>> piers: really? i had think everyone would love to be her, huh? >> yeah. >> piers: kick ass. president obama should be watch >> this >> oh, well. >> piers: kathy it has been such a pleasure. >> has been my pleasure. >> piers: thank you so much. >> thank you so much, piers. >> piers: i hope we can do it again that is all for us tonight. >> thank you very much. >> that's kathy bates. that's all for us tonight. good saturday morning. the president of iran says he loves you. it's just your government he has a problem with. 14 million people out of work in this country, yet one business owner can't find 20 people to hire because some unemployed are gaming the system, at least according to this business owner. also $10,000 for a single

phone call. an nfl player is fined by the league, but when you hear who he called, you might think it was well worth it. welcome to this cnn saturday morning for october 22nd. 6:00 a.m. in atlanta, georgia. 5:00 a.m. in fayetteville, arkansas. 4:00 a.m. salt lake city. u.s. troops will be home for the holidays and the war in iraq will be over. that's the promise made by president obama who said troops are coming home by the end of the year. chris lawrence has more on what this move really means for the future of u.s. involvement in iraq. >> reporter: there are some important reasons why the president had to make this announcement but there are real risks with the announcement as well. some 30,000 troops are still spread out across bases in iraq

and they have ten weeks to get out. >> today i can say our troops in iraq will definitely be home for the holidays. >> reporter: the u.s. military is running up to 400 transportation convoys a week and has moved out 1.5 million pieces of equipment. it was president bush who signed an agreement with iraq to remove all troops by the end of this year. obama made it a campaign promise when he ran for president. some question whether this decision is the right of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the iraqi government. those negotiations broke down in part because iraq's parliament would not extend legal protection to american troops. >> we talked about immunities, there's no question about that. but the decision -- and the president will insist on, our troops having what they need no matter where they are. >> reporter: a pentagon official

says american troops are sometimes prosecuted in local courts where there's an established legal system. like germany or japan. but they would not want american troops tried in iraqi courts under iraqi law. current and former pentagon officials have been raising alarms about iran's growing power in iraq. >> i am worried about iranian influence. >> raised concern. >> reporter: and now with the absence of american troops, the u.s. will have to find other ways to blunt iran's influence. >> as i told prime minister maliki, we will continue discussions on how we might help iraq train and equip forces. >> reporter: the u.s. military won't have a standing presence in iraq. because senior defense official tells cnn the pentagon is not backing away from a relationship with the military. he said they can invite new iraqi officers to american war colleges or train in a third host country. there will be a small number of

american troops left in iraq, about 150. but they'll be working under the u.s. embassy and its protection. also staying in iraq, american diplomats and nearly 10,000 private contractors. t.j.? >> thanks to chris lawrence. a lot of families, families of those troops still overseas, some had deployments planned that are being canceled now. you can imagine how some of the families of those service members are reacting to this news. >> means not only might my son come home safe and sound to us as a family, our family is whole again, i'm thankful for the job him and his fellow soldiers have done for us. >> time to bring our boys home. it's time for them to come home to their families. >> especially coming home around the holiday times, it's going to be great. >> let's take a look back at the iraq war. this all started in march of 2003. president bush went on

television, live national television to declare the u.s. was attacking in iraq. then it was the shock and awe bombings in baghdad. on april 9th of this year, we saw that iconic toppling of the hussein statue in baghdad. in september of 2003, saddam hussein was captured. september 2004, the death toll for u.s. troops tops the 1,000 mark. the total number of u.s. troops who have died in operation iraqi freedom, 4,421. more than 32,000 have been injured. in january of 2007, the so-called surge was announced by president bush that committed an extra 20,000 troops to iraq. at its height, more than 160,000 u.s. service members were serving in the iraq war. you may remember this video from baghdad. an angry iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at president bush, an ultimate insult. this is from december of 2008. the president was there making his last trip to baghdad to sign

a status of forces agreement. that's actually the deal the u.s. and iraq agreed to that set out the time line for u.s. troops to be out of iraq by the end of this year. at five minutes past the hour, let's turn to libya. we're getting more details about the death of moammar gadhafi. his body is being held in cold storage right now. by that i mean a meat locker in misrata. his burial on hold right now. his family wants the body, but the united nations and two other major human rights groups want an investigation. that's in response to questions about how the former dictator really died. defense secretary leon panetta talked about the operation. >> it was a u.s. drone combined with other nato planes that fired on the convoy. that is a reflection of the

partnership that came together in nato and in libya. >> nato plans to scale back operations in libya by the end of this month but won't decide when to end operations altogether until sometime next week. we love the people of the united states, just not the government. that's one of the nuggets we're getting from a new interview with iranian president ahmadinejad. he spoke about allegations that iran was planning to assassinate a saudi arabian ambassador on u.s. oil. >> translator: do we really need to kill the ambassador of a brotherly country? what's the reason and the interest behind that? we are a civilized nation. we have strong logic, and this strong logic we talk to all nations. we never have any intention to hurt saudi arabia.

>> you can hear the rest of the interview with iran's president, including what he has to say about developments in iraq on a special edition of the program on sunday. prince crown sultan, in his 80s has died. the saudi government said the prince died from an illness but wouldn't be specific. over the past few years he been battling cancer. turning to politics, herman cain has gotten a lot of attention, traction with that 9-9-9 tax plan. but now he's trying to clarify it a little, at least when it comes to poor people. >> how do we deal with the poor? those are at or below the poverty level? we already had this provision in there, we still raise the same amount of money. if you are at or below the poverty level, your plan is not

9-9-9, it's 9-0-9. say amen, y'all. 9-0-9. >> you like that, amen? the 9-9-9 plan calls for 9% corporate tax, 9% income tax, 9% national sales tax, but cain says if you're not paying income taxes because you're not making enough money, it would stay that way. critics say the 9-9-9 plan means higher taxes for the majority of americans. there are 3.3 million more people living in poverty in the u.s. than they were last year. 46.2 million people have incomes below the poverty line, just over 15% of the population. at nine minutes past the hour, one more study to confuse you about your cell phone. another study talking about radiation and the link with your cell phone and if it can lead to

brain cancer. this new study says there is no link between cell phones and brain cancer. again, this is the largest study ever done on this topic. researchers looked at about 350,000 people, some of them used their phone fors for at le ten years, they found no increa increase. but, reynolds, wait a couple more weeks and i'm sure you'll be told the opposite. >> i know we're getting deeper into that season of fall, but we are still in the middle of the hurricane season. we are watching development in the western caribbean. this system has about a 70% chance of further development according to the national hurricane center if it becomes a named storm, the name will be rena. where will it be going? we'll let you know. hopefully not atlanta. i'll give you your forecast for atlanta and across the nation,

look like an interesting week across the central plains. more on that coming up. you might not want to, but i'll get you smack dab in the middle of an argument going on today among the cnn saturday morning staff. it has do with troy polamalu of the steelers being fined $10,000, not for a fight but for a phone call he made on the sidelines. $10,000 for one phone call. but the debate is about who he actually called and should he be fined at all? stick around for this one, folks. please start chiming in on twitt twitter @tjholmes. it fired a lot of our folks up here in the studio. first, let me tell but this -- annoying words out there. seems like a new tech word pops up every day. britain's computer active magazine has a new poll. the top five annoying words

making the list. twittersphere, sexing, tweet-up, intexticating and de-friend. which is the most annoying to you? do you agree with the voters in this poll? i'll tell you after the break.ur steak burger soup. [ dad ] i love this new soup. it's his two favorite things in one... burgers and soup. did you hear him honey? burgers and soup. love you. they're cute. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them.

helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ troy polamalu made. we'll get back into that. he was fined $10,000 for making a phone call on the sidelines. more on that in a second. 13 minutes past the hour. before the break we showed you five words, tech words that made the most annoying list which one came out on top in that group? which one do you hate the most? which one don't you like, reynolds? >> i'm afraid if i choose the wrong one, you might de-friend

me. i would say intexticating. >> most people picked sexing, but coming in second, yes, reynolds, intexticated, that means not concentrating on driving because you are texting. let's say good morning to reynolds wolf. >> good morning. how are you doing? >> i'm well. feeling good. >> i'm with you. feel like a great morning. i wish i could say things are cooling down as we get closer to the fall, but things are heating up in the tropics, especially the western caribbean. >> almost done with the season, right? >> we have until november 30th. it's a long season. we've seen the season extend beyond that date. let me show you what we're talking about, what we'll show su this devel

you is this development in the western caribbean. here's cancun, we have deep, deep convection, heavy rainfall expected for parts of central america. the big concern is that this may slowly drift to the north. not just stop there. it has the potential of drift fudrifting further to the north, maybe into the gulf of mexico if that happens, it's anyone's ball game as to where it might game. in terms of strength, that's a finicky thing to forecast this thing could fall apart altogether or intensify. right now the national hurricane center gives this about a 70% chance of developing. also in the u.s., first and foremost, what's happening in dallas. dalls/ft. worth, you have this area of low pressure tapping into the moisture from the gulf of mexico. pretty warm day, too. highs in the 80s.

so unstable atmosphere. if you are going to dalls/ft. worth, tough traveling there. austin, san antonio, that's your rough spot in terms of weather. breezy in the great lakes, also a lot of wind in portions of the northern plains. pacific northwest looks rainy with highs in that region going up into about 56 for seattle. 66 in chicago. 76 new orleans. 59 in new york city. that's a wrap on the forecast. t.j., back to you. >> reynolds, thank you. let's do a little nba news. seems there's no end in sight for this lockout. they had three day now and 30 hours of negotiations. they had a federal mediator between them all, and still nothing. we knew a possibility was there that the whole season could be lost. most people were guessing they could get it done by christmas time with the big christmas day games when everybody is at home watching. but things have gotten nastier,

the rhetoric has gotten nastier. they are at a point where the players union will not green with a 50/50 split of revenues. 50/50 sound like a good deal to you, me, the west of trest of t the players say they couldn't go that low. the owners say they lost $300 million last season, and only 8 of the 30 teams made any money at all last year so the structure has to change. now to the story everybody is talking about here -- you and i are on different sides of this one -- but to the viewers, $10,000 is the fine that troy polamalu will have to pay. this is the steelers safety. player of the year at one point as well. he made a phone call during a game. there he is on the sideline on the phone. you can't do this you're not supposed to be on the phone and for good reason. but what he was doing here is calling his wife. he called her to reassure her

that he was okay after he had a hard hit. he has a history of concussions. they pulled him out of the game. he wanted to call his wife who was surely watching and tell her he was okay. the league has rules. what they did is said, hey, we have a apology against cell phone use on the sidelines. $10,000. >> pay up. pay up. i'm sorry. i totally disagree with you. i know you're a romantic at heart, you think this is a great thing. i disagree. during the break we chatted with our executive producer, she's with me on this one. rules are rules. >> yeah. >> it's not like there's a mystery. she can see on television he'll be okay, plus you have people on the team, team doctors can call her. no one argues that he's reaching out to his wife, but you don't that during the game. you don't. >> rules are rules. but there was a guy last week

who threw a bird to the sideline, his fine was less than the guy who called his wife to say he was okay. now, women at home if you know your man is not well, you want to hear his voice on the phone. not some guy -- you don't want that. i know there are rules, rules are rules, and you can't have guys gives injury reports, he called his wife. >> maybe if i was an nfl player i would have a code with my wife, i would say, look, baby, if i ever get hurt in a game, i'll flip you off in the stand, but it doesn't mean what it means, it means you're number one. it's silly. the whole thing is rules are rules. >> folks, chime in on this. it's twitter@cjholmes. are the fines too high?

is that what it is or what? >> his heart was in the right place. >> we'll be right back. we're making tomorrows like clockwork. ♪ for all the different things our customers planned for. like a college education. or, the perfect wedding. ♪ ♪ i love ya, tomorrow! [ male announcer ] we're making them a better financial future. what can we make with you? transamerica. transform tomorrow. i've tried it. but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for. salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale using the same rigorous clinical testing that's required for prescription pain medications. proven. powerful. safe. salonpas.

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out of her home while her older siblings were supposed to be watching her. police say finding jahessye is their primary concern. her grandmother is upset because she believes her granddaughter's disappearance has not gotten national attention and she says race is to blame. we'll be talking with little jahessye's grandmother coming up in the 10:00 eastern hour. also cadaver dogs have smelled something in the missouri home of an 11-month-old girl missing since early october. they call it a hit when a dog picks up the scent of a body. baby lisa's mother admitted she was drunk the night the baby disappeared. police did a new search of the home this week, that's when the dog smelled something. no one yet has been charged in the case. also a private ceremony happening today in birmingham, alabama, for reverend fred shuttl

shuttlesworth. he 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. unemployed but not trying to find a job. are some people just scamming the system? one business owner in colorado says it is happening, and because of that she's having trouble hiring people. that story next. [ male announcer ] it's true... consumers er wanchai ferry orange chicken... over p.f. chang's home menu orange chicken women men and uh pandas... elbows mmm [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself.

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25 minutes past the hour now. 14 million people are unemployed in this country. so why is one business owner finding it so hard to add 20 new people to her work force? we get the story from our affiliate kusa in littleton, colorado. >> reporter: power bridge in littleton created an inwall power extension kit, an outlet that allows people to hang flat screen tvs on the wall without seeing dangling cords. >> last year we started working closely with best buy. >> reporter: best buy wanted the product in all of their stores by this fall. we had to go into high gear. >> reporter: power grid's ceo sarah sebalcas said she had to

triple the work space and the work force. >> mid-september i started posting on craigslist and i got inundated are resumeses. >> reporter: she set up dozens of interviews with qualified applicants. >> that first day i was expecting 40 people. one person showed up. >> reporter: similar results the next week, and she began to panic. we have to get these kits built and out to best buy right away. >> reporter: the openings pay 7.50 to 8.50 an hour for full-time jobs. >> i think now it's becoming almost easier to stay at home and accept the unemployment checks than it is to go out there and work. i think i was getting so many resumes because that's part of the unemployment process. >> reporter: in order for people to keep collecting their unemployment checks, people need to make and record five job contacts each week. and that includes filling out applications, faxing or

e-mailing resumes to employers, and talking to employers on the phone or meeting with them face to face. the labor department says not responding to an invitation for a job interview does not constitute failure to do a diligent job search. she filled the 20 positions but plans on hiring again next month. >> if i'm not able to keep people here and employed and find enough people, we may have to outsource, which we really don't want to do. >> thanks to our affiliate there in colorado. thousands of u.s. soldiers will be coming home for the holidays. the president calls it a promise kept. republican leaders calling it something else. you'll hear from them. stay with us on this cnn saturday morning. [ female announcer ] once you taste

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a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ beatboxing ] i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. the bottom of the hour on this cnn saturday morning. welcome back. i'm t.j. holmes. thanks for spending part of your weekend here with us. we have mixed emotions over the president's announcement that 39,000 u.s. service members will leave iraq by the end of the year. this full withdrawal would end one of the most controversial wars in u.s. history. some republicans, including

senator john mccain, say america's enemies in the middle east, like iran, will view this as a strategic victory. negotiations broke down with the iraqi government about giving immunity to american troops. president obama said he is making good to end the war in iraq. >> last year i announced the end of our combat mission in iraq. we 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, and now the rest of our troops will be home for the holidays. >> more criticism coming from senator lindsey graham of south

carolina. i feel all that we have worked and fought for and sacrificed for is for nothing. i fear this decision has set in motion events that will come back to haunt our country. a look at stories making headlines. look and listen to this. this is heavy fighting that continues in syria. security forces continuing their crackdown on armed civilians this is youtube video of a neighborhood and homes well known for their opposition to the assad regime. the syrian military is believed to be firing on homes in this neighborhood. the man first in line for saudi arabia's thrown has died in a new york hospital. crown prince sultan was defense minister and one of the most visible members of the family. he was in his 80s. he had reportedly been battling

cancer. more than 100,000 people in bangkok taking refuge in emergency shelters as thailand deals with its worst flooding in half a century. the prime minister is urging people to move their belongings to higher ground because they expect more water to pour into the capital. they had hoped strengthening and widening canals would keep people safe, but now they are opening the gates to relieve pressure. herman cain is all about that 9-9-9 plan of his. it's the centerpiece of his campaign, but the plan has come under attack by a lot of critics, including some of his fellow republican presidential candidates. joe johns looks at how cain is responding now to the criticism. >> reporter: one thing to be said about herman cain, he makes eating crow look delicious. after fending off furious attacks on the biggest policy

idea of his campaign, cain broke down and admitted that his one side fits all idea of throwing out the tax code and everybody taxed at 9% was not for everybody. if you're at or below the abo poverty level, your plan is not 9-9-9, it's 9-0-9. say amen, y'all. 9-0-9. if you are at or below the poverty level based on family size, then you don't pay that middle nine tax on your income. >> reporter: cain also proposed creating economic opportunity zones to help depressed areas, and used an announcement in a depressed area in detroit as a back dro backdrop. all in response to the beating his 9-9-9 plan has taken since he started looking like a top tier candidate in the poll like at the cnn debate on tuesday. >> reports are out that 84% of americans would pay more taxes under his plan. that's the analysis.

>> reporter: this is one of the guys who did that analysis, robertson williams talks to us via skype. he says cain's original proposal would have placed a huge tax burden on poor people and the latest tweaks make it better, but don't solve the problem entirely. >> he was very explicit a number of times saying that there would be no special propvisions for te people at the bottom, for the poor. everyone should pay some tax, yet he changed that. he said that the poor would be exception income tax. >> reporter: and that's the other highly controversial piece of the plan, because there's no reason why a national sales tax starting at 9% couldn't be increased. >> and anytime the federal government needs revenue, they dial up the rate. >> the other thing that makes cain's announcement so important is that he also rolled out a sweeping view of how to revitalize urban areas and his economic zones proposal. he is questioning whether minimum wage laws is keeping

people from getting jobs, proposing more tenant control of hud properties, reviewing local permitting properties and zoning laws. just a whole range of things that are going to get him a lot of attention and controversy. joe johns, cnn, washington. 36 minutes past the hour now. michele bachmann seems to be missing a few folks in her new hampshire campaign headquarters. she had five staffers, and now reports say all five have resigned. one has joined rick perry's campaign. bachmann lost several high-profile staffers over the past few weeks. they left for different reasons, including allegations she doesn't have the money to sustain a national campaign. the federal judge that struck down parts of arizona's controversial immigration law has dismissed the state's legal challenge to the ruling. judge susan bolton said friday the state's claim that the federal government has failed to control the border and enforce immigration laws is without merit. arizona governor jan brewer said the judge's decision is

frustrating but not surprising. brewer wants the supreme court to hear the case. we have a real-life hero to tell you about. take a look. because of her, the driver of that rig is lucky to be alive. with flames rising and diesel leaking everywhere, she ignored the possibility of a huge explosion and jumped in to help. . it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for. salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale using the same rigorous clinical testing that's required for prescription pain medications. proven. powerful. safe. salonpas. we've been dedicated to helping our students succeed in america's most in demand careers. we provide you with instructors who are professionals working in the fields they teach.

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and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. a san francisco woman being called a hero now and because of this. this is all that's left now -- we can show you here, a cement truck caught fire on the highway. akina williams was driving with her 5-year-old daughter, she saw the truck in flames, diesel leaking everywhere, she risked her life to get the driver out of the way before the whole thing could explode. >> my first instinct was to run over there. i put my arms under his arms, and i dragged him all the way to my car.

and i had my towel and my coat over him because he was shaking. i was trying to keep him warm or comfort him while he was there. he was in pain. >> she made all of the difference in the world because the truck driver was on the ground on the other side of the fire from our approach, we had to extinguish the fire and probably wouldn't have seen him. >> it's amazing. you always wonder what would do in a situation like that, you hope would jump into action. >> what a differencemaker. >> good for her. reynolds, we need to duck again? didn't we just get past one of these? >> seems like they're falling out of the sky all the time. one a month ago, it was six tons. this is a german satellite that was launched back in 1990. in 1998 the germans considered it basically unusable. it was damaged it was an x-ray telescope designed to help us understand the origins of the

universe this one is smaller. only 2.7 tons. >> nothing to worry about. >> it's orbit is getting smaller and smaller. sometime over the weekend it's expected to reenter the earth's atmosphere. the good news is the earth's atmosphere is hostile and when you reenter, things break up. it will not be intact, but there may be pieces that will make it to the earth's surface. however the risk of anyone being hit is 1 in 2,000. the world population is about 6.775 billion. the risk of you being hit is in 1 in 13 trillion. many of these piece also fas wi into the ocean. still interesting. this launched back in 1990 and was a joint effort, us a german satellite, but launched also with the help of the united states and the uk. fast forward, it's been up there for quite awhile, unusable, just

circling the globe and it's reentering. causing a bit more attention as it comes towards the earth than when it was first launched. that's the latest we got. we will keep our eyes on the heavens and fingers crossed. 1 in 13 million. call me crazy, i think we'll be okay. >> okay. i hear you. >> if it gets close, you can get on a cell phone and call your wife and you won't get in trouble. you can tell her you are okay. >> people have responded to this in a major way. the story we were telling you all early, reynolds and i got into it, we are on different sides of the story. troy polamalu, safety for the steelers, fined $10,000. you're seeing the play where he got hurt. he got his bell rung a bit on that play. he goes to the sidelines and calls his wife. you're not supposed to use a cell phone on the sideline t has do with betting and bookies. you're not supposed to do that. he calls his wife and says he's

okay. fined $10,000. you have people like reynolds, saying a fine is a fine. you have others like our executive producer who says he's rich any way, $10,000 is a drop in a bucket. you all have responded in a major way. a lot of people -- most are saying rules are rules. a lot of people are writing rules are rules. but i want to highlight one from jonell lapierre who says rules are rules, but i think the fine is too high. super sweet that he was so considerate of his wife's peace of mind. that's all i'm saying. >> but you can be super considerate and play within the rules. >> how? how? >> during a football game, you have halftime, when the game is over. if it happened during the first half, i don't know when it took place, couldn't he call -- couldn't he have a doctor call his wife and say troy's okay. he's on the sidelines. he'll call you at halftime. >> if you bust your head on the

side of this desk and you're bleeding from the head, erin wants to hear from you. she doesn't want t.j. to call and say i think he's okay. >> mrshe would laugh her booty off, that's number one. number two, she would want you to call so she could laugh with you. then she would listen to my fool self. >> it's amazing. you are all responding to this one. plenty of other things going on this morning, but still one to talk about. coming up, christian conservatives are gathering in ira to hear what the republican presidential candidates have to say, but one candidate's a no-show. who and why coming up. all r.

big weekend for republican presidential candidates who are trying to reach out to the party's base in iowa. paul steinhouser breaks down the event in des moines and tells white house is not coming. >> reporter: the spotlight is on iowa today. six of the republican presidential candidates are in the state. the six, herman cain, rick perry, ron paul, newt gingrich, rick santorum and michele bachmann. they all speak at a faith and freedom forum. you know, christian conservative voters will play an influential role. mitt romney is not at the forum. he will on the trail today in new hampshire. and louisiana governor, bobby jindal is up for re-election

today. the popular governor needs to win 50% of the vote in a nonpartisan contest to win a runoff next month. t.j.? >> thanks, paul. here's a question what would you do if you saw a wounded child lying in the street? a story out of china has people outraged around the world. a 2-year-old girl, the victim of a double hit and run, but as she lie there's bleeding, she is ignored by people all around her. with charmin ultra soft, you can get that same cushiony feeling while still using less. its design is soft and more absorbent. so you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. ah. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft.

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we're about ten minutes from the top of the hour. we have this morning's passport. it's an unfortunate story that was everybody talking about, outrage, but now it's ramped up a bit. 2-year-old girl ignored in the street wounded after a hit and run. she was hit by two different vehicles. >> right. >> now the little girl has died. >> it's so, so tragic this is in the southern city in china. her mother dropped her off, and she seems to have run off. she is hit by one van. a surveillance camera gets this and another van. but the extraordinary part, t.j., around 18 people passed by and nobody came to her rescue. this has caused, as you said, huge outcry around the world. in china. people are looking at why.

why only eventually did a scrap peddler come to her rescue, and a woman who looked around before helping her. there are a couple of reasons. some are saying it's not advantageous to help a person in need. so what happened is around 2007 a woman falls off her bicycle. the rescuer takes her to the hospital. the rescuer is then sued. so he got into trouble for helping her. so people are very concerned about if i help somebody, am i the one who gets into trouble? so this particular law has resulted -- or this particular incident resulted in should we have a good samaritan law whereby if people do good deeds they are rewarded? also people are saying does the education system in china focus on nationalism versus helping each other? and a country where 1.3 billion people are all working to get ahead economically, what's

happened to care and concern for each other? >> so this is a culture that came from -- i don't remember the 2007 case, but i assume it got a lot of national attention, but that's altered peoples habits in the past few years or has it been like this for a while? >> it's seemed to have escalated in the last few years. there were various incidents in new york a few years ago where patients were left lying in new york city. and in manchester, england, again, you're looking at somebody there. that's the new york city hospital, there she lay for an entire hour until people came to her rescue. manchester, england a couple of years later, somebody is left for ten hours before somebody come to their rescue. all we can hope is little yueyue, has her death was not in vain and there reward for good samaritans. and the adage that no good deed

goes unpunished is not true. >> thank you. maybe it will get people thinking. thank you so much. we'll see nadia again this morning. we're about seven minutes from the top of the hour. a unique restaurant to tell you about next from rocker jon bon jovi. it's his restaurant but it's also what he's doing. women men and uh pandas... elbows mmm [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself. where together, we're transforming tomorrow. it's the second career you always wanted. today's the day! and i've been looking forward to this for a long time. it's gonna be a big change. you ready? wow! just what i hoped for! just what you planned for. thanks! [ male announcer ] we're making people the tomorrows they always dreamed of. what can we make with you?

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listening to a little bon jovi. you know his music, but in one new jersey town bon jovi is rolling up his sleeves and washing some dishes? the rocker and his wife opened up a kitchen, pay what you can, if you can. >> reporter: his umbrella turned inside out by the wind and rain but the smile never leave jon bon jovi's face. it's an exciting day for him and his wife, their foundation is opening the jon bon jovi soul kitchen. this is a place based and built on community. >> reporter: there are no prices on the menu. the idea, he says, is simple. if you can pay, great. leave a donation. if you can't, volunteer in the kitchen, somewhere else in the community and get a gift certificate to the restaurant. >> a 12-year-old is empowered because if they're coming and working in the garden and they take that gift certificate home that may be the meal that the family goats to celebrate. >> reporter: bon jovi and his wife ran two pilot programs in red bank to assess the

community's needs and response two years later they renovated this former auto body shop and built the community kitchen, helping to prepare the food is anthony. >> i'm a firm believer in doing good things for others and good things will happen for you. >> reporter: anthony is a perfect example. he was out of work, donating his time at a soup kitchen. bon jovi came in and met and now is he working full time. bon jovi actually runs it and works in the kitchen. >> he comes in, five, six hours straight will scrub burnt pots and pans. >> reporter: the menu is healthy and nutritious. some grown here, others donated. if he has his way there will be soul kitchens all over the country, even the world. >> there's a great need for them, both in urban and suburban environments. i've already had offers to increase our footprint. >> reporter: but just like the mega star career he built, bon

jovi says he will take it one step at a time. >> again, thanks to our phil lipoff of wabc. in the past, the soul foundation has focused on affordable housing, but he said the recession made it difficult to move forward with those projects. we are at the top of the morning on the cnn saturday morning. hello to you all. the president of iran has a message for you. he said he loves you. it's just your government he has a problem with. we'll tell you more. also, 10,0$10,000 for makine phone call. an nfl player fined by the league, but wait until you here who he called. maybe you will think the fine was worth it. also student loan debt is adding up, even more than credit card debt these days.

parents, students, listen up. we'll try to save you some cash this morning. our clyde anderson will be along. welcome to this cnn saturday morning. 7:00 a.m. in atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in fayetteville, arkansas. 5:00 a.m. in denver. u.s. troops will be home for the holidays and that means an end to the more than eight-year-old war in iraq. that's the promise just made by president obama. let me turn to the white house now and our athena jones. hello to you. the president, big announcement yesterday and it's one people are happy to here. >> certainly. the president and the white house see this as a promise kept. almost the first words out of his mouth yesterday, president obama's mouth when he came into the briefing room to make this announcement were saying as a candidate for president i pledged to bring the war to iraq to an end. so you'll remember that it was his opposition to the war in iraq that really set him apart during the democratic primary last time around.

he believed that this war in iraq was a rash war, a dumb war that it caused us to take our eye off the ball in afghanistan. so he ran on this idea that that war in iraq had to be wound down so that we could focus on the -- the u.s. could focus on efforts in afghanistan. let's listen to what he had to say about this iraq decision in the weekly address this morning. >> in iraq, we succeeded in our strategy to end the war. last year i announced the end of our combat mission in iraq. we already removed 100,000 troops, and iraqi forces have taken control of the stability of their own country. the iraqi people have a chance to forge their own future. now the rest of our troops will be home for the holidays. >> one thing the president did not mention, not in this speech yesterday and not in his weekly address, is that the security agreements were reached during the push administration in 2008

that set this december 31, 2011 end date so in some ways, he didn't have to change what had already been agreed to when he came in. >> i mentioned that a lot of people were welcoming this news but some people were still criticizing this move by the president. >> certainly. the reaction from democrats and republicans has been more or less predictable with democrats applauding this announcement saying it's been long-awaited. we're glad to have the troops home. republicans expressing concern. let me read to you what senator lindsey graham said. he said i feel we have all worked -- what we have -- sorry. all we have worked for and forgot four and sacrificed for is very much in jeopardy. i hope i am wrong and the president is right, but i feel this decision has set in motion events that will come back to haunt our country. he's talking about the questions of whether iraq is really ready to take over its own security,

responsibility for its own security. there's violence there, fear there's, concerns about iranian influence growing as u.s. troops pull out. that's the reason for some of this criticism and concern on the republican side. >> athena jones for us at the white house, thank you so much. you can imagine how so many of the families out there reacted to this and how some of the soldiers and troops are reacting as well. take a listen. >> we have started closing our bases down and drawing down our forces months ago, so this was not an evacuation, this was a very deliberate transition. >> it's exciting for me, you know, bring our boys home. it's one less place we have to have boots on the ground. >> i think it's a great thing. it shows the progress made in iraq and it shows the people in the government are able to stand up on their own and be able to move forward. let's take a look back now at this iraq war.

this all started in march of 2003. president bush went on television, live national television to declare the u.s. was engaged in war with iraq. then it was the shock and awe bombings in baghdad. on april 9th of this year, we saw that iconic toppling of the hussein statue in baghdad. in september of 2003, saddam hussein was captured. september 2004, the death toll for u.s. troops tops the 1,000 mark. the total number of u.s. troops who have died in this operation, 4,421. more than 32,000 have been injured. in january of 2007, the so-called surge was announced by president bush that committed an extra 20,000 troops to iraq. at its height, more than 160,000 u.s. service members were serving in the iraq war. you may remember this video from baghdad. an angry iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at president bush, an ultimate insult. this is from december of 2008. it was at that press conference it was there where the president was making his last trip to

baghdad to sign status of forces agreement, that's actually the deal that the u.s. and iraq agreed to that set out the timeline for u.s. troops to be out of iraq by the end of this year. we love the people of the united states, just not the government. that's just one of the nuggets we're getting from a new interview with iranian president mahmoudexclusively with fernandf fareed zakaria about allegations that iran was planning to assassinate a saudi arabian ambassador on u.s. oil. >> translator: do we really need to kill the ambassador of a brotherly country? what's the reason and the interest behind that? we are a civilized nation. we have strong logic, and this strong logic we talk to all nations. we never have any intention to hurt saudi arabia.

>> you can hear the rest of the interview with iran's president, including what he has to say about developments in iraq on a special edition of "fareed zakaria gps" sunday 10:00 a.m. eastern on cnn. but at seven minutes past the hour, good morning once again to reynolds wolf. people concerned about the weather for a number of reasons today. top of the list, football. absolutely. we're concerned about football here. no question about it. we have six tremendous college football games taking place around the country. we'll give you the kickoff forecast for each of them, as far as the prognostications what will happen on the field, gosh, you never know. it's college football. i'll tell you what you're watching, though, you're watching cnn saturday morning. see you in a few. didn't intend for your face to be everywhere. but fedex office makes it so easy. not only do they ship stuff, they print flyers, brochures -- everything i need to get my name out there. that's the problem. now we need to give you a third identity. you're paul matheson. and you're gonna run your business into the ground. erik gustafson would never do that!

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a bigger dog. [ male announcer ] introducing the reinvented 2012 toyota camry. it's ready. are you? ♪ nine minutes past the hour. good morning to reynolds wolf. you all right? >> i'm great. we're such college football fans, when we cover the weather,

we cover the entire country, but this saturday we get selfish. we're dudes, let's be honest. not just -- it's all right. we have some college football forecasts for you. t.j., you have vested interests in this, arkansas and ole miss. i imagine if you're a razorback fan it never gets old going against the former head coach of arkansas, houston nutt. kickoff at 12:21. plenty of sunshine, 62 degrees. baton rouge, louisiana, lsu against the tigers. temperature 76 degrees for kickoff, plenty of sunshine. wind out of the north-northeast at 5 miles per hour. could be an interesting game. tuscaloosa, alabama, you get alabama and tennessee. big traditional rivalry. kickoff at 7:15. 57 degrees is expected to be the

temperature, but temperatures will drop through halftime and the fourth quarter. norman, oklahoma, oklahoma and texas tech, 70 degrees, breezy at times. up in the great lakes, east lansing, michigan, number six wisconsin against michigan state. wisconsin has not won at spartan stadium in about nine years. this should be an interesting game. kickoff at 8:00 p.m. temperature at 47 degrees. then stanford and washington, some say this is stanford's first big test of the year. kickoff at 8:00 p.m. temperature 78, plenty of sunshine. couple of interesting games out there. full slate for you, t.j. i'm sure you have some ideas on who will win each game, especially the arkansas game. >> should be easy. that's always the case. 11 minutes past the hour. should be easy. you think it should be easy to pick up the phone and call your wife and let it not be a problem. this didn't happen to troy polamalu, all right? the safety for the pittsburgh

steelers -- >> you are selling this thing so hard. >> he was hurt on the play, dinged up, had concussion-like symptoms, he went to the side line and called his wife to let her know he was okay. do you know he was fined $10,000 by the nfl because, reynolds, it's against the rules, right? of course it is you can't have the players making calls. bookies saying call me. show that guy's knee? we get it. but he called his wife. he called his wife, reynolds. a lot of you have been chiming in. overwhelming response from a lot of you. we have a lot to share with you. says they can't make an exception for that because then everyone will be "calling his wife." >> excellent point. that's the point. >> maybe this is the point, though. another one here says absolutely not. yes. he should not be fined. he has a duty to his wife and

family first. what do you say about that? >> i agree. it's an excellent point. no one is doubting his heart. it's just the timing of it in the middle of the game? not sure. did he leave the field in a stretcher? i did not see -- >> he was not in a stretcher. he had concussion-like symptoms but he was not allowed to go back into the game. his wife was watching, he knew she would be concerned. this one says polamalu could have hit the tunnel or locker room to make the call. step away, call wifey, turn to the sideline. issue averted. >> i'm totally with you, max. step into the tunnel go into the locker room. call everyone. do a conference call with the entire family. i know where he's coming from. straight from your lips to god's ears, i'm hearing it. >> we'll continue that conversation. we're having a good time with you. 13 minutes past the hour.

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we're a quarter past the hour on this cnn saturday morning. across the country people are celebrating the news they just got yesterday that troops will be coming home from iraq for the holidays and the war in iraq will be ending by the end of this year. we got that word from the president yesterday. families of the troops especially emotional. we turn to reporter dave ponce

with reaction from chicago. >> this is the picture. >> reporter: every wall of this home in west rogers park is covered with pictures and paintings of army corporal albert bitton who was only 23 years old when he was killed in iraq. his parents had mixed reaction to the news, they're relieved for the families currently serving in iraq, but regretful the full withdrawal didn't happen sooner. >> it's too late for my son. it's too late. >> reporter: fighting back tears he recalls the moment he found out his son had been killed and said no family should have to experience that kind of pain. his message to the troops who finally get to come home -- >> they are the luckiest people in the world. they are very lucky. my son was not lucky. >> reporter: soldiers we spoke with today serving in the illinois national guard are also happy about the president's announcement. >> it was a good feeling.

definitely a good feeling. >> reporter: specialist michael rose served for ten months in iraq. >> you know a lot of people still serving over there? >> yes, my sister unit is over there. they took over for us when we left. they are from what i hear, doing a great job. >> reporter: more reaction today from families serving in the illinois national guard. sta stande sandy holtz's son returned home last month. >> i'm happy because a lot of families will be thankful their soldiers are coming home. we put on a sacrifice as well. our children are home during the holidays, home with us, getting on with their lives, but we're glad they're all coming home. >> thanks to dan ponce. we are at 17 minutes past the hour now. americans now owe more on student loans than they do on

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20 minutes past the hour now before the break, we told you americans owe an average of $29,000 on student loans. but which state has the highest level of student debt? it's maryland with an average student loan debt of $33,000. all of these loans add up to more than a trillion each year. that's more than americans owe on credit cards. you already have to worry about getting a job, how are you supposed to pay off these student loans? is this just like any other debt

you have? a credit card or any -- >> no. >> they'll come after you for it or they have more leeway? >> less leeway. student loan debt is the debt you cannot get rid of. it will be with you until the day you die. you cannot file bankruptcy. you cannot just get rid of it. it doesn't get away. the government made sure that when they set up these federal programs to allow more people to go to college, they wanted schools and banks to feel more comfortable about doing these programs and lending, so they allow them to make sure that you just can't get rid of it. >> now they -- what is a kid supposed to do? you need a loan, but after the fact don't you have options? don't they try to work with you the best they can? >> they can. to make sure everybody understands, this is some of the lowest interest rate loans you can take. but you have a certain time frame when you get out of college. usually it's about nine months, six months in some cases. usually you can work out repayment plans. they're lenient with you, if it's an extended repayment plan,

standard repayment plan. sometimes you can have six months or nine months. >> that's an important point. so oftentimes people want to run from debt, avoid the problem. don't answer the phone. this is one time you need to call and reach out because this is one they will help you with. >> they will help you with, because otherwise they can garnish your wages, sue you and do a lot of things that will hurt you or delay you from starting your life cycle. coming out of school, you may not be able to pay, so you may not be able to buy a house or car. some decided not to have children. >> parents out there, 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. how much are you supposed to take out? >> it's about 10% of your pre-tax income of the john you're planning to get after graduati graduation. >> that's some planning. >> you have to think this through. if you're planning on being a counselor or teacher, that may

decide which university i will go to and how much the loans are going to be that i take out. and can i get a job? will i be able to get a job in this profession before i take on this additional debt? some people decided to go back to school, take on $100,000 worth of debt and they can't find a job when they come out. >> i hear those stories so many times of undergrads, they're saying i'm going to grad school, law school to stay in school longer to see if the market gets better and they pile on more debt. >> more debt that you can't get rid of. >> clyde, thank you. 23 minutes past the hour. have you heard that the iranian president, he is talking -- talking to cnn, talking about that alleged plot to kill a saudi ambassador on u.s. soil. you'll hear more details in this cnn exclusive interview when we come back.

24 minutes past the hour. some of the stories making headlines this morning, iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad denies reports that his government was behind an alleged murder plot that targeted the ambassador to the u.s. president ahmadinejad went on to criticize american involvement in libya and syria and says the u.s. is hated in the middle east. final arrangements are being made for saudi crown prince sultan al suad who died overnight. he reportedly had been battling cancer the past few years. he is thought to be in his 80s. an exact cause of death has not been revealed. quick break. we're right back. [ male announcer ] theraflu, mucinex,

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good morning, atlanta. beautiful shot of the city where we reside. cnn world headquarters, atlanta, georgia. t.j. holmes coming to you from the cnn center in downtown. some of the stories making news across this country. in south florida, we'll start with the little guy. this is a drum prodigy, hard to even see him because he is playing for the bell glade high school band. not even five feet tall and just ten years old. the band director says the little guy is good enough to play right now with the high schoolers. you surfers, watch out out there. another close call. you see that chunk? that's a 23-inch chunk out of a surfboard. a shark expert says the bite suggests the shark was anywhere between 16 and 20 feet long