at ellis island 3 1/2 years ago, i learned a good number of things. they gave everybody a very quick physical. they watched them walk, they watched how they moved. if anybody was obviously pregnant they put them back on the boat. if there were people that weren't in good physical spess mens they went back on the boat. if they had signs of disease, back on the boat. if they had signs of not being mentally stable, back on the boat. they screened them before they got on the boat in europe and looked them over and gave them all of those same kinds of tests before they even let them board because the united states of america, even at the height of our immigration hay day, at the peak of ellis island, in fact, the peak of ellis island was april 15, 1905, excuse me, i've got to get this year right. think about it. april 15, 1907, when they had the largest processing of legal immigrants in the history of the country pouring through ellis island on that day. april 15, 1907. they were brought into the united states across the floors on the great hall and on ave

i released two hundred dollars which is seven thousand dollars tossers about ellis island dollars and it's not even worth three thousand dollars multiplied by three shows the notebook we'll talk some more well today thursday. there was at least half you'll thursday's. a little work out where you go and those of them are going to see someone i'll be back. with when are they coming. and i know we've been waiting for two hours just me and god and. it's lonely yeah. he'll tell you know open up yesterday we can open it the boss says to open it lou and tell him to tell the egyptians to open their and go to tell him to open their side to help us i don't plume sometimes problems are televised split up. listen up guys. but we need five people here. and the rest all along the tunnel would. be a little. i think. i'll bring down the bags and pass them along. to someone look at the other side you know nobody. be careful it could collapse. i said shut up take the planks. and don't make any noise. because you asked me apply for a. showing of assembly yes with a plank. how. was i going to hear. you.

i released two hundred dollars which is seven thousand dollars tossers about ellis island dollars and it's not even worth three thousand dollars multiplied by three shows the notebook we'll talk some more well today thursday. there was a least half of you on thursdays. i will work it out where are you going with those of them going to see someone i'll be back. with when are they coming. and i know we've been waiting for two hours just me and god and it's the it's lonely yeah. he'll tell you know open up yes we can open it and the boss says open it lou we'll tell him to tell the egyptians to open there and tell him to open their side to help us out plumes on the problems of telly i spit up. listen up guys. i don't know but we need five people here. and the rest all along the tunnel we're going to. bring down the bags and pass them along. but someone knocked on the other side you know nobody. be careful it could collapse. i said shut up take the planks. and don't make any noise. because you asked me a plank for a. showing of assembly yes with a plank. how. i got here. will. tell me the

the ferries heading over to ellis island had to be postponed as a result of that wind. that happened at about 2:00 this afternoon. back to the airport situation. here's how we got here. take a look at this 12-hour radar loop. all this green area, rain with winds, 30, 40, 50, even 60 miles an hour as you mentioned here. that created a tremendous backlog. delays at times up to six hours here at laguardia. we're cutting that rate in half tonight. what this storm is going to do is unleash us from these 60-degree highs we had today here in new york, back to more seasonable conditions and open up the snow gates, especially for the great lakes. so everybody getting a dose of reality coming back. the first day of climatology winter went off with a big bang here in new york. >> jim cantore at laguardia tonight. jim, thanks. >>> when our broadcast continues tonight, a scary holiday season for families losing something big they count on for this time of year. >>> later, how needles, and thread and word of mouth are making a difference in the lives of children. needles, and threat

had a hard time like my grandmother walking across the hall in ellis island and being granted entrance into the united states of america but had vigor and a dream and had things they wanted to build and didn't let grass grow under their feet. they went to work and committed themselves so much to this country that they expected that the first one in my family that past away here, the rest of them will be buried around her and that seems to be the case and i don't know the whole history of it and i'm coushous speaking about it, but my grandmother came here and sent my mur sons back. she directed my father, who went to school not speaking english to never speak anything but english in the home so she could learn it because she said i came here to be an american and learn english and teach it to me. english needs to be the official language of the united states of america. our common language is what binds us together and this vigor of americans that comes from every country in the world and every walk of life, this unique vigor, because of this filter, kept the slackers out. the doers got

great immigration, those from europe fleeing famine and persecution to find their way through ellis island. there has been much more written about the great immigration then there has been on the great migration. the great migration our forces would shaped 20 century america. that great migration began to take place in the early 1900 and really beginning after the 1896 decision of the supreme court in plessey versus ferguson which was an act of the trail to the great constitutional amendments 13 -- act up the trail -- act of betrayal to the great constitutional amendment 13, 14, and 15. new constitutions were written in the south. it added 2 to the grandfather clause and stripped away the right to vote, separate but equal. in reality, a separate but unequal became the law of the land. african-americans reacted to that and left to baltimore, to philadelphia, to new york city, to cities all throughout the midwest in the north east. it was against that backdrop that in 1910 a progressive white woman comed the wife of a railroad man, whose ancestors came here on the mayflower, teamed up with a

those from europe fleeing famine and persecution to find their way to ellis island to the united states of america. there is much more written about the great immigration then there has been on the great migration, but the great migration, along with the great immigration, our forces which shaped 20th- century america and shake the urban communities of america. that great migration began to take place in the early 1900's and it really beginning after the 1896 decision of the united states supreme court in plessey versus ferguson. this was an act of betrayal of the great constitution during reconstruction. it was in the early 20th century when the klan rose. the economy of the south began to collapse and change. neck mechanization change the economy. -- mechanization changed the economy. separate but equal but, in reality, separate but unequal became the law of the land. a system of american apartheid and was born. african-americans reacted to that and left for baltimore, for philadelphia, 40 york city, for chicago, for detroit -- cities all over the midwest and the northeast. it was aga

so ellis reopened talk with rhode island but they need more time to come up with an offer so may not immediate the deadline for tomorrow. san francisco could host america cup and gaining a billion dollar windfall potentially. that decision perhaps less than 24 hours away. >>> all right. staying in san francisco. the crime lab scandal that rocked the city this year is now over. the former lab technician who stole cocaine evidence and threw hundreds of cases into indicates 0is off the hook. cecelia in the newsroom to explain why this is happening. >>reporter: deborah madden is retired now. she till huh-uh pending felony drug possession charge for small amount of cocaine and as for her role in one of the biggest san francisco stories of the year what is now a closed case. technician at the center of san francisco drug lab scandal admitted to investigators she took small amounts of cocaine evidence home with her. more than 600 drug cases were tossed in the fall out. san francisco police chief ordered the crime lab shut erred. but the state attorney general is not filing criminal charges

this building right here, the capitol dome, what that statue stands for, when you pass through ellis island and see the statue of liberty, it represents a freedom that exists nowhere else in the world. and all of that is at risk if these kinds of policies continue. i know that's a dramatic statement, but i think most people across the country have recognized that when you take into account the radical level of spending, the unsustainable level of spending going on here in washington, trillion-dollar-plus deficits as far as the eye can see, first trillion-dollar deficit in the history of our country was last year, only surpassed by next year's and -- last year and next year's looks to be the same, everybody knows we can't sustain this level of spending, then you look and speaker pelosi's plan for taxes is to raise taxes on american people and small businesses. the american people know what that means for job creation. they know it's going to stifle job creation and make it harder for businesses to compete globally and make it harder for many of them to keep their doors -- doors open. those a

elly conwanted pier 50. the city proposed alternative closer to the city. and the team responded by reopening talks with newport rhode island and newport said it couldn't put together a final offer by the end of the year appearing to have pushed san francisco once more into the lead. >> we're in communication with the team. so our lawyers have been in communication. it's finalizing some of the documents. >> the deadline is to. rhode island thinks they're still in it. a source tells us the city and team continue to work closely during holidays to iron out details of the san francisco bid and that rhode island has issue that's might prove insurmountable. >> organizers say a decision will be announced by end of business, tomorrow, saying at this point both san francisco and newport rhode island are being considered. >> cheryl? >> thank you very much oo. we shall see. when we come back, michael finney follows up on a family and a christmas surprise that will change their lives. >> 7 yn >>> a soldier is home for the holidays in a place he can call home. >> and this is a story michael finney brought new april. >> this is a wonder