:00:00. > :00:00.Hey there, it's Ricky here with a bit of a festive Newsround
:00:07. > :00:12.Find out what's got these guys in a spin.
:00:13. > :00:14.And totally pants or a festive delight?
:00:15. > :00:26.What do you think of your town's Christmas lights?
:00:27. > :00:30.First up, it's Thanksgiving today, a holiday celebrated in the US to
:00:31. > :00:35.remember the coming together of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.
:00:36. > :00:38.And as part of a 19th century tradition,
:00:39. > :00:42.Barack Obama gave two very special turkeys a presidential pardon.
:00:43. > :00:45.So instead of being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner
:00:46. > :00:49.the pair are going to live out their days on a farm.
:00:50. > :00:52.The traditions continued for the president who served a Thanksgiving
:00:53. > :00:57.meal to homeless people along with his daughters Malia and Sasha.
:00:58. > :01:02.Astronauts on board the International Space
:01:03. > :01:12.They've taken the day off to watch sport and eat a space food feast.
:01:13. > :01:19.We don't have much of this stuff so I hope he enjoys it because that was
:01:20. > :01:34.his Thanksgiving dinner right there. I'm going to have the candy yams.
:01:35. > :01:40.They are delicious. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
:01:41. > :01:43.And in New York millions of people have lined
:01:44. > :01:45.the streets to catch a glimpse of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
:01:46. > :01:47.Giant balloons, including Snoopy, Spongebob and Hello Kitty have
:01:48. > :01:50.joined floats, dancers and marching bands in the annual event.
:01:51. > :01:53.Santa Claus will be closing the parade to help the crowd kick
:01:54. > :01:59.If you want to know more about Thanksgiving then head over to
:02:00. > :02:01.the Newsround web site where you can find out more
:02:02. > :02:08.The Christmas countdown has most definitely begun with most of the UK
:02:09. > :02:14.lighting up, but one town's decorations are totally pants!
:02:15. > :02:17.These lights in Tiverton in Devon are supposed to look like Christmas
:02:18. > :02:21.puddings, but people living there have complained they look
:02:22. > :02:26.The town's Christmas planners say they were picked
:02:27. > :02:32.We've been asking what you think of the Christmas lights in your town
:02:33. > :02:46.Thomas from Portishead in Somerset says,
:02:47. > :02:51.Ashleigh loves the Christmas lights where she lives.
:02:52. > :02:57.Fraser from Linlithgow in Scotland says, "Our lights are really nice."
:02:58. > :02:58.Thanks very much for sending those in.
:02:59. > :03:01.Do let us know what you think of your festive lights
:03:02. > :03:05.Now to Brazil where toxic mud has swamped several towns
:03:06. > :03:10.and caused huge problems for local people, wildlife and vegetation.
:03:11. > :03:13.Environmentalists are now worried it will cause severe pollution.
:03:14. > :03:21.Thick red sludge, spilled over a massive area.
:03:22. > :03:25.This wave of toxic mud reached the Atlantic Ocean after travelling
:03:26. > :03:33.It's after a dam at an iron ore mine collapsed earlier this month.
:03:34. > :03:39.The village close by, Bento Rodrigues, was totally destroyed.
:03:40. > :03:43.Around 600 people are in temporary accommodation.
:03:44. > :03:51.And now the mud is causing problems for many, miles away.
:03:52. > :03:53.It's particularly bad for plants and animals.
:03:54. > :03:58."Now I can only catch one or two, just recently I was catching 7.
:03:59. > :04:04.This coastline is also home to some endangered species
:04:05. > :04:12.Volunteers are removing the turtle eggs until the water is clean again.
:04:13. > :04:15.The mine owner, Samarco, said they will help the local community
:04:16. > :04:20.And they insist that the sludge is harmless.
:04:21. > :04:27.For now local people, volunteers and the mining company are doing
:04:28. > :04:32.everything they can to clean up the mess, but no-one knows how bad the
:04:33. > :04:39.He's seven years old and he's currently living at
:04:40. > :04:46.He's been there for more than 650 days and staff are
:04:47. > :04:50.hoping they can get him a new home in time for Christmas.
:04:51. > :04:53.They say Bud is a loveable dog and he enjoys chasing
:04:54. > :04:57.That's all from me this afternoon, Newsround's back right here
:04:58. > :05:03.on the CBBC Channel tomorrow at 7.40am with Leah.