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Controversy Over Redskins; Holiday Shopping; Tornado Survivors Give Thanks; Obamacare Deadline Looms for White House; High Tensions in East China Sea

Aired November 28, 2013 - 16:00   ET

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

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And a very happy Thanksgiving here in the NEWSROOM.

And what better way to show your loved ones you're thankful on this holiday than abandoning them to go elbow a stranger over a Blu-ray player or Big Hugs Elmo or a PlayStation? Stores are open, as Black Friday madness spills over into the holiday.

Plus, for so many families in the Midwest, they are spending this Thanksgiving with no place at all to call home -- how they're finding something to be thankful for after tornadoes took everything.

And how would the Native Americans who were at the first Thanksgiving feel about the name of Washington's professional football team? Today's NFL games are becoming a battleground for those who want it gone.

Hello. I'm Jim Sciutto. And thank you for spending part of your holiday with us. Happy Gray Thursday or Black Friday eve or, as it's still known for now, Thanksgiving.

Have you had enough turkey, enough pumpkin pie? Because many stores are doing everything they can to pull you away from the table instead of waiting to open their doors on Black Friday. This year, we are seeing two things that Americans love pitted against each other, stuffing our faces until we can't move and 32-inch flat-screen TVs for under 100 bucks.

Our own Kyung Lah is standing by at a Kmart in Burbank, California.

Kyung, you have to tell me, how crazy is it there now?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Take a look, Jim. I mean, we're looking at legitimate lines here.

It had calmed down earlier in the day, but you can see that the lines are spreading out. The store is actually quite busy, at least here where they are checking out, and a lot of people are buying the things that these retailers want to sell beyond just the TVs, but all the little knickknacky items as well for under the tree, extending officially the Black Friday frenzy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice-over): The shoving, the screaming, the swearing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Push one of my kids, I will stab one of you (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

LAH: Let the fists fly. Retailers call it the Super Bowl of shopping, or Black Friday. But scenes like these that flood the Internet give the bark and battle a black eye.

This ugly clash at a Los Angeles Wal-Mart two years ago was captured by Juan Castro.

JUAN CASTRO, BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPER: All the people just went in there and started destroying the boxes.

LAH: All this for markdown Xbox games.

CASTRO: People were fighting, trying to get those deals, and that's when some lady brought out pepper spray and just started going at it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My eyes are burning. My eyes.

LAH (on camera): Was that moment a turning point for Wal-Mart?

RACHEL WALL, WAL-MART SPOKESWOMAN: Certainly. I think we could do a better job at managing crowds and helping customers get into the store, find the item they're looking for and get out. So I think we learned a lot.

LAH (voice-over): Wal-Mart says this time, it's a calmer Black Friday, orderly lines through the store, shoppers will get wristbands and rain check tickets to ship items that run out, but what won't change are the surprise deals through the store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty seconds and then all the people will go crazy.

LAH: So predictably wild that his dad brought his kids to Wal-Mart to witness the mayhem firsthand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's something about Black Friday. Your integrity --

LAH: These Chicago area cousins don't care about mayhem. In fact they thrive on it every year, using shopping apps and meticulous planning to save on toys for their young kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What, eight hours of shopping? Yes, it was all night. Yes. Eight hours or so.

LAH: Seriously, all night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was worth it.

LAH: (INAUDIBLE) spent $960, half of her budget, saving $1,000 on gifts, enough to make her want to dance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So yes, the jig had to happen and I would do it again if I got a deal like that.

LAH: Not a laughing matter to Victoria Caruso, who's seen enough video of the fighting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me and you, any time you want (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

LAH: And doesn't want any of it even if it's literally a pillow fight.

VICTORIA CARUSO, SITTING OUT BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING: I think they're crazy. To them it's a sport. Lacrosse is a sport. Black Friday is not a sport.

LAH: She shops all online. Sure, she gives up on some of the deals but savors her serenity.

CARUSO: Savings aren't worth the bail money.

LAH: After capturing the Wal-Mart wildness Juan Castro avoids the retailer on Black Friday but still can't resist the short outing.

CASTRO: I should get a bulletproof vest. And make sure -- maybe some football gear would do me good.

LAH: That may be good advice because for shoppers like these, it's game on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: So why bother with the sanctity of Thanksgiving? Why open at 6:00 a.m., like Kmart did today? Well, Jim, the retailers are looking at a shortened holiday season and they want to take advantage of every day possible -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, Kyung, I got to ask you. I know that if I left the Thanksgiving table to go do some shopping today, I would get a little grief from my wife and my parents. You talk to anybody today who felt guilty about being there looking for bargains?

LAH: No. That's the amazing thing. I couldn't find anybody. Everyone was pretty excited about being here, especially if it didn't interfere with their dinner plans.

SCIUTTO: All right, well, only in America. Thanks very much Kyung Lah at Burbank, California, the Kmart there.

So, if you weren't compelled by that to stay safe and warm at home with CNN on your television, of course, and you absolutely must put on your hats, gloves and riot gear to find a sale, we can't let you go out there blindly. It's far, far too dangerous for that.

So, we're very lucky to have Catey Hill join us. She's consumer reporter for MarketWatch. Consider her your bodyguard for these big shopping days.

So, I got to ask. You're the expert. Would you be nuts enough to go out on a day like today to do your shopping?

CATEY HILL, CONSUMER REPORTER, MARKETWATCH: Oh, absolutely. If I didn't think my mom would kill me, I would definitely be out shopping. There are some amazing deals right now.

SCIUTTO: What are the best deals? It sounds like electronics? There are some good bets electronics? What are your three best bets.

HILL: Yes.

You're absolutely right. Like, in general, for Black Friday and Thanksgiving, it's electronics, the gadgets are the best deals. For instance, Wal-Mart right now has the iPad -- or the iPad Mini for $199. That's a pretty incredible deal. Best Buy has the Samsung Galaxy S4 for nothing.

Literally, with a two-year contract, you can get that for nothing. And my favorite one is Wal-Mart is offering the iPhone 5c for $45, but then is giving a $75 gift card on top of that. So they are literally like giving you $30 to buy that. That is my favorite deal by far.

SCIUTTO: Now, are they telling you that you have got to come in today to get those deals? Is that how they get you in the doors?

HILL: So, yes, absolutely. Some of these deals start on Thanksgiving, so you are seeing 6:00 p.m. deals. If you want a lot of these items, they are saying you have to come in on Thanksgiving.

Of course, some of them start on Black Friday, but it really just depends on the retailer. So, yes, you have to look at those circulars and really know when does this deal start, because they will run out of quantity. So, if you don't pop in then, you might not get that deal.

SCIUTTO: How big a deal is this for stores and their bottom lines? It's relatively new. I know some of the stores did this last year, but are they expecting to make a lot of money? I know it's a shortened shopping period between now and Christmas this year.

HILL: That is certainly their hope, but there's not really strong data to support it either way, and it could just be a wash.

But, yes, the stores not opening on Thanksgiving, it's sort of a sunk cost, right? So, they feel like they might as well open, and they are feeling pressure from all these other stores that are opening. So, yes, you're going to see this more and more, because I think, yes, it's a sunk cost not to be open, especially when a lot of other people have taken the flak in recent years for opening on Thanksgiving.

SCIUTTO: And so I guess we have to see how the sales are today to see if this is going to become the norm. But do you think that next year we will see a lot more options for folks out there, so basically no one will have Thanksgiving dinner next year?

HILL: Absolutely. It would not shock me if a retailer opened at midnight on Thanksgiving in the next year or the next two years because you're already seeing the slippery slope. It's already happening. So, yes, you can expect in the next few years that at least someone will open probably at midnight on Thanksgiving.

SCIUTTO: All right, thanks very much to Catey Hill.

I know you're not shopping because your mom, like mine, probably told you that's not going to happen.

HILL: She would kill me.

(LAUGHTER)

SCIUTTO: Thanks for coming out today.

HILL: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Of course, not everyone is excited about the melee at the malls. Nearly half of Americans disapprove of the stores being open on Thanksgiving, according to a new poll from the University of Connecticut.

Earlier, I spoke to the owner of a Sears franchise in New Hampshire who says she's keeping her store closed today despite the demands of the corporation and she could now face some very real consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY CASSIANO, SEARS FRANCHISE OWNER: They have already spoke about taking away bonuses for the rest of the year.

And, to me, I'm going to make a stand for what I believe is right, because I believe that the people of the United States are standing here with me. We have received a great amount of support from the area community and, actually, all across America, I had calls yesterday from Illinois, Ohio, from all over.

So it's been very wonderful to see the public, you know, standing here with us on this issue.

SCIUTTO: Well, it is. Times are tough, business is slow, the economy growing not as quickly as we would like. Are you losing money by making this decision?

CASSIANO: Well, of course we are, but you know what? When are we going to say that it's not about the money? When are we going to stand up for what's right?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: That poll also showed that 97 percent of Americans said that they would not go out shopping today. Only 7 percent said they would be taking advantage of those sales.

If you want to support Holly Cassiano in her efforts, you can find her online petition at Change.org. CNN has reached out to Sears for a statement. We haven't heard back yet, but they did tell our affiliate WHDH that: "We have encouraged all of our dealers and franchisees to be open on Thanksgiving evening because we believe that is what many consumers want."

Well, it just wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving without the Macy's Day Parade, and it wouldn't feel like the Macy's Day Parade without the famous balloons, but do you realize how close Spider-Man, SpongeBob and other favorites came to spending this year's parade tied to the ground? Strong winds in New York almost forced organizers to do without them this year, but in the end, police decided that it was calm enough to let the 16-foot giant balloons fly.

And the traditions continued, with Santa Claus himself closing the parade. Remember it well. Saw that every year when I was a kid.

Do you have a unique Thanksgiving tradition or a dish you that just can't find anywhere else? Tweet me a photo @JimSciutto. That's @JimSciutto. Use the hashtag onlyatmyhouse. We are going to reveal the best answers later this hour.

Coming up, President Obama takes a little time to thank the troops. Ahead, we will hear from some of the men and women overseas who aren't with their families today.

Plus, a new beginning after unspeakable sadness. The Connecticut doctor whose wife and daughters were murdered in a home invasion has something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, after his new wife gives birth to a son.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Many in the Midwest are thankful just to be alive today. I'm talking about the survivors of a set of deadly tornadoes that tore through the region a little over a week ago.

Check out this terrifying new video of one twister devouring a middle school in Indiana. Motion-sensitive cameras activated just before this monster hit, sending school supplies and debris flying. Thankfully, this was on a Sunday and there were no students were inside.

Our Ted Rowlands is live on the ground in Illinois.

Ted, looking at that rubble behind you, it's astounding, and certainly no day off for the people dealing with this disaster. How are they keeping up their spirits today?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it's amazing. People are very upbeat because when you look at this rubble and you realize only one person perished, 500 homes completely destroyed, people are thankful that they kept their lives. Yes, they lost their possessions, but they are pretty much thankful.

We just came from a church where a number of survivors are gathering today. There are several events going on around Washington. And the theme was: We have lost everything, yes, but we have a lot to be thankful for. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD BREKKE, APARTMENT DESTROYED: All of my apartment complex was pretty much all leveled so for me, it was definitely affecting me and I had to figure out what was next for me and where I would go. It took me a few days before I could get back into town because they had it all blocked off. When I came in, it just blew me away how much devastation there was from all the houses that were destroyed.

And I think about, you know, my situation, I got a lot of my stuff, so I was very fortunate. Those types of things, I'm just happy to be, you know, safe and everything. That's what matters, really.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: That's what matters. That's what most people are saying here today. You think about this neighborhood in years past, it would be filled with homes full of people, people hosting Thanksgiving. Today they had to go elsewhere, but they're thankful they're alive.

The other astounding thing we have seen here is volunteers, not just the monetary donations that the community is getting but the volunteers coming from the region. There was an army of folks here earlier today working to help with the cleanup effort. People from Iowa, from Chicago, giving up their Thanksgiving weekend to help out the people here in Washington.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: So, without the homes, were there other volunteers that welcomed people into their homes to celebrate the holiday today?

ROWLANDS: Yes, and to provide homes, temporary homes. I mean, the bottom line is these people need time to figure out what their next move is. Are they going to rebuild, are they going to leave Washington?

And we talked to one of the local leaders here and he said what was really amazing is you've got about 1,200 displaced people, literally five or six of them needed our assistance at finding somewhere to go. Volunteers, neighbors, friends, family, they're taking people in while they get their lives in order.

SCIUTTO: That's great. The true spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanks very much to Ted Rowlands in Washington, Illinois.

There is someone else with something to be very thankful for this holiday. The Connecticut doctor, William Petit, whose first wife and two daughters were brutally murdered six year ago in a case that gained nationwide attention. This is the first picture released of Pettit's baby boy, William III, born over the weekend. Petit calls his son, quote, "a beautiful Thanksgiving and Christmas gift" and says he will tell him about his sisters who he knows are smiling down on him. Little George III (ph). Still ahead, we check in on soaring tensions with China after a direct challenge by U.S. warplanes.

And the president pardoned a turkey named Popcorn. Will he be feasting on another bird this Thanksgiving? Stand by to find out what's on the menu at the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Sciutto.

Nine pies -- you heard me right, I'm not exaggerating -- there are nine pies on the White House menu this Thanksgiving, but looming over the president's sprawling feast is a self-imposed deadline to have the Affordable Care Act Web site, Healthcare.gov, 80 percent functional by the end of the day Saturday.

Let's go to Jill Dougherty live at the White House.

So, Jill, with just days to go to this deadline, the administration delaying a key portion of the site for small businesses. Republican leadership calling that another broken promise.

What's going on? Is this another major stumble for Obamacare?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I wouldn't say it's major, but what they're trying to do is get this up and running at the -- let's say the degree to which they originally wanted, which is 50,000 customers coming online at the same time. They think they can manage that, but what happens, they say, if there's a big surge, as there was back on October 1st, could it crash, could they be overwhelmed. They don't think it will crash but people could be put in kind of a virtual waiting line.

And then also, on these small businesses, they will not be able to access it for a year. They can go directly to companies and get insurance, but they won't be able to do it through the Web site.

So, as you can imagine, there's a lot of criticism coming from the Republicans. In fact, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said that the timing is suspicious on this, that it is as he put it, a delay for small business. That news is being buried by having the news around the holiday.

So, again, you know, time is running out here but they do hope and predict that they will at least be able to do 50,000 people and then improve it as it goes on -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: They want it just right. A surge in traffic but not too much.

Now, I know the president has no scheduled events today. He's going to be spending Thanksgiving with his family but he did take time to wish a happy Thanksgiving to service members?

DOUGHERTY: He did, to every branch of the service, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and he called -- he called two people from each branch of the service. He thanked them for their service, wished them a happy Thanksgiving and to their families.

SCIUTTO: OK. So we've got to look at this Thanksgiving menu, because I haven't seen anything quite like it. A very sweet -- a sweet tooth in the White House.

DOUGHERTY: Yes. In fact, well, if you look at the traditional fixings, they do have turkey. They do have ham, but when you get to that dessert list, it is pretty impressive.

Nine pies. -- let's look at them because they're interesting. Huckleberry pie, pecan pie, chocolate cream, sweet potato, peach, apple, pumpkin, banana cream and coconut cream.

Now, why nine? Not too sure. Maybe it's to get in every historic or traditional pie in the country, but it sounds pretty good.

SCIUTTO: You told me your favorite before. It was banana cream?

DOUGHERTY: Actually, you know, I said coconut cream but I only said that in the sense that it's probably more calories and more cholesterol than any of the rest of them.

SCIUTTO: Got you. I'm going with chocolate cream pie for this Thanksgiving.

DOUGHERTY: OK.

SCIUTTO: Thanks very much to Jill Dougherty at the White House.

Now, in Asia, high tensions, high in the skies between China and Japan, and the United States isn't just watching from the sidelines. Beijing upset the region by declaring a new air defense zone over a large part of the East China Sea, but that didn't stop two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers from flying right through that area, in what the U.S. State Department says was a planned military exercise.

I had the chance to talk to the former U.S. ambassador to China and former presidential candidate, Jon Huntsman, about why the friction set such a dangerous possibility of confrontation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON HUNTSMAN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: You have several countries in the region, all of whom who are surveillance missions on the high seas or in the air, and the possibility of a miscalculation is very real. And the problem is, you escalate the tension and there's no real plan to deescalate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: A real chance for a problem there.

So, for more, I want to bring in CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. I know the new U.S. ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, just her first days in the post there, already scolding China in effect for this. What's the latest in the standoff?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, Caroline Kennedy again telling China this is very dangerous, escalating tensions in the region. After the U.S. flew those two B-52s through this restriction zone, Japan and South Korea did the same thing.

China issued a statement saying it was on high alert and was sending its own planes to track everybody through this zone.

But, you know, early next week, Vice President Joe Biden is expected to show up in Beijing, long-planned trip, but he's going to sit down and talk to the Chinese and basically say, what is up, what are your intentions, what are you planning to do here?

Nobody is looking for a confrontation. Biden's message to the Chinese will be enough is enough, let's make sure nothing sort of gets out of control with all of this. And as you pointed out, even as we speak, there is a major U.S./Japanese military exercise going on off the coast of Okinawa. U.S. warplane ships, Japanese military forces all practicing how to respond in a crisis, hoping that this isn't the crisis they're going to have to respond to -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, there are a lot of assets around there. Now, I know the Chinese sent their lone aircraft carrier there.

What are your sources in the Pentagon saying about the danger of just a misunderstanding, one ship getting too close to another ship or one plane getting too close to another plane?

STARR: That is exactly the concern, miscalculation. Nobody really thinks at this point the Chinese are looking for conflict, but you've got an awful lot out there very close together. Miscalculation, accident, some crisis could erupt from all of that.

SCIUTTO: Let's hope that doesn't happen. Thanks very much to our Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Now, as you and your family are giving thanks today, take a moment to thank U.S. troops. Thousands of them are spending this holiday far, far away from the home front. Many will still get a Thanksgiving meal, thanks to the efforts of DLA troop support who delivered more, listen to this, than 70,000 pounds of turkey, 55,000 pounds of beef, 29,000 pounds of sweet potatoes and 20,000 pies, to the fighting men and women overseas, well-deserved. You thought grandma laid out a big spread.

Coming up, football and Thanksgiving. Native Americans sent an angry message to one NFL team with a lot of name calling.

And when holidays collide. I'll show you some of the creative ways people are celebrating the rare overlap of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)