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American Morning
Sinking Cruise Ship; Memorial of a Poisoned Russian Spy Alexander Litvinenko; Black Friday Shoppers Hitting the Stores Very Early This Morning; The Must Have Toys
Aired November 23, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are first pictures which are coming out of Varanasi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The deadly terror blast in India. Chaos after coordinated bombings. New pictures coming in right now.
High seas rescue. The rush right now to save passengers as a cruise ship sinks off Antarctica.
Plus, extreme weather.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I watched the chicken coup lift up and then everything was black.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: From a turkey day touchdown to snow in Texas. What to expect if you're headed out on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning to you. Thanks very much for joining us. A lot to tell you about this Friday, November the 23rd. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
We start with some breaking news. It's a life and death struggle underway right now in the freezing cold Antarctic waters. A passenger ship hit something and is taking on water. Reports say the cruise liner believed to be the MV Explorer is going down near the South Shetland Islands. That's south of Argentina. The area is part of British-controlled waters.
One hundred fifty-four people have been picked up by lifeboats. The U.K.'s version of the Coast Guard says that ship is expected to sink.
Joining us on the phone is Susan Hayes, vice president of marketing for Gap Adventures.
Susan, thanks for joining us. Can you tell us a little bit about what's happening now with the ship?
SUSAN HAYES, V.P. OF MARKETING, GAP ADVENTURES: Well, at this point -- good morning -- the ship was traveling out of Ushuaia, south of -- in Argentina, traveling southbound towards Antarctica, and off King George Island. It hit some ice and began taking on some water. The pumps, the bilge pumps were managing the water but the decision was made that all the passengers should be evacuated for their safety.
So, they were transferred on to lifeboats and there were two other ships in the area. And I just want to correct you on the name of the ship. The ship is actually the Ms Explorer. I know it has been also known as the MV, but it is the Ms Explorer.
They were transferred to another ship, which is in the area called the Nord Norge. And everyone is safe and accounted for at this point.
CHETRY: OK, great. So we're talking about the hundred passengers and 54 crew members. By the way, you guy own this ship. All of them...
HAYES: Gap Adventures owns the ship, yes.
CHETRY: OK. And all of them are safe at this point this morning?
HAYES: Everyone is safe and accounted for. The -- there are 13 Americans on board. As well as many other nationalities -- British, Canadian, Australian, Dutch, people from all over the world.
CHETRY: Was this part of a sight-seeing cruise that was taking place, a pleasure cruise?
HAYES: Yes, it was a tour based out of Ushuaia that was heading to Antarctica.
CHETRY: I got you. All right. Well, thanks for giving us an update, Susan. We appreciate that and we'll continue to follow the latest. But as Susan said, the good news this morning is that the 154 people -- 100 passengers, 54 crew members -- that were on that ship that hit a piece of ice and started taking on water, have been evacuated safely, taken to another boat and are headed to safety.
Susan, thanks.
We're also following breaking news out of India this morning. A series of explosions ripped through courthouse buildings in three northern cities. Police say the three blasts were nearly simultaneous, all taking place within a span of five minutes and at least two of the bombs were attached to bicycles. Local media reporting at least eight people were killed. The attacks are believed to be terror-related. ROBERTS: The latest now in the Natalee Holloway case. The father of the missing teen is sending a search team to Aruba to look for more clues. Dave Holloway believe his daughter's body was thrown into the ocean. He says that is based on what a police official and forensic expert tells him.
A private boat owner is providing divers with sonar equipment to search the ocean floor.
Could Stacy Peterson, the missing wife of former police sergeant -- a former police sergeant, be alive and well somewhere in Peoria, Illinois? Her husband, Drew Peterson, says he received a letter from someone claiming to see a possibly pregnant Stacy in a supermarket less than two weeks ago.
Stacy's friend says she doubts that the story is true. Stacy has been missing for more than three weeks now. Her husband has been named a suspect in her disappearance. And since this investigation began, police have exhumed the body of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
Police have not named Drew Peterson in her death but they now believe it was a homicide.
We'll learn more today about this dramatic roadside confrontation in Utah. A driver pulled over for speeding and the trooper uses a taser on him when he got out of the car, all of it caught on the trooper's dashboard camera.
We'll talk with the driver and the Utah Highway Patrol about this whole thing coming up in our next hour here in AMERICAN MORNING.
And the big apple is seeing a big decline in murder, this according to the "New York Times." As of last Sunday, 428 people were victims of homicide. The yearly rate hasn't been that low in New York City since the 1960s. Even more intriguing, only half of -- of the half the killings, only 35 were committed by strangers. The vast majority were killed by somebody they knew.
Back in 1990, New York City led the nation with 2,245 murders -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Some anxious shoppers hitting stores very early this morning. Many stores opening at 5:00 a.m., some even at 4:00 a.m., to accommodate those bargain hunting black Friday shoppers, the brave souls that actually make it out there this morning looking for deals.
We've got our Ali Velshi at Roosevelt Field Mall in Long Island, New York, which has been opened for more than an hour.
And Ali, you look happy, bright-eyed, bushy tails on. Did you do any shopping?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, a guy just walked by me and wanted to be on TV. I told him we'll do that a little later. But he would say, I -- "What are you here for? What are you looking for?" He said, "I'm here for the vibe." Amazing. This is a lot fuller than it was last year this time when I was here. You know, we've been talking for a few weeks, Kiran, about how retailers in the United States are worried that this holiday season is not going to be as strong as last holiday season because of energy prices and because of interest rates and the housing slump.
But the bottom line is, the folks out here are not registering that concern. They're out here because they think there are going to be a lot of deals. Mainly the deals this morning are appliances, electronics, things like that. Those are the door busters. This mall has a lot more in the way of apparel, household goods, furnishings, gifts. That kind of stuff generally goes on a deeper discount later in the year.
But right now these folks are out here because they say why not? Things are on sale. It's a good deal. They can get things -- gift for people. You're seeing a lot of retailers who are worried, Kiran, about this year. There's one benefit. A lot of the higher end goods being sold this year are attractive to people coming in to the United States from overseas.
We have reports that people are coming in from Canada a great deal to shop at some of the border towns because the U.S. dollar is so low. So, all in all, we're going to have to play this one through today and this weekend to see whether shoppers are actually out in the numbers that they typically are for black Friday.
But this morning, starting off strong -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Not bad. You know, those are the brave souls that are out there. The smart ones, though, because come 9:00, you won't be able to move at Roosevelt Field Mall.
VELSHI: And if I weren't paid to be here, Kiran, I'd be in bed.
CHETRY: All right. Ali, thanks so much.
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart, of course, known for its black Friday deals as well. We had TJ Holmes headed out to the Wal-Mart in Woodstock, Georgia. He's there right now.
What are the must-have items? You know, every year Wal-Mart does do a limited number of things like plasma TVs that are great deals.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, that's a big deal, the plasma TV. There's also some printers here. I see a lot of the flat screens like you said but the big deal really is electronics right now. They got two sections. You got toys and you got electronics.
We'll take a peek over here to the electronics section. That is the hotter section right now, believe it or not. That has been the busy area we've seen today. Right to the right you will see the toy section as well. But I don't mean to be a Scrooge about this whole thing today. But, Kiran, this is ridiculous. I mean, 5:00 in the morning, the day after Thanksgiving and you're out shopping? I mean, shopping carts are full, people were here first thing, 5:00 in the morning, and yes, like you called those door-buster deals, 5:00 to 11:00 are the only times you can get those mega, mega deals. So people showed up to get those deals and the baskets are full.
Wal-Mart did something else and Ali hit on this, retailers happen to go out after these customers more aggressively. But what they did was actually started the black Friday yesterday on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, online. People could go on and get these special deals between a certain time, 5:00 to 11:00.
So some of the shopping, I'm talking about -- it's crazy that people are here the day after. The turkey is not even digested. People were actually doing this already yesterday. So that's the scene so far here. We're going to be doing a lot more. There are those hot items and hot lists. We're going to do a little shopping, going to fill up my basket here, and try to battle some of these crowds.
But Kiran, I've never done this before, been out shopping at 5:00 in the morning. I'm learning lessons and one of them is, if you see a mother with a full basket, get out of her way. She is not trying to be polite and say excuse me this morning, you need to move.
So I'm learning. This is interesting stuff. We're going to stay here in a little while, do some of that shopping, and put some stuff in our cart.
CHETRY: Giving her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she doesn't see you over all of the stuff that's in that cart.
All right, TJ. It's a first for everyone, including you, thanks -- John?
ROBERTS: New this morning, a deadly attack at a popular pet market in central Baghdad today. At least 13 people killed, dozens of others wounded including four police officers. Police say the bomb was hidden in a box of birds.
The market has been bombed several times since the war began but this is the first time since security was beefed up last year. Insurgents launched a Thanksgiving mortar attack in Baghdad's heavily protected Green Zone as well. The shells landed as U.S. troops were celebrating the holiday. No one was killed but several people were injured.
The next phase of U.S. troop deployment in Iraq will reportedly expand training of Iraqi forces. The "New York Times" says American combat brigades will assume a greater role in training in supporting Iraq's military personnel. The plan is intended to transfer more of the security burden in Iraq to Iraqis without losing security gains made in recent months.
A Japanese navy tanker is back in Tokyo after a six-year mission in the Indian Ocean supporting coalition troops in Afghanistan. The ship had to come home because of opposition in parliament to its deployment, but the country's prime minister hopes to renew the mission as soon as possible.
During its six-year mission Japan provided about $129 million gallons of fuel to coalition warships including those from the U.S., Great Britain and Pakistan -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, another political challenge for Pakistan's embattled president. Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif reportedly plans a return from exile to challenge Pervez Musharraf ahead of parliamentary elections set for January.
Sharif tried to return in September but then was swiftly deported to Saudi Arabia. Musharraf's reign as president began back in 1999 with a coup that ousted Sharif as prime minister.
Meanwhile, the 53-nation Commonwealth has suspended Pakistan's membership in the organization after Musharraf failed to lift emergency rule and step down as army chief. The Commonwealth is made up largely of British and -- Britain and its former colonies.
Well, Iran says it is complying with the United Nations' demands about its nuclear activities and wants the U.N. Security Council to close the file on its nuclear program. The U.S. thinks the request is Iran's way to, quote, "district the world while moving closer to making atomic weapons."
Iran says it is only using nuclear power to meet its citizens' energy needs. The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog group, the IAEA, met yesterday in Vienna and urged Tehran to, quote, "be more proactive in providing information."
The Philippines is on alert this morning, bracing for a second powerful typhoon this week. Tropical storm Mitag gaining strength then heading just south of Manila. The storm, packing winds of up to 105 miles per hour, is expected to make landfall sometime this week.
At least 200,000 people have been evacuated. The region still dealing with massive floods after a typhoon hit just four days earlier.
ROBERTS: Eleven minutes after the hour now and time to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.
Emergency dispatch tapes revealed in the oil spill in San Francisco Bay show a lack of communication between rescue agencies that may have made the disaster worse.
Our Ed Lavandera at the national update desk this morning with more on this. Good morning, Ed. What do these tapes show?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John. The four minutes of emergency transmissions were recorded about an hour after a cargo ship collided with the San Francisco Bay Bridge and started spilling 58,000 gallons of toxic shipping oil into the water.
San Francisco firefighters found out about the incident from a part-time employee with the Army Corps of Engineers, not the U.S. Coast Guard, which was already investigating the accident, when these calls were made.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, SF EMERGENCY DISPATCH TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE BOAT CREW: Listen, we just got a head up from the Army Corps of Engineers that a boat has collided with the tower of the Bay Bridge.
UNIDENTIFIED COAST GUARD OFFICIAL: Ah, yes. We've got -- we received reports at 8:30 about a ship making contact with the Delta tower of the Bay Bridge.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCH PERSONNEL: So that's an hour ago?
UNIDENTIFIED COAST GUARD OFFICIAL: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCH OFFICIAL: And did you investigate it?
UNIDENTIFIED COAST GUARD OFFICIAL: We are investigating it right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE BOAT CREW: With regard to the report of a container ship hitting the Bay Bridge, that is confirmed by the Coast Guard, but they say they don't need us responding at this time.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: That's the key point there at the end on those recordings. You can hear fire dispatch officials call off the fire department's response to the spill scene because they say the Coast Guard was telling them they did not need help.
San Francisco City officials say the firefighters could have helped the Coast Guard analyze the scene and possibly get the situation under control faster. When these calls were made, the Coast Guard did not know the magnitude of the spill. They initially thought it was only a minor incident.
It took another seven hours to find out just how much oil had been dumped into the bay and the Coast Guard admiral acknowledges that in the early stages of this response, the agency did not take advantage of the offer to help and the admiral says the communication breakdown is being investigated to make sure it doesn't happen again -- John?
ROBERTS: Now being investigated all the way up to Capitol Hill. Ed Lavandera for us this morning at the national update desk. Ed, thanks very much.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, the Grinch may have stolen Christmas but a stagehand strike couldn't steal his limelight. Dr. Seuss's musical reopens today after a judge's order with an 11:00 a.m. matinee. Earlier in the week a state Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of ending a management lockout at the theater. Dozens of other Broadway theaters still remain dark.
Still ahead, tasered by a police officer for not signing a ticket. Did he provoke the officer's actions or do the cops go too far? We're going to talk with our legal analyst Sunny Hostin coming up.
And talk about road rage, drivers on one Ohio road trying to dodge a lion.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, 911 CALL)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Pike County 911.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I'm on 23 and there's a lion in the road.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: A lion?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: It's a lion, like it almost hit my car.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: Yes, there it is. Frightened drivers frantically calling 911 to report a lion on a highway, something you don't hear every day. So why the heck was that lion on the loose? We'll tell you why, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: "Minding Your Business," brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now to 19 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the most news on AMERICAN MORNING. Just in to CNN, Poland's prime minister has just announced that his country will end its military mission in Iraq next year, this according to the Associated Press.
It's not a total surprise. Pulling Poland's troops out of Iraq was a cornerstone of the prime minister's recent election campaign. At last check, Poland had about 900 troops on the ground there. Details still coming in on this story. Our Pentagon folks are following it all. They'll bring us any new developments just as soon as they get them.
Right now, though, let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, a Utah man pulled over by police for speeding ends up tasered and on the ground. We first showed you this video. It's been making the rounds on YouTube since it came out. Let's look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Turn around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the heck's wrong with you? No. No.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Stay on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help! Lauren!
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Get on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help! Lauren, Lauren!
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Stay down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So who's to blame? Did the driver provoke the incident or did the officer go too far?
We're going to hear from both sides. The driver and the highway patrol are going to be joining us live in our next hour. But right now, we're joined by our legal analyst Sunny Hostin.
You had a chance to review the tape as well. It all started when the guy was pulled over for speeding. Everything was going OK until he refused to sign a ticket.
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING LEGAL ANALYST: That's right.
CHETRY: And that's when the officer asked him to come out of the car. Are you obligated legally to sign the ticket?
HOSTIN: You are supposed to sign the ticket. It's not an admission of guilt. All it means is that you're going to return to court or you've received the ticket. I've reviewed the tape. People are horrified by the tape, but the bottom line is, when you're stopped your job as a citizen is to make that as short as possible. You must cooperate with the officer. Let your lawyer, someone like me or someone else, deal with it after you have driven off and gone home.
The citizen in this case, I don't think did the right thing by confronting the officer and refusing to sign. It gives the officer the right to arrest you.
CHETRY: It has, boy, sparked a lot of controversy and conversation especially on the blogs. A lot of people, as you said, horrified by it, but then a few former police officers weighing in and said if you look carefully, the guy is -- has his hand in his pocket and is walking away from the officer. And they said that could only mean two things. They're either going to flee or you're trying to get a weapon out. And for officers, you know, they have to go with their best judgment.
HOSTIN: That's right. And officers are confronted with these situations all the time. Does he have a gun? He doesn't this person. There's another person in the car. We've seen officers gunned down. They're making judgments quickly based on their training.
If I'm on the road by myself, I'd -- you know, as an officer, what do you do? At the least the guy was not shot. He was tasered. That's 50,000 volts. I don't want to make light of it.
CHETRY: Right.
HOSTIN: We know that people have died from tasers. But I think when you look at the totality of the circumstances here, that officer was likely justified.
CHETRY: All right. There are some questions about that, though, because on the flipside, this officer -- they are conducting an internal investigation now into this situation on whether he acted appropriately. And we are going to hear from the man who was tasered and the police department coming up a little later.
HOSTIN: I can't wait to hear.
CHETRY: That's Jared Massey, by the way, the man who was tasered, and the Utah Highway Patrol.
Sunny, thanks. We'll see you a little bit later as well.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Twenty-two minutes now after the hour.
You think your daily commute is bad. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, 911 CALL)
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I'm on 23 and there's a lion in the road.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: A lion?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: It's a lion, like it almost hit my car.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Can you imagine? You're a 911 dispatcher and somebody says there's a lion in the road. Yes, right, right.
But it was a lion on the loose in Ohio, charging cars on a major highway. How did it happen? Find out, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-eight minutes -- 27 minutes after the hour and here it is -- the center of the action. You're looking live high above a mall in the Philadelphia area. These pictures courtesy of our affiliate WPVI. Some 133 million people expected to hit the stores today.
Yes, and now let's go down south from our affiliate WXIA. Shopping going on right now, one of the Atlanta area malls. Is (INAUDIBLE) there since stores even open at 4:00 this morning, hoping to lure people in with those door-busters specials? Good reason, too, because shoppers are going to spend an average of $923 on gifts this year. That's up about 4 percent from last year.
So that's the expectation. But what's the reality here? Which brings us to our "Quick Vote" question of the morning.
With so many things to spend money on, including, you know, oil, gas, that sort of thing, heat your home and fill your car, so will you spend more or less or about the same on holiday gifts this year?
Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We'll have the first tally of our votes a little later on in this hour.
CHETRY: Yes, this is when all the anxiety starts. You see other people doing things and shopping, and you're thinking, "Boy, am I behind. I haven't done a darn thing."
ROBERTS: I tend to leave it to the last week but I don't have to buy all that much. The wife does that, the kids and (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: You're very lucky. I wish I had a wife to buy me some gifts and help wrap them.
ROBERTS: OK. We'll leave that one right there.
So what are people buying? Are they worried about toys made in China?
CHETRY: Well, we're going to talk with a CEO of Toys "R" US coming up in our next half-hour. Plus, we're going to have him list some of the hot toys of the season as well. Every year there's that one that everyone has to have.
ROBERTS: Right.
CHETRY: The Tickle Me Elmo, et cetera.
ROBERTS: Then of course, we'll ask him if those hot toys are made in China as well,
CHETRY: Exactly.
That and the headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back. We have some breaking news on this Friday, November 23rd. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. And here's the breaking news. We're following it right now. In Antarctic, cruise ship taking on water. Passengers are being evacuated after it hit an iceberg. It happened near the South Shetland Islands south of Argentina. 154 passengers, 100 passengers, 54 crew members had been rescued from the "MS Explorer" on to another cruise ship. At last report, the ship was listing about 25 degrees. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, we talked with the spokeswoman with the tour company that operates the ship says, everyone made it off safely. The coast guard says it expects the ship to sink. We'll have a live report of that coming up at the top of the hour.
There's also breaking news out of India this morning. A series of explosions ripped through courthouse buildings in three northern cities. Police say the three blasts were nearly simultaneously, all taking place within a span of five minutes. At least two of the bombs were attached to bicycles. Media reports say at least eight people were killed. The attacks are believed to be terror-related.
CHETRY: Well, a memorial this morning for poisoned Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. He died a year ago today. Within the last couple of hours, his family gathered outside of University College Hospital in London where he died and they're still looking for justice. Emily Chang is at our world news update desk with more this morning. Hello, Emily.
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Just moments ago, a close friend of Alexander Litvinenko's re-read the last statement he made from his death bed in front of the hospital where he died. To this date, no one has been arrested or charged.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANG: One year later, the man accused by British police of poisoning Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko insists he had nothing to do with it.
ANDREI LUGOVOI, MURDER SUSPECT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Both myself and the Russian Law Enforcement Authorities have officially requested that the British show the evidence against me several times already, but they still have not provided anything. One can therefore suppose that they do not have any evidence.
CHANG: Andrei Lugovoi is a former KGB officer who met Litvinenko the day before he fell ill. But Litvinenko met several people that day. That's part of the reason his death remains a mystery. The first theory was that Litvinenko had been poisoned at this sushi bar where he met a contact earlier that day. He survived for three weeks here at the University College Hospital. After he died, an autopsy revealed he had had a fatal dose of radioactive polonium-210. That discovery led them to the bar at this London hotel where Litvinenko also met two Russian men that day, including Andrei Lugovoi.
Traces of polonium were found across London in places where both Lugovoi and Litvinenko had been and on the plane, Lugovoi flew on to and from Moscow. From his hospital bed, Litvinenko blamed to the Russian government ultimately accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of plotting his murder.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANG: Since then, Lugovoi has become a virtual celebrity in Russia. In fact, he's running for parliament. And if he is elected, he'll be immune to any attempts to extradite him. Britain has been very critical of the Russian for failing to hand over the prime suspect who may also have seriously compromised public health and sex. Several people in London also tested positive for polonium. As many of them remain concerned about long-term health risks. But in the midst of this diplomatic route, the question remains, Kiran, who killed Alexander Litvinenko.
CHETRY: Emily Chang for us with the latest updates. Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: Well, here's something you don't hear about every day. Traffic coming to a halt, panic calls to 911 because a lion is on the loose and chasing cars. It happened in Southern Ohio. The owner of a 550-pound pet lion named Lambert says Lambert somehow busted out of his cage. Drivers saw the big guy coming and dialed 911 in a hurry. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Pike County 911.
CALLER: I'm on 23 and there's a lion in the road.
911 Operator: A lion?
CALLER: It's a lion. Like, it almost hit my car. It's stands and like attack someone's car.
911 OPERATOR: It's trying to attack the cars.
CALLER: Yes. It like came at my car. It's going back across the street now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You can imagine what's going through the 911 operator's mind but it was true. Lambert's owner was able to lure him back in his cage. The owner also has another lion which is not illegal in Ohio. He says raising the lions help him cope with depression.
CHETRY: We'll leave that one alone.
Well, Black Friday shoppers hitting the stores very early this morning, trying to get a jump on holiday shopping and to find some good deals. And Wal-Mart, of course, is known for its Black Friday sales especially if you get there early, that's where T.J. is. He is at Wal-Mart in Woodstock, Georgia. T.J. Holmes, you have a shopping cart, and you are there early. You're ready to go. What's in it? Nothing?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm ready to go. No, of course, I got to get my Hank Williams Jr. Greatest Hits. That's a must have in my house. But no, I decided I should probably fit in here. I'm standing out like a sore thumb without a shopping cart. Everybody else has one. In the electronics section, where he has been buzzing since about 5:00 a.m. this morning, still some lines going over there as you see and over here to the right. Where he can find miss this shot. It's here but sees in the back, those flat screen TVs, those are the ones everybody is after. Good deals on those going this morning so those have been very popular. Now we have seen it slow down a bit, if you will, since we talked to you last. The deals here started at 5:00 a.m. A lot of the stores do it like this on Black Friday. You can only get those big deals for a certain time period so 5:00 to 11:00 is the time you can get them this morning and yes, at 5:00 this morning, Turkey had not been digested good in a lot of this folks and they are in line going at it this morning. Look at this shopping cart. Hi, how are you doing sir? Good morning to you. Good morning. Folks are going at it. This is serious business for them this morning and this has just kind of how it goes.
Now, I told you electronics, of course as we know is a big deal, and the electronics section really has been more popular than the toy section at the store this morning. But of course, the big toy as always, seems like it's been on the list every year, the Elmo, as we make it up to the toy section here. They have these two sections right next to each other. You got the electronics, then you got the toys. The Elmo here flying off the shelves as well, they keep these stocks. But this is the story so far here, Kiran. Started off real hot. The lines have gone down a bit but still these sales are going to 11:00. We're going to have a lot more from this store, in about what Wal-Mart is doing. Trying to get those customers in. Hopefully, it will be another Black Friday for retailers is what they're hoping for.
Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. I'll tell you about the Elmo. So, everyone had to get their hands on it. I bought it last year. The baby is so terrified of it, it now lives in the linen closet, can't even come out, not even for Christmas.
HOLMES: Oh well, I'm terrified of some of the people who are going after some of the Elmo's right now so let me get out of the way. We'll see you, Kiran.
CHETRY: I have one quick question from the AMERICAN MORNING crew though. They want to know if you're shopping in the electronics department for a GPS for your mini van.
HOLMES: GPS. I know that question came from Ali Velshi, and please tell him that my sup out SUV already comes with a GPS. So, I don't have to worry about it. Tell him that, Kiran.
CHETRY: So, on the Windstar, it's a no. All right, T.J., I'll pass it along. Have fun shopping.
HOLMES: All right. We will.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, all of the shoppers that T.J. is with this morning and others that are out today, concerned about where their gifts are made, potentially toxic toys. We're going to be speaking with the chairman of "Toys "R" Us" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. He is going to be talking about weighing in on some of the recalls and also, showing us some of the hot toys of the year. AMERICAN MORNING comes right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Some of the great shots that caught our eye overnight to show you right now. It's the annual snow and ice sculpture festival. This is taking place in Belgium. It opens today. 38 carvers spent more than a month working on some of this creation, how pretty, wizards, elves, dwarves. They all fit this year's fairytale theme, pretty cool.
Well, let's take to you Texas right now. A white Thanksgiving in West Texas. This I-report video was sent to us by Dana Fontrap (ph) of Snyder, Texas. She says that the area rarely gets snow, maybe once a year. Now, this is the first time she can remember it happening on Thanksgiving. A pretty picture, though. We're glad you captured it for us, Dana.
CHETRY: And how about this one. The warm weather yesterday, boy, led to a fabulous turnout for the Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. Shrek made his debut yesterday at the parade. There he is. He is one of the giant balloons. Good old snoopy, you see him as well every year, plenty of old favorites, about 10,000 people marched in parade and they estimate that 3.5 million people packed the streets to watch it, and boy if you were here yesterday, you can believe that.
42 minutes past the hour. Rob Marciano taking a break today. We have Bonnie Schneider tracking extreme weather in the CNN weather center including some snow down south. And as we said in West Texas, where they're not use to getting it as well.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: A possible Palestinian state that tops your "Political Ticker" this morning. Egypt's President, Hosni Mubarak says he thinks next week's meeting of various leaders in Maryland could help pave the way for a Palestinian state next year. Jordan and the Palestinians have joined the Egypt in trying to convince other Arabs nation to attend that meeting in Annapolis.
30-day campaigning. Mitt Romney and many other candidates spent their Thanksgiving campaigning in Iowa. Romney was packing food donations in Hiawatha. Senator Joe Biden planned to serve meals in Urbandale and Senator Chris Dodd volunteered in Monticello. Senator John McCain spent Thanksgiving with the troops in Iraq. Thanksgiving push that primary schedule, Thanksgiving falls just six weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
CNN is getting ready to do it again. Another YouTube debate. At this time, it's the Republicans turn. What do you want to ask the candidates? There's still plenty of time for you to submit your questions by logging on to cnn.com/politics. And be sure to catch the debate live, right here on CNN next Wednesday night 9:00 eastern from Tampa, Florida, hosted by Anderson Cooper. And don't forget you can find all of the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker, the most clicked on political blog in TV.
CHETRY: Sure is. CHETRY: Well, still ahead. People are up dark and early this morning as we've been showing you. They're searching for those Black Friday bargains, the must have toys, so what are the most popular toys this holiday season? We're going to be speaking with the chairman of "Toys "R" Us" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: And welcome back to the most news in the morning. 48 minutes past the hour. And if you're just joining us, a look at the headlines today. A cruise ship sinking off of the coast of Antarctica. 154 people, all passenger and crew, evacuated to another passenger ship. They're all said to be safe. This happened near the South Shetland Islands, south of Argentina. An official with the ship's owner said the vessel hit some ice. At last report, it was listing about 25 degrees. The coast guard says it expects the ship to sink. We have a live report coming up at the top of the hour.
Also, a series of explosions ripping through courthouse complexes in three northern cities in India. Police say the blasts were nearly simultaneous. All taking place within a span of five minutes and at least two of the bombs were attached to bicycles. Local media reporting at least eight people killed. The attacks believed to be terror-related.
ROBERTS: 49 minutes after the hour now. This is the day that retailers hope will push them into the black. But with millions of toys already recalled and fears of toxic products still on store shelves, will Americans buy less this holiday season? Jerry Storch is the Chairman and CEO of "Toys "R" Us." He joins us now from their flagship stores in Times Square this morning. Mr. Storch good of you to be with us this morning.
JERRY STORCH, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF TOYS "R" US: Good morning.
ROBERTS: What is "Toys "R" Us" doing to get toxic toys off of the shelves and can you guarantee us that on store shelves of "Toys "R" Us" across this country, there is nothing dangerous this holiday season?
STORCH: At "Toys "r" Us" safety is always been core to our mission. It didn't just start this year, we've been doing it every year. We have made a definite, aggressive effort this year with our vendors to make it clear that we will not tolerate products that do not meet our regular safety standards. We've terminated two toy manufacturers already this year and we had difficult conversations with the others making it very clear what we expect from them.
Also, we've been advocates for legislative reform to make toys and all consumer products safer including increased funding for the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
ROBERTS: But again, can you assure consumers that this holiday season there is nothing on "Toys "R" Us" store shelves that will be found to be dangerous? STORCH: We think parents are pretty smart. And with the amount of testing that's been done this year and with the scrutiny the toys have received, we believe that this will be the safest of holiday seasons.
ROBERTS: Mr. Storch, we did an informal poll, very unscientific, we start quick vote here on AMERICAN MORNING last week, 80 percent of people said that tainted toys from china are going to change their buying habits, that they're going to look from toys that are source elsewhere, either Europe or made here in the United States. How are you responding to that? Are you promoting made in the USA this holiday season?
STORCH: Well, our first obligation and our greatest effort is going to making sure that all toys are safe, regardless of the country of origin. However, at "Toys "R" Us," we have toys from over 30 countries, including the United States, all throughout Europe. We have more toys than anyone, and if there were ever a year where it's important that we have such a broad assortment, this is the year. So, we believe at "Toys "R" Us" you have more options here and our people in the store can help you find the toys, they made wherever you want them made.
ROBERTS: All right, California's Attorney General, Jerry Brown is suing "Toys "R" Us" along with some toy manufacturers because of the tainted toys. Do you plan to fight that?
STORCH: No. We're very, very encouraged by these actions. The legislature -- the legal situation in California is always complex. As another example of that, but we're working very closely with their office in order to make sure that the standards are correct and that toys are safe in the future. They sue dozens and dozens of people. The real objective is to put in place the proper testing regimen to make sure toys are safe which we support and we contractually require of our toy manufacturers already. And in fact, we've increased those requirements over the last several months reflecting the issues that you've seen.
ROBERTS: And Mr. Storch, while we got you there, what are the hottest toys this season that people out there after?
STORCH: Well, Hannah Montana is hot as a pistol and all you have to do is pick up the newspaper or hear about how kids are waiting in line for concert tickets. We have Hannah Montana dolls, Hannah Montana dance mats, Hannah Montana tour vans and Hannah Montana's guitar. All this stuffs are selling like crazy. Even the blonde wig, kids love to put on, pretend like they're Hanna Montana. Also, "High School Musical" is very hot and continues with that rock star craze. Guitar Hero III, which is a video game that you play guitar along with the video game, that's incredibly hot.
ROBERTS: Is there a must have toy this season?
STORCH: Well, I put Hannah Montana right up there. Also, Nintendo, we have continues to be hot as a pistol. We sell everyone we get in. We get constant shipments, but boy they sell fast. On the boy's side, I don't want to hesitate and not mention Transformers. That's been hot ever since the movie broke this summer. So, there actually many hot toys this year. Many of them setting record- breaking sales levels.
ROBERTS: All right, well we'll see how people do this year. Will they spend more; will they spend less, about the same? We're also asking that question. Jerry Storch, CEO of "Toys "R" Us" joining us this morning from Time Square. Thanks for being with us. Good to see you.
STORCH: Thank you.
ROBERTS: So, Hannah Montana, this year's tickle me Elmo. Can you imagine?
CHETRY: How about it? And not surprising. And in fact, a little bit later, these tickets as you said, it's almost impossible for parents to get their hands on tickets, just go see her in concert. And we have the heartwarming story of one dad who gave the tickets away for free. So, we'll talk about that a little later.
Meanwhile, 130 million people are going to be hitting the stores today in search of that perfect holiday gift. Right now, here's a look inside of a best buy. This is in Deptford, New Jersey. Pictures coming to us courtesy of our affiliate CN8. Some stores even open at 4:00 a.m. this morning, hoping to lure you in. It's Black Friday.
ROBERTS: Someone grabbed the camera and put it in their shopping cart.
CHETRY: There's also a good reason. Shoppers are going to be spending at least they're estimating an average of $923 on gifts this year, that's despite high gas prices and worries about the economy still up 4 percent projected from last year.
It brings us to our quick vote question this morning and we're asking, will you spend more, less or about the same on holiday gifts this year? Cast your vote, cnn.com/am. 7 percent of you so far saying you're going to spend more this year. 67 percent saying less and 26 percent saying about the same. So wow, our polling is a little bit different than what the analysts are hoping for. We're going to continue to update our votes throughout the morning.
ROBERTS: Early results don't bode well for the shopping season.
It says six minutes now to the top of the hour. A new search for clues in the case of a missing American student, Natalee Holloway. What her father is now doing, that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Oh, coming up now to a couple of minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi out having more fun than people should legally be allowed to have at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York, "Minding Your Business." All of those people are out shopping. Why are they out so early, Ali? ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are we on? Is this live? Oh! John, you know, that's a funny question. Why are they out so early? We are now, I don't know, two, three hours into this whole operation this morning. Earlier, I actually stopped a bunch of young ladies and asked them what they're doing out here, and this is what they told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, tell me why you are here in the middle of the night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I'm crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it's the best sales, hello.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I'm willing to wake up at 4:00 in the morning and go shopping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: A lot of people are here telling me they're here for the vibe. While, a lot of other people are saying is that regardless of the sales, and some have said the sales are good, some have said the sales are not so good, it's a great excuse to get out and get some holiday shopping done. And John, I have already succeeded in getting you your holiday shopping gift. Look at these bags and the lovely young ladies tearing them, Johnny Walker Blue label and I can have it engraved for you, John, with your name on it.
ROBERTS: Now, this is just the bag, Ali, or did you get the bottle to go inside it?
VELSHI: No, no, no, it's not the bag. You get the bottle and they'll engrave it for you. What is it? A couple minutes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Couple minutes.
VELSHI: There you go. Honestly, I am looking out for you. Now, about 30 percent of Americans say they're going to spend a little less this year than they did last year and the thing that retailers are worried about is 50 percent of Americans are saying that they are carrying more credit than they were a year ago. As you know, this holiday season is different from last holiday season because of the interest rates, because of the housing prices, because of gas prices. There are some concerns that this isn't going to be as strong as last year but today we're off to a good start. I don't know if they're shoppers but there certainly are a lot of browsers here.
John?
ROBERTS: Excellent, Ali. As far as my gift to you, I'm trying to make a decision between the Johnny Walker Blue or the Macallan 25- year-old. Give me a couple of days.
VELSHI: Well, we have a few hours to think about this.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali, thanks. We'll check back in with you soon.
CHETRY: You guys were exchanging booze, that's so cute for the holidays.
ROBERTS: Johnny Walker Blue and Macallan 25-year-old are not booze.
CHETRY: What are they?
ROBERTS: Fine Scotches.
CHETRY: OK, I'll write that down.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
ROBERTS: Breaking news. Sinking cruise ship, passengers rescued this morning in the freezing Antarctic.
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