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CNN Sunday Morning

Travel Update; Best of the Web

Aired November 28, 2004 - 09:00 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.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN SUNDAY MORNING on this, the 28th day of November.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: November.

HARRIS: The year is just gone. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: Flying by, yes. And I'm Betty Nguyen. Nine a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. Let's get started with the day's top stories.

Rescue workers are trying to reach 166 miners trapped under ground since early this morning in northwest China. One hundred twenty-seven miners have been rescued since a gas explosion ripped through that coal mine, 41 of those workers are hospitalized with injuries. We have a live report on rescue efforts a little bit later this hour.

In the U.S., millions of holiday travelers are on the move again trying to get home today and back to work tomorrow. At the Reno Tahoe Airport flights are leaving today but they are booked solid, and some travelers delayed by yesterday's snowstorm are still stalled at the airport.

Visa reports its customers put about $4 billion on their cards on Friday. But Wal-Mart is disappointed with the initial holiday shopping results. In fact, the world's biggest retailer has cut its projected November sales by more than a half.

Well, the Coast Guard says about 50 birds have been killed and 300 soiled by the oil spill Friday night into the Delaware River. A Greek tanker leaked 30,000 gallons of crude oil near Philadelphia, and private contractors are helping with the containment and cleanup. Philadelphia's port is expected to be closed for several days.

HARRIS: And here's what's coming up for you this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you come over here, it's -- you realize you are here for real. It's the real deal.

This is the real world. This is actually happening. It's really full metal jacket flying over your head.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Danger looms overhead and down below, and all you have are the soldiers to the left and the right of you. That's the way this radio specialist serving in Iraq sums it up. He volunteered to fight even though he had never been out of the country before. We will have more of his amazing story in about nine minutes.

And don't be Froogle with your Google. You can use it, it seems, a lot to help you shop, seek out the best Christmas buys online from this week's "Best of the Web" segment.

And that man and that sound, it is totally distinctive. Jazz musician Najee has been with us all morning. He'll join us for a live performance in about 40 minutes.

NGUYEN: Our top story this hour, yes, you guessed it, tricky travel out West. Heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada region is foiling even the best-laid plans for millions of travelers returning home after Thanksgiving. Already they are traveling on one of the busiest travel day of the year.

Flights booked solid today and tomorrow. So some passengers from Saturday might not be able to get a seat on a flight until, listen to this, Tuesday. Pack along your patience.

At the Reno Airport yesterday, up to 18 inches of snow fell, delaying or canceling dozens of flights there and creating a system wide backlog today all across the country. So where are these delays and how might you work around them?

Rally Caparas of Travelocity Business is here with an update on this holiday mess out there.

Hi, Rally.

RALLY CAPARAS, TRAVELOCITY BUSINESS: Hi, Betty.

Well, things are operating pretty smoothly now at the Reno-Tahoe Airport under the circumstances, of course. They are going to have a lot of flights in and out. A little bit more than what they normally see.

There shouldn't be any delays at all related to today's schedule. It's all those poor folks that got stranded on Saturday that are going to have to sit through all these flights that were already booked to the gills.

They may be lucky enough to get one stand-by seat or so, but it doesn't look likely. They're going to have to wait until later in the week before they get out.

Major delays today in the Northeast. Take a look at FlightExplorer.com as we drive down towards the Northeast.

You will see Philly, New York and Boston. They're going to get the worst of it, and so will the delays be in those locations. Boston's Logan Airport delay-free this morning, but that will change soon. Sixty to 90-minute arrival delays are likely.

The FAA is contemplating a ground delay program which will schedule those delays into your departure before you actually take to the airways.

Down south a little further, New York City and actually LaGuardia and Newark are both in ground delay programs right now. Newark's looking at a 145-minute average delay for arrivals; LaGuardia, 90 minutes right now. Expect them to stay right around two to there hours all day long. Now, low clouds, rain, poor visibility and volume.

Philadelphia, 60 to 90-minute arrival delays. The wind's going to be gusting there to about 25 to 30 knots. It could be better before we hit the evening rush.

Denver, 45 to 60-minute delays because of de-icing and snow on the ground. Freezing temperatures will keep those minimal delays going throughout the day and evening. The rest of the country looking pretty good.

I will be back in the next hour. Tony and Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: Hey, Rally, if you are traveling with children, these delays and especially cancellations condition a nightmare. What's your advice?

CAPARAS: Well, Betty, I said earlier, don't -- you want to spoil them a little bit because they are cranky and that type of thing.

NGUYEN: Right.

CAPARAS: Don't give them sodas, don't give them cookies or anything with sugar. You don't need them running up and down the terminal ways.

Give them some handheld games, maybe teach them how to play crossword puzzles, that type of thing. It's going to be a long way for a lot of you, especially headed into the Northeast today.

A lot of kids are going to get antsy. Do the best you can. I hope you're all -- you've all taken your classes on how to be a good parent. You're going to need it today.

NGUYEN: And the key here, no sugar. All right. Rally Caparas of Travelocity Business. Thank you, Rally.

CAPARAS: Sure.

HARRIS: Well, Bush administration officials are looking at short-term government borrowing to finance a plan for Social Security. The president wants to add personal retirement accounts to the Social Security program. The nation already faces a record $412 billion deficit this year. And $2.3 trillion in red ink is projected over the next 10 years. Under one scenario, the Social Security fix could add as much as $4.7 trillion to the public debt. But administration officials say the new government bonds would be repaid in 20 years and taxes could then be reduced.

President Bush is among today's holiday travelers leaving his Texas ranch this afternoon and heading back to Washington. CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House with more on the president's day.

Good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

That's right, President Bush leaves his ranch in Crawford, Texas, as you mentioned, returns here to the White House later this afternoon. He spent the holiday, of course, with his family, but it was also a working vacation.

In fact, at the outset, the president hosted the king and queen of Spain last week for a pre--Thanksgiving meal. And looking ahead, more diplomacy on the horizon for the president.

On Tuesday, President Bush will be heading north to meet with the Canadian prime minister in Ottawa. The two men last met about a week ago during the Asia-Pacific economic meeting in Chile.

Now, this will be Mr. Bush's first trip to Canada since his reelection. Of course there are still sore feelings in that country over the Iraq invasion. Canada did not commit troops to the invasion.

Now both the U.S., though, and Canadian officials are looking ahead. They are hoping that this will be the beginning of a new start, a chance to smooth things over.

And we should also mention to you that the president will be heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He's going to thank workers there -- or thank the Canadian people there, rather. That trip set to take place on Wednesday.

Now, Many Americans may not realize, Tony, that in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, when many Americans found themselves stranded because flights had been stopped, thousands of Canadians in that area actually opened up their homes to Americans, allowed those stranded travelers to stay there.

President Bush will be making a stop there to reach out and thank those Canadians, part of his international diplomacy effort. Try and perhaps mend those fences over the Iraq invasion, but also thank them for their efforts in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Elaine, I did not know that. Thank you. Elaine Quijano at the White House this morning -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, it's been another bloody day in Iraq. A roadside bomb hit two civilian vehicles north of Baghdad, killing four Iraqis and wounding another. Hours earlier, two American soldiers were wounded when a car bomb exploded next to their military convoy. The soldiers were traveling on a highway leading to Baghdad's airport.

Iraq's top Shiite cleric is calling for nationwide elections to go forward as planned. He is opposing a drive by Sunni clerics to delay the January 30 vote. The Sunnis want more time for the government to get better control of security.

So what do you think? Should Iraqi elections go ahead as planned January 30? E-mail us now at wam@cnn.com and we will read your responses on the air.

The war in Iraq and the raids to root out the insurgency have thrust some American troops into a world that feels, well, like a nightmare. But it's real, and it's their life. CNN's Nic Robertson has the story of how one soldier copes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside in the pre-raid darkness, Specialist Dan Suter is distinguishable only by the antenna protruding from his backpack. Inside, where even in the light the uniformity of battle gear camouflages Suter among his comrades, he sticks close to his lieutenant, just as a radio operator should. The ride could be going better, but no surprise, barely two months into their year-long mission, they are already familiar with the problems they face.

SPECIALIST DAN SUTER, TASK FORCE OLYMPIA: It's hard to gain trust. That seems to be the culture, to be quite up front, but kind of dagger-and-cloak-type of attitude sometimes. Like, yes, we'll be nice, but it's because we don't want to be killed.

ROBERTSON: Known as Freq, as in radio frequency to his platoon mates, Suter shares his warm, if small, cabin on base with medic Doc Powers. The wall is testimony to loves and lives put on hold.

SUTER: You can't think about it 10 months at a time. You really have to go one less day, one day closer to coming back home. That's how I deal with it. That's how my wife deals with it.

SUTER: 91113 (ph) Victor. 91113 (ph) Victor.

ROBERTSON: At 27, Suter is older than the average specialist. He signed up after 9/11, fueled by a patriotic desire to help. Never quite expecting this.

SUTER: The first day we got here, I took mortar fire. Our first mission we took small arms mortar RPG fire. It's just like -- I'm like, "Are we in Falluja or Mosul?" I mean, seriously, that was an eye-opener. That was the biggest eye-opener.

ROBERTSON: He's not angered by what is learned. Indeed, the man from a town of just 17,000 in Indiana...

SUTER: What's up buddy? I'm doing good. You got egg rolls today. I'm happy.

ROBERTSON: ... who had never been overseas until now, carries with him the small town work ethic of wanting to help and accepting and rising to every challenge.

SUTER: At one time I thought I saw one of my buddies actually get hit by a round. You know, it's just kind of -- it's just kind of -- I don't know how to say it. It's kind of getting hit by the frying pan in the face kind of thing. I mean, here's the reality of it.

ROBERTSON: His advice for those considering following in his footsteps...

SUTER: This isn't Hollywood. So when you come over here, it's -- you realize that you're here for real. It's the real deal.

This is real world. This is actually happening. That's really full metal jacket flying over your head.

There's no glory. You just do your job. Everything goes out the window, and it's just the men to your left and to your right that you really look after. And do your mission, and you try to make sure they all come back with you. And that's a successful mission.

ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN, Mosul, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: I can't hear enough from them. I just can't hear enough from them.

NGUYEN: It reminds us that there is a war that they are facing as we here at home continue with our daily lives.

HARRIS: Absolutely. All right.

NGUYEN: Good story.

HARRIS: You know, you've heard the phrase, "Let your fingers do the walking."

NGUYEN: Oh, yes.

HARRIS: Well, how about letting your fingers do the typing to complete your Christmas list? Finding bargains on the Internet in today's "Best of the Web."

NGUYEN: And here he is.

(MUSIC)

NGUYEN: Oh, yes, saxophonist Najee getting ready to bring you a holiday weekend treat. Call your friends, because CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Well, here's a look at the morning's headlines.

Rescue teams are on the scene of a Chinese coal mine explosion in China. One hundred sixty-six miners are trapped, another 127 miners have been rescued. We will get a live update from China in just a few minutes.

At least three people were killed earlier today when militants attacked an aid agency office in southwestern Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesman denies the attack.

An 18-inch snowfall has left hundreds of passengers cooling their heels at the Reno-Tahoe Airport. People holding tickets to travel today are OK, but people who were supposed to have flown yesterday might not get a flight until Tuesday.

And later in the hour, a conversation with, and a live performance from jazz star Najee. Najee right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Call your friends quickly.

NGUYEN: Now to this week's "Best of the Web" for holiday shopping. More and more people are buying gifts online or at least doing some research.

Adam Rogers of "Wired" Magazine joins us live from San Francisco with the inside scoop.

Good morning to you, Adam.

ADAM ROGERS, "WIRED": Good morning.

NGUYEN: A lot of folks are really avoiding the malls because that can be a mess this time of year. And they are deciding to go online to do this shopping.

So here's the scenario. Say I know what I want to buy, electronics, but I don't know which brand is best. Where can I go to not only compare brands, but hear from those who have actually bought those products and are giving reviews?

ROGERS: Well, so there are a bunch of Web sites that are out there now that are called aggregators, where you can click onto this Web site and just sort of ask for a product. And it will give you dozens, if not hundreds, of different online retailers, as well as product reviews, and sort of details about products that you compare among a bunch of different assortments. Like if you are looking at CD players, let's say, or digital cameras.

So one of them, for example, is a site called BizRate, which is -- combines what they say on their site is 40,000 different -- different retailers, and this sort of 15 different dimensions on a scale of surveys that they ask all of their merchants and also people who buy a million different -- people who click through the site and bought stuff. And you can look at their reviews, their opinions, as well as specs on the products themselves. NGUYEN: Now, BizRate, though, is very good about comparing prices. What about DealTime? That offers some good information as well, correct?

ROGERS: Yes, that's right. So DealTime merged with a sight that used to be called Epinions.com. And so now if you go to just shopping.com, which has got to be one of the best online retail URLs that I've ever heard of -- so they'll combine the actual products with -- with the reviews that they'll read from -- from customers. So Epinions is this site that's designed to specifically look for -- look for opinions for the people who use it, and then they publish those on the site.

NGUYEN: Adam, I have to tell you, when we are looking at these sites, there is so much information. It's almost information overload.

ROGERS: It is.

NGUYEN: So for those who just want the simple facts, is there a user-friendly site that they can go to?

ROGERS: Well, my feeling about user-friendly is that the best thing you can have is a clean interface. So I really like Froogle, which is what Google has set up to be an aggregator for -- for deals for retailers.

So if you like the Google interface, you know, you can sort of type in anything that you can think of in key words, and it will give you, you know, thousands of different pages on this site. Well, Froogle is what the Google guys came up with to do the same thing for shopping. It's very clean, it's very pretty.

NGUYEN: Hence the name Froogle.

ROGERS: That's right. And you get your deals.

NGUYEN: OK. But now that site's also very good if you are looking for something specific, maybe a hard-to-find item, correct?

ROGERS: Yes, that's true. I was actually using it the other day because I was looking for a large funnel, and I didn't really know what like the chef's term for a large funnel was. So I just typed in, you know, "large funnel," and I got about seven different kinds of funnels that would be very useful for the kitchen.

NGUYEN: And there's another one, MySimon.com. And you can actually get cash back for purchases?

HARRIS: Hey, now.

NGUYEN: Yes, I like the sound of that.

ROGERS: Yes, this really shocked me. I know.

As long as you are a member, basically you can -- for certain things that they sell on the site, they will give you a few bucks back if they've made the deal with the merchant ahead of time. So I haven't tried this yet, but that works out pretty well, especially if you are, you know, searching for a deal.

NGUYEN: And speaking of those deals, instead of, you know, driving down to those brick and mortar buildings, not only can you save time and shop at any moment of the day on the Web, you can also save money, too, because there are those taxes, and sometimes they throw in that shipping all for free.

ROGERS: Yes, that's true. And, of course, you know, the nice thing about going to the mall used to be that you could compare products among the different shops. And you would see, you know, two dozen different shops in a nice mall and make a day of it.

Well, now you can actually compare prices from thousands of different shops, thousands of different people trying to sell you something. So the market has become that much bigger, and you have that much more information about the prices you can get.

NGUYEN: So you can shop until you drop any time of the day.

ROGERS: In your underwear, that's right.

NGUYEN: In your underwear. Nice point there, Adam. Appreciate that. Adam Rogers of "Wired" Magazine.

We know what you've been doing, Adam. Thanks -- Tony.

ROGERS: My pleasure.

NGUYEN: A little too much information there, Adam.

HARRIS: We're going to get an update on one of the top stories of the day -- 127 miners escaped after a mine explosion in China. But more than 100 remain trapped below ground. Rescue workers are on the scene. A live report right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Tony.

We've got a snowstorm heading through the Colorado Rockies. Over three feet of snow reported at Crested Butte. In the wake of that, it's drying out in San Francisco.

Beautiful shot. KRON is our affiliate out that way. But the winds are gusty.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE) as we take you to break. Good morning San Fran and the San Francisco Bay area. We will be right back with more of CNN SUNDAY MORNING in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And checking other stories making news "Across America" this Sunday morning.

Mourners in the rural Wisconsin community of Rice Lake are facing two more funerals tomorrow. Three of the six hunters killed in a week ago in a trespassing dispute were buried yesterday, including a father and his 20-year-old son. Another hunter is being held in connection with those shootings.

In San Diego County, high winds have forced a sheriff's department rescue helicopter to give up an attempt to rescue two stranded hikers. They're stuck in southern California's Santa Rosa Mountains. A Coast Guard chopper is expected to try today to rescue the two, one of whom has a broken leg.

Well, Elvis may be gone, but Christmas lives on at Graceland. The holiday decorations are blazing at Elvis Presley's famed Memphis mansion. And they are just the same as when Elvis celebrated his last Christmas there in 1976. He died the following year in August.

A crime wave -- a crime wave is flooding Burger Kings across the nation. Listen to this. In at least six states, SpongeBob SquarePants is missing.

NGUYEN: Oh, no!

HARRIS: It's an outrage. The fast-food chain is doing a promotion in connection with the cartoon's new movie. And it seems they -- the blowup version of the big yellow sea creature has caught the eye of one or more crooks. In some cases, ransom notes has demanded french fries and shakes.

NGUYEN: What has this country come to? My goodness.

Rob Marciano, I know this has you very upset.

MARCIANO: It's disturbing.

NGUYEN: Do you happen to know who kidnapped SpongeBob?

MARCIANO: I don't know that, and I don't know the punks who poured super glue in the keyholes of the stores yesterday that we talked about.

HARRIS: That's right. That's right.

MARCIANO: What are the kids coming to these days, Tony?

NGUYEN: I don't know.

HARRIS: Yes, that's...

NGUYEN: And during a holiday season, no less. I just don't know what to think of it.

MARCIANO: That's right. We're always going to find stories like that. And we're a 24-hour news network. So if they're out there, we'll find them. That's for sure. (WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Rob, thank you.

NGUYEN: Yes.

We do want to talk about a dramatic rescue attempt which is under way in China this morning. We will take you live to Beijing for the latest on those trapped miners. More than 100 have already been freed.

HARRIS: Plus, our gift to you this holiday weekend. I am about to raise up out of this seat, head on over to the Omni and join jazz saxophonist Najee as he gets ready to perform for us live. And I promise, I've been forced to promise that I won't sing.

NGUYEN: Thank goodness.

HARRIS: You know what?

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired November 28, 2004 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN SUNDAY MORNING on this, the 28th day of November.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: November.

HARRIS: The year is just gone. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: Flying by, yes. And I'm Betty Nguyen. Nine a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. Let's get started with the day's top stories.

Rescue workers are trying to reach 166 miners trapped under ground since early this morning in northwest China. One hundred twenty-seven miners have been rescued since a gas explosion ripped through that coal mine, 41 of those workers are hospitalized with injuries. We have a live report on rescue efforts a little bit later this hour.

In the U.S., millions of holiday travelers are on the move again trying to get home today and back to work tomorrow. At the Reno Tahoe Airport flights are leaving today but they are booked solid, and some travelers delayed by yesterday's snowstorm are still stalled at the airport.

Visa reports its customers put about $4 billion on their cards on Friday. But Wal-Mart is disappointed with the initial holiday shopping results. In fact, the world's biggest retailer has cut its projected November sales by more than a half.

Well, the Coast Guard says about 50 birds have been killed and 300 soiled by the oil spill Friday night into the Delaware River. A Greek tanker leaked 30,000 gallons of crude oil near Philadelphia, and private contractors are helping with the containment and cleanup. Philadelphia's port is expected to be closed for several days.

HARRIS: And here's what's coming up for you this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you come over here, it's -- you realize you are here for real. It's the real deal.

This is the real world. This is actually happening. It's really full metal jacket flying over your head.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Danger looms overhead and down below, and all you have are the soldiers to the left and the right of you. That's the way this radio specialist serving in Iraq sums it up. He volunteered to fight even though he had never been out of the country before. We will have more of his amazing story in about nine minutes.

And don't be Froogle with your Google. You can use it, it seems, a lot to help you shop, seek out the best Christmas buys online from this week's "Best of the Web" segment.

And that man and that sound, it is totally distinctive. Jazz musician Najee has been with us all morning. He'll join us for a live performance in about 40 minutes.

NGUYEN: Our top story this hour, yes, you guessed it, tricky travel out West. Heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada region is foiling even the best-laid plans for millions of travelers returning home after Thanksgiving. Already they are traveling on one of the busiest travel day of the year.

Flights booked solid today and tomorrow. So some passengers from Saturday might not be able to get a seat on a flight until, listen to this, Tuesday. Pack along your patience.

At the Reno Airport yesterday, up to 18 inches of snow fell, delaying or canceling dozens of flights there and creating a system wide backlog today all across the country. So where are these delays and how might you work around them?

Rally Caparas of Travelocity Business is here with an update on this holiday mess out there.

Hi, Rally.

RALLY CAPARAS, TRAVELOCITY BUSINESS: Hi, Betty.

Well, things are operating pretty smoothly now at the Reno-Tahoe Airport under the circumstances, of course. They are going to have a lot of flights in and out. A little bit more than what they normally see.

There shouldn't be any delays at all related to today's schedule. It's all those poor folks that got stranded on Saturday that are going to have to sit through all these flights that were already booked to the gills.

They may be lucky enough to get one stand-by seat or so, but it doesn't look likely. They're going to have to wait until later in the week before they get out.

Major delays today in the Northeast. Take a look at FlightExplorer.com as we drive down towards the Northeast.

You will see Philly, New York and Boston. They're going to get the worst of it, and so will the delays be in those locations. Boston's Logan Airport delay-free this morning, but that will change soon. Sixty to 90-minute arrival delays are likely.

The FAA is contemplating a ground delay program which will schedule those delays into your departure before you actually take to the airways.

Down south a little further, New York City and actually LaGuardia and Newark are both in ground delay programs right now. Newark's looking at a 145-minute average delay for arrivals; LaGuardia, 90 minutes right now. Expect them to stay right around two to there hours all day long. Now, low clouds, rain, poor visibility and volume.

Philadelphia, 60 to 90-minute arrival delays. The wind's going to be gusting there to about 25 to 30 knots. It could be better before we hit the evening rush.

Denver, 45 to 60-minute delays because of de-icing and snow on the ground. Freezing temperatures will keep those minimal delays going throughout the day and evening. The rest of the country looking pretty good.

I will be back in the next hour. Tony and Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: Hey, Rally, if you are traveling with children, these delays and especially cancellations condition a nightmare. What's your advice?

CAPARAS: Well, Betty, I said earlier, don't -- you want to spoil them a little bit because they are cranky and that type of thing.

NGUYEN: Right.

CAPARAS: Don't give them sodas, don't give them cookies or anything with sugar. You don't need them running up and down the terminal ways.

Give them some handheld games, maybe teach them how to play crossword puzzles, that type of thing. It's going to be a long way for a lot of you, especially headed into the Northeast today.

A lot of kids are going to get antsy. Do the best you can. I hope you're all -- you've all taken your classes on how to be a good parent. You're going to need it today.

NGUYEN: And the key here, no sugar. All right. Rally Caparas of Travelocity Business. Thank you, Rally.

CAPARAS: Sure.

HARRIS: Well, Bush administration officials are looking at short-term government borrowing to finance a plan for Social Security. The president wants to add personal retirement accounts to the Social Security program. The nation already faces a record $412 billion deficit this year. And $2.3 trillion in red ink is projected over the next 10 years. Under one scenario, the Social Security fix could add as much as $4.7 trillion to the public debt. But administration officials say the new government bonds would be repaid in 20 years and taxes could then be reduced.

President Bush is among today's holiday travelers leaving his Texas ranch this afternoon and heading back to Washington. CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House with more on the president's day.

Good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

That's right, President Bush leaves his ranch in Crawford, Texas, as you mentioned, returns here to the White House later this afternoon. He spent the holiday, of course, with his family, but it was also a working vacation.

In fact, at the outset, the president hosted the king and queen of Spain last week for a pre--Thanksgiving meal. And looking ahead, more diplomacy on the horizon for the president.

On Tuesday, President Bush will be heading north to meet with the Canadian prime minister in Ottawa. The two men last met about a week ago during the Asia-Pacific economic meeting in Chile.

Now, this will be Mr. Bush's first trip to Canada since his reelection. Of course there are still sore feelings in that country over the Iraq invasion. Canada did not commit troops to the invasion.

Now both the U.S., though, and Canadian officials are looking ahead. They are hoping that this will be the beginning of a new start, a chance to smooth things over.

And we should also mention to you that the president will be heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He's going to thank workers there -- or thank the Canadian people there, rather. That trip set to take place on Wednesday.

Now, Many Americans may not realize, Tony, that in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, when many Americans found themselves stranded because flights had been stopped, thousands of Canadians in that area actually opened up their homes to Americans, allowed those stranded travelers to stay there.

President Bush will be making a stop there to reach out and thank those Canadians, part of his international diplomacy effort. Try and perhaps mend those fences over the Iraq invasion, but also thank them for their efforts in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Elaine, I did not know that. Thank you. Elaine Quijano at the White House this morning -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, it's been another bloody day in Iraq. A roadside bomb hit two civilian vehicles north of Baghdad, killing four Iraqis and wounding another. Hours earlier, two American soldiers were wounded when a car bomb exploded next to their military convoy. The soldiers were traveling on a highway leading to Baghdad's airport.

Iraq's top Shiite cleric is calling for nationwide elections to go forward as planned. He is opposing a drive by Sunni clerics to delay the January 30 vote. The Sunnis want more time for the government to get better control of security.

So what do you think? Should Iraqi elections go ahead as planned January 30? E-mail us now at wam@cnn.com and we will read your responses on the air.

The war in Iraq and the raids to root out the insurgency have thrust some American troops into a world that feels, well, like a nightmare. But it's real, and it's their life. CNN's Nic Robertson has the story of how one soldier copes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside in the pre-raid darkness, Specialist Dan Suter is distinguishable only by the antenna protruding from his backpack. Inside, where even in the light the uniformity of battle gear camouflages Suter among his comrades, he sticks close to his lieutenant, just as a radio operator should. The ride could be going better, but no surprise, barely two months into their year-long mission, they are already familiar with the problems they face.

SPECIALIST DAN SUTER, TASK FORCE OLYMPIA: It's hard to gain trust. That seems to be the culture, to be quite up front, but kind of dagger-and-cloak-type of attitude sometimes. Like, yes, we'll be nice, but it's because we don't want to be killed.

ROBERTSON: Known as Freq, as in radio frequency to his platoon mates, Suter shares his warm, if small, cabin on base with medic Doc Powers. The wall is testimony to loves and lives put on hold.

SUTER: You can't think about it 10 months at a time. You really have to go one less day, one day closer to coming back home. That's how I deal with it. That's how my wife deals with it.

SUTER: 91113 (ph) Victor. 91113 (ph) Victor.

ROBERTSON: At 27, Suter is older than the average specialist. He signed up after 9/11, fueled by a patriotic desire to help. Never quite expecting this.

SUTER: The first day we got here, I took mortar fire. Our first mission we took small arms mortar RPG fire. It's just like -- I'm like, "Are we in Falluja or Mosul?" I mean, seriously, that was an eye-opener. That was the biggest eye-opener.

ROBERTSON: He's not angered by what is learned. Indeed, the man from a town of just 17,000 in Indiana...

SUTER: What's up buddy? I'm doing good. You got egg rolls today. I'm happy.

ROBERTSON: ... who had never been overseas until now, carries with him the small town work ethic of wanting to help and accepting and rising to every challenge.

SUTER: At one time I thought I saw one of my buddies actually get hit by a round. You know, it's just kind of -- it's just kind of -- I don't know how to say it. It's kind of getting hit by the frying pan in the face kind of thing. I mean, here's the reality of it.

ROBERTSON: His advice for those considering following in his footsteps...

SUTER: This isn't Hollywood. So when you come over here, it's -- you realize that you're here for real. It's the real deal.

This is real world. This is actually happening. That's really full metal jacket flying over your head.

There's no glory. You just do your job. Everything goes out the window, and it's just the men to your left and to your right that you really look after. And do your mission, and you try to make sure they all come back with you. And that's a successful mission.

ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN, Mosul, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: I can't hear enough from them. I just can't hear enough from them.

NGUYEN: It reminds us that there is a war that they are facing as we here at home continue with our daily lives.

HARRIS: Absolutely. All right.

NGUYEN: Good story.

HARRIS: You know, you've heard the phrase, "Let your fingers do the walking."

NGUYEN: Oh, yes.

HARRIS: Well, how about letting your fingers do the typing to complete your Christmas list? Finding bargains on the Internet in today's "Best of the Web."

NGUYEN: And here he is.

(MUSIC)

NGUYEN: Oh, yes, saxophonist Najee getting ready to bring you a holiday weekend treat. Call your friends, because CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Well, here's a look at the morning's headlines.

Rescue teams are on the scene of a Chinese coal mine explosion in China. One hundred sixty-six miners are trapped, another 127 miners have been rescued. We will get a live update from China in just a few minutes.

At least three people were killed earlier today when militants attacked an aid agency office in southwestern Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesman denies the attack.

An 18-inch snowfall has left hundreds of passengers cooling their heels at the Reno-Tahoe Airport. People holding tickets to travel today are OK, but people who were supposed to have flown yesterday might not get a flight until Tuesday.

And later in the hour, a conversation with, and a live performance from jazz star Najee. Najee right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Call your friends quickly.

NGUYEN: Now to this week's "Best of the Web" for holiday shopping. More and more people are buying gifts online or at least doing some research.

Adam Rogers of "Wired" Magazine joins us live from San Francisco with the inside scoop.

Good morning to you, Adam.

ADAM ROGERS, "WIRED": Good morning.

NGUYEN: A lot of folks are really avoiding the malls because that can be a mess this time of year. And they are deciding to go online to do this shopping.

So here's the scenario. Say I know what I want to buy, electronics, but I don't know which brand is best. Where can I go to not only compare brands, but hear from those who have actually bought those products and are giving reviews?

ROGERS: Well, so there are a bunch of Web sites that are out there now that are called aggregators, where you can click onto this Web site and just sort of ask for a product. And it will give you dozens, if not hundreds, of different online retailers, as well as product reviews, and sort of details about products that you compare among a bunch of different assortments. Like if you are looking at CD players, let's say, or digital cameras.

So one of them, for example, is a site called BizRate, which is -- combines what they say on their site is 40,000 different -- different retailers, and this sort of 15 different dimensions on a scale of surveys that they ask all of their merchants and also people who buy a million different -- people who click through the site and bought stuff. And you can look at their reviews, their opinions, as well as specs on the products themselves. NGUYEN: Now, BizRate, though, is very good about comparing prices. What about DealTime? That offers some good information as well, correct?

ROGERS: Yes, that's right. So DealTime merged with a sight that used to be called Epinions.com. And so now if you go to just shopping.com, which has got to be one of the best online retail URLs that I've ever heard of -- so they'll combine the actual products with -- with the reviews that they'll read from -- from customers. So Epinions is this site that's designed to specifically look for -- look for opinions for the people who use it, and then they publish those on the site.

NGUYEN: Adam, I have to tell you, when we are looking at these sites, there is so much information. It's almost information overload.

ROGERS: It is.

NGUYEN: So for those who just want the simple facts, is there a user-friendly site that they can go to?

ROGERS: Well, my feeling about user-friendly is that the best thing you can have is a clean interface. So I really like Froogle, which is what Google has set up to be an aggregator for -- for deals for retailers.

So if you like the Google interface, you know, you can sort of type in anything that you can think of in key words, and it will give you, you know, thousands of different pages on this site. Well, Froogle is what the Google guys came up with to do the same thing for shopping. It's very clean, it's very pretty.

NGUYEN: Hence the name Froogle.

ROGERS: That's right. And you get your deals.

NGUYEN: OK. But now that site's also very good if you are looking for something specific, maybe a hard-to-find item, correct?

ROGERS: Yes, that's true. I was actually using it the other day because I was looking for a large funnel, and I didn't really know what like the chef's term for a large funnel was. So I just typed in, you know, "large funnel," and I got about seven different kinds of funnels that would be very useful for the kitchen.

NGUYEN: And there's another one, MySimon.com. And you can actually get cash back for purchases?

HARRIS: Hey, now.

NGUYEN: Yes, I like the sound of that.

ROGERS: Yes, this really shocked me. I know.

As long as you are a member, basically you can -- for certain things that they sell on the site, they will give you a few bucks back if they've made the deal with the merchant ahead of time. So I haven't tried this yet, but that works out pretty well, especially if you are, you know, searching for a deal.

NGUYEN: And speaking of those deals, instead of, you know, driving down to those brick and mortar buildings, not only can you save time and shop at any moment of the day on the Web, you can also save money, too, because there are those taxes, and sometimes they throw in that shipping all for free.

ROGERS: Yes, that's true. And, of course, you know, the nice thing about going to the mall used to be that you could compare products among the different shops. And you would see, you know, two dozen different shops in a nice mall and make a day of it.

Well, now you can actually compare prices from thousands of different shops, thousands of different people trying to sell you something. So the market has become that much bigger, and you have that much more information about the prices you can get.

NGUYEN: So you can shop until you drop any time of the day.

ROGERS: In your underwear, that's right.

NGUYEN: In your underwear. Nice point there, Adam. Appreciate that. Adam Rogers of "Wired" Magazine.

We know what you've been doing, Adam. Thanks -- Tony.

ROGERS: My pleasure.

NGUYEN: A little too much information there, Adam.

HARRIS: We're going to get an update on one of the top stories of the day -- 127 miners escaped after a mine explosion in China. But more than 100 remain trapped below ground. Rescue workers are on the scene. A live report right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Tony.

We've got a snowstorm heading through the Colorado Rockies. Over three feet of snow reported at Crested Butte. In the wake of that, it's drying out in San Francisco.

Beautiful shot. KRON is our affiliate out that way. But the winds are gusty.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE) as we take you to break. Good morning San Fran and the San Francisco Bay area. We will be right back with more of CNN SUNDAY MORNING in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And checking other stories making news "Across America" this Sunday morning.

Mourners in the rural Wisconsin community of Rice Lake are facing two more funerals tomorrow. Three of the six hunters killed in a week ago in a trespassing dispute were buried yesterday, including a father and his 20-year-old son. Another hunter is being held in connection with those shootings.

In San Diego County, high winds have forced a sheriff's department rescue helicopter to give up an attempt to rescue two stranded hikers. They're stuck in southern California's Santa Rosa Mountains. A Coast Guard chopper is expected to try today to rescue the two, one of whom has a broken leg.

Well, Elvis may be gone, but Christmas lives on at Graceland. The holiday decorations are blazing at Elvis Presley's famed Memphis mansion. And they are just the same as when Elvis celebrated his last Christmas there in 1976. He died the following year in August.

A crime wave -- a crime wave is flooding Burger Kings across the nation. Listen to this. In at least six states, SpongeBob SquarePants is missing.

NGUYEN: Oh, no!

HARRIS: It's an outrage. The fast-food chain is doing a promotion in connection with the cartoon's new movie. And it seems they -- the blowup version of the big yellow sea creature has caught the eye of one or more crooks. In some cases, ransom notes has demanded french fries and shakes.

NGUYEN: What has this country come to? My goodness.

Rob Marciano, I know this has you very upset.

MARCIANO: It's disturbing.

NGUYEN: Do you happen to know who kidnapped SpongeBob?

MARCIANO: I don't know that, and I don't know the punks who poured super glue in the keyholes of the stores yesterday that we talked about.

HARRIS: That's right. That's right.

MARCIANO: What are the kids coming to these days, Tony?

NGUYEN: I don't know.

HARRIS: Yes, that's...

NGUYEN: And during a holiday season, no less. I just don't know what to think of it.

MARCIANO: That's right. We're always going to find stories like that. And we're a 24-hour news network. So if they're out there, we'll find them. That's for sure. (WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Rob, thank you.

NGUYEN: Yes.

We do want to talk about a dramatic rescue attempt which is under way in China this morning. We will take you live to Beijing for the latest on those trapped miners. More than 100 have already been freed.

HARRIS: Plus, our gift to you this holiday weekend. I am about to raise up out of this seat, head on over to the Omni and join jazz saxophonist Najee as he gets ready to perform for us live. And I promise, I've been forced to promise that I won't sing.

NGUYEN: Thank goodness.

HARRIS: You know what?

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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