but as monika reports, the red cross helps people in many ways. >> the story of the american red cross starts here, in washington d.c. during the civil war, the sanitary commission was started to help sick and injured union soldiers. a woman named clara barton joined that effort. she became known as "the angel of the battlefield." >> during the americanlefield." civil war, it wasn't too common for women to be near the battlefield. clara barton changed all that by providing aid to soldiers, and so that's why they called her the angel of the battlefield. >> after the war, she visited europe and learned about an organization there called the international red cross. >> the international red cross movement started in europe to help relieve the suffering of people affected by war. it was founded by henry dunant, a swiss businessman, and still today, we honor him by using the reverse of the swiss flag for our symbol -- the red cross against a white background. >> returning to the united states, she founded the american red cross in 1881. and ever since then, the american red cross has been h

red cross representatives have been speaking with victims about short-term and long-term plans. so far, about 20 people have taken them up on hotel rooms. >> what is heartbreaking, people were gearing up for the holidays. they have their house set up, and planning on having people over in all the sudden their houses are burned down. we are sensitive to that. we want people to have a stable, a festive holiday even though they're not in our own home. >>alejandra: so far, the city says all of the victims will be able to stay in those hotel rooms through wednesday. at that point, they will reassess the situation. >>grant: stay with kron4 for continuing coverage of today's devastating fire. we have more resources on our web site including your pictures and comments. www.kron4.com. >>jaqueline: the wind did not help that firefighting effort. tonight, you can see the winds have calmed down virtually everywhere. that is one to help lead to very cool conditions. take a look at our current temperatures. clinging to the '50s close to the coast line. it is going to get cold overnight. freez

the red cross. for years i started as a volunteer for the red cross. ended up before i took this job as a volunteer chairman of the board of the red cross in massachusetts. had to give that up when i took this job. but an intragoodwill part of the community. in the last two years i had traveled across the country from aalaska to hawaii and the floods in new england. to a hurricane in vermont. who ever knew vermont would get struck bay hurricane? and on the ground in joplin, missouri, 14 hours after the tornado went through there. and i was in tuscaloosa, alabama, smithville. mississippi. northern georgia, all affected by the tornadoes. and up in north dakota from the floods. and when i was flying over and when i was flying over north dakota, had the

the red cross. for years i started as a volunteer for the red cross. ended up before i took this job as a volunteer chairman of the board of the red cross in massachusetts. had to give that up when i took this job. but an intragoodwill part of the community. in the last two years i had traveled across the country from aalaska to hawaii and the floods in new england. to a hurricane in vermont. who ever knew vermont would get struck bay hurricane? and on the ground in joplin, missouri, 14 hours after the tornado went through there. and i was in tuscaloosa, alabama, smithville. mississippi. northern georgia, all affected by the tornadoes. and up in north dakota from the floods. and when i was flying over north dakota, had the opportunity with the general and a couple congressmen. and as we're flying over, and it was just cresting. in looking at the damages, the general is explaining how many homes and businesses were damaged. in sort of a side mentioned we've really done a good job and haven't lost any lives and working hard, and we saved the school and d

and there's the red cross. and i was thinking, oh, i'm going to -- well, had i been at the movie theater, i would have thought -- if i'm going to washington tomorrow, maybe i'll get to see my pals at the red cross. ngo, right, it's a nongovernmental organization. is raised a lot of money with hurricane katrina. any visible, you know, disaster, whether we call them natural or unnatural doesn't matter. but they're going to have people saying, i want to help. more than half of all american households donated to haiti. and that says something very good about everybody in this room and in just country. and the red cross is an ngo and they are used to working with ngos. they work with partners in health, doctors without borders. and here's my chance to anybody apologize to doctors in the borders who i called doctors who sometimes need borders. [laughter] >> having worked with them -- it was just kind of a joke, okay? but we can move like this. we were move very quickly, the ngos. doctors without borders very, very qu

anyway, so take the american red cross or the international federation of the red cross. when there is a disaster, um, people will give to the red cross. it has, as they say in business parlance, it has a good brand. i watched -- of course, i only work, i never take breaks. i did not watch contagion this weekend with matt damon -- [laughter] but if i had watched it, i would have seen, by the way, a pretty good, pretty compelling outbreak movie. >> when he says he watched it with matt damon -- >> i didn't watch it with matt damon -- [laughter] >> somebody else was in the movie. >> you've got to admit, anything with him in it is good. anyway, so it's about an outbreak, as you might imagine, and there's the red cross. and i was thinking, oh, i'm going to -- well, had i been at the movie theater, i would have thought if i'm going to washington tomorrow, maybe i'll get to see my pals at the red cross. ngo, right? it's a nongovernment organization. it raised a lot of money in response to the earth quake or katrina, right? or any other visible, you know, disaster whether we call

>> reporter: good morning i'm amy hollyfield live in san francisco where the red cross is trying to find permanent homes for the victims of yesterday's huge fire. firefighters start to look for a cause. >>> san leandro police investigate another shooting at a wal-mart parking lot the same lot where another man was shot during an attempted robbery on black friday. >>> the winds calmed overnight, temperatures below freezing in many areas around the bay. repeat performance is possible tonight. we'll look at a chance of rain next week. >>> live look at the bay bridge friday light. if you are getting away towards the reno area we have an accident to tell you about at the border. that and more coming up. >>> that's very light. very friday light. coming up to christmas good morning i'm terry mcsweeney, eric thomas has the morning off. >>> and i'm kristen sze. san francisco's arson team will investigate the massive building fire that turned a residential neighborhood into an inferno yesterday. amy hollyfield is live at the scene with the latest. >> reporter: there is a team of fires still here t

the red cross will bring the shelter back on tuesday where people will be able to meet with counselors and come up with a long-term plan. >>> i'll use the big board to show you exactly where this fire started am it was in san francisco's western edition neighborhood here at the corner of golden gate avenue and pierce street near alamo square. the fire starting at 11:53 this morning, and the building located at 1502 golden gate. it spread over the next two hours fuelled by windy conditions. five alarms were called to the scene. 140 firefighters corking to cob -- working to contain the flames. several minor injuries were reported, including one to a firefighter. ed lee made a visit to the scene. >> we needed temporary shelter, of course, that's the expertise of the red cross. and we're going to find that shelter close by. we identified a few sites where we're clearing those for use. then for the weeks coming, we'll have to have shelters. many others may not have an alternative. during the holiday times, it's hard for people to have a lot of alternatives out there. upon so we're going to

the red cross says it is in desperate need of more cash. you can make a donation online or text red cross to 90999 to donate $10. >>> as 2011 draws to a close, so does an era in u.s. savings bonds. over the counter sales of paper savings bonds will end at financial institutions on december 31st. the u.s. department of treasury announced the move back in july in the hopes of increasing the number of electronic transactions while saving taxpayers millions of dollars. series ee and "i" electronic savings bonds will remain available for purchase on treasurydirect.gov. >>> you've got to feel sorry for this person. someone in georgia left $77 million on the table. a winning powerball ticket sold last summer expired on monday, and no one came forward to claim the prize. it is the largest unclaimed ticket ever in georgia. the unclaimed money will be given back to the states where powerball is played to be used for future games and prizes. i mean, come on. >> how do you buy a ticket and not -- every time i buy a ticket, i have a reminder on my phone

there is a temporary shelter on golden gate after he run by the red cross. a lot of people who came there were sent to rooms at local hotels. others are staying with family and friends. >> my door got busted open by the construction workers that are actually working on the school right here. they dragged me outside. >> i left without my cell phone. i was panicked so i just grabbed my wallet and left. so i went back in. i retrieved a hard drive. >> reporter: some good samaritans actually stopped by last night trying to give donations of clothes and food tried to give it to the red cross but the problem is the red cross says there is no way to properly store or tribute that kind of stuff. they only accept cash donations. as for what's next for these homeless people, the city's good samaritan program comes in hooking them up with some of the city's vacant apartments. if there is a difference in the rent, then the city will pay it. on golden gate and pierce in the city's western addition. you can see some roads still blocked off here in the area as firefighters

red cross set up an assistance center around the corner. place to recup and figure out what is next. >> we are vouch ering them that hotel rooms that will extend all the way through wednesday initially and we can extend that cond that if they need it. >>reporter: 12 people are using the vouchers. red cross says it will open up again on tuesday in case any of those stays need to be extended. as for the cause of today's fire, that is still under investigation. in san francisco, abc 7 news. >> thanks. >> as she just mentioned the red cross is providing shelter for those burped out of their homes. they are requesting donations and you cap find out more about how to give by going to our web site and clicking on see it on tv. abc 7 viewers caught some pictures of the fire from nearby homes. take a look at this one. see just how thick the smoke is in this photograph from no must viewer. and this picture was taken from another angle you can see the flames inside one of the units burning there in that building. now if you have video or pictures of b

red cross set up an assistance center around the corner. place to recup and figure out what is next. >> we are vouch ering them that hotel rooms that will extend all the way through wednesday initially and we can extend that cond that if they need it. >>reporter: 12 people are using the vouchers. red cross says it will open up again on tuesday in case any of those stays need to be extended. as for the cause of today's fire, that is still under investigation. in san francisco, abc 7 news. >> thanks. >> as she just mentioned the red cross is providing shelter for those burped out of their homes. they are requesting donations and you cap find out more about how to give by going to our web site and clicking on see it on tv. abc 7 viewers caught some pictures of the fire from nearby homes. take a look at this one. see just how thick the smoke is in this photograph from no must viewer. and this picture was taken from another angle you can see the flames inside one of the units burning there in that building. now if you have video or pictures of b

they are being assisted by the red cross. a couple of people have told me that they have friends in the neighborhood and they think it will be able to stay with them as opposed to using the services of the red cross. >>darya: as you can see the firefighters are still there as they are mopping up and investigating that fire that happened around 4:30 a.m.. >>mark: thousands of people gathered in vallejo to pay their respects to honor officer: and a former marine james capoot. he was gunned down two weeks ago during an attempted bank robbery. many remember him as a hard worker and a mentor. this ceremony ended with a flyover. in danville, the body of lance corporal joshua crowd was escorted by a full contingent of marines. hundreds of mourners paid their respects to the popular young marine. he was only 19 years old and killed during combat operations in afghanistan on november 18th. >>darya: the public is invited to pay their respects to sean walsh at the oak hill funeral home at 9:00 a.m.. the national guard specialists died i

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mike basely and brian boyle of the american red cross. mike works for the red cross.it's an amazing story that brian has. he has been with us before. were you officially declared dead or were you just really, really close? >> there are several times in the hospital they had to bring me back to life on several occasions. the red cross was the foundation that recovered the blood transfusion. so it's all about saying thank you and being a part of the team. >> amazing. this is after an accident a few years back. as you can see they just done an amazing recovery and gone on to do wonderful things physically, emotionally and mentally. it's amazing your story you are here today to tell. >> living spokesperson for the great organization that is the american red cross. and mike, you're here talking about not only brian but some of the brian's book. i think we seen before but now the exciting thing it has a really cool introduction getting the word out about the good work that the american red cross does. and also you can throw up success magazine in there, highlighted is not o

red cross is requesting donations at this point. you can click on see it on tv to find out how to give to the victims in this fire. >> and gusting winds helped fuel that fire. >> and there is a look at wind speeds out there. >> i want to show you the set thaup created winds. there is high pressure, down sloping winds, very dry air. winds blow from mountains, blowing down towards the coast, they pick up speed. these are down sloping winds. there is where you can see humidity at the time of the fires is 5% to 10%. so this was a dry air mass. and this is trouble some. the wind coming down. we're going to see temperatures plunge, i'll be back with a look at how cold it's going to get and what areas are going under a freeze warning. >> and there is abc 7 viewers took a picture. take a look at this picture this, is a photograph from a few viewer, you can see flames signed one of the units in the building. and if have you pictures of breaking news upload them or, you can e mail them. >> and a massive fire also sent thick black smoke this a

the red cross only accepts cash donations. as for what's next for these newly homeless people, the city's good samaritan program comes in hooking them up with some of the city's vacant apartments and if there is a difference in the rent, the city will pay it. back out here live now, golden gate avenue and pierce. some people who i believe are residents are coming back this morning wondering if they will have the chance to go in or have firefighters go in and retrieve some of their belongings. this is going to be a long process to recovery for them. grace? >> hopefully they will be able to find something to save. thank you, anne. >>> in the meantime, six people are recovering from a bus accident in the east bay bart station. 20 people were on board the tridelta express bus that went out of control. it ended up in a field at the pittsburg-bay point bart station. one witness was just getting on another bus at the station when the crash happened. >> the bus came from behind and she went up on the curb over here. she knocked out on

the red cross tells me they're working with the apartment complex management to get a final tally on all of the residents who are affected. the red cross tells me the management is looking into possibly placing some residents in vacant units in this complex. reporting live in alameda. abc-7 news. >> in san francisco tonight, at least three families have been displaced by a fire at an apartment building on judith street. firefighters took 20 minutes to put the fire out. fire officials tell us they think electrical problems sparked the flames. a red cross official reports one unit was destroyed and two more suffered damage. >> oakland police are investigating a fatal streeting in a strip mall that happened around 3:00 p.m. on fruit vail avenue. police say shots were fired in a parking lot and the victim stumbled into a nearby market to get help. emergency services rushed the person the hospital. police are looking for several suspects. >> a man is in the county jail facing weapons charges, including possession of explosive devices. police responded to a report of suspicious circumstanc

the military has deployed 20,000 troops for rescue operations while the government and the red cross are distributing food and clothes and medical supplies. but they say relief goods have not reached many of the displaced people seeking shelter throughout the island. the red cross is on alert over a possible outbreak of infectious diseases. >>> prime minister noda and mle myung bak met and they were discussing the korean women forced to work in brafles during world war ii. noda expressed his cooperation to work. in response, he raised the issue of the so-called comfort women. >> translator: japan must have the courage for this matter. it has been the hurdle between the two countries. >> he explained that the women are now old and asked noda to commit to settling the issue. noda responded by saying the issue was legally resolved when the two countries normalized bilateral ties in 1965. but he conveyed his intention to make further efforts. >> translator: on the issue of comfort women, japan has devoted and will continue to devote various efforts to resolving the issue from a humanitar

the red cross and the city is helping provide shelter. the homeowners of this 4,000 square foot victorian offered to let some victims stay with them. >> why not if you have the space which is a rarity in town. and it was right in the neighborhood. >> reporter: firefighters are walking through the burned out buildings looking for a cause. the fire had a head start by the time they arrived. they are wondering if that is because of wind and wood structures or something else. >> was it because of something out of the ordinary or just start lining up all of those factors? our arson investigators are on the scene trying to piece that together. >> reporter: they to did secure the scene and treat it as a crime scene until they know what happened. firefighters think they will be here until late this afternoon. they expect golden gate and pierce to be closed throughout the day. the fires have moved by their work here they have found several toys and christmas gifts in the wreckage. they've decided to donate to the cause. the fire department has giv

resolve to give to the american red cross.ecause the red cross provides hope, help and compassion, not only during disasters, but every day. donate to the red cross and give something that means something, before the new year. visit redcross.org today. >> trace: a former u.s. marine could face the death penalty if an iranian court convicts him on charges of spying for the cia. that from semiofficial iranian media the 28-year-old was born to iranian family. state tv showed off this card which identifies him as an army contractor. but prosecutors reportedly accuse him of working as a spy and of planning to imply that he iran supports international terrorism. his family says the islamic republic is reporting positively wrong. wendell goler with the news live in d.c. tonight. what's the administration's reaction to the start of the trial? >> well, trace, the state department called on iran to release emir hekmati without delay or at least allow swiss authorities to check on him and check on his well being. the swiss tried on chris

resolve to support the american red cross. red cross provides hope, help, and compassion, not only during disasters, but every day. resolve to do something that means something. support the red cross before the new year. visit redcross.org today. >>> this is the story we can't get enough of. >>> a well-known mobster buried be neat a famous landmark in chicago, that is the claim in a new book. >>> more news, first warning weather and your first traffic report of the morning in just a few minutes. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> this is wjz tv, wjz hd, and wjz.com, baltimore. >> good morning, maryland. now don scott,

the red cross says the war crimes can only be committed in real life.week, there have been numerous articles with headlines like this. "600 million video gamers could be war criminals, red cross says." as expected, not true. there are very real concerns about a group of workers in washington caught in the middle of a political tug of war. correspondent molly henneberg has their story. >> staff at the u.s. commission on international religious freedom have been told to start winding down operations. >> you literally have to close the offices. at the end of the day on the 16th if we are not funded. >> if congress does not approve $4 million in annual funding for the independent bipartisan commission. and we authorize the mission. advise the u.s. government on related policy positions. leon says dick durbin put a hold on funding for the commission. until congress set ace side money for something unrelated. durbin wants the u.s. government buy the little used state prison in thompson, illinois, and turn it in a federal lockup. durbin ez it would bring jobs

tonight the red cross is helping those who lost everything.fore the christmast( holiday. the community is alsoxd steppini in. where weçyów3Ñi piayçó up that the story. >> firefighters are still here tonight makingok cher hot spots don't flairok up. the red cross is hanning out hotel vouchers for 24 people who have nowhere to stay andfá strangers are coming forward, offering what they can to help.d people who lost everything( ok san francisco fire leavet(lpt( evacuation center,i] heading to hotel with a cat.lp strangers are heading into the evacuation centermáe1Ñi offerin help. >> just clothes,lp blankets, household things. >> justt( to help out in case someone needed yummye1 cookies. >> we had been rentingçó out a couple of rooms available.lpÑijf they are free rightnow. maybe just for a couple of weeks women figured thist( just happed and wanted toÑi see if we could help someone -p'e1 had nowhere >> firefighters battled the devastating fire for hours.lp most neighbors saw flames shooting through the roof of three buildings near alamo square.

. >> ktvu crews have been speaking with evacuees, the red cross, near by residents and fire officials and we have live team coverage tonight. we begin with ktvu's david stevenson and what fire authorities are saying this hour about that massive fire fight, david. >> reporter: take a look behind me. you can see that it is dark at the scene of these two charred buildings. but firefighters have been working through the last hour to make sure the fire is out as their investigation into its cause begins. let's take a look at some video that was shot at around just before noon today. this is how the flames looked, billowing smoke to be seen from across the city. firefighters say it all began behind a three story victorian building on golden gate avenue and quickly led to a neighboring four story wood victorian building in just a matter of minutes. it quickly became a five alarm fire, 150 firefighters about half of the city staff responded in windy conditions. firefighters say it was a difficult area to fight and there were several injuries as well. >> there was one civilian with minor smoke

to learn more, visit the red cross website. for "teen kids news," i'm lauren. >> now we're going to run a state flag up the pole. scott has the facts that makes this one stand out. >> virginia is often called "the mother of presidents." four of our first five presidents were born there. since then, four more presidents have been proud virginians. >> virginia's state flag is a reference to overthrowing king george. you see the roman goddess virtus standing atop a tyrant, and she's holding a sword in one hand, a spear in the other, and the tyrant is laying on the ground with his crown knocked off of his head. >> it's hard to see, but the tyrant holds a a broken whip. "sic semper tyrannis" means "thus always to tyrants." with flag facts, i'm scott. >> if you love planting things, you'd fit in with the crew of teens at a very special garden. harry has the story of kids who get to teach others about taking care of the planet and its plants. >> the new york botanical garden is sort of a disney world for plant lovers. calling itself "

the red cross and other clinics throughout rural california. as the public health director and previous health director she is conducting a -- an intense -- and housing. barbra will work with the needs and services and the aftermath of the earthquake and beyond. barbra? >> good morning. the loma prieta earthquake was probably a redefining of my career in 1989. i learned through crisis, it can create opportunity and conflict can bring collaboration and even friendship. and i was about -- i lived about five miles away from the epicenter of the loma prieta earthquake and our clinic was about seven miles from the epicenter. loma prieta means dark mountain. and we would always say during the earthquake we were kind of on the dark side of the mountain. san francisco did an incredible job but to give you a little bit of background to the city. i think this experience also brought me to city government. i had worked in the non-profit field for over 25 years. the city of watsonville was not prepared to communicate with the 60% spanish-speaking community

the residents are being helped boy the red cross. a candlelight vigil is getting underway right now to remember a police officer killed in the line of duty. brian tavara was shot five years ago today while searching for an escaped inmate. he died the next morning. the vigil began at 7:00 at 25th avenue and loton street where the shooting happened. a police chaplin will be heeding a prayer and they will walk to the police station for a flag ceremony. >>> thousands of bay area nurses are on strike tonight over stalled contract talks. >> all right, here we go! >> it started this morning, hospitals including in berkeley and in oakland. california nursees association objects to changes in paid sick leave and contributions to health care coverage proposed by sutter health. >> our nurses are $136,000 salary for a full time nurse. >> we are not being greedy. we work really hard for our money. >> reporter: the nurses will be locked out tomorrow as well because sutter health says it was too hard to hire 400 replacement nurses for one day only.

it's run by the red cross and a lot of the people who came there were sent to rooms at local hotels, others went to stay with friends and family. firefighters retrieved some belongings. but most of the people escaped with just the clothes on their backs. >> i wasn't sure what was going on. my door got busted open by the construction workers that are actually working on the school right here. they dragged me outside. >> i left without my cell phone, i panic. so i just pretty much grabbed my wallet and left. i went back in and retrieved a hard drive. >> reporter: some good samaritans did come to try to drop off donations but the problem is the red cross says there is no way to properly store or distribute items. they only accept cash donations. the city's good samaritan program kicks in hooking them up with some of the city's vacant apartments. if there is a difference in the rent between th apartments, the city will then pay it. the structure is still standing but firefighters aren't sure how stable it is. they will have some engineers come in and check it out this morning before the

resolve to give to the american red cross.ed cross provides hope, help and compassion, not only during disasters, but every day. donate to the red cross and give something that means something, before the new year. visit redcross.org today. >>> so, i'm very pleased to see the work that the senate has done. the agreement is for two months. it is my expectation, in fact, it would be inexcusable for congress not to further extend the middle class tax cut for the rest of the year. >> what i'm suggesting is that the president asked for a full year extension. we agree with the president. damn leaders said the same thing in the last two weeks. we should do it for the full year. why do we always have to go to the lowest common denominator? >> tonight the house will take up a series of votes, three, actually. the first is expected to kill the payroll tax cut extension that passed the senate over the weekend. the senate vote was 89-10. then the hope is how republicans say to force it in a conference committee, where they can negotiate s

red cross ask for your donation. go to our web site to click see it on tv to learn how to help. this is abc 7 news. >>> now a number of our viewers caught pictures of the fire from homes nearby. you can see just how thick the smoke was. from this photograph from anonymous viewer and look at this picture taken from another angle here. you can see the flames inside one of the units in the building. it was just ferocious. thanks for sending the pictures. if you have video or pictures of breaking news up load them to you report or e-mail them to this site. >>> windy in the city and that did not help the fire in the western addition but wind driven grass fire pushed flames close to homes in north vai la oh. fire broke out just before 1 this afternoon here. crew put autopsy lot of water to keep the the delta meadow subdivision from burning. the homes are no listeninger threatened. fire fight was successful. about 30 acres of wild land was burned. >>> 4000 nurses staged a one day strike at bay area hospitals today over stalled contract talks with sutter health management. hospital is l

we're told the red cross is helping those residents with apartmenting that are now inhabitable.the red cross is helping to get them transferred to another property. >>> authorities are trying to figure out what caused another san francisco fire. it happened before 10:00 on a building on 24th and utah street. firefighters managed to put the flames out in about an hour. no one was hurt. the red cross is also helping shelter those displaced residents. >>> san francisco police are asking for help to try to identify a man caught in a surveillance photo who they say sexually assaulted two women. we want to show you a photo police released of man suspected in the mission district assaults. the suspect is described as a black man in his mid-30s about 5'6" and 6'tall with a medium build. one storekeeper says people in the neighborhood are taking extra precautions. >> every time we leave our store, looking around making sure nobody is hanging around or standing around doing nothing. >> reporter: police say the latest attack happened last thursday. the first attack happens in mid- november

. >>> red cross is now helping four people. now everybody made it out of the building and some say they never heard any fire alarms. they say sirens from the fire truck was actually their first clue of trouble. they are investigating those flames. >> because of the incident that occurred we want to make sure everything is in order. this could have been a lot worse if our fire systems were not in order. >> it will question each of the 102 residents to see if they herd any alarm investigators are still trying to determine what started that fire. >>> burning flames. the fire on 24th and utah had that fire under control in just about an hour and nobody was hurt. the red cross is helping. >>> they are now the subject of a 2012 campaign ad. the campaign targeted, coming up in just about 9 minutes. >>> let's go to sal for a complete check of traffic, sal, the roads are still wet out there, around they sal? >> yes, so if you are driving too fast, just keep it in minds, stay with the speed limit, and we will look at 80. remember drivers

our local entity, the japanese red cross, says that they can take care of ourselves. at that point, they were not willing to let others help them. we were in this area where we were ready to give. we have so much we want to give to you. we had to wait a number of days. 48, 72 hours before of a sudden they said, yes, please. you have that cultural sensitivity with the government, local ngo's, and in this case is really played out, surprisingly. we just sat on our hands for a little while. we were ready. we were ancient. >> first of all, the u.s. was fairly arrogant after katrina as well. secondly, every disaster is different. he has a dysfunctional government. what do you do? what do you do with a dysfunctional government? every one of these are different. the u.s., we have the same arrogance after katrina. >> when you make the decision to respond to some crisis, is there a protocol? do you want to coordinate services with some other agency? delivering the maximum good for your community? what is the most glaring weakness in the chain of events, right now, as it confro

what's your first priority at the red cross? what's the most immediate need? >> relief, food for those who are in the evacuation centers and though trying to restore their homes. they would certainly be stressed by the fact they have not only lost their homes but their livelihood. at the moment, the red cross is preparing 10,000 food items for 10,000 families. this is just a preliminary relief earffort. we're providing hot food, or trying to do that. people have been to be buried. that has to be addressed as well. the red cross is also looking and tracing for people who are missing so that we can reunite families. >> and a last-minute cliff hanger in the u.s. senate today with a deadline looming. senators passed a massive spending plan and a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. we have a live report from capitol hill in a moment. first, here's what senator john mccain had to say about today's vote. >> here we are again. a bill 1,221 pages long. not one member of this committee has read, of this body has read. 1,221 pages representing $915 billion of the