China Spoils Holiday Reunion for US Sailors

China put a damper on Thanksgiving for 8,000 US sailors and airmen, Reuters reports. Beijing denied permission for the USS Kitty Hawk and its support group to stop in Hong Kong, where hundreds of relatives had gathered for a holiday reunion. Beijing eventually relented, but it was too late—the ships were already on their way back to their Japanese base.

"I miss my daddy," said Mark Curry, 14, whose dad was on one of the ships. "We thought he was going to be there, but we don't know what actually happened. I was just depressed." China did not explain its initial refusal, but it comes as the US plans to sell Taiwan an upgrade to its missile shield. (More China stories.)