t.j. winick>> reporter: whether harnessing the power inherent in nature or just using recycled materials, going green has proved to be good for the environment and good for business. >> one of the important things about us is using as many reclaimed or recycled or sustainable materials as possible. >> reporter: at shake shack, that includes the furniture. before these tables held burgers and fries, you might say they faced some hard times. >> can always seem to put a smile on people's face when i would tell them what it was all about. >> reporter: today, jim malone is making the environmentally conscious smile with his line of furniture, made entirely of reclaimed wood from old bowling alleys. he noticed the excess lumber while building a cabin in upstate new york. >> i knew it was destined for landfill if i didn't get it. >> reporter: you can now find jim's handywork at some starbucks locations, as well as the new york burger joint, shake shack. the long tables aren't just stylish. they send the

t.j. winick, abc news, new york. >>> and that is what is making news in america this morning. >> get more news anytime at bcnews.com. >> and straight ahead this half-hour, an underground close call. chunks of concrete collapsed through a metro station ceiling. good morning washington. thank you for joining us. >> we begin with your traffic and weather every 10 minutes. we'll check in with lisa baden in just a moment to see how the roads are doing but first we check in with meteorologist adam caskey. >> take a quick peek and notice the showers. those of you watching us from parts of west virginia, you can see a little sprinkle today. otherwise an increase in the cloud cover. let's go look at the temperatures outside. look at this. it is chilly. 35 in centreville. rockville, h 41. for the most parts high 30's, low 40's. cooler in the mid cities. 56 the high at 3:00 p.m.. let's go to lisa with traffic. >> a lot of overnight construction is being cleared of the way now. both sides at 123. you can see

t.j. winick has the story. >> reporter: it's all retail wants for the holidays. >> judging by the amount of people with bags in their hands, it looks like it's going. >> reporter: 2008 and 2009, were hardly festive for business. but this year, things are look up. according to credit card companies, retail sales are up 3%. retailers have added three-times as many seasonal workers as last season. and one of the bellwethers are prices are higher than before. >> there's a lot of consumers to stimulate buying. >> reporter: here outside macy's in new york city, where the christmas lights have been strung up, shoppers tell us they're tired of not spending money. and what better time to start shopping than the holidays? >> i think people want to spend. >> reporter: that's why big business, like never before, is getting a head-start. best buy kicked off their early black friday sale yesterday. holiday sales at target begin the sunday before thanksgiving. and amazon.com launches its online sale a full week

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. >> t.j. winick joins us now with the latest on this story. hi, t.j. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning. the yemeni woman arrested over the weekend in connection with the bomb plot has been released. police say it was the case of stolen identity. they're now looking for a 28-year-old al qaeda bombmaker and any other package bombs which could be out there. u.s. intelligence officials were fearing al qaeda was preparing a bomb attack since early september, when they discovered what now appears to be a dry run shipment. like the real bombs, the packages were sent from yemen to addresses in chicago. >> they wanted to follow the packages, using the tracking system, to know exactly when they got to a point. how long a timer had to be set for. so, that the bomb would go off at the right point, which presumably was over chicago. >> reporter: investigators still don't know if the latest al qaeda bomb plot targeting america has been fully containe. as a result, the u.s. has frozen all cargo shipped from yemen. the u.k. has extended that ban to som

t.j. winick has more. >> the committee voted 9-1, to recommend that mr. rangel be censured by the house. >> reporter: for charlie rangel, the 80-year-old congressman from harlem has been found guilty of financial wrongdoing, was convicted of failing to pay taxes, use official resources to raise funds for a new york college center named after him. >> his actions and accumulation of actions, as the subcommittee found, brought discredit to the house. his conduct served to undermine public trust in this institution. >> reporter: members of the panel expressed little sympathy for rangel, who was forced to step down earlier this year as chairman of the powerful house ways and means committee. >> mr. rangel should only look into the mirror if he wants to know who to blame. >> i have looked at myself every morning, mr. bonner. and i have never blamed staff, my family, or anyone for my irresponsible behavior. >> reporter: rangel brought a surprise character witness, respected veteran lawmaker, john lewis. >> he's always been a champion for those left out and left

t.j. winick looks at what's ahead for rangel. fending himself, charlie rangel copped to shoddy book-keeping but insisted he is not corrupt. >> the committee voted 9-1 to recommend that mr. rangel be censured by the house. >> reporter: for charlie rangel, the 80-year-old congressman from harlem has already been found guilty of financial wrongdoing. he was convicted of failing to pay taxes and using official resources to fund-raise for a new york college center named after him. >> his actions and his accumulation of actions, as the subcommittee found, brought discredit to the house. his conduct served to undermine public trust in this institution. >> reporter: members of the panel expressed little sympathy for rangel, who was forced to step down earlier this year as chairman of the powerful house ways and means committee. >> mr. rangel should only look into the mirror if he wants to know who to blame. >> i look at myself every morning, and i have never blamed staff, my family, or anyone for my irresponsible behavior. >> reporter: ra

t.j. winick joins us with the latest details. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. the head of the fda told me this is about protecting the public and that drinks which combine caffeine and alcohol simply are not safe. they are two ingredients that have been adding up to trouble. >> so we just started feeling -- just really bad. >> reporter: the fda's top doc announced an effective ban on energy drinks that contain both alcohol and caffeine, calling the calf 15 an unsafe food addtive. the makers of one of the drinks, four loko, already announced they would remove the caffeine from the drinks. the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe, but that they didn't want to deal with a difficult and politically charged regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels. >> the caffeine can mask the signs of intoxication. it can make you feel like you're wide awake, that you aren't drunk, but in fact, your senses are impaired. >> reporter: in washington state, where a four loko ban goes into effect thursday, cans are flying off the shelves. jason harman wanted tw

t.j. winick has details. >> reporter: it has certainly been a shocking turn of events for this lawmaker who is a fixture on capitol hill. and still incredibly popular in his home district. having served 20 terms in the house of representatives, charlie rangel has declared victory many times. the congressman from harlem was declared guilty on 11 of 13 counts of financial and fund-raising wrongdoing. >> do you have reaction to the -- >> no, i really haven't. >> are you hoping for just a reprima reprimand? >> i don't know. >> reporter: the house ethics committee will recommend a punishment for the 80-year-old rangel, to be voted on by the full house. possibilities include a vote deploring his conduct, a fine, and denial of privileges. even after the verdict, many long-time constituents remain supportive. >> this stuff goes on in congress all the time. so he just got kicked out. you know. that's how the game is played. >> reporter: monday, rangel demanded the trial be delayed so he could raise money

t.j. winick has details. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita.gland home invasion three years ago. he's already been found guilty. on monday he learned his fate. it was a crime so awful, so brutal, the testimony had the jury in tears. the sentence, death for convicted killer steven hayes. >> michaela was an 11-year-old little girl. you know? tortured and killed in her own bedroom. you know? surrounded by stuffed animals. >> reporter: dr. william petit was the sole survivor of the horrific 2007 home invasion in which his wife jennifer and their young daughters, 11-year-old michaela and 17-year-old hayley, were all killed. dr. petit insisted the verdict did not bring closure. >> the hole with jagged edges. over time the edges may smooth out a little bit. but the hole in your heart and the hole in your soul is still there. >> reporter: hayes, who has tried to commit suicide in prison more than once, smiled as the verdict was read. in arguing for life in prison, his attorney had insisted hayes wanted the death penalty so he could be freed of his guil

t.j. winick now has the latest. ning to you, t.j. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning. the yemeni woman arrested over the weekend in connection with the bomb plot has been released. police say it was a case of stolen identity. they are now looking for a 28-year-old al qaeda bombmaker and any other package bombs which could still be out there. u.s. intelligence officials feared al qaeda was preparing an air cargo bomb attack since early september when they discovered what now appears to have been a dry run shipment. like the real bombs, the dry run packages were sent by air cargo from the airport in yemen to addresses in chicago. >> they wanted to follow the packages using the tracking system to know exactly when they got to a point, how long a timer had to be set for so that the bomb would go off at the right point, which presumably was over chicago. >> reporter: investigators still don't know if the latest al qaeda bomb plot targeting america has been fully contained. as a result, the u.s. has frozen all cargo