that s more than three times the amount that they would expect during a normal day without this rain. we ve also had swift water rescue crews deployed throughout the region. and they ve had to do several rescues already. people who have fallen in to flood control channels, one woman driving across a creek at san bernardino county. water coming up to the dash board of her car. we also had scattered power outages and just bracing for more wet weather over the next couple of days. kiran, john? casey wian for us this morning. thank you. it s still a miserable scene in europe, as well. a winter storm blowing snow and ice. also frigid temperatures causing massive problems with transportation. dozens of flights in great britain, germany, and france canceled, rail service shut down. in belgium, there s so much snow on the roads that drivers are literally unable to get around. parts of the northeast in the united states feeling the icy chill, as well. southern maine s first snowstorm of t
the first lady and the first family spending the christmas holiday in hawaii again. but this vacation looks much different than last year s. our ed henry has been covering the president s christmas trip back in 2009. a difficult assignment, of course, back then. ed was forced to sit on the beach for hours slathering on suntan lotion. this time around, though, things are a bit different in hawaii. here s why. reporter: john and kiran, president obama s hawaiian vacation has been delayed by all that action on capitol hill, but we expect later this week he ll join his wife and two daughters who are already there behind me in the vacation rental. and he s going to find out this beach is going to be even more quiet because it s been raining for days now. and forecasters say it s probably going to rain until thursday or friday. that s why there s just a couple of lone surfers out there braving the waters. the bottom line, people on the beach are telling me they have all kinds of advice abo
well, next on the list is the health care bill that benefits 9/11 rescue workers. democrats are keeping the measure alive. they say they ve cut costs to try to win republican approval. well, they re going to be speaking with new york senator in the next hour. a new bill is expected to get a final nod in the house today before it goes to the president for his signature. and as long as congress is in session, president obama remains in washington, d.c. not on the hawaiian vacation. the first lady and his daughters, of course, are already there and so is our intrepid correspondent ed henry. reporter: john and kiran, president obama s hawaiian vacation has been delayed because of all of the action on capitol hill. but we expect him to join his wife and two daughters. and he s going to find out that this beach is going to be even more quiet because it s been raining for days now. and forecasters say it s
to work. reporter: before the president can reunite with his family here on oahu, he has to sign the repeal of don t ask, don t tell into law. and he s waiting in washington to see if the senate ratifies the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty. he s hoping to get here wednesday night or thursday the latest and hopefully the sun will return, as well. john, kiran? even if the sun s not shining in hawaii, it s almost like liquid sunshine, right? still hawaii. and they ve got time to clear up for christmas. they ll probably get a beautiful week next week. well, we just told you about operation santa. we had the wrong address and we want to be sure to get it right. if you want to help you go to usps.com/holidaynewsroom all one word then you can click on the letters for santa icon and fulfill these letters until the 23rd at 7:00 p.m. top stories are coming your way after a quick break. don t go away.
so be careful with your toy shopping out there. but toys everyone s been very lean with their inventories. what does that mean? they re not keeping a lot of stock on hand. if you see it now for a price you want, you better get it. apparel, you know prices of apparel have been going down. and the longer you wait, you re going to see the big retailers trying to move their lean inventories out. so you re going to see better deals as the days pass toward christmas and beyond. and deals unlikely on the kindle. they ve sold out in a lot of places. be careful there. and kiran, you are very interested in the iphone. we always say certain things never go on sale. one of them are apple products. however however, at walmart, it looks as though walmart is giving the iphone 4 for i think well, it was $50 discount, so it s $147 after a $50 gift card. and there s this one of the web blogs this morning or the tech blogs reporting that sam s