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CNN Live Today
Holiday Rush is on for Travelers; Ukraine to Announce Presidential Election Winner; Coalition Forces Launch New Offensive in Babil
Aired November 24, 2004 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Right now we want to...
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: We get to perform a public service today, Carol, because we're going to be telling people what's going on. They are traveling and they need us to get from Point A to Point B.
LIN: Hmm-mm.
SANCHEZ: Also, you know, the fear of -- fear, we should say, not yet civil disturbance but the fear of civil disturbance with what's going on after that election in the Ukraine. We're going to have that covered for you.
LIN: You bet. We're waiting for the election commission there to certify those results and we'll see what happens. But we've got some other stories in the news, as well.
This is get away day for millions of Americans traveling this holiday. In all, more than 37 million Americans will hit the roads, rails or skies this Thanksgiving. That's an increase of 3 percent over last year. We're going to have full travel updates throughout this hour.
Of course, weather is going to play a large part in many travel plans today, especially through the eastern half of the United States. Parts of the Midwest will be dealing with snow; the southeast will slog through some of the rain. Those storms will eventually hit the northeast. The Pacific Northwest will deal with some blustery weather of its own.
And at any moment, just like Rick was talking about, Ukraine officials could announce the results of the widely disputed presidential election. Preliminary results show the Moscow-backed candidate winning despite exit polls predicting an easy victory for the opposition. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters have marched in protest in recent days. And many Western observers said there is strong evidence of fraud. You are looking at a live picture of the streets in the square in Kiev. We are waiting for the election results. A lot at stake for the West in this, as well, we'll explain.
In the meantime, an audiotape purported to be the voice of terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi takes aim at an unusual target, Muslim scholars. The tape, which has been posted on Muslim websites, ridicules the cleric for not supporting the fight against U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The authenticity cannot be confirmed by CNN, though.
Good morning. How are you, Rick Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: Good morning, everyone. You know what we're going to do today? We're going to try and bring in the news, not only from Atlanta but from New York, as well.
And Of course, as you mentioned, Carol, holiday travelers may need more patience than usual on this traditional Thanksgiving Day get away. Rain, snow, even tornadoes could slow air as well as highway travel; we're going to update you on the weather in just a little bit.
Our correspondent following today's travel includes Deborah Feyerick she's in New York's La Guardia Airport, Rally Caparas. She's checking in on traffic nationwide. And Chris Lawrence is going to be covering the roadways for us, as well. We're going to be in with Chris. He's at the rest stop in Chicago's suburb of Schiller Park.
And how are things there, we ask -- Chris?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Picking up, Rick. Patience. You mentioned "patience." That's going to be a key word throughout the day. We're here at the O'Hare Oasis, one of the many rest stops that people will be stopping by throughout this week. As you can see, it's a far cry from the small, dinghy ones we all remember from those road trips growing up as a kid. This is kind of a new wave of what they're doing with some of the rest stops around the country starting right here.
And as we take a look at traffic outside and everything, you know, one of the biggest problems is traffic is moving along on a holiday like this. Then you hit the tollbooth. Everything starts backing up.
With me now, Jack Hartman, he's the head of the Illinois Tollway Commission.
And Jack, you have got a plan that's already starting to come online that may help speed up some of this holiday travel.
JACK HARTMAN, ILLINOIS TOLL HWY. AUTHORITY: Yes. Under Governor Blagojevich's plan, Illinois will be the first state in the Union to totally knock down the barrier plazas, where people wait and they're frustrated in traffic, and convert that into open road tolling. Which means express lanes where they zip through at highway speed.
So we'll be converting 15 mainline toll plazas, knocking them completely down and putting up these express lanes. Over 100 lanes where you don't even know you're on a toll lane as long as you have an I-Pass or an Easy Pass.
LAWRENCE: Jack Hartman, thank you very much.
And the best thing about it for people around the country, he says this is really the wave of the future. Ten years down the road, we're not going to have any of these toll plazas. It may help speed up travel on some days like this.
As we look outside at one of the busiest stretches of highway in the country, right outside O'Hare Airport, a lot of people are already starting to get a jump on their holiday travel. And they're going to be doing it paying some of the highest gas prices we have ever seen on a Thanksgiving. The national average right now is $1.97 a gallon. That's down 6-cents from a couple of weeks ago and 47-cents more than we were paying at this time last year.
Now, how traffic stacks up depends a lot on where you live. You take a look at the Midwest right now. Triple A says the southeast should see nearly 9 million drivers, followed by the west, the Midwest, and, of course, the Great Lakes region all about equal. Triple A says the northeast should see the fewest cars, at least in terms of people driving more than 50 miles, which is the average trip.
And what we're hearing is if you can get out within the next hour or two, or wait until late Thursday morning, it's going on to be a lot less busy and the weather is going to a whole lot better -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Chris. Just to ask you about that new, fangled toll road that we were hearing about just a little while ago. People still have to sign up for that thing and pay good money, right?
LAWRENCE: That's right. Well, what they have to do is you'd have to sign up for one of the electronic passes, like you see that a lot of the states have. And what they do is you just keep driving. The electronic pass will be read by a scanning device high above the road. So only the people still paying cash would actually have to get off the road to pay their toll.
SANCHEZ: Chris, following things for us there just outside Chicago. We thank you, sir.
We take things now back down to Atlanta and Carol.
LIN: Hey, Rick. Well, a lot of people are going to be flying for this holiday and the airports are pretty busy, as well. So the FAA expects more flights today than any other day this year.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick with travelers at New York's La Guardia Airport.
Deb, it looks like they're going to be getting out of town just in time because there's a big storm headed your way.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And that's why a number of people decided to leave early. We can give you a couple of numbers, sort of a snapshot of what's going on here at the airport. We have a dozen sprinters racing to the gates. We had one very angry woman on a cell phone. We're not sure exactly why she was upset, but certainly this travel day wasn't making it easier for her. We are seeing about several dozen very sleepy kids and twice the number of very patient parents, though some of them a little bit on edge.
Two travelers though, who are actually in good spirits, Wendy and Gary Schnierow.
First of all, what was your strategy getting to the airport and flying today?
GARY SCHNIEROW, HOLIDAY TRAVELER, NEW YORK: We wanted to get to the airport earlier in the day. Hopefully the rush is later in the day.
FEYERICK: And was everybody calm this morning going through this?
WENDY SCHNIEROW, HOLIDAY TRAVELER, NEW YORK: My husband was very stressed out earlier today. But happy to be here now.
FEYERICK: What kind of a week it is when you get to the airport and see that the lines aren't so bad as you perhaps expected?
G. SCHNIEROW: I think it's only relief once you get through the security. But right now, it doesn't look so bad.
FEYERICK: Now, you have heard about the screening but you have not heard about the new TSA screening. What is your expectation and what you have heard?
G. SCHNIEROW: Just, you know, always a hassle. And you never know when's going to happen. And it just seems kind of silly.
FEYERICK: Your strategy for going back?
G. SCHNIEROW: Early Sunday.
FEYERICK: And your hope there?
G. SCHNIEROW: Again...
W. SCHNIEROW: That it will be as easy as this is.
FEYERICK: Terrific. Well, have a great flight. Gary and Wendy Schnierow, thanks very much.
Again, a lot of people giving it a lot of thought; there are trying to figure out when to fly, the best way to fly. Some folks left yesterday, a number of folks leaving very early today. They're just trying to make the best of the situation because they know that they're not in this alone -- Carol.
LIN: You bet. And it's a holiday season so everybody has got to be a little more patient. All right. Thanks very much, Deb.
Rick, you've been doing a lot of flying these days. What is your strategy?
SANCHEZ: Well, I'll tell you. You know, we're checking on now some of the people who are getting about not on planes, but rather using their cars. A favorite for most Americans. And here's what we have done here at CNN. Throughout our coverage today, we are going to have different pictures of, well, different places. For example, this. This is a live picture that you're looking at now. Can you guess where that is? That's St. Louis. That's right. That's the mighty Mississippi that you're crossing right there and that's what St. Louis looks like right now.
We are going to be showing these pictures so you can see some of the traffic patterns that are developing in different parts of country. And as you can see looking at that shot into St. Louis, Missouri, things are OK.
This is -- can you recognize this one? This is the Big Dig. We're just outside that so-called and sometimes controversial Big Dig in the Boston area, as I-95 snakes into it. And that's heading right into the tunnel, as you look at it this picture from our affiliate WHDH. And all things considered, traffic is moving. That's important. Still early. And that's why we will continue to check in on these shots throughout our coverage for the next couple of hours.
Well, it's the calm after the storm in Texas today. About a dozen tornadoes sweeping through east Texas late yesterday. At least one person was killed and three others hurt. Around 30 homes were damaged or destroyed in the region. The twister followed days of rain that triggered flooding across the state of Texas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Let's see if, you know, any of you guys out there are expecting somebody to be heading home today via the airplane, you better listen up. We have got Rally Caparas with Travelocity Business, been monitoring air travel across the country.
Rally, it's got to be a mess out there.
RALLY CAPARAS, TRAVELOCITY BUSINESS: Oh, Carol, I tell you what. Well, here's how bad it is. You heard the weather from Orelon just a moment ago. Take into consideration that the two busiest airports in the entire world, Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta Hartsfield/Jackson are going to see the worst weather they've seen so far this year. Add all of the volume, air traffic volume, the busiest day of the year, and you've got a mess. You have major delays today if it weren't Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Now you add that together and it's exponential in delays.
Let's talk about Flight Explorer behind me. We are looking at 4,965 airplanes in the skies right now, folks. You can see some of them are colored in red. Hopefully you can. Those are airplanes have already been given delays by the FAA in some way, shape or form. So you see delays are starting to spread.
There will be major delays throughout the entire eastern half of the United States, as Orelon told you just a moment ago. And here's where. Boston Logan Airport, you are delayed, free a.m. Expect 60 to 90 minute arrival delays, low clouds, rain and poor visibility move into the area during the p.m. and it's going to be a tough go in the p.m. rush, for sure.
New York City metros and Philadelphia, New York you are still delay free at this moment. Philadelphia, you are seeing one to two hour arrival delays already. Low cloud fog, poor visibility and then the p.m. volume, which is going to be the heaviest group of airplanes to land at those airports later, will suffer the lengthiest delays. We could see those delays reach three hours by that time.
Down in the D.C. metros in Charlotte, 60 to 90 minute arrival delays are likely throughout the day. Low clouds, fog, poor visibility and then the heavy volume, of course, during the p.m. rush period. Atlanta Hartsfield/Jackson, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, different regions but all suffer the same fate today. Sixty to 90 minute arrival and departure delays. They will also suffer, as Orelon told you, the tornado watches in both regions, thunderstorm activity, some fog and some rain, and obviously, the lengthy delays.
And then finally, Chicago O'Hare, I hope you're sitting down. Two to 3 hour arrival delays are likely once this weather really starts to culminate and the volume approaches the airport. The low clouds, the fog, the rain, strong winds, 25 to 30 knots, even once the snow moves out, that never works at Chicago regardless of what day it is.
I'll be back throughout the day with more for you.
Carol, right back to you.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Rally. But think about it. After all of that you get to sit down with the family. What could be better than that after a three-hour delay at the airport?
CAPARAS: There you go.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: All right. See you in a bit, Rally.
CAPARAS: Sure.
LIN: All right. Before you leave home, check out cnn.com/travel for the latest on today's travel and weather picture. And while you're there, you can also pick up some holiday travel tips to get you through the busy day.
And with Thanksgiving, Rick, comes the day after, right? Millions of...
SANCHEZ: I would guess.
LIN: Yes. Well, millions of shoppers are going to hit the malls with their credit cards this Friday morning. But don't overdo it. Still to come, tips on how you can avoid debt hangover.
SANCHEZ: And you know what else, Carol? Good meals and good protection. They are living the good life but it will cost you to carve up one of these birds.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: First, freezing rain and sleet, crowds convene in the Ukraine anxiously awaiting word of who's going to be their new president. These stories and a whole lot more after a quick break
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. We are bringing you part of the show from New York today. And we're bringing you these pictures as well now. These are live pictures from Kiev in the Ukraine, where the folks are protesting because they are confused about who will be their next president. Let's try and set this one up for you.
Tens of thousands of protesters have converged on Ukraine's capital for the third straight day, in fact. Now, these that you see here are supporters of candidate Viktor Yushenko. He's an opposition figure who's charging, by the way election fraud. He's saying he won the election despite the fact that the results seem to show that it was the prime minister who is leading.
What's interesting about this and why it affects us is the United States backs Yushenko, the opposition figure who is charging election fraud. The U.S. also says there's strong evidence of that and asking the government not to certify the results, which show the Moscow- backed candidate likely to win.
A final tally we're told could be announced at any time. Exactly what is meant by final tally is still somewhat unclear. Hopefully, we are going to be able to hook up with Jill Dougherty. She's following the story there throughout these next couple of hours.
Carol, back over to you in Atlanta.
LIN: Yes. Rick, we have news out of Iraq.
Two U.S. and British and Iraqi forces have launched a new offensive on insurgents. Just days after declaring victory in Fallujah, coalition troops are now concentrating on Babel and the -- or actually Babil, and the so-called Triangle of death.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is following the mission and joins me now from Baghdad -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol. U.S. commanders tell us around 5,000 troops are involved in this, a combination of Iraqi commandos together with U.S. Marines and also British soldiers. Over the last two days, that the operation has been going on, we understand that 32 suspected insurgents have been arrested. In largely to this point, house-to-house raids, more pinpoint raids.
What U.S. commanders have sought to do over the last few of days is to differentiate this kind of operation that's going on, from the type of operation that we saw in Fallujah. Where that was a massive offensive, a mass assault with heavy fighting; what commanders are saying here is don't expect any of that heavy fighting. This is much more of a surgical, rather than a sweeping-type operation.
And they say that the three keys here are going to be precision, persistence and patience. Patience because what they're fighting against here is not a masked insurgent movement as it was in Fallujah. But insurgent cells and insurgents also possibly allied with local, criminal gangs fighting in small units. And that's why the patience is going to be needed to track them down and also to track down their quartermasters and their financiers -- Carol.
LIN: How confident, Karl, are they going to be that there is enough stability to have elections on January 30?
PENHAUL: We were talking to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in the course of this week and he did seem confident. He certainly thought that the Fallujah offensive had broken the back of the insurgency. That's not necessarily a view shared by the entire coalition command, but certainly by some coalition commanders. That said, we have obviously seen a spike in violence in other parts of Iraq.
But both the Fallujah offensive and this type of offensive going on in the Triangle of Death together with other operations going on in the northern city of Mosul, all of this is designed to try and stabilize the situation, and to knock out known insurgent strongholds. There are still two months to go. The situation could become much calmer between now and then. But of course, we know that the insurgents do everything in their power to try and derail the process. And they're threatening, in fact, to increase the violence still -- Carol.
LIN: I can just imagine. Thanks very much, Karl Penhaul, live in Baghdad.
SANCHEZ: And here's an appropriate story. They must have room to run and to play, a nurturing climate and a time to relax. Are we talking about your children? No.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We're talking about turkeys. Still to come, how a bird's posh life style can make a better Thanksgiving for all of us.
And here's Gerri with an update on what she's got coming up for us as well.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We are talking five tips today. Are you worried that you're going to spend too much money over the holidays? It is that time of year. We'll tell you how to keep your budget in line when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: So, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. And that means that the holidays are now officially here, and close on their heels, the post holiday bills. That's right. Something you need to think about early. The average consumer is going to shell out just about $700 for holiday parties, gifts and other indulgences, if we can call it. How do you stay on budget? That's a good question.
Joining us now with some advice is financial news personal editor, Gerri Willis who's so good at putting these things together for us and making it so simple to understand.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We begin with what? Make sure you do the math?
WILLIS: Do the math. You've got to know what your budget, how much can you comfortably spend. And guess what? If you don't have the cash for this, you can put it on the credit card. But you're going to have to be real careful, because how many people do you know that are still paying off Christmas in July? So try to keep that budget in line with what you can afford.
SANCHEZ: And part of the way to do that is to make you can be an informed consumer, right?
WILLIS: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: I mean know what you do with your money.
WILLIS: You have to be informed. A great way to do that, the web, the most fabulous tool for comparison shopping. All the big retailers have websites now. Whether you're talking about Kohl's or Target and Wal-Mart, you can comparison shop on online. And then there are websites that all about comparison-shopping, like mysimon.com, yahooshopping. So it's a great idea to go to those websites first.
Look for these words though, if you're shopping on the web: "refurbished," "previously owned," "close out." You might want to stay away.
SANCHEZ: Really? But the key is not to fall in love with something at a department store and buy it automatically on impulse, and then find out that you overpaid for the son of a gun, right?
WILLIS: Absolutely, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: A lot of people -- you mentioned some websites. Websites usually mean shipping as well, if you order it from them. What do we know need to know about...
WILLIS: And that's an extra cost, right? That's more money that you're going to pay. Here's what you need to know if you want to do it on the cheap. You need to do it early because those big online websites they will pay -- they'll make you pay more if you want to get those things delivered overnight. Right?
So look at amazon.com, as an example. December 18 is their last date for standard shipping. And that means the cheap shipping, which is what you're looking for if you're trying to save some dough. Check it out. The FTC, Federal Trade Commission says they have to tell you if they can't deliver the goods when they say they will. So rest assured these guys are trying to do it when they should.
SANCHEZ: Well, let me ask you this. Suppose they deliver it and not what you wanted? Or not what your kid want. Dad, this is not the Barbie I wanted. So you call them up. Listen, I don't want this. How do I get it back to you?
WILLIS: Well, and this is all about refunding, right? Money. And certainly, you want to get the gift receipt if you're buying in the real world. But if you're buying online, you need to understand their return policy. It's absolutely critical. Some of these will charge you for returning your goods, which is disaster. You don't want that to happen. Be sure to read the fine print. All of them have pages that describe what their return policies are, what their shipping policies are, so you know exactly what you're paying and what you're on the hook for.
SANCHEZ: You mentioned here as one of the tips, and I'm not quite sure I get.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: But I know you're going to explain it, as you so well do. Be a procrastinator?
WILLIS: Yes. Don't you want people to tell you to be lazy?
SANCHEZ: Yes.
WILLIS: I love that.
SANCHEZ: Please!
WILLIS: Listen, if you don't have a ton of money this year, and you don't have a lot to spend, and you're worried about the gifts you want, wait until the last minute. Go to the real world stores, the bricks and mortars stores. You know how this works. All of the discounts come at the last minute right before the holidays. Now, the downside here is you may not get exactly get what you want, because often people have already bought the goods that are in high demand. But you will find things you like and you may get an absolutely fabulous price.
SANCHEZ: So the better deals are at the end of the season?
WILLIS: That's right.
SANCHEZ: So if can get your kids to postpone, like Christmas by a couple of days, you would probably get some wonderful deals on the 26 and 27?
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIS: Oh, yes. Like January 15, a good time. SANCHEZ: Some how I don't think they'd go along with that. Gerri, thanks so much. It's great information.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Carol, back over to you. Were you taking notes?
LIN: I am taking notes but I'm trying to avoid the label of cheap.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: Mom, you're cheap.
SANCHEZ: Guilty as charged.
LIN: Yes, well, you know, maybe we're a little just a little smarter for it.
Anyway, you know, let's talk some turkey. Millions of Americans are pulling out the carving stations and roaster, but have you thought about the life style that your turkey lives? Well, still ahead, meet a few pampered birds that are experiencing the good life and why it can beneficial to you.
And later, the basketball fan accused of throwing a cup at Pacers' Ron Artest has some words for the NBA star.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 24, 2004 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Right now we want to...
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: We get to perform a public service today, Carol, because we're going to be telling people what's going on. They are traveling and they need us to get from Point A to Point B.
LIN: Hmm-mm.
SANCHEZ: Also, you know, the fear of -- fear, we should say, not yet civil disturbance but the fear of civil disturbance with what's going on after that election in the Ukraine. We're going to have that covered for you.
LIN: You bet. We're waiting for the election commission there to certify those results and we'll see what happens. But we've got some other stories in the news, as well.
This is get away day for millions of Americans traveling this holiday. In all, more than 37 million Americans will hit the roads, rails or skies this Thanksgiving. That's an increase of 3 percent over last year. We're going to have full travel updates throughout this hour.
Of course, weather is going to play a large part in many travel plans today, especially through the eastern half of the United States. Parts of the Midwest will be dealing with snow; the southeast will slog through some of the rain. Those storms will eventually hit the northeast. The Pacific Northwest will deal with some blustery weather of its own.
And at any moment, just like Rick was talking about, Ukraine officials could announce the results of the widely disputed presidential election. Preliminary results show the Moscow-backed candidate winning despite exit polls predicting an easy victory for the opposition. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters have marched in protest in recent days. And many Western observers said there is strong evidence of fraud. You are looking at a live picture of the streets in the square in Kiev. We are waiting for the election results. A lot at stake for the West in this, as well, we'll explain.
In the meantime, an audiotape purported to be the voice of terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi takes aim at an unusual target, Muslim scholars. The tape, which has been posted on Muslim websites, ridicules the cleric for not supporting the fight against U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The authenticity cannot be confirmed by CNN, though.
Good morning. How are you, Rick Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: Good morning, everyone. You know what we're going to do today? We're going to try and bring in the news, not only from Atlanta but from New York, as well.
And Of course, as you mentioned, Carol, holiday travelers may need more patience than usual on this traditional Thanksgiving Day get away. Rain, snow, even tornadoes could slow air as well as highway travel; we're going to update you on the weather in just a little bit.
Our correspondent following today's travel includes Deborah Feyerick she's in New York's La Guardia Airport, Rally Caparas. She's checking in on traffic nationwide. And Chris Lawrence is going to be covering the roadways for us, as well. We're going to be in with Chris. He's at the rest stop in Chicago's suburb of Schiller Park.
And how are things there, we ask -- Chris?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Picking up, Rick. Patience. You mentioned "patience." That's going to be a key word throughout the day. We're here at the O'Hare Oasis, one of the many rest stops that people will be stopping by throughout this week. As you can see, it's a far cry from the small, dinghy ones we all remember from those road trips growing up as a kid. This is kind of a new wave of what they're doing with some of the rest stops around the country starting right here.
And as we take a look at traffic outside and everything, you know, one of the biggest problems is traffic is moving along on a holiday like this. Then you hit the tollbooth. Everything starts backing up.
With me now, Jack Hartman, he's the head of the Illinois Tollway Commission.
And Jack, you have got a plan that's already starting to come online that may help speed up some of this holiday travel.
JACK HARTMAN, ILLINOIS TOLL HWY. AUTHORITY: Yes. Under Governor Blagojevich's plan, Illinois will be the first state in the Union to totally knock down the barrier plazas, where people wait and they're frustrated in traffic, and convert that into open road tolling. Which means express lanes where they zip through at highway speed.
So we'll be converting 15 mainline toll plazas, knocking them completely down and putting up these express lanes. Over 100 lanes where you don't even know you're on a toll lane as long as you have an I-Pass or an Easy Pass.
LAWRENCE: Jack Hartman, thank you very much.
And the best thing about it for people around the country, he says this is really the wave of the future. Ten years down the road, we're not going to have any of these toll plazas. It may help speed up travel on some days like this.
As we look outside at one of the busiest stretches of highway in the country, right outside O'Hare Airport, a lot of people are already starting to get a jump on their holiday travel. And they're going to be doing it paying some of the highest gas prices we have ever seen on a Thanksgiving. The national average right now is $1.97 a gallon. That's down 6-cents from a couple of weeks ago and 47-cents more than we were paying at this time last year.
Now, how traffic stacks up depends a lot on where you live. You take a look at the Midwest right now. Triple A says the southeast should see nearly 9 million drivers, followed by the west, the Midwest, and, of course, the Great Lakes region all about equal. Triple A says the northeast should see the fewest cars, at least in terms of people driving more than 50 miles, which is the average trip.
And what we're hearing is if you can get out within the next hour or two, or wait until late Thursday morning, it's going on to be a lot less busy and the weather is going to a whole lot better -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Chris. Just to ask you about that new, fangled toll road that we were hearing about just a little while ago. People still have to sign up for that thing and pay good money, right?
LAWRENCE: That's right. Well, what they have to do is you'd have to sign up for one of the electronic passes, like you see that a lot of the states have. And what they do is you just keep driving. The electronic pass will be read by a scanning device high above the road. So only the people still paying cash would actually have to get off the road to pay their toll.
SANCHEZ: Chris, following things for us there just outside Chicago. We thank you, sir.
We take things now back down to Atlanta and Carol.
LIN: Hey, Rick. Well, a lot of people are going to be flying for this holiday and the airports are pretty busy, as well. So the FAA expects more flights today than any other day this year.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick with travelers at New York's La Guardia Airport.
Deb, it looks like they're going to be getting out of town just in time because there's a big storm headed your way.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And that's why a number of people decided to leave early. We can give you a couple of numbers, sort of a snapshot of what's going on here at the airport. We have a dozen sprinters racing to the gates. We had one very angry woman on a cell phone. We're not sure exactly why she was upset, but certainly this travel day wasn't making it easier for her. We are seeing about several dozen very sleepy kids and twice the number of very patient parents, though some of them a little bit on edge.
Two travelers though, who are actually in good spirits, Wendy and Gary Schnierow.
First of all, what was your strategy getting to the airport and flying today?
GARY SCHNIEROW, HOLIDAY TRAVELER, NEW YORK: We wanted to get to the airport earlier in the day. Hopefully the rush is later in the day.
FEYERICK: And was everybody calm this morning going through this?
WENDY SCHNIEROW, HOLIDAY TRAVELER, NEW YORK: My husband was very stressed out earlier today. But happy to be here now.
FEYERICK: What kind of a week it is when you get to the airport and see that the lines aren't so bad as you perhaps expected?
G. SCHNIEROW: I think it's only relief once you get through the security. But right now, it doesn't look so bad.
FEYERICK: Now, you have heard about the screening but you have not heard about the new TSA screening. What is your expectation and what you have heard?
G. SCHNIEROW: Just, you know, always a hassle. And you never know when's going to happen. And it just seems kind of silly.
FEYERICK: Your strategy for going back?
G. SCHNIEROW: Early Sunday.
FEYERICK: And your hope there?
G. SCHNIEROW: Again...
W. SCHNIEROW: That it will be as easy as this is.
FEYERICK: Terrific. Well, have a great flight. Gary and Wendy Schnierow, thanks very much.
Again, a lot of people giving it a lot of thought; there are trying to figure out when to fly, the best way to fly. Some folks left yesterday, a number of folks leaving very early today. They're just trying to make the best of the situation because they know that they're not in this alone -- Carol.
LIN: You bet. And it's a holiday season so everybody has got to be a little more patient. All right. Thanks very much, Deb.
Rick, you've been doing a lot of flying these days. What is your strategy?
SANCHEZ: Well, I'll tell you. You know, we're checking on now some of the people who are getting about not on planes, but rather using their cars. A favorite for most Americans. And here's what we have done here at CNN. Throughout our coverage today, we are going to have different pictures of, well, different places. For example, this. This is a live picture that you're looking at now. Can you guess where that is? That's St. Louis. That's right. That's the mighty Mississippi that you're crossing right there and that's what St. Louis looks like right now.
We are going to be showing these pictures so you can see some of the traffic patterns that are developing in different parts of country. And as you can see looking at that shot into St. Louis, Missouri, things are OK.
This is -- can you recognize this one? This is the Big Dig. We're just outside that so-called and sometimes controversial Big Dig in the Boston area, as I-95 snakes into it. And that's heading right into the tunnel, as you look at it this picture from our affiliate WHDH. And all things considered, traffic is moving. That's important. Still early. And that's why we will continue to check in on these shots throughout our coverage for the next couple of hours.
Well, it's the calm after the storm in Texas today. About a dozen tornadoes sweeping through east Texas late yesterday. At least one person was killed and three others hurt. Around 30 homes were damaged or destroyed in the region. The twister followed days of rain that triggered flooding across the state of Texas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Let's see if, you know, any of you guys out there are expecting somebody to be heading home today via the airplane, you better listen up. We have got Rally Caparas with Travelocity Business, been monitoring air travel across the country.
Rally, it's got to be a mess out there.
RALLY CAPARAS, TRAVELOCITY BUSINESS: Oh, Carol, I tell you what. Well, here's how bad it is. You heard the weather from Orelon just a moment ago. Take into consideration that the two busiest airports in the entire world, Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta Hartsfield/Jackson are going to see the worst weather they've seen so far this year. Add all of the volume, air traffic volume, the busiest day of the year, and you've got a mess. You have major delays today if it weren't Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Now you add that together and it's exponential in delays.
Let's talk about Flight Explorer behind me. We are looking at 4,965 airplanes in the skies right now, folks. You can see some of them are colored in red. Hopefully you can. Those are airplanes have already been given delays by the FAA in some way, shape or form. So you see delays are starting to spread.
There will be major delays throughout the entire eastern half of the United States, as Orelon told you just a moment ago. And here's where. Boston Logan Airport, you are delayed, free a.m. Expect 60 to 90 minute arrival delays, low clouds, rain and poor visibility move into the area during the p.m. and it's going to be a tough go in the p.m. rush, for sure.
New York City metros and Philadelphia, New York you are still delay free at this moment. Philadelphia, you are seeing one to two hour arrival delays already. Low cloud fog, poor visibility and then the p.m. volume, which is going to be the heaviest group of airplanes to land at those airports later, will suffer the lengthiest delays. We could see those delays reach three hours by that time.
Down in the D.C. metros in Charlotte, 60 to 90 minute arrival delays are likely throughout the day. Low clouds, fog, poor visibility and then the heavy volume, of course, during the p.m. rush period. Atlanta Hartsfield/Jackson, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, different regions but all suffer the same fate today. Sixty to 90 minute arrival and departure delays. They will also suffer, as Orelon told you, the tornado watches in both regions, thunderstorm activity, some fog and some rain, and obviously, the lengthy delays.
And then finally, Chicago O'Hare, I hope you're sitting down. Two to 3 hour arrival delays are likely once this weather really starts to culminate and the volume approaches the airport. The low clouds, the fog, the rain, strong winds, 25 to 30 knots, even once the snow moves out, that never works at Chicago regardless of what day it is.
I'll be back throughout the day with more for you.
Carol, right back to you.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Rally. But think about it. After all of that you get to sit down with the family. What could be better than that after a three-hour delay at the airport?
CAPARAS: There you go.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: All right. See you in a bit, Rally.
CAPARAS: Sure.
LIN: All right. Before you leave home, check out cnn.com/travel for the latest on today's travel and weather picture. And while you're there, you can also pick up some holiday travel tips to get you through the busy day.
And with Thanksgiving, Rick, comes the day after, right? Millions of...
SANCHEZ: I would guess.
LIN: Yes. Well, millions of shoppers are going to hit the malls with their credit cards this Friday morning. But don't overdo it. Still to come, tips on how you can avoid debt hangover.
SANCHEZ: And you know what else, Carol? Good meals and good protection. They are living the good life but it will cost you to carve up one of these birds.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: First, freezing rain and sleet, crowds convene in the Ukraine anxiously awaiting word of who's going to be their new president. These stories and a whole lot more after a quick break
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. We are bringing you part of the show from New York today. And we're bringing you these pictures as well now. These are live pictures from Kiev in the Ukraine, where the folks are protesting because they are confused about who will be their next president. Let's try and set this one up for you.
Tens of thousands of protesters have converged on Ukraine's capital for the third straight day, in fact. Now, these that you see here are supporters of candidate Viktor Yushenko. He's an opposition figure who's charging, by the way election fraud. He's saying he won the election despite the fact that the results seem to show that it was the prime minister who is leading.
What's interesting about this and why it affects us is the United States backs Yushenko, the opposition figure who is charging election fraud. The U.S. also says there's strong evidence of that and asking the government not to certify the results, which show the Moscow- backed candidate likely to win.
A final tally we're told could be announced at any time. Exactly what is meant by final tally is still somewhat unclear. Hopefully, we are going to be able to hook up with Jill Dougherty. She's following the story there throughout these next couple of hours.
Carol, back over to you in Atlanta.
LIN: Yes. Rick, we have news out of Iraq.
Two U.S. and British and Iraqi forces have launched a new offensive on insurgents. Just days after declaring victory in Fallujah, coalition troops are now concentrating on Babel and the -- or actually Babil, and the so-called Triangle of death.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is following the mission and joins me now from Baghdad -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol. U.S. commanders tell us around 5,000 troops are involved in this, a combination of Iraqi commandos together with U.S. Marines and also British soldiers. Over the last two days, that the operation has been going on, we understand that 32 suspected insurgents have been arrested. In largely to this point, house-to-house raids, more pinpoint raids.
What U.S. commanders have sought to do over the last few of days is to differentiate this kind of operation that's going on, from the type of operation that we saw in Fallujah. Where that was a massive offensive, a mass assault with heavy fighting; what commanders are saying here is don't expect any of that heavy fighting. This is much more of a surgical, rather than a sweeping-type operation.
And they say that the three keys here are going to be precision, persistence and patience. Patience because what they're fighting against here is not a masked insurgent movement as it was in Fallujah. But insurgent cells and insurgents also possibly allied with local, criminal gangs fighting in small units. And that's why the patience is going to be needed to track them down and also to track down their quartermasters and their financiers -- Carol.
LIN: How confident, Karl, are they going to be that there is enough stability to have elections on January 30?
PENHAUL: We were talking to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in the course of this week and he did seem confident. He certainly thought that the Fallujah offensive had broken the back of the insurgency. That's not necessarily a view shared by the entire coalition command, but certainly by some coalition commanders. That said, we have obviously seen a spike in violence in other parts of Iraq.
But both the Fallujah offensive and this type of offensive going on in the Triangle of Death together with other operations going on in the northern city of Mosul, all of this is designed to try and stabilize the situation, and to knock out known insurgent strongholds. There are still two months to go. The situation could become much calmer between now and then. But of course, we know that the insurgents do everything in their power to try and derail the process. And they're threatening, in fact, to increase the violence still -- Carol.
LIN: I can just imagine. Thanks very much, Karl Penhaul, live in Baghdad.
SANCHEZ: And here's an appropriate story. They must have room to run and to play, a nurturing climate and a time to relax. Are we talking about your children? No.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We're talking about turkeys. Still to come, how a bird's posh life style can make a better Thanksgiving for all of us.
And here's Gerri with an update on what she's got coming up for us as well.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We are talking five tips today. Are you worried that you're going to spend too much money over the holidays? It is that time of year. We'll tell you how to keep your budget in line when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: So, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. And that means that the holidays are now officially here, and close on their heels, the post holiday bills. That's right. Something you need to think about early. The average consumer is going to shell out just about $700 for holiday parties, gifts and other indulgences, if we can call it. How do you stay on budget? That's a good question.
Joining us now with some advice is financial news personal editor, Gerri Willis who's so good at putting these things together for us and making it so simple to understand.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We begin with what? Make sure you do the math?
WILLIS: Do the math. You've got to know what your budget, how much can you comfortably spend. And guess what? If you don't have the cash for this, you can put it on the credit card. But you're going to have to be real careful, because how many people do you know that are still paying off Christmas in July? So try to keep that budget in line with what you can afford.
SANCHEZ: And part of the way to do that is to make you can be an informed consumer, right?
WILLIS: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: I mean know what you do with your money.
WILLIS: You have to be informed. A great way to do that, the web, the most fabulous tool for comparison shopping. All the big retailers have websites now. Whether you're talking about Kohl's or Target and Wal-Mart, you can comparison shop on online. And then there are websites that all about comparison-shopping, like mysimon.com, yahooshopping. So it's a great idea to go to those websites first.
Look for these words though, if you're shopping on the web: "refurbished," "previously owned," "close out." You might want to stay away.
SANCHEZ: Really? But the key is not to fall in love with something at a department store and buy it automatically on impulse, and then find out that you overpaid for the son of a gun, right?
WILLIS: Absolutely, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: A lot of people -- you mentioned some websites. Websites usually mean shipping as well, if you order it from them. What do we know need to know about...
WILLIS: And that's an extra cost, right? That's more money that you're going to pay. Here's what you need to know if you want to do it on the cheap. You need to do it early because those big online websites they will pay -- they'll make you pay more if you want to get those things delivered overnight. Right?
So look at amazon.com, as an example. December 18 is their last date for standard shipping. And that means the cheap shipping, which is what you're looking for if you're trying to save some dough. Check it out. The FTC, Federal Trade Commission says they have to tell you if they can't deliver the goods when they say they will. So rest assured these guys are trying to do it when they should.
SANCHEZ: Well, let me ask you this. Suppose they deliver it and not what you wanted? Or not what your kid want. Dad, this is not the Barbie I wanted. So you call them up. Listen, I don't want this. How do I get it back to you?
WILLIS: Well, and this is all about refunding, right? Money. And certainly, you want to get the gift receipt if you're buying in the real world. But if you're buying online, you need to understand their return policy. It's absolutely critical. Some of these will charge you for returning your goods, which is disaster. You don't want that to happen. Be sure to read the fine print. All of them have pages that describe what their return policies are, what their shipping policies are, so you know exactly what you're paying and what you're on the hook for.
SANCHEZ: You mentioned here as one of the tips, and I'm not quite sure I get.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: But I know you're going to explain it, as you so well do. Be a procrastinator?
WILLIS: Yes. Don't you want people to tell you to be lazy?
SANCHEZ: Yes.
WILLIS: I love that.
SANCHEZ: Please!
WILLIS: Listen, if you don't have a ton of money this year, and you don't have a lot to spend, and you're worried about the gifts you want, wait until the last minute. Go to the real world stores, the bricks and mortars stores. You know how this works. All of the discounts come at the last minute right before the holidays. Now, the downside here is you may not get exactly get what you want, because often people have already bought the goods that are in high demand. But you will find things you like and you may get an absolutely fabulous price.
SANCHEZ: So the better deals are at the end of the season?
WILLIS: That's right.
SANCHEZ: So if can get your kids to postpone, like Christmas by a couple of days, you would probably get some wonderful deals on the 26 and 27?
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIS: Oh, yes. Like January 15, a good time. SANCHEZ: Some how I don't think they'd go along with that. Gerri, thanks so much. It's great information.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Carol, back over to you. Were you taking notes?
LIN: I am taking notes but I'm trying to avoid the label of cheap.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: Mom, you're cheap.
SANCHEZ: Guilty as charged.
LIN: Yes, well, you know, maybe we're a little just a little smarter for it.
Anyway, you know, let's talk some turkey. Millions of Americans are pulling out the carving stations and roaster, but have you thought about the life style that your turkey lives? Well, still ahead, meet a few pampered birds that are experiencing the good life and why it can beneficial to you.
And later, the basketball fan accused of throwing a cup at Pacers' Ron Artest has some words for the NBA star.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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