Blizzards Hit in Colorado Rockies
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN. Coming up, the rush to get back home hits major snags from East to West, North to South. Mother Nature bringing a sour end to the Thanksgiving weekend.</s>SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz with a holiday travel wrap. Two hour delays in Chicago, one and a half hour delays in Atlanta and Dallas. Minimal delays here in New York. I'll have details coming up.</s>WHITFIELD: This and a lot more, next on CNN. Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Carol Lin. Perhaps you didn't travel today, but likely someone you know, did. From coast to coast, post-Thanksgiving stragglers are still making their way, wherever. East Coast is smoother than most places. Midwest, a mess. And in the Rockies, forget about it. Some main highways are closed. We're also on the scene of a dreadful bus accident, north of Los Angeles. More on that in a moment. But first, to the Colorado Rockies and the depth of our affiliate coverage, where blizzard predictions seem to have materialized. Anyone hoping to travel eastward from there, anytime soon had better pay attention. Eli Stokols from our Denver affiliate KWGN joins me now from Aurora, Colorado.</s>ELI STOKOLS, REPORTER: Fredricka, good evening. Here we are, just off I-70 on a frontage road in Aurora, which is just east of Denver. And as you can see behind me, traffic being diverted off the interstate. The interstate's been shut down for several hours now, from here all the way to the Kansas state line, about 160 mile stretch. A state patrol officer behind us is helping the drivers as they get off of the interstate, find alternative routes. Now here, thankful, it is simply cold and very windy. But east of here, forget about it. Very snowy, conditions have been terrible. Many accidents all day. In fact, state police have said there have been too many accidents for them to even count. Thankfully, none of them too serious in and of themselves. But certainly serious enough to shut down eastbound traffic for more than 100 miles, as we said. Now, stretches coming westbound from the Kansas state line, some stretches have been opened. Drivers that have trickled through today that we've spoken with have described just a dreadful drive across the plain. Snow drifts, real low visibility, about 10 or 20 feet out the front windshield. And they say they've been going about 20 miles-per- hour, tops. So, a very slow commute. A lot of folks going through it. A lot more deciding to stop and wait out the weather at roadside motels in Lyman, which is about an hour east of here. The hotels are booked solid for the night, so a rough end to the holiday weekend for the travelers coming through the Rockies, that's for sure.</s>WHITFIELD: And Eli, what about the forecast? Is it only expected to get worse?</s>STOKOLS: Well, I'm no weatherman, Fredricka, but I know that it's supposed to continue for some time. They are going to be closing, keeping the interstate closed for some time, although they've talked about opening it tonight. So, if conditions get better and they can clear some of those accidents, that's a big reason why some of the eastbound stretches have been closed. So they can get those out of the way, I think, well at least this stretch of interstate will be open. As for the weather, I don't know, you'd have to ask someone else about that.</s>WHITFIELD: Well, we're going to ask our Brad Huffines about that in a moment. Eli Stokols, thanks so much. Well, to New York City now and CNN's Susan Lisovicz. Are people there feeling the ripple effect from all these weather delays?</s>LISOVICZ: Not so far, yet. But you know, Denver, Fredricka, is not the only place where we are seeing travel problems. The end of the Thanksgiving weekend is typically crunch time for the nation's airports. Some of the biggest right now are struggling with a combination of big crowds and bad weather. Chicago's O'Hare, two hour delays. Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, 1.5 hour delays. Ditto for DFW in Dallas. Here in New York City's LaGuardia Airport, it appears we're getting off pretty lightly.</s>LISOVICZ (voice-over): Travelers wrapping up the long holiday weekend had an extra reason to give thanks at New York's LaGuardia Airport. No lines, no major delays, no problems.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came here two hours early because I think it was, I thought it was going to be crowded. But it's not crowded.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Better than we thought. Not surprised. Yes, we thought it would be a pretty big hassle, but so far, it's been pretty easy.</s>LISOVICZ: AAA says New York, like most of the nation, was blessed with good weather, which helps expedite the estimated 37 million Americans traveling during the five day Thanksgiving crush. Most of them, 30 million, were traveling by car. Motorists got an additional break with the recent sharp drop in gas prices.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we found historically is that high gas prices alone do not prevent people from traveling. It may alter their travel somewhat, but you'll be hard pressed to tell Grandma or your mother-in-law that you can't come see them because you can't pay that extra $10 in your gas.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're ready to go home.</s>LISOVICZ: Many people traveling by air were pleasantly surprised after heeding warnings to arrive early to deal with heavy traffic and long security lines. This grandfather arrived at LaGuardia with his college bound granddaughter four hours early and spent most of it in the food court.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ordinary flights, we have a lot of problems. Parking, getting in, crowded lines. We went right through. We got in. She went through her baggage. Check in, got her ticket, five minutes. I'm parked right across the street in short term parking.</s>LISOVICZ: Some travelers even said they were grateful for the extra time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can go sit and spend some family time together.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a gift to have her home, so the longer, the better.</s>LISOVICZ: Family time, the reason why most people are traveling over the holidays in the first place.</s>LISOVICZ: And while the skies are clear over New York City, well, we can't exactly say that the roads are. The George Washington Bridge has seen a lot of congestion all night long. And that's really not surprising, Fredricka, because most people traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday are going by car. Back to you, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Lisovicz, thanks so much at LaGuardia. Let's check in now with meteorologist Brad Huffines in the Weather Center. And how does it look overall out there, Brad?</s>WHITFIELD: All of that. All right, thanks so much, Brad.</s>BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Sure.</s>WHITFIELD: And of course, we'll be checking again with you throughout the hour. And that leaves us now to our last call question. If you were traveling today, what was it like for you? Give us a call at 1-800- 807-2620 and let us know your name and hometown. Now to Santa Maria, California. Highway 101 and a deadly holiday travel accident. A packed Greyhound bus that leaves the road and rolls down an embankment. CNN's Kareen Wynter reports.</s>KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A horrific scene on the side of highway 101 in Santa Maria, California. Scattered clothing, passenger chairs, debris, the result of a fatal Greyhound bus crash.</s>CAROLE PITTS, PASSENGER: I remember the bus going off to a side. And the next thing I know, I'm picking my head up off the window, pulling dirt off my hair.</s>WYNTER: Trucker Manuel Bonilla witnessed the accident.</s>MANUEL BONILLA, EYEWITNESS: It kept on going over. Instead of straightening up in the slow lane and keep on going, he kept coming over. And then as soon as he hit the white fog line, I knew he was going to go over the edge.</s>WYNTER: Killed in the crash, two passengers, including a 23-old woman police say was seven months pregnant. The California Highway Patrol says the bus driver, 63-year old Samuel Bishop, may have been asleep behind the wheel.</s>DAN MINOR, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: We do have reason to believe that driver fatigue may have been a significant factor in the cause of this accident.</s>WYNTER: Officers say Bishop was off duty Saturday night, when he was called into work from his home in Fresno, California. Bishop reportedly drove to Los Angeles, making several stops before starting another route Sunday morning, and was just a few miles from his Santa Maria exit when tragedy struck. Some passengers pinned beneath the bus had to be extracted with the jaws of life. Other victims were pulled through windows.</s>ANTONIA ATILANO, PASSENGER: I just want to thank the people who came out. They were very fast. The paramedics, the fire department, the people who stopped.</s>WYNTER (on camera): The California Highway Patrol says there's no indication drugs or alcohol were a factor in this crash. And at this time, there are no plans to charge the driver. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Santa Maria, California.</s>WHITFIELD: Onto Iraq now. Tensions are high, as the trial of Saddam Hussein is set to resume. Defense attorneys for Hussein and seven others want the case moved out of Iraq, because they say they won't get a fair trial and it's not safe. Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs yesterday for allegedly plotting to kill a judge in the case. CNN's Nic Robertson is in Baghdad.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Loya Aquila Kinami (ph) remembers his two brothers he says were killed by Saddam Hussein's security forces in 1979. Last month, Kinami and his family watched the opening day of Hussein's trial on TV. Now he wants the trial over, so he can get answers about why his brothers, Yusseen (ph) and Taha were killed. KHAMEES AL-UBADI, HUSSEIN DEFENSE LAWYER (through translator) I really care to hear his answer. No matter if he would go on trial for my case or another case.</s>ROBERTSON: Beset by technical glitches last time, the trial faulted in its opening hours. Hussein grandstanded, wasting time. Then his lawyers got a 41 day adjournment to study the charges that accuse Hussein and seven former regime allies a brutally repressing a 1982 assassination attempt.</s>AL-UBADI: Speaking to me as an Iraqi and not as a lawyer, I would denounce the delays of the trial. And I would demand a court to execute him immediately. But as a lawyer, I see it as a legitimate process.</s>ROBERTSON: For a while, even the return to court next Monday seemed to be in doubt. Since appearing at the trial, two defense lawyers were killed and another wounded in targeted assassinations. Only U.S. assurances to help investigate an office protection appear to her -- convince them to come back. Still in jail awaiting trial are other regime loyalists, like Hussein's former Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz. His lawyer is worrying about when his client will see trial.</s>RAMSEY CLARK, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: When I saw him last time, he was very sick.</s>ROBERTSON: Iraq has had death threats. His concern now is that the trial is unjust. Not just because defense lawyers are being killed, but because they lack training in cases like crimes against humanity.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They must also send the lawyers also to England, to America, to -- then and above this case.</s>ROBERTSON: Well, the lawyers, the defense lawyers, we say it's defense lawyers and other lawyers in the trial, when they get up underway today. I hope we're going to tap into the legal knowledge of the former U.S. attorney general, Ramsey Clark, here right in Baghdad, yesterday, the defense teams hope to meet with them and hope to get him in the courtroom on their legal team today, Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: And Nic, as these defense attorneys say they want the trial moved, they want a change of venue, who ultimately would make that kind of decision?</s>ROBERTSON: The Iraqi high tribunal is the corpus in charge of this trial. There's been no indication that they plan to move it outside of the country. We know what the lawyers are now planning to go into the courtroom today. It's already Monday here in Baghdad. They're planning to go into the courtroom and immediately ask for a three month delay. It seems that they, although this is something that they would like to see having the trial moved out of the country, it's not something that they're pushing happily on -- or at least talking too much publicly about at the moment. It seems as if their tactic is going to be to try and get more delays to do more -- to get more documents and to do more studying, Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: And how about security? Is it beefed up? Is it any different from the first time they were in the court, given the last five weeks we've seen a lot of violence involving the defense attorneys who have been killed?</s>ROBERTSON: It's going to be the same as far as the courtroom is concerned. But as far as those defense lawyers are concerned, they've all been offered additional security. I talked to Saddam Hussein's defense lawyer yesterday. He wouldn't talk specifically about what security has been offered, about what security he's decided to take. He did say that it is a very big concern for them. And when we talked to U.S. officials here who are involved in these talks about providing security for the lawyers, they say that there are no outstanding requests for security, which is an indication that anyone, any of these lawyers who's asked for security, they're going to get it, Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson, thank you so much. Also in Iraq, the investigation concerning a kidnapping. Four humanitarian workers, two Britons, a Canadian, and possibly an American, they're aid organization says all four were taken from a West Baghdad neighborhood this weekend. A U.S. embassy spokesman says an urgent investigation is underway. A troubling assessment now of progress or lack of it in Iraq. According to Iraq's former prime minister, human rights abuses are as bad today as when Saddam Hussein was in power. Ayad Allawi told a British newspaper that, "People are doing the same as [in] Saddam's time and worse. It is an appropriate comparison." He goes on to say, "People are remembering the days of Saddam. These were the precise reasons that we fought Saddam and now we are seeing the same things." A member of the current administration says that simply isn't true.</s>MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: In our curriculum for training these people, we have a very strict human rights standard. And we teach them these new -- which is totally new for Iraq, this observation of human rights. And I believe the violation of human rights in some of these corners of this huge country is the exception to the rule.</s>WHITFIELD: Meantime, Allawi's comments refer to the alleged torture and unlawful executions of Iraqi prisoners. Stay tuned to CNN for extensive live coverage of the scheduled Saddam Hussein trial beginning on "AMERICAN MORNING" with a new start time of 6:00 a.m. Eastern. Next on CNN, "Bullets in the Hood."</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you have the gun in your possession, how do you feel? How does that make you feel?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm going to show me how I feel.</s>WHITFIELD: Ahead, the amazing story of two inner city kids who turned tragedy into triumph. Also, the manhunt is on for two convicts considered very dangerous. They used bed sheets to slip out of a county jail. And this week's hot topic in the Supreme Court, should teenagers be forced to get their parents consent to get an abortion? What do you think?