates a giant clock.
The Chinese New Year will be celebrated in late January.
Seems like nearly every country celebrates the New Year in a different way, with its own tradition. A bit earlier, I spoke with Nadia Bilchik about some of them in our "Morning Passport."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: In Scotland, quite right. They celebrate Hogmanay and they do this by dressing up as Vikings, and they celebrate their Viking ancestry. And as you can see, they --
HILL: Manly men.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
They literally make a river of fire with their torches. And this is a four-day celebration. Hundreds of thousands of people gather and celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh, Scotland.
And then we go to Brazil. Now, this is the one celebration I would love to be at one year. It is apparently absolutely beautiful, the beaches of Brazil. And we'll take you to Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro and here, the fireworks are magnificent. Everybody dresses in white. The idea to bring in a very peaceful year and they light candles and paying homage to the goddess of the sea, Lemanja.
HILL: Listening to the Barry Manilow, Copacabana.
BILCHIK: I love it. And you can sing.
Now, this is my absolute other all time favorite, because on the exact strike of midnight, everybody gets together. Some of them actually uncover their grapes or --
HILL: Peel the grapes?
BILCHIK: That's the word.
HILL: Who has time to peel grapes? BILCHIK: Some people peel grapes because they take it very seriously. And on the strike of midnight, the idea that you have to see how many grapes you can eat in the 12:00 strikes of the clock.
So, are you ready, E.D.?
HILL: We did this about an hour ago and we tied. We got 10 down each.
BILCHIK: Right.
HILL: But like that hot dog guy, I have been practicing. All of the commercial breaks --
BILCHIK: OK.
HILL: Are you ready?
BILCHIK: I'm ready.
HILL: I'm taking you out.
BILCHIK: Tell me when you're ready. One, two, three -- go.
HILL: Go.
(BUZZER)
HILL: How much do you have left in your mouth, though? You have a lot. You have chipmunk cheeks. I have one.
BILCHIK: So as people say in Japan, happy New Year (SPEAKING JAPANESE) ]. And you say?
HILL: Thanks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And don't forget to ring in the New Year tonight with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin, live from Times Square. It's going to be so much. Stay at home, pop the cork there, and join us for coverage, starting at 11:00 Eastern.
What do a team pop star, babbling twins and a talking dog all have in common? They're on the best of 2011 list and you get to meet them all, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Remember the Bronx zoo cobra that escaped earlier this year. Someone created an anonymous Twitter and follow the slithering shenanigans of the snake.
Now, a 17-year-old squirrel monkey is missing from the San Francisco zoo. His name: Banana Sam. Zoo officials say vandals cut through a gate, made off with the monkey and they warn he will bite if provoked. You may have guessed it. Someone created a Twitter account tweeting about the misadventures of the missing monkey.
Here are a couple -- nothing captured on surveillance, by the way. But they are tweeting this. Here are some of the things. First one, "Heading for something called the Rainforest Cafe, sounds promising." Next one, "Arrived at fisherman's wharf. People still wear fanny packs? Considering going back to zoo."
And, "Do you know any stores in San Francisco that sell female squirrel monkeys? Asking for a friend."
Also, "I don't know what this Foursquare thing is, but I'm definitely the mayor of the Tonga Room right now."
And the tweets, of course, are funny. But stealing the money is not a laughing matter. These monkeys are shy, skittish. The zookeeper told me, the curator, that this one actually has a special diet and medication it needs. There is a $5,000 reward being offered.
San Francisco police say call them if you see Banana Sam. Do not approach him yourself.
Surfing the web wouldn't be near as entertaining if it wasn't so entertaining and the jaw dropping videos you find on YouTube. If you can think of it, it's been done and it's on the web for everyone to see. So, we thought it would be great to close out the year with a look at the top favorites.
And who better to do a look at that than our very own Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The thing about YouTube videos is that some you get and some seem like gibberish.
For instance, in this year's top ten most viewed videos --
(on camera): The number five spot went to a very annoying cat.
The number ten spot went to a very adorable cat.
(voice-over): A mother cat hugging its kitten while the two of them take a cat nap.
The number nine video was Volkswagen's Super Bowl commercial called "The Force."
Number eight was a cute 11-year-old Canadian singing Lady Gaga's hit.
Lady Gaga was so impressed she invited Maria Aragon to sing a duet in concert.
Number seven was a dance comedy video. YouTube is the place if you want people to --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at me now.
MOOS: At least 56 million people looked at the twin talking babies who seem to understand each other perfectly. Adults enjoyed adding subtitles and nominating them for best foreign language film.
Comedy music videos were popular. And we might as well acknowledge the number one video that got over 180 million views.
REBECCA BLACK: -- it's Friday, Friday --
MOOS: OK. That's enough acknowledgment.
(on camera): But it's the video that came in at number two that's number one in my heart. And since it's my story, that's the one we're going to concentrate on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what the meat drawer is, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. What was in there?
MOOS (voice-over): There is just something riveting about the talking dog being teased.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know that bacon that's like maple -- got maple flavoring?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The maple kind. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, so --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took that out and I thought, I know who would like that. Me. So I ate it.
ANDREW GRANTHAM, CREATOR, "TALKING ANIMALS": Looks like he's getting his hopes up and then they're dashed. And then he gets his hopes up again and then they're dashed again.
MOOS: Clark the Dog now has a Facebook fan page with a joke bacon tree and a bacon T-shirt. And if you're wondering --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're kidding me.
MOOS: What he really said in dog speak.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Fredricka Whitfield.
So, what do you have for us?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I don't have anything like that. Just as it's been an incredible year for social media and YouTube, it's been an incredible year for legal cases as well. Our legal guys Avery and Richard always join us and kind of tell us how to think about or what to consider with the many cases through the year.
What we decided to do this year was a countdown, top five cases. Some of these cases, of course, made household names people like Lindsay Lohan, Rod Blagojevich, as well as Casey Anthony. So, they're going to talk about why some of these cases are tops in their view.
And then, of course, in the spirit of the New Year celebrations, you know, it's already 2012, you just mentioned that in some places, Hong Kong, China, Australia, et cetera. Josh Levs will be along to kind of take us overseas to see how folks are ringing in or have already rung in the New Year.
And then beginning at 2:00 today, usually folks join me and others in the NEWSROOM. Well, not today. We're going to be focusing on "The Contenders, 2012."
Of course, just three days away from the Iowa caucuses, they're crisscrossing the state, going to places like Des Moines, Boone, Knoxville, Atlantic. All these are cities in Iowa which a lot of folks adopt know about. Well, our Joe Johns, Jim Acosta, Candy Crowley, they'll be taking us to all of those places so we get familiar with what the candidates are doing just three days away from the Iowa caucuses.
HILL: What's helpful about this program coming up at 2:00, instead of all the sound bites you toss in there, because, you know, you have limited amount of time to get information to you. This is going to be a thoughtful, well-done look at what they are saying. They are going to get a snippet, you know, 10-second deal. They get to talk and you get to learn about them.
WHITFIELD: That's right. We'll be taking you to a lot of places where the candidates are live. You'll get a chance to hear them talk to folks whether it'd be at, you know, kind of coffee clutches or auditoriums, all that straight ahead.
HILL: Wonderful. Thank you very much. You're going to start with us at noon.
Major League pitcher R.A. Dickey may risk his career with the New York Mets because he wants to scale Mount Kilimanjaro. The reason he wants to do the epic climb? He'll tell us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Checking your entertainment headlines, 2011 not a good year at the box office at all.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HILL: OK. That was one of the exceptions. That made some money. But attendance hit a 16-year low. "The Hollywood Reporter" says only about 1.28 billion people went to movies. Sounds big but they say the lowest number since 2005. Some films like Tom Cruise's "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" did draw crowds.
Remember that CBS News producer that tried to extort millions from late night host David Letterman. Well, he's got a new job. Robert Halderman is now working for investigation discoveries on the case with Paula Zahn. He served four months after pleading guilty to trying to blackmail Letterman.
And, Fred, did you see this coming? No.
They are so cute. Katy Perry, Russell Brand say it's over. The British pop star and British -- the pop star, I should say, and the British comedian, they say irreconcilable differences, like they all do. They don't give us the good stuff.
The two tied the knot in India last October.
A representative for Etta James says the 73-year-old singer is now breathing on her own. I just listen to those pipes. Beautiful. She's amazing. Amazing.
She has fortunately been taken off a respirator. She's still in the California hospital. According to one report, she's battling leukemia and dementia, she is very well-known for that hit, "At Last."
You listen to her and then you think about to that YouTube, "Friday, Friday.
WHITFIELD: Don't do that.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: Pitcher R.A. Dickey is putting his career with the New York Mets on the line, for a good cause. Next month, he plans to scale Mt. Kilimanjaro in order to raise awareness and to stop money -- money, that is, to stop sex trafficking in India. The Mets told him they have the right to void his contract if he's injured during the climb.
He's unfazed. He told us earlier today, he gets it. He understands why they are doing that. He told our Reynolds he knows it's going to be tough.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You're going to be high tailing it to this mountain, the highest point, as we mentioned, in Africa. And to go up, you're going through the jungle-like climate, you're going to a prairie, you're going up to a very arid region, and at the very top, some snow.
A lot of people, including some athletes like Martina Navratilova had tried to make this, they couldn't do it. They had issues with altitude. Are you worried about that? R.A. DICKEY, NEW YORK METS PITCHER: You know, there's a risk, an inherent risk to going over there, of course. I weighed the risk and made the determination that it's worth, it's going to be a worthwhile time to go. And I'm not necessarily worried because I feel like I've got my bravado in check enough if I'm starting to have severe symptoms, I'm just going to stop and turn around. I'm not going to try to push through those symptoms.
WOLF: I've got to ask you, a lot of times at work, you know, people will do things that don't make their bosses too happy.
What about you? You've still got a $4.5 million deal on your contract with New York Mets. How are they taking this decision for you to climb the mountain? Are they happy with this or are they kind of not too supportive?
DICKEY: Well, you know, I think -- the Mets have been fantastic in my career supporting me. This case is kind of particular in that 29 other teams would send the same letter that says we can't necessarily get behind you because you're one of our assets. If you get hurt on the mountain, you know, obviously, we've supported something that has injured one of our assets and I completely understand that.
But, again, logically, I've kind of weighed the risks and decided to go forward with the climb. But it's -- the Mets sometimes get some bad publicity for that. But at the same time, you know, I would have done the same thing. I can completely empathize.
WOLF: Absolutely. As we wrap this up, you're not doing this alone, two other friends, Major League Baseball players going with you, correct?
DICKEY: Yes, we have Kevin Slowey, a pitcher for Colorado Rockies, and Dave Racaniello from the Mets, a bullpen catcher. We all have the same belief in trying to stop human trafficking, which is what Bombay Teen challenged us in the red light district in Mumbai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: So, very good reason he's doing this.
WHITFIELD: Inspiring.
HILL: Would you ever want to climb -- do you go mountain climbing?
WHITFIELD: I've gone mountain climbing. I'm not a regular. But, sure, I would do it.
HILL: You're not a Mt. Kilimanjaro type?
WHITFIELD: No, I would give it a shot.
HILL: You would?
WHITFIELD: Sure.
HILL: I've got a million other things --
WHITFIELD: I'll do it. Yes. I'm a little bit of a daredevil. I'll try most things.
HILL: Good. Well, I'll tell you what? I'm going to head out of here and you try taking over.
