$53,000 including a caribbean trip. >> i have a bucket list of things i want to do. one is to go on wheel of fortune and own a shanle bag. >> reporter: the fact that she solved it with one letter someone posted, i can't solve it when there is one letter remaining. we doubted it until we saw people blow it with no letters remaining. leaving us with a bad feeng. >> i had a good feeling about it. i've got a good feeling about this. jr. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> she paid off her student loans. that's pretty smart. >> no, that's good. i would have been so greedy, i wouldn't have paid off a thing. i would have lost. >> you would have taken your kids on the trip. >> and i've got a caitlin. hmm. hello, everybody, live from

studio 7, cnn world headquarters, the news and information you need. a florida community overcome with grief. five brothers and sisters die in a horrific house fire. >> the whole front of the house was engulfed in flames, and i heard the mom saying, my babies are inside. we look at america's broad band gap. a government report finds a sizable racial divide when it comes to internet juice. good morning, everyone. i'm tony harris. those stories and your comments right here, right now in the cnn newsroom. at this moment, elizabeth smart is set to be back on the witness stand in her words, she was raped at least every day during her nine months of captivity. moments ago, she arrived at the courthouse in salt lake city. video from moments ago. no cameras are allowed inside

federal court where her accused kidnapper is on trial. but her words are creating terrifying disturbing images. ben winslow recaps her family. >> reporter: she told the jury about the night she was awakened by a stranger way soft but very serious voice. i remember him saying i have a knife to your neck, don't make a sound, come with me or i will kill you and your family. she described the fear she felt. i knew how deadly the situation was. i was scared, extremely scared. she was forced to put on her sneakers, led out of the house and up a trail house. in the moon light, she could see the man who kidnapped her, emanuel, a man they hired to do odd jobs around the house. i remember asking him why he was doing this, my parents had only tried to help him. when she reached the campsite,

she encounterered wanda barzee who hugged her. i was crying a lot. i didn't realize what was going on at first but i heard him say, by the power of the holy priesthood, which i hold, i seal you to me, and you will be sealed to me in the hereafter, and i take you to be my wife. it was then, smart testified, that she was raped. she tried to fight him off, but a 14-year-old girl against a grown man doesn't even out so much. smart said she cried herself to sleep, and woke up and he had a cable tied around her ankle. >> we will have more details on the trial next hour. i will speak to salt lake city tribune columnist peg mcaty. she was there to hear the testimony. other big stories, a faulty space heater may be to blame for a house five. five brothers and sisters died

in the massive inferno, three adults escaped. neighbors called 911 but it was too late. >> i told my husband i think the neighbors are in trouble. i heard the mom saying, my babies are inside. it's very, very sad. you want to get the babies out. my kids play with their kids, and it's just very hard. >> oh, boy. grief counselors are on hand at marian county schools this morning. this will really tick you off. he says we were making it up day to day. former bp boss tony hayward now admits the company wasn't prepared for the disaster on the scale of the gulf oil catastrophe. you think? in a bbc interview, hayward says he could have done a better job with the media if he studied acting, not geology.

told you. he did have a memorable cameo on the show "south park." remember this? what should i do? should i admit we made mistakes? should i remind you i did this before? should i find new and better ways to say i'm sorry? we're sorry. >> okay, so that's new. the commercial, of course, is there take on the lebron james nike rise commercial. they managed to nail lebron, nike and bp in one take. you always know you are doing something very right or wrong when you show up on "south park." president obama back in his old stomping grounds. so why is he looking out for a quick exit? we have pictures you have to see. let's look at the markets. the markets have been open for 90 minutes. we are in negative territory, down 12 points. following the numbers throughout the day.

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people, animals, towns,

literally caked in thick, gray ash, and it is still spewing out of indonesia's mount merapi. many people are injured and suffering burns and respiratory problems. this volcano is forcing president obama to change some of this plans. he is cutting his visit there short because ash from the volcano could have grounded air force one during a stop. he said it was wonderful to be back in the country even for a brief visit. he spent part of his boyhood there. the president hopes to expand u.s. ties in areas such as trade and security. indonesia is the world's largest muslim majority nation. in a news conference he was asked about his outrage to the muslim world. >> our efforts have been earnest, sustained. we don't expect that we are

going to completely eliminate some of the misunderstandings and mistrust that have developed over a long period of time, but we do think that we're on the right path. indonesia was the second leg of the president's asia trip. the industry took a huge trip the last couple of years but it appears luxury items are making a bit of a comeback. felicia taylor says there are more people entering stores that are ready, willing and able to splurge. >> reporter: gucci, shanle, dior, you can almost pick a name. high end goods are coming back strong. >> we took a big punch to the stomach and it was a big decline, so the luxury sector took a bigger hit than other sectors, so you're coming off of a lower base. i think what surprised me is the rapidity at which the high end prices, the best price points

have come back stronger than i thought they would more quickly. >> reporter: not just in the u.s. the asian shopper is less shy about showing off, too. >> the market is exploding. part of what is happening is an expanding class of consumers in china who are able to spend more money and consume more goods, and if you play china forward over the next five years, we expect china will be the third largest market for luxury goods. >> reporter: reports show that the rebound in luxury sales is dictated by those stores owned and managed by the brands themself, such as hermes. heres sales increased by 23%, whether it's handbags, shoes, or wallets, those increased by 16% and beating out the leader of the luxury sector, which is apparel. it is not just women making cash registers ring. >> our men's business has

increased significantly, and in the last 12 months has outpaced the growth in the women's category. >> reporter: when you bras through the top dollar shops, you may be hard-pressed to find a sale sign. >> no question you have seen less promotions. in the first half of the year, our gros margins increased 600 basis points. >> reporter: vurof course, this very small piece of the retail pie as overall consumer spending is expected to remain weak. 6% of consumers are driving more than 70% of the purchases in luxury goods, and rebound cups from a small portion of the population. also making a comeback, costly weddings. in the first half of this year, the average cost of a wedding increased nearly 22% over last year. so the question for you is how much do you think the average

wedding cost this year? we are doing it differently. we are going to put up a bunch of numbers up here on the screen, and you can unscramble it. is it back there? where is it? there it is. we're going to have you unscramble this number, all right. it will reveal the answer, but not until we come back. both cost the same, but only the pringles superstack can makes everything pop! ♪ hey [ male announcer ] same cost but a lot more fun. everything pops with the pringles superstack can!

i got a little confused. i looked back at the big vista

wall and i thought we put the numbers all over the place. no. we blurred out the number. now we are going to unblur it. before the break, we asked you to think about how much the average wedding cost in the first half of this year. now, according to we tv's wedding report, the number is $23,867. are you kidding me? that's up more than $4,000 over last year when folks were much more budget conscious, right? apparently brisd are feeling better about the economy this year. former president george bush out with his new book. candy crowley welcomes him as a guest this sunday on a special primetime edition of "state of the union." the painfully slow economic recovery is forcing more americans into bankruptcy. the government says 1.5 million people filed bankruptcy during

the fiscal year that ended september 30th, a 14% spike over 2008 sbrkt largest number of filings since 2005 when congress tightened bankruptcy laws. here's one way to get a little more money in your pocket. ask for a raise. are you kidding me? in this day and time? alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. people might have been afraid to ask before. many are still afraid. is this a good time to ask for the raise? >> sure, go ahead, ask for that raise, tony. look at how things are right now. the economy is rebounding, so employers are the ones worried about losing their top talent. it is more of an issue now that people are actually able to find jobs. i want to show you this new survey out that shows more than half of employers say they are willing to negotiate with new workers, and fewer employers say they would negotiate with current workers but the fact of the matter is now is as good time as any to ask for a higher

salary. >> if you think you can negotiate with the boss, how do you go about doing that? >> first of all, be confident. don't walk in with your feathers puffed out but go in and talk about your accomplishments. know the salary you want. justify it. compare it to other people in your apologies. show that you understand what the company wants at that ask yourself, are you willing to help accomplish what the company's goals are, and if you show you're an asset, chances are you will get the salary increase. >> yesterday we talked about markets hovering around two-year high. how are things looking so far today? >> looking flat. it's a light week for economic news. dow industrials down about 18, and the nasdaq up about 1. what is moving a lot, commodities. goold at a record high. get trod the oil prices to translate to the gas pump.

>> alison kosic at the new york stock exchange. thank you. see you next hour. tiger woods in australia, working on a new swing and looking for his first win of the year. we are talking sports. a couple of items for you in the next 75 seconds. challenges as vast as the space race a generation ago. and vital to global security. to reach this destination, our engineers are exploring every possibility. from energy efficiency to climate monitoring. securing our nations clean energy future is all a question of how. and it is the how that will make all the difference.

aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. where is my microphone? time for big plays. good to see you. the helmet to helmet hits is where we start, right? there were some over the weekend. some were illegal, some in the gray area, and one play, i'm thinking about in the indianapolis/eagles game. >> with austin collie. >> that was bizarre. >> first, let me say, this is a

seminal moment in the nfl because you have to held met-to-helmet hits. one is fined and one is not. austin collie was knocked out cold by kurt coleman. the league ruled it accidental but it accrued a penalty on the play. >> was this fined? >> not fined but a roughing the passer penalty. >> what about inadvertent head shots? because this guy was hit by another player, and then you could make an argument that -- >> that's the point. the league is saying that's accidental. let's go to nicole lins of the green bay packers fined $50,000 for this hit and they're saying this was intentional as opposed to the other one. >> we need slow motion and reverse angle. >> we should get it. >> all-access cnn vision on this. he sort of lowers his head in there. >> they're saying that is

intentional, and roy williams said nicole lins should not be fined and he apologized. what's interesting is they need to have two different kinds of penalties for roughing. you need flagrant and accidental. like you have running into the kicker and roughing a kicker. you have two different fouls. that's the next step of the evolution of the nfl, intentional and unintentional. >> why? because at this moment you have a confused workforce. >> and it might affect the outcome of the game. >> tiger woods back to the scene of the crime in australia. >> literally full circle because it was a year ago when he played the masters that the whole rachel uchitel -- >> were they ever photographed together in the same hotel? they were staying together and but we know now it was -- >> we know after this, the car accident happened. >> and this means fooling around? is that what that means?

>> something going on that got him in trouble. this is the last tournament he won. he has not won a tournament in a year. >> this is not even a pga sanctioned event. >> if he wins, doesn't that change the course of the conversation? >> he needs a better 2011. >> this is the way to do it. >> do we have time to show the video of tar terrell? >> look at this, look at this miming. he's going to make 4 million in incentives. i don't know if miming is going to be part of it. he's having a heck of a year. he's 37 years old. >> one more time as we say so long to rafer. >> they lost the game. >> i like marvin lewis. i need them to win some games. let's get you caught up on some top stories.

an engine fire stranded a cruise ship with more than 3,000 passengers on board off the mexican coast south of san diego. the carnival splendor lost power, no a.c., hot food or telephones. the ship will be towed to mexico and passengers will get full refunds. you may not be able to buy a mcdonald's happy meal after today. the city board of supervisors voted to ban them. prince jackson says he wanted to produce and direct movies some day. daughter paris wants to be an actress. prince, paris and blanket gave their first on-camera interview to oprah. >> i think no one understood what kind of a good father he was. i'd say he was the best cook ever. >> cook, really? >> everyone's all, a cook!

he was just a normal dad but really the best dad ever. still to come, a professor tries to prove a point by going on a twinkie diet. we'll talk about that and other stories trending on line today but first a question for you. which of these was not a fad diet over the last century in america? a, the chew chew diet, requiring you to chew each bite of food 32 times, and, b, the tapeworm diet. krrks, the monkey diet, eating only bananas, and, d, the cotton ball, soebing cotton balls in gelatin and downing them. are we making this stuff up? the answer is 75 seconds.

before the break, we asked you, which of these was not a fad diet over the last century in america. the answer is -- are you ready for this? c, the monkey diet. we made that one up. believe it or not, the rest are real. celebrities popularized the cotton ball diet, eating a little extra fiber to fill their stomachs. the tape worm diet. it's gross, but it's real. we certainly don't recommend it. what's trending right now? our digital expert derrick dodge. what are you followingle. do you like twinkies? >> i did when i was a kid. i had to give them up. >> if you go to cnn.com. the most popular story on

cnn.com has been shared over 75,000 times on facebook. >> shrinking professor loves -- >> this professor says he lost 27 pounds by eating twinkies and other junk food. >> that's the story? >> that's the story. >> okay. >> he says he was eating healthier before the diet but he -- let's see, i was eating healthier but i wasn't healthy. lower the calories, you lose weight. >> i guess there's an argument to be made there. >> this is trends map. we can see what stories are trending on twitter based on the size of the word. there's a rapper name named whiz khalifa, and he was arrested last night because of marijuana possession. >> that's not a story in the rap world? >> it could be a case of twitter karma, because he tweeted just before his show in greenville,

smokeouts in greenville tonight, fall through with your finest plant life. he smokes in his video and is not afraid of it. this could be a case of becareful what you tweet. >> he was pinched? >> wake up, wake in baken. >> that's trending his hour? zblts what what everybody is talking about. >> a break. sometimes to call for help. or to ask what that yellow engine light means. to find an atm. a bff. or a blt. where to stop. where to go. or where to stop when you have to go. and the most amazing part is what happens after you press it. hi, this is jay from onstar. i want to find out where the nearest pizza place is? sure no problem. onstar. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. live on.

as a part time sales associate with walmart. when william came in i knew he had everything he needed to be a leader in this company. [ william ] after a couple of months, i was promoted to department manager. like, wow, really? me? a year later, i was promoted again. walmart even gave me a grant for my education. recently, he told me he turned down a job at one of the biggest banks in the country. nicole. ♪

sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business.

it is a critical tool for a country to move forward, especially our children, access to the internet and knowing how to use it. a new study shows a big racial grap in that effort. josh levs has more on that story. look, josh, this speaks to all kinds of problems. >> it does. the findings and kluges in this report. >> it does. you and i have talked in the past about education gaps. this is important what people are doing at home, what kids are being exposed to at home, what kind of access to the internet they have. 70% of u.s. households used the internet last year. on the flip side, you have 23% of homes in this country that did not have a single internet user. you want more and more people to have access to internet torque know how to use it, to be part

of the future. this is where we start to get these racial gaps. when we look at the big picture, 68% of white families had broad band access at home, and only 49% of black families. that's a difference of what kids are getting act is he to in their hopes. in this country, 77% of asian families have internet access, and 48% of latino families. you see how big the gap is. big pictures that racial inequalities persist. we have talked about the problems in our school exists right now, and this problem is continuing at home. broad band means access to lettering tools and what families can do without the web. they can try to access it elsewhere. small portion has dialup. that's small. more minorities in this country without the web.

the thing that strikes me most about it is even if you take families in this country, black, latino, white, same income levels and educational levels, you still see a huge racial gap. i will show thank you in 80 seconds. which is why i'm really excited. because toyota developed this software that can simulate head injuries and helps make people safer. then they shared this technology with researchers at wake forest to help reduce head injuries on the football field. so, you know, i can feel a bit better about my son playing football. [ male announcer ] how would you use toyota technology to make a better world? learn how to share your ideas at toyota.com/ideasforgood.

we are back with the racial gap in this country when it comes to the internet, and, josh, you're saying it's bigger than a lot of us thought. >> it is. this new study from the commerce department says even when you look at families that have the same amount of money coming in and the same amount of educational levels, big gap. 10% gap between white and wlak

families even when they have the same amount of money. whites are more likely to have access to high speed internet at home. if you take a look at white verse latino families, it's a 14% difference. experts are looking at these numbers and saying why is it that minorities have less high speed internet at home. part is cyclical. part is about being with a group. if right now a lot of your friends aren't doing it, and this applies to adults, if the friends aren't doing it, they're less likely to do it, and it becomes cyclical. experts are also saying especially for latino families, there is language problem with getting it set up inside their homes. as we move forward, it is critical something be done about this. i have a little bit of good news, which is that the gap is getting a little bit smaller.

it's narrowing, more and more americans are getting high speed internet, and what's happening lately through stimulus funds and other things, the government is working on putting more broad band line out there so people in rural areas and underserved areas have more opportunity to get it and the hope is it gets high speed internet to more families. >> to the extent that the government is, as i recall, offering up contracts and stimulus money, right, josh, to companies who will actually wire some of these more rural communes. >> right. one of the projects we looked at was in alaska where they have to go through some incredibly frigid areas and set up specially protected broad band lines in these far out areas get it but sometimes you have areas inside big cities that are underserved communities that don't have access. all of this will help us move forward. chris rock with an offer many people out there can't

refuse, and he's doing it for charity. i'll explain.

all right. rob marciano standing by. i guess i should address the camera. hi, everybody. rob marciano. >> how are you, man? >> are you going to start in new york? >> do you want me to? >> whatever you want to do. >> you ask, i deliver. we will start in the northeast, including new york, where it is more quiet than yesterday, although this storm that's sitting out here is having a hard time leaving. it is finally heading out to sea. there is decent winds behind this. as far as what kind of winds we're looking at, upwards of 18 or 19 miles an hour up there,

and back through the new york area, a little less. enough to create problems as far as travel is concerned. we did have wind gusts of 62 miles an hour in portland, maine. trees and power lines down. at one point 60,000 people without power. substantial storm for eastern new england and at times we saw snow fall across parts of new york. even jfk saw some flakes of snow roll into town. lexington, 3 1/2 inches, rhode island and parts of massachusetts also saw a little bit of wet snow. speaking of snow out west, we have a couple of storms coming in. one into the inner mountain west, strong one. highest elevation snow where the passes are and above that. salt lake including wasatch and parts of the colorado rockies, almost as far south as the san juans, 6 to 12 or 20 inches of fresh snow.

some resores of opening this weekend. there are i don't two storms with temperatures in the 40s and 50s. look at the warmth in the midsection. 76 degrees in kansas city. rebounding nicely. because i know you like this, the foliage. >> you know i do. >> if you still have leaves on the trees, there you go, right there. looks weird to be talking about leaves falling when it's 75 degrees in memphis or 67 degrees in chicago. enjoy it. it's been kind of chilly. >> rob, we have video here. have you seen the chris rock video? >> i heard about it. >> this is the night of too many stars, jon stewart, right, and chris rock on stage together. it's the idea of if you could get your thoughts, your real thoughts off your chest and express them to your execs, your bosses -- well, we wouldn't do that. we wouldn't do that. let's not and say we did.

here's chris rock who says i got your back on this one. >> let's hear it. >> tonight, to the highest bidder, we'll get on the phone, and i will curse out your ex. jeff, jeff, is this jeff. >> yeah, it's me. >> jeff, you dirty mother [ bleep ], you. >> did we get a good hard bleep on that? >> i hope. i can read lips. >> this is for your ecks. this is for your exes. >> you could keep him busy for a week. sorry. it was too easy. that's funny stuff. >> what is the next bit here. "dancing with the stars." last night, this is jennifer grey. check this out. wait for it, wait for it.

she's doing well in the competition. wow. she's my pick. >> did she hurt herself? >> is she all right? >> are we going to see this one more time. >> this is why nobody leaves baby in the corner right there. goodness, i need to take a shower. >> there it is! there it is! that's jennifer grey who is wonderful on that show. that was so effortless and wonderful. >> as we say down south, god bless her heart. >> yes, yes, rob. thanks for sharing that moment. several of my co-workers have penned their own books in the last couple of years. my favorite business correspondent christine romans "mart is the new rich" ali velshis a "give me my money back." who is the latest to share her story? unscramble this picture.

where is the picture? the answer is 60 seconds. you want some fiber one honey clusters? yeah. you must really care about him. what? you gave him fiber. this tastes way too good to be fiber. they're delicious crunchy clusters with sweet honey and half a day's worth of fiber. you care about my fiber? not really. [ male announcer ] fiber one.

several of my co-workers have penned their own books in the last couple of years. my favorite business correspondents, christine romans and ali velshi. before the break, i asked you who is the latest cnn person to share her story. wait for it, wait for it, big reveal. one more, c'mon, c'mon. the big reveal. c'mon. there we go. cnn special correspondent soledad o'brien. soledad brings you cnn's eye opening "in america" documentary. she joins me live to talk about her book, the next big story in just a couple of minutes. chris lawrence is following a developing story for us. what are you working on? >> reporter: well, tony, you got to see it to believe it, but

there is this stream of light that a local los angeles helicopter caught. it's really stunning. there have been all kinds of reports that it looks like some sort of missile launch. the mystery here is that no one seems to know exactly what it was. you take a look at this. it was something and it happened around sundown monday night, but the pentagon is saying, we didn't launch any missile. right now, we're not sure what it is. we asked the faa, if they had approved any commercial launches, maybe a commercial company launching a satellite into space. they said they approved no commercial launches, space launches for yesterday. so right now, it is a mystery. norad is looking into it, trying to figure out exactly what happened here. >> wow, look at that. you know, it's beginning to feel like one of those teasers we give folks right before we go to a break and tell them the answer on the other side of the break, but we don't know the answer on this one. >> i wish i could give you an

answer in 60 seconds. i would not leave you hanging if i knew. the folks here at the pentagon say right now they don't know what that was but they say they have various agencies in the u.s. government all talking to each other, pinging each other, trying to figure out what it was. >> let us know when you know. back in a moment. right now, there's a nurse saving a life in baltimore. 20 minutes later, she'll bring one into the world in seattle. later today, she'll help an accident victim in kansas.

how can one nurse be in all these places? through the nurses she taught in this place. johnson & johnson knows, behind every nurse who touches a life... there's a nurse educator... who first touched them. ♪ you're a nurse ♪ you make a difference the next big story.

it is what every journalist waiting to cover. it is also the title of a new book from cnn's soledad o'brien. soledad brings you cnn's eye-popping and eye-opening "in america" documentaries. good to see you. congratulations on the book. >> thank you so much. it's been a great process and interesting to write. >> let's talk about that process. what has sort of being a reporter in these extraordinary days and types -- would you agree -- taught you about americans and how we respond to a crisis? >> you know, i think sometimes a number of the books you read talk about america as wrong, failing, struggling, on a downward decline spiral and actually what i found in my travels, whether reporting documentaries like black in america, latino in america, gay in america or upcoming muslim in america or as we cover disasters in haiti and katrina and the

aftermath as well, people usually try to do the right thing. as many stories as we had of devastation, we had many stories of people who would dig people out of an earthquake in chile or find housing for people desperate in haiti and dedicating their life to rescuing orphans, and in addition to the aftermath and disaster but i have been amazing by the goodness of americans to help out and i wanted to tell some of those stories as well. >> you know what occurred to me as you were sort of running down the list of some of the really horrible stories you covered on a human level but as you point out, the great work done by so many in those crisis situations. do you ever take -- because i'm asked this question often -- do you ever take those images, those sounds, do you ever take those items home with you at your conclusion, at the conclusion of your reporting? >> yeah, absolutely, and i think one of the greatest things about

being a mother is when you walk home and around your family, it brings you back to a new reality. this year, i brought my daughter sophia back to haiti to volunteer in an orphanage because i wanted to make sure she had a chance to see some of those images up close. she is 10 years old. i write about the value of having my daughter get to see my work and also understanding again there are lots of positive things you can do. if you're 10 years old, you can play with other children, hold a baby, feed people who need to be fed. that's doable for a 10 yearly. some problems need to be tackled one little piece at a time. >> before i let you go, i want to ask you, a lot of this is about race. you recount a point where reverend jesse jackson told you you didn't count as black. >> that's a comment i had. as you know, my mom is black and my mom is white and i grew up in

an all-white neighborhood in new york and jesse jackson touched my skin and we talked about the number of black anchors and they're not that many and i said, uchb on my show and he said, you know, you don't count. it threw me because it came from a person who is knee-deep in racial issues all issues all the time. later he apologized. he said several years ago i didn't know you were black. i thought you were latino. but to me what it taught me is that you have to basically plow forward and not be thrown. what i tried to do in documentaries and talk about races force people to have the conversation about the race and ethnicity, what some people call the third rail sometimes. in the next big story we have a lot of those conversations and it's been a joy to have cover those stories. >> you gave us an extraordinary window. keep doing what you do and let's put the book jacket cover up again so everyone can see it.

"the next big story" soledad o'brien. the voting may be over, but the counting is not. a look at undecided races in our political update. it must be ha. you never considered making turn-by-turn navigation standard. if you want to talk about it.. call me when you get there. that is if you find there, since you don't have turn-by-turn navigation standard. the all-new chevrolet cruze. starting under $17,000. get used to more. qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on a 2011 chevrolet cruze ls for around $169 a month. call for details. of nfl training camp to put our 24-hour frequent heartburn protection to the test for two weeks. [ diehl ] people think that we're indestructible, but if you're out there and you're feeling burning it's gonna affect the way that you play. [ herrera ] in my world either you get it done, or they're gonna find someone to get it done for you. [ diehl ] prilosec otc is the one thing i can count on to block my heartburn. prilosec otc is protecting me.

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how about this. stay out of 2012 presidential race. that's the message from one state to its governor. paul steinhauser ojoining us frm the political desk in washington. give us more on this story. >> it's been a week since the midterm elections and already talking about 2012 and specifically chris christie, the republican governor of new jersey. there's been a lot of buzz will he run for the presidency in 2012. he's said repeatedly no, not interested, don't want to do it. guys, enough already. a brand new poll from qui pie yak university. they agree. while they give him a big thumbs up 6 in 10 say he's not ready to

be president and 6 in 10 say they don't think he will. i'm going to ask our cameraman to zoom right into the political ticker. from the same poll brand new numbers about the democratic freshman senator from new jersey. menendez is one of 23 democrats up for re-election in 2012 and only 4 in 10 in that poll say they think the that menendez is doing a good job. when you look for the battle of the senate in 2012, 23 democrats up, only 10 republicans. let's talk about the election. there's still some races to go but we just called two. cnn just projected jerry connelly, the democratic incumbent congressman from virginia's district we projected him the winner. in washington state in the second congressional district projecting dick larson the democrat as the winner. that keeps the republican gain at 60 seats. that's a lot.

here's what we have left. take a look at this. we have the alaska senate contest. vote counting begins today up there in that crazy race. we've got the minnesota gover r governor's contest undeclared or uncalled. that could go to a recount. and we have seven house races left. that's where it stands one week since the election. >> paul, appreciate it. your next political update in an hour. a tragedy that didn't have to happen. four atlanta area teenagers accused of beating another teen to death. they make court appearances to face murder charges and await a probable grand jury indictmentment. the victim 18-year-old bobby tillman weighed just 125 pounds and didn't stand a chance. why didn't other people at the party help him? you will hear from the young man's mother next.

a georgia mother wants to know why nobody out of dozens of people stepped up to help her son, 18-year-old bobby tillman. he was beaten to death at a party in suburban atlanta for no reason other than he was the next person to walk past his attackers. that's it. 57 partygoers stood by and did nothing. four teenagers are charged in tillman's death. >> my son died for nothing. i don't know why they did it, but whatever it was, he did not deserve it. there would be no reason or justification for it. and these young men, i want them to go to prison and i want justice to be served for my son. but if my son's death can change someone else's life, save another young man's life, then

that's what i pray for. >> more than 800 people arrested for preying on small children and selling them for sex. we are inside a federal bust on a nationwide child prostitution ring. and building a better future for women in afghanistan. jill dougherty with an exclusive look. >> no it's a sale. nothing beats a sale! wrong move! you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline. but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal. down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ]

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kidnapping and disappearance captivated the nation. now she's facing her accused abductor in court. we are talking with a reporter who has been inside the courtroom. and we want you to take a close look at this. just what is it? flying over the skies of california. they're calling it the mystery missile. we're trying to find out exactly what it is. let's get started with our lead story. selling children for sex, such as young as 13. federal authorities target child sex trafficking rings across the country. the three-day sweep called "operation cross country ar" led to the recovery of 69 children. the feds arrested 884 people including 99 pimps. meanwhile in tennessee authorities say they have arrested 29 people linked to gangs that trafficked in underage african-american and so somali girls. >> not adult women in control of their lives but girls who were moved about and used for sex so

that others could profit. >> specifically the indictment alleges that jane doe one was brought to nashville in or about december of 2005 where she along with other underage girls was prostituted for approximately two weeks. at the time, jane doe one was less than 14 years old. >> oh, boy. that last comment was from u.s. attorney jerry martin talking about the indietments. he is with us now from nashville. thanks for your time. first of all, let me do some real basic nuts and bolts work with you on this story. if you would, can you tell us how so many of these young girls were lured into this living hell? how does it happen? how does it work? >> well, the indictment alleges that several young women, some as young as 12 years old, have been caught up in this

prostitution ring and have been coerced and brought into the middle district of tennessee from across the country mostly from minl. you know, there's a number of victims in this case. we don't want to give you information about the identity of those victims. but obviously, the allegations are serious and sex traffickers should know that if they traffic in sex especially young children that the federal government will finds them, arrest them and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. >> similarities in the stories of the young women who have been recovered so far? >> yeah. you know, that's a separate case that i'm not particularly familiar with. i just know what i've read in the news. this is a very specific case to the middle district of tennessee, which is nashville. the allegations in this case are that young girls were trafficked into the middle district of tennessee and were prostituted

by these defendants for monetary gain. >> last one, what can we do, from your experience in working through this case and other cases? what can we do to better protect our children? >> well, i think that this case is a great example of how local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and officers can work together. the federal court system and the u.s. attorney's office is in a particularly good position to be able to marshal all of these resources and lead the effort to prosecute individuals who engage in this type of conduct. so the first thing that the public should be aware of and confident in is that all state, local and federal law enforcement officers are going to work together to ferret out this kind of activity and prosecute it. >> u.s. attorney jerry martin with us. thank you. appreciate your time. other stories we are following for you here in the "cnn newsroom." heartbreak in central florida.

five children ages 6 to 15 died in a house fire overnight. their mother and grandmother escaped and neighbors pulled another woman out of the burning house. >> the whole front of the house was engulfed in flames and i heard the mom saying, "my babies, my babies are inside." and attorneys for o.j. simpson have been given another week to try and overturn his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction. the nevada supreme court granted the extension this morning. simpson is serving 9 to 33 years in a state prison outside reno. ash still pouring out of a big volcano in indonesia and it is affecting president obama's trip there. [ diane lane ] when you were 14

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attack grill. yeah. customers are called patients. waitresses are nurses. bottom line, fat brings in more dough than skinny. the heart attack grill, food worth dying for and another random moment of the day. got a quizy quiz for you. president obama is officially shortening his visit to indonesia because of the mt. merapi volcano that is spewing ash. it got us wondering. what state or country has the most active volcanoes in the world? "a," hawaii. "b," iceland. "c," indonesia or "d," alaska. to fight it.... to investigate it... prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us.

what state or country has the most number of active volcanoes in the world? "a," hawaii, "b," iceland. "c" inldz neisha where mt. merapi is or alaska. here's the answer. indonesia. "national geographic" says there are 1,900 active volcanoes, part of the ring of fire that chad talks to us about. president obama is cutting his visit to indonesia short because of volcanic ash spewing from mt. merapi. and concerns it could ground air

force one. during a stop the president said it was wonderful to be back in the country even for a brief visit. he spent part of his boyhood there. the president hopes to expands u.s. ties in areas such as trade and security. inld flesha is the world's largest muslim majority nation. in a news conference he was asked about his outreach to the muslim world? >> our efforts have been earnest, sustained. we don't expect that we're going to completely eliminate some of the misunderstandings and mistrust that have developed over a long period of time. but we do think that we're on the right path. >> indonesia is the second leg of the president's asia trip. let's bring in chad myers now. we're still looking at some pretty thick volcanic ash. >> yes. you remember what we had in europe when iceland happened? the same kind of idea.

this has been kind of an explosive little volcano. not the kilauea like we think about in hawaii where the lava kind of flows down gingerly into the ocean. this is more explosive type, a little more like say a mt. st. helens because when it goes poof, all the smoke and ash goes way up in the sky. you don't want that in a jet engine? why? not because it's dirty. because when the jet runs, it runs so hot that it melts the ash back into lava and then as it goes out the back of the jet, it cools down and becomes glass, volcanic glass or volcanic rock. i don't want rocks in my jet. >> absolutely. >> okay? >> hello. >> anyway, jakarta right here. the volcano a little bit farther to the south, about 250 miles away. but i can fly you into this

thing and show you that just because it's 250 miles away and there is yogyakarta right there. there's the volcano. as the volcano erupts, it's poofing these puffs every once in a while. there are two different wind directions. depends on what level you're at. there's the volcano. beautiful shot right there on google earth. 250 miles that way, that's where the president is or was or moving from there. here's the issue. i know this isn't a pretty map and i don't ever get technical when it comes to pretty. i don't really care. there's the volcano. some of the flight level winds from 40,000 feet up to 60,000 feet go this way. so south of the volcano is a problem. but at 25,000 feet some of that ash is actually getting all the way to jakarta. so you don't land planes -- you certainly don't run air force one through anything like that. that's why they're getting out of the way. >> there you go. appreciate it. elizabeth smart will testify

again today against the man on trial for kidnapping her. she says for nine months he raped her, quoting here, daily at the very least. she arrived at the federal courthouse in salt lake city about an hour ago and testimony so far, smart said brian david mitchell kidnapped her from her bedroom at knife point in 2002. mitchell and his wife wanda barzi forced her to watch and take part in sex acts she found repugnant. once when mitchell tried to kiss smart she bit his tongue quoting again here. he said if i did that again he would never have sex with me again and i'd be the most miserable woman in the world. peg mcatea, a columnist for the salt lake tribune has listened to the courtroom testimony, much of it graphic. she joins us now from salt lake city. if you would, first of all, thanks for your time. describe if you would being in the courtroom and listening to elizabeth smart document everything that happened to her really as a child.

>> it is a very intense experience. the courtroom is of course silent except for her voice and that of the prosecutor as he's been asking her questions. the jury is listening very intently as are those of us in the gallery. it is horrific to hear, but it's unfortunately necessary to proceed with this case. >> yeah, her testimony is being described as a graphic depiction of sexual abuse. for example, she talked about obviously being raped, being ordered to drink alcohol. and then her decision to stop eating so that the alcohol could take a stronger effect. i think we all understand that. how is she holding up under this testimony? >> she is -- she's very strong. she's very measured in her speaking. she faltered just a bit yesterday when she was

testifying when she was talking about the first time mitchell attacked her and the business with oral sex. but other than that, she is steady. she is solid. and very composed. >> yeah. she's -- correct me if i am wrong here -- 23 years old now. >> that's right. >> so far, what's the most moving moment or moments in her testimony? >> for me, it was when she decided that she would survive and that she would ensure that her family would survive, that she decided that she would do whatever was necessary to remain alive despite the treatment and to try and find a way back home. >> what portrait of the accused brian david mitchell is emerging from smart's testimony? >> he is very calculating.

he clearly planned out the abduction very carefully. he had set the stage in the camp site in the mountains above the smart home. he had -- it was all -- everything was in place. and he had been to the home before. he was hired as sort of a one-day laborer around the house. so he had been able to case the home. he had seen elizabeth before and i believe he set his sights on her specifically. and he was just very careful and calculating in everything he did around the abduction and taking elizabeth up into the mountains. >> peg mcentee is a columnist for "the salt lake tribune." grammy award winning singer john legends stems from behind the piano to give a charity of your choice a leg up. this is interesting. legends kicks off his holiday giving efforts and talks about hills stint as a college

professor later today with ali velshi. be sure to catch john legends live in the "cnn newsroom" at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. it is amazing video. you may have seen it maybe a few times now. the trick play done by a middle school teen to score a touchdown. the quarterback who did it said he thought something else was going to happen. you will hear from him in just a couple of seconds.

it is the quarterback sneak everybody is watching on the

web. the coach and the eighth grade player behind the trick play talked to the team at cnn's "american morning." >> i don't know. it was just a rush of adrenaline. it was fun. i had a blast doing it. i didn't think i was going to get very far. but it turned out to be a touchdown. >> because you were thinking when you executed this play i'm going to walk right through the line with no protection, they're going to kill me. >> that's what i was thinking at first. that's what was running through my mind the whole time. >> in practicing the play, we even said there's going to be two results of the play. either jason is going to get hit really hard by a linebacker or safety or he's going to get a first down or a touchdown. for us thank goodness it was the latter. >> that quarterback is a middle schooler? he's got a mustache? what, is he 30? what was that? let me see that video again. is that -- all right.

all right. the texas middle school football game was for the championship and ended in a 6-6 tie for driscoll and seale middle school in corpus christi. i don't believe that. we head next to afghanistan where it's still pretty much a man's world but a few bold women are changing that and taking on jobs that would have cost them their lives under the taliban.

you know american women pretty much do any type of job they want, right? but many women in afghanistan are just beginning to peer behind the burqa. their roles are changing but slowly. here is cnn's jill dougherty on assignment in jalalabad.

>> reporter: a shocking sight for afghans, women renovating a building. women like salma working outside the home is almost impossible. >> translator: i need to work. my husband cannot work. i was taking in laundry for students washing them at home. then i heard about this program. >> reporter: it's called cash for work. an american-sponsored program to help these women, most of them widows, survive. >> their family members are desperate but if we can give them a job and food on their tables their kids wouldn't join the insurgency. >> reporter: in this hospital in eastern afghanistan, women learn the basics of construction work. they start out as unskilled workers and earn $5 a day and then become skilled workers and earn $9 a day. that is as much as men earn for the same job which is very rare here in afghanistan. this 18-year-old uses the pay to support her family. was it difficult for you to

think about doing a man's job? >> translator: it's not a problem for me. if a man can do it, why can't a woman? >> reporter: this is men's work in afghanistan for the most part. so when they started this program, there actually was a bit of nervousness about women doing a man's job. >> this is a woman's who host e. it's okay for them to do it here. >> reporter: across afghanistan women are in the background hidden behind burqas they wear on the streets. but empowerment projects are being replicated across the country by the u.s. getting women into the workforce is a major initiative as it seeks to build up afghanistan. like this program for female journalists in herat. this woman says that's her dream but first she has to convince her husband. >> things in my life, for example, i will be a good mother, i will be a good wife

for you and now he says, okay, i will see. >> reporter: back in jalalabad, salma sees a glimmer of home for her future. she's already found new painting jobs which she does when men aren't present. >> translator: i'm proud about me and i'm doing something for my family. i'm very happy i can work like men and go outside of my home, that i can work and get money for my family. >> reporter: and she's training her 14-year-old daughter to work with her. jill dougherty, cnn, jalalabad. sarah palin not exactly seeing eye to eye with the federal reserve. no surprise there. but one critic says, get your facts right, sarah. now she is firing back at him and the paper he writes for on facebook. i'm really excited. because toyota developed this software that can simulate head injuries and helps make people safer. then they shared this technology with researchers at wake forest to help reduce head injuries on the football field.

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john? >> very, very popular question these days. people are trying to escape high interest rate cards. if you're transferring a balance from one to another existing card then the act has no influence on the credit score but make sure you keep the preexisting account open. do not close it just because you transferred the balance away from it. if you're opening a new account in order to transfer the balance to then that can lower your credit score because, "a," you have a new inquiry on the credit reports and "b" a new account showing up on all three of the credit reports which lessens the average age of the reports and that can lower the score. >> keep the credit open but don't charge more on that card. let's go on to the next question from m.d. in florida. i'll be graduating from college in the spring and don't have any credit and would like to start building it soon. what should i know about credit cards? time to learn, right? >> time to learn. do we have an hour? we don't. you need to know credit cards

are not evil in and of themselves and you have to work on balancing them meaning take care of them now. you're in your 20s. this is when you're really establishing your credit. know that you can shop around to get the best card for you. go to sites like bankrate.com and shop around to see if you can apply. if you can't get credit right away go for a secured card. it's a specific type of card and you can search for one on those sites but make sure they report to the credit reporting bureaus because you're building your credit. if you're going to carry balance -- i hope you don't -- but if you are manage it well and pay it down as soon as you can. don't build it up too high and pay on time every time. >> make sure you're making your payments. carmen and john, thanks for the good information. if you have a question you want to get answered send us an e-mail any time to cnn help desk at cnn.com. !e!e!e!e!e!e!e!e!e!ee [ female announcer ] in the grip of arthritis, back, or back joint pain?

aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. okay. let's take a look at stocks. new york stock exchange big board over my shoulder here. we've been trading in negative territory all doggone day. down 21 points or 29. and the nasdaq i forgot the number. last check it was down 3 1/2. we were in positive territory with the nasdaq but we've turned south and we're negative there. so the major indices are down right now but there is plenty of time for a bounce-back. sarah palin defending remarks she made expressing

skepticism about a plan by the federal reserve to buy up to $600 billion of u.s. government debt. christine romans, author of the book smart is the new rich. good to see you. why? >> hi, tony. >> why is palin -- and not just palin -- and others critical of the feds, this idea, this notion of quanlt tatdive easing? >> you said it, i didn't. quantitative easing. that's the fed's big stimulus. a lot of people are saying what is this, the qe-2. it has the 2 on it because we did it once before to try to get the economy going again. this is a stimulus not passed by congress. the federal reserve can do it. doesn't need to ask us or have permission. the president has no control over it. what do china, germany and sarah palin have in common? they're all common out against it and saying it's not a good idea. essentially the united states

printing money out of thin air and that will come back to haunt us. this is what sarah palin is saying about this just a week after the midterms. coming out of an intricate global issue saying the fed's quantitative easing plan is to print money out of thin air. she's tweeting this ahead of a trip to pennsylvania today going to a school then to start discussing quantitative easing with kids around the u.s. so they prepare for fed's experiment with their future. she's talking about what it will mean for future generations and potential inflation and says when anybody goes to the grocery store they can already see the effects because of rising food prices. that got her into a little spat with "the wall street journal" reporter who wrote a story -- kind of a long story actually. check it out on her facebook page, the spat she's having with the "wall street journal." but this is sarah palin coming out on a big issue and firmly against ben bernanke and the fed asking him to cease and desist for the future of america.

>> sarah palin in conflict with "the wall street journal." that's kind of rich. if no fed action -- okay, let's just consider that. then what should be done to fix the economy? let's do this. let's take a break, christine. hang on to that thought because i know you've got a lot on this. we'll continue our conversation right after the break. [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply, unlock the doors, and turn on the hazards. or get a car that does it for you. ♪ one month, five years after you do retire? ♪ client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life.

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pictures, information, insight you won't find anywhere else. "cnn newsroom" with tony harris. anything can happen. >> let's continue our conversation with my colleague and author christine romans in new york. she pend the book "smart is the new rich" hot hot hot. before the break we were talking about sarah palin. here's the question. if sarah palin is criticizing a plan by the feds to purchase u.s. government debt, what does she propose the fed do to boost the economy? >> well, she's not being specific quite yet on that but she will speak this evening in pennsylvania and we'll be listening very closely to see if she has any kind of diagnosis and recommendation herself. but one of the things about the criticism so much of the fed's plan is that people are

concerned because they don't see an exit strategy and just don't really think it's going to work overall. there's even been division in the fed on this but ben bernanke has been very clear he thinks it will be help in the short term to get the economy growing again and frankly it needs to be done. german's finance minister said, with all due respect, u.s. policy is clueless. those are some pretty strong words from a finance minister of one of our strongest allies. sarah palin also saying that when germany who knows a thing or two about inflation is giving comments like that, she said, we should all take note. the president, however, defending the fed. he's on his big asia trip and he's going to be hearing more about this as he heads to seoul, south korea, for the g-20. a lot of fed-bashing i would say. china has toned down its rhetoric a little bit ahead of that meeting but a lot of discussion about what this will mean. i think we'll hear more from sarah palin on it. >> but let's be honest here. the german chancellor angela

merkel has long been against this idea of stimulus spending to grease the skids of the global economy. so it's not surprising that germany would take this position, is it? >> that's right. no, it's not. i also think it shows there are divisions among our friends and allies and among i would say our competitors in the global marketplace about what to do. a year ago at g-20 i was in pittsburgh reporting on what was happening there. all of these countries, these 20 countries we're talking about speaking with one voice and not taking policy actions that would be detrimental or just their own policy actions to get out of the recession or build the recovery. now you're seeing the feeling of going it alone again from different countries. it's an interesting time on the global stage. sarah palin stepping right in there and trying to define this particular subject. so a week after the midterms, two years before 2012, it's

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okay. what's hot in the world of entertainment? after a quick look at top stories now, a mystery in southern california. our affiliate kcbs caught on tape what appears to be a missile launch. can we take that full? off the coast last night. it prompted a lot of calls and naval officials say it was not one of their missiles. no comment from the air force. look at that. the man in the spotlight during the bp disaster tony hayward told british broadcasting that bp was, quote, making it up day to day in the beginning. he says the company was not prepared to deal with all the media attention. and you won't be seeing the goodwrench name anymore in any

gm service and repair centers. general motors has given mr. goodwrench his walking papers. get out of here. coco's comeback and bristol palin on "dancing with the stars," two of the stories people are talking about today on the entertainment front. brooke anderson co-host on "showbiz tonight" on hln joining us from los angeles. it's all yours. good morning. take it away. >> all right. well, first i'll start with conan's big debut last night on tbs. there are some really great positive reviews out there today. some lukewarm reviews as well. i always say you can't please everybody. but for the most part lots of love along the lines of it was a stronger more self-assured conan and a looser goofier conan. i thought he seemed at ease and happy to be back in his element. i don't know if you saw but our own larry king took part in the cold open of conan's show which we know is the taped portion that kicks off the show.

he played his guardian angel when conan was about to jump off a bridge and couldn't find a job and larry was giving him advice, look into basic cable. larry very funny himself. great to see conan back on the air. >> good stuff. anything else making headlines, brooke? >> well be i want to tell you we just got word that conan, the show last night really went neck and neck with jay leno. we just got word that the early household market ratings showed that they were pretty much right there head to head. so that's a great indicator that conan had a really strong start and we're going to get more concrete numbers on that in a few hours. but he might be able to rival letterman and leno. we'll just have to wait and see. i do want to say that the other late night hosts did not ignore the fact that conan o'brien was on the air last night. listen to what letterman said. we gained an hour and they slipped in another talk show. yes, right about now conan is about halfway through his first

show and everything is going fine and, yep, no signs of foul play yet. of course that was a dig at jay leno. i really think conan is a force to be reckoned with. as he really gets into his groove i think we're going to see more from him, bigger and even better things. but i do want to talk about bristol palin because you mentioned her in the very beginning. she's a competitor on what is already a ratings juggernaut, a monster hit "dancing with the stars." and "showbiz tonight" was right there on the set of "dancing with the stars" with bristol last night. she talked to us about trying to survive week eight. she and her partner mark ballas did a really sexy tango. listen what she told us after the dance about keeping hope alive and what momma sarah palin has been saying. >> yeah. i had a blast doing the tango. i felt like it was intense and everything was pretty powerful and stuff. we're not being rewarded for our

hard work but i had fun with both routines tonight. >> you are with the voters though. people are bringing you back each week and want to see you here. i think they're inspired by your performances. i know you got to go home this week. what did you think of alaska? second trip up there? >> we weren't in alaska. >> i thought you did. >> no, no. we went and visited her family and we had a lot of fun. like i got to see sarah again. sarah is great. tripp was there and her little brother trigg. they came in on rehearsal. sarah always has encouraging words which is awesome and great to have her there. that was inspiring and gave bristol a little extra boost. >> she scored 24 out of 30 last night, which ain't bad. but the competition is stiffer now. she's in the final five. she'll find out tonight if she makes it another week. >> could she conceivably win this thing? >> no. it's jennifer gray all the way but final five is an accomplishment in and of itself especially someone not naturally

a dancer. she's done well. >> remind everybody when your big show is on tonight. >> hln we're live at 5:00 p.m. eastern and always back at 11:00 p.m. eastern and pacific every night. >> good to see you. see you tomorrow. thank you. >> bye. and what cnn personality -- you'll love this -- will make a special presentation at the 2010 soul train -- yes, the soul train music awards tomorrow night. how about don lemon? how about wolf blitzer? maybe ali velshi? you have may be surprised by who's got the most soul.

before the bribing here was the question

what personality will make a presentation at awards tomorrow night? don lemon? wolf blitzer? ali velshi? the answer is -- wait for it -- there he is. the man. wolf blitzer, soul train music awards tomorrow night in hotlanta. wolf as you know part of the best political team on television joining us from the political desk in washington. can't wait to see you. >> a lot of people don't know i'm a soul man going way back my whole life. it's going to be exciting sean fun and tomorrow night in atlanta and will air on b.e.t. on i think november 28th. so it will be something everybody can see. >> well, i'll be there cheering you on. wolf blitzer the orch soul man. can't wait. i know you have the political update for us. >> let me tell you what's going on in the world of politics crossing our cnn ticker. the president of the united states he's in indz neisha.

as a young boy he spent formative years of his life there. he had to twice postpone a trip to indonesia because of katrina and health care. he's finally there now and guess what this volcano will force him to cut short the trip by a few hours because they're afraid of the spewing ash that could impact air force one so they'll have to cut short the trip in the morning. at least he made it finally to indonesia and met with the president and had some good meetings there. he'll move on to south korea and the g-20 summit in south korea. michael steele, another story that's moving, chairman of the republican national committee. a lot of us wondering if he'll seek a second term as the chief and leader of the republican party. there's opposition, as you know. he's getting into a little bit of a problem with haley barbour, the chairman of the republican governors association, former rnc chairman, the governor of mississippi suggesting maybe michael steele can't do the appropriate fund-raising looking

forward to 2012. michael steele saying they don't want me in this job to put it rather bluntly he told npr. there's been a con certed effort since i got the job. no word he'll seek a second term although you can't deny he had major political successes. not only the election last week but in terms of the earlier election in virginia, in massachusetts with scott brown and in new jersey with chris christie. finally this. arnold schwarzenegger, the outgoing governor of california, he was on jaly leno last night and he said he didn't really have a problem if people want to smoke pot. he said, no one cares in you smoke a joint or not, he said, although he did oppose proposition 19 which was defeated last week which would have completely legalized marijuana for recreational purposes in california. he says this proposition 19 went a little bit too far, i think, and it was written badly. but that's going to generate some commotion out there when he says nobody cares if you smoke a joint or not.

>> wow. wonder if he would have said that if he weren't the outgoing governor. >> probably not. >> there he is -- >> see you tomorrow in atlanta. >> can't wait, wolf. cannot wait. your next political update in one hour. for the latest political news go to cnnpolitics.com. - the gulf. - and i saw things. - incredible things. - and people you never forget. - i did my job. - for my country. - my buddies. - for total strangers. - and i was proud. - so grateful. - for my family. - my freedom. foall who served and all who serve, we can never thank them enough.

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♪ [ male announcer ] at&t and blackberry have teamed up to keep your business moving. blackberry torch now just $99.99. only from at&t. rethink possible. okay. d.d. is back. derek dodge following what's trending and hot. you've got two computers and the ipad. and the blackberry and

everything. what is trending? >> way too connected. i'm going to geek out for a moment. this is why i love twitter. almost 14 years after his death and carl sagan is trending on twitter. it is his birthday and everyone is tweeting happy birthday, carl sagan including this guy. he says i'm not one to follow the trending topics but i love carl sagan. me too. a still more glorious dawn awaits. happy birthday. >> want you to see that at home. there it is. >> i want to show you one more thing. this is the new white house blog on cnn.com. it's white house.blog.com. what's it like to work for the cnn unit and follow the president around. the president is in ind nooones right now. here's the picture of an air force one pillow and a sign that says cnn on it. that's cool. i'm going to leave you with this. in order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. >> create the universe.

mr. sagan. happy birthday. >> very nice. derek dodge following what's trending. we're back in a moment. where are you going? you're in the "cnn newsroom." come back here. what can i get ya?

i'd like one of those desserts and some coffee. sure, decaf or regular? - regular. - cake or pie? - pie. - apple or cherry? cherry. oil or cream? oil or cream? cream... please. when other toppings are made with hydrogenated oil, the real dairy cream in reddi-wip's sure an easy choice. nothing's more real than reddi-wip. fork or... spoon?

this veterans day many people will be going to cemeteries to remember loved ones who served and died. some veterans, though, never get any visitors. some are buried with no one there to mourn them. cnn's deborah brunswick reports on one cemetery out to change that. >> today we are here to honor the memory of over 20 veterans. at the calverton cemetery on the eastern end of long island here to perform an eoa service. >> noa stands for no one in attendance. in other words, these soldiers that have come here do not have any family, no mourners, no one

to pay them tribute. they're just left here to be buried. >> this ceremony started at the calverton cemetery about five years ago when several employees realized there were veterans intered here without family or friends at the burial ceremony. we thought it would be a fitting tribute to have some of our employees and some veterans from the local community come and pay tribute to these individuals on a monthly basis. >> they are veterans that have served this country and it's important that we honor them, whether they have family here or not and it's our obligation to do it and it's an honor. >> private first class philip madderno. >> reading their names individually is meaningful connecting their rank, their name, their branch of service and realizing these are people who did take time out to defend their country. >> private bernard rowland, u.s. army. senior