♪ >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." >> i'm mola lenghi. we've got a lot more to tell you about this morning, starting with holiday travel. u.s. airlines are expected to fly about 48 million passengers over christmas and new year's, and today could be the busiest day of all. air travel complaints range from traffic at the airport to long lines a the security gate to those tiny uncomfortable seats on the planes. well, a couple of airlines are working to upgrade their seats. kris van cleave went in search of the perfect one. >> reporter: we start our hunt for the perfect airlines seat with this brand-new airbus a320

where spirit is tryinigge compl flyers, their seats are uncomfortable. they bring us along as they try to change that. >> hi, welcome. >> reporter: spirit, an airline known for rock bottom fares wanted to start with a clean slate, a brand-new empty airplane. with its future lined up neatly in rows inside a detroit hangar, the work begins. it will take up to more than ten spirit employees more than 12 hours to get all 182 seats loaded into the plane, slotted into the right spot and locked into place. if the goal was to find the perfect seat for spirit, do you think you did wit these? >> i think this is an amazing seat for spirit. >> reporter: they spent more than a year fine-tuning the new cabin with particular emphasis on the seats. they have memory foam, a curved back, opening up more usable leg room while increasing the amount of prerecline.

the rows are still just 28 inch ace part, but the airline says the curved design has freed up two inches of usable space, and they've added a real tray table. oh, and that middle seat, it grew an extra inch, now 18 inches wide. people are going to see this story and go this is all just an excuse to shrink the space and cram more people on planes. >> that is not what we're doing. the number of seats are still at 182. what did change is the livable space in the seat. so from a guest perspective, we wanted to make sure that they felt that they had a more comfortable time in the seat. >> reporter: for an airline, new seats are a multimillion-dollar undertaking. they're typically lighter, which saves fuel and thus the airline money, but the feel has to be right. >> believe it or not, airlines actually want us to be comfortable. >> reporter: industry analyst. >> the seat is the moment of truth. if the seat is a bad seat, if the customer isn't comfortable, they're going to remember that

and they won't choose that air. >> evacuate, evacuate, evacuate! >> reporter: spirit's new seats take flight as the faa is under pressure from congress. critics worry the findings could lead to even more cramped cabins. >> we think that the airline industry is looking at that report as a green light to cram even more consumers into ever smaller seats. >> morning. >> reporter: we flew with alaska airlines frequent flyers over california's bay area for a sneak peek of alaska's new cabin. the only rows that got closer together on this new plane were in first class. the new seats are intended to feel a bit like a luxury car. jetblue has spent years working on its new cabin. the leisure carrier also went with the curved back seat with memory foam. the distance stays the same, but because the seats themselves take up less space, jetblue can add up to 12 more seats. >> it's incredibly important we get this right because aircraft

carriers fly for a long time. we put a lot of time into designing what we think is the perfect seat. >> the truth is the perfect airline seat probably varies by airline. but for spirit, these seats are already in one plane out there flying customers. every new plane will have them. it will take the rest of the year for the fleet to get what spirit hopes is their perfect seat. when islamic state militants overran much of iraq and syria, they targeted anything christian. church, monasteries were destroyed and worshipers were sent fleeing for their lives. charlie d'agata paid a visit to one ancient and isolated monastery that managed to survive the carnage. >> reporter: with each twist and turn of the mountain road, we climb away from the reality of this war-ravaged region and into the past to a place of worship founded almost 1400 years ago. the roban hormuz monastery, carved into and out of the very rock on which it rests, this

ancient temple to christianity one of the oldest of its kind in the world, overlooks the vast plains of northern iraq. its namesake, roban hormuz lived as a hirmt for almost 30 years, living in a network of caves that push deep into the mountainside. over time, more monks made the pilgrimage, settling too in its lab ribt. the cave-dwelling monks are now long gone. but we did bump into some iraqi history students breathing new life into this ancient stone. "christians are an important part of the community here in iraqi kurdistan," she said. "they've been here for thousands of years." over the centuries, this place has been more than a house of worship. it's been a sanctuary, a safe place in a region that's had more than its fair share of upheaval. the mongols, the kurds, the

ottomans, the turks all overran this territory at one point or another, yet it somehow survived. but the biggest threat came in modern times. when isis rampaged throughout this region in 2014, the islamic extremists targeted anything to do with christianity. churches that stood for centuries ruined in a merit of seconds. when isis overran nearby mosul, tens of thousands of terrified christians fled, escaping to christian towns in this region until isis got so close they evacuated from here too. at one point, the terrorist group was just a ten-minute drive away from the christian town of al qash that sits at the base of a mountain. here praying to your god means planning for the worst. that armed bodyguard follows the priest everywhere.

something the monastery's head monk knows all too well. he was in the nearby city of mosul when isis suddenly invaded five years ago. what do you think isis would have done if they reached this place? "wherever they saw a cross, they smashed it," he said." "they erased any traces of christianity. even the virgin mary. there used to be a statue of her. they chopped the head off and left the rest of the statue standing there. if they reached here, "he said," they would certainly have destroyed this monastery. before the u.s.-led invasion, the insurgency and isis, around 1.5 million christians in iraq. there are now barely 250,000. in fact, there are now more chaldean catholics, the most followed denomination among iraqi christians in the united

states than in iraq. the regional archbishop recently described christianity in iraq as being perilously close to extincti extinction, which means one of the oldest continuous christian communities in existence now communities in existence now remains on a cliff why do wrinkles happen at the worst times? with new bounce rapid touch up spray, you just spray smooth and you're fresh and ready to go wherever you are. new bounce rapid touch up spray. bounce out wrinkles anywhere. we need a solution.ut their phones down. introducing... smartdogs. the first dogs trained to train humans. stopping drivers from: liking. selfie-ing. and whatever this is. available to the public... never. smartdogs are not the answer. but geico has a simple tip. turn on "do not disturb while driving" mode.

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if you hosted a holiday feast at your house this year, you likely have a refrigerator full of leftovers that can be a good thing, which begs the question, what would we do without tupperware? martha tissue e teichner has th >> reporter: tubber wear was designed with an accent on beauty for people of fine taste. >> reporter: tupperware parties, a blast from the past if there ever was one. >> that's why i'm here, to show you how to use the seal properly. >> reporter: are you wondering does tupperware still exist? do they even have those parties anymore? the answer is an emphatic yes. >> hi! so does anyone else want wine? >> reporter: but the parties are a lot more fun now. >> you guys, check them out. we have metal for the microwave. go what? we've also got our silicone molds now. >> reporter: at least the one karen brown threw last sunday

outside charlotte, north carolina was. >> literally, i've been int the upper wear my whole life. my mom promoted to tupperware manager right before she gave birth to me. >> reporter: burped? yep. the bowl that burped began it thi tiny rim on the container expands out so the narrow groove fits into it. when you snap the two together and burp them, air is locked out. freshness is locked in. >> reporter: earl tupper had paint can lids in mind when he invented the tupperware seal just after world war ii. >> this is tupperware. >> reporter: believe it or not, lightweight, unbreakable plastic containers were revolutionary then. unfortunately, too revolutionary. at first, nobody bought tupperware. >> tupperware, in order to be fully appreciated must be demonstrated. >> reporter: enter brownie wise,

who sold so much tupperware by demonstrating the products to groups of friends that earl tupper hired her and turned her loose to transform the whole business of home sales. >> brownie wise with some of the nation's foremost sales authorities. >> reporter: she was a superstar, the first woman on the cover of "business week." a glamorous role model for the army of women, and it was mostly women. >> 19 of them had sales over $1,000. >> reporter: who made money, even supported their families as the stay-at-home moms their husbands expected them to remain. brownie wise built their confidence and rewarded their success. >> as peggy receives the grand prize of the tupperware treasureama. >> reporter: it was women's empowerment by stealth. tupperware brands runs according to her playbook to this day,

which is good and bad. the stock price has tanked. the ceo just quit. the company has opened a holiday pop-up shop in a trendy part of new york city. in spite of a worldwide sales force of more than three million in more than 80 countries, the challenge is reaching people who buy cheaper containers in the supermarket and think of tupperware as yesterday if they think of tupperware at all. >> they don't know how to find us. and that's the first question anyone asks us. >> reporter: asha gupta is head of marketing and strategy for tupperware. why should they buy tupperware instead of this aisle of stuff in the supermarket? >> once they start using our progress, realize the worth of it. the products themselves last a very, very long time. >> you're not taking my tupperware. >> reporter: and don't you dare walk off.

>> my tupperware is my tupperware. >> reporter: with somebody else's tupperware. >> i will come hunt you down and get my tupperware back. >> reporter: tha

people of a certain age are prone to take the occasional cat nap, and some of those same people take their naps surrounded by cats. steve hartman has the story of the most famous cat napper in green bay, wisconsin. >> reporter: the safe haven pet sanctuary has been blessed. blessed with one of america's most helpful volunteers. a true godsend. >> want some treats? >> i think it's absolutely amazing. >> reporter: elizabeth feldhaasen runs the place. >> it feels almost divine in a way. >> yeah, we're very lucky he walked in here. >> reporter: the savior of the cat rescue is a brother of the st. norbert abbey in green bay, wisconsin named terry lauerman.

>> i've always been a cat bless touched by creation. >> you're such a sweetie. >> reporter: a couple of years ago, this 76-year-old retired teacher started coming in to brush the cats. but his mission quickly evolved. >> it just happens >> reporter: now on every visit as terry settles into one of the many comfy couches here, he starts feeling the effects of all this meowatonin and becomes catatonic. >> you sleep on the job. >> yeah, that's exactly it. >> reporter: is this volunteer work? >> there is no salary involved. >> reporter: i know. i was stressing the work part. >> well, you can't have much expectation for someone who is volunteering here. >> reporter: but there is more to his naps than meets the shut-eye. by dozing off so comfortably, terry has actually done more for this cat rescue than any conscious volunteer ever could. it started when thecu posting pictures of terry's cat

naps, and he went viral. were you surprised by the fame? >> oh, god, pet and brush cats and fall asleep. b world famousr doing this? >> reporter: world famous and a calendar guy. even has his mug o a local coffee blend. for safe haven, brother terry has turned out to be marketing manna from heaven. how much have you raised because of him? >> near $100,000. >> reporter: a guy sleeping can have that kind of impact? >> i wish i could fall asleep and make $100,000. >> reporter: the money allows the rescue, which caters to special needs cats to expand its reach. >> good kitty. >> reporter: terry says it just goes the show that changing the world can be a lot eas than >> when you retire, you can do all kinds of neat things. find something and do it. >> reporter: i'll sleep on that. >> yeah. >> reporter: steve hartman, on the road in green bay, wisconsin. >> and that is the "overnight news" for this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back a little

later for the morning news and of course "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new york city, i'm mola lenghi. it's friday, december 27th, 2019. this is the "cbs morning news." winter white. parts of the southwest look like a snow-covered wonderland, but the weather is wreaking havoc on traffic. the system is heading east. a medical emergency. what went wrong? and deadly plane crash in kazakhstan. a jet packed with almost 100 people hits a wall and building people hits a wall and building shortly after takeoff. captioning funded by cbs good morning from the studio

57 newsroom at cbs headquarters here in new york. -m