. >> reporter: in this house in scarsdale, new york, lives a happy homeowner.rob shire is happy because he recently refinanced his mortgage, lowering the rate on his 30-year fixed by almost 2%. >> we're saving about $450 to $460 a month. so that's a sizeable amount of money, especially when you amortize it over 30 years. >> reporter: but the news is not good for borrowers who haven't yet locked in a rate. the interest rate for a typical 30-year fixed-rate loan has climbed nearly half a point in four weeks to 4.61%. if interest rates keep rising, mortgage experts are certain refinancing activity will slow dramatically. but applications for loans to buy homes are not expected to fall nearly as much. rob shire's mortgage banker peter grabel explains why. >> the purchase market, whether someone is at 4.5% versus 5%, i think relatively, rates are very low. housing prices are down significantly. so, i don't think there are too many people who are thinking about buying that won't buy now because of a half-point difference. >> reporter: but higher rates will make it ha

anthony mason, cbs news, scarsdale, new york. >> couric: and still ahead here on the "cbs evening news," one man saved the other's life, yet they never even met-- until now. but up next, the world according to google. a story told by 500 billion words. mmmm. you don't love me anymore do you billy? what? i didn't buy this cereal to sweet talk your taste buds it's for my heart health. good speech dad. [ whimper ] [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. and the life you want to live. with rheumatoid arthritis,ol. there's the life you live... fortunately there's enbrel, the #1 most doctor-prescribed biologic medicine for ra. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, fatigue, and stop joint damage. because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, and other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosi

salmon have reached the ban scarsdale dam on the eel river. we will take another break at 625 back with more moment. an update on the frustrated east coast travelers and residents as they continued to dig out. we will be right back. bay bridge toll plaza wind is the story of the baby will be back in to minutes. 629 a. and moments away from the ringing of the opening bell. we have been tracking stock futures. have been positive poised for an end bans on wednesday morning. there is the bell. trading will be quiet during the rest of the week a lot of investors closed their books for the year. we are coasting to the new year and no economic reports due for today either. we will let you know if any of the numbers do any unexpected swings. but to check the window. >> of those are the numbers this morning not the temperatures but the wind. james lick downtown san francisco starting off with gusty winds. a few scattered showers mostly tapering off and trying out as we head towards the end of the week. right now wind is 24 more miles an hour 22 novato

>> guest: i was born in new york, moved to scarsdale and on to brown university.c-span: what did you study at brown? >> guest: history. actually, i went there on a math/physics major and national merit scholarship, but i realized i wasn't going to be a nuclear physicist, i didn't have it, so i witched to -- switched to history and joined the foreign service right after graduating. c-span: you talk about a trip that you made over to the yugoslavian part of the world when you were about 19. >> guest: yeah, i hitchhiked across yugoslavia when i was a sophomore in college. and i described that -- because that was the only time i'd been in the area until the war started. and i went to share jay slow -- share jay slow -- where the arch duke was assassinated and started world war i. and be i remember so vividly, brian, that a translator explained to us that the inscription said here struck the first blow for serbian liberty. and i thought, what is all this? i'm a college student, we're studying history, everyone knows that that started world war i. it's my first encounte

you're from scarsdale, new york. you take a train? >> that's right. there was no other way out of kennedy airport, other than to take the shuttle bus to the subway. >> you're on the subway, above ground. then what happened, susan? >> then the train stopped. shortly after getting on, it stopped. >> shortly after getting on? >> yes. >> were they communicating with you, what was going on, how long was it going to take? >> initially, they did. initially, it was clear they were really making an effort to try to move the trains. think the employees wanted to get home as much as we did. but increasingly, as the hours went by, we heard less and less. >> dave, i saw, you and susan both, when they heard the gentlemen say, there was access to bathrooms, you guys -- >> where would that have been? >> there are no bathrooms on the subway. >> that wasn't the case. >> no. >> you know, new yorkers get a rap of not being the most congenial people at times. it's a bad rap. what was the atmosphere onboard like, dave? >> it was pretty friendly, i think for the most part.