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De-Icer Chemicals Seep into Alaskan Jet; Utah Avalanche Kills Two Snowmobilers; Falling Retail Prices: Good for Boosting Spending?
Aired December 24, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD LUI, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): From sea to shining sea, beautiful snow-covered scenes and cranky delayed travelers who don't know whether or not they will be home for Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have had one patient tell me that he was spending at least $2,000 a week on this.
LUI: Thrill seekers at the best of times, and many Wall Streeters using sex to cope with some of the worst.
And what has gotten into grandma? Japanese stores grapple with a growing trend, senior citizen shoplifters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: Hi. I'm Richard Lui in for Kyra Phillips, and we are live in the CNN Headquarters in Atlanta.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
First off for you, millions of folks in the United States may stop and think again before they wish for a white Christmas. On this very Christmas Eve, for you, thousands of travelers are still trying to make their way home for the holiday. In the Northeast, including New Jersey, snow and ice-covered roads are making for slow going.
Then, in Indiana, traveling is treacherous in spots. A 30-mile stretch of Interstate 69 had to be shutdown for about four hours, but it is now opened again. And to on the West Coast, to our friends out there, Oregon and Washington are reeling from days of snow and ice, too. And more bad weather is on the way.
OK, we want to get now more on the situation at one of the world's busiest airports, Chicago's O'Hare. They're trying to catch up after canceling hundreds of flights yesterday.
Here is Regina Waldrop from our affiliate CLTV.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REGINA WALDROP, REPORTER, CLTV NEWS (on camera): Well, Happy Holidays, but no happy traveling for folks who were stranded at O'Hare. You can expect a very busy travel day here as airlines work to rebook those passengers on other flights.
(voice over): Anxious, frustrate and stranded. Holiday plans on hold for dozens of travelers this Christmas Eve. Chicago's cruel weather caused major headaches for folks. When snow moved in Tuesday, the problems piled up at the nation's second busiest airport. More than 500 flights were grounded. Those stranded camped out where they could at the airport. Four months pregnant this Army specialist and her two-year-old son hunkered down on the floor and they are hoping to get to Baltimore today.
Nancy Diera (ph) has been stranded here since Sunday. She's trying to get to Seattle to spend the holiday with her fiance. Her Christmas wish? Not to spend another night in Chicago. And there are probably hundreds of other travelers who feel the same way.
(on camera): Well, today's snowstorm has led to more cancellations here at O'Hare, so if you are planning to fly out of here today, make sure you pack lots of patience.
Reporting from O'Hare Airport, I'm Regina Waldrop for CLTV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: Well all this weather is playing a role in a medical emergency this morning, at Sea-Tac Airport. Seven people were sent to hospital after chemicals were used to de-ice an Alaskan airline plane somehow got sucked into its ventilation system. Reporter David Quinlan from affiliate KIRO joins us for an update right now.
David, I guess the concern is how are the people after inhaling this?
DAVID QUINLAN, REPORTER, KIRO: Right, Richard. Some intense moments here at Sea-Tac International Airport this morning. Seven crew members, we are just learning, that seven crew members were taken to the hospital, just minor injuries here, but there were 143 passengers on board of the plane this morning when apparently that de-icing chemical seeped into the ventilation system on board of that Alaskan Airliner bound for Burbank.
The good news here is that the flight, that 143 passengers who have been waiting patiently all morning to make it back home for the holidays. They took off at around 10:30 this morning, so they should be arriving in Southern California here within the next hour or so.
Again, the paramedics are on hand. They did evaluated the 143 passengers that came off of that plane. Apparently, a lot of people, more than 20 passengers were complaining of irritated eyes, chest pains, and that they had a hard time breathing. But the good news, once again, no serious injuries -- Richard.
LUI: You know, David, as we talk about this, airplanes are big airtight tubes, basically.
QUINLAN: Right.
LUI: The question is, any word on how this got inside of the plane?
QUINLAN: Well, that is the $1 million question. In fact, that airliner right now is parked outside the terminal. It is not going anywhere until investigators figure out how exactly this happened. But apparently it went through the ventilation system somehow, that is when passengers started smelling the fumes. We understand they were out there for 45 minutes before the plane taxied back to the terminal and the passengers then were able to get out of the plane.
LUI: All right. David Quinlan, from our affiliate KIRO. Thank you for the very latest on that.
Sea-Tac airport, again, that Alaska Airlines flight that had an issue with de-icing fumes getting inside. Appreciate it.
You know we talked about one plane there, let's talk about more now. Meteorologist Chad Myers, keeping a track of what's happening right now on the weather map. Plus what folks are doing as they try to get around the country.
And, boy, a lot of people trying to get to grandma's house?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and unfortunately, we have a flight tracker. There it is. Unfortunately, we can tell you what is the going on. I wish I didn't have to be the bearer of such good news. But planes are not getting where they need to be at this hour. We have less than 5,000 planes in the sky. Every dot you see on the map here this is a flight out of Newark. About 60 planes, 60 dots on this map right now. There should be well in excess of about 100 now. So that means that at least --what? -- 40 percent of the planes are not in the air like they should be, in some of these airports.
And mainly the Northeast airports are the ones that have been the most slow for today, because of low visibility, and the rainfall coming in. Chicago is actually clearer today than it was yesterday even though you are seeing some light snow. Had delays earlier in Houston. They have cleared up. Continental doing actually fairly well today. Still some rain in Cleveland, one of their other hubs.
Back out towards Seattle, it's snowing and 27 there. Snowing in Portland, and 28. It does warm up in Portland, though, all of the way to 34 tonight. So although snow is sticking right now, it won't stick all night long. I did look at some of these ridiculous ski and snow amounts from Utah and Colorado from yesterday, and more snow coming in. Wolf Creek, Colorado, 87 inches of snow already this year. And this is just a couple of days into the winter season.
The rain showers tomorrow are across the Deep South. Literally tomorrow is in great shape in the East. And tomorrow, if you are skiing in the West, you're in great shape, too.
Driving out West is going to be a problem, because most of the snow, Richard, well below the pass levels. If you live out there, you know what that means. That you have to drive over passes to get from one valley to the other valley, and in excess of 300 or 400 feet in elevation, you're into snow already. And the passes may go all the way up to 3,000 or 4,000 feet. So you have a lot of snow to deal with if you are driving, and traveling out there.
LUI: And as you were saying, Chad, most folks have already made it over those passes and hopefully made it to their destination, and are ready to kick up their feet and enjoy the holiday.
MYERS: You know, those people who had to work today are going, I should have left on Monday.
(LAUGHTER)
LUI: Oh, yes, that's right. All right, Chad, thanks for all the latest there.
Of course, we have the weather here, right on the side panel. If you would like to see what some of the delays are across the country, as well as at the bottom of the screen for your part of the country.
You know a Canadian woman who spent several days in a snowy field said that her faith kept her alive. Donna Molnar got caught in a blizzard Friday after going out to buy some groceries. Her car was found the next day, but search teams could not get it out until Sunday. Rescue dogs found Molnar Monday, buried under some very heavy snow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. MARK COX, HAMILTON POLICE: I can honestly say that I didn't expect to find her alive, but the hope was there, and that is why we keep going.
DAVID MOLNAR, HUSBAND OF RESCUED WOMAN: It is a good Christmas for us. It's the best Christmas gift ever, and it certainly could have been a lot worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: Molnar has frostbite. She is in a hospital in serious, but stable condition.
Caught up in a real nightmare commute; yesterday's water main break outside of D.C. trapped at least nine people in their cars. Some of them, up to an hour in that water as the icy water around them rose. And as time passed, panic grew as well. Here is part of one woman's 911 call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see anything! I need help!
911 OPERATOR: Ma'am, we are on our way. We will be there very shortly. I have units responding to you now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I can't see anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: Well, that lady, and everybody else made it out OK. Meanwhile, utility officials still do not know what caused that water main break.
The suspect in a series of rush hour highway shooting near Dallas is a former Utah state trooper. Police say ballistics tests linked Brain Smith to at least three attacks, one of them was fatal. After the attacks police say that Smith tried to commit suicide. Authorities assured drivers that roadways are now safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. CRAIG MILLER, DALLAS POLICE: At this time, we don't feel there is a threat. And the people don't need to be concerned about being on the freeways, and it is safe to be out and about as you are doing your Christmas shopping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: In all, there were four shootings. Police still don't know if Smith is responsible for fatal shooting that we mentioned.
Holidays are no, folks in the U.S. still are not spending like we used to. We learned today that November was the fifth month, in a row, consumer spending has dropped. And that is the longest slump of 50 years of record keeping, but that is only half of the story for you. Last month's decline was due in large part to a plunge in gas prices.
Factor those out, and spending actually rose .06 of 1 percent. Incomes dropped last month, as well, for the first time since July. That is a result of growing unemployment, as seen in another figure; 586,000 first-time claims for jobless benefits, that is up 30,000 from the week before. And is a much larger increase than experts expected.
So if you get a check this month, out of the blue from Wachovia Bank, first thing? Cash it, then deposit it, just don't assume it is a fake and fraud and then trash it.
Wachovia is mailing out more than 740,000 checks worth more than $150 million to people who ordered from certain telemarketers between 2003-2007.It seems here, that buyers got ripped off and because the sellers kept accounts at Wachovia, the bank was on the hook. The payouts are part of a federal court settlement. So the bottom line for you, the checks are for real and the timing, so far, as we know it, just a coincidence.
It is the day before Christmas, and while visions of sugar plums may be dancing some heads, many retailers can only dream of something else, profits. It has been a miserable shopping season, but are all those sale prices boosting consumer confidence?
CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They may as well be ringing alarm bells at retail stores nationwide. All those signs of deep discounts on the doorstep of Christmas are signs of a brutally cold holiday sale season. Sure, that is great news for consumers with enough confidence to buy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went up to register and found out it was 25 percent off, and I didn't even know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can buy one, and get one free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like 25 percent off, 30 percent off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have been doing very well with the sales.
FOREMAN: But all of that is terrible for the retailers. The International Council of Shopping Centers is predicting the worst shopping holiday season in decades, with sales falling 2 percent where they usually rise. With retail accounting for a quarter of the jobs lost already this year, this will cost even more. As it is, our latest CNN/Research Opinion poll shows more than nine out of 10 Americans think the economy is in poor shape.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it will get worse before it gets better.
FOREMAN (on camera): That is not very encouraging.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is what I think.
KEATING HOLLAND, CNN POLLING DIRECTOR: Yes, 66 percent say economic conditions are very poor. I'm not sure we have ever seen anything like that in recent polling history. At any rate, this time last year it was only about 21 percent saying that things were very poor. And that was, as you will recall, is when this recession officially began.
FOREMAN: Even those who are spending like Angie Bracer are keeping a careful eye on the bottom line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know in like Wal-Mart and other locations like that, they definitely have lowered the prices.
FOREMAN: Much lower than usual?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think so, Absolutely. I'm a bargain shopper. I don't pay top dollar for anything unless I absolutely have to.
FOREMAN (on camera): Looking for good news? Well, our poll also found that most of you think the economy will be doing better by next Christmas.
Tom Foreman, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: It may seem like the only bright spot in our economy is falling prices, but deflation may take the wind out of those sails. An economist joins us live in the NEWSROOM to show us exactly why cost cuts might not be such good news.
And how do you take your stocking coal? One lump, or two? Who has been naughty? Who has been really naughty this year in politics?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: 'Tis the season for list making. We wouldn't presume to speak for Santa here, but we wondered which politician that you would put on top of this year's naughty list.
Sorry, Governor. Rod Blagojevich, you allegedly tried to sell a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, was named by 56 percent in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, as the naughtiest this year. Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer came in a distant second at 23, former North Carolina senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards came in third, and those two were caught up sex scandals.
So the president-elect is soaring in a poll on pre-inauguration job approval, meanwhile, more than eight in 10 U.S. citizens approve of how Barack Obama is handling his transition to power. The best so- called honeymoon of any incoming president in at least three decades. And 2/3 of people in the U.S. approved of Bill Clinton's transitions in 1992. George W. Bush scored a 65, back in 2001.
Let's talk more about President-elect Obama. Christmas in Hawaii for him. And a pretty nice end to a pretty good year for the Obama family, but even there, even now, the outside world intervenes. Namely the Rod Blagojevich, the governor who supposedly wanted to sell Obama's old Senate seat. We have seen the report from Obama's lawyer saying nobody on the transition team did anything inappropriate.
And now we see Ed Henry waiting for Santa on the beach, as he has been doing for the last bunch of days.
Ed, if we can talk business for a second first, does this close the books on the Blagojevich matter as far as president-elect?
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, team Obama certainly hopes so, Richard. But it is unlikely that it will completely close those this chapter, because let's face it, there is still an open criminal investigation that Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has. He has been looking at Rod Blagojevich for years now, long before this latest chapter in this sordid tale.
And so there are going to be a lot more interviews moving forward, of various people connected to this scandal. There could be a trial in the days ahead, obviously, and there could be other revelations that we just don't know about right now. But we have to stress that for now, there is absolutely no evidence of any wrongdoing by anyone in the president-elect's orbit at all.
But we did learn yesterday from this internal report that last week the president-elect of the United States actually went in for a direct interview with the Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. That is extremely rare, as you know, for a incoming president to sit down for an interview in a criminal matter just weeks before taking office. That gives you the idea that the nature of this, how serious this whole investigation is.
But as you noted the internal Obama report shows that there was very little contact between the team Obama and team Blagojevich, that essentially the president-elect did not have any direct contact with the governor about who would replace him in the Senate. And that Rahm Emanuel, the incoming White House chief of staff, did have contact both with the governor and the governor's former chief of staff. But that there was never any quid pro quo mentioned in there.
There was no, OK, if the governor appoints so and so to the Senate seat to succeed Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, then in exchange Governor Blagojevich is going to get this appointment or is going to get this money, or this or that. Nothing like that.
But I think that the bottom line is that we have to remember that this is an internal Obama report about Obama people, so it is not a surprise that it says that there was no wrongdoing. That is why I say that we still have to wait in the weeks ahead, and the months ahead, for what the prosecutor finds in this case. It is always possible -- and I stress possible -- that the prosecutor could interview other people familiar with all of this and say, wait, my recollection is different from Rahm Emanuel's. And then they could have a problem down the road.
But all of that is speculative, and the fact of the matter is, that right now, there is absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing by anyone in the president-elects inner circle -- Richard.
LUI: OK, thank you very much. Ed Henry, who is on the beach, having a very warm holiday, I guess. Right, my friend?
HENRY: Oh, absolutely, Richard. I'm sure it's very warm out East, right?
LUI: No, it is actually in the 20s and 30s, my friend.
HENRY: Oh, I'm sorry.
LUI: Yes, exactly.
HENRY: I didn't mean to rub it in.
LUI: Yes, we are going to make you do that more often. Working the cold, that's what we're going to do -- in board shorts, no less. All right. Ed Henry, thank you so much.
HENRY: See you.
LUI: We are just getting in information right now about an avalanche coming out of Utah. The initial information that we have, according to the Associated Press is that Sheriff Lt. Matt Bilodeau is saying that a slide happened at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, in an area called Logan Peak. And what we are confirming, able to confirm at the moment is that we have two people dead. We have an official on the line right now, I believe, who can speak about this now, about the very latest.
Is that correct? Hello?
LT. MATT BILODEAU, CACHE COUNTY, UTAH SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Hello, how we doing?
LUI: Very, very good. So what do you understand about the situation?
BILODEAU: We had some snowmobilers on the backside of Logan's Peak, in Cache County, Utah. They were in an area called the Rodeo Ground. They were up there snowmobiling and an avalanche occurred. Two people were trapped. They have both been recovered.
LUI: Now Sheriff Matt Bilodeau, here, can you tell me, is this area off limits?
BILODEAU: No.
LUI: It is not off limits. So any number of snowmobilers could go back to the area. Are they warned about the situation that there could be an avalanche of this sort?
BILODEAU: Yes, there has been -- the media has been putting that in the paper and the radio and on TV, that it has been extreme this last little while after the new snowfall that we had. We had the first snowfall. It kind of glazed over, and then the new snowfall over that. So we are part of the area up here in the mountains that is considered to be extreme at this time.
LUI: Do you know what the age, or where these two people were from?
BILODEAU: All I can confirm at this time is that one is a male. The other one, we have not gotten down from the mountain at this time, so we don't know who it is.
LUI: Do you know how long ago this had happened; 10:30, they were caught in the initial avalanche, is what you are guessing at this moment?
BILODEAU: Well, at 10:30, we received a call down here, in the valley floor, somebody up at the scene had a satellite phone and made that call to us.
LUI: How many people commonly snowmobile in this area?
BILODEAU: This area is very popular and all of the mountains to the east of Logan are very well used by snowmobilers.
LUI: And the proximity, 82 miles north of Salt Lake City, here, Sheriff, I imagine you have a lot of folks flying that will fly in to Salt Lake and then go up to this area, not only for snowmobiling, but perhaps even some heli-skiing, is that right?
BILODEAU: We don't have that much traffic with the heli-skiing. We do have a lot of people this time of year that come to visit family and they do the things that they used to do, when they lived in this area going snowmobiles, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. Those are the main three that they do up in these mountains here.
LUI: And so, Sheriff, what are you telling people now that would like to go out snowmobiling, or snow-shoeing at this moment?
BILODEAU: We are still in extreme avalanche danger. They need to have a lot of experience, be prepared to be in the back country and take into account they need to stay on probably the areas that have less of a slope to them.
LUI: OK, Lieutenant Matt Bilodeau, on the phone with us. Thank you so much for the very latest.
Again, an avalanche that has happened in Logan's Canyon, there, about 82 miles north of Salt Lake City, confirming two people dead. We have the very latest. And we will, of course, stay on top of that story for you.
He needed work. He has a family to feed, so this carpenter took matters into his own hands.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: Some might say it is the car of the future. Not only could it save you money on gas, it doesn't need any. Using it means you can cancel your gym membership, too.
CNN's Rob Marciano explains it in today's "Eco Solutions" segment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When powering the green car of the future, one man is turning to Fred Flintstone for inspiration. Charles Greenwood is the creator of the human car, an automobile powered by you and me, and maybe a few of your friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go, all of the way forward, and all of the way back.
CHARLES GREENWOOD, INVENTOR, HUMAN CAR: Just exactly like an engine firing around a four cylinder cycle. So in this case, we can see that we have one, two, three, four -- there's firing around a firing order.
MARCIANO: The vehicle is made entirely out of recycled plastics and can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. The handles rowing handles produce electricity that moves the car forward. And if you don't feel like rowing, well, an electric motor takes over. And it is more than just a vehicle, designers say it could also be a power supply for your home. This is the imagined PS Power Station. Theoretically, you could operate a hundred of these vehicles to create a 100 kilowatt power station.
MARCIANO: The Human Car costs a little more than $15,000 bucks, and a final design is set to roll out on Earth Day 2009. Rob Marciano, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: Our economic crisis is inflating fears about deflation, so what does it mean anyway? And why could it be worse than inflation? Experts are about to tell us what this is all about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: All right. About 31 minutes after the hour for you. Here are some of the stories that we are working on in the CNN NEWSROOM for you.
A medical emergency has grounded an Alaska airlines plane Sea-Tac airport. De-icing chemicals somehow got into the ventilation system and fumes filled the cabin. Passengers and crew reported nausea and really bad eye irritation.
It is busy. It is a frustrating Christmas Eve for some. At airports and on roads across the country thousands of travelers are still battling cold, wet, snowy weather trying to make their way home.
And a beauty queen among eight people arrested in a weapons bust in Mexico. Laura Zunega (ph) and the other suspects were traveling in a convoy allegedly carrying a cache of guns and $50,000.
You are paying less at the pump, the cost of cars are dropping and it seems just about every retailer is having a sale. But that is not necessarily a good thing. Falling prices may be last on your list of concerns because some economists fear we may be slumping into a state of deflation. Emory University finance professor Ray Hill joins us right now.
Professor, let's go to the dictionary first, why don't we, about what deflation is. It says here, according to Oxford, it's "characterized by a rise in the value of money and fall in prices, wages and credit usually accompanied by a rise in unemployment."
OK. A little complicated. Break that down for us in terms of what deflation means.
RAY HILL, ASST. PROF., FINANCE, EMORY UNIVERSITY" All right. Well, I think about it much more simply. It means that prices in general are going down instead of going up. You can think about that as the Consumer Price Index is rising -- I'm sorry -- is falling instead of rising.
LUI: Yes, let's talk about the Consumer Price Index. The last three or four months we have it trending now about negative 10 percent, meaning prices are going down. For us, we are trying to get more out of our dollar, that's good initially.
Is that good for the economy?
HILL: Well, not necessarily. And in fact, it could be a real problem.
There are two reasons. One is that when prices fall, if wages and salaries don't also fall, then businesses get their margins squeezed and unemployment goes up. So we've got to have wages and salaries coming down, but that is hard for us to do in this economy. We don't do a very good job. You can look at the auto industry and see that.
LUI: We don't react well, is what you are saying?
HILL: We don't react well down. We're fine when it comes to raising things.
LUI: Right.
HILL: The other problem we have is germane to this particular economy. We're in a mortgage crisis. What happens is that one person's price is another person's income. And when incomes are falling and the mortgage I have to repay is constant, then that makes the whole mortgage crisis even worse. It is harder for people to repay those mortgages.
LUI: Because you keep on having to pay that monthly bill.
So, the Consumer Price Index being down about 3 percent since August, or trending about 10 percent, not necessarily good.
Another thing that we want to go down, oil prices. And in fact, I was just looking at the latest here from our New York bureau. The (INAUDIBLE) light crude for February settled at $35.35 --
HILL: Wow.
LUI: We are down tremendously, under 40 bucks a barrel now. Is that good for us?
HILL: Well, that is good. That is one price we don't mind going down because a lot of the dollars that we are paying for oil are going outside this country. They're not coming back into the economy.
LUI: That's a key point, outside the country, right?
HILL: That's -- absolutely.
LUI: Not here.
HILL: We're all getting wealthier, essentially, by having the price of oil come down.
LUI: OK. We'll take that. We'll take that, Professor Hill. I want to move to things that we want to go up. And you sort of talked about that a moment ago, those are our housing values. That is going down, we're looking at about $181,000 average price across the country. We saw a high of like $220,000, above that, in 2006. This is our main asset.
HILL: Well, that has caused a lot of pain in the net worth of households. But I think we need to be more modest. I'm not looking for a rise in housing prices, certainly don't want to go back to where we were in the 2005-2006. What we'd like to see is the drop stop, housing prices stabilize, take uncertainty out of the economy.
LUI: Give me the silver lining, Professor?
HILL: Well, I'm a great optimist about our economy. We outperform every industrialized economy for the last 20 years, and now we are in a cyclical downturn. And a lot of this is -- that's what happens in our economy. Every now and then we stumble. We've got to work our way through it, but we'll get back on track.
LUI: And all we have to do is look back eight years to 2001. We've already been through, well, one could say, one full cycle, right, in that amount of time? So we sometimes forget that.
HILL: Absolutely. And we created a huge number of jobs after that 2001 slowdown. We tend to forget that right now.
LUI: Professor Hill, in finance, from Emory University, thank you so much for stopping by. I know you're going to go back and finish roasting that veal for your family, right?
HILL: Yes I am.
LUI: Save a piece for me, would you?
HILL: All right.
LUI: Thank you.
You know when we look at the economy, as we've been talking about it with Professor Hill, it is easy to focus on the losses, but when Wall Street tanks, business booms for Manhattan therapists. And counseling is not the only kind of therapy many stressed out bankers and traders are turning to.
CNN's Randi Kaye has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are tough times.
JONATHAN ALPERT, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I'm seeing a lot of people presenting for sex addiction.
KAYE: Manhattan therapist Jonathan Alpert says more and more of them are paying for sex. ALPERT: Some people may drink to cope with stress, others may use drugs. These people are using sex as a way to distract themselves or numb up some of the feelings of anxiety.
KAYE: Alpert says his patients' sexual encounters have more than doubled since the spring. High end call girls, Asian massage parlors, strip clubs. He's heard it all.
ALPERT: I've had one patient tell me that he was spending at least $2,000 a week on this, and for someone who lost a job that can be a significant amount of cash that digs into perhaps their mortgage payment or to pay for their child's schooling.
KAYE: Alpert says his patients aren't thinking about that. Wall Streeters are thrill seekers.
ALPERT: A lot of what they get from using the adult services mirrors that of what they see -- what they experience on Wall Street, that rush, that thrill, that power, that control. The same is true with the use of a prostitute. They can have their way, they are the center of the world for that hour. Pay enough money and the prostitute will treat you like royalty.
KAYE (on camera): So instead of managing money, they are managing women?
ALPERT: Exactly.
KAYE (voice-over): Therapist Jodi Conway says her patients are also using sex to fill a void. A few were even caught surfing pornography.
JODI CONWAY, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: When they have more a lot more time on their hands, where they may be looking for jobs by way of the computer, they can detour onto other sites where they have been before looking at pornography.
KAYE: Alpert says this looks all too familiar. Remember New York Governor Eliot Spitzer? Got caught paying for a prostitute. And actor David Duchovny voluntarily entered treatment for sexual addiction last summer. But it's not just men. Alpert says Wall Street women are seeking out sex too.
ALPERT: They may pick up people at bars and clubs. So they are not paying for the service, but they're sexualizing some of their feelings. So they might have indiscriminate sex.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: Well, Randi points out for us that Asian massage parlors have been part of the Wall Street culture for decades. But therapists say many clients really just want to talk. Their wives, evidentially, do not want to hear they've lost all their money, so they talk to call girls instead.
At this time of the year, many people retell the story of a famous carpenter. We've got the story of another carpenter. He's not so famous, but his story will inspire you and remind you of the Christmas spirit.
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LUI: The jolly old man with the long white beard. When is he going to reach your house? We'll find out exactly where Santa Claus is right now on this Christmas Eve.
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LUI: Travelers this Christmas week have some horror stories to tell, and this one is a doozy. Katie MacKinzie, a student at Smith College, is stuck in New York after trying for days to fly home to Portland, Oregon. She first tried to fly out of JFK Friday morning and she can't even get her luggage back right now.
She is with us now on the phone.
Katie, how are you doing?
VOICE OF KATIE MACKINZIE, STRANDED PASSENGER: I'm doing great. How about you?
LUI: I'm OK. But I think I'm doing better than you. You've been in the airport -- is it for six days? You're trying to get to your home in Portland, Oregon?
MACKINZIE: Pretty much. I actually started in Hartford. And then I didn't get into New York until Sunday night.
LUI: So tell me what has happened? How many stops have you had? Do you have any idea when you're going to be able to get home to Portland, Oregon?
MACKINZIE: Well, I have made (ph) a few stops. I started in Hartford and I was supposed to leave Friday, but that was canceled. Saturday canceled, Sunday delayed.
LUI: And no what about the long lines? Has it been tough for you?
MACKINZIE: Oh, they have been extremely long. When I was waiting on Sunday just to confirm my flight I got in line two different times, and both times it was two hours long just to talk to somebody.
LUI: And now your luggage has already made the trip though, hasn't it? It is already there in Portland, Oregon?
MACKINZIE: Well, they told me that. But I didn't actually get that confirmed. But apparently Delta has a policy where your bag makes it to its final destination whether you are there or not.
LUI: Now, I don't know if you can see this, but do you want to go to Portland, Oregon? There is a lot of snow there. It's a pretty tough place right now.
MACKINZIE: I would love to be there. We -- we're not used to the snow. I'm so sad I'm missing it. My friends are sledding, and I'm missing out on it.
LUI: Now, in fact talking about your friends, you were saying that you had gone to the airport anyway, even though you had heard your flight was canceled. Some of your friends made it out OK, but you didn't.
MACKINZIE: I think I had the worst timing out of everyone. Most of my friends made the deadline and they were able to leave Friday morning and mine was just around 1:30, so I missed the cutoff. Because right around 3:00 it started to downpour, the snow storm came in. So I missed my flight.
LUI: What are your folks telling you now? They can't wait for you to be home no doubt.
MACKINZIE: Oh yes, I have been on the phone with my mom at least couple hours to try to see if I can get home any sooner, because at one point they told me I'd be getting home on the 26th.
LUI: Well there are your tickets.
And what are you doing now right now? Are you just sitting in a waiting room?
MACKINZIE: No I'm actually -- I was fortunate enough and I had friends in New York. But it was trains, planes and automobiles trying to get up here. I had to take a bus and then a train just to get up.
LUI: OK. So you're in a hotel right now is what you're saying?
MACKINZIE: No, I'm with a family friend.
LUI: OK, great.
MACKINZIE: Before I was in a hotel.
LUI: Katie MacKinzie, we hope the best for you. Six days in the making. It will be a very well deserved celebration when you finally get to Portland, Oregon, no doubt.
MACKINZIE: Yes, it will be.
LUI: All right. Have a very good holiday, my friend.
MACKINZIE: Thank you.
LUI: The most important holiday traveler of all today, Santa Claus. Our Chad Myers is tracking the jolly old fellow in the CNN weather center for us.
Hey, Chad. Lots of trips back to the North Pole, refilling and things like that. Last time you told us he had to go back three times, right?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: He has already been back three times. Yes.
And I haven't seen this in the past really, not like this. So maybe he understands that people don't have the money that they want --
LUI: There you go.
MYERS: -- and he is going to fill that void. He is going to give you what you want. And so, hey, maybe those diamond rings are not all that out of the question.
United Arab Emirates, that's where he is right now. Still seems like he has about four hours before he gets to the UK, and that is when -- that is his last stop before he makes his way over to Iceland and Greenland and then over to Newfoundland. And as that happens, then he is in North America.
He flies down into Belize and gets down also into Brazil and then he's on up into America -- in North America. So you probably want to be in bed somewhere around 8:00, probably not too much later than that -- Richard.
LUI: Santa working very hard for us today, Chad. And you're following him.
MYERS: Look at all the spots that he has been already. And just at noon, he was here at CNN. So it truly is amazing that in two hours and 45 minutes, he has been to Australia, he's been all the way over to Japan, and now is making his way over to the United Arab Emirates and then probably up to -- probably Saudi Arabia next. Maybe he will visit the troops as gets there in Iraq next.
LUI: I think Santa Claus uses the old Star Trek transporter. That's how he gets around so fast.
MYERS: Warp 9.
LUI: Chad Myers, thanks.
He has the skills and the time. All he needs is a bit of work. CNN's John Zarrella tells us how one man turned his luck around and helped others along the way.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is literally a sign of the times. Joe Cappelluzo, a carpenter, was out of work but not ideas. So he came here, to Interstate 95, with this sign. And it turned out, the idea wasn't bad at all.
(voice-over): Even before the economy went belly-up, Joseph Cappelluzo stretched every dollar he made working as a carpenter. JOE CAPPELLUZO, CARPENTER: Lettuce, carrots, parsnips, in the back is 12 tomato plants.
ZARRELLA: His backyard is a vegetable garden. It saves money on groceries. His wife, Judith, hangs their laundry to dry. Less electricity used, and the clothes last longer.
The Cappelluzo's share their two-bedroom, one-bathroom house with five kids who they home school. At mealtime, everyone helps out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just peel it for now, and then cut it in a second (ph).
ZARRELLA: But as resourceful as Joseph is, there was no getting around it when his carpentry work dried up.
CAPPELLUZO: I was fearful. I mean, I would wake up in the middle of the night with pains in my stomach, like am I going to have work today?
ZARRELLA: So, on his 46th birthday, Cappelluzo did the unimaginable. He took his family down to this highway on-ramp and held up a sign. Joseph said he wasn't looking for a handout.
CAPPELLUZO: Every time somebody offered me money, I was like, no. I just -- if you have need for a carpenter, here's my information. Please consider me.
ZARRELLA: The "Miami Herald" did a story. Work poured in from readers. So did offers for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas presents for his kids.
Some jobs Joseph wasn't able to do or in place where he isn't licensed to work, so he found carpenters like him hurting for work. Danny Walsh was one.
DANNY WALSH, CARPENTER: We got some leads from Joseph Cappelluzo.
ZARRELLA: Every little bit helps.
WALSH: If we dig down and help each other through this, we'll all make it. That's really been the American way.
ZARRELLA: Joseph has more work now, enough to keep him going for a while. But he said it's never been just about him.
CAPPELLUZO: You have your neighbors on both sides of you and across the street, and if they're not doing good, then you're not doing good, even if you're loaded. That's just the way I feel.
ZARRELLA: Cappelluzo is far from loaded, but he's hammering out a better life a day at a time.
(on camera): Cappelluzo says business isn't what it once was in south Florida, but he is booked up now until the end of February. And that means his family is going to have a much better holiday than they ever thought they would.
John Zarrella, CNN, Hollywood, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: OK. Straight to these live pictures we're getting it out of our -- a chopper cam -- affiliate KUTV has got their chopper cam moving around there in Utah, Logan Peak area. And this is where there was a landslide -- an avalanche, actually, where two people have been confirmed dead.
They were evidently snowmobiling in this area. The chopper cam moving around, it looks like they have been able to get into some area where there are some vehicles, perhaps this is a staging area, as they try again to recover what was the last body, according to the sheriff there, Matt Bilodeau, who we spoke with about 30 minutes ago.
So again, about 85 miles north of Salt Lake City in the Logan Peak area, looking for -- looking at rather the are where two snowmobilers lost their lives. And at the moment they don't believe that there is anyone else that was caught in this avalanche. And again, trying to recover one more body, able to recover the first as we had heard 30 minutes ago in this snowmobiling avalanche accident shall we say where two lives were lost.
We'll stay on top of that story for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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LUI: Call it a troubling sign of desperate global times. Japanese police say they have had a surge of elderly thieves, and the trend is apparently growing at a faster pace than the aging population.
Our Kyung Lah explains.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To the sounds of holiday cheer, this shopper weaves in and out of grocery aisles. Then she stops, leans down and slides something into her purse. She leaves without paying for the stashed items.
This woman is 69 years old, stopped by private undercover security guards. Increasingly, she is one of a new generation of Japan's shoplifters, those over the age of 65.
(on camera): With the cooperation of the grocery store and the security company, we have placed cameras up above the aisles and hid them in our shopping carts. And we quickly learned how big a problem shoplifting among the elderly is for this store.
(voice-over): The security officer watches this 80-year-old man. He pays for some items, but not everything.
I'm so sorry, he tells them, I live alone, my wife is in the hospital. This man has stolen medicine for an upset stomach.
And remember the 69-year-old woman? She stole some food for dinner.
"I feel sorry for them," says security officer Takayuki Fujisawa. "When I talk to them, they don't have enough money for food."
Japan slipped into recession this winter. As the global financial crisis collides with rapidly-aging Japan, the trend of elderly thieves is alarming the government. Japan's government reports a number of people over the age of 65 has doubled in 20 years. Yet crime committed by that group has increased at a much higher rate, five times.
In Northern Japan, police say the total arrest of the elderly exceeded arrests of teenagers. (INAUDIBLE) runs private security for thousands of stores across Japan. He says the average shoplifter is now elderly.
"They are spending Christmas and New Year's alone," says (INAUDIBLE).
Not only are they alone, they're also living longer than ever, says (INAUDIBLE), a former federal prosecutor. He calls the new crime trend a result of pressures on an aging population.
"The main reason they shoplift is poverty and loneliness. The traditional Japanese family is gone, and now our elderly live alone."
Police usually issue warnings to elderly shoplifters like this woman. But in most cases the stores don't even report the petty crime. In a service oriented culture that respects its elderly yet deeply frowns on crime, it is a clash of ideals.
The 80-year-old man is helped to his bicycle by the store security. The officer bows in respect, hoping the elderly man has learned his lesson, and will return as a good customer tomorrow.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: A Christmas pilgrimage to Bethlehem. Tourists crowd the West Bank town, the biblical site of the first Noel.
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LUI: Tourists are arriving by the thousands in Bethlehem, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. In just two hours, which is midnight there, Christians will gather for mass at the Church of the Nativity there in Manger Square.
All righty. It is around 3:00 p.m. right here on the East Coast.
We're going to go over now to T.J. Holmes who has got the rest of an action-packed hour for us coming up in about a couple of minutes.
