CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-12-22

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Bob Schaefer and welcome to

[0:02] the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:04] Just ahead, the New York City transit

[0:06] strike is over. The trains and buses

[0:09] should be up and running by tomorrow.

[0:11] Plus, in New Orleans, we're just

[0:13] learning how much damage was done, not

[0:16] just to the city and its buildings, but

[0:18] to the people themselves. But they are

[0:20] determined to celebrate the holidays.

[0:23] Also, the story of a Vermont family that

[0:26] spends its Christmas season parked on a

[0:28] New York street corner selling trees.

[0:32] It's all starting now on the CBS Evening

[0:34] News online edition.

[0:37] There's no other way to put it. There is

[0:39] a lot of news about trains, planes, and

[0:42] automobiles tonight, and it's mostly

[0:44] good news. The transit strike that is

[0:46] Hobble, New York is about over. The

[0:48] trains and the subways should be up and

[0:50] running by tomorrow. As for planes, new

[0:53] rules went into effect today at airport

[0:55] security gates among other changes.

[0:58] Don't be surprised to be pulled out of

[1:00] line and searched. We're going to start

[1:02] with a strike. And here is Sharon

[1:04] Alonsy.

[1:06] >> They heard the calls of 7 million cold

[1:09] and angry commuters.

[1:11] >> Get back to work. Get back to work.

[1:14] >> And tonight they did.

[1:17] >> Union workers in the transit authority

[1:19] are back at the bargaining table. So

[1:21] 33,000 bus drivers and subway operators

[1:24] say their next stop is work.

[1:27] >> This is obviously very positive for all

[1:30] New Yorkers, something we can all be uh

[1:32] happy about.

[1:33] >> But commuters aren't celebrating yet.

[1:35] Tonight, traffic is still a mess.

[1:39] >> Transit workers say they can't get all

[1:41] the buses and subways up and running

[1:43] until tomorrow.

[1:45] >> Cut this Let's get back to work.

[1:47] Bottom line. And there's still no

[1:49] contract. Three days of this.

[1:53] >> This is absolutely ridiculous.

[1:55] >> And nothing's been settled. Do you think

[1:57] it's worth it?

[1:58] >> No. Not from anybody's perspective. I

[1:59] should never go on strike in the first

[2:00] place. The dumbest thing ever.

[2:04] Serves no purpose whatsoever for

[2:05] anybody. Everybody loses.

[2:07] >> Some more than others.

[2:09] >> It may actually end up driving us out of

[2:11] business.

[2:11] >> The 3-day strike may have cost the city

[2:14] 1 billion dollars. That includes tens of

[2:16] millions in overtime,

[2:19] 240 million in lost retail sales, and

[2:22] countless lost customers. You

[2:25] >> can see it's totally empty.

[2:26] >> When restaurant manager Benny Kosha

[2:28] looks at his reservation book,

[2:30] >> 22 people cancelled.

[2:31] >> He loses his appetite. His business was

[2:34] cut by more than half during what should

[2:36] have been his most profitable month.

[2:39] >> That's something that you cannot get

[2:40] back. Once it's gone, it's gone.

[2:43] >> Gone, too, is any patience. New Yorkers

[2:45] had for all of this.

[2:47] >> Shine for you.

[2:48] >> They're hoping this is the last commute

[2:50] they'll have to take in stride.

[2:54] >> And New Yorkers say they're happy to

[2:56] finally see a light at the end of the

[2:58] tunnel. But after 3 days of this,

[3:00] they'll be even happier when they see

[3:02] the train. Bob,

[3:03] >> thank you very much, Sharon. And after

[3:05] three days out there, you may now come

[3:07] inside. Thanks a lot.

[3:09] >> Thank you.

[3:10] A California jury today ordered Walmart

[3:13] to pay $172

[3:15] million to workers who claim they were

[3:18] illegally denied lunch breaks. More than

[3:20] a 100,000 current and former California

[3:23] workers are involved. And this was just

[3:25] the first of dozens of similar lawsuits

[3:28] in other states to go on trial. On Wall

[3:31] Street today, stocks closed higher. The

[3:33] Dow gained 55 points, the Nasdaq 14.

[3:37] Tomorrow night, they will finally lift

[3:39] the curfew in New Orleans. One more step

[3:41] in the city's return to the way it was

[3:44] before the hurricanes. But with each

[3:46] passing day, we are learning just how

[3:48] much damage there was, not just to the

[3:50] city and its buildings, but to the

[3:52] people themselves. Trish Rean is in New

[3:55] Orleans this week, and tonight she has a

[3:57] story of a woman and her family hurt in

[4:00] so many ways, but determined now to

[4:02] celebrate Christmas. It's our inside

[4:05] story.

[4:07] It's Christmas.

[4:12] >> In a city where candy canes stand

[4:14] outside FEMA trailers and a generator

[4:17] runs the only Christmas lights in a

[4:19] destroyed neighborhood, it can be a

[4:21] challenge to feel merry and bright.

[4:23] >> The reality of the long hall is crashing

[4:26] in upon us.

[4:27] >> Hoping to heal mental wounds, Dr. Elmore

[4:30] Riggamemer and his team are bringing

[4:32] their counseling door to door in New

[4:34] Orleans. How will I get through this?

[4:37] This is really depressing. Do I have

[4:40] what it takes?

[4:41] >> Even in the best of times, the holidays

[4:43] can be trying. In this battered region,

[4:46] the combination of Katrina fatigue and

[4:49] Christmas blues has created a level of

[4:51] stress that's far beyond what any here

[4:54] thought they'd ever have to face.

[4:57] Depression is taking its toll. Alcohol

[4:59] consumption is soaring. And police

[5:02] crisis counselors are responding to

[5:04] almost twice as many suicide attempts as

[5:07] before.

[5:07] >> It is a loss of a way of life.

[5:11] >> After losing the home where she'd raised

[5:13] her family, 67year-old Margie Fluitt

[5:16] almost lost her will to live.

[5:18] >> Were there ever days when you just

[5:20] thought, I can't go on?

[5:22] >> Yes.

[5:25] Yes, there there were. I have passed the

[5:28] graveyard and I've thought how fortunate

[5:30] they were not to have to face all of

[5:32] this.

[5:33] >> But family, she says, has kept her

[5:35] strong

[5:36] >> because I go on for them.

[5:43] >> For my children,

[5:45] >> I'm too.

[5:46] >> I know you too.

[5:49] >> And for her grandchildren.

[5:51] >> You don't have to have a house to enjoy

[5:52] a grandchild or to be loved by anyone.

[5:55] And you think about that.

[5:58] >> Thousands are thinking about that in New

[6:00] Orleans this year. They're here

[6:02] determined to carry on a holiday

[6:04] tradition and rebuild their lives and

[6:07] their city. Trish Rian, CBS News, New

[6:10] Orle.

[6:12] >> Well, how do you know Christmas is

[6:14] coming? The first sign here in New York

[6:16] is when they turn on the lights on that

[6:18] big tree in Rockefeller Center. The

[6:20] second sign is when that family from

[6:22] Vermont arrives in Greenwich Village

[6:25] with some smaller trees. Here's Richard

[6:27] Slesinger.

[6:29] It's not really Christmas in New York

[6:31] until the tree is lit up, the shops are

[6:33] done up, and one family shows up.

[6:37] >> Hi.

[6:37] >> Every year, the Romp family of Salsbury,

[6:40] Vermont, spends the Christmas season

[6:42] selling trees.

[6:43] >> These are our Frasier furs. while living

[6:45] in a camper

[6:47] >> on a corner in New York's Greenwich

[6:49] Village.

[6:50] >> This is traditional. Probably not in

[6:52] your eyes, but to us, it's been our

[6:54] tradition for 18 years.

[6:56] >> They carry a picture of the farm where

[6:58] they live most of the year.

[7:00] >> The first year we had a whole slew of

[7:02] verters saying, "Are you crazy going to

[7:04] New York? You know, are you going to

[7:05] take a gun?"

[7:06] >> All right.

[7:07] >> But Patty and Billy,

[7:08] >> consider this one. Their three kids, one

[7:10] grandson, and their dog baby have put

[7:14] down seasonal roots here.

[7:16] >> Kind of like this one. You like Charlie

[7:17] Brown.

[7:18] >> Smallest tree we have.

[7:20] >> As their family tree business grew,

[7:24] >> their extended family grew, too. The

[7:28] neighborhood has adopted them.

[7:30] >> Alan,

[7:31] >> good to meet you.

[7:31] >> Even the hookers are nice, you know.

[7:33] Even the cops are nice. Even the the

[7:35] homeless guys are nice. Everybody's nice

[7:37] to us.

[7:38] Some people give them free electricity.

[7:41] Others give them keys to their

[7:43] apartments. Come right in.

[7:45] >> Timmy Rob, who's almost 10, is a regular

[7:48] at the tavern across the street.

[7:51] >> Hey, John.

[7:51] >> Pineapple juice. Tim.

[7:53] >> Yeah.

[7:53] >> The whole neighborhood embraces them.

[7:55] Really, really loves that they're here.

[7:57] >> Here, the family eats for free.

[8:00] The Rom family Christmas is not

[8:02] conventional in any sense of the word,

[8:04] but it works for them. crammed into

[8:07] their camper on their little corner of

[8:09] New York.

[8:10] >> So, does this feel like Christmas to

[8:11] you?

[8:12] >> Yes. I mean, nothing else would feel

[8:14] like Christmas at all.

[8:15] >> Oh, that's great.

[8:16] >> And New Yorkers, believe it or not, make

[8:18] it feel a lot like Christmas.

[8:20] >> That's one for you. You start getting

[8:22] knocks on the door with presents. It's

[8:25] embarrassing. It's

[8:26] >> People give you presents.

[8:27] >> Wrapped presents in shopping bags.

[8:29] >> Up. No scratches.

[8:30] >> A little seasonal warmth.

[8:32] >> Merry Christmas. In a city not always

[8:34] known the best

[8:35] >> for the kindness of strangers.

[8:37] >> See you later.

[8:38] >> Merry Christmas.

[8:38] >> Richard Slesinger, CBS News, New York.

[8:41] >> More stories are just a click away, but

[8:43] don't forget to join me on television

[8:45] for the on air edition of the CBS

[8:47] Evening News. On Friday's broadcast,

[8:49] we'll introduce you to a real life Santa

[8:52] Claus who is giving thousands of bikes

[8:54] to kids in forgotten neighborhoods. For

[8:57] cbsnews.com,

[8:59] I'm Bob Schaefer.