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CNN Sunday Morning

Coal Mine Explosion Traps 166 Underground in China; Holiday Headache for Thousands of Travelers

Aired November 28, 2004 - 08:00   ET

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

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


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING and it's November 28th, almost December, 8 a.m. here at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta, 5 a.m. on the West Coast. Very early there. Thanks for watching.
I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for being with us.

Now in the news. A coal mine gas explosion in China has trapped at least 166 workers under ground. China's news agency says smoke was seen billowing out of vent shafts after the blast, One hundred twenty seven miners have been rescued so far.

China is notorious for mining accidents with thousands of deaths reported every year.

Back in the states they're snowed in and it could be days before they get out. A storm strands thousands at Reno Tahoe International Airport in Nevada and it happens to be on one of the busiest travel days of the year. We're told travelers who have tickets for today's flights will be OK. It's the ones who were supposed to fly out yesterday that could be stranded for a few days.

Reforming Social Security, it could mean the government will have to borrow some money. President Bush wants to ad personal investment accounts to Social Security. Aides say the government will likely turn to short term borrowing to do it. No final decisions have been made yet. Democrats said the plan would ad to already soaring deficits.

On the Delaware more moping up this morning. Officials are still cleaning the river after a 30,000 gallon oil spill. A tanker leaked the crude Friday night on a stretch of the river between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The huge slick has killed some 50 birds and also threatens fish in the area.

NGUYEN: And here's what we have coming up this hour. A holiday headache for thousands of travelers. Big surprise. Will you feel their pain as you try to head home? And then...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all started (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at the same time. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard somebody say something about pepper spray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: ...a trip to the toy store turns into a trip tot he hospital. We'll tell you what happened.

Plus later, praying for harmony. We'll talk to a theology student who is trying to unite people of all faiths.

HARRIS: Well, today is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year. Millions of people are making a mad dash to get home from the long holiday weekend. And that's our top story. AAA says more than 37 million Americans traveled more than 50 miles this Thanksgiving. That's up three percent over last year.

AAA also says 12 percent of the travelers will be flying. Well, chances are good you're watching us as you're packing up to head back home. Rally Caparas is an air travel expert with "Travelocity Business". He joins us for a look at what you can expect across the country right now.

Good morning, Rally.

RALLY CAPARAS, AIR TRAVEL EXPERT: Good morning, Tony. Well, we're off to a pretty good start as far as the entire country is concerned. The northeast they got beat up on Wednesday. It looks like they're going to get beat up today. It's going to be a tough go, especially if you're headed in to Boston, New York and Philly.

Take a look at flightexploere.com behind me and we're now looking at the volume. It has grown to about 2,350 airplanes over the last half hour, from just under 2,000. That's a pretty rapid growth pattern. We'll see that continue throughout the day. We'll see about 6,500 airplanes in the sky at one time and it will stay that way during the peak hours.

Boston's Logan Airport you are delay free right now, but you see what's headed toward you. Expect 60 to 90 minute arrival delays, low clouds, gusting winds of about 29 to 30 knots and poor visibility for sure.

Newark and LaGuardia airports this morning they are already in ground delay programs. That means the FAA has already assigned a delay for your airplane. If you're headed into New York City today it's going to be between one and two hours. If you're flying later this evening it could be as much as 2 1/2 to three hours.

Low clouds, rain, poor visibility, but that wind is what's really going to cause you a lot of problems there.

A little further south at Philadelphia, you too will see some strong gusting winds to the tune of 60 to 90 minute arrival delays. A runway configuration problem there also, but by the evening rush period there's a possibility that Philly could be out of the woods and we could see calmer winds and on time schedules. So keep your fingers crossed.

Out west Denver airport seeing some snow. Rob told you about it this morning, 45 to 60 minute arrival and departure delays for that matter. Freezing temperatures, departure flight de-icing, you may have to sit on the airplane about 30 to 45 minutes longer than you anticipated as they spray the airplane down for safety.

And then finally Las Vegas McCarran, they are delay free at the moment, but expect strong gusting north winds to reduce the arrival capacity because of the runway configuration blowing dust. Hour long delays there.

The rest of the country, what's left of it, absolutely beautiful day unlike what we saw on Wednesday

Tony, I'll see you in a little while.

HARRIS: Well, Rally, wait, you grab some books, you grab some of your favorite CDs and you just, you've got to be patient on a day like today don't you?

CAPARAS: Tony, coffee, it's a great day to make some new friends.

HARRIS: Thee you go.

CAPARAS: Bring some hand held games for the kids. Don't give them any sugar today, OK?

HARRIS: OK, Rally, we appreciate it. See you next hour.

CAPARAS: Sure.

NGUYEN: It was a violent morning in Iraq. There has been a deadly roadside bombing near Samarra, which is north of Baghdad. The blast hit two civilian vehicles killing four Iraqis and wounding another.

And in Baghdad this week, a U.S. diplomat was shot to death as he was driving. Jim Mollen's family says his death came just one week before he was to leave Iraq. Mollen is the second U.S. diplomat known to have been killed in Baghdad since Iraq's interim government took power.

A call from Iraq's top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani is pushing for the nationwide election to go on as scheduled. He is opposing a drive by Sunni clerics to delay the January 30th vote.

And that brings us to our e-mail question of the day. "Should Iraqi elections go ahead as planned on January 30th." Send us your thoughts as wam@cnn.com and we'll read them a little later in the show.

Plus the Iraqi elections. Let's talk about that for a minute. They will be the hot topic on "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer. Two top senators will give their take on the upcoming vote. Hat is at noon eastern today. .

HARRIS: Shoppers at a New York City toy store weren't in a very playful mood after getting a blast of something they did not expect. Alina Cho has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Holiday shoppers like this woman struggled to stay on her feet. Christie Wells was inside the Toys R Us store when she sensed something was wrong.

CHRISTIE WELLS, SHOPPER: Well, we were shopping and we started smelling something like a rotten egg and then we heard somebody say something about pepper spray and then everybody was coughing, sneezing, choking.

CHO: Authorities say someone released the pepper spray inside an elevator at the toy store's flagship. Fire officials say it likely was not an accident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The odds are someone just used a hand held canister like a woman would attach to a key chain in case she was attacked

CHO: Soon shoppers started feeling sick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all started coughing at the same time.

CHO: And thousands streamed out of the store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody was panicked. Everyone evacuated in a calm and orderly manner. And some people were actually upset that they had to leave their shopping.

CHO: Officials say all of the injuries were minor, though some shoppers say New York City post 9/11.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm concerned because of terrorism.

CHO: Others were more upset at the timing of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's terrible, especially during this time of the year, Christmas time.

CHO: Especially on one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the tourist that is Times Square.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a total shame that - you couldn't even think that this should be something that should be done in such a beautiful city.

CHO: Authorities are reviewing store surveillance tape to see who may have done it, while shoppers are back at it minus one unwanted break.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So unfortunate, on a busy shopping day like that.

HARRIS: Yes, we don't -- you don't need that.

NGUYEN: There's no reason for it. Not at all.

HARRIS: You don't need that chaos out there.

NGUYEN: Well, for thousands of years people have fought battles over differences in faith.

HARRIS: Now one young woman is doing all she can to help people overcome the differences of their religions. You'll meet her in our Faces of Faith segment a little later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Now that's some smooth jazz. This is...

HARRIS: You like saying that don't you?

NGUYEN: I do like saying that. This is Najee, Grammy nominated jazz musician. He joins us live in the 9 a.m. hour here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. You don't want to miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning Miami and hello to the thousands attending the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) party that helps raise money for south Florida's HIV AIDS services.

NGUYEN: That's a big event down there, Rob. Are they going to have some nice weather for that?

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: A big heave-ho and a lot of hands on help. These students are learning the real meaning of thanks and giving. They're from Toledo, Ohio but they spent their Thanksgiving in Lehigh Acres, Florida helping to build and rebuild houses for hurricane victims. That's part of a project for Habitat for Humanity.

And now that Thanksgiving is done it is on to Christmas. And while you're buying those gifts, don't forget to buy that tree. One location in Austin, Texas has a farm full of them. Allie Rasmus of CNN affiliate News 8 in Austin is at one such place and joins us live with a look.

And I have to ask you what's the difference between buying farm trees and say, buying a tree at Home Depot where a lot of us shop for those trees?

ALLIE RASMUS, NEWS 8 CORRESPONDENT: Well Betty, the novelty here is that they actually take you on a wagon ride out into the Christmas tree farm and you get to choose your own tree. Not only that, they send you out with a saw and a measuring poll so you actually saw down your own tree. And the measuring poll is so you can actually measure the height of the tree because they actually sell these trees by the foot.

And the place ends up being about comparable to what you'd find at say a Home Depot or at a regular retail lot, about $33. So you're really not paying extra for the whole experience of actually going out and choosing your own Christmas tree. And about $33 that's comparable with the national average for the price of a real Christmas tree.

Now I talked tot he owner of the Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm here and she says she has seen her business triple in the last five years. And she says the majority of her customers are actually in their 20s and 30s. So, she believes it's part of a growing trend of a younger generation coming out her and trying to get the whole family experience, bringing their kinds.

A lot of times she says they'll come out with their parents, an older generation, sot hat they can actually get the whole perspective about what it may have been like back in the old days of going out and having the traditional experience of cutting down your own Christmas tree.

So, people come out here for the family experience and that's the novelty here that you can't really find at just your typical old retail lot.

Betty.

NGUYEN: I hear you there definitely. Maybe the younger generation is getting involved too because it actually involves manual labor. You actually have to go and cut down that tree yourself.

HARRIS: Come on.

NGUYEN: That's hard work, Tony.

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a little work.

NGUYEN: Allie, let me ask you this too though. When you're picking that tree, especially if you've got to cut it down yourself, what are some of the things that you need to look for?

RASMUS: Well, of course you have to look for -- a lot of the things that the people who come here say they find is that they trees here tend to be fresher because they are still in the ground. And of course the things you always want to look for in buying a real tree is to make sure that the needles aren't brittle, that the needles are green and that it's fresh.

Because they also don't leave you on your own. They actually tell you how -- the proper way to saw down the tree. So it's not like you're totally on your own. They actually give you a little hand as well. NGUYEN: That's some good news. And you need to look for a tree that you can actually fit on top of your car or in the back of your truck so you can get it home. That's a very important point. All right, Allie Rasmus, a CNN affiliate News 8 in Austin. Thanks for that report.

Tony.

HARRIS; And checking our top stories. A gas explosion rips through a mine in northwestern China leaving at least 166 workers trapped under ground. State run media says nearly 130 other mine workers have been rescued.

A Saturday snow storm is still grounding hundreds of passengers at the Reno Tahoe airport. Now here's the rub. People holding tickets to travel today will be fine, but those flights are booked solid. So people who were supposed to have gotten out yesterday might not get a flight until Tuesday.

And President Bush is working on his plan to overhaul Social Security. Advisers say short term borrowing will likely be a part of the strategy to add personal retirement accounts. Democrats have vowed to protect Social Security from going private.

NGUYEN: Religions divided for hundreds of years.

HARRIS: Straight ahead in our Faces of Faith segment, an interview with an heiress who is using her own money to work to bring different religions together.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, you know, religion has dominated much of the news this past year. From the movie "The Passion of he Christ" to the presidential campaign, to the war on terrorism and the conflict in the Middle East.

Our guest this morning has dedicated herself to finding a mutual understanding among the world's often conflicting beliefs. Elizabeth Goldhirsh is the founder of Reaching Common Ground.

Elizabeth, good to see you.

ELIZABETH GOLDHIRSH, FOUNDER, REACHING COMMON GROUND: Thank you so much.

HARRIS: Thanks for being here this morning.

GOLDHIRSH: Thank you.

HARRIS: Well you said you became a bit dismayed about the lack of tolerance you were feeling and hearing in this country., Give us a sense of what you were hearing and feeling that made you feel this way.

GOLDHIRSH; Well, last spring when the movie "The Passion of the Christ" came out there was a lot of charged debate surrounding it. And I thought people missed an opportunity to speak about the common ground between Christians and Jews.

HARRIS; Yes. So what did you decide to do about I?

GOLDHIRSH: So I started a writing contest called Reaching Common Ground dedicated to finding the common ground between Christians and Jews. And we've had over 4,000 responses and we just announced the winners.

HARRIS; Now take us back to the movie "the Passion of the Christ." There was a lot of controversy surrounding that movie. Did you find in anti-Semitic?

GOLDHIRSH: No. I saw it and I felt it was a beautiful movie. There are a lot of pluses and some minuses, but my contest was more in response tot he really tense conversation surrounding the movie. I felt people are focusing on differences rather than talking about what Christians and Jews share. For example, the fact that Jesus was a Jew or that the Old Testament is sacred to both Christians and Jews.

HARRIS: Now here's where it gets a little tricky. How do you bridge that debate? How do you then begin a conversation? For example, who's in the room and how does the conversation start?

GOLDHIRSH: Well, that's exactly what this contest tried to do. We had three questions in faith, history and current events and each of the questions were focused on students trying to find what the two faiths shared, whether that's from the Bible or history or what's going on today.

HARRIS: And when you get down to it when you talk about this divide it comes down, doesn't it to Jesus? What you think of Jesus. Was he man delivering his people or was he a divine figure here to deliver mankind?

GOLDHIRSH: Right.

HARRIS: Where do you fall? Where do you fall? We'll put you on the spot, Elizabeth.

GOLDHIRSH: That's a great point. I'm Jewish and I consider Jesus to be a very important Jewish leader. Although, as you know, Jews don't consider Jesus to be the messiah. But that doesn't mean that there is so much that we can reach out to our Christian brothers and sisters and find common ground with them.

And we're actually looking forward to including Muslims as well in the future.

HARRIS: OK. So how do you get past the notion for many people, that the growth of Christianity is coming at the expense of Judaism? And for some the lack of acknowledgement that you can't get to Christianity without Judaism.

GOLDHIRSH: Well, that's a great point. I think many Christians believe that Christians have been grafted in alongside Jews as God's people and I know Muslims feel that they have been grafted in as well so that we're all God's children.

HARRIS: Give us a sense of why you started this Web site and why you started this project. It goes back to the unfortunate deaths of your parents doesn't it?

GOLDHIRSH: Yes. Both of my parents passed away from cancer. My father died last summer and my mother died five years ago and I really understood that we have a short time in our lives and I felt I really wanted to make a difference in the time that I have. And that's why I dedicated this contest to my parents memories.

HARRIS: Elizabeth, good to see you. Thanks for being here. Thanks for taking the time to...

GOLDHIRSH: Thank you so much for having me.

HARRIS: It's been good having you.

GOLDHIRSH: Thank you.

NGUYEN: It goes without saying that religious differences are the heart of the stalled Mid East peace process. Now in an effort to move those talks forward, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he is willing to meet with the new Palestinian leader.

Mahmoud Abbas is the leading candidate to become Palestinian Authority president. Sharon says he would be willing to meet with Abbas if he wins the January 9th election.

HARRIS: And that brings us to our e-mail question of the day and we really want your responses on this. "Should the Iraqi elections go ahead as planned on January 30th."

NGUYEN: Send those in to wam@cnn.com. I believe we do have some responses this morning.

Tony writes, "If the elections don't go ahead then all the lives, all the money was for nothing. A lot of people should be held accountable for the whole mess."

HARRIS: And this one from Ed, "The Iraqis should proceed with the elections as soon as possible so that our soldiers can return back to U.S. soil as soon as possible."

NGUYEN: Well, straight ahead your quick fix on what is happening right now in the news. Plus Sanjay Gupta with "HOUSE CALL."

And the elderly to the retirement homes to straight African American women. Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the new face of HIV AIDS.

I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. We will see you again at the top of the hour. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired November 28, 2004 - 08:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING and it's November 28th, almost December, 8 a.m. here at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta, 5 a.m. on the West Coast. Very early there. Thanks for watching.
I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for being with us.

Now in the news. A coal mine gas explosion in China has trapped at least 166 workers under ground. China's news agency says smoke was seen billowing out of vent shafts after the blast, One hundred twenty seven miners have been rescued so far.

China is notorious for mining accidents with thousands of deaths reported every year.

Back in the states they're snowed in and it could be days before they get out. A storm strands thousands at Reno Tahoe International Airport in Nevada and it happens to be on one of the busiest travel days of the year. We're told travelers who have tickets for today's flights will be OK. It's the ones who were supposed to fly out yesterday that could be stranded for a few days.

Reforming Social Security, it could mean the government will have to borrow some money. President Bush wants to ad personal investment accounts to Social Security. Aides say the government will likely turn to short term borrowing to do it. No final decisions have been made yet. Democrats said the plan would ad to already soaring deficits.

On the Delaware more moping up this morning. Officials are still cleaning the river after a 30,000 gallon oil spill. A tanker leaked the crude Friday night on a stretch of the river between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The huge slick has killed some 50 birds and also threatens fish in the area.

NGUYEN: And here's what we have coming up this hour. A holiday headache for thousands of travelers. Big surprise. Will you feel their pain as you try to head home? And then...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all started (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at the same time. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard somebody say something about pepper spray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: ...a trip to the toy store turns into a trip tot he hospital. We'll tell you what happened.

Plus later, praying for harmony. We'll talk to a theology student who is trying to unite people of all faiths.

HARRIS: Well, today is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year. Millions of people are making a mad dash to get home from the long holiday weekend. And that's our top story. AAA says more than 37 million Americans traveled more than 50 miles this Thanksgiving. That's up three percent over last year.

AAA also says 12 percent of the travelers will be flying. Well, chances are good you're watching us as you're packing up to head back home. Rally Caparas is an air travel expert with "Travelocity Business". He joins us for a look at what you can expect across the country right now.

Good morning, Rally.

RALLY CAPARAS, AIR TRAVEL EXPERT: Good morning, Tony. Well, we're off to a pretty good start as far as the entire country is concerned. The northeast they got beat up on Wednesday. It looks like they're going to get beat up today. It's going to be a tough go, especially if you're headed in to Boston, New York and Philly.

Take a look at flightexploere.com behind me and we're now looking at the volume. It has grown to about 2,350 airplanes over the last half hour, from just under 2,000. That's a pretty rapid growth pattern. We'll see that continue throughout the day. We'll see about 6,500 airplanes in the sky at one time and it will stay that way during the peak hours.

Boston's Logan Airport you are delay free right now, but you see what's headed toward you. Expect 60 to 90 minute arrival delays, low clouds, gusting winds of about 29 to 30 knots and poor visibility for sure.

Newark and LaGuardia airports this morning they are already in ground delay programs. That means the FAA has already assigned a delay for your airplane. If you're headed into New York City today it's going to be between one and two hours. If you're flying later this evening it could be as much as 2 1/2 to three hours.

Low clouds, rain, poor visibility, but that wind is what's really going to cause you a lot of problems there.

A little further south at Philadelphia, you too will see some strong gusting winds to the tune of 60 to 90 minute arrival delays. A runway configuration problem there also, but by the evening rush period there's a possibility that Philly could be out of the woods and we could see calmer winds and on time schedules. So keep your fingers crossed.

Out west Denver airport seeing some snow. Rob told you about it this morning, 45 to 60 minute arrival and departure delays for that matter. Freezing temperatures, departure flight de-icing, you may have to sit on the airplane about 30 to 45 minutes longer than you anticipated as they spray the airplane down for safety.

And then finally Las Vegas McCarran, they are delay free at the moment, but expect strong gusting north winds to reduce the arrival capacity because of the runway configuration blowing dust. Hour long delays there.

The rest of the country, what's left of it, absolutely beautiful day unlike what we saw on Wednesday

Tony, I'll see you in a little while.

HARRIS: Well, Rally, wait, you grab some books, you grab some of your favorite CDs and you just, you've got to be patient on a day like today don't you?

CAPARAS: Tony, coffee, it's a great day to make some new friends.

HARRIS: Thee you go.

CAPARAS: Bring some hand held games for the kids. Don't give them any sugar today, OK?

HARRIS: OK, Rally, we appreciate it. See you next hour.

CAPARAS: Sure.

NGUYEN: It was a violent morning in Iraq. There has been a deadly roadside bombing near Samarra, which is north of Baghdad. The blast hit two civilian vehicles killing four Iraqis and wounding another.

And in Baghdad this week, a U.S. diplomat was shot to death as he was driving. Jim Mollen's family says his death came just one week before he was to leave Iraq. Mollen is the second U.S. diplomat known to have been killed in Baghdad since Iraq's interim government took power.

A call from Iraq's top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani is pushing for the nationwide election to go on as scheduled. He is opposing a drive by Sunni clerics to delay the January 30th vote.

And that brings us to our e-mail question of the day. "Should Iraqi elections go ahead as planned on January 30th." Send us your thoughts as wam@cnn.com and we'll read them a little later in the show.

Plus the Iraqi elections. Let's talk about that for a minute. They will be the hot topic on "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer. Two top senators will give their take on the upcoming vote. Hat is at noon eastern today. .

HARRIS: Shoppers at a New York City toy store weren't in a very playful mood after getting a blast of something they did not expect. Alina Cho has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Holiday shoppers like this woman struggled to stay on her feet. Christie Wells was inside the Toys R Us store when she sensed something was wrong.

CHRISTIE WELLS, SHOPPER: Well, we were shopping and we started smelling something like a rotten egg and then we heard somebody say something about pepper spray and then everybody was coughing, sneezing, choking.

CHO: Authorities say someone released the pepper spray inside an elevator at the toy store's flagship. Fire officials say it likely was not an accident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The odds are someone just used a hand held canister like a woman would attach to a key chain in case she was attacked

CHO: Soon shoppers started feeling sick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all started coughing at the same time.

CHO: And thousands streamed out of the store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody was panicked. Everyone evacuated in a calm and orderly manner. And some people were actually upset that they had to leave their shopping.

CHO: Officials say all of the injuries were minor, though some shoppers say New York City post 9/11.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm concerned because of terrorism.

CHO: Others were more upset at the timing of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's terrible, especially during this time of the year, Christmas time.

CHO: Especially on one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the tourist that is Times Square.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a total shame that - you couldn't even think that this should be something that should be done in such a beautiful city.

CHO: Authorities are reviewing store surveillance tape to see who may have done it, while shoppers are back at it minus one unwanted break.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So unfortunate, on a busy shopping day like that.

HARRIS: Yes, we don't -- you don't need that.

NGUYEN: There's no reason for it. Not at all.

HARRIS: You don't need that chaos out there.

NGUYEN: Well, for thousands of years people have fought battles over differences in faith.

HARRIS: Now one young woman is doing all she can to help people overcome the differences of their religions. You'll meet her in our Faces of Faith segment a little later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Now that's some smooth jazz. This is...

HARRIS: You like saying that don't you?

NGUYEN: I do like saying that. This is Najee, Grammy nominated jazz musician. He joins us live in the 9 a.m. hour here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. You don't want to miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning Miami and hello to the thousands attending the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) party that helps raise money for south Florida's HIV AIDS services.

NGUYEN: That's a big event down there, Rob. Are they going to have some nice weather for that?

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: A big heave-ho and a lot of hands on help. These students are learning the real meaning of thanks and giving. They're from Toledo, Ohio but they spent their Thanksgiving in Lehigh Acres, Florida helping to build and rebuild houses for hurricane victims. That's part of a project for Habitat for Humanity.

And now that Thanksgiving is done it is on to Christmas. And while you're buying those gifts, don't forget to buy that tree. One location in Austin, Texas has a farm full of them. Allie Rasmus of CNN affiliate News 8 in Austin is at one such place and joins us live with a look.

And I have to ask you what's the difference between buying farm trees and say, buying a tree at Home Depot where a lot of us shop for those trees?

ALLIE RASMUS, NEWS 8 CORRESPONDENT: Well Betty, the novelty here is that they actually take you on a wagon ride out into the Christmas tree farm and you get to choose your own tree. Not only that, they send you out with a saw and a measuring poll so you actually saw down your own tree. And the measuring poll is so you can actually measure the height of the tree because they actually sell these trees by the foot.

And the place ends up being about comparable to what you'd find at say a Home Depot or at a regular retail lot, about $33. So you're really not paying extra for the whole experience of actually going out and choosing your own Christmas tree. And about $33 that's comparable with the national average for the price of a real Christmas tree.

Now I talked tot he owner of the Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm here and she says she has seen her business triple in the last five years. And she says the majority of her customers are actually in their 20s and 30s. So, she believes it's part of a growing trend of a younger generation coming out her and trying to get the whole family experience, bringing their kinds.

A lot of times she says they'll come out with their parents, an older generation, sot hat they can actually get the whole perspective about what it may have been like back in the old days of going out and having the traditional experience of cutting down your own Christmas tree.

So, people come out here for the family experience and that's the novelty here that you can't really find at just your typical old retail lot.

Betty.

NGUYEN: I hear you there definitely. Maybe the younger generation is getting involved too because it actually involves manual labor. You actually have to go and cut down that tree yourself.

HARRIS: Come on.

NGUYEN: That's hard work, Tony.

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a little work.

NGUYEN: Allie, let me ask you this too though. When you're picking that tree, especially if you've got to cut it down yourself, what are some of the things that you need to look for?

RASMUS: Well, of course you have to look for -- a lot of the things that the people who come here say they find is that they trees here tend to be fresher because they are still in the ground. And of course the things you always want to look for in buying a real tree is to make sure that the needles aren't brittle, that the needles are green and that it's fresh.

Because they also don't leave you on your own. They actually tell you how -- the proper way to saw down the tree. So it's not like you're totally on your own. They actually give you a little hand as well. NGUYEN: That's some good news. And you need to look for a tree that you can actually fit on top of your car or in the back of your truck so you can get it home. That's a very important point. All right, Allie Rasmus, a CNN affiliate News 8 in Austin. Thanks for that report.

Tony.

HARRIS; And checking our top stories. A gas explosion rips through a mine in northwestern China leaving at least 166 workers trapped under ground. State run media says nearly 130 other mine workers have been rescued.

A Saturday snow storm is still grounding hundreds of passengers at the Reno Tahoe airport. Now here's the rub. People holding tickets to travel today will be fine, but those flights are booked solid. So people who were supposed to have gotten out yesterday might not get a flight until Tuesday.

And President Bush is working on his plan to overhaul Social Security. Advisers say short term borrowing will likely be a part of the strategy to add personal retirement accounts. Democrats have vowed to protect Social Security from going private.

NGUYEN: Religions divided for hundreds of years.

HARRIS: Straight ahead in our Faces of Faith segment, an interview with an heiress who is using her own money to work to bring different religions together.

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HARRIS: Well, you know, religion has dominated much of the news this past year. From the movie "The Passion of he Christ" to the presidential campaign, to the war on terrorism and the conflict in the Middle East.

Our guest this morning has dedicated herself to finding a mutual understanding among the world's often conflicting beliefs. Elizabeth Goldhirsh is the founder of Reaching Common Ground.

Elizabeth, good to see you.

ELIZABETH GOLDHIRSH, FOUNDER, REACHING COMMON GROUND: Thank you so much.

HARRIS: Thanks for being here this morning.

GOLDHIRSH: Thank you.

HARRIS: Well you said you became a bit dismayed about the lack of tolerance you were feeling and hearing in this country., Give us a sense of what you were hearing and feeling that made you feel this way.

GOLDHIRSH; Well, last spring when the movie "The Passion of the Christ" came out there was a lot of charged debate surrounding it. And I thought people missed an opportunity to speak about the common ground between Christians and Jews.

HARRIS; Yes. So what did you decide to do about I?

GOLDHIRSH: So I started a writing contest called Reaching Common Ground dedicated to finding the common ground between Christians and Jews. And we've had over 4,000 responses and we just announced the winners.

HARRIS; Now take us back to the movie "the Passion of the Christ." There was a lot of controversy surrounding that movie. Did you find in anti-Semitic?

GOLDHIRSH: No. I saw it and I felt it was a beautiful movie. There are a lot of pluses and some minuses, but my contest was more in response tot he really tense conversation surrounding the movie. I felt people are focusing on differences rather than talking about what Christians and Jews share. For example, the fact that Jesus was a Jew or that the Old Testament is sacred to both Christians and Jews.

HARRIS: Now here's where it gets a little tricky. How do you bridge that debate? How do you then begin a conversation? For example, who's in the room and how does the conversation start?

GOLDHIRSH: Well, that's exactly what this contest tried to do. We had three questions in faith, history and current events and each of the questions were focused on students trying to find what the two faiths shared, whether that's from the Bible or history or what's going on today.

HARRIS: And when you get down to it when you talk about this divide it comes down, doesn't it to Jesus? What you think of Jesus. Was he man delivering his people or was he a divine figure here to deliver mankind?

GOLDHIRSH: Right.

HARRIS: Where do you fall? Where do you fall? We'll put you on the spot, Elizabeth.

GOLDHIRSH: That's a great point. I'm Jewish and I consider Jesus to be a very important Jewish leader. Although, as you know, Jews don't consider Jesus to be the messiah. But that doesn't mean that there is so much that we can reach out to our Christian brothers and sisters and find common ground with them.

And we're actually looking forward to including Muslims as well in the future.

HARRIS: OK. So how do you get past the notion for many people, that the growth of Christianity is coming at the expense of Judaism? And for some the lack of acknowledgement that you can't get to Christianity without Judaism.

GOLDHIRSH: Well, that's a great point. I think many Christians believe that Christians have been grafted in alongside Jews as God's people and I know Muslims feel that they have been grafted in as well so that we're all God's children.

HARRIS: Give us a sense of why you started this Web site and why you started this project. It goes back to the unfortunate deaths of your parents doesn't it?

GOLDHIRSH: Yes. Both of my parents passed away from cancer. My father died last summer and my mother died five years ago and I really understood that we have a short time in our lives and I felt I really wanted to make a difference in the time that I have. And that's why I dedicated this contest to my parents memories.

HARRIS: Elizabeth, good to see you. Thanks for being here. Thanks for taking the time to...

GOLDHIRSH: Thank you so much for having me.

HARRIS: It's been good having you.

GOLDHIRSH: Thank you.

NGUYEN: It goes without saying that religious differences are the heart of the stalled Mid East peace process. Now in an effort to move those talks forward, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he is willing to meet with the new Palestinian leader.

Mahmoud Abbas is the leading candidate to become Palestinian Authority president. Sharon says he would be willing to meet with Abbas if he wins the January 9th election.

HARRIS: And that brings us to our e-mail question of the day and we really want your responses on this. "Should the Iraqi elections go ahead as planned on January 30th."

NGUYEN: Send those in to wam@cnn.com. I believe we do have some responses this morning.

Tony writes, "If the elections don't go ahead then all the lives, all the money was for nothing. A lot of people should be held accountable for the whole mess."

HARRIS: And this one from Ed, "The Iraqis should proceed with the elections as soon as possible so that our soldiers can return back to U.S. soil as soon as possible."

NGUYEN: Well, straight ahead your quick fix on what is happening right now in the news. Plus Sanjay Gupta with "HOUSE CALL."

And the elderly to the retirement homes to straight African American women. Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the new face of HIV AIDS.

I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. We will see you again at the top of the hour. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com