making news on this wednesday, december 29th. >> weather woes. as blizzards stranded passengers, still wait to get to where they're going. and the west coast gets another dose of what it doesn't need most. ski area scare. a cable snaps above some of new england's most popular slopes. and tuesday night football. the vikings and eagles finally make it to the field. while college football's bowl season starts to kick into high gear. good morning, everyone. i'm mike marusarz, sitting in for vinita nair. >> and i'm rob nelson. there is a growing sense of frustration and confusion this morning, as thousands of airline passengers are still stuck after sunday's blizzard here in the northeast. >> and now, it could be the new year before air travel is

returned to normal. emily schmidt joins us from washington with the details. hi, emily. >> reporter: rob and mike, good morning to you. well, two days after the storm blew out, big problems remain. thousands of stranded travelers are going nowhere fast. much less those huge piles of snow, the cities are now trying to move. >> it is terrible. absolutely terrible. >> reporter: 20 inches of new york snow has forced some people to take snow removal into their own hands. >> we can see with our own eyes. it's not okay. >> reporter: they're shoveling public streets, once promised to be cleaned by tuesday. now, the mayor says they may not be cleaned by today. >> nobody said this would be easy. nobody said it would be pleasurable. we're going everything we can think of. >> reporter: weather problems stretched across the country. >> i thought it would be much warmer here, since we got away from new york and blizzards. >> reporter: but palm beach, florida, hit a record low tuesday. 24 degrees broke a 1928 record.

in maine, a cable derailed at the sugar loaf ski resort, injuring eight people. >> it lurched back. and i didn't realize. we just dropped. >> reporter: and in california, there are flooding worries, with rain projected to hit the same area murrayed in mud just last week. >> hopefully, there's not a lot of damage. >> reporter: meanwhile, thousands of stranded airline passengers are still looking for any way to get home. >> from new york, to philly, from boston, from hartford, we tried everywhere. >> reporter: airlines say it could take until the weekend to rebook everyone. but hundreds of pennsylvania marching band students made their destination. they were strap trapped for days to get to los angeles to march in the tournament of roses parade. and arrived late last night. >> we almost didn't make it because the flight got postponed. but thank god. >> but you're here. >> we got here. >> reporter: the rebooked seating was so tight, that 15 parents had to give up their seats. but the band itself will now march in saturday's parade. rob? >> what a mess all over the

country. thanks a lot, emily in washington this morning. thanks. with the northeast still digging out, as emily mentioned, the west coast, now bracing for yet another storm there. >> that means even more rain along the already soggy and soaked pacific coast. accuweather's ava dinges is here with more. hi, ava. >> good morning, rob and mike. talk about a role reversal here. nothing going on in the east. all of it happening in the west. for the northeast, things are looking good for the next several days. next time new york city gets anything, that will be in the weekend. and it will come in as some rain. we've seen lots of rain in the west. pretty heavy across oregon and through much of california in the overnight hours. this is mainly shifting southward, where we're starting to see colder air sink in behind the storm. that's going to translate into heavier mountain snow. high winds is a concern along the grapevine in southern california. for los angeles, much of the rain pushing in throughout the morning hours. any additional rain could lead to minor flooding.

in the good news is, this is a quick-moving storm, where it will move out in the afternoon. it will go pummel the rockies, and into salt lake city. for the southeast, it's been chilly over the past couple of days. fortunately, temperatures are warming up. it will be warmer by the afternoon. now, back to you, rob and mike. >> ava, thanks. now, for the rest of the morning's weather around the nation. that rain out west also stretches to phoenix. we'll see about ten inches of snow from the same system, well into the dakotas and northern minnesota. meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms from houston and new orleans, to st. louis. >> meanwhile, 40 in omaha. 36 in chicago. and 28 in fargo. boise hits 34. portland, 42. and sacramento, 51. meanwhile, 30s from boston to baltimore. 51 in atlanta. and a damp 66 in new orleans. humans aren't the only ones seeking warmth during the cold snaps this week. in florida, hundreds of manatees are swimming out in the chilly gulf of mexico, into the discharge water from the power plants. >> an expert says that's like a great, big bathtub for all those

slow-moving animals. must feel nice. back here in new york, they're pulling out the big guns to clear ice and snow from the railroad tracks. that's essentially a powerful jet new englanden on wheels, blasting away in a long island rail yard. the hot exhaust does wonders for melting and moving all that snow. well, the blizzard forced another unique birth for one new jersey couple. daniel man was born in the front seat of his parents toyota suv. what should have been a 20-minute drive, durned into an hour and a half nightmare. >> blocks from the hospital, daniel's mother delivered the baby herself. mom, dad, big brother and new baby, daniel are all doing just fine. the airport problems in moscow are so bad, russia's president wants prosecutors to investigate. thousands of passengers have been stuck for days after an ice storm grounded flights and knocked out power. the president wants to know if any laws wbr broken, since passengers were left with little food and no information about the conditions. a man's behind bars in

miami, after a bizarre incident at the airport there. the suspect's luggage literally started exploding when it was taken off the plane by baggage handlers. inside, police found hundreds of bullet parts. they say when one of the parts ignited, all the others went off, as well. place say the incident is not connected to terrorism. turning to other news this wednesday morning. eight people are dead after a fire in new orleans. authorities say the victims were homeless squatters who started a fire in an abandoned warehouse just to keep warm. temperatures early yesterday were just below freezing. >> very tragic. i mean, a cold night. people obviously were taking desperate means to be warm. and this just goes to show you how fast a fire can occur and overpower human beings. >> reporter: two people did escape the blaze, which was the deadliest fire in new orleans in decades. a friend said the victims were musicians or artists, between the ages of 19 and 30.

trains are moving again across the susquehanna river in pennsylvania. winds are blamed for knocking a freight train off the tracks near harrisburg, sending two empty cargo containers into the river. now, the railroad has to figure out how to fish those containers out of the water. when we come back, what the housing market is telling us about the my. it's in our business news, straight ahead. and more details about that horrifying ski lift accident up in maine. stick with us. we'll be back.

overseas, stock markets are mostly higher this morning. tokyo's nikkei average gained 0.5% today. meanwhile, hong kong's hang seng climbed 1.5%. in london, the ftse opened slightly higher. on wall street, the dow rose 20 points yesterday. the nasdaq, meanwhile, slipped four points. there's fresh evidence on the housing market this morning in that it is going in the wrong direction again. which could be the brakes on the economic recovery. home prices across 20 major cities fell nearly 1% in october, compared to a year ago. many economists predict prices will keep falling into at least next spring, erasing most of the gains since the market bottomed out. the costs of the blizzard in the northeast are piling up for airlines. some analysts predict the industry will lose up to $150 million. at least 6,000 flights were canceled. many planes were moved in anticipation of the storm. and extra crew time was also added. well, this might be a little

hard to hear, considering the travel troubles of the past few days. but airline fares, well, they're going up again. united, continental, delta, and maybe even american, are all adding $10 each way on many domestic routes. they're not saying why, though. but there is some hope. southwest is not yet going along with the fare hikes. so, eventually competitors might back down. the days for hunting for 1 cent and 2 cent stamps when postal rates go up, is almost over. new stamps will be good to mail a letter, even if rates increase after you buy them. the stamps will be marked forever, instead of showing a current rate. the concert business slumped this year. but the top acts have nothing to complain about. rock group bon jovi was the world's biggest draw. the band sold over 200 million tickets, playing only 80 shows. ac/dc was number two, followed by u2, lady gaga, and metallica. >> bon jovi still going strong.

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whoa! that achy cold needs alka-seltzer plus! it rushes multiple cold fighters, plus a powerful pain reliever, wherever you need it! [ both ] ♪ oh what a relief it is! now, for a look at the morning road conditions. icy patches on i-95, 90 and 87 from new york northward. wet on i-5, from seattle to san diego. icy on i-15, 70 and 80 in the rockies. and wet on i-10, from houston to new orleans. and on i-40, from little rock to memphis. >> if you're flying today, don't envy you. expect some airport delays in seattle, san francisco, los angeles, salt lake city, las vegas, phoenix, and houston. weather or faulty equipment may have led to a ski lift accident in maine. some skiers fell, while others were stranded in 30 feet in the

air, until rescued. that lift apparently failed. >> frightening scenes, as you imagine, at the sugarloaf lift in maine. jeremy hubbard was there. hi, jeremy. >> reporter: rob and mike, good morning. it's still windy here in maine. and investigators are trying to figure out if wind caused this accident. nine people were taken to the hospital. several others injured, some of them children. skiers with cameras captured what happened next. the pictures revealed the horror for the skiers on the mountain. rebecca london was on one of the lifts that fell. >> it happened so fast. i didn't really have time to be afraid. they kind of lurched back and then i didn't realize we just dropped. >> we were about six chairs up from where it fell. and my mom fell off. and she's in the hospital right now with a cracked rib. >> my wife, daughter and i immediately went down to start helping out, get chairs off of people. most people were able to crawl out from under the chairs without a problem. >> reporter: skiers snapped photos of the injured. the slope turned into a triage center.

some remained trapped in the air, the snapped wires from the lift dangling overhead. eventually, they were all safely rescued. >> pretty scary because we didn't want -- we were up there for a really long time. so, we didn't want anything else to happen. >> reporter: the cable broke from the top of the tower, sending some of the chairs toppling as much as 25 to 30 feet. workers used a pulley system to lower the 160 other skiers still suspended to safety. >> we had to wait about an hour before someone came. and they threw a rope over the line and lowered us down with a harness. >> reporter: the resort has been planning to replace the 35-year-old lift after this priority in anheir first priority in an improvement plan announced just months ago. in their own words, they admitted the lift is vulnerable to wind. gusts were about 40 miles an hour at the time. but just a half hour before the accident, mountain officials determined the wind was not a danger. and several eyewitnesses say they don't think the wind was a wind was a factor, either. there was a worker on the lift pole at the time of the

derailment. they think perhaps he did something to cause the accident. the snow was enough to pad the fall of the skiers that came crashing down. rob and mike? in other news this morning, disneyland in california is proving to be a very popular place these days. so popular, in fact, they had to turn people away for a second day in a row. park officials believe they're seeing higher numbers because of those stuck there in l.a., because of blizzard travel problems needed something to do. and just to be clear, of course, we should also say that disney is the parent company of abc. now, to a humble decision from prince william and his bride-to-be. british tabloids say the couple plans to live without servants after they get married. william and kate middleton already do their own shopping, their own cleaning, even their own cooking. royal sources say they don't want butlers, maids and cooks to spoil the intimacy of their marriage. in stark contrast, though, william's dad, prince charles, has 150 servants. for years, macintosh users

has felt safe from viruses and other junk. but maybe not much longer. mcafee computer security company, says cyber crooks will be targeting apple devices next year, including ipads and iphones, and other apple devices. social media sites may become a gold mine for cyber bad guys. the accident-prone production of "spider-man: turn off the dark," has suffered another setback. natalie mendoza, one of the lead actresses, is reportedly leaving the show. she plays a villainess that spins over the show. she suffered a concussion last month. that's one of four accidents so far in that $65 million show. it's time for the tuesday night football highlights. don't get to say that a lot. all the details now from espn news. >> good morning. that snowstorm that battered the northeast, forcing the vikings and the eagles to play on tuesday night. brett favre, not active for this one.

late in the second quarter, eagles leading 7-0. antoine winfield, strips michael vick. picks it up and goes the other way with it. and despite vick's struggles, the game tied at 7-7, going into the half. third quarter, vikings lead 10-7. joe webb, favre's backup. makes two eagles miss. and finds the end zone. vikings go up 17-7. vick, takes off. gets some yards. but then fumbles the ball. uh-oh. third vick turnover. it was that kind of night for vick and the eagles. the vikings win 24-14. kirk ferentz with the hawkeyes, against number 12-ranked missouri tigers in the insight bowl. missouri leading, 24-20. it came down to this. lane gabbert scrambles. it's picked up by micah hyde. hyde, he runs all the way back across the field.

no tackles. no downs. along the sideline 72 yards for the touchdown. iowa goes on to win 27-24. it's their third-straight bowl win. nba dribbles. lebron james and the heat taking on the nix. first quarter, lbj, right down main street. 18 points, 10 boards, 8 dimes. heat, leading by two. lbj, overshadowed by his teammate, dwyane wade, who had 40 points.it, heat end up winni 106-98. that will do it for this espn news update. now, back to new york. we've already heard about plenty of extraordinary blizzard-related stories this week. but this one may top all of them. a family from long island, new york, was forced to fly into buffalo, hundreds of miles away, after vacationing in florida. >> mom decided the best way to get home was, in a cab. the trip took more than 13 hour and it was over 400 miles long. >> and the final tab? $900. the cabbie said it was actually

$200 less than what he should have charged. >> a good cabbie. a nice guy. up next, the stories we'll be following today, including an effort to end an old argument about president obama. and another storm system is about to roll into california. just what the golden state does not need. new year's resolution! oined? we want a healthier liestyle... so we can have more energy t do more stuff. healthy lifestyle? well, you should also start enjoying activia or activia light. activia, for us? sure, it's or peoplewho want to feel good inside. when you feel good, you're more likely to get out here and enjoy life! mmm! mmm! i like this resolution. mm-hmm! here is the actiia promise-- love how you feel or your money back! ♪ activia 7 i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again.

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stories we'll be watching on this wednesday. thousands of passengers are finally clearing out from airports around the country, after sunday's blizzard. but officials warn it could still be the new year before all passengers finally get to their destinations. another big storm is pounding the west coast today, bringing heavy rain and flooding in parts of california still digging out from last week's damaging mudslides. as president obama continues his vacation in hawaii, the governor there is seeking an end to an old argument. he says he wants to release more information about mr. obama's birth, in order to stop what he calls lies about the president's citizenship. the alaska board of elections is expected to officially certify lisa murkowski as the winner of that senate race. a federal judge cleared the way, after denying claims by challenger joe miller. and south korea's president says the best way to deal with north korea's nuclear program is through negotiation. he's now calling for new talks between the north and south after a military action this month. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, "america

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finally this morning, what's yours is aparentally not mine, especially when it comes to your spouse's e-mail. >> a michigan man could end up

behind bars after he read his wife's e-mail and confirmed she was cheating on him. abc's chris bury has details. >> reporter: in a case that could spark arguments around the country, leon walker could go to jail for reading his wife's e-mail. leon walker had a hunch his wife was having an affair, so the 33-year-old michigan man logged into her gmail account, knowing where she kept the password, and the e-mails bore out his suspicions. >> i thought it was okay, to go to her regular e-mail, in our home. officials say he hacked into his wife's computer after she filed for divorce. his lawyer calls that an overzealous reach. >> people under the same roof, if they're married or not, and share a computer, as in this instance, they may have some personal privacy lines that they draw, that maybe they should

adhere to. and if they don't, that's between the two individuals. >> reporter: prosecutors scoff at defense claims that walker is a victim. quote, apparently, they're trying the case in the media because they're not doing so well in the courts. two michigan judges have refused to throw out the felony charges. the state's first criminal prosecution for snooping in a spouse's e-mail. so, could you land in jail for sneaking a peek at your spouse's e-mail? >> there has been a paradigm shift here, that if you hack into a spouse's e-mail account, without authorization, you'll be treated or can be treated, no differently than any other thir decide to hack into. >> reporter: leon walker, meanwhile, faces up to five years in prison, if convicted. a case that could set a precedent for privacy in the e-mail of husbands and wives. chris bury, abc news. that is what's making news in america this morning. >> get more later on