tonight on "world news" -- straight facts -- we give you the truth about holiday travel. how many of us are actually getting the full body searches. are the horror stories real? and our new poll on what your neighbors truly think about privacy versus terror risks. looking up -- holiday spending coming on strong. what do the sales tell us about jobs in america? sounding alarms -- "world news" investigates a dangerous new way teenagers are getting high on a substance at the corner store. and drawing hope -- you'll meet a little boy with a big health battle who found out a way to get the monsters on his side.

good evening. this thanksgiving week, our usual conversation will be about the sweetness and stress of being with family. but this year, something different. americans are wrestling with the new rules of travel versus the threat of terrorism. we set out to find out what is really happening at the airports and also a new abc news poll on those aggressive patdowns. it shows we are a nation divided. half of us say the new body searches go too far. the other half feel they're justified. today, the white house had to weigh in on all the complaints. abc's jake tapper is there for us tonight. jake. >> reporter: good evening, diane. the head of the transportation security administration today said that flying is a privelege, and he said if someone decides that they don't want to have the screening, they don't have a right to get on the plane. the white house has been more diplomatic in its language but today they are standing by the

new procedures with or without the public. with images such as these flooding the airwaves and the internet, the white house today found itself acknowledging some mistakes in new tsa procedures. >> has all of this been done perfectly? no. >> reporter: but officials tonight stand by the new policies and the use of the new enhanced screening machines. a new poll shows 64% support using the new enhanced scanners. 32% oppose them. but the public is split on the new more aggressive patdowns. 50 percent say the new procedure goes too far. of those who fly once a year, the number shoots up to 54%. incoming house transportation chairman john mika says the tsa needs to demonstrate more common sense. >> can't somebody make a thinking decision that you don't have to pat down a 10-year-old or a person

who has some prosthesis or a prosthetic device. >> reporter: but sources tell abc news that intelligence has picked up terrorists discussing the use of prosthetic or medical devices to conceal explosives. and the white house says terrorists are looking to recruit those from outside the profile. tsa head john pistole today, asked about pat downs of female passengers under their bras, recalled two russian planes destroyed by terrorists in 2004, killing 90 people. >> the best intelligence is by two female suicide bombers about 90 minutes apart, where they had explosives in their bras and around their waists. >> reporter: and what about the children being patted down? >> the president is a father. there are a lot of parents out there whose children have been subject to patdowns and they've been very upset by it. >> anybody that's under 12 goes through something much more modified. >> reporter: diane, one more fact from our poll, 20% of adults say they are less likely to fly because of these new tsa procedures. >> yet, jake, as you know, we are all pouring into the airports nonetheless.

we asked sharyn alfonsi to survey the country, give us some facts on the disruption, the lines, the screening and what's really going right and wrong. >> reporter: on one of the busiest travel days of the year, we fanned out to ten airports across the country to find out how long passengers are waiting to get through security. in denver, 16 minutes. chicago, 7. atlanta, 5. and boston, just 2 minutes. on average, about 9 minutes. where's all that chaos we were expecting? well, the tsa says of the 2 million passengers who fly every day, less than 3% are getting patdowns. 3%. and less than 1% are being pulled aside for even more screening. meaning millions of passengers are moving through security swiftly. viral videos like this one of an 8-year-old boy getting screened with his shirt off have been fueling the ire of those passengers who say the tsa is going too far. but what's really going on here? the tsa says the boy set off an

alarm and did have to go through a secondary screening. but they say the boy's father, not the tsa, removed his shirt in an effort to expedite the screening. and then there's the story of thomas sawyer, a bladder cancer survivor who says a patdown broke his bag, leaving the 61-year-old covered in his new urine. >> i was so embarrassed and so petrified, going out into the airport, thinking people would see me and, quote/unquote, smell me. >> reporter: the tsa today said they have spoken with mr. sawyer and are working to deal with special situations better. tsa agents receive just eight hours of training on how to perform those new patdowns. but the tsa say of the more than 30 million passengers who have flown since the new procedures kicked in, only 700 have filed complaints with them. still, real concerns remain, especially about the safety of those scanners. the tsa maintains they are safe and only emit a minuscule amount

of radiation. still, some in the scientific community aren't convinced. >> there's a fair amount of evidence out there right now that the doses are still low but they're rather high than the tsa is saying. >> reporter: he says 10 to 15 times higher. they say independent scientists and experts have not been allowed to test the safety of any of those 409 scanners in airports nationwide and they would like to. abc news has reached out to the tsa to make that request and hopefully, diane, we will get some answers. >> to make the requests to do the tests ourselves. >> exactly. >> and see what it is. >> independent tests. >> independent ones. sharyn alfonsi, thank you. we'll of course cover all of this tomorrow as well. we have some hopeful economic news this holiday season. there are strong new signs tonight that retail sales are america are rebounding from bargain hunters to luxury buyers. americans taking advantage of prices slashed early. online shopping is red hot. so what does this mean for permanent jobs to come in january? david muir is out with the

shoppers tonight in new york. good evening, david. >> reporter: good evening to you, diane. you're absolutely right, sales up across the board this evening. economists tell me it's what's inside those gift bags you see people carrying that is most telling. all that leads to the larger question, will the shopping finally lead to more permanent jobs? tonight, retailers are tracking shoppers who are already spending more than they were this time last year. >> you can't scare the american consumers forever. >> reporter: new numbers out today track the first two weeks of this month. total apparel, clothing across the board, up 9.7%. the luxury index, high-end restaurants, luxury brands up 6.7%. this time last year, they'd actually fallen by 9%. retail experts say you can spot the change yourself. it's as simple as noticing another shopper carrying a bag of brand-name ugg boots. what does that tell you? >> what it tells you is, you know, you can get shearling boots from $19 up to $500 dollars and if they're buying ugg boots, they're buying the real thing.

>> reporter: and even more telling they say, the all-important female shopper, not only buying for the family, but for herself. >> looking good, bombshell. >> reporter: they point to the high-priced bombshell bra, now selling out. >> it's not an item i would go and buy for myself. >> reporter: i hope not. >> but what you've got is a business where the consumer is buying for themselves. >> reporter: but will this increase in buying buy job security? last year, seasonal workers were laid off before the shopping season even ended. americans just weren't spending. the question this year, will the newly hired 29,000 at best buy, 45,000 workers at toys "r" us, 30,000 at jcpenney, get to stay on after christmas? >> look for the retailers who do have a good season to try and utilize that momentum into the first quarter of the calendar year to try to maintain some jobs. >> reporter: and that's the hope, that at least some of those seasonal jobs become permanent. but that depends on whether the numbers we're seeing tonight continue in the weeks ahead. those circulars you typically see in the weeks coming up are

already out already, black friday not even here yet, diane. >> jump start. okay, david muir, thank you. we want to thank all of you who sprang into action after we told you struggling families will have to go without turkeys this thanksgiving because the food banks are bare. well in denver, which had zero turkeys, tonight, more than 14,000 birds. in bridgeport, connecticut, 350 turkeys poured in but they need 500 more. compton, california, just one bird in the freezer. but, tonight, 350 turkeys. we want you to know, 150 families still have to be turned away unless they get more help. and that single mom, patricia torres who was turned away by her food bank, one of you made sure she has a 23-pound turkey of her own. but there's still so much need out there. go to abcnews.com/world news and let's all keep it coming. now, we are going to turn to the new headline on our nuclear world tonight and the threat in

the world. a defiant north korea trumpett trumpetting a new uranium enrichment facility, which poses a big challenge for the united states. bob woodruff was just in north korea last month. martha raddatz covers national security for us. martha, it's presumed the north koreans already have nuclear weapons so what's the big difference in what they discovered now? >> it's believed they have 8 to 12 nuclear weapons, but this could really expand the arsenal and expand it rapidly. they could also make more powerful bombs. now, the u.s. is trying to tamp this down, saying it is not a crisis, but they sent a special envoy over there immediately so they know they have a very serious problem on their hands and they don't really know what to do about it at this point. >> again, bob, those who see this facility say it is stunning in its sophistication. you were at the same location, at yong byon.

tell us what you've seen. >> this looked like almost a scene from 1950, 1960, with these old gauges. but now these are completely modern. these are ones that are a much more effective, almost like they were just created in 2010. and so when those three experts of north korea nuclear issues actually arrived there, they had never seen anything like this. it was absolutely shocking to them. >> you could see it in their faces, when they talked about it, how shocked they were. does anybody have any sense where this came from this newly sophisticated technology? >> that is exactly the question they're asking tonight, diane. there's some speculation that pakistan helped. iran helped. they really want to get to the bottom of this. but it was a surprise. secretary of defense robert gates actually said, i hadn't known about this specific facility before but the fact they wanted their own enrichment capability is not a surprise. >> it's always an unending drama with the north koreans. thank you, bob woodruff and martha raddatz reporting from

washington. and, now, we want to show you a nightmarish scene emerging overseas. at least 339 people dead, more than 300 injured in a stampede in cambodia. huge crowds were celebrating the end of the rainy season. a festival in the capital phnom penh. when a few people fainted it set off a panic and others tried to flee over a bridge but were crushed by the mob or fell over the sides into the water. still ahead on "world news," a dangerous new way kids are getting high and it's legal. "world news" investigates. and monsters inc. how one little boy's imagination is helping him overcome cancer. i'm off to the post office... ok. uh, a little help... oh! you know shipping is a lot easier with priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate.

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excedrin starts relieving headaches faster than extra strength tylenol and advil. the deck looks great. oh, we just washed it. well, not washed, power washed. big difference. hum. big. [ female announcer ] excedrin. for life's headaches. tonight, a "world news" investigation into a new and legal way teens are getting high. it is sweeping the suburbs. but we found so many parents haven't even heard about it. it's called synthetic marijuana. but frequently disguised as something else. available in 37 states, often at the corner store. pierre thomas reports. >> reporter: 20-year-old paul hausladen's life fell apart after he became addicted to a powerful new drug racing through the suburbs of minnesota. >> once you use it once, you have no control over how much you are going to use it.

>> reporter: many parents wouldn't suspect this new high is perfectly legal. something they may have seen. it's called synthetic marijuana -- also known as k2 or spice. it's sold supposedly as incense, supposedly not for human consumption. >> i could walk into a tobacco store and just buy whatever i wanted, however much i wanted. >> reporter: young people like paul are smoking spice, and it's sending many of them to the emergency room. many of them with seizures. more than 500 people have been poisoned in the last year alone. the message of danger is not getting out. it's an internet sensation. teens across the nation are glorifying k2 and spice in youtube videos, including some smoking it in gas masks. ♪ are you lovin' it yeah, you know i'm lovin' it you know he's loving it ♪ >> here we go, k2. >> legal weed. here it is. >> you want something legal and you don't want to get busted, k2, it will give you a buzz. >> reporter: when we tested the type of spice sold in minnesota at this laboratory in pennsylvania, we learned it

contained chemicals that the dea believes may be five times more powerful than marijuana. >> you're basically playing russian roulette with these chemicals -- hallucination. increased heart rate. increased blood pressure. these chemicals appear to bind to certain parts of the brain. the potential for long-term effects are very deadly. >> reporter: and none of the dangerous chemicals appear on the package label. when we went to a store that sells spice, they weren't happy to see us -- event though their spice section is clearly labeled "not for human consumption." i want to talk with you about spice. >> you've got to turn off the camera. >> reporter: you don't want to talk to us? >> nope. >> reporter: so you know that kids are using spice? >> did you understand what i'm saying or not? am i clear? leave this store. >> reporter: in the suburbs of minneapolis, police are angry. >> this is very frustrating to us, because there is nothing we can do about it. they're not going to stop selling it until they absolutely are forced to. >> reporter: abc news has learned the dea is so concerned about these products they're considering a ban on sales that could come soon.

pierre thomas, abc news, hasting, minnesota. a real head up for parents. a verdict today in a case that once riveted the nation. the 2001 murder of capitol hill intern sandra levy. a jury convicted ingmar kwan dick guandique on two counts of murder. lawyers for former congressman gary condit who was once a suspect in the case called this verdict a complete vindication of him. and coming up, a father looks up at one of our broadcasts and sees his brave son.

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[ male announcer ] now the best protection the fbi swooped down today on the offices of three big hedge funds, part of a major, ongoing investigation into insider trading. the funds in stanford, connecticut, and boston together manage about $8 million of investments and we're told it's all just the beginning. and now an update on friday. you may have seen the extraordinary young man, army specialist benjamin mitchell, 21 years old who already survived a wound in the leg, firing round after round in a fight with the taliban and afghanistan. he put a cam ro on his helmet. our mike boettcher brought us the story. we learned someone in hamilton, ohio, was watching the broadcast too. his fiance and his vigilant dad. >> i made a promise to myself

that deep in my faith and as long as i could that i would try to attend the mass here at st. julie's every day. >> and he said how proud he was of his son. by the way, benjamin isn't his only son in combat. his younger son, a marine, also fighting tonight in afghanistan. and the boy wizard didn't need a spell to pull off this trick. "harry potter and the deathly hallows" part one raked in $125 million in its opening weekend, the strongest part of the series which has spanned nearly a decade. take a look at the trio of fledgling wizards in that first film and here they are nearly ten years later, all grown up. the final harry potter movie opens in july 2011. and coming up, where thank heaven the wild things are. copd makes it hard for me to breathe. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now, i can join the fun and games with my grandchildren.

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as any parent knows, monsters, whether under the bed or in the closet, are responsible for a lot of sleepless nights in the lives of children. john berman met a little boy, as we said, recruited his scary friends to help him become a fighter himself. >> reporter: this is a monster. one of aidan's monsters. you might say they are good monsters doing great things. so who is aidan? he is the mischievous face behind the scary looking clown mask. you're a little bit goofy -- admit it. you are. you're a little bit goofy. you're just a little bit goofy. aidan reed is a 5-year-old boy in clearwater, kansas, who likes to dress up and loves to draw pictures of monsters. masks don't make you scared at all? >> no. >> reporter: scary monsters

don't make you scared at all? >> no. >> reporter: does anything in the world make you scared? >> no. >> reporter: not even cancer. just two months ago, aidan was diagnosed with leukemia. >> i just started crying and my son started crying too. >> for about five hours, we thought it was a death sentence. >> reporter: it wasn't. his cancer is treatable. though it requires chemotherapy, antibiotics and often painful trips to the hospital. aidan drew me a picture. what's this? >> the doctor giving me a shot and i'm really, really tough. >> reporter: you're really, really tough in this picture? >> yeah, it's not really fun to get shots. >> reporter: no, it isn't. >> and spinal taps. >> reporter: no, it isn't fun at all. it's also not cheap. aidan's father has good insurance from his job at cessna but each doctor's visit has a $250 co-pay. plus, he had to miss big chunks of work to be with aidan during his treatment. >> we started looking at selling this house. >> reporter: aidan's aunt had another idea -- sell prints of

aidan's monsters online to help with their expenses, at $12 a piece. >> we didn't believe many people were going to buy aidan's drawings. >> reporter: but they did. in less than two months, they sold 5,000 of them. >> all the help we have received. it's like half the world has stood up to help my son with his problem. it has changed the way we look at the world. i don't think we'll ever be the same. >> reporter: the reeds get to keep their house. and aidan? he gets to keep drawing. monsters, clowns and even reporters. john berman, abc news, clearwater, kansas. >> monsters and strangers to the rescue. good night.

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