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Severe Cold Hits Much of U.S.; Retailers Reeling from Recession; Toyota Posts First Operating Loss
Aired December 22, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, December 22. And here are the top stories we're following for you this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let the games begin. Only three days left. Cash-strapped shoppers, desperate retailers wrapping up what could be the worst gift-buying season in decades.
Reversal of fortune worse than dismal. December driving Toyota to its first ever annual operating loss.
And more amazing survival stories as investigators piece together what went wrong on that Denver runway.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Good morning. Winter rolling in with avenge vengeance. Treacherous conditions coast to coast, much of the northeast covered in snow. Yesterday's storm dumped up to three feet in some parts of Maine and caused a flurry of accidents. The weather has holiday travelers stuck at airports, bus and train stations. In Portland, Oregon, the hold up, a sheet of ice on top of several inches of snow. Meantime, in the Sierras it's a winter wonderland. Look at this and the week of Christmas, snowman building and sledding galore. Let's check in with the man. Where is he? There he is. Rob Marciano in the severe weather center.
Why don't we start - we usually do Rob with a little love for our friends west of the Mississippi.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes and West Coast is usually a bastion of love and peacefulness with that Mediterranean climate, but that's anything but the case the past couple of days, actually the past week. From Seattle all the way to Sacramento, San Francisco to San Diego, we've seen just a whole bunch of winter weather.
And we continue to get punished with this cold outbreak that comes in from the Pacific Northwest. So more snow on the way for parts of the northern I-5 corridor. We have a live shot from Portland? There we go, KGW farming one out for us. We pop that up.
HARRIS: Come on now, let's do this. Come on.
MARCIANO: It's right there.
HARRIS: You see it?
MARCIANO: I see it in the plasma number one.
HARRIS: Yes. We need to switch the camera away? Send the camera.
MARCIANO: There we go, sun coming up. The blue hue that they don't usually see in Portland. It's usually green and they have several inches of snow there and it's sticking around. And you've got more snow on the way today. It's 23 degrees with light snow presently.
Salt Lake City, you're going to get some as well. Winter storm warnings posted for you. You could see several inches on the valley floor, 12 to 24 more inches across the (INAUDIBLE) of Colorado. They've just been getting dumped on. Oh, man, Breckenridge, back where they had the detour (ph) this past weekend back to Telluride and Aspen there, just getting it by the feet.
And guess what, Chicago and northwest of Chicago where they had several inches of storm this last storm. You have winter storm watches that are posted for this next thing that's coming out of the Northwest, 12 for a high in Chicago, 25 degrees in Boston, 37 for a high today in Atlanta. So the cold air getting all the way down into central Florida, even Miami, South Beach, 74 degrees for a high temperature. That's not exactly bikini weather. Certainly a lot nicer than, say, 12 in Chicago, where they're playing Monday night football tonight, Bears, Packers. It's going to be chilly.
HARRIS: Can you imagine? You know there will be someone, several someone's with no shirt on.
MARCIANO: Sure. And maybe the cheese caps too.
HARRIS: How about the Gatorade dump? Did you see that a couple weeks ago? I'm sure we'll get that now that I've mentioned it.
MARCIANO: We'll post a video and that's why they do it.
HARRIS: OK, Rob, Appreciate it, thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was incredibly violent. It was a big left- hand turn. We sort of started bouncing a lot as if we were in a roller coaster. You kind of just getting tossed around in your seat and then there was kind of a lot of silence all of a sudden and we took a big drop. And then we hit the ground, that's when the thing really got kind of screwy. I think the plane cracked in half at that point and all the overhead baggage compartments broke open. And fell down and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Can you imagine that? A passenger on board Continental flight 1404 talking about the frightening crash. At a Denver airport today, Federal investigators still searching for what caused the plane to skid off a runway and catch fire. CNN's Susan Roesgen is in Denver. Susie, good to see you.
What's the latest that we know on the investigation?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know that the National Transportation Safety Board is going to have a news conference here in Denver at 2:30 local time, so just a few hours from now. We don't expect Tony for them to give us a lot of new information because they are as you said, still here. They really just got going. They are now looking through that wreckage and when you look at the aerial pictures of it that were taken in daylight just after the crash, Tony, you can see, it's just amazing that anybody was able to get out, but all 115 passengers did get out.
Right now there are of the six runways here in Denver, five are operating. The one where this plane was just beginning its takeoff is closed because that jet is still about 200 feet off the runway, a Boeing 737. Investigators are going through everything, and what they say they want to do is preserve the perishable evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT SUMWALT, NTSB: Well, for example, skid marks on the runway, people's memories fade and change with time. Anything that can go away or change with the passage of time. We want to go out and document the aircraft condition. The configuration that things are right now before weather moves in or something like that. So anything that could change with the passage of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Interesting, Tony that they mention that people's memory change. You just heard from that passenger who said it was violent shaking on the plane. A lot of passengers have very scary stories to tell; 38 people were injured, mostly bumps and bruises and broken bones. No one was burned. But two people were hurt critically. One is now fair condition. The other is in serious condition.
And the investigators have some good clues that they're going to get from the two black boxes, the voice recorder and the data recorder. They've recovered those. They are in Washington, D.C. In fact they're going to get our cameras a look at those black boxes when they open them up later today, Tony.
HARRIS: And Susie, it sounds like the stories of all of those passengers will be important as the investigators put together the complete picture of what happened here. Susie Roesgen for us.
Susie, good to see you. Thank you.
Call it the perfect storm for a bleak holiday shopping season. Bitterly cold weather on top of recession. Retailers hoping to salvage what they can from what could be one of the worst seasons in decades. Christine Romans of our CNN money team live from New York with details. Christine, good to see you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you Tony.
HARRIS: Christine, retailers really didn't need this bitter cold week as it continues even today across much of the country.
ROMANS: It couldn't have come at a worse time for these guys. When you think about it, the northeast all the snow. It's so cold. I feel like Rob Marciano talking about the extreme weather forecast for the retailers for a variety of reasons. Home prices, worries about jobs, and the surveys, Tony, are showing again and again, people are getting a little bit back to reality.
They're saying things like, oh, I think I need to focus on needs this year, not wants. One survey showed 61 percent of people said they were going to focus on needs, not wants and that has the apparel retailers slashing prices, 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent, free shipping from just about everybody you can think.
Today the last day for online shopping with any hope at all that you might be able to get it with expedited shipping in time for the holidays so there's a lot of web sales today. Over the weekend where there seem to be decent traffic, people are looking for deals. They're looking for discounts, big discounts.
They're looking for -- they're using coupons; 81 percent of people in one survey said that they're going to cut spending this year. People always say that frankly and they don't do it. But we're seeing them do it this year. They're using like discount programs and these memberships and stuff to try to get even more off and all of that just kind of shrinks the margin for the retailer.
So there is some pretty glum faces this holiday in retail land and it's because people just really taking a lot of discounts to get them into the mall or get them into the store. Some of the retailers are facing bankruptcy. They're worried about having to cut more workers. It's really tough there. But two-thirds of our economy is retail spending and so you don't like to say, don't spend, but they are too many people who are in real, real dire financial situations. You can't be out there wracking up the credit card debt when you might lose your job or you're underwater on your mortgage. So there's personal economy and then there's the overall economy. Each of us can only worry about ourselves at this point.
HARRIS: I think you're absolutely right. It is what it is at this point. Christine, good to see you, thank you.
Coping with the country's economic crisis will be job one for the Obama administration. And jobs are the focus of the economic stimulus plan.
In an interview with CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," Vice President- elect Joe Biden talked about the effort to get more Americans working again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: The combination of stopping the projected job loss and creating new jobs will be a total of 2.5 million. We believe we can do that by investing in, as I said, new technologies, by investing in infrastructure, building roads and bridges. All things by the way that add to the productivity of the country, that keep American businesses in America, that generate high paying jobs, that can't be exported.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You can see the interview with Vice President-Elect Biden on "LARRY KING LIVE." That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern.
The slumping global economy causing trouble for Toyota. The Japanese auto maker is predicting a yearly operating loss for the first time since it started reporting results.
CNN's Kyung Lah reports from Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adding to the season of stormy economic news, Toyota Motor Corporation announced for the first time in its 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 round the globe.
KOJI ENDO, CREDIT SUISSE AUTO ANALYST: First time in history. The worst ever.
LAH: What a difference a year makes. Last year Toyota post a record-operating profit. This year, Japan's largest car maker 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 (INAUDIBLE). 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.
So if that engine is sputtering, there's expected to be more trouble ahead. Analysts say nothing can run smoothly until the global consumer feels like buying those made-in-Japan products again.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Several months into the global financial crisis, how are small businesses around the world coping? We take you to a street in London.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kids are making a couple of presents for grandma and grandpa and our holiday party had a little bit more pot luck to it than usual. But overall I think we - we're not cutting back as much as we thought we would, but it's definitely - I mean, everybody is feeling it. People are shopping less and spending less.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Thirteen minutes after the hour.
Let's give you a look at the markets, New York Stock Exchange now, the big board. As you can see, the Dow is down 28 points. We are off of session lows just about two hours into the trading day. We will get a market check in just a couple of minutes with Susan Lisovicz right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. From Wall Street to your street, we are staying on top of financial crisis here at home and around the world.
Our Jim Bolden takes another stroll around his neighborhood in London to see how people he last visited six weeks ago are coping now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOLDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last week we walked down my street, we interviewed my dry cleaner who said things were actually pretty good. He said people were cleaning their clothes more instead of buying new clothes also getting old clothes repaired. Six weeks on, let's see what he has to say.
Hello, mate.
TOUNDJEL CHIMEN, HAMLYN'S DRY CLEANER: Good morning, Jim.
BOLDEN: This time I remembered to bring some of my clothes.
CHIMEN: We were 10 percent down, so 10 percent is quite good.
BOLDEN: Ten percent down is quite good compared to what's happening in the rest of the economy.
CHIMEN: Our repair department has actually doubled. You probably got a few trousers in your wardrobe that the waist needs expanding.
BOLDEN: You did this for me. If you remember, you redid the collars, the cuffs. I would have thrown this out, probably because the cuffs were frayed, but you said you could redo it.
CHIMEN: I think it looks quite nice exactly, a new lease on life.
BOLDEN: You did a good job. I'll take a milk truffle.
Well, the chocolate dealer is doing well. She says she did very well in the last recession. I guess it's the guilty pleasure of chocolate, people will still want to buy this, especially gifts this time of year, even during a recession.
Carol, it's been six weeks since we last visited you. How's it been?
CAROL JACKSON, CAROL'S PLACE CAFE: Six weeks ago we thought we was in trouble, Jim. Six weeks later we know we're in trouble. The work is drying up. Nobody's got contracts running into the New Year.
BOLDEN: So all the builders are key clients?
JACKSON: They're my bread and butter, yes.
BOLDEN: What about us neighbors, what aren't we doing?
JACKSON: I don't think you're having your living room decorated. You're certainly not changing your carpet. You're making do. You're not having your roof extension. I can't put my finger on one thing or one person that's doing well at the moment.
BOLDEN: So Jackie, I have to admit, I've not been in Sheen Uncovered before. I've not been in this store. I haven't risked coming through the door.
JACKIE UPTON, SHEEN UNCOVERED: Shame on you.
BOLDEN: Maybe I'm one of the customers that has affected you in the last few months. How would you say the last few months have been?
UPTON: They've been challenging, i think. We're incredibly lucky here in that we've been established 10 years. We have a lot of very wonderful loyal customers that come back to us.
BOLDEN: Obviously, this is an affluent area, but every store I've talked to have said they have taken a hit. So there is something happening even here. How would you describe that, people buying fewer items, but still coming in?
UPTON: You've hit it on the head. People buy into something. They stick with it, but they might buy less. And that's where it runs into problem with stock and suppliers.
BOLDEN: OK, I'll make you a promise. Just before Valentine's Day I'll come back in.
Thank you very much.
HERO HAMIDI, MANI'S: Speaking to all the local businesses. We're all part of a local group. We're all down by 20 percent and that 20 percent is normally what we would be taking home and paying our mortgages with. Our staff is OK. Our suppliers are OK. Everybody is paid. But there's little left in our pockets at the end of the day.
BOLDEN: OK, I know it's a pun to say this is a sign of the times, but even more interestingly, when Mani's wanted the sign made, it usually takes weeks to get a sign from the local sign maker. This time it took just 24 hours. Apparently he's not very busy.
Jim Bolden, CNN, (INAUDIBLE) London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And next hour we'll take you to a neighborhood in New Delhi, India. Our correspondent there checks in on businesses in her neighborhood.
If you're worried about losing your home this holiday or you have recently lost your job, standby. Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis has critical help for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YESENIA VARGAS, HOLIDAY SHOPPER: Last year we weren't so picky about the prices and sell items. Now we're checking the prices and what's on sale and if we can find a cheaper version of what we're looking for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Shoppers looking for bargains. It makes sense, got to stretch those dollars. Just three days now, shopping days left before Christmas. For those of you with more pressing worries like how to save your home from foreclosure or finding a job.
Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis has some important advice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: This holiday season folks are thinking more about their bottom line than presents and mistletoe and some are just struggling to keep their heads above water. Here's your guide to financial help.
First, if you've lost your job and don't know where to file for unemployment or what benefits you qualify for, check out workforcesecurity.dlleta.gov. There's a two to three week waiting period for benefit, so don't wait to apply.
If you want to find a local career center where you can search job postings or look for retraining opportunities, check out careeronestop.org. If you have a pay dispute with your company after you're laid off, the Department of Labor has a number that you can call to help resolve your issue. That number, 1-866-4-us-wage.
If you're older and you're having trouble making your utility payments or getting prescription medicine, check out benefitscheckup.org. You can find out which Federal, state and local or private programs are available to help you out.
Have you found it more and more difficult to make your monthly mortgage bill? Your first phone call should be to your lender. However, there are some government programs that can help you out. Go to hopenow.com or call 1-888-995-HOPE.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development also has a guide to avoiding foreclosure on its Web site at hud.gov. HUD can also refer you to housing counseling agencies nationwide. They can give you advice on defaults, foreclosures and even reverse mortgages.
If it's the monthly credit card bill that's weighing you down, check out the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. That Web site nfcc.org. You'll be able to talk to a credit counselor one on one about your debt. These counselors may negotiate with your creditors on your behalf or you may be put on a debt management plan where your debt is wiped out in three to five years.
And of course, if you have any questions, send them to me at gerri@cnn.com. We answer those questions right here every Friday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Gerri, thank you, cnnmoney.com has advice and answers. Check out our special report, "America's Money Crisis." That's at cnnmoney.com.
Denver's runway horror. Passengers and first responders recount the terrifying accident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had people that were totally dazed, just had the deer in the headlights type look on them. We had people that were very emotional, crying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: President-elect Barack Obama spending down some time in Hawaii. Obama is vacationing with his family. But it is a working vacation, we're told with jobs and the economy on the agenda. Live now to Honolulu. CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry keeping the president-elect's feet to the fire to be sure.
But I will tell you this and judging from some of those pictures, there was at least one round of golf in for the president- elect today.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Tony.
A working vacation for the president-elect. A working vacation perhaps for the media as well. A lot different than Crawford, Texas, I can tell you that. You're right. The president-elect yesterday did get in a little bit of golf. He's getting in a lot of family time, but he's also keeping a close eye on the financial crisis.
And in fact we've learned over the last 24 hours that he has now increased his goal. He wants to create three million new jobs during his first two years in office because of some dire private forecasts he's gotten from aides saying this recession could be worse than expected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (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 four million jobs next year without drastic action.
BIDEN: We've learned the economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in. 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 auto makers, the latest in a string of taxpayer bailouts.
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R) MINORITY WHIP: What I'm concerned about when we hear these staggering numbers, close to a trillion dollars 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 back- logged 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 one 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: 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Other business being conducted on his working vacation as well. We're told the President-elect is getting daily intelligence briefings here in Hawaii. And also either today or tomorrow his staff will finally be releasing its internal investigation about its contacts with the Illinois governor. As you know, very sensitive political matter there, Tony. HARRIS: OK. And there he is. CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry in Honolulu with the Obama transition team without a tie.
Good to see you, Ed.
Thank you.
HENRY: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: And as Ed mentioned we expect a report by tomorrow of contacts between President-elect Obama staff and embattled Illinois governor Rob Blagojevich. The Obama team has been conducting an internal review of discussions about appointing someone to succeed Obama in the Senate. Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell the vacant seats.
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 and countless questions need to be answered. A family who escaped the Denver runway nightmare spoke with AMERICAN MORNING'S Kiran Chetry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Explain what was going through your mind, Gabriel. At that time when you were trying to make sure you got your son out and that you guys all got out safely?
GABRIEL TREJOS, PASSENGER ON CONTINENTAL FLIGHT 1401: Oh, man. There's so many things going on through my mind. I mean, it's so many thought when something like that's going on. I was just trying to hold my son as hard as I could and making sure he wasn't going to get crushed by the seats. I braced myself up against a chair in front of me because the chairs were kind of getting squished towards my direction. And I thought any moment now I could get squashed with my son inside the seat.
CHETRY: How did you guys get out of the plane? What was that like?
TREJOS: Well, that was -- it was pretty hard because everybody was trying to scramble towards -- from our section everybody was going towards the rear of the plane. And there was luggage in the way because it had fallen. And there was still some luggage falling when we were trying to get out. And I just told them that -- I give the baby to the wife. Because I thought she was going to get out before I was. And I ended up looking toward the center of the plane, and there was less people trying to get out that direction. So, I yelled at my wife, hey, this way is a lot clearer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, all 110 passengers and five crew members on Continental Flight 1404 survived the fiery crash. Let's get a check of the weather now. Rob Marciano in the weather center.
And Rob, we're going to talk to Melody Menendez (sic), she's with KOMO, in just a couple of minutes. And I'm wondering, what are conditions like in the Seattle area. We got to get those people -- I guess there are a lot of people stranded there in the airport. Some for like 16 hours or so who need to get out and get to their holiday destination.
MARCIANO: Seattle, down the road Portland, K2, the sister station, they're all in the midst of this cold snap. That the length of which is really something that hasn't happened in at least over a decade. May be more than that. May very well be unprecedented, at least as far as they've been keeping records. We'll check on that.
But just wave after wave of cold air continues to pour into this part of the country. You've got cold air covered in this part. I mean you've got to go all the way down to South Beach to touch 70. Sixties in southern parts of Texas. But everywhere else really is in the midst of a nasty, nasty cold snap. So enjoy that. Get yourself in the spirit of the the holidays.
But the travel is a problem, obviously. The New York metropolitan airports, there's no precip there right now, but there's a lot winds. You get cross winds cooking at LaGuardia, and that shuts things down pretty rapidly. So, that's going to be an ongoing issue.
Blizzard warnings will be winding down across parts of Maine where in some spots they had over three feet of snow from this system.
All right. So, just what's leftover now is just some lake-effect snow bands. But where these will pile up they'll pile up quite a bit and pile it up in a hurry. So, that's -- we're looking for most of the action.
Wind chills still dangerously cold. Minus 35 is what it feels like in Bismarck. Minus nine is what it feels like in Minneapolis. That's actually warmed up a little bit. And minus 17 is what it feels like currently in Chicago.
And as a reminder, Monday night football there tonight. That's going to be fairly brisk.
All right. Look at all the energy pouring in from the Northwest to down into southern California. Almost to the Baja of California. This is obviously rain down there. But quickly turns to snow at the higher elevations. And Portland getting a little bit of snow right now, and they'll get more as we go along through time. So, this is going to be a big, big issue. I don't see this cold snap really going away for another several days. So, it keeps on coming.
Salt Lake City, you're getting it, as well. At least six inches at the valley floor. Certainly higher in the (INAUDIBLE) in Wasatch (ph) Utah and the Colorado Rockies. Even (INAUDIBLE) of Idaho and the Sierras, of course will continue to get dumped on. Folks who are taking a ski vacation for the holidays are loving life now. Plenty of fresh powder.
HARRIS: Woo hoo. Absolutely. OK. Appreciate it. Thanks, man.
You know that weather that Rob's been talking about has stranded has people at Seattle's airport for 16 hours in some cases and counting. Travel plans and holiday schedules all fouled up.
Melody Mendez with our affiliate KOMO is at the Seattle International Airport.
And Melody, good to see you.
How is the airport doing in getting people to their holiday destinations?
MELODY MENDEZ, KOMO CORRESPONDENT: Right now, not doing so well. I can tell you this, Tony, there are a lot of unhappy holiday travelers inside Sea-Tac right now. And here's why. Take a look at the amount of snow that we're dealing with here in Seattle. And as Rob was just saying, this is something that people in Seattle haven't seen for years. Certainly something they're not used to. This is the conditions getting to the airport. Not just the beginning of their problems because once they're here at Sea-Tac, flying home, well that then becomes the next step of problems in their holiday travels.
The snow and ice this weekend forced three airlines to suspend flights from Sea-Tac. Now, the good news is this morning Alaska and Horizon Airlines both announced they are resuming flights. But the bad news is they're resuming flights at a significantly reduced schedule. And that means thousands of passengers are still stranded here at Sea-Tac.
We took a walk inside just a little while ago. There are hundreds of people and families that are sleeping here. They've set up shop. They've made little beds for themselves in the corners, on benches. Anywhere they can, trying to get some sleep. And they're going to be here for a few days, at least.
Now, if we can pan in, you can kind of get a better idea if we can push inside the airport of the lines that people are dealing with. They've had to set up ropes around the airport and essentially make as much room as possible for these passengers who are all waiting in lines to try and get out on any flight they can.
Now, we're also being told the airport is running out of supplies. A lot of the passengers we spoke to say there's no food for them. There are no drinks inside. All of the shops have virtually sold out of food and water. We spoke to a spokesperson for Sea-Tac a little while ago. He did tell us right now they're just hoping distributors can get here to bring supplies and get food to these passengers, who are looking like they might be stuck here for quite some time. He also did tell us they have gotten more deicer.
So, the runways are clear, and they are open for these planes. But now it's up to each airline to try to catch up for all the cancellations and delays.
HARRIS: My goodness.
MENDEZ: We took a look at the flight boards. Yes. It's just a mess out here; it's crazy. And it's bound to be that way for quite some time now.
HARRIS: Melody, are all of the hotels in the area, are they full?
It's got to be just uncomfortable as all get out to be there in the airport 16, 17 hours. Is it just a case where there's no room at the inn?
MENDEZ: Yes, we are actually seeing a lot of that. I spoke with one passenger a while ago who said he and his wife had to travel to Tacoma. That's about 40 miles south to even get to a hotel that had a room for them to stay in. And they've been here two days now.
HARRIS: Well, Melody, you probably have another crew from your station on the move right now. We're getting word of a warehouse roof collapse. At least two-thirds of a roof of a warehouse has collapsed in the Seattle area. So busy times out there.
Melody Mendez for us from KOMO. Melody, appreciate it. Thank you.
Our i-Reporters have been out and about capturing on camera their winter woes.
Aaron Cloward (ph) tells us so much snow has fallen so quickly in Walla Walla, Washington the snowplows just can't keep up.
And the stores have actually run out of snow chains in Burlington, Massachusetts. John Sullivan shows us the near whiteout conditions there. By Saturday afternoon, a foot of snow had fallen. And more was on the way. Remember, stay safe. But you can share your winter pictures with us. Simply go to ireport.com.
You know the economic downturn has created a familiar sight at food banks across the country. Long lines and some donors from years past are joining this year's seekers.
CNN's John Zarrella reports on one man's dedication to ensure no one goes hungry.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): The line you see behind me is not for some holiday door buster special. It's for a bag of groceries. And the man responsible doesn't know the meaning of the word overwhelmed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got here at 6:35.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Rowina Barr (ph) and Blaneba Woods (ph) got here before the sun came up. They had a feeling the line would be long.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know what the saying says, I'm from the old school. Say mama say it will be days like this. And that's what you're seeing now.
ZARRELLA: The people, some 300 deep, wait for a sack of beans, rice, grits, bread. Maybe a couple of sweets if they're lucky. For 19 years Paul Snow has been serving these less fortunate in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
PAUL SNOW, FOOD PANTRY DIRECTOR: I've got milk from the freezer.
ZARRELLA: When he first opened his food pantry, there were 11 families. Today from the cramped room donated by a local church, snow and the volunteers serve about 1,000 a month.
SNOW: There was a time seven years ago that these same people were donating to us. And now they're coming here for help. It's amazing.
ZARRELLA: With so many people on Main Street hurting and cutting back, donations are down. At one point, Snow put $3,000 of his own money in to keep the pantry open. He calls it emergency food. And he knows people are counting on it more than ever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless him. If you need help, Paul is the right man to deal with.
ZARRELLA: Many of the faces are new.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's $100. That's all I have left to my name.
ZARRELLA: Steve Jones just lost his job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My spirits are high and I'm hoping I get this -- I get some sort of job, man.
ZARRELLA: Jason Gravel (ph), who repairs electric poles, hasn't found work since he came from Texas two months ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never in my life have I ever done anything like this.
ZARRELLA: Gravel, his girlfriend and a neighbor all unemployed.
Snow says he's never seen the need greater. But there's no quit in him.
SNOW: Every time God shuts a door he opens a window.
ZARRELLA: No one will be turned away.
(on camera): Paul Snow says he knows the lines will be getting longer in the months ahead. Is he worried, discouraged? Not Paul Snow. He says he'll just have to work harder, that much harder. John Zarrella, CNN, Hallandale Beach, Florida.
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HARRIS: From putting food on the table to keeping a roof over your head, in the next hour a teacher and a priest, one trying to save the home he lives in with his parents, the other trying to save the homes of many others. A whole lot of folks are facing Christmas without a job. Will the new year bring new hope? We will check in with Wall Street on this holiday shortened week in just a moment.
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MARY PAT MATHESON, EXECUTIVE DIR., ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN: This project is very special. Not only to us, but to the city and the United States. It's a visionary project. It allows people to get into the canopy of one of Atlanta's few woodlands left at the canopy level.
We've had some of the finest engineers and designers on this project for the last year and a half. We will go forward with it.
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HARRIS: OK. That's the executive director of the Atlanta Botanical Garden. She reopened the site this morning for the first time since Friday's fatal construction accident. Let's go there live now.
Anissa Centers of CNN affiliate WSB joins us from the botanical gardens.
Anissa, I guess I want to start by asking you if there's anything new on the investigation.
ANISSA CENTERS, WSB REPORTER: There's nothing new right now. There is an OSHA investigator working at the site right now. In fact, OSHA investigators work throughout the weekend. But we're told by them that it still could be months before we know exactly what went wrong with this accident.
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MATHESON: I'd ask you for a minute -- a moment of silence to remember Mr. Chupin and the other people who are healing in the hospital and their families today.
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CENTERS: With that, the executive director of the Atlanta Botanical Garden began a news conference to announce the garden has set up a special fund to help the victims of Friday's walkway collapse. With a trembling voice, she continued on to explain the Jonquil Fund. MATHESON: The Jonquil is a beautiful daffodil. It's fragrant. It's lovely. It comes in the spring when the earth is green again and renewing again. And it is symbolic for sympathy.
CENTERS: The money visitors pay to tour the garden through the rest of this year will go into the fund. One construction worker, Angel Chupin, died when a temporary support system collapsed. Workers had been using the scaffolding-like structure to build a canopy walkway visitors will one day use to view the garden from the tree tops.
The collapse injured 18 others. Some are still in the hospital with severe spinal and brain injuries.
Matheson says she spent the last few days visiting injured workers in the hospital. So did the president of the construction company building the walkway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amidst that tragedy and pain was healing that was already taking place. And that was truly wonderful to see. We all hope that this fund in some way will lend support to those families that have experienced such heartbreak in the past few days.
CENTERS: Garden supporters say knowing their admission fee will help support the men hurt by this tragedy gives the garden experience special meaning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We live right on 14th Street. We go there a couple times a years. I would certainly encourage all of my neighbors to go. It's a big tragedy.
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CENTERS: The folks with the garden wanted to make it clear, they wanted visitors to know that it was not the actual canopy walkway that collapsed, it was the support structure that the construction workers would use to access and be able to build onto it.
Reporting live in midtown Atlanta, Anissa Centers, WSB for CNN.
HARRIS: OK, Anissa, appreciate it. Thank you.
And just moments ago, we told you about a partial roof collapse at a warehouse building in Seattle. We've got some -- the first pictures now, an aerial view of that partial collapse. I think you can see it right there in the center of the screen. About two-thirds of the roof, we're told, of this warehouse collapsed in Marysville, that's north of Seattle.
As you can see, really under the weight of all the snow. The collapse apparently caused a real mess inside the building. Sprinklers going off. There was also a gas leak associated with the collapse which we understand is now under control. The metal building houses Whitley Evergreen. And that is a company that manufactures mobile homes and sheds. At least at this point we're told no injuries have been reported. To business news now. Nearly two million Americans have lost their jobs this year. Will 2009 be a fresh start? We certainly hope so. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with a look at what to expect.
Good to see you, Susan. Good morning.
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HARRIS: And with the end of the year approaching, now is a good time to make sure you're on track with your financial goals. Christine Romans has advice from an expert on how to get financially fit in 2009. And it is right on your money.
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ROMANS: 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 No. 1 resolution.
HILARY KRAMER, AUTHOR, "AHEAD OF THE CURVE": When it comes to budgeting, especially in 2009, look for the big expenses that you're 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 the debit card is that you're able to sit down and look at extended periods 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.
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HARRIS: An economy that strains your wallet and tests your faith. Americans flock to church in these trying times.
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HARRIS: Foreclosures are climbing and so is the nation's unemployment. Times like these can really test your faith. So, when the economy goes to -- well, you know -- do Americans seek comfort in church?
CNN's Susan Candiotti takes a look.
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SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the economy's sagging, so is the collection basket. But pews are packed at Evangelical churches and membership is growing despite an economy on the brink. Preachers say it's easy to explain.
REV. A.R. BERNARD, CHRISTIAN CULTURAL CENTER: We focus on encouraging then, trusting, having faith in spite of the circumstances.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I promise to meet all of your needs according to my riches and glory. Not the economy.
CANDIOTTI: At Brooklyn's Megawatt Culture Christian Center, attendance is up 20 percent and Reverend's A.R. Bernard's message tailor to tough times.
BERNARD: You lose your job, you lose your home, you lose your car because it's repossessed. But don't lose your faith.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): So, you're saying trust in God?
BERNARD: As long as you have your faith, as long as you have hope, you can get another house. You can get another car.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): At the Life Christian Church and others, Evangelical growth also may be a matter of style. More contemporary than main line Protestant churches.
REV. TERRY SMITH, LIFE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: It's about a denomination. It's about a building. It's about history and tradition. All those things are good and fine. But that's not what meets people's needs.
CANDIOTTI: According to a Texas State University study, during every recession cycle between 1968 and 2004, Evangelicals have mushroomed.
PROF. DAVID BECKWORTH, TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY; If I'm someone who's lost my job and looking to feed my family. And I have a choice between a church that sells me that message, or one's that's more intellectual, more abstract about God, I'm going to go for the one with certainty.
CANDIOTTI: Debra Mills lost her accounting job this week, after 34 years. An Evangelical, her trust is in God.
DEBRA MILLS, EVANGELICAL: You never put your trust in man, you always put your trust in God. Even though God per se is not going to literally put a meal on your table, but God will provide.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): And with no economic salvation apparent in the near future, for many, spiritual salvation may be the only path to better times. Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
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HARRIS: Well, it feels like a question of the morning. Is the weather preventing you from getting to your holiday destination? It is certainly the case for our friends in Seattle, at SEA-TAC International Airport.
Our severe weather expert Chad Myers checks your forecast in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
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