talk about a thrill, on tuesday, he made the leap to cable. appearing on chelsea handler's show. >> get yourself comfortable. >> reporter: premiered the latest and who should appear in the bedroom? ♪ i thought this was a perfect time ♪ >> reporter: 50 cent himself and gave kenon his cross. a new side kick for 50 cent. keep the change. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> why doesn't anything exciting like that happen on one of my flights? just boring old. >> boring people, flying from here to there. not that everybody's boring. nothing really, you know, fun happens. >> i wish kanye was on our flight. >> something interesting happened to me on a recent flight but i better not talk about it. >> a drunk passenger?

>> hah hah! >> who's that ringing in this morning? >> it wouldn't be me drinking in first class. that might make it more exciting, kiran. pop a few. >> exactly. >> if you haven't guessed by now, we are out of here. kyra phillips takes over now. good morning, kyra. >> bye, guys. 6:00 a.m. on the east coast. 9:00 a.m. in the west. here's the stories that have us talking this morning. tug boats towing "splendor" close to san diego. it's been the engine room fire we were told is what knocked the power out the that ship leaving 4,500 people aboard with no air conditioning or hot food. another huge set back for bioing's next generation of airliners. canceled all test flights of the dreamliner after one of the planes made an emergency landing in texas because of smoke in the cabin. and parents, if your teen spends a lot of time texting and social forecasting, this may be

curl your toes a. study says they're more likely to have sex, smoke cigarettes and use drugs. thousands of passengers stranded on a broken-down cruise ship being hauled to california a. couple of tug boats are actually towing the carnival "splendor" bobbing in the pacific ocean just south of san diego. it's 950 feet long, way bigger than the "titanic." an engine room fire cut the power to the ship on monday. they have no air conditioning, no phone service, no hot food and toilet service just restored overnight so the crew of the "uss ronald reagan" is helping out, handing off food, water and supplies, all of it to hold passengers and crew members over until they're back on dry land. carnival says that that could happen late tomorrow. cnn producer paul vercams an talking about how they feel

restocking that cruise ship. >> a great sense of satisfaction as the carrier helped "the splendor." we are 200 miles southwest of san diego right now and as a pilot that made several of the runs in her helicopter to the "splendor" delivering food and other supplies said interesting for those people getting a viz it fr visit and sure that wasn't on the itinerary for the cruise. good news also is no one was brought to the sick bay here aboard the carrier. and they said that when they did see people on the ship itself, these are the pilots and crew member men aboard the carrier who went off to help the people aboard the carnival cruise ship said they were snapping photos of the helicopters. they were taking pictures with their phones a lot of them waving sendoffs to all of those aboard here. what the carrier was doing was bringing vital supplies to the carnival cruise ship. that includes water, bread,

sandwich meat, granola bars and paper plates and most of all water. what happened here was the aircraft carrier left its maneuvers. they were getting ready for the pre-deployment and got the distress call and as they said they were more than happy to help out. >> carnival says the "splendor" passengers gate full refund and offering a credit for a free cruise. wonder how many takers they'll get. pacific coast to the pentagon, everyone is talking about the mysterious streak over the l.a. sunset and can't get any straight answers of what the heck this was. it sent the military into pretty much a frenzy because a lot of people think it looks like a missile launch. others are saying it's just an optical illusion, a distortion of the jet contrail. here's what the pentagon is sying, quote, all the d.o.d. entities reported no launches, scheduled or inadd vert ept in the time period in the area of the reported contrail. we're dissecting the pictures

and digging for some answers in just about ten minutes. this morning, president obama's in south korea for the main event of the ten-day tour of asia. he landed in the capital city of seoul several hours ago, meeting with the presidents of south korea and china before taking part in tomorrow's start of the g-20 economic summit. leaders of the top global economies will focus on stabilizing the world's financial markets and shoring up a shaky international recovery. the president is fresh off of a visit to indonesia. he spent much of the time there trying to build bridges to the world's largest muslim majority nation. >> just as individuals are not defined solely by their faith, indonesia is defined by more than its muslim population. but we also know that relations between the united states and muslim communities have frayed over many years. as president, i've made it a priority to begin to repair these relations. >> president obama cut short his visit to indonesia yesterday

because of the eruption of mt. merapi, it's been spewing ash and concerns it could ground air force one. today airlines canceled flights in and out of at least two airports. eight days after going to the polls, alaska's inching closer to naming the winner of the bitter senate race there. officials will count write-in ballots today. joe miller wants the counting delayed until rules are more clearly defined. it is a critical issue. the vast majority of the write-in votes expected to go to lisa murkowski. she coampaigned as a write-in candidate. miller's considered a rising star of the tea party movement. one of them is incoming republican congresswoman noem of south dakota. the argument for the new position, the tea party should

be rewarded for the gop winning back the house. cnn's candy crowley had a chance to speak noem yesterday. >> reporter: do you see yourself as an advocate for people backed by the tea party, yourself included? >> well, you know, the tea party was extremely important in this election and many fresh men and many other legislators were elected with their support here in south dakota. i had a lot of tea party support. i think they -- the message that i carried of smaller, limited government, less spending really resonated with them and it was something we could agree on, so, you know, i certainly think that that is something that's a factor. >> meanwhile, two democrats in congress asking their party to hold off electing the next house leaders. the two sent a letter describing the democrats' 60-seat loss in the house as historic. defazio opposed nancy pelosi remaining in a leadership role when the gop takes control of the house in january.

calendar says fall but wintry weather arrived on oregon's mt. hood, it is the first major snowfall of the season and skier's delight at breckenridge. they added an extra coat to flakes of last month and opens for business on friday. bet you sometimes wishing you're back in oregon, rob? >> yes. good time of year and timberline, just below timberline, you can ski in july there. u.s. ski team goes up there. better conditions now. that's for sure. highlight a couple of spots. we are getting the time of year where every weekend some resort opening. some of these already open. loveland. wonderful creek. keystone. breckenridge about to open and bright son and solitude in utah. timberline open nearly year around. sugar mountain in north carolina, some meting today. kind of warm out there. killington always open early out

there on the east coast. so we have some moisture rolling into the pacific northwest and the sierras. tahoe getting a snow and salt lake city. at least at the higher elevations. maybe the benches getting snow, also. certainly the wasatch continuing to get snow and pile up that base and hopefully on board for a good season this year. this guy refuses to go away. talked about him yesterday. thought he would be gone and still kind of throwing in moisture across eastern new england. i think this afternoon it should be gone and relatively clear behind it. temperatures aren't all that bad. looking at temperatures in the 40s right now across parts of new york and jersey and we'll look for temperatures to rebound nicely, i think, going through the afternoon because the warmth is really starting to pump in from the south. this front's moving to the east but running into a pretty strong ridge of high pressure there so looks like temperatures here are going to be, well, getting into near record levels i think like what we saw yesterday. upper midwest, grand forks saw

record high temperature in the 60s and 68 degrees in minneapolis today. 71 degrees in chicago. not bad. not bad star-viewing weather or missile-viewing weather or whatever it was. >> missile gaezing. i know, what the heck? ruled out super-man, loch ness monster. hug-zilla. >> let's not be scientific about this. >> aren't you glad we're sticking to the facts, rob? anything else? any other theories to down on this? >> looks like a mini rockets i would shoot up as a kid but bigger. >> you would be the one getting into trouble. you launched something looking like this? >> like i said, my rocket's a little smaller. but this one's certainly -- >> your mom must have had a cow. >> all in the saname of science >> we're digging into it after the break. [ female announcer ] kids who don't eat breakfast

may not be getting the nutrition they need to keep their bodies strong. carnation instant breakfast essentials supplies the nutrients of a balanced breakfast to help build strong muscles and healthy bones. carnation instant breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start. 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 ]

whew! i think it's worth it. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual. let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. 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. [ male announcer ] take your own 14-day challenge. prilosec otc. heartburn gone, power on.

all right. about that mysterious trail of smoke or vapor off the california coast, it's today's talker because people are still talking about it two days later. sure wish the pentagon would talk more about it. we're not getting solid answers from there either. the whole thing took on an area 51, bermuda triangle, loch ness monster kind of vibe. a doctor is hot on the trail, a theoretical physicist. my old job, of course. a guy that makes complex scientific stuff easy to understand. good to see you, doctor. >> glad to be on the show. >> all right. so, okay. we have heard missile launch. we've heard rocket. we have heard optical illusion. we have heard airplane. what are you sticking with at this point? >> well, it's not super-man. i think that there are two basic reasons for believing that it's an airplane contrail. first of all, the smoking gun is

radar sightings and if you analyze the radar images you find no object that is moving like a missile. all you see are just airplanes in the area. but second of all, if you go to a frame by frame analysis of the trail itself, you realize that it's really an airplane. first of all, the about is not accelerating. booster rockets accelerate up to 15,000 miles per hour. this thing is traveling at a constant velocity and deviating in the trajectory. rockets move in a straight line. so rockets move in a straight line and airplanes, of course, can change maneuver. also if you looking at the trajectory head on, edge on, something looking like it's going vertically up could be going horizontal and plays tricks on you and then contrails expand very rapidly so the base of the contrail looks close to

you artificially. actually, it could be moving toward you rather than away from you and put it in line with other airplanes in the area. >> interesting because you bring up an interesting point. from the way we would see it versus the way a pilot would see it, it would be completely different, right? >> that's right. in fact, pilots who were interviewed said they saw nothing strange in the area. how can that be? because that trail is staring you in the face. however, looking at it from above, looking down, they would see an ordinary airplane flying horizontally while we on the ground think that it's a missile flying vertically. so, all of the dots fit. if you assume that it's an airplane, rather than a missile. >> okay. now, we are getting a number of other obviously there's a lot of professionals weighing in on this. you are sticking to the airplane thought. another expert that has been on a number of networks is saying

it looks like possibly a test firing from a submarine. >> well, you have to realize that icbm launches of vanderberg go east to west. we fire east to west with missiles. the trajectory of this object is different. the trajectory seems to be coming toward you. it seems to be going east which is opposite the direction of polar launches and also launches in the pacific ocean that we fire our missiles at. >> dr. kaku, if it was an airplane, though, wouldn't there be some sort of record of the fact that it's airborne? it has to launch from somewhere. it had to show up on some sort of a screen. >> yes. if you look at the blogs, people have been looking at different flights that go over l.a. from west to east. opposite the direction that it

seems to be flying because an optical illusion and there is an airplane that's flying from hawaii to phoenix traveling over los angeles in the correct direction. so there are candidates, there are prime candidates for that missing airplane that's causing this trail. and remember, the passengers on that airplane don't even know that it's creating this contrail and so we have now i think the smoking gun. >> okay. we're going to pin it on you, dr. kaku. we'll see how it holds out and get some answers at some point. dr. kaku, so great to see you. always fun watching your show, as well. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. all right. time for you to weigh in. you don't have to be a theoretical physicist like dr. kaku to have an opinion here. tell me what you think. what's your theory? all right. let's travel cross country. boston, ohio a. deer crashed an enthen trashed a neighborhood bar and grill and caught on tape

and is quickly becoming the hit online. the nervous buck slipped and slid across the barroom door before making the way out the kitchen door left open by a fleeing worker. lucky nobody was hurt. next stop, plymouth township, michigan. cameras rolling when a packet of red dye exploded as two robbers made the getaway. that pair held up a bank on friday and still on the run. they say even if they ditch their clothes, you can still recognize them. finally, portland, oregon, life in a fish bowl, christen is spending the month of november inside this glass encased store front. her only contact with the outside world is through social networking. christin stays is part of an art and social media experiment called "the public isolation project." the reviews are in on conan's first show, and yes, he has an i don't know this morning. computer log-in and badge still working. in fact, he actually smoked the competition. we'll have more of that right

after the break. in 1968, as whaling continued worldwide, the first recordings of humpback songs were released. public reaction led to international bans, and whale populations began to recover. at pacific life, the whale symbolizes what is possible when people stop and think about the future. help protect your future, with pacific life. the power to help you succeed.

♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ the new cadillac srx. the cadillac of crossovers. cadillac. the new standard of the world. but there's one that's so clever, it makes your skin look better even after you take it off. neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% of women saw improvement in their skin's natural texture, tone, or clarity. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics recommended most by dermatologists.

you know, a lot of people are -- a lot of people talking about the show today a. lot of reactions. and it's all playing out on television. take a look. >> it was great to see conan back on the air. >> squirmed a lot in my seat. but no. i didn't pass out. >> pretty gory? >> very gory. >> he's out of control. drunk, cursing. naked. >> and i had the impulse to turn away. >> reminded me of barbara bush. >> reminds me of my husband no longer alive so i keep coming back.

>> some varied perspectives. >> so far so very good with the new show on tbs, our sister network. the debut monday smoked leno, letterman and jon stewart in the ratings. looks good on the employee evaluation next month. tom hank us was on the show last night and we learned how he's ruined conan's life. >> you ruined my life because -- you started -- you did. you have -- >> coco! coco! coco! >> be care wfl that hand gesture. >> out of context, it looks like you're doing the shake weight. >> this is what it looks with grandma to applebee's.

>> now you're talking. i have to say, you started -- it was just -- >> just a thing. >> a little quip. >> you did it on another thing. i thought it was a thing they called you. >> so yeah. you repeated it and people chanting it. now my kids -- i have little children who call me sometimes coco instead of daddy. which enrages me. >> it's a sample of my power. >> i know it. do not screw with this guy. >> and tonight conan welcomes jon hamm and fistful of mercy will play. that's a band featuring ben harper and danny harrison. son of the late beatle george. bashing your boss, if you do it online, you may find yourself unemployed. an important new case may change that. we'll tell you about how an employee may have more

protection under the law. [ woman ] you know, as a mom, i worry about my son playing football. 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.

[ male announcer ] nature is unique... ...authentic... ...pure... and also delicious. ♪ like nature valley. granola bars made with crunchy oats and pure honey. because natural is not only good, it also tastes good. nature valley -- 100% natural.

100% delicious. [ ted ] for years, i was just a brewer. until one of the guys brought in some fresh bread that he'd made from our pale ale. and from that first bite, i knew my business would never be the same. [ male announcer ] when businesses see an opportunity to grow, the hartford is there. protecting their property and helping them plan their employees' retirement. ♪ beer or bread? [ male announcer ] see how the hartford helps businesses at achievewhatsahead.com. all right. we have new numbers on the state of the job market today and if you want one word to describe this report it's improvement. stephanie in elam in new york with the details. what happened? alison kosik is off and usually brings bad news r. you trying to

one up her? >> you said yesterday she is debbie downer. it just turned out lucky for me, kyra. she will be like, great, thanks, steph. we have to tell you new jobless claims dropped by a sizable 24,000 last week and this number actually measures the people that signed up benefits for the first time. total last week, 435,000, lowest level in four months and still pretty high but a sign of fewer layoffs happening. that is good news. how about some more good news? general motors, they made nearly $2 billion last quarter and the third quarter in a row where it turned a profit and best quarter in six years. this is setting the stage for gm to go public in the next week or so and strong earnings make it a more attractive investment and more successful the ipo is the more money taxpayers will get back from the bailout, that $50 billion bailout. so with that in mind, let's take a look at stocks. pretty much flat today. the dow up three points.

nasdaq up a point at 2564. if you're in the market for a truck, you might want to know this one. ford is bringing the trucks to you to test drive. launching a 60-city tour to show off the 2011 f-150. all tough do is sign up for a ford rep to bring a truck to your home or work and test drive it for 30 minutes and running through january. doesn't make it any easier. you barely have to get off the couch to check it out, kyra. >> all right. i will, steph. see you again next hour. here's some of the story that is have us talking this morning. off the coast of mexico, tug boats towing that crippled cruise ship closer to san diego. it's been three days since a fire knocked out power on the ship leaving 4,500 people aboard with no air conditioning or hot food. everybody's wondering what the mystery plume in the sky off the california coast is and the pentagon sais there's no evidence it was left by a missile. an expert thinks it could be from an airplane. a school in england says if

you want to improve grades, well, let them sleep longer. so, the high school now starts classes an hour later from 10:00 a.m. to 3:45. so far, school officials say math and english scores are up and so's attendance. if you love facebook and hate your boss, you may want to listen carefully to the next story. there's a new legal case that could redefine just how much to bash your boss without putting your job at risk. the nation allay boar relations board has filed a complaint against a connecticut company that canned a woman that griped online about the supervisor. earlier on cnn's "american morning" john roberts spoke to a legal expert of how ground breaking the case could be. >> so what the nlrb is saying is the facebook page is kind of like the water cooler at work and people gather around at work and they say, well, this is wrong. talking about working conditions. and maybe that involves dissing your boss, as well. and the labor relations board is

saying, facebook would be just like a water cooler as long as it's a conversation going on. >> that's right. it is really interesting because traditionally american companies and as a matter of fact most workers look in the manuals seeing they're prohibited from postings on facebook or other sites, violation of company policy. can't post a picture in the company uniform and thought to be sacred in the past and now they're saying if you discuss work conditions on facebook and other workers are par tis patding, it's legal conduct and it can't be prohibited. >> companies across america wrestling with social media and the policies in place and what people can and cannot do. for company that is have a bl blanket policy as this ambulance company that says you can't post anything about the place you work on a social networking site, does that render that policy now either ineffective or just basically illegal? >> well, any company that has such a policy has to look at it

and weigh whether -- they have to consult with attorneys about this, whether this rule is applied nationwide. so they're going to look at this policy but i think companies are worried about this because, remember, if a worker criticizes a company on a facebook site and let's say they have 500 friends on facebook, it's not only going to the fellow workers, it's going to the 500 friends. and i think when lawyers start arguing about this, they're going to say, you know, this is really not about workplace conditions, this is about a company's entire national reputation and the nlrb should take a different look at it so it's a fierce battle in the courts, think. >>. may be deja vu in minnesota twochlt years ago a long and bitter bat 8 for senate. now the state could recount votes for governor. [ diane lane ] when you were 14

we helped keep your skin clear. now we have a solution for wrinkles. neutrogena anti wrinkle with retinol sa smoothes even deep wrinkles. it works...beautifully. neutrogena. dear corolla, it must be hard. 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.

♪ well in honor of veterans day, our photo journalists of cnn highlighting the service, struggle and success of our men and women in uniform. and today, photo journalist chris turner turned his lenses on a company in burlington,

vermont, that allows veterans to express themselves through art. the vets literally take the uniforms worn in combat, beat them into a pulp and form sheets of paper. it's called the combat paper project. >> the combat paper project, you really are taking the people who have come back and they have suffered such experiences they're unable to kind of like -- to know where to go or know what to do with themselves and they struggle. we hope to get through the process a sense of, like, recovery. >> well, the project is based out of the art studios throughout the u.s. ♪

obama spent part of his childhood in indonesia. he was known as barry obama back then and digging up the childhood friends. one said he was chubby and round like a duck. which i think proves he's definitely not kenyan because that's as american as it gets. all right. we have heard this one before. minnesota recounting votes. the state may just do it for the second time in two years. cnn political deputy editor paul steinhauser has that story now. hey, paul. >> you were talking about the vote counting in alaska. overtime there and overtime in minnesota. and in minnesota, of course, you have got the gubernatorial contest that could go well into next year. the republican nominee trails

the democratic nominee just out of 9,000 votes and emmer said he'll let it go forward to a recount. we'll find out if it goes to a hand recount. as you mentioned if 2008, that election went an extra nine months after the senator there norm coleman and al franken there. we're hear for you until that story is over and i promise you that. hey, another thing. the lame duck session of congress is coming back next week. a big battle over the bush tax cuts. which party is more willing to compromise? check out the new numbers of gallup out this morning. which party would be more willing to compromise or stick by their core values? see democrats according to this only 18% say it's more important to stick to your beliefs. 59% of the democrats questioned in the poll say compromise is the more important thing to do. see different numbers for

republicans asked the question in the poll. 41% saying stick to your beliefs. 32% saying it's okay to compromise and that could be the big story of the next congress, kyra. >> the big story here yesterday, we couldn't get out of the cnn center, sarah palin was speaking at the -- right next door at the arena. and what do you think about the new comments of running for the white house? >> yep. with you guys yesterday in the day and then went to pennsylvania last night. plumstead, pennsylvania, gave a speech there and took questions in front of a school there. here's what he said when asked about whether to run for the white house or not. she said, after prayerful consideration and a survey of the political landscape, she said she would maybe consider to run and she would be in it to win it. which sounds a little bit like what hillary clinton said going back a couple of years before she made the run for the white house. one other thing and i'll ask ken to zoom in. a cookie controversy last night. only the tease there. if you want to read the story,

go to the cnn political ticker. cnnpolitics.com. >> thanks, paul. next update in an hour. all the political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. well, cnn's prime time show "parker spitzer" demanding that news makers explain how to balance the federal budget. last night's guest rand paul says he has a plan in a year. >> you want me to point out each and every program, there are thousands of pages that go into the budget. >> well -- >> and there are thousands of people that go into preparing the budget. i will be preparing a budget over the next two months and it will include a balanced budget and i will give people different alternatives. >> well, senator -- >> a one-year budget. i will give them a one-year budget with significant cuts. may not be palatable to many people and budgets over two, three, four and five. but the thing is, is what we have -- what we cannot do is simply put our head in the sand and doing what we have been

doing. >> "parker spitzer" every night 8:00 p.m. eastern time. live pictures out of london. thousands and thousands of students taking to the streets in protest of a tuition hike. we'll take you there live right after the break. ♪ client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize i better start doing something. we open up that box. we organize it. and we make decisions. we really are here to help you. they look back and think, "wow. i never thought i could do this." but we've actually done it. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. - i volunteered. - i was drafted. - i enlisted. - i was nervous. - and there i was in asia. - europe. - 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. we removed the alcohol and made it less intense. ♪ it still kills bad breath germs for a whole-mouth clean. and it's never felt so good. new less intense listerine® zero™.

all right. breaking news overseas right now. take a look at the live pictures out of london. a massive protest going on over college tuition hikes. it's turned pretty ugly, too. started out as peaceful and now a bit violence and just outside the headquarters of britain's governing conservative party there in london. we're told possibly 40,000 students demonstrating but it took a turn when they broke into the building and started to set off flares. also, setting off fires outside of the building. let's get the latest with atika shubert shubert. are you near the protests? heading that way? you are covering them since they began. >> reporter: i just stepped away from the front of the conservative party headquarters and still hundreds of students

that are basically taken over the plaza in front of the party headquarters, lit a big bonfire and trying to smash through the windows. they have already smashed through several of them and some students are inside negotiating trying to deliver a message to the conservative party. but this started out very peacefully. there was about 40,000 students, that's the estimate and all very festive and peaceful and then, this one group smashed through the windows of the party headquarters. and pretty much it's become a flash point and now all the students surged into that area. there's a very, very minimal security presence. when they got into the party headquarters, there were -- in this area under control with so many opportunities that have taken over the area. >> so, atika, how much is the

tuition going up? >> well, this is the thing. they're angry because the tuition basically going to be tripling. right now they pay about $5,000 a year for the tuition. and the government is lifted that cap and now universities can charge up to $16,000. that's an incredible rise for a lot of people. it means they will have to go very deep into debt here to get a university education. that doesn't compare to the american system where some private universities can charge as much as $20,000 or $30,000 but here it's a big shock to the system to see such a rise and the university budgets are slashed by 40% and there is a lot of ager from students here. >> so, is it private and public or just the public universities that are raising rates? >> reporter: pretty much public. what happens here is that there was a cap basically on tuition for schools here so schools could only charge a certain amount, up to $5,000 and then whatever else was needed by the

universities, often topped off by government funds. however, as a result of the recession, the government saying they can't afford this anymore and can't be giving up this kind of public funding for universities. that's why they say the cuts and tripling the tuition fees are going to put students into debt. >> wow. so, are these students from all various universities? have you had a chance to mingle in the crowd and talk with them? what are they telling you? are they going to have to drop out? are they concerned about not getting a degree, not getting a job? what are they voicing? >> reporter: students here are very concerned. what they're concerned about is that their family is going to have to shoulder this financial burden to put them through university, something they say some families, working class families, can't afford. the students in now say they're

okay. they're worried about years to come, maybe recent high school graduates looking to university that they may not be able to afford the kind of education that they could have gotten. what the students are telling me that what they fear is a stratified system where only the rich are able to afford an education, that the poorer people, the working classes, aren't going to be able to afford it or only going to be able to afford it if they go deep into debt and aren't able to pay back the fees they have borrowed. >> atika shubert following the protests for us. thank you so much. we will definitely monitor. they are saying up to 40,000 students demonstrating against those tuition hikes in london in front of the conservative headquarters. let's start out with jean casarez. jean? >> elizabeth smart continues to testify on the stand here in

salt lake city, describing step by step what happened to her at the hands of drin david mitchell. i'll have a live report at the top of the hour. i'm rob marciano. severe warmth across the midwest and record breaking high temperatures yesterday and today. ski resorts are opening up for the season this weekend. we run those down in the next hour. >> i'm stephanie elam in new york. happy days are here again for one silicon valley company. all of their employees getting a 10% raise. see you all in a little bit. from the situation room to the soul train line, wolf blitzer will make a special presentation tonight at the soul train awards. a lot more boogying and shimmying. first, flashback, november 10th, 1969. ♪ sunny day sweeping the clouds

away ♪ ♪ on my way to where the air is sweet ♪ >> that's the day american kids were first introduced to bert and ernie, big bird, cookie monster. over the last 41 years, the show has tackled issues like racism, sexism and aids. "sesame street" now airs in over 120 countries. ♪ that's where we meet can you tell me how to get how to get to "sesame street" ♪ ♪

[ heather ] businesses need a reliable financial partner. one who can stay in sync with their moves. my job at ge capital is to get bobcat all the financial and business support they need. we provide financing for every bobcat dealer in north america. together, we've rolled out over 100,000 machines to small businesses all over the country so they too can grow. ♪ ge capital. we're there for bobcat every step of the way. ♪

♪ they're playing basketball look at that. tony harris is completely distracted by his idol. you missed your cue. i thought michael basin was a smart man but he has season tickets to the miami heat, and he's hanging out with you. >> that's it. that's it. two bad decisions in one lifetime. >> i called him out. >> he's on your show next hour, right? >> right. >> he's got season tickets because he's a big shot radio/tv

guy now. his has courtside seats for the miami heat games. he wasn't there last night. it's a good thing. >> he's talking about the soul train awards but we can give him a hard time about the heat. >> definitely, because this is the super team, right? there are supposed to set the world on fire. is that correct? yes. let's roll some of the videotape from last night's game. at home, against the utah jazz, a team that this super team, the heat, should beat every day of the week and twice on sunday. i'm not ronnie milsap. >> i'm trying to think of a good country song right now. >> the kind of defense the heat played last night against the utah jazz and paul milsap, ronnie milsap could have scored 46 points last night. they lose a 22-point night and ultimately lose the game. this is a super team playing

absolutely mediocre right now. there you go. >> there you have it. >> you ready for one more clip. >> the heat has died. it's the miami breeze right now. >> it's a south beach breeze. >> which ain't so bad. >> not too bad. go from a team that was miserable last night to a team that was near perfection. ready? 54 points in one quarter. i don't know if it's a record, but this is what happened in indiana last night. the pacers taking on the denver nuggets, and there's the king of the nuggets, carmelo anthony. >> the walk, and the head phones going on. >> did you notice the fans? very few fans something amazing, talking about the indiana pacers scoring 54 points in one quarter. >> let's average that out, how many is that per ten seconds? >> you want me to do math?

exactly. so there you go, kyra, and i'm going to clear out of here because the great michael basin is here. that's all we got. you want more? >> i was hoping we could talk more. basin's a great tennis player like you? >> he's really picked up the game quickly. i got to head to miami and do what i do, which is to put that hurt on him. >> tony harris, ladies and gentlemen, with the big play. ♪ love that basketball all right. it's the top of the hour. 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. on the west. have you seen these images from southern california? the pentagon is knocking down speculation that it's a mystery missile that streaked across the sky. the problem is the military won't say or can't say what witnesses saw. one theory, optical illusion from an airplane's vapor trail. a set back for boeing, the

company cancelled all test flights of its 787 dream liner after one of its plane made an emergency landing in texas. if your teens spend a lot of time social networks and texting, this study says that they are more likely to have sex, smoke cigarettes and use drugs. let's talk about the mysterious orange streak over the california sunset. everybody is asking what the heck was what? we can't get straight answers from the faa, the pentagon or anyone else for that matter. a lot of people think it looks like a missile launch but the department of defense says none of its people are reporting a launch. other people say an optical illusion, a distortion of the jet contrail and then, theories of ufos, close encounters, loch ness monster, you name it. josh levs is digging through the possible explanations, and josh,

this is pretty bizarre, because from the highest level, norad and northcom, we're hearing not quite sure. >> one is saying this is absolutely obviously an airplane and one saying it is obviously not. i want you to understand how it is even possible that the words optical illusion could be involved. it is a little bit of a rorschach test. a contrail is a condensation trail. if this is an airplane that's traveling through the sky, that instead of it being something that took off the ground and shooting directly upward, what's happening is that airplane has sort of been coming toward you, and over time, the smoke, the vapor it leaves behind widens out, broadens out. our eye thinks broader means lower to the ground but when you look off to the horizon, it looks like things are going down. if the other vapor that's wider is really just farther away,

then the plane is coming toward you and not just taken off from the ground. that is what a lot of experts say is that this is an airplane contrail. one expert is john pike. here he is. >> the vehicle at the tip of the contrail is moving far too slowly to be a rocket. since the contrail is eliminated by the sunset, you are able to see hundreds of miles of it all of the way to the horizon and this creates an optical illusion that it was fired out at the ocean a few dozen miles away. >> other experts are saying absolutely no way. i just now spoke to an mit professor named ted postal. here's what he says. >> it certainly appears to be a missile that was shot into the air. the video appears to be tracking the object afterwhat looks like a separation between two rocket stages.

there's a later part of the video that has a bright point of light followed by a very dilute contrail, not nearly as intense as the contrail at lower altitude. that's typical, also, for a rocket motor. >> he is convinced there it's some kind of rocket or missile. another thing he's asking and a lost people are asking, if this is it an airplane, why can't u.s. officialing tell us which one it is. we have records of aircraft, especially since nen. >> norad took a look at this and found out, they say, no foreign military launched any missile at that time, there was no danger to the homeland. the faa went back and did radar replays of that time period. they didn't track any fast-moving, unidentified

object. none of the pilots in that area at that time reported seeing anything, and now the pentagon is saying all d.o.d. entities with rocket and missile programs recorded no launches scheduled or inadvertent during the time period in the area of the reported contrail. >> so lots of questions. i have a strong feeling about 40% of you right now are screaming at the tv that you know which one it is. you got my facebook and twitter pages there. if you're an expert or have ideas we haven't heard yet, let us know. we here at cnn are calling just about everyone we can think of to find out what the deal is with the aircraft. in the end, we have a couple of questions. not only what is the deal with this. but, also, why doesn't the government know what the deal is with that? we'll get back to you. >> you may want to call god. looks like he or she is the only one with the answers. thousands of passengers still stranded on a broken down cruise ship but they are getting

hauled back toward california. a skoum of tugboats are towing the carnival splender just south of san diego. it's a ship that's 950 feet long, way bigger than the titanic. they cut the power to the ship on monday stranding 4500 people. there is not air conditioning, hot food, and the toilet service was just restored over night. the crew of the uss ronald reagan is helping out. passing out food and water to hold them over until they are back on dry land. that could happen tomorrow. the company says splender passengers will get a full refund and a credit for a free cruise. also, president obama is in south korea for some of the key events of his ten-day tour of

asia. he has bilateral meetings with germany's chancellor. tomorrow the g-20 economic summit starts, and the leaders will talk about stabilizing the world's financial markets and shoring up a shaky international recovery. elizabeth smart says her life as a captive was her quote nine months in hell and now she is telling you're repo-- jurorse about the incident. jean casarez is with our sister network trutv. yesterday you talked about the emotion in the courtroom. now hearing from the homicide detective who approached elizabeth inside a public library. so many people wondering, that could have been the moment she was saved. >> reporter: it was an amazing moment in court when she started

to describe this. it is the headline today in the salt lake tribune. she said, i felt like hope was walking out the door. that is what she testified to. we want to show everybody this picture right here on the front of the newspaper. that is a party. it was a rave party. the three went to. elizabeth testified to it yesterday where there was a lot of drinking and alcohol and psychedelic drugs. somebody shot that photo, and there she is right there. you see the veil she has on, the gown she has on, and the homicide detective went to the salt lake city library when they were there one day and he went up to elizabeth and he said, i'm looking for elizabeth smart, and we're getting a lot of phone calls, and you look like her. can you take your veil off and mitchell stepped in and said, no, based on riches grounds, she cannot take off her veil. only her husband can do that. he said, can i be part of your religion for one day to take off this veil and elizabeth stared

at him, and mitchell refused based on religious princes, and the homicide detective left. she said, should she have taken that chance and she was so upset when they left that library. >> that's amazing, jean, because it shows the power he had over letter mentally, how he had completely brain washed her. >> reporter: brain washed, and continually told her, if you leave, if you do anything, i will kill you. you will be dead. kyra, at one point, he brought out that knife again and said, do you remember this knife? do you remember what i said to you? and she testified to her verbatim what he said to her at her bed that night. i will kill you with this knife if you make one sound. >> to be so close to a rescue. amazing. what's this about mitchell apparently trying to abduct her

cousin back in 2002? >> reporter: that's right. he testified that god had come to him and made him a prophet, and because of that he must have pleural wives, and he must go out and get others as the word is spoken. he decided to get elizabeth smart's cousin because she talked about her cousin and how much shi loe loved her cousin. he went to her home, found an open window, cut the screen, trying to push the blind in, and a lot of figurines on the ledge of the window fell down, made a lot of noise. he heard a scream in the house. he went back to the house, and he said, god has told me we shouldn't have another wife at this time. >> pretty amazing testimony you're hearing in the courtroom out of salt lake city. we'll continue to cover this case with you daily.

breaking news coming to us from london, england. take a look at this massive protest. it's all over college tuition hikes, and it's turned pretty ugly outside the headquarters of britain's conservative party there. we are told about 40,000 students are demonstrates, and things took a turn when they broke into the building, set off flares and came back outside and started to light fires. atika shubert is there among the protesters and now is joining us live, i understand. atika, it got crazy and hairy at one point, but it looks like things have calmed down a bit. >> reporter: they have calmed down a little bit over here but they have actually still taken over the plaza in front of the conservative party headquarters, and, market, if you can look down there, you can probably see a maz of hundreds of students that have gathered there in front, and basically what's happened is they have taken over

the plaza. the road in front of the conservative party headquarters. they've lit a huge bonfire and smashed their way into the lobby, effectively taking over the lobby. so it's gotten a little bit out of control. and there was a very minimal security presence initially. it was a very peaceful demonstration at the beginning, a very festive atmosphere and now it seems it has gotten out of control. riot police have arrived, however, on the scene, and are trying to gain some control over it. it's going to be tough because they have taken over the road and over the lobby of that building there. we'll have to see. clearly a lot of students are angry about these tuition hikes. >> we're talking about that tuition hike tripling, from $5,000 to $15,000. that's a tremendous increase for these students. >> reporter: it really is, and we're talking about families. they have very specific budgets, especially in this recession.

they're already really tightening their belts, and now they've been told if their child wants to go to university, they may have to pay three times as much, and this is something students say they simply can't afford and what they're worried about is they're going to end up with an education system that is increasingly stratified where only the wealthiest can afford a university education. right now students paying about $5,000 for tuition, and that is due to triple to about $15,000. and on top of that, the government says it's going to be slashing university budgets by 40%. so this is going to really impact students and universities, and that's why these students are so angry. i can see more police are being called into the scene. clearly they are trying to get more officers in here to get control of the situation but it's going to be tough with so many students on the street. >> i know you talked to number of students. let's listen to some of the interviews you did a while ago.

>> access to the university and higher education is so important to our entire society, and by raising the fees to 9,000 pounds a year, you are excluding the poorest people. you need to choose your university on the best institution for you, not how much you can afford to pay. if you are good enough to go to a university where you need a grades to get in, you shouldn't have to pay 10,000 pounds instead of 3,000 pounds. it should be about academic ability. >> and we're talking about how many schools affected, atika? >> reporter: we're talking about really most of the universities here. they are go tock deeply affected. the education system here relies largely on public funding. when they say they are slashing budgets and allowing tuition fees to arrive, it will affect most students here. this is why you have been seen an outpouring of about 40,000

students on the streets. what's remarkable about this is not the size but when the austerity program went into affect, there wasn't much demonstrations, and people seemed to accept it with a stiff upper lip, but the students clearly angry and this is the first protest against the austerity budget. this is going to shake the government and they'll be asking questions about moving forward. >> you see the protests there over the tuition hike. 40,000 college university students showing up there to get their voice heard. atika shubert on the story. straight head, from the situation room to the soul train line. wolf blitzer will make a special presentation tonight at the soul train awards, and radio host michael basin will be there, too. we're talking to them both coming up next. lenol 8 hour las. but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve was proven to work better on pain

than tylenol 8 hour. so why am i still thinking about this? how are you? good, how are you? [ male announcer ] aleve. proven better on pain. [ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business.

we removed the alcohol and made it less intense. ♪ it still kills bad breath germs for a whole-mouth clean. and it's never felt so good. new less intense listerine® zero™. okay, now here's our holiday gift list. aww, not the mall.

well, i'll do the shopping... if you do the shipping. shipping's a hassle. i'll go to the mall. hey. hi. you know, holiday shipping's easy with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. yea, i know. oh, you're good. good luck! priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.90 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship.

♪ >> that brings back some memories. usher, drake, wolf blitzer? three of those performers are up for awards at tonight's soul train awars but our own wolf blitzer will be mingling among the stars as well. he's making a special presentation. we will talk to him in just a minute but a lot of us remember soul train for this. ♪ a little moving, shakin', moving down the world famous soul train line. that show started back in 1971 and ran, are you ready for this, 35 years. it's a mark on culture.

undeniable, and the awards show lives on as well, which leads us to radio show host michael baisden. you remember the days of soul train. was that you? >> that was me back in the day. i did have a big fro, by the way. great to see you. >> boy, it's been a long time since you and i were in louisiana. >> great to see you again. >> likewise. let's talk about the awards ceremony tonight, and why it's so important and it's history. >> soul train is classic. it was one of those times when blacks and whites watched both american bandstand and we all watched soul train today. we had a chance to see black artists for the first time. you may not remember that soul train had comedians back then. a lot of respect for what don cornelius and the soul train have done. >> my mom was dick clark and american band stand and when soul train came along it was a totally different vibe.

>> everybody watched. >> it did something tore cross-cultural relations. >> absolutely. >> was it the music? the fact that we saw blacks and whites together? what was it? >> like the election, we want to come together and music is one of the best ways to bring people together. the dance was entertaining and we saw people loose. american bandstand was a little stiff. >> the poodle skirts. >> exactly. when you think about american bandstand and soul train, how skinny we all were back then. we were all skinny. >> and how tight the pants were. >> everybody was free, and i'm ex-tighted about the award ceremony. >> you are giving a special award to miss anita baker. >> yes. >> why do you love her so much? >> she personifies class, the old world singers. for me to have a chance to give her this award.

i have never met her. i'm nervous. anita baker, i have a crush on you. ron isley will also be awarded a lifetime achievement award as well. it's going to be excited. >> wolf blitzer will be there. soul train awards, michael baisden, all of the performers and wolf. the whole team what, huh? >> is wolf going to dowelly? >> wolf blitzer, are you going to dougie? >> everybody is going to have to watch on november 28th and see what i do. it's going to be a lot of fun and exciting. like all of us, we all grew up watching soul train. i did growing up in buffalo, new york. this is just a thrill to me that they asked mao we to do this about a year or so ago. i said, are you kidding me? be my pleasure. >> which reminds me, did you see wolf dance on ellen? >> i missed wolf on ellen. >> let me bring back the tape.

c.c., scott, can we do it? this is our own wolf blitzer. here we go. he's getting ready. he's going to roll up sleeves. there's the head move. narrate. >> he's warming up, building up to the throw down. now he's getting jig gi with it and now we don't know what the heck wolf is doing here. wolf, loosen up, bend the knees, breathe, wolf, breathe. >> wolf, take us back, did you feel you were getting ready for the soul train awards at that moment? >> i was just happy to be on ellen's show. she's a great dancer. i'm not a great dancer, but i enjoyed it. i have a lot of enthusiasm and that song by flo 'rida. >> we could talk about the days

of john trav volt that. are you rehearsing right now? what's going on? >> we have a major rehearsal going on. it will -- this will be something that you will want to get the videotape of when it actually airs. i don't know if you are going to have rights to it. maybe i can talk to people to see if we can get the video. >> you have your people call our people. >> i have people. >> you have lots of people. from the sit ways room to the soul train awards. >> keep practicing, wolf. >> his is going to be a move. >> michael, while i have you, the midterm elections, yeah, was historic, and depressing, depending on which side you are on. >> which side you are on, right. >> you had a chance to interview barack obama. >> many times. >> what was your take? what was it like to have him on the show? what was your response from your listeners because the hype has

died and the love has died? >> the economy is always going to be the thing that drives folks. if you have an economy as bad as this, anything is possible. a lot can be accomplished with the republicans managing one house. it has to be. you have no choice. they're in. clinton was able to achieve a lot of great things with a republican congress. now that all of the rhetoric is over, now that these people are actually in office, now they have responsibilities, don't they? it's not a situation of sitting on the sidelines and criticizing. you have to be accountable as well. i want to see what happens next. >> do you still have faith in barack obama? sure i do. you look at the deficit. you have no specifics coming from the republicans. i have been following it closely. he don't want to cut rich folks' monies which is $700 billion, which is on the table that's not going to stimulate the economy. i would be impacted by that. i have no problem paying additional taxes, and neither do many people doing well.

if you are not going to use that money or cut defense, where are you going to get the money? this a fantasy they're living in. to delay it to get middle class people their cuts, is unfortunate. >> you remember the day that barack obama one, and i'm thinking of will-i-am's song. it was magical for the country and african-americans. it was magical on so many levels. do you think and you tell me how your listeners have been responding -- let's talk about the black community in particular. are they looking at more he's been up against a lot? >> yes. >> or, oh, man, we had the first african-american president and this is just not good, not the way we wanted it to go have. >> if we're smart -- which is part of the problem. we didn't know how deep the whole is. we heard it a thousand times but no one knew how bad it was.

we had the t.a.r.p. and the bailout, and it has helped if you know the facts and not listening to just the rhetoric. it has had an impact. you can't dig a whole for eight years and expect to get out in two. >> no matter who you are. >> no matter who is there. i understand people turning, and independents voting for republicans. we are stuck with the reality of having republicans in and find a way to work together. >> listen to your show and watch b.e.t. >> thank you b.e.t. for bringing me. wolf, i can't wait to see you at the awards. >> teach him a few steps. >> step and ballroom. i will work with wolf. >> great to see you.

dear corolla, it must be hard. 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.

host: could switching to or m insuranceu fifteen percent dochuck wo host: could switching to or m insuranceu fifteen percent it chucking my wd!ang woodk, host: could switching to or m insuranceu fifteen percent

we are getting new pictures in now, these from the ground. we have the protests going on right now in london, england. about 40,000 students have showed up to protest the tuition hikes that have taken place. we are talking to our atika shubert, and apparently some of these protesters actually broke into the headquarters of britain's governing conservative party there in london and

started lighting flares. they came back outside and starting lighting some fires. it was calm, and then it picked up, and then it was calm and now, as you can see, it is picking up right again. they are actually breaking into the windows there of the governing party headquarters. we're following this closely. how much is the tuition going up? normally $5,000 a year. now getting reports it's going to triple. $15,000 a year. and as you can see, students are not happy. we are going to continue to follow this breaking news out of london, england, these pictures coming to us. atika shubert is there on the scene as this is all going down right now about 10:30 eastern time here in the united states. stock market opening bell just rang about an hour ago. down 66 points right now. google employees have a big

smile. they are getting a hefty raise and a bone pus. we google every day. >> we use it every day. we use it as a verb. >> it's part of our morning wakeup routine. >> i have a google app on my phone. they had a nice, strong third quarter earnings and they are rewarding their employees with a 10% raise for all 23,000 employees. all of the googlers are going to get a raise. this is going to happen in january. it has to do with competition. crosstown rivals, facebook, has been taking employees. they want to keep their people happy. this is their statement. while we don't typically comment on internal matters, we do believe competitive compensation plans are important to the future of the company end quote. that's what they're going to do to keep their people happy. google already has what pretty

fun campus as it stands. this is on top of the other cool things they can get, like the massages and have people come by and take care of your dry cleaning and walk your dog, all of the google perks that are out there. >> they must be very relaxed, calm, sudden people there in the bay area. >> there should be a lot of mellow people there opinion in fact, on forbes new list of the most relaxed cities, san jose is number ten. that is not exactly where the google people are based but i but there are a lot of people who cruise down 280 to get home. forbes put together a list of the moat most relaxed cities based on things like the unemployment rate. they are less stressed. how long people spend commuting, the average number of hours they spend at work, free time, access to health care, and, of course, exercise. here are your top five cities,

minneapolis-st. paul, the twin cities topping it off. unemployment rate low at 7%. milwaukee, wisconsin, they spend 38 hours a week at work, among the loetest in the nation. milwaukee is doing something rate. boston has access to great health care and portland, oregon, access to outdoor. columbus, ohio, short commutes. those people tend to be pretty chill. if you are at work 38 hours a week, i guess you could be. >> i grew up in the midwest, chilled people. good people, that's for sure. >> this is news for me. you're from the midwest. i didn't know this. >> jacksonville, illinois, blink your eyes and you are through it. my irish relatives, milwaukee, green bay. >> all of this time i thought you were from san diego. i was thinking you were one of my california sisters. >> i am, i promise. i got there in the fourth grade. does that count?

>> totally counts. i will stop giving you a hard time. >> coming up after the break, you are not going to want to miss this. have you heard of granny dot? an amazing woman. she's been writing letters to our troops for more than a decade. she doesn't even know them. they write her back. coming up right after a break.

♪ every day you check the weather, check the time ♪ ♪ check the news online ♪heck the wife, eck the kids ♪ ♪ check your email messages ♪ check the money in the bank ♪ check the gas in the tank ♪ check the flava from your shirt ♪ ♪ make sure your pits don't stank ♪ ♪ check the new hairdo, check the mic one two ♪ ♪ 'cause i'm about to drop some knowledge right on top of you ♪ ♪ you check a lot of things already why not add one more ♪ ♪ that can help your situation for sure ♪ ♪ check your credit score ♪ free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ free-credit-score ♪ you won't regret it at all! ♪ check the legal y'all. >>offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage.®

try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. well, here's a story of a woman who had tons of grandchildren that she never met or had seen. heck, she wasn't even related to them, but they meant the world to her and she meant the world to them. dorothy langraff from indiana spent 12 years handwriting letters to u.s. troops during the gulf war and were addressed to any serviceperson. they thought is might be nice for troops who might not get mail from home. she said things like i wish all of you could be home and getting on with your life in peace and happiness. her words and warmth became their home away from home.

over time, she couldn't write anymore and lost touch with a lot of troopers, but you're going to meet one soldier who never forgot her or her letters. he wanted to let her know how much she touched his life. he reached out 18 years later afraid he missed the chance to thank. her. brian vazquez is con about its us today. how did you find her? >> i was going through some paper working and looking through stuff in the army, paper work i was using to retire and i found an old letter and i looked at it, and said, oh, wow, great. i lost the letter 18 years ago. >> tell me what those letters did for you, brian, and the other guys and women around you in the armed forces. >> well, it was very motivating

because at the time we were all young, 18, 19-year-olds, going to another country to deploy. it was kind of inspirational to keep us going so we wouldn't give up and feel alone. it was very inspirational to me and all of the soldiers around me and i never forgot her and i wanted to give her her rightful credit and due by telling her story to the world. >> would bags come in and see letters to any soldier and you would reach in and grab one? is that how it would work? >> it was a box full of letters, and he name was on all of them and i decided to pick it up and read it, and i was like, wow, this lady is special and we sat down and we were talking about her. i wrote her, and she wrote me back several times. i promised i would call her when i got back to the states, but i couldn't find the letter and was discouraged about that. luckily, 18 years later i found the letter.

don't know how, but i called her and thanked her for what she did. >> we have a special surprise for you, brian. we tracked down granny dot. we were told she wasn't writing letters, she wasn't feeling well but she's joining us on the phone. granny dot, can you hear me? yes. >> thank you so much. do you remember brian vazquez? >> yes, i do. >> do you remember when he called you up, and how did that make you feel? >> oh, it made me feel wonderful. i cried afterwards because i was so impressed that he bothered to call me. i talked to a lot of the men since they called me back. a lot of them i never heard from again. it was just a wonderful thing.

>> and, granny dot, why do you care so much about our men and women in the military, men like brian vazquez? >> one thing, i loved my own son, and i know how i loved him, and i felt how could their parents stand it, and i loved them, and i just did. i don't know. >> oh, and, brian, do you have granny dot's letter with you by chance? >> yes, i do. >> is there a part that maybe, if you don't mind, pull it out. oh, granny dot, if could you see this letter. oh, wow. is there a part of it, brian, that you don't mind reading, a couple of sentences, maybe a part that meant a lot to you, maybe that granny dot wrote? >> sure. yes. she said, you are so kind to

remember me with a very nice letter. it made me so happy. i'll add it to my souvenirs for all my friends that are serving in the armed forces in the middle east. the cards and letters i receive from all of you are very dear to me. there is so much history to that part of the world. i would love to visit there one day. for now i will live it through you and my friends serving their country there. >> granny dot, he saved that letter almost 20 years later. >> i can't believe they kept them that long. >> granny dot, anything you want to say to brian while we have him here. >> other than i wish him the best in the world. >> go ahead, granny. >> brian? >> yes. >> i just wish him the most happiness in the world. i think he deserves it, and the other ones, too. all of them do.

and i sent -- i mean, i felt as close to the black ones as i did the white ones, and i i'm not prejudice in any way, and i could love all of them. >> i appreciate that, and they were all so brave. they were so brave to go. i was scared to death what hussein was going to do. i was, and i watched it every day on the news, and i talked to some, in my workplace, even. they called me there. when they couldn't get me at home. and all kinds -- i had all wonderful, wonderful experiences.

>> well, brian, anything you'd like to say to granny dot after all these years of writing letters and touching your heart, and, hey, she's celebrating her 59th wedding anniversary. >> wow, congratulations. now after i'm about to retire after 20 years of service. i want to say thank you on behalf of all of the soldiers in the world, and i want to say you've been an inspiration in my life in considering to stay in and do 20 years because your letters were so loving and caring. on behalf of all of is the soldiers who read your letters and responded, thank you. we'll never forget you. >> thank you. i don't deserve that. >> yes, you do. >> granny dot, we sure hope you're feeling better and happy anniversary. sergeant first class brian vazquez, thank you so much for your 20 years of service. you make us so proud.

>> thank you. >> more from the cnn newsroom sfrat ahead. oyota 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. at the walmart in marinette, wisconsin. that first job launched my career. since i've been with the company, i've been promoted ten times over the span of 11 years. today, i'm a divisional learning and development manager. we can actually help people develop in their own careers. my job allows me to make a difference in the lives of almost 100,000 associates in the northeast. if you think about it, that's almost 8 times the size of my hometown. my name is nick and i work at walmart. ♪

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! of some of the annoying symptoms menopause brings. go introducing one a day menopause formula. the only complete multivitamin with soy isoflavones to help address hot flashes and mild mood changes. new one a day menopause formula.

if you think your teenager is texting too much, there could be reason for concern. listen to the study from western reserve school.

it says texting can increase the likelihood of risky behavior. teens who send more than 120 text messages a day are two times more likely to try alcohol and 40% more likely to smoke and they're also more likely to use illegal drug and have four or more sexual partners. the case western study also points to concerns about the health risks of social networking in general. >> they're spending an excessive amount of time online, and connected with friends through social media, and in doing so, they've, perhaps, taken peer pressure to a cyberpeer pressure level, a high-tech peer pressure. >> meanwhile, too much texting is under scrutiny by 19 states and the district of columbia. they all have banned texting while driving. i probably feel about 30. how is it that we don't act our age? [ marcie ] you keep us young. [ kurt ] we were having too much fun,

we weren't thinking about a will at that time. we have responsibilities to the kids and ourselves. we're the vargos and we created our wills on legalzoom. finally. [ laughter ] [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help you take care of the ones you love. go to legalzoom.com today and complete your will in minutes. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the fuels that we use in our vehicles, and to do this at a large enough scale to someday help meet the world's energy demands.

let's get right to our political ticker. senior congressional reporter dana bash on the hill. >> reporter: there is going to be a lot of the interesting

things going on here next week when congress returns for the lame duck session. most interesting is going to be inside the republican conference. jim demint is going to push a vote to stop the practice of earmarking, and that is a direct confrontation to the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell. he has given millions of dollars to his state back home and thinks it's the right thing to do to keep it in congress' hands rather than nameless, faceless bureaucrats. the second thing on the ticker is the race for the number two slot in the new house democratic minority between steny hoyer and james clyburn, nancy pelosi, who is going to stay on as the top democrat is going to get involved in the fight and trying to broker a compromise, a deal, to avoid a divisive fight between the two men. both claim they have the votes for the number two slot but there are hard feelings, i'm hearing more and more, about the fact that pelosi is staying in the spot and forcing the fight

between clyburn and hoyer. >> your cover story on cnn.com on women and the next congress, what did you find? >> reporter: it's interesting. when you talk to republicans in the house, they are ex-stackic because they have more women than ever before, eight freshman, maybe nine depending on an outstanding race in new york but despite that, the overall number of women in congress for the first time in three decades is not going to go up and might even go down. a lot of interesting facts and conversations i've had with female members of congress about why that is and what they need to do in the future to change it. >> thank you. dana bash live from the hill. next political update in about an hour. all of our political news you can get from our website cnnpolitics.com.

don't want to deal with a lot of flibbity-flab or mumbo-jumbo. sounds like you need to name your price. no gobbledy-gook? never. do i still get all the dagnabbit coverage i need? sure. we give you a quote and you can adjust your price up and down to find something that works for you. ♪ this thing is okey-mcsmokey skiddly-doo. great! i think. diggity. oh! still not sure. the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. call or click today.

well, every day at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in iraq and afghanistan for us. we call can home and away. we are lifting up abe howard from williams port, pennsylvania. he died on july 27th his year. a family friend wrote in this year. abe was a great friend, great