unemployment benefits extended. the unemployment issue is a major, major one. a lot of americans, as you know, have lost their jobs, more than 8 million since this rescission began. when they do, they can apply for unemployment insurance while they look for a new job. well, a bunch of americans have run out of that insurance. even the extended version of that insurance. they re called 99 ers. why? normally you get 26 weeks of regular benefits. your state pays for that. then you get 53 weeks of emergency benefits. there are four tiers in that. and then another 20 weeks of extended benefits. these are all things that have changed because of this recession. look at the bottom. that turns out to 99 weeks maximum. 99 weeks to get jobless benefits from the moment that you lose your job. that s why they re called 99ers. cnn s mary snow looks at one 99er s story. watch out for the heater because that s my heating source. 42-year-old rhonda taylor shows us what she calls a tough downgrade,