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American Morning
Thanksgiving Retail Bonanza; WHO: Bird Flu in Asia Could Kill 7 Million; Who Killed King Tut?
Aired November 26, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Saying good-bye to your money and hello to bargains. America's after Thanksgiving retail bonanza has begun.
An alarming warning from the World Health Organization. Officials say the bird flu in Asia could kill seven million people.
And talk about a cold case. The new investigation into who or what killed King Tut, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
COSTELLO: Ooh, they're all bundled up out there, aren't they?
It's cold outside.
Good morning.
Bill and Soledad are off.
I'm Carol Costello.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Rick Sanchez.
Isn't it amazing that people all over America are up already? You know why? Because they don't have to be. That's what happens when you get to sleep in. I won't.
We're going to dive back into this after Thanksgiving shopping fray in just a couple of minutes. We're going to check in at Macy's, for example, about the bargains. They're going to look at -- we're also going to look at gift cards. They're very popular this year, but can come with some expensive strings attached.
COSTELLO: Yes, wait until you hear. You'll be made.
Also, if you loved the "Godfather" series, you know, there's a gap in years between the end of the first movie and the beginning of the second. That's while the Corleone family gets set up in Las Vegas. In a few minutes, we'll fill in that gap.
SANCHEZ: Jack Cafferty has some time off and Toure' is going to be here to spell him. He's going to have the Question of the Day a little bit later. It's a good one, by the way.
COSTELLO: Yes, he's
SANCHEZ:
But can come with some expensive strings attached.
COSTELLO: Yes, wait until you hear. You'll be
SANCHEZ: Jack Cafferty has some time off and Toure' is going to be here to spell him. He's going to have the Question of the Day a little bit later. It's a good one, by the way.
COSTELLO: Yes, he's fired up about it, isn't he? He's kind of scary, actually.
Let's check on the headlines now with Tony Harris at the CNN Center in Atlanta -- good morning, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.
Good morning, Rick.
Now in the news, this just in. We're just getting word of a deadly attack in Baghdad. A British security firm says four of its workers, we don't know their nationalities, were killed, and 15 others injured in the so-called green zone. The attack apparently took place yesterday.
Investigators in Mexico are looking into the killings of at least eight people, including three uncover narcotics agents. The bodies were discovered yesterday outside the resort city of Cancun. Police are blaming a drug turf war for control of the area. Officials are investigating suspects in that case.
Over to Colorado now. Well, crews are working to free a rock slide, forcing commuters to take a 220-mile detour. Near Glenwood Springs, a canyon wall crumbled yesterday, piling a stretch of highway with rocks -- take a look at it here -- stacked up to 10 feet deep. No one was injured in the slide.
And a very Happy Thanksgiving for a Florida couple whose stolen car was recovered with their baby still inside and unharmed. James and Rose Pringle were reunited with their six-month-old son yesterday at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Police found the car about 25 miles from where it was taken Wednesday, with the baby still in his car seat in the back. So far, police haven't tracked down the car thief.
It is now 8:03.
Let's send it back to New York and to Rick and to Carol.
SANCHEZ: All right, thanks a lot.
I'll take it from you, Tony.
On this black Friday, retailers are hoping to see plenty of green on the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. In Virginia Beach, that's where people are lining up outside a Best Buy long before the store opened just to be able to get a jump on the sale. Yes, they're bundled up, as they are all over the country, and in Georgia, they're off. That's right, shoppers rushing in to get an early start when the ribbon was dropped at the Atlanta Wal-Mart.
Allan Chernoff is live.
He's at Macy's Department Store in New York. That also opened just a couple of hours ago today. He tells us stories of people who were up at ungodly hours just to be able to be in the front of the line -- Allan, take it away.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, you know, New York is known as the city that never sleeps, and that certainly was the case this morning. People were lining up outside of Macy's at five in the morning. One family I found had gotten up at 2:30, traveled in from the Bronx just to get here. They waited an hour outside. Finally, the doors did open at 6:00 in the morning.
We had about 200 people rushing through the door right next to us, and there are seven separate entrances for Macy's. So there certainly were well over 1,000 people in this store just after 6:00 in the morning.
Now, of course, they're here partly to beat the crowds, also to find bargains. But would you believe that some people at that hour were here only to window shop?
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we did no shopping today. I'm just looking.
CHERNOFF: At 6:00 in the morning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I'm on my way to work.
CHERNOFF: You're very efficient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, well, it's part of the job.
CHERNOFF: Oh, I see.
Does your employer know that coming to Macy's to shop is part of the job?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, probably not.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
CHERNOFF: Now, I found one woman in the store who was here at Macy's at 6:00. Then she planned to go to Lord & Taylor's at 7:00 and then get to Saks Fifth Avenue by 8:00, all just to window shop, if you can believe that much.
But other people know what they want and they certainly grab it. One family, in fact, took five of the Grover dolls that you see right behind me. Other hot items -- handbags, sweaters, gloves and, of course, some of those electronics. iPods are very popular, digital cameras, as well. And, finally, gift cards. According to one survey, shoppers, two thirds of shoppers plan to buy gift cards as gifts -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Allan Chernoff following things for us here in midtown Manhattan.
Thanks to you, Allan.
We'll check back with you -- Carol, over to you.
COSTELLO: You heard Allan mentioning gift cards? Well, gift cards are expected to be more popular than ever this holiday season.
Vera Gibbons from "Kiplinger's Personal Finance" has two important words of advice for you -- buyer beware.
VERA GIBBONS, "KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE": That's right.
COSTELLO: You're kidding?
That's a huge number that Allan mentioned of people giving gift cards.
They're really that popular?
GIBBONS: Yes. It's huge business. Americans are actually expected to spend $60 billion on gift cards for the whole year, $20 billion on holiday gift cards specifically, which could account for 10 percent of total holiday sales. Yes, two thirds of consumers plan on buying gift cards. Mostly popular amongst wealthy individuals, older individuals, those 65 and up making over $100,000. So, big business.
COSTELLO: Well, but -- and it's easy to give. I mean it's a cinch. You don't have to really decide on buying an actual gift. You can say it's more thoughtful, but I think it's the other way around. But there is a catch to these gift cards. Tell us about it.
GIBBONS: Well, there could even be a fee to buy a gift card, otherwise known as a service fee. You find this with the bank issued cards, the general purpose cards. For example, American Express, it costs $3.95 to $7.95 to by one of these cards, depending whether you buy one over the phone or online. Bank of America, $5.95 to $11.95 to order these cards.
COSTELLO: Wow!
GIBBONS: There could even be a shipping and handling fee. Bank of America -- excuse me, Visa Gift Card from National City charges $4.95 to $8.95. And at Saks, there's a $5 shipping and handling fee unless you buy merchandise along the with gift card.
COSTELLO: Well, I guess that's a smart marketing move, actually.
There are other pitfalls, as well, though, because I didn't know this, some of those gift cards can actually expire.
GIBBONS: That's right. And they can start losing value, too. Now some of these gift cards start losing value after just six months, some of the mall-based cards. That boa gift card loses value after just six months. And they lose value at a rate of $2 or $2.50 a month. So if you've got a gift card for $20, it loses its value in no time. So you want to use that as soon as possible.
The expiration issue, some stores have actually done away with it because consumers have put up enough of a stink -- Starbucks, Sears. They've done away with the expiration stuff altogether. And there is -- has been some legislation, some state legislation. California has done way with the expiration dates. In Massachusetts, they have extended the expiration dates, so you've got seven years to use your gift card.
COSTELLO: Well, as they should, because this is just greedy on the parts of stores. That's just greed...
GIBBONS: Extremely.
COSTELLO: ... because, you know, you pay good money to buy the gift card. The store already has the money, so what does it care when the money is actually, you know...
GIBBONS: Greed.
COSTELLO: ... "spent?"
GIBBONS: That's exactly right, they shouldn't care.
COSTELLO: OK, run down the list one more time for us of good stores in which to purchase gift cards.
GIBBONS: Oh, there are plenty of good ones, I should point out. I'm just pointing out the negative side to them. And the bank issued cards do come with quite a bit of fees. But among the good programs, Gap, Banana Republic, Home Depot, Nordstrom, Circuit City is also good, J. Crew. And the reason these are good, Carol, is essentially because there are no expiration dates and there are no non-usage fees, which you get with many of the, unfortunately, the bank issued cards. Those credit card companies that I mentioned.
COSTELLO: And I guess a good way to protect yourself is ask questions, ask a lot of questions, because they're not going to volunteer the information, are they?
GIBBONS: They are certainly not. You've got to ask a lot of questions up front so that you don't want to determine it when you try to redeem your gift card.
COSTELLO: Vera Gibbons, thanks so much.
GIBBONS: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Back over to you -- Rick. SANCHEZ: I don't know about the rest of the country, but we had one of the strangest days weather wise in New York City yesterday. At some points it was calm. At other points it was windy. Then it was rainy. Then it was sunny. Then it was cold. Then it was warm. What a strange day -- Chad.
Was that all over the Northeast?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Should I be getting out the violin, Rick, or what? I mean...
SANCHEZ: Well, no, I mean, one moment it was like this, the next moment it was like that. I want you to explain this to us.
MYERS: That was a major cold front that went by. It was warm in the morning, 63. The cold front was here. And then we saw the severe weather pop up. We actually had a watch box, a severe thunderstorm watch box during the parade. The storms went by. The cold air wrapped in and now the cold air is cold enough to make lake effect snow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Rick -- back to you.
SANCHEZ: All right, Chad, thanks so much for that explanation.
MYERS: You've got it. All right.
SANCHEZ: Iraqi forces have found what appears to be a chemical laboratory in Falluja. U.S. and Iraqi officials say that instructions and ingredients for the manufacturing of explosives and toxins were also recovered at the site.
So let's break this down for you, what exactly did they find? What is the significance of it?
CNN's Barbara Starr. She's live at the Pentagon.
She's been following the story for us and she joins us now live -- Barbara, over to you.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.
Well, Iraqi officials yesterday announced, indeed, that they found a laboratory with materials for making toxins in Falluja, but as you say, the question now is what does this all mean?
U.S. sources have confirmed that the laboratory -- some of the pictures here show what they found -- had instructions for making anthrax, formulas and ingredients for explosives and chemical blood agents, including something called hydrochloric acid and sodium cyanide. Together that makes hydrogen cyanide, a so-called blood agent. These are chemicals that can be combined together to make toxic agents. But in Iraq, U.S. military officials are stressing that so far they have found no evidence of actual chemical weapons themselves being made or manufactured at this site. They are not yet calling this a chemical weapons lab.
Now, the national -- the Iraqi national security adviser spoke about all of this yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASIM DAOUD, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is a place discovered in Falluja. It is in the west of Falluja, in the industrial region in Falluja. Our soldiers has discovered in this place this laboratory for chemical materials. And through these chemical materials, they were manufactured in death and intoxication and assassinations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now, Rick, perhaps of equal concern, soldiers, both Iraqi and U.S. troops, continuing their searches through Falluja report they have found huge, huge stockpiles of conventional weapons. All of that now being taken into custody. It may be distributed to Iraqi security forces in the weeks ahead. But Falluja clearly a place where plenty of weapons were being stockpiled -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Yes, as a matter of fact they say it's one of the biggest they've found to date.
Barbara Starr, thanks so much for bringing us that report.
And we should probably add that later on we're going to be talking to a former general about the significance of these finds, including that huge cache in Falluja -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, high tech detective work bringing us closer to solving the mystery of King Tut. A report from Cairo.
SANCHEZ: Also, the World Health Organization urges countries around the world to prepare for a flu pandemic. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the details.
COSTELLO: And just when we thought we were out, they pull us right back in. We'll hear from the writer handpicked to carry on "The Godfather" saga. That's next, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We want to bring us up to date on a story that Tony Harris touched on just a little while ago. We've got a little bit more information that we can share with you. It's about an attack that took place inside the green zone -- and we always give a little more import to stories inside the green zone because it's an area inside Baghdad that's supposed to be somewhat more protected. Here's what we know as we show you the graphic of the area that we're talking about. Four members of a British security firm killed, 15 others wounded in this attack inside the green zone. The four were employees of Global Risk Strategies. That's a London-based firm that provides security in countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. He said that the four dead are described as Nepalese in origin.
Certainly a story that we'll stay on top of.
As we get more information on this developing story, we will share it with you -- Carol, over to you.
COSTELLO: We sure will.
Let's lighten the mood, shall we, and talk about "The Godfather?"
Soledad is off today. That's why I'm here. But earlier she spoke with an author who is taking on one of the world's most popular mafia stories.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The late author Mario Puzo once said he always knew he could write a best-seller. And in 1969, he did. "The Godfather" was a huge hit and so were the three movies made from the original novel. So when Random House made Mark Winegardner an offer to continue the saga, he couldn't refuse.
Mike Winegardner is joining us this morning.
Nice to see you.
You knew we were going to work that in, making the offer you couldn't refuse. I'm sure you've only heard that about 50 million times.
MARK WINEGARDNER, AUTHOR, "THE GODFATHER RETURNS": No, really, this is the first.
O'BRIEN: Yes. You're a liar, but thank you.
You won this job, essentially, of continuing the saga through a contest. Mario Puzo had a massive, enormous hit and movies that followed that were so beloved by the population.
WINEGARDNER: Right.
O'BRIEN: How do you fill those shoes? I mean how scary is that?
WINEGARDNER: Well, you know, it's, in a weird way, he already did the hard work. There's already, you know, a built in audience for these characters. What's scary is to write a book that you're afraid nobody's ever going to want to read. It took a lot of the pressure off for me, really, knowing that if I did a good job, people would want to read.
O'BRIEN: Yes, but you've got everybody who kind of knows the story, knows and loves the characters.
Isn't that kind of hard, to go in and not mess it up for everybody who thinks they know what they want?
WINEGARDNER: Yes. It turns out writing a novel is hard period. And I never really thought much about it. I was really just focused on writing the best book I could.
O'BRIEN: Pick up the story for me.
Where exactly do you start?
WINEGARDNER: It actually overlaps with the end of "The Godfather," the murder of Tessio, who was memorably played in the movie by Abe Vigoda. There's all those murders at the end, right? But that one, the most important, the most close to the Corleone family happens off-screen, offstage. You never see it.
So my book begins with the murder of Tessio and he's asked to be murdered by his own top, rising, young capo. And Michael Corleone makes an enemy thereby, by asking, you know, Nick Geraci to prove his loyalty at that point.
And it goes from there in 1955 through all the great mafia lore events of the late 1950s, the rat pack era, the supposed mob involvement in the assassination attempts on Castro and ends in 1962.
O'BRIEN: So you took not only the book that Mario Puzo had written, but also the movies, into great consideration when you were working on your book?
WINEGARDNER: Well, you know, I felt like I wasn't writing for an audience of people who were unfamiliar with those brilliant movies and -- but I made an artistic decision really early on that it would just be a sequel to the book and that it would stand on its own that way, but that I would neither mention nor contradict the events in "Godfather 2" and snake my plot through that.
O'BRIEN: How has it turned out, don't you think? There have been some great reviews and some less great reviews.
How do you feel about it?
WINEGARDNER: Yes, I feel great about it. I mean most of the reviews have been really strong and I'm certainly, you know, most of what I've heard from the readers already has been really enthusiastic. I think there's, you know, there's a lot of fascination with this world and these characters and I share it and I'm happy with the book.
O'BRIEN: A movie in your future?
WINEGARDNER: Well, you know, I'll leave that...
O'BRIEN: Oh, funny you should ask, Soledad.
WINEGARDNER: No, I'll leave that to the Corleone family. They're very persuasive in certain matters.
O'BRIEN: Make you another offer you can't refuse.
Mark Winegardner, nice to see you.
Thanks for coming in to talk about the book.
Good luck with it.
WINEGARDNER: Thanks a lot.
I appreciate it.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, you know if the book is a best-seller, there's going to be a movie. No doubt about that.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the legend of King Tut. Using modern technology to solve a mystery over 3,000 years old.
You stay with us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
A fascinating and ancient mystery may now be a little closer to being solved. Just how did Egypt's King Tut actually die?
Ben Wedeman explains how some high tech detective work may finally come up with an answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a mystery that's been waiting centuries, around 33 centuries, to be solved. How did Pharaoh Tutankhamen, better known as King Tut, die while still in his teens? One theory that won't die is that Tut was murdered by a blow to the back of the head, the victim of palace intrigue.
To shine some light on this pharoahnic whodunit or what did it, Egyptian authorities plan on conducting an x-ray of Tut's mummy in its tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
ZAHI HAWASS, COUNCIL FOR ANTIQUITIES: We will answer the question of the murder of King Tut or not by the -- before the end of December, when we will announce actually the condition of the mummy.
WEDEMAN: Little is known about Tut. His fame comes more from the treasures he left behind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These rugs have not been made in Taiwan. It's ancient Egyptian work. They are more than 3,500 years ago. WEDEMAN: Previous studies of Tutankhamen's mummy showed bone fragments inside the skull. Some Egyptologists suggest the boy king died in an accident. But Egypt's top archeologist smells skullduggery.
HAWASS: I believe there was a conspiracy and I believe that he was murdered.
WEDEMAN: Prime suspects include Aye, the high priest, and General Horernhab, the commander of the Egyptian Army at the time.
(on camera): These tests may not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, say, General Horernhab killed King Tut in the bedroom with a lead pipe, but they do bring very modern investigative methods to bear on a very ancient mystery.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
SANCHEZ: And here's some information for you. King Tut's remains were actually discovered in 1922 by a British archeologist named Howard Carter.
There you go -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, I see it was a conspiracy theory. That's how King Tut really died.
SANCHEZ: Aren't they all?
COSTELLO: It's amazing.
Well, here's a trick so incredible if you saw it you probably would not even know what happened. Thirty-eight-year-old Gert Mittring of Germany was given a 100 digit number, a number with 100 digits in it, and told to calculate the 13th root of it in his head. He did it in 12 seconds.
SANCHEZ: Wow!
COSTELLO: People with calculators were there and they barely got started before Mittring was finished and they actually know what a 13th root is. Mittring also holds the record for minimizing a random 22 digit number. He did that in four seconds.
SANCHEZ: Oh, I could do that.
COSTELLO: All right, Rick. I'm glad you said that, because, let's see...
SANCHEZ: Oh, come on!
COSTELLO: Oh, let's see. We're ready for you, baby.
SANCHEZ: Oh, no. I was kidding! COSTELLO: We're putting up the graphic now. Here is the 22 digit number. One, two, three, four.
SANCHEZ: What am I doing?
COSTELLO: You're supposed to memorize it.
SANCHEZ: Oh, mem...
COSTELLO: How many numbers can you repeat?
SANCHEZ: Six, zero, one, four, nine...
COSTELLO: Let's give you another shot, because that was bad.
SANCHEZ: OK.
COSTELLO: Here it is. OK, take it down.
SANCHEZ: Six, 0, 75, 0, one, nine, 0, 14, man this is hard.
COSTELLO: It's hard.
SANCHEZ: Six, one, seven, five, oh, four, nine, oh, 11. Not far -- I got halfway there.
COSTELLO: OK, what's the 13th root of it?
SANCHEZ: Oh, right!
COSTELLO: It's wrong, isn't it?
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the time for giving thanks is over. Let the shopping begin. A live report just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
SANCHEZ: Six, four, five...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 26, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Saying good-bye to your money and hello to bargains. America's after Thanksgiving retail bonanza has begun.
An alarming warning from the World Health Organization. Officials say the bird flu in Asia could kill seven million people.
And talk about a cold case. The new investigation into who or what killed King Tut, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
COSTELLO: Ooh, they're all bundled up out there, aren't they?
It's cold outside.
Good morning.
Bill and Soledad are off.
I'm Carol Costello.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Rick Sanchez.
Isn't it amazing that people all over America are up already? You know why? Because they don't have to be. That's what happens when you get to sleep in. I won't.
We're going to dive back into this after Thanksgiving shopping fray in just a couple of minutes. We're going to check in at Macy's, for example, about the bargains. They're going to look at -- we're also going to look at gift cards. They're very popular this year, but can come with some expensive strings attached.
COSTELLO: Yes, wait until you hear. You'll be made.
Also, if you loved the "Godfather" series, you know, there's a gap in years between the end of the first movie and the beginning of the second. That's while the Corleone family gets set up in Las Vegas. In a few minutes, we'll fill in that gap.
SANCHEZ: Jack Cafferty has some time off and Toure' is going to be here to spell him. He's going to have the Question of the Day a little bit later. It's a good one, by the way.
COSTELLO: Yes, he's
SANCHEZ:
But can come with some expensive strings attached.
COSTELLO: Yes, wait until you hear. You'll be
SANCHEZ: Jack Cafferty has some time off and Toure' is going to be here to spell him. He's going to have the Question of the Day a little bit later. It's a good one, by the way.
COSTELLO: Yes, he's fired up about it, isn't he? He's kind of scary, actually.
Let's check on the headlines now with Tony Harris at the CNN Center in Atlanta -- good morning, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.
Good morning, Rick.
Now in the news, this just in. We're just getting word of a deadly attack in Baghdad. A British security firm says four of its workers, we don't know their nationalities, were killed, and 15 others injured in the so-called green zone. The attack apparently took place yesterday.
Investigators in Mexico are looking into the killings of at least eight people, including three uncover narcotics agents. The bodies were discovered yesterday outside the resort city of Cancun. Police are blaming a drug turf war for control of the area. Officials are investigating suspects in that case.
Over to Colorado now. Well, crews are working to free a rock slide, forcing commuters to take a 220-mile detour. Near Glenwood Springs, a canyon wall crumbled yesterday, piling a stretch of highway with rocks -- take a look at it here -- stacked up to 10 feet deep. No one was injured in the slide.
And a very Happy Thanksgiving for a Florida couple whose stolen car was recovered with their baby still inside and unharmed. James and Rose Pringle were reunited with their six-month-old son yesterday at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Police found the car about 25 miles from where it was taken Wednesday, with the baby still in his car seat in the back. So far, police haven't tracked down the car thief.
It is now 8:03.
Let's send it back to New York and to Rick and to Carol.
SANCHEZ: All right, thanks a lot.
I'll take it from you, Tony.
On this black Friday, retailers are hoping to see plenty of green on the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. In Virginia Beach, that's where people are lining up outside a Best Buy long before the store opened just to be able to get a jump on the sale. Yes, they're bundled up, as they are all over the country, and in Georgia, they're off. That's right, shoppers rushing in to get an early start when the ribbon was dropped at the Atlanta Wal-Mart.
Allan Chernoff is live.
He's at Macy's Department Store in New York. That also opened just a couple of hours ago today. He tells us stories of people who were up at ungodly hours just to be able to be in the front of the line -- Allan, take it away.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, you know, New York is known as the city that never sleeps, and that certainly was the case this morning. People were lining up outside of Macy's at five in the morning. One family I found had gotten up at 2:30, traveled in from the Bronx just to get here. They waited an hour outside. Finally, the doors did open at 6:00 in the morning.
We had about 200 people rushing through the door right next to us, and there are seven separate entrances for Macy's. So there certainly were well over 1,000 people in this store just after 6:00 in the morning.
Now, of course, they're here partly to beat the crowds, also to find bargains. But would you believe that some people at that hour were here only to window shop?
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we did no shopping today. I'm just looking.
CHERNOFF: At 6:00 in the morning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I'm on my way to work.
CHERNOFF: You're very efficient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, well, it's part of the job.
CHERNOFF: Oh, I see.
Does your employer know that coming to Macy's to shop is part of the job?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, probably not.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
CHERNOFF: Now, I found one woman in the store who was here at Macy's at 6:00. Then she planned to go to Lord & Taylor's at 7:00 and then get to Saks Fifth Avenue by 8:00, all just to window shop, if you can believe that much.
But other people know what they want and they certainly grab it. One family, in fact, took five of the Grover dolls that you see right behind me. Other hot items -- handbags, sweaters, gloves and, of course, some of those electronics. iPods are very popular, digital cameras, as well. And, finally, gift cards. According to one survey, shoppers, two thirds of shoppers plan to buy gift cards as gifts -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Allan Chernoff following things for us here in midtown Manhattan.
Thanks to you, Allan.
We'll check back with you -- Carol, over to you.
COSTELLO: You heard Allan mentioning gift cards? Well, gift cards are expected to be more popular than ever this holiday season.
Vera Gibbons from "Kiplinger's Personal Finance" has two important words of advice for you -- buyer beware.
VERA GIBBONS, "KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE": That's right.
COSTELLO: You're kidding?
That's a huge number that Allan mentioned of people giving gift cards.
They're really that popular?
GIBBONS: Yes. It's huge business. Americans are actually expected to spend $60 billion on gift cards for the whole year, $20 billion on holiday gift cards specifically, which could account for 10 percent of total holiday sales. Yes, two thirds of consumers plan on buying gift cards. Mostly popular amongst wealthy individuals, older individuals, those 65 and up making over $100,000. So, big business.
COSTELLO: Well, but -- and it's easy to give. I mean it's a cinch. You don't have to really decide on buying an actual gift. You can say it's more thoughtful, but I think it's the other way around. But there is a catch to these gift cards. Tell us about it.
GIBBONS: Well, there could even be a fee to buy a gift card, otherwise known as a service fee. You find this with the bank issued cards, the general purpose cards. For example, American Express, it costs $3.95 to $7.95 to by one of these cards, depending whether you buy one over the phone or online. Bank of America, $5.95 to $11.95 to order these cards.
COSTELLO: Wow!
GIBBONS: There could even be a shipping and handling fee. Bank of America -- excuse me, Visa Gift Card from National City charges $4.95 to $8.95. And at Saks, there's a $5 shipping and handling fee unless you buy merchandise along the with gift card.
COSTELLO: Well, I guess that's a smart marketing move, actually.
There are other pitfalls, as well, though, because I didn't know this, some of those gift cards can actually expire.
GIBBONS: That's right. And they can start losing value, too. Now some of these gift cards start losing value after just six months, some of the mall-based cards. That boa gift card loses value after just six months. And they lose value at a rate of $2 or $2.50 a month. So if you've got a gift card for $20, it loses its value in no time. So you want to use that as soon as possible.
The expiration issue, some stores have actually done away with it because consumers have put up enough of a stink -- Starbucks, Sears. They've done away with the expiration stuff altogether. And there is -- has been some legislation, some state legislation. California has done way with the expiration dates. In Massachusetts, they have extended the expiration dates, so you've got seven years to use your gift card.
COSTELLO: Well, as they should, because this is just greedy on the parts of stores. That's just greed...
GIBBONS: Extremely.
COSTELLO: ... because, you know, you pay good money to buy the gift card. The store already has the money, so what does it care when the money is actually, you know...
GIBBONS: Greed.
COSTELLO: ... "spent?"
GIBBONS: That's exactly right, they shouldn't care.
COSTELLO: OK, run down the list one more time for us of good stores in which to purchase gift cards.
GIBBONS: Oh, there are plenty of good ones, I should point out. I'm just pointing out the negative side to them. And the bank issued cards do come with quite a bit of fees. But among the good programs, Gap, Banana Republic, Home Depot, Nordstrom, Circuit City is also good, J. Crew. And the reason these are good, Carol, is essentially because there are no expiration dates and there are no non-usage fees, which you get with many of the, unfortunately, the bank issued cards. Those credit card companies that I mentioned.
COSTELLO: And I guess a good way to protect yourself is ask questions, ask a lot of questions, because they're not going to volunteer the information, are they?
GIBBONS: They are certainly not. You've got to ask a lot of questions up front so that you don't want to determine it when you try to redeem your gift card.
COSTELLO: Vera Gibbons, thanks so much.
GIBBONS: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Back over to you -- Rick. SANCHEZ: I don't know about the rest of the country, but we had one of the strangest days weather wise in New York City yesterday. At some points it was calm. At other points it was windy. Then it was rainy. Then it was sunny. Then it was cold. Then it was warm. What a strange day -- Chad.
Was that all over the Northeast?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Should I be getting out the violin, Rick, or what? I mean...
SANCHEZ: Well, no, I mean, one moment it was like this, the next moment it was like that. I want you to explain this to us.
MYERS: That was a major cold front that went by. It was warm in the morning, 63. The cold front was here. And then we saw the severe weather pop up. We actually had a watch box, a severe thunderstorm watch box during the parade. The storms went by. The cold air wrapped in and now the cold air is cold enough to make lake effect snow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Rick -- back to you.
SANCHEZ: All right, Chad, thanks so much for that explanation.
MYERS: You've got it. All right.
SANCHEZ: Iraqi forces have found what appears to be a chemical laboratory in Falluja. U.S. and Iraqi officials say that instructions and ingredients for the manufacturing of explosives and toxins were also recovered at the site.
So let's break this down for you, what exactly did they find? What is the significance of it?
CNN's Barbara Starr. She's live at the Pentagon.
She's been following the story for us and she joins us now live -- Barbara, over to you.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.
Well, Iraqi officials yesterday announced, indeed, that they found a laboratory with materials for making toxins in Falluja, but as you say, the question now is what does this all mean?
U.S. sources have confirmed that the laboratory -- some of the pictures here show what they found -- had instructions for making anthrax, formulas and ingredients for explosives and chemical blood agents, including something called hydrochloric acid and sodium cyanide. Together that makes hydrogen cyanide, a so-called blood agent. These are chemicals that can be combined together to make toxic agents. But in Iraq, U.S. military officials are stressing that so far they have found no evidence of actual chemical weapons themselves being made or manufactured at this site. They are not yet calling this a chemical weapons lab.
Now, the national -- the Iraqi national security adviser spoke about all of this yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASIM DAOUD, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is a place discovered in Falluja. It is in the west of Falluja, in the industrial region in Falluja. Our soldiers has discovered in this place this laboratory for chemical materials. And through these chemical materials, they were manufactured in death and intoxication and assassinations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now, Rick, perhaps of equal concern, soldiers, both Iraqi and U.S. troops, continuing their searches through Falluja report they have found huge, huge stockpiles of conventional weapons. All of that now being taken into custody. It may be distributed to Iraqi security forces in the weeks ahead. But Falluja clearly a place where plenty of weapons were being stockpiled -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Yes, as a matter of fact they say it's one of the biggest they've found to date.
Barbara Starr, thanks so much for bringing us that report.
And we should probably add that later on we're going to be talking to a former general about the significance of these finds, including that huge cache in Falluja -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, high tech detective work bringing us closer to solving the mystery of King Tut. A report from Cairo.
SANCHEZ: Also, the World Health Organization urges countries around the world to prepare for a flu pandemic. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the details.
COSTELLO: And just when we thought we were out, they pull us right back in. We'll hear from the writer handpicked to carry on "The Godfather" saga. That's next, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We want to bring us up to date on a story that Tony Harris touched on just a little while ago. We've got a little bit more information that we can share with you. It's about an attack that took place inside the green zone -- and we always give a little more import to stories inside the green zone because it's an area inside Baghdad that's supposed to be somewhat more protected. Here's what we know as we show you the graphic of the area that we're talking about. Four members of a British security firm killed, 15 others wounded in this attack inside the green zone. The four were employees of Global Risk Strategies. That's a London-based firm that provides security in countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. He said that the four dead are described as Nepalese in origin.
Certainly a story that we'll stay on top of.
As we get more information on this developing story, we will share it with you -- Carol, over to you.
COSTELLO: We sure will.
Let's lighten the mood, shall we, and talk about "The Godfather?"
Soledad is off today. That's why I'm here. But earlier she spoke with an author who is taking on one of the world's most popular mafia stories.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The late author Mario Puzo once said he always knew he could write a best-seller. And in 1969, he did. "The Godfather" was a huge hit and so were the three movies made from the original novel. So when Random House made Mark Winegardner an offer to continue the saga, he couldn't refuse.
Mike Winegardner is joining us this morning.
Nice to see you.
You knew we were going to work that in, making the offer you couldn't refuse. I'm sure you've only heard that about 50 million times.
MARK WINEGARDNER, AUTHOR, "THE GODFATHER RETURNS": No, really, this is the first.
O'BRIEN: Yes. You're a liar, but thank you.
You won this job, essentially, of continuing the saga through a contest. Mario Puzo had a massive, enormous hit and movies that followed that were so beloved by the population.
WINEGARDNER: Right.
O'BRIEN: How do you fill those shoes? I mean how scary is that?
WINEGARDNER: Well, you know, it's, in a weird way, he already did the hard work. There's already, you know, a built in audience for these characters. What's scary is to write a book that you're afraid nobody's ever going to want to read. It took a lot of the pressure off for me, really, knowing that if I did a good job, people would want to read.
O'BRIEN: Yes, but you've got everybody who kind of knows the story, knows and loves the characters.
Isn't that kind of hard, to go in and not mess it up for everybody who thinks they know what they want?
WINEGARDNER: Yes. It turns out writing a novel is hard period. And I never really thought much about it. I was really just focused on writing the best book I could.
O'BRIEN: Pick up the story for me.
Where exactly do you start?
WINEGARDNER: It actually overlaps with the end of "The Godfather," the murder of Tessio, who was memorably played in the movie by Abe Vigoda. There's all those murders at the end, right? But that one, the most important, the most close to the Corleone family happens off-screen, offstage. You never see it.
So my book begins with the murder of Tessio and he's asked to be murdered by his own top, rising, young capo. And Michael Corleone makes an enemy thereby, by asking, you know, Nick Geraci to prove his loyalty at that point.
And it goes from there in 1955 through all the great mafia lore events of the late 1950s, the rat pack era, the supposed mob involvement in the assassination attempts on Castro and ends in 1962.
O'BRIEN: So you took not only the book that Mario Puzo had written, but also the movies, into great consideration when you were working on your book?
WINEGARDNER: Well, you know, I felt like I wasn't writing for an audience of people who were unfamiliar with those brilliant movies and -- but I made an artistic decision really early on that it would just be a sequel to the book and that it would stand on its own that way, but that I would neither mention nor contradict the events in "Godfather 2" and snake my plot through that.
O'BRIEN: How has it turned out, don't you think? There have been some great reviews and some less great reviews.
How do you feel about it?
WINEGARDNER: Yes, I feel great about it. I mean most of the reviews have been really strong and I'm certainly, you know, most of what I've heard from the readers already has been really enthusiastic. I think there's, you know, there's a lot of fascination with this world and these characters and I share it and I'm happy with the book.
O'BRIEN: A movie in your future?
WINEGARDNER: Well, you know, I'll leave that...
O'BRIEN: Oh, funny you should ask, Soledad.
WINEGARDNER: No, I'll leave that to the Corleone family. They're very persuasive in certain matters.
O'BRIEN: Make you another offer you can't refuse.
Mark Winegardner, nice to see you.
Thanks for coming in to talk about the book.
Good luck with it.
WINEGARDNER: Thanks a lot.
I appreciate it.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, you know if the book is a best-seller, there's going to be a movie. No doubt about that.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the legend of King Tut. Using modern technology to solve a mystery over 3,000 years old.
You stay with us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
A fascinating and ancient mystery may now be a little closer to being solved. Just how did Egypt's King Tut actually die?
Ben Wedeman explains how some high tech detective work may finally come up with an answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a mystery that's been waiting centuries, around 33 centuries, to be solved. How did Pharaoh Tutankhamen, better known as King Tut, die while still in his teens? One theory that won't die is that Tut was murdered by a blow to the back of the head, the victim of palace intrigue.
To shine some light on this pharoahnic whodunit or what did it, Egyptian authorities plan on conducting an x-ray of Tut's mummy in its tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
ZAHI HAWASS, COUNCIL FOR ANTIQUITIES: We will answer the question of the murder of King Tut or not by the -- before the end of December, when we will announce actually the condition of the mummy.
WEDEMAN: Little is known about Tut. His fame comes more from the treasures he left behind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These rugs have not been made in Taiwan. It's ancient Egyptian work. They are more than 3,500 years ago. WEDEMAN: Previous studies of Tutankhamen's mummy showed bone fragments inside the skull. Some Egyptologists suggest the boy king died in an accident. But Egypt's top archeologist smells skullduggery.
HAWASS: I believe there was a conspiracy and I believe that he was murdered.
WEDEMAN: Prime suspects include Aye, the high priest, and General Horernhab, the commander of the Egyptian Army at the time.
(on camera): These tests may not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, say, General Horernhab killed King Tut in the bedroom with a lead pipe, but they do bring very modern investigative methods to bear on a very ancient mystery.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
SANCHEZ: And here's some information for you. King Tut's remains were actually discovered in 1922 by a British archeologist named Howard Carter.
There you go -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, I see it was a conspiracy theory. That's how King Tut really died.
SANCHEZ: Aren't they all?
COSTELLO: It's amazing.
Well, here's a trick so incredible if you saw it you probably would not even know what happened. Thirty-eight-year-old Gert Mittring of Germany was given a 100 digit number, a number with 100 digits in it, and told to calculate the 13th root of it in his head. He did it in 12 seconds.
SANCHEZ: Wow!
COSTELLO: People with calculators were there and they barely got started before Mittring was finished and they actually know what a 13th root is. Mittring also holds the record for minimizing a random 22 digit number. He did that in four seconds.
SANCHEZ: Oh, I could do that.
COSTELLO: All right, Rick. I'm glad you said that, because, let's see...
SANCHEZ: Oh, come on!
COSTELLO: Oh, let's see. We're ready for you, baby.
SANCHEZ: Oh, no. I was kidding! COSTELLO: We're putting up the graphic now. Here is the 22 digit number. One, two, three, four.
SANCHEZ: What am I doing?
COSTELLO: You're supposed to memorize it.
SANCHEZ: Oh, mem...
COSTELLO: How many numbers can you repeat?
SANCHEZ: Six, zero, one, four, nine...
COSTELLO: Let's give you another shot, because that was bad.
SANCHEZ: OK.
COSTELLO: Here it is. OK, take it down.
SANCHEZ: Six, 0, 75, 0, one, nine, 0, 14, man this is hard.
COSTELLO: It's hard.
SANCHEZ: Six, one, seven, five, oh, four, nine, oh, 11. Not far -- I got halfway there.
COSTELLO: OK, what's the 13th root of it?
SANCHEZ: Oh, right!
COSTELLO: It's wrong, isn't it?
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the time for giving thanks is over. Let the shopping begin. A live report just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
SANCHEZ: Six, four, five...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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