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Deadly Explosions Rock Baghdad; Mourners In Lebanon Feel Anger, Grief; Josh Crisostomo Interview; Family Living in Airport; Preventing a Thanksgiving Turkey Fryer Tragedy

Aired November 23, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this Thanksgiving and stay informed. Here's what's on the rundown.

Violence does not take a holiday in Iraq. Look at these pictures. A horrific attack in a militia stronghold. A live report straight ahead.

COLLINS: Dangerous dinning. If you plan to fry your turkey today, don't do this. And don't miss our tips on doing it right.

HARRIS: And it is rough out there. A nor'easter soaks the celebration for some of you. We are watching the holiday weather this Thursday, November 23rd. You are in the NEWSROOM.

No holiday from the blood bath in Baghdad. Explosions rocking the city. Let's get right to CNN's Michael Ware live in the Iraqi capital. And, Michael, so much violence to talk about. Sadr City. Mortar rounds exploding near your location last hour. And, of course, there was an attack on a health ministry. But let's start with the violence in Sadr City.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, you're right. There's very little to give thanks for today here in the capital of Baghdad. It is erupted in violence here this afternoon. And as night is falling, we're hearing that from Sadr City the death count from three, possibly four car bombs this afternoon has risen to at least 100 people. And there may be as many as 200 wounded.

What we saw in the period of 30 minutes this afternoon is three of these car bombs explode in heavily crowded areas in Sadr City. Sadr City is a sprawling Shia ghetto, home to about 2.5 to 3 million people and a stronghold for the Mehdi army militia loyal to anti- American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. On top of those car bombs came mortars. So that's why we have this horrific death toll which, sadly, we expect to rise.

Immediately following that, we saw mortars start to land in surrounding Sunni neighborhoods as if in retaliation. So we have neighborhood fighting neighborhood in what the U.S. military says is not civil war.

HARRIS: And, Michael, what can you tell us about this attack on the health ministry?

WARE: All right. Well, right now there's nothing to directly link it. But there's clearly a pattern emerging here. Around the same time as these coordinated car bombings in this Shia ghetto, we had an attack on the ministry of health building. The ministry of health is controlled by the same Shia group, by the Mehdi army and its political front, the Sadrist current.

So this is an attack on the same political faction, on the same Shia population. There we saw as many as 30 gunmen assault the ministry of health building with small arms fire and mortars. We're not hearing of any casualty reports out of that. But it seems that it has been a direct attack on the Shia population here this afternoon. And they're not standing idly by. They're throwing mortars back at Sunni neighborhoods.

HARRIS: OK. Michael Ware for us in Baghdad. What day in Baghdad and throughout much of that city.

Michael, thank you.

COLLINS: Turkey and all the trimmings, a welcome Thanksgiving feast for some U.S. troops in Iraq. The American embassy compound in Baghdad's heavily fortified green zone was transformed to this festive atmosphere, complete with lots of music. But other troops are spending the holiday in the war zone.

And this is the scene at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Soldiers stopped their duties to mark the Thanksgiving holiday. Not exactly like being at grandma's table, but celebrating with fellow troops is, to them, perhaps the next best thing. We also have our Arwa Damon standing by in what we've been calling the Triangle of Death. She's had the opportunity to sit down with some troops and talk about how they are spending the holiday and how they're getting through.

HARRIS: Yes, a place they've named Camp Dragon. So we'll check in with Arwa soon.

But right now let's check in with Rob Marciano. Weather over his right shoulder. Weather over his left shoulder.

Just a lot to talk about, Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: In Beirut, a lot of anger and a lot of grief to show you and tell you about. At least 200,000 people, they are actually crammed into Beirut's Martyrs Square to honor a prominent Lebanese politician gunned down just two days ago and they are pointing fingers at Syria, which many blame for the assassination.

CNN's Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, joins us with the latest.

And, Brent, this was quite a moving service earlier today. BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, it was, indeed, Tony.

This has been an emotionally charged day in the Lebanese capital, focused on the funeral service. And Martyr Square itself is symbolic setting because it's where Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, is also buried and pictures of other so-called martyrs belonging to the anti-Syrian group, as they call themselves, those who have lost their lives, their relatives at least, packed with that kind of symbolism here.

We saw inside the church, St. George Cathedral, some very emotional scenes as friends, family and politicians, allies, went over the casket, burying the body of young Pierre Gemayel, a 34-year-old Maronite Christian, member of the cabinet here who was gunned down in a professional-style hit. Killers using automated silenced weapons to assassinate him.

This coming at a very difficult time for Lebanese politics. The country split - very deeply among two camps. One basically supporting Syria and Iran, led by Hezbollah. The other, the U.S. backed government of Fouad Siniora. And we saw this emotional day turn very quickly into a very potent political expression of opposition to Syria, opposition to Syria's allies in Lebanon by some of the top leaders involved with supporting shoring up the embattled government of Fouad Siniora as he tries to maintain governance of this country at a crucial time with support from the United States -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Brent, I know that there are many in Lebanon, as well as in the United States here, who are pointing the finger of blame directly at Syria. But I have to ask you, has a formal investigation of this assassination started to find out, in fact, who the killers are?

SADLER: Tony, this has been Lebanon's big problem for decades. People get killed here. Not just any people, presidents, prime ministers, religious leaders, over decades of conflict resolving around this country. The Siniora government has asked the United Nations for technical assistance to help in the inquiry. That will be forthcoming.

But really, all eyes in the anti-Syrian camp look at the formation of an international tribunal that's being set up to try suspected killers. Some of them have been linked to Syria. And it is, as a result of this forthcoming tribunal, it's hoped that it's being claimed that Hezbollah and its allies are trying to torpedo that tribunal by assassinations such as this through contacts they have in Syria. It's very difficult. Very bloody. And right now, very dangerous.

HARRIS: CNN's Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, for us.

Brent, thank you.

COLLINS: An annual tradition, but is it a high flying celebration. Indeed it is. Jason Carroll.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Most definitely it is, Heidi.

It is rainy, it is cold but the balloons are flying. Pikachu is making his way down in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. An update coming up as CNN NEWSROOM continues.

HARRIS: And how about a little deep fried turkey? Well, sure. It's a tasty treat for Thanksgiving.

COLLINS: Don't do it inside.

HARRIS: There you go. There you go. That's the problem. That's a recipe, Heidi, for disaster. The story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Far from home this Thanksgiving Day, some U.S. troops are spending the holiday fighting instead of feasting. CNN's Arwa Damon is imbedded with the Army's 10 Mountain Division near Yusufiya, Iraq, in an area known as the Triangle of Death. She joins us live via broadband.

And, Arwa, if you could, describe for us that place called Camp Dragon.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, it's definitely a far cry from what these soldiers would be experiencing Thanksgiving at home. In fact, what they would be experiencing on most bases here in Iraq. These are some of the grimmest conditions that this war has to offer. Out here they don't have showers. They don't have bathrooms. They don't have a regular bed to sleep on.

Now, they moved into this specific location, Camp Dragon, otherwise known as the Yusufiya power station. It has a morbid past. This is the exact same location where the bodies of the two kidnapped and murdered soldiers were found last spring.

Now these soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division moved here about a month ago. They control the power station and the land around it. Some of the more deadlier areas in this country.

Now we're joined by Specialist Josh Crisostomo. He's 25 years old. Originally from Guam. Grew up all over the United States.

Tell me, your family has long history in the military.

SEPC. JOSH CRISOSTOMO, 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION: Correct.

DAMON: What is that like? What is that experience like for you also being out here?

CRISOSTOMO: Well, I didn't think I was going to be in the army because I had a lot of family in the Army. So definitely a different route. It's not that bad. I mean, it's defiantly hard on my kids. I have two boys. One born while I was here and a three and a half year old. Wasn't around for much. But neither was my dad.

Definitely hard on my mom. She's been through this three years in a row now with me going, then my dad, then me again. But the good thing is, my dad's going home soon here in a couple days. Definitely my wife. She has to travel back and forth between New York. Always got to move them out, back and forth. But it's definitely -- this is probably the only time I'll tell her to watch the news so -- to get some of the lifestyle here.

DAMON: And how often do you get to talk to them? How often do you get to talk to the folks back home?

CRISOSTOMO: About every six days. We have a good rotation going back out from here, back to Stryker. Sometimes it gets bumped up. Whenever we can, whenever they have the phones open. Other than that, it's just a letter or two sometimes.

DAMON: Now you're on your second tour out here. Your first tour was in Baghdad in the Abu Ghraib area. Now you're out here. How is this experience that you're going through right now different than your last rotation?

CRISOSTOMO: Well, in Abu Ghraib, we didn't have to worry so much about IEDs because they don't want to put them in their own backyard. Out here it's more open. They have a lot more eyes on us. We definitely stick out a lot more out here. And I'd say doing a lot more walking. A lot more mortars. Didn't have to worry about mortars as much last year. But definitely the walking is a big difference because you never know when you're going to step on anything.

DAMON: Now this entire area -- first of all, when you moved into the power station, it was essentially one big booby trap of bombs. And out there is also essentially one great big booby trap. What is it like for you each time you step outside of the wire and what is it like -- what goes through your mind each time you make it back?

CRISOSTOMO: Coming back -- definitely when somebody else finds something out there and we know that we've walked past it a couple times and then coming back here and knowing like, damn, we just walked past an IED that could have went off. But definitely walking out there through all that thick reeds and all that plantation out there is tough.

I have a gun team that I take out and all that shit's pretty heavy. But definitely walking is a big difference from last year because it's a little more mounted. But that and worrying about the people across the river. Wondering if they're going to shoot at us or sniper us or what not. But definitely walking and stepping on stuff.

DAMON: So what goes through your mind when you get back?

CRISOSTOMO: When we get back, I think it's a big relief. And then going back up to our positions is -- I like it better up there than walking out there because I know I'm walking safe over here. But out there it's everywhere you step it's -- everything you hear snap, you don't know if it's a pressure plate or if it's something that's going to blow up. Definitely coming back here is a big relief with all this concrete around you and everything.

DAMON: How are you and the other troops here able to survive and cope with facing what you're facing out there every day and living like this?

CRISOSTOMO: Well, we get a lot of stuff from our sponsors. My platoon has a sponsor in New York, HTC Corporation. They send us a lot of stuff. A lot of magazines. We joke around with each other. It's a lot different atmosphere out here than it is in Garrison, back in Drum. It's a little more laid back. Just joking, writing letters, reading magazines and, like I said, eating all the junk food we can from back home that gets sent out here.

DAMON: And, lastly, who would you like to say happy Thanksgiving to?

CRISOSTOMO: Oh, my family. My mom. My son, Devon, I'll see you soon. I'll meet you. I can't wait to meet you. My son, Dominick (ph). How you doing, son? I know you're watching, hopefully. My wife. I'll see you next year. And all the family members of Gun 5 Husky Hitters (ph). Their platoon assassins. And we'll see you when we get back.

DAMON: Well, Tony, there you have it. It really doesn't matter out here whether it's Thanksgiving or not. Day in, day out, these soldiers, the mission continues -- Tony.

HARRIS: And we love those guys. Send along our very best on this Thanksgiving Day and, Arwa, we appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: And as you listen to those gentlemen around the fire there, important for us here to update the situation in Sadr City. We've been talking about the attacks that happened so very quickly, so very violently this morning. The death toll we now know to be 133. Just moments ago we had told you 100. So we are trying to stay on this as you can imagine.

And you see on your screen there about 200 more people hurt in a series of six car bombings again in Sadr City. This is serious attacks taking place by the Mehdi army militia who are, as I'm sure you know by now, very loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. We will continue to follow this story. A very violent one on this Thanksgiving Day. And bring it to you as it develops.

HARRIS: And still ahead, stuck in an airport, but there's no happy ending for this family. Not this holiday. Their story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: When it comes to detecting cancer, doctors use MRIs and CAT scans to visually locate tumors. But what if there was way to detect cancer even sooner just by listening for it. Miles O'Brien explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You never expect cancer. And when you hear it, you are frozen.

My father was diagnosed with lung cancer. They removed his lung and they decided that he didn't need any chemo or radiation. And they said, no, no, you're cancer free. My dad was on top of the world. Then exactly one year later, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

I was angry. If they had detected the kidney cancer right after the lung cancer, maybe my six-year-old daughter would know my dad now.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When it comes to fighting cancer, detection is crucial. This year alone, almost 1.4 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer. But with better detection methods on the way, the chances of survival are getting better all the time.

(voice-over): Dr. John Viator, of the University of Missouri Columbia, says by listening to the noise some cancer cells make, we may be able to catch and treat it sooner.

DR. JOHN VIATOR, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA: We have found melanoma cells using this laser induced ultrasound. Melanoma usually contains melanom (ph), which is the color that the laser needs to be absorbed and create these ultrasonic waves.

O'BRIEN: But Viator says by adding color to the colorless cancer cells, this technique may also be effective in detecting other cancers.

VIATOR: This technology has the potential to impact oncology and cancer care across the board.

O'BRIEN: Today, in order for an MRI or CAT scan to detect cancer, a patient must already have about a million cancer cells in their body. But Viator say this technology could be used to detect as few as 10 cancer cells in the body and one day it could even identify a single cancer cell.

VIATOR: It takes away the waiting game. I want to know right now, am I still clear?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Well, there you have it. A live shot now. I believe we call that particular character Potato Head. I'm not sure, but that's what I'm guessing.

HARRIS: OK. OK.

COLLINS: And, you know what, I have been watching these guys. You see it there now on our monitor over here.

HARRIS: There's a better look.

COLLINS: Continuing to wipe off the camera there. Just moments ago we saw some drama.

HARRIS: It's unfortunate, Heidi.

COLLINS: SpongeBob getting a little water-logged. I mean they are having to really stay close to these balloons because, you know what, they're big. And there was an incident back in 1997 where someone was seriously injured. So, you see Sponge is not up as high as he would like to be, I don't think. But we want to get out to Jason Carroll because this thing is going on. There are people out there even though it's raining and a little water-logged. We want to find out the very latest on all of this. Jason Carroll now.

Jason, can you hear me?

You know what, it looks like he's having a little bit of difficulty hearing me.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think I can hear you now.

COLLINS: Oh, there you go.

CARROLL: Now I can't hear you, but I'm going to go anyway because the parade is going on.

COLLINS: That's right.

CARROLL: And as you can see, some of the giant balloons are making their way down. There was some thought a little earlier that it may not happen. But it is, in fact, going on. You can see one has just gone by. That's one of the Mr. Potato Head balloon. Coming down there, way down the line, is Ronald McDonald. Another one of the giant helium balloons. There are 13 in all in this parade. One of the balloons, SpongeBob, was very, very popular.

You may notice that some of the balloons are flying a little lower than in year's past and that's a safety precaution just because there is wind out here today. And so what they're doing is, while they're fly the balloons, they're just doing it a little lower than they normally do.

It is windy, it is cold but that's not keeping people away. A lot of people, especially if they come for . . .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving.

CARROLL: Well, it sounds like it's a happy Thanksgiving over here. I should have dressed like him today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's ready for the weather. This is John. He's three. And this is his second Macy's Parade.

CARROLL: Well, he's doing well. You know, there was some thought that the balloons were not going to fly, but they are up. They are going. What do you guys think so far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fantastic. Wouldn't have missed it for the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my first parade and it's the best ever.

CARROLL: What's been your favorite so far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably Mr. Potato Head.

CARROLL: Mr. Potato Head. What did you think of Snoopy? Snoopy looked pretty good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we loved Snoopy, his first flight. We came from Orlando, Florida, and we're just having the best time.

CARROLL: You're from Orlando. Why didn't you bring the weather with you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

CARROLL: It's (ph) bad. I wish you had. But we're glad to have you anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

CARROLL: So the parade is going on. You know, the people are excited despite the cold weather and despite all the rain. Doesn't matter. The balloons are flying. You know, they're going to have turkey a little later on. Things are good.

Heidi, wish you were here, though.

HARRIS: Nice.

COLLINS: I know. I wish I was there too.

CARROLL: Wish you were here, but we're going to celebrate anyway. Back to you.

COLLINS: It's amazing. I believe I heard Jason say a little bit earlier that it was 1973 the last time that they actually had to call off this parade because they couldn't get the balloons to fly high enough and there was, you know, some safety concerns when that happens. But you see it there. We're hearing the bands. We're watching the balloons. And they are going, darn it, no matter what.

HARRIS: You know, this would be a perfect time to read -- do you have your e-mails? Because I don't have my e-mails. Do you have your e-mails?

COLLINS: I do have my e-mails.

HARRIS: OK. Why don't you start, because I don't . . .

COLLINS: We're going to Rob or doing e-mails? Doing e-mails? HARRIS: Yes, we're going to do -- we're going to do e-mails. Yes.

COLLINS: All right. We're going to do some e-mails.

HARRIS: Because they're great. They're great.

COLLINS: We've been asking all day long what people are thankful for. It's a very good question, appropriate question, obviously, for Thanksgiving. I have one here from Rachael in Omaha, Nebraska. It says this. "What I'm most thankful for is my husband.

He's currently deployed with the U.S. Air Force 'over there somewhere' in the Middle East. Although he'll miss Thanksgiving, Christmas, his birthday and possibly our first wedding anniversary - I'm thankful for him and all the other men and women of this country who are serving right now."

Well written. Well done.

HARRIS: And this from Carol. Carol's in California. She says, "I am thankful for my life and for good health, my children, my job and home. After a brief time of being homeless with my three children, it is so wonderful to be able to look back and see where you have been."

Thank you, Carol. Great sentiment.

COLLINS: And this one from Brianna. She's 11. And she says, "I'm thankful for my family, my mom, grandma, grandpa, sister, cousins, my friends Megan, Ariana and Lauren, and my house."

Good for you, Brianna.

HARRIS: We need to get the parade up a little bit more for Brianna. That would be great this Thanksgiving morning.

Hey, look, if you'd like to send us an e-mail of what you're thankful for today, there's the address, CNNNewsroom@CNN.com. And we'll read some of those responses on the air. We've got another hour and a half to go here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Want to toss it over now to Rob Marciano.

And, Rob, you know, it's hard not to keep our eye -- I have this monitor over here of the Macy's Day Parade. We've got the Energizer Bunny going by. I mean they are in the spirit, are they not?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Hey, how about a little -- I'm looking for a cleaver segue here -- how about a little deep fried turkey? Huh? A tasty treat for Thanksgiving, but look out for this -- a recipe for potential disaster. We will explore that story in the NEWSROOM next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COLONEL CHARLES HUNTER, U.S. ARMY: I'm Colonel Charles Hunter assigned to Camp Eggers Kabul, Afghanistan. I'd like to say hello to my mom and dad in Destin, Florida -- Charles and Jane Hunter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: No holiday from the bloodshed in Baghdad. Explosions rocked the city and the death toll just keeps climbing. Police now say at least 100 people are dead, other reports put the number at 130 or more, dozens more wounded. Today's bloodshed began when three car bombs and a mortar round went off over a 30-minute period. It happened in Sadr city -- a Shiite militia stronghold. Our Michael Ware who is on the scene says those blasts were followed by mortar attacks in a nearby Sunni neighborhood.

COLLINS: In Afghanistan, a time to remember for American service members on this Thanksgiving holiday. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is at a U.S. Army base.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Here in eastern Afghanistan the troops are pausing to celebrate with a traditional Thanksgiving turkey meal. About 2,000 troops will get their Thanksgiving meal in this tent here today. Many troops will come in from patrol, have their meal and go back out again.

Some of them will pause and try to call home and visit with their family members. And in a very unusual new Thanksgiving tradition, helicopters are take off all over Afghanistan delivering turkey meals to troops out on the front line that can't get in to base.

But this will be a very difficult holiday season for so many military families. This unit of the tenth mountain division has already lost 31 members since it arrived in Afghanistan in March.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Forward Operating Base Serlano, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Stranded at the airport it's not a holiday travel story, it is a real life nightmare for families stuck for months. CNN Ryan Chilcote reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roscoe's (INAUDIBLE) airport has plenty of duty free shopping, even an Irish bar where you can bide away your time. But all of that gets old pretty quick. Just ask this Cumalfar (ph) family. They've lived in the airport for the last six months. They agreed to an interview away from security in the back booth of a terminal cafe.

ZATHRA CAMALFAR (ph), LIVES IN AIRPORT: Nobody can stay here for one day. We sleep on the floor. Here is very cold. Everybody go come, go come, and we can't take shower, we, every night we go to toilet and we take shower in the toilet.

CHILCOTE: Zathra Camalfar, her daughter Anna, and son Bavood (ph), live on the floor above the Irish bar. But they prefer the floor over a plane back to Iran. Zathra Camalfar fears jail or worse awaits her.

CAMALFAR: Please, I don't know who is listen when I speak. But people, Russians, good Russians, and have kind heart. Just, I tell President Putin please help me, help me, just for deporting me.

CHILCOTE: CNN could not verify Camalfar's claim she was jailed in Iran for her opposition to the government or that she fled Iran while on furlough from jail. A spokesman for the Iranian government told us it is unaware of her case and the United Nations determined they do not need refugee criteria. But the U.N. says conditions in the airport are appalling and admit there are many more like Camalfar wondering the concourse, one was there for nearly three years.

The Hollywood blockbuster "The Terminal" modeled on the real-life story of an asylum seeker in a Paris airport, inspired improved conditions for refugees in airports around the world, but U.N. says conditions in Moscow got worse and not better.

Twelve-year-old Bavood has now been in the airport long enough to teach himself a little Russian. "I just asked people what things are called and memorize it," he says.

This week an American law firm began applying for political asylum on their behalf.

OLGA ANISINMOVA, ATTORNEY: I think it is difficult for her even to find such a lawyer because she has to stay at the airport.

CHILCOTE: In the mean time, the Camalfar's take another lap around the terminal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: CNN's Ryan Chilcote joins us now from Moscow.

And Ryan, first of all happy Thanksgiving to you. I certainly hope this holiday is turning out a little better for this family. What's the latest?

CHILCOTE: Well, the latest is rather, actually, rather grim. The night before last they were set to be deported and the younger daughter, Anna, who's 17 years old tried to commit suicide in order to avert their deportation. She did not succeed in committing suicide, so that's good news, but she did succeed in averting deportation.

They basically tried to forcefully load the family onto the flight to Tehran. There was a regularly scheduled flight to Tehran the day before yesterday, but the daughter was vomiting so violently they decided to call that plan off and, reluctantly according to eyewitnesses I spoke to, give the family medical attention.

So they are, as far as they are concerned, they are happy that they are still in that airport and not on the plane back to Iran, but there is still no resolution of their situation. They are still in that airport -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Ryan, if folks just tuned in, just to hear those last moments of that report from you, tell us again why this is happening to this family?

CHILCOTE: That's a very good question. Zathra Camalfar maintains that she was in jail in Iran and she was furloughed from jail. She was in jail, she said, for her political activity. Furloughed for a couple days when she fled through Turkey and Moscow to Germany.

Now, she says that she was kicked out of Germany and asked for political asylum three times in Russia. That's the only part of the story we've been able to verify. We know that she's been here for 19 months -- 13 months in a deportation center that Russia had that was closed about six months ago. It was actually the first floor of a hotel right next to the airport.

The new owner, however, kicked refugees out and closed the deportation center so all of the refugees or would-be refugees, people looking for political asylum status got kicked out of that deportation center into the airport. She's waiting, basically, some kind of political asylum and she hasn't got it yet -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's Ryan Chilcote for us in Moscow. Ryan, thank you.

COLLINS: Deep fried turkeys. You've seen this done before. We call them Cajun turkeys. But wow, take a look when you don't follow the instructions. Too much oil, doing it inside. We're going to talk about possible recipe for disaster. Doing it the right way ahead here in the NEWSROOM, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMESH RATNESAR, WORLD EDITOR "TIME": Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is the president of Iran, this year emerged as a dominant player on the world stage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Iran's president also emerges as a candidate for "Time" magazine's person of the year.

PRICILLA PAINTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR "TIME": We saw Ahmadinejad, essentially defy many of the wishes of negotiators from the West in terms of refusing to stop the development of possible nuclear weapons. That's number one. Number two, we saw the role that his country played indirectly in the Lebanese-Israeli conflict. And number three, we saw the degree to which he has been effective, for better or for worse, at using major international platforms to essentially make his case. ADI IGNATIUS, EXECUTIVE EDITOR "TIME": He continually has talked about wiping out Israel, has talked about denying the holocaust. I mean, these are outrageous statements and making no friends, internationally.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: All of the fine folks in the control room working on this Thanksgiving Day. Thanks to them as well. The first rule of safety, though, read and follow the directions. That advice could prevent a Thanksgiving tragedy. Here now CNN consumer reporter Greg Hunter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG HUNTER, CNN CONSUMER REPORTER (voice-over): Thanksgiving Day 2003 at the Moon home in Aloha, Oregon, described by a couple of terrified neighbors.

NEIGHBOR: There's a house on fire.

OPERATOR: Where?

NEIGHBOR: I don't know. Sarala, up 170th.

NEIGHBOR: The flames are 20 feel high and there's black smoke in the air. It's the whole back side, it started on the deck.

HUNTER: Dr. Steven Moon says he was cooking the family feast with a turkey fryer.

DR. STEVEN MOON, USED TURKEY FRYER: I thought, well, you know, if something happens I've got a fire extinguisher that'll take care of it and it was like spitting in the wind. It was nothing compared to this fire that was going on.

HUNTER: the fire raged on and the fire department had to come and put it out but not before it caused more than $100,000 in damages.

Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrooke, Illinois, a world recognized product the testing organization says frying a turkey can be hazardous. Spokesman John Drengenberg (ph) say that's why UL will not put its seal of approval on any turkey fryer.

JOHN DRENGENBERG, UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES SPOKESMAN: There have been safety improvements on turkey fryers, but it's still not where UL will authorize the use of its mark.

HUNTER (on camera): It's not safe.

DRENGENBERG: Because we don't believe it safe enough for people to use.

HUNTER (voice-over): UL has been testing turkey fryers for years. In this company video they show how fires can get out of control when typical consumer mistakes are made like dropping a partially frozen bird into a pot of overheated oil.

The industry says over the last few years they've corrected many problems. In 2002 the Canadian Standards Association, a UL consumer testing competitor, began certifying some turkey fryers as safe. The stands are sturdier and tanks are better marked so consumers won't overfill.

Manufacturers have also decreased the intensity of the flame so the oil won't overheat as quickly and fryers come with pages of explicit cautions. One booklet contains at least 15 specific warnings on the dangers of frying a turkey. Industry group, the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association suggested we talk to Don and John McLemore who own MasterBuilt, one of the biggest manufacturers of turkey fryers.

DON MCLEMORE, CO-OWNER MASTERBUILT: If you don't drive your car attentive and like you should, automobiles can be dangerous, so turkey frying is the same way you should. If you use it, follow the instructions and so what we say in our instructions. No, it's a perfectly safe product to use.

HUNTER: Simple instructions like making sure the fryer is out and away from all buildings, on level ground, and is watched at all times.

(on camera): The industry has warnings on their products. Isn't the consumer's fault that they don't listen to the warnings?

JOHN MCLEMORE, CO-OWNER MASTERBUILT: Well, the industry has added a lot of warnings to these turkey fryers but the fact is the construction has to be improved to the level of safety that UL would demand for such a product.

HUNTER (voice-over): UL says it wants a device that will automatically limit the temperature of the oil on a gas turkey fryer, because it is not practical to expect consumers to watch a turkey fryer every minute, especially around the holidays.

The McLemore brothers point out they already make an electric fryer with a control to keep the oil at the correct temperature, but it'll take time to develop one for their gas fryer that's safe.

Until a thermostat is developed, overheating oil is the Underwriters Laboratory's main concern. UL set up a demonstration for CNN.

(on camera): One thing you need to be careful of when using a turkey fryer is something called the oil flash point. That's where if you leave this unattended too long and the oil gets too hot it can ignite without even touching a flame. Watch.

(voice-over): As you can see even putting the lid on doesn't stop the fire and within seconds flames are leaping four feet over the fryer. Within 2-1/2 minutes the demonstration wall catches fire. This shows how quickly one of these fires can get out of control and when UL's firefighters take the lid off to extinguish the fire, watch what happens. They spay foam on the fire, but even in this controlled situation it is not easy to put out.

To see how it works in the real world, we went to this house waiting demolition near Chicago. With the help of Frankfurt, Illinois, firefighters, we set up a turkey fryer with the kind of mistakes that Assistant Chief Larry Ralk (ph) says he sees all the time.

(on camera): Homeowners make mistakes when using a turkey fryer. For example, this one's way too close to the house, it's too full of oil and too hot. On top of that we're going to put a semi-frozen bird right into the fryer to show you what can happen.

(voice-over): We had firefighters standing by to make sure this didn't get out of control because as the Dr. Steven Moon will tell you, turkey fryer fires can get out of control in a hurry.

(on camera): Would you fry one at your house again?

MOON: Not at my house, no.

HUNTER: For those who will, follow the instructions carefully or risk a holiday dinner tragedy.

Greg Hunter, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Let's talk about a Thanksgiving feast for some U.S. troops in Iraq. But for others, it's no holiday. We will go live to meet some soldiers in the war zone straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEANT RUTH ANN MIKALECK, U.S. ARMY: Hello. I'm Sergeant Ruth Ann Mikaleck (ph) in Baghdad, Iraq. I'd like to wish my husband, Karl, in Killeen, Texas a very happy Thanksgiving. I love you and I miss you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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