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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Troops Uncover Chemical Lab in Falluja; High Court Steps in on Ukraine Elections; Harsh Weather Causes Problems for Travelers

Aired November 25, 2004 - 17:00   ET

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

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


CAROL LIN, HOST: Happening now: Mideast surprise. This man is in prison for terrorism, so why is he trying to be the next Yasser Arafat?
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): Fallujah find. Soldiers discover a lab Iraqi officials say was full of chemicals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These chemical materials, they were manufactured in death and intoxication and assassination.

Supreme intervention. Ukraine's highest court puts the contested results of the presidential election on hold.

A former president's top priority, fighting AIDS.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's the most important because it's the one we have the best capacity to deal with now.

LIN: Former President Bill Clinton in a one-on-one interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Holiday far from home. We'll visit U.S. troops on the front lines in Iraq and recovering from injuries here at home.

STAFF SGT. JUANITA WILSON, U.S. ARMY: I know mommy's been away from home for most of this year and part of this year, but I love you guys, and thank you for sticking by me.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, November 25, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Hello, I'm Carol Lin. Wolf is off today. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Iraqi government officials are reporting an alarming find in Fallujah: a laboratory containing chemical material and instructions for making anthrax, blood agents and explosives.

CNN's Karl Penhaul is following developments from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq's national security adviser, Qassim Dawood, said in an afternoon press conference that Iraqi troops operating in the city of Fallujah have discovered a laboratory with chemical substances inside.

He didn't give an exhaustive list of the substances, but indicated that the laboratory was used in his words as a center for the manufacture of intoxication, assassination and death.

He said inside the laboratory there were pamphlets found, indicating how to make explosives and also anthrax. He didn't make it clear, though whether he actually believed that anthrax or any other biochemical warfare agent had been manufactured there.

(on camera) Meanwhile, in separate developments, Dawood went on to explain that in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, a top lieutenant of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist has been arrested in Mosul. He didn't give any description of the type of rank that the man, named as Abu Saeed, may have occupied within the terrorist network, but did describe him as a top lieutenant.

He didn't give any further details about the circumstances of that arrest, but it certainly does seem to indicate that the parts of the al-Zarqawi network have migrated from the former stronghold in Fallujah to other parts of the country.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Throughout Iraq more than 100,000 American servicemen and women are celebrating Thanksgiving as best they can under the circumstances. CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is in Mosul with that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For many of the troops, there's been a day like other days: a lot of work to be done. The soldiers we were embedded with overnight on the previous night were on an overnight operation. Within a few hours of getting some sleep, they were back out on an operation. They were able to get in and have some Thanksgiving dinner in the evening.

But the real Thanksgiving lunch was in the middle of the day: a big spread for all of the soldiers here. Turkey, all the trimmings. There was a special prayer service earlier in the day and also a football match. It was a tie, I'm told, and it was also very muddy.

But really, it was characterized, this particular base, Camp Freedom, that I've seen that makes this particular holiday, perhaps different than other holidays I've witnessed on other bases in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past is that, really, the tempo of operations here has continued.

What the multinational force is doing here is keeping up offensive operations against the anti-Iraqi government elements here. The reason they're trying to do that is to destabilize them.

They see those forces in two principal ways: those that are actively out committing attacks and those that are behind the attacks, financing, threatening Iraqis, intimidating the election process. Those have been involved in destroying some of the police stations.

And it's these behind the scenes people that the multinational force here, the U.S. troops from the Striker Brigade, from also the Iraqi troops developing intelligence from sources and going out and trying to arrest, and detain and question some of the people that they believe are behind the -- behind the insurgent activities in Mosul.

That has meant that perhaps there's been less time for some of the soldiers here to take a break and enjoy the holiday than perhaps you would have found on bases in Iraq last year or you might find in bases in Afghanistan today.

But it has been a day that has -- a day that has been special. Soldiers have told me that this is a day, of course, where they're thinking more about home, more about their loved ones.

They're able to keep in touch here through the Internet, though videoconferencing. It's becoming a very popular way for them to stay in touch with their families, perhaps easier than in previous years.

But the real tone is one of operations from Camp Freedom going on with the pace they've been going on for the last few months, and that is quite active.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Mosul, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: To the Middle East now. Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti wants the late Yasser Arafat's job, president of the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli radio reports Barghouti is challenging Mahmoud Abbas in a move that could divide the Fattah Party. Barghouti himself is a Fattah leader and served in the Palestinian Legislative Council. He's been outspoken in criticizing the Palestinian Authority for corruption.

Barghouti is currently serving five life sentences in Israel for attacks that killed five people, and clearly, that complicates his presidential ambitions. But Israeli officials say they have no intention of releasing Barghouti.

Wolf Blitzer broached the subject when he interviewed the Israel deputy prime minister this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Marwan Barghouti, who's serving five life sentences for terrorism, serving in an Israeli prison right now, he's very popular among Palestinians. A lot of them would like to see him released or exchanged so he could run for office.

Is there any chance that your government would release Marwan Barghouti?

SILVAN SHALOM, ISRAELI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: There is no way. Marwan Barghouti was sentenced for life, not just for death, because he was behind so many murders that killed so many innocent Israelis. So he should stay there, and he should stay there for the rest of his life.

He can't be a candidate to any negotiations with the state of Israel. He's a terrorist. He's a murder, and he should remain in jail.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LIN: Now to the Ukraine, where disputed presidential elections led to mass demonstrations. Well, today the country's highest court stepped in, putting the results on hold for now.

CNN's Jill Dougherty reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Four days of demonstrations here in Kiev and they are not over yet, not by a long shot.

Demonstrators here tonight for Viktor Yanukovich. He is the man that the Central Election Commission said won this election. And then also on Independence Square, once again, supporters of the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, back again, this time for a pep talk from their leader and also words from the former president of Poland, Lech Walesa, who expressed solidarity with the opposition movement.

The candidate who officially won, Viktor Yanukovich, says now it is time for negotiations. In fact, he says he has put together committees that are ready to negotiate with the loser in this election. However, he says there is no sign that Yushchenko, the opposition candidate, is willing to do any talks.

So tonight there are miners on the street from the eastern part of Ukraine. They came in 12 hours, they said, drive, but they want to support the man they say legitimately is the president. And they claim that it's time for the opposition to accept that fact, go home and end these demonstrations.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Kiev, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, the European Union's top diplomat will go to Ukraine for urgent talks on the crisis. A spokesperson says Javier Solana will meet with both candidates, as well as President Leonid Kuchma, to work toward a negotiated solution.

The E.U., along with the United States, says the Ukraine election failed to meet international standards.

Well, there were once Iraq's elite and now they are living in exile. We are going to show you what actually became of some former Ba'ath Party members.

Also, weather takes a toll on some travelers trying to get to their holiday destinations.

And for the kid who has everything, a New York icon is back. We're going to take you to the grand reopening of the world's most expensive toy store.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This week in history, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in an open car in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was 46 years old.

And in 1999 Elian Gonzalez was rescued at sea off the coast of Florida. The 5-year-old boy became the subject of an intense custody battle when his father demanded he be returned home to Cuba.

And that is this week in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, this dramatic rock slide near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, west of Denver, has closed a 24-mile stretch of Interstate 70. Some boulders are the size of cars. No one was hurt, but holiday travelers are being forced to make a 200-mile detour.

In this busy Thanksgiving weekend other travelers are being delayed by bad weather.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): A white Christmas may be quaint, but the first major Midwest snowfall of the season on Thanksgiving eve was a hassle for thousands of travelers.

Up to eight inches fell in Illinois. That delayed some flights at Chicago's O'Hare airport up to three hours, while dozens more were canceled outright. Officials say more than 300 people spent the night at O'Hare. One stranded passenger said the airline should have been better prepared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the beautiful explanations we got from the pilot was he happened to say, "Well, you know, we weren't expecting it to snow through here so they were caught by surprise now." Actually, I know that that's not the case. The weather report about three days ago in Boston even told people if you're flying cross country do what you can to stay away from Chicago.

LIN: Problems from Michigan where dozens of flights were canceled. And a Northwest Airlines plane skidded off the slick runway at Lansing's Capital City airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't know whether it was turning or slipping off to the side, and then all of a sudden we felt that we'd gone off the runway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Half of it, the front -- the back end of the plane came up and we spun around sideways, so we're 500 yards off the tarmac out there.

LIN: People in parts of the south are spending the holiday cleaning up, and some are giving thanks that they survived a series of tornadoes which killed four people, one each in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Georgia was also hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank the Lord that my wife wasn't at home. She's normally at home, but she had to work today because of the holidays. So, I just thank the Lord that she was at work instead of at home with my newborn.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: For more on Thanksgiving weather and the weather for the trip back home, let's go to Orelon Sidney at the CNN Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: In other news, wounded in combat, American servicemen and women send holiday messages back to their comrades still in the war zone.

And later, why Thanksgiving as we know it took an act of Congress.

And forget the feast, for some it was a day for over the top holiday shopping.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Home for the holidays is a bed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for many U.S. troops. They're recovering from serious war injuries, but their thoughts and prayers are with their buddies back in Iraq.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This holiday season at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, long hours of therapy, but even now, these young warriors, all recently wounded, pause to send their Thanksgiving greetings back to their buddies still at the front.

SPC. JEFF COLE, U.S. ARMY: My name is Specialist Cole from the 458 Combat Engineer Battalion out of Camp Victory. I want to say hello to my unit back there and say have happy holidays while I'm still here at Walter Reed.

PFC JEFF SANDERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS: This is PFC Jeff Sanders, United States Marine Corps, 12 Bravo Company, out of Camp Lejeune. I'd like to let the guys know that I'm also feeling much better, looking forward to getting out of here and getting a prosthesis, walking again. And hopefully I'll be standing on two legs when you guys get back from Iraq.

SPC. RAMON GUITARD, U.S. ARMY: Hello. I'm Specialist Guitard Ramon from 659th Maintenance Company out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I'd like to wish all you guys a happy Thanksgiving and merry Christmas, all right? Whoop!

STARR: Their concern is for comrades still in harm's way.

SPC. JOEY BANEGAS, U.S. ARMY: Hi, this is Joey Banegas with the HAC 25 Infantry -- 25th Infantry Division. You guys take care and keep your heads up and watch out for yourselves back there. I'm feeling great and, you know, don't worry about me.

SGT. CARLA D. BEST, U.S. ARMY: Sergeant Carla D. Best with 659th Maintenance Company. I'd like to say to all my soldiers out there in Iraq, Camp Victory, Sites X (ph), happy holidays. I'm here at Walter Reed and I'm starting my recovery and I'm starting physical therapy, so I'm doing a lot better, and hopefully I'll be out by Christmas time.

STARR: There is humor.

CPL. ELI COOK, U.S. ARMY: This is Corporal Eli Cook from 235 Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. I want to say happy holidays to all the soldiers back in Afghanistan. I want to say hi to Gustav, Brown, Hanks, Sergeant V., Sergeant Haywood, Camp Charlie and all you guys. I'm doing much better. I appreciate all the cards and phone calls, and I want you to mail me my wallet.

WILSON: Staff Sergeant Wilson, Alpha Company, 411th Engineer Combat Battalion. I know Mommy's been away from home for most of this year and part of last year, but I love you guys and thank you for sticking by me and hopefully, we're a family again soon.

STARR: A holiday season of thoughts thousands of miles away.

HM3 JOSE RAMOS, U.S. NAVY: My name's Jose Ramos or HM3 Ramos. My platoon calls me Dark Ramos. I know we're back. But I want to say to Mardin (ph), Beefcake and Dinky, make sure you guys are taking care of each other as well as Shepardson, Cane, Payne (ph) and the rest of the guys in my platoon. I miss you guys every day, and I wish I was still out there with you.

STARR: And a painful remembrance of a buddy not coming home for the holidays.

SPC. PHIL SORENSON, NORTH DAKOTA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: This is Specialist Philip Sorenson, part of the Alpha Company Engineers. FOB Ryan (ph) in Iraq. I'm real sorry about Cody, guys. I think about him all the time, and his parents came down to visit me and it was awesome. I'm so glad I saw them.

Hey, guys I forgot to say happy holidays, happy Thanksgiving!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Amazing. That was CNN's Barbara Starr reporting for us.

Now, an injured U.S. Marine almost made it home for the holidays but got only as far as a military hospital in California. Lance Corporal Nic Uola (ph) was shot four times in the latest assault on Fallujah. Doctors at Camp Pendleton said he couldn't leave because of the extent of his injuries, so his family flew in from Illinois to join him today. A brother in the Army flew all the way from Germany. That is Thanksgiving.

An American president's battle against AIDS, a doctor, our doctor, Sanjay Gupta, one-on-one-with Bill Clinton, who talks about a disturbing practice that's putting lives at stake.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONATO DALRYMPLE, CO-RESCUER: I should have never tried to stand in the way of that father and son relationship. He's definitely in the right place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: It was a custody tug-of-war that captured the world's attention. Elian Gonzalez, five years later.

And it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the Macy's Day Parade. Highlights from this annual crowd pleaser in our "Picture of the Day."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back.

Former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, is in jail, but some other former Iraqi officials are in exile. We're going to tell you about them shortly, but first a quick check of other stories making news right now.

U.S. and Iraqi officials say what appears to be a lab with chemical materials has been found in the western section of Fallujah. U.S. military officials say materials found in the lab include instructions for making anthrax, as well as ingredients for making explosives and chemical blood agents.

A Pakistani Army commander says repeated searches for Osama bin Laden have come up empty. He says the Pakistani army has searched every square inch of northwestern Pakistan, where bin Laden is suspected to be hiding out. He says bin Laden requires his own security apparatus, which would be hard to miss.

An NBA player is in trouble with the law. Police arrested Minnesota Timberwolves center Michael Olowokandi after refusing to leave an Indianapolis nightclub. Police say he was subdued after being hit twice with an electronic stun gun. He's charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.

And best-selling novelist Arthur Hailey has died. His 1968 novel, "Airport," was made into a movie. Other books to hit the screen include "Hotel," "Wheels" and "The Money Changer." His wife says the 84-year-old Hailey died in his sleep at his home in the Bahamas.

Well, it was on Thanksgiving Day five years ago that a raft turned up in the waters off Florida, marking the start of a real-life soap opera that mixed family values and international politics.

As CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti reports, the players included Cuban President Fidel Castro, Cuban exiles and a little boy named Elian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a searing image of Elian Gonzalez, enveloped by screams of protests, whisked away from his Miami relatives by federal agents after a nearly five- month tug-of-war.

Jim Goldman is the now retired G-man who planned and led the operation that lasted a mere 154 seconds.

JAMES GOLDMAN, RETIRED U.S. AGENT: The government should have acted swifter, been more definitive and made clearer and quicker decisions to take that child into custody and to return him to his father.

CANDIOTTI: That's how Elian's saga in Miami ended. It began five years ago, Thanksgiving Day. A young boy found adrift in an inner tube, separated from his mother, who drowned at sea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a miracle of God that he was able to stay alive for those three days.

CANDIOTTI: Five years later, an oil painting of Elian hangs in the home of Donato Dalrymple. He and his cousin plucked Elian from the water.

Nicknamed the fisherman, the self-employed janitor will forever be remembered for this photo.

Dalrymple fought efforts by Elian's father to have the boy sent home to Cuba. Now, Dalrymple says he's sorry.

DALRYMPLE: I would like to apologize to him to say that I should have never tried to stand in the way of that father and son relationship, that he's definitely in the right place.

CANDIOTTI: Elian will turn 11 next month. In Cuba, he's a hero, a symbol of a political victory over exiles who fought his return to communist Cuba. President Fidel Castro attends his birthday parties. Elian and his father are invited to political assemblies, to which his father now belongs.

Juan Miguel is still a waiter who zealously protects his son's privacy at home and school. Back in Miami, Elian's temporary home is now a museum. The youngster's room preserved with his clothes, his toys, his school uniform, an essay by a child begging them to stay.

PROF. DARIO MORENO, FLORIDA INTL. UNIVERSITY: Chaos and dysfunction.

CANDIOTTI: Political scientist Dario Moreno says that while the Elian saga divided Miami, it had its benefits.

MORENO: It was a real come to Jesus moment for the community in which everybody realized that they have a stake in each other.

CANDIOTTI: For some, the political stakes took their toll. Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno who ordered Elian's return lost a primary bid for governor. The Miami Dade mayor who warned Federal agents they'd be on their own if they went after Elian demolished in a run for the Senate. Yet one of Elian's lawyers is now the city's mayor. As for the boy's young, would-be surrogate mother, cousin Marisleysis now operates her own beauty salon. Married and divorced this year, she tells CNN God brought Elian to me once, he'll do it again. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Thanksgiving finds many American troops thousands of miles away from home in Iraq. Ironically, some Iraqis are a long way from home as well. CNN's Hala Gorani reports that many former members of Iraq's ruling Baath party now live in the United Arab Emirates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The game is over. I hope that peace will prevail.

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The day Saddam loyalists were ousted from Iraq by the U.S.-led army.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean you have no relationship with Saddam?

GORANI: Mohammed Al-Douri, Iraq's man at the United Nations in New York, acknowledging his government's defeat to the world's media. Fast forward 18 months to the emirate of Ajman near Dubai in a flat loaned to him by a local professor. The ex-ambassador in exile has no regrets.

MOHAMMED AL-DOURI, FMR. IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: I repeat again and again, time and again that I defended my country, my people, and I will still do that.

GORANI: Al-Douri is one of several high-profile Baathists living in exile who have chosen the United Arab Emirates as their home. Another famous face, former information minister, Mohammed Saeed Al- Sahhaf.

MOHAMMED SAEED AL-SAHHAF, FORMER IRAQI INFORMATION MINISTER: We crushed the forces...

GORANI: ... nicknamed Comical Ali in the weeks leading up to the invasion.

He now lives in Abu Dhabi. Reports after the war said he was being paid by Abu Dhabi Television for exclusive interviews.

Journalist Faris Coury says the UAE welcomed certain ex-Iraqi regime members not on the U.S.'s most wanted list, and with America's approval.

FARIS COURY, HEAD OF NEWS, NBC: Everybody knew, including the Americans (UNINTELLIGIBLE). They knew they were leaving, or they have left with the knowledge of the Americans, like Mr. Sahhaf was, arrested for a while, and then released and then came to stay in the country.

GORANI: And then there are the dozens if not hundreds of mid- level Baathists here. Those who were members of the regime sometimes because they had to be, who feel living in Iraq isn't safe now. We met one ex-army colonel who is considering a move to the emirates. He asked us to conceal his identity. The UAE is an open country that respects Iraqis and understands the situation, he tells us, so I came to see it. He said dissolving the Iraqi army was a mistake that turned thousands of Iraqis into instant foes. They fired the Baathists he said. The soldiers left without salaries. These are people who have families so the Americans immediately created an enemy for themselves. He added, even with half or a quarter of their salaries, they could win some of them over.

Maskoof Restaurant in Dubai caters to lovers of the traditional Iraqi fish dish cooked on an open wood fire.

The manager, Jasam Hussein (ph), used to be the head chef at the official Baath Party hotel in Baghdad, the Al Rasheed, for over a decade. He says he served all of Saddam's government including ex- foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, Saddam Hussein himself. Now in Dubai alongside anonymous Iraqis, some familiar faces sometimes drop into his restaurant. Jasam says Mohammed Al-Douri comes here often.

In another Iraqi restaurant in Dubai, some customers say it's time to let bygones be bygones. This Iraqi engineering professor living in the UAE says his country needs to heal itself.

PROF. HASSAN MARSOUIN AL-DEPHI, DUBAI UNIVERSITY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) killed, who are responsible for the massive graves. They have to be brought to justice, but there are 95 percent of the Baathists who are not involved in this (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at all.

GORANI: But not everybody is that forgiving, like the Raghdam restaurant manager. He says some former bodyguards of regime heavyweights have come to his restaurant expecting special treatment.

AQIL HABIB, RAGHDAM RESTAURANT MANAGER: They want to forget, especially these people who have some problem with the Iraqi people.

GORANI: Back at Mohammed Al-Douri's small seaside flat, I asked him why he feels he has the right to criticize anyone's actions in Iraq when he spoke for a regime that so harshly brutalized its own people.

AL-DOURI: I respect this point of view. I respect it, but at the same time I would say that there's no justification. I still am Iraqi, still a human being, I never participated to things happened in Iraq. I do (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I was a teacher, honest man with my students, and I have been nominated as ambassador and I accepted this.

GORANI: Ironically, Al-Douri's former counterpart at the U.N., John Negroponte, is now U.S. ambassador to Iraq. The old foe on former Baath territory, while Al-Douri could be spending many more years away from his former home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: That report was from CNN's Hala Gorani. Well, giving thanks has been a tradition since George Washington, but carving turkeys and trying to encourage holiday shopping? Presidents and their ways of marking Thanksgiving straight ahead.

Plus get out your wall, the checkbook and all your credit cards. You are going to need them to buy these pricey presents.

And mix a California boy, opera and an eastern culture and you're going to get some beautiful music that has China's opera world buzzing. But first, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

In Portugal, seven people have gone on trial in a child sex abuse scandal. The six men and one woman are charged with molesting hundreds of children at Lisbon's largest state-run orphanage. The alleged abuse began in the mid 1970s, but was only discovered in 2002 when a whistle blower came forward.

Sudan aid. The Sudanese government has agreed to ease restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the country, including the embattled Darfur region after talks with Canada's prime minister. The U.S. calls the situation in Darfur genocide.

Italy earthquake. Nine people were injured and dozens of buildings were damaged when an earthquake hit at the stroke of midnight last night. The 5.2 magnitude quake was centered in the northern lakes region and was felt by people living all across northern Italy. Hundreds of panicked Italians fled from their homes and poured into the streets.

Let there be light. At the push of a button, that's just what happened in Paris. Italian actress Monica Belucci and other dignitaries switched on the dazzling Christmas lights along the Champs-Elysees. In all, the famous tree-lined avenue is decked out in 135,000 light bulbs, 6,000 sparkling lights and 28 miles of garland. And that's our look around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, no holiday surprise this year from President Bush who caught everyone off guard last year with a Thanksgiving Day visit to U.S. forces in Iraq. Instead he made phone calls from his Crawford, Texas, ranch to 10 selected service members to wish each of them a happy Thanksgiving. The sailors and soldiers and airmen and Marines he spoke with are deployed around the globe. Imagine their surprise.

Wolf Blitzer who is taking time off himself this Thanksgiving, reports that down through the years, presidents have marked the holiday many different ways.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When President Bush paid a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Iraq last year, he was following in his father's footsteps. In 1990, the first President Bush spent Thanksgiving Day in Saudi Arabia visiting U.S. troops preparing for the first Gulf war.

The presidential observance of Thanksgiving goes back to the very beginning when George Washington issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. But it wasn't an instant hit. President Thomas Jefferson thought proclaiming a national day of thanks violated the separation of church and state and while President James Madison issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1815, it was for a day in April, not November.

There were no more presidential Thanksgiving proclamations until Abraham Lincoln took office. Lincoln established the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving and it was a precedent Lincoln successors tampered with only at their own risk. In 1939 when President Franklin Roosevelt moved the date up by one week to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, it produced howls of protest. Twenty three states ignored FDR. After two years of controversy and confusion, Congress stepped in and moved Thanksgiving back to its traditional date.

It's not clear who was the first president to pardon a turkey. Some say Lincoln, some say Harry Truman, but no matter who came up with the idea, presidents know a good photo-op when they see one and they've been doing it for years.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fine-looking bird.

BLITZER: But whether they're joking about turkeys or visiting troops or serving meals at a homeless shelter like Bill Clinton did in 1993, presidents have used Thanksgiving to encourage Americans to think about their shared values, traditions and hopes. In Novembers when Thanksgiving follows a divisive national election, that in itself can be a blessing. Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And speaking of former presidents, all week long CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been being looking at the re-emergence of an old enemy, AIDS. Now today he talks with former President Bill Clinton, whose foundation is devoting time and resources to the battle against HIV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Where does AIDS sort of fall into the rank order?

FMR. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: It's the most important because it's the one we have the best capacity to deal with now, but I also think that related to that, is the absence of economic opportunity for a lot of people. For example, in China where we're working now, that they have this huge problem in rural China where whole villages have been wiped out except for the little kids and the old folks because people were -- had no way to make a living in the rural areas, so they were selling their blood for money to try to build up the blood banks in the cities in China which are overcrowded now. But they had contaminated blood transmission equipment just like we did in America over 20 years ago.

I have a friend whose mother died of contaminated blood in America over 20 years ago before we developed the capacity to test it. So, you know, that kind of stuff's going on. It reminds you that we also need to develop the economic capacity of people. And I have an economic development project in Africa, in India and the United States, but I think this is also very important. I hope that we can prove that the global economy can work for people in poor villages. As you know, that's basically what the big issue in the last Indian election. And we are working on education programs, citizen service programs and I still do work in various places around the world on religious and racial and ethnic reconciliation. I still believe that's at the root of a lot of the problems we have in the world today.

But if you look at a lot of these African villages where we go in the countries where we work, you don't have enough teachers to teach the kids. You don't have police officers to keep order. You don't have enough farmers to bring in the crops in some of these countries and they're going to have 20 percent or more drops in GDP unless we can, you know, get people out there in a hurry, getting the medicine, taking it, monitoring it, doing their tests and doing the education prevention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, tomorrow, Sanjay is going to continue his series with a look at American children and AIDS and please be sure to watch this Sunday when Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joined by Richard Gere, Ashley Judd and Magic Johnson for a look at AIDS and its re-emergence in unlikely places and unexpected faces. "Are You Positive?" airs Sunday night at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific only here on CNN.

Well, a unique talent from an unlikely 9-year-old. There he is. When we come back you're going to meet the new face of Chinese opera and the person who might actually surprise you there.

Later, meet some of this year's newest additions to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. Approximately or appropriately enough it also marks the rebirth of a famous toy store. Our Mary Snow is in New York with a peek inside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was fanfare and fans and the way the lines looked, you'd think something was given out for free, but you'll be hard pressed to find anything free or cheap, for that matter at FAO Schwarz. One of its attractions, a gas-powered child size Ferrari that can go up to 15 miles per hour. The price tag? 50,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think this year, maybe next year.

SNOW: Maybe he didn't buy one, but FAO Schwarz says Colin Farrell did. The storied toy store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue reopened after filing for bankruptcy last year. Touted as the oldest toy store in America, FAO Schwarz succumbed to the fierce competition sparked by the likes of Wal-Mart. Now it's back with a new look and it's not worried about capturing crowds looking for cheap.

SNOW: Like this $150,000 dancing piano similar to the one Tom Hanks made famous in the movie "Big" or $300,000 for this motion simulator that costs five bucks just to try it at the store. In a world where discount stores are king, you won't find any bargains here, but for some that's the attraction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate Wal-Mart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not really so much over the top as it is that you walk through the store and you just see so many amazing things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your new best friend and make her just like you.

SNOW: Madam Alexander dolls for $40 a pop to look like you.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: They have some really cool toys.

SNOW: And a cool $135 will get you not just any Barbie, but one decked out in designer duds from Versace and Kate Spade.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I think it's a neat store with all of the Barbies around.

SNOW: But if you're interested in babies, not Barbies, there's a nursery complete with nurses for these newborn dolls for 80 bucks. Snacks cost a pretty penny too. This California family splurged on a $100 ice cream sundae, 12 scoops of ice cream, 26 ounces of Belgian chocolate complete with mining hats, a hammer and pick (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a $100 sundae, but worth every penny.

SNOW: And if you really don't know what to get that special little someone and a $3600 stuffed polar bear won't do, you can always go the gift certificate route. They have them for $50,000, if you really want to splurge, they have them for $100 grand. Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right. A 9-year-old boy is a pretty wow in Oakland, California. He has the Chinese opera world buzzing. He has developed the ability to help keep alive a dying Asian art form. CNN's Rusty Dornin has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tyler Thompson is an all-American 9-year-old, dodge ball, football, baseball, basketball, you name it. Music, well, he likes R&B and rap but his true love is to sing -- Chinese opera. This fourth grader sings in flawless Mandarin, a skill he began perfecting in the second grade.

His mother heard him singing in the car. Only she couldn't understand a word.

VANESSA LADSON, MOTHER: I called the teacher. I go, I said, my son is singing in Chinese. Do you know what's going on? She said --

DORNIN: Music teacher Sherlyn Chew spotted Thompson as solo quality when he was seven. But this year, computer classes won out over music at Lincoln Elementary. So now Thompson goes to a nearby Laney (ph) College for training.

SHERLYN CHEW, MUSIC TEACHER: We worked on each word at a time. He would take home a cassette tape that I would record and so that he can hear it over and over again.

DORNIN: Do you know what the worded mean when you're singing them?

TYLER THOMPSON, CHINESE OPERA SINGER: I knew you was going to say that and no.

DORNIN: But his pronunciation is so good, he fools a lot of people.

CHEW: We perform for a lot of Chinese audience members. And when that happens, people cry when Tyler sings. They said, he's so clear and he's so adorable.

DORNIN: Thompson received a standing ovation at San Francisco's Asian art museum last March. Now there is even an offer to sing in Beijing.

THOMPSON: I just like to see what -- what it's like to be in China, just to know what it's like over there for one day. Usually, I like to have a...

DORNIN: Oakland, California is known for spawning rappers. Thompson says even his dad had trouble with his choice of music.

THOMPSON: At first, he thought it was -- it was sort of weird and so did my cousin. But now that they see me going places, they think it's more unique.

DORNIN: A unique talent from an unexpected performer. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Oakland, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: That's amazing. All right if you love a parade, well, you'll want to stay tuned for our picture of the day. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Finally, our picture of the day, an annual crowd pleaser. For spectators in New York and millions of viewers across America, it wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving without the Macy's day parade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came to New York City to see the Macy's day parade.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's something we watch every year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) New York City for Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a life time dream. I watched it on TV my whole life and I'm here. It's an exciting minute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Had to be here early to get the spots up front.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like it's going to be a fantastic day. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It kind of starts off the whole holiday season.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy Thanksgiving!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother-in-law's holding a balloon!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The balloons are really humongous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...and the size of everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like, building's tall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sponge Bob!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: SpongeBob!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at the size of that thing, it's just incredible!

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Whoa!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pikachu, Pikachu, Pikachu (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there are as many people in the parade as there is watching it. The bands that are going by. And it's just incredible!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've liked every minute of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Only New York!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy Thanksgiving!

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: New York City is the best place on the world!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not like New York City, no!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it happens anywhere else in the country or the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really nice, a good warm feeling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: A good warm feeling. And on that note, we're going to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for joining us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired November 25, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, HOST: Happening now: Mideast surprise. This man is in prison for terrorism, so why is he trying to be the next Yasser Arafat?
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): Fallujah find. Soldiers discover a lab Iraqi officials say was full of chemicals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These chemical materials, they were manufactured in death and intoxication and assassination.

Supreme intervention. Ukraine's highest court puts the contested results of the presidential election on hold.

A former president's top priority, fighting AIDS.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's the most important because it's the one we have the best capacity to deal with now.

LIN: Former President Bill Clinton in a one-on-one interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Holiday far from home. We'll visit U.S. troops on the front lines in Iraq and recovering from injuries here at home.

STAFF SGT. JUANITA WILSON, U.S. ARMY: I know mommy's been away from home for most of this year and part of this year, but I love you guys, and thank you for sticking by me.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, November 25, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Hello, I'm Carol Lin. Wolf is off today. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Iraqi government officials are reporting an alarming find in Fallujah: a laboratory containing chemical material and instructions for making anthrax, blood agents and explosives.

CNN's Karl Penhaul is following developments from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq's national security adviser, Qassim Dawood, said in an afternoon press conference that Iraqi troops operating in the city of Fallujah have discovered a laboratory with chemical substances inside.

He didn't give an exhaustive list of the substances, but indicated that the laboratory was used in his words as a center for the manufacture of intoxication, assassination and death.

He said inside the laboratory there were pamphlets found, indicating how to make explosives and also anthrax. He didn't make it clear, though whether he actually believed that anthrax or any other biochemical warfare agent had been manufactured there.

(on camera) Meanwhile, in separate developments, Dawood went on to explain that in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, a top lieutenant of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist has been arrested in Mosul. He didn't give any description of the type of rank that the man, named as Abu Saeed, may have occupied within the terrorist network, but did describe him as a top lieutenant.

He didn't give any further details about the circumstances of that arrest, but it certainly does seem to indicate that the parts of the al-Zarqawi network have migrated from the former stronghold in Fallujah to other parts of the country.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Throughout Iraq more than 100,000 American servicemen and women are celebrating Thanksgiving as best they can under the circumstances. CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is in Mosul with that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For many of the troops, there's been a day like other days: a lot of work to be done. The soldiers we were embedded with overnight on the previous night were on an overnight operation. Within a few hours of getting some sleep, they were back out on an operation. They were able to get in and have some Thanksgiving dinner in the evening.

But the real Thanksgiving lunch was in the middle of the day: a big spread for all of the soldiers here. Turkey, all the trimmings. There was a special prayer service earlier in the day and also a football match. It was a tie, I'm told, and it was also very muddy.

But really, it was characterized, this particular base, Camp Freedom, that I've seen that makes this particular holiday, perhaps different than other holidays I've witnessed on other bases in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past is that, really, the tempo of operations here has continued.

What the multinational force is doing here is keeping up offensive operations against the anti-Iraqi government elements here. The reason they're trying to do that is to destabilize them.

They see those forces in two principal ways: those that are actively out committing attacks and those that are behind the attacks, financing, threatening Iraqis, intimidating the election process. Those have been involved in destroying some of the police stations.

And it's these behind the scenes people that the multinational force here, the U.S. troops from the Striker Brigade, from also the Iraqi troops developing intelligence from sources and going out and trying to arrest, and detain and question some of the people that they believe are behind the -- behind the insurgent activities in Mosul.

That has meant that perhaps there's been less time for some of the soldiers here to take a break and enjoy the holiday than perhaps you would have found on bases in Iraq last year or you might find in bases in Afghanistan today.

But it has been a day that has -- a day that has been special. Soldiers have told me that this is a day, of course, where they're thinking more about home, more about their loved ones.

They're able to keep in touch here through the Internet, though videoconferencing. It's becoming a very popular way for them to stay in touch with their families, perhaps easier than in previous years.

But the real tone is one of operations from Camp Freedom going on with the pace they've been going on for the last few months, and that is quite active.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Mosul, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: To the Middle East now. Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti wants the late Yasser Arafat's job, president of the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli radio reports Barghouti is challenging Mahmoud Abbas in a move that could divide the Fattah Party. Barghouti himself is a Fattah leader and served in the Palestinian Legislative Council. He's been outspoken in criticizing the Palestinian Authority for corruption.

Barghouti is currently serving five life sentences in Israel for attacks that killed five people, and clearly, that complicates his presidential ambitions. But Israeli officials say they have no intention of releasing Barghouti.

Wolf Blitzer broached the subject when he interviewed the Israel deputy prime minister this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Marwan Barghouti, who's serving five life sentences for terrorism, serving in an Israeli prison right now, he's very popular among Palestinians. A lot of them would like to see him released or exchanged so he could run for office.

Is there any chance that your government would release Marwan Barghouti?

SILVAN SHALOM, ISRAELI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: There is no way. Marwan Barghouti was sentenced for life, not just for death, because he was behind so many murders that killed so many innocent Israelis. So he should stay there, and he should stay there for the rest of his life.

He can't be a candidate to any negotiations with the state of Israel. He's a terrorist. He's a murder, and he should remain in jail.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LIN: Now to the Ukraine, where disputed presidential elections led to mass demonstrations. Well, today the country's highest court stepped in, putting the results on hold for now.

CNN's Jill Dougherty reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Four days of demonstrations here in Kiev and they are not over yet, not by a long shot.

Demonstrators here tonight for Viktor Yanukovich. He is the man that the Central Election Commission said won this election. And then also on Independence Square, once again, supporters of the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, back again, this time for a pep talk from their leader and also words from the former president of Poland, Lech Walesa, who expressed solidarity with the opposition movement.

The candidate who officially won, Viktor Yanukovich, says now it is time for negotiations. In fact, he says he has put together committees that are ready to negotiate with the loser in this election. However, he says there is no sign that Yushchenko, the opposition candidate, is willing to do any talks.

So tonight there are miners on the street from the eastern part of Ukraine. They came in 12 hours, they said, drive, but they want to support the man they say legitimately is the president. And they claim that it's time for the opposition to accept that fact, go home and end these demonstrations.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Kiev, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, the European Union's top diplomat will go to Ukraine for urgent talks on the crisis. A spokesperson says Javier Solana will meet with both candidates, as well as President Leonid Kuchma, to work toward a negotiated solution.

The E.U., along with the United States, says the Ukraine election failed to meet international standards.

Well, there were once Iraq's elite and now they are living in exile. We are going to show you what actually became of some former Ba'ath Party members.

Also, weather takes a toll on some travelers trying to get to their holiday destinations.

And for the kid who has everything, a New York icon is back. We're going to take you to the grand reopening of the world's most expensive toy store.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This week in history, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in an open car in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was 46 years old.

And in 1999 Elian Gonzalez was rescued at sea off the coast of Florida. The 5-year-old boy became the subject of an intense custody battle when his father demanded he be returned home to Cuba.

And that is this week in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, this dramatic rock slide near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, west of Denver, has closed a 24-mile stretch of Interstate 70. Some boulders are the size of cars. No one was hurt, but holiday travelers are being forced to make a 200-mile detour.

In this busy Thanksgiving weekend other travelers are being delayed by bad weather.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): A white Christmas may be quaint, but the first major Midwest snowfall of the season on Thanksgiving eve was a hassle for thousands of travelers.

Up to eight inches fell in Illinois. That delayed some flights at Chicago's O'Hare airport up to three hours, while dozens more were canceled outright. Officials say more than 300 people spent the night at O'Hare. One stranded passenger said the airline should have been better prepared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the beautiful explanations we got from the pilot was he happened to say, "Well, you know, we weren't expecting it to snow through here so they were caught by surprise now." Actually, I know that that's not the case. The weather report about three days ago in Boston even told people if you're flying cross country do what you can to stay away from Chicago.

LIN: Problems from Michigan where dozens of flights were canceled. And a Northwest Airlines plane skidded off the slick runway at Lansing's Capital City airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't know whether it was turning or slipping off to the side, and then all of a sudden we felt that we'd gone off the runway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Half of it, the front -- the back end of the plane came up and we spun around sideways, so we're 500 yards off the tarmac out there.

LIN: People in parts of the south are spending the holiday cleaning up, and some are giving thanks that they survived a series of tornadoes which killed four people, one each in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Georgia was also hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank the Lord that my wife wasn't at home. She's normally at home, but she had to work today because of the holidays. So, I just thank the Lord that she was at work instead of at home with my newborn.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: For more on Thanksgiving weather and the weather for the trip back home, let's go to Orelon Sidney at the CNN Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: In other news, wounded in combat, American servicemen and women send holiday messages back to their comrades still in the war zone.

And later, why Thanksgiving as we know it took an act of Congress.

And forget the feast, for some it was a day for over the top holiday shopping.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Home for the holidays is a bed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for many U.S. troops. They're recovering from serious war injuries, but their thoughts and prayers are with their buddies back in Iraq.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This holiday season at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, long hours of therapy, but even now, these young warriors, all recently wounded, pause to send their Thanksgiving greetings back to their buddies still at the front.

SPC. JEFF COLE, U.S. ARMY: My name is Specialist Cole from the 458 Combat Engineer Battalion out of Camp Victory. I want to say hello to my unit back there and say have happy holidays while I'm still here at Walter Reed.

PFC JEFF SANDERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS: This is PFC Jeff Sanders, United States Marine Corps, 12 Bravo Company, out of Camp Lejeune. I'd like to let the guys know that I'm also feeling much better, looking forward to getting out of here and getting a prosthesis, walking again. And hopefully I'll be standing on two legs when you guys get back from Iraq.

SPC. RAMON GUITARD, U.S. ARMY: Hello. I'm Specialist Guitard Ramon from 659th Maintenance Company out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I'd like to wish all you guys a happy Thanksgiving and merry Christmas, all right? Whoop!

STARR: Their concern is for comrades still in harm's way.

SPC. JOEY BANEGAS, U.S. ARMY: Hi, this is Joey Banegas with the HAC 25 Infantry -- 25th Infantry Division. You guys take care and keep your heads up and watch out for yourselves back there. I'm feeling great and, you know, don't worry about me.

SGT. CARLA D. BEST, U.S. ARMY: Sergeant Carla D. Best with 659th Maintenance Company. I'd like to say to all my soldiers out there in Iraq, Camp Victory, Sites X (ph), happy holidays. I'm here at Walter Reed and I'm starting my recovery and I'm starting physical therapy, so I'm doing a lot better, and hopefully I'll be out by Christmas time.

STARR: There is humor.

CPL. ELI COOK, U.S. ARMY: This is Corporal Eli Cook from 235 Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. I want to say happy holidays to all the soldiers back in Afghanistan. I want to say hi to Gustav, Brown, Hanks, Sergeant V., Sergeant Haywood, Camp Charlie and all you guys. I'm doing much better. I appreciate all the cards and phone calls, and I want you to mail me my wallet.

WILSON: Staff Sergeant Wilson, Alpha Company, 411th Engineer Combat Battalion. I know Mommy's been away from home for most of this year and part of last year, but I love you guys and thank you for sticking by me and hopefully, we're a family again soon.

STARR: A holiday season of thoughts thousands of miles away.

HM3 JOSE RAMOS, U.S. NAVY: My name's Jose Ramos or HM3 Ramos. My platoon calls me Dark Ramos. I know we're back. But I want to say to Mardin (ph), Beefcake and Dinky, make sure you guys are taking care of each other as well as Shepardson, Cane, Payne (ph) and the rest of the guys in my platoon. I miss you guys every day, and I wish I was still out there with you.

STARR: And a painful remembrance of a buddy not coming home for the holidays.

SPC. PHIL SORENSON, NORTH DAKOTA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: This is Specialist Philip Sorenson, part of the Alpha Company Engineers. FOB Ryan (ph) in Iraq. I'm real sorry about Cody, guys. I think about him all the time, and his parents came down to visit me and it was awesome. I'm so glad I saw them.

Hey, guys I forgot to say happy holidays, happy Thanksgiving!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Amazing. That was CNN's Barbara Starr reporting for us.

Now, an injured U.S. Marine almost made it home for the holidays but got only as far as a military hospital in California. Lance Corporal Nic Uola (ph) was shot four times in the latest assault on Fallujah. Doctors at Camp Pendleton said he couldn't leave because of the extent of his injuries, so his family flew in from Illinois to join him today. A brother in the Army flew all the way from Germany. That is Thanksgiving.

An American president's battle against AIDS, a doctor, our doctor, Sanjay Gupta, one-on-one-with Bill Clinton, who talks about a disturbing practice that's putting lives at stake.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONATO DALRYMPLE, CO-RESCUER: I should have never tried to stand in the way of that father and son relationship. He's definitely in the right place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: It was a custody tug-of-war that captured the world's attention. Elian Gonzalez, five years later.

And it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the Macy's Day Parade. Highlights from this annual crowd pleaser in our "Picture of the Day."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back.

Former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, is in jail, but some other former Iraqi officials are in exile. We're going to tell you about them shortly, but first a quick check of other stories making news right now.

U.S. and Iraqi officials say what appears to be a lab with chemical materials has been found in the western section of Fallujah. U.S. military officials say materials found in the lab include instructions for making anthrax, as well as ingredients for making explosives and chemical blood agents.

A Pakistani Army commander says repeated searches for Osama bin Laden have come up empty. He says the Pakistani army has searched every square inch of northwestern Pakistan, where bin Laden is suspected to be hiding out. He says bin Laden requires his own security apparatus, which would be hard to miss.

An NBA player is in trouble with the law. Police arrested Minnesota Timberwolves center Michael Olowokandi after refusing to leave an Indianapolis nightclub. Police say he was subdued after being hit twice with an electronic stun gun. He's charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.

And best-selling novelist Arthur Hailey has died. His 1968 novel, "Airport," was made into a movie. Other books to hit the screen include "Hotel," "Wheels" and "The Money Changer." His wife says the 84-year-old Hailey died in his sleep at his home in the Bahamas.

Well, it was on Thanksgiving Day five years ago that a raft turned up in the waters off Florida, marking the start of a real-life soap opera that mixed family values and international politics.

As CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti reports, the players included Cuban President Fidel Castro, Cuban exiles and a little boy named Elian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a searing image of Elian Gonzalez, enveloped by screams of protests, whisked away from his Miami relatives by federal agents after a nearly five- month tug-of-war.

Jim Goldman is the now retired G-man who planned and led the operation that lasted a mere 154 seconds.

JAMES GOLDMAN, RETIRED U.S. AGENT: The government should have acted swifter, been more definitive and made clearer and quicker decisions to take that child into custody and to return him to his father.

CANDIOTTI: That's how Elian's saga in Miami ended. It began five years ago, Thanksgiving Day. A young boy found adrift in an inner tube, separated from his mother, who drowned at sea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a miracle of God that he was able to stay alive for those three days.

CANDIOTTI: Five years later, an oil painting of Elian hangs in the home of Donato Dalrymple. He and his cousin plucked Elian from the water.

Nicknamed the fisherman, the self-employed janitor will forever be remembered for this photo.

Dalrymple fought efforts by Elian's father to have the boy sent home to Cuba. Now, Dalrymple says he's sorry.

DALRYMPLE: I would like to apologize to him to say that I should have never tried to stand in the way of that father and son relationship, that he's definitely in the right place.

CANDIOTTI: Elian will turn 11 next month. In Cuba, he's a hero, a symbol of a political victory over exiles who fought his return to communist Cuba. President Fidel Castro attends his birthday parties. Elian and his father are invited to political assemblies, to which his father now belongs.

Juan Miguel is still a waiter who zealously protects his son's privacy at home and school. Back in Miami, Elian's temporary home is now a museum. The youngster's room preserved with his clothes, his toys, his school uniform, an essay by a child begging them to stay.

PROF. DARIO MORENO, FLORIDA INTL. UNIVERSITY: Chaos and dysfunction.

CANDIOTTI: Political scientist Dario Moreno says that while the Elian saga divided Miami, it had its benefits.

MORENO: It was a real come to Jesus moment for the community in which everybody realized that they have a stake in each other.

CANDIOTTI: For some, the political stakes took their toll. Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno who ordered Elian's return lost a primary bid for governor. The Miami Dade mayor who warned Federal agents they'd be on their own if they went after Elian demolished in a run for the Senate. Yet one of Elian's lawyers is now the city's mayor. As for the boy's young, would-be surrogate mother, cousin Marisleysis now operates her own beauty salon. Married and divorced this year, she tells CNN God brought Elian to me once, he'll do it again. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Thanksgiving finds many American troops thousands of miles away from home in Iraq. Ironically, some Iraqis are a long way from home as well. CNN's Hala Gorani reports that many former members of Iraq's ruling Baath party now live in the United Arab Emirates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The game is over. I hope that peace will prevail.

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The day Saddam loyalists were ousted from Iraq by the U.S.-led army.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean you have no relationship with Saddam?

GORANI: Mohammed Al-Douri, Iraq's man at the United Nations in New York, acknowledging his government's defeat to the world's media. Fast forward 18 months to the emirate of Ajman near Dubai in a flat loaned to him by a local professor. The ex-ambassador in exile has no regrets.

MOHAMMED AL-DOURI, FMR. IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: I repeat again and again, time and again that I defended my country, my people, and I will still do that.

GORANI: Al-Douri is one of several high-profile Baathists living in exile who have chosen the United Arab Emirates as their home. Another famous face, former information minister, Mohammed Saeed Al- Sahhaf.

MOHAMMED SAEED AL-SAHHAF, FORMER IRAQI INFORMATION MINISTER: We crushed the forces...

GORANI: ... nicknamed Comical Ali in the weeks leading up to the invasion.

He now lives in Abu Dhabi. Reports after the war said he was being paid by Abu Dhabi Television for exclusive interviews.

Journalist Faris Coury says the UAE welcomed certain ex-Iraqi regime members not on the U.S.'s most wanted list, and with America's approval.

FARIS COURY, HEAD OF NEWS, NBC: Everybody knew, including the Americans (UNINTELLIGIBLE). They knew they were leaving, or they have left with the knowledge of the Americans, like Mr. Sahhaf was, arrested for a while, and then released and then came to stay in the country.

GORANI: And then there are the dozens if not hundreds of mid- level Baathists here. Those who were members of the regime sometimes because they had to be, who feel living in Iraq isn't safe now. We met one ex-army colonel who is considering a move to the emirates. He asked us to conceal his identity. The UAE is an open country that respects Iraqis and understands the situation, he tells us, so I came to see it. He said dissolving the Iraqi army was a mistake that turned thousands of Iraqis into instant foes. They fired the Baathists he said. The soldiers left without salaries. These are people who have families so the Americans immediately created an enemy for themselves. He added, even with half or a quarter of their salaries, they could win some of them over.

Maskoof Restaurant in Dubai caters to lovers of the traditional Iraqi fish dish cooked on an open wood fire.

The manager, Jasam Hussein (ph), used to be the head chef at the official Baath Party hotel in Baghdad, the Al Rasheed, for over a decade. He says he served all of Saddam's government including ex- foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, Saddam Hussein himself. Now in Dubai alongside anonymous Iraqis, some familiar faces sometimes drop into his restaurant. Jasam says Mohammed Al-Douri comes here often.

In another Iraqi restaurant in Dubai, some customers say it's time to let bygones be bygones. This Iraqi engineering professor living in the UAE says his country needs to heal itself.

PROF. HASSAN MARSOUIN AL-DEPHI, DUBAI UNIVERSITY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) killed, who are responsible for the massive graves. They have to be brought to justice, but there are 95 percent of the Baathists who are not involved in this (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at all.

GORANI: But not everybody is that forgiving, like the Raghdam restaurant manager. He says some former bodyguards of regime heavyweights have come to his restaurant expecting special treatment.

AQIL HABIB, RAGHDAM RESTAURANT MANAGER: They want to forget, especially these people who have some problem with the Iraqi people.

GORANI: Back at Mohammed Al-Douri's small seaside flat, I asked him why he feels he has the right to criticize anyone's actions in Iraq when he spoke for a regime that so harshly brutalized its own people.

AL-DOURI: I respect this point of view. I respect it, but at the same time I would say that there's no justification. I still am Iraqi, still a human being, I never participated to things happened in Iraq. I do (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I was a teacher, honest man with my students, and I have been nominated as ambassador and I accepted this.

GORANI: Ironically, Al-Douri's former counterpart at the U.N., John Negroponte, is now U.S. ambassador to Iraq. The old foe on former Baath territory, while Al-Douri could be spending many more years away from his former home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: That report was from CNN's Hala Gorani. Well, giving thanks has been a tradition since George Washington, but carving turkeys and trying to encourage holiday shopping? Presidents and their ways of marking Thanksgiving straight ahead.

Plus get out your wall, the checkbook and all your credit cards. You are going to need them to buy these pricey presents.

And mix a California boy, opera and an eastern culture and you're going to get some beautiful music that has China's opera world buzzing. But first, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

In Portugal, seven people have gone on trial in a child sex abuse scandal. The six men and one woman are charged with molesting hundreds of children at Lisbon's largest state-run orphanage. The alleged abuse began in the mid 1970s, but was only discovered in 2002 when a whistle blower came forward.

Sudan aid. The Sudanese government has agreed to ease restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the country, including the embattled Darfur region after talks with Canada's prime minister. The U.S. calls the situation in Darfur genocide.

Italy earthquake. Nine people were injured and dozens of buildings were damaged when an earthquake hit at the stroke of midnight last night. The 5.2 magnitude quake was centered in the northern lakes region and was felt by people living all across northern Italy. Hundreds of panicked Italians fled from their homes and poured into the streets.

Let there be light. At the push of a button, that's just what happened in Paris. Italian actress Monica Belucci and other dignitaries switched on the dazzling Christmas lights along the Champs-Elysees. In all, the famous tree-lined avenue is decked out in 135,000 light bulbs, 6,000 sparkling lights and 28 miles of garland. And that's our look around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, no holiday surprise this year from President Bush who caught everyone off guard last year with a Thanksgiving Day visit to U.S. forces in Iraq. Instead he made phone calls from his Crawford, Texas, ranch to 10 selected service members to wish each of them a happy Thanksgiving. The sailors and soldiers and airmen and Marines he spoke with are deployed around the globe. Imagine their surprise.

Wolf Blitzer who is taking time off himself this Thanksgiving, reports that down through the years, presidents have marked the holiday many different ways.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When President Bush paid a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Iraq last year, he was following in his father's footsteps. In 1990, the first President Bush spent Thanksgiving Day in Saudi Arabia visiting U.S. troops preparing for the first Gulf war.

The presidential observance of Thanksgiving goes back to the very beginning when George Washington issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. But it wasn't an instant hit. President Thomas Jefferson thought proclaiming a national day of thanks violated the separation of church and state and while President James Madison issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1815, it was for a day in April, not November.

There were no more presidential Thanksgiving proclamations until Abraham Lincoln took office. Lincoln established the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving and it was a precedent Lincoln successors tampered with only at their own risk. In 1939 when President Franklin Roosevelt moved the date up by one week to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, it produced howls of protest. Twenty three states ignored FDR. After two years of controversy and confusion, Congress stepped in and moved Thanksgiving back to its traditional date.

It's not clear who was the first president to pardon a turkey. Some say Lincoln, some say Harry Truman, but no matter who came up with the idea, presidents know a good photo-op when they see one and they've been doing it for years.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fine-looking bird.

BLITZER: But whether they're joking about turkeys or visiting troops or serving meals at a homeless shelter like Bill Clinton did in 1993, presidents have used Thanksgiving to encourage Americans to think about their shared values, traditions and hopes. In Novembers when Thanksgiving follows a divisive national election, that in itself can be a blessing. Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And speaking of former presidents, all week long CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been being looking at the re-emergence of an old enemy, AIDS. Now today he talks with former President Bill Clinton, whose foundation is devoting time and resources to the battle against HIV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Where does AIDS sort of fall into the rank order?

FMR. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: It's the most important because it's the one we have the best capacity to deal with now, but I also think that related to that, is the absence of economic opportunity for a lot of people. For example, in China where we're working now, that they have this huge problem in rural China where whole villages have been wiped out except for the little kids and the old folks because people were -- had no way to make a living in the rural areas, so they were selling their blood for money to try to build up the blood banks in the cities in China which are overcrowded now. But they had contaminated blood transmission equipment just like we did in America over 20 years ago.

I have a friend whose mother died of contaminated blood in America over 20 years ago before we developed the capacity to test it. So, you know, that kind of stuff's going on. It reminds you that we also need to develop the economic capacity of people. And I have an economic development project in Africa, in India and the United States, but I think this is also very important. I hope that we can prove that the global economy can work for people in poor villages. As you know, that's basically what the big issue in the last Indian election. And we are working on education programs, citizen service programs and I still do work in various places around the world on religious and racial and ethnic reconciliation. I still believe that's at the root of a lot of the problems we have in the world today.

But if you look at a lot of these African villages where we go in the countries where we work, you don't have enough teachers to teach the kids. You don't have police officers to keep order. You don't have enough farmers to bring in the crops in some of these countries and they're going to have 20 percent or more drops in GDP unless we can, you know, get people out there in a hurry, getting the medicine, taking it, monitoring it, doing their tests and doing the education prevention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, tomorrow, Sanjay is going to continue his series with a look at American children and AIDS and please be sure to watch this Sunday when Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joined by Richard Gere, Ashley Judd and Magic Johnson for a look at AIDS and its re-emergence in unlikely places and unexpected faces. "Are You Positive?" airs Sunday night at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific only here on CNN.

Well, a unique talent from an unlikely 9-year-old. There he is. When we come back you're going to meet the new face of Chinese opera and the person who might actually surprise you there.

Later, meet some of this year's newest additions to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. Approximately or appropriately enough it also marks the rebirth of a famous toy store. Our Mary Snow is in New York with a peek inside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was fanfare and fans and the way the lines looked, you'd think something was given out for free, but you'll be hard pressed to find anything free or cheap, for that matter at FAO Schwarz. One of its attractions, a gas-powered child size Ferrari that can go up to 15 miles per hour. The price tag? 50,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think this year, maybe next year.

SNOW: Maybe he didn't buy one, but FAO Schwarz says Colin Farrell did. The storied toy store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue reopened after filing for bankruptcy last year. Touted as the oldest toy store in America, FAO Schwarz succumbed to the fierce competition sparked by the likes of Wal-Mart. Now it's back with a new look and it's not worried about capturing crowds looking for cheap.

SNOW: Like this $150,000 dancing piano similar to the one Tom Hanks made famous in the movie "Big" or $300,000 for this motion simulator that costs five bucks just to try it at the store. In a world where discount stores are king, you won't find any bargains here, but for some that's the attraction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate Wal-Mart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not really so much over the top as it is that you walk through the store and you just see so many amazing things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your new best friend and make her just like you.

SNOW: Madam Alexander dolls for $40 a pop to look like you.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: They have some really cool toys.

SNOW: And a cool $135 will get you not just any Barbie, but one decked out in designer duds from Versace and Kate Spade.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I think it's a neat store with all of the Barbies around.

SNOW: But if you're interested in babies, not Barbies, there's a nursery complete with nurses for these newborn dolls for 80 bucks. Snacks cost a pretty penny too. This California family splurged on a $100 ice cream sundae, 12 scoops of ice cream, 26 ounces of Belgian chocolate complete with mining hats, a hammer and pick (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a $100 sundae, but worth every penny.

SNOW: And if you really don't know what to get that special little someone and a $3600 stuffed polar bear won't do, you can always go the gift certificate route. They have them for $50,000, if you really want to splurge, they have them for $100 grand. Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right. A 9-year-old boy is a pretty wow in Oakland, California. He has the Chinese opera world buzzing. He has developed the ability to help keep alive a dying Asian art form. CNN's Rusty Dornin has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tyler Thompson is an all-American 9-year-old, dodge ball, football, baseball, basketball, you name it. Music, well, he likes R&B and rap but his true love is to sing -- Chinese opera. This fourth grader sings in flawless Mandarin, a skill he began perfecting in the second grade.

His mother heard him singing in the car. Only she couldn't understand a word.

VANESSA LADSON, MOTHER: I called the teacher. I go, I said, my son is singing in Chinese. Do you know what's going on? She said --

DORNIN: Music teacher Sherlyn Chew spotted Thompson as solo quality when he was seven. But this year, computer classes won out over music at Lincoln Elementary. So now Thompson goes to a nearby Laney (ph) College for training.

SHERLYN CHEW, MUSIC TEACHER: We worked on each word at a time. He would take home a cassette tape that I would record and so that he can hear it over and over again.

DORNIN: Do you know what the worded mean when you're singing them?

TYLER THOMPSON, CHINESE OPERA SINGER: I knew you was going to say that and no.

DORNIN: But his pronunciation is so good, he fools a lot of people.

CHEW: We perform for a lot of Chinese audience members. And when that happens, people cry when Tyler sings. They said, he's so clear and he's so adorable.

DORNIN: Thompson received a standing ovation at San Francisco's Asian art museum last March. Now there is even an offer to sing in Beijing.

THOMPSON: I just like to see what -- what it's like to be in China, just to know what it's like over there for one day. Usually, I like to have a...

DORNIN: Oakland, California is known for spawning rappers. Thompson says even his dad had trouble with his choice of music.

THOMPSON: At first, he thought it was -- it was sort of weird and so did my cousin. But now that they see me going places, they think it's more unique.

DORNIN: A unique talent from an unexpected performer. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Oakland, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: That's amazing. All right if you love a parade, well, you'll want to stay tuned for our picture of the day. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Finally, our picture of the day, an annual crowd pleaser. For spectators in New York and millions of viewers across America, it wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving without the Macy's day parade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came to New York City to see the Macy's day parade.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's something we watch every year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) New York City for Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a life time dream. I watched it on TV my whole life and I'm here. It's an exciting minute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Had to be here early to get the spots up front.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like it's going to be a fantastic day. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It kind of starts off the whole holiday season.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy Thanksgiving!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother-in-law's holding a balloon!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The balloons are really humongous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...and the size of everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like, building's tall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sponge Bob!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: SpongeBob!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at the size of that thing, it's just incredible!

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Whoa!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pikachu, Pikachu, Pikachu (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there are as many people in the parade as there is watching it. The bands that are going by. And it's just incredible!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've liked every minute of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Only New York!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy Thanksgiving!

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: New York City is the best place on the world!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not like New York City, no!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it happens anywhere else in the country or the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really nice, a good warm feeling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: A good warm feeling. And on that note, we're going to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for joining us.

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