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American Morning
U.S. War Ships Steam Toward Koreas; Black Friday Madness Begins; Saved from Certain Death; A Battle Scarred & Lonely Island; CNN's Hero Of The Year
Aired November 26, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning. I saw a bunch of people stumbling around on the streets of New York holding those little bags full of things for the holidays. I'm Joe Johns in for John Roberts.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran Chetry. Happy day after Thanksgiving.
JOHNS: Oh, yes, shop until you drop.
COSTELLO: That's right. We're full of turkey. We've got to work it up and we're going shopping. Exactly. There's a lot going on this morning, so we want to get right to it.
An uneasy peace on the peninsula as enemy armies face each other down this morning. North Korea warning the neighboring nations are on the brink of war at South Korea. The United States gear up for a joint military exercise this weekend. We're live with what the world can do to ease tension.
JOHNS: Got your wallet, got your coupons, and don't forget the Christmas list. It's time for the mad dash to the mall for those extreme Black Friday deals. But is it really worth the hassle? That's probably up for debate. Nevertheless, we'll show you where all the action is this morning.
COSTELLO: It's a tradition, Joe.
JOHNS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: An amazing story of survival at sea. Three teenage boys in a tiny boat found alive after 50 days adrift in the South Pacific. They've been given up for dead and actually eulogized in memorial service weeks earlier. This morning, how they defied death and the lucky break that led to their rescue.
JOHNS: That's really an incredible story. But first, tensions running dangerously high on the Korean Peninsula. This morning, reports of new explosions as U.S. warships steam toward the region. Just days after it shelled South Korea, North Korea warns the peninsula is edging closer to the brink of war. The North seeing red because of America's joint military exercises with South Korea. COSTELLO: And, of course, those exercises are nothing new. But the unpredictable North says it's ready to unleash a shower of fire in order to defend itself. That has forced South Korea to ramp up security and change defense ministers. Our foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is live in Washington.
Jill, what in the world can Washington do about this?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Carol, Joe, it's a difficult situation because they're going to go ahead with these military exercises with South Korea regardless of what the North says, obviously. So what they have to do is be firm, but they can't -- they also have to be prepared for any type of unpredictable behavior by the North.
The North already has shown it. You know, attacking this week, earlier this week the island without any type of warning whatsoever. Also, during a period where the South Koreans by themselves were carrying out exercises. So they have to proceed, but they can't overplay the hand.
It's a very difficult situation. The one thing about this recent firing, the most -- the latest one is that that appears to be live firing exercises by the North Koreans. They weren't firing into that area where the encounter took place earlier this week. So that is one good news. But this starts on Sunday, and we'll have to see what they'll do.
JOHNS: Jill, what's the likely scenario here? Does it appear that the North Koreans are just trying to draw the Chinese in to act as a fair broker? What's the method behind, if you will, the madness?
DOUGHERTY: You know, sometimes we think it is madness. But if you talk to some experts, they say it's not really madness, it's calculated. And what's going on right now as we all know, the son of Kim Jong-il is being groomed to take over his father's job. His father is very ill. And he's only 26 years old. So Kim Jong-un is the person in the hot seat. He has to prove that he's tough, and they've done this before. When his father was going to succeed his grandfather, they were doing the same thing. Showing that they're tough, bristling, and telling the world pay attention to us.
Some analysts point out, you know, if North Korea didn't have nuclear weapons right now, a lot of countries wouldn't be paying as much attention. So they feel they need that attention. They want to be taken seriously by the U.S. and this, unfortunately, is the way they're doing it.
COSTELLO: And you know, just -- it's a game to them then let's say, but they're killing people. They're not just blowing stuff up, they're killing people.
DOUGHERTY: Well, that's the problem because this is a very serious incident that happened earlier this week. And you can say, yes, they want to get a message across, but don't forget they have a million men -- more than a million men army. They are very, very close to South Korea.
If you look at the map where that encounter took place earlier this week, it is not actually that far from the airport of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. So it's very serious and very delicate in the way everybody has to play it. But they do have to show the North that they are intent on going ahead with protecting South Korea and not kowtowing to what the North Koreans are trying to do.
COSTELLO: The military exercises will continue. Jill Dougherty, thanks so much.
Stay with us. Coming up in less than 30 minutes, we'll go to our Stan Grant. He's in South Korea. He saw firsthand the devastation from Tuesday's attack by North Korea.
JOHNS: A developing story this morning. The rescue of three teenage boys after 50 days lost at sea aboard a six-foot boat. And now, they're back on dry land, dehydrated and sunburned, but OK. The trio set out in early October from their tiny South Pacific island for another nearby island. They got lost. The days turned to weeks. Their supply of coconuts ran out. They survived on rain water and raw fish. Finally, a fishing boat taking a shortcut off the shipping lane spotted them 800 miles from home. This was two weeks after they'd already been declared dead.
COSTELLO: Also new this morning, the Pentagon ordering hundreds of thousands of government documents to be reviewed after WikiLeaks recently hinted it would publish some more. The documents are believed to include hundreds of thousands if not millions of diplomatic reporting from around the world. The State Department told U.S. embassies around the globe to comb through the classified documents saying what's in them could hurt international relations.
JOHNS: Back down to earth, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft makes a perfect landing in Kazakhstan this morning with two Americans and a Russian onboard. The three crew members returned from the International Space Station. During their five-month-long stay, astronaut Douglas Wheelock used Twitter to post pictures of space.
COSTELLO: And a Thanksgiving Day call from the commander-in- chief. President Obama took some time yesterday to call 10 service members stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He picked two from each branch of the military to telephone, and he thanked them for their service to our country.
JOHNS: Of course, turkey day would not be complete without some football. And speaking of turkey, sorry, Carol. The Detroit Lions lost their seventh straight Thanksgiving Day game.
COSTELLO: I can only say that game illustrated why it's so painful to be a Lions fan.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because in the first half they look great.
JOHNS: They did.
COSTELLO: And as a Lions fan, you're going, oh, they finally turned it around.
JOHNS: I know.
COSTELLO: And then the second half it was back to the same Lions.
JOHNS: And they always play on Thanksgiving. It seems like they --
COSTELLO: Stop it.
JOHNS: I know, I know. All right. They beat the New England Patriots. It was a 45 to 24 --
COSTELLO: No, the New England Patriots beat them.
JOHNS: The Patriots beat them. I'm sorry, you're right. You're right.
COSTELLO: You're trying to be nice to me.
JOHNS: I know. Wishful thinking. And like Mary Poppins, Tom Brady was practically perfect in every way.
COSTELLO: Whatever.
JOHNS: Four touchdown passes in the second half. I know, I know. He's a pretty good quarterback. OK.
COSTELLO: He's cute.
JOHNS: Perfect quarterback rating.
COSTELLO: Whatever.
JOHNS: I don't like the beard. I mean, I'm just saying.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about Dallas.
JOHNS: Right.
COSTELLO: Another stinky -- actually Dallas has, what? The same record as Detroit.
JOHNS: Yes, Dallas looked really awful. And they were supposed to win it all. That's what all the magazines said at the beginning but you know how that goes.
COSTELLO: But no, Dallas stinks as badly as Detroit.
JOHNS: Yes. That was not good.
COSTELLO: Actually the Cowboys did come marching back against the Saints. We should say that and point that out, but they could not hold on after being down twice by 17 points. The Cowboys took the lead, but Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who's probably as good as Tom Brady -- drove his team down for the winning score with less than two minutes left. Dallas had one last chance but missed the 59-yard field goal. So it's the Saints 30, the Cowboys 27. OK.
JOHNS: Exciting game.
COSTELLO: It was exciting.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And the New York Jets --
JOHNS: There you go.
COSTELLO: That was not an exciting game. They beat the toothless Cincinnati Bengals last night, 26-10. With a victory, the Jets improve their record to 9-2. That would be the same as the Patriots setting the stage for their big Monday night showdown in 10 days at New England.
JOHNS: So New York is celebrating right now? Although people in our home state of Ohio are not.
COSTELLO: No.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Well, the Cleveland Browns are showing some life this year.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: We'll see what they do Sunday.
Thanksgiving came with a side of snow for people in Pennsylvania. Check it out. The snow-covered cars and yards north of Philadelphia in many parts of Pennsylvania. The snow eventually turned to sleet and then rain, but that did little to dampen the holiday spirit.
JOHNS: In southern California, there is a chill in the air. Temperatures dipping below freezing just north of Los Angeles. Shoppers waiting for those midnight Black Friday deals were bundled up yesterday. And the cold actually caused train tracks in the high desert to freeze and crack in some places.
COSTELLO: Ugly.
It's eight minutes past the hour. So let's on what the weather brings us today across the country.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Karen Maginnis is in the extreme weather center.
JOHNS: Hey, Karen.
COSTELLO: Hi, Karen.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Joe and Carol. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. And the weather across the southeast has been terrific and to the northeast, it's about to deteriorate even more with some gusty winds. Take a look at this radar imagery.
All the way from Portland where we're seeing some freezing rain and some sleet and snow expected later on. Frontal system is draped up and down the Eastern seaboard. But there are two areas of low pressure. One will pass across sections of southern Ontario, and we will move it toward the east into the Canadian Maritimes. But on the backside of that, another area of low pressure is going to enhance some of the snowfall, especially into the Eastern Great Lakes. So places like Syracuse and Buffalo, you're looking at significant snowfall over the next couple of days. But on top of that, coastal areas in the northeast can expect wind gusts up to around 35 miles per hour. Well, temperatures bitterly cold right now in the 20s and the 30s. We'll be back in just about 30 minutes and we'll give you a look at your national forecast.
Joe, Carol, back to you.
JOHNS: Well --
COSTELLO: Thanks, Karen.
JOHNS: I know.
COSTELLO: All we can say is wow.
JOHNS: It's getting started a little too soon for me. It seems like we just got past last winter with all the blizzards and everything. Yes.
COSTELLO: That's because we've been spoiled because it's been so warm along the northeast coast.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Weird.
JOHNS: All right. Well, thanks, Karen.
Given up for dead. A few minutes ago, we told you about the three teenage boys who beat the odds, surviving close to two months at drifted sea. Well, coming up, we'll hear firsthand how they were rescued from one of the men who found them.
COSTELLO: And start your engines. Hoards of holiday shoppers head to the mall to get their Black Friday hunt ahead. And look at the early morning madness.
JOHNS: How do they do that? So you want to be a sidewalk Santa? There's more to it than meets the eye. There's a right way and a wrong way to wear the red suit, believe it or not. Coming up.
It's 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just like gorging on Thanksgiving Day turkey, another tradition is just getting underway. We're talking about camping out on Black Friday. Shoppers in Knoxville, Tennessee wasted no time staking their claim outside of Target. Can you believe they have a tent?
JOHNS: That's incredible.
COSTELLO: It is incredible. The discount giant --
JOHNS: They look cold too. Well, maybe not.
COSTELLO: No, no.
JOHNS: No.
COSTELLO: They don't.
JOHNS: They don't.
COSTELLO: They look crazy, though. Anyway, Target opened its doors there at 4:00 a.m. Some of the door-buster sales, $3 appliances, and for 300 bucks, they were selling a 40-inch LCD HDTV. You saw what that kid kind of wants.
JOHNS: That's a good deal just in time for the football games on January 1st.
Sears did one better than Black Friday sales. It offered big in- store deals yesterday. It was the first time in the company's long history to open for business on Thanksgiving Day. Wal-Mart and Toys R Us were also open yesterday. Isn't that weird?
COSTELLO: That's kind of sad that stores open on Thanksgiving.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: We're going to get to that in just a moment. We're watching the Black Friday madness across the country. Martin Savidge, he's in Atlanta. Poppy Harlow is here in New York City. And Poppy joins us now from Macy's in Herald Square.
Poppy, I guess Macy's opened up at 4:00 a.m. too, so I see people behind you.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: 4:00 a.m., I mean, this is crazy. I have to be honest, this is my first Black Friday ever. I grew up in Minnesota with the Mall of America. And I always stayed as far away as possible from the biggest mall in the country. But 4:00 a.m., I just want to give you a sense. Just take a look. We're going to pull up some video here. Take a look at these people. Seven thousand people, Carol, lining up outside Macy's. They were counting down. Take a listen to them waiting to get in these doors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five, four, three, two, one --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right. So, as you can see, mania here in New York City, 7,000 people. To give you an indication of how that compares to last year, it's a lot better. There were about 5,000 people here last year when the doors opened.
I've been talking to folks shopping. The deals aren't necessarily here. We're by the Coach purses and name brands. They're up in bedding. People are getting things for their homes. There's a big sale in fine jewelry, men's clothing.
But a lot of the people here are tourists. They're from Seattle, from Asia. They're here to have fun, the novelty of it. They bring their kids. Some of them, it's their first Black Friday. But there's also a big push, obviously, this year to start big sales right away.
Now, a little tip for people that I learned, if you're into social media, Foursquare, Facebook Places, The Wallet (ph), if you come in with your smartphone and you check in at stores across the country, they're going to give you an even better deal. So if you're into social media, you'd like to do that, you're going to get an even better deal.
Overall here, though, you still have to hunt for the deals, but they kicked off this morning things like a $99, Carol, diamond bracelet, things like a $99 leather jacket for men. So they're trying as hard as they can.
More than 7,000 people in this store now. It's getting more and more crowded as I speak. Four A.M.
They weren't open, though, Carol like most retailers were on Thanksgiving Day, which, I agree with you, it's is kind of sacred. I don't know if they should be open on Thanksgiving Day.
COSTELLO: I know. Exactly.
HARLOW: It's a little bit sacred.
COSTELLO: Can't you have one day with your family when you don't go out and buy something? You can't just sit - but I guess that's antiquated.
I just had a - I had a question for you, because you - you are a business reporter and you know about these things.
HARLOW: Yes.
COSTELLO: So 7,000 people were waiting to get in Macy's? Is this - is that a good sign? And what do retailers need to see to say this has been a great Black Friday for us and we see better things in the future for our economy?
HARLOW: It's a great question because, look, our - our overall growth, our GDP is two thirds consumer spending, and this is the biggest season. November, December, retailers do 50 percent of their business all year.
Macy's wouldn't predict how well they're going to do. I don't blame them. Consumers don't know. And, to be honest, Carol, talking to consumers here, some of them have shopping bags, but most of them are coming for the novelty. So it's one thing to get 7,000 people in the door, it's another thing to get them to spend and spend in a meaningful way.
And, honestly, they can get pretty much all the same deals online. So we want to keep an eye on the online sales, as well this year, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, Poppy. We'll check back with you next hour. Thanks.
HARLOW: You got it.
JOHNS: Now let's go to Martin Savidge. He is outside of Best Buy in Atlanta.
Martin, give us an - an idea how things are looking out there.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Joe, Carol, I don't know if you can see me.
JOHNS: There he is.
SAVIDGE: I'm back here in computers.
JOHNS: You sure are.
SAVIDGE: Well, this is the - this is the hot product right now, at least for Best Buy. When you talk to most people that were waiting in line - there were about 300 of them - excuse me, folks. (INAUDIBLE). They were waiting this morning as the doors opened up, and that was at 5:00 A.M. and just about everybody wanted computers.
Now, Joe, I've got some bad news for you. If you had your eye on the Samsung that was advertised in the Best Buy flyer, well, it's gone. It's gone. I'm afraid they -
(CROSSTALK)
SAVIDGE: Actually all the computer deals are out the door, and that was only within - what do we have? Well, about an hour and 15 minutes. So some of those best deals - that's why you had to be in line this morning, because they've already cleared off.
The shelves are being constantly restocked. The people have been very orderly, but they've also been very business-like. And, you know, these things, the flyers, I hate to tell you guys, they are a thing of the past. You don't use those anymore. No. You've got to use the online stuff.
And, in fact, for the first time this year, Best Buy was advertising using Facebook. They were also using Twitter. And they also have two apps, at least, on your cell phone, so that way you can figure out what are the best products to buy.
As you can see, the store's already filled with people. It has been ever since the doors opened. The cameras are really big, the interactive video games are big, as I pointed out, the computers are big. A lot of the tablets are popular, the e-readers, and then, of course, the flat-screen TVs. But they're way up at the front of the store, and, quite frankly, I can't get to it right now. We'll show it to you later.
JOHNS: You look tired already.
SAVIDGE: I'm worn out just getting here.
JOHNS: You bet. All right. Thanks so much, Martin Savidge.
Toys "R" Us stores opened at 10:00 P.M. last night. Company chairman and CEO Gerald Storch will talk with us live this morning. That's coming up at about 6:40 Eastern time.
COSTELLO: Also coming up this morning, a flash mob burst into song at a mall food court? And, guess what? It's gone viral online. We'll tell you why everyone is singing the Hallelujah chorus on YouTube.
JOHNS: That's awesome.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: I got a feeling the Black Eyed Peas are going to the Super Bowl. The NFL announcing the group will perform during the halftime show at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on February 6th.
It's the first time a hip hop act has actually played the gig since Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's notorious wardrobe malfunction in 2004. Who could forget that?
COSTELLO: I think it's the first time that a band with people in it less than 50 have performed at the Super Bowl. They're (INAUDIBLE) getting into the newer music.
JOHNS: Absolutely right. Yes. We - we're into the '90s now.
COSTELLO: Some of us wouldn't know a flash mob from a flash flood, but this one at a mall food court in Canada has gone viral on YouTube. They sound good too. JOHNS: They sound great.
COSTELLO: Listen to that. That sounds better than they do in church.
JOHNS: Handel would be proud.
COSTELLO: A group of about 100 people, they're serenading unsuspecting shoppers with the Hallelujah chorus, and the - the video has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube.
JOHNS: I can't believe that's actually them singing, though, because listen - it's like organ music in the background or something, isn't it?
COSTELLO: They take the organ with them at the mall - to the food court.
JOHNS: Right.
You can rock the red suit and the fake beard, but that wouldn't make you a sidewalk Santa. You have to have the moves, of course, or the kids will not buy it. In New York, they're teaching technique to student Santas, a "ho, ho, ho" how to, if you will.
Among the dos and don'ts, boots go on first, no garlic or onions, no smoking, no texting, and, I would assume, no bourbon.
COSTELLO: Boots go on first?
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: How did you get your pants on, then?
JOHNS: Well, yes. You - you put the boots on because if you put the big belly on, you wouldn't be able to bend over, right?
All right. Their will to live is unshakable, we're told - we're moving on now, by the way -
COSTELLO: I was going to say, what?
JOHNS: Right. I'm sorry.
The rescue, after 50 days at sea, unbelievable. Coming up, we'll talk with the first mate of the fishing boat that saved three teens from certain death. This is an unbelievable story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Call it a holiday miracle. Three teenage boys lost at sea found alive in the South Pacific.
They're back on dry land now after drifting for 50 days aboard a 6-foot aluminum dingy, surviving on rain water and raw fish.
COSTELLO: Such an amazing story.
JOHNS: (INAUDIBLE)
COSTELLO: A fishing boat from New Zealand finally spotted them some 800 miles from their home in the Tokelau Islands. On the phone with us right now, the first mate of that fishing boat, Tai Fredricsen.
Hello, Tai. Thank you for joining us.
TAI FREDRICSEN, HELPED SAVE TEENS LOST AT SEA: Hello, and thank you for having me on your show.
COSTELLO: Oh, we can't wait to hear the story.
So - so you're onboard your fishing boat and you spot some kind of object floating out there on the water. Tell us what happened next.
FREDRICSEN: Well, the crew member who was on watch actually brought it to my attention that they did see an object floating on the horizon, directly on our bow (ph). As we drew closer, we could see that it was a very small craft, and we could see - definitely see that there were three individuals in this craft.
We've been - were very concerned at this time that we didn't - didn't know that they were going to need help. You know, the area (INAUDIBLE) was very remote and the vessel they were in was very small. It was very small, about six foot.
We then came alongside the - to understand, the vessel we were on was about 300 feet, so we did stand off a little distance, just to be safe. And we launched our rescue craft after we've established that they were, you know, (INAUDIBLE). We brought the boys onboard as fast as we could.
And the first impression of seeing them physically was just devastating. Your heart really, you know, drops at the - the sight. They were in physically (ph) -
But the upside to it, their - their mentality, their - their will power was just incredible. They had smiles when they - we did get them onboard. They did need support. We have about 20 guys onboard this vessel, so they - they had plenty of hands to help them, support them, to give them sort of a room on board where we (INAUDIBLE) -
COSTELLO: But before we get to that, can you tell us more about their condition? We understand their clothes had disintegrated. All they had onboard that small vessel were two coconuts. What did they exactly look like?
FREDRICSEN: The boys were very dim, as you could imagine. Their muscles had deteriorated, as well. Just skin and bones, literally skin and bones. The boat was open, as you can imagine. A boat you'd more likely see in a river or a lake. You wouldn't want to be in the open ocean. It was open. They had the sun there up in the Tropics, they had the sun beating down on them (INAUDIBLE). They were very thin and very dehydrated as you can imagine.
JOHNS: OK. So one other quick question, it was only luck or happenstance that you actually ended up locating them. Tell us about that, will you?
FREDRICSEN: Yes, we're actually on a course which we generally do not take. We're actually on route to New Zealand. We are a fishing vessel, a tuna vessel (INAUDIBLE).
Generally, we unload to American territory island, American Samoa, which is to the east of the area we found the boys. Generally, we would go that area to unload.
But our company is bringing us to New Zealand. So, we're taking a route that we actually never would take. It's just pure chance, a miracle. You know, you can be the judge.
But yes, after two days of us sailing (ph) towards New Zealand, these boys (INAUDIBLE) on the 24th of this month at 4:30 in the afternoon. We didn't even have to turn the boat. The boat just went forward for them, with that in front of us.
COSTELLO: Very fortuitous that you found those boys. Thank you for joining us this morning, Tai Fredricsen. We sure appreciate it.
Some of the other stuff that, you know, we didn't get into. The boys survived on fish that they caught in the ocean. And they collected rain water to drink.
And the dangerous part -- just as, you know, Tai and company came upon them, it hadn't rained for a few days, so the boys were starting to drink salt water, which would've killed them.
JOHNS: Right. Yes.
COSTELLO: It was just sheer luck that these boys were rescued in the nick of time.
JOHNS: Just an amazing story of survival. And their folks back home absolutely didn't believe they were alive. They'd already basically held memorial services for them.
COSTELLO: I know. So, it was a miracle. It's really a great story.
It is 33 minutes past the hour. That means it's time to check on this morning's top stories.
Haiti is preparing to hold its presidential elections this weekend despite a cholera epidemic that continues to spread. So far, 1,400 people Haitians have died. Haitians will go to the polls on Sunday. Officials say more than 250,000 new voters have been registered and some 11,000 voting stations are in place across Haiti.
JOHNS: Retailers try to get a leg up on the competition this Black Friday. Many stores like Sears and Toys "R" Us opened yesterday. Sales have been down over the last two years. An estimated 138 million people will be on the hunt for holiday bargains across the country today.
COSTELLO: And tensions between North and South Korea on the verge of boiling over this morning. Right now, the unpredictable and nuclear North is accusing the United States and South Korea of pushing the peninsula closer to the brink of war. It's upset over the joint military drill that's scheduled for this weekend.
Washington says the drill had been planned before the North's attack on a South Korean island and will go on.
JOHNS: And this morning, we're getting a better sense of just how much damage was caused on that island that was hammered by the North Korean shelling.
Our Stan Grant was the first western journalist to visit Yeonpyeong. It was just a few miles north of North Korea and he filed this report earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Our first look up- close at Yeonpyeong Island. We caught a ride with South Korean's coast guard.
Off the shore, navy gunships in clear view, where just days ago North and South Korea traded fire, bringing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of all-out war.
On the streets of once bustling little fishing village is deserted. Around 1,500 people lived here. No more. Those who have stayed recalled the moment when North Korea rained shells on them.
"I was up near the lighthouse when my daughter called. She says -- and said some kind of war had broken out."
This is its aftermath. Houses lie in ruins where families once called home now is just destruction. It is the small things that tell the most. The books tattered and burned. This is what remains of a piano.
Here, a kitchen, charred pots and pans, broken crockery. What was once a child's cup, broken. The possessions gone, so are the people. Those who remain fear an uncertain future.
"This is a fishing village. What am I going to do if I leave? People have got to come back."
"There's got to be some kind of resolution to this. North Korea might do something again. It's scary. And my children need to go to school." Much of this island was destroyed so suddenly. The attack shattering an armistice of more than 50 years. For than an hour, a war that's never really ended up flared up again.
(on camera): Here is an up-close look of what may have happened when the attack took place. Here is what looks like a shell hole as it busted through that cement and brick wall. And just over here, here is shrapnel. Shrapnel marks where it would have beat the roof of this building and detonating and just destroying everything around it.
(voice-over): Yeonpyeong Island is a battle scarred and lonely place. Dogs, once family pets, are now strays, scavenging for food. The old people who will not leave cling to their possessions and try as much as they can to rebuild a shattered peace.
Stan Grant, CNN, Yeonpyeong Island.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING, how early is too early for Black Friday? Some stores opened on Thanksgiving night. We'll talk live to the biggest boss of the biggest toy retailer in the country and asked him why Toys "R" Us decided to open up on Thanksgiving.
JOHNS: Why?
COSTELLO: It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
COSTELLO: Good morning.
It's not even 7:00 a.m. here on the East Coast, but if you're sitting at home, the early bird has already passed you by.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Some of the Black Friday sales that used to start at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning actually started last night.
JOHNS: That's amazing.
While you were sleeping, some people finished their shopping getting some crazy good door buster deals.
Gerry Storch is the chairman and CEO of Toys "R" Us. A guy kids everywhere love. He's in the company's flagship store in New York's Time Square.
Thanks for taking some time to be with us this morning. Your store is actually opened at 10:00 last night and has been going strong. How's business so far?
GERALD STORCH, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, TOYS "R" US: Business has been great. It's great to speak to you this morning.
We opened at 10:00 p.m. last night. Last year, we opened at midnight. And customers told us that they were ready to go shopping a little bit earlier. So, we started at 10:00 p.m., the lines were incredible, hundreds of people outside every store. Over 1,000 people in front of many of our stores around the nation.
And business continues to be strong. We have a fantastic sale going on, 28 pages of toys, and it's going on all day all the way through until midnight tonight.
JOHNS: So tell us a little bit about some of the door-buster deals you're offering to the people who first showed up.
STORCH: Well, we're still offering them. We have 28 pages of deals. We have over 200 door-busters that are still in effect. And customers are coming in to snap them up. We made sure we had lots of inventory and sales are very, very strong.
Beyond those items, there are many hot toys this year. And at Toys "R" Us, we pride ourselves in having the hot toys in stock all the way to Christmas.
COSTELLO: He's a salesman for Toys "R" Us. We're going to get to toys in just a second.
STORCH: Sure.
COSTELLO: And I have to ask you about this, Gerry, because you did open up on Thanksgiving night for the first time. There's been a little backlash here in New York against stores opening up on Thanksgiving.
PC Richards & Son, it's an electronic store in New York, actually took out full-page ads in local newspapers. And I'm going to read you a bit of the ad.
It says, "We've been doing this since '95. We're taking a stand. This is an all-American holiday, not based on any race or religion. The stores that will open have no respect for American culture and no respect for their employees.
Is Mr. Sears working? Is Mr. Kmart working? It's not fair. They will be home with their families. Why be open one more day?"
In essence they're saying, why open up on Thanksgiving Day? I mean, why not just wait until Black Friday and let people -- let people -- your employees stay home with their families and not have to go to work?
STORCH: Well, I agree with you. We didn't open in the daytime. We opened at 10:00 p.m. at night. It was almost midnight. We opened last year at midnight.
We listen to our customers. They said they were long done with their Thanksgiving meal by then. They were looking for something to do.
Rather than staying up and waiting for the sales to start, they wanted to get going. We're talking about 10:00 p.m. at night. We're not talking about Thanksgiving Day for Toys "R" Us.
COSTELLO: It's still Thanksgiving night, though. I mean, wouldn't you rather be home with your family?
STORCH: Well, that's not what the thousands of people outside our stores felt. And they enjoyed the opportunity getting a jump on shopping. They didn't have to shop all night. They could go shopping, and then go home and get a good night's sleep.
So, they really appreciated what we did. Again, I think it's very different if you open up in the middle of the daytime or early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day.
JOHNS: So, let's get to some of the fun stuff. You've got some of the hot toys there.
Let's talk about the Squinkies. And first of all, tell me how you guys came up with the name, Squinkies, and some of the other toys that people are really looking at.
STORCH: Well, Squinkies, they're made by a company called Blip. And here's a giant holiday pack that is exclusive to Toys "R" Us, our Squinkies. And little girls just love these.
These are Sing-a-ma-jigs. This is another hot toy. And they harmonize with each other and sing songs. They're cute. They're just fantastic.
Chuggington trains are exclusive at Toys "R" Us. This is a fantastic product. A wonderful learning product for kids, a great TV show that teaches great values on Saturday mornings.
Lalaloopsy is the hot surprise toy doll of the year. Barbie is strong every year, and she's great this year. But Lalaloopsy is the hot, hard to find new doll for the year.
And then, finally, I want to highlight dance star Mickey. Mickey is off to a great start. He dances, he sings, he does all kinds of things and he's flying off the shelves.
COSTELLO: Oh, you just rhyme.
Hey, Gerry, I wanted to ask you -- those seem like such old- fashioned toys. We were talking to an economist yesterday who said most kids want an updated cell phone. And that must make your business interesting this year and in the coming years -- because you have to sort of tailor your business to your customer. And kids increasingly are becoming more technically-oriented at younger ages.
STORCH: Well, we believe in technology. Many of these toys have a lot of technology in them. Almost everyone I highlighted has a computer chip of some type in them. Beyond that, we've seen a tremendous growth this year in what's called early learning products like (INAUDIBLE). Those are selling very well. Also, we carry a complete line of Apple iPods and also netbooks which have been doing very well also.
JOHNS: Little bit of everything. Thanks so much, Gerry Storch, chairman and CEO of Toys 'R' Us, and we'll be watching your sales this season.
STORCH: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Gerry.
Forty-five minutes past the hour. Still to come this morning, Karen Maginnis in for Rob Marciano. She'll have this morning's travel forecast.
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JOHNS: It is now 48 minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of the weather headlines. Karen Maginnis in the Extreme Weather Center, and Karen it's beginning to look a lot like winter's on the way in some places.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It will definitely feel like as you go into the afternoon because those temperatures that you're feeling outside right now kind of mild. They'll be dropping down into the 40s fairly quickly. So, you probably peaked at the temperature for the day. We're looking at delays across some of the northeastern corridor that I-95 corridor, Boston, New York, Philadelphia where the visibility in some cases is just about 1/2 a mile or so.
But overall, haven't really seen it deteriorate. I was looking at some of the national reports and delays. We don't have any delays at any of the major airports, but look at these temperatures. Expecting a high today in Washington of 55, New York temperatures in the 50s, but as I mentioned, the wind is going to be blowing in from the west. A frontal system is going to sweep through. And as it does, those westerly winds are going to drop these temperatures down fairly rapidly.
So, if you don't feel like you need a jacket or something if you're headed out for this Black Friday right now, you will later on. It's going to be very brisk outside. So, those delays may pile up as we go through the afternoon hours. As I mentioned, here comes the front rain along that frontal boundary in Florida, you could see a couple of showers here and there. The temperatures over the last couple of days have been running 5 to 10 degrees above where they should be for this time of year.
All right. These are the current temperatures. New York is 52, Philadelphia is 55. Yes, this really incredible. Buffalo 32, buffalo, Syracuse. Joe and carol, it looks like they could see between 10 and 12 inches of lake effect snow over the next 24 hours or so. We'll keep you updated.
COSTELLO: That's ugly.
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MAGINNIS: It is.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Karen.
MAGINNIS: All right.
MAGINNIS: Coming up, an all-star tribute to heroes. Halle Berry and Kid Rock were among the stars on-hand to salute everyday people who are changing the world.
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STAFF SGT. EVAN LAWSON, U.S. AIR FORCE: I'm Staff Sgt. Evan Lawson from United States air force stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan. Just want to say -- give a shout out to my parents, Bill and Peggy Lawson in Milton, Florida, have a happy holidays. See you guys soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Heroes. And speaking of heroes, it was a star-studded affair, but the stars were in a supporting role as CNN paid tribute to some of the world's unsung heroes. It began with 33 rescued Chilean miners taking the stage in Los Angeles to a rousing standing ovation.
COSTELLO: That's pretty awesome. I like how they have the flag and everything.
JOHNS: Great shot, too, isn't it?
COSTELLO: The show closed with Anderson Cooper revealing 2010 CNN Hero of the Year, Anuradha Koirala. She spent two decades working to prevent the human trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls and women in Nepal. Anderson spoke with her moments after she won.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You've been named 2010 CNN Hero of the Year. How are you feeling?
ANURADHA KOIRALA, 2010 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: I feel that there are more responsibilities now on me.
COOPER: You feel more people are now looking at you? More people are know of you?
KOIRALA: Yes, of course. Now, I feel that they will be not only looking at me, but they will know the issue -- more issue -- the issue which we have taken up, the sex trafficking.
COOPER: You seem like such a quiet lady. But I know your nickname is the terminator. Why did they call you the terminator? KOIRALA: If your daughter or my -- doesn't matter whose daughter. everybody's daughter was trafficked and you catch hold of a trafficker, do you think that you get, oh, how sweet you are? You did such a nice job you took my daughter. I would have start (ph) giving him bruise. If I have to confront a trafficker, then I can really hit hard.
COOPER: When your children see you winning this award tonight, what do you think they will think?
KOIRALA: I've already sent a message, and they're all crying. And I know they will be very happy about it. And I know they will be very happy.
COOPER: This award comes with $100,000 in total $125,000. What will that money mean to your work? To your mission?
KOIRALA: There's only one woman's hospital in whole of Nepal, that's in the capital, but what about the other parts of the country where there is poverty, poverty, poverty? So, I'm thinking that I'll double up a woman's and children hospital with this.
COOPER: Have you ever thought about giving up? Have there been days where you thought I'm going to stop this?
KOIRALA: Never.
COOPER: Never.
KOIRALA: Never. Never.
COOPER: Congratulations. It's an honor to meet you.
KOIRALA: Thank you.
COOPER: Thank you.
KOIRALA: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: There were interviews from some of the young women that Anuradha has helped. And one of the women said who's mother sold her into sex slavery. She said my mother gave birth to me, but Anuradha did everything else.
JOHNS: Wow.
COSTELLO: And tear stream down. I mean, it was just so moving.
JOHNS: Amazing. Amazing woman, amazing story.
You can see the moment Anuradha won and the entire CNN heroes program tomorrow -- Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. pacific. And you can also donate to Anuradha's cause. And to each of the CNN heroes organizations at Facebook.com/CNN Heroes. COSTELLO: Top stories coming your way after the break.
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