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Toyota Warns for First Annual Loss; 30,000 Troops Could be Sent to Afghanistan Next Year; Survivors Speak Out on Plane Crash; Winter Packs a Punch
Aired December 22, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Winter roars in, much of the country digs out. And a big freeze reaches all the way into the Deep South. What you need to know before making those holiday travel plans.
And in Denver, what caused this airliner to slide off a runway and burst into flames. Investigators looking for clues, survivors share their stories.
And just three more shopping days until Christmas. The clock winds down, the losses add up. Will this be the worst shopping season in decades?
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Today, Monday December 22nd. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Winter shows up with a vengeance, clobbering the northern part of the country with heavy, heavy snow most everywhere. Temperatures dip way below freezing.
An ice storm adds to the misery in Illinois leading to a lot of travel headaches and power outages.
White-out conditions caused multi-car pileups in West Michigan yesterday. At least one person was killed there.
Slippery streets, plus dangerous cold have a grip on much of New England as well. Much of the south also in the deep freeze.
And there is more to come. Eastern Washington bracing for another storm that could dump up to 10 inches of snow. Of course, the kids don't mind as you can see, they're out of school for the holidays and having a ball sledding down the slopes.
Not as happy, though, a lot of truckers near Portland. They can't go anywhere because so many roads are closed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not making any money so. So I have been here two days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two days?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any idea how long -- how much longer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I walked over there to the officer and he told me that not until tomorrow because there's another storm coming. So he's not letting my truckers go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: People still trying to get out of Seattle. Hundreds of travelers were stranded in airports and bus terminals overnight. The snow making it pretty much impossible to go anywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I still have to wait (INAUDIBLE) and I'll just get on stand by because I can't get through security without a current boarding pass.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So all the flights you were hoping to be on...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are starting to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... stand by are leaving?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're starting to leave, yes. It's been fun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have a smile on your face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard not to. When you've been up so long and you're getting to the point where you can't do this anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Here's a look now at how many planes are in the skies right now. Look at that, it always freaks me out when I see all those.
But, apparently, Rob, you look at this quite a bit, probably not a huge difference for all of the travel, but certainly the difference is going to be the weather because a lot of people not actually in the planes they want to be on.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and the volumes today, obviously, the people trying to get on those planes and those planes trying to get out is going to be an issue too.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: I'm told we have a bright shot of Boston.
COLLINS: There we go.
MARCIANO: That looks better. That looks warmer.
COLLINS: I thought there was some serious cloud cover from all of the storms or something.
MARCIANO: No, we got wind shaking that camera?
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: WCVB, thanks for that affiliate shot. So 1 degree is what it feels like, that's the wind chill, I'm sure at that altitude, it feels even colder. 27 for the high, high today in New York, 11 in Chicago, 26 degrees in Nashville, 38 in Atlanta.
First full day of winter and certainly Mother Nature cooperating with the calendar.
COLLINS: Yes, boy oh boy. All right. Well, that's definitely the story today as people are trying to travel for the holidays. We are all over it this morning, too. So we'll stay on top of that and come back to you shortly, Rob. Thank you.
MARCIANO: You got it.
COLLINS: It is a chilling image for anyone boarding a flight this holiday season. A Continental Airlines jet with 115 people aboard veers off a runway and bursts into flames. Dozens are injured. Countless questions need to be answered, of course.
CNN's Susan Roesgen is at the Denver International Airport now.
So, Susan, obviously investigators still looking into what happened here?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Heidi, they'll be out again today. They're going to try to make the most of limited daylight today, the shortest day of the year and they're dealing with the bitter cold here. They say that's one of the challenges.
They actually have several teams out here. They've got one to look at strictly the mechanical performance of the plane to pore over the wreckage. And they've got another team to talk to the pilot and the co-pilot and the crew. And they have investigators here to talk to the passengers to find out why it was that everybody was able to survive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN (voice over): The plane had just started to accelerate for takeoff, and among the passengers was a young couple with their 1- year-old baby.
MARIA TREJOS, PASSENGER: We were looking out the windows to show the baby the lights, and he was going ooh, ooh. You know, like, we're looking at the pretty lights and all of a sudden it was just too much lights.
GABRIEL TREJOS, PASSENGER: : Too much, yes.
ROESGEN: The Boeing 737 was on fire and skidding off the runway. The wheels were disintegrating as the plane finally stopped belly down in the snow. That's when passengers seemed to forget the right way to evacuate.
G. TREJOS: Some people were trying to get luggage from their top and the engine was on fire so I was worried, you know, about getting out of there. And then we had another guy yelling, no, the plane's going to blow up. You know? The plane's going to explode.
ROESGEN: Passengers shoved each other and scrambled over each other as the overhead luggage bins started to melt from the heat.
At daylight, you can see how the plane cracked right down the middle like an eggshell and how incredible it was that everybody maid it out alive. Nearly 40 people were injured, two critically.
ROBERT SUMWALT, NTSB: The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, they were located, they were secured. And they were intact.
ROESGEN: National Transportation Safety Board investigators will pore over every piece of wreckage and interview the crew to try to find out what went wrong with the plane and panicky evacuation.
They'll also talk to passengers who say they knew there had been a problem before they get on.
G. TREJOS: I heard something on the intercom, you know, before you get on, the story having -- engine problems with the plane. And shortly after that, they said, everything's fine and that there's going to be on time flight.
ROESGEN: One more thing for investigators to explore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: And again, Heidi, since they have the voice recorder, they have the data recorder, they will probably have some preliminary information within the next few days or weeks. But they do say that the entire investigation here probably will not wrap up for a year, Heidi?
COLLINS: Wow. Yes, you know, usually it takes a long time to actually figure out exactly what went wrong with that aircraft. But something that we do know right now is that, obviously, because people survived because they got out on those slides, there were things that went right.
ROESGEN: Yes, there were, Heidi, in spite of the chaos on that plane, the fire crew, the first emergency responders actually missed the plane and by the time they got to the plane, all the passengers were already off the plane and walking up the ravine and heading for safety.
So the fire crew really credits the flight crew for getting those evacuation chutes deployed..
COLLINS: Yes.
ROESGEN: ... and getting everybody off in spite of all the panic.
COLLINS: Absolute. So listen to your flight attendants when you get on those planes definitely so you know how you can work with them.
All right. Susan Roesgen, sure do appreciate that live from DIA this morning.
A bone jarring jolt, a burst of flame and smoke. What was it really like being aboard Continental Airlines Flight 1404. Survivors share their stories a little bit later right here in the NEWSROOM.
"ISSUE #1", your money. And retailers are having a tough time prying that cash loose from your wallet this holiday season as it shapes up to be one of the worst in decades.
Christine Romans is here now to explain a little bit more about that.
So, Christie, how bad is it really? I think people probably assume it wasn't going to be very good this year.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right. First, there's the worries about foreclosures and your job, and now this horrible weather in parts of the northeast and the Midwest. It really came at a terrible time for the retailer this weekend because they were really banking on this last big push this weekend and then a few days this week and that terrible weather kept a lot of people away.
Minus 30 degrees in parts of the Midwest and a lot of snow in the northeast. So it really came at a terrible time for the retailers who were hoping for something here.
And we know, Heidi, that all of those surveys are showing that people this year are talking about needs instead of wants, and the number one category that we think is going to suffer from that is apparel.
I mean do you need another sweater? In this...
COLLINS: No.
ROMANS: In this time, do you need? No. And so there's a lot of concern about what that's going to mean for some of the retailers of apparel. And 81 percent of people say, they're going to cut back on their shopping. That's according to a survey from the NPD Group, a retail tracker.
They're seeking store sales. They want discounts to get them in. They're using coupons. They want coupons and they're -- and they want those discount programs, you know, sort of the membership and stuff like that. I mean they're using these little tricks to try to get them in and all of those things, of course, cost the retailers something. So we're expecting, you know, year over year decline, month over month decline in store sales and that's not something that we ever see, I mean you can always count on the American consumer to spend more than the year before or the month before.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: And you're not seeing that maybe, Heidi, because they're realizing, you know, just kind of how dangerous the situation is in the economy and they're trying to circle the wagons a little bit.
That's not good for the overall economy, but it's good for your economy, and we keep saying, you know, this is not a time to be buying what you can't afford. This is not a time to be putting things on your credit cards.
This is a time to be trying to decide what those needs and wants are. It's not good for the overall economy, but if it's good for you, people should do it and that's what they have been doing.
COLLINS: Yes. I guess everybody is really starting to understand they've got to watch out for their own pocket books right now.
ROMANS: There are -- and there are a lot of sales. I have to tell you. This is pretty much...
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: ... today is the last day for online shopping to get something by Christmas or even the day after Christmas. I mean free shipping, 60, 80 percent off a lot of things.
COLLINS: Yes, this is -- this is the year that procrastination thing really works out for me.
ROMANS: It's true. In the next couple of days, I expect you're going to see some major, major sales for the next couple of days.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: So for the -- for the smart and solvent shopper, there's going to be some fantastic deals. And that is the bright side of all of this. But it's not a bright side if you're in the retail industry, I'm sure they're losing a lot of sleep these days.
COLLINS: Absolutely. All right. Christine, we're watching those numbers. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: Christine Romans from New York this morning.
While President-elect Barack Obama take a little R & R, find out what's being done to get more Americans back on the job.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Running low on Christmas cheer? A Santa shortage could lead some kids without a lap to sit on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The Atlanta Botanical Garden has reopened for the first time since Friday's fatal construction accident. Part of an elevated walkway collapsed. One construction worker died, 18 others were hurt. Investigators will return today now to find out what caused that accident.
Former New York Police commissioner Bernard Kerik is due back in court next hour. He's accused of getting free renovations from a city contractor and filing false income tax report.
The indictment states Kerik should have been more honest about his relationship with a mob linked contractor.
A special committee to investigate the possible impeachment of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich meets again later on today. Blagojevich is charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.
Prosecutors allege he sought to effectively sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama to the highest bidder.
Obviously, a working vacation for President-elect Barack Obama while in Hawaii. He's set a new goal of creating 3 million jobs after his advisors told him the recession may be worse than expected.
CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Home to Hawaii for President-elect Barack Obama and his family. 12 days of relaxation to ring in the New Year.
But there's no rest for his economic team which has been ordered to think bolder after the president-elect received dire private forecasts suggesting the nation could lose 4 million jobs next year without drastic action.
SEN. JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENTIAL ELECT: What have we learned is the economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was. It is -- this is a spiraling effect. There is no short run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking.
HENRY: So transition aides are now huddling with Democratic leaders in Congress to craft a stimulus plan of up to $775 billion to try and jolt the economy.
Republicans are wary about the price tag on top of Friday's rescue of automakers, the latest in a string of taxpayer bailouts. REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), MINORITY WHIP: What I'm concerned about when we hear the staggering numbers close to $1 trillion right now in spending, where is that going to take us over the long run?
HENRY: Team Obama argues the short-term spending will reap dividends long-term. The emerging plan includes billions for backlog transportation projects to beef up construction jobs and improve the nation's infrastructure.
Modernizing crumbling public schools to create jobs while also investing in education. And weatherizing 1 million homes, money to upgrade furnaces, fix windows and seal leaky air ducts to boost the industry while also cutting energy usage.
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: But if we don't do this, it will cost us even more. This economy is now in the worst shape since the Great Depression and if we do not respond in a very firm way, it gets worse and worse and feeds on itself.
HENRY (on camera): There will be other business during this working vacation, the president-elect is getting daily intelligence briefings and this week the transition team will release the long- awaited internal investigation into its contacts with the Illinois governor, a sensitive political matter.
Ed Henry, CNN, Honolulu.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Well, winter just began and it's already packing a punch. Rob Marciano standing by now.
Boy, that shock from Hawaii to what we're dealing with here. Yikes, it's dang cold out there.
MARCIANO: Yes, you pretty much have to go to Hawaii to get any sort of...
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: ... warm weather, or Southern Florida. Everybody else has been in a deep freeze all the way down to the Gulf Coast with another storm heading out west and that will affect just about everybody once again.
Weather's coming up when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This little boy, not liking Santa Claus. IReporter Kwuan Paruchabutr took this photo of her son Abi (ph). They're from Fayetteville, North Carolina. She says out of all of them taken, this was actually the best shot.
Every parent's nightmare. Santa's shortage, not enough jolly old elves to go around. And as CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports, it could mean a quiet Christmas for many kids.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Oh, the joy on those lit faces as Santa opens that big bag with the gifts.
Just imagine if all that suddenly went away.
Well, hold on, things aren't quite that bad. Here they are, making sure those white beards and red hats fit perfectly, hoping to become certified Santas.
RENE HAMMEL, SANTA CLAUS TRAINEE: It's great, it's fun to go to all these kids and see their joy on their faces and do the whole procedure. It's really fun.
PLEITGEN: This is the annual Santa Claus convention in Germany's capital, Berlin. And the organizers are worried because they see a lot of empty seats.
Yes, Germany is facing a Santa Claus shortage just days before Christmas. And Santa (INAUDIBLE) agencies are ringing the alarm bells.
PETRA HENKERT, SANTA BUREAU BRANDENBURG (Through translator): This means we will have to disappoint at least 300 families in this area alone. We would need about 100 more Santas to get to all the children.
PLEITGEN: They simply don't have enough Santas to send out to private parties or school and shopping center events.
No one seems to know exactly what the problem is. Maybe it's money. But then again, good Santas can make about $100 an hour. Maybe it's the high standards for Germany Santas. It's more than just handing out presents.
The rotund recruits have to have acting skills, know Christmas songs and they can't have a criminal record.
Cen is a Santa instructor. He teaches the Santas in waiting all the dos and the don'ts. But even he says it's not that hard.
CEN, SANTA INSTRUCTOR: You have to bring fun in the family and you should like kids.
PLEITGEN: As for these Santas, they're ready to celebrate the season with carols that echo Christmas past. And for the new recruits, it's not too late to sign up. Children very (INAUDIBLE).
Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: All right, so we saw Santa there.
MARCIANO: Right.
COLLINS: Now we got to wonder where the winter weather is and I think we know, it's pretty much everywhere.
MARCIANO: It is. So, you know, Santa may be stranded, you may have to settle for a Santa that does have a criminal record.
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: I was going to say a fake beard. He went to a whole different level.
MARCIANO: Well, it said that's one of the things they check. Thank goodness.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Sweet, yes. Rad, all that.
MARCIANO: Sweet. Ripping, (INAUDIBLE), carcass.
COLLINS: I think you should go out there right away.
All right. Rob, we'll check back later. Thank you.
MARCIANO: All right. See you.
Braving the elements, the freezing cold turned many people who turned out to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play, from die hard fans to tale gate cheaters. Look at that. Instead of partying it up before the game started, they were trying to find ways to run around the cold. But there were a few frigid fans loyal enough to take one for the team.
Your money, is it the sign or the season of giving away more of it on Wall Street? We're going to take a look at what it could mean for you. It could be a volatile week ahead. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: A multibillion-dollar rescue for the ailing auto industry failed to ignite a rally on Friday. So can Wall Street rally this week or have traders already left the building?
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a preview of what to expect on this holiday shortened trading week.
So, Susan, I guess we have today, tomorrow and a half day on Wednesday, right?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. Yes, I think that it's safe to say a lot of people have already left the building like Elvis, Heidi.
We're expecting in the meantime a modestly higher open. Trading should, of course, be light this week. That tends to exaggerate moves to the up side or the down side on Christmas Eve, Wednesday.
It will be a half day, what is called the closing bell will ring at 1:00 and there's the opening bell for a full day of trading on one of the final trading days of the year. We're getting to that point.
We do have some news headlines to tell you about. Toyota. Toyota makes the Prius, which everybody wants. It slashed its annual forecast yet again. The Japanese automakers are expecting to post its first operating loss ever, nearly $1.7 billion. And Toyota isn't issuing a sales or earnings forecast for the New Year.
U.S. automakers got a slice of the government's $700 billion bailout on Friday. Now the "Wall Street Journal" says some of the nation's biggest real estate developers want some money as well. They're warning that thousands of office buildings, hotels and shopping centers are headed into foreclosure and possible bankruptcy, because nearly $2 billion in commercial mortgages will be up for refinancing next year.
And of course, those malls depend on consumer spending. It's the final push for retailers all across the country. Many stores have extended hours, even 24/7, continuing to roll out deep discounts ahead of Christmas Day. Still the International Council of Shopping Centers expects sales this holiday season to be the worst on record. And there's very little buying on Wall Street, too, in the first minute of trading, Heidi.
The Dow is down one point. The Nasdaq is down two points. That's the kind of day, that's kind of week it's going to be. We've had a lot of action this year, though, Heidi, that's for sure.
COLLINS: Yes, it's kind of twisted. Get it? Wasn't that Twisted Sister who rang the opening bell there? I think it was.
LISOVICZ: Was it?
COLLINS: Yes, I think, too.
LISOVICZ: Actually, that was the March of Dimes. How did I miss that?
COLLINS: I don't know.
(CROSSTALK)
LISOVICZ: They've already left. We were looking to see who it was, and the Web site was down. So perhaps it was because of the celebrity.
COLLINS: Yes, yes. Well, we'll have a re-enactment a little bit later on and we'll watch you do some head banging.
LISOVICZ: OK.
COLLINS: All right. Susan Lisovicz, thank you. We'll check back with you.
(CROSSTALK)
LISOVICZ: I've done enough of it this year, Heidi.
COLLINS: I know. Buckle up now for a new measure of the global recession. Car making powerhouse Toyota warning it's losing money this year. That is the first time in its history, and the stunning announcement is sending shockwaves far and wide. CNN's Kyung Lah has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adding to the season of stormy economic news, Toyota Motor Corporation announced for the first time in it's modern history, it will post an operating loss. Slashing its profit forecast dramatically for the year. Toyota says it will operate at $1.7 billion in the red. Stunning analysts around the globe.
KOJI ENDO, CREDIT SUISSE, AUTO: First time in history. The worst ever.
LAH: What a difference a year makes. Last year, Toyota posted a record operating profit. This year, Japan's largest carmaker says profits hit the skids amid weakening global demand and a crippling rise in the Yen. And if Toyota cannot do well economists warn, smaller and weaker companies around the world will fare even worse.
ENDO: Toyota is supposed to be the winner, and even the winner has to lose some money. Everybody else in this market has to struggle, not just for this year, but for the next few years.
LAH: The bad news extended to Japan's overall economy. For the second month in a row, Japan announced a trade deficit. Last month posting a decline of 26 percent in global exports and a 33 percent decline in U.S. exports. As consumers around the world shied away from electronics and cars, the very engine of Japan's economy.
(on camera): So if that engine is sputtering, there's expected to be more trouble ahead. Analysts say nothing can run smoothly until a global consumer feels like buying those made in Japan products again.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: More on that frightening plane crash at a Denver Airport. 38 people were injured, when the plane careened off the runway and crashed in a ravine. No one was killed. Firefighters say by the time they got to the plane, they found the aircraft on fire, fuel tanks leaking and the wheels sheared right off. Some of the passengers talked about what they went through.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was more scary this morning than it was yesterday, for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Continental has been great...
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They've been great?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...through of all of this. They've taken care of everything that we needed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it was terrifying for a few moments, for sure. But end up coming up OK for me and people on board so that's -- that's great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, glad to be home. Bumpy, very bumpy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bumpy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Slippery. Just being like a rag doll.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are fine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we just want to get out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And we are hearing from more survivors on board the Denver plane. CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING's" Kiran Chetry talked to the couple who survived the crash -- Gabriel and Maria Trejos who is four months pregnant described the chaos and terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: You felt the seat start pushing back. When did you realize that this plane was skidding off the runway?
MARIA TREJOS, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: Actually, we felt the plane veer to the left, and my husband was holding my son, and we felt some bumpiness, and I thought it was just turbulence. And I looked to the side and all of a sudden, there was this giant fireball behind my husband's head, and I still had the image of him just grabbing my son's head and just, you know, pulling him towards himself. And all of a sudden we felt this heat. You know, it was heat on our right side and there was a smell and it was like a mechanical smell. That's when I knew something was wrong, and we felt a bump, and then it felt like we were airborne for a couple of seconds.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Investigators are hoping to learn more on what caused the crash after studying the plane's data recorders.
More U.S. troops will be packing up and headed out. Where the military plans to double its efforts in the near future?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: With the end of the year approaching, now is a good time to make sure you're on track to meet your financial goals. Christine Romans tells us how to get financially fit in 2009, and it's "Right on Your Money."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are just enough days left in 2008 to get your 2009 budget in check. After all, keeping your household budget in the black should be your number one resolution.
HILARY KRAMER, AUTHOR, "AHEAD OF THE CURVE": When it comes to budgeting efficiently in 2009, look for these big expenses that you are incurring, but you don't realize what a hit it is to your bottom line.
ROMANS: The first step in developing a budget, know where you're spending your money now.
KRAMER: The beauty of credit cards, the beauty of a debit card, is that you're able to sit down and look at an extended period of time, and review your spending habits and your patterns, and pick up on certain expenses that you didn't realize are adding up over the long term.
ROMANS: Cutting back is helpful, but big monthly costs like an expensive car loan or high credit card bills can create the biggest drain on your bank account.
KRAMER: The most important part of your budget planning is to get rid of those big, huge expenses that are really dragging down your portfolio and the value of your personal accounts.
ROMANS: And that's this week's "Right on Your Money."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, no doubt about it. The big story today, weather. Pretty much anywhere you live in this country, on this very day. In fact, we want to check in with Seattle right now because our reporter there, Rick Price, from our affiliate KIRO is at the SeaTac Airport.
Some flights cancelled and delayed? I imagine that might be the case there, Rick? RICK PRICE, KIRO CORRESPONDENT: We have had a lot of snow here at SeaTac Airport in Seattle. Let me show you how much. There's more than six inches on the ground and some of this is packed down, and as you can imagine, this is causing tremendous amounts of problems for the operations at SeaTac airport. Our locally based Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air had to cancel their entire SeaTac and Portland schedules yesterday afternoon.
Take a look at some of the result of this. This is still fairly early on for a rush hour at SeaTac Airport, and you can see the lines and lines and lines of passengers, most of whom are simply trying to figure out how they're going to handle the cancellations that they've had over the last couple of days.
If you look at the flight board, it says canceled, canceled, canceled, canceled. There are a few flights going out. We've been here since 4:00 a.m. Seattle time this morning, which is 7:00 a.m. Atlanta time, by the way. And we have only heard of two flights, two jets going out of here. So this is a very difficult situation. It's likely to take several days to unravel this whole flight schedule entirely.
COLLINS: Wow. And what a mess that's going to be with all of the holiday travel, obviously. All right, Rick Price, sure do appreciate the picture from Seattle this morning. Out affiliate there, KIRO. Thanks, Rick.
With more on travel delays, let's go ahead and check in now with meteorologist Rob Marciano. He is live from the severe weather center, otherwise known as snow central, I guess, today.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Thank you, Rob. We'll check back later on.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK, you got it.
The reporter charged with throwing his shoes at President Bush during a news conference says he would do it again, that's according to his brother. The reporter's trial scheduled for next Wednesday. He could go to prison if convicted. His brother says he asked for a new suit to wear in court and an Iraqi flag. As you know, the president was not hit during the incident, which happened more than a week ago.
The U.S. military boosting its forces in Afghanistan. Officials say up to 30,000 additional troops could be sent there next year. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is live in Washington for us this morning to talk a little bit more about that.
So 30,000 additional troops, huh?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: It's beginning to look that way, Heidi, to the surprise of an awful lot of people here in the Pentagon. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff over the weekend, traveling in Afghanistan, laid it all out. There are 30,000 troops there right now, and here is what he had to say about more troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN, U.S. CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEF OF STAFF: Some 20,000 to 30,000 is the window of overall increase from where we are right now. I don't -- I actually don't have an exact number.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Not an exact number, but with 30,000 there now, maybe another 30,000 on the way, according to the admiral. That is doubling the size of the U.S. footprint in Afghanistan. They hope to get most of the troops there, they say, by summer. And that's because in September, Afghanistan is scheduled for its own presidential election and they need to improve security there.
But putting more troops into Afghanistan may be very problematic. NATO is not likely to send more troops. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has already been warning for months about putting too many troops there that the Afghans could begin to resent it. And more troops not going to solve the problem, the commander say. Afghanistan still needs billions of dollars in additional aid.
Heidi?
COLLINS: And then there's this helicopter unit that's heading that way after the first of the year. Tell us a little bit more about it. What's that about?
STARR: Absolutely. That's the first step down this road to more troops. That was an order that was signed out on Thursday by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. An aviation unit, helicopters, they are vital to get in there first. That rough, mountain terrain, if you're going to put 30,000 troops in, you have to find a way to move them around. And when troops get hurt or wounded in battle, they put the helicopters to get them back to field hospitals very quickly. So it's a critical first step down this road.
Heidi?
COLLINS: Absolutely. All right, CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr this morning. Barbara, thank you.
STARR: Sure.
COLLINS: Missing toddler Caylee Anthony's remains have been positively identified, but the search for evidence does continue inside her grandparents' home. Investigators searched the house for a third time on Saturday. Caylee and her mother, Casey, lived in the house before the toddler disappeared. Her mother is now facing murder charges. Her attorney is urging the public to keep an open mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRAD CONWAY, ANTHONY FAMILY ATTORNEY: We, as Americans, enjoy a presumption of innocence. And I think to a large degree that's been forgotten in this case. And a jury of Casey Anthony's peers need to make the decision about whether the state has proven her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. And if the state, state of Florida is unable to do that, then by law, they've got to come back with a not guilty verdict. And that just comes back to doing a thorough investigation, making sure that everybody that participated in this horrible crime is brought to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Casey Anthony waited a month to tell police the child was missing. Prosecutors will need proof the child was killed intentionally to get a murder conviction.
From coast to coast, snow and ice fall in the first day of winter, and it is a mess out there. We'll tell you all about it coming up in the NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: Imagine waking up to this. So much snow you can't even see your street. IReporter Caren Sachs took these pictures outside of her house in Hudson, Massachusetts. It was four degrees below zero with the windshield there this morning. Caren is originally from Atlanta, where we get sometimes a little ice storm or two, but rarely very much snow. That's for sure.
Air passengers should brace for more possible delays and cancellations today. Hundreds of flights were grounded yesterday and across the country today. More freezing temperatures and blizzard conditions.
CNN's meteorologist Rob Marciano looking at this early blast from old man winter. I guess on the first day, but it feels like we've been talking about it before winter really ever was officially announcing itself.
MARCIANO: Yes. It was just -- it took a little while to get everybody involved. For a while there, it was just kind of the western half, northeast. I mean, Heidi, everybody from the Canadian border all the way down to the Gulf Coast, to the northern Gulf Coast at least experiencing some of this cold air. And certainly, East Coast and West Coast feeling the nastiness. A little less snow expected today, at least widespread in the northeast. But there it is out west. So everybody is getting in the act. And boy, I tell you what, over the weekend, it was nasty from coast to coast. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice-over): From Washington State to Oregon, to Michigan, to Massachusetts. Millions of people spent the first day of winter beaten by snow and winter cold.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like I'm in the Arctic somewhere.
MARCIANO: In many states, white out conditions made a mess of the highways. So bad in Minnesota that they pulled the plows off the road. On Michigan's Interstate 94, a massive pileup involving dozens of vehicles, at least one person was killed. More deadly wrecks in Indiana. And in Wisconsin, another chain reaction accident. More than 20 vehicles involved and about a dozen people injured there. In Oregon, travel pretty much out of the question. Busses, trains and even the Portland Airport were all but shut down. People spent hours and in some cases days camped out waiting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was supposed to take three hours, and here I am 13 hours later.
MARCIANO: Sometimes there was a wait just to wait.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was told I had to wait in a line, just get on standing by.
MARCIANO: Similar problems in the Midwest caused ripple effects as far south as Houston, which posted five-hour delays. But what about the folks who delayed their holiday shopping? The rough roads didn't scare off this bargain hunters in Connecticut.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's bad, you know. It's trouble getting here, but I made it.
MARCIANO: Or get these people to trade their tickets for a warm couch and a TV in Kansas City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: By the way, Monday night, football tonight is in Chicago - Bears-Packers. High is going to be 11. So you may not want to strip down. But I'm sure there will be a few brave ones doing that.
COLLINS: The chief's head.
MARCIANO: There maybe people just wearing the chiefs. 35 in Portland, 11 in Chicago. (INAUDIBLE). And then tomorrow, Heidi, this next storm comes into the mountains. And that will bring more snow actually to Chicago. Winter storm watch is posted to that city until Wednesday morning.
COLLINS: All right. It is everywhere.
MARCIANO: It's just keep on coming.
COLLINS: Yes, no kidding. All right, Rob. We'll talk to you a little later.
MARCIANO: Sounds good.
COLLINS: Winter is definitely in high gear in several parts of the country, as we've been saying here. A rare snowstorm has brought Portland, Oregon, to a standstill. Roads are closed. People are being asked to stay home. Many holiday travelers actually stranded. Reporter Mark Hammerhead (ph) from affiliate KPTV has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything has been cancelled.
MARK HAMMERHEAD, KPTV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lines were as long as the list of cancellations at PDX as holiday travelers scrambled to catch one of the few flights leaving the airport.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We aren't getting out. Earliest was December 25th, Christmas Day in the evening.
HAMMERHEAD: But the majority of travelers were met with bad news at the ticket counter. Alaska Airlines and its sister carrier, Horizon, even canceled all their operations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It would have been nice if they would have posted it on their Web site that the flights are cancelled.
HAMMERHEAD: And the airlines that did stay open didn't fair much better. Airport officials say by the end of the day, nearly 400 flights had to be canceled, stranding countless travelers.
LIZ, STRANDED TRAVELER: This is the fourth flight that I've had canceled on me, and I'm tired. I haven't showered. So it's very frustrating.
HAMMERHEAD: And while some people took the situation in stride, others were fed up, including this couple who already spent one night camped out on the carpet and is not looking forward to another.
BRIAN, STRANDED TRAVELER: We found a nice little corner, put a little shade over us, and tried to sleep.
LIZ: These grounds are so dirty and hard. Yes. And the pillows, they don't really help.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Yes. And it's actually snowing right now, Rob Marciano tells us in the Portland area. And up on the mountains there under a winter storm warning. So we'll be watching the weather all throughout the show right here on CNN.
Meanwhile, they've taken over the house. But the owners don't really mind. In fact, it was their idea to turn their home into a true animal house.
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COLLINS: You might call Katherine and Bob Rude the ultimate animal lovers. They started rescuing cats near Baltimore 11 years ago. And today, it's become the focus of their lives. Photo journalist Bethany Swain (ph) takes us inside their animal house. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is where (INAUDIBLE) rescue, and we're a no-kill animal shelter. And we're also cage less. This is a time of the day when we feel very popular.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started helping my brother-in-law with some cats that are really behind the restaurant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was so much need.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it just kind of kept going until it turned into this. Mixed it all up, and we go room to room with the plates. Initially, we thought we would help out maybe like 40 to 60 cats and a few dogs. And whatever animals that needed help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go, Hoppie (ph). We felt we could fill a void.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got going. It just kept expanding. And we went from using the basement to the main floor, then to the rooms upstairs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Up here is there are three rooms for special-needs animals. Feline immunodeficiency virus cats and the Feline Leukemia cats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normal shelters would have to put to sleep because they're not set up to handle that type of thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, Aphrodite. So they (INAUDIBLE), we ended up taking over a couple more rooms.
OK, guys. Here we go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We still have a bedroom that sort of us that we share with a bunch of special needs animals. So usually at night we have anywhere from two or three dogs and 10 to 12 cats that share a bed with us. Our general population is around 120. We try to keep it at that level or lower if we can. But there's such a demand right now. It's hard to keep turning people away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have three foreclosures and people losing their homes. More animals are being given up, or actually being abandon at shelters all over.
These are our recommendations for bringing her home. One of our goals is to actually help find these guys new home, after they've been treated medically or been rehabilitated.
This is the information from her original stuff from Hurricane Katrina, and also for your records. Nevertheless, ten years, we've rescued over 3,000 animals. We've placed over 2,500 in homes.
I'm not going to get lucky, am I? A couple of them was chased up the driveways. They're leaving, but they're getting a home. They're going to have individual, people doting on them. And that's kind of what we want for all the residents here.
All right, here we go. Getting ready to get your new life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: For more on how you can give for the holidays, just logon to CNN.com/impact.
