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CNN Sunday Morning
Rumsfeld Iraq Memo Released; President Bush Meets Tomorrow With Iraqi Shiite Politician; Suicide Car Bomber Hits NATO Convoy in Kandahar
Aired December 03, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news out of Chile this morning. Augusto Pinochet has suffered a heart attack. The 91-year- old former dictator is listed in critical but stable condition in a Santiago hospital. Pinochet's son tells reporters his father is "in the hands of God and the doctors."
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Rumsfeld's call for a change of course in Iraq. Well, a newly-disclosed memo from the outgoing defense secretary recommends a major adjustment in U.S. strategy. Rumsfeld submitted that memo two days before he resigned.
More on what it says and what it means in about three minutes.
In the meantime, perhaps the globe's biggest George Bush critic right there, expected to win re-election in Venezuela. Voters are going to the polls right now, and Hugo Chavez is currently the longest serving head of state in South America.
Well, a long, delicate and successful surgery for Iraqi twin girls. Doctors in Saudi Arabia separated the conjoined twins during an 18-hour operation which began yesterday. The girls, just 11 months old.
We're going to talk with their chief surgeon at the half hour.
HOLMES: In the Philippines now, the president has declared a national calamity in the aftermath of that deadly typhoon. Rescue workers are searching for survivors. One report says that more than a thousand people were killed.
We'll get the latest in a live update from Manila at the half hour.
Now we want to check in for the first time this morning, see what's happening with the weather.
Reynolds Wolf, good morning, sir.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Reynolds. We'll see you shortly.
And of course we've got the day's developing stories every 15 minutes here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH POLLACK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: We need to keep in mind that Nuri al-Maliki is not in a very strong political position. And one of the greatest objectives for U.S. policy in Iraq for moving forward is that the U.S. needs to start doing things to create a political space in which Nuri al-Maliki might be able to do something that his militia bosses don't want him to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Shoring up Iraq's prime minister. President Bush's upcoming meeting with a rival to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, will it hurt or help Nuri al-Maliki?
We have a live report from Baghdad in just a few minutes.
In the meantime, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's December 3rd.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Thank you so much for being here with us.
A call for a major adjustment in Iraq, and it comes from a surprising source -- outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld made a comment in the newly-disclosed memo written two days before he announced he was stepping down. He said U.S. strategy in Iraq was not working well enough or fast enough. He called for major changes and tactics and outlined possible options.
Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre tells us more about the memo and its implications.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, what the memo shows is that Rumsfeld, in early November, had a pretty good idea about what was going wrong in Iraq, and had a pretty good grasp of what it was the U.S. might have to do. He lists a couple of suggestions of what he calls above-the-line and below-the-line suggestions.
Above the line being ones that he thinks might be worth pursuing. And that includes increasing U.S. trainers, and to aggressively beef up the Iraqi forces. And also, he talks about conducting an accelerated draw-down of U.S. bases. He's not necessarily talking about forces, but the number of bases, to lower the profile of U.S. troops in Iraq.
This is a memo that he sent to the president back before he stepped down, one day before the midterm congressional elections. And just two days before he resigned. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The week ahead could be crucial in figuring out what to do about Iraq. President Bush is under pressure to chart a new course. He'll hear from the Iraq Study Group Wednesday. And tomorrow, he meets with a powerful Iraqi politician.
Details now from CNN's Kathleen Koch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's a new strategy, reaching out to the multiple players in Iraq's complex government. A senior administration official says President Bush has extended an open invitation to all senior Iraqi leaders to meet with him at the White House.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're ready to make changes to better support the unity government of Iraq.
KOCH: Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim is particularly important since he is the chief rival of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. If Hakim could be persuaded to throw his party's backing behind Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, that would lessen Maliki's reliance on al-Sadr and his Mehdi army. Al-Sadr tried to quash Maliki's meeting with President Bush earlier this week by having his delegates in protest boycott the Iraqi parliament.
POLLACK: We need to keep in mind that Nuri al-Maliki is not in a very strong political position. And one of the greatest objectives for U.S. policy in Iraq moving forward is that the U.S. needs to start doing things to create the political space in which Nuri al-Maliki might be able to do something that his militia bosses don't want him to do.
KOCH: But Hakim backed his own candidate, not Maliki, for prime minister. And his party, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, is closely affiliated with Iran.
Hakim has disputed claims Iran is interfering in Iraq and has called for direct talks between Tehran and Washington. That's one proposal expected from the Iraq Study Group's final report due out Wednesday. President Bush hinted in his radio address that its advice will be but one factor he will consider.
BUSH: I look forward to receiving their report next week. I want to hear all advice before I make any decisions about adjustments to our strategy in Iraq.
KOCH: The White House is also awaiting Iraq policy reviews from the Pentagon, the State Department and the National Security Council. And Mr. Bush will get more ideas on Iraq next month when he meets with Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraq's Sunni vice president.
(on camera): But Vice President Hashemi wants to see Maliki's government dissolved. Still, that meeting, and Monday's with Hakim, clearly positions the Bush administration to have influence no matter who comes out on top in Iraq.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: A country in turmoil, a government just struggling to survive. The fight for the future of Iraq is being waged on the streets and in the political arena.
CNN's Arwa Damon joins us now live from Baghdad with much more on this political implication.
Good morning.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.
And just to give you an idea of the kind of fight, I'm sure you can hear the helicopters flying overhead behind me. The violence just in the capital alone, in its period of 24 hours, claimed at least 100 Iraqi lives. That is the kind of fight that is being fought here in Baghdad.
What we are seeing is, for example, what we saw yesterday, triple car bombs at one of Baghdad's open air marketplaces, the main market in the heart of the capital. The three explosions happened, one after the other, just as business was winding down at about 4:00 p.m. local time. Everyone here wants to get home before dark.
In that attack, at least 51 Iraqis died, another 90 were wounded.
Now, elsewhere, U.S. military operations do continue. We are hearing from the U.S. military about an overnight operation that happened in the volatile Al Anbar Province, just outside of Falluja, an area known as Garma (ph). There, the U.S. military saying they conducted a raid against a foreign fighter safe house.
They say they killed six suspected terrorists. Five of those in an airstrike. That airstrike, though, also claimed innocent Iraqi lives. Two women were killed, we are hearing from the military, and one child -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Arwa Damon joining us live from Baghdad.
Arwa, we'll be speaking with you shortly as well.
Well, you can hear from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq on CNN this morning at 11:00 evening. Zalmay Khalilzad is among Wolf Blitzer's guests on "LATE EDITION." And the impact of war on other regional players. Wolf will talk to the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.
HOLMES: Well, election day in Venezuela. And the man who called President Bush a devil is leading in polls.
NGUYEN: A report from Caracas, that is coming up in about 17 minutes. HOLMES: Plus, when rats take over.
NGUYEN: Oh, no.
HOLMES: How officials in St. Bernard Parish fight a desperate battle against an invasion of rodents. That nasty story that won't go good with your breakfast is coming up in about 10 minutes.
NGUYEN: Yes, so have that breakfast now, if you will.
And later, 21 surgeons, 18 hours and two overjoyed parents. Conjoined twins separated.
We'll talk live with the chief surgeon. That's in five minutes right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ABDULLAH AL-RABEEAH, CHIEF SURGEON: We have to be careful with the infection, with the wound (ph) care. That's for the early phase. And then rehabilitation will be a challenge because we have to do a lot of rehabilitation, physical therapy, and then putting an artificial leg for them in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The head surgeon explaining what is next for two Iraq conjoined twins separated in a marathon operation. We're going to speak with him next.
Also, other big stories that we're following this morning.
The condition of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, hospitalized in critical condition from a heart attack.
And in the Philippines, the typhoon death toll, well, it's already high. One report says more than a thousand people were killed.
A report from the scene, that is in 20 minutes.
And at the bottom of the hour, Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler's report on the growing political unrest in the Lebanese capital. Thousands of Hezbollah protesters are camped out on the government's doorstep.
Also ahead, election day in Venezuela. Why should you care if President Hugo Chavez is reelected? In a word, oil.
We'll have much more on that as you get your top stories fix right here. Yes, we have the top stories every 15 minutes, with in- depth coverage all morning long right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: Now we want to turn to Afghanistan, where a suicide car bomber hit a NATO convoy in the city of Kandahar today. There are reports of several civilians killed and NATO soldiers wounded.
We want to go now to the phone. From Kabul is journalist Tom Coghlan.
Tom, what can you tell us about the latest on these incidents?
THOMAS COGHLAN, JOURNALIST: Good morning, T.J.
Yes, I can tell you that this morning there was this suicide bomb attack, the fourth one we've had this week in Kandahar. That attack struck a NATO military convoy down in the southern city of Kandahar. Three NATO soldiers reported injured in that attack, three civilians reported killed in the initial suicide blast.
Now, there are reports of further civilian casualties following that initial blast. This is when NATO soldiers are reported to have opened fire on a suspect vehicle they saw at the scene, a possible second suicide car bomb, they believe, and a number of civilians are reported to have been killed in that gunfire. As many as five civilians reported killed and a further dozen injured in that firing.
So a rather complicated situation down there in Kandahar at the moment.
HOLMES: And Tom, what can you tell us -- there was also a report, or at least a helicopter that went down, a contractor helicopter that went down in the Kandahar province, I believe it was. Correct me if I'm wrong on that, but a helicopter did go down, a contractor helicopter, Taliban saying they shot it down. What do we know about this incident?
And contractors, as well, we know are working there in Afghanistan. We don't hear about them as much or all the time, but tell us about the role they're playing in this war in Afghanistan as well.
COGHLAN: Well, yes, first to go to your point on this helicopter that went down somewhere over Kandahar Province, north Kandahar Province yesterday, now that was apparently a re-supply helicopter traveling up to a remote military base up in the province of (INAUDIBLE), a base (INAUDIBLE).
There's a large Dutch military contingent up there. Also some U.S. and Australian forces, I'm told.
Now, as you say, U.S. -- sorry, contractors do play an important role here in Afghanistan. Their role in the reconstruction in Iraq is very widely documented. But here in Afghanistan, there is a very big role for contractors.
For instance, just to give you an idea, the Louis Berger company currently has $1.4 billion of contracts here in Afghanistan. Security contractor (INAUDIBLE), Global Security, Blackwater, all names well known in that security sector, they will have large operations out here. They do work like the protection of road building projects down in the south of the country. They act very much as an adjunct to the -- to the military administration down there. And also in support of the Afghan government.
And periodically they do get -- they do take casualties, they do lose some of their people. There was a company, Comonics (ph), last year that lost 11 of its staff in one operation. Those were Afghan staff member killed in a series of hits over a two-day period.
Now, they do have this important role. And they do take big risks, as I say -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Tom Coghlan for us in Kabul.
Tom, thank you so much.
COGHLAN: Thank you.
NGUYEN: So, what is that? Well, we're going to tell you, because they haven't been a problem in decades, but now they are everywhere. Especially in those FEMA trailers. Yes, that's a look at one of them.
We're talking about rats, folks.
HOLMES: Oh, no.
NGUYEN: Pretty nasty, yes. A report about a battle between officials in St. Bernard Parish and those nasty, nasty rodents. We have the full story in four minutes.
HOLMES: Plus, almost unbearable grief and more devastation in the Philippines. Dead bodies surface from the rubble left behind by the typhoon.
Our report in about 19 minutes here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Fifteen months after Hurricane Katrina wiped it out, New Orleans' St. Bernard Parish is once again teeming with life. And local officials are doing everything they can to kill the new residents.
CNN's Susan Roesgen explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Blake Forestall is fixing up a friend's house with an abandoned house next door. Abandoned, but not exactly empty. More than once, Blake says he's seen a rat sit in the windowsill watching him work.
BLAKE FORESTALL, RESIDENT: They don't have much to be scared of, do they? I mean, they control this. This is their world. We're in their world now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ones we marked in yellow are repeat customers.
ROESGEN: For the first time in years, St. Bernard Parish is giving away rat poison. Six pounds per person is the average, and between 40 and 50 people a day are asking for it.
The problem is thousands of still ungutted houses. Perfect places for rats to survive and multiply.
A fast-moving rat is not the easiest thing to capture on camera. But people who have caught them in traps seem to want to share what they've found. These are dead rats on ice at what's become the parish rat control headquarters. And live rats don't seem content to stay in unheated houses.
WILL SCHULTE, RAT CONTROL: But there's a little drain pipe or something from the air-conditioner, I think it is, and it's this thin stuff. They just poke a hole in it.
ROESGEN: Parish worker Will Schulte says the rats have found out how easy it is to get inside a FEMA trailer. The parish has started putting bait under as many FEMA trailers as possible, hoping the rats will be drawn do this bright blue molasses-smelling poison. But in some cases it's too late.
This is a normal sized hole for a trailer power cable. This is one that's been gnawed on by a rat. Even worse, parish worker Charlie England says he was gnawed on by a rat.
CHARLIE ENGLAND, RAT CONTROL: I really didn't want to believe it was a rat, but something leaves a hole in your leg, you know, it was what it was.
ROESGEN: The only answer may be letting the rats bite into something that can kill them.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Oh, yes, we're going to have to get a handle on that rat situation there. Of course we'll stay on top of that and bring you any new developments should they occur.
In the meantime, though, we do have a very wonderful story to tell you about. It took 18 long hours, but it worked.
Doctors in Saudi Arabia successfully separated conjoined twins from Iraq, and they're optimistic about their recovery. This morning we are going to talk to one of the doctors who made it all happen. That is chief surgeon Dr. Abdullah al-Rabeeah. He joins us live.
Good morning to you.
RABEEAH: Good morning to you and your viewers in the United States.
NGUYEN: Well, first of all, talk to us about the twins. How are they doing right now?
RABEEAH: Well, they are doing very well. We just saw them. They are stable.
Their hearts, lungs and kidneys are working well. They are starting to wake up slowly. But we are keeping them sedated on a respirator. But all indications are showing that they are very stable.
NGUYEN: This surgery went a little faster than originally planned. Originally it was thought it was going to take 21 hours. It took 18. But no doubt, this was a difficult surgery.
Talk to us about what you were able to accomplish.
RABEEAH: Well, as you mentioned, we saved two hours. The twins were sharing a covering of the heart, (INAUDIBLE), a liver, the last part of the small bowel, the colon. They're sharing also one urinary system, and they're sharing one genital system, and also one pelvis.
And there is one leg for each one of them. And also, a shared limb, which is a small (INAUDIBLE).
We have managed to separate those vital organs, and we managed to save time during anesthesia and also during liver separation, which went very fast. We also managed to cut down the blood loss to a minimal loss. We only lost about 200 milliliters, which is remarkably low for such an operation.
NGUYEN: What's the biggest risk now? Would it be infection? Is that the biggest thing that they could possibly face?
RABEEAH: Yes, Betty. But I think their biggest risk is infection and wound care. And we are going to take a lot of precautions.
When we saw them earlier today, they looked stable. There are no indications of any infections. And their wounds looked remarkably good.
NGUYEN: I understand each will require an artificial leg. How many other surgeries will they need to undergo?
RABEEAH: Well, we probably think that they will need, first of all, closing the colostomy in the near future. And also, putting an artificial leg, probably within four to six months from now. Apart from that, there is no indication that they would require any further surgery.
NGUYEN: And so that's really wonderful. It sounds like their chances for survival are very, very good.
What do you think the message was, or the message that you sent, especially as the chief surgeon? This was aired on live television there in Saudi Arabia. Obviously people in the region were very interested in it. It was a wonderful, successful surgery. But what kind of message were you hoping to send by this?
RABEEAH: Well, we're sending to the world, and to the Iraqis, that there are no boundaries for health. I think there is a human touch of this procedure. And we have done previous cases from Arabian countries, from Islamic countries, and also from other countries in the world, such as Philippines, Malaysia, Poland. And we say that when it comes to health, we should be opening it for people who need it in the world.
NGUYEN: Well, that might make you a very, very busy doctor in the future.
We thank you for your time today.
RABEEAH: Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "HAPPY FEET" (voice over): Don't ask me to change, Paul, because I can't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "HAPPY FEET" (voice over): Now, that, my brethren, is the end of it.
You, be gone!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Why is an outcast animated penguin raising an uproar with some conservative pundits?
NGUYEN: Really?
HOLMES: We'll tell you about this "Happy Feet" outrage coming up in exactly 60 minutes.
NGUYEN: But first, think Christmas has gotten just too commercial for your liking? Well, today's "Faces of Faith" will surely give you and your family new ideas when it comes to giving.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: "Now in the News," Donald Rumsfeld's call for a change of course in Iraq. A newly-disclosed memo from the outgoing defense secretary recommended a major adjustment in U.S. strategy. Rumsfeld submitted the memo two days before he resigned. In it, he said U.S. strategy in Iraq was not working.
Also, keeping tabs, close tabs early this morning on news out of Chile, where Augusto Pinochet has suffered a heart attack. The 91- year-old former dictator is listed in critical but stable condition in a Santiago hospital. He's in declining health for years. NGUYEN: In Queens, New York, a nonviolent protest over the police shooting of a groom-to-be, Sean Bell. Bell was killed just over a week ago while leaving his bachelor party at a strip club. Larry King will have an exclusive interview with Bell's fiancee. That is Monday at 9:00 Eastern, and it is an interview you will only see here on CNN.
We'll have another check of the headlines. That is at 7:45 Eastern.
HOLMES: Thousands are on the streets of Beirut again. It's the third day now in a row. How serious is the situation for the pro- western Siniora government in Lebanon?
A live report from Beirut just a few moments away.
But for now, from the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning, T.J.
HOLMES: Good morning to you. How you doing?
NGUYEN: I'm doing great.
It's a wonderful Sunday. I hope it is for you at home.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
It is 7:30 here in the East, 2:30 p.m. in Beirut.
Thanks for being with us today.
HOLMES: And that is where we want to head right now, talking about an endangered democracy in Lebanon. Thousands of demonstrators camped out on the prime minister's front steps, trying to topple the pro-western government.
In Beirut for us now, Anthony Mills live to tell us the latest about what's happening there.
Hello to you, Anthony.
ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, T.J.
Well, here in downtown Beirut, the central part of Beirut, it has been paralyzed again. Protesters have turned out in force again over the last few hours.
Overnight, a number of them stayed here in tents. And now they have taken up chanting again. Among other things, "Siniora out! Siniora get out!" That's a reference to the Lebanese prime minister, Fouad Siniora. They're on the other side of a major security cordon here. Coiled barbed wire has been thrown up. There are armored personnel carriers, special forces deployed here. And really, a very strong security cordon thrown up for fears that they may at some point try to storm the prime ministerial complex, which is just a few dozen meters away from where they are.
Amid all of this, T.J., in something of a surreal atmosphere, the Beirut marathon was held today. So runners participated in the Beirut marathon. They ran around Beirut, while down here amid very tight security these protests were continuing for the third day.
Inside the prime ministerial complex, T.J., the prime minister and the loyal ministers there with him, some of whom are actually living there because of security concerns, say it's business as usual, and that they will not buckle under pressure -- T.J.
HOLMES: Well, Anthony, how concerned is the -- well, maybe not is the Bush administration, but you can certainly talk about how concerned the Bush administration should be about this democracy. This is one here in Lebanon that the Bush administration would like to point to as a success story, but it seems a little shaky right now.
How much concern should there be right now?
MILLS: It does seem a little shaky right now, T.J.
Lebanon had been held up by the -- by U.S. officials as a democratic success story. And, of course, there have been accusations from those quarters that this is an attempt to overthrow a democratically-elected government.
Now, the opposition, the protesters behind me, as you can probably hear, are pretty serious about staying here until the current government resigns and makes way for one of what they call national unity. They say they will not leave until that happens. And the opposition has also said -- it's led, of course, by Hezbollah, the militant Shiite Islamic group, Hezbollah -- the opposition has said that they will not leave until this happens, and that they have other surprises up their sleeve, as it were.
It remains to be seen what exactly those surprises are. But for the moment, T.J., here in central Beirut and among the politicians involved in this crisis, there does not appear to be any room at all for compromise -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Anthony Mills for us in Beirut.
Thank you so much, Anthony.
Meanwhile, the man who just loves to hate President Bush up for re-election today in Venezuela. You may recall volatile president Hugo Chavez referring to President Bush as "the devil" during his U.N. appearance. Now his anti-American stance just part of the campaign.
CNN's Karl Penhaul has the story from Caracas, Venezuela. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The talk's over. Now it's time for Venezuela's voters to decide: opposition candidate Manuel Rosales, a state governor, versus President Hugo Chavez, sworn enemy of the United States.
Newspaper headlines describe Sunday's presidential election as a historic decision. The opposition says it's a battle between their democracy and Chavez's dictatorship. Chavez says it's a battle between his socialist plan and capitalism.
This middle class neighborhood is an opposition stronghold, but oil engineer Rolando Diaz acknowledges that Chavez is the front- runner. "If Chavez wins cleanly, then that's democracy. But I hope if he wins that he doesn't change the constitution and stay in power for the next 20 years," he says.
Retiree Guido Castilla won't say who he'll be voting for. "The vote's secret and nobody has to know how I vote," he says. "Let's just hope democracy is respected."
In other parts of the city, political allegiance is clearer. In fact, the leadership cult seems to be in full swing.
(on camera): In the poorer downtown district of Caracas, it's Chavez fever every day. For $5 you can pick up a T-shirt like this, Chavez as a tank commander. If you fancy, you can take something like this, Chavez's Superman. Or if you really like, there's this one, Chavez as the Statue of the Liberty, proclaiming, "Down with American imperialism."
(voice over): Chavez pins are selling for $1.50, watches for about six bucks. And for a little under $15, plastic Chavez replicas, complete with political rant.
"We try to give the public what they want. They all want a souvenir of the president," he says.
In the poorest neighborhoods, Chavez supporters are running their political efforts with military precision. Campaigners are divided into platoons, squadrons and battalions. Their mission? Urge voters to turn out en masse for Chavez.
Some, though, Venezuela's polarized politics could turn ugly. "There are rumors that say the opposition wants a conflict and that they won't accept the result," he tells me. A few political analysts doubt if the opposition wants a fight, then Chavez loyalists are ready for them.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Caracas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: The death toll just keeps climbing from that typhoon in the Philippines. Now 400 known dead. Feared dead, 1,000 or more. Since Friday, rescuers have been battling rivers of mud, and in some cases entire villages have been just swept away.
CNN's Dan Rivers has the latest now from Manila.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Each hour the death toll in this disaster is climbing higher. The Red Cross are now saying that they estimate that perhaps more than a thousand people may have perished, although it's still very early days. It's two days after Typhoon Durian slammed into the Philippines.
And as you can see from the pictures, entire villages have been wiped out completely. Just the roofs of some houses left above a sea of mud and rubble.
Part of the problem has been that many of the villages were in the shadow of a volcano that had been threatening to erupt earlier in the year, Mount Mayon. And the seismic activity may have disrupted and disturbed some of the soil leading to a large number of land slicks and mudslides. And that's really hampering the efforts to try and get aid into this area.
Already a huge international aid operation is under way. Canada and Japan are two countries that have already been very quick off the mark to say that they will send money and supplies and help here.
President Gloria Arroyo has already declared a state of emergency. And this is the fourth typhoon that has hit the Philippines in the last three months. And people now are just realizing the true scale and magnitude of this disaster.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Manila.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: We're going to get a live update from Manila on the efforts there. That's coming up in our 9:00 Eastern hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: Well, a lot of people out there looking for just the right holiday gifts.
NGUYEN: Just the right thing.
HOLMES: I have been looking for yours. I'm working hard on it.
NGUYEN: Right. I'm sure you have, T.J.
HOLMES: I'm going to get there.
Some of you all are actually finding those gifts and whatnot online.
NGUYEN: It's so easy online. I love that. Well, occasionally, though, it is stressful. I know you can probably relate to that as well. But not to worry, because we have tips and some tricks for you as well, how to get your holiday shopping list done online and stay relaxed while doing it.
That's in about five minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN PIPELINE ANCHOR: Holiday shopping is totally in full swing right now. And whether you like shopping at the malls or shopping online, CNN.com has a couple tips to try and make your experience just a little less stressful.
You've got to make a list of the folks you're buying gifts for. And then you can check out this gift (INAUDIBLE) to get some ideas. All you have to do is start by selecting who needs the gift. Then pick what kind of gift you want, from food and drink to games and entertainment.
And then you have to select your budget. And with that, presto, we come up with a possible gift idea just for you.
And another great shopping tip. If you want to watch what you spend, use cash. Leave the plastic at home, and don't open up those store cards. By using cash, you know how much green you're spending.
So you find the perfect gift, but you're not exactly the gift wrapper. No worries. We have some tips and some video clips to show you exactly how to wrap like a pro.
And whether it's wrapping or unwrapping, you're going to find all the shopping need to know at cnn.com/shopping.
From the .com desk, I'm Nicole Lapin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And if you're planning on doing a lot of your holiday shopping online -- Betty, I know you're just itching to talk about some shopping just now -- you'll want to join us at 10:30 Eastern Time. We're going to speak with a "Wall Street Journal" reporter about shipping packages, gift returns, and making sure your gifts arrive before the holidays.
NGUYEN: I've got a gift for you, T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: Well, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, and we are monitoring and reporting these major international stories.
Chile's ailing former dictator in critical condition after a heart attack. The 91-year-old Augusto Pinochet has now undergone heart bypass surgery.
We'll keep on top of that.
Also, the misery index rising rapidly in the Philippines following a devastating typhoon. Look at these pictures. By some estimates, the death toll could top 1,000.
In Beirut, we are watching closely what is a major test for the U.S.-backed government in Lebanon. Thousands of Hezbollah supporters have brought their grievances to the doorstep of Prime Minister Siniora.
And in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez faces re-election today. It's an important story because Venezuela is a major player in the global oil market, and Mr. Chavez is openly hostile to the Bush administration.
The next look at the headlines coming your way at the top of the hour.
HOLMES: Well, for right now, we want to go give a holler to Reynolds Wolf, who is keeping an eye on the weather for us.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, paying it forward is not necessarily a new idea to help others, although it's still a very powerful tool.
NGUYEN: Yes, it is. A church in Georgia puts paying it forward to the test with its congregation.
"Faces of Faith" right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, that's in three minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "PAY IT FORWARD")
HALEY JOEL OSMENT, ACTOR, "PAY IT FORWARD": That's me. That's me. And that's three people.
And I'm going to help them. But it has to be something really big. Something they can't do by themselves.
So I'd do it for them. Then they do it for three other people. And that's nine.
(END VIDEO CLIP, "PAY IT FORWARD")
HOLMES: And you remember that, don't you, "Pay It Forward," the Hollywood movie there. The idea of it really made famous. But everyday people have made it successful as well.
And it's a challenge to all of us this holiday season to reach out to others and make those gifts grow. And the Fellowship Bible Church in Georgia, one organization has done just that. They've split $30,000 among each of its members and challenged them to do good.
So we are happy to have joining us this morning Crawford Loritts, pastor of the Fellowship Bible Church, and church member Alecia Owens.
Thank you all so much for being here. I know it's Sunday and you've got other things to do. But...
CRAWFORD LORITTS, JR., PASTOR, FELLOWSHIP BIBLE CHURCH: We have to go back to work in a little bit, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, here shortly. But some good work you're doing here.
Why? The idea, you've got $30,000. Why did you decide to split it up like this?
LORITTS: Well, you know, I preach a series -- a seven-part series on giving and on the fact that our money really belongs to God. And I was closing the series off with that parable in Matthew, Chapter 25, of this wealthy man investing money with three of his servants and asking them to make a profit on it, to make it go farther.
And we were wrestling with, well, how do we end this up? And somebody had read a book called "The Kingdom Assignment," shared the idea, and the lights came on in our minds that, boy, what a way to teach people how to take what God has invested to us and invest it in the hearts and lives of other people to help their lives be better.
So that's how it came about.
HOLMES: Now, what did you think? Did you -- did any of your parishioners -- did you all have a heads-up that this was coming? So what happened when...
ALECIA OWENS, CHURCH MEMBER: No, not at all.
HOLMES: ... you're sitting in church -- you're sitting in church and envelopes start being handed out. How did you react when you saw that?
OWENS: Well, I guess at first you're a little bit shocked, and then a little bit burdened, I guess, in a good way. Like, you wonder, what am I going to do? And you feel like something important has been given to you. So it was, I guess, like excitement and obligation.
HOLMES: Now, what was kind of the instructions you got when you were sitting there? What were you told to do?
OWENS: Well, since Crawford had just preached on giving, I guess it was -- we knew we were supposed to multiply it. And we knew we didn't want to stick it in the ground and do nothing with it, so -- but he said -- you know, they gave -- with the instructions, they gave a letter. And I think the letter was really nice.
You know, it gave a bunch of different examples. I actually read that after -- the letter after I had completed my assignment. But it was great. It made it so that -- it made it so that the impression was not that you're supposed to necessarily make a whole lot of money or something off of it to help people, but just that your idea is unique and spirit-led, and that it helps somebody else in the name of God.
HOLMES: Now Pastor, this was $30,000.
LORITTS: Yes.
HOLMES: First, just where did you decide, hey, we're going to pull this money and use it in this way? And were you worried at all, I'm handing all this cash out to folks and are they going to do the right thing here?
LORITTS: Yes, right. Right.
Well, you know, we wrestled with that because I didn't want anybody to think we were being cavalier about money, that, you know, that we're just throwing money out there. That's -- everything that we have, our resources, all of that, belongs to God. So we knew that this was God's money.
And yet, money's just a resource, a vehicle, a channel by into which needs are met. And so, when we considered it from that perspective, then why are we here, is it just about us, is it about our stuff, or is it about touching the hearts and lives of people who are in tremendous need? When we considered that -- considered that and factored that in, we really believe that this was the best use of resources that we possibly could do. And so that's why we decided to do it.
HOLMES: And like you said, there were some instructions in there and whatnot.
LORITTS: Yes, sure.
HOLMES: But the money was in different denominations.
LORITTS: Yes, it was. It was small denominations. I mean, we didn't give out $1,000 bills. It was, you know, $10, $20.
HOLMES: Gas prices still high. You know what I mean?
LORITTS: There you go.
HOLMES: I'm kidding.
Really, what are some of the stories you all are hearing, both of you, really, about how people are deciding to use this money?
LORITTS: Yes.
OWENS: Well, I talked to my mom first. And she decided she was going to knit infant preemie baby hats and make blankets for them. And so my first inclination since I knit, too, was, oh, I'll just get onboard with her idea. But I could tell she knew that, you know, that wasn't exactly the idea of the assignment.
So she didn't really jump on it. I mean, I'm helping her out in knitting some hats, but I could tell she wanted me to -- you know, encouraged me to do something on my own.
So I had a couple of ideas. And then for myself, it was my son. His Cub Scout troop and my daughter's preschool both had sent home literature about this Operation Christmas Child. And so that's how we decided on ours.
But I've heard of a lot of different stories. And it's very interesting to see all the different ways that God is using the money.
HOLMES: It is very interesting. I wish we could sit up and chat about this some more. This is a fascinating topic, a fascinating thing you've decided to do.
Really, everybody hears the idea, knows about paying it forward, but you all are actually implementing it there at your church.
Pastor Loritts, Fellowship Bible Church. And Alicia Owens, a parishioner there.
Good luck to you, the use of the money.
LORITTS: Well, thank you.
OWENS: Thank you.
HOLMES: I hope it works out, and I hope it spreads out a little bit.
LORITTS: Well, we do, too.
HOLMES: A good lesson for the holidays. Thanks, you guys, so much -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Pay it forward is a good lesson. That's a great, great opportunity there for folks to really make a difference in their community.
Well, it's the kind of rap controversy that you're not used to hearing about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you litter, you will get a ticket. If you ain't with it, you better be serious (ph), because...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Why this impromptu performance landed the Tempe Police Department in some hot water.
That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, the cute, cuddly and controversial, that's right. We'll explain how the blockbuster "Happy Feet" has made lots of people very unhappy.
How's that possible? Well, we'll explain.
HOLMES: I was about to ask you.
NGUYEN: Interesting story there. From the CNN Center this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, December 3rd. Good morning everybody, it's 8 a.m. at CNN Headquarters right here in Atlanta and 9 a.m. in Caracas, Venezuela where presidential elections are underway this morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: I'm T.J. Holmes. We'll have a live update from Venezuela in about five minutes and we are also going to explain why talk radio is talking about the popular children's movie. But first let's check the other headlines at this hour.
Just in to CNN, Augusto Pinochet has received his last rites from a Catholic priest. The 91 year old former Chilean dictator had a serious heart attack this morning and he since undergone bypass surgery. An update on the health of Augusto Pinochet is expected later today.
Memo on Iraq, the strategy is not working, time for a major adjustment. Those words from outgoing defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld two days before he resigned. Details live from the White House in about two minutes.
NGUYEN: In Afghanistan, a suicide car bomber hit a NATO convoy. The city of Kandahar today. Here are some pictures. At least three civilians were killed, 19 people hurt, including three NATO soldiers.
Well no one's giving up in Lebanon. Pro-Syrian protestors are still camped out in front of the prime minister's office in Beirut. New video coming in to CNN right now, demanding Fouad Siniora step down. But the western-backed Siniora is vowing to stand firm. We will stay on top of that story.
Let's take you to the Philippines. The president has declared a national calamity in the aftermath of that deadly typhoon; at least 400 people are dead. Red Cross official says the death toll could climb into the thousands.
HOLMES: Grief and anger in Iraq today. They are burying the dead from a triple car bomb attack in Baghdad. Officials say at least 51 people were killed and 90 others wounded. The bombs exploded in a busy market crowded with shoppers. Iraqi police also found dozens of bullet-riddled bodies in the streets of Baghdad. In all more than 100 people were killed in violence yesterday.
Word from the military today that a U.S. soldier injured in a roadside bombing has died. The soldier's convoy was hit by an explosion yesterday near Taji Province, north of Baghdad. NGUYEN: He was the public face of the war in Iraq, but in a private memo, Donald Rumsfeld called for major changes in U.S. strategy. The newly disclosed memo was submitted two days before Rumsfeld resigned. CNN's Kathleen Koch is live at the White House to give us some details on what exactly was in this memo.
Good morning Kathleen.
KOCH: Good morning Betty. The memo was a stunning revelation, the Pentagon confirmed to CNN last night that, yes, November 6th, just two days before he resigned that defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld gave his classified memo to the White House in which he admitted that U.S. strategy in Iraq was not working and he called for a major overhaul. In the memo Rumsfeld went on to suggest that what ever new tact the U.S. take be done on a, quote, trial basis to give the military ability to adjust. If it didn't work, at the same time looked like it was not failing.
Among Rumsfeld's ideas advanced in the memo redeploying U.S. troops from dangerous, vulnerable cities like Baghdad to safer areas of Iraq. Consolidating U.S. bases in Iraq from 55 to five and withholding economic aid from provinces that don't cooperate with the U.S. a very controversial idea, that one. The White House would not comment on the memo. Press secretary Tony Snow only responding to say, quote, the president and secretary Rumsfeld both have said repeatedly that what U.S. forces are doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough.
This revelation comes as the president is getting ready Monday afternoon for a very important meeting with the top Iraqi Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim. A senior administration official says that their discussion will on a wide range of issues facing Iraq. Hakim's party is very closely affiliated with Iran in the past he has advocated direct U.S. talks with Iran and that's something that the White House has so far refused.
NGUYEN: Kathleen, as we look forward to the week ahead. Let's talk about Robert Gates, the man who might replace Rumsfeld. What's happening with him this week?
KOCH: He has his Senate confirmation hearings. Those begin on Tuesday morning. Gates began making the rounds on Capitol Hill last week visiting with Senators across the board that will be giving him a thumbs up or thumbs down. At this point even with his visits with the Democrats no immediate opposition was voiced. So it is expected that his nomination will be approved and that he will replace Rumsfeld. We're not sure if that will happen before or after the holidays.
NGUYEN: Sounds like it's just a matter of formality right now.
Kathleen Koch thank you so much for that.
So how will this week's developments in Washington affect the White House's relationship with Baghdad? Hear from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq that is coming up at 11 Eastern on Wolf Blitzer's "Late Edition" and at 1 Eastern its "This Week at War" with John Roberts. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGO CHAVEZ, PRESIDENT, VENEZUELA (through translator): The devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the devil came here. Right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, you remember that, don't you? The Venezuelan president playing to the crowd at the U.N. Famously bashing President Bush in September. Now he is looking to turn his brash style and outspoken criticism of American capitalism into an easy election win. CNN's Karl Penhaul live this morning of course in Caracas, Venezuela. Good morning to you.
PENHAUL: Good morning, T.J., we're standing outside the polling station where we expect President Hugo Chavez, we're expecting him to be here within about two or three hours to come and cast his own vote. The campaign rallies in the lead up to this election, he says that he is confident of a landslide win and the opposition, however, say that they believe they may be able to snatch this election. So far here at this polling station which is in one of the four western districts of Caracas, the voting seems to be going smoothly, but the situation of course in the wealthier east where most of the population tends to support the opposition candidate Manuel Rosales, the picture was very different. Voters were complaining the polling stations were opening very late. The process was very slow and some of the voters were accusing the government-backed electoral officials of trying to put in place some type of operation to prevent them voting on time, T.J.
HOLMES: President Bush, that name come up during these elections. We all see and know about what he did at the U.N., that the president there Hugo Chavez, did he do that a lot on his campaign trail, if you will, continue to use the name President Bush and did that seem to work for him, being against the U.S.?
PENHAUL: He certainly did use the word President Bush. He also referred a lot to what he terms U.S. imperialism in Latin America. In fact, the term, accusing -- using the word the devil to describe President Bush goes back as nearly as 2004, in fact. There's been no letup in this. In one campaign speech in fact we even heard him telling the voters let's put 10 million votes down Mr. Bush's gullet. In other words, let's stuff this down the U.S. throat and re-elect President Hugo Chavez.
The support Chavez does seem to like the fact that he's standing up against what he terms the U.S. Empire. We have also seen that over the past using Cuba you may remember. There seems to be a rallying cry to boost the nationalist sentiment to give the Venezuelan people some kind of external enemy and that does some to work for President Chavez, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Karl Penhaul for us in Caracas, Venezuela. Thank you so much, Karl.
NGUYEN: It was a long, delicate operation, but doctors say it ends in success. Twin Iraqi sisters once joined at the chest and abdomen are now separated for the first time. Doctors in Saudi Arabia performed an 18-hour operation on the 11-month-old babies. This morning, doctors say they're doing well. Last hour I talked to the chief surgeon about what lies ahead for the twins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ABDULLAH AL RABEEAH, CHIEF SURGEON: We think that they will need a colostomy in the near future and put an (INAUDIBLE) four to six months from now. Apart from that there is no indication they'll require any further surgery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The girls shared several organs including the liver, small and large intestine, bladder and genitals.
HOLMES: How far would you go --
NGUYEN: For?
HOLMES: To get out of being ticketed.
NGUYEN: Well, there are limits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll get a ticket if you ain't with it...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Rapping? Yes, I can rap. I don't know if it is the right thing to do. Actually this indeed is a cop's controversial call to have two suspects rap their way out of trouble. It was a racial incident? That's the question this morning. We'll let you decide.
HOLMES: I will let you rap your way out of the rest of the show, you do a rap right now, I will do the rest of the show.
NGUYEN: I'm not very good at it, I'll tell you that.
HOLMES: Well also kid stuff or political activism? The movie "Happy Feet" has people talking. But not maybe in the way you think.
NGUYEN: At the half hour if your holiday season is more frantic than festive stick around because Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have tips on how to stay healthy and happy. CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No littering ticket if the two of you just do a little rap about -- what do you want to rap about, littering?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dangers of littering, you will get a ticket. If you ain't with it --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Many people are just outraged by this video out of Tempe, Arizona. They feel that it highlights a major disconnect between police and African-Americans. We'll show you more about this next hour, and we want you to know, we want to know what do you think especially with what you saw so far. Did the police officer really cross the line over here or is this just a way to let two guys get out of a ticket or did it really truly go too far? Here's the question. Did the police officer cross the line? E-mail us WEEKENDS@CNN.com.
There is growing anger in New York over the shooting death of a groom-to-be Sean Bell. Bell was unarmed when he was gunned down by police while leaving a bachelor party hours before his wedding. Tomorrow night a CNN exclusive Larry King sits down with his Bell's fiancee and the Rev. Al Sharpton to discuss this tragedy.
HOLMES: All right we turn again to Reynolds Wolf who has been a good body, a good friend of mine as I've been going through things with my Arkansas Razorbacks.
NGUYEN: He's in such mourning today.
HOLMES: He's been good about it. Everyone else has been giving me a hard time.
NGUYEN: I didn't cry like this when my Longhorns didn't do so well.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: For our viewers who are out there who don't understand, we're centered in Atlanta, Georgia, and right across from the CNN Center we have the SEC championship game, the Southeastern Conference Game and T.J's a huge Arkansas fan and they played last night against the Florida Gators and lost.
NGUYEN: What happened, T.J.?
HOLMES: It didn't go well.
WOLF: They lost horribly to the Arkansas Razorbacks.
NGUYEN: We are all good.
WOLF: Hey, I've got some neat stuff to show you, not just weather maps, but great pictures that our viewers sent in compliments of the Ireports.
Wow! That was a great open. This from Jack Berry. He's a student at Missouri in Columbia that is in Missouri for those who might not know. This is a picture right outside his apartment at campus lodge in Colombia, Missouri. Actually the snow has dropped a bit and this is Jack, the photographer, he sent a picture of himself and you can see up to his waist, pretty deep there.
Now we're going to go from Jack to a great-looking dog. Don't have the name of the dog, but this dog is owned by Sarah Boam. She is from Wisconsin. Same situation, the snow was so deep there the dog jumped out and they had to go after the dog. It wasn't one of those Lassie things where some one gets stuck in the snow and the dog comes out and saves them, they had to save the dog.
We will show you what we have across the nation right now. These are the current temperatures. This is what people are feeling right now. In Minneapolis we have 8 degrees, 14 in Kansas City, 19 degrees in St. Louis and we make our way back over to New York. Both New York and Boston mainly to the mid to upper 30s, 39 degrees in Atlanta, 74 in Miami. You guys are so lucky, 45 in Phoenix and 45 also in San Francisco.
Later today expect plenty of sunshine especially in the central and southern Plains. We have high pressure that is going to be setting in, very nice comfortable conditions there. Scattered showers possible in parts of Florida, maybe some snowfall in the northern peninsula of Michigan. Meanwhile, some snow in the mountains of western New Mexico, and plenty of sunshine on the California coast and very breezy in the L.A. Basin. That is a look at your forecast across the nation. How about that dog picture? Isn't that great? That makes the morning for you right there.
NGUYEN: Love those.
WOLF: Look at him.
NGUYEN: They have such a great time. He's stuck, right?
WOLF: Thank heavens he has dark eyes and dark nose.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
All right. Thank you Reynolds.
Well kids love it, but some parents are crying foul over the movie "Happy Feet." Why, you ask? We'll tell you, but first, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a preview of this morning's weekend "House Call."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks guys. If you're like many Americans you've already started holiday shopping and possibly already started getting stressed as well. 'Tis the season for peace and joy, but it can also bring stress, weight gain and even a heart condition which sometimes comes along with the holiday parties. Tune in at 8:30 for a plan to deal with family members, stay healthy and possibly even find the perfect gift.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The holidays are festive, family, friends and food, lots of food. People often find themselves overeating. Registered dietitian and author of "Small Changes, Big Results," Eli Creeger (ph) has five tips on feeling fuller faster. ELI CREEGER (ph), DIETITIAN: Take the small plate, the smallest plate available because if you take a smaller plate, you'll be satisfied with less food.
COSTELLO: Don't go to the party hungry another tip is to eat something before you go, soup or oatmeal is a good option.
CREEGER (ph): Also fill up on fruits, vegetables and lean protein. At a party go for the crudites and fill it up with vegetables on your plate.
COSTELLO: And don't get the food on your plate. She suggests buying the smaller package of food you are preparing. And Eli's best holiday advice?
Another cool tip you have is you should eat like a baby. Eat like a baby?
CREEGER (ph): Right, when babies eat they eat when they're hungry and they push the food away when they've had enough.
COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're freaking with us your feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your father speaks wisely. Ease his suffering heart and repent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just doesn't make any sense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You leave us no choice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, wait. Son, you can do this. It ain't so hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't ask me to change, pa, because I can't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Penguins, pretty popular these days especially at the movies. Last year's "March of the Penguins" brought in $7 million and "Happy Feet" has passed the $100 million mark, but not everybody is a fan. CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): You know things are going downhill when a dancing penguin causes a political flack.
GLENN BECK, TALK SHOW HOST: Tell me about it first so I know I'm walking in to propaganda.
MOOS: Not everyone's happy with the blockbuster "Happy Feet" crappy feet, one critic called it. Some conservatives say it's dark, disturbing, environmental propaganda pitting cute penguins against big, bad humans in the fishing industry.
BECK: An animated version of an inconvenient truth.
MOOS: Can you really compare Al Gore's global warming documentary to "Happy Feet?"
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I have the expectancy an animated version of Al Gore pop up.
MOOS: In Al Gore's film, glazers crack, but the only cracking in "Happy Feet" is caused by bad vocals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard an animal once do that but then they rolled him over and he was dead.
MOOS: There is no global warming in "Happy Feet" and the director readily admits to amplifying environmental themes. The penguins are starving because of over fishing, humans are called aliens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever been abducted by aliens?
MOOS: Check out the six-pack holder around his neck. It ends up almost choking him to death.
Even the "New York Times" describes the movie as a view of hell as seen through the eyes and ears of creatures we foolishly, tragically call dumb.
That's the voice of Robin Williams portraying one of the lead penguins. The movie's gotten rave reviews.
ERIC BOEHLERT, MEDIA MATTERS: I just think conservatives are still cranky from the election.
MOOS: One critic even suggested there's a gay subtext. Mumbles is an outcast, because he dances but can't sing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't ask me to change, pa, because I can't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be gone!
MOOS: Don't expect mumbles to join the ranks of actual gay penguin couples. "Happy Feet" defenders say he's no different than Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
ROBERT THOMPSON, CENTER FOR STUDY OF POPULAR TV: Of the 50,000 things affecting America's youth in negative ways today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
THOMPSON: I don't think the penguin movie is probably on that.
MOOS: As for kids who have seen the movie. What was the movie about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Happy Feet."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, I love you.
MOOS: "Happy Feet" seems to have gone to their heads.
Show me what the penguins do.
But those happy feet are stepping on conservative toes.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Little kids toes. That little girl went ow! Get off my feet!
Well presidential elections in Venezuela to tell you about and former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in critical condition after heart bypass surgery this morning. We'll update those two developing stories at the top of the hour.
HOLMES: Also, point, click and save. We'll tell you about great online savings like free shipping on those holiday gifts as you do your Internet browsing.
NGUYEN: But first Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us how to beat the blues and stay happy and healthy this holiday season that is straight ahead on weekend "House Call."
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