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Obama Unveils Economic Advisory Board; MySpace Hoax Trail: Awaiting the Verdict; Thailand in Turmoil; Native Americans Criticize Kindergarteners
Aired November 26, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Giving him guidance this morning, the president-elect naming new advisers to help with the struggling economy. We'll tell you who is heading that team.
And tracking your travel. Our weather center checking out airport delays and road conditions on this day before Thanksgiving.
It is Wednesday, November 26th. Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Getting ready for a busy travel day. We've got special on-screen information for you about the weather, driving conditions, and what's happening at the airports, of course. Even though more of you say that you will also be sticking close to home this Thanksgiving, don't be surprised to find the roads pretty crowded and airports packed.
Airlines are offering last-minute deals. And gas is a whole lot cheaper than it was in mid-September, down nearly $2. Even so, AAA expects about 400,000 fewer cars on the road. And that would be the first drop in holiday travel in six years. And it could mean fewer accidents as well.
Both Reynolds Wolf and Rob Marciano are keeping an eye on weather conditions where you're traveling.
Reynolds, why don't you begin with us?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK. Let's get things started in parts of the northeast. Right now we have an area of low pressure that's moving across the great lakes from west to east. It's going to be interacting with that water and that wind, very cool, coming in from the northwest, going to produce some snowfall there.
Also in Southern California, we're seeing heavy rainfall. One thing I want to touch on when it comes to Southern California, you'll remember we had those wildfires. The tea fire in Santa Barbara County, so you have these hillsides that are completely without vegetation.
So when you have that loose dirt and you get the heavy rainfall in some locations around the L.A. basin it could get up anywhere from, say, 1 to 3 inches of precipitation, which is one of the reasons why we have the watches and the warnings.
There's a very real threat from mud slides in that area. So that is something we want you to be very careful about. Certainly keep that advised. Along I-5 and even I-15 we're going to have some very wet conditions on the roadways, so, please, take it easy out there.
We do have a live image, I believe, that we're going to pop up in a mere moments. We're going to show some of the water that's crossing the roadway. If we can get to that right now, here it is. Here's that new video that's coming up from KABC and this new video, you can see the traffic moving in one direction, but right in the middle of your screen, these cars are moving through what appears to be at least several inches of water.
Not exactly what they're used to on their morning commute, no question about it, on the day right before Thanksgiving. So, again, just be very, very careful out there. Take it easy. No one's in the rush this morning. If you are, slow down. Take it easy.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: That's a wrap. Let's send it back to you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: It's going to be some tough getting around, Reynolds. Appreciate it.
WOLF: Always is.
WHITFIELD: And of course, we'll check with Rob Marciano a bit later.
Meantime, seeking direction on Wall Street, can U.S. stocks extend their three-day rally? No clear signals from overseas markets. Stocks are mixed across Asia, as well as Europe.
The opening bell on Wall Street is about a half an hour away and investors will take stock on gloomy economic reports released just few minutes ago. Once again it looks like one step forward and then one step back.
CNN's senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, has the latest from New York.
Allan, we're talking about the jobless numbers, not looking good again.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, at least they're not as bad as they were the prior weeks. So that's the positive here. What we do have is we have an initial jobless claims of 529,000 people.
Yes, that is a lot. That's a huge number. Anything over half million is big when we're talking about jobless claims, but this is at least down by 14,000 from the prior week.
Now if jobs are tough to get, the economy is not in good shape, obviously, we're all cutting back on spending, and that is reflected in the next number, personal consumption. Down by a big number as well, down by 1 percent during October. You see the biggest drop since 2001.
That's hurting the economy. Of course, consumer spending, so critical to economic growth. But it's not just consumers who are cutting back. Also corporations and we see that within the durable goods numbers. Down by 6.2 percent during the latest month.
That also, a very big decline, and it is indeed much worse than had been anticipated. Lots of cuts in autos and also aircrafts as well -- Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: Yes, well, how are you going to spend money if you don't have a job, you know?
CHERNOFF: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Simple as that. It all is very much is linked together.
Allan Chernoff, thanks so much, in New York, appreciate it.
Well, the economy obviously issue #1 for the Obama White House as well. Next hour, the president-elect unveils a new economic advisory board. It will be his third news conference in three days.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is in New York to set the stage for us -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it is an impressive group, actually, heading up this economic board. 81- year-old Paul Volcker, former Fed chair, he has been advising Barack Obama for quite some time during the campaign.
This is a group about a dozen professionals or so. He has done this before. Reaching out across the aisle and wanting to bring people together that are -- have a certain expertise in the economy.
It's an informal group. They'll meet about once a month or so. It will exist for about two years, perhaps it will be extended. But this really is one example of Barack Obama once again looking outside the White House to different people, their level of expertise to bring what he believes is going to be some solutions to this economic crisis.
Now there's a lot of talk, Fred, third press conference in three days, whether or not Barack Obama, not yet president, is stepping on President Bush, overshadowing a little bit. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: There is only one president at a time. That president is George W. Bush, and he will be president until I'm sworn in on January 20th.
Given the extraordinary circumstances that we find ourselves in, however, I think it is very important for the American people to understand that we are putting together a first-class team and for them to have clarity that we don't intend to stumble into the next administration. We are going to hit the ground running.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Fred, part of hitting the ground running -- sorry, I'm getting a little echo in my ear here -- is actually to reach out to those professionals, but also one of the things that they are looking to do is if he brings this heavy economic team before the forefront when people look at this, it'll produce some confidence in the market.
That is one of the things that they want to change early on. They're not waiting until January 20th, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much, in New York, appreciate it.
Well, let's talk a little bit more about Paul Volcker, the man who will chair the economic recovery advisory board. Volcker is a professor emeritus at Princeton University, and as Suzanne just mentioned, a former chairman for the Federal Reserve.
Volcker is 81 years old. He earned his bachelor's degree at Princeton University and his Master's at Harvard.
CNN will, of course, have live coverage of President-elect Barack Obama's news conference, again, the third news conference on the economy in as many days. This one will be taking place next hour. It's set to get started at 10:45 Eastern Time, 7:45 Pacific. We're carry it live for you.
All right, turning now to Iraq and the future of U.S. troops serving there. Just minutes ago Iraqi lawmakers delayed their high- stakes vote on a timetable for withdrawal. It's an issue of deep passion and intense debate.
CNN's Arwa Damon joins us now from Baghdad with more on this -- Arwa.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.
And you couldn't have put it better. The negotiations here have most definitely been very intense. Here is pretty much where we stand now.
The United Iraqi Alliance, Iraq's largest Shia bloc in parliament, is basically for this agreement. The Kurdish blocs have their concerns, but they're going to vote for it as well. And that brings us to the Sunni blocs. And their main point is that they do not trust this current predominantly Shia government and they will not sign an agreement that is going to give the government even more power.
They're not against the agreement per se, they're not asking for any amendments. What they are asking for, though, is to have what they're calling a political reform bill. And that is what is currently being debated with the presidency council and the leading political blocs.
This bill is going to highlight certain issues like the need to respect the constitution, the need to try to keep the country moving in the direction of national unity. It is meant essentially so that the Sunnis can feel that the Shia government is not getting that much power. They're trying to make sure that they're not completely sidelined and pushed aside.
But these debates have been going on. Yesterday they went on until about midnight. They continued all day today. We've been waiting all day here for parliament to convene. Obviously, that being postponed until tomorrow, which, again, no guarantees, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so, Arwa, a couple of things, a very unusual scene we have behind you not typical of what we've become accustomed to in Baghdad -- live shots.
If you could, in a way, give me a description of what's taking place behind you and then secondly, if you could look ahead to tomorrow for me, if at all possible.
DAMON: Absolutely, Fredricka. We're actually here in the press pit. This is in parliament building in the convention center in Baghdad, and we've kind of been hanging out here all day with all of the media.
At one point, to be completely honest, everyone was so bored with the waiting that people have started taking video and pictures of one another to use that video in their packages, presumably, because nothing else would be coming out.
You'll see the same scene here tomorrow. Parliament meant to convene at 10:00, absolutely no guarantees on a vote whatsoever. But everyone will be here waiting for parliament to convene, for some sort of a vote to take place.
But as I was mentioning earlier, it's becoming increasingly complex, because they do need to pass that political reform agreement that they're still currently debating before they will even vote on the security agreement.
WHITFIELD: Arwa Damon, thanks so much there, from Baghdad, outside parliament as we await that vote. Appreciate it.
Let's go north of Baghdad now. Two American troops are killed. They were on a humanitarian mission near the town of Mosul. More than 4200 members of the U.S. military have been killed in the Iraq war.
Traces of a toxic substance found in baby formula, here, in the U.S. What you need to know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Former First Lady Barbara Bush, is said to be -- quote -- "doing great in a Houston hospital this morning." She was admitted to Methodist Hospital last night after complaining of stomach pains.
A family spokeswoman says the 83-year-old Mrs. Bush had been experiencing pain for several days now. A spokesman for her husband said she had a series of tests, all of which were negative.
Her daughter-in-law, Laura Bush, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Barbara Bush is doing well. A spokesman said the elder Mrs. Bush would be released later on today.
All right, well, this is pretty alarming for everyone. This discovery being made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said traces of the toxic contaminant melamine have been found in a single sample of infant formula. Not in China, but in the U.S.
CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here with details. Boy, this makes a lot of hearts stop to hear this.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly does, but you know what, Fred, once you hear those details, your heart will stop stopping.
WHITFIELD: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Exactly. We'll resuscitate people.
This is what happened. The FDA went out and they sampled 77 infant formulas and they found one, just one, had a trace, a tiny, tiny, tiny amount of melamine that they said would never cause harm to a baby.
The FDA was very clear. They said absolutely no risk to babies. And I was on the phone with them, and I grilled them, and they assured me, they said there is no risk, the amount is so tiny. It's nothing even close to the amount that was found in the formula in China.
WHITFIELD: Still, how in the world would melamine be found in infant formula here?
COHEN: Right. In China what happened was someone actually contaminated the formula. But that's not what happened here. What happened here is that melamine exists in various plastic products, so what might have happened, for example, is that melamine was in the lining of the can of formula and that somehow it leached into the formula, because those cans, you'll probably remember from your son, those cans are lined with plastic.
Melamine might have been in the plastic and a tiny amount might have leached in.
WHITFIELD: So 1 out of 77 samples?
COHEN: Right.
WHITFIELD: Is there any concern that they need to conduct more tests to get a larger batch to make sure that they don't have a bigger problem here?
COHEN: Yes. They have done 10 more tests. So they have a total of 87. Those 10 more tests are now in progress and they said they'll report back to us what those 10 additional tests showed.
WHITFIELD: And they're not revealing anything about the type of...
COHEN: No...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Was it powder, was it liquid?
COHEN: They wouldn't say. I asked what brands, they wouldn't say. They're really keeping it close to the vest.
WHITFIELD: OK, they don't want folks to be too alarmed.
COHEN: Right.
WHITFIELD: But just hearing that there may be a trace is still alarming.
COHEN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: But we'll allow our hearts to continue now.
COHEN: Right. To risks to babies.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Elizabeth. Appreciate it.
All right. We're still talking about medical news right now. For the first time ever the rates of both cancer deaths and new diagnoses for men and women in the U.S. are on the decline.
The report is published online in the journal of national -- from the National Cancer Institute in Washington. But there is one note of concern. Lung cancer deaths and diagnosis are up in 18 states, mostly in the Midwest and in the south.
A verdict may be near in the so-called MySpace hoax trial. We take a closer look at that case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf for CNN and you are at the right place to try to get some information about the holiday. You're making your way to grandma's house or maybe your aunt, your uncle, that kind of thing. If you happen to be in the northeast, you're going to have to look out for those snowflakes, they're falling fast and furious right near in Syracuse, right along parts of I-81 back to Buffalo.
It could get especially heavy into places you see that are shaded in the red and into the bluer or greens. Your choice. That's (INAUDIBLE) watches and warnings are in effect. Watertown, you could see anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snowfall.
And as we make our way a bit to the west, Buffalo, should be OK for you, but southward into Jamestown and your friends in Ashtabula, just to the east of Cleveland, we're looking at the potential of anywhere from, say, 5 to 10 inches of snowfall, a little bit heavier north of -- Jamestown, easy for me to say. So you're going to be out there shoveling the lawn before all is said and done.
Hey, take a look at Detroit, Motor City, conditions look fantastic therefore the time being if you don't mind the snow. If you're not used to it, you're there visiting, let's say you're from Georgia, well, it's going to be a bit of a shock to you. It's going to be a chilly day there, no doubt.
Temperatures right near the freezing point all day long. The snow, a little bit of a break for the time being but that may pile up again as we make our way closer to the weekend.
You know, folks, you are watching the right thing. CNN, of course, we've got your holiday travel update, you see it right there on the side of your screen. Right below you'll see your assorted five-day forecast.
For all your travel information, you need to stay here at CNN. Even Santa Claus gets his travel information from CNN. So we'll see you. I'll be here with Rob Marciano with Chad Myers and Jacqui Jeras.
You're watching CNN. See you in a few.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: No verdict yet in the so-called MySpace hoax trial, but jurors, apparently, are getting closer. A note to the judge suggests that they have reached a decision on three of the four charges. The judge has ordered them to continue deliberating today.
A closer look at the case from CNN's Soledad O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Laurie Drew is not charged with murder, but the parents of Megan Meier are convinced she pushed their troubled 13-year-old daughter to suicide.
RON MEIER, MEGAN'S FATHER: If my daughter would have killed herself with a gun, they loaded the gun for her.
O'BRIEN: Megan Meier hanged herself in her bedroom in 2006. Now, two years later, Drew awaits the outcome in what has become an extraordinary and extremely emotional trial.
SAL HERNANDEZ, FBI: This case is yet another lesson teaching us that malicious acts may have unforeseen but very serious consequences.
O'BRIEN: Federal prosecutors say Drew conspired with her daughter and an 18-year-old woman to bully and torment Megan on the Internet. Prosecutors allege they used a fake MySpace page to trick Megan into thinking that a boy named Josh Evans liked her.
Megan had no idea there was no such person as Josh Evans.
TINA MEIER, MEGAN'S MOTHER: He thought she was really pretty, posted on her comments on her pictures, you know, this is beautiful, your eyes are beautiful.
O'BRIEN: But when the fictitious boy suddenly ended their online relationship, telling her the world would be a better place without her, Megan became deeply distraught, and took her own life.
The trial is being heard in Los Angeles, because, even though the case unfolded in Missouri, the headquarters for MySpace is in L.A. Drew is charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress.
Drew has not admitted playing any role in the Internet hoax and there was conflicting testimony about that in the trial. Drew's defense attorney says she is innocent of the charges, and is being vilified for simply not reading the MySpace terms of agreement.
During closing arguments, he told the jury, it's not a homicide case. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a computer case. And that's what you need to decide.
If convicted, Drew faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And CNN will be at the courthouse when the jury resumes deliberating. As soon as there is a verdict, we'll be able to take you there.
Will you find slick roads on your way to your Thanksgiving destination? And what about airport delays? Surely there will be some. We're keeping an eye out for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
2ND LT. STEVE CALDWELL, U.S. ARMY: I'm Steve Caldwell in Basra, Iraq. I'd like to say hi to all my friends and family back home in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Happy Thanksgiving, I miss everybody, and I'll see you when I get back.
CPL. JUSTIN KUHL, BAGHDAD, IRAQ: Hi, I'm Corporal Justin Kuhl from (INAUDIBLE) division. I just want to wish my wife Alicia, my kids, Jonah, Abel, and Zella and the rest of my family in Omaha, Nebraska, a happy Thanksgiving.
I don't like turkey, but eat some ham for me, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, it's the day before Thanksgiving. You're either hitting the road or heading to the skies there. And we're keeping a close watch on traffic for you on both fronts.
Our Reynolds Wolf and Rob Marciano are keeping a close eye on the weather as well as the roads and the air traffic, just to make sure you get from point A to point B safely.
We're also watching your money and the nation's economy on Wall Street. The Dow is coming off three days of -- three days straight of gains. That's something we haven't seen since August, but today the rally could run out of steam.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with a look at what's getting investors down.
For one, I'm sure, it's not going to be very uplifting to see and respond to these latest jobless numbers, more than 500,000 jobs lost last week?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred.
But that was better than the week prior, believe it or not. The Dow has soared more than 900 points over the past three sessions, so we were due for a pullback, but, yes, we have a raft of dismal economic reports to digest.
Personal spending, for one, fell 1 percent in October. That's the biggest drop since 9/11. That pullback by consumers is the kind of thing that cut Tiffany's quarterly earnings in half and prompted the high-end jewelers to warn of job cuts.
A more than 6 percent drop in durable goods -- those are big- ticket items -- shows businesses are cutting back as well. Meanwhile jobless claims did fall last week after hitting a 16-year high in the prior week. New claims are still running well above 500,000.
There is the opening bell and the final full trading day of this holiday-shortened week. To help deal with the slowing economy, President-elect Barack Obama is creating a special advisory group to provide outside advice. Sources tell CNN, former Fed chairman Paul Volcker will be the head of that group.
Volcker was Treasury secretary during a lengthy recession, I might add, during the late '70s and early '80s. A formal announcement expected later today. And checking the numbers, well, we're seeing some pressure. The Dow is down 106 points in the first 25 seconds of trading. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is down about 1.5 percent. Yes, I guess it's too much to expect that we'd get a four-peat after the three-peat, right, Fred?
WHITFIELD: Yes. But, you know, at least Dr. Seuss there trying to keep our spirits up, being very animated there on the opening bell.
LISOVICZ: Oh, that's what you're enjoying.
WHITFIELD: Yes, I had to chuckle.
LISOVICZ: Yes, that's the mayor of Hooville? Is that it? They're promoting a DVD and Blu-ray which comes out in about a week or two. I mean, you got to market something. It's a tough market these days.
WHITFIELD: Yes, especially -- I know. Especially, what, two days now before Black Friday? A lot of retailers are counting on people spending some money, trying to inject some money into the nation's economy. But I don't know, without a job, you know, people are losing their homes, who wants to go shopping?
LISOVICZ: Well, and that's why there's a lot of discounting going on, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Lisovicz, thanks so much. We'll check back with you. Appreciate it.
All right, well, Thanksgiving. Well, it could be a washout for hundreds of people in Southern California. Literally, a washout. It is raining in areas devastated by wildfires earlier this month, raising the fear of mudslides. At least 1,500 people in Yorba Linda are being urged to leave their homes on the day before Thanksgiving. Another 2,000 in Santa Barbara County were ordered out yesterday.
So, when will the rain end, and what about travel conditions elsewhere? Reynolds Wolf and Rob Marciano keeping an eye on all of that in the CNN weather center.
Reynolds, I guess we're going to begin with you?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Reynolds, I want to show you a few things. First off, I want to mention what's going on at the airports. Right now, we have travel delays at Newark and also Atlanta. We're just kind of in the tri-state area, metropolitan area at Newark here, LaGuardia and then JFK.
And again, Newark right now is the only one showing delays, and that's mostly because of volume, which was probably be the biggest issue we'll see, I think, out of the airports today.
Obviously, a lot of people are traveling by car. We zoom in just a little bit more here, in through parts of lower Manhattan. You got bridges, you got tunnels. And one of the things that we're able to do is to focus in on some of these areas and see which areas are actually showing some delays.
Anytime you see a red area, that will be an area that actually is slowed down. So, this is over the Manhattan Bridge. The speed there right now at about 24 miles an hour. So, certainly, slower than you would typically see at least for this time of day. So people on the roads there as well, heading in and out of Jersey, through the various tunnels here. Also some red markings over the Holland Tunnel. This only moving 16 miles an hour. So, you get the idea. It's going to be a slow go, not only across part of the major metropolitan areas, but also across -- there's actually been a special weather statement out of the New York Weather Service and also the weather services out of Connecticut and Massachusetts, for the potential of seeing some black ice tonight. There was a decent amount of moisture yesterday. Now cold air is moving into the area. Reynolds already talked about the lake-effect snows, which will be hammering folks especially along the I-81 corridor.
But Northern New England right now, later on tonight and tomorrow morning, also the major metropolitan areas, Fredricka, will see the potential for black ice. So whether you are traveling by air or by car, even though it's not raining or snowing in your area, you certainly want to slow it down and take it easy.
WHITFIELD: Wow, this is going to be a tough holiday season. All right, folks need to keep their eyes open, pay attention and be careful.
Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: You bet.
WHITFIELD: Overseas now. Thailand's prime minister returning this morning to more troubles. His army chief, seen right here, is calling for new elections. But, he says, he won't use force to make it happen. The prime minister couldn't land at the main airport in Bangkok and that's because anti-government protesters forced the airport to shut down on Tuesday, trapping thousands of tourists.
CNN's Eunice Yoon has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EUNICE YOON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For hundreds of tourist stranded in Thailand, this is a vacation that has gone horribly awry. Thousands of protesters clogging traffic, swamping the country's main international airport, forcing authorities to cancel all flights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what happened to my flight. They won't talk to us. And I'm angry and sad because I two small children and they're sick, so we want to go home.
YOON: These tourists are caught in the crossfire of the nation's long-running political battle. The Anti-Government People's Alliance for Democracy is lobbying to topple the current prime minister, who they claim is a puppet, a former ousted leader, Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin is the prime minister's brother-in-law.
Violence has spiked this week, pro and anti-government demonstrators exchanged gunfire in the streets. Blasts at Bangkok's two airports have left several injured and some protesters broke police security lines, demanding the airport remain shut until the prime minister quits. For the past few days, the prime minister has been overseas, attending a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Peru.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If anyone wants to leave the terminal --
YOON: The chaos is wreaking havoc on the nation's $16 billion tourism industry. December is high season, a time when Thailand, a nation known for its hospitality, sees up to 2 million visitors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think all those people that booked to Thailand were all 100 percent will come. I think we'll be losing at least, I would say we'll be losing about 30 percent of people that supposed to be coming to Thailand during the high season, so it's a big loss.
YOON: This airline official tries to calm weary travelers. But information is scarce.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They started coming through and telling us that we possibly make it here in the morning, but either way, there's no problem. We just sit here and relax. Enjoy the ride.
YOON: They have nowhere else to go. Eunice Yoon, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, among the many stuck at the airport there in Bangkok, Keri Gannon. She's from San Francisco. She joins us now live.
So, Keri, describe to me what you're experiencing there.
KERI GANNON, STRANDED TOURIST: Well, we've been here about 17 hours, I think, at the airport. The upper level outside is really crowded with protesters, and for the most part, they're kind of quiet and polite, but they're roaming the airport. They're cheering and clapping and kind of walking around. But it's clearly their domain.
WHITFIELD: How nervous are you about this situation?
GANNON: What's that?
WHITFIELD: How nervous, how frightened, are you about this situation, that you can't get out and you've been there for 17 hours and the clock is still ticking?
GANNON: Yes. It's -- it's getting increasingly tense. It was pretty relaxed earlier. But as more and more tourists leave, the fact that we don't have any information and there's no one to give us information. And that, you know -- now, we feel stranded here. We don't know where to go. What hotel to go to, that kind of thing. It's getting more tense. And there's fewer tourists. It seems a little bit more hostile than it did earlier, so it -- you know, now we're ready to go. I think we're going to be giving up on waiting for our flight at this point.
WHITFIELD: Is there anyone at the airport that you feel comfortable with asking? Are there any other tourists who perhaps are in the same boat as you, that you might be able to get some information on where to go as you wait for the airport to open?
GANNON: Earlier today, there were a lot of travelers around. There have been no airport personnel really. The United, our flight, there's been absolutely no one. We've had no contact with any person for our airline carrier, and that's pretty much universal across the board.
As far as the airport itself, there were some people for a while, but they left probably seven hours ago at least. So, there's no one to get information from. There's, you know, no one speaks English also, so it's kind of hard.
WHITFIELD: And at this point you are just trying to head home back to the States after, what, vacationing or working there in Thailand?
GANNON: This is my honeymoon.
WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh!
GANNON: So, yes, we've been gone for about 17 days. Yes, worst honeymoon ever. It was good -- it was good up until now. But, yes, we're just trying to go home and go back to work and Thanksgiving and all of that.
WHITFIELD: Right. Well, now, you're really spending a lot of time with one another on your honeymoon and getting to know how each other is handling this very stressful situation.
But, all the best to you and your new spouse. Keri Gannon, appreciate it. And we'll check back with you to hopefully see if you make it back to San Francisco, soon. But be safe.
GANNON: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, apart on Thanksgiving. Not those two, but somebody else.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody needs to get along.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not offending anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I look at you wearing feather headdress and, you know, and say that, it almost seems like you're making a mockery of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Native Americans criticize a kindergarten tradition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. BENJAMIN KISSELL, U.S. ARMY: Hi, my name is Sergeant Benjamin Kissell. I'm with gulf company, 64th PSP out of Baghdad, Iraq. And I'd like to wish my family a happy Thanksgiving out in Klamath Falls, Oregon. I love you guys. Miss you.
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WHITFIELD: All right, just about one hour from now, Barack Obama will hold his third news conference in three days. The common theme, the economy and how to stop the bleeding. It's a serious challenge.
Christine Romans of the CNN money team has this memo to the president.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. President, you are inheriting the worst economy since the Great Depression.
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need the government to spend more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to go directly at the mortgage holder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to get real and start talking straight to the American people.
ROMANS: And advice from the experts is pouring in.
OBAMA: This will not be easy. There are no short cuts or quick fixes to this crisis.
ROMANS: It will require leadership and billions in spending to stabilize the economy.
PROF. KEN ROGOFF, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: This is going to take a massive effort. Trillions of dollars in mortgage support and helping the banks, in fiscal stimulus.
ROMANS: Ken Rogoff, a Harvard economist, has analyzed 300 economic crises.
ROGOFF: We can scale back later, but we need to respond very, very aggressively. And on multiple fronts, partly because that's necessary and partly because nobody quite knows how things are going to work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The experience of the United States during the Great Depression. ROMANS: Business professor Nouriel Roubini says this could be the worst recession in 50 years. Unemployment could top nine percent. He agrees the new president must spend.
PROF. NOURIEL ROUBINI, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: We need the massive fiscal stimulus package. The government spending on infrastructures, giving money to state and local government, increasing unemployment benefits, giving food aid and food stamps.
ROMANS: Obama says he plans major spending on alternative energy and will put millions of people to work on the America's creaky infrastructure, what many call a new New Deal. But with it comes a warning from the former U.S. comptroller.
DAVID WALKER, FORMER U.S. COMPTROLLER: President Obama, you need to do what you have to in order to turn the economy around in the short term in order to restore public confidence. But you also need to be able to help the American people understand that this country has been living beyond its means too long.
ROMANS: This crisis brought on by bad debt will require hundreds of billions if not ultimately trillions to solve. That will explode the already gargantuan budget deficit piling on to a $10.5 trillion debt.
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
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WHITFIELD: And as we said, the President-elect, Barack Obama, is getting ready to unveil his new economic advisory board. You can see it live right here on CNN. It's about an hour from now, 10:45 Eastern Time, 7:45 Pacific.
Farmers pride. Two turkeys taking center stage today with the president. A rare Thanksgiving treat.
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WHITFIELD: Well, this, bored or not, yes, it's a popular sport on a Cincinnati rink. Yes, those are turkeys that they're using to bowl. Contestants try to knock down as many pins as they can with these frozen birds. The winner of this year's contest actually got 19 of 30 pins knocked down, I think. All the turkeys used were actual store discards. So, don't get too upset. Don't let your feathers get too ruffled. No good turkeys were wasted.
Well, speaking of turkeys, they're the guest of honor at a lot of parties this time of year, of course, but not all of them are the main course.
Here now is our Betty Nguyen.
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BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Two turkeys with nothing to worry about. They won't see the chopping block. Instead, they get to meet President Bush for a full pardon. I want you to take a look at these guys. No, those aren't the turkeys. They're the men who actually helped raise the two lucky gobblers. Paul Hill is president of the National Turkey Federation and his son, Nathan, helped raise the birds.
Hi, gentleman.
PAUL HILL, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL TURKEY FEDERATION: Good morning.
NATHAN HILL, HELPED RAISE THE TURKEYS: Good morning.
NGUYEN: All right, I want to ask you about this. Let me start with you, Paul. How do you decide which turkeys get this pardon?
P. HILL: Well, I tell you, you look for different characteristics, especially personality characteristics. We chose these turkeys when they were about nine weeks old out of a group of about 4500 other prospects. And then we keep a close watch on them. We run charts on the turkeys to see which turkeys are the most calm, which have just the best emotion, I guess, is what you look for, and then how the feathering looks in the birds.
NGUYEN: Who knew they had personalities like that?
Nathan, I understand you actually put these turkeys through somewhat of a training camp, shall we say, to get them prepared for the pardon?
N. HILL: Yes. That's correct. My boys and I, Colin and Conner, spent time with them every day from the time they were nine weeks until now, which they'll be 20 weeks there when we present them to President Bush. And really, we just got the turkeys used to spending time with us. We'd play music to the turkeys. We would put them up on a table just like they'll be doing at ceremony.
NGUYEN: That can be a little frightening for a turkey, being put up on a table.
N. HILL: Yes. And not the chopping block, right?
NGUYEN: Right. Hey, let me ask you this, though. Nathan, I understand there is a back-up turkey just in case the pardoned turkey cannot fulfill his or her duties? I mean, is this like a vice turkey?
N. HILL: Yes, it really is kind of like the vice turkey. We bring an extra one along because you don't know if something is going to happen in the transportation of the turkey. Just want to make sure that we're prepared, for some unforeseen reason that something happen to the lead turkey, that we have a backup.
NGUYEN: Got you. All right, Paul, what happens to the turkey after the pardon has been made? Where does it go?
P. HILL: When we're done at the White House, then they will be taken by motorcade to the -- NGUYEN: Get out of here. By motorcade?
P. HILL: By motorcade.
NGUYEN: Are you kidding me?
P. HILL: No. By motorcade to the Dulles Airport and then we'll go to the Red Carpet Club there at United, we'll do a little news conference there with the turkeys.
NGUYEN: I don't speak turkey. I mean, do you?
P. HILL: After that, we get on the plane. The turkeys will both be in first class with us.
NGUYEN: Who in the world -- hold up. Who is paying for this? Are we the taxpayers paying for this?
P. HILL: No. You are not paying a dime for this.
NGUYEN: All right. That's what I wanted to know.
P. HILL: This is all entertainment. We're working with Disney on this.
NGUYEN: OK. And they'll actually be at Disney for a parade, correct?
P. HILL: Yes. They will -- we will fly to L.A. and we will be in the Disneyland Parade. On Thursday, the turkeys are the grand marshals for the Disneyland Parade. We'll be on a 1920 replica fire truck -- Nathan and Betsy, Collin and Conner, Mary and myself. It's going to be a blast.
NGUYEN: Good times. And boy, those two turkeys very lucky this time of year. Paul and Nathan Hill, thank you so much and enjoy your trip.
P. HILL: Thank you.
N. HILL: Thank you very much.
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WHITFIELD: Don't you wish you were a turkey now?
All right. Well, we're going to introduce you to this lucky pair and give you an idea about their big night before the big day which is today. President Bush will be welcoming the turkeys to the Rose Garden, and you can see the pardoning ceremony live right here at 11:15 Eastern. You don't want to miss that. Pretty spectacular.
Kindergarteners and their parents dressing up as pilgrims and Indians, and getting a dressing down from some Native Americans.
Reporter Greg Mills of Los Angeles affiliate KCAL has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG MILLS, KCAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 5-year-old kindergarteners dressing up and in the middle of a controversy. The adults battling over what they're wearing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody needs to get along.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not offending anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I look at you wearing a feather headdress, you know, and say that, it almost seems like you're making a mockery of that.
MILLS: Native Americans upset the kindergarteners at (INAUDIBLE) Elementary Schools are trying to follow a 40-year tradition, depicting common characterizations of pilgrims and Indians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It perpetuates a stereotype of an Indian person that is in a way cartoonish.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see nothing offensive in it and I have friends that are Native Americans and they can't believe this is going on.
MILLS: Native Americans I spoke with do find it offensive. They say it perpetuate stereotypes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can understand that. But I don't understand comparing to it the Jews and the Nazis.
MILLS: She was teaching at one of the schools involved, when the Thanksgiving Day tradition started in the 1960s. Kids at Mountain View and Condit Elementary School switch off. One school dressing up as Indians, the other as pilgrims. The kindergarteners and parents and teachers march to the other school for a day of feasting and fun.
But this year, a Native American mom led the charge and influenced the school district to do away with the costumes, but continue the rest of the tradition. Many students and parents ignored the school district mandate and dressed up. Critics say this teaches impressionable kids disrespectful stereotypes of Native Americans. Other view it as harmless fun for 5-year-olds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's ridiculous. I mean, these are 5-year-old children that enjoy -- that's what of their crafts, making their costumes.
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WHITFIELD: All right. So while the parents and the protesters argued, well, the kids, they were mostly oblivious, just having a good time. All right. Well, say you want a revolution? Well, here is a slow one. 42 years after condemning The Beatles, the Vatican newspaper gives them a good review, finally.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Watch to see who you voted for as CNN's Hero of the Year. Anderson Cooper hosts "CNN HEROES" Thanksgiving night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.
A time of forgiveness. 42 years after John Lennon's controversial comment, The Beatles are a blessed presence in the halls of the Vatican newspaper.
CNN's Alessio Vinci reports.
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ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It seemed nothing could stop The Beatles, but while the group's lyrics inspired fans, a controversial comment from John Lennon outraged many Christians. Lennon's suggestion that the group was more popular than Jesus angered religious conservatives in the U.S. and the pope back in Rome. It was 1966, the Vatican Newspaper called the remark "aciagurata" "catastrophic." Lennon apologized during a news conference in Chicago.
JOHN LENNON, THE BEATLES: Saying the word better or greater or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is, you know, I just said what I said, and it was wrong or was taken wrong. But now it's all this.
STEVE TURNER, AUTHOR, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE BEATLES: When he made his apology in Chicago, he actually, (INAUDIBLE), the press officer told me that John was actually in tears before he went in to make the apology.
VINCI: Steve Turner covered the break up of the band in the late '60s and recently wrote "The Gospel According to the Beatles."
TURNER: His apology was very carefully worded. He never said I didn't mean that. He kind of said if it was taken that way, that's not what I meant. But he never actually retracted it.
VINCI: Now forgiveness for Lennon more than 40 years later. It came in the Vatican newspaper no longer filled with just prayers and sermons, the daily celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Beatle's White Album. The journalist who wrote the story praise the Beatles for their -- quote -- "unique and strange alchemy of sounds and words and for their extraordinary resistance to the passage of time." But, he says, the Pope had, in fact, little to do with the Vatican's about- face.
GIUSEPPE FIORENTINO, L'OBSERVATORE ROMANO: You know the Pope forgives John Lennon. VINCI: So how does it work, you get a call from the Pope's office and they say hey the Pope decided to forgive the Beatles, so write something nice about it.
FIORENTINO: This is something that the Pope is not involved at all.
VINCI: Do you know if the Pope likes the Beatles?
FIORENTINO: No I don't know. I think so. Maybe. But who knows? I don't know.
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VINCI: So it doesn't look as if Pope Benedict has traded in his beloved Mozart for the fab 4. But forgiveness has come.
Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.
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