potentially deadly fire in February. Oxygen generators have failed. Removing carbon dioxide
has been a problem. It's been uncomfortably hot. So astronaut Jerry Lineger, who boarded
the Mir four months ago, must be delighted to be leaving. He'll be taxiing home on the
Atlantis. But when he moves out, astronaut Michael Fohl moves in.
Our Russian partners have done a great job solving these problems and coming up with
the plan that I think is going to keep the Mir very habitable and very operable over
the next few months.
The U.S. has been spending hundreds of millions of dollars to keep Mir and the Russian space
program in business. Many in Washington think it's pie in the sky, a waste of U.S. money.
One thing NASA gets with Mir is a chance to practice building the new International Space
Station. Moscow's a partner, but its money problems will likely set the schedule back
at least another year.
If NASA had missed as many deadlines and broken as many promises as the Russians have, Congress
would have killed the space station a long time ago.
The Americans on today's shuttle flight will have a chance to chat about all that with
a Russian, Elena Kondakova. She spent 169 days on the Mir, but on this mission is part
of the Atlantis crew. Morton Dean, ABC News, New York.
The Secretary of the Air Force may be willing to let the first female bomber pilot, Kelly
Flynn, resign instead of facing court martial for adultery. The New York Times reports Air
Force Secretary Sheila Widnall might let Flynn take an honorable discharge if she asks for
one. The plan to court martial Flynn has drawn a great deal of protest and a resignation
could get the Air Force out of an awkward situation.
Published reports say federal prosecutors in the Unabomber case will recommend the death
penalty for Theodore Kaczynski. The decision is up to Attorney General Janet Reno. Kaczynski
faces trial in November on charges he sent to male bombs that killed two California men.
The week's testimony at the Oklahoma City bombing trial wraps up today. Court will not
be in session tomorrow. Yesterday's dramatic testimony included pictures taken just minutes
before and 500 feet away from the blast. ABC legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins us from
Denver. Good morning, Jeff.
Hi, Elizabeth.
What kind of impact did those ghostly images of that rider truck have on the jury?
Well, I'll tell you, Elizabeth, it really was an unforgettable moment because it was
just the most routine, boring surveillance video from an apartment building about 500
feet away from the Murrah building. And you saw the picture of a woman waiting for her
husband, sat there for a few minutes, and then unmistakably out of the corner of the
picture came the rider truck. And there was an audible gasp in the courtroom because here
it was less than five minutes from the bombing. And it was further proof that this truck is
the source of the bomb. And that's really the prosecutor's theme both yesterday and
today.
But, Jeffrey, you can't see the driver of the truck in those images. Can't McVeigh's
lawyers argue, hey, it doesn't prove anything?
Absolutely. In fact, one of the very curious and mysterious things about this surveillance
video is that the sun is just the angle that makes it impossible to see who's in the cab.
Again, the defense lawyers will argue just a coincidence, just a coincidence that there
was a rider truck there. But at some point, the jury's going to say, not a coincidence.
Now in their effort to prove that in fact a rider truck was carrying the bomb, the prosecutors
are bringing in a series of pieces of wreckage. I understand the courtroom looked more like
a body shop yesterday.
It was. It was remarkable. And what was especially striking was that the wreckage came from such
a vast area. These were big pieces of truck. And they flew through the air 200, 300, 500
feet. One large piece landed on top of a three-story building. And today what the prosecutors are
going to do is bring in the next truck on the assembly line, which has been cut up,
and show how all the pieces match, proving that this was a rider truck that blew up in
Oklahoma City.
All right. Should be interesting. Thanks, Jeff. Finally, this morning testing continues
today on James Earl Ray's rifle, which authorities believe killed Martin Luther King, Jr. Experts
fired the weapon into a water tank to take new bullet samples. Ray, who was seeking a
new trial, hopes the tests will prove another weapon was used in the assassination. And
that's a quick look at the news at 8 0 7. Let's go back to Helsinki, Finland and check the
weather with Spencer Christian.
Okay, Elizabeth, the weather here is gorgeous. We could not have asked for a night here in
Helsinki, sunny and warm and we got a bunch of kids out here with us today. The reason
for that is the Moomins are here. The Moomins are as popular here in Finland as Barney is
back in the States. Now the Moomins are the creation of Finnish author Tova Jansson, who
has written several books about them. There is even a Moomin theme park now. And joining
us is her brother, Lars Jansson. Lars, how did the Moomins begin? How did the idea come
about?
When I started, the first Moomin was created one summer about 60 years ago when my sister
decorated an outhouse we had, you know, with drawings, watercolors, proverbs, quotations
and things. And my brother took exception to one of them and wrote the quotation from
Tropenauer underneath. And then my sister wrote something under that and then this world
discussion went on until my sister ran out of arguments and instead drew the ugliest,
nastiest, most angular, pre-touchy-cou-tree Moomins.
And that became the Moomin?
That became the Moomin, yes.
And now it's taken off big time.
Oh yes, but they look nicer now.
They are cute. They really are. I can see why they're popular with the kids. We're going
to take a look at our weather maps right now. It's going to be a nice sunny day over much
of the U.S. today, but before we get to that weather I should tell you about abc.com. You
can dial up the weather anywhere in the world virtually by dialing up abc.com on your system
and Reykjavik Iceland will check out because we're going to be there tomorrow. Today in
Reykjavik it's mostly sunny and mild, a high of 44. Tomorrow, however, it's going to be
a little rainy, a little raw, and a little windy. Now we need to check out the weather
back in the states. It's going to be a sunny day for much of the nation, especially out
west and in the central states. There'll be some scattered light showers reaching in a
narrow path from the Rockies down along the southern plains into the Gulf Coast. The heaviest
area of storminess will be in the northeast over New England and the Ohio Valley and the
Great Lakes. Even a little bit of snow will fall there as temperatures will be rather
chilly. That's a look at the national weather. Here's a look at what's happening where you
are.
We have referred to Finland as a land of extremes, particularly when it comes to light and darkness.
And as you may know, with this country so far north, in the winter there are days of
almost entire darkness. And during the warmer than you'd expect summers, there are days
of almost entire light. So what is it like to live in this kind of an environment? Well,
we asked our Carolyn to go and find out. By November, when temperatures drop to 20 degrees
below zero, Finland is shrouded in a nighttime gloom for 20 hours a day. In the world's northernmost
country, winter is known as the dark season. Winter here in Finland, it's very difficult
for me. And it's so long and so cold and dark, dark all the time. With the weather and the
light come other extremes. Finland has one of the highest rates of alcoholism and the
highest rate of suicide in the world. Science has not directly linked these problems to
the lack of sunlight, but many Finns believe there is a connection between darkness and
oppression. In Finland, to survive the winter, you must get some way the light you don't
have. You don't have the light here. In downtown Helsinki, customers are drawn to the bright
lights of Cafe Engel. The owners installed special lamps that shine with one-tenth the
brightness of the sun. I've been sitting 15 minutes here and then I'm ready for everything.
For Ilena Linton, exposure to light actually became a form of therapy. She was diagnosed
with a mild form of seasonal affective disorder known as SAD. It is a chronic depression triggered
by the fading winter light. At Helsinki's National Institute of Public Health, Ilena
sits in front of bright lights to help control her moods. If I take it regularly, say like
three, four days, then after three, four days, I feel that I am much stronger, much more
energetic. You just feel it. Her doctor believes as many as 10 percent of Finland's population
suffers from SAD. So they see a distinct difference between summer and winter. Yes, right. It's
quite common to have symptoms like increased need for sleep, increased appetite, weight
gain, and depressed mood in winter. The winter stretched from August until the end of April
when gradually the sun begins to linger. There is a frenzy of anticipation for the coming
season when the sun will shine 20 hours a day. That's no use for winter for me. Families
leave for the countryside to prepare their summer cottages. They know that summer will
only last from June until the end of July. On the longest day of the year, hundreds of
people carry out a Finnish tradition to toast the sun at midnight. Many Finns say they sleep
just four hours a day in the summer. They spend the season returning to nature. There
are the silent walks through the countryside, the days picking wild fruit. People know that
the winter is very long, so they collect food. It's a very common habit still even in urban
environments in Finland to collect mushrooms, to collect berries. Summer has always been
about planning for the winter, planning for the future. We drank a little wine from the
south. Red wine. And we make babies, you know. More babies are conceived in June than any
other time of the year. Helena Patampalo and her husband Harry produced their greatest
joy when the sun was shining brightest and gave birth in March just as the dark winter
nights began to end. Spring is coming. Spring is coming, but it's been a little late in
arriving this year in Finland. And so the Finns are very anxious to get the sun. People
sunning themselves on the steps of the Senate Square. And we are here over in the Esplanade
in the cafe and we have asked a couple of the local folk to come and talk to us about
just what it is like to live in this environment. Your name is?
It's Paivi.
What's your last name?
Kousa.
And how old are you?
I'm 24 years old and I majored in English at the University of Helsinki.
And at the University. Okay. And your name, sir, is?
Cal. And you are how old?
63.
And retired?
Retired, yes.
Tell me what this is like. It would be so hard to imagine for Americans a summer where
it literally never does get dark or just for a couple of hours at night and winters where
it's dark all the time. Does it have a psychological effect on you?
Well, it kind of does. I mean, at least I do find it a lot harder to get up in the mornings
during winter time when it's dark outside and you just have to turn off all the lights
in your apartment and try to make yourself get up.
But can you really fool yourself?
I've learned to.
Well, I wouldn't, you know, they'd say that it is easier to wake up if you flood yourself
with light. But I would think just the mood when you go outside at 10 o'clock in the morning
or 11 when it's still dark, that that would be sort of depressing.
Yeah, it kind of is that you just have to get yourself going. And like I do lots of
sports during the winter time to get things to do. I play basketball, I work out. And
especially it helps if you make the most of the few light hours of the day and go do some
winter sports, skiing or something outside.
Now she says it's hard to wake up when it's dark all the time. I think it would be hard
to go to sleep when it's light all the time in the summer.
No, that's no problem.
Really?
No.
Well, I woke up with the sun this morning and then I looked at my watch and it was about
4 a.m.
No, we are used to it. No problem. Especially when in the winter the nights are so long
and we won't. We will wait for the spring and then the summer when the nights are light.
Something occurs to me as we talk about this. What's your birthday?
In the 26th of March.
In March?
Yes.
And what's your birthday?
April 8th.
Well now that means if I think back nine months that you both would have been conceived in
the summer and yet I would think that more babies would be born in the spring having
been or in the fall rather having been conceived in the winter. What is this about April and
March birthdays?
It's very typical here in northern countries. I think it's not only in Finland but also
in other Scandinavian countries.
Really?
Yeah.
In the daytime?
All the time.
That does seem strange.
Well it seems like the long light nights have something to do with it.
Yes, but that's in the daytime. Well, alright.
It's night but it's still light.
Night but light. The light is on. Thank you both. Nice to talk to you.
We take a commercial break. We'll be back.
Martha Stewart's new paints. Martha didn't just pick the colors. Martha picked the colors
that go with the colors you pick. Now previewing at K-Mart.
Hey, it's Uniglobe Cruise Festival. Call your local Uniglobe travel agent and ask about
our Captain's Choice specials. Limited time offers on many of the world's best cruise
lines. Call Uniglobe Travel now.
We're in for a hot summer. Very soft but sweet, no mercy from the heat.
We're in for a hot summer. Very soft but sweet, no mercy from the heat.
The onion skins are thin. Weather's warm coming in.
Flies come in for shelter. Summer days will swelter.
No matter the forecast, for years folks have trusted their heating and cooling to the company
founded by Dave Lennox. I always say it's best to be prepared.
Because like Lennox dealers today, Dave provided the best in home comfort.
That didn't rhyme. If not poetry. Lennox, one last thing to worry about.
You guys are tough but I've got something that will satisfy everybody.
Now, who wants what? Keep your team happy with a bucket from KFC.
Mix roasted and fried, even new honey barbecue tender roast.
You keep hogging that bucket and you're out of here.
Now at KFC, it's the more for your money man. More chicken, more choices, more sides and
more biscuits. The only thing that's not more is the price.
Just $14.99. Hurry, sale ends May 26th.
We're here. Chevy S10s with special 4.8, 48 months financing including 4x4s and extended
cabs. Head your Chevrolet dealers northwest.
He's tough as steel. Backstabbed on his feet. Able to leap from exploding buildings.
And he's not afraid to get dirty. He's Al Hornet. Psychic. To Tim the Toolman King.
I have a little motto for you Al. When I'm annoyed, you're unemployed.
When you think of the tango, this is probably what comes to mind.
It was created in Argentina at the turn of the century, but it has come a long way since
then. Now it was during World War II that the tango
came to this country and the Finns immediately were passionate about it, although they've
made a few alterations to it. But today the tango to the Finns is as much
as this country as the midnight sun. And right now Armandie Moore is poised on the
dance floor waiting for a lesson in the tango the way the Finns do it.
Mindy? Good morning Joan.
I tell you what, the tango is huge here in Finland.
It consistently is on the top 40 charts here on Finnish radio.
And when they have the annual tango competition, there are over 100,000 people who will show
up to learn the tango. And with me is Sipo, who they tell me is an excellent tango instructor.
And I have to ask you, because whenever I think of the tango, I always think of Argentina,
which is sort of sexy and smoldery. And when I think of Finland, I don't exactly
think of sexy and smoldery. Yes, but Finnish men are wild ones.
They are? Yes, but you cannot see it.
Because why? Are they very internal? Yes, they're a little bit inside people, but
when they dance tango, they are very good. They are? What do you think the Finnish people
have embraced the tango so much? I think because it's a very easy way to speak
with people. When you go dance place and there's only music and you can listen to the words
and start to dance. Right.
Because Finnish men don't want to speak, not so much.
Just to dance. It's a little different where I come from.
Now I tell you what, everybody loves the tango here. Do the young kids like to do it or they
like to disco? Yes, we have a lot of young kids who want
to start to learn how to dance. Okay, well I tell you what, they tell me that
you are an excellent dance instructor. And I thought perhaps you could teach me a little
bit of the Finnish tango. Yes, of course.
Okay, you want to try it? What's the first thing that I need to know?
Okay, first thing that you must know, there is a four step. We have four step, one, two,
three, four. Every four step fits together. Okay, why don't we try that? Four step.
This is one, two, three, four. Okay.
One, two, three, four. In Texas where I come from that's like the
two step. Okay, let's try it one last time.
One, two, three, four. Okay.
And then you take hold. Okay.
And now always start right, like backward. Okay.
One, two, three, four. Oh, music.
One, two, three, four. How am I doing?
One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
Can we try a dip? Two, three, four.
Wow. Another one.
A kick. Finnish men are very sexy of smoldering.
Oops. All those feet together. Four step.
How old were you when you learned how to do this?
This is for easy steps. One more dip, okay?
For the big Finnish. Two, one, two, three, four.
One, two. Let's try the dip.
Okay. Very good.
Okay. We'll be back.
Good morning America. Okay.
It continues.
I love things that sparkle.
I have a taste for complicated things.
I go for sensational things.
I crave sweet things.
Something heavenly.
My taste is very simple.
My taste is simple too.
I like rich stuff.
I like to try new things.
My taste is very sophisticated.
We may be different, but we're all equal.
Which plant food do America's top professional growers use?
Let's go right to the source.
Bonnie Plant Farm grows over 100 million plants.
We've got to have the right stuff.
Every time we water, we feed these plants with Miracle Growth.
The quality, the vitality, the character of the plant is much better.
Look at the roots on this rice field. It wraps all the way around the plant.
And it's done this because it has been fed with Miracle Growth for six weeks.
We use the very best seed and the very best plant food, Miracle Growth.
The morning begins at sleepy pace.
Coffee telling the mountain to race.
Breakfast blend, something new.
Mountain grown aroma coming through.
Where is he? I better go check.
Folger's Coffee House Breakfast Blend.
A new variety of mountain grown aroma and flavor.
Amazingly smooth yet full bodied.
A taste of unhurried times.
I better go check.
The best heart waking love.
Sponges in your cap.
I better go check.
What causes denture odor? Get close and you'll see.
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Don't get that Frank.
Hello?
Baxter.
Meow meow meow meow meow.
Four delicious flavors make memix taste so good.
Cats ask for it by name.
Meow meow meow.
It's Baxter.
Your total news coverage from the Cascades to the Columbia Basin.
This is morning local news on ABC.
Good morning and thanks for joining us on this Thursday.
I'm Alex Peach.
There has been an explosion at Hanford so powerful it blew out windows and the door of a plutonium plant.
Doctors have given the workers involved a clean bill of health,
but there is still a possibility that workers have been exposed to dangerous chemicals.
As Trova Hutchins reports with these exclusive pictures, many questions are still unanswered.
Much of what caused this explosion is still not clear,
but some of the end results are blown out windows, a door torn off its hinges, a brown cloud and a ruptured water line.
Joe Hennessy works next door.
I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could and that's what we did.
It took us about five hours before we could get out.
The plutonium reclamation facility where the explosion took place is used to store chemicals like nitric acid, nitrates, phosphates.
Most likely workers say some kind of chemical reaction went bad,
but there is no firm word yet which chemicals are involved and which chemicals may have come too close to a worker.
Dr. John Smith treated the eight employees who came in.
All these people were healthy. They had some very minor symptoms that are not indicative of any one specific agent.
Smith says many workers may suffer from what he calls crowd mentality.
In other words, after the first person complained of a sore throat, a metallic taste in the mouth, a headache,
the others may have been convinced they had those symptoms too.
I did taste a metallic taste in my mouth a little bit. It tasted like rust in me, but I don't know. I feel fine.
There is relief for those employees. The close initial scan for contamination on site did not turn up anything,
but even without health problems, this explosion could be painful all the way to the top of Hanford's chain of command.
That was Trova Hutchins reporting from Hanford.
A press conference has been scheduled for 10 o'clock this morning.
We'll continue to follow this story as it develops and we'll have a complete report on the local news at 5 o'clock.
In other news this morning, a Yakima County judge says a 17-year-old caused the death of two other boys.
Judge Jim Hutton found Enrique Guzman guilty of two counts of vehicular homicide yesterday.
Guzman and four others were riding in a car on I-82 near Grandview last September.
An argument ensued and Guzman grabbed the wheel, forcing the car off the road.
The 18-year-old driver and another 20-year-old were both killed.
Sentencing will take place within the next two weeks.
Guzman could spend the next three to four years behind bars.
Well, when we come back, we'll have a quick look at your weather.
The giant automotive super sale is on.
Come now at the Sears Parking Lot Valley Mall. You can't afford to miss it.
Here comes the bride. Her first interview since the wedding, Brooke Shields, plus my friend Bill Cosby.
Next, Oprah.
Mostly to partly cloudy skies throughout the region today.
Let's take a look outside and look at what conditions at your house right now.
Currently in Ellensburg, it is 59 degrees. In Yakima, it's 69 degrees under clear skies.
In the Tri-Cities, it is 68. In Walla Walla, it's 70. And in Pendleton, 64 degrees right now.
Well, that's it for us this morning. Thanks for tuning in.
We'll see you this afternoon for the local news at 5 and 5.30.
Now back to Good Morning America. Make it a great Thursday.
It's the Buick Celebration. A selling event on the all-new Buicks.
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Let's save her. Take two-way financing or $800 worth of gasoline.
Dynamite deals on the all-new Buicks. The Buick Celebration.
Central Washington celebrates.
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Good morning America.
Thank you this morning, day four of our trip.
And this is, we're in one of the many, many harbors of this city,
which is also the site of a very, very busy open-air market.
And just outside here are the docks where the big ferries pull in to port
after crossing the Baltic Sea.
What is it about the Yanks? They all bring signs down here. I don't know.
Hello to my cousins Seattle, Dallas, and Raleigh.
Several cousins.
Hi Tina, Terry, and the boys in Cordova, Tennessee.
Hello Hampton University. Hello Dave and Carol Thompson.
You're all taken care of.
And Jerry in Greenville.
Put the signs down.
We're going to turn to Santa Claus in this half hour.
Now I know it's only May, and I know every Scandinavian country claims to be the home of Santa Claus,
but he actually has a pretty good operation going here in Finland,
and the jolly old fat man is going to join us himself.
And also we've got the Leningrad Cowboys.
The rock group describes themselves as the worst rock and roll band in the world.
And they certainly do have the ugliest shoes and hairdos that I've ever seen,
but pretty good. Their music sells quite well here in Europe and in the United States,
and they're going to be here to perform.
But let's get to the news of the morning, Elizabeth Vargas.
Alright, thanks so much, Joe and Charlie. Good morning everyone.
A final Senate vote could come today on a Republican bill that would ban a certain type of late term abortion.
But first there will be more of the emotional debate that filled the Senate yesterday.
Here's ABC's Bob Zelnick.
The mother of five and a half year old Donna Joy Watts decided against a late term abortion,
despite predictions her fetus had too little brain tissue to survive.
I wanted my baby alive, whether she was going to live five minutes or five days or five weeks.
Donna Joy became a pawn in the latest battle over what abortion foes call partial birth abortions,
as Senate opponents of a bill banning the procedure blocked efforts to seat her in the visitors gallery.
Abortion foes equate this late term method with murder.
And a doctor takes some scissors and jams it right here, right in the back base of the skull.
We must not pass reckless legislation which moves politicians into the hospital room where we do not belong.
To break the bill's momentum, Senate Democrats got White House backing for substitutes,
which would ban all third trimester abortions except to preserve the life or health of the mother.
But this new American Medical Association report concludes that third trimester abortions are rarely necessary
and that the partial birth is never the only appropriate procedure to induce abortion.
Senate abortion foes say they'll have the votes today to defeat the two substitute bills,
but not a big enough majority to override a certain presidential veto of their own legislation.
That's exactly the way things wound up in the last Congress.
Bob Zelnick, ABC News on Capitol Hill.
We have a new look at inflation this morning.
A day after reporting a sharp drop in producer prices,
the government reports the consumer price index rose one tenth of a percent in April.
That is the same as in March.
A government advisory panel is recommending approval of a new diet drug for obese people.
The pill, called Orlistat, prevents fat that a person eats from being digested.
It is designed only for very overweight people.
A decision from the FDA on whether to approve the drug is expected within a month.
On World News Tonight, if you're feeling sick lately, stomach aches, nausea, chances are it could be parasites.
Now, learn new information to help you fight back.
That's on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.
And that's the news this morning at 834.
For continuous news coverage, go to our Internet site, ABCNews.com,
available on the World Wide Web or America Online.
And now let's go back to Helsinki, Finland and check the weather with Spencer.
Okay, Elizabeth, I'm in the heart of Helsinki, and one of the indoor markets in the harbor area here.
There are all kinds of neat things here, all kinds of good foods and delicacies and arts and crafts
made by the Sami people who are the native people from that region up north of the Arctic Circle.
Great stuff on display here at this table in front of me, and I'd like to dig right in,
but first we need to take a look at today's weather.
Back home it's going to be a mild and sunny day for much of the nation
from the plains in the southeast westward out to the west coast.
There will be a path of scattered showers, widely scattered from the Rockies down to the Gulf Coast,
but the only serious stormy weather, seriously stormy weather, will be up in the northeast
where it will be rainy, windy, and raw, with some snow likely over the central Great Lakes.
And high temperatures in that region today will be way below normal for late spring,
highs only in the 40s and 50s, meanwhile out in the interior west,
highs in the 80s and 90s and 100s in the desert southwest.
That's a look at the national weather. Here's a look at what's happening where you are.
Music
And next, living in opposite worlds, a look at one man's life as a farmer in the countryside of Finland
and as an artist in New York City. When Good Morning America continues from Helsinki.
Music
For a videocassette with the best of Good Morning America's trip to Scandinavia,
call 1-800-543-4GMA.
Music
It's a trip to paradise and this man has lost his vacation money, and so has he.
This man was carrying cash, but he insisted on American Express travelers checks,
so while he had no one to turn to, this man called American Express, as he tried calling home.
With just one phone call, American Express can refund your lost or stolen travelers checks
just about any time, any place. Don't take chances.
Take American Express travelers checks, the smart way to do more.
Music
Music
You think about your house a lot.
You know how to make things happen.
You take pride in a job, well done.
You know the difference between semi-gross and flat.
You know you can do it yourself, because you know help is just around the corner.
So you think you can escape from that straight jacket faster than he can find the richest coffee in the world?
Is that right? Yeah. Uh huh.
Okay, let's begin.
Music
Got it. Huh?
Finding the richest coffee in the world is easy.
Just look for Juan Valdez, your guarantee that it's 100% Colombian coffee.
Harry, the coffee's getting cold.
Helsinki is a very modern city of about half a million people,
but the rest of Finland is very thinly populated.
It is heavily forested, and it is a country of 55,000 lakes.
Chantal Westerman recently met an artist who lives in the Finnish countryside, part of the year.
The rest of the year he lives in New York City.
Music
The land in Nokia, Finland that Osmo Raohalla will plant with organic wheat, potatoes, and berries this spring
has been in his family for 15 generations.
He lives in a house that hasn't changed in his entire lifetime.
I'm just one link in a long chain, and I don't want to be the one who cuts that.
But Osmo is not only a farmer, he's also an internationally respected artist.
A world away, he has a second home and studio in New York City,
and oddly enough, he finds the two worlds surprisingly similar.
My first reaction of New York when I got here was that it is like a big forest.
Of course visually it was more like being between tall trees,
but also mentally when you don't know anybody and you have so many people around you,
you don't think it as an individual anymore, so you are totally alone.
The forest is a Finns church.
That traditional saying is how the Finns define their relationship with their country's vast forests.
Not only are billions made from the forest products every year in Finland,
the people themselves retreat to their country homes in the woods at every opportunity.
And for Finns like Osmo, who are lucky enough to be raised in the country,
the forest teaches them things that stay with them for life.
My mother told me about 3,000 animal stories before I was five.
She learned them through her father and then she carried on the tradition to me.
So there was already a huge number of stories inside my head when I started to make pictures.
Osmo, inspired by the forest, began making pictures at the age of 12.
It was a reality about the animals living with them, working with them, and this huge pile of stories.
Osmo's creative spirit quickly branched out beyond the farm and the forest.
In addition to art, Osmo has studied philosophy and science.
He has three university degrees and is hard at work on a Ph.D. in fine arts.
That's in addition to farming and painting.
As you can imagine, it all takes enormous discipline,
discipline that comes directly from his roots.
It takes a lot of time to learn your techniques,
kind of like learning your instrument, what you have to do.
So that's education, that's work, very much discipline.
And I think that I learned from the farm, because there you have to focus.
There's a hectic season when you have to do planting and then there is harvesting.
What are the differences between the way you look at the world in New York City and New York Yacht?
We live deep in the country.
I don't have a clock. You know the time from the sun and clouds and the animals are behaving a certain way.
So you don't have to necessarily look at the weather report.
I think that's the one reason I can also stay in New York, because I know I can always go back.
I know where I have to go.
It is very attractive here at Helsinki's harbor side, a nice cut place to come and paint.
We take a commercial break when we come back.
Santa Claus, the real Santa Claus, I think.
I'm talking to Joan. Stay with us.
I'm in an awful good girl, Santa baby, I'm hurrying down the chimney tonight.
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Sometimes they mosey. Other times they're greased lightning.
The best way to keep them happy and safe is to baby-preach.
So use safety plugs in your outlets.
Poke up a baby monitor and lock up anything that could hurt them.
Keep those little cow pokes safe.
Children first.
Thug Meyer and Cap ABC, working together to put children first.
I'm Mike Olson from Mike Olson Dodge, folks.
And you know, we're not the number one volume dealership in town.
Never have been, never really want to be.
But you know who's number one here? The customers.
We take care of our customers. We treat them like what they are.
Our business. Our customers are number one.
And they always will be and they always have been.
That's Mike Olson Dodge, 1710 South 1st Street in Yakima.
Thanks folks.
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Ah, there is a heated debate going on here in Scandinavia
because each of the countries says that they have the real Santa Claus.
But of course, the Finns say he lives here, and Judd Rose went to the town
that Santa and his helpers call home.
At first glance, this place way up north in Finnish Lapland,
right on the Arctic Circle, isn't what you expect Santa's hometown to look like.
But make your way down the road a bit and turn right at the service station,
and there it is, Santa's Village.
Yolopuki, Yolopuki, welcome back home.
This, of course, is Mr. Claus, or as the Finns call him, Yolopuki,
surrounded by piles of letters from children of all ages and all places.
He says last year alone, he got 700,000 pieces of mail from 150 countries.
Seems to be a Russian day today, all of these from Russia.
And what would Santa be without his helpers?
He's got them on scene and online.
You could say that, yes, and during the busy season just before Christmas,
we have something like around 40 people doing the letter service, so it's a busy time.
Now, this Santa business is big business.
He's got a souvenir shop, his own post office, even a digital photo setup,
which all adds up to a half million tourists who spent about $9 million last year alone.
His big season is, of course, the holidays, but even in the off season, a legend's got to make a living.
I meet tourists. I also have some letters coming in May, and when there are more quiet days, I might have a rest.
When all is said and done, is this the real Santa, and if he is, what about the claims of other countries?
What about all those guys sitting in American department stores, ringing bells on street corners?
I always say there is only one Santa Claus, and that is the one you see and the one that is in your heart.
Well, at no expense, we flew Santa in, because of course he came on as reindeer, of course, into Helsinki.
Hiya, Santa Claus.
Hello, Joe, nice to meet you. Welcome to Helsinki and Finland.
This is a full-time job of yours?
This is a full-time life.
What would you be doing in May, building toys for next year?
Oh, we do that, my helpers do that. Today I'm here. Tomorrow I'm actually going to a charity event in England
to meet some very sick children who want to come and meet me at the Arctic Circle in December.
What do you do when you're off on vacation?
You mean like relaxing?
Yeah.
Oh, I go and walk in the wilderness of Blackland and see the nature, talk with the nature. It's beautiful there.
Well, everybody wants to know, is he the real Santa kids?
Is this the real Santa? Is this the real Santa? Yeah?
Hello.
All right. Well, we'll let the children play with Santa Claus, and when we come back,
we will be entertained by the Leningrad Cowboys, an annual group from Helsinki.
Thank you, Santa Claus.
Thank you.
I'm a good girl.
I know.
I know.
I'm a good girl.
Good boy!
Thanks, Santa.
Happy Santa day.
inviting you to join me at this year's crime prevention fair this Thursday night from 6 to 8 p.m.
This year's fair should be bigger and better than ever before
The number of participants has grown ensuring you and your family a fun and informational time
Citizens involved in cooperation with law enforcement can bring our community together to fight against crime. Please come join us this Thursday night
Attention Yakima Valley have you stopped at Michael durr motorcars at the big American flag on North First Street?
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A little earlier we had a chance to talk with one of the Leningrad Cowboys the uniquely clad and uniquely quaffed
Cowboys now the whole group is with us and I would point out that there is no hair gel left in the entire city of Helsinki
We told him we were a little homesick. So they're going to do one of their hit songs sweet home, Alabama from their CD happy together
Take it away guys
Oh
We can do
Oh
Oh
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Eagle is more of everything the trouble is on your eagle door department
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Bagel 11 donut shaped firm textured roll with a brownish glazed surface but from some bagels there's bagel excitement blueberry raisin cinnamon dill pumpkin spice jalapeno sunflower seed pesto cheddar cranberry and sun dried tomatoes just to name a few
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The giant automotive super sale is on. This weekend you'll save thousand new Audi BMW Chrysler Plymouth Mercedes-Benz Suzuki Volkswagen used hundreds of cars trucks and pants from just 99 dollars all sacrificed this weekend at Sears parking lot in the Valley Mall over 600 vehicles rock bottom prices clearly posted top dollar for trades paid for or not no money down delivered financing from 0 percent the automotive super sale on now at the Sears parking lot Valley Mall you can't afford to miss it
Alright tomorrow we are going to end our Scandinavian tour in Iceland a very unique country. We are we're going to travel to Reykjavik tonight we will be broadcasting from there tomorrow I think you'll find it a fascinating program we're going to go off with a little bit more music from the Leningrad Cowboys can you guys do backup the way they were doing it here.
This young lady has I love your hair one of the more unique hairdos of all time it is sort of reminiscent of the onion domes on top of St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow. That's what I've been told.
It wasn't just a coincidence that this happened. It's just my hair I wouldn't know how it is like.
All right you asked. We go off with the song there must be an angel from the Leningrad Cowboys a little Finnish rock and roll to finish.
She's playing with my.
She's playing with my.
She's playing with my.
She's playing with my.
She's playing with my.
She's playing with my.
She's playing with my.
She's playing with my.
She's playing with my.
Accommodations in Helsinki provided by the Ramada Presidency Hotel designed for the most discriminating traveler and home to Finland's only international casino Ramada Presidency flagship of the Resto Hotel Group.
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