you left u.p.s. >> i left u.p.s. in 2009. i have a warehouse associate job.ically, doing the same thing that i did. just moving in the warehouse. >> u.p.s. has changed the policies before the supreme court argument, perhaps in anticipation of it. it's hard to say what their motive was. >> we're glad to see the change. very happy to see it for, you know, for the women of u.p.s. i can't plain their motives. >> why do you think in this day in age in 2014 we still have the issue of employers discriminating against women who are about to become pregnant or who are pregnant or trying to raise a family and come back to work. back to work, i should say, outside the home. >> the time we had in this. i'm learning more and more about women that it's happening to. they just need to learn to speak up and not be afraid. it's a law and the companies have to abide by the law. >> the federal government itself has been slow to come to this issue. >> they have been slow. but i think they are doing the right thing now. and the eeuc itself has never really changed its position. f

u.p.s. says she was dismissed for being pregnant when she requested alternate duty until after she delivered. young versus united parcel service in a minute. stay with us. >> you're watching "inside story" on aljazeera america. i'm ray suarez. wednesday, the supreme court will hear arguments in the case of young versus united parcel service. there's been a law on the books since the end of the clinton administration called the pregnancy discrimination act that seeks to protect the workplace rights of pregnant women. in this case, a upa driver, peggy young maintains the delivery service failed to accomodate her needs during a pregnancy, during which she had been advised to do only light duty at work, by her doctors. tom, as would a lot of gender discrimination cases, only women get pregnant, so it's an interesting challenge to think about workplace accommodation and what it means when men and women are both working side by side in similar jobs. what does peggy young say should have been done

u.p.s. worker who claims illegal discrimination during her pregnancy. >> they basically told me, go home, we don't have anything you can do until you're no longer pregnant because you're a liability. >>> immigration jam. president obama tries to jumpstart congressional action today while brian williams slow jams the issue with jimmy fallon and the roots. >> the president has defended his decision arguing that he would've preferred to have congress pass a permanent immigration bill which he said he would gladly sign, but instead, they have yet to take action. so the president felt he had to do it himself. >> mmm mmm mmm. take it from my man breezy wheezy. >>> good day, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell in washington where there's a lot of news today. the supreme court heard oral arguments this morning in a case that could have big impact on tens of millions of women across the country. at issue is the case of peggy young, a former u.p.s. worker who requested a temporary transfer back in 2006 to l

. >> reporter: as online shopping surges, u.p.s., fedex and the u.s. postal service are bracing for another record season. the national retail federation expects online sales to grow as much as 11% this holiday season. with more than half of consumers shopping digitally, while cyber monday's still a big day, many people are waiting even longer to make purchases. a trend expected to impact shippers once again this year. >> i think it's reasonable to expect a last-minute spike in demand. the bottom line is people shop and they delay purchases, they look for price, they look for deals, and to be candid, the online retailers and fedex and u.p.s. are to a certain degree the victims of their own success. >> reporter: last year a late surge in demand combined with bad weather caused u.p.s. and, to a lesser extent, fedex, to miss christmas deadlines for some 2 million packages. this year the companies have planned accordingly expecting their busiest days later in the month. for u.p.s., december 22nd, just three days before christmas, and for fedex, december 15

the u.p.s. case at the high court brought together anti-abortion groups and planned parenthood to support pregnant women. when former u.p.s. driver peggy young was pregnant with her daughter in 2006 u.p.s. refused to give her light duty even though her doctor said for her not to lift more than 20 pounds. she sued. and asked if pregnant women should be given special status. and two women asked en en -- of the justices asked why she was not given light duty. many employees were not given accommodations. peggy young should be. >> if we want to start our families we should be able to start our family and continue work at the same time. >> reporter: her lawyer cited the 1978 discrimination act. but peggy young figures she's won her eight year fight. >> i want all the women out there to know you have a voice and you need to use it. >> reporter: the court could rule by late june. u.p.s. is already changing its policy. starting next year pregnant u.p.s. employees will be able to stay at work on light du

this case has been dubbed the u.p.s. pregnancy case. peggy young was a driver for u.p.s. about seven years ago. she got pregnant. now, at the time she said she cannot lift anything over 20 pounds but her job required her to lift 70 pounds. she went to her supervisor, asked for accommodations to be made, to be put on desk duty. she said that was denied. that's when the legal battle started. in the past young lost two cases. but she comes to the supreme court. one of the issues that will be discussed is the 1978 pregnancy discrimination act. legal experts say it is simply too vague. some companies believe they cannot discriminate against them. young says accommodations should have been made for h. so, again, those arguments begin at 10:00 this morning. u.p.s. since made changes to its policy. earlier this week they settled with another worker who had been pregnant. that was settled outside of court. richard jordan, news 4. >>> new this morning, police looking for two teen boys accused of abducting a man at gunpoint. the victim escaped from the trunk of his own car. the vict

her lawyers claiming u.p.s., claiming u.p.s. violated the pregnancy discrimination act as i understand it. what exactly is that. >> now, it's obvious when it comes to promotions or pay raises or something like that, you can't deny those based on pregnancy. here the question is, what if a person becomes pregnant and is unable to do some parts of the job? now, what u.p.s. basically said is if you're pregnant, we treat it the same way if you got injured off the job. you fell down the stairs and broke your ankle. her doctor said she shouldn't lift anything more than 20 pounds. u.p.s. said we can't accommodate that. we treat you the same way we treat someone with an off-the job injury. her lawyer told the supreme court today it's more complicated than that, that u.p.s. did make accommodations for people who have temporary medical conditions or certain kinds of injuries that were accommodated. so what they're basically saying is, if a company makes any accommodations like that for people who aren't pregnant, it has to make the same ki

young says u.p.s. denied her temporary accommodations even though her doctor ordered her to avoid lifting heavy packages while pregnant. >> reporter: peggy young is hopeful that the u.s. supreme court will rule in her favor. >> i just want all the women out there to know that you have a voice an you need to use it. >> reporter: young was a delivery driver for landover based u.p.s. and when she became pregnant with her daughter she was forced to go on unpaid leave and lost her health benefits. she sudden and lost in the lower court so she took her court to the highest court in the land. >> no. this was not what we intended on from the beginning. we just wanted what was right. >> reporter: her attorneys argue u.p.s. was violating the pregnancy discrimination act by not allowing her to work or give her light duty. even though others were accommodate. >> it's a principle. it can't be right to make me choose to start my family and to support my family. >> reporter: u.p.s. contends its policy is legal but wi

u.p.s recently voluntarily changed its policy, noting it now is "actually ahead of many companies and government agencies, including the u.s. postal service," in accommodating pregnant workers with special work assignments. but young continued with her appeal, and today the justices struggled over how far employers must go. justices ruth bader ginsburg and elena kagan were sympathetic to young, arguing the intent of the pregnancy discrimination act was obvious. justice kagan, "it was supposed to be about removing stereotypes of pregnant women as marginal workers." but the other justices saw ambiguity in how the law requires employers to treat pregnant women. justice stephen breyer, "which distinctions are reasonable and which ones are not and how do we tell?" now, based on these arguments, it is impossible to predict how the justices will decide this case. if they rule against young, though, scott, women's rights groups say they will immediately look to congress, urge it to change this law, and make clear pregnant women are covered. >> pelley: a decision in the spring or summer. jan,

u.p.s.ng became pregnant and presented the company with a doctor's note limiting how much weight she couldly. after u.p.s. put her on unpaid leave, young sued, her attorneys arguing that the company violated a civil rights act. but u.p.s. says that's exactly what it did. the company policy didn't provide for alternate job asmichblts for workers who were limited in their abilities because of something that happened off the job. today young's attorney argued that because u.p.s. -- it discriminated against them, prompting justin antonin scalia to ask her attorney if what she really wanted was preferential treatment. >> it's a most favored nation provision, a potential interpretation that worries a number of business owners and the groups representing them. concerned about the obligations they'll face if young wins. >> as justice scalia referenced in the argument, they would give most favored nations a superemployment status. because there would be no limitless on what employees could ask for an

u.p.s. may be done delivering packages for the holidays, but their work isn't over yet. why the shipping company says the first week of january will be very busy. >> what does it take to go from tiny dancer to big-time ballerina? one of the stars of san francisco's nutcracker lets us in on her secrets to success. ,, ,, you might assume they'll ta responsibility for any resug damage. merwatch, >>> when you buy an appliance and the store offers to deliver it you might assume they will take responsibility for any of the resulting damage that might happen. but on the consumerwatch, julie watts explains it's not that simple. >> they almost dropped it. it went backwards and they saved it from actually falling once. >> reporter: sal gets worked up just thinking about the day his new stainless steel sears refrigerator was delivered. the retired businessman feared the worst as he watched two young delivery guys drag the 25- foot cubic fridge up his front steps. >> i thought they could hurt themselves

but peggy young's lawyers say u.p.s. did accommodate some workers who got sick, even some convicted of drunk driving. justice elena kagan clearly sympathic said the federal law was supposed to be about removing stereotypes as pregnant women as marginal workers. but some wonder how far companies have to go. justice briar asked, as long as there's one job with accommodations, do all women who hold different jobs have to get them too? the stakes are huge. women make up nearly half the u.s. work force. and 60% of them stay on the job during their first pregnancy. pete williams, nbc news at the supreme court. >>> still ahead on this busy wednesday evening. dramatic turn of events, "bold and beautiful" meets rich and powerful as something of a soap opera has erupted in washington over exactly who's being appointed as american ambassadors overseas these days. >>> and don't adjust your sets. that's a real sign in a real place at a real low price for gas. >>> historically two kinds of people become ambassadors for our country ove

the big differen t, u.p.s. and fedex are saying no to some last-minute orders.carriers and retailers agreed to some limits ahead of the holidays. and now the shipping giants are refusing some packages above those limits. so how is it going for the packages they are deli well, experts say it's going relatively well. >> it couldn't be better than this to be performing at 99.6, 99.3, for this carrier, that is very, very impressive. >> overall this season, ship matrix says fedex and u.p.s. have improved their on time delivery performance compared to on monday, u.p.s. projected busiest day, both companies got 98% of the shipments out on schedule, up from 90% last year. fedex says weather's not having an impact. and u.p.s. and fedex say operations are running smoothly given the high volume. analysts note that up until this point, the extra workers, network upgrades, added planes and trucks alem but there's one other name to watch today, and that's the u.s. postal service. it's been handling the lion share of amazon shipments this season, delivering on sundays and on.

u.p.s.ing to limit their air express. >> absolutely. i lived in tallahassee for a year. it was very dark. the whole time. >> was it a dark time in your life or was it just -- >> i lived next door to where ted bundy -- however, let's leave it on that. >> we will get cramer's mad dash, count down to the opening bell. take another look at the premarket on this shortened session today. again, closing bell today is at 1:00 p.m. eastern. back in a minute. ♪ >>> are you going to catch the nutcracker this time? >> whenever there's people in costumes, that's been candy crush. >> come on, you got to love that. your daughters are older now. >> we used to go all the time to see nutcracker. those days have passed. >> they have. still worth seeing. >> right. absolutely. >> now they're older. >> now it's techno. >> still the same show. >> it's a nice thing. all right. michael ye puts out numbers of how different prescription drugs are doing crummy numbers. merck bought cubis. >> they're going to close this

lower courtsided with u.p.s. a ruling is expected sometime this summer. >>> some congressional republicans threaten funding to stop president obama's executive action on immigration reform. texas is leading a 17-state coalition filing suit to block the president's order. >> two things are clear. our immigration system is broken. and it must be fixed. second, the constitution prescribes immigration policy be fixed by congress, not by presidential fiat. >> all but two of the state included in the lawsuit have republican governors. >>> time now is 4:42. the golden state warriors making a special appearance at a bay area basketball game last night. but they weren't there to support the high school team's win. instead, a troubling loss. >> and what is cool about your school? email your nominations to coolschools@kpix.com. we may come and feature your school on the show. we'll be right back. on ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the launching pad at cape >>> here we go. the test launch of nasa's new orion spacecraft now on hold in florida

after reports of missed christmas deliveries last year, shipping giants u.p.s. fedex each hired an additional 10,000 workers. some of their most crucial employees, teams of meteorologists -- 15 at fedex, five at u.p.s. -- helping route precious cargo flights around unpredictable winter weather. >> they can really look into the future for us and help us better plan contingencies so we can make sure our customers get their packages every single time. >> reporter: time is running out for sending those last-minute gifts. but you can still get them there in time for christmas, if you send them out tomorrow, using next-day service. although, at this point, it will cost you. >> a lot of the free shipping deadlines have passed. so, if you haven't gotten things ordered yet, you might be paying a hefty price. >> reporter: that shipping rush doesn't end at christmas. u.p.s. expects to deliver about 4 million gift returns back to retailers in the coming weeks. david? >> ah, yes, the returns that come next. mara, thank you. >>> and to a voice remembered tonight. one of the m

u.p.s.rs you'll ever meet. >> look, no hands. at 4 years old, practicing his moves. one speedy delivery. >> thank you. >> reporter: his inn spiration? the guy driving this truck. mr. ernie who had been making deliveries to carson two to three times a week since he was a baby. >> when carson was born, he couldn't drink milk. >> delivering my special milk. >> reporter: mr. ernie would deliver quite a few times to our house. >> reporter: u.p.s. documenting their friendship. and the moment they became friends forever. carson could not believe his eyes. his own u.p.s. delivery truck carson size. turns out he could use a little heat. >> my hands are freezing. >> reporter: he was off. side by side with mr. ernie. but a few months back, a change. >> mr. ernie was moved off of our route in our neighborhood. new pictures of carson and his return visit to the local u.p.s. headquarters. >> good job, bud. >> who did carson find? the man who once drove his route. >> how are you? >> good. >> mr. ernie move

u.p.s. style. they anticipate the busiest day in history and drivers will deliver 34 million packages in one day and after a slew of slow deliveries last year u.p.s. is hoping to get back on track leading up to this season the company spent half a billion to buy new software and identify zip codes and give drivers alternate routes when bad weather hits. >> people in spain will be glued to their tv hoping for christmas gifts they will not find under the tree. it is drawing day for the christmas lottery called el gordo. with the group of children singing the winning numbers on tv, the total jackpot is $3 billion. the number one winner will get $500,000 or so and the rest will be divided among thousands of players. >> and this story with break news, now, sadly from the world of music, we will tell you about that in a moment, but meteorologist mike nicco is standing by. meteorologist mike nicco? >>> yes, good morning, everyone, here is a lot noise in the form of horns being blown by a last the ferries

u.p.s.a u-haul truck to handle the increased volume over the holidays. that's the video you were seeing. but all delivery companies have been caught mishandling packages, for the most part. u.p.s. says when it's made aware of these situations, it deals with them immediately. >> there's a website that says dontthrowmypackage.com where people can post their videos, vent their frustrations. sometimes you just want to be heard. >> and it shows you that website does have tools if you want to complain, find a way to log a complaint. but if -- even if you don't want to, if you have just a few minutes, go to that website and watch the videos. i didn't know about the website until this morning. i just checked it out a little while ago. it's quite entertaining. >>> moving on, we know there's nothing quite like a mother and child reunion. but what about when it happens three times over? it's three times as nice. >> this is the case in china at the zoo there. a mother panda. i think we brought this stor

how u.p.s. and fedex did this holiday season after last year's delivery debacle the. >> the rose parade is two days away and we go to southern california for the final preparations of the new year's tradition. >> this is the ferry building in san francisco with flags whipping about. a dip in temperatures coming our way and tabs on weather and traffic through the entire meth hey! i found my true love livin' in a sweet dream. singin' my favorite song and it all starts with you. whoa-oh-oh-oh, all this goodness... what matters most should always come first. which is why whole grain is the first ingredient in every general mills big g cereal. and why we never use high fructose corn syrup. general mills. look for the big g. it means goodness first. >> good morning, a look from mount tam camera that is shaking. expect the wind to pick up in more places later on today. cold temperatures, as well and meteorologist mike nicco will be here in a bit with details. >> former secretary of state hillary clinto

still ahead, the christmas presents have been delivered and, unwrapped, and the work isn't over for u.p.s., why next week will be one of the busiest yet. and, a look at the 7-day forecast, will we need those the holidays may be winding down but the work isn't over for delivery drivers, it expects to handle, 4 million holiday return panels by the end of the first full week in january, they have declared january 6th, u.p.s. national return day. it expects people will send more than 800,000 unwanted gifts back to stores, and sellers that day alone. >>> giftcards are better. >>> i'm just saying. >>> 800,000 in one day. >>> a lot of stuff. >>> all right, we have a few showers out there. we are going to look at the national harbor wheel cloudy skies, few showers temperatures is still 50 wins 9 miles-per-hour, and they'll increase just a tiny bit. 58 degrees, that was the high earlier today, well above our raf knowledge which is 44. record not even close. 75. and just a few showers here and there, didn't add up to a whole lot. >>> 46 in nationals park. and, 58 was the high. and now looking at 45

this year u.p.s.ex already announced they can no longer offer money-back guarantees that your packages sent with ground shipping will arrive by christmas. now, retailers hoping to win your business are pushing delivery dates to the brink. more than a quarter guaranteeing on-time deliveries as long as you order just three days before christmas. >> they want our dollars, and they'll do anything to make us spend. >> reporter: shipping companies are stepping up their game. u.p.s. hiring 95,000 seasonal workers. fedex expecting to move 290 million shipments, and the postal service delivering seven days a week through the holiday. >> to be 100% certain your tree will be full of gifts around it, you click and collect. >> click and collect? find it online. pick it up in store. >> reporter: the other option is to pay for rush or air shipping which costs more but is still guaranteed by christmas. but again, procrastinators are going to feel it this year for christmas. rebecca jarvis, abc news, new york. >> you

the court is deciding whether u.p.s. violated the federal pregnancy discrimination act. lower courts sided with u.p.s., a ruling is expected this summer. >>> four people are lucky to be alive thanks to another driver. >> a car they were in caught fire but apparently, the driver didn't notice. a passing car caught one of the passengers' attention. that's when the woman behind the wheel realized maybe it was time to get out. >> just telling me to get over right then and i got over, when i got ever i noticed the front of my car was on fire. >> tiffany, her sister, grandmother and a 2-year-old all got out of the car just in time. when firefighters arrived, the car was completely engulfed. >>> we are still tracking the fallout from this latest storm. they have been dealing with road closures in the north bay. some live pictures from sonoma county right now. we just got word highway 121 is re-opening after being shut down all day due to flooding. and that weather is making a mess of things tonight in the east bay, as well. ann notarangelo is in lafayette with the trouble trees

that's how the boy got the truck, and u.p.s. made the video about it. >> carson knew nothing about it. and knew that -- did not know mr. ernie would come, or there was a little truck inside that big truck. >> light switches here. >> he's just one of those guys that, to me, is very special, and has become a very special role model in carson's life. >> great to see the two trucks side by side. carson makes his own delivery around his neighborhood. and his neighbors love it. >> don't you think every kid on the block is going to be like -- >> i want that truck. >> i want a u.p.s. truck. i want to make a delivery. soon there will be a fedex truck and all sorts of trucks. >>> let's bring in mike schuman with sports now. the battle of the bay on sunday. >> we've got everything on sunday. anticipation is building. college hoops, cal bears 3-0 at home. all they could handle from montana . >>> coming up at 11:00, new details on a dangerous roof collapse. tonight we hear from the mom who narrowly escaped being crushed. >>> plus, only on ab

his wish, to drive his own u.p.s.got one for me. >> 4-year-old carson knight is thought youngest u.p.s. driver in the world. the story starts years ago when ernest started delivering packages to carson's home. >> arnie! >> oh. >> the little boy unable to drink dairy products has been relying on ernie to bring him his special formula for years. >> mr. ernie is my friend. u.p.s. driver that gives me special milk. >> he would just look out the window. he was scared of the truck but so intrigued by it. >> over time carson dieing that his dream is to drive a u.p.s. truck. >> it got to the point where he started meeting me at the curb. >> and now u.p.s. making this little boy's dream a reality. >> and today we are going to make his wish come true. >> oh, eye my gosh. oh my gosh. >> are you ready to do deliveries? >> when i drove up, yeah, the moment was just amazing. >> little carson uses his new truck to deliver cookies and muffins to neighbors. what a great story. >> and a looming budget deadline now just over four hours

. >>> and happening today, a former u.p.s. driver who claims that she was forced to take unpaid leave because she was pregnant will take her case to the supreme court. pegi young was a delivery truck driver for u.p.s. in 2006 and gave them a doctor's note about restrictions on lifting packages. young was placed on unpaid leave. she also lost health insurance and could not collect unemployment. the lower courts ruled against young. now the supreme court will weigh in. >>> the grand jury in new york city's expected to decide today if police committed a crime in the choke hold death of eric garner. he's the unarmed man who died while being arrested on staten island over the summer. amateur video shows an officer wrapping his arm around garner's neck while he yelled "i can't breathe." the case sparked outrage weeks before the shooting death of michael brown in ferguson, missouri. >>> philadelphia rapper meek mill is a free man this morning. mill walked out of the philadelphia prison yesterday afternoon. his real name is robert wil

. >>> u.p.s. expects today will be its busiest shipping day of the year. u.p.s. predicts workers will deliver 34 million packages. that's double the amount of a normal day. to handle the workload, the company has hired 95,000 seasonal workers. >>> on the other hand the u.s. postal service has also been busy the belast couple weeks. the service is taking on its private sector rivals but will it deliver the goods. cnbc's morgan brennan has more. >> reporter: the u.s. postal service is on track for another record holiday season. with package volumes already exceeding forecasts. >> it's just a lot. we've been working really hard, overtime and everything just to get them delivered. >> reporter: the usps expects to move more than 26 million parcels, 12% more than its busiest package day in 2013. last christmas when an estimated 2 million u.p.s. and fed ex shipments were late, the postal service didn't have the same issue. one reason, a sunday delivery partnership with amazon in key markets. this season that strategy has been expanded with the usps delivering amazon and

but u.p.s.r sent a package from rhode island here to missouri and then on to vegas, colorado, and then finally back here. it may get delivered now they're telling me today. so that's a miss on them. >> don, thank you. happy holidays. >> same to you. >> glad that package is getting to the right place. >> weapon need both obviously. you've had both. right? fedex and u.p.s. bringing stuff to the sorkin house. i don't think one -- at least at my house we need two shipping. >>> coming up portfolio picks from a four-star rated fund. opportunities in energy telecom, and financial services. first, though morgan brennan is going to break down the biggest stock winners from 2014. hey, morgan. >> hey guys. it's been another solid year for stocks. looking at the russell 1000 the largest stocks we have seven that made triple digit gains this year. we'll have that list when "squawk box" returns. the holiday season is here, which means it's time for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just yo

satish, how did you -- i mean, if you look at u.p.s. and fedex this year, you've got to say that they did better than the same time last year, correct? >> by a huge margin. the service in the last couple of days of delivery during this week was at 99 many 6. no service industry operates at that level. i think all of their employees must have felt great to provide a merry christmas for everyone looking to have that experience. >> now, fedex and u.p.s. had some seasonal hires this time around. how much can we expect at least the logistical issues to be resolved because of the seaso l al hires and do they carry that same efficiency into the first quarter of 2015? >> the additional hires, 50,000 at fedex, 90,000 at u.p.s., and when you consider they have total of 300,000 employees at u.p.s., that's a part of the employees. that obviously added a lot of cost to them. but it goes a long way to managing the volume increased that they have which could be up to 30%, 40% increase. and i think going into the first quarter, a lot of the employees a

with u.p.s.nd fedex, you're automatically covered for $100. >> reporter: the post office automatically insures most priority mail express shipments for up to $100. >> but you can always buy additional insurance if your item is really expensive. >> reporter: and a final complaint. 55% said a package wasn't delivered when promised. don gives his customers some simple advice. >> if you want to get it there on time and not pay a lot of money, ship early. >> reporter: that's right. ship early. here are some of the deadlines to keep in mind. if you're shipping through the postal service, ship standard post by december 14th. for delivery by christmas eve. i've tweeted these out, as well. so you can look for them on my twitter account. for fedex ground delivery, ship by december 17th. again, this is all for christmas eve arrival. and for u.p.s. ground shipments. ship by december 15th for delivery by christmas eve. so you may have to put that extra insurance on those expensive earrings you're going to sen

u.p.s. shipping giant expects to deliver 34 million packages today. more than any other in its history. u.p.s. spent about there are 500 million to upgrade facilities to avoid what happened last year. >>> gas prices down every day for three months. the national average this morning is $2.39 gallon. that's 85 crepts better than this time last year. gasoline is below $3 a gallon in every state. missouri has the lowest prices with gas in kansas city below $2. >>> beer sales are tapping out. sales of the seven major american brands declined by more than 20% in the past five years. the recession and the popularity among craft beers and imports are the main reasons. >>> it's getting to be a hobbit at the box office. the next installment of the movie had $52.6 million in sales. more than three times "night at the museum." "annie" was third. >>> facebook's popularity is on the decline with an important group. teenagers. they view it as lest trust worthy and less fun than other sites. meme, the popul

plus u.p.s.s to make sure there were no delivery holdups this year. we'll ask if they spent too much money to pull it off. these are live pictures of north korea ringing in the new year. "squawk on the street" will be right back. about that. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four ho

u.p.s.ex have been capping u.s. deliveries as some have exceeded their agreed upon limits. the late surge in online shopping is testing the company's infrastructure. the plane's trucks and sorting centers used to deliver tens of mms of gifts. u.s. retailers have been asked to scale back their promotions on tuesday. u.p.s. is trying to avoid a repeat of last year's disaster. a limited number of planes and bad weather. an estimated 2 million express packages didn't arrive under the tree in time. this year, u.p.s. has invested $500 million on holiday operations, including an automated sorting system that can quickly identify codes. u.p.s. has confirmed several packages sent by overnight delivery on monday hadn't reached their destination yesterday. they're stuck at its hub in memphis. amazon says it works closely with shippers and is confident in their ability to deliver items on time. both u.p.s. and fedex appear to be doing better this year. shep matrix says they had a 97% on time delivery ra

now u.p.s. fedex had a lot of infrastructure investments leading into the season and expecting a busier season. each hired a lot more seasonal workers and u.p.s. hired about 95,000 seasonal workers. that's double what they did last year. fedex hired about # thousand workers -- 50,000 workers and each invested money into their infrastructure to make sure they get the packages to your doorsteps on time. >>> let's go to the big boards and see how we're doing so far this morning. pretty thin trading volume as expected. but the markets looking good. dow is up 75 points. nasdaq higher by 8 points and s&p up by 1 point. shares of u.p.s. and fedex each heading higher by around fraction. michelle and frank back to you guys. >> jason brooks rocking the holiday tie. we love it. kcbs news. >>> if you filled up lately probably noticed that gas prices are still dropping. the national average fell by another 25 cents over the past two weeks. to $2.41 a gallon. that's the lowest it's been in more than five year

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>>> was this year's christmas crunch time too much for u.p.s. and fedex?ny announcing they might be limiting their package deliveries. insert your grinch jokes here right now. allisison kosik is at the new y stock exchange. i know it's been a great morning there, you'll get to that in a moment. but what's up with the packages? >> if you've waited until now to shop for holiday gifts the reality is you may be out of look because u.p.s. and fedex are recognizing they're not supermen. so over the past several day what is's been happening is there have been a lot of volume going on and these companies have put a cap, have put a limit on how much they can deliver by christmas. fedex told us in advance they wound up working with its retail and online customers to understand what their needs would be but the "wall street journal" also says that these delivery companies also want retailers to plan ahead and not to promise customers the moon and the stars as far as deliveries go last minute. especially after getting burned last year because what happened last year w

it is going to take longer for frank kroouts's u.p.s. store in tiburon. the floodwater in his place was over a foot deep. >> we were knee deep. >> reporter: this is the busyist time of year for folks in the shipping business. right now cruz is out of business for the time being. >> our computer systems are down. all our box inventory is soaking wet. >> reporter: for a lot of people, this will be a day they'll remember and one they would just as soon forget. >> it started out here 45 minutes ago, and i'm back where i started. >> reporter: much of the day along any route from north to south, walking would have been faster. coming up at 6:30, we'll show you something we rarely get to see. you'll understand why when we show you. that's in 30 minutes from now. >> a lot of different stories on this day. with all this rain, what does it look like in your neighborhood? a viewer named michael sent this picture from lake merritt in oakland. a cyclist trying to tough it out in the rain and flooded streets. if you'd like to share your photos e-mail them to us at ic@n

u.p.s. drivers delivered 34 million packages.t's the busiest day of the year for the shipping company. normally u.p.s. delivers 17 million packages a day. they spent $500 million to prepare for the holidays and hired 95,000 seasonal workers to keep up with the demands. >>> christmas is a busy time of year for the postal service. you understand that the unique challenge pennsylvania. >> christmas cards as far as china are sent to the post master. the sender wants the postage canceled with two of the christmas stamps. one has a star of bethlehem and other an image of the three wisemen. they are hand stamped. dan mazio says it's on top of the outgoing packages. >> we deliver 3,000 packages to the bethlehem. i am proud of the job that the guys and gals are doing. >> every year at this time the owners of the book shop that opened in 1745 transformed the building into a christmas wonderland. there are several shop employees whose job it to get the place ready for the christmas season. >> we have 11 buyers. they travel all over the worl

that's why u.p.s.as plowed $665 million in capital and operational expenditures into their network this year. looking at some of those investments, automation upgrades at this and other facilities, detailed forecasting tools, more gps services. and room for more customer trailers to increase capacity. that's on top of more workers, more operating days, and temporary sorting hubs. how's it working so far? ship matrix says the accuracy rate of on-time deliveries for u.p.s. and fedex increased the week of cyber monday versus last year. and that's a really good early indicator that all these investments are paying off. but keep in mind u.p.s. is expecting another late surge in online shopping this year as projecting its busiest day of the season will be december 22nd and weather can affect a lot in that time period. so we're going to be talking more about whether and u.p.s. >> i was one of those people that ordered things that didn't make it in time last holiday season. while it's frustrating, you can also

he loves the u.p.s. doesn't matter if it's brown. >> wherever you go, people want to touch you. >> you know why they u.p.s. man? they have the best biceps. they are lifting packages all the time, they have a nice tan from being out in the sun. >> ask the u.p.s. guy the next time, what kind of response do you get? i wish i had a little van like that when i was a kid. that's pretty cool. >>> new details this morning on the remarkable but sadly unsuccessful rescue attempt of the american hostage, luke somers, being held in yemen. s.e.a.l. team six that specializes in hostage extraction was dispatched. they hiked reportedly six miles to the village where somers was held by terrorists. >> they were 100 yards away when detected by the militants there. and it was apparently, the reports of some sort of noise, whether it was a dark barking or something to alert the terror rests. >> then he was thrown to the naval warship but he died before he arrived. >> they murdered him intentionally. there was a drone hoverin

u.p.s. said today that it expects just u.p.s. alone to return more than 800,000 holiday packages to retailers. kate? >> wow. gabe gutierrez in atlanta tonight. and as you heard gabe mention something that may help post-holiday sales a little bit, this was a 92nd straight day that gas prices have fallen in this country. the average price of a gallon of regular is now at $2.32. that's down 12 cents over the last week alone. a year ago on this date the average was almost one dollar more. several dozen states are now reporting at least one service station selling gas for under two bucks. >>> sony was still dealing today with a suspected new hacking attack. this one on its playstation network as the company tried to recover from the devastating attack related to its movie "the interview." we get the latest tonight from nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the error messages lighting up xbox live and playstation appeared to be no mistake. a possible cyber attack downed both networks as people tried to log on with their new christmas gift