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CNN Saturday Morning News

Initial Indications Show Retail Success For Holidays; Saddam Hussein Trial May Be Delayed Over Security Concerns; Ice Accidents In Wisconsin Kill Three; Four Escape From Yakima County Jail; Cindy Sheehan Back In Crawford, Texas; Oakland Liquor Store Ruined By Men In Suits; Consumer Analyst Gives Holiday Shopping Tips; Holidays Can Give Plumbing Problems; CNN Volunteers Feed Hungry

Aired November 26, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And, now in the news, 10 Iraqi civilians have been killed in a pair of car bombings in Iraq. In one attack, a suicide car bomb ripped through a gas station in Samarra. In Baghdad, a parked bomb car was detonated when two armored cars drove by.
Troubling pictures out of the capital of Azerbaijan this morning where riot police quell election protestors with beatings. Thousands of demonstrators claimed the November 6th parliamentary elections were rigged, the sentiment voiced by international poll observers. Azerbaijan is an oil-rich former Soviet state situated between Russia and the Caspian Sea and Iran.

A new gateway for Palestinians opens today. The border crossing from southern Gaza into Egypt is now controlled by the Palestinians with help from European monitors.

For the thousands of Thanksgiving travelers going home tomorrow, well, you may have more to look forward to than just long lines at the ticket counter and baggage claim. Bad weather may factor into your travel plans with widespread snow and rain in the picture. CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider's forecast is just ahead.

Saturday, November -- wait, what time is it?

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's 10:00, Tony.

HARRIS: It's 10:00?

NGUYEN: I'm glad you decided to show up.

HARRIS: What has been going. Good morning, everyone from the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Good morning everybody. We're giving him a hard time. He's going to be here behind his desk all day long, so get used to him.

HARRIS: All day? Is that the plan?

NGUYEN: Yes, get used to him. HARRIS: OK. And ahead this hour, it's Sheehan's stand and it's chiseled in stone. A granite monument to Cindy Sheehan gets a permanent stand near President Bush's Texas ranch.

NGUYEN: Plus a dozen men wearing suits -- look at this -- and bow ties, all dressed up just to trash two liquor stores, but why? And who were they?

Plus, knowing when a deal's a true deal. We all have those things on our list, right? But what are we willing to do for them? The must-know tips on grabbing the best bargains in consumer ...

HARRIS: Stomp on people.

NGUYEN: Did you see that one lady? One lady lost her wig in the fight to get her hands on a laptop or something -- some kind of electronic.

HARRIS: And folks didn't care.

NGUYEN: No, they just ran right past her. She's grabbing her wig. Anyway, poor thing. She did get a little injured in that. We don't know to the extent though.

HARRIS: Crazy. All right, to the weather now, the return trip. Tomorrow is going to be another busy travel day as people pack up and head back home from their Thanksgiving holiday.

NGUYEN: And weather could make travel a little dicey. Snow, yes, snow in areas like Buffalo and parts of New England could cause some airport delays and stormy conditions are expected in parts of the south as well.

HARRIS: CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider joins us with the weather details you need to know to plan your tomorrow -- Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: All right, Bonnie. Thank you.

HARRIS: Bonnie, thank you.

Retailers hope the weather won't keep shoppers away from the stores this weekend. Millions of people grabbed their cash and headed to malls and shopping centers yesterday, kicking off the official start of the holiday shopping season, Betty.

Initial indications are it was a big success. Major retailers estimate they drew bigger crowds than this time last year. Hot items included electronics like plasma TVs or laptop computers, but the shopping frenzy got a little out of hand and scuffles were reported.

For example, a fight broke out at A Wal-Mart in Orlando, and a woman fell as dozens rushed into a Michigan Wal-Mart for an early opening. I think that's the woman who lost her ...

NGUYEN: Lost her wig.

HARRIS: Lost her wig. People just ...

NGUYEN: It was hair-raising.

HARRIS: Everybody turned into New Yorkers yesterday.

That's a snapshot of day one. Shoppers will be out in search of bargains again today. CNN's Susan Lisovicz join us from the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, one of the oldest, Susan, and largest malls in the country, I understand.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is. In fact, 280 stores-plus here at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey. Two million square feet of retail and, Tony, all I can say that I'm glad that I'm a business correspondent who has worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, because you really need that kind of training to do retail sales on Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

But I'm happy to report all of those things that you reported yesterday, people losing their wigs and struggling on the floor, we have not seen today. It's been very manageable, a slow but steady build. The doors opened at 8:00 a.m., there were crowds waiting, and the stores will remain open until 10:00 p.m., so there's plenty of time for shopping.

The folks here at the Garden State Plaza tell me that volume did pick up over last year about five percent; 100,000 people estimated walked through this mall and shopped yesterday, but no one is taking anything for granted in the ferociously competitive retail industry, especially around this time of year when the bulk of sales for the year are made.

For instance, here at this mall, there's a concierge who will give gift cards so you get any gift card for any store here from one concierge. There's free gift carryout. That's important if you have got a lot of bags.

Family rest area and mom and toddler parking -- that's like sort of a special kind of parking area close to the store and that is also a plus when you're carrying kids and bags. But, you know, all of the shoppers we talked to, Tony, said that was not on their mind. It was all about the sales.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly what we want and we get here to the dot, get it and get out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And don't come on Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we wait until Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wait until Saturday, yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We wait until Saturday because there's less people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came at 8:00 and we got a good parking spot and we just -- we knew what we wanted ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We knew exactly what we wanted. We go grab it, and leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LISOVICZ: You know, for all of the fuss and energy and hype about Thanksgiving holiday weekend and the retail that comes with it, it's actually not the busiest time of year.

In recent years we've seen that the Saturday right before Christmas is actually the single busiest time of year. So we've got about a month or so to go yet, Tony. Back to you.

HARRIS: You know, I love this. They're making it more convenient -- get me a concierge, get me parking close to the doggoned malls, and now we can do business. Susan Lisovicz, with us this morning. Susan, thank you.

NGUYEN: This just in to CNN. One of Saddam Hussein's lawyers has told CNN that they plan to ask for another delay in the trial. As you know, that trial is set to resume on Monday. One of the lawyers, along with six other attorneys representing the former dictator and seven other co-defendants, met on Saturday for three hours to discuss a coordination at the trial.

There's been a lot of concern over security. Two of Saddam's attorneys have already been assassinated. So we don't know exactly the extent of this delay, but we understand that they will ask for a delay come Monday. That is according to one of Saddam Hussein's attorneys who spoke with CNN today. And, of course, we'll stay on top of this and bring you the latest.

Now to Wisconsin -- two tragic incidents yesterday within a few miles of each other. They claimed the lives of three people. In one incident, a 12-year-old boy on an all-terrain vehicle fell through the ice on a pond in Cascade. He died a few hours later in the hospital.

At just about the same time, some 10 miles away, a similar accident killed a father and daughter who had gone ice skating. We get that story now from Charles Benson of affiliate WTMJ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHERIFF MICHAEL HELMKE, SHEBOYGAN CO., WISCONSIN: Obviously, it's an unfortunately tragedy.

CHARLES BENSON, WTMJ REPORTER (voice-over): When rescue crews arrived they knew they were racing against the clock to find the father and daughter, but as minutes faded into hours, so did any hope of a rescue. HELMKE: The rescue was difficult. The water was zero visibility. The bodies were found on the bottom of the pond in relatively thick mud.

BENSON: The 44-year-old father had taken his two daughters, ages 9 and 6, to this small farm pond for skating. When the 9-year-old fell through the ice, the father did what any father would do.

HELMKE: The father had attempted to rescue her and he fell through and then the other daughter had run to a nearby residence to call 911.

BENSON: Others who watched say there's an important lesson in this terrible tragedy.

STEVE HILDEBRAND, NEIGHBOR: It is. It is. Kids should stay away from the ice that the time of year, you know? Some places it might be thick and some places are really thin, you know. It's not so good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: As we mentioned, the boy died just a few hours later and the accidents prompted the local sheriff to remind residents that there is no such thing as safe ice.

Well, in the Pacific Northwest a manhunt is underway for four escapees from the Yakima County Jail. One of them, Santos Luera, is facing trial for murder. Five other inmates also escaped but were apprehended before they could leave the grounds.

Authorities say the prisoners had created a rope from bedsheets and used it to scale down from the jail roof on to another building. A witness describes seeing one of the inmates as he fled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hospital gown and he didn't have -- he didn't have -- it looked like he didn't have a shirt on or it didn't have sleeves to it, but he didn't have any shoes on. And he was running and ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With bare feet or ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With bare feet and it looked like his feet were hurting because -- he was like kind of -- like he done ran a long way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: The jail houses more than 800 prisoners. It was put on lockdown after the escape. Anyone with information about the fugitives should call these numbers. They're on your screen right now. The Yakima City Police Department, that number 509 area code, 575-6200; and the county sheriff, 1-800-572-0490. And other stories across America this morning, three buildings ablaze in downtown Annapolis, Maryland. Firefighters stayed on the scene through the night to bring the fire under control. The row- style buildings house shops and restaurants in the heart of the shopping district.

Now, who would pay nearly a quarter million dollars for multi- colored plastic bricks? Well, no one did, but police say one guy stole that much in Lego bricks from Target stores in five states. The Lego collector's Web site says he told $600,000 worth of Legos on the internet since 2002. Police say it took a 20-foot truck to haul away all of the evidence.

Thousands of people, a lot of them in tears, Betty, streamed into the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. The zoo hosted its grand post-Katrina reopening Friday. Zoo officials said the event was so emotional for some they had huggers posted at the gates. Most people, especially the little ones, are glad the gates are open at all.

Cindy Sheehan is back in Crawford, Texas. She will lead new war protests near President Bush's ranch this afternoon. Supporters unveiled a monument in memory of her son, 24-year-old Casey, and other soldiers who had died in the Iraq war. The stone sculpture is called "Sheehan's Stand."

Our Elaine Quijano is watching developments in Crawford and joins us with the latest. Elaine, good morning.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Tony. And later this morning we're expecting to hear from Cindy Sheehan. She is set to hold a news conference here in Crawford and her message essentially the same one that she delivered back in August when she first led demonstrations here, and that is she wants U.S. forces withdrawn from Iraq immediately.

Now, Sheehan and other and anti-war activists are hoping to grab the spotlight while President Bush remains here in Texas just a few miles away, but out of site at his ranch where he's spending the holiday weekend with his family. But the crowd is noticeably thinner here now than over the summer. Roughly 50 people turned out here yesterday for the dedication of that stone memorial.

At the same time, Cindy Sheehan's presence is also attracting counter-protestors. A handful of them set up about a block away from where Cindy Sheehan was on Friday. They support President Bush's Iraq policy and they say Sheehan's efforts are hurting the morale of U.S. troops abroad.

Now, Sheehan's visit comes at a time when President Bush is facing falling approval ratings, being dragged down in large part by the Iraq war. No official comment from the White House, but Tony, it should, of course, be noted that it is not at all unusual for there to be protests wherever President Bush goes. The difference, Cindy Sheehan of course is someone who made a name for herself back in August and is trying, once again, to grab the headlines now. HARRIS: And Elaine, did I hear yesterday that Sheehan is actually claiming some credit for slumping public support for the Iraq war?

QUIJANO: Well, what they would like to say is that they basically feel they have helped galvanize any kind of discomfort that there has been over the mounting casualties in Iraq, but whether or not there is going to be that same kind of momentum that we saw back in August, one of the big differences, Tony.

They don't have the big PR firm that they did in August helping to organize their efforts. They don't also have the extended period of time here in Crawford. This time around, the president is only here for a few days. Back in August he was there for several weeks -- he was here for several weeks.

So it's not clear whether or not they're going to get that same kind of momentum, but clearly, Cindy Sheehan and her supporters are trying to recapture that -- Tony.

HARRIS: Sure. CNN's Elaine Quijano in Crawford with the president. Elaine, thank you.

NGUYEN: I want you to take a look at this, Tony. All dressed up, and nowhere to go. But these men in black certainly had something to do. Ahead this morning, the damage they did and what this liquor store surveillance camera caught, coming up.

HARRIS: Plus, laptops, iPods, flat screens, oh, my.

NGUYEN: I want it all, Tony.

HARRIS: Electronics all the rage this shopping season, we'll tell you how to buy them for a bargain later this hour. Good morning, Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Liquor stores have always been crime magnets, especially for armed hold-ups, but now look. They've become targets of another sort of crime, vigilante mobs bent on destroying the store's wares. CNN's Chris Lawrence has more on this destruction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first look, what you see on the surveillance video doesn't seem to fit. Ten men wearing clean suits and bow ties, smashing bottles and glass all over this Oakland, California, liquor store.

KALED SALEH, SON LIQUOR STORE OWNER: When they first walked in I thought they were a bunch of, you know, church people.

LAWRENCE: Kaled Saleh was on duty Wednesday night. He says one of the men asked him, as a Muslim, how could he run a store like this.

SALEH: They said we're not supposed to be selling liquor.

LAWRENCE: And then they attacked. One man jumped over the counter and tore bottles off the shelves. Others waited for a command and then destroyed entire walls full of liquor. The owners say they were accused of selling poison to the black community.

SGT. DOM AROTZARENA, OAKLAND POLICE DEPT.: Despite what anybody said, this is a crime. This is not an act of helping out a neighborhood, this is a crime.

LAWRENCE: This isn't the first time groups have tried to shut down liquor stores on the basis of religion, but earlier efforts were peaceful. In Chicago, a pastor led a successful 1998 campaign to close 26 liquor stores in his neighborhood.

In Philadelphia, another pastor tried to attract a convenience store chain as competition to force out a nearby liquor store. And several churches in Selma, Alabama, have been fighting a city council decision that allows a liquor store to open among them.

Dr. John J. Hunter is the senior minister of 1st AME Church in Los Angeles, and says liquor sales have damaged communities like his.

REV. JOHN J. HUNTER, 1ST AME CHURCH: It's immoral. It -- there are many people that are driven by profit only, but responsible corporate citizens, responsible businesspersons, look beyond just merely the bottom line of profit.

LAWRENCE: The reverend says religious groups have an obligation to speak out about the damage these liquor stores can cause. In Oakland, police say the men attacked one store, then moved on to another.

"TONY", LIQUOR STORE OWNER: What they did is like gang member stuff and, like, you know, it's like, it's not right.

LAWRENCE: The owner of that second store says his name is Tony and he won't back down from these attacks.

"TONY": We got God. God judge us, they can't judge us. They're not going it be able to force me to stop selling it if I want to sell it.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Now, the men in the video wore suits and bow ties. That's the traditional outfit of the Nation of Islam. But they never identified themselves as members, and the Oakland office says they are not and have never been members of the Nation of Islam.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider has your busy weekend travel forecast coming up. And speaking of busy, with all of the stopped up drains and broken water mains, plumbers are simply clogged right now, Betty.

NGUYEN: My goodness, that's a nice visual. Thanks.

HARRIS: So why the plentiful pipe work? It's absolutely souse is what that is. We'll tell you coming up. First the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Thanks to our affiliate at KUSA, Denver.

NGUYEN: The airport there.

HARRIS: Good morning, Denver. Is that the airport.

NGUYEN: That's the airport.

HARRIS: You know, it could be a sports arena or something like that.

NGUYEN: It is the airport. What, you don't believe me?

HARRIS: It's the international -- no, no I believe you. I totally believe you.

Here's the thing. If you're in the Denver area, Bonnie Schneider is with us now and she's telling us that you can expect some snow showers after midnight.

NGUYEN: Big changes.

HARRIS: Big changes, yes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is just one of the travel trouble spots we'll be dealing with on Sunday, but now let's take a look at the big picture for us air travel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Despite high ticket prices, the number of people flying this year is on the increase. This animation shows air traffic for a typical day in September. Each red dot represents one of about 50,000 flights that are in the air each day.

Afternoons tend to be busiest. The very early morning hours usually have the fewest flights. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics says so far this year, U.S. air traffic has been up about five percent compared to 2004.

JFK Airport in New York handles the most international flights of any U.S. airport, while Atlanta is the number one in total flights.

And that's the big picture of U.S. air travel.

(END VIDEO TAPE) NGUYEN: So there you have it and look at this. They're the hottest items on the shelves for shoppers these days. A lot of them in the carts already, but do you know how to buy electronics at a bargain? Up next, we'll go live to one of the nation's largest malls to ask an expert.

HARRIS: And helping the homeless. Our CNN staff took some time to give back this Thanksgiving. We'll take you behind the scenes later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Saddam Hussein's lawyers are seeking another delay in the trial. It scheduled to resume on Monday, but attorneys for Saddam and his seven co-defendants have been meeting in Baghdad. One of the lawyers cited security, logistical and legal issues for the delay. Two defense lawyers have been murdered, as you recall, since the trial began.

Anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan is back in Crawford, Texas and so are the president's supporters. They have set up camp near where Sheehan and her supporters have gathered. Her 24-year-old son was killed in Iraq. Sheehan is scheduled to hold a news conference in about half an hour.

Nine people sustained minor injuries when a train derails near the Scottish city of Inverness. Officials say that there was heavy rain at the time of that accident. The front car of the three-car train slid off the tracks. Nearly 100 people were on the train at the time.

The search continues for four escaped prisoners in Yakima, Washington. Nine prisoners broke out of jail Friday, but five were quickly recaptured. One of those still at large is facing a murder charge and officials say the prisoners apparently made a rope from bed sheets to escape.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SATURDAY MORNING: OK. The holiday season is here, that time of year when a trip to the mall could be stressful, to say the least. Look at this. Look at this! Fisticuffs. Whether you're shopping at stores or online, finding a perfect gift for everyone on your Christmas list is not an easy task.

So we decided to ask experts for some help. Joining us now from the Time Warner mall in New York with some tips on hunting for the best deals is consumers electronics analyst Robin Liss. Robin, good morning to you. Good to talk to you.

ROBIN LISS, CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ANALYST: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS All right, let's start with something general here. What are the good deals out there this season? Now we saw folks in a tussle there over laptops. That seemed to have been a hot item yesterday.

LISS: Right. The product that the big box retailers are really pushing this holiday season to get people into the store are the laptops. There's some great bargain laptops that are under $400. One of the great ones is an HP laptop. Wal-Mart is selling this for $378.

HARRIS: Really?

LISS: Yes. Circuit City has a Toshiba notebook and that comes with a free printer and a free router for $199. And Office Depot has a Compaq with a free printer for $350.

HARRIS: Man, those are great prices. OK, now those are low for laptops, it seems to me, but if we want to spend a little less money on some electronics, are there some deals out there?

LISS: Right. There's some really great stuff. Circuit City is doing a fire sale on their DVDs. You can get the less popular DVDs for about $499 and they reduced the prices across the board. Another great item that generally is marked down are memory cards for your cameras. So you can find 512 megabytes for $10 to $15. One thing I found online that's really cool, you know those Palm Pilots, those handheld organizers? Palm has their entry-level color model, the Z22 for just $79.99.

HARRIS: Who has that? Where -- who has that? Who's offering that deal of the Palm Pilot?

LISS: The Palm Pilot, it's a color Palm Pilot for $79.99. It's an organizer. No cell phone connectivity. So you can't go online with this, but it will put your date book, your address book, all of your contacts in your one little thing and it's a great price.

HARRIS: So, Robin, are there any catches to these great deals?

LISS: Yes, you know what, the reality of it is, is that these deals are used to pull people into the store and they're actually sadly, a bit deceptive. Sometimes they'll only have maybe 10 of those models available. So unless you're shopping at like a Wal-Mart in maybe North Dakota, they're probably totally sold out on some of those laptops. The retailers advertise these big prices to pull people in. So you've got to be wary before you purchase them.

HARRIS: What if you want to stay in your home, stay in your pajamas and do your shopping online? What are some really good sort of online services?

LISS: Well, you know there 's something called black Monday. We've been talking about Black Friday all day today. Black Monday is the biggest shopping day online because people are at work and that's when they make purchases.

So that's where you're going to see a lot of the online deals. There's one site that I really like, pricegrabber.com. This is good for online retailers because they do price comparisons so you can put in a product and see the lowest price. They're also pretty strict about who they let into the program. So if there's a shady retailer, they kind of give them the boot. HARRIS: All right. Wrap this up for us, Robin. What are some of the good places and rules for finding sort of the best deals this holiday season?

LISS: Right, there's some really -- shoplocal is another great Web site that you can find the local deals and if you're looking for -- if you're looking to make a good purchase, make sure to check the rebates because one of the tricks that these retailers do is they put a bunch of rebates on. One of those laptops is $500 at the counter. You have to buy a year of AOL service so there's $300 in rebates. So don't forget your rebates if you're shopping online.

HARRIS: Boy, that's good stuff Robin, great information. Good to see you and you'll be back with us again next hour.

LISS: Yes. Next hour we're going to be talking about gaming. We got the Xbox 360 the very, very hot and popular new gaming console.

HARRIS: OK. See you then. As Robin mentioned, next hour she'll be back for the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING and she'll be talking about gaming gadgets for the holiday season. Robin, good to see you. So you need expert advice on shopping? Well, Betty's here.

NGUYEN: I'll give you all kind of advice. Where do you want to go, Tony?

HARRIS: You can't reach Betty. It's tough to do. Trust me. Just log onto cnn.com. You'll also find a gift idea sure to bring some holiday cheer to everyone on your list. The address, cnn.com/shopping. Don't forget our e-mail question this morning. Do you think Black Friday is just a retail gimmick or are the bargains worth the hassle? We're at weekends@cnn.com and some of your responses a little later this hour.

NGUYEN: I was listening to Robin. There's one thing that she said that really stuck out in my mind. She called it black Monday and she said that's when everyone's back at work and that's when they do all of their shopping. So you're telling me that people go to work to shop for themselves?

HARRIS: Absolutely.

NGUYEN: Is that what you do?

HARRIS: That's what you do. Is that what you're going do.

NGUYEN: Oh no, never. I don't do that.

HARRIS: I've got that list from you, that I've got to start checking items off.

NGUYEN: All right, I'll be watching you on Monday.

HARRIS: I'm sure you will.

NGUYEN: Talk to you soon. All right, do you feel like you are draining your wallet while shopping? I know I do. Some folks get plenty of cash to repair the drain, literally. 'Tis the season for calling plumbers. Put it this way, with so many people home for the holidays there are many stopped-up sinks and toilets. Yes, that's a lovely thought. Dan Kain of CNN affiliate WFSB in Hartford unclogs the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN KAIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The day after Thanksgiving is one of the -- if not the busiest day for plumbers, dealing with clogged drains, backed up toilets and garbage disposals that will not dispose. Did it mess upon your thanksgiving?

NORMAN QUAGLIAROLI, HOMEOWNER: Sure did. Oh, man, I panicked. I'm telling you. You have 11 people here and you can't use the sink and can't use the garbage disposal. That's what happened.

KAIN: Norma's problem is fairly standard stuff, too much stuff in the garbage disposal.

GUAGLIAROLI: A nephew of mine peeled potatoes and he put them all down at once and it got clogged up.

JOHN KUDLA, PLUMBER: Anything from clogged sinks like you see here to main sewer lines, all the way up to the bathtub lines, toilets, you name it.

KAIN: Is it just a lot of people in the houses here?

KUDLA: Yes. People can go a long time without even knowing they have a problem. The first time you get, say, six 11 people in your home and they start using the toilets and everything else like that.

KAIN: Another common cause of catastrophic clogs, rinsing greasy plates with hot water.

KUDLA: Not hot water. Hot water, what happens is most of the grease and as it travels through the pipes it cools and it collects on the inside of the pipe. The cold water keeps it cold and coagulated and helps it pass right on through to the city sewer and gets it out of your home for you.

QUAGLIAROLI: Now I can do my laundry.

KAIN: So if you remember only one thing when it comes to grease, cold water good, hot water, bad. You don't want it. In Windsor Locks. Dan Kain Channel 3, eyewitness news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So glad we're straight on that. All right, if you have not had a chance to keep up with the news this week, that's what we are here for. Let's rewind and bring you some of the major stories this week. After more than three years in U.S. custody, enemy combatant Jose Padilla was charged with belonging to a North American terror group and intending to carry out jihad in foreign countries. Padilla is being held in military custody in Charleston, South Carolina. His trial is scheduled for next year.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, quote, is clearly going to come down because Iraqi forces are getting more capable of providing their own security. However, Rice did not indicate how many troops might leave or when.

And Germany has a new chancellor. Conservative Angela Merkel becomes the first woman and the first East German to head the country. She succeeds the outgoing Gerhard Schroeder who accepted a consulting job with a Swiss publishing company this week. Tomorrow we will fast forward into the week ahead and tell you which stories are going to be grabbing the spotlight.

HARRIS: Well, we told you about the possible delay of Saddam Hussein's trial when it resumes Monday, but there could be another motion, this one for a change of venue. The story when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: If you're just joining us this morning, here's a few of our tops stories. At least one resident in Harbin, China says he's suing a petroleum company for contaminating the city's water supply. The 50-mile toxic spill flowed downstream reaching Harbin with a population of around 9 million. Government leaders say they will punish those responsible.

Another sign of global warming. Researchers studying Antarctic ice cores report carbon dioxide levels are the highest they've been in 650,000 years. That's triggering fears we could see a new class of environmental refugees displaced by catastrophic weather and expanding deserts.

The New Orleans Audubon zoo is open once again. The gates opened to thousands of eager folks anxious to have another piece of their city back in order. Officials say the aquarium and its energy (ph), Imax theater will open next summer.

HARRIS: The trial of Saddam Hussein resumes on Monday. New information into CNN in the last hour is that attorneys for the deposed leader will ask for a delay. Anti-Saddam protestors have been staging demonstrations ahead of the reopening of the trial. Saddam and seven co-defendants face charges in connection with the massacre of Iraqi civilians in the town of Dujail in 1982. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports questions are being raised about the location of the trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Saddam Hussein's trial resumes with massive security precautions, there are questions about whether it should even be held in Iraq at all. Some analysts say the trial should have been at the international criminal court at The Hague so it would have been a truly international effort.

THOMAS BARNETT, AUTHOR, BLUEPRINT FOR ACTION: And ultimately what we're trying to justify here and what we're trying to create or build is a case law for the advanced countries of the world to come together and decide under what conditions a politically bankrupt regime in the world needs to be taken down and its leaders processed for war crimes.

STARR: But the decision to try Saddam inside Iraq was part of an effort to show him to the Iraqi people as a deposed dictator, charged with crimes against humanity and equally important show that the new Iraqi judicial system could handle the challenge.

COL. DOUGLAS MACGREGOR (RET.), AUTHOR, TRANSFORMATION UNDER FIRE: Ideally one would like to see justice administered by the people who suffered most at his hands and that would be the people inside Iraq.

STARR: Security for the trial will remain a paramount concern as witnesses are set to begin testifying. Two of Saddam's lawyers already have been murdered, another wounded in targeted assassinations.

(on-camera): The new court session will focus on testimony that Saddam ordered the murder of 148 men after a failed attempt on his life back in 1982. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Thousands of people in eastern China are sleeping outside this hour after an earthquake earlier today. At least 12 people were killed and almost 400 injured according to Chinese officials and state-run media. Officials say more than 8,000 homes collapsed just in one province alone. There are though conflicting reports on the size of this quake. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated it at 5.5 while China says it measured 5.7.

History is being made in Gaza. The Rafah border crossing into Egypt opened under Palestinian control today, but for only four hours. European Union monitors will supervise the frontier for at least 12 months. They'll also have the final say in any dispute on who can move through that crossing point. Israel will also be able to see what's going on through security cameras.

Japan's space agency says it will take a couple of days to troubleshoot a problem with its asteroid probe. Apparently, the thruster isn't working properly and Japan launched this probe back in 2003. It's designed to bring asteroid samples back to earth in 2007. The probe landed and collected surface samples from the asteroid just fine, but then started shaking once it left the surface.

HARRIS: Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider has your weekend weather forecast up next, plus some of your responses to this morning's e-mail question. Are Black Friday sales just a gimmick? Then giving thanks and a little helping hand volunteering for a good cause. We'll show you firsthand what it's like. That's next.

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HARRIS: Keeping an eye on the situation in the Midwest. NGUYEN: Oh, yes.

HARRIS: Because, here's the thing, it looks pretty good right now. You wake up today and you go outside and you do your shopping and it looks great, but changes.

NGUYEN: Tomorrow, big changes.

SCHNEIDER: A lot of changes on the way especially for Denver. Today sunny, 60 degrees, people are outside, maybe even wearing shorts.

NGUYEN: That's not going to be the case tomorrow.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Not a good sign, OK but we have been warned, right, forewarned. You're in the clear because we've been warned. Thank you Bonnie.

Well, all morning long, we've been talking about this holiday shopping season.

HARRIS: Is that what you've been doing all morning?

NGUYEN: Since you weren't here.

HARRIS: Right, right.

NGUYEN: Exactly. What we're talking about is Black Friday. Do you think it's just a retail gimmick or are these sales really worth it? Is it part of the whole holiday shopping experience and Sean has this to say. He says who needs to be a fight on pay-per-view? Just go to your local retailer on Black Friday and watch one for free. That's how you do it, lots of fights.

HARRIS: Yes there were.

NGUYEN: Wigs flying and everything.

HARRIS: And folks scuffling - well, that's the way men shop, though, a little elbow. What's the issue?

NGUYEN: A woman fell and lost her wig.

HARRIS: Yes, but the guys in Orlando with the laptop. That's just what we do.

NGUYEN: And then they don't know that's going to break the laptop.

HARRIS: It's a reality show is what it is, wrestling. And this from Andrew, the whole retail process is like a zoo. We are the animals, feed us what we want, good deals, great bargains, but feed us too little and then we become a ravenous society. It's a sad state of affairs to watch men and women being trampled for pieces of plastic. Absolutely, Andrew.

NGUYEN: And we talk about Black Friday, that's the name that's used for the day after Thanksgiving so that retailers can move out of the red and into the black. And so this person writes, Black Friday is a cruel intent to entice people who obviously cannot afford the merchandise in the first place. It's like dangling a carrot in front of a hungry rabbit who waits hours in the freezing cold to get it and then jerking it away. Because you know, truly, by the time many folks get up to that door, it's too late. They're gone.

HARRIS: They're gone. We just heard that from Robin. They give you a couple of items at the super duper price, double rebates and then they're gone ...

NGUYEN: All that fighting was for nothing.

OK, with all this talk about holiday spending, we often forget that sometimes the best gift of all is of course, our time. So with that in mind this week our weekend crew spent part of our Thanksgiving at the annual Hosea Williams feed the hungry program right here in Atlanta, Georgia. For the past 35 years, Hosea volunteers feed and clothe thousand of the homeless and indigent on Thanksgiving Day. They also offer haircuts and employment assistance. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here to make a declaration to one another.

ROD EDMONDS, HOSEA VOLUNTEER: There are a lot of people who don't have a lot to be thankful for. I'm blessed. I can bless other people. Everybody can give time and they did give a little bit of money, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nice to see all the people and get some food and get your haircut and if you need some clothing, there's clothes too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to give thanks to Mr. Hosea for letting us have the opportunity to come back and give something to the community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People that come down here back and volunteer are God-fearing people. I've noticed a lot of people, they let me know than they're saved and they take this time out because they want to give back because they've had so many blessings and by doing their things like this for the homeless people they receive a lot of blessings for that, too.

MATINAH, HOSEA VOLUNTEER: It's fulfilling and it's something that you really just can't explain. You see a lot of people that you can't help financially, but you can give back another way and I have a gift and that's of hair. That's how I like to give back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The services get directly to the people. You see them. You can touch them. You can pray with them. You can walk with them. I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world and my father used to make me do it and I didn't want to and now, I wouldn't have it any other way.

ANDRUW JONES, HOSEA VOLUNTEER: A whole lot of people that don't have that money to afford a good Thanksgiving, for the Atlanta Braves to be a part of the giving away food and stuff like that, it's a good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just like to do it. I like to participate and volunteer to help people and make them happy Thanksgiving and Christmas and I've been doing it for 18 years and I wouldn't have it no other way.

NGUYEN: You've done this for many, many years now. As you see the people standing in line on Thanksgiving Day, that feeling of just wanting to help, being a part of this has to be overwhelming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to that we can make a difference in their lives with the medical clinic and the barbers and beauticians and all the things they get, Hosea Williams' legacy lives on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: It does live on and several members of our CNN weekend morning team. That's our executive producer right there, Tanisha (ph).

HARRIS: Look at Tanisha. Oh, Pookie!

NGUYEN: Stop it, Tony. They helped out with this homeless dinner there at the Hosea Williams foundation and you're looking at some of the pictures on the screen. All of the volunteers, it made for a very wonderful day and a thankful day to all involved.

HARRIS: And thank you for watching us this hour. The news continues at the top of the hour. Keep it here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We'll be right back.

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