i was groped by the tsa and all i got was the lousy t-srt. ♪ i don't like the tsa >> reporter: jeanne moos, new york. happy traveling this weekend. any uncomfort about patdowns recently. >> i have been through that. you get felt up is what you should call it. >> no patdown but a feel up. >> you got felt up. >> i have been through it, and i'm telling you, woo-hoo. >> gets you started? >> yes, it does. >> on that note, i'll give you a love pat on the way out of the studio. live from studio 7 and the cnn world hrgts, i'm t.j. holmes. yes, the holiday travel season is ramping up today. a lot of people thinking about traveling next week for thanksgiving but it kind of starts today, kind of a 12-day

period. already we are talking about the new security measures and there's also a grass roots plan out there to protest airport security. we will tell you more about that and how it could mess up your travel day. also, politics on the daily commute. john acosta rides the rails with a bunch of guys who call it like you see it, including an invitation to their man cave. >> any time he wants to come by. also, scenes from a parking lot. scenes from a parking lot. a woman returning from grocery shopping to find a big old snake hugging her car's engine. hello to you, i'm the afore mentioned t.j. holmes sitting in for my good friend tony harris. all right. this could be a rocky holiday travel season, so i hope you're ready for it. for a lot of folks out there,

the traveling, like i mentioned earlier, begins today. some of the issues that could make this holiday different are the concerns and complaints be a more invasive patdown searches. also, the backlash still going on over the full-body scanners. according to an airline trade group, about 40 million people are expected to fly over the 12-day holiday period that starts today. we want to check in with a travel expert right now to hear how this is going to go, the holiday travel, see if it's going to be as smooth as we hope. robert reed is the u.s. editor of "lonely planet," and he joins us via skype. how big a problem are we going to have? >> thanksgiving is always a little bit slower than other times of the year. the busiest time of the year to be traveling. there's going to be delays and longer security lines, and if some of the people opt out of

those new a-rated x-rays, and full body scan, it will slow things up. >> how big of a slowdown could it possibly be? we need to make this point to people that not everybody is going to have to go through these body image scanners. you will be randomly selected or if you set off another metal detector or something needs to be reconciled, you will go through then. will there be enough people going through the things and using the patdowns that it could slow us down? >> it does every year without this problem. the average waiting time for security is up from 12 minutes a few years ago to 15 minutes. if someone does opt out and go through a patdown, that will take two to three minutes. we don't know the exact number of people who will opt out or have the decision to opt out. if you do the math and think about the amount of traffic, it could be longer than usual this

year for thanksgiving. >> robert, one more thing, too, and it was the note that really jumped out at me. my producer gave me some of your comments, and i thought this was the most important one. telling air travellers to make up your mind, figure it out and think it through about what you are going to do before you get to the airport. >> only 68 airports, and they are the busiest airports in the u.s. have the scanners. if you are flying from portland, oregon to port lant, maine, you don't have to worry about the issue. know where the airplanes that have it. if you know that you're going to do the patdown or go through the scanner. make sure everything out of your pocks is gone, nonmetallic items because if there is anything in your pocket, you have to go to the patdown. >> very good information. again, robert reed from editor of "lonely planet." happy flying to you. enjoy your holiday. thank you very much. >> thank you. as we get ready for the holiday season, here is

something you do not want to see on your flight. a giant crack in your airplane's windshield. this happened on board a delta flight from atlanta to orange county. the pilot had to make an emergency landing in dallas. one of the passengers on board, mike fleming took the picture for us and talked about it earlier on cnn. >> you could hear the murmur but everyone was very intent on hearing what the captain had to say, especially when he said we needed to divert to dallas-ft. worth and doing a rapid descent. our ears would start popping, and they were trying to get us below 10,000 feet. >> the plane landed without incident and the passengers were put on another flight and made it on out to california. we are dedicating a half hour to this busy travel season tomorrow morning on cnn saturday morning. we're going to talk about the grass roots revolume over the

tsa patdowns and debunkering minls about the new rolls. also the ed for of "travel and leisure" looking at last-minute deals to see if you have time to get a deal on the ticket. should you wait a while longer or go ahead and getting now? all of that half hour special tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. eastern time. the president, president obama, is in lisbon, portugal today, meeting with leaders of the 27 other nato countries. on top of their agenda, afghanistan, and trying to come up with strategies to end combat operations there within the next four years. >> i express my gratitude to the portuguese armed forces who are serving alongside us in afghanistan and here in lisbon, i look forward to working with our nato and isaf partners as we move toward a new phase, a transition to afghan responsibility that begins in 2011, with afghan forces taking

the lead for security across afghanistan by 2014. meanwhile, back in washington, house republicans have blocked a bill to extend unemployment benefits. 4 million unemployed americans will max out their 99 weeks of benefits around november 30th unless congress acts. republicans object to the bill because democrats offered no way to pay for the $12.5 billion plan. also, the full house must decide now whether to censure harlem congressman charlie rangel but the vote won't happen until after the thanksgiving. the committee is realming censure. the committee members say he broke 11 ethics rules, many related to his finances. >> i apologize for any embarrassment i've caused you individually or collectively as a member of the greatest institution in the country in the world.

>> now, recently freed democracy activist aung san suu kyi is talking to cnn. she's talking about her struggle for human rights in myanmar and compares it to the internet. >> by revolution, i mean a significant change, like the i.t. revolution. it has made tremendous changes, and significant changes for the whole world. so what we mean is enough change within the country to make people feel that they have got on to a new and better stage, and that is what i mean by revolution. a revolution in the strict sense of the world just means, as i said, tremendous changes. i want the people to be more in part and i want them to feel more in part and be more involved in the process of nation billing. >> cnn's fred pleitgen spent

time with her, and we are releasing his report because he is now out of the country. >> we are online like you are. here is a trending story you are tweeting and blogging about today. you know these scenes. they lined up early for the midnight premiere of harry potter's movie. the final movie will come out in july. the harry potter franchise is on the verge of taking over star wars as the top grossing film franchise of all time. [ advisor 1 ] what do you see yourself doing one week,

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geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 percent. bringing you some stories across country now. in mobile, alabama, they held their annual standdown for homeless veterans. they received back packs with clothes and food to help them with their lives on the street. the opry land resort reopened and they kicked it off with a light show and fireworks. there was a benefit concert.

you'll remember flooding shut down the resort some six months ago. the heisman ballots have gone out and the front-runner or what many considered to be the front-runner, cam newton, auburn quarterback, does he have a chance of winning? doesn't have to do with his talents on the field. has everything to do with the controversy offal field. we are going to be talking to that guy coming into the light. rafer with the big play. [ male announcer ] welcome to that one time of year

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let me bring in rafer weigel here. he joins us with the big play today. right before we go on the air, you had to bring up the worst moment of the year for me and my raiser babes. good to see you as always for the big play. cy young awards going out. felix hernandez won. why would anybody have a problem with that? >> that's my question. it is historic because this is the fewest amount of wins for a full season for a cy young award winner in the hundred years they have given out the ward. he only won 13 games but he had a darn good excuse. if you are best the your job but you have a crappy team around you, should you -- >> i think i take offense to that. >> like myself, bringing you down. should you be peoplize ides --

penalized for it? if he's on the new york yankees, he wins 25 games. surprisingly, there is a debate about him winning it with 13 wins. >> isn't this the way it should be? he was clearly the best pitcher? >> what the baseball writers association is saying it takes nine guys to lose a game. it is not entirely on one man's shoulders and he was the best at his position and should be rewarded. >> let's turn to the biggest story in college football right now. auburn quarterback cam newton, still playing. by all accounts he is still eligibility but all is surrounding him is that there was a pay for play scheme with his dad asking for money during his recruitment. >> we are in unprecedented territory here. the ballots are due december 6th, and the word "integrity" is

there in the ballots for the heisman trophy. people are saying, do we want to vote for a guy who might have to give the trophy back like reggie bush had to in september. cam newton may not be found guilty of anything, but the allegations alone -- what makes it more interesting is there is nobody even close to this guy terms of talent. he is the run-away favorite for this, and on talent you have to give it to him. >> what kind of drum beat are we seeing? some writers have said i'm not voting for the guy. is there momentum going in that direct? >> there is because the attorney for one of the accusers spoke and said there was a text message sent specifically asking for $180,000. it was from the accuser, not from his father, and if you have more hardened evidence coming out, is that the writing on the wall? is it going to go to the kid

from oregon or the kid from stanford? >> they're have aggregate year, undefeated, and he is putting on a show. >> last thing, nancy lieber ban coaching with the guys? >> she borough the gender by playing with the guys and now she is breaking the barrier again as the first woman to coach men in the nba-dl. they say, how does it feel, you broke the jernd barrier? all she can focus on is they lost the game. one of the players said i had a hard time listening. i never had a woman telling me what to do but when i realized she knew what she was talking about, i started listening. ing. >> fellows we used to that but not on the basketball court. what is different. she knows her stuff. >> yes, she does. >> coming up, black friday

is coming up. sales starting earlier. will you be shopping at midnight? ordinary rubs don't always work on my arthritis.

try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. so, just how many of you will be shopping next friday? all of you, apparently. that's a good number of the national retail federation estimates 138 million people will be shopping on black friday. alison kosic on the floor of the new york stock exchange with details about this. that sounds like a big number to me. is that about right? is that up, is that down, is that a good turnout? >> it is a good turnout, t.j., that you're going to want to put on the body armor to fight the crowds on black friday. here's the expectation that 4

million more people are expected to hit the stores this year than last year. that's because people have a little more money in their pocks, and as if you didn't notice, a lot of stores putting out the marketing pitch way early. people are changing their habits on black friday as well. you used to get the circular in the mail and go through and plot your strategy and get out before the sun rises, but now a lot of stores are getting the word out early to reel you in before you even know it. >> what do the numbers look like down there today? >> we have a quiet day, a bit of a pull back. not a big surprise. we had a rally yesterday. there are fears china will pull back on its growth, and it is a concern here because china is one of our biggest trading partners. kind of quiet on this friday. >> allisoison kosic for us.

we could know today whether a jaw bone found on a beach in aruba is from natalee holloway. experts in the netherlands are running test on that bone. natalee's family provided dental records earlier this week. she disappeared in aruba five years ago. police in ohio say the man act used of kidnapping a 13-year-old girl helped them find the bodies of three people who were missing. one was the girl's mother. the bodies were found stuffed inside a hollow tree. another delay for the space shuttle discovery's final mission. it won't happen until december 3rd. it has been put off for weather and technical problems. the chilean miners are in hollywo hollywood. there is edison pena. he stopped at the elvis star on the hollywood walk of fame.

they are here for anderson cooper's cnn heroes show.

we're less than a week away now from the fourth annual cnn heroes, an all-star tribute hosted by our own anderson cooper and we will honor the top ten heroes, and this year, cnn has brought the chilean miners here to attend the show. the impact goes beyond just one night. it has the power to change lives.

>> good evening. for the last three years, cnn heroes an all-star tribute has given us all a chance to come together and honor everyday unsung heroes who are changing the world. >> it is a tremendous show. >> this is what real people do every day. >> if you are going to any awards show, cull out to this. >> reporter: on thanksgiving night, we celebrate the top ten cnn heroes with tributes. awards. and inspired performances. we announce the cnn hero of the year you voted for. the cnn hero of the year is ephron pena florida. >> what happens after the show is the best on core of all, the global exposure they receive can transform their work and their

lives. doc henley just opened a water filtration plant in haiti, bringing clean water to an estimated 8,000 people every month. roy foster is now able help female veterans and after being named 2009 cnn hero of the year, ephron captured the attention of an entire nation, and his push cart classroom model has been replicated more than 50 times across the philippines. more than just one night, cnn hoer rows an all-star tribute has the power to change our world by inspiring the hero in each of us. >> thank you all so much for having us here. it is a blessing. >> so, please, be sure to gather round thanksgiving night and check out us for cnn heroes, an all-start tribute starting 8:00 eastern time, 5:00 pacific. we are introduce you to the cnn hero that you voted for and have

special performances and guest appearances. beginning 7:00 eastern. join the live conversation. like us on facebook, and follow us at cnn heroes on twitter. i'll get that right. you will hear plenty about that before we air it next week. six months ago, we met up with regular guys on a new york commuter train to talk about the new york election. some of the things they had to say might surprise you. we got back on that train to hear what they're saying post election.

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you don't decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. the vegetables do. at green giant, we pick vegetables only when they're perfect. then freeze them fast so they're are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. ♪ green giant in santa ana, california, toyota is pushing to have hundreds of lawsuits over the sudden acceleration issue tossed out. a hearing gets under way next hour. chicago, a great day to be in the audience for the oprah show. any day is a good day for that, right, but especially dark the talk show queen is talking about her ultimate favorite things and

giving the audience all kinds of good stuff. cashmere sweater, matching cable throw blankets, a sony tv, a few items. this is her last season. a few months ago, jim acosta got on a commuter train to ask a if you regular guys what they thought about the election. now that it's over, he got back on the train to ask them about ideas on fixing the deficit and other pressing issues. >> reporter: they have a good one-liner on just about everything from why their taxes shouldn't go up. >> i still have to check my own lawns. >> reporter: to brett favre. >> he'd make a perfect politician. he doesn't know when to quit. >> reporter: but don't let that fool you. tom, john, jim, steve kevin and andy, six guys who take the long isla island railroad together every

night mix it up during the day. >> i don't hear any leader of any party speaking in a rational way about what happens to happen. >> reporter: about the nation's deficit. what about the bush tax cuts? >> taxes have to go up. you can argue in what form, but they have to go up. >> reporter: kevin, you don't agree? >> no. i say start with the spending cuts first. >> reporter: what would you cut? >> cut the defense budget. i know it is suicidal, but you can't have the budget going to medicaid, medicare and social security. >> reporter: that spirited mix of democrats, republicans and independents keeps coming back to shared sacrifice. >> eliminating the mortgage interest deduction, and in some form or another, you have to pay the price. >> reporter: you can't solve all of the world's problems in a 45-minute commute.

>> we are getting close to the cave. >> reporter: so about once a week, they fish the conversation at the man cave, a little watering hole tom had installed in his garage where the invitation is hereby extended to president obama for one more beer summit. >> i know president obama had a beer summit, he is always invited to tom's cave any time he wants to come by and have a beer. >> look forward to it. >> reporter: you are inviting the president to the man cave? >> that's correct. >> reporter: i want to get it on the record. >> we can get him a ride home. >> bringing in john acosta here. any opportunity we find to drink beer during a story, we figure that out, don't we? >> reporter: absolutely. >> what are their thoughts? how did they think the election turned out and what did it mean in their opinion? >> reporter: one thing i have to say about these guys is how well informed they are. you know, it might be a little

elitist to think that most americans out there don't understand the issues. these guys understand the issues pretty well, and as you heard them talking about the deficit, they were offering up some of the solutions that are out there on the table right now. i think what they really want to see is a reflect of what a lot of people around the country want to see. i know you traveled around the country, t.j., and i have as well. people want to see the politicians and washington solve the major problems going on right now and do it together in a bipartisan fashion. that is the message we heard time and again from these guys. they are just tired of the bickering and infighting. they want to see something done. >> that sounds like what we hear so many other americans talk about as well. you have been spent a decent amount of time with these guys. anything jump out at you or surprise you about the take they have on things? >> reporter: you know, the take i got from them is they think it's really time for sort of shared sacrifice. we talked about that in the piece.

the left and the right can sort of fight over, you know, who wins and loses in terms of are we going to cut into entitlements or give in on the bush tax cuts? these guys are saying, why don't we put all of that on the table, and i think that is generally the sense -- i don't know how you feel t.j., but that's jeb y -- generally the sense i get from a lot of people. it sounds polyannish and naive, i know but there's a sincere feeling out there, and if you talk to a bunch of guys on the train and get that feeling, i guess that's what you are going to get from all people. >> people don't mind sacrifice but if they know the money is going toward education or know where it's going, but too often they don't trust what going on in washington, d.c. i know you are going to follow up with those guys and they will have a show on cnn soon enough.

>> reporter: they will cut me out of the picture soon. they will call it the man cave. >> not a bad idea, actually, jim. we heard it here. >> maybe you and i could do that. >> you are asking for trouble there. a couple in california makes a grocery store run. look what they found when they got back to the car. d... what's her advantage? it's speedy alka-seltzer! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief for all-over achy colds. the official cold medicine of the u.s. ski team. alka-seltzer plus. 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. ♪

>> who is edgar? >> my guy. only does it on the sleeves. >> tony harris is looking over

his shoulder? >> no, he shouldn't. nobody can replace tony harris. >> are you working tomorrow? >> of course. that's my weekend.

well, that big storm that blew through baltimore this week noup confirmed as a tornado. the national weather service said it had winds up to 100

miles an hour. the tornado damaged homes and businesses and knocked down power to thousands of customers there. rob, it's always fascinating to me, people on the ground who lived there, they didn't need to wait for anybody to confirm that it was a tornado. >> no. as soon as we saw the aerial footage, because that thing hit in the middle of the night, and no confirmed reports of anybody seeing a tornado but when you saw the aerial voi, there is nothing thaels can do that damage. the highest winds were 65 miles an hour. they determined that with winds as high as 100 miles an hour. there were winds over 100 miles an hour earlier in the week across parts of western washington and oregon. we have a pretty strong onshore flow here, which is going to keep the storms coming, and eventually a strong north and northwest flow dropping cold air in the inner mountain west and cold enough to present 12 to 36 inches of snow. that's three feet potentially

across the sierra nevadas. winter storm warnings posted for that part of the world as storms keep on coming. 63 in los angeles, 70 in houston, 49 degrees in new york city and this storminess is going to ride this storm track and release some of this cold air. more importantly, once we get through the weekend and beginning of next week, this storm will take shape on wednesday and present a wintery mix from chicago up to minneapolis and across the great lakes wednesday into thursday, and lake effect snows that shouldn't bring too much in the form of snow to the northeast. timber line lodge, where they filmed "the shining," 23 inches of snow. a ton of snow out west. i don't know if you recognize this guy, t.j. that's billy kidd, silver medallist from 1960s. still going strong there, billy.

steam boat has yet to up, but i think they do it this weekend. i don't know who that is, but he looks like he's having fun. those are the picks i have for you. >> did you say something about a wintery mix on wednesday? >> that's right. >> that's bad, right? >> that's how we hedge a week out, throw out a blanket statement like that. >> a lot of guys back in the day in college would have a pet snake as a pet. did you ever go that route? >> i can say many things here, but no. >> i'm glad you went with that one, know. >> this is happening. in lancaster, california, this thing was wrapped around someone's engine when they came back from grocery shopping. nine feet long. >> nobody is claiming it as a pet or it just happened to be hanging around? >> just happened to be hanging around. you're going to know if that thing is missing. you assume it is somebody's pet. they used cooking oil to loosen

its grip from the engine. they had to call in animal control to get that sucker off. >> nobody was hurt? >> nobody is hurt. i can't say the same about this one. somebody was hurt here. everybody is already laughing. we will rerack it. a guy was trying to do a back flip off a free i believe is what happened at that take a look. it didn't go -- >> oh, he tried to go all spidy on that tree? >> you can say that. >> oh. >> it looks so much easier in the cartoon? >> it does. half a million hits on youtube. let's show it one more time for posterity before commercial break. but i was still taking a foolish risk with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more... and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol...stop.

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what's she thinking? that's right! i'm not thinking anything! [ male announcer ] fiber one chewy bars. cardboard no. delicious yes. welcome back. when the doctor becomes the patient, he discovers changes need to be made. cnn's dr. sanjay gupta has the human mon factor report. >> reporter: this cardiologist and ceo from the university of the rochester medical center changed in 2009 when he had a bicycle accident, and he knew immediately it wasn't a simple fall. >> i quickly noticed i couldn't feel my legs or my left arm and

moved my right arm and it couldn't move. >> burke broke his spine. as paramedics loaded him into the ambulance, he turned to me and apologized. >> i knew when he said i'm so sorry that he had a pretty good sense of how our lives were going to change. >> reporter: he spent 12 days in the icu of his hospital and began to see the compassion of patient care. on a ventilator unable to communicate, he knew technology was keeping him alive but it was his family and staff that made his life worth living. something as simple as a friendly life washing his hair brought him joy. >> i call it the healing power of touch because i felt so good after that. what she didn't know was the only part of my body that could feel sensation was my head. >> reporter: in less than a year, he was able to return as ceo, but he was different.

>> i really came to realize how critically important what i call compassion and attentiveness are both for provider satisfaction, patient satisfaction and driving quality and safety. >> reporter: burke instituted the patient and family center care nifive designed to improve patient care and the employee work environment. >> it's object valuing and respecting everyone. >> reporter: today he works with a therapist to help him walk even though he can't feel his steps. >> courage is not the roar you make when you go into battle but it's the quiet voice that helps you get up every day and try again. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta cnn reporting. time now for a check of other stories making headlines. a bill that would have extended jobless benefits has been shot

down in the house. 4 million out of work americans are facing the prospects of falling off the rolls for good after november 30th, and a bit of good news for people with new jobs on capitol hill. this is the freshman class of the congress. they are finding out which office they'll be working out of via a lottery. anticipation mounting that the date and place for the royal wedding will be announced today. westminster abbey is the front-runner. middleton was seen leaving there wednesday with her parents. ♪

it's true. you never forget your first subaru. well, welcome back. we're taking a new look at the president's job performance, some new polls and new numbers we have. paul steinhauser, take it away. >> let's talk about the president's approval rating, we

have the cnn poll of polls, we take the most recent national surveys on the president's approval rating. that's the question, do you approve or disapprove of how barack obama's handling his duties. 47% approval, 48% disprove. that means americans are kind of split, they're kind of divided on whether barack obama's doing a good job or not in the white house. those numbers, looking ahead to 2012, i'm sure the president would like to see those numbers get a little bit higher. >> we're still talking about the midterm elections, it was a disaster for zat democrats as we know, they lost 61 seats in the house of representatives, and six over in the senate. but the democratic leader in the house of representatives put out a five-page memo yesterday. chris van holland who oversaw the campaign for house democrats said it could have been worse. worse than 61 seats? he's having his democratic

national campaign committee says they could have lost 15 to more seats it could have been an 80-seat loss according to chris van holland, this is a memo that he circulated to his colleagues yesterday. i was able to get it late yesterday afternoon. 60 seats doesn't looking too bad if you look at 80. and last night, joe biden was here in this building, t.j. and larry king sat down and talked to him about a whole range of issues, afghanistan, tax issues and sarah palin. he said that she's a very appealing person and she's turned out to be a real force in the republican party. he said you should never underestimate anyone especially when it comes to 2012, the fact that she's a real force in the party, she could become president obama's nemesis, so to speak in 2012. but mr. biden said this, but if in fact she did, he feels confident that he and president

obama will win re-election in 2012. >> paul, mark, thanks so much, we'll check in with you in an hour where all the latest political news, cnnpolitics.com.

in the last hour, vice president joe biden's middle class task force announced what it calls new initiatives to help middle class and low income feels secure their legal rights. the vice president says he wants to make sure average americans get a fair shake, last night the vice president told our larry king, what's in the works to secure an extension to the middle class bush era tax cuts.

>> we'll be sitting down with the republicans, the republican leadership will say, guys, here's our position, what's yours and we'll see if we can work something out. we're not looking for confrontation. we know if we don't extend the middle class tax cuts, not only is it unfair, it will have an incredible drag on the economy. what we want to do, basically is what's right for the country, and what's right for the country is both in terms of fairness and economic growth is giving the middle class, who's been battered from 2001 to 2008, they lost 5% of their worth, 5% of their income. and, you know, i don't want to take away from them now. >> coming possibly some new forensic evidence found on a beach in the natalee holloway case. how do dogs think? a special report on how they

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aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. political activist is spending her first friday night in many years. for the past two decades she's been under house arrest, 15 of the past 20 years under house arrest. her vision is to be a place where people feel empowered to shape its own future. in an interview she talks about working to advance the cost to democracy and she addresses concerns about whether her own freedom will last. >> you've been talking a lot about dialogue, but you've also

been very, very vocal on what you call dramatic change. do you feel you'll be locked up for that? >> let's put it as change in the right direction and -- but your question about do i think they'll lock me up again, so many people ask me this question and the only thing i can say is i don't know, it's always a possibility, after all they have arrested me several times in the past. there's nothing to say that they won't arrest me again. but you can't keep thinking about that, you just have to keep on with your work. >> and that's what you're going to do, keep trying to put your policies in place? >> we do try to be as amicable as possible and we try to be as -- to be as reasonable as possible in what we ask for, but if you are in the kind of

struggle in which we're engaged in, there's certain things you have to do, unless you want to drop out of the movement all together. >> hello there, everybody, i'm t.j. holmes, in today for tony harris. let's get started with the next hour of the cnn newsroom. fire the tsa? some congressmen says the airports should stop using the travel agency for security amid the controversy over pat downs and body cans. also natalee holloway, that mystery, today forensic tests could reveal whether a new discovery is connected to the disappearance of the alabama teenager. also how smart is your dog? new research on the intelligence of man's best friend and the unique connection between people

and their pooches. let's start with this busy travel holiday which actually gets underway today. there's a 12-day travel season which gets underway today. this is going to be a first this year with these enhanced security measures that are in place. here's something you don't want to see or hear in the middle of your flight. a pilot announcing an emergency landing because of a crack in the windshield. >> no air's leaking into the airplane, no glass is breaking or anything like that, it's just that we cannot continue on to santa ana as you can imagine. >> that will make you feel better. the plane was headed from atlanta to california. it did land safely in dallas. you saw a picture of the actual windshield, 145 passengers were put on another flight headed to california.

you do not want to see that or hear that on their flight. most people say they do support the new more intense body scans and pat downs started in the last couple of weeks. that's a nun getting a pat down by a woman wearing a scarf. this is adding to the controversy. people see those and they get to say what they want on the internet. and also, video of a little boy being searched. a group is calling for people to refuse body scans and to opt out for pat downs on the day before thanksgiving. the protest is designed is meant to slow down screening on one of the busiest travel days. you can make a decision for yourself whether you want to protest. but it's going to cause you a problem at the airports, it

could really slow you down. what are airports supposed to do? are there alternatives in security? we have to have security. >> we have to have security, you're right and, look, you have a republican congressman whose district includes an airport in orlando who says we should just fire tsa and allow private screeners to take over this job. tsa says it's doing the best job it can. but let's talk about the options here. can you use better technology, can you use technology differently, can you return to private screeners? first of all, here's a solution, at boston's logan airport, they're going to be using the body image scanning in a different way, it's going to be more like a six figure that will highlight an area that could be

problematic like a belt or a cell phone or a wallet and that will be raised for further examination. they say it's going to go a lot more quickly there. how about private screeners, in orlando, they're considering at sanford international airport private screeners, they must still follow tsa guidelines, they still may have to have the advanced pat down if necessary, but they are considering kicking out the tsa basically. there are 15 airports that don't use the tsa and some of those executives say they're doing just fine. they're able to meet all of the guidelines without the headaches and complaints. and frankly, san francisco international airport has had private screeners since 2002. but t.j., here's the thing, wasn't it private screeners that were the reason in the first place that we said that the

federal government had to take over this role to make sure we were safer since 9/11. so the pendulum has shifted completely in the other direction again because people are so upset and there's so much buzz about what the travel experience is like these days. >> nail it down for the viewers, christine, say you do put private screeners back in, you'll still have the same procedures, but you won't have the bureaucracy in place. >> the private companies must do the same kind of pat downs, they're not allowed to have their own set of rules. but there is in minority opinion that maybe you need to go back to having private industry do it again because a lot of people are unhappy with the way the tsa is doing it. but we went from a time when we said private industry couldn't do enough to keep us safe and

now there's claims that they're going too far. it's interesting that other airports who have private screeners are not reporting the big problems you're seeing at other airports as well. a lot of people fly every day. so there's a great variety of experience with the system, i would say. >> where is that balance? some will tell you, as long as that plane lands safely, you can do what you want to do. >> well, let's now talk about who is subject to those enhanced screenings that the critics are complaining about. not everybody is going to have to go through these when you go to an airport, it's not automatic. according to the tsa, these are the reasons people might be subjected to a pat down search, there's an alarm at the metal detector. also if there's some kind of anomaly during your screening.

or if someone opts out of the advanced imaging body scan. again, the advanced imaging body scan, not everybody is going to go through that either, you might be randomly selected to do that. or if the metal detector goes off and they want an advanced screening, you may be asked to go through it. but the pat downs are a little different these days. you'll know if you have been through one yourself just yet. i have experienced this thing. >> how did that work for you. >> it is different. it will throw you off and you need to be prepared for it. but like one of the experts said, make up your mind before you even get to the airport, if you're in that position, what are you going to do? what are you going to choose? >> i used to just have to decide do i want an aisle seat or a window seat. now it's a little more involved. viewers, it's mind-boggling to see the number of planes out

there. every single plane you see is a plane that's actually in flight. the ones you see that are shaded in gray, planes either descending or at some point taking off. obviously a busy day out there, coast to coast, we see a bulk of airplanes out there. we're going to see more planes possibly as we get into monday, right now over 6,000 planes in the air as we speak. and then as we get into sunday and then into monday, there's going to be millions more americans that are going to be not just in the skies, they're going to be on the railways, on the roadways and it's certainly going to be a busy time out there, and a lot of those people out there subjected to these new rules. >> it's always a fascinating picture when you put that up, but it scares the definitevil o me to think there's so many planes out there. >> and be sure to join reynolds

and i tomorrow morning, we're going to be dedicating a special half hour on cnn's saturday morning, it will be a travel season like we have never seen before, for the first time a lot of these new procedures and security measures are in place so it could change things a lot. everything from the revolt over tsa pat downs, and debunking some myths and giving you some information about the tsa. do you need to get your ticket now? do you need to wait until the last minute? that's part of our cnn saturday morning. they have been through a nightmare for five years now. now natalee holloway's family, hoping they're closer to getting some answers in their daughter's disappearance. first, though, your random moment coming up in 90 seconds. [ female announcer ] introducing splenda®

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on your random moment of the day, a school principal thinks that two brothers tried to pull a ferris buhler on him. parents say that chester academy principal barged into their home, marched upstairs to the boys' bedrooms, he found the two asleep and by all accounts they were sick. the parents are furious here, though, they have gone to the chester, new york police department over there. >> my kids were in their underwear. again, you're talking a

12-year-old and a 16-year-old. where does he get the right to violate my children's rights? >> the parents have probably complained. we're treating it as a criminal complaint. >> the principal may be calling in sick now, the principal's wife says there are facts the public doesn't know about this case that will explain our random moment of the day.

well, could this be the break that leads to close your for natalee holloway's family? a jawbone found on a beach in aruba, now undergoing tests in the netherlands. there's a chance we could know the results today. our in session correspondent joins us from aruba. what do we know? >> reporter: the department tells us they are in a holding pattern, they are calling throughout the day the

netherlands's forensic lab who are doing the testing. but at this point they say they're in this waiting pattern. i am literally on the beach here in aruba at the phoenix hotel. we haven't gotten a lot of information, but what we have been told is that this jawbone was found on the beach, and i'll say alleged jawbone at this point by a couple staying at the phoenix. and when i look at the beach and we don't know exactly where, but i can tell you we're at queen's beach, i don't see a lot of debris or shells or seaweed, so if anything were washed up by the waves, it would be really, really visible. >> you said you wanted to make sure you used the word alleged. what are authorities telling us for sure about what was found? >> reporter: the aruban forensic

authorities and i understand there is an anthropologist here on the island, he says this is to the jawbone of a human caucasian woman. but the police say they want to rely on the findings of the hague. that's what led to aruban officials taking it on a plane from aruba to the netherlands this week. >> we appreciate the update. it is time for us to go across country for a look at what's making news around the nation. first stop, hollywood. >> smiles and cheers for the 33 miners. you remember these guys. those chilean miners rescued last month, they were taking pictures, dancing, on a bus tour

through hollywood. this isn't the typical trip to the grocery store for this couple. they came out to find a snake on their car. it took about an hour for animal control to get this thing untangled from the engine. finally in atlanta, it's a boy, this giant panda was born in georgia's zoo atlanta november 3. it's a male, not that we couldn't tell, that's clearly a male, right? it weighs about 11 ounces, it's the only giant panda born in the u.s. in 2010. ♪

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all right, turn to the weather now, i had rob describe a wintry mix on wednesday? >> there are certain things you expect around thanksgiving, but a big snowstorm, not one of the things you want to deal with. >> are you traveling? >> not until friday. >> traveling on the iron bowl, what are you thinking of? >> i won't be in front of the tv. >> for those of you who won't be in front of the tv the next few days, you're heading to the airport, you may have a tough time. if you're traveling today, this one will be a banner one for you. high pressure, that means sinking air, when you get farther to the northwest, things

begin to evolve a lick. a potent storm and heavy snow is going to be the result. what we're also going to see is a transformation of a lot of that warm air staying in the utheast into the northern plains. as we fast forward into wednesday, this is going to be the big weathermaker, this area of low pressure bringing snow into buffalo, even parts of the keystone state of pennsylvania, could be snowfall on the horizon. could it be heavy snowfall like the rockies? i don't think so, steamboat springs has seen their share of snowfall, but this is certainly enough to give you headaches in your travel. every green airplane that you see on this map, coast to coast, is a plane that is obviously flying at this time. now the ones you see traded in gray, they're taking off, they're landing. what we are seeing is quite a

few of them on the eastern seaboard and quite a cluster around detroit. we have a lot of them taking off or landing at this point. i would look for more problems to exist into parts of the great lakes wednesday and thursday and we're going to keep you up to speed with those developments weatherwise and how they may affability you coming up in a few minutes. so who wants to learn ab? me, me, me!

going to give you a look at some of the stories making hoinsz.

rescuers in new zealand are hoping to get into a damaged mine. one report says the miners may be almost a mile deep. two men stumbled out of the mine minutes after that blast, they are now getting medical treatment. the full house will vote on a censure for new york congressman charlie rangel. that's going to happen after thanksgiving. the democrat rangel's colleagues found that he violated house rules 11 times. the president is at the nato summit today. afghanistan being the main focus. suzanne malveaux joins us now. what is at the top of the president's priority list on this trip? >> reporter: having covered a lot of these nato summits, you often see the pomp and s circumstance and pageant try.

this is important for all of us here, especially american forces and their families because it really is, what happens in the next 24 or 48 hours will determine whether or not they're going to stay in afghanistan, how long, whether or not they're going to have to go back for a second or third tour of duty. this is about the president meeting with nato allies and figuring out how do we get those allied forces, u.s. forces out by 2014 and allow the afghan troops, the afghan forces to take responsibility of their own security. it is far from certain whether or not that is really going to be able to happen in that time frame, a lot of things working against the president and this mission. we're talking about at least 16 of these countries that have decreased their defense spending, their budgets there, their economies are in shambles, the president himself has said, look, we want to start getting u.s. troops out by july of next year. all these things taken together, they have to figure out whether or not that is even realistic. we heard from the president

early this morning talking about the fact that all of these allies want to pull out, they want to pull out fairly quickly, but how do they realistically manage that in terms of how afghanistan looks. take a look at what he said early this morning. >> i expressed my gratitude to the portuguese armed services who are serving alongside of us in afghanistan. and here in lisbon, i look forward to working with portugal in a troop withdrawal by 2011. >> reporter: so that's the typical diplo speak that we have come to hear from the president when he is off u.s. soil. this is what the vice president said to larry king. >> a lot of our critics say you

shouldn't set a deadline to get out. the reason we needed to do that is the same reason we did in afghanistan, saying, you got to step up, man, daddy's going to start to take the training wheels off next july. so you better practice riding. >> reporter: t.j., he says daddy is going to have to start taking the training wheels off, you guys are going to have to step up here, obviously that's the kind of language the vice president is using, the president a little bit more diplomatic. what we want to see tomorrow is this meeting that's going to take place tomorrow when hamid karzai presents his case to the allies and he explains how he's going to fight corruption, how he's going to help his country take over security because that's what he wants as well, very uncertain whether or not it's going to happen in a quick

timetable, in the next three or so years. >> you did a great job of putting it in perspective, why this meeting, this summit is important for many families here in the u.s., but walking out ofa summit, do we anticipate or are they actually working towards coming out of there with not just a statement at the end of it, but some kind of an agreement, something on paper, something binding? some kind of a commitment? a hard commitment? >> i have to tell you, in covering these summits from before, even just last year in straussborg, there were a lot of countries who said we're going to help you train afghan forces, that's what president obama asked them to do last year, so you saw all those leaders come forward, t.j., they have not come through, there's a lot of these nato countries who have not put up those trainers. so you've got president obama

coming back again and saying, look, this is what we need. so a lot of times you've got various countries and leaders who will make commitments in principle, but will not followthrough. it's one of the frustrating things that obama is experiencing now, it was a frustration that bush had before. coming up, he stood firm with congressman charlie rangel in his ethics fight, now congressman john lewis makes headlines for another reason. i didn't buy this cereal to sweet talk your taste buds it's for my heart health. so i can't have any? if you can deprive me of what can help lower my cholesterol... and live with yourself. right. mmm, i worry about your mother. cry herself to sleep every night over my arteries, but have yourself a bowl. good speech dad. [ whimper ] [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. that saves you hundreds of dollars a year.

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well, georgia congressman john lewis has just learned he's one of 15 people that will receive the presidential medal of freedom in february. it is the nation's highest civilian honor. and it's what we're talking about today in our "what matters" segment. lewis played a large role in the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s.

he was one of the speakers in the 1963 march on washington. he spoke earlier to our atlanta affiliate wxil. >> when the president called me on tuesday, tuesday morning, early tuesday morning and said hello, john, i want to let you know that i'm going to award you the medal of freedom. and he kept talking about the contribution that i have made to people that i would be honored with. and i said, mr. president, you need to stop, you keep talking, you're going to make me cry. he said go ahead, john and cry. i met dr. king at a very young age. i first met rosa parks in 1957 when i was 17. i met dr. king the next year in 1958 when i was 18 and i got involved in the civil rights movement and i have been involved now for more than 50 years. we organized a committee in the spring of 1960.

during a sit in, we would be sitting in at lunch counters here in atlanta and all across the south, black people and white people were going to sit down together at a lunch counter in a department store, in a wolworth's store and get a hamburger or hot dog together and we had to change that. i saw signs white women, colored women, white men, colored men. when i asked my grandparents they said, didn't ask questions, just don't do it. when i met rosa parks and mr. king, i got in trouble and i've been getting in trouble ever since. what matters, brought to you by red lobster, enjoy your

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welcome back. a beautiful live picture for you right now. this is out of lisbon, portugal, where the nato summit is currently taking place. this is right outside what's called the lisbon international fair. it's a huge convention center

where this summit meeting is going on. the top nato countries figuring out how to dial back their commitment in afghanistan to possibly sometime in the next four years to having the afghans take over their own security. another live picture that's way away from lisbon, portugal. that's music city, hello, nashville, music city. a lot of sunshine, good temperatures today also and always good music, but we're talking about the opry land resort. it kicked off the holidays with a fireworks and lights display, they did this just days after reopening. the workers have been stringing up more than two million lights since july. country stars trace adkins, and flooding -- a lot of you will remember that flooding shut them down eight months ago but

they're up and going once again.

i'm going to tell you about some of the stories making headlines right now. we could know today whether a jawbone found on a beach in aruba is from natalee holloway. experts in the netherlands are now running tests on the bones. the family provided dental records to the authorities early this week. the teenager disappeared in aruba five years ago. the man accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old girl helped them find the bodies of the other three missing. the bodies were found stuffed inside a hollow tree. the u.s. senate expected today to approve $1.15 billion

to fund a settlement between the agriculture department and minority farmers. that word from senate sources. the case involved racial bias. this settlement was reached more than a decade ago. glee, i understand is a pretty big deal these days, pretty popular show. i haven't jumped on the bandwagon just yet. i keep hearing about it, but not everybody thrilled with the show lately. also there's a brandy and bristol controversy and harry potter is back? let's turn to hollywood and our hollywood watcher kelly carter joins us now. let's get to some of this other stuff, but what is this a 20-second harry potter movie? apparently i mised a good one. >> gwyneth paltrow appeared earlier this week and in her voice over narration, she said that the way she engages her students is by using topical

subjects that are interesting to them and she decided to talk about lindsay lohan and her issues in the news as of late and her mom did not like that one bit. diena lohan sent out a statement and said that she felt her daughter was defamed and suggested she may even go after "glee"'s producers. >> sounds like she must have said something just terrible, how bad was it? >> i don't think it was really that bad to be honest with you, she said, in spanish, lindsay lohan has been in rehab five times. and she was pretty right on yes. >> i haven't watched "glee" and

i'm not a "dancing with the stars" guy but i love the draw. now there's controversy surrounding, which could only be good for ratings, but brandy and bristol palin. >> they're not exactly duking it out. but brandy was eliminated earlier this week and bristol palin was kept in the show and it really shocked a lot of people. and that's really because bristol has been consistently grabbing the lowest scores almost all season long and brandy was in the top two scores pretty much all season long so people are questioning the process that happens with regards to voting. but the thing about "dancing with the stars" just like it is with "american idol" you can call in as many times as you like. >> it doesn't matter what the judge said, as long as the people like you, you can win

that thing. >> if people like you, it accounts for 50% of your tab, the judges give you a score, but the other 50% comes from the american viewing public. >> and another thing i'm not up on, harry potter, haven't seen a single harry potter movie. how many have there been? >> this is the seventh one coming out. and it's part one of part two. and it's going to be the end. >> did you just say it's part one of part two? >> it's seven, yes, and they divied it up into two different movies, so the second film that will be the last in the installation next year. >> part one of part two, which means it's actually part eight in the season? how close until they pass star wars? >> they need $2 million in box office totals to even get close. box office watchers forecast that it will bring in anywhere

between $130 million and $160 million this weekend alone. >> clearly i didn't pick these topics, good to see you, you enjoy your weekend. if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, you can watch that guy, that's a.j., that's at 5:00 and 11:00 on hln. [ beeping ] ♪ my country ♪ 'tis of thee ♪ sweet land ♪ of liberty ♪ of thee i sing

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the vice president discusses those pesky trading places rumors. ed henry, part of the best political team on television, joining us live from the political desk in washington. the last hit we had last hour to do the political ticker, it took two guys to do the work of only one. head henry, you can handle this on your own. >> i got this, t.j., all right? let me tell you, vice president biden was on "larry king live" last night. the vice president trying to shoot down once and for all this speculation that maybe he'll switch jobs with secretary of state clinton, he said here's the deal, the president and i, there was never any serious talk about me not being on the ticket with him or her not staying at state. and he also talked a little bit about sarah palin, the vice president saying, look, my mom used to have an expression, be careful what you wish for, you may get it. some people say if sarah palin

has a gop nomination in 2012, she'll be easy to beat because she'll be polarizing, biden said not so fast. haley barbour is urging mayor bloomberg not to get in and run a third party bid or anyone else for that party. haley barbour said that a third party candidate would probably tap into some of that anger and he said that would be the best thing that can happen to president obama. so you can see republicans already saying no third party bid, they don't want to see that. and james carville, our cnn contributor, he got into a little bit hot water with the white house and fellow democrats, he told a little bit of an offcolor joke yesterday. i'm going to quote it.

if hillary gave up one of her balls and gave it to barbour, he would have two. he explained that it was a joke, he had said it once before in the campaign and he told john king if i off fended anyone, i do not apologize. look, james carville is going to be on "the situation room," first time on camera talking about this, 5:00 p.m. eastern, so we'll let wolf deal with exactly what noun is being used this time. >> what hour of sit room? >> 5:00 p.m. eastern. james carville's point is he was talking about don't ask, don't tell, some of these cat fights with republicans and he suggests that maybe hillary clinton would be tougher with some of these republicans. but carville said he was joking, he made a similar joke in 2008. at that time candidate obama commented and said jim carville is on tv as a performance

artist, i'm a politician, i'm not going to get bogged down by this. >> i will make sure i watch. wolf is the consummate professional and i would love to see how he navigates around that conversation with james carville. your next political update coming up in one hour, for the latest political news, you know where to go, cnnpolitics.com.

time now for the health desk where we get answers to your financial questions. joining me this hour, carmen wong ulrich. our first question comes from connecticut. i changed jobs and spent more

than i contributed in my health plan account. do i need to pay back the shortage? >> you know the whole use it or lose it? for folks who don't use it, it goes into a pool. so likewise, if you basically leave your job and you spent the money, that comes from that pool. so it all go sbosz a pool. so whether you have overspent or underspent, it all goes in and out of that pool. i have heard of folks getting asked by their company, their former company to pay this back, they really shouldn't do that. if they haven't done it so far, they probably won't. >> you got away with a little bit. our next question comes from bernard in maryland who writes, a friend has $100,000 in savings but about $2,300 in credit card debt. i told him to pay off his debt immediately. was this the right advice? >> the money was in a qualified account like a 401(k) or a

retirement account, you might have some penalties, or taxes, but if the money was just pure cash liquidity, he was probably right. getting 1% or 2% return, the numbers don't add up so in that case it probably was the right advice. but you want to do a good long-term strategy, see what your goals are, see what your risk strategy is. >> thanks so much carmen and ryan for that. if you have a question you would like answered, send it to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com. ♪

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well, dogs and humans have been living together for quite a while now. there's fascinating new research about how dogs think. they think this partnership has actually shaped the way dogs see the world. >> reporter: if you have ever wondered what's really going on behind those puppy dog eyes, this may be the guy to tell you. >> good boy. >> reporter: the director of

duke university's canine cognition center is one of only a few people in the country who study how dogs think. he put pups through a series of games, similar to those you might play with young children. >> we don't want to look at cute petricks, what we want to know is what does a dog understand about its world. >> reporter: for years, researchers didn't even study dogs, they thought they were too domesticated. brian says that's exactly why we do need to study dogs. what surprised him most is that dogs have figured out how to read human behavior better than any other species even chimpanzees. >> the way they think about their world is that humans are very important and they can solve any problem if they rely on people. >> young children start relying on their adult gestures and they start making gestures themselves

and that's at about the point that it looks like dogs have a similar level of flexibility. >> reporter: watch this, i just met patty, the professor's dog a few minutes before this, will she trust me, a stranger, or her owner. >> that's my boy. >> reporter: over and over, as t the -- she chooses her owner's message. >> she says i'm going to trust the guy that i'm with all the time. >> try not to take this personally. we'll find out what researchers are trying to pinpoint in these dogs that may help them become better companions for the disabled. that's coming up after the break, stick around. if you d shipping's a hassle. i'll go to the mall.

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misbeha misbehaves, does that mean he's actually being disobedient? not necessarily. here's part two of a fascinating series on dogs. >> reporter: dogs are complex social animals who understand they have different relationships with different people. >> they really narrow in and pay attention to you and they want to know what is it about the world that you can help them with. >> reporter: because let's face it, dogs can't solve every problem. when a treat is hidden inside an opaque tube, this dog can't see it. but she figures out she can go around to the side. but watch what happens wen the tube is switched and the dog can see the treat? she forgets how easy it was to get just moments before. you might call it a doggie meltdown. we tried the same test on

napoleon, a york shire terrier. let's see how you do, here's your treat. put it in a clear cylinder. wow, you are impressive, my little friend. >> a lot of time the best solution requires a little bit of a detour. what this says is napoleon is able to take a mental detour, and say, wait a second, even though it looks like the shortcut easy answer, it's the wrong thing to do. >> reporter: researchers are studying dogs by identifying their limitations. they believe they can make them better working with people or the military. domestication has made dogs smarter, so smart in fact, they're ann able to understand the principal connectivity. >> they know they are connected by