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American Morning
Preview of the Macy's Parade; Holiday Soldiers Enjoy Thanksgiving Meal in Iraq; Winds May Affect Balloons in Parade; U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Talks About Number of Troops; New Orleans Jazz Band Brings Music to New York City
Aired November 24, 2005 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and happy Thanksgiving. I'm Soledad O'Brien. Everybody loves a parade and the Macy's 79th annual Thanksgiving Day parade just two hours away from stepping off, right here in New York City.
We're live along the parade route this morning where some two and a half million spectators are expected to turn out. They've been there, many of them, since the wee hours of the morning, if you can imagine, and as you can definitely imagine, safety and security a huge concern. We check in this morning with the police commissioner to talk about how he plans to keep things under control.
Then, there's the weather. Rain and snow across parts of the northeast, this morning, and wind, strong wind could mean problems for the big balloons. We've got the holiday forecast just ahead.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I hope the parade goes off as planned, but the winds are a factor. I'm Carol Costello in for Miles O'Brien, this morning.
U.S. troops in Iraq are celebrating the holiday far from home and loved ones. We're going to check in with them in a live report and allow them to say happy Thanksgiving to their families.
And Thanksgiving dinner at the president's Texas ranch. Another day of anti-war protests expected on this AMERICAN MORNING.
O'BRIEN: And welcome everybody, take a look along the parade route. This is Central Park West, you're looking uptown right now and if you can see in the distance, way in the back of your screen there is a big giant turkey. That's not a real turkey. It's, obviously...
COSTELLO: ... it's Tom Turkey.
O'BRIEN: It is. One of the giant balloons that is going to be the big focus of this year's Thanksgiving Day parade. Look at this, this is our view, which are proud to brag on, and you can see in the background, there have been some people out there with their children already.
COSTELLO: I saw them at 4:30 this morning, the children bundled up because it was raining, and cold, and nasty.
O'BRIEN: It's a fabulous spot to see the parade, only a couple blocks down. This is where we are located at Time Warner Center, but you're right, it's not a great day weather-wise. We're going to talk about all of that this morning, as well.
COSTELLO: Yeah. Because you know, we're going to be coming live from the Time Warner Center. The parade kicks off at 9:00 a.m. Eastern and we'll be able to see all the floats, as you said, and Tom Turkey and the healthy Mr. Potato head, my personal favorite.
O'BRIEN: They have Super Grover, the have Dora the Explorer.
COSTELLO: Snoopy.
O'BRIEN: Snoopy.
COSTELLO: Scooby Doo.
O'BRIEN: Garfield. The list goes on and on. I had a chance to see some being blown up last night. I took my daughter and some other little friends of ours who've joined us as well there. There they are. This was so great. Then they have to cover them with nets to keep them from, obviously, blowing away ahead of time. Really, terrific thing to experience, we're going to talk about that a little bit.
We had a chance to bring with us, yesterday, some friends that we've met since Hurricane Katrina over the time since the hurricane. We've introduced you to a number of folks who were directly affected by this hurricane. Many of them, of course, have become our friends over time, and some of them really even more like family, and we've asked them if they would spend the holiday with us. So, some who are here in New York are going to join us live in our studio.
COSTELLO: And we'll also take you to New Orleans to visit some of our other friends like John Besh, he's the chef and owner of the restaurant, August. "Besh," as he's known, he has an amazing story. In the days following the storm, filled a van with red beans and rice and started feeding evacuees and rescuers. Three months later, he's still feeding the town. We'll join him in the kitchen as he prepares a special Thanksgiving meal. Can you say turducken?
O'BRIEN: Mmmm, gosh that looks so good from here.
COSTELLO: Yes, exactly.
O'BRIEN: Also, we're talking to Lizzie Malloy. Remember the Lizzie Malloy -- we love Lizzie. There she is, high school senior. She's from one of the most damaged towns, Long Beach, Mississippi. Remember we met her in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina and gave her a video camera so that she could document what was going on in her town and in her school with some of her friends.
Well, she's brought some of those friends and her mom, too, here to New York. They're going to join us live in the studio. Can you imagine being a teenager here in New York for your first time getting a chance to see the parade? We're looking forward to chatting with Lizzie this morning, as well. COSTELLO: Also Julia Reed will join us, she's an editor and contributor with "Vogue" and "Newsweek" and she's pretty feisty. Long-time resident of New Orleans. She will give us a sense of how the people of New Orleans are coping this Thanksgiving.
O'BRIEN: We're looking forward to all of that. But, of course, as we've been talking about, weather, weather, weather is the big question today, and the wind really is the focus.
It's been a blustery morning already in New York, cold and wet and windy, frankly, and that, of course, could spell trouble for the balloons in the Macy's day parade. Now though, we're told it's a go. They're going to have a meeting at 7:45 this morning to really determine exactly what the plan is going to be.
Let's check in with Jason Carroll. He's just a couple of blocks away from where the parade is going to begin.
Hey Jason, good morning to you. How's it looking?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving to both of you. Things right now looking not too bad, not too bad, Soledad. We've got sort of a break in the weather. It's wet out here, it's obviously cold. And we're hoping it sort of -- the wind doesn't pick up. A lot of people are predicting it will. Right now we're hoping that it won't. A lot of people out here hoping that it won't, as well. Let's get on to some of the parade details, though.
Not too far up the road there, you've got Tom the turkey, he avoided the dinner table as he does every year. He is station the up there, you can see is getting ready to go, getting ready to come down here and please a lot of the folks who are already lined up, already out here along the parade route. Maybe you can come back and see some of them that have been out here since the very wee hours of the morning. This is the Goss family.
You guys came all the way up from Florida near Orlando, yeah?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, central Florida.
CARROLL: Central Florida. You know, you guys, I got to tell you, you're troopers, because we know it's cold up here, so...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freezing.
CARROLL: Tell us about your adventure with your chairs here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, we came up here, we were trying to pack light, not bring too much. So, we didn't have any chairs, we came out here at 5:00. My husband offered one lady $25 for her chair. She's like, you got it. That's my husband.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a used car dealer, it works that way.
CARROLL: Ingenuity at work. Ingenuity at work. Tell me who you're looking forward to seeing. You know, we've Dora the Explorer, is a new balloon we've got going this year. Who are you guys looking forward to?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of it. Dora the Explorer, Santa Claus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much all, but mostly Scooby Doo.
CARROLL: Scooby Doo, one of my personal favorites.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tom the turkey.
CARROLL: Tom the turkey, yeah, we know you like Tom the turkey. You'll be having a turkey as soon as you get home.
Oh, he's not part of the family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, he's our friend.
CARROLL: He's your new friend.
All right guys, we'll be talking to you a little bit later. We'll come back. Again, there's going to be a couple new balloons this year. You heard about Dora the Explorer. Lot of concern that perhaps Dora won't be able to explore her way down the parade route this year, but once again 7:45, Macy officials will making their final determination.
You've got Dora the Explorer new one, you've got healthy Mr. Potato Head, I know that's one of Carol's favorites. She'll have to explain why. You've got Scooby Doo and Jo Jo the Clown from the Disney Channel, another balloon making an appearance this year at Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
The parade kicks off at 9:00. We'll be here bringing it all to you. Back to you guys.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Jason. We're going to follow that, obviously looking forward to it. You know, I just saw some police officers. As you were crossing the street we saw a couple cops, three or four maybe, in the street. What's the police presence like? What kind of security's in place today?
CARROLL: Well, heavy police presence, as to be expected. You know, speaking to some of -- one of the officers when I caught him on the way up here, I said how's it going, you know, he said that they had been out here, they've casing and looking at the parade route for some time.
But I have to tell you, this is something that New York is used to. They do this parade every year, they're accustomed to doing large scale events like Time Square celebration. They are accustomed to doing these events. This is going to be something that they've prepared for, that they -- that they've been planning for quite some time. So I'm sure this is something that they've got -- that they've been planning for and I'm sure that they're ready for whatever it may hold.
O'BRIEN: I bet you're right. All right, Jason, thanks a lot. We're going to mention that we are going to talk to New York City's police commissioner Ray Kelly as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade gets underway coming up in our final hour, that's at 9:00 Eastern Time.
Let's show you the parade route this morning, starts at 77th and Central Park West, goes straight down Central Park West, goes right past our studios, right here at Columbus Circle.
See the zigzag, that's the little curve around Columbus Circle. And then it heads right downtown towards Macy's flagship store, in Herald Square, 34th Street. That is that the parade route and people, as you can imagine, more than two million lined along that parade route, today. And many more -- tens more, you know, more millions are going to watch it too.
COSTELLO: Forty-four million people are going to watch it on TV -- 44 million people much smarter than...
O'BRIEN: No. No, it's fun to be out there.
COSTELLO: It's so cold.
O'BRIEN: No. It's going to be fun.
COSTELLO: OK, let's talk more about the weather because that is the biggest factor, right now -- wind, to be specific, 23 miles-per- hour. No Mr. Healthy Potato Head balloon will fly or any other balloon, for that matter, 34-miles-per-hour gusts. Snoopy is grounded and the rest.
Jacqui Jeras is at the CNN Center with the forecast. So, what's it looking like, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, I have to ask you real quickly, first though, when did Mr. Potato Head become healthy? I thought it was only just Mr. Potato Head.
COSTELLO: No, it's become Mr. Healthy Potato Head...
JERAS: How?
COSTELLO: Because, you know, with all the carb craze everybody thought potatoes were bad to eat, so I guess it's advertising. So they're calling it Mr. Healthy Potato Head, and he's running.
JERAS: Really?
COSTELLO: Yeah. He's a running potato? He's in an athletic suit and he's running.
JERAS: All right, good for him.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: All right, Jacqui. Thanks a lot.
And even though today is a holiday for most of us, we're quickly reminded of the war in Iraq, more violence to report this morning. A car bomb explosion outside of a hospital in Mahmoudiya. Iraqi police say at least 30 people were killed. The town is about 20 miles south of Baghdad in the so-called "Triangle of Death." U.S. military officials tell us that four U.S. soldiers were also injured.
More than 150,000 troops are spending Thanksgiving in Iraq, U.S. troops. Let's get to Aneesh Raman, he's embedded with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and he joins us by video phone from the Forward Operating Base which is just south of Baghdad.
Aneesh, good morning to you. Obviously a holiday is the toughest time for troops to be away from home.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you. They are. We're in that area you were talking about, the "Triangle of Death," with members of 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and as you say, the holidays, some of the toughest days for troops here.
For some it's their first Thanksgiving away from home, here in Iraq, for others their second. I met a soldier earlier today who's been away from home for Thanksgiving for the past six years. But, the holidays, in some sense have come to them, at least in the form of a meal. We were at the chow hall earlier today and we have some video of that.
About 1,250 pounds of turkey came into this forward operating base some, 2,500 pounds of prime rib, to give you an example of just how much food is here for the some 8,000 meals they'll be serving. But again, for the troops, and two joining me here, Specialist Adam Smith and Private First Class Kip Sullivan.
It is some of the most difficult days, isn't it, to be away from home? How do you cope with the holidays, here?
SPC. ADAM SMITH, SALINAS, CALIFORNIA: Well, basically, we've been over here with the same guys for most of a year now, and it's like one big dysfunctional extended family. I mean, we're like a bunch of brothers and much as all of us would rather be home with our families, we just basically ban together and take care of each other over here.
RAMAN: Does morale get affected during the holidays?
SMITH: I haven't noticed much of a change. It's just another day for us. We do our jobs, we go on patrol, we do what we have to do. But, you know, and there's turkey decorations here and there and a couple gags once in a while, but pretty much it's just another day for us. RAMAN: And Private First Class, back home, you're probably aware, there's all of this debate raging about what we're doing in Iraq and we rarely really hear from the soldiers themselves. What do you want the people back home to know about what's going on here?
PFC. KIP SULLIVAN, BOWLING GREEN, OHIO: We try not to concern ourselves too much with the whole political aspect. We just appreciate everyone's support back home and that's all we ask for, is just their support.
RAMAN: And anyone you guys would like to say hi and happy Thanksgiving to?
SULLIVAN: I'd like to say hi to my wife (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and the rest of my family from back in Bowling Green.
SMITH: I just have my wife Katie and daughter Abigail. So, first Thanksgiving she'll probably remember, she's 18 months now, so...
RAMAN: Well, thank you both for what you do. And Soledad, I should mention it's not just Thanksgiving here, it's just another Thursday. These guys have been out on patrols earlier today, all the troops working today. So, holidays come in moments here, not days -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, I'll bet. All right Aneesh, thanks and thanks to the guests, as well. How much food does it take to feed Thanksgiving dinner to all the troops in Iraq? Well, the military grocery list looks like this: 186,000 pounds of turkey, 8,000 pounds of stuffing mix, 108,000 pounds of ham, and more than 21,000 pies. I like the pie part.
COSTELLO: That's a lot of pie. Food is obviously a big part of Thanksgiving, but in and around New Orleans it's also a big part of the recovery. Coming up, we'll meet an award-winning chef who's helping out in a big way.
O'BRIEN: Coming up next, we're going to have more on the Thanksgiving Day parade, here in New York City. Is the weather going to keep these big balloons grounded? We'll check in with the folks at Macy's, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, just ahead. We're back in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: That's it, that's the route. We show you the shot as we look at Central Park West, you can see there. That's the direction the parade's going to come. And you can see in the background, right there, Tom Turkey. He's going to be leading the parade, and they're already getting ready to go.
The parade starts in just under two hours and already, there are people lined -- you can see the streets busy. People are lined up to take part and watch this parade and then, of course tens of millions of other people will watch on television, as well. Big day here in New York, of course, weather is the most critical factor to make sure this parade goes off without a hitch. Joining us this morning is Macy's spokeswoman Elina Kazan, she's going to make an announcement or determine at 7:45, I believe, Elina, is that right, about exactly what the status is of -- for the weather?
ELINA KAZAN, MACY'S SPOKESWOMAN: That's correct. Good morning, Soledad. How are you?
O'BRIEN: I'm very well. Happy Thanksgiving to you. How does it looking right now?
KAZAN: Happy Thanksgiving to you. Right now it's looking good. The rains have stopped and our winds are about between five to 12- miles-an-hour, so we are looking good and we're looking forward to putting on a parade.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that's such great news. Because, really, I mean, you get into the 20 and 30-miles-per-hour that's when you really start having a big problem, right?
KAZAN: Yeah. There are -- the magic numbers are sustained winds of 23-miles-an-hour or wind gusts of 34-miles-per-hour and that determination is going to be made later on this morning. We are monitoring the weather and wind conditions minute by minute.
We're working with the National Weather Service and we've got Metro Weather on-site and if the wind speeds do pick up, we'll make that determination to fly the large giant helium balloons later on.
O'BRIEN: Elina, we're taking a look at some of the pictures from the practice, we were just a moment ago -- here we go, which seems to have gone off without a hitch. Tell me a little bit about how you do the dry run for today's big day?
KAZAN: Well, what we do is, early part of November we have a test flight of our large helium balloons and this year we're going to be debuting four new balloons including Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo, Healthy Mr. Potato Head and Jo Jo, and we do is we get all of our handlers and balloon pilots and captains out onto the field and have them get their hands on a balloon and get a sense of what it's going to be like.
We really have our flight management team who are the six people who are in the team who actually are the ones who guide the balloons and the handlers down the parade route.
O'BRIEN: Has everybody had a lot of training? I mean, you know, the Dora there, we see it -- you know, we're showing this picture when she was still under the wrap from yesterday, that is a massive Dora. I mean, I had a chance to check her out, she's huge.
Her finger -- her index finger is the size of my 5-year-old, I mean, she is a massive balloon. Is everybody well trained in how to manage this balloon? KAZAN: Absolutely. Every balloon has its own specific specifications. We've got about 57 -- 50 to 70 balloon handlers per balloon and great flight management team who has been 100 percent trained to get the balloons down safely down the parade route.
O'BRIEN: Ten-thousand employees, volunteers, tick line, band members, every single description coming down. You must be pretty excited?
KAZAN: Yeah I am. I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving and it's like amazing to see that it's 10,000 people who come together on one day. We've been working year-round, but we all gather on the corner of 77th and CPW to bring America's parade down the streets of New York.
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, the clock's ticking, we're getting ready for the big kickoff. Thanks for talking with us, Elina, I know how busy you are, so we really appreciate that.
KAZAN: Thank you so much.
O'BRIEN: That's Macy's spokeswoman, Elina Kazan, this morning.
Ahead this morning, our special series week of giving continues. We're going to meet this morning a family separated by Hurricane Katrina. Take a look at how an unfortunate twist of fate may have actually been a blessing in disguise. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING we're back in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All this week AMERICAN MORNING is celebrating a week of giving highlighting stories of hurricane victims and the kind people who gave a helping hand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): In Slidell, Louisiana, Jean Miller, all alone, cleaning up her home damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
DERRICK MILLER, SON OF JEAN MILLER: What do you want to do with the sauce?
O'BRIEN: Twelve-hundred miles away, Jean's husband, Jim, and their 20-year-old son, Derrick, live in a tiny apartment in Hartford, Connecticut. All three separated and struggling, and not just with the rebuilding, but another huge misfortune, as well.
JEAN MILLER, KATRINA EVACUEE: And what about the white blood cell count?
O'BRIEN: Derrick has cancer. Just six months before Hurricane Katrina devastated their home and their lives, Derrick was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia.
MILLER: I've gone through three rounds of chemotherapy and that didn't work at all.
O'BRIEN: Derrick's only hope, a bone marrow transplant. A toner was found, the surgery scheduled. Then at the last minute, the donor backed out.
D. MILLER: I think it was the blessing in disguise, honestly.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Do you see it the same way? Do you see it as a blessing?
JIM MILLER, JEAN'S HUSBAND: Oh, it's been a great blessing in disguise. It really has. We needed to get Derrick out of harm's way and keep him away from New Orleans because of flooding and so forth. That hospital he was in was -- they don't even know if they're going to reopen it again, it was -- it had so much damage to the hospital and we haven't heard yet from his doctor even to this day.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Derrick and his father moved up north for medical treatment, and found a city that's embraced them.
D. MILLER: How are you?
O'BRIEN: Dr. Timothy Hong is Derrick's new oncologist in Hartford.
DR. TIMOTHY HONG, HARTFORD HOSPITAL: He's a person at the beginning of his life, and to see someone so sick, it really is difficult for all of us involved because we want to help him so badly.
O'BRIEN: And they've gotten help at every turn. Hartford Social Services provided their new car. Derrick now has a way to get to and fro his numerous doctor appointments. The Red Cross pays for their loft apartment. It's small but has a full kitchen and comforts of home. And food and gift cards from major supermarkets and department stores were donated by the Salvation Army.
JIM MILLER: Thank you very much.
It is very heart warming when people give of themselves to other people, and we just never thought we would be in a position to actually have to accept anything. If anything, it was usually the other way around, but we feel very humbled by this experience, as well.
O'BRIEN: It's helped them cope in the face of all the bad news and a terrible prognosis.
HONG: His long-term chance for a cure is approximately 10 to 20 percent.
O'BRIEN (on camera): It's got to feel like the last few months you've just been walloped? I mean it's bad enough to get a cancer diagnosis, and then to have your home, you know -- just devastated.
D. MILLER: But we don't look at it like that. We try to look at the positive aspects of it. You know, what could have happened and what didn't happen. You know, we look at other people in their situations and they have it a lot worse than we do.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Jim is now back in Louisiana for the holidays. Thanks to a donated airplane ticket. Derrick is spending Thanksgiving with his cousins in Connecticut.
J. MILLER: Did (UNINTELLIGIBLE) come to you?
O'BRIEN: They're apart and nobody is quite at home, but they're thankful to have each other, even with the distance separating them and they're grateful to have a plan for the future.
JIM MILLER: We know it's going to be just a short period of time before we find a donor, and we'll be sitting pretty again -- back to school, back to college and back to our normal life again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Pretty remarkable family, and they have touched every single person who has reached out to help them, has said "they are incredible and we are doing everything we can to help them." I mean what -- what fortitude in the face of really...
COSTELLO: ... I know, I think I want to go hang out with Derrick. I need an attitude adjustment and he could give me one.
O'BRIEN: He is, he's amazing.
Your story is on tomorrow. Who are you talking to?
COSTELLO: The Gallardo family. Their house was completely destroyed. They lived in New Orleans ninth ward. Eight feet of water in the house, they have nothing left. The town of Lempicka, Maryland, literally adopted them. I mean, literally, they love them. They gave them a house, a car, found a job for them. I mean, it's incredible the generosity of spirit in this country.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, you know, and it really, on this day especially, reminds you we have a lot to be grateful for.
COSTELLO: We do indeed.
Coming up some home cooked healing down in New Orleans. We'll meet a renowned chef who's doing his part to make sure that some unsung heroes are well fed. That's ahead too on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PFC. JOHN THOMAS, U.S. ARMY: Hi, I'd like to say happy Thanksgiving and happy holidays to all my family, my fiancee, Ashland, and my parents, just everybody back at home. Love you guys. Miss you. Bye.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome back, everybody. You heard it here first, it looks as if the winds are low, which is great news for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. And the security high, as you can clearly see in our live shot here. As you look up Central Park West, that is the beginning of the route of the parade as it goes off.
COSTELLO: Look at Tom Turkey ready to lead the parade.
O'BRIEN: He is. I think he is.
COSTELLO: He's inching forward every minute.
O'BRIEN: He seems closer, doesn't he?
COSTELLO: He's got a time to go. It's 9:00 Eastern Time is when the parade officially starts. Tom Turkey is one big turkey, 21 feet high and 20 feet wide.
O'BRIEN: Massive. They are massive. I was watching these balloons being blown up yesterday. They are so and I've seen the parade many times. But to be right there with them, they are so huge. And, of course, each balloon has somewhere between 50, 60, 70, in some cases 80 handlers.
COSTELLO: There's Elmo. Weren't you there yesterday?
O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, that's me right there. Can't you tell under all my this is Super Grover. Elmo's red, man.
COSTELLO: Oh, I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Come on.
COSTELLO: I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: And in this shot we have some little people who have joined us, friends, our new friends. They lost everything pretty much in Hurricane Katrina and now they've relocated, Cedric (ph) and Salean (ph). You can see that's sort of Salean's head and that's my daughter Sophia too. We took a tour and we had a tremendous hospitality from the folks at Macy's who let, as you can see, get really up close and personal.
COSTELLO: Now did they blow up the balloons at that . . .
O'BRIEN: They call them inflate. They don't like the word blow up.
COSTELLO: I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Yes, they inflate the balloons. That's what they were doing yesterday. And they kind of get all the, you know, after they inflate them, they cover them up with a net so, obviously, they don't float away and then they put sand bags down as well. It's really, really neat.
COSTELLO: Very cool. Well we'll get more into that later.
O'BRIEN: Today is a day to be thankful and remember all the things that we're thankful for. And we're thankful for low winds here in New York City because the parade looks like it's going to go off without a hitch.
COSTELLO: Yes, they're between 10 to 12 miles per hour so far.
O'BRIEN: Not so bad. Not so bad.
COSTELLO: Not so far.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: I have other news of the day to tell folks about.
Thousands of American troops are celebrating Thanksgiving far from home today. You know that. But they're still getting a little taste of the holiday. Most of the nearly 155,000 men and women in Iraq are digging in. They're digging into turkey and all the trimmings at their bases. Still, it is not an easy day. Most of them will still be on routine patrol.
In the meantime, there's been no break in the violence in Iraq. A car bomb went off about 22 miles south of Baghdad outside of a hospital in Mahmudiyah this morning. Two Iraqi police patrols were stationed there. At least 30 were killed and nearly two dozen others wounded.
Anti-war protesters could be back outside near President Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch. The first family is celebrating Thanksgiving there. About a dozen people were arrested on Wednesday. Some had pitched tents on a road leading to the Bush ranch and that's a no no. Cindy Sheehan, who lead protests in August, was not there, but she is expected to be there soon.
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a commuter train crash in suburban Chicago. The train slammed into several vehicles during rush hour on Wednesday, which triggered a chain reaction crash. The massive pileup left at least 16 people injured, three of them critically. A spokeswoman for the train service said the railroad crossing gates were working properly but some witnesses have given different accounts.
And in the world of sports, T.O. is K.O.ed by an arbitrator. A 38-page ruling upholds the Philadelphia Eagles' four-game suspension of Terrell Owens. That means the all pro receiver will sit out the rest of the season. It's also highly likely Owens will be traded or released by the Eagles. I think that's really a certainty. I don't think he's going to be playing for the Philadelphia Eagles anymore.
O'BRIEN: Yes, no. Not a chance.
COSTELLO: No. Somebody will pick him up though.
O'BRIEN: I like that, T.O., K.O.ed. COSTELLO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's good.
All right. You know, we have been talking certainly on this day of giving thanks about all the people who are not able to be with their loved ones. That is certainly the case for many military families as U.S. troops in large numbers, 150,000 or so, continue to serve overseas. Big discussions here, though, in this country about when those troops will be able to make their way home.
Let's go to Baghdad now. Joining us from Baghdad this morning is the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.
Thank you for talking with us, sir. We certainly appreciate it. Happy Thanksgiving to you, even far, far away.
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Good morning to you and Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family, and Americans all across the country.
O'BRIEN: Well, thank you very much. We appreciate that.
Certainly, as you well know, there was a very much increased political pressure in the debate over when these troops are going to be coming home. Have you felt that pressure, the pressure of that debate, where you are in Baghdad?
KHALILZAD: While we're aware of the discussion and the debates that's taking place in Washington, it's a legitimate debate. We're working very hard to get Iraqis to be able to look after their own security as soon as possible. We're working on the political track, encouraging Iraqis to participate in the elections.
We're reaching out to various forces in the area where the insurgency is strong, to isolate the insurgency. We're, obviously, working with the neighbors, too, to encourage them to be positively engaged with Iraq and we're accelerating the build up of Iraqi forces.
So with the steps that we have taken, beginning next year, after the elections, we can begin to reduce the number of U.S. forces here. And, of course, Congress and the other leaders in Washington have the right to ask us what our plans are and how and when the forces will be reconfigured and reduced over time.
O'BRIEN: So can you give us those numbers? I mean reduce the forces by how much clearly is what everybody wants to know?
KHALILZAD: Well, of course, they should know. Our military planners working with the Iraqis are determining those numbers and phases. And in due course they will present a plan to the commander in chief and then to the American people.
O'BRIEN: There definitely seems to be a sense in much of the debate that Iraqis are not doing enough, not only on their own security front, but also politically as well. Not making enough progress politically. Do you agree with that criticism, they could do much more?
KHALILZAD: Well, one can always discuss whether their rate of progress can be accelerated. But I believe that although Iraq is going through a difficult situation, we are making progress. Iraqis are taking more responsibility on the security front.
And the political trend is very positive. More Iraqis participate in the referendum than they had in the election before, and I think even a lot more Iraqis will participate in the coming elections, including people from the areas where the insurgency and terror has been strong.
I'm very encouraged by the political trend. But in order to get Iraq to stand on its own feet, it will take time. But we're making steady progress and we have a good plan. And I think it's fair for Congress to know what our plans are. We need to have the opportunity to explain it to them. But I'm confident that we're making good progress.
O'BRIEN: You've, I know, inaugurated something called the PRT, the Provincial Reconstruction Team, in central Iraq.
KHALILZAD: Yes, that's right.
O'BRIEN: It's based on a model that you're familiar with in your work in Afghanistan. How does it work?
KHALILZAD: Well, you know, in the new Iraqi constitution, a lot of authority has been delegated to the provinces and regions. And what we're doing is, in each province, we will establish a Provincial Reconstruction Team to work with the local authorities on the political track, economic track, and security track, to increase the capacity of the local government to do more for the people of the area.
And this model I've worked with in Afghanistan when I was the ambassador there and we're applying it here. We've already done two of them and we'll do another one next week. And by April, there should be one in each of Iraq's provinces and regions.
O'BRIEN: Everyone will be monitoring that progress as well. Zalmay Khalilzad is the U.S. ambassador to Iraq.
Thank you for joining us, sir. We appreciate it.
KHALILZAD: Well, thank you. And again, Happy Thanksgiving.
O'BRIEN: Thanks. Right back at you.
Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, the weather outside is frightening in much of the country.
In fact, Jacqui, I woke up to snow on my car this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're going to meet a renowned chef. He's doing his part to heal New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Kind of doing it one meal at a time.
COSTELLO: Oh, and they're delicious meals too, aren't they?
Also coming up next, New Orleans legendary Preservation Hall (ph) band. They haven't been able it to play at home since Katrina hit. Oh, they sound nice, don't they? But today they will bring a little bit of jazz to New York's big parade. They will join us live.
O'BRIEN: And Jason Carroll is keeping an eye on the parade preps for us.
Jason.
CARROLL: And we've got hundreds of people who are lined up here along the parade route. Some from Texas. Some from New Hampshire. Some from jolly old England. They are all ready for their close-up. OK, Florida too. And all of them getting ready to get a close-up view of the new balloons that are going to be premiering in this year's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We're going to have all the highlights coming up as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I always feel like dancing when I hear that son, don't you? You probably know the song. You know "When The Saints Go Marching In."
You may not know the musicians, but they are part of one of New Orleans best known bands, the Preservation Hall jazz band. Some members of the band are playing today at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
And joining us from along the parade route in New York, John Brunious, the leader of the band, and band member Carl LeBlanc.
Welcome, gentlemen.
CARL LEBLANC, PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND: Thank you.
JOHN BRUNIOUS, PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND: Good morning.
LEBLANC: Good morning to you.
COSTELLO: Carl and John, we were hoping you'd bring your instruments.
Carl, where are they?
LEBLANC: We didn't want them to get wet just yet, so they're in the bus.
COSTELLO: OK. LEBLANC: But you'll here a bit of it later on.
COSTELLO: Oh, I can't wait. You guys are going to be on a float, I understand. What's the float look like?
LEBLANC: Oh, it's beautiful. We saw pictures of it yesterday.
BRUNIOUS: Yes, it's a beautiful float.
COSTELLO: Is it shaped like a big apple?
LEBLANC: Yes, there's an area up high, an area down low. I can't wait until so you should wait and be surprised like everybody else and you'll see it.
COSTELLO: I'm not good at that.
John, I want to ask you, because I know it's been really difficult because you guys have been in New York City playing your own style of music and the city of New York really has adopted you and has really taken a liking to the music. But it must be tough not being able to play at Preservation Hall?
BRUNIOUS: Well, it sure is. We miss playing at Preservation Hall. We but we hope to get back there very soon, meaning maybe in a couple of months. Well, as you know, our city was devastated by the hurricane and by the floods, but we really want to get back to Preservation Hall as soon as we can.
COSTELLO: And I know, John, that you really suffered a great loss because you had to be rescued from your home and your home is pretty much gone.
BRUNIOUS: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. I had 12 feet of water in front my door and I swam in the water three times and it was just devastating. We did not expect the flood to happen in New Orleans at the magnitude that it did happen. We did not expect that.
COSTELLO: And yet, for all the hardship, the whole band has been raising money for other New Orleans musicians. And, Carl, tell me about that. I read an article that you played with the symphony in Buffalo, I believe it was, and you guys had people standing up and dancing in the audience. Something that doesn't happen every often at a symphony.
BRUNIOUS: No, it doesn't. But at the finale of our concert, we play "When The Saints Go Marching In" and we go out into the audience and we pull people out of their seats to march around with us. And that's how that happens.
COSTELLO: They were doing a congo line at the symphony. That must have been fantastic.
Carl, tell us a little more about what you're doing to help the people of New Orleans. LEBLANC: Well, we do have a fund that we've been working with, the New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund. And we've been raising money and many of the musicians in New Orleans have received money from this fund already. I don't know how they'll be able to build homes again with the money that we're raising, but I'm sure every little bit helps. And I've been getting a lot of calls from musicians I know who say how much they appreciate it.
COSTELLO: Oh, and I bet they do. John Brunious and Carl LeBlanc, Preservation Hall band members and good luck in the parade. And I hope it doesn't rain any more because it will be a lot more pleasant riding on that big apple float. Thanks to both of you for joining us this morning.
BRUNIOUS: All right. Thank you for having us.
LEBLANC: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Bye.
O'BRIEN: I'm looking forward to seeing what that float looks like. I've seen pictures, you know, photos of what the you know, drawings.
COSTELLO: You're just going to have to wait like I will.
O'BRIEN: Clearly, that's what he said basically, be patient, wait your turn.
Ahead this morning, we're going to check in with one of the many friends that we have made in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. We're going to hear from award-winning Chef John Besh. He's cooking up some good food and good spirits in New Orleans this morning. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. And Happy Thanksgiving.
Look at these folks who are already lining up to get the best seat in the house for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It kicks off at 9:00 Eastern Time. And we are right on top of it essentially because our offices are right above what you're seeing right here, Central Park West. We're going to bring you some of our coverage from...
COSTELLO: ... and, you know, a lot of the employees here want to, you know, watch the parade from the windows of this building, but they even have to get a ticket because so many want to look out the window.
O'BRIEN: It is a greet view, that view of Columbus Circle, and we're going to be able to share it with you this morning as well.
We also have some very special guests that we have invited to come and spend Thanksgiving with us this holiday season. Now something of them are spending it literally with us right here in the building, some of our friends who we've met along the way as we've covered the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. Some of our friends are spending it in New Orleans and we're going to connect with them sort of by technology.
One of those friends is our favorite kind of a friend, a friend who can cook. And, in fact, as the city recovers from a historic disaster, Chef John Besh, who is the owner of one of New Orleans' top restaurants, is cooking with gas. His version of meals on wheels is one way that people are trying to repay those who are helping rebuild the crescent city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BESH, CHEF: Go ahead and take this upstairs.
In the days just following Katrina, we looked at ourselves and said, what can we do to help. For those of us who cook for a living, it was about, you know, giving back as far as food and sustenance and we're feeding hundreds of pounds of red beans and rice a day for about a week.
For lunch today, we're cooking turtle soup and a little bit of garlic bread. And the turtle soup itself will be garnished with a little bit of cherry. They're going to work hard today. You can't have hot dogs and hamburgers here. Because, in fact, this is New Orleans.
Let those sit.
We cook everything here, pack it up hot. Three meals a day we take down to St. Bernard Parish.
OK. So this is enough food to feed anywhere from 400 to 500. Once the Red Cross and FEMA established operations in New Orleans, they were taking care of a lot of the evacuees. Those people that needed assistance.
Whereas, what we found, once this took place, is that the sheriff deputies and the fire fighters and the national guard troops even, they were the ones that were forgotten. They need food. They need water and we found our little calling was to serve those who serve us.
This is a camp site. This is housing. These are single person dwellings here.
Hello, Octavio (ph). How are you? Here, help me.
Good food is about the only luxury that they have. And I think, in fact, it is restoring some of the normalcy to what would otherwise be their everyday life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
Oh, God. That is good. KELLY LAUGA, ST. BERNARD PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I think we were forgotten since day one. We was left down here for five days with no food, no water, no nothing. We're more fortunate than other people at this point, you know, that we do have something like this to come to every day.
DARLENE POCAG, ST. BERNARD PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE: This has been wonderful. And it's not only that the food is really excellent, the staff's been really great, we all can kind of sit around and talk about what's been going on. Because once we walk out of here, we all go in different directions and we see each other on scenes. But to be able to sit down and talk with everybody is really nice.
BESH: We're giving them basically a pat on the back. We're saying, hey, great, great job, thank you for doing what you're doing for us. Have a great meal. We're going to give you a piece of our heart and soul too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Chef Besh is a busy guy and he's got, look, a busy kitchen. That's right. You're looking at live pictures.
COSTELLO: He's busy fixing the turducken.
O'BRIEN: Yes, they're getting ready to . . .
COSTELLO: Turkey and duck combo kind of thing.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's quite delicious. I've had it before. Have you ever?
COSTELLO: I've never had it.
O'BRIEN: It is quite delicious, even if it is a little bit unusual. I duck in side the turkey with the chicken inside all of it.
COSTELLO: I wonder how they blend them together? Do they put it in a blender and mix it?
O'BRIEN: No, no, no. Oh, oh, you're going to need a little history of turducken coming up when we talk to the Chef John Besh in just a little bit. He's going to have to school you on the turducken.
COSTELLO: I know.
O'BRIEN: It is no, they don't it's not mushy. They don't blend it.
COSTELLO: It's not mushy. It's not like pate.
O'BRIEN: Not even a little. But it's . . .
COSTELLO: And they don't cross somehow a duck and turkey.
O'BRIEN: No, it's not a breeding issue. COSTELLO: Oh, good. Oh, good.
O'BRIEN: That's what I thought first. No, turducken it's a chicken with a duck and then a turkey . . .
COSTELLO: Inside?
O'BRIEN: Yes, stuffed.
COSTELLO: Oh, so the duck is stuffed inside the turkey?
O'BRIEN: Right. With the chicken inside all of it.
COSTELLO: OK. Got you.
O'BRIEN: It's quite delish (ph).
And, of course, we should mention to folks that starting on Monday we begin our new hours. We begin at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The AMERICAN MORNING begins an hour earlier. Update you on all the stories that are happening not only here in the United States, of course internationally as well.
We kick things off with an exclusive interview with General Russel Honore. That's coming to you on Monday. The new hours of AMERICAN MORNING start at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Ahead this morning, we're going to take you back outside to check on the parade preps right here in New York City and it's looking as if the weather's going to cooperate. It's going to be chilly, but not to windy, which is good news.
First, though, let's get right to a Thanksgiving message from one of our troops overseas.
PFC. RILEY HOSICK: Hey baby, it's me. Just calling to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and the rest of the family, you know, Bruce, Julie, Conner, Arthur and your dad. I love you so much and I'll be home soon. Take care of the baby for me. I love you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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