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CNN Live Today

Holiday Rush; The Gift of Giving

Aired November 23, 2005 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."
Near Washington, D.C., a nightmare for holiday travelers. Traffic was snarled this morning on I-95, north of D.C. That after a tanker truck exploded. The tanker was carrying nearly 9,000 gallons of gasoline. Part of the busy highway had to be shut down. There are no reports of injuries.

Also, from the political stage to the jury box. Senator John Kerry served as jury foreman in Boston earlier this week. The case involved two men who sued over injuries suffered in a car accident involving a city employee. Other jurors who served with Kerry say he went out of his way to make sure that everyone's opinions were heard.

In Chile, former dictator Augusto Pinochet faces some new criminal charges. He's accused of tax fraud, passport forgery and other crimes. A court official tells CNN the charges are related to $27 million that Pinochet allegedly stashed in bank accounts abroad.

Pinochet turns 90 on Friday. He's been indicted in two human rights cases in the last five years. But the cases were thrown out when judges found he was not well enough to stand trial.

In Iraq, the trial of former dictator Saddam Hussein is scheduled to resume on Monday. A U.S. official close to the court says the trial will resume despite threats that his famed defense team would boycott the proceedings. That follows the killings of two defense attorneys.

Hussein and seven other former regime members are on trial for charges they ordered the killings and torture of citizens in Dujail 23 years ago.

Yes, we're kicking off the Thanksgiving holiday. Welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Daryn Kagan.

It is 11:00 a.m., or just past it, in Turkey, North Carolina; and Cranberry, Ohio -- love that -- 10:00 a.m. in Ham Lake, Minnesota; and 8:00, just after 8:00 in Yam Hill, Oregon.

So no matter where you are, there it is almost always Thanksgiving.

We're going to focus this hour on holiday travel and the weather that may be tricky for some. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has the Alberta clipper that is now dumping snow. Alina Cho covering travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

And here in Atlanta, the nation's new water world opened to the general public today, just in time for the holidays. We'll go live this hour to the Georgia Aquarium. It is the biggest aquarium in the world.

Also taking a look around the country, this is Chicago. There are a lot of travelers -- I think we're still -- yes, going to O'Hare airport. Officials there say it will probably be their busiest holiday season. The snow has stopped there, but it is cold and windy today in Chicago.

And Jacqui, you can pick up the weather information from there.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, once you start out with trouble right out of the gate, that kind of ricochets and continue throughout the day, unfortunately.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Beautiful in Phoenix, Arizona.

JERAS: Yes.

KAGAN: Thank you.

Let's go to New York City, though. Alina Cho standing by at LaGuardia International Airport.

When we checked in last hour, things weren't looking too bad.

Alina, good morning.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.

We do have something new to report this hour. LaGuardia is now reporting minor delays, about 15 to 30 minutes. That is due to the high winds here in the New York area.

They are only operating one runway. They do hope things will get better over the next hour or so and they will be able to at that time open up that second runway. But all in all, Daryn, smooth sailing, or I should say smooth flying here at LaGuardia today.

It got quite busy here in the early morning hours, but things have died down. There's a bit of a lull in activity at LaGuardia right now.

Some things to keep in mind, though. If you are traveling by air today, get to the airport not one hour, but two hours before your flight. That will help.

Another thing that will help, try to print out your boarding pass, if you can, online at home before you get to the airport. That will save some time. And, of course, last but not least, bring something to read, a good book, some magazines, anything, because you will need to find a way, Daryn, to pass the time.

KAGAN: All right. Alina, thank you.

Also stop by and say hello to Alina Cho. That could be a good activity for the folks who are coming.

CHO: Yes. Or watch CNN on your monitor at the gate.

KAGAN: Yes, we can make you a display. Hello, hello. Thank you, Alina.

CHO: That's right.

KAGAN: Talking Amtrak as well. Lots of folks doing that today. In fact, tens of thousands of travelers are hitting the rails this Thanksgiving.

Amtrak is running dozens of extra trains. The company says 125,000 people traveled on Amtrak trains on this day last year. That's 80 percent more than on an average day. In the busy northeast corridor, Amtrak is running 60 extra trains this week.

So there are thousands of Americans whose lives were shattered by hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita. In New Orleans, a remarkable woman knows the true meaning of the word "giving." She is helping some of those who lost everything in Katrina.

That story now from CNN's Kelly Wallace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Spend time with 48-year-old Valerie Ryan, a mother of four in New Orleans, and you quickly learn she doesn't stop moving.

There are dogs to save...

VALERIE RYAN, HELPING PEOPLE AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA: We'll take you home and we'll bathe you. And we'll give you some food.

WALLACE: ... boxes to pack...

RYAN: I'm going to find every needy family I can to give all this stuff to.

WALLACE: ... and families to take care of. Families who are now living in her own home.

Valerie, who recently injured her arm trying to rescue another dog, has opened her doors to friends and strangers. Twelve in total now make up the Ryan household. At one time as many as 15 were here.

And let's not forget about the animals. Eight in all. RYAN: I felt that god spared our house for a reason, and it was to help other people out.

WALLACE: When the hurricane hit, Valerie evacuated to Alabama. After learning her house was OK, she headed back home, inviting friends like Greta Joseph and her family, and anyone else she met along the way.

GRETA JOSEPH, KATRINA EVACUEE: You're walking out, it's like, hey, Greta, whatever. You know, it's not like you're surprised when you see a strange face. It's just, oh, you know, you kind of expect it.

WALLACE: And so, just about every day Valerie takes this trip through one devastated neighborhood after another, heading to a donation center to pick up essentials for her growing family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You folks all set?

RYAN: Yes, they loaded us up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. So you don't want any candy? OK.

RYAN: Yes, we'll take some candy. You know what? I think we need all the sugar rush we can get.

WALLACE: Back at home, everyone pitches in.

SCOTT WILEY, LIVING IN RYAN HOUSEHOLD: We are very much running out of space in here.

WALLACE: Scott Wiley, a television editor, met Valerie and her family when they fled to Alabama.

WILEY: She didn't even know what state her house was in or all of her family. And she was already saying, well, hey, I'm going to help you out, too. I mean, she's helping, you know, everyone that crosses her path.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Christ our lord, amen.

RYAN: Amen. Let's get the food.

WALLACE: There's certainly no shortage of conversation at the dinner table. About the only thing that's in short supply is space in her three-bedroom home, something that Valerie's 18-year-old daughter Dominique knows all too well.

DOMINIQUE RYAN, VALERIE'S DAUGHTER: I lose it almost every night. I come home from work wondering where I'm going to sleep.

WALLACE: But Valerie says the experience has made her own family much closer.

V. RYAN: Because we understand the loss that these people are going through and the devastation. And it's made all of us more thankful of what we had.

WALLACE: Still, it all takes a toll, even on Valerie.

V. RYAN: You want to cry, I mean, because you just look at them and you know they don't have a job, you know they lost their home. That's what it was like when that lady came up to me and all those kids were crying.

WALLACE: She can't quite get that lady out of her mind. She packed together clothes and the $300 the Ryan household chipped in and headed out to find her.

V. RYAN: I feel bad. I told this lady I would give her stuff and I can't find her.

WALLACE: But after spending time with Valerie, you get the sense she will never give up.

V. RYAN: Hello?

I'll find her, because now we've got money collected. I want to give it to her, you know? Or just give them the money, whichever they need, you know, for the kids.

WALLACE: Kelly Wallace, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And here's another message that Ryan wanted to get out. She says that if one out of every 100 or so families could help one or two other families, that's one or two families that could move back to New Orleans sooner. And she says that's what it is all about.

The kindness doesn't stop with Valerie Ryan. After the break, I'll speak with another amazing woman. She lost everything to Hurricane Katrina, but she still has found a way to give something to others on this Thanksgiving. We'll tell you what she's doing to make this a special holiday for other hurricane evacuees.

Plus, more on today's holiday travel rush. Millions of Americans are heading out to visit family and friends. We'll have some tips on getting you to your Thanksgiving feast more quickly.

And it's destined to become a travel destination. Live pictures from the brand-spanking new Georgia Aquarium right here in Atlanta. The public is getting its first look at what's said to be the world's biggest fishbowl.

Details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Well, there will be no going home for the holidays this year for thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. An estimated 50,000 Gulf Coast families are still living in hotels and motels around the country. FEMA has extended the deadline for evacuees in 10 states to find more permanent housing. Now they have until January 7. Evacuees in other states have until December 15.

Myrtle Foster lost all of her belongings in Hurricane Katrina. She is an evacuee living here in Atlanta.

And Myrtle, I want to say welcome and thank you for being here with us on this eve of Thanksgiving, a holiday unlike you probably ever planned it was going to pan out.

MYRTLE FOSTER, HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUEE: Well, you're quite correct in that. And I would like to say thank you for having me here, also.

First of all, I would like to thank god that I am alive.

KAGAN: That you are here.

FOSTER: Yes, that's right, that I'm still here. I would like to first say that. And I know that he's going to work everything out for not only my good, but for all the ones that were involved in Hurricane Katrina.

Even though as devastating as it was...

KAGAN: And it was.

FOSTER: That's right. As devastating as it was, and with all the great needs that everybody has, I still say that he's still going to work everything out for all of our good.

KAGAN: So your journey, as you're on it, you had just moved to New Orleans a month before.

FOSTER: Right. That's correct. That is correct.

I had moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, on officially July the 29th. I had all of my telephone services transferred prior to that time. And -- but July 29 I was completely moved into New Orleans. And then August the 29th, here comes Katrina.

KAGAN: And you, like many people, you evacuated and you went kind of on a journey to a number of different places, eventually ended up here in Atlanta with some family.

FOSTER: Right. That's correct.

KAGAN: Now, what is your situation right now? Are you in a hotel or motel?

FOSTER: OK. My situation is that I am living in an extended stay hotel here in Atlanta on Peachtree Road. And the hotel staff there have been wonderful to us. Very, very wonderful. My plans are, however, to stay here in Atlanta.

KAGAN: Well, welcome to town.

FOSTER: Thank you. KAGAN: Let me say that as an Atlantan.

FOSTER: Thank you. Thank you.

KAGAN: You're planning to stay here and get out, and then get a more permanent housing situation?

FOSTER: I'm looking for permanent housing. We have gone to the Colony in Stone Mountain. So that's what we are looking at. And provided that we're cleared and that we qualify for housing there, that's where we're going to be living at.

I have -- it's not just me. It's myself and -- it's like, at the hotel we formed a family. So it's about five different families that are involved, that we look out for each other.

KAGAN: So tell me what Thanksgiving is going to be for you this year.

FOSTER: For me, Thanksgiving is going to be -- I'm trying to sponsor a dinner at the hotel for myself, along with everybody else that's there that were a part of Hurricane Katrina disaster.

KAGAN: How many people are we talking about?

FOSTER: We're talking about roughly 20, 25 people.

KAGAN: Go ahead.

FOSTER: The hotel has 37 rooms that has Hurricane Katrina evacuees in there.

KAGAN: And when you gather all these evacuees together, what do you give thanks for?

FOSTER: Oh, god, we give thanks for being alive. I mean, thankful to god. I mean, it is him that caused us to (INAUDIBLE) our being, so we have to just thank him. And I believe that as we continue to praise him and to seek him more, that he's going to see all of us through all of this.

KAGAN: So you think there is a light at the end of the Katrina -- Katrina tunnel.

FOSTER: Of, of course I do. Sure. Sure I do. Sure I believe that.

KAGAN: We hear so many stories of people who haven't gotten the kind of help they want, have gotten the runaround from agencies, whether it's government or private agencies.

FOSTER: That's right. That is correct.

KAGAN: Everyone has a story to tell.

FOSTER: That is correct. Everyone has a story to tell. And when I'm here, I'm not only talking about Myrtle, but there are -- all of my friends.

I have met people that doesn't have anything, no money, nothing at all. I know people -- I know -- I have a very close friend of mine that I can say now, because we've established a friendship, that had a grandchild that died. I have someone else that has a mother that's blind. That all these people are looking for and needing resources.

KAGAN: And you and that whole group decided to try to help them as well.

FOSTER: Well, of course, yes. We need some Thanksgiving. We need some cheer.

You know, there needs to be some type of cheer. And through god, through his grace and his mercy, he has allowed me to keep my joy and peace through all of this, because I can see him in it, and I trust him totally with my life. So I know that he's going to provide for me.

KAGAN: Well, let me just say, I know you have so much to get together on this Thanksgiving.

FOSTER: Yes.

KAGAN: And we thank you for making time in your journey for stopping by here.

FOSTER: Well, thank you.

KAGAN: And we wish you well in putting everything together.

FOSTER: Thank you very, very much.

KAGAN: And good luck pulling that dinner together tomorrow night for your new family.

FOSTER: Yes. Well, I'm hopeful -- yes, that's right. I've contacted some of the hotel -- some of the restaurants here in Atlanta to try and get some prepared dishes so that we will have that available for Thanksgiving.

KAGAN: I can just tell from sitting next to you for a few minutes, if you set your mind to something, Myrtle Foster, it's going to happen.

FOSTER: Yes, it's going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen.

KAGAN: Thank you so much. Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Appreciate it.

FOSTER: Thank you.

KAGAN: We have other news to talk about today.

In Iraq, we're going to tell you about a Sunni leader and his family. They have been targeted. Details ahead on that, as well as more international news.

We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Live pictures from here in Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Fire Department on the scene of an apartment fire. This is, for those of you familiar with Atlanta, between -- it's between Boulevard and Highland, not close in any way for those of you who are interested in the Georgia Aquarium. This is about at least five miles away from where that is.

We're also told that this apartment building was empty. So nobody inside there right now. They are trying to knock that down, though, obviously, before it can spread to other buildings.

And now to the latest violence in Iraq. It claims the life of a Sunni leader.

Iraqi police say the sheikh of a Sunni tribe, his three sons and his son-in-law were shot and killed in a home in western Baghdad today. Neighbors told authorities that gunmen dressed like Iraqi troops stormed the house and shot the man. Sunni officials have strongly condemned those killings.

Amid the raging political battle of the Iraq war, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is the latest administration official to weigh in. She tells CNN there will indeed be a reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq, but she does not answer the critical questions of when or how many will be coming home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think what the president will want to assess is when can we safely bring down our level of forces so that Iraqis are really capable of achieving the results and the effects that you want, rather than having some artificial timetable? I suspect that the -- that American forces are not going to be needed in the numbers that they're there for all that much longer, because Iraqis are continuing to make progress in function. Not just in numbers, but in their capabilities to do certain functions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: President Bush is in Texas, but the debate over the Iraq war never far away. Mr. Bush arrived in Crawford last night. He is spending the Thanksgiving holiday at his ranch there.

Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan plans to return to Crawford later this week. More than a dozen other war protesters have already set up camp near the president's ranch. They're challenging new local bans on roadside camping and parking. A sheriff's deputy has warned the group to leave or face arrest.

The St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital campaign kicks off today, trying to help children who are battling to stay alive. And you are able to help out as well, while showing our thanks for the children in your lives who are healthy and well.

Actress Marlo Thomas is my guest to tell us how easy it is when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."

We're following this fire. It's an apartment fire in Atlanta, Georgia. It is an empty apartment building, we're told. Firefighters on the crew trying to -- on the scene trying to keep the fire from spreading to other nearby buildings.

Also in the news, if you're hitting the road for Thanksgiving you've got a lot of company. AAA estimates that about 37.3 million Americans will be traveling on this holiday. Air travel is expected to be up about four percent. About 38 percent will be driving despite higher gas prices compared to last year.

The job market is apparently still feeling the effects of hurricanes Rita, Katrina and Wilma. The Labor Department today reported a sharp rise in jobless claims last week. The number of new applications for unemployment benefits jumped by 30,000. That follows a decline the previous week.

A new document reiterates the Vatican's opposition to gays in the priesthood. The report has been approved by the pope. It was posted on the Web site of an Italian news agency.

It says homosexuals with deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or who support the so-called gay culture cannot enter the priesthood. But the document does go on to say that those who have overcome homosexual tendencies for at least three years may enter the clergy.

A lot of people watching the weather today. It will affect their travel plans. Here's Jacqui Jeras with the latest on that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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