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American Morning
Thousands Of Lebanese Take To Streets To Mourn And Protest Assassination Of Christian Cabinet Minister Pierre Gemayel; Troops Celebrate Thanksgiving In Iraq; Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade A Go Despite Bad Weather; Turkey Tips
Aired November 23, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Mourning and anger: Tens of thousands of Lebanese take to the streets to remember a popular politician, and protest his assassination.
The Los Angeles police under fire again. A videotape leads to questions about the use of pepper spray.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's the holiday party where everybody's full of hot air. We'll take you live to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade preps. But will the balloons be there? That's the big question this year.
And Turkey University: We'll tell you how to cook the perfect Thanksgiving meal. That, and much more ahead, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, everybody. Thursday, November 23, Thanksgiving Day. I'm Soledad O'Brien. Happy Thanksgiving.
M. O'BRIEN: Same to you. And same to you, thanks for being with us this morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.
We begin this morning in Lebanon, a nation in crisis. Mourning mixed with outrage at the funeral of a rising politician who dared to speak out against Syrian influence in his country. Thousands gathering for the funeral of Pierre Gemayel, cornered and gunned down on Tuesday as he left church. He's the sixth anti-Syrian leader killed in Lebanon, in the last two years. CNN's Brent Sadler is in Beirut with more -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, these are live pictures coming from inside St. George's Church, in downtown Beirut, adjacent to the Martyr's Square where 10s of 1,000s of people have gathered to pay their respects to the assassinated minister; the 34-year-old Pierre Gemayel, gunned down in broad daylight by gunmen using silenced automatic weapons.
Again, this could turn out to be another decisive day in Lebanon's complex and often violent politics. You're now beginning to hear important anti-Syrian leaders talking in the wake of this assassination.
Let's just listen in for a moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(APPLAUSE, CHEERING)
SADLER: They were announcing, Miles, of the leaders of the so- called anti-Syrian governing coalition here, led by Saad Hariri, the son of the assassinated prime minister, Rafik Hariri, two years ago.
Also inside this very emotive and now this politically charged atmosphere is the Western-backed prime minister Fouad Siniora, along with other surviving victims of bomb attacks against Lebanon's political elite, as well as journalists, over the past two years.
Many of these leaders expected to openly accuse Lebanon's neighbor, Syria, of involvement in this latest killing -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Brent, I hope you can hear me OK. With statements like that, such harsh anti-Syrian statements, you have to wonder what's next. What is the big concern?
SADLER: The big concern, Miles, is that this mass gathering that is reminiscent of the so-called Lebanese Cedar Revolution that really led to the expulsion -- the withdrawal, rather -- of Syrian troops almost two years ago. That this is the kind of event that can effectively turn things, domestic politics, on their head here. This comes at a time when Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, should have been on the streets -- according to them -- to protest the Siniora government backed by the United States, and to try to topple the Siniora government by their own people power.
Instead, as a result of the assassination, it is the anti-Syrian forces that have now seized the moment, and will doubtless try to regain momentum in what has been a vicious, and at times, bloody battle for political supremacy over Lebanon.
M. O'BRIEN: Brent Sadler in Beirut. Thank you very much -- Soledad?
S. O'BRIEN: Let's go back to the parade right here in New York City. The key elements of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are those beautiful giant balloons. And all morning we've been waiting to see if they're actually going to get off the ground today, because, of course, the winds are strong, 14 miles an hour we're told now; 42 degrees. Steady rain, this morning, is falling this morning. Jason Carroll is on the ground with some of the spectators. And right in the middle of the mess.
Hey, it looks like the rain stopped a little bit. That's good news.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, temporarily. We got a little reprieve from the rain. We'll take whatever we can get out here. That's for sure, Soledad.
As you were saying, everyone is waiting to see when the parade starts, if those balloons that everyone looks forward to seeing will actually make it in this year's parade. There are 13 of them. They are tied down at this time. What parade officials are doing is they're just monitoring all those wind devices that they have set up along the parade route.
The threshold they're looking at is 23-mph sustained winds. Those are the sustained winds, or 43-mph gusts. If we get to that point, then those balloons aren't going to fly. But the last time that happened, I'm told, 1973. That was the last time they had to ground the balloons.
But everyone out here, balloons are not, rain or shine, that does not keep people from Arizona away from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. That is for sure.
Especially if you're from Tucson, right, Vicki?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right. Got here last night.
CARROLL: You have a strategic point. Frank, I want to show this. See all these people lined up here, Soledad? They've got the good spot here, because there's scaffolds here, and they're taking advantage of it, hiding up underneath there.
Now, Vicki, you've got a son or daughter in the parade?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daughter, who is in the color guard, Catalina Foothills High School marching band.
CARROLL: So, what do you guys think? Do you think the floats -- or the floats will be here. But do you think the balloons will make it?
CROWD: Yes!
CARROLL: You guys are hopeful. Yeah?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
CARROLL: Have you heard anything? What does your daughter say?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know anything yet. They've been keeping them busy since 1:00 this morning. We're just hoping they don't freeze to death.
CARROLL: Me, too. Happy Thanksgiving to you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
CARROLL: Thanks for coming to New York. We appreciate it. Rain or shine, balloons or not, they're here, Soledad. We're still keeping our fingers crossed hoping that things work out at 9:00. That's when parade officials will be making the final call.
S. O'BRIEN: Are people lined up or packed already, Jason, even where there's no scaffolding?
(LAUGHTER) CARROLL: You know what? No. What they're doing is they're all sort of huddled up underneath there. But since the rain has start -- you see, they're starting to move out just a little bit. You can see some of the umbrellas there, dot up along the road there. They're starting to come out slowly but surely.
In the beginning, Soledad, it was all about the scaffolding. Except for the two little girls we saw, young girls that we saw struggling underneath their little umbrellas. It's all about the scaffolding out here.
S. O'BRIEN: Hopefully the rain will stay off for you and the wind won't get 23 mph. And we'll cross our fingers. Jason, we'll continue to check in with you throughout the morning.
CARROLL: We'll see.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll see. We sure will.
Let's get a check of the forecast for the day. Not just in New York City, of course. But, of course, across the country.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Happening in America: Outside Charlotte, North Carolina, in Monroe, two people inside a car finding a puddle a little deeper than they thought. They had to stand on the roof of the vehicle until rescuers were able to reach them, with an inflatable boat, as you can see.
A train wreck in Memphis, Tennessee, sending railroad crews to the hospital, but fortunately only with cuts and bruises. The two trains collided at slow speed. Four freight cars derailed and the line was blocked for a while. Unclear how they got their signals crossed.
In Miami, a deadly ending to a brief police chase. It began with a domestic abuse call at a business near Fort Lauderdale Airport. It ended with this scene. A rollover, of that Jeep. Police say the suspect took off after beating his ex-wife with a gun. They say he was firing shots at them during the chase. He was unconscious when they finally reached the Jeep. He died later at the hospital.
In California, a setback for environmental crusader Erin Brockovich; a dozen suits thrown out that claim emissions from oil rigs at Beverly Hills High School caused as many as 300 cancer cases. The judge didn't offer an explanation, but the defendants accused Brockovich of using junk science. An appeal is in the works.
In Atlantic City, fears a serial killer is on the loose, this after four women killed. Their bodies dumped behind a motel for prostitution and drugs. An autopsy shows two of the women were strangled. The others too badly decomposed to determine a cause of death. Prostitutes in the gambling Mecca arming themselves with pepper spray and avoiding the area where the bodies were found. In Southern California, firefighters battling tough terrain as well as a stubborn fire. It's happening in the Euripi (ph), in the San Bernardino National Forest. So far, nearly inaccessible, this fire is, but it has burned 125 acres. Firefighters have it about 40 percent contained.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, these days, a woman's place is in the House, as speaker of the House. But what happens when she throws like a girl? Those are not my words, that's the words of columnist Maureen Dowd. She wrote them. We'll talk to her this morning about that.
Plus Michael Richards' racist rant. Some people say that tirade wasn't the first time he went off the deep end on stage. We'll take a look straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, my name is Major Tam Fish. This message is for the Fish family in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I am out here in Afghanistan, in Gosni (ph). I'm looking forward to the holidays. I wish I could be with you and wish you the best Thanksgiving. I love you and miss you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: All right, you can E-mail us with any of your cooking concerns at Turkey@cnn.com, Turkey@cnn.com. We don't have the answers, but we will be a conduit to a woman with a doctorate in turkeyology. Turkeyology? Is that a word?
S. O'BRIEN: Sure.
M. O'BRIEN: It is now. Sherleen will be with us all morning. She is at the Butterball turkey hotline. Send us your questions. And if you have a tip to share, that, too. Back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The 2006 election brought a sea-change in American politics, not just from red to blue, but also from men to women. Now that Nancy Pelosi is the speaker of the House, the fur is flying. "New York Times" Columnist Maureen Dowd is the author of the best- selling book, "Are Men Necessary?" Now out in paperback. I spoke with her the other day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us, Maureen. Good to have you here.
MAUREEN DOWD, COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: You've been writing a lot about the politics of machismo and mommy-dom kind of.
DOWD: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: There's kind of two little themes going through here, whether American voters want kind of the mom figure, or this tough guy kind of thing. Share with us, just for a moment from recent column, what you had to say about Nancy Pelosi, in this new role.
DOWD: Nancy Pelosi's first move after the Democratic triumph was to throw like a girl. Women get criticized in the office for acting on relationships and past lives, rather than strategy. So Madam Speaker wasted no time in making her first move based on relationships and past lives rather than strategy.
M. O'BRIEN: Bad move?
DOWD: Very bad move. The first thing she does is to -- she gets in a fight with Jane Harmon and tries to take her off the Intelligence Committee, partly because she's jealous about how much Harmon has been on TV and partly she doesn't think she's been wanting to get out of Iraq enough.
And then she also gets in a huge fight, where she tries to replace Steny Hoyer with Murtha, just because Murtha had been nice to her in the past. So, you know, the women in my office, anyway, were like -- oy!
M. O'BRIEN: How much of this could be attributed to just Democrats being Democrats, here?
DOWD: Democrats are Democrats. But I think also, she just made all the stereotypical mistakes that women are told not to make, which is to make things revolve around relationships and who has been nice to me. And who don't I like. I'm the boss of you. It was a really bad performance out of the gate.
M. O'BRIEN: How big a setback is this for the Democrats, as they try to, you know, march forward with this mandate?
DOWD: They missed the opportunity to -- to, -- act not like Democrats. So all they've done is act like Democrats. So everyone may have been expecting it. But I think the Republicans now understand that there are X number of Democrats who may be willing to go with them, and buck Pelosi. That's not good. It's just really weak. She showed weakness right out of the gate.
M. O'BRIEN: But there's kind of a new Democratic face out there. Literally, and figuratively, in Jon Tester.
DOWD: Right. As Pelosi stumbled, Tester and Jim Webb who are the super macho candidates, are becoming the new face of the party. They almost seem like Republicans. Tester has this flattop, and is a farm guy. And a lot of these new Democrats you know, I've talked to privately, and they're kind of very dubious about the idea that the country is ready to elect a woman, or black, as president, it's a whole new tone already in a week. M. O'BRIEN: What are the Republicans supposed to do, to respond to all of this? John McCain is trying to be even more macho, in some respects.
DOWD: I think that's a problem for McCain. I think in the era of the war on terrorism, it would be really hard for a woman like Hillary to become president. Because there's still a lot of Americans who want the daddy in the chair. But -- in a crisis.
But on the other hand, it will also be hard for him to run as a ware candidate. Because I think what this election made clear is Americans have war fatigue. He wants to send more troops. And I don't think that's in sync with the mood of Americans.
M. O'BRIEN: Could it be that this country is going away from the polarization we've been seeing in the recent years? Is that what's happening?
DOWD: That's what "The Weekly Standard" is saying, that purple voters are, you know, now the source, the base, of the Democratic Party. Because it's more independents, more moderates, and more suburbanites.
M. O'BRIEN: That would be interesting.
DOWD: Yes, very interesting.
M. O'BRIEN: Maureen Dowd, thanks for stopping by.
DOWD: Thanks, Miles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, some new details on Michael Richards' racist rant. Some people say it wasn't his first tirade on stage. Tell you about that.
Plus the holiday shopping season kicks off in earnest starting -- today, really. The stores are going to be opening earlier than ever. Ali Velshi has the scoop as he minds your business straight ahead. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Hi, my name is Sarah Bishop (ph). I'm stationed here at Camp Haji. I would like to wish my mother, my brother, my daughter, my son, and all my family and friends in Colleen (ph), Texas, Happy Thanksgiving. Miss you all and see you soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. This is the parade route, and that is the weather, on the parade route. It is not a pretty scene. You can see on the left side of the screen there some of the folks who are out. Very hopeful, in spite of what the weather forecasters are telling us. And the balloons, as well, that I'm sure are going to be used in the parade in a little bit.
They are not going to tell us until a little closer to the start of the parade whether they will yank those big balloons or not. Because right now you have 42 degrees, sustained winds, they've been clocked at 17 mph, and the gusts have been clocked at 26 mph. Remember the numbers they're trying to not get to, sustained winds at 23 miles an hour. And gusts clocked at 34 miles an hour.
If they get there, they'll pull those giant helium balloons. They're dangerous at those wind speeds. We're watching for you this morning, got a reporter out there. Jason Carroll this morning giving us live shots. And we'll check in with our Weather Center as well.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, Kramer says he's sorry, but is it enough? Comedian Michael Richards' words so far have not been enough for his erase the anger from his racist rant at the Los Angeles comedy club on Friday. Making matters worse, charges Richards is not a first-time offender. Here's CNN's Brooke Anderson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING (voice- over): It was the racist rant heard round the world. Comedian Michael Richards on the Laugh Factory in Hollywood last Friday night. Now, new allegations that this has happened before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, we witnessed the attack.
ANDERSON: Carol Oschin and J.P. Ferrier (ph) say they visited the Improv, in Los Angeles, back in April to see Michael Richards perform. They claim in the middle of his act another audience member said something to Richards that caused the comic to crack.
CAROL OSCHIN, RICHARDS ACCUSER: All of a sudden his veins came out of his neck, Michael Richards, and [bleep ] Jews! You're the reason Jesus was killed. And he's ranting and raving.
ANDERSON: While managers from the Improv declined to appear on camera, they confirmed to CNN that Richards was making regular appearances around that time. Following a performance that included anti-Semitic remarks, Richards apologized to management and said he had, quote, "gone off track."
In a statement Michael Richards' publicist, Howard Rubenstein tells CNN the comedian is Jewish, and that the anti-Semitic comments are just part of his act.
OSCHIN: We were all looking around. We could not believe this was happening. And he was so agitated, and so explosive, and he just paraded out, with a vengeance.
ANDERSON: Fellow stand-up comic Sinbad saw the meltdown last Friday night at the Laugh Factory. He tells us that it seems like Richards is uncomfortable performing in an uncontrolled setting like a comedy club.
SINBAD: I think he's been away from the game for a long time. You're successful on a TV show and I think you expect somehow respect, when you walk onstage. Because if all it took was a heckler, who didn't heckle you much, to bring that out. You've got to check yourself, your life.
MICHAEL RICHARDS, COMEDIAN: I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this.
ANDERSON: Frank McBride and Kyle Doss say they were the target of Richards' anger at the Laugh Factory. They say despite Richards' apology on the "Late Show" Monday night, they're not satisfied.
FRANK MCBRIDE, TARGET OF RICHARD'S RANT: The only reason why he did apologize is because the tape got out.
KYLE DOSS, TARGET OF RICHARD'S RANT: It's definitely a good thing that it's being exposed because there's no room for it anywhere in America.
ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Richards' publicist said Richards called both the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to apologize for his weekend tirade. Jesse Jackson says Richards needs some race sensibility training and psychiatric help -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Millions of Americans will be hitting the stores early tomorrow morning, and in some cases late tonight. Ali Velshi has a look at that, "Minding Your Business".
Good morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: A lot of money changing hands here.
VELSHI: Black Friday is a remarkable marketing tool that we've all sort of bought into, that this is the big shopping day. Some people are busy giving thanks for the things that they give thanks for. Some of you are giving thanks that the stores, in some cases, are already open.
CompUSA, BJ Wholesale, are open today, for Thanksgiving shopping. A lot of other stores are going to open at midnight. It just constantly gets earlier and earlier. Most malls will open at about 6:00 a.m., but some stores inside those malls will open as early as 5:00 a.m.
But the malls have said, everybody's got to be open by 6:00. Some stores can open earlier. There are increasing -- there's increasing desire to get the first dollar. This is not the most busy shopping time of the year. Tomorrow is not the most busy shopping day of the year.
M. O'BRIEN: Even though the perception is --
VELSHI: But it's where the sales start. I was in a mall earlier this week, they're full of Christmas decorations, they're full of those sales. They've already started.
My only piece of advice, for people looking for these PS3s, and things, just don't fight, because we always have these reports about the door crasher sales. I think Wal-Mart has got to learn that lesson. Don't put the $20 DVD out there because everybody wants it and then they step on each other.
M. O'BRIEN: And the PS3s are gone, folks.
VELSHI: Right, so don't bother trying to find them.
M. O'BRIEN: Look for those on eBay and pay about 10 times retail.
VELSHI: Which is the other interesting point, we have this thing called Cyber Monday, now we've been reporting on, another marketing invention, but interesting. The idea that the online retailers, in order to get your business, it's cheaper to sell you things online, have this cyber Monday, the sales start earlier. People who don't want to rush, or people who wanted to do their shopping on the weekend didn't get it done, spend Monday shopping.
All I know, is that Monday after Thanksgiving is probably the least productive day for business in America. Nobody's doing anything.
S. O'BRIEN: Right, everyone is doing online shopping. Me included!
VELSHI: It will be fun to be here on Monday. I won't -- I'll assume on Monday that we won't be having question and answer during our report.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll just let you talk a little bit.
VELSHI: I'll just talk straight to the camera.
S. O'BRIEN: I'll be like, huh, OK, Ali. Great, thanks for being with us.
VELSHI: It's not a big a day for the industry as we'd like to make it out to be.
S. O'BRIEN: It could be one day, though.
VELSHI: It's a big shopping day and I'll be at Roosevelt Field Mall, in Long Island, telling you how busy it is, and what's available.
S. O'BRIEN: It's "Loongg" Island. VELSHI: "Loongg" Island. And give me your list, because I'll pick stuff up for you.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, good. She's got a long one, I think.
VELSHI: Absolutely. You can E-mail it to me.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Ali.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Ali.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this Thanksgiving Day, we're talking turkey with the dean of Butterball University. She'll answer your questions about how to cook the perfect bird.
The bit balloons are ready for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but everybody's waiting to see if the weather will cooperate. Live update straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Well they are far from home, but they're thinking about home. The troops in Iraq look for a moment's peace and a Thanksgiving meal.
M. O'BRIEN: Pumped up, yet tied down. Will they let them loose? Not them, those are the people. But we're talking about the balloons that may or may not fly over Manhattan. The answer is blowing in the wind.
S. O'BRIEN: The last-minute holiday rush snarls air and highway traffic, the weather is not helping either. We'll have a look at those stories and much more ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
M. O'BRIEN: Happy Thanksgiving to you, Thursday, November 23rd, I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm Soledad O'Brien. Thanks for being with us on this Thanksgiving morning.
Happening this morning in Beirut, fiery speakers stirring anti- Syrian anger. Tens of thousands of mourners are gathered now at the funeral for slain politician Pierre Gemayel. Thousands of armed police and soldiers are patrolling the emotional crowd. Gemayel is the sixth Syrian leader who has been killed in Lebanon in the last two years.
A report of U.S. forces in Iraq opening fire on a mini bus killing four Iraqis and wounding at least four others. An Iraqi police captain says it happened early today while U.S. and Iraqi troops searched houses in Sadr City. They're still looking for that kidnapped U.S. soldier. U.S. military says it has no information about an attack, and they are investigating it.
Well confusion about the whereabouts of the Vice President Dick Cheney. His shooting down reports that he's on an unannounced visit with U.S. troops in Iraq today. Now the agency president of France is retracting it's original report that he is there. They're saying that report was inaccurate. Wherever he is, Mr. Cheney does have plans to be in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
If you're hitting the road this morning, you might want to get an early start. Roads and airports all ready backed up in the south end and the northeast because of the weather. Rains specifically. Other airports are reporting minor delays. AAA says about 38 million people are going to drive at least 50 miles this Thanksgiving holiday. Nearly 5 million people are going to fly.
The saddest thing I saw yesterday was a guy standing on Park Avenue trying to get a cab at rush hour yesterday with his roller luggage. Just like that. What a mess. So not going to happen for him. Flagging a cab.
M. O'BRIEN: Rolling his way home.
S. O'BRIEN: It's not going to happen.
M. O'BRIEN: Well no one likes to spend Thanksgiving away from family and home, especially if you happen to be living in some very tough conditions in a war zone.
Arwa Damon is embedded with the army's 10th Mountain Division; she joins us now via videophone from Yusufiyah, Iraq -- Arwa.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via video phone): Miles, good morning. Happy Thanksgiving to you. That's right, we're here with the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division on what is called Camp Dragon. They are living in some of the grimmest conditions that this war has to offer. Here behind me, you can see them. Some of them enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner, at least what has been afforded to them at this point.
Now, just a little bit of history about this area. This is the Yusufiyah power station. It is in the southern portion of the so- called triangle of death. This is the same power station where the two bodies of the kidnapped and murdered soldiers were found last spring. These troops have been here for about a month now.
They're trying to make it seem like home, but again, these are some of the grimmest conditions that this war has to offer. There are no showers here, no bathrooms, and no comforts, not a bed to sleep in. But they make do with the little they do have. Their mission out here is to try to clear these fields and farmlands. They've taken over this power station. Now, let's take you on a tour of the conditions that they are living in.
They're operating out in these very dangerous areas. They don't even use the main roads. They have to stick to trying to move through the fields, trying to take cover. Jumping across canals. Their mission out there is also to try to differentiate friend from foe. They say one of their main challenges is fighting an enemy that disguises themselves amongst the civilian population. Here behind me is the mechanics' corner. You can see some of the soldiers trying to get some warmth beside a fire -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Arwa, what's the general morale of the troops there? I know that's kind of a sweeping generalization question. But I'm just curious, how are they doing?
DAMON: You know, Miles, it is surprisingly perhaps quite good to a certain degree. I do believe they take some pride in the roughness of the conditions that they're living in. They are really out there on the front line. This is the grit and the grime of the war. And out here, they can really see, because it is the smaller picture, in the bigger picture that is Iraq. When they're operating out here they're able to see the small steps of progress that they are making on a daily basis.
They're able to see the impact that they're having and they're confident of the positive impact that they're having in their small little area that they operate in. So despite the roughness of it all, and again, they do take pride in that. Morale is actually quite good, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon embedded with the 10th Mountain Division. Thanks for being with us. Be safe -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: We have been talking weather all morning here, there's still some hope for those hot air balloons, despite how cold it is and just how windy it is here in New York City. Lots of people lined up. Straight down the parade route. They're hoping to catch a glimpse of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Jason Carroll has a good spot. Oh, no, the hat's back on. That means the rain's coming down again.
Hey Jason how is it?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well you know, we had a reprieve before. But it's comes down again, as you say. But we're optimistic that things are going to go OK. We've been told right now that parade officials are having a meeting right at this very moment. And as things stand right now, Soledad, it's a go. Balloons are lined up over there. They are ready to go and as far as we know, they will go. Unless, of course, the wind starts to pick up again.
What they've done is they have installed extra wind monitoring devices like the one you see on top of the lampposts all along the parade route in various locations. What they'll be doing is checking the wind measurements, 23 mile per hour-sustained gusts, at 43 miles per hour that is the threshold. If we get to that point, then the balloons will not fly. The last time that happened was 1973. But what they've got out here are confident balloon handlers.
These are the M&M balloon handlers; last year as you know we did have a problem with the M&M balloon it sort of got loose during the wind gusts and hit a lamppost. Two people got a little bit hurt there. So this year, a little bit of extra pressure for you guys?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, no looking forward to it. This would have been my fifth year doing the parade. And Macy's prepared us and we went to training early, a couple months back. So really looking forward to it.
CARROLL: You came all the way up from Alabama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from Birmingham, Alabama that's right.
CARROLL: What are your predictions this year? Do you think your balloon will fly?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're all going to fly, yes.
CARROLL: I like an optimistic man. That's right. The balloons are really what people look forward to, don't they?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh absolutely, yes. What's a parade without the balloons?
CARROLL: Thirteen of these giant helium balloons that are going to be out here. We hope that the balloons fly, too. Best of luck to you guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
CARROLL: Happy Thanksgiving to you. It is not just balloons, but it also clowns. I promised the clowns I'd get them on even though I have to be honest, clowns sort of creep me out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is that?
CARROLL: See this? Look at this. Because a clown with this, this sort of like, you know, 5:00 shadow, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not creepy. We're happy clowns.
CARROLL: You're happy, optimistic clowns, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This rain is all computer generated, by the way. So people at home, come on out to the parade. It is not actually raining, this is all just fake.
CARROLL: You're the confetti clowns, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
CARROLL: It's going to be sticky confetti. All right, guys, thanks very much. So it is not just the balloons that everybody's hoping to see. But the confetti clowns as well. We hope everything goes off OK. Again meeting being held right now. The final decision about the balloons will happen about 9:00 a.m.
Soledad back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Jason Carroll for us along the parade route. Thanks, Jason. You know my son was terrified of clowns, too, for a while, but he got over it. He loves them now.
M. O'BRIEN: They can be scary. I dressed up as a clown once, for a kid's birthday party, every kid crying, weeping.
S. O'BRIEN: That was more about you than the clowns.
M. O'BRIEN: They were horrified. It was not a good crowd at all.
S. O'BRIEN: That's kind of funny.
M. O'BRIEN: I think I probably gave them life-long --
S. O'BRIEN: Lets get right to Rob Marciano for the forecast. Hello, Rob. Help me please.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Rob, thank you very much.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Rob.
I do get invited to birthday parties now and then. No clown makeup.
So has your turkey got your goat this morning? Is it frozen solid? How are you going to resort to that box of Stove Top stuffing you have in the cabinet? All burning questions for the Butterball hotlines, operators, as they say, are standing by.
S. O'BRIEN: They can answer any question. Any turkey related disaster questions. Sherleen Clausen, dean at Butterball University and she is at the talk line headquarters in Napaville, Illinois. Nice to see you, Sherleen again. Let's get right to some questions for you.
SHERLEEN CLAUSEN, DEAN OF BUTTERBALL UNIVERSITY: Good to see you.
S. O'BRIEN: Give some details; I've got a 15-pound turkey. We have an e-mail from a guy who has a 22-pound turkey and he's says, "How do I cook the thing?" Nice time to ask. What temperature, how long, et cetera? What do you think?
CLAUSEN: Well you know, this is the morning that the turkey is going to go from in the bag to in the pan to be this beautiful bird that everyone takes to the table. So let's talk about how you can do that. Most people have a frozen bird, which at this point should be thawed.
Or if you have a fresh bird, the Butterball preferred way is to do it in a shallow roasting pan on a flat rack. That flat rack is really important to keep the backside of the bird flat so that when it comes time to carve it, it's not rolling around on the platter, and it's easy to do.
So we've tucked the wings, and then that holds the neck skin in place. So we have it in the pan. You want to use an oven that's 325 degrees. It just makes it easier to set the oven at one temperature then you don't need to worry about it. The real trick is initially, brush it with oil, or you can use a cooking spray. And this is just what you do in the very beginning and then it's not necessary to baste it every 30 minutes as the turkey roasts.
Now, the real key is to use a meat thermometer. We want to place the meat thermometer deep in the thigh. And the end temperature that we're looking for is 180 degrees. Well, most people don't want a dry breast meat. So the trick is to put a piece of foil over the breast when it's about half to two-thirds done. And that just slows down the cooking of the breast while the heat still gets to the thigh, and that's real key.
M. O'BRIEN: So here's a question from, is it Arnie? Or Amy, I'm sorry. Amy has this. "This will be my first Thanksgiving. I'm from South Africa. How do I get the turkey brown and crispy?" I've got to say, Sherleen when you put that, you know, that foil over it, does that make the top as brown and crispy as you would like it to be?
CLAUSEN: The real key is, like I say, brushing it with oil first or using a cooking spray. That helps to brown and then you're putting it in the oven in the very beginning. That allows it to brown before you put the foil on it. Another trick is that here, if you go to Butterball.com, our special recipe for this year is a timed Chipotle seasoning that we sprinkle on top. If you sprinkle a seasoning on top that has a little chili powder or paprika or something like that, that also helps to contribute to the color as well as the flavor.
M. O'BRIEN: Sherleen do you call yourself a turkeyologist?
CLAUSEN: Pardon?
M. O'BRIEN: Do you call yourself a turkeyologist?
S. O'BRIEN: No she doesn't, I sure.
CLAUSEN: Turkeyologist? I guess I'm just dean of Butterball U.
M. O'BRIEN: That is pretty good. Thank you very much, good advice. We'll be back with you.
CLAUSEN: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: You can of course email any questions that you might have for Sherleen, at Turkey@cnn.com or you can even call the hotline directly.
M. O'BRIEN: They're busy.
S. O'BRIEN: Really busy, it is 1-800-butterball.
Coming up on this Thanksgiving Day some school kids in New York State get the surprise of their lives from their overseas pen pal, a U.S. soldier in Iraq. We will tell you that story.
And along the Gulf Coast, friends and family members give thanks to a man they all loved by rebuilding a community. An inspiring story, we'll share it with you straight ahead. Stay with us.
COL. CHARLES HENDER: I'm Col. Charles Hender (ph) I'm assigned Kabul, Afghanistan. I'd like to say hi to my mom and dad in Florida. Mom and Jane Hooker. Mom, dad I love you very much. Thank you for everything. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RUTH ANN MICHAEL: I'm sergeant Ruth Ann Michael in Baghdad, Iraq. I would like to wish my husband Carl in Queens, Texas a very Happy Thanksgiving. I love you, and I miss you.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sure they miss you, too.
My 12-year-old daughter Cotery (ph) and her friend Anna were in the kitchen yesterday they were making some Christmas cookies to send to the troops in Iraq. She hopes she might hear back from whomever enjoys the treats ultimately. Good deed for her. It will be hard to top the response that some third graders on Long Island got this past year.
AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho brings back one of our favorite stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These third graders from St. Patrick's School in Smithtown, New York, are about to get the surprise of their lives. But for now, they think we're here to talk to them about their soldier pen pal. We asked them to read the letters they've received from Sergeant Travis Collier.
ERIN MCCORMICK, STUDENT: I love to go to the beach. And I love to go to the beach too, so we have something in common.
CHO: Collier has written to each of the 26 students individually, and we quickly learned he's told all of them about his dog.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the name of his dog?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rufus!
CHO: None of them have any idea what's about to happen.
What's the best part of being a pen pal with somebody like that?
MAX ROXBURGH, STUDENT: That you know that you're in contact with them at all times and you always talk to them if you want. But it will take some time because Iraq is not really close to New York.
CHO: In Iraq, Sergeant Collier is an engineer, building bridges in Ballad. The 22-year-old has been there since December. He is now on two-week leave. Enough time to travel to New York to surprise the kids behind all of the letters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: oh!
SERGEANT TRAVIS COLLIER, U.S. ARMY: Everybody remember me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He came all the way from Iraq.
CHO: The children can't believe their eyes.
KATIE CURRY, STUDENT: I was about to cry. I was just freaked out. He actually came all the way from Iraq just to see us.
CHO: Justin Thomas likes Collier's uniform.
JUSTIN THOMAS, STUDENT: It says he's a kind man, he's generous and he's fighting for his country and it's very nice.
CHO: Holly Haden (ph) has a special connection. She was the first student to send Collier a letter. She cried when she saw him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did it make you feel that way?
HOLLY HADEN, STUDENT: Because I'm so happy.
CHO: Sergeant Collier says it's his way of giving back.
COLLIER: Everybody has a pen pal at one time and you never get to meet that pen pal. So I thought it would be a special moment for them to write a soldier, and hey, I'm a real person.
CHO: There's a pep rally for Collier, some gifts, even a special cheer.
STUDENTS: Travis!
COLLIER: Kids have no views on why I should be there, why are you there.
CHO: These kids have other questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know what your favorite color is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want to know like what's your favorite color.
CHO: Sergeant Collier calls the letters a stress reliever.
COLLIER: This is my name. This is my favorite color. This is what I like to do. What are your favorite pets, what are your hobbies? That's simple to talk about. That's easy to talk about.
CHO: Does it help the time pass?
COLLIER: It does.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: That's one of the great pieces from Alina Cho. We thought we would bring it back for you.
S. O'BRIEN: We know the kids are still talking about it to this day.
M. O'BRIEN: Came all the way from Iraq to see us.
Coming up, a Thanksgiving "House Call" from Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Today he has tips on how to safely prepare a turkey and make sure nobody gets sick.
Plus, a heart warming satellite reunion between a U.S. soldier in Iraq, his wife and the baby daughter that he's never met.
Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: This Thanksgiving, a group from Kentucky is spending their holiday on the Gulf Coast. They're rebuilding homes for the victims of hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Their effort has a very deep and personal meaning, because of the man who came up with the plan. Here's CNN's Sean Callebs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hammer, nails and a whole lot of dedication. That's what southern Mississippi needs most as residents struggle to rebuild. And that's exactly what they're getting from a group from Kentucky. More than 100 men, women and children gave up their Thanksgiving holiday to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. and they're doing it all because of one man, Pat Smith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I traveled to Sri Lanka and India with Pat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've known Pat, oh, maybe 20 years or more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been personal friends for about 25 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My best friend, neighbor for 32 years.
CALLEBS: Pat spent his life giving to others.
DR. EDWARD TODD, FAMILY FRIEND: His thought was that even if you did something for one person if you just went out of your way for one person and helped that one person, at least that was one person better off.
CALLEBS: Working with Habitat for Humanity, Pat came up with a plan for Gulfport. Getting friends and family to spend one-week building 13 new homes for people who lost everything in Katrina.
JEAN SMITH, PAT SMITH'S WIFE: He had planned the trip on Thanksgiving. And wanted everybody to come. CALLEBS: It was a plan he wouldn't live to see. On August 27th, Pat Smith died when Comair flight 5191 crashed in Lexington, Kentucky. Pat's family decided to carry on with the rest of the trip in his absence.
JENNIFER COMBS, PAT SMITH'S DAUGHTER: After the crash, people just kind of started saying, you know we need to go do this. It's what he wanted. We just kept getting phone calls and it snow balled.
CALLEBS: In the end, 100 adults and 25 children drove from Kentucky to Mississippi to carry out Pat's dream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: f you look around and see all the people here that are working, you see what Pat meant to all of us.
CALLEBS: The family says these 13 homes are a way to keep Pat's memory alive.
SMITH: These 13 families are kind of a continuation of his life, his life ended but theirs is just beginning in these homes, a new life for them. And that makes it special.
CALLEBS: Sean Callebs, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: It certainly does.
Ahead this morning, we'll take a look at your Thanksgiving travel forecast and tell you whether you should expect any delays at the airports across the country. Straight ahead stay with us. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING.
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