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CNN Live Today

NBC Sports Chairman Survives Plane Crash; Supreme Court Sidesteps Massachusetts Gay Marriage Ruling; Ukraine's Supreme Court Weighs Election Dispute

Aired November 29, 2004 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: We're going to start our two-hour cruise right now. There we go. "Gilligan's Island" is now a reality show?
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: It is. And we're going to be doing an interview on that. And that's what we're all talking about right now. Isn't that exciting. In fact, and here's what's happening right now in the news.

KAGAN: Insurgents have again targeted an Iraqi police station. A car bomb, the blast near Ramadi killed at least six people. Four of them police officers. At least eight other people were wounded. Most were policemen and members of the Iraqi National Guard.

The nuclear watchdog group for the United Nations has adopted a resolution that endorses Iran's freeze of its uranium enrichment activities. Iran's nuclear program, and alleged pursuit of weapons, had stoked international concerns in recent months. The pressure allows Iran's nuclear program to avoid closer scrutiny from the U.N. Security Council.

In the Ukraine, the Supreme Court says there it is not likely to hand down a decision today on the bitterly disputed presidential elections. The court is considering a challenge by the liberal candidate who was deemed the loser of the election held eight days ago. Protesters and many Western observers have alleged fraud in the election of the Russian-backed candidate.

In Texas, jury selection is set to begin today in the nation's deadliest case of human smuggling. Seventeen immigrants were found dead inside an abandoned trailer near Houston. Two others later died. The three accused smugglers each face a total of 58 counts of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants.

And good morning. Thanks for being here with us, coming back from a Thanksgiving. I'm Daryn Kagan.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. A 14-year-old boy is missing, at least two men are dead, and at least two survived a fiery plane crash in Colorado. The survivors are NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol and one of his sons. But a search continues for Ebersol's second son. The crash happened at an airport in Montrose, Colorado.

CNN's Sean Callebs is joining us now following the story there.

Sean, what's the latest?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, we can tell you the Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board should be on site if they're not now, in a very short time, to begin taking control of this investigation.

Now, we're at the Montrose Airport. Actually the small-chartered jet took off from this end of the runway heading down toward the horizon. Now, eyewitnesses say that it appeared to veer to the right and then the pilot apparently tried to correct the aircraft. At that point it slammed through a fence, over a small canal, into a sagebrush area that also has some trees. At that point the cockpit apparently simply smashed, killing the pilot and the co-pilot.

Eyewitness who took these pictures you're going to see, very dramatic. You can see the black plume of smoke going into the air. Some fire at the site of the aircraft itself. Now, when the witnesses -- when the eyewitness and an airport official got over there, they saw NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol and his oldest son, Charles, staggering away from the wreckage clearly in shock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK DISTEL, CRASH WITNESS: You could definitely smell fuel. There's small flames starting to -- out of the front and back of the airplane both, there's small flames starting to rise. And you could tell it's just a matter of time before, you know, that thing went in to a big inferno of flames.

(END VIDEO

CALLEBS: Now, Ebersol is married to actress Susan St. James. And Rick touched on it just a moment ago. Another part of this tragedy. The Ebersol's 14-year-old son Edward Ted, Teddy, apparently his -- the seat that he was in was ripped from the plane during the crash. Investigators began searching yesterday around noon local time. They looked all through the day until it got dark; found no sign of the 14-year-old boy. The search is set to resume again later on today.

Now Rick, a little bit about this aircraft. It is somewhat old. It is a 600 Challenger series built in Canada. It did not have to have a flight data recorder. Should have had a cockpit voice recorder. And if, indeed, that voice recorder survived this crash authorities can find it, it can certainly add some information to this. Whether it was a catastrophic failure that led to this crash, perhaps an engine going out.

Of course look at the weather conditions around me. Yesterday it was snowy. It was cold. It was windy. Authorities will certainly look at the de-icing procedure. How that went. And if, indeed, there could have been any error there as well -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: What is it about the site, Sean, or perhaps the conditions, that's making it so difficult to find Teddy, the 14-year- old son? CALLEBS: Yes. What you're looking at here, it's not terribly different except it's down there. It's an area, there's some thick sagebrush. But there's also a canal that's about 15 feet across. We don't know how deep it is. But if indeed a seat did get ejected in the crash, it theoretically could have gone down there, as well. We know they had helicopters in the air yesterday. They had terrain vehicles out -- all-terrain vehicles out, as well. It's my understanding. And they were doing what they could, of course, on foot, trying to find 14-year-old Teddy Ebersol.

SANCHEZ: Sean Callebs following the story for us. He'll be keeping us up to date throughout the next couple of hours.

We thank you, Sean. We'd be certainly be getting back to you.

Daryn, over to you.

KAGAN: Yes. And more on the story in just a moment.

First, we want to let you know we're getting word that President Bush will announce, just about exactly an hour from now, who he would like to see be his next Commerce secretary. His longtime friend Don Evans, of course, served the administration during the first term. And he stepped down to go back to Texas. So that announcement we expect about 11:05 Eastern. And you'll see that live right here on CNN.

Now back to the Ebersol plane crash. For some background let's check in with our Miles O'Brien. He's a pilot. He has covered these kinds of crashes before.

Miles, good morning.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: First of all, if you could explain this idea that a seat from a plane with a 14-year-old strapped in could just disappear.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I mean that's not my core competency searching for that kind of thing. But I have been talking to Sean Callebs all morning; in the dark hours there, and there are some ravines in and around the area. Obviously it's mountainous terrain. I think, you know, as daylight breaks there, that will hold out a lot more hope for finding the remainders of the pieces of that craft.

KAGAN: So what do they look for in the investigation trying to figure out what went wrong?

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, it's a very systematic thing. The National Transportation Safety Board arrives with a team of experts, all specializing in various aspects. One of the things they will look at, of course, is the weather condition there. Clearly it was cold enough for icing to be a potential problem. And one of the questions they will ask witnesses on the ramps, and so forth, is whether the pilots properly de-iced that aircraft. If there was any little tiny bit of ice on an aircraft, it really can cause a significant problem for an airplane, especially when you consider that field is at 4800 feet above sea level. Air is thinner up there. And the performance is diminished for any aircraft. And so you have to be very concerned about ice building up on the wings. Disturbs the airflow, can cause some other problems for you and make it very difficult for an aircraft to take flight.

The next thing on the list, I think, might be the possibility that an engine might have failed as they were rolling down that runway. And you have to be very careful. There's a series of speeds that pilots are conditioned to watch for, kind of bench marks as they accelerate down a runway. And as each of those bench marks are passed, they know that if they're going that fast and something goes wrong, I'm either flying or I'm going to try to abort the landing and land.

The question is if an engine fails at these critical times, did it have enough thrust? Or did the pilots act correctly to try to correct that problem?

KAGAN: Miles O'Brien in New York. Thanks for staying a little bit later. Appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Legalized medical marijuana is being challenged in the Supreme Court today. The federal government argues that marijuana is a dangerous drug, and it makes no exception for the seriously ill. Eleven states allow patients to use marijuana if their doctors agree. After hearing the arguments the justices will consider whether the federal law that bans marijuana can be enforced in those states, as well.

Coming up in the next half hour we're going to meet the California mother of two whose medical marijuana case is being argued. We're also going to talk with legal expert Kendall Coffey about the ramifications of this -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Today's arguments over medical marijuana will go on without Chief Justice William Rehnquist on the bench. In fact, a Court spokesman says Rehnquist won't be in Court this week or next week. Details about the seriousness of Rehnquist's cancer have not been revealed. But some doctors say his treatment indicates a possible fast-growing cancer.

Well, the chief justice's health has prompted speculation about whether he will be able to remain on the Court. And if not, what type of nominee would be chosen to replace him. A new Associated Press poll suggests most Americans do not want a justice who would make abortion illegal. Nearly six in 10 of those polled said they believe President Bush should choose a nominee who will uphold Roe vs. Wade.

SANCHEZ: Well, while some Thanksgiving travelers are back at work this morning, others are still trying to get home. Hundreds of passengers are trying to get out of Reno, Nevada. Over the weekend, dozens of flights were delayed or canceled as ice and snow fell across the Sierra Nevada region. In Colorado the roads are open but many are slippery after a powerful storm dumped up to three feet of snow in parts of the state. In Nebraska, ice and snow is blamed for at least three traffic deaths. And in the northeast, a round of rain and wind foiled many holiday travelers' plans. Passengers on flights in and out of New York's La Guardia Airport experienced delays. And several accidents were reported in Connecticut, as well.

KAGAN: Did you see the Sunday night football game last night?

SANCHEZ: The Snow Bowl.

KAGAN: The Broncos and the Raiders, finally a football game with some bad weather this year. We haven't really seen that.

SANCHEZ: It's hard -- you couldn't tell at first whether you were actually watching the right channel. Or just maybe you were one channel off or something with all that snow.

KAGAN: Do not adjust your television.

(LAUGHTER)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: While Jacqui was bringing us the weather, some more breaking news, this time coming out of the Supreme Court. The High Court rejecting a challenge by some conservative groups for the Supreme Court to look over the dispute over gay marriage in Massachusetts. Some conservative groups had asked the High Court to look at the status of the state law in Massachusetts. That's the only law that sanctions same-sex marriage.

The High Court has declined and has done that without comment. So once again, the U.S. Supreme Court will not look at the Massachusetts law that does sanction same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

SANCHEZ: Suppose we don't need to tell you this, but it was a weekend of eating, of traveling, and of course shopping. Still to come, millions of Americans spending hundreds of dollars. Was it a boost for struggling retailers?

KAGAN: Plus a Hollywood parade without top celebrities? Sounds like an oxymoron. But look at the B-List parade. It's coming up.

SANCHEZ: And then later, unlike the original TV series this crew plans to get lost. But the question is, can they then get rescued? We're going to talk to a cast member of the real "Gilligan's Island." You heard so much about it. Here we go. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. A nation's election in dispute, a presidency in limbo and now a Supreme Court on the cusp of rendering an all-important decision. No, obviously not talking about 2000 Florida debacle. Rather it's the mounting political crisis that we've been following for you in the Ukraine.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is in Kiev. She's been following the story. She's joining us via videophone with the very latest.

Supreme Court leaning one way or another as of yet, Jill?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: No information, Rick, at all of where they're going to go with this. In fact, now it's looking as if it may have to go until tomorrow. A real cliffhanger. It's really crunch time because this is a crucial decision. Inside that courtroom, the opposition is trying to prove to the judges that they have massive number of -- massive number of violations in that vote. And they are so flawed, the elections, that they should be rerun.

So if the judges rule in their favor, then there would be new elections in Ukraine. If they rule against them, the man at the Central Elections Commission says was elected the president of Ukraine could be inaugurated very soon. So it's really an important moment.

By the way, speaking of the man who was elected -- named the elected president, Mr. Yanukovych, he's now saying that if they can prove that there really are a lot of irregularities and a lot of vote fraud, then he would go along with new elections.

So we just have to see, Rick. But that's the big question right now.

SANCHEZ: There's a lot of stories coming out about just how divide the country is. It appears not just figuratively but literally. The eastern portion of the country seems to back Yanukovych as opposed to Yushchenko.

Is this really a divided country in that way? And is it possible, as a second note that Moscow is behind the threat that the country may literally divide itself as a result of this issue?

DOUGHERTY: Well, No. 1, yes. It really is true that it's pretty much a geographical divide, because the eastern part of the country is very industrialized. It's got mining regions like Donetsk. And they really feel more comfortable in kind of the old, I hate to say Soviet Union, but closer to Russia, certainly economic and political and social ties. Many people there actually speak Russian even though they're Ukrainian.

Then when you get to the west you're in areas that are more favorable to the opposition candidate Mr. Yushenko. Don't forget. You know, parts of Ukraine used to be part of Poland. So we're dealing very much with Western Europe, Central Europe.

SANCHEZ: Jill Dougherty following the story for us. We thank you. Certainly will be checking back with you throughout the day -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Iraqi officials insist that nationwide elections will go on as planned on January 30, despite concerns that motor safety cannot be assured. Sunni leader Adnan Pachachi, seen in video, is calling for a delay for up to six months to improve security. But some critics say the Sunnis just want to stall the suspected rise of the Shiia majority.

Back here in the U.S. Senator Benjamin Nelson of Nebraska discounts that criticism of the Sunnis, saying their concerns are motivated by violence in the so-called Sunni Triangle. Nelson is just back from Iraq and spoke about the coming election on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BENJAMIN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: I met with both Sunni and Shiia leaders. The Shiias seem to be along with the Kurds thinking that we can move forward as quickly as we should. The Sunnis, of course, in the triangle area are concerned that they won't have safe elections. So I think you can understand the different perspectives.

But the whole thing will be settled by Prime Minister Allawi who said the elections will go forward. And they may not be perfect. But that there is more to be lost by waiting than there is...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, Nelson also said that if the election is delayed, insurgents could take that as a sign of victory, and their movement could strengthen.

SANCHEZ: It's an argument before the Supreme Court that could mean life or death for some Americans.

KAGAN: Still to come is there a future for medical marijuana? You're going to meet a woman who lights up; she says to ease the pain.

Plus...

GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: And is it better to give than receive? We'll tell you how to pick a charity when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: 'Tis the season for giving, but for many generosity is year round. In fact, Americans shelled out, get this number, $241 billion to charities last year. That's an up tick that reversed two consecutive years of declines.

So how do you ensure that you get the most benefit for your charity buck? Our financial news personal finance editor Gerri Willis joining us with her "Top Five Tips."

Gerri, good morning.

WILLIS: Daryn, good to see you.

Tip No. 1 today; give with confidence. Here's the thing. There are so many nonprofits out there. In fact, there are a million. So even if you know the cause you want to give to, it's can be difficult to find exactly what you want. There are 650 groups that say they're raising money to help fight breast cancer alone. So that gives you some idea.

Check out two websites here, charitynavigator.org, and guidestart.org. These two websites will help you analyze the charities; help you understand how efficient they are in raising money for their causes.

KAGAN: Well, and even if you don't go looking for some place to give your charitable dollar, they will come looking for you. Let's talk about some of those ways, including the phone.

WILLIS: Telephone is the No. 1 tool used by scammers out there who want to rip you off. They say they're charities. They're not. You're going to have to be really careful out there. Even if they are legit, they're probably paying telemarketers a pretty penny to sell their services. So you want to pick somebody who's more efficient with their money, probably.

But if somebody calls you and you think that their charity is on the up, and up, and you're interested in them, ask for an annual report first. And then when you want to give, you can call them on your own and make your donation.

KAGAN: All right. I think you get your mailbox stuffed with two things this time of year: catalogs, and also these solicitations in the mail for charities.

WILLIS: Same problem here, Daryn. Some of these people who solicit money through the mail, they're scammers. You've got to be careful. Particularly if you get something in the mail that looks like it's a bill or an invoice demanding payment to a charity. A lot of people get scared. They go ahead and pay this. This could just be a scam. So beware. You're really better off contacting the charity that you want to give to first.

KAGAN: Gerri, what's the best method of payment?

WILLIS: You definitely want to pay by check. That way your canceled check serves as your receipt, and you can prove that you made the donation for the basis of taxes.

And one thing to keep in mind here, you really want to develop a relationship with a charity over the long run, you want to give money over time, pick one, maybe two that you want to give with, so they get to know you, too. You can understand their strategies and maybe work a little more closely with them. KAGAN: And this can work both ways. You help the charity but it can also help your bottom line with your taxes.

WILLIS: Yes. And you've got to do it before December 31 if you want to get the tax break. One thing to keep in mind here, some scammers out there, they say hey, we're tax exempt. That doesn't necessarily mean you get the tax break. You have to see if there are 501-C3 corporations, then you get the tax break. Get the details. And be sure to go online and check out some of these places before you give them money -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Gerri Willis, thanks for the tips. Appreciate it.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: You have shopped until you dropped. But did it really make a difference in the scheme of things? Still to come, a look at whether or not your spending had an impact on retailers' bottom line.

KAGAN: And smoking to live? A closer look at what medical marijuana could mean in the war on drugs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired November 29, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: We're going to start our two-hour cruise right now. There we go. "Gilligan's Island" is now a reality show?
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: It is. And we're going to be doing an interview on that. And that's what we're all talking about right now. Isn't that exciting. In fact, and here's what's happening right now in the news.

KAGAN: Insurgents have again targeted an Iraqi police station. A car bomb, the blast near Ramadi killed at least six people. Four of them police officers. At least eight other people were wounded. Most were policemen and members of the Iraqi National Guard.

The nuclear watchdog group for the United Nations has adopted a resolution that endorses Iran's freeze of its uranium enrichment activities. Iran's nuclear program, and alleged pursuit of weapons, had stoked international concerns in recent months. The pressure allows Iran's nuclear program to avoid closer scrutiny from the U.N. Security Council.

In the Ukraine, the Supreme Court says there it is not likely to hand down a decision today on the bitterly disputed presidential elections. The court is considering a challenge by the liberal candidate who was deemed the loser of the election held eight days ago. Protesters and many Western observers have alleged fraud in the election of the Russian-backed candidate.

In Texas, jury selection is set to begin today in the nation's deadliest case of human smuggling. Seventeen immigrants were found dead inside an abandoned trailer near Houston. Two others later died. The three accused smugglers each face a total of 58 counts of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants.

And good morning. Thanks for being here with us, coming back from a Thanksgiving. I'm Daryn Kagan.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. A 14-year-old boy is missing, at least two men are dead, and at least two survived a fiery plane crash in Colorado. The survivors are NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol and one of his sons. But a search continues for Ebersol's second son. The crash happened at an airport in Montrose, Colorado.

CNN's Sean Callebs is joining us now following the story there.

Sean, what's the latest?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, we can tell you the Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board should be on site if they're not now, in a very short time, to begin taking control of this investigation.

Now, we're at the Montrose Airport. Actually the small-chartered jet took off from this end of the runway heading down toward the horizon. Now, eyewitnesses say that it appeared to veer to the right and then the pilot apparently tried to correct the aircraft. At that point it slammed through a fence, over a small canal, into a sagebrush area that also has some trees. At that point the cockpit apparently simply smashed, killing the pilot and the co-pilot.

Eyewitness who took these pictures you're going to see, very dramatic. You can see the black plume of smoke going into the air. Some fire at the site of the aircraft itself. Now, when the witnesses -- when the eyewitness and an airport official got over there, they saw NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol and his oldest son, Charles, staggering away from the wreckage clearly in shock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK DISTEL, CRASH WITNESS: You could definitely smell fuel. There's small flames starting to -- out of the front and back of the airplane both, there's small flames starting to rise. And you could tell it's just a matter of time before, you know, that thing went in to a big inferno of flames.

(END VIDEO

CALLEBS: Now, Ebersol is married to actress Susan St. James. And Rick touched on it just a moment ago. Another part of this tragedy. The Ebersol's 14-year-old son Edward Ted, Teddy, apparently his -- the seat that he was in was ripped from the plane during the crash. Investigators began searching yesterday around noon local time. They looked all through the day until it got dark; found no sign of the 14-year-old boy. The search is set to resume again later on today.

Now Rick, a little bit about this aircraft. It is somewhat old. It is a 600 Challenger series built in Canada. It did not have to have a flight data recorder. Should have had a cockpit voice recorder. And if, indeed, that voice recorder survived this crash authorities can find it, it can certainly add some information to this. Whether it was a catastrophic failure that led to this crash, perhaps an engine going out.

Of course look at the weather conditions around me. Yesterday it was snowy. It was cold. It was windy. Authorities will certainly look at the de-icing procedure. How that went. And if, indeed, there could have been any error there as well -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: What is it about the site, Sean, or perhaps the conditions, that's making it so difficult to find Teddy, the 14-year- old son? CALLEBS: Yes. What you're looking at here, it's not terribly different except it's down there. It's an area, there's some thick sagebrush. But there's also a canal that's about 15 feet across. We don't know how deep it is. But if indeed a seat did get ejected in the crash, it theoretically could have gone down there, as well. We know they had helicopters in the air yesterday. They had terrain vehicles out -- all-terrain vehicles out, as well. It's my understanding. And they were doing what they could, of course, on foot, trying to find 14-year-old Teddy Ebersol.

SANCHEZ: Sean Callebs following the story for us. He'll be keeping us up to date throughout the next couple of hours.

We thank you, Sean. We'd be certainly be getting back to you.

Daryn, over to you.

KAGAN: Yes. And more on the story in just a moment.

First, we want to let you know we're getting word that President Bush will announce, just about exactly an hour from now, who he would like to see be his next Commerce secretary. His longtime friend Don Evans, of course, served the administration during the first term. And he stepped down to go back to Texas. So that announcement we expect about 11:05 Eastern. And you'll see that live right here on CNN.

Now back to the Ebersol plane crash. For some background let's check in with our Miles O'Brien. He's a pilot. He has covered these kinds of crashes before.

Miles, good morning.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: First of all, if you could explain this idea that a seat from a plane with a 14-year-old strapped in could just disappear.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I mean that's not my core competency searching for that kind of thing. But I have been talking to Sean Callebs all morning; in the dark hours there, and there are some ravines in and around the area. Obviously it's mountainous terrain. I think, you know, as daylight breaks there, that will hold out a lot more hope for finding the remainders of the pieces of that craft.

KAGAN: So what do they look for in the investigation trying to figure out what went wrong?

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, it's a very systematic thing. The National Transportation Safety Board arrives with a team of experts, all specializing in various aspects. One of the things they will look at, of course, is the weather condition there. Clearly it was cold enough for icing to be a potential problem. And one of the questions they will ask witnesses on the ramps, and so forth, is whether the pilots properly de-iced that aircraft. If there was any little tiny bit of ice on an aircraft, it really can cause a significant problem for an airplane, especially when you consider that field is at 4800 feet above sea level. Air is thinner up there. And the performance is diminished for any aircraft. And so you have to be very concerned about ice building up on the wings. Disturbs the airflow, can cause some other problems for you and make it very difficult for an aircraft to take flight.

The next thing on the list, I think, might be the possibility that an engine might have failed as they were rolling down that runway. And you have to be very careful. There's a series of speeds that pilots are conditioned to watch for, kind of bench marks as they accelerate down a runway. And as each of those bench marks are passed, they know that if they're going that fast and something goes wrong, I'm either flying or I'm going to try to abort the landing and land.

The question is if an engine fails at these critical times, did it have enough thrust? Or did the pilots act correctly to try to correct that problem?

KAGAN: Miles O'Brien in New York. Thanks for staying a little bit later. Appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Legalized medical marijuana is being challenged in the Supreme Court today. The federal government argues that marijuana is a dangerous drug, and it makes no exception for the seriously ill. Eleven states allow patients to use marijuana if their doctors agree. After hearing the arguments the justices will consider whether the federal law that bans marijuana can be enforced in those states, as well.

Coming up in the next half hour we're going to meet the California mother of two whose medical marijuana case is being argued. We're also going to talk with legal expert Kendall Coffey about the ramifications of this -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Today's arguments over medical marijuana will go on without Chief Justice William Rehnquist on the bench. In fact, a Court spokesman says Rehnquist won't be in Court this week or next week. Details about the seriousness of Rehnquist's cancer have not been revealed. But some doctors say his treatment indicates a possible fast-growing cancer.

Well, the chief justice's health has prompted speculation about whether he will be able to remain on the Court. And if not, what type of nominee would be chosen to replace him. A new Associated Press poll suggests most Americans do not want a justice who would make abortion illegal. Nearly six in 10 of those polled said they believe President Bush should choose a nominee who will uphold Roe vs. Wade.

SANCHEZ: Well, while some Thanksgiving travelers are back at work this morning, others are still trying to get home. Hundreds of passengers are trying to get out of Reno, Nevada. Over the weekend, dozens of flights were delayed or canceled as ice and snow fell across the Sierra Nevada region. In Colorado the roads are open but many are slippery after a powerful storm dumped up to three feet of snow in parts of the state. In Nebraska, ice and snow is blamed for at least three traffic deaths. And in the northeast, a round of rain and wind foiled many holiday travelers' plans. Passengers on flights in and out of New York's La Guardia Airport experienced delays. And several accidents were reported in Connecticut, as well.

KAGAN: Did you see the Sunday night football game last night?

SANCHEZ: The Snow Bowl.

KAGAN: The Broncos and the Raiders, finally a football game with some bad weather this year. We haven't really seen that.

SANCHEZ: It's hard -- you couldn't tell at first whether you were actually watching the right channel. Or just maybe you were one channel off or something with all that snow.

KAGAN: Do not adjust your television.

(LAUGHTER)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: While Jacqui was bringing us the weather, some more breaking news, this time coming out of the Supreme Court. The High Court rejecting a challenge by some conservative groups for the Supreme Court to look over the dispute over gay marriage in Massachusetts. Some conservative groups had asked the High Court to look at the status of the state law in Massachusetts. That's the only law that sanctions same-sex marriage.

The High Court has declined and has done that without comment. So once again, the U.S. Supreme Court will not look at the Massachusetts law that does sanction same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

SANCHEZ: Suppose we don't need to tell you this, but it was a weekend of eating, of traveling, and of course shopping. Still to come, millions of Americans spending hundreds of dollars. Was it a boost for struggling retailers?

KAGAN: Plus a Hollywood parade without top celebrities? Sounds like an oxymoron. But look at the B-List parade. It's coming up.

SANCHEZ: And then later, unlike the original TV series this crew plans to get lost. But the question is, can they then get rescued? We're going to talk to a cast member of the real "Gilligan's Island." You heard so much about it. Here we go. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. A nation's election in dispute, a presidency in limbo and now a Supreme Court on the cusp of rendering an all-important decision. No, obviously not talking about 2000 Florida debacle. Rather it's the mounting political crisis that we've been following for you in the Ukraine.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is in Kiev. She's been following the story. She's joining us via videophone with the very latest.

Supreme Court leaning one way or another as of yet, Jill?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: No information, Rick, at all of where they're going to go with this. In fact, now it's looking as if it may have to go until tomorrow. A real cliffhanger. It's really crunch time because this is a crucial decision. Inside that courtroom, the opposition is trying to prove to the judges that they have massive number of -- massive number of violations in that vote. And they are so flawed, the elections, that they should be rerun.

So if the judges rule in their favor, then there would be new elections in Ukraine. If they rule against them, the man at the Central Elections Commission says was elected the president of Ukraine could be inaugurated very soon. So it's really an important moment.

By the way, speaking of the man who was elected -- named the elected president, Mr. Yanukovych, he's now saying that if they can prove that there really are a lot of irregularities and a lot of vote fraud, then he would go along with new elections.

So we just have to see, Rick. But that's the big question right now.

SANCHEZ: There's a lot of stories coming out about just how divide the country is. It appears not just figuratively but literally. The eastern portion of the country seems to back Yanukovych as opposed to Yushchenko.

Is this really a divided country in that way? And is it possible, as a second note that Moscow is behind the threat that the country may literally divide itself as a result of this issue?

DOUGHERTY: Well, No. 1, yes. It really is true that it's pretty much a geographical divide, because the eastern part of the country is very industrialized. It's got mining regions like Donetsk. And they really feel more comfortable in kind of the old, I hate to say Soviet Union, but closer to Russia, certainly economic and political and social ties. Many people there actually speak Russian even though they're Ukrainian.

Then when you get to the west you're in areas that are more favorable to the opposition candidate Mr. Yushenko. Don't forget. You know, parts of Ukraine used to be part of Poland. So we're dealing very much with Western Europe, Central Europe.

SANCHEZ: Jill Dougherty following the story for us. We thank you. Certainly will be checking back with you throughout the day -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Iraqi officials insist that nationwide elections will go on as planned on January 30, despite concerns that motor safety cannot be assured. Sunni leader Adnan Pachachi, seen in video, is calling for a delay for up to six months to improve security. But some critics say the Sunnis just want to stall the suspected rise of the Shiia majority.

Back here in the U.S. Senator Benjamin Nelson of Nebraska discounts that criticism of the Sunnis, saying their concerns are motivated by violence in the so-called Sunni Triangle. Nelson is just back from Iraq and spoke about the coming election on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BENJAMIN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: I met with both Sunni and Shiia leaders. The Shiias seem to be along with the Kurds thinking that we can move forward as quickly as we should. The Sunnis, of course, in the triangle area are concerned that they won't have safe elections. So I think you can understand the different perspectives.

But the whole thing will be settled by Prime Minister Allawi who said the elections will go forward. And they may not be perfect. But that there is more to be lost by waiting than there is...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, Nelson also said that if the election is delayed, insurgents could take that as a sign of victory, and their movement could strengthen.

SANCHEZ: It's an argument before the Supreme Court that could mean life or death for some Americans.

KAGAN: Still to come is there a future for medical marijuana? You're going to meet a woman who lights up; she says to ease the pain.

Plus...

GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: And is it better to give than receive? We'll tell you how to pick a charity when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

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KAGAN: 'Tis the season for giving, but for many generosity is year round. In fact, Americans shelled out, get this number, $241 billion to charities last year. That's an up tick that reversed two consecutive years of declines.

So how do you ensure that you get the most benefit for your charity buck? Our financial news personal finance editor Gerri Willis joining us with her "Top Five Tips."

Gerri, good morning.

WILLIS: Daryn, good to see you.

Tip No. 1 today; give with confidence. Here's the thing. There are so many nonprofits out there. In fact, there are a million. So even if you know the cause you want to give to, it's can be difficult to find exactly what you want. There are 650 groups that say they're raising money to help fight breast cancer alone. So that gives you some idea.

Check out two websites here, charitynavigator.org, and guidestart.org. These two websites will help you analyze the charities; help you understand how efficient they are in raising money for their causes.

KAGAN: Well, and even if you don't go looking for some place to give your charitable dollar, they will come looking for you. Let's talk about some of those ways, including the phone.

WILLIS: Telephone is the No. 1 tool used by scammers out there who want to rip you off. They say they're charities. They're not. You're going to have to be really careful out there. Even if they are legit, they're probably paying telemarketers a pretty penny to sell their services. So you want to pick somebody who's more efficient with their money, probably.

But if somebody calls you and you think that their charity is on the up, and up, and you're interested in them, ask for an annual report first. And then when you want to give, you can call them on your own and make your donation.

KAGAN: All right. I think you get your mailbox stuffed with two things this time of year: catalogs, and also these solicitations in the mail for charities.

WILLIS: Same problem here, Daryn. Some of these people who solicit money through the mail, they're scammers. You've got to be careful. Particularly if you get something in the mail that looks like it's a bill or an invoice demanding payment to a charity. A lot of people get scared. They go ahead and pay this. This could just be a scam. So beware. You're really better off contacting the charity that you want to give to first.

KAGAN: Gerri, what's the best method of payment?

WILLIS: You definitely want to pay by check. That way your canceled check serves as your receipt, and you can prove that you made the donation for the basis of taxes.

And one thing to keep in mind here, you really want to develop a relationship with a charity over the long run, you want to give money over time, pick one, maybe two that you want to give with, so they get to know you, too. You can understand their strategies and maybe work a little more closely with them. KAGAN: And this can work both ways. You help the charity but it can also help your bottom line with your taxes.

WILLIS: Yes. And you've got to do it before December 31 if you want to get the tax break. One thing to keep in mind here, some scammers out there, they say hey, we're tax exempt. That doesn't necessarily mean you get the tax break. You have to see if there are 501-C3 corporations, then you get the tax break. Get the details. And be sure to go online and check out some of these places before you give them money -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Gerri Willis, thanks for the tips. Appreciate it.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: You have shopped until you dropped. But did it really make a difference in the scheme of things? Still to come, a look at whether or not your spending had an impact on retailers' bottom line.

KAGAN: And smoking to live? A closer look at what medical marijuana could mean in the war on drugs.

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