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CNN Sunday Morning

Insurgent Violence Surges in Iraq; Bush Dogged by Iraq Questions on China Trip

Aired November 20, 2005 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CO-HOST: Murtha says the U.S. troops have become a magnet for insurgent violence. By contrast, the president contends an immediate withdrawal would strengthen the terrorists.
Ford Motor Company says it plans to cut about 4,000 white collar jobs in North America early next year. The Michigan-based automaker says it's been hurt by competition from Asia and the high cost of health care and materials.

Tropical Storm Gamma weakened into a tropical depression today. That storm, carrying top sustained winds of about 35 miles an hour, is off the coast Honduras. Gamma did kill 12 people in the Central American countries of Honduras and Belize.

It is 8 a.m. in New Orleans, 9 a.m. in the nation's capital on this Sunday, November 20. Good morning everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.

ROB MARCIANO, CO-HOST: Good morning, I'm Rob Marciano in for Tony Harris. Thanks for starting your day with us.

Also ahead this hour, if you're going somewhere and you thought high fuel prices would keep more people at home this holiday season, think again. But we've got some tips for some cheap trips.

And it's been nearly three months since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. And thanks to a group called Rebuilding Together, some residents are finally going back home.

And thanks to one U.S. Army captain, thousands of orphan children in Iraq are getting a helping hand, as well.

NGUYEN: Now we want to take you to the war zone. It has been a very bloody weekend all across Iraq. Perhaps the worst single attack came when a suicide car bomber struck a funeral near the city of Baqubah, which is north of Baghdad. Twenty-five people were killed, 30 others wounded. Earlier on Saturday, a blast at a market southeast of Baghdad killed 11 civilians and wounded 20 others.

Meanwhile, President Bush restated today that the U.S. will stay the course in Iraq. He is resisting a Democratic congressman's call to pull out right away.

And the death toll of American troops in Iraq just keeps on rising. Just this weekend, a U.S. Marine and five soldiers were killed in separate insurgent attacks. That brings the total number of U.S. troops killed since the war began to 2,090.

Well, U.S. troops are on the move in western Iraq, about 300 of them along with 150 Iraqi soldiers. They launched Operation Bruins in the insurgent-heavy town of Ramadi last night. Now, the offensive is part of what the U.S. military calls disruption operations. They are aimed at rooting out insurgents and stabilizing the Ramadi area in time for the December 15 elections.

As we mentioned, there has been a burst of insurgent violence in Iraq this weekend. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us now from Baghdad with the latest on this.

What's sparking all this violence? Do you know, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, it really isn't clear. Certainly, some of it seems to have a sectarian basis, but some of it just seems to be the ongoing number of attacks.

One latest casualty toll -- casualty that we've heard about is a little bit of a surprise, a British soldier killed in Basra by a roadside bomb. Four other British soldiers wounded it that attack. Generally, Basra in the south tends to be relatively quiet.

But the U.S. troops who were killed -- U.S. Marine who was killed today in the west of Iraq in the town of Haditha, that area is a very volatile area. It was a roadside bomb placed, apparently, on a very busy road that targeted their convoy. One soldier was killed. There was an exchange of gunfire. Eight insurgents were shot.

It appeared to be that they were trying to ambush the Marines as they drove by with the roadside bomb, and caught up in that blast, as well, 15 Iraqis also killed.

But in Baghdad, it's been a bloody day in Baghdad, as well. One Iraqi police major was shot as he was driving his car, his civilian car. He didn't have his uniform on, on the south side of Baghdad.

Three Iraqis were found dead on the eastern side of Baghdad. They'd all been shot in the head. Their hands were bound.

And today in the west of Baghdad, a child was killed when a roadside bomb went off. Five other people were wounded in that particular blast.

And almost sort of typical, if you will, for what's been happening here, the types of attacks. But definitely the past 72 hours a very bloody period here, Betty.

NGUYEN: That's the latest in the violence. But what about security measures? Are they being stepped up as those December 15 elections draw near?

ROBERTSON: Well, certainly what we're seeing in Ramadi, this sort of shaping, if you will, kind of shape the environment, the operation that's under way there, will try and bring stability to Ramadi. Ramadi is close to Falluja. And if you remember last year, Falluja, there was a very big operation there to calm -- to calm Falluja down, to get rid of the insurgents there. That hasn't happened in Ramadi. And it appears as if there's efforts to now make Ramadi more secure so that more people can get out and vote in the elections.

And just while I've been talking to you here, Betty, I've heard a loud explosion go off in the background. Not clear what that is, but that's -- that's the sort of level of -- level of violence and nature of the violence here, very sporadic. I hear the police sirens going off right now, Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, we hear it, too, in the background. Of course, we'll let you check on that. But of course, it is indeed just a signal of life there in Baghdad.

Nic Robertson, thank you so much. If it is something important, do check in with us.

In other news, President Bush says America will stay in Iraq until troops achieve victory, and so does Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld says Democratic Congressman John Murtha's recent call for a speedy troop withdrawal has done little to change the Bush administration's plans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The strategy and plan and we're implementing it, it's working. Elections coming up December 15. And we've been passing over responsibility to the Iraqis and will continue to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And later today, Wolf Blitzer talks to the man in charge as the debate over the Iraq war gets louder by the day. Find out what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has to say as he joins Wolf on "LATE EDITION." That's at 11 a.m. Eastern, 8 a.m. out west -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Betty, promises, but no concrete concessions. That's what's coming out of President Bush's meetings with China's leaders in Beijing. America has growing concerns that China's trade growth threatens jobs at home, and the president is also pressuring China to boost human rights, especially religious freedoms.

Meantime, Mr. Bush is facing criticism at home over the Iraq war. This time it's coming from Democratic Congressman John Murtha, who's a distinguished veteran. Murtha says the U.S. should pull out of Iraq at the earliest practical date. But how does the president respond?

CNN's Dana bash is with the president on his Asian tour -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, you remember a couple of days ago the White House responded to John Murtha's call by putting out a statement that was pretty sharp, said that he is now akin, in terms of his policy, to the liberal filmmaker Michael Moore.

Well, after that, at the end of the week, there was intense and very heated debate, as you said, over the Iraq war, but even personal. It got pretty personal about Congressman John Murtha. Republican Congresswoman on House floor even calling him a coward.

So here in Beijing, when the president came out to talk to reporters about issues going on here, his talks with Chinese leaders he, without even prompting, decided to talk about John Murtha, still saying that he disagrees with his position, but appearing to tone down the rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: congressman Murtha is a fine man. A good man who served our country with honor and distinction as a marine in Vietnam and as a United States congressman. He is a strong supporter of the United States military. And I know the decision to call for immediate withdrawal of our troops by Congressman Murtha was done in a careful and thoughtful way. I disagree with his position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, talking about Iraq is really a typical thing for the president as he makes his way through Asia. It has been dogging him since he started his trip almost a week ago.

But here in China, he actually is finished for the day. He finished with -- a dinner with his host, President Hu Jintao, after a series of discussions with leaders here over issues that were very important to the president, very important to Americans back home, ranging from human rights to economic issues, trade -- a trade imbalance that could run a deficit of about $200 billion this year, that many believe costs thousands of American jobs.

Bush officials said afterwards that there were good discussions, frank discussions, which is diplo-speak for a pretty hard discussion, but no concession on any of the fronts -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Busy times in Asia for the president. Thanks, Dana. Dana Bush -- I'm sorry, Dana Bash, live for us in Beijing, China -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, he was no ordinary teenager. Eighteen-year-old Terrell Pough was gunned down on his way home from work Thursday night. Terrell was committed to living an extraordinary life for him and his 2-year-old daughter, Diamond. He was honored, in fact, by "People" magazine last summer as an outstanding single father. And those who knew him say his daughter was his world.

Reporter Amanda Martin from CNN affiliate WTXF has more on the life and tragic death of Terrell Pough.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AMANDA MARTIN, WTXF REPORTER (voice-over): At almost 2 years old, Diamond can't yet understand exactly what she's lost. She's lost her protector, her caretaker, her dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's where he got his drive. I mean, you look at his daughter. How can you not -- how can you not want to give your all to her?

MARTIN: After she was born, when he was 16 years old, Terrell Pough made a lifetime commitment to giving her his all.

RICHARD NESBITT, POUGH'S UNCLE: He was just the personification of excellence. He had every opportunity, because of his background, to do the wrong thing. And there were times it would have been typically understandable. But he chose -- he was the exception to the rule.

MARTIN: Terrell made Diamond his No. 1 priority, raising her on his own while going to school and holding a steady job. He was recognized by "People" magazine in August for being an outstanding single father and earlier this month honored by the 76ers for being a responsible young adult.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was capable of doing anything.

MARTIN: Terrell's mentor in a teen parenting program says he was on the path of true success.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's not much that Terrell probably couldn't do with his life.

MARTIN: But now someone has taken Terrell's life and a major part of hers. Thursday night at 10:30 police say Terrell was shot and killed in the 5400 block of Wayne Avenue in Germantown. He was leaving work, on the way to pick up Diamond. Police say they have no suspects and no motive.

LIZ POUGH, MOTHER: We have to survive (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's sad, and anyone that knows anything about what happened to him, if they would come forward, I would be grateful.

MARTIN: For Diamond life will never be the same.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: No, it won't. After a hearing of Pough's tragic death, "People" magazine issued a statement saying, quote, "We at 'People' are deeply saddened by the death of Terrell Pough, who won the admiration of our readers when he shared his story. Our thoughts are with his family, particularly his daughter, Diamond."

If you are hitting the road this week for Thanksgiving, we want to tell you, look at that traffic. You better brace yourself, because you are not alone. Up next this morning, the tips that you need to know so you can travel cheap and avoid the gridlock. MARCIANO: And later, home in time for the holidays. Mother Nature destroyed everything they have. Now the New Orleans families are getting their lives back on track. That's starting today.

Here's Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Our top stories this morning, funerals are scheduled in Iraq following Saturday's attack at a Shiite funeral in northern Baghdad. At least 25 people were killed and 30 others wounded. It is deadliest of several attacks all across Iraq this weekend.

President Bush is defending the Iraq war. While in China, Mr. Bush warned a premature withdrawal of U.S. troops will have terrible consequences. His comments came in response to Democratic Congressman John Murtha, who called for a pullout to begin soon.

And from the entertainment world, Christina Aguilera is a married woman. Listen up, all you men out there. She and boyfriend, Jordan -- Jordan Bratman is his name -- tied the knot in a quiet Napa Valley vineyard on Saturday. Sources say the two will take an extended honeymoon at an undisclosed location.

Good for her, Rob.

MARCIANO: Exactly. Wedding bliss. We're very happy for her.

Well, listen. You may be traveling for the holidays. And maybe you're hoping high fuel prices might keep the roads and skies a little clearer for your holiday travel. Well, we've got some bad news. Highways and airports are likely to be as busy as ever this week as some 37 million Americans are expected to travel for Thanksgiving.

So want to travel cheap and steer clear of the jams? Well, we have somebody to talk to. Joining us from New York this morning is Hillary Geronemus of "Travel and Leisure" magazine.

Hillary, let's talk about fuel prices. Does it not make sense that people might hang home a little bit more, because it's just more expensive to travel? Or...

HILLARY GERONEMUS, "TRAVEL AND LEISURE" MAGAZINE: It does. There are 37 million. That's only about a 0.8 percent increase from last year. So the increase isn't as much as, you know, it has been in past years. But that doesn't mean that can keep people home. And people just want to go and spend time with their family.

MARCIANO: Yes, at no cost probably.

GERONEMUS: Exactly.

MARCIANO: So or at any cost, I should say. Well, give folks some tips just to maybe to steer clear of the traffic and maybe save a few bucks at the same time.

GERONEMUS: Well, the best thing to do if you're, you know, going by either car or by plane is -- and you haven't already booked your ticket, is to try to avoid the busy times. You know, flying in the early morning or the late evening is always the best time. You avoid flight delays, and you avoid the gridlock of the traffic. And also you can get more affordable deals if you're flying on the non-peak hours.

But either way, you should always keep in mind to be patient. Everyone is trying to get somewhere, and there are definitely some tips that can make the transition at the airport a lot smoother.

MARCIANO: So try to book a ticket right now for Thanksgiving is going to cost you some bucks, but it's still time to book for Christmas itself. What are some of your -- what are some of your favorite travel sites that people may want to go to save some money?

GERONEMUS: There are a few that I really love because they do all the work for you. They're part of this generation of metasearch engines. And one of them is called Mobissimo.com, and the other is Kayak.com.

And what they do is they search all of the airlines, travel agents, consolidators, and you don't actually book through the sites. They lead you to where they're booking. So they're just there to help you find the best deal, and they are very easy to navigate, because you can distinguish between how many stops you want, what time you want to fly. So it really -- they're great sites to check out.

MARCIANO: Is it more about the navigation? It seems like price- wise, go to any one of these sites, Travelocity or Cheap Flights, they seem to all have the same price, just a different format. Are they all using the same technology, or are there different technologies out there?

GERONEMUS: You know, I think they all use a little bit technologies. Some of the metasearch engines, I mean, they're more searching -- they go beyond just searching the airlines. They go beyond just searching JetBlue or American Airlines. They actually are looking at 1-800-TRAVEL and a lot of the agencies out there that you might have never heard of. And sometimes they have special deals with certain airlines to get those cheaper flights. So it's really good to cover all your bases and search as many airlines as possible.

MARCIANO: Now every time we go to the airports, travelers go to the airport, seemingly there's something else you have to take off. Before you know it you're going to be through security practically naked.

What can people expect different at security this year, as opposed to maybe years past?

GERONEMUS: Well, there's one thing that I think is really cool that was introduced in a few airports last year, but they're rolling it out in many more this year. And it's this device called the puffer. It's nickname is the puffer.

And what you do is you step into this machine at the security area, and it puffs air all around you. And what it's doing is detecting for explosive materials. What it avoids is the pat-down. So you don't have to have any sort of pat-down if you go through this. So it's hoping to make security a lot smoother and faster so people don't have to wait while they're getting patted down.

MARCIANO: All right. We'll look for the puffer. Sounds like it will help speed things through, as well.

Hillary Geronemus from "Travel and Leisure" magazine, thanks for your helpful tips. And have happy holidays.

GERONEMUS: Thank you. You, too.

MARCIANO: Betty, look out for the puffer.

NGUYEN: Yes, I was going to say. The puffer, that's something new. Never heard of that. We'll see how it works. Thank you, Rob.

It's slower, weaker and now a tropical depression. But Gamma definitely left its mark on parts of Central America. We'll have that and your Sunday forecast coming up.

Plus, cow meat is called beef. We know this. Right? Pigs are pork. But what should kangaroo meat be called? Australians are taking your suggestions. We'll tell you some of them when we go global.

You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. Look at this. Early this morning Gamma weakened to a tropical depression. Not a storm anymore. But not before lashing out at Honduras and Belize. Six people are reported killed in the two Central American countries.

Gamma is, as we all know, the 24th named storm of the season. So many this year. And it is nearly stationary off the coast of northern Honduras. So good news is that it's not as strong as it used to be.

MARCIANO: No, and it's weakening and it looks like, from what Bonnie Schneider told us last go around, that it's not even going to come close to the U.S. So that would be good news.

NGUYEN: Yes, especially with Thanksgiving right around the corner, Rob.

MARCIANO: Look at that little itty-bitty cloud out there.

NGUYEN: Looks menacing, doesn't it?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: But, unfortunately, we are looking at another storm that will be coming in before Thanksgiving. NGUYEN: No!

SCHNEIDER: Couldn't get by them, no. If only I could stop them, Betty.

NGUYEN: Right.

SCHNEIDER: This one is a depression, though, so that's good.

Looking at cloud tops here indicated by the orange color, you can just see that barely, barely there as far as Gamma goes. Tropical depression, maximum winds at 35 miles per hour. That's from our early report.

I have a feeling when we get the next advisory we'll be talking about just an area of disturbed weather, low pressure that still will bring substantial rain to Cuba before it's all said and done.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Thank you, Bonnie Schneider. We'll be checking in with you.

MARCIANO: All right, Bonnie. Thanks.

Stories that are making news around the globe.

NGUYEN: Yes. Iran's parliament has approved a bill that could strengthen the country's resistance to abandon abandoned uranium enrichment programs. Shannon Cook is monitoring the situation. She joins us now from our international desk.

Good morning.

SHANNON COOK, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thank you guys. Good to -- good to speak to you.

This coming in to us just a few minutes ago. Iran's parliament has just approved a bill, as you say, Betty, which is fairly significant. It allows the government to stop international inspections of its nuclear facilities in the event that Iran is referred to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions.

This vote coming just four days before the International Atomic Energy Agency board meets to consider whether to accepted Iran's case on to the Security Council.

Iran faces possible sanctions after failing to convince the world its nuclear facility is designed to meet the country's energy needs, not to rebuild -- sorry -- not to build an atomic weapon.

Now, let's move on to Spain, where we've learned two homemade bombs have exploded at a French car dealership. This happened in the Basque region. The blast, near the city of Vitoria, caused some property damage, but no one was injured. As yet, no one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Now to Germany where a series of events are under way to mark the 60th anniversary of the start of the Nuremburg trials. The landmark process broke new ground in international law in holding government leaders individually responsible for their wartime atrocities. You might remember 12 defendants were sentenced to death, seven drew long- term prison sentences and three were actually acquitted.

Now to Australia, where Rob and Betty, we've been talking about a competition that's under way to rename kangaroo meat. You know, kangaroo meat maybe is a -- is a fairly popular delicacy on menus in Australia.

But, you know, some people have a hard time eating it, because it reminds them of the cuddly, furry animals, which are, after all...

MARCIANO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

COOK: Yes, of course -- which are -- about to be hit by a car on this one, it looks like. Hard to eat them when they are, after all, a national symbol. So the food industry in Australia is calling on Aussies to weigh in and come up with some more palatable names.

And here are a few that have been kicking around the Internet: bouncy beef. Don't know about that.

NGUYEN: Yes, I don't know about that one.

COOK: Hop dogs and marsu. Marsu sort of stands for marsupials, which is the family that kangaroos belong to.

NGUYEN: Right.

COOK: And then, you know, the fourth one, kangaroo meat. People are saying, why change it?

NGUYEN: Plain. Yes.

COOK: Just keep it simple. You guys weighed in.

NGUYEN: We did. We did. And these were the choices that we had. So I said of the choices, I liked the hop dogs best, although I kind of like "roo, the other red meat." That wasn't on there, though.

COOK: Roo, the other red meat. Nice head shot.

MARCIANO: I was a proponent of bouncy beef. I can see the commercials. I can hear the jingles right now.

COOK: Bouncy beef.

MARCIANO: I do.

COOK: I kind of wish we -- I kind of wish we put Rob's head on that kangaroo.

NGUYEN: Right.

COOK: If he's on the kangaroo (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MARCIANO: Give me a fork and knife. I'll eat that little guy up, no problem.

NGUYEN: No, you wouldn't, Rob!

MARCIANO: I would.

NGUYEN: I bet you wouldn't.

COOK: I like your suggestions. We'll have to see, though, what the -- what the Australians have to say.

NGUYEN: Yes, because they are the ones who count here. Thank you.

MARCIANO: Thanks, Shannon.

COOK: Thank you guys.

MARCIANO: OK. For those whose homes weren't destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, something else is keeping them from returning: mold. But now there's a new way to remove it. We'll have the details coming up.

NGUYEN: But first, some victims are returning to New Orleans and starting today, they have new homes. Next we're going to show you a new project where volunteers are rebuilding homes and lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: President Bush is repeating his message, the U.S. will stay the course in Iraq. While in China, Mr. Bush warned of terrible consequences if U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq prematurely. In his comments, Mr. Bush also mentioned democratic congressman John Murtha who, as you recall, earlier this week called for the U.S. to begin withdrawing troops just as soon as possible.

Another American has been killed in Iraq today. The military says a soldier with Task Force Baghdad was killed by small arms fire during a patrol north of Baghdad. Five other American soldiers and one Marine were also killed in separate attacks over the weekend. That brings the 2,091 the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the war began.

And journal entries describing Cindy Sheehan's Iraq war protests are now featured in her book titled "Not One More Mother's Child." Sheehan says before her son Casey was killed in Iraq, the most she ever wrote was a note to excuse her kids from school. The book is scheduled for release on Wednesday.

MARCIANO: It left tens of thousands of people without shelter. In New Orleans especially, Katrina destroyed or damaged thousands of homes. Hundreds of water-logged homes had to be abandoned. But now, three months later, some people are moving back, thanks to an extraordinary effort by a group called Rebuilding Together. They are a group of volunteers who have been working to renovate some of the damaged homes. The first of those, newly restored homes, were handed back to residents yesterday. Patricia Johnson is the president and CEO of Rebuilding America -- Rebuilding Together and she is standing in the middle two home recipients, David Henry on her right, and Augustine Cook on her left. They're joining us from Algiers this morning. Good morning to all of you.

PATRICIA JOHNSON, CEO REBUILDING TOGETHER: Good morning.

MARCIANO: Patty, let's start with you. Tell us what your organization does exactly.

JOHNSON: Right. Rebuilding Together is the nation's largest volunteer home rehab organization. And we're rehabbing about 8,700 houses a year all across the country. We're delighted to be here in New Orleans where we're just kicking off the Rebuild 1,000 campaign, thanks to Countrywide because we're going to rehab at least 1,000 houses of low-income elderly and disabled homeowners affected by the hurricanes.

MARCIANO: So this is something that you've been doing for a long time. The past three months obviously, the focus of your efforts has been the New Orleans area. What are the biggest challenges that you have faced the past three months?

JOHNSON: Well, I think that the biggest challenge is trying to find out where we should begin and to figure out how we can really make a difference in these homes. Here, we came in and, as Mrs. Cook can tell you, we had -- we thought we knew the work scope, but I'll tell you, we ended up just taking down every piece of sheetrock, wallboard in that house. And it was visible, you could see from one end to the other and outside. So it's a total redo. And we've done amazing amounts of work and we're just delighted that we're going to get them in for the holidays, back into their homes.

MARCIANO: Mrs. Cook, tell me what it's like. What does it feel like to see your home damaged the way it was and now rebuilt by such good people.

AUGUSTINE COOK, HURRICANE VICTIM: It feels wonderful. I'm so glad, you know, that they was here, I was able to have their support when I first got to my home, I thought it was -- I was devastated. I thought it was no hope. And Rebuilding Together and Countrywide came in and they did a miracle -- miracle job. When they opened the door an I walked in, all I can see was two by fours, the stubs -- you didn't have to walk in, you could look from outside in. And really, I say, it's nothing they can do to this home. I thought it was finished. I was then looking forward to a demolition crew coming in and just knocking it down. But, they did a miracle. They did a miracle.

MARCIANO: That's terrific.

COOK: I'm so proud and grateful. MARCIANO: It's so much better to move into your own home, be it a little bit different, than to have to whack it down and build from scratch. Now you're back at home. Have you moved back in? Or is that going to be happening...

COOK: Not yet. It will be happening in a few days. The good thing about it, I'll have my family back and we'll have Thanksgiving -- to celebrate Thanksgiving in, well I can say, a new home.

MARCIANO: What's your specialty as far as Thanksgiving goes? Maybe a side dish or are you famous for your turkey?

COOK: Oh, we're going to have the works. Because I was Rebuilding America and Countrywide, they donated our dinner for us, so we'll have turkey and the whole nine yards.

MARCIANO: Not only did they build your home, they sport up the Thanksgiving turkey as well. That's just terrific.

COOK: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

MARCIANO: Mr. Henry...

DAVID HENRY, HURRICANE VICTIM: Yes sir?

MARCIANO: Slide over to you. What kind of damage did your home sustain and what's the progress report on that?

HENRY: Oh, the damage that I had in my home, roof was torn off. Some of the sheetrock had fallen. The ramp for me and my wife to walk on for to hold on, the railing and everything, all that was torn down. But thanks to Countrywide and Rebuilding and Together, I mean they brought us from a mighty long ways. They give us hope, because we was looking for sad Thanksgiving. But now this is something that say that somebody give us a Thanksgiving. That's what thanksgiving is all about.

MARCIANO: Yeah, you know, you're a very eloquent man. We're a extremely happy for you. We are always searching for happy stories out of New Orleans and you gave us one this morning. Patty Johnson with Rebuilding Together, David Henry and Augustine Cook, remodeled homes, thanks to them. You all have a happy holiday.

JOHNSON: Thank you so much, happy holidays.

HENRY: You, too.

COOK: Thank you.

MARCIANO: Betty.

NGUYEN: It's going to be a true Thanksgiving there. Great stories.

Well, other Hurricane Katrina evacuees are not as lucky. They are returning to their homes to find an unhealthy situation. CNN's Rusty Dornin is in New Orleans where weary survivors fight yet another foe. We're talking about mold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We tried to clean things.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's growing in the Lombard house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mold grow about four, five feet here, black mold. They say it's really toxic, really bad.

DORNIN: It discovered parts of this Bob Depolice's (ph) restaurant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you look down here you can see the black mold kind of taken over the weaker every mold.

DORNIN: As it has in thousands of homes on the gulf coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You might be able to salvage those.

DORNIN: Like many, Bob Depolice, owner of Pascal's Manale, a New Orleans restaurant institution dating back to 1913, was facing weeks of work, ripping out and rebuilding all his interior walls, that's the standard treatment. Then he heard about a gas fumigation system, a system that would sterilize his restaurant, every nook and cranny without rebuilding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, we can come in over here.

DORNIN: The company, Sabere Technology, used the same gas to decontaminate Capitol Hill following the 2001 anthrax attacks. Turns out chlorine dioxide kills everything from termites to mold. Back of the restaurant, Depolice's employees were told they could bring any moldy items.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the mold in the closet.

DORNIN: So we went along with the sous chef, Carmen Provanzano (ph), to grab some clothes at his wrecked home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd rather take a chance and see if they can be saved.

DORNIN: Provanzano hung the clothes in the restaurant's closet. The building was then tented and the gas pumped in. Twelve hours later, the gas is gone and we followed Depolice into his restaurant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is incredible. I'm just totally blown away. Look at this wood here, I mean, that was just so dark before and it's -- you can see the -- all the grain.

DORNIN: What about this Carmen Provanzano's woman's clothes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; Everything's a little dirty still, just given the situation, but it's definitely clean. Can you smell the difference. Can you see the difference in the -- there's no mold on anything.

DORNIN: Chlorine dioxide is a pesticide approved by the USDA from everything from purifying drinking water to keeping baby carrots from getting slimy. It costs about $8 per square foot to treat mold with chlorine dioxide, putting the price at under $40,000 for an average house. It won't repair water damage, but it does eradicate mole. And for Bob Depolice, that means the famous barbecue shrimp will be back on the menu by January.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: And he was on the front lines fighting. In all the carnage and all the chaos of war, one image remains: The orphaned children. Up next, a soldier's mission to help the young ones left homeless and helpless in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHANNON COOK, CNN DOT COM DESK: In less than a quarter century, Internet has revolutionized everyday life. Cnn.com asks what specific role it's played in changing your life and here is what some of you had to say.

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Next we want to know just how Internet savvy you think you are. Take our poll by logging on to cnn.com/online for the dot com desk, I'm Shannon Cook.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Let's check our top stories this morning, in case you're just joining us. President Bush talks trade and democracy with his Chinese counterpart. The president is pressing china to revalue its currency. U.S. companies say currency is undervalued by as much as 40 percent. This makes Chinese good cheaper in the U.S. and American goods more expensive in China.

Also an international donor conference in Islamabad, Pakistan has secured pledges of nearly $3 billion for earthquake victims. That would bring the total amount pledged for the region to almost $6 billion. But aid agencies are warning moat of the pledges are loans and that could add to Pakistan's debt burden.

Out west, the wildfire in Ventura, California, is now 60 percent contained. The blaze just north of Los Angeles charred nearly 4,000 acres. Some residents, who were asked to leave their homes on Friday, have now returned -- Betty.

NGUYEN: In this morning's "Soldier's Story," so often the headlines out of Iraq are about little less than insurgent -- or else than insurgent attacks and casualty figures. But, there is another casualty that we're giving attention to this morning, the thousands of children who are being left homeless and orphaned. Army Captain Jonathan Powers is helping them and the people who care for them and he joins us now in Washington.

Captain, let me ask you this first. What was it about your tour in Iraq that made you want to reach out to these children?

CPTN. JONATHAN POWERS, U.S. ARMY: Well, over the time we spent in Iraq we spent a few months working the orphanages. About eight months into our rotation one of the caretakers took us outside and said, you can't come back because if you come back, the insurgents said they'll kill the children. And that just scarred me. And when I came home I knew I had to find a way to help these kids out.

NGUYEN: Now when we talked to you earlier this year, your program was called, Orphan and Street Kids Project. How did it evolve into the War Kids Relief?

POWERS: Sure, it was conceived in the beginning, over the summer as an orphan and street kids project and throughout the summer -- I went back to Baghdad in August, and worked with USAID, Unicef, the World Bank several, I met with Save the Children and sort of created a model that will would be the best work in the conflict area. That's how we came up with War Kids relief.

NGUYEN: And now this is a three-prong program which starts with the creation of safe havens. We're looking at pictures now of these just beautiful children. What kind of safe havens are you creating?

POWERS: Well, one of the unique things about Iraq, is the infrastructure is there, buildings are there, the orphanages are there. They're just not being supported and they're sort of left out on their own. So, we're going to create a network of safe havens, utilizing these existing orphanages to bring the kids in, bring them together, get them into public schools, train the caretakers.

NGUYEN: Yeah, get them off the streets. Now, but what are you doing to help them find families?

POWERS: Well, we're going to call the Family Program where these children are reintegrated into the family situation. A lot of them aren't orphans in the traditional sense, they're economic orphans were they're left to fend for themselves because their parents just could no longer support them.

NGUYEN: I gotcha. OK, and for the children who are older, what kind of long-term solutions are you providing so that they can get, you know, career training, life training really?

POWERS: Sure. Some older kids, especially the kids living on the streets, by the time they're 12 they have a profession selling cigarettes or sodas. So, what we're going to do is create a career and life skill center, teach them vocational skills, skills they can use to help rebuild Iraq.

NGUYEN: We hear you talk about these children and we see this wonderful video of Iraqi children. Was there one in particular that just struck a chord with you?

POWERS: There is a boy named Mustafa who I had a relationship with when I was there. You know, every time he went to the orphanage I spent time with Mustafa. And this last trip back in August we found him again, over a year later. And...

NGUYEN: There is a picture of him right now.

POWERS: Yeah, that's Mustafa. And he has a really tough life. I mean, this is a boy trying to grow up and trying to be a child. He doesn't have the opportunity to do that.

NGUYEN: That's got to be hard especially in a wore-torn country. Let's talk a little bit more about your organization, because many times organizers come in and set up, they run it, it's an American-run organization. Are you allowing Iraqis to help themselves here?

POWERS: Well, one of the keys -- I work for Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation now and they've been established in Iraq since the war. So, when I go in, I work through Iraqi and NGOs, and these are groups of Iraqis trying to do good work. And it gives ownership to them, it gives a faith in the new government that they're trying to do something and it really takes the target off the kids because they're no longer working with Americans, but are working with other Iraqis.

NGUYEN: And quickly though, if people want to help, how can they reach out?

POWERS: They can go to our Web site at the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, vvaf.org. And they did get more information, they can donate, they can contact me, whatever they'd like.

NGUYEN: Good work that you're doing. Thank you so much for your time.

POWERS: Thank you very much. Thank you.

NGUYEN: Captain Jonathan Powers, the founder of War Kids Relief. Great story, Rob.

MARCIANO: For sure, thanks very much, Betty.

Hey, it's Sunday in some places it's sunny, in some places it's not. Football, NASCAR, maybe you're finally getting out to rake the leaves in that yard. Well, Bonnie Schneider is coming up next with a look at your Sunday forecast. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Time now to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what's ahead on CNN's "Reliable Sources." What's ahead, Howard?

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hi Betty. Coming up, Bob Woodward's newly revealed connection to the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation has caused a major stir here in Washington. We'll talk to Woodward's boss, "Washington Post" editor Leonard Downey and ask a top panel how much damage Woodward has done to the paper.

Plus, are the media going overboard in covering the congressman who wants an immediate Iraq pullout?

And our special interview with "New York Times" columnist Maureen Dowd on her sharp critiques of the president, her colleague Judy Miller and her new book on the battle between the sexes. All ahead, 10:00 a.m. Eastern, on "Reliable Sources."

NGUYEN: Interesting stuff, thank you Howard. We look forward to it.

MARCIANO: Bonnie Schneider down on the set. Bonnie, it's pretty lonely up there in the Weather Center, isn't it? It's nice to come down.

SCHNEIDER: I had to come down. Good to see you guys.

NGUYEN: Good to see you. Thanks for coming down to our level, Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: No problem. I only come down when I have good news. I stay up there when I have bad news. Well, that Gamma has dissipated so much.

NGUYEN: The depression, a good kind of depression. Right?

SCHNEIDER: Exactly, one that will make you happy. We're seeing those clouds kind of really dissipate with Gamma. Tropical depression barely hanging on. It will bring some rain to Cuba, and we're seeing clouds kind of moving into south Florida, but overall, this could have been a lot worse situation if this turned into a powerful tropical storm that was headed for south Florida just so shortly after Wilma battled the area there.

(WEATHER BREAK)

NGUYEN: Gotcha, thank you, Bonnie.

MARCIANO: Thanks Bonnie.

NGUYEN: Thanks for staying with us throughout the morning. "RELIABLE SOURCES" coming up next.

MARCIANO: We'll see you later.

SCHNEIDER: You're welcome.

MARCIANO: Tony will be back next week.

NGUYEN: Have a good day.

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