Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20101124

portland, oregon, temperatures dipping below freezing. this is the first time that happened in november in 25 years. yikes! that is where i'm heading tomorrow. also this. much of the same screen across much of the pacific northwest here down into the middle of the country. nevada, utah, even parts of california. be prepared for rough conditions. in fact, listen to this tow truck driver in idaho. >> it's just horrible. three foot snowdrifts we're running right through the middle of them. >> take a look with me. conditions in fargo. the entire state of north dakota and much of minnesota and south dakota under a winter weather advisory. and that of course changes to a much more serious blizzard watch tonight into your thanksgiving afternoon. that is weather. we're keeping our eye on that. but of course related to that air travel facing basically this one/two punch. this will cause delays in some areas. probably already is. icy runways in seattle. a lot of wind in boston. but then there are all of those new security measures that some said they would be protesting. but at least more air travelers today seem a bit more interested in getting through the security, getting through those lines as fast as possible and have for the most part no major protests to speak of. that is great news if you're hopping through the airports. tsa administrator john pistole making the rounds, urging all of us to work with, not against the security agents with this busy travel week. >> so it really comes down to everybody agrees they want to arrive safely. everyone wants to know everybody else on that flight has been thoroughly screened. by the way, everybody else wants to make sure you and i have been screened also. that's the dynamic tension that we're dealing with. >> all across the country. this hour we have cnn's jeanne meserve at reagan national for us in washington. ted rowlands fairly fresh off a flight in san francisco and jacqui jeras here on weather impacting travel plans. i want to begin with jeanne at reagan national. talk to me about security lines. we've been talking about this a lot this week. how are they? is anyone causing a problem in this whole optding out? >> reporter: well, brooke, there are a handful of protesters here at reagan national. but i'll tell you the security lines have been virtually nonexistence. it doesn't appear that very many people are deciding to say no to the body scanners in favor of those more intimate pat-downs. there's no slowdown visible here. so does that mean that opt-out day was a failure? organizers say absolutely not. >> i think it's been a success. i think even before today it's been a success. you've had the tsa step back and say are we going to look at is there a better way to do them? you've had them back off of children under 12. i think they get it now. >> reporter: but tsa is clearly also feeling good after being criticized for rolling out these new security measures with virtually no explanation. the administrator has been blanketing the airwaves with explanations of why they are doing this. they say they needed to improve security at the airport, particularly as regards threats like the underwear bomb. the public apparently was listening. travelers we have spoken to by and large are quite comfortable with these new security measures. if they object to them, they are not protesting by opting out. at least not at this airport. apparently their big priority today is getting home for the holidays. >> i have been through reagan many, many times. i know you're on the main level. you had a chan to walk downstairs? any tempers flaring at all or is everybody really behaving themselves? >> reporter: i've flown in and out of this airport for a couple of decades and i have to tell you i've never seen it like this. several times today the transportation security officers were standing there waiting to check i.d.s and there was absolutely nobody in line. >> hallelujah. >> reporter: tempers flaring, no. people here seem to be pretty happy about getting through security as quickly as they are. >> excellent news. jeanne meserve, thank you. now to ted rowlands. i know you started your day in l.a. you are now in san francisco. how did the flight go? oh,ee don't hear ted. >> reporter: a lot of passengers moving through. i'll start that from the beginning. >> take two. >> reporter: l.a. was fine. lots of folks. lots of folks moving through l.a.x. this morning. but security lines not a problem at all. this opt-out thing not holding on the west coast either. you can see at san francisco right now the security lines are great if you happen to be boarding a plane. you will be in and out in about five minutes. those fluctuate as flights come in and out. the big board we've got big delays but not bad at all when you consider that it is a holiday weekend. one thing, though, there are a lot of opinions about this pat-down scanner issue. we talked to dozens of people both in l.a. and san francisco. here's a sampling of what people think out here about the pat-down controversy. >> i don't look anything like osama bin laden. i'm not tall enough, don't have the right color hair or speak the language. there's about 99% of people in this airport same situation. this is a joke. we should profile if it's a security risk. >> i think sometimes people have chosen this to be angry about. i would rather be safe. >> reporter: it's amazing, a lot of people came up and said they think the tsa should profile at airports saying that frisking that old woman in the wheelchair is ridiculous and a waste of time. it's amazing how many people actually articulated those feelings to us. bottom line, nobody has held up a line here and a lot of people are on guard for it. everybody coming in, have you seen any of the scanner problems? so people are looking for it but we haven't seen any evidence here in -- at sfo or in l.a. >> well, hopefully, given all the hype, we're glad to know everything is fairly smooth sailing today. i think the other big day we'll be watching is friday. ted rowlands, we will check back in later. meantime. go ahead. >> reporter: okay. you say hype. one of the other things we're getting is the media is hiyping this too much which maybe. maybe we are guilty of it. but we didn't know what to expect. we thought there would be delays. >> we were listening to people. people were frustrated and outraged but at least today smooth sailing where you are and a couple of other spots around the country. now to jacqui jeras with a little bit of what's going on. i guess, what, air, roads and a lot of people -- we're putting so much attention on today but also friday is a huge travel day. >> and saturday and sunday. pick your day. there's definitely going to be issues because of volume. that's what's going on now. in new york city you take a look central park and manhattan. it's beautiful. 51 degrees. the winds a little gusty, about 21 miles per hour. but we've got a lot of volume and a lot of people trying to get in and out so a lot of airport delays as a result. let's look at those delays that we have across the u.s. teterboro we have departure delays, over an hour now. so this has been really picking up in the last few hours. laguardia ground delays of 35 minutes. that's people taking off from other cities trying to get into laguardia. newark same story. washington, d.c., this is reagan national. 45 minutes. notice here those delays are on the increase unfortunately. and then white plains we're looking at 30 minutes and only 10 minutes in calgary. what's happening on the roadways. let's look at the you touch screen. this is a website where you can enter your city and see what the congestion is. at chicago we have seen rain as well as spotty freezing rain and sleet. we have a big accident now on the eisenhower expressway at 64 north. one lane is blocked and there's also law enforcement as well as a tow truck on the scene. so be aware we're getting spotty reports of accidents now across the chicagolands area. but the airport at this time is doing okay. we'll check in on des moines where they also had freezing rain. unfortunately lots of accident. our affiliate reporting one person was killed on i-35 as a result. you can see the slick roads they've been experiencing throughout that area as well. we've been talking a lot about airport security. i found this great website on tsa. they have their own blog now and they've been giving us updates periodically throughout the day. remember this is not necessarily the public. this is tsa telling you what they have been experiencing. and some of the delays that we've seen have been good. no opt-outs. following the patdown one passenger made a comment here. the highest wait time 12 minutes there. no problems. another thing i thought was really funny was the tsa agent reported the wait line to get a coffee was longer than it was throughout security. >> the wait line to get coffee is longer than the wait to go through security. >> yeah. we've been checking on tweeter. we're seeing good stuff. it's great. >> maybe all this talk people were prepared and rolling through. jacqui jeras, thank you. obviously a lot of attention today on the airports but many of you are hitting the highways. some of you may be texting, talking while driving. but one woman says that has to stop. she is spending the holiday -- she is spending her thanksgiving without her mother because of a distracted driver. she's going to join me live, willing to share her story. that is ahead. plus a u.s. aircraft carrier making its way to the korean peninsula for joint exercises with south korea. but is the u.s. also sending a message to north korea in the wake of the recent shelling? pa. it blocks pain signals for deep relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. precise. if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. here's a couple of stories that are moving right now. south korea on highest military alert. north korea claiming to be on the brink of war. the united states standing between them, urging restraint on both sides but sending an aircraft carrier to the yellow sea today. this is one day since that deadly exchange of artillery fire across the maritime border killing four south koreans, two troops, two civilians. north korea blames the south for starting it. stay with cnn. we have a crew there and we'll get the latest from the ground in minutes. oh, the airports, they are insane today with travelers. millions of americans traveling last minute to get to thanksgiving day destinations. here is something the tsa has been keeping an eye out for really all day long. large numbers of passengers refusing to enter the full body scan machines. have you had to do this? a nationwide resistance move meant by people angry about new ramped up security measures but guess what so far all major airports reporting a smooth flow of passengers. no security incidents and wait for it even people complimenting the tsa in behaving quite pleasantly. th maybe it's something about the holiday season. look at this woman, a nurse, a major in the u.s. air force and she is a lesbian. last part of that sentence got her kicked out of the service back in 2006. today official word that after a long legal battle, margaret witt will be reinstated in the military. a federal judge ruled that witt's sexual orientation does not impact military morale of co-hetion. the government is appealing that ruling. and in related ruling the senate armed services committee announced two days of hearings late next week into the pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. >> you have my blessing. ah the blessing. keeping the thanksgiving holiday tradition, the president pardoned two turkeys today. did you hear their names? you have to wait for it. also these birds now get to live out their lives in mt. vernon. you know george washington's old digs. not too bad instead of winding up on your dinner plates. that and your breaking political ticker is next. impressive resume. thank you. you know what, tell me, what makes peter, peter ? well, i'm an avid catamaran sailor. i can my own homemade jam, apricot. and i really love my bank's raise your rate cd. i'm sorry, did you say you'd love a pay raise asap ? uh, actually, i said i love my bank's raise your rate cd. you spent 8 days lost at sea ? no, uh... you love watching your neighbors watch tv ? at ally, you'll love our raise your rate cd that offers a one-time rate increase if our current rates go up. ally. do you love your bank ? ♪ we know why we're here. to design the future of flight, inside and out. ♪ to build tomorrow's technology in amazing ways. ♪ and reshape the science of aerospace -- forever. [ female announcer ] around the globe, the people of boeing are working together -- for the dreams of generations to come. that's why we're here. ♪ welcome back to the "cnn newsroom" on this day before thanksgiving. a lot of us, we're thankful for our family and friends and thankful if you're one of the lucky few for a few days off. pretty good for starters. speaking of holiday sentiments some of the folks in our political world have much to be thankful for as well in the year 2010. for that we turn to one of our top guys paul steinhauser, deputy political director. let's begin with a name many of us know, sarah palin. >> reporter: i think it's fair to say she has a couple of things to be thankful for. let's start with the tea party movement. that nearly two-year-old movement that's become a real player not only in the republican primaries but also the general election, probably a big player in the next race for the white house. i think it's pretty obvious a lot of the tea party activists are big fans of sarah palin. remember she gave the key note address at the first tea party convention earlier. another thing for her to be thankful for. us, i guess, the media. everywhere on the media. you name the network, the outlet, she is there. just recently as she's talked about the possibility the running for the white house she's been everywhere as well. take a taste. >> to be made so it would be prayerful consideration and then getting a good lay of the landscape too, the political landscape because i would be in it to win it. if there are others willing to do it and make the sacrifices i'll support them. if there's nobody else i would do it. >> if you ran for president could you beat barack obama? >> i believe so. >> reporter: okay. talking for the next race for the white house and if palin decides to run that's another thing for her to be thankful for because all the early polls indicate there is no front-runner at this very early point in the battle for the republican nomination. three things for her to be thankful for. >> the former alaskan governor thankful but what about the tsa? 24 hours ago we would think they had nothing to be thankful for but today fairly smooth sailing we just heard. >> reporter: seems that way. the tsa and new screening procedures have been the top story it seems the last couple of weeks here in the united states. they have a couple of things to be thankful for. surprising but they do. one is automobiles i guess. check this out. according to government statistics people traveling a long distance for the holiday, about seven out of ten or i'm sorry 91% are going to be traveling by car. that's only 9% that will travel by rail or air. they have that to be thankful for. here's another thing. let's talk specifically about frequent air travelers. a new poll by gallup indicates 71% support those enhanced screening procedures. there you go. i guess that's something to be thankful for. let's just be serious here. the holiday thanksgiving travel season is going to be over in a few days and there's nothing i guess down the road until christmas and then way down the road until summer. i guess the tsa will get a breather in a couple of days. >> for a second and then deal with christmas. then also i'm sure you were glued to your tv set as i'm sure our entire team was, the pardoning of the turkeys. the president and his daughters. i think they were apple and cider but the president obviously has a little bit to be thankful for as well. >> reporter: yeah, some people -- >> there are the turkeys. >> reporter: good, there it is. look at that. a tradition every year at the white house, no doubt about it. people are saying what does he have to be thankful for. as he said even he got a shellacking in the midterm elections but it could have been worse. remember the democrats did keep control of the senate. so it could have been worse in the midterm elections, the number one thing for the president to be thankful for. another thing that the president could be thankful for and that is the economy. let's talk about general motors. remember the auto bailouts a big controversial thing and the president, look at gm and the company seems to be on the republican. take a look at the president talking about the automotive industry yesterday in indiana. >> for the first time in over a decade, americans are buying a larger share of chryslers, ford and gm cars and a smaller share of their foreign counterparts. for the first time. >> reporter: applause there for the president on that. you don't hear a lot of applause for the president it seems and when it comes to the economy and what he's done, not a lot of love for the bailouts or stimulus but at least on gm looks like he may have a winner. finally one other thing the president can be thankful for. his re-election 2012. things are tough for the president and democratic party but 2012 is a long long long way off. so i guess he has that to be thankful for. things change quickly here in politics. >> they do. have a great thanksgiving. >> you too. thank you. now this. look at these pictures. these are students in london furious today, taking to the streets in protest over what, you have ask? find out ahead. and the west gets socked with heavy snow just in time for thanksgiving travel. that doesn't look so fun, does it? maybe it does. we've gone through the best pictures. to keep in balance after 50, i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has gingko for memory and concentration plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. [ female announcer ] one a day women's. just got more powerful. introducing precise pain relieving cream. it blocks pain signals fast for relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. let's talk weather, shall we? i know some of you love the snow. i don't know about these folks. i don't know if they're loving it driving through this stuff. a lot of people hitting the roads or catching a flight, some of them hitting rough spots. very much so rough going. this is i-80 that runs through nevada. overnight there truckers were reporting zero visibility. not so fun. deep snow. stranded vehicles. and cnn is your holiday travel headquarters. i want to get over to bonnie schneider. the big story is still the west. >> that's right. the west, plenty of snow there. a lot of that sliding east. where it's too warm for snow we're getting freezing rain and seeing heavy downpours of rain particularly south into kentucky. i want to show you what it's been looking like because it may not be winter. it may still be november but we're seeing lots of snow in many place s. check out these pictures. this is washington state. wow! completely covered in white today and it's cold there too. really unusual to see snow so early in the season. we're going to move on to oregon now where, that's right, the scars are spinning out. this is the worst. i hate when this happens. >> this is where i'm going tomorrow. >> be sure you have snow tires on there. at least the sun is shining. that will help melt it a bit. here's what's happening in utah. you can see pictures from earlier in the week when there was a blizzard condition and you can see the snow moving sideways. that's the problem in many locations. we are looking at strong winds in the northern tier of the country right here into places like northern minnesota, into the dakotas, montana. that's why we have winter weather advisories for blowing snow, drifting snow. that will change the snow piling up and move it around especially when the sun sets and we get worse visibility. these winter weather advisories persist as well. the big picture is windy weather out to the west and also to the east. you had airport delays in newark area and new york city due to strong winds even though the weather isn't so bad. for those heading to watch the macy's thanksgiving day parade tomorrow you will see okay weather and a chance of showers. if you're heading west and looking for snow you'll find it in colorado. we have the blizzard advisories. a foot of snow. you'll be shoveling out or skiing if that's what you like. >> a buddy in seattle told me there are 15 snow plows in the whole city. not enough at all. we'll check in with you later. question for you. are we possibly headed to a showdown between the two koreas? you see that? that is a u.s. aircraft carrier. it is on its way to the region right now. we are going to get a first look at what koreans are saying in an update from the ground next. which is why i'm really excited. because toyota developed this software that can simulate head injuries in an accident and helps make people safer. then they shared this technology with researchers at wake forest to help reduce head injuries on the football field. so, you know, i can feel a bit better about my son playing football. [ male announcer ] how would you use toyota technology to make a better world? learn how to share your ideas at toyota.com/ideasforgood. but i knew that i was going to need a day job. we actually have a lot of scientists that play music. the creativity, the innovation, there's definitely a tie there. one thing our scientists are working on is carbon capture and storage, which could prevent co2 from entering the atmosphere. we've just built a new plant to demonstrate how we can safely freeze out the co2 from natural gas. it looks like snow. it's one way that we're helping provide energy with fewer emissions. after north korea's artillery attack, the 100 rounds of fire back and forth on the south korean island, the threat of war is very, very real. this has the entire region on edge. in response we're hearing from president obama and his south korean counterpart, they have both agreed to hold more joint military exercises. in fact president obama specifically strongly condemning yesterday's attacks. but it was comments from south korea's president turning heads. during a visit to headquarters in seoul here's what he told reporters. he said i think enormous retaliation is going to be necessary to make north korea incapable of provoking us again, end quote. very strong words. now, cnn's stan grant visited a port in south korea and it's there that he found some people that were evacuated from the island that was just attacked. here he is with an update on the situation there. >> reporter: they survived a deadly attack on the island, now plunged into the middle of a media frenzy. hundreds of evacuees pouring on to the port at inchon. the young, the old, the frail, some carried on stretchers to waiting ambulances. all share a similar tale of terror. "it's a mess", this woman said. there's nothing left. all of the stores blown up, glass shattered, all of it disappeared in no time. some had seen their homes destroyed, lost their possessions as north korea rained down shells on to yeonpyeong island. south korea returned fire. buildings ablaze, smoke billowing into the sky. for some, the island can never truly be home again. do you feel that you want to go back to your island? would you feel safe on your island again? "a large number of villagers are thinking of leaving yeonpyeong island. this experience was too shocking, too threatening." >> reporter: do you think this has taken the tension between the two countries to a new level, that relations are worse? "i think this situation is at its extreme. in reality what we experienced was much graver than what you see on tv." the south korean military is on full alert. president lee myung-bak threatening a quote enormous retaliation. next week it will hold joint military exercises with the united states, a show of military might designed to send a warning to pyongyang. >> translator: the fact that they have indiscripple natalie fired on a defenseless civilian zone was a brutally inhumane action, illegal and intentional action against the armistice between the north and south korea. >> reporter: north korea also ratcheting up the rhetoric warning of a merciless military confrontation. south korea leaving no doubt how serious this situation is, talking of wartime aid being shipped to those left stranded and without electricity on the island. this is different to past provocations. this is different to past flash points on the korean peninsula. now we are seeing an attack on south korean soil and these people, civilians, caught in the cross fire. stan grant, cnn, inchon, south korea. so here's how the u.s. comes into this very much so immediately. as stan mentioned in the piece, the pentagon has dispatched this aircraft carrier strike group to the yellow sea. and sending this entire strike group, this is an enormous show of force. in fact, i want to break this strike group down for you. it is led by five main ships including the aircraft carrier -- this is the "uss george washington." the "george washington" carries 75 warplanes. it also carries a crew of more than 6,000. keep in mind that number is in addition to the more than 28,000 troops. in fact it's exactly 28,500 already in south korea. the aircraft carrier will then join south korean naval forces in the waters just west of the korean peninsula and conduct air defense surface warfare readiness training. remember in the past china has pressed washington not to do this, not to sends aircraft carriers to the sea. obviously, this is a story that we will stay on. a lot of us have a lot to be thankful for this thanksgiving especially thankful for our families. but one woman is missing her mother. hear her tragic story and why she is speaking out. there she is. she says safe driving starts with you. that is next. ♪ [ male announcer ] you like who you are... the man you've become. and you learned something along the way. about the world. and yourself. ♪ this is the age of knowing what you're made of. and knowing how to get things done. so, why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? 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it is true. listen to this. a university of utah study found talking on the phone delays a driver's reactions the same as over the limit alcohol does. did you realize that? i'm not even talking about talking and texting. i'm just talking, talking on the phone. folks, this is a matter of life and death. >> it's just not about numbers. it's not when you hear there's been an accident or fatality on 494, use a different route. it means somebody received a phone call saying, i'm sorry, there's been an accident, your loved one didn't make it. >> she received a phone call. the woman you just saw is a grief-stricken daughter. last year laura javier lost her mother julie. she was hit and killed by a driver who was talking on the phone. and the mother/daughter story part of the awareness campaign that the department of transportation is rolling out. laurie is good enough to join me from st. paul, minnesota. this is the second thanksgiving that someone very important to you won't be there at the dinner table, your mom. i want you to take me back to april 15th, 2009. what happened? >> i was actually on my way to go pick up my daughter from day care and my phone rang and i picked it up. and i saw it was my mom's phone number. and i said, hello. and i hear my stepfather's voice. and he said, laurie, i'm sorry, there's been an accident. your mom was killed. >> what happened? >> she was on her way to go hiking with her best friend. they were walking alongside of the road. and she was struck from behind by a driver going 70 miles an hour. there was no attempt to brake or no skid marks. she was hit at 70 miles an hour just full on. >> full on? 70 miles an hour. and this person was on the phone, correct? >> actually, we don't know if she was on the phone or not. the police did check her records. the accident is recorded between 3:25 and 3:29 that afternoon and her cell phone records back at 3:26. she told police -- >> police connected the dots. >> yes, she told -- >> go ahead. >> she told police that those calls began after impact. >> but we're not entirely sure. >> but we don't know for sure. >> no. >> you find out your mom was killed by this young woman, a teenager, potentially on the phone, entirely preventable. so you get the news. obviously you're horrified. at what point did that turn into fury? when were you outraged? >> pretty much after we got done with the funeral and i started researching the facts of distracted driving immediately. and when we talked to the investigative -- investigating officers and we found out that she was being charged with an inattentive driving ticket less than $175, that's when i couldn't believe that someone could not be looking at the road for almost nine seconds, kill somebody and receive a traffic violation. >> did the punishment fit the crime, 175 bucks, no jail time? was that good enough? >> no. no. >> what would you have liked to see? why are you a part of this whole d.o.t. rollout, this distracted driving campaign? what do you want to see changed, laurie? >> well, i'd like -- first of all, i'd like to bring awareness. like i said, i received the phone call about my mom while i was driving. i didn't realize how distracted -- driving is so dangerous and how it can take thousands of lives away each year. i would like to make people aware of this and then change the laws so these truly aren't accidents. you make a decision when you get behind the wheel to drive your 4,000 to 5,000 pound vehicle or in the instance of commercial drivers larger, that you are supposed to be safe and drive that vehicle from point "a" to point "b" and your focus should be on the road. >> allow me just to play devil's advocate. people are taking to the road especially this week, want to get to mom's house, dad's house, a lot of them driving with their cell phone. takes two seconds to send that text. i'm on my way. getting on twitter. convince someone why they should stop. >> two seconds is all it takes to end someone's life. and forever alter other people. believe me, you do not want to be in my shoes to get that phone call or be responsible for someone else's death. there are stories that you will find on the government website, distracti distraction.gov, of kids and other individuals who paid the ultimate price because they decided to make that one phone call or retrieve that text. >> just don't do it. all it does is takes two seconds. laura hevier. i thank you for your courage in coming on to talk to me about this and about your mom today. laurie, thank you. want you to take a good, long look at this large raucous crowd. this is lonld yn. these are students angry over a government plan to triple their tuition. an update is next. 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[ woman ] ask your rheumatologist about simponi®. just one dose, once a month. have you seen these pictures that we've come across from both england and scotland today? wondering what in the world is going on? talk about an ugly scene. throngs of university students. this is not just central london, folks. this is in cities all across the uk today. manchester, glasgow. they are mostly students and outraged at the government's plan to drastically raise the cap on university tuition. take a lack and i want you to listen to this crowd just a couple of hours ago before the sun went down. now, here's a look at that same crowd. let's switch it. bird's-eye view. there we go. london police managed to contain the crowd in an area near parliament. protesters destroyed police vehicles. at one point one was rocking back and forth. i thought it was going to turn over. smashed store front windows. there's the truck, didn't fall over. more than 60 were arrested there. and black friday. you black friday shoppers a mere 48 hours away. before you go shopping, which have companies are being naughty and which ones are being nice? "consumer reports" knows. sharing their list so you can be a smart shopper come friday. that is next. who's been naughty and who's been nice? i'm talking about companies out there, the ones who give you the free shipping versus those who kind of don't. it is information you need to know before you hit the malls, go shopping. i want to bring in todd marks with consumer report who is along with his colleagues compiled this list of the naughty and nice companies. and before we reveal the list and i want to get to that quickly. i want you to explain to me. this is the first time you've done this, how are you judging? >> well, again, it's not an e l evaluation of the company as a whole. it's just one aspect of of their customer service policy that we liked or didn't think too highly of. and doesn't say anything about the company as a whole. but it was something that our in-house experts, kind of people who follow hotels and travel and -- >> sure. >> and electronics that kind of had a sense for. and, you know, we know that people are going to be traveling and they're going to be shopping and returning and getting things shipped this time of year. we wanted to point out things we liked and things we didn't. >> todd, let's talk. let's go naughty first. who is acting naughty? >> taking a look -- well, you know, if you want to look at the list. one of the things we really don't like are really high restocking fees. the it's bad enough that, you know, if you want to return something and you've opened the box or something's missing, a pamphlet or packaging, you can pay usually 10% to 15%. but, you know, some companies like compusa can charge as much as 25%. we thought that was kind of a high thing. and we pointed out when it comes to shipping, for example, we like when a company -- if they're going to charge for shipping in the first place, free is always better. but if they're going to charge, we like it based on the size and weight of the package rather than the dollar value of the order as macy's does. >> what about best buy, i think that's a destination for a lot of people come black friday. what's naughty about best buy? >> well, just one of the things is, we like a very generous return policy. we have enough time or ample time to think about your purchase. when it comes to computers, digital cameras, monitors, and cam corders, they give you kind of a 14 days. how long is the return period? >> all the ones who have been naughty, you have five that have been nice. and i'm glad to see -- not to give them a ringing endorsement, but i just bought shoes from zappos. and i love how easy it is the to get shoes and if you don't like them, send them back. >> hey, free shipping both ways, return and buy, and you can also print out a prepaid label, have u.p.s. or another carrier come to your door and pick it up. doesn't get any easier than that. >> what about walmart? what do you love about walmart? >> i like in an era where we have companies that are cracking down and not giving people returns or allowing you to get your money back if you don't have a receipt to make a return, walmart is allowing up to three such returns in a 45-day period, receiptless returns where if it's under $25, you can get cash or a gift card or merchandise credit. that's kind of nice if, in fact, you don't spend a lot but want your cash back. >> what about costco where you can get everything? >> yeah, the nice thing about costco. and sam's club would fit the bill too. they'll take almost anything back for any reason at any time. and even with electronics where they've kind of cut back on -- used to be very, very liberal open-ended. if they still give you 90 days to make that return. that's very generous in this era. >> bottom line, whether they're a naughtier company or nice, those are all great companies with great products. black friday and beyond, read the fine print, right, todd? >> the devil is always in the details. and that's one thing this exercise is designed for. make sure you understand policies before you commit to it. >> todd marks, thank you, sir. good list. naughty and nice. >> my pleasure. now to this. a bizarre murder mystery unfolding. have you heard about this? this involves a hollywood actor now accused of stabbing his mother to death with a samurai sword. who are we talking about? live report ahead. but first, a preview of of the cnn heroes special with anderson cooper airing tomorrow night 8:00 eastern. and guess who's on the guest list. ♪ what you got if you ain't got love ♪ ♪ you're walking a road, but you're going nowhere ♪ ♪ trying to buy your way home but there's no one there ♪ ♪ i hate suburbia and the bourgeoi-sie ♪ ♪ but i really love my bank ♪ i hate-- didn't quite catch that last bit. i said i really love my bank. right... is there a problem ? it's not really raging, man. uh, we were hoping for more raging ? well, you said write from the heart. yeah... don't do that. at ally, you'll love our online savings account. named the best of 2010 by money magazine. ally. do you love your bank ? and welcome back to the newsroom. cnn has the latest political news. cnn equals politics. and ed henry joins me from the white house which, ed, is where jerry seinfeld has performed. >> reporter: we're reporting live from the white house every day. it's easy to take for granted what a big stage it is because you would think jerry seinfeld performing a couple months ago for a tribute for paul mccarteny, you think, well, it wouldn't be a big deal, but jerry seinfeld was on the late show with david letterman saying it was the coolest experience of his life. he said "it's the coolest thing i ever did." he said that sir paul kind of of put him in his place when seinfeld said why am i here? he said "who else are we going to get?" i guess mccarteny was keeping him from getting a big head. >> got a little bit of a sense of humor. >> that's a good thing. we all like that. and the other thing to pay attention to is the brewing civil war between the palins and the bushes. you'll remember on "larry king live" a few days back, larry was talking to george h.w. bush and his wife barbara, the former first lady and asked about sarah palin. and there were a couple digs that barbara bush got in there. first she said i sat with her at a dinner and she's quite beautiful. didn't say she's smart or anything, and then says, look, she's from alaska, and i hope she stays in alaska. well, the former governor is firing back. she was on the laura ingraham radio show and she said, "i don't think the majority of americans want to put up with the blue bloods." the blue bloods want to pick and choose their winners instead of allowing competition. it's starting to heat up a little bit between the palins and bushes. keep an eye on that one. moving right along in an unrelated story, turkey story. the president of the united states today pardoning a couple of turkeys. an annual tradition we always have here at the white house. the turkeys as you've been noting are apple and cider. it's interesting because bill mauer weighed in saying don't send these to disney world. they're paraded around it's not the nice retirement. i've got news for everyone, they've already gone to mt. vernon. they had a big horse-drawn carriage bringing the turkeys in, literally from the white house here. they're now going to be there -- apple, i believe it is, is going to be on display and cider will be in the livestock facility, but not carved up. i'm told by mt. vernon officials they're certified, treat them very humanely. apple will be on display for a few weeks for christmas at mt. vernon and then going to a livestock facility, have a nice retirement. and do you know that last night, how good these turkeys are treated. they stayed at the "w" hotel here, brooke. >> what? are you serious? >> god's honest truth. >> there's like a waiting list to get there. >> they're all wearing black and look hip and got that music, and i wonder if the turkeys enjoyed that kind of atmosphere. i'm told that the chef cooks for them too. >> cooks for them. we won't go there, but ed henry with the latest on apple and cider. big heartbreaking news at the white house. we'll get another political update in half an hour. you can get the latest political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. and so it begins, in the air, on the ground, millions of americans heading home, and the busiest time of this travel crush starting right now. we're all over it in 60 seconds. i'm brooke baldwin, the news is now. a former actor on "ugly betty" accused of killing his own mother. police say he chased her down and attacked her with a samurai sword. >> it's an understatement for something like this. >> wait until you hear what he allegedly yelled while doing it. plus, buried alive. trapped for three days after the earthquake hit haiti. >> i didn't know if i was going to get out of there. you will hear his amazing story of survival beneath the rubble. and a carjacker takes off with a baby still inside. but a mother and a father fight back. >> i ended up busting out the window with my elbow. >> i'll tell you how this turns out as an urgent man hunt continues. i'm brooke baldwin, thanks to the cnn tour for helping me out. rapid fire, let's go to southern california. investigators trying to figure out why anne escondido man had house and yard full of weapons. the unemployed man being held on $5 million bail. accused of turning his home into -- you heard the explosion -- a bomb factory. he had been flying under the radar until a gardener was hurt in an explosion last week. here's what his wife had to say. >> he's a good man. and i love him. he's crazy. i think he lost his mind. he lost his mind or something. >> jakubec has pleaded not guilty to more than two dozen explosives charges and two counts of bank robberies. next in new zealand, sad story, no miracle mine rescue to report today. a second explosion rocked the pike river mine overnight. rescue workers say there's no way those 29 trapped miners could've survived that blast if even they were still alive. the prime minister says new zealand is a nation in mourning. >> new zealand is a small country. a country where we are our brothers keeper. to lose this many brothers at once strikes an agonizing blow. >> next, hear the warning for any of you with holiday travel plans that may take you to mexico. mexican government warning travelers today, if you're driving to new mexico for the holidays to travel in daytime. convoys to avoid any trouble possibly with drug cartels down there. the warning comes during the time of year when many mexicans living in the u.s. heading home for thanksgiving. next, take a look with me at the latest jobs report. the number of americans filing for their first week of unemployment benefits sunk for the lowest level in more than two years. the number of claims fell to 400,000 last week, down 34,000 from the week before. the unemployment rate still sticking at 9.6%. amanda knox back in an italian courtroom today. appealing her murder conviction. and today's hearing lasted all of 15 minutes before the judge adjourned until december 11th. foxy knoxy convicted last december of sexually assaulting and murdering her roommate. the appeal is a gamble for knox. if she loses, she could end up spending life in prison instead of the 26 years she is now serving. next the fcc is considering making 911 even more accessible for us aimed at the texting crowd. under consideration here, allowing people to report crimes via a 911 text message. and also streaming video from their cell phones to emergency centers. apparently the fcc cites an example, the 2007 virginia tech campus shootings. many of the students there sent texts to 911 that were never received by local dispatchers. next, senate armed services committee announcing they will hold two days of hearings to review the military's don't ask, don't tell policy, the policy barring openly gay members from serving in the u.s. military. and this news comes days after the pentagon's report on what effect a repeal of don't ask, don't tell would have on our military. witnesses will include defense secretary robert gates and joint chief of staff mike mullen. listen up, another recall from johnson & johnson. this recall involving three over-the-counter popular drugs here, including two for your kids. children's benadryl fast-melt tablets, both cherry and grape flavors, also the 24-count package of junior strength motrin caplets. and rolaids, cherry flavor 36-count package. next, here is proof that the thanksgiving holiday is upon us. look at these big balloons. cue the balloons. this is the macy's balloons getting pumped up for tomorrow's big parade. this is the event more than any other that really unofficially kicks off the holiday season. and if you're keeping track, tomorrow marks the 84th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. i love watching that. finally, it is official, sarah palin's new book is out. she's out and about on the road promoting it. and the question on a lot of your minds is palin dropping hints a 2012 plan to run for president? shannon travis caught up with the palin book tour in phoenix. shannon? >> reporter: brooke, sarah palin kicked off her book tour here in phoenix, but she's off and running right now. she's visiting many, many states. but guess what? they're virtually all red states. three in particular -- three stops in particular we want to mention are two stops in iowa, homes to the first presidential caucus there. and one stop in south carolina. where the first presidential primary in the south will happen. that's fueling speculation about whether she'll run or not. but take a listen to something she said to shawn hannity on his radio show yesterday. she says "the cause that we all need to be engaged in is stopping the obama/pelosi/reid fundamental transformation of america. and if i get in the way of that cause, i don't need a position, i don't need to run for office in order to make positive change." that's the first time many of us have heard her mentioning somethinabout not running for office. >> that's definitely different narratives. shannon travis, thank you. trapped for days -- imagine this, this guy survived the devastating earthquake in haiti. but for three days, he had no idea if he would survive. his fascinating story. literally writing letters to his loved ones. plus, americans on the move. one of the busiest day of the travel season. and i have the news you want. we are all over thanksgiving rush next. daddy, i'm bored. almost. it converts the car's braking force into electricity, so it's more efficient. so i thought... what if we put that same system onto one of these? [ people screaming ] who knows? we might be able to create the world's first self-sustaining amusement park. [ male announcer ] how would you use toyota technology to make a better world? learn how to share your ideas at toyota.com/ideasforgood. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the fuels that we use in our vehicles, and to do this at a large enough scale to someday help meet the world's energy demands. talking about all the holiday travel because so many of you are facing long lines and delays this busy holiday. we turn some of our correspondents -- sorry guys -- into travel guinea pigs. and ted rowlands was one of the ones who drew a short straw. we flew him from los angeles to san francisco to test how things are going. and we have jacqui jeras monitoring some of the trouble spots, as well. cnn is your holiday travel headquarters. and mr. rowlands, i want to start with you. so far, so good? >> reporter: yeah, it's azing. imagine walking up to the security line right now. of course, it's all timing, brooke. sometimes you walk up and it looks like that with three or four people in front of you. other times it's completely packed. especially on holiday weekends. our travel's from los angeles to here, no problems at all. one of the big concerns, of course, was this opt out where there was a campaign to encourage people to opt out of the body scanners and get a pat down so they could intentionally delay security lines. and bring this issue of the body scanners to light. and to make people actually talk about it. really didn't work in terms of this campaign. we haven't seen any evidence of it in san francisco or in los angeles. and across the country, there have been no reports of long lines because of the opt out. what we have heard are a wide range of opinions considering -- talking about the scanners and the pat downs. here's a sampling of a couple of those opinions. >> i had no problem with that. but once they started, you know, they come to the pat down and they're feeling all up inside you and groping you, i totally didn't like it. i totally -- i feel violated. >> what's your take on this whole controversy over the pat down and body scanners? >> i have a problem with profiling, i don't exactly look like a threat first of all, but i think the body scanner's probably the way to go. >> reporter: one of the things that a lot of people have talked about, brooke, is common sense. they think the tsa should adopt a little bit more common sense in terms of profiling, if you will. and not pull out the 87-year-old grandmother, get her up out of the wheelchair and do a full-body scan. and actually we did see a guy who was in that state today here in san francisco. that's been a real theme that we've gotten from people. the other theme we've gotten from people is this whole thing's been blown out of proportion and it's no big deal. everybody knows they're going to have delays when they come to the airport, especially during thanksgiving week. so, at this point, no troubles, no delays, and a lot of folks thinking, you know what? this whole thing is being blown out of proportion by politicians and by a fringe group that tried to get this opt out up and running. >> ted rowlands, i'm knocking on my glass desk that it stays that way. ted, thank you. i want to go over to jackie. you've been looking at the weather, the yucky travel spots around the country. what are you seeing right now? >> all of the above. the biggest hot spots in terms of traffic trouble is minneapolis-st. paul. this is like the third time in the last week we've been dealing with major weather systems and accidents vut as a result of th. this is our affiliate kare. and look at how congested that traffic is. yeah, all that snow is coming down. so you combine that with, you know, pushing the rush hour. and the holiday, people are trying to get home a little early. and that's one of the interstates in the twin cities having problems. this website, which you can easily find on the web, by the way, showing all kinds of red around and in the city. so a lot of trouble that we're looking at in that area, as well. so let's talk about what's been happening by the airways. we had some spotty delays throughout the morning, but now right into the afternoon hours. things have really been picking up. take a look at this. these delays in laguardia due to volume, 35 minutes, for people taking off and trying to arrive into laguardia airport. newark, about the same thing, 35 minutes. the departure delays at teebout minutes. in calgary, ten minutes, that's one's not so bad. i want to show you what's going on over here. brooke, we're going to have a little bit of fun. you want to do a little q & a with me? >> bring it on. >> this is information i found for fun. more people do travel by the interstate than anything else throughout the holiday season. so we've got sites together to tell you about interstate highway extremes. first category, don't look at the bottom. what interstate in the u.s. has more volume than any other? >> how am i not supposed to look at the bottom. >> i know, i'm sorry. 405. you could have picked the city, right? next one, elevation, highest elevation state? >> denver? >> there you go. just outside of denver. i-70, and that's at the continental divide. next, the widest interstate. >> you got me. >> right here in atlanta, georgia. >> really? >> i-75 in atlanta, 17 lanes at the intersection of i-285. >> really? >> yeah, 17. that's a lot. >> what else you got? >> i have the longest interstate in length, that's i-90, goes all the way from seattle to boston. cross-country right there, right? >> yeah. >> and then we have the most states served -- >> served. >> meaning how many people the most amount of people driving on those interstates? >> how many states are on that one road. >> i imagine that's what, i-95 corridor? >> i-95. yeah, 15 states and washington, d.c. so that's quite a few. and then we also have the very first interstate that was i-70 in kansas and missouri. >> been there, done that. kansas. >> yeah. >> it's a long, flat ride, isn't it? >> very long and flat. jacqui jeras, thank you. coming up next, this bizarre murder case, tv actor is accused of chasing down his mom and attacking her with a samurai sword. i'm going to tell you what he also allegedly yelled at the scene. stay right there. i graduated from west point, then i did a tour of duty in iraq. when i was transitioning from active duty, i went to a military officer hiring conference. it was kind of like speed dating. there were 12 companies that i was pre-matched with, but walmart turned out to be the best for me. sam walton was in the military, and he understood the importance of developing your people. it's an honor to be in a position of leadership at walmart. i'm captain tracey lloyd, and i work at walmart. ♪ who can change the world are the ones who want to. well, we want to. and we invite you to join us. starting today, when you buy a chevrolet, we'll invest in renewable-energy, energy-efficiency, and tree-planting programs across america -- reducing carbon emissions by up to eight million metric tons over the next few years. and just one more way we can proudly say: "chevy runs deep." ♪ i don't know if you, maybe some of your kids watch this huge show on abc called "ugly betty," well an actor who had a bit part in the show has now been charged with murder. his name is michael brea. kareen wynter joining me with the latest on this investigation. i woke up, read about this thing, entirely bizarre. what do we know habit this guy? >> it's absolutely bizarre. it has so many people wondering, brooke, what could've driven this actor over the edge? well, here's what we do know. as you mentioned, he appeared on abc's "ugly betty." but according to witnesses, this guy flipped out inside his brooklyn apartment, one he shared with his mom. he allegedly stabbed her repeatedly with a samurai sword. and now what's more alarming here, when people finally broke into his apartment, they say they found brea wielding that 3-foot sword near his mother's dead body. he was ordered to undergo a psych evaluation yesterday and he's expected to be handed over to police some time today. but many, many people who live in that complex say they heard screams, they heard some sort of dispute going on inside that apartment. and that, again, the 31-year-old shared with his mom. but i think, brooke, really the interest in this story, it has more to do with the gruesome manner in which he killed his mom rather than the fact he appeared on the small screen. >> absolutely. a samurai sword, allegedly. i know obviously as you said, police are investigating. he also had this bit role in "ugly betty." is abc at all coming out speaking about this? >> nada, nothing at this point. we reached out to the network today. they're not commenting on this story. and you know, i can't say i'm surprised at all as he was really little more than an extra, a background actor on one episode. there's no mention of him on abc's website or imdb, which is widely considered the industry standard for who's who in hollywood. but unfortunately, we all know who he is now. >> to another story you and i have talked about for a couple of days. the long-time movie publicist, really veteran, well-respected in hollywood, ronni chasen, shot to death. literally walking off the red carpet the "burlesque" premiere shot. is there any truth to that today? >> we did a lot of digging this morning, brooke. those reports came out. well, now it turns out they're false. yes, police were given surveillance video from inside the building where chasen lived. it's a condo. and it showed a woman in a four-door black mercedes, as you may remember when chasen was shot last week, she was driving her two-door mercedes. turns out it wasn't her. it was someone else. and right now they say they have nothing new. but we are keeping our eyes out for that autopsy report. it's expected to be released some time on monday. so we'll let you know about that, brooke. >> two odd stories. two stories baffling two different police departments. kareen wynter, thank you. you know, the pictures are shocking. hundreds killed in a human stampede, and now we are seeing new video this afternoon of what happened on that bridge. look at this. this is cambodia. that is next. but first, the cnn all-stars heroes tribute with anderson cooper airs tomorrow night 8:00 eastern. here's a preview for you. ♪ what do you got if you ain't got love ♪ ♪ whatever you got ain't enough ♪ ♪ you're walking a road but ain't going nowhere ♪ ♪ trying to find your way home but there's no one there ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm gonna get my hair cut ♪ even if i have to cut it myself ♪ ♪ i'm gonna get my hair cut ♪ even if i have to cut it myself ♪ ♪ but it makes me out of breath ♪ ♪ when you say ♪ ♪ love is a game -♪ a game for two -[ ring ] ♪ love is a game i want to play with you ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing the dell streak 5 pocket tablet exclusively at dell.com and best buy. 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[ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief for all-over achy colds. the official cold medicine of the u.s. ski team. alka-seltzer plus. i have a follow-up for you on that national festival that turned national tragedy in cambodia earlier this week. new information and new pictures that are tough to watch. i want to show it to you because it's part of the story. we just got this today. this is from monday night when this massive crowd of people trying to cross this narrow bridge suddenly began -- you see them, crushing into one another. i mean, talk about a terrifying scene there. the death toll has skyrocketed from yesterday. the new number we have, 456 people. look at them. 456 crushed to death or suffocated were on that bridge. well, onlookers couldn't do anything. witnesses say the bridge began to sway and move under the weight of the crowd. and that caused people to panic and make a terrible situation even worse. again, 456 people dead, at least 800 others are injured. and that happened on the last day of what was supposed to be a festive happening. the water festival. an estimated 4 million people were in attendance then. got a story about a relief worker survived being buried alive for three days during january's earthquake and is telling the world about his experience and why haiti needs our help now more than ever. you will hear his amazing story for yourself ahead. and we have all your political news making headlines with ms. dana bash. she has your political ticker. that is next. rincess of the pow. your core competency... is competency. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. [ male announcer ] indeed, business pro. indeed. go national. go like a pro. welcome back to the newsroom. cnn has your latest political news with the best political team on television. dana bash joins me from washington. and we mentioned this in the show, but tell me what more you know about the senate armed services committee, the announcement today. >> that's right, brooke. well, the don't ask, don't tell policy is being reviewed by the pentagon. and that report is due next week. well, the senate armed services committee has already announced two hearings to deal with that. they're going to have the defense secretary, they're going to have the chairman of the joint chiefs along with the authors of the study. and the results of this report are going to be critical to whether or not democrats can find the votes to pass the don't ask, don't tell repeal during this lame-duck session of congress. many senators say they're reluctant to do anything before the pentagon finishes its review. second item on the ticker, should president obama face a challenger from within his own party? it's a question a new survey asked democrats. and the answer actually may surprise you. democrats were actually split 45% of democrats say they do want someone from their own party to take on the president. and 46% said that they don't. very interesting, brooke. >> dana bash. that is sort of interesting, indeed. that seems like a higher number, especially for a sitting president, dana. thank you. we will get more political news from cnn here. go to cnnpolitics.com, go to twitter at political ticker. a story about a relief worker in haiti in january. he was trapped under all the rubble in total darkness. imagine, for three very long days. he lived to tell the story. this is not a movie, i promise you. this is very real. you will hear his compelling story for yourself. that is next. really, there are no two ways about it. it's not getting better in haiti, at least not yet, in fact, it's getting worse. the deadly outbreak of cholera. the death toll going higher and higher. so far it's killed more than 1,400 people now. and we have new figures today. 60,000 people in haiti have the disease. did you hear me? 60,000. health officials there are planning to treat upwards of of 400,000 people for cholera next year. the outbreak made worse by the lasting effects of last year's earthquake. and hampering efforts to fight the spread of the disease. let's go back to the earthquake. there is this man who still can't believe he's spending thanksgiving with his family this year because he was sure he would die under all the rubble in the haiti earthquake. how do i know? he told me. >> dan, take me back to haiti. you're in montana the day the earthquake hit. tell me about the first few minutes when the walls started to crumble. >> i'd returned to the hotel montana, and i was walking through the lobby of the hotel. and we looked at the elevators and decided it was a beautiful day, so we decided to turn towards the stairs and walk up the stairs to our room. and all of a sudden all chaos broke loose. and the first thing i experienced was the sound. just explosive sounds. and i -- i saw the walls start to crumble. and i felt the earth moving underneath my feet. and my colleague yelled out earthquake. and i looked for some place safe to jump to. and then all of a sudden, everything crashed around me and everything was dark. >> and everything was dark for you. you write about in your book for three, i imagine, very long days. you're trapped in the darkness. and at one point, dan, you talk about the moment when i don't know if it was pen or paper you were writing on, but you had enough presence of mind to say good-bye to your wife, two sons, so you start writing letters. tell me about that. >> well, as i assessed my situation, i really felt that i didn't know if i was going to get out of there. and i didn't feel my chances for survival through this were very high. and so as i thought about my family and not being able to get back to them, i wondered if there was anything i could do. is there anything i could leave for them? any last words for them? and i remembered i had my journal and had a pen, so i pulled that up and just started to write notes to them thinking about, you know, what would i want to say, really as last words to them, and what would i want them to hold on to as messages from me? >> and you still have those papers. i read your blood-stained papers, your letters to your family. have they read them yet? and what has your wife said about it? >> yeah, i still have the journal. and i've been able to share some of those messages. actually, there are some i've still withheld now that i'm back. some that were too intense. especially for my boys. >> you sustained some injuries, what? to your head and legs? and instead a first aid kit you could grab, you had an iphone. tell me how that came in handy. >> in the first moments after the quake, i realized that my injuries were very severe. so i realized i had my iphone with me and so i pulled it out of my pocket, but i remembered i had a first aid app on the phone. >> first aid app? >> that's right. that's right. and so it already had information downloaded about first aid situations. and so i looked up excessive bleeding to see if i need eed t wrap my leg or what i needed to do. >> amazing. what about -- were you the only one trapped down there? or there were others you were trapped with, i imagine. and ten months later, dan, have you kept up with them at all? >> well, it was amazing to be in a place, you know, very isolated in many ways. just in complete darkness and -- and the building collapsed around me. but at the same time, there were some other people that i could talk to or shout to. and so there were -- there were six americans who were trapped nearby, four of them were able -- were rescued. and are safe back with their families. >> there's a huge cholera outbreak now in haiti. thousands of people are suffering. though you get to sit around with your family this thanksgiving. and i imagine you are very thankful. >> i'm very grateful for that, i'm also very aware of the suffering of others who didn't have the outcome i did. in fact, i live with that every day. and my prayers go out to those who are -- who are suffering. and i also really try to live my life in a way that helps them. >> and again, my thanks to dan. and imagine being trapped and writing journals, writing letters to your loved ones because you think you're not going to make it. he tells me thinks he'll be back in haiti in january. cnn, by the way, gets to make a little news of its own. the network will introduce the ten heroes of this year making an impact all around the world. that is what is next. plus the travolta family celebrating more than the holiday. we'll talk about the details about their newest addition. stay right here. [ s. greenlee ] i would love to have been a musician but i knew that i was going to need a day job. we actually have a lot of scientists that play music. the creativity, the innovation, there's definitely a tie there. one thing our scientists are working on is carbon capture and storage, which could prevent co2 from entering the atmosphere. we've just built a new plant to demonstrate how we can safely freeze out the co2 from natural gas. it looks like snow. it's one way that we're helping provide energy with fewer emissions. 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"dirty dancing" star jennifer grey, and she took the title despite all the drama and talk surrounding bristol palin being the crowd favorite, right? the 50-year-old actress beat out her younger competitors and even competed with a slipped disk. here back on the twitter board if you want to see reaction. it's so funny to watch. because, of course, the key phrase here nobody puts baby in the corner, congrats to jennifer grey. another tweet. of course jennifer grey would win "dancing with the stars." she did "dirty dancing," people. and this is kind of funny. a guy's tweeting, jennifer grey edging out bristol palin in "dancing with the stars." i can see "dirty dancing" from my house. and we all know what that's all about, right? >> of course we do. what about bristol palin? what is she saying? >> well, it's funny, because before the finale, bristol palin said if she won it would be like a big middle finger to the people who dislike her and her mom. but a little graciousness after the show. yeah, she said she just thanked her fans for all the support. >> now, i know you just breezed past it, but jennifer grey, a slipped disk and she could still dance with those moves. i stand impressed. really all of them, but her in particular. sandra endo, thank you. happy thanksgiving to you. >> you got it. you too. a mother's worst nightmare is caught on camera. this is one of those what would you do? 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a large number of villagers are thinking of leaving yeonpyeong island. this experience was too shocking, too threatening. >> do you think this has taken the tension between the two countries to a new level? that relations now are worse? >> translator: i think this situation is at its extreme. in reality, what we experienced was much graver than what you see on tv. >> reporter: the south korean military is on full alert. president myung bak threatening enormous retaliation. next week he will hold joint military exercises with the united states, a show of military might to send a warning to pyongyang. >> the fact that they have indiscriminately fired on a residential zone is extreme. >> reporter: north korea warning of a merciless military confrontation. south korea leaving no doubt how serious this situation is. talking of wartime aid for those stranded and without electricity on the island. this is different to past provocations, different to past flash points on the korean peninsula. now we are seeing an attack on south korean soil. and these people, civilians, caught in the cross-fire. >> now here's where else the u.s. factors in. stan mentioned, the pentagon has dispatched this aircraft carrier to the sea. it's really an enormous show of force. we want to break down the strike group for you. this is led by five main ships. that includes the aircraft carrier, the uss george washington there. the george washington carries all of 75 war planes. it also carries a crew of more than 6,000. so this thing is huge. this is in addition to the 28,500 troops, american troops already stationed in south korea. and that aircraft carrier will join south korean naval forces in the waters just west of the korean peninsula. and it will conduct air defense and surface warfare readiness training. remember here, we have to talk about china. in the past, china has pressed washington not to send aircraft carriers to the sea. obviously it's a story -- we have reporters there in south korea. we'll stay on it and take care of any developments that happen later on. now also, there's a carjacker attacks. two parents fight back. parents, watch this with me. you may do the same thing, even though it is quite frightening to watch. the dramatic video that's happened in missouri. a man tries stealing this car parked at a gas station. but here's what he didn't know, key piece of information, a six-month-old baby was in the backseat of that car. parents are like, heck no, they're hanging on. the mom ran after the car and broke the window. >> i ended up busting out the wood with my elbow and lost my footing. so i started getting dragged because i wouldn't let go of the car. i kept saying my baby, my baby, my baby. >> so here's the deal, the dad ends up jumping through the window, scares off the suspect. thank goodness, baby fine. it's fine. police, though, they're still looking for the car-jacker. unbelievable there. next, watch this. ♪ >> okay. this is too cool. what are they using? those are pvc pipes what you use when you're plumbing. the college students actually built their own instrument. they say they can play everything from lady gaga to mozart. how did they get this idea? the blue man group. that's next. forget thanksgiving, some people are already thinking about christmas. take a look at this. do you know what that flash mob is? that flash mob is a group of normal people. they randomly jump up, there they are, they're singing, breaking into this choreographed routine. and it happened in the middle of a food court. ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ hallelujah >> what would you do if you were munching on your fries and somebody broke out in song? several joined in getting in the spirit. heavy snow out west. the storm system moving east may kind of clash with the travel plans this holiday. we're going to have all the weather news and travel information next. hallelujah. 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[ male announcer ] lately, there's been a lot of talk about fuel efficiency, hybrids, and plug-in vehicles. and we've got cars like that. even trucks. but we can do more. starting today, when you buy a chevrolet, we'll invest in renewable-energy, energy-efficiency, and tree-planting programs across america -- reducing carbon emissions by up to eight million metric tons over the next few years. and just one more way we can proudly say: "chevy runs deep." ♪ pretty good day on the street. take a look at the big board with me. up 150 points. the dow 11,187. obviously the rally really responding, probably in large part to the drop in the number of people filing for unemployment claims. next week, huge week for the markets since investors will be looking to see how retail sales do on black friday. also, this just in here, the shuttle discovery, space shuttle "discovery" now has another launch date. have you been watching this with us? a nasa official is is telling us it should happen december 17th. the date as you know has been pushed back a couple of times because of weather, technical issues. we are told that date could be pushed back to january, maybe february pending an investigation into what caused the cracks on the shuttle's external fuel tank. this will be the space shuttle's final launch. and with that, let's talk some weather. i know a lot of you are wondering what it'll look like in your neck of the woods when it comes to traveling and thanksgiving day. and news popping up, bonnie schneider in missouri. is that right? >> that's right. this system bringing everything from snow to the northern plains to, you guessed it, severe weather in terms of tornadoes possibly for southern missouri, southwest missouri. let's go right to the maps. i'll show you. so here's the big picture. and you can see the snow in northern minnesota. and check it out, we're talking well southwest into the state of missouri. we are getting some pictures now of what you can see. here's some areas that we have tornado warnings into southwest missouri. and right now, no tornadoes on the ground, but this watch box is in place until 10:00 tonight. so the risk for severe weather for southern missouri and even into parts of oklahoma, well, that will persist into the evening hours. now, this time of year, we still can get tornadoes. we have some video to show you of tornado damage of what it's been like. we've had severe weather throughout the week. we'll show you that a little bit later on. but we're also tracking in addition to the severe weather in terms of thunderstorms, but certainly the threat for snow and ice. take a look at what's happening across a good portion of the northern part of the country. we're getting some pictures of snow. we had snow across parts of the northwest. and there's some video of it, as well. and you can see the roads are really slow going. a lot of the snow tends to melt when it hits the ground. but then in other areas, it does not. then the trucks get dislodged and the tractor-trailers can't get through. >> guys, let's take these pictures full because you mentioned the midwest part of the country. real quickly, we've got these twit picks. take a look at this house from one of our twitter fans. this is in billings, montana. that's a heck of a lot of snow. this is no snow, but apparently very, very cold. this is from northern california. and this final one just because we can, and i think he's sort of rubbi inbing it in. this is miami. a nice, warm, tropical

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