nowhere fast... the thousands of air tra i was supposed to fly out tonight and i'm now stuck here until wednesday morning. >> heading home but going nowhere fast. the thousands of air travellering stranded tonight coast to coast. the trouble that's up and down the eastern seaboard that's stranded hundreds of flights. >> good time to shop. >> how it's all add up to a successful shopping season. his team else out of the playoffs. mike singletary is fired after another brutal loss. so it didn't take long, just hours after losing to the rams, mike singletary has been fired as 49ers head coach. you said earlier tonight it was going to happen, did you think it was going to happen tonight. after the president met with the media after the game and strongly indicated he had

seen enough, i'm not surprised it happened tonight and with one game left in the season, we will tell you who is going to take over. they set a goal of winning the west, but the 49ers fell far short of the limitations, and after they -- it was over for mike singletary. a shouting match with the quarterback troy smith who was pleading his case to stay in the game. the rams beat the 49ers, jed york called the team's play inhe want. he -- inept. >> obviously we didn't achieve the things that we set out to achieve, we should be a playoff team. we aren't a playoff team this year, very disappointed about that. we need to figure out how we can get into the playoffs and how we can start competing for super bowls. >> money is no object. our object is to win the super

bowl year and year out, we're going to make sure we get this right. >> the money object thing was that singletary still had two years left on his contract. he was saying it's not an object to lose and eat that money, which is going to be about $5 million. york said a national search will begin for a general manager who will then hire a new head coach with jed york's approval. we will more of that tonight. >> thank you very much. well, the timing couldn't be worse for millions of travelers trying to get home after the holidays. a blizzard is slamming the east coast tonight dumping more than a foot of snow on major cities. it has stalled traffic on the air, ground, even the rails. more than a thousand flights has been cancelled and amtrak has shut down all service from

new york. that's right, ann, no one wants to waste precious travel time, but as you pointed out, that's happening all over the country. we talked with some of the folks here tonight, they told us how they are coping with it. >> reporter: she is stuck halfway home to boston after a visit to australia. steady snowfall back east forced cans legs. >> i'm now stuck here until wednesday morning at 6:00 a.m. >> it's not a bad thing to be stuck here in stand fran. >> no -- stuck in san francisco. >> i'm just looking forward to getting into a hotel room. >> reporter: 29 flights have been cancelled so far. the the airport looks desserted. >> ithey are calling their airlines ahead of time and getting the information so not heading out to the airport if their flight has been cancelled. >> reporter: she headed to the east coast from new zealand, she's been in the clothes she's

wearing for two days and determined to get to where she's going. >> i'm trying to get to new york on new year's eve. >> you're stuck in san francisco. so what's the deal, are you going to be able to get to new york. >> not before friday and that's when it's on. >> you're going to miss the opera. >> i hope no, that's what i've come for. >> it was good snow and bad snow. after four great days of snow, they lost a flight home to the east coast storm. >> our flights were cancelled both last night and tonight because of it coming into the coast and they just e-mailed me, textsed he -- me. >> reporter: this woman managed to get home from london. >> i rerouted myself from kennedy to san pan to los angeles or i wouldn't have made it home.

>> reporter: mike and his kids aren't stuck. they cut their holiday visit short to leave new york early ahead of the snow. >> we wanted to stay in new york an extra day but we're back in paradise. >> some of those are booked as late as wednesday and friday. even if the weather clears, there's going to be a big backlog of folks trying to get home. >> thanks. meanwhile, into the eye of the storm where michael is trying to stay warm in new york's time square. it looks brutal. >> it is. this snow has been falling about an inch per hour by my own measurements for really a few hours at the very least. if you look behind me, you can see on this side a big old pile of snow. it took a bulldozer less than a half an hour to pile it up. >> reporter: the neon lights of time square are reflecting off

the snow. more than a foot of snow could fall on the city. the regis getting hit hard. >> it's really bad. >> reporter: the snow is a welcome treat for tourists who are here to relax but it's much more of an inconvenience for the millions of americans trying to get home after the holidays. >> i just want to rebook. >> airlines cancelled 1400 flights at new york's three airports. that's leading to a ripple effect across the country. >> we were standing in line and they said it has all been he did -- been delayed. >> reporter: the city's mayor

declared a snow emergency in philadelphia. >> we're going to fight this storm with everything we've got. >> reporter: they tried to clear the roads in north carolina after they sell ---- celebrated a white christmas. one drive was killed near charlotte. and some sight seers still playing in the snow. as for monday morning's commute, that will likely hinge on how many companies decide to open up for the day. >> thanks for standing in the snow for us. well, shoppers are returning to stores in record numbers to take advantage of after-christmas sales. it's all add uh-huh up to a

suck -- adding up to a successful shopping season. >> she has a lot of gift cards from people. >> i'm going to lose some weight, so i thought i would exchange it. >> i have this left to return. >> reporter: but the biggest motivation. >> mall wide, a lot of price cuts everywhere. good time to shop. >> reporter: the six days between christmas and the new year can account for 15 percent of the season's spending. >> they are generous, like 60, 70 percent off. >> reporter: parking lots are busy all over the bay area today. it's already been a very busy holiday shopping season. the biggest since 2007 which itself was a record breaker. >> people are feeling good. retailers are also feeling good. >> reporter: she is the director of the retail

management institute. he said retailers struck the right balance this morning. >> they had too much inventory a few years ago, last year they cut back too much'. so this year there's a little more balance. >> reporter: but merchandise might be a little more picked over at this point. >> you kind of have to dig. this is for the hardcore shoppers. >> reporter: lots bought gift cards this season. >> retailers can't actually report the sales numbers on the gift cards until the dollar amount is spent. >> i have a lot to spend so i'm starting today. rnia cities and counties -- about 70 million dollars in collected. an well, the sales created a lot more revenue, about $70 million in sales tax was collected. an average of 10 percent more revenue was generated in the 4th quarter of 2010 compared with the same period of last year. a fire at a san francisco

pots dispensary is being called suspicious. it was confined to the office at the herbal center and the crop was not affected. >> we have our team on the screen now. >> neighbors say there was a fire at the building next door but there is no indication the fires are related. checking other bay area headlines, the chp is reporting fewer drunk driving arrests this holiday weekend. 45 people were charged with suspicion of driving under the influence on christmas eve and christmas day. statewide -- less than half the number a year ago. thankfully no fatalities blamed on drunk driving. a bay bridge construction project is getting a lot less attention. work on a new toll plaza has

been quietly underway for months. the existing plaza was built in 1936 and is unsafe. the new one should be finished late 2012. an early offer in san francisco to recycle the christmas trees. curbside pickup begins the first week of january. just remember to remove all the deck races and do not -- deck races aened do not but your tree in bag. new law is taking effect january 1st. one will create an internet based exchange to let consumers shop for affordable health insurance. finally, parents will be held more accountable if their kids skip too much school. the punishment could be up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. some unexpected dinner guests on christmas where the

first family dropped in to share some holiday cheer. a tragedy involving american tourists in the middle east. >> we were just totally in shock. it's something you don't expect. >> and loving from -- and recovering from the logs of all they -- the loss of all they owned. yep we've still got a couple of sprinkles out there now. we will talk about it next.

joined them briefly at christmas dinner. mr and mrs obama visit for some marines stationed in hawaii. the president and first lady joined them briefly at christmas dinner. they spent about an hour shaking hands talking with them. this is the third year in a row the obama's have visited the

base on christmas. eight american tourists have been killed in a bus crash in egypt. it hit a parked dump truck tearing off the side of the bus. eight people died, and 19 were injured. they were on their way to see an ancient temple. another christmas tragedy being remembered in thailand. a ceremony marks the 6th anniversary of the tsunami which killed more than aequat -- -- a quarter of a million people. 16 months after a fire destroyed more than 60 homes, an auburn family has a new permanent roof over their head. how it couldn't have come at a better time. >> we were just totally in shock. it's something you don't expect. >> it was devastating to see.

>> reporter: most of us it was unimaginable. one of 63 who lost their homes 15 months ago in what is called the 49 fire. it was a massive blaze spanning acres apparently set on purpose. wind sending flames through and gutting entire neighborhoods. >> a losing a house is like loving a loved one. >> that process has led to a snow start and strength. >> it's a wonderful kitchen, as you can see. >> reporter: losing nearly everything, they have done everything to make sure it doesn't happen again. fire resist ---- resist tent stuck oh and windows,. >> yo that fear. >> -- i don't have that fear. >> reporter: moving in just a few days before thanksgiving.

yesterday on christmas, the present was being home. >> wonderful. ist was wonderful to be -- it was wonderful to be with my family and back where we lived. it was such a long journey, it didn't seem like it was ever going to happen. >> reporter: it did, just in time for a new year and a new chapter in their lives. >> it still hurts, but we feel so blessed. >> reporter: and they say they do admit it is very hard knowing that the person responsible for taking their home and that of their neighbors' has not been caught. all right. so we've been standing by to get the weather forecast. >> new york was wild. >> isn't that something. we've still got a few left over showers here in the bay area. a storm system trying to wind down but these showers continuing in part of the north bay right now. our high-def doppler picking up on that line pretty well here. this is going to be ending in

the next couple of hours. then it looks like we will enter a period of some dryer weather. temperatures running in the 40s and 50s. we do have some fog showing up. that will be a concern as we head into tonight and tomorrow. so high pressure trying to sneak in here. we've had that trough here bringing us that stormy weather. tomorrow should be a dry day. we will have a couple of clouds making their way a cross our skies. chilly in spots. we will bring those temperatures up in the 50s by the afternoon and maybe some 60s in towards san jose. look at that, can you believe it, until the end of the year? that's right. we are looking at some unsettled weather, a chance of showers returns to the bay area on tuesday. a stronger storm overnight tuesday night into wednesday. cold storm diving into the bay

area. more stormy weather possibly on new year's eve. we don't like to see those wet new year's eve. well, a voiding trouble when it's time to make a return. and the octomom facing eviction, a battle that may cost her her home.

before making a return... on the consumerwatch, julie watts ou aren't careful, once you've opened those holiday gifts, you will want to consider a few things before making a return. if you aren't careful, it could cost you. >> reporter: restocking fees, this is a charge not too much are happy about. >> i think that businesses should always keep the consumer in mind, and that's just a terrible experience. >> reporter: this holiday season, many retailers are charging 10 to 50 percent on returns. they say the reason they are charging so much is because' shoppers are making so many returns. >> consumers are really kind of

in a return frenzy today and this cost retailers money. >> reporter: especially when items are opened. >> they have really low margins, they make very little profit on their products, usually. >> reporter: but they say that's not fair to consumers who just want to make a simple return. >> when you see fees that range up to a 25 percent, that is a rip off. >> reporter: currently there are no laws in california ta prevent retailers from charging these fees, but they do have to tell you about them. >> in california a restocking fee policy is required to be posted prominently. >> reporter: who is charging this holiday season? >> well amazon charges 15 to 50 percent for restock items that are returned after 30 days. k-mart and sears charge 15 percent for certain opened

items. target has a 15 percent fee on electronics. but if you bought or received a gift from best buy this year, you're in luck. just last week, the electronic retailer dropped its famous restocking fee on most of its items. >> i feel a lot better about that. >> reporter: the reason best buy says they have dropped their restocking fee is due to an overwhelming number of customer complaints. for a list of who is charging and new is not, head to our website cbs5.com. the box office winner this holiday weekend, ironically, a dysfunctional family get together. >> i'm watching,. >> i have eyes, too. so i will be watching you watching me. >> little folkers earned --

little fockers, this time adding kids to the mix. coming in second true grit, electron -- and yogi bear. well, the octomom and the 14 children may soon be homeless. the man who owns the home says she has not been able to make a long over due $450,000 payment on the house. he says he will evict her by the end of the year. the other than of the home says, he isn't they have the money to pay him. the third time may be the charm for hugh hefner who says he's engaged again. this will be the third marge --

marriage for hefner. the mike singletary era is owner. the 49 earrings made the change. we -- 49ers made the change. we will tell you when the coach was told about it next. le do you have to save?

head coach. shortly after the plane landed, jed york told mike singletary he was no longer the head coach. the -- will coach the 49ers in their final game but a national search for general manager and a head coach will be conducted. as for the game, singletary got into it with troy smith. he stayed in the game until the 4th quarter when singletary put alex smith in the game.

smith was hit, lost the football. the game was over. the playoff chances were over and the mike singletary officially came to an end. the raider playoff homes lied in the hands of the titans. they got no help. -- takes it to the house. the chiefs are the afc west champions. oakland, manning -- here's him at his best. he sees something in the raider defense. he calls an audible and then does what peyton does. right on target. one of his three touchdowns of the day. indianapolis beat if raiders 31-26. you will hear from jed york who had an interesting interview after the game. 11:30 tonight, game day. we will see you at 11 on cbs 5.

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