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Smooth Sailing Concerning Security for Holiday Travelers; Protests in London Over Tuition Hikes; 'The Big Play'; Airport Protest Yet to Take Off; Turkey Time: What You Can Do to Help Get Ready

Aired November 24, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And Happy Thanksgiving Eve, everyone.

From all corners of the country, New York to Miami, Seattle to Los Angeles, millions of you are on the move right now. And we are, of course, your holiday travel headquarters.

We will bring you the information you need for getting there, including updates on airport security and the latest on weather conditions.

Speaking of weather, snow and ice, an issue for some of you traveling in the West today. Warnings, watches and advisories cover much of the region from Nevada to Utah to California, and north to the Canadian border. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for most of Utah, western Colorado, and southern Idaho.

Let's get to you Reynolds Wolf right now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: So here's what we did -- we made a guinea pig out of one of our correspondents today to see how it's going -- right? -- travel, on the busiest travel day of the year.

David Mattingly took a flight from Atlanta, the world's busiest airport, to Tampa. He just touched down.

And David, tell us about your trip.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, guinea pig? I mean, come on. I mean, test pilot? Something more -- a little more dignified, please.

HARRIS: We'll do better next time.

MATTINGLY: But what we've got so far -- what we've got -- what we've got so far, Tony, was smooth sailing in this corner of the country. We see about the weather problems out West. Flying from Atlanta to Tampa today, absolutely smooth sailing.

We came in on AirTran, actually arrived here in Tampa about 12 minutes early. And every step of the way, we're talking to passengers about what they're encountering. Everybody wants to talk about security because everything else seems to be going so smoothly today. They talk about the pat-downs. They talk about the full-body scans.

We've talked to people who have done both. They say they don't have a problem with them.

We talked to one couple, however -- and this is just one couple that we've encountered today. They say they will be sending a letter to their congressman because of the experience they had. This was a senior couple.

They were telling me that the man had a brace on his arm after breaking his arm. So he went through the full-body scan. And then after that, TSA asked him to remove his sweater that he was wearing, and then they gave him the full pat-down.

There was some pain involved. They didn't let his wife help him, so they were a little upset about that.

But otherwise, everyone we're talking to seems to know exactly what they want, what they're prepared for. And getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible is the agenda today, as it is on just about any other day.

And today, you know, everything that we're seeing looks like a normal day, except you see a lot more couples, a lot more families traveling, than you would normally see on a day like this, a lot of business travelers. So that's the only noticeable difference -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Our test pilot, there he is, David Mattingly, for us.

David, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's do this -- let's widen out the view a little bit, get a bigger picture of you of how this busy travel day is shaping up for a lot of you.

Jacqui Jeras is at the travel desk, checking on flight delays, highway issues.

Jacqui, good to see you. Any problems so far?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we've had a lot of problems, Tony, although it's great to hear security's going were well.

We don't have a lot of delays at the airports, but we're seeing more problems on some of the highways and some of the interstates. I'm going to start you out by telling you about a new accident we just found out about.

This is between Providence and Boston. This is on traffic.com, showing us Interstate 95 northbound at I-295.

There's a major accident here, and the ramps are closed at 295 in both directions. So use a lot of caution in this area here.

Also, we want to talk about this, what's going on in Idaho. We've been talking about all the terrible weather and the blizzard conditions.

This Web site from here, wyoroad.info, this is from the Wyoming Department of Transportation. And we were told that I-80 from Evanston to Lyman was closed. We haven't been able to confirm that. It's been closed for hours.

But as you take a look at their tower cams here, it's a ghost town. There's nothing going on there. And you can see all of the snow and ice covering all the roadways here.

Up here, we have a live picture here from Atlanta. There, you can see the cloudiness across the downtown area. We did have some delays at the airport earlier. Right now, things are holding OK, but whenever you get clouds like that, along with the volume, Tony, we do expect to see more delays there throughout the afternoon.

We'll keep you up to date.

HARRIS: Terrific, Jacqui. Appreciate it. Thank you.

And big stories now.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: As we mentioned at the top of the newscast, thousands of students are on the streets in England today, protesting large tuition increases. Live pictures here.

CNN's Atika Shubert on the phone from London.

And Atika, if you would, tell us what you're seeing. I've got to tell you, it looks like police are in a better position and have been throughout the day to handle these protests than they were certainly two weeks ago.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have. I mean, they've brought out a lot more manpower this time.

Last time, they had only about 300 police for 50,000 students. This time around, they've got several thousand students and a lot of police.

In fact, what the police have done is essentially cordoned off this area right before Parliament Square on this road called Whitehall (ph) here. And they're not letting any more students in or out. And they're basically letting this protest just burn itself out until the later hours, and then they'll start letting people slowly go.

This is supposed to be a protest, but to be honest with you, it's become more of a rave at this point. You can probably hear the music, a lot of people dancing. They've lit some fires and firecrackers.

They have gotten a bit unruly at times, pushing this police van. They did manage to break in and take out some of the riot gear. Also spray-painting it with lots of graffiti.

And I have to say that these are not all university students. In fact, I would say that most of the students here are high school students. These are what they call stick (ph) formers who are afraid these fees are going to affect them when they graduate.

HARRIS: Atika, you know, we're talking about a couple of weeks now of protests. Are the protests having any effect? Is the government in any way rethinking this policy of tuition fee hikes?

SHUBERT: No, the government has stood firm in saying the government simply cannot afford to do the kinds of policies they had before, where they were subsidizing education very heavily. That's why they say they've had to make budget cuts across the board -- housing benefits, child benefits, and education benefits have been slashed by 40 percent.

That's why they say the universities now have to increase fees, because the government simply can't go on paying for some of it. They have said, however, that they have been able to put in some -- make sure that any student that wants to take on these loans to get into university, that they pay them back at only a certain income level. And they've tried to make it easier for students, to ease that burden of debt.

But at this point, the students say it's not enough, that they want the tuition fees to be scrapped altogether. But unfortunately, the government, at this point, it' not responding.

HARRIS: Yes. OK.

Atika Shubert for us.

Atika, good to talk to you. Thank you.

Let's do this -- let's go "Cross Country" right now, stories our affiliates are covering today.

Authorities in Riverside County, California, ripped down a makeshift homeless camp. A group of homeless people had built the shelter in a dry creek bed. County officials say that's dangerous because a little rain can turn the creek bed into a raging river.

In Kansas City, Missouri, now, a couple butt heads with a carjacker. Their 6-month-old baby was in the back seat. Police say the mother smashed a window with her elbow. That's when the father jumped in and started kicking the carjacker, who ran off.

An odd couple of visits to Connecticut schools. Separate appearances we're talking about here. Comedian Bill Cosby talked to New Haven students about attendance, values, and what he calls a lack of parental responsibility. Less than a mile away, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick discussed animal cruelty. It's part of his rehabilitation for a dogfighting conviction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL VICK, QUARTERBACK, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: You know, the only thing I can say to do is just prove that I'm going to fulfill every obligation, to prove that I'm going to continue to work with the Humane Society, continue to help more animals than I hurt. And if I can do that, then I can be at peace.

But I can't change people's minds. I can't change people's perception of what they feel about me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Vick's stock is soaring after what's been a huge season. He is second in Pro Bowl voting behind Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. I've got to tell you, I remember when the Spectrum was hot in Philadelphia.

And Kobe Bryant remembers when the King of Pop gave him advice on the court. Huh?

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin joins me next for "The Big Play."

Good to see you, sir. We'll talk in a couple of minutes.

But first, let's a market check. We are better than 90 minutes into the trading day, and what a rally we are witnessing right now.

The Nasdaq is up 45, but take a look at the Big Board. The Dow, up 134 points, ahead of Thanksgiving Day.

We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Out with the old and in with the new. After 43 glorious years, Philadelphia's Spectrum falls to the wrecking ball. And Kobe Bryant reminisces about his mentor, M.J. Not the M.J. you're thinking.

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, contributor for the national morning radio program "The Takeaway," joins us from New York.

Ibrahim, good to see you.

What are your memories of the glorious Spectrum in Philadelphia?

IBRAHIM ABDUL-MATIN, CONTRIBUTOR, "THE TAKEAWAY": I have two memories of the Spectrum. One is when Christian Laettner shot that amazing shot in 1992, when Duke beat Kentucky. That was unbelievable. I remember where I was. I remember how amazing that shot was.

The second memory I have is from when I was at the University of Rhode Island. I played football there. But Lamar Odom won his first championship when he played for URI and shot a game-winning shot over Temple to win the 18th (ph) championship. And I was at the Spectrum as well.

HARRIS: Do you even remember roller derby? Do you even remember the great "Little Richard" Brown? Little -- do you even remember when there was wrestling at the Spectrum?

You were too young to remember the glory days when Bruce Springsteen was there 36-odd times, the Grateful Dead, maybe 50 times. You are too young. You were still on Pablum in those days.

ABDUL-MATIN: And so what you're saying, basically, is the Spectrum is old and it's had its day, and we need to move on from the Spectrum?

HARRIS: And I guess I am, too. What am I, 125 here?

Hey, and switching to another topic here, were you surprised to read that Kobe Bryant was mentored by Michael Jackson?

ABDUL-MATIN: This is a question about mentorship and how information and tradition are passed down. Kobe Bryant looked to the best in his craft, and that's the way Kobe Bryant expresses his basketball. He speaks of it as a craft.

HARRIS: Yes.

ABDUL-MATIN: He's an artist, and he's at the highest level of his career.

HARRIS: Well, talk about the early days. He said part of the reason this worked for him is because Michael Jackson understood and could see that Kobe was being picked on a bit. In Kobe's words, catching a lot of "S" (ph) for being different, speaking multiple languages, being a young kid in the league, being confident -- some would say cocky. So he understood what Kobe was going through.

What do you think it is that Kobe received from Michael Jackson?

ABDUL-MATIN: Most specifically, he learned how to prepare, how -- that psychotic, maniacal nature of preparation that gets you prepared to be the best, to be at the top of your career. And that's what Kobe specifically focused on when he dealt one-on-one with Michael Jackson. That kind of level of preparation is unique to very few athletes -- Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, people who are at the top of their careers.

HARRIS: But give me -- for a moment, come on, you had to be surprised. If you're thinking M.J., you're thinking maybe Magic Johnson, maybe Michael Jordan. You are not thinking Michael Jackson. ABDUL-MATIN: The reason why it makes sense is that Kobe Bryant is the star. He took over the reins from Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

And where? In Tinseltown. And it makes perfect sense that Michael Jackson would come in and say, listen, I got you, too. I'll put you underneath my shoulder and take you as well.

HARRIS: Any thoughts on Coach K reaching his milestone last night?

ABDUL-MATIN: There's no better coach than Coach K. in college basketball. There's no better mentor for young people. And I think he's proven that on the court and on the quality of the men that have come out of that program.

HARRIS: Boy, that's good stuff.

Ibrahim, good to see you. Thank you, sir. We'll have you back on the program talking sports.

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

ABDUL-MATIN: Yes, sir.

HARRIS: Just in time for Black Friday, "Consumer Reports" is out with his "Naughty & Nice" list. Stores on the nice list include L.L. Bean, Costco, Wal-Mart and Orvis. And that's for good customer service, including free shipping and easy returns.

The naughty list? Well, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. In case you're skipping turkey day tomorrow and planning your shopping for Black Friday, "Consumer Reports" has leased its naughty list. You ready?

There you go. You see it right there -- Verizon Wireless, Macy's, Best Buy, CompUSA and Buy.com, on the list for shipping costs, returns after the grace period, and restocking fees.

OK. The good news one day, bad news the next, recovery looking a lot more positive today on the jobs front.

First-time claims for unemployment benefits tumbled to their lowest level since July, 2008. Jobless Americans filed 407,000 applications last week, much better than economists predicted. Experts say claims need to fall below 400,000 consistently to bring down the unemployment rate.

That jobs report is sparking a big-time rally on Wall Street, but it's not the only bit of positive economic news we have for you today.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT) HARRIS: It has been a Thanksgiving tradition at the White House since George H. W. Bush was in office. Two lucky turkeys named Apple and Cider have been granted a presidential pardon from the chopping block.

President Obama spared the birds in a ceremony held this morning in the Rose Garden. Very nice. Very Nice. They will spend the rest of their days at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: If it is the buzz online right now, of course we're covering it.

Sandra Endo is in Washington this morning with what's trending.

Sandra, Seinfeld was on "Letterman" last night with all the "yadda, yadda, yadda"?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Tony. It's huge and trending today -- what's great or what sucks? You know, could those two things really be the same?

I don't know. I mean, would tell you, Tony, that you're great. I wouldn't tell you the other thing.

HARRIS: That's kind and wise. Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

ENDO: Yes. OK. Good.

Well, that was basically the schtick of comic Jerry Seinfeld, as you mentioned. He was in a rare standup appearance on "David Letterman" last night. I can't even do it justice, nor can I explain. So just listen for yourself.

HARRIS: Nice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SEINFELD, COMEDIAN: I say to you that sucks and great are the exact same thing. You have an ice-cream cone, and you're walking down the street. The ice-cream falls off the top of the cone, hits the pavement. Sucks.

What do you say? "Great."

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: That's good.

ENDO: Yes. He is good. Yes, of course. And he also talked about the coolest thing he's ever done, and that was perform at the White House for the president, President Obama, and Paul McCartney. And, of course, he's being funny, and Seinfeld just spontaneously got up on the stage to sing with the Beatles star.

I would have liked to have seen that.

HARRIS: That is terrific stuff.

And I know you've got something on the Cookie Monster, huh?

ENDO: Oh, yes. I know you're a big Cookie Monster --

HARRIS: Oh yes.

ENDO: -- probably during Thanksgiving, and eat a ton of them.

HARRIS: You better believe it.

ENDO: But big today, trending, yes, is the Cookie Monster. And he is trending on Twitter.

The "Sesame Street" star is on campaign to host "Saturday Night Live." He even made an audition tape that's going viral.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and Gentlemen, Monster Gaga.

(singing): Me need cookies. Me need cookies.

Yum, yum, yum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENDO: I love it. Lady Gaga, yes.

Well, people are tweeting about his audition tape, and a lot of people are out there rooting for him. So we'll see if he makes an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" -- Tony.

HARRIS: Oh, yes. Yes, I see that happening.

All right. Sandy, good to see you. See you next hour. Thank you.

You are traveling today, and we are following AAA, predicting a nice rebound in holiday travel this year. More than 42 million Americans are expected to go by plane, train, or automobile this Thanksgiving. That is an 11 percent increase over last year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Let's do this, let's check in on our tower cams right now. One day before Thanksgiving, Utah struggling a bit to recover from a ferocious arctic storm. You are looking here at Salt Lake City. Residents coping with treacherous roads and numbing freeze -- freezing conditions there.

North Texas preparing for a polar plunge. Live pictures now from Dallas. The cold is expected to move in later today, right around the time folks start arriving for their Thanksgiving holiday.

And a cold Thanksgiving shaping up for Detroit. That is a live picture there. We hear Black Friday could be a white one there.

Airport security could impact your travel today. Complaints over the body scans and more intrusive pat downs led to calls for protests today. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is at Reagan National Airport.

And, Jeanne, first of all, good to see you. Are you seeing any signs that the protests have, in fact, materialized?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you thought Opt-Out Day or holiday travel was going to make it difficult at the nation's airports, look at this, I'm at Reagan National Airport and there is virtually no wait to get through the security checkpoint, and we aren't hearing about security delays at other airports around the country.

We talked to a lot of travelers about this. Some of them weren't aware of the Opt-Out protests. Some people said they didn't like the body scanning machines, but they weren't going to protest that way because they didn't want to inconvenience other travelers.

And then we talked to an awful lot of people who said they had no problems with the machines or with the enhanced pat downs or the implications for privacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I work for the State Department, so I travel all the time so it doesn't bother me.

MESERVE: How about you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like if this is what it has to go through, this is what we have to go through. I just feel like I'm going to do what we have to do. I still want to fly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Well, right now, there are only about 400 of the scanners deployed at airports around the country, so they aren't at any check point -- every checkpoint by any means. In fact, we've heard stories of some people who have gone through security wanting to opt out, but at their checkpoint, they only had magnetometers, so they were not able to do it. It could be argued that whether or not these protests actually materialize, they have made their point. They have made the government very aware that there are people who do not like these body scans and do not like these pat downs. And they are looking right now, the government is, to see if somehow they can modify the procedures and make them a little less invasive.

HARRIS: That's terrific. Jeanne, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's do this, let's check in with Jacqui Jeras at the Travel Desk.

Jacqui, what are you following now?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We've been watching things at the airports as well in terms of delays and we've also been checking in with our affiliates to see what's been happening here.

And this is our affiliate, WAVE-TV, this is in Louisville. Take a look at their webcam here, very gray, very overcast, What you don't see here is that very light rain coming down. Don't be surprised if you start to see some sleet here, too. I-64 and I-65 run through here, it's going to be slow going. We have had a few reports of some minor accidents, so be very cautious traveling through the Ohio valley.

I also want to show you, I don't know if we can scoot you over here and show you what's going on in terms of air delays at this exact hour. Newark, we're looking at ground delays at around 35 minutes, and then we also have delays at Charlotte of 30 minutes. That's departure delays. So if you're leaving Charlotte right now, those delays, unfortunately, are on the increase.

Now we've also been checking on what's going on online. And with CNN.com, we're going check in with our Marnie Hunter.

And, Marnie, what kind of things have you been seeing on the web?

MARNIE HUNTER, CNN.COM TRAVEL EDITOR: Well, for the most part, most of the people who are weighing in on Twitter aren't seeing much delays at all. They're talking five minutes and they're surprised that they're flying through security.

JERAS: Wow. OK. That's great news.

What's going on on CNN.com? There's a lot of valuable information on there as well.

HUNTER: Yes, Opt-Out Day isn't having a huge effect so far. We've got the airport delay tracker there and we around see major things.

If you want to check back on CNN.com Travel we'll keep informed.

JERAS: OK, well we'll keep checking back with you throughout the day. Thanks, Marnie. Tony, back to you.

HARRIS: Terrific, ladies, appreciate it, thank you.

The weather forecast for the holiday is next. A monster snowstorm buries the western mountains, a little bit of everything out there for everyone. We will check in with Reynolds Wolf in just a minute.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: The Mirror Ball Trophy thing goes to Jennifer Grey. The star of "Dirty Dancing" now the star of "Dancing With the Stars." It's what many of you are talking about right now, so let's do it, let's talk dancing.

Entertainment journalist Kelley Carter joining me on the phone from Valley, Alabama.

Happy Thanksgiving, Kelley. Good to talk to you.

KELLEY CARTER, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST (via telephone): Thank you, happy Thanksgivings to you.

HARRIS: Appreciate that.

Did the right person win last night?

CARTER: Absolutely. I mean, Jennifer Grey was the most talented of the final three. And not only that, she was consistently the high scorer throughout the entire 11th season.

HARRIS: Was there a chance she might not perform. I understand she's got a pretty bad -- what is it -- back or neck injury?

CARTER: It's a spinal cord injury. Yes, you know, she didn't think she was able to perform, but she fought through just like any great athlete would and turned out really great series of performances in spite of that injury.

HARRIS: Why didn't Bristol Palin win, doggone it?

CARTER: You know, I guess in the end, the voters didn't turn out the way that she needed them to turn out. The thing about "Dancing With the Stars" we actually never knew how many voters she was getting, so it could have been she was always second to last person that just didn't get voted off, you know, throughout the season. We don't know that she was ever a number one vote getter throughout this competition.

HARRIS: I know there was a lot of conversation about this online. Would it have hurt the show, in your opinion, if Bristol had won?

CARTER: I think it would have. I think a lot of people would have been upset, you know, for a number of reasons.

Primarily, I think people consider Bristol Palin to be an accidental celebrity, and she is. But that also is the same argument for why she probably should have won this competition. She didn't have any performance background whatsoever and grew from being a very awkward, (INAUDIBLE) dancer to really turning in some nice performances.

HARRIS: How about Kyle Massey how did he do in the program?

CARTER: You know, Kyle finished second and he actually did well. You know, the thing about the Disney stars that are on the show, is they struggled to stay on for a long time because their poor fan base is in bed by the time the show actually comes on.

So that said, he obviously made a pretty big splash and got the voters to support him.

HARRIS: Good stuff, Kelley. Always great to talk to you. Talk to you next time. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

CARTER: Thank you, you as well.

HARRIS: And by the way, Bristol Palin's mom is on her book tour. Sarah Palin's book "America By Heart" is on sale now. The former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee will stop in 16 cities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, some of the most inspirational people in the world are honored this year as CNN Heroes. The all-star tribute airs tomorrow night. It is a fantastic show. I can't tell you how much you're going to enjoy it.

But you can be part of the action right now online. Josh is here to give us a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at something that's never been done before. Right, Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. We did some brand new things this year for CNN Heroes, honoring the most amazing who have really given their lives to help those in need. We set up something called a social suite backstage of the event, in which the heroes and celebrities were using social media to spread the word about these causes.

The host there was actually actress Holly Robinson Peete who put this together for me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE, ACTRESS: Thanks, Josh.

I'm here at the social suite of "CNN HEROES." This is my favorite awards show of the year. I absolutely love it. I call it the Mother Teresa of award shows.

Let me tell you, this is such a great place for me, I feel right at home because I'm a tweeter, I'm a Facebooker. We're going to be tweeting and Facebooking and doing all sorts of great social media about this event tonight. I'm going to be the one encouraging the celebrities, when they come in, to get on their Facebooks, get on their Twitter and talk about CNN Heroes, because like I said, the best award show ever.

Thanks a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Yes, it is and it's so great to hear from them about that.

Look, tons of tweets have been generated from them that that helps draw interest to the CNN Heroes and to their projects, these people who are committing their lives in so many ways. And I want to let you all know that you can learn about them at CNNHeroes.com.

The way it works was they were nominated from people all over the world. We had a very distinguished panel help choose the top ten, and then you all chose the ultimate hero of the year and you're going to learn a lot about her when you tune into this event tomorrow night, Anuradha Koirala, amazing, amazing woman.

Another thing you'll get to see that I know Tony enjoys very much is a little bit of this, take a look here, some of the musical performances.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

Common, yes, and Jon Legend.

LEVS: Jon Legend, Jon Bon Jovi, Sugarland. The stars were all over this. Again, you've got the star power that's helping all of this get so much attention.

Tony, it's great to see the way Heroes took on social media this year. And now, lots of people visiting the website.

HARRIS: This is going to be fantastic. You will love the performances. You will love the hero of the year, I guarantee you.

OK, so can you watch this entire special -- thank you, Josh --

LEVS: You got it.

HARRIS: -- Thanksgiving night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, that's 5:00 Pacific. Be sure to watch the star-studded "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" preshow, that's 7:00 p.m. Eastern., 4:00 p.m. Pacific here on CNN and our sister network HLN, "STRAIGHT FROM THE RED CARPET."

Got to go.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: So here we go, turkey time. You have a big dinner to prepare, not much time to get it all together. Kat Kinsman of CNN's Eatocracy.com.

KAT KINSMAN, CNN EATOCRACY.COM: Hi, Tony.

HARRIS: Kat it's good to see you, you've got some timely tips for us.

KINSMAN: It's always good to see you.

HARRIS: So getting that turkey just right, OK? Priority number one, you would agree, correct?

KINSMAN: OK. Priority number one is actually, stop, take a deep breath. Remember, it's just a meal. It is just a meal.

And that said, you still have time to do everything you want to, you can brine it. You can season it. You can add a lot of really great flavor in there. A lot of turkeys come pre-brined so you might be able to skip that step. But a big priority might be to get flavor in there, massage some butter or some herbs or some spices under the skin, on top of the skin, blast that at 400 degrees in the oven and you are good to go.

HARRIS: Hey, Kat, what if the turkey is still frozen? What do you do?

KINSMAN: OK, if you're watching this right now, put the TiVo on pause, go to your fridge and get it into the fridge right now. Again, there is still time to thaw this all out, you just have to put it under cold water, 30 minutes a pound. You can even do that tomorrow morning, just make sure to get it into the refrigerator right now.

Also, plan B, you can put it in the microwave if you have an little-bitty bird. Just with either one of these methods, either cold water defrost or the microwave, just make sure you cook your turkey right away so no bacteria doesn't have any time to develop.

HARRIS: You mentioned that we need to breathe. Take a deep breath, there is time.

Any other ideas on how to cut down with stress?

KINSMAN: Sure. Well, today you can get all of your cutting, your chopping, your peeling out of the way. Make it fun, invite a friend over, have a glass of wine, enjoy yourself.

We've done all these polls, asked people what can you do without on Thanksgiving. It's not about the food, it's about the company and the relaxation. I say make your casseroles right now so they have time to blend overnight and they'll be even more delicious.

HARRIS: Oh, you are good.

What about all of the trimmings here? The food, the drinks. Any tips on those items?

KINSMAN: Oh, sure. OK, so if you're hosting, get a little drink or a little nibble into guests' hands the second they get into your house, so that they don't get, as we call it, hangry, which is a combination of hungry and angry.

HARRIS: I love it.

KINSMAN: You don't want that. The better you treat your guests, the happier they'll be. Let them bring their favorite dish. You're not going to do it the way their mom did, let them take the blame for that, and everybody gets their favorites then.

HARRIS: Gotcha. And so, Kat, there are a lot of folks who were thinking about traveling -- well, they are traveling right now -- but maybe taking something with them. What foods will the TSA allow you to carry on and maybe the better question is the TSA won't let you carry on?

KINSMAN: Well, surprise, surprise, you can take a cake or a pie, just get ready for a little extra TLC from the TSA if you're traveling through. So, you know, it will be on a case by case basis.

You're better off just putting stuff in your checked luggage in a closed container, if you possibly can. Say you're make the gravy at home for whatever reason, you want to bring your mom's hope, unless you want to use one of those little-bitty bottles, you're better off checking that into your luggage.

But you can bring solid food. You can bring cheese, you can bring bread, all that stuff, it just has to be really thoroughly wrapped so it doesn't make a whole, you know, mess at the belt scanner. No one is going to love you that way.

HARRIS: She is terrific. That's Kat Kinsman, Eatocracy.com. Kat, good to see you. You're back with us tomorrow, aren't you? Yes is the answer, yes.

KINSMAN: I sure am and hope you get that turkey in the fridge.

HARRIS: Very good, Kat. We'll see you tomorrow.

We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So when the troops come home from war, it's kind of fun if the kids don't know. We've got homecoming surprises times three, starting in Colombia, South Carolina.

Have a look.

(VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, how good is that? Third-grader Morgan Terry was having lunch at North Spring Elementary when mom showed up. Staff Sergeant Monica Terry surprised her son at his middle school. She's been in Afghanistan for the last eight months and visits with her kids over the Internet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAFF SGT. MONICA TERRY, U.S. ARMY: I was able to see them, but just to be able to touch them is just so much better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It sure is.

Surprise homecoming number two, now. Navy Petty Officer Sean Petty shocked his fifth grader in Little Rock, Arkansas. He showed up at school with pink balloons and a dozen red roses and a giant teddy bear. Dad wasn't expected home until May, but got early leave for Thanksgiving.

How good is that?

And for sheer showmanship, surprise homecoming number three wins hands down. It happened Sunday during the Tennessee Titans' football game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TENNESSEE TITANS' ANNOUNCER: We direct your attention back on to the field for a very special surprise.

Here he is!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, man, how good is that? Sergeant Mark Foster rode on to the football field starting an unexpected two-week leave just in time for Thanksgiving. It's the family's first time together since March.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you!

SGT. MARK FOSTER, U.S. ARMY: I'm used to waiting. You know, I'm in the Army, hurry up and wait on everything, but when she was two blocks away and then when I got here and I sat down in that room for three and a half hours while she was here walking around, it was rough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, boy, happy Thanksgiving to all of the newly reunited families. That's good, huh? Crunch time for holiday travel. Millions of you are on the move today trying to make it to grandma's house or somewhere for Thanksgiving and we are, of course, your holiday travel headquarters. We will bring you the information you need for getting there, including updates on blizzard-like weather conditions in the west.

We're also keeping a close watch on airport security and whether those protests over enhanced screening actually pan out. We have heard the backlash over those full-body scans and more intrusive pat downs.

This is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and critics of the new screenings called for travelers to opt out of the body scans and request pat downs. The goal was to slow down security as a form of protest.

Our correspondents have been checking on the conditions.

MESERVE: I'm Jeanne Meserve at Reagan National Airport.

If you were expecting the Opt-Out Protest to clog up security lines you can see there are no security lines here at all. Now the organizer of the We Won't Fly Protest had urged people not to travel today. He's saying this reflects the success of his campaign.

But as for the Opt-Out Campaigns that were telling people not to do the body scans, to opt for the pat downs, no sign at this airport that that's happening in significant numbers. In fact, we talked to several travelers who weren't aware of the Opt-Out Campaign. Others have told us they have no concerns about the privacy implications of either the pat downs or the body scans.

One could argue that the campaign has already had an impact, however, because the U.S. government is exploring other less-intrusive ways of doing security. At this point though, no changes. Today, it's going to be the body images and the pat-downs.

Tony, back to you.

HARRIS: OK, Jeanne. Appreciate it. Thank you.