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American Morning
NYC Strike Ends; Katrina Christmas; Biting the Bullet
Aired December 23, 2005 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to go home for the holidays. Millions of you will be traveling today. We're going to tell you what to expect in those crowded airports and highways, too.
And Christmas after Hurricane Katrina. How does Santa Claus come when you have no chimney and no home?
We'll look at those stories ahead this morning.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And the stores in Manhattan.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.
Nice shot of Columbus Circle. We don't see anybody riding their Razors this morning, I would say. Certainly this morning, where people are beginning their hike to work because the transit strike is over, which is great news.
SANCHEZ: Good news for the folks in Manhattan, especially those store owners. They were getting crushed.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
SANCHEZ: I mean, there was nobody in there.
O'BRIEN: We'll see if they can recover any of those losses over the weekend.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's go right to Kelly. She's got an update on the stories making news today.
Hello.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again.
And hello to all of you.
Some new developments coming into us out of Rome this morning that we are just hearing about. We're hearing that Italy has arrested or issued arrest warrants for some 22 operatives. We understand that this group wanted in connection with the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric back in 2003, this was reportedly part of the war on terror.
Again, we really don't have many more details right now. As we get them we'll bring them to you.
Some good news for thousands of U.S. troops getting ready to ship to Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says President Bush has authorized cuts in troop levels. The announcement coming during a town hall meeting with U.S. forces in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: An adjustment in U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 17 to 15. The size and composition of U.S. forces, of course, will fluctuate as commanders continue to shift their focus to emphasize training and supporting the Iraqi security forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And we're expecting to hear more details about how many troops will be effected. An announcement could come from the Pentagon as early as today.
An agreement to tell you about concerning the Patriot Act. Parts of the measure set to expire next week will stay in place until at least February. The House agreed to the one-month extension after turning down a Senate proposal to keep the act in place for six more months. President Bush says he will sign the extension into law.
A South Korean scientist is stepping down as one of the country's most celebrated professors after a panel confirmed his breakthrough research on human stem cells is fake. Earlier this year, the scientist made news around the world when he unveiled a cloned dog named Snuppy. Officials are now also checking to see whether Snuppy is a fake.
And 'tis the season for holiday travel. Yes, you know that. AAA says more than 51 million commuters will hit the road this weekend, and that's up about two percent from last year.
And if you are flying, remember that there are some new rules in effect at the airports. You can expect stepped-up security and more random screenings. So give yourself extra time. Today expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year.
So what's it going to look like if you're heading out on the roads or in the air? Bonnie Schneider in Atlanta with the latest.
Hi, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Kelly.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks a lot, Bonnie. Certainly a lot of people are also happy to get back on those crowded subways and buses here in New York City now that the transit strike is officially kaput. It's over.
This morning we're going to be checking on that commute for you. And our Chris Huntington, he's at Penn Station, at what is probably the busiest of all hubs.
Good morning, Chris.
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.
A dramatically different situation here this morning than what we've had over the last three days. You can see Penn Station, it's also part of the Madison Square Garden complex behind me. This, of course, is where Amtrak, the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit trains come in and hook up with the New York City subway system. It is, as you mentioned, one of the busiest transit hubs in all of Manhattan.
What's different today is that people who are coming in by train and need to get elsewhere in the city can stay underground and get on the subways. The other day -- you see the line of taxis over here? For the last three days, what you've had curbside here is a massive sort of mush around the taxis, these sort of de facto street-side auctions, because you had to have four people in a taxi, they had to kind of figure out where they were going, whether it was uptown, downtown or cross-town. And they had to sort of work things out.
And so you had this mosh pit around the cabs. Much more of a normal situation here. The taxi line, relatively few people getting in them now.
Now, granted, it's Friday before Christmas and Hanukkah. It is probably going to be a lighter commute. Mayor Bloomberg, perhaps wishful thinking, is hoping that shoppers will flood into the city later in the day. He was predicting traffic gridlock. We'll have to see if that happens -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Actually, when I came to work this morning, I was feeling some raindrops. Has there been a little bit of rain out there? Because I imagine, boy, that would have been terrible, as well. Although, with the subways, at least people wouldn't have to get as wet, right?
HUNTINGTON: That's correct. Rain earlier, earlier this morning. It hasn't rained in the last couple of hours. So, so far, so good. And it's supposed to warm up today.
SANCHEZ: What's the mayor telling people they should do when they get onto those buses and subway trains, when they come up to those employees that used to be on strike? What should they tell them?
HUNTINGTON: He was -- his advice yesterday was, glad to have you back. He does not want to further any acrimony, hold a grudge. He made a point in his press conference yesterday -- you know, he said some -- some very vitriolic things, particularly about Roger Toussaint...
SANCHEZ: Yes.
HUNTINGTON: ... calling him a "thug" or "thug tactics." He was very -- Mayor Bloomberg very politic yesterday, saying that indeed now the union has done the right thing. And he certainly wants all New Yorkers to embrace their fellow New Yorkers and the very important workers who drive the buses and the trains and take the tickets.
So the mayor hoping that bygones will be bygones, they'll get a contract, everything will be back to normal, and we'll probably be complaining about the system in a few more weeks -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: All's well that ends well, until it ends, though. They're still negotiating.
Chris Huntington following things for us there at Penn Station.
We thank you. We'll get back to you.
Soledad, to you now.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
In parts of the Gulf Coast signs of Christmas are hard to find.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA SWANSON, MISSISSIPPI RESIDENT: It's been immeasurable. We are not planning anything at all for Christmas, or any of the holidays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: But thanks to some generous volunteers, the Christmas spirit is even stronger than ever now. We've got that story just ahead.
But first, a message from our troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. JUDITH DACOSTA, U.S. ARMY: Hi, my name is Sergeant Judith Dacosta, and I want to wish my friends and family in Dallas, Texas, a wonderful holiday season.
SGT. MARCUS DANIELS, U.S. ARMY: Hello. My name is Staff Sergeant Marcus Daniels from 172nd Tracker Brigade (INAUDIBLE) in Mosul, Iraq. I'd like to say Happy Holidays and Veterans Day to my daughter and all my family in Texas.
Happy Holidays.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: You just look at those pictures and you know it is going to be a very difficult Christmas on the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina left so many people with absolutely nothing. But even hope even in short supply. And it's going to take the kindness of strangers to bring the spirit of Christmas to folks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice over): Deep in a Mississippi pine forest...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My kitty died in there.
O'BRIEN: ... little Lisa Autry (ph) and her neighbors still kill the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina their home for the holidays.
SWANSON: It's been immeasurable. We are not planning anything at all for Christmas or any of the holidays.
O'BRIEN: The shrimpers have no boats and the muddy Pearl River is choked with sewage. The Christmas bear limp with dirt.
Five people sleep in this chilly one-bedroom FEMA trailer. Lisa bunks on a kitchen shelf.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is where I sleep. That's where my bed -- I sleep.
O'BRIEN: The Christmas stockings are empty, and talk of the holidays in Pearlington, Mississippi, brings a rush of tears.
LINDA MARTIN, LISA'S GRANDMOTHER: About all we can live on is (INAUDIBLE).
O'BRIEN: But a few volunteers are determined to bring hope to this little town, people who fear Pearlington will be overshadowed by the plight of New Orleans, folks who believe relief work shouldn't just be left to big government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glad to be a part of it.
O'BRIEN: Like these firefighters from Canyon (ph), California.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Pearlington.
O'BRIEN: For B.J. Lee, the medical student from Stanford...
B.J. LEE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL STUDENT: It's such a big effort. And there's so much bureaucracy involved. Sometimes it's easier to just drive down than, like, waiting for a call.
O'BRIEN: Steve Horn came from Carbondale, Colorado.
STEVE HORN, CARBONDALE, COLORADO, VOLUNTEER: I don't like to work for organizations, because generally your -- your feet are kind of stuck in the mud.
O'BRIEN: Angela Cole, a New York nurse, has launched her personal relief mission.
ANGELA COLE, PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE: I was down here when they needed food and water and ice. You can't make that kind of connection with somebody in a situation that is so dire and then just say I did my part and walk away.
O'BRIEN: Dashing through the snow, she brought home pictures to her colleagues at LifeBrands (ph), a medical advertising agency. And they shipped back supplies.
COLE: My concern was there wouldn't be a Christmas, that it would be just another day, just another time of year, and it would be too quiet and too dark and too dismal.
O'BRIEN: She found Susan and Reggie Livebrand (ph) from Georgia, who had sent aid by the truckload and a 600-pound Christmas tree.
ISAIAH OLIVER, HURRICANE VICTIM: It makes me feel good because that let's me know that people care.
O'BRIEN: So they strung up the lights...
COLE (SINGING): Won't you lead my sleigh tonight?
O'BRIEN: ... unloaded the presents...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A heater to keep warm in the FEMA trailer.
O'BRIEN: ... and filled their shell of a church.
JACQUELINE BRADY, HURRICANE VICTIM: I know it's Christmas, but I don't have the spirit. I just have to -- I'm working on it.
O'BRIEN: Mama Sams (ph), the 88-year-old town elder, offered a prayer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have fed us, they have clothed us, and they have give us shelter. And we want to thank the good lord for them.
O'BRIEN: Thankful new friends have not forgot Pearlington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Ooh, gosh. And, you know, when you think there are so many people in that same circumstance -- more than 71,000 people from Mississippi are living in the FEMA trailers this Christmas -- it's great to think of people who just would sort of reach out and not forget, even though the storm has passed, that some people are still in some very dire circumstances.
SANCHEZ: My experience covering storms have always showed me that it's not the government programs that come in and take care of people, it's people who come in and take care of people. People who often just make a decision to do something like that, I'm going to go there and I'm going to help. And I'm not gong to leave until it's done.
And this wonderful report that you brought us illustrated that so well.
O'BRIEN: Five years old and sleeping on the kitchen shelf with her brother. I mean, they put a bed in the kitchen.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It shouldn't be like that.
O'BRIEN: Oh, my god. And, you know -- and if it were one family, one individual story, it wouldn't break your heart. But it's not one family.
SANCHEZ: Yes, there's so many people.
O'BRIEN: It's tens of thousands of people who are going to need a lot of help getting back together.
SANCHEZ: Andy's "Minding Your Business" as well, and he's here coming up in just a little bit. And he's going to tell us now, as we like to say, the old teaserooni of what he's going to do.
SERWER: The teaserooni, indeed.
Ford workers biting a big healthcare bullet, Rick. How much will they have to give up? We'll tell you about that next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Oh, I love when we run "Oy to the World." It's a traditional holiday classic that just...
SERWER: A little head-banger music for you all.
O'BRIEN: It hits you in the heart, you know?
SANCHEZ: What is that?
O'BRIEN: You know, Frank Sinatra, "Oy to the World."
SANCHEZ: And then "Bang Your Head."
O'BRIEN: And "Bang Your Head," "Oy to the World." I mean, gosh, I just...
SERWER: Thrash it out, people. Thrash it out.
O'BRIEN: ... I love a traditional Christmas. Yes, I do.
Welcome back, everybody.
SANCHEZ (SINGING): It's beginning to look a lot... O'BRIEN: There you go. At least you're in the right...
SERWER: You know, that didn't sound so bad, actually.
O'BRIEN: No, pretty good. You can do the next break.
SANCHEZ: I will.
O'BRIEN: Andy's "Minding Your Business" in just a moment.
First, though, let's get a check of the headlines.
Hey, Kelly.
WALLACE: Hello again, Soledad.
We start with some very good news for New York City commuters, because the subways and buses are back on track. The three-day transit strike is now over, although the issues that led to the strike in the first place remain unresolved.
The transit union was facing $1 million a day in fines. Its leaders were facing possible jail time, too.
Some changes in U.S. troop levels for Iraq to tell you about. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld revealed the plans during an unannounced visit to Iraq. The Pentagon will cancel the deployment of two Army brigades that had been scheduled for combat tours in Iraq.
Further adjustments will reduce U.S. forces below 138,000. As many as 160,000 have been in Iraq recently for the elections there.
In Texas, the last of the state's government-operated shelters for hurricane evacuees has now closed. At its height, there were nearly 115,000 evacuees and 300 shelters in Texas. The last FEMA- operated shelter closed on Thursday. Not all of those, though, who left the shelter in San Antonio are headed home. Some were moved to government-funded hotel rooms and apartments.
And some Wal-Mart workers in California win a big one. A jury in Oakland says the giant retailer must now pay $172 million for denying lunch breaks to thousands of employees. The lawsuit is one of several dozen in the nation accusing the company of workplace violations. Wal-Mart is expected to appeal.
So what's your weather going to look like on this Friday? Bonnie Schneider in Atlanta with the latest.
Hi, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Hi, Kelly.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Bonnie. Auto workers taking a hit on healthcare. And with that and a look at the markets as well, let's go over to Andy Serwer. And he's "Minding Your Business" for you.
SERWER: Rick, it's a big story. Companies grinding down and grinding down wages and benefits for their employees.
Yesterday, Ford Motor getting its United Auto Workers to agree to cut back its healthcare benefits to the tune of $850 million. It only passed by a very, very slim margin, 51 percent. Maybe not a surprise there.
This is a so-called pattern agreement because it sets the stage for the other auto companies to get their workers to vote on the same type of contract. And unusual, too, because the national contract doesn't expire until September of '07.
Chrysler is next up, but they might have a tough time getting their employees to agree because this is a company that's making money. So it could be tough. And, of course, these are just the kinds of issues that all kinds of blue collar workers across the board are facing, the same kind of stuff that was going on here with the transit strike in New York City.
Now, let's talk about the markets.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Coming up next week, in fact, speaking of '06, just in time for your New Year's resolutions, we're going to tell you about five diets that really truly work.
SERWER: No?
O'BRIEN: They're going to help you lose weight -- yes.
SANCHEZ: And they're scrumdelicious.
O'BRIEN: Five -- not necessarily. But they work. We've got five diet books from the most popular. We sit down with a dietician, and she'll tell you why they work and how you can be successful on those diets. That's all next week.
And a reminder. We start at 6:00 a.m.
SERWER: Good time.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: New Year's resolutions.
O'BRIEN: Yes. It's perfect timing.
SANCHEZ: I love your singing, by the way.
In a moment, today's top stories, including a happy family's -- or happy news for military families just in time for the holidays. It looks like the U.S. is going to be cutting back on the number of troops in Iraq. We've got the numbers for you, the details in a live report from Baghdad. It's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Be sure to check out our Web site, CNN.com, for the very latest on this morning's top stories, including these that we've been checking out for you to see what you're most interested in. There's this story...
A Milan court has issued a European arrest warrant for 22 CIA agents suspected of, interestingly enough, kidnapping an Egyptian cleric from the city in 2003. This is according to judicial sources.
Another big story, of course, which could be huge news for families here in the United States, some 7,000 U.S. troops may be coming home. This announcement made by that man right there, Donald Rumsfeld, yesterday while he was traveling out of the country.
And this story, a sad story in the world of sports. Tony Dungy, who happens to be just a class act -- I mean, one of the most soft- spoken -- a real true representative of sportsmanship in this country, the coach, of course, of the Indianapolis Colts -- his team was undefeated until last week -- well, yesterday he got the news through a phone call that his son had, apparently, according to officials in Tampa, Florida, committed suicide.
James Dungy found by his girlfriend when she returned to their dorm room, apparently. So really tough news. It's really shaking up the NFL.
Tony Dungy, by the way, is going to take some time off and let his assistant coach take over the team.
If you're about to head out for work or go out the door to school you can stay in touch with CNN and AMERICAN MORNING by logging on to CNN.com and our pipeline video service, as well. You can catch live, commercial-free news updates. It's all there at CNN.com/pipeline.
O'BRIEN: All right. And as we approach the top of the hour, let's check in on the forecast. Bonnie Schneider is at the CNN center, has a look at what the next couple of shopping days, all that's remaining, in fact, how they're going to look.
Good morning.
SCHNEIDER: Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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