Midmorning With Aundrea - April 24, 2020 (Part 1)

(Part 1 of 2) Working from home has become the new normal for many people, but it's all the more challenging when you're job is driving around the Mars Curiosity Rover.

And once-polluted Los Angeles and other metropolitan areas are seeing the cleanest air in decades due to the coronavirus shelter in place.And Aundrea talks once again with travel agent Kelly McKellar who says people are still thinking about vacationing and starting to book for the future.

>> ñ+w?çó small businesses across the nation are facing an unprecedented economic disruption from the coronavirus outbreak.

Many owners are applying for loans to make it through these hard times.

Others, have not been as fortunate.

Our cash matlock spoke with industry insiders here locally... he has more on the story.

Pkg in times of financial uncertainty, there aren't many resources for small businesses.

However, in northeast mississippi, many seek guidance from the small business development center at msu.

"i've counsele probably 35 different businesses in the last several weeks.

A lot of those are pretty extensive conversations, so that's a large amount.

It's set record levels for us in a short period of time."

Director chip templeton says a lot of his counseling revolves around something called the small business cares act-- which is broken down into two parts.

The first part is the paycheck protection program.

"that's somethin they can get from the sba to help them primarily with their payroll over a period of time."

The is second part is an economic injury disaster loan "it's basically 3.75% interest rate for a determined number of years, and you kind of show what you want it for."

Odie keen has worked at western auto in louisville for a number of years.

He's seen first hand the effects of the virus has had on local businesses.

"there's so many o my buddies that's got businesses that closed.

They're not making payroll.

That's pretty tough on them.

I can't even understand how they're making it."

Western auto, however, can't keep inventory in stock.

"booming here, fo sure.

We've been really busy.

To be perfectly honest, we don't have a freezer to sell in this store.

Our refrigerators, i can't get anymore for at least a month."

Sadly, not everyone can relate.

Templeton says business owners will have to make some tough decisions over the next few months.

"the main thing yo want to do it keep yourself going, and be realistic to know when you should decide that you don't need to be in business anymore."

But for the most part, he's remaining positive.

"in my business life i have probably lived through about three of these things.

I would say they're very similar to it, meaning i have confidence we can get through it."

Tag both loans have aspects that may be forgiven over time.

If you'd like to seek counseling from the small business development center at msu, visit our website, wcbi dot com.

Amid stay at home orders -- new home sales last month plummeted.

And april -- may be even more bleak -- according to recently released numbers.

Mandy gaither has more.

And that's why april numbers could be worse.

According to the national association of realtors -- existing home sales dropped 8- point-5 percent in march -- to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of more than 5 million units -- despite the data -- sales rose point-8 percent year over year -- and prices remain strong with the median home price up 8-percent from last year -- however -- home sales are tracked based on closings -- so the data doesn't show how many sales might have fallen through because of the pandemic -- and april numbers could be much worse -- new home sales slumped 22- percent in march from the prior month -- but -- while home builders started on fewer new homes in march -- new construction numbers are still higher than a year ago -- according to realtor magazine.

However -- a slowdown is inevitable -- the magazine says -- the decrease in homebuilding activity -- a very different outcome from what was projected in the first half of 20 -- when there was record-breaking permitting activity.

But an n-a-r survey shows many realtors remain hopeful -- for a post pandemic market rebound.

For today's consumer watch -- i'm mandy gaither.

With shelter in place rules, the real estate market is considered an essential business in some states, but not others.

Here in mississippi, it áisá listed as an essential business.

For many people, working remotely has become the new normal.

But working from home is especially challenging when your job involves missions in space.

Chris martinez explains.

"hi, i'm matt, i' going to show you my work from home set up..."

Matt gildner's work station at home looks relatively relatable - for a job that certainly is not.

"i'm the lead rove driver&" rover as in the ámars curiosity rover& and gildner is now driving it áon the red planet from his living room.

He's part of a 30- plus person team that commands the spacecraft - and for the first time ever, áall the rover's operations are being handled remotely& from makeshift home command centers.

In-person problem solving sessions replaced by video conferencing and messaging apps.

"i'm used to bein able to literally like turn over my shoulder to another rover driver and say 'hey what do you think of this drive i'm planning, does that rock look scary, does that sand patch over there look really deep, do i need to drive around it& "instead i'm havin to rely on screen sharing over network connections that can sometimes be slow&" still - they're making it work.

So well, in fact, that on the first day of day remote operations - the team successfully commanded one of the rover's most complicated jobs - drilling a rock sample on the red planet.

"it's kind of a interesting change of pace being able to do the job while you have a pet 3 feet away or make lunch in your own kitchen&" the mission - so far - remaing mostly on schedule - thanks to the team's ability to adapt - and their commitment to explore.

Chris martinez, cbs news, los angeles as 'curiosity's' mission continues, nasa is still moving forward with their next launch to mars.

That mission remains on schedule to launch to mars this summer.

A maryland teenager is on a mission to keep senior citizens from feeling isolated and alone.

Her project actually pre-dates the pandemic, but has become more important now than ever.

Heather graf reports.

Coronavirus quarantine..

For sixteen year old hailey wilson.... nats has involved hours sitting in front of her computer.

Nats but it's not homework that's keeping her busy: it's something much bigger.

Haily wilson/ started "the ethe project" "so m grandmother's name was ethel , and she used to live with us, and i helped with her care every single until the last day.

I really just learned a lot about like their struggles, because i saw it face to face."

"the ethe project", name after her grandmother....act ually began months ago, as part of hailey's high school entrepreneurship program.

Nats and she spent several weeks, visiting spring hills mount vernon assisted living and memory care... nats teaching the facility's elderly residents how to use skype, to stay connected to their loved ones.

Tom clarke/ spring hills assisted living & memory care: "they loved it - she's made a lot of friends here when she was able to come in the building."

So when covid-19 led nursing homes all over the country to restrict visitations... nats... hailey began working remotely: nats answering tech questions via email..

And creating a step-by- step guide to so the staff at spring hills could help even more seniors start skyping.

Haily wilson/ started "the ethe project" "its perfect fo this because now they're really on lockdown and no one can come in or out .

A school project and a tribute to her grandmother that's now become a lifeline for seniors.

Haily wilson/ started "the ethe project: "i think the en goal is just to get it into more communities... cause it's the right thing to do."

Heather graf, abc 7 news millions of people are staying home.

And mother earth is reaping the rewards.

More on the environmental changes amid the pandemic when midmorning th the 50th anniversary of earth day.

We're marking it in ways never imagined, because of the global pandemic.

Satellite images show a dramatic decline in greenhouse gas emissions, thanks to the drop- off in human activity.

We're also seeing wild animals roam in unexpected places.

Perhaps the most obvious environmental change is much cleaner air.

As jamie yuccas shows us.

This is the new normal for runners in the time of coronavirus ... ..

What isn't normal, especially here in los angeles, is this: blue skies and clean air.

"once the shelte in place went in in california, what did you see?"

"we saw that l ... had some of the cleanest air quality in the world."

"have you eve seen it this clear?"

Glory dolphin hammes is ceo of iq-air, a tech company that tracks global air quality.

Two weeks ago , her sensors showed something almost unimaginable ..

L-a had the cleanest air of any major city on earth.

"about a year ago los angeles was ranked the worst air quality in the entire country & and now, we're seeing some of the best air quality, not just in the country, but in the world" "wide open!

By some estimates, the pandemic lockdown has taken about 80 percent of passenger cars off local roads.

Iq-air's data shows a resulting 31 percent reduction in air pollution compared to the same time frame last year.

And it's not just los angeles foreign speech on speaker from a shockingly smog-free new dehli in india ... to unusually clear waters in the canals of venice, the world is suddenly learning what can happen if humans stop polluting the environment.

"but if things g back to normal a week from now, that'll be a distant memory, the air will be just like it would have been..."

Stanford environmental scientist rob jackson says there's historic precedent for that.

Global greenhouse gas emissions dropped about one-and-a- half percent during the 2008 economic crisis, but within two years, they bounced back, and kept growing.

He fears the same thing could happen again.

"what if, when th economy's hurting, we no longer care or care to safeguard the environments ..."

"the senate wil come to order ..."

Although there are signs that is already happening in washington, jackson is optimistic about the number of people and companies learning how to telecommute.

"if we drive less / we'll save time and make things healthier ... it doesn't have to be shelter at home or clean air, it can be clean air every day" in the meantime, while some crucial climate field science in places like greenland is being disrupted... construction truck beeping ..

The unprecedented shutdown of major cities is also proving to be a boon for other science as well.

"it has allowed u to really look at certain scenarios ..."

Gabriele pfister is a climate scientist now studying our environment in conditions no one ever thought would occur.

"assume al passenger cars are taken off the roads, what would happen to our climate and our air quality?

I mean, this is typically something we can only test in our numerical models, but then we don't have observations so now we do" solo car on london bridge armed with this new data, scientists hope, when we do return to our pre- pandemic lifestyles, we'll do so with lessons learned during the cris.

"it has shown u that there are ways that we can make a significant change in the human footprint on our atmosphere and our nature."

For cbs this morning, jamie yuccas, los angeles.

Our favorite travel buddy, kelly mckellar, can't get to the happiest place on earth right now -- so she's drawing.

We'll talk to her next.

Welcome back to me morning everyone how good frank kelly mckellar is joing us the morning great to be here now a lot of traveling going on right now you are still doing road the right absolutely and people are steel bookings euros people are starting to think about taking trips one of the other things is starting to happen people are trying are starting to create a pastime to create new have hobbies what have you been doing i have unfinished paintings and i have been painting them over the break i have found now to start focusing all other things i become my paintbrushes and finishing my uncompleted paintings so for used is just a faster time was the purpose of the search for you i was in hours on a painting i forget everything i get lost as i'm sure i need some kind of therapy to get away from the world do you set aside time every day just to devote to training i do when it comes time to start fixing dinner i think it is my time to start winding down utah elementary school for many years did you teach art no i did not teach art what are some ways to have kids at home stay active is artwork a good way to do it if i can be anything you can doesn't necessarily have to be paintings or drawings taking the music you can have them create new talents or maybe a standard tell us that they already have there are so many things that you can do are wise that you do outside also you can get online and certified cool ways to create things we can go to hobby lobby due to the cove in my team crisis wouldn't be surprised what you can do it what you already have in your kitchen we have become very very resourceful we have the things that we thought we need we necessarily do not need them so yes we have to be very resourceful so you finish up a piece that you have been working on it and it was a disney counselor right yes that is very very nice was shivering his five project i've been wanting to update yet in pain over would already have by you postings on your professional fate yes i am posting them on my business space to talk about each horse fate my pages kelly mckellar on magic home facebook.com where thank you for letting me share