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tv   CNN Saturday Morning  CNN  November 13, 2010 8:00am-10:00am EST

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too much to go through on the show. we've put it on our website, cnn.com/health. you can check out the chart. find the top five things you need to know specifically for resources to help you make your selections. >> and if you missed any part of today's show, check out my podcast, cnn.com/podcasting. thanks for watching. i'm dr. sanjay gupta. more news on cnn starts right now. good morning to you all. welcome to cnn saturday morning. top of the hour, 8:00 eastern time. glad you're here. we need to start this morning with some breaking news out of southeast asia. we've been keeping a close eye on this all morning, and some have been keeping a close eye on it for some 20 years. the pictures you're seeing here are of the pro-democracy icon aung san suu kyi who has been
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released from detention where she has spent 15 of the last 21 years. this is the woman who has been the face and the voice of pro-democracy movement for the past couple of decades as that country has been ruled by a military since 1962. we have someone, we do have someone live. one of our correspondents in myanmar. myanmar did not allow international journalists in to cover this particular event or to cover the elections that they had on sunday, which were the first elections they've had in some 20 years. but we do have a correspondent on the ground, but for security reasons, we will not be identifying that reporter for safety reasons. but i do want to say hello to that reporter on the line with me now. please set the scene as we've been watching this now for the past couple of hours. >> hi, t.j. this all happened about two hours and 15 minutes ago, when
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police at her compound were kicking down barricades for getting to her house. she then emerged a couple of minutes later to a massive scene of people cheering. now, as she was standing at her gate of her house, she simply said she was very happy to see all of these supporters who had come out, invited all of them to come to a speech that she's due to hold at midday tomorrow here in burma where a lot of people believe she will outline how she intends to move forward, how she intends to move the opposition forward. but i can tell you as you said a lot of people have been waiting a long time to see her, to hear her in this oppressive country. we've seen people out on the streets with t-shirts bearing her picture on it. and people might not realize, that's something really bold for people to do here because expressing your political opinions if they're not aligned with those of the military dictators is a very, very
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difficult thing and dangerous thing to do, t.j. >> that's a very good point for you to make. and again, thank you to our correspondent on the ground. we cannot identify because of security reasons. he talked about how repressive this government is. and any opposition to that government is usually shut down. there are many political prisoners there that people around the world have been calling on myanmar to release. now, her release today from house detention comes as president obama tours the asian continent. he's on that ten-day trip. here's part of the official response from the white house. we got this just about an hour ago. and i'm quoting here for you. "while the the burmese regime has gone to extraordinary lengths to isolate and silence suu kyi, she has continued her brave fight for democracy, peace, and change in burma. she's a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to advance basic human rights in burma and around the world. the united states welcomes her long overdue release."
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you heard us refer this to as myanmar and burma. well, myanmar is what it officially is, but others refer to it as burma as it was beforehand. our josh levs keeping an eye online and also giving us perspective on this moment. really, a moment in history people have been waiting on. >> yeah, and people all over the world are celebrating this moment and hoping it turns into something huge. and what i want all of you to understand is how big this is for this country and also how things got this bad. let's first do this. let's go to this google map. i want to point something out to you all about where it is in the world. and the reason for that, you need to think about -- this part of asia that myanmar is right south of china. india over to the west, and if you think about what's going on in that area. you have these booming economies in china -- large parts of china and india, meanwhile, myanmar basically completely closed off. it is now one of the poorest countries in the world. you have people struggling there, desperately.
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it's been under the rulership, and during that time government mismanagement has made this country incredibly impoverished. people are struggling, in desperate conditions. today we are hearing a lot of references back to 1990. well, the reason is -- and this is important -- that is when general elections were called 20 years ago. and guess whose party won? suu kyi's party won easily. and they didn't hand over power. and there have been these efforts to get them to hear the voice of the people, to implement democracy, to change the government. and you probably remember, i was reporting to you about this, we were reporting to you about this back in 2007, all of these protests. there were more and more protests sparked after the government doubled petroleum prices. there was one point the soldiers used gunfire to break up the protest of monks. there are a large number of monks in the country. we saw a military crackdown back in 2007 when people were standing up and saying we want
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democracy, we want our voice to be heard. now, if all that hasn't been tough enough, this country keeps getting hit by natural disasters, a cyclone brought on devastation a few years ago. and earlier this year, you had more clashes, some between a rebel group and the army. plus you had floods and landslides, and you had a cyclone this year, as well. we're talking about a country that is paying so many prices in so many ways and has been looking for a sign of hope for a better future, for a new era, for the burmese people. and many hoping that this moment could begin that future. but i'll tell you, a lot of people there and around the world also saying they're worried that the junta could be making it seem like it's a change and there isn't a change, there's no democracy. folks, that's the context for today. people all over the world hoping this begins a new era for the burmese people. but everyone is obviously very wary about making that jump and deciding it really will be one. >> thank you. and to our viewers, we won't be
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going too far away from that story. we'll keep a close eye as we get more pictures and developments. also, an update on some of the other stories. there's more and more criticism about those full body scanners. it's getting louder and louder. a grass roots movement going on right now. and some of these grass roots groups want people to refuse those scans and insist on a more time consuming and more intrusive pat downs this thanksgiving, of course, the busiest travel time of the year. that could cause all kinds of havoc at airports. critics call those scanners and also the pat downs a huge invasion of privacy. also, we could know who won the alaska senate race maybe by the end of the weekend. the incumbent, lisa murkowski ran a write-in campaign after she lost to joe miller who is also, of course, backed by the tea party. miller is challenging ballots that were misspelled. murkowski calls it an act of desperation and says he's trying to disenfranchise voters.
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also, an auction going on today. you could get a fly watch, 10 carat diamond ring, some velvetine slippers, and unused boxers. this stuff belonged to bernie madoff. this auction is sponsored by the marshalls service and it's going to go to help compensate some of those victims. turning back to president obama thousand. he is winding up his ten-day trip to asia. he's got face-to-face meetings going on, one of those with an important ally, australia. the president told the prime minister that the u.s. does not have a closer or better ally than australia. he said both countries will work together to expand trade. and he also met with japan's prime minister at the asia/pacific economic conference in japan, apec as it's called. the big focus for the president over the past ten days, jobs.
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>> i make no apologies for doing whatever i can to bring those jobs and industries to america. but what i've also said throughout this trip is that in the 21st century, there is no need to view trade, commerce, or economic growth as zero sum games. where one country always has to prosper at the expense of another. if we work together and act together, strengthening our economic ties can be a win/win for all of our nations. >> and the president's going to be heading home tomorrow. well, we'll take you a live picture now of one spot if you are having to fly through this major hub today, you're going to have a few problems. this is minneapolis we're talking about. it's still dark, but it is cold and it is going to be a bit snowy. we'll give you the updates. stay with us here, it's nine minutes past the hour on this cnn saturday morning.
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look at that beautiful thing. that's a 74-footer. what is that a spruce? this was donated by a new york city firefighter and his wife. i think it's made its way to where it's going to be. they're going to light it november 30th. that's always a big deal. let me bring in bonnie schneider with the weather. it puts you in the mood for christmas, but the weather in new york has done the exact opposite. >> for now. probably won't last. 65 degrees yesterday in new york when they put the tree up. that is unusual. >> balmy. >> it is for november. it shattered a record at jfk airport. warm temperatures there, but i'll tell you where it is not warm, it is cold enough for snow. let's go right to minneapolis, minnesota. still dark outside early this morning, but thank goodness this is happening on a saturday. you wouldn't want to have to
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deal with this for your morning commute. you will soon enough. but boy, we're expecting quite a bit of snow. notice the temperature right now in minneapolis, it is 32 degrees. it's actually getting colder. when you have the snow falling, it tends to cool things down. this snow will stick, but it will be a wet, heavy snow which will make it challenging to shovel. and northward toward nebraska, and heavy snow, as well. let's take a closer look at what's happening. the rest of the country pretty quiet, but as we zoom into areas of the upper midwest, we are looking at a potent winter storm that will dump several inches of snow in some areas and up to near a foot in others. ahead of the system, we have some very heavy rain that's really hitting places like green bay hard. that's making for a soggy start to the day. but this area of low pressure is strong enough and deep enough that it will bring 6 to 10 inches of snow, maybe even a foot in some areas, particularly because of the wind. strong winds from the north will blow the snow, and it'll blow and drift throughout the day, throughout the night, and that may cause some snow banks to
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rise even higher. also cause blustery conditions for those of you traveling. likely facing delays. we'll talk more about your travel for this weekend in a bit. stay tuned, a lot more coming up on cnn saturday morning. every bank loan would be a guarantee of success. at ge capital, loaning money is the start of the relationship, not the end. i work with polaris every day. at ge capital, we succeed only when they do. whoo! awesome! yes! we've got to get you out of the office more often. ♪ my turn to drive. ♪ everything you need to stretch out on long trips. residence inn. ♪
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♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ the wonderful summer city of chicago -- no, some people deal with the cold better than i do. but a beautiful shot. a little gloomy as we look out at the windy city this morning. a lot of people around the country are looking for a job right now. we've got some 15 million folks in this country without one. you might want to check the health care sector.
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experts predict that jobs in this industry will explode over the next decade. our christine romans explains. >> you okay? >> reporter: tanik burns enjoys her job. drawing blood for a boston-area blood bank. but over the past couple of years, she's watched her hours shrink. seven or eight-hour blood drives last now just five. >> as long as you have a job in health care, you're pretty much set. >> is this thinking -- >> reporter: so a mother of five is purr ssuing a more secure car in nursing. she goes to class at night and works during the day. this is a risk that will likely pay off. the population is aging at an estimated 50 million americans enter the health care system when reform kicks in in 2014. >> they're going to need hospitals and doctors and nurses to take care of them, demand for health care services equals
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demand for good jobs. >> where are the jobs in health care? it's not just nursing. all up and down the spectrum. >> it's a big field. any health care profession is a big field when you have all levels of people within. and the jobs, quite frankly, are going to be found in all of those levels. >> reporter: there's already a shortage of health care i.t. coders medical assistants and home health aides and personal aides will be needed over the next decade. those come with on-the-job training, but low pay. median pay for nurses is $66,530. tanneke burns is hopeful. there will be student loans to pay off, but she's confident she made the right choice. >> i always told my children, you need to go to school, get an education. but i felt like if i haven't gone to college, how can i expect them to do something i haven't done myself? >> reporter: christine romans, cnn.
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all right. 21 minutes past the hour. this is one everybody got to talking about. can i slam my boss on facebook? >> and the thing is, because of something that just happened, a lot of people are starting to think they can. and sometimes you can, but i don't want everyone to get excited about it. >> i would never do that, by the way. >> we have no reason to. >> we work with different people, clearly. i'm teasing, i'm teasing. >> here's what happened at the national labor relations board filed this complaint. issued a complaint against a connecticut company after they fired someone for basically posting comments about her boss on facebook. this federal agency came along and said the termination was illegal because they said facebook counts as protected speech. we had an expert on "american morning" who said this is really surprising. >> most workers probably look in their manuals and they will see they are prohibited from making
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postings on facebook or other social networking sites, violation of company policy, you can't wear a company outfit and post a picture. and these rules have thought to be sacred in the past. now it says if you are discussing work conditions on facebook and other workers are participating, it's legal conduct and it can't be prohibited. >> this is very interesting. i talked to you all a lot about -- everyone having to figure out the new realities of the internet and facebook. but it's important to understand that what you just heard, as the expert went on to say, it only applies to certain workers in unions. and this is one stage in that battle. in the end the position of that federal agency might ultimately lose. so cnn.com, this group of people interviewed experts about what are good rules of thumb to avoid facebook firings. you want to talk about your boss but don't want to get fired. imagine your comments in the newspaper. i really like that one. i've heard in the past some people have said to me anything you put on facebook, don't put it there if you wouldn't want
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your mom to see it. when you're talking about the boss, imagine if it appears in the newspaper next day how you would feel, how the boss would feel. someone shares it, it's out. post on your own time and your own computer. this is critical. because sometimes it's not just the context of what you write or the words, but someone should say obviously you shouldn't be doing it on company time. two more quick ones. learn your privacy settings. i know it's really complicated, but i'll show you in a second where i post information for you on that. they keep changing it and they say they're trying to make it simpler, learn the settings. and the last one, learn your employee rights, the handbooks that your businesses and offices make you say you've read. read them because in there there's language about your rights that could come into play if at some point you are making a comment to a friend and putting it on facebook or twitter and say something that could upset the boss. it's at my facebook and twitter pages, i have the article for
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you. and you'll see some of the past things we have posted for you about how to keep those privacy settings in place. so, t.j., short version here, people out there should be careful, but it also does seem that there's some basis for saying it's protected speech. in some cases, you can't lose your job. >> you shouldn't be dogging your boss publicly. you want to work for this guy, go into the office, look him in the eye like a man and say i've got a problem with you. i wouldn't do it either. josh, we appreciate you. coming up, people. you're out there, you're going to buy a vehicle. all kinds of dealer incentives. how about this as an offer? buy a car, you get a free gun. we'll tell you where this is happening and if anybody's taking them up on that offer. also, take a listen to this -- ♪ he is telling a story with his fingers. we'll listen in next.
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♪ all right. this is what you'll find in iowa city. that's chase garrett. his hope is to bring back the blues. i didn't know it was gone. but i'm from the memphis area. but they have the first annual blues and boogy woogie stomp. he's hoping as we said tell a story. this dude's getting down. i like this guy. oh, that's awesome. he's been performing professionally for the past four years or so. and again, he's trying to tell a story with his -- without using words. but again, trying to bring the blues back. >> maybe it's gone from iowa. is that where he is? >> i don't know who's over there. no offense, but i don't spend a lot of time in iowa. more of my time is spent in
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memphis. we've got another one here. i don't know if you're in the market for a vehicle. incentives kind of suck you in. i don't know what you all are going for these days, but if you're in the market for a gun. >> not lately. >> not lately, but before you have been. >> i've never used a gun. >> buy a truck, you don't just get a gun. you're not getting a revolver -- you're getting an ak-47. this is nation's trucks in florida kicked off this promotion on vets day in honor of those who fought for the right to bear arms. anybody buying a truck had a $400 voucher for a gun dealer. but if you want a gun -- if you don't want the gun, you can actually take the cash, but they are giving you vouchers for this. we've seen these over the years, actually. >> they say it's been successful. but some of the vet rveterans ae saying, hey, you could have given us a flag. >> that would work. >> so you can take $400 in cash or get $400 off a gun? >> the voucher for it.
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those are the options. there might be a market for that. but an ak, seriously? >> whatever gets people in the door. >> what are you hunting with an ak-47? terrorists? let's turn to a bar in ohio. you see what's happening in this picture here? a deer crashes through the window of luke's bar and grill in bluffton, ohio. causing quite a stir. it's having a hard time with its footing. i don't know if it was a patron of the bar. and i'm not sure what the thing is doing here. it's knocking over tables doing its thing. you see somebody running out. >> it's a good thing he opened that door, that's when the deer went out. but the customers were thinking they were seeing things. >> it's so amazing to see. what is she doing? >> getting away from the deer? is she chasing it? that looks like high-speed video before. >> that's a heck of a crash. looks like it has a mission of some sort. >> they also have a sign up that
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said no hunting. so keep that in mind indoors. >> maybe they were making a statement. >> we've got quite a mix on that one. also, something to tell you about. we told you about the ban on happy meal toys. well, one city is a step closer to making the proposal a law, but the mayor is pushing back. we'll have the latest on this back and forth. also the students tearing up london? why? that's coming up at the bottom of the hour. 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.
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hello again, everybody. welcome back to the cnn saturday morning. bottom of the hour here now, i'm t.j. holmes, give you a look at
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some of the stories we are keeping a close eye on. 15 years under house arrest, but the activist, the pro-democracy activist aung san suu kyi is finally free. she was released around 5:30 eastern time this morning. she emerged from her house to a crowd of supporters as you see. we're keeping a close eye on that story. also ariel sharon is home temporarily. the former prime minister has been in a coma since suffering a stroke back in 2006. no change in his condition, but sharon will be taken to his ranch for weekends as part of a plan to transition him for a permanent return home. also, san francisco's mayor gavin newsom has vetoed that city's ban on toys in kids meals. the board of supervisors i should say passed the ordnance with a veto-proof majority. city officials expect legal challenge from mcdonald's. mcdonald's declined to comment. they didn't just ban all toys and kids meals, those meals that do have toys have to meet
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certain nutritional standards. so we'll see what happens down the road. also, back to politics here now. tax breaks for everybody, for anybody. anybody but the rich some are saying. that's one of the big issues the lame duck congress will be tackling next week. the bush era tax cuts will expire at the end of this year. president obama still standing pretty firm against extending those cuts to the wealthy as they say. here's what he said yesterday at a press conference after the g-20 meeting in seoul, south korea. >> i want to make sure that taxes don't go up for middle class families starting on january 1st. that's my number one priority. for those families and for our economy. i also believe that it would be fiscally irresponsible for us to permanently extend the high-income tax cuts. i think that would be a mistake. particularly when we've got our republican friends saying that their number one priority is
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making sure that we deal with our debt and our deficit. >> bring in our deputy political director and friend of our show here on cnn saturday morning, paul steinhauser. good to see you as always from washington. is there some wiggle room now? does it not have to be all or nothing? there might be some compromise in here. >> that's what they're trying to find and we'll soon now. as you said, t.j., the president's back this week, you've got the lame duck conference coming back this week. it was topic number one in the midterm elections. the whole idea here is kind of a decoupling or coupling of the two brackets here. the president and democrats in congress want to decouple. they basically want to break apart the wealthiest americans from families making $250,000 or less and they want to make, you know, treat each differently. they want to extend permanently the tax cuts for middle-class americans, anybody making under $250,000 or less and talking about maybe extending the wealthiest tax cuts for the wealthiest for a year or two.
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republicans don't want to do that decoupling. they want to keep it together, they want to make sure it's all or nothing and they want all, obviously. they want tax cuts extended for everybody, not just families making under $250,000. this is a political game of chicken and the clock is ticking because as you said and the president just said, these tax cuts sunset at the end of the year. we've only got a few weeks left now. >> what do americans think about these tax cuts? >> i'm glad you asked. check this out, brand new numbers from the poll. this was done just after the election november 4th through 7th. and again, americans it seems are divided on this issue. look at the top, about 1/3 say keep the tax cuts for everybody, the wealthiest 2% everybody. about 3 in 10 say repeal them for the wealthy and keep them for everybody else and 28% say repeal them for everybody, we can't afford these. just go on to the next screen here. it's interesting when you break it down by party here, you can see there's a big partisan divide. republicans say keep those bush tax cuts for everybody,
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independents only about 1/3 feel that way. so obviously democrats, republicans, not seeing eye to eye. >> and got to get this done. this thing expires at the end of the year. if they don't get something done, everybody's taxes are going up at the beginning of the year. paul steinhauser, good to see you as always. going to be chatting with you this morning. walmart is upping the ante in the holiday shopping wars. this is the world's largest retailer. they've announced now free online shipping on 60,000 holiday items. don't have to have any minimum purchase here. this offer is available now through december 20th on walmart.com. walmart says shipping surcharges may still apply in alaska, hawaii, and puerto rico. however, nissan recalling more than 600,000 vehicles in north america, about 515,000 of them are here in the u.s. they're trying to fix a problem with steering columns and battery cables. the vehicles included are the frontier xterra suvs, also the
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sentra vans. also, got a new electric car that's coming out in 2012 from automaker renault called the zoe. it upset two families. both their children named zoe renault. the attorney argued calling the car the zoe was a breach of privacy. they were actually arguing this could cause some kind of trauma to the children psychological trauma down the road. serio seriously, folks, i didn't make that up. students are trashing london. why? got to find out what this protesting is about. does it pay to be fun? especially if you can make oprah winfrey laugh. stay with us. ♪
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well, it's about 20 minutes till the top of the hour. the first single from the king of pop since his death. the it is going to be released early monday. the song is called "hold my hand." it's a duet with michael jackson and akon recorded back in 2007. epic records chose this song after they found the handwritten note from michael jackson indicating he wanted it to be the first single for his highly anticipated album. jackson's album contains new unheard music, the first time in nine years. also, oprah winfrey, she appreciates a good laugh. the new york post reported the talk show queen slipped a panhandler $100 in new york because he told her a joke and it made her laugh. now, you all tell me if you think this is funny. why is it good to date a
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homeless man, nadia? because when you're done with him, you can drop him off anywhere. you like that? she handed him five $20 bills, but he got her to laugh and she appreciated it. some friends get lucky at a michigan porn shop. i should probably expound on that a little bit. they got lucky because they bought a winning power ball ticket at that porn shop. mike greer claimed the $128.6 million prize for a group -- a group of them bought it. he claimed it on friday. at the same time, another michigan man hit a bigger megamillions jackpot $141 million. they plan to give some of the money that they won after buying a ticket at the porn shop to a local church. hey, they don't mind where the money comes from, right? let me bring in nadia once again for our morning passport. we were seeing these pictures.
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students, these are students in london. some say even tearing up the city in some ways. why? >> well, let's put it all in context. up until the late '90s, british people did not pay at all for university. so there was no fee. then around 1998, they put it around $2,500. but then they increased the amount to about $3,500. look at these pictures, and these are people who are protesting what has happened now, which is an increase times three. so it's the hike they are actually protesting. >> why does it keep going up? just like everything. >> time to slash the budget deficit. so imagine you go from no fee to 9,000 pounds. >> good morning, scott, you can walk through. it's one of our guys in the
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studio. >> he was about the age of the students protesting. and about his age, if you speak to people in their 30s who went to school in london, they probably didn't pay at all. so it's really the increase that they are protesting. but it's the way it was done. >> okay. but is it a done deal? they can protest all they want, but has it already gone through? or did you tell me it's still a proposal right now? >> well, it's proposed, but looks like the british government has no choice. how are they going to survive if they don't increase these because the budget deficit is so enormous? and you know, the youth in britain are very disappointed. this is a combination of many things. it's the fact that the unemployment rate is so high. most students say up to 50% will not get a job. house risers have increased. so it was the protests that happened, the fact there were 40,000 to 50,000 students, the police were not prepared. and then a small element turned violent. and what's always sad in these scenarios. what are we going to focus on?
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what we're seeing right now, the smashing of the windows. a fire extinguishers getting thrown at a police person, ceilings being torn up, desks being torn up. this is the result. but let's look at the bigger picture of what they are protesting. but that gets lost in the whole big scenario. >> it does. and we have covered here in this country, as well, big increases in california, florida, really all across the country. we appreciate you, but good to put it in perspective exactly what they're upset about and not just seeing these pictures. we'll chat with nadia again throughout the morning. also cam newton being investigated by the fbi. how is the school, though, the students, how are they taking the news? yeah, they still love their heisman hopeful. plus this -- >> whenever you feel like you're
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about 17 or 20. >> yeah, folks, i had not -- and i'm embarrassed to admit this, had not gotten a physical in over ten years. don't shake your head at me. a lot of men are just like that. a lot of women know their men are just like that. we're trying to all do something about it this morning. stick around. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart are teaming up to bring you a low-price medicare prescription drug plan called the humana walmart-. it's a new plan that covers both brand ans and has the lowest-pricednatioy
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all right, five of the hottest sports topics, 30 seconds each. cam newton under investigation. nfl ratings up, so are blackout games, and who cares about tonight's ultimate fight? did you know there was a fight tonight? well, our rick harrow knows about it. we've got five topics, 30 seconds each. let's start the clock on this young fellow. i've been wanting to put you on the clock for years. but let's start with cam newton. is he still the front-runner for the heisman? >> well, you know auburn's not talking about it, but here's the ncaa regulation. the solicitation of cash or benefits by a perspective student athlete or another individual on his or her behalf is not allowed under ncaa rules. we don't know the facts. they took him off the betting line for the heisman, by the way, 19 of 23 voters say we're not sure what we're going to do. reggie bush had his trophy taken
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away after the fact. it's going to be a long three weeks for cam newton. >> all right. turn to the next topic, the nfl now. sounds like they're hav a pretty good year. ratings up. >> yeah. the ratings are up, and they're pretty significant. by the way, when you look at it, it's also a situation of 6% increase over the same time last year and 22% over the year before. and the bottom line is since the season started, the last 13 highest-rating programs in all of television, nfl games. that's why espn is starting to renegotiate their monday night football deal. what's the starting price? $1.1 billion a year. hey, we would hope that because of this incentive they have a reason to play next year, not stop work. the buzzer. >> you like that, don't you? we'll turn to topic number three still with the nfl. these blackouts. people living in the towns where the games are blacked out. hate it, but why are so many happening? >> by the way, do your questions
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count against my time? >> they do not. >> all right. here we go. >> start talking. >> the reason why. just as we heard before, people want to watch these games on television. and there are 11 markets in jeopardy of blackouts this year, including ones that have already happened in san diego in detroit in tampa bay. the bottom line, though, is winning like anything else. the oakland raiders, 11 straight blacked out games. they're starting to win, they sold out last week on tv. just win, baby, al davis says. that cures everything. >> win, baby, win. boxing, manny paquio, does anybody care, even know that the paq man is fighting tonight? >> who? yeah, they do care. the bottom line, is this going to be a big fight? they'll break the attendance record of 60,000 and why not, hispanic market, big deal.
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and margarito, he's fighting for the first time in a while. pacquiao, raising over $1 million in sponsorship, plus the attendance, it will be a big deal. >> and the last one here, new orleans, the hornets, nba had a pretty good start to the season. they're going to be a good case for them to keep that team in that city? >> yes, they will. and the bottom line is winning like we said about the oakland raiders. they've been winning. but the other issue, by the way, t.j., is ownership change. george shin owned it since the inception in charlotte. sold to new orleans. he's now going to have more. the state's going to kick in, as well. ironically the idea of the saints winning the super bowl helps the hornets. why? because it proves how important sports is to post-katrina economic recovery. let me turn, of course, it's a football saturday. a lot of people watching a lot of big games.
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bonnie, what have you got for us? >> i've got a lot. most of the places looking for good weather for this saturday. in california, for example, berkel berkeley, looking at nice weather for tonight's game. auburn/alabama, reynolds wolf, that's why he's not here. 72 looking good, arkansas, we always talk about t.j.'s school, the weather's not so great. other storms in the forecast, unfortunately, t.j. penn state looking good, 67 degrees in columbus, ohio, plus mississippi versus alabama and tuscaloosa. that's tonight at 7:15. also, nice conditions there, temperatures will be pleasant in the 50s. so with one exception, t.j., arkansas, most places are looking at fantastic weather for this saturday. >> it's fayetteville in the winter time. bonnie, we appreciate you. rick, good to see you as well, as always. quick break, we'll be right back.
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taking a look now at stories making headlines. aung san suu kyi was released from house arrest after some 15 years. this is picture from this morning in myanmar. the nobel peace prize winner emerges from her house. the president calls her a hero of his. and also cholera spreading at an alarming rate in haiti. the united nations warning this is the most severe outbreak of cholera in the past 100 years. the death toll, more than 800 people, more than 12,000 people have gotten sick. the u.n. says more than 200,000 are at risk. federal officials have increased security with the busy holiday season coming up.
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homeland security secretary janet napolitano met with travel industry leaders to talk about where to draw the line between security and privacy. hi. you know, if we had let fedex office print our presentation, they could have shipped it too. saved ourselves the hassle. i'm not too sure about this. look at this. [ security agent ] right. you never kick off with sales figures. kicking off with sales figures! i'm yawning. i'm yawning some more. aaaaaaaand... [ snores ] i see your point. yeah. [ snores ] [ male announcer ] we understand.®
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all up in the legs. should've done this first. >> are we literally killing ourselves? >> yes. yeah, yeah. but we can do something about it with prevention. and the first step of prevention is right up under your shoes. you're at the doctors office and that's the first step to prevention. >> when was the last time you went to the doctor for a check-up? women, how long have you been trying to get your man to go to the doctor for a check-up? if it ain't bleeding, it ain't broken, we ain't going. men just often times will not go to the doctor. and in the meantime, we could literally be walking around killing ourselves and not even
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know it. welcome back, everybody. i'm t.j. holmes, and i'm guilty too. i had not been to the doctor for a checkup in more than ten years. this hour, you'll hear what it took to finally get me to go to the doctor. you'll see my physical. and we're going to try to get you to go to the doctor, as well. according to the cdc, someone in this country dies every minute from heart disease. for some, the first sign of heart disease is sudden death. but it doesn't have to get to that. you can -- you can find the early signs by simply going to the doctor. and as you'll now see from my visit, it's not always pleasant to go to the doctor. the alternative, however, is much worse. >> syndicated radio host tom joiner is 60 years old, but you'd never know it. look at him.
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it's not just a song, it's a mantra for joiner who credits his career longevity to regular doctors visits. he wants his radio family to hear that message. >> if we've got you laughing, we've got you listening. if we've got you listening, we can feed you information. >> joyner's take a loved one to the doctor initiative is aimed at african-americans who are genetically at risk, but like me, usually avoid the doctor. >> we are affected by heart disease and diabetes and the list just goes on and on and on. >> and that's where i come in. it's been more than ten years since my last physical. so tom joyner is taking me to the doctor. we're at the cooper clinic in dallas where joyner himself is a regular patient. >> how you doing? >> to be quite honest, i haven't done this in so long. >> i heard. >> it's scary.
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>> and with that, my first interview with dr. cooper. >> do you sleep well? >> i sleep well, not a lot. >> haven't had a tetanus shot in the last ten years? >> i don't know. when -- what occasion would i have done that? >> everything back here is benign. >> a head to toe physical exam. lab work, vision, lung and stress tests, i'm seeing a dermatologist, nutrition counselor, and even an exercise consultant. >> come on in. >> right off the bat, my blood pressure concerned the doctor. >> a little high. 138/85. we'll get several others. >> it's an alarming statistic, close to 45% of african-americans suffer from high blood pressure, and more than twice of african-americans will die from hypertension when compared to white patients. >> just breathe normally now. >> my heart sounds healthy, so it's off to the next exam room where a periscope checks my
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voc vocal cords. next, the eye exam. >> do you see the black dot? >> yes, ma'am. >> and clearly, joyner here is the only person enjoying my physical. >> how many fingers? >> i'm glad you're enjoying this. when's the last time you did one of these? >> last year. i'm scared to come in this year. >> yeah, i'm coming back. >> i'm going to pinch the muscle and pinch again. >> but joyner didn't have anything to make fun of during my body fat analysis. >> all done, 7.1%. >> you like that? >> i hate that. i can't wait for you to get fat. >> when does that start? >> so far, so good. but i hadn't gotten to the part i'd been warned about. the infamous and all-important stress test. >> do people fail it? >> nobody fails. >> let's do this, man. >> but i'm not just worried
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about failing for all to see. after avoiding the doctor for more than a decade, i'm nervous about what my results might say about my overall health. >> and let me bring in now the one who took me to the doctor, tom joyner joining me -- i know you're still laughing about this whole thing, tom. good morning to you, good to see you. let me say thank you for taking me to the doctor. but am i the prime example of the problem? >> oh, yes, you are. yes, you are. you're african-american male. men don't want to go to the doctor, period. african-american men, not at all. disproportionately, african-americans are -- are affected by all these health issues. and hypertension, high blood pressure is just one of them, diabetes, stroke. the list just goes on and on and on. and it's men who won't go to the doctor. and it's women like your wife
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who make our men go to the doctor. did your wife make you go? >> well, i don't want to say made me. she strongly suggested. >> yeah. >> also, it was two women in my life. my wife but also my executive producer that you know, as well, these two were screaming at me about it. so we decided to do something here and take me to a physical and try to get this message out. what are some of those excuses? you say black men don't go, what are the excuses you keep hearing? >> oh, i don't need to go to the doctor, i'm fine, i'm fine. i'm fine. you know, that swelling, that's just a swelling, it'll go away, it'll go away, you know. yeah, i'm having a hard time breathing when i go upstairs, but you know, that's just because of my age and everything. i'm fine. i'm fine. it's just stupid. it's just stupid. and our women tell us all the time, go to the doctor, stupid. why don't you go to the doctor? so we couldn't come up with a
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name like stupid, go to the doctor, or women, take your stupid man to the doctor. we came up with take a loved one to the doctor. it's more marketable. >> and i know you've got some stories, as well. but people who have done this with you over the years, they go to the doctor for the first time and then they end up in the emergency room. >> yeah. emergency room, operating room. we have every year -- every year we have cases -- because we do -- we do health screenings all over the country on this one particular day. and it's so many cases where people go from health screening to bypass surgery, just that serious. >> and why do we not focus enough? and this was something else. you were standing there when this happened, but we don't know our family history. the doctor was standing there, you're in the room with me, as well. asking me about a family history of heart disease or high blood pressure, and i was like, oh, really? i don't know, i don't think so. picked up the phone, call my
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dad. he was like, yeah. he went through all this. why aren't we educated enough about our own family history? >> i don't know. tell me. because i was surprised that you didn't know your family medical history that you had -- that you had high blood pressure and all these black man diseases in your family history. why didn't you know? >> hey, i'm asking the questions here this morning, tom. >> but you are the typical person. you are the typical person. so many of us really don't know what our family history is, and our family -- our family medical history is what determines what we are -- it's in our genes. we're going to have high blood pressure problems, we're going to have diabetes and all those things. we're going to have it, it's in our dna. and if you know that, you can do something about preventing that. because it's in our genes doesn't mean it has to happen. you can change that with nutrition. you can change that with
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exercise. it starts -- it starts with prevention. >> i don't think a lot of us have gotten the message. but besides continuing the fight that you're doing and the initiative you have and trying to get the message out, does it really take a loved one to stay in our ear and maybe that's one of the best weapons to get people. whether it's man, woman, whoever it might be to get people to the doctor, the people who care about you need to force you into that doctor's office? >> yes, yes, and thank you for your executive producer and your wife for getting your -- getting your exam done nine years since your last one, really. seriously? >> okay. all right. i feel guilty enough, but you're right, i should be embarrassed about it. but you set a good example, you go every year and you're in great shape. tom, really, i know we had fun doing this, but i learned a lot, as well. i want to say thank you, as well, for taking me up and taking me to the doctor. good to see you, buddy. >> thank you for being a fan of the show and being a part of taking a loved one to the doctor. >> no worries. but to our viewers, we're not
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done yet. you only saw the first part of my physical. the all-important stress test is coming up. check out my heart. also, the results you're going to hear, as well. and some stuff that the doctor wants me to do differently now to keep me from having problems down the road, the same for you. you're going to see it and also hear from my doctor. he'll be with us live. stay here. that's so clever,one 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.
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one month, five years after you do retire? ♪ 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.
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well, at 11 minutes past the hour now. on the topic of men and men going to the doctor, a study in 2009 found that so-called macho men, defined as men who have high standards of masculinity were 50% less likely to get routine medical care as other guys. i want to take you now to the next phase though of my physical. you saw the first part of it. but this all-important stress test is important because it helps determine what kind of shape your heart is in and your risk of heart disease. you're about to see how tough it is, of course, but you're also going to hear what i learned about it, about my genetics and
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my current behavior that actually puts me at risk down the road. >> grab a seat there. get a couple blood pressures on you. >> time for the dreaded stress test. the electrodes on my hips and legs monitor my heart rate looking for warning signs. the radio host tom joyner is still at my side and he's still got jokes. >> you're not going to be running, you're going to be walking. the problem is you're going to be like linel ritchie, walking on the ceiling. after a while this thing is going to raise so high. >> reporter: he jokes, but he's very serious when it comes to making an impact on health. >> every year after we do take a loved one to the doctor, we get testimonials from people who say that i went to one of your events and i went straight to the hospital and had bypass surgery. yeah. it's working. >> am i the exact problem you're trying to get at?
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33-year-old young man hadn't been to the doctor in ten years for any kind of physical? >> yes. >> why won't we go to the doctor? >> number one, we're stupid. we think we know everything, but we're very stupid. and we're very -- okay. we're wimps. you hated getting your blood work -- >> it wasn't that bad. >> you've got a little boo boo now. why didn't you get the dora the explorer? but you really didn't like it. it's very tough, especially in the african-american community. i don't need to go to no doctor. everything's fine, i feel just great. say, man -- >> are we literally killing ourselves? >> yes, yeah, yeah. but we can do something about it with prevention. >> reporter: it's hard to argue with joyner on that. >> you'll be all right. >> reporter: so it's finally time.
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this ekg machine will monitor my heart during the exercise. >> all right. let's do this. >> all right. >> thwe want you to push yourse as hard as you can. i'm going to speed you up to 3.3 miles per hour. here we go. we're off. >> your treadmill's faster than mine. >> reporter: i'm told to keep walking as long as i can while the incline rises every minute. >> piece of cake. so far, so good, but we're only three minutes in. whose idea was this? all up in the legs. should've done this first. >> whenever you feel like you're about 17 to 20 on there or feel like you've got about a minute left in you, let me know. >> call them. >> you ready? >> yeah. >> all right. >> one more blood pressure on you and we'll let you go as long as you can.
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>> t.j., keep working up the hill there. any chest pain or anything like that? >> no. >> i want you to go as long as you can. >> if you don't stop, i won't stop. >> 22 minutes and 8 seconds later i'm tapped out and i'm worried as dr. cooper sat me down for my results. >> exercise wise, you're doing okay. your time on the treadmill had you in the good category as compared to men your age. your blood pressures today were a little high. they were consistently in the 130s to 140s over 80s and 90s, which is high. >> and let me bring in my doctor now, dr. tyler cooper. he is joining me now via skype from dallas. he is the co-author of the book "start strong, finish strong." doc, good to see you this morning. we just showed our viewers kind of an extensive gold standard physical. but a lot of people watching out there right now. a lot of men, especially, what should they go into the doctor -- maybe it's not as extensive as i just got, but
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what should they walk into the doctor and ask for specifically as far as just being kind of checked out generally from head to toe? >> well, good morning, t.j., and i'm glad to be here. that's a great question. and i think the first thing a patient really needs to understand about their health is it's their responsibility. when you go into the doctor and you truly need to be proactive. and along those lines to the question you asked. you need to first of all know your numbers. know what your cholesterol is, your blood pressure, your glucose, and what's your ideal weight. those are some of the key things to start with. and like you and tom were talking about earlier, you need to know your family history. are you predisposed for a certain risk of any type of problems that could cause you issues later on? >> and explain, as well, for younger folks. and i say younger, maybe 25 to 35, that age range. okay, we're healthy, we're fine, no problems. but why is it important to know those numbers at those earlier ages? because you need to compare those down the road to see what you may be doing to affect those numbers as you get older. >> that's exactly right.
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chronic disease is chronic by definition that it starts when you're younger. and the problem is people only want to go the doctor when they don't feel well. chronic disease doesn't give you that feeling of not well until later on in life when it's too late. so when you start going early like you did you see your blood pressure's already a little high, we can address that pretty easily right now and avoid those more serious problems later on in your life. >> and you talked -- something that really, really struck me when i was there in your office, dr. cooper. you said really the it's on the patient. not putting enough emphasis on preventive care. >> you're absolutely right. and that's something that i think evolved out of the payer system and so forth. but as we as a community can really start focusing on prevention in our children and in our adults as a way to promote good health going forward, it's good all around. and so hopefully we'll start
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seeing more education for physical fitness in the schools, better diet in the schools, and even in the workplace, which we work at here at the cooper clinic so hard. >> and you told me, as well, quite frankly there's not a lot of emphasis. and that's why we're losing so many primary care doctors because there's not a whole lot of money in keeping people healthy. >> you're absolutely right. the money is in treating these more complicated diseases and surgeries. and it's a good thing we have those abilities to do that. but it just makes logical sense. if we can prevent those problems through facilitating doctors and clinics to be able to treat them appropriately at these earlier stages, we can save the whole country a lot of money, but most importantly improve the health of a lot of americans. >> i'm certainly not a smoker at all, but i admitted you had me fill out some forms, i might smoke one cigar a month on average. whatever it may be. but you said even that one cigar a month don't do that. >> right. tobacco is like this.
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if you're smoking a pack a day, you're certainly not at the same risk as smoking a cigar like you do occasionally. but you're also not at the same risk that i am in the fact that i don't touch tobacco. there's really nothing good about it for your health and we really hope people will stop using it in all forms. >> and you all have something there at your clinic call it cooperizing and you've got several tips. and i want you to share those with some of our viewers. >> absolutely. well call it get cooperized. what that means is living a healthy lifestyle in moderation. doing those things which we talked about. knowing your numbers, knowing your family history, being consistent with your exercise. and exercise really 30 minutes three times a week, just do that will significantly improve your long-term health. watching your diet, eating in moderation, avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol. just good balance in your life is what we're talking about. i always joke that you don't have to eat like a rabbit and run a marathon to be healthy, you just have to make moderate changes and you can truly enjoy a long, healthy life. and most importantly, i talked
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to my patients in the concept of get cooperized, why do you want to be healthy? because our studies here at the cooper institute show if you focus on these things because we can improve the quality of your life. not only the quantity, but the quality such that we appreciate you about square off the curve. live a long, healthy life doing those things you want to do. and some day many years from now you die in your sleep. and my father who started all this is a testimony to all that as he just got back from mt. everest climbing around there at age 79. >> he looks amazing. i did get a chance to meet him when i was there, as well. great work you're doing at the cooper clinic. i can't thank you enough. everything y'all have done for me. and certainly we're getting good respon response. >> thank you so much. hope to see you again. >> not too soon, though, i hope. it wasn't all pleasant at that physical. coming up, did you know people talk so much about breast cancer awareness month it's actually prostate awareness
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month this month, november. they're doing something special to get that word out. [ woman ] alright, so this tylenol 8 hour lasts 8 hours.
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well, our next guest here is adam. he is the ceo and co-founder of something called movember. that is a movement out there that tackles what is -- what we're in right now, which is prostate cancer awareness month. let me bring in adam. adam, hello to you.
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explain to people the concept, the idea behind movember. >> well, it's the month formally known as november where we challenge men to change the face of men's health like a mustache. we actually challenge men to grow a mustache for the 30 days. and by doing that, that becomes a conversation starter about prostate cancer and men's health. and we're getting men to change their attitude and get along to the doctor. >> do you find this is one of those topics that men just don't want to talk about? >> well, absolutely. and when you've grown a mustache and you don't normally have one, it's amazing how many conversations are opened up socially at work, at thanksgiving dinner. and when you have a mustache and you don't normally, people ask you what's going on. i'm doing this for movember and men's health, and it's amazing where those conversations lead. and you learn about your history. >> we see the pictures here, some guys really having a fun time with this.
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you all have been able to get some good results. and by results, i mean raise a lot of money. this is something a lot of people may not have heard of. but you've been collecting a lot of money for this cause. >> yeah, well, since 2003, the campaign's grown. we're in ten countries now, and this year we'll have over 400,000 men participating and growi growing mustache to raise awareness. we'll probably raise in t-- >> you have a movement called movember, i think some are aware it's prostate cancer awareness month, but it doesn't get the same attention as breast cancer awareness month. it seems like not enough people, not a whole lot of people talk about this month. >> well, it's sort of what inspired me to turn movember to raise awareness of prostate cancer. 50% more men are diagnosed with
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prostate cancer than women are for breast cancer. so we created this campaign where we challenge men to grow a mustache, and if you head to movember.com and raise a little bit of awareness for the cause. >> did i hear right? movember.com? >> yes. it's a conversation starter beyond raising funds. >> well, adam garone, the ceo and co-founder of movember, thanks so much. you enjoy the rest of your saturday. >> thank you. >> thank you all for participating. hopefully could get some guys in the doctor with what you saw this half hour. "your bottom line" is up next. [ female announcer ] imagine skin so healthy, it never gets dry again.
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who doesn't want to be debt free? meet a family who was $88,000 in debt and got out of it in three years. what you can learn from them. it's bargain time for home renovations. but before you sign on the dotted line, how to avoid common pitfalls. and see the it toy of the year and get a jump on your holiday shopping. "your bottom line" starts right now.
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all right. how about we get you a raise this morning? you might actually have more leverage than you think. nearly half of employers are worried their top talent may head out of the door when the economy improves. 31% of employers said they're willing to negotiate 2011 salary increases with current employees and half plan to leave some negotiating room when extending initial offers to new employees. so here to help you score some extra cash is rod kurtz. and just so that we're clear, the executive editor of aol small business. i'm glad you're here. right now it's time to give people an update on the hiring picture. what do you see out there? >> a lot of the small businesses are hiring again. and we're hearing in the survey that bosses are realizing as the economy turns the corner and gets better, their top talent is going to look elsewhere. >> like google, right? >> google was in the news, 10% raises across the the board, i think 23,000 employees and big bonuses. companies are doing this because in google's case they don't want
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to lose to facebook and elsewhere. employers are telling us, yeah, we're taking a closer look, even with new hires, we're leaving negotiating room. good time to be an employee. >> a lot of people think it's rough out there. it's not perfect yet, but moving in the right direction. there is a chance you can get a raise now. what's a way to make yourself shine and say hey, i'm worthy of this? >> you have to demonstrate it. and i think an example is you want to take on extra projects before you get to the negotiating table. you want to make yourself indispensable, not only from a job security standpoint, but a month later whatever it may be, you can point to other projects you've done and say, hey, candidly, i've done extra work, wondering if we can talk about a little more money. puts your boss in a good frame of mind and they have a positive perception of what you're doing here. >> here's the thing. how do you say how much you think your raise should be? do you pick a number out of the sky? >> one of the fundamental rules of negotiations is you don't want to negotiate with yourself.
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so if you can, it's like buying a used car. you don't want to throw out a number, let them throw out the first number. you see cost of living and inflation raises usually 3% to 5%, maybe you want to shoot for something that's 10% that's substantial. they may come back with 20%, you never know, and once they put a number on the table you can kind of go back and forth a little bit. >> you want them to put the number out first. >> they may spin it right around, they're the boss after all. you want to be fair about it. you don't want to throw out a 50% raise in a tough economy. it's kind of like the hippocratic oath when you're at the table in this situation, do no harm. >> that makes sense. tell me, which one's better? a big bonus or a raise? >> well, it's sort of like the lottery, you can get it year after year in installments or a big lump sum, which is is usually a little bit less. the problem is, it could be a one-time thing. you get the money now, but you may not have it next year. if you get a raise, you're gradually raisinge
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salary. i would say if they're both in the ballpark, i would choose the raise versus the bonus as tempting as it may be. >> if you win the lottery, shouldn't you go with the lump sum? >> i would. >> me too. >> let's talk a little bit, though, you're talking about you don't want to out-price yourself, but is it okay to play hardball in this economy? or do you want to stay back from that approach? >> we're still looking at almost 10% unemployment. so there are people who want jobs and would be happy to take your job. so again, it gets back to you really don't want to play hardball in this situation. you have to be realestic about your performance up until this point. you don't want to ask too much or threaten to walk away unless you're committed to doing so. because again, there are people out there who would gladly take your job. you have to be careful. >> last thing, if money's out of the question to negotiate for, what's something else you can look at? >> even for employers, they're offering things like extra vacation time, more flexible hours. this kind of stuff, you know, if you have a new baby or kids,
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this can be helpful. and even office perks, employers are recognizing, again, people can now move around jobs a little more easily. there's more jobs out there. they're doing everything they can, even if it's not money to keep people onboard. >> i hope you just got somebody a raise. >> hopefully myself. all right. well, from $88,000 in debt to debt-free in three years. does it sound like a scam? well, one new york city couple did just that. and christine romans has their story. >> there are more than a dozen accounts you had the to close off. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: three years ago, carol and dawn carroll were $88,000 in debt, today they're debt free. >> all it takes is one little hiccup to start this horrible, horrible snowball effect. >> reporter: the carrolls spent every penny and then some on credit cards and medical bills even though they had medical insurance.
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then don lost his job. >> you were in a nervous breakdown over these bills. >> when you can't sleep, it gets to you. >> yeah. >> and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. i stopped sleeping. >> reporter: they did not want to file for bankruptcy. >> we made the debt, we should pay for it. >> reporter: a non-profit credit counselor put the carrolls on a five-year payment plan. they finished in just over three. >> i think if there is a silver lining to the recession, it is that it has refocused people's attention on their own personal finances. i think they are ready to move back over into the driver's seat. >> reporter: so how did the carrolls do it? >> you have to get organized. i don't know if you really call it having less. it's just not having it immediately. you learn to live with what you need, not with what you want. >> reporter: what is your message for people who might see your story and think, wow, i have $40,000 to $60,000 in
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credit card debt, i will never get out from under this? >> never say never. >> it is totally fixable, but you have to -- you have to take the steps to say i need help. >> and the carrolls did, but they couldn't do it alone. they used a non-profit credit counselor who helped them get on a payment plan. they used every penny of their income to pay their debts. they cut out broadway shows, dinners out with friends, takeout food, anything non-essential. the bottom line is for every day items the carrolls now only buy something if they absolutely need it and have the cash on hand to pay for it. carol says she likes the system because waiting for something she really wants makes it much more enjoyable when she gets it. the carrolls recently won client of the year from the national foundation for credit counseling. but folks, the folks there point out that the carrolls' case isn't all that typical, frankly. digging out of $88,000 of debt, it takes a lot of work.
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4 million americans sought debt counseling, the average income $38,821, the average debt, $27,000, which is nearly 70% of the household income. the average number of credit cards in those households 5.6. they had the vast spread sheet of open accounts. one after the other, they chipped away at it. they pumped everything into paying those bills off. and it felt good every time they got to close an account. >> i'm sure it does. and it gives people out there more of an encouragement. >> as don says, never say never. >> that's awesome, christine. thanks for that. all right. still ahead, your holiday get away. how to score the cheapest airfare and a free hotel upgrade. and home renovations at bargain prices. we'll help you steer clear of the red flags. [ advisor 1 ] what do you see yourself doing one week,
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if you can afford it, the fall and winter may be the best time for home renovation especially in this economy. with the national association of home builders reporting that
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remodelling is down, many contractors are light on work and with willing to cut you a deal. but some deals may be too good to be true. well, ace hardware's home expert joins us from chicago to help us out here. lou, i'm glad you're here, you hear about this special one-time offers, but you say that's something to be concerned about, right? >> yeah, i think in any matter, no matter where you live, there are unscrupulous contractors. we always vise for who's the worst, whether it's lawyers or car salesmen or remodelling contractors. the fact of the matter is, you want a reputable contractor. there are a handful in every market that you want to be able to locate and find. and if they come out with these one-time deals, chances are they don't exist. and you just said it, if it sounds to good to be true, it is. >> that's just a basic there, right? so let's talk a little bit about this. when you first meet a contractor, what are some of the basics you should look for that right away if you eyeball them, something may not be right here?
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>> yeah, you want to take a look at simple things, the overall appearance of people that are there. is it professional? if they're driving a truck or van, is it marked with the name of the company? where is it located from? if they talk about different work they've done, references, of course, are key. but one of the most important things when it comes to hiring contractors are third-party endorsements. find out if they're members of professional organizations. one of the best is the national association of the remodelling industry. a lot like the national home builders industry, but represents remodelers across the country. and these are true contractors that are motivated and dedicated to doing a good job and of course the better business bureau and other contractor reporting areas. there's a lot of help online, but there are a lot of people, elderly clients that maybe aren't online and don't have access to that information. >> you can easily call and get this information. that's good advice. here's some of the problems people agree to. the contractor says they need money, but how much money should
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you give them to cover what they need to do to get the work started? and how much is too much? >> you know, it's hard. when i started as a remodeling contractor, we had two nickels to rub together. but these days, i think 10%, anything more than that is more than you need to give. i mean, if you're in business, if you're reputable, you can get things started, and the key is to have your payment plan set up at different milestones of completion. so say you're going to do a bathroom remodeling job and they say, hey, we need some down payment. i'll give you 10%, but once the place is completely gutted and, you know, all the trash is taken away, i'll give you a little bit more. but at the very end, you want to be left holding about 20% so that you can ensure that this contractor can come back. and if they are a true remodeling contractor that knows what they're doing and are in business to do a good job, that's completely reasonable. >> lou, as always, thanks so much for breaking it down for us this morning. >> take care.
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>> all right. well, don't procrastinate any longer, it is time to book that trip home for the holidays. how and when to get the best deals, we'll have it for you next. (jennifer garner) there's a lot of beautiful makeup out there
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this and other information. read it carefully before investing. so if you haven't booked your holiday travel yet, what exactly are you waiting for? our good friend is the ceo of farecompare in dallas. rick, at this point, if you haven't booked your holiday travel, is it too late for you? >> well, it's not too late, but it's going to be an expensively late endeavor, especially for thanksgiving. it's a little bit of trouble right now. christmas you have a few more days, but you need to be out there, no procrastinating this year. bad year for procrastination. >> that's good for people to know. maybe they'll start looking at it. tell me, when is the best time if you are going to book a flight and you need to find the best thing out there. when's the best time to do that?
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>> yeah, i think right now for the holidays, you need to be shopping right now and don't procrastinate. i'd rather kind of flip it on its head and say let me tell you to avoid the sunday and monday after thanksgiving and the sunday and monday after new year's. those are the four busiest days and the four most expensive days. if you can avoid those, that'd be great. >> so you want to avoid traveling on those days, right? >> absolutely. traveling will at least be $150 more per ticket. >> what about if you're still in the process of buying your tickets? is there any day of the week that's better to do it? or does it not matter? >> the perfect -- well, for the holidays, it probably doesn't matter much. if you're traveling outside the holidays, tuesday at 3:00 p.m. eastern time is the perfect time to shop. the reason is pretty simple. airles -- one airline, at least, files a sale typically on monday night. all the other airlines scramble in the morning to match. and it hits their airline reservation systems at about tuesday at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. so that's the perfect time with the maximum number of cheap seat
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seethe seats. >> i have tried that one out and it was $318 round trip. i thought that was really good. >> that's really good. >> so let's talk about thanksgiving travel. what's the best way to work in a little deal, maybe if it even comes to your hotel stay? >> no, i think there's a couple things you can especially if you're at the of the last minute, be sure to shop for one passenger first, even if there's a party of four. what happens on the airline res system, if there's two cheaper seats, shopping for three or four, they lift everybody up to the next higher price. you might be able to split the ticket purchase up. the second thing is to check out for packages. a lot of times packages, the air and hotel, believe it or not, is cheaper than the actual air alone, especially at last minute if you're stuck at the last minute. those are two things i would do. if you get stuck and procrastinated too long. >> thanks for the last-minute tips. a free hotel upgrade once
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you get there. sometimes a late check-in can make all of the difference. the later you check in, the fewer rooms are sold or cancellations happen so you have a better chance of getting an upgrade, especially if you only plan on staying a night or two. check with your connections, credit cards and membership programs like aaa or aarp which may offer upgrades at select hotels. basic advice, be nice. arrive, try to sweet talk the front desk, let them know it's a special occasion, birthday, anniversary, and see if they're willing to work something out. it always pays to be nice, right? speaking of being nice or naughty, talk about holiday gifts. no surprise money is one of the most wanted gifts according to a consumer reports holiday shopping poll. what are friends and family members planning on giving you? a peek inside their bags.ob. this has worked for the last decade. do you think you could do any better? besides the mach 3? mhm. no. i'd like to challenge that. introducing the revolutionary new fusion proglide.
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the holiday season is almost here, and if you're got little ones in your life, you know it's not too soon to start shopping
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for toys. poppy harlow spoke with cnn money about the top toys for 2010. take a look. >> i love these. we've had fun playing with them. >> aren't they great? >> i keep hearing about these guys, for 3 and up. how much are they? >> sing-a-ma-jigs $12.99. the toys that we have here, what's cool about them, that is all of the toys are under $60. they offer great play for the value. and you're going to see cool innovations. so, coming back to sing-a-m-jig. the cutest toys. simple play value. plush dolls. >> good for little kids even if they chew on them. >> they sing, chatter, they have songs. the coolest feature here if you press these together, they will harmonize with each other. so let's -- there you go. press it one more time.
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♪ press this one. there you go. >> all right. amazing. >> my daughter loves this toy. >> she's 2. >> she's 2 and she loves it. >> "twilight," obsession with movies, there's twilight dolls, now, that is true? >> the vampire phenomenon has taken over the nation. mattel has caught on and introduced this new line of dolls called monster high dolls. what is mattel's iconic doll brand? >> barbie. >> it's been a long time since the mattel's introduces a new doll collection. the cool thinking, these are the daughters of famous monsters. >> really. >> you have frankie stein, draculara. they have their own website, books. mattel has done something cool with the brand also. they have advertised this product on youtube. they've kept it very under the radar. >> smart. >> basically viral advertising. >> interesting.
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who is this? >> i think that's frankie stein. >> franky stein. we're going to lay you down because this, i know my nephew would die for this fnerf gun. >> now, the nerf gun, this is the dart gun, one of hasboro's most popular products. it's a hot seller portfolio toy experts tell me that this is the best iteration of the gun so far. >> is tech spencive? >> this is about $50. so it's one of the higher priced toys in the market. it's fully automaticing comes with a shield. it has a clip with six darts. try it out. >> all right. pete, ready? we're going to bring pete, our wonderful stage manager here. ready? are you sure? >> how did that feel? >> i felt empowered. thank you, pete. great. it does feel automatic. >> exactly. the only criticism is that it's heavy. it has to do with the fact this
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has six sized c batteries. a lot of fun. >> a lot of fun. heavy which is good because they can't play with it for too long. >> take it away from them. >> the "it" toy. >> last year the "it" toy was the zhizhi pet hamsters. >> my nephew, niece, runs around on the floor following the zhizhi pet. >> that came out of nowhere. this toy is squikie, came out of nowhere. simple toys. reminds you of the toys that you get out of i gumball machine or grocery stores. it's the same concept. open continue up. it's a soft, squishy toy, comes in a plastic ball, animals, babi babies, fun creatures. play sets come with it. there's a cupcake shaped dispenser here. tree houses. they double as pencil toppers. >> of course. the coolest pence until class. so great. >> the price here. i i this is $6.99 for a pack of 16. small, affordable.
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and you know they cater to the tendency that kids have to want to collect things. >> why do i see these rolling all around the apartment? >> roll around everywhere. a lot of cleaning up for parents. >> great gift ideas. all under $60. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. >> and now, as promised, for you adults, the results of consumer reports holiday shopping poll. here what happens's going to happen. 68% say they're going to give clothing as gifts. 62% give out electronics. gift cards work it out for 62%. toys for 62% as well. no one is ever mad about cash, 58% plan on giving out the dollars there. now, i don't know about you, but i've gotten a gift or two that i didn't necessarily love or need like these gloves here. that my big brother gave me back in high school. they're electric blue. i grew up in california. we didn't need gloves. i still have them, i know. you're wondering why do i still have the gloves? still seen

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