Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Mosul Attack; Death Notification; Snow Going; Elder Care

Aired December 23, 2004 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(WEATHER REPORT)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: To the deadly fight for Iraq now. FBI bomb technicians are being deployed to Mosul to help investigate the mess hall attack at a U.S. military base.

The Pentagon now blames a suicide bomber for the blast that killed 22 people. Fourteen of the dead are American soldiers. Four other Americans killed in that attack work for Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton. The deaths bring the total number of Halliburton employees or sub-contractors killed in Iraq to 59.

As for those wounded in the Mosul attack, up to 50 of them are being treated at Landstuhl Military Hospital in Germany. The commander there is scheduled to hold a news conference about 30 minutes from now. We'll bring it to you live when it happens.

Want to talk more about the Mosul attack. Live from Washington, CNN military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson.

Good morning -- Ken.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know the military right now suspects that just one suicide bomber may be to blame for that huge explosion. But is it possible for one man to strap that many explosives around his waist to cause that much damage and injure that many people?

ROBINSON: It sure is, Carol. They even have a virtual network of suicide bomb how-to classes which are on the Internet in language in the different Arab dialects that show line by line how to make it, how to employ it and then demonstrate how deadly it is.

COSTELLO: So one man could cause that much damage and injure that many people?

ROBINSON: Yes.

COSTELLO: Wow!

ROBINSON: The other tragic thing about it, Carol, is that they only have to be right once. They only have to slip through security one time. The United States military all over Iraq has to have eternal vigilance 110 percent of the time to prevent these because there's a soft underbelly.

There's an enormous amount of infrastructure on these bases, these forward operating bases, which are specifically designed to employ and get Iraqis back to work. And now they've got to make a gut-wrenching decision of how to separate the military from the very people they are trying to establish relationships with.

COSTELLO: But you know, Ken, a lot of people are thinking this morning I know it's difficult to stop a suicide bomber. But of all places, a U.S. Army base inside the mess tent, you would think that of all places that would be the place to stop a suicide bomber from coming in.

ROBINSON: I agree. Several things that need to occur in these bases, from my own experience in the military, and one of them is the concept of tactical feeding. Anytime that you're in an area that is under attack or has the potential to be under attack, you don't congregate into a large mess environment. You do what's called tactical feeding where you stop using hot meals and you use meals ready to eat and you separate and distribute your forces around the base that way you don't present clusters.

The other problem, though, Carol, is these guest workers who come and go from this base. They have identification (INAUDIBLE). The betting (ph) process for them is very tough, very dynamic because they don't have the same system to be able to check backgrounds as we would (INAUDIBLE) security job in the United States. And there are those within the population who are very sympathetic to the insurgents. And so it creates an enormous problem if you're going to choose to allow them within your perimeter.

COSTELLO: Well let's say -- of course they did allow the guest workers to come in, but aren't they searched every time they come on to the base?

ROBINSON: No, the Public Affairs statements from the military in the region themselves have said that they issue identification cards but they had been doing spot checking, not physical searching of every single person. Remember that there are thousands of people coming through these gates.

COSTELLO: And I guess that hiding the explosives underneath one's clothes wouldn't be easily detectable just if you looked at him?

ROBINSON: No, it does not -- the way they dress, it does not. You almost have to physically do a pat down. On the Internet, when you look at these specific vests and how they are designed, they are very thin and they could very easily be slipped through any type of security check for a visual look. You have to touch and feel every person coming through.

Now in Kuwait and some places where I've been, they make every single person go through metal detectors and then there's an ex-pat who pats people down. So you know just the security measures have been different in the different locations that I have been on the ground there.

COSTELLO: Well we'll see if there are any changes in the security methods employed by the U.S. Army in Iraq.

Ken Robinson, joining us live this morning, thank you.

The families of 14 American troops are getting the worst possible news that their loved one was killed in that mess hall attack in Mosul.

Our Alina Cho reports on the delicate and dignified way the military handles those death notifications.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A father is about to get the worst news imaginable.

LT. COL. JACK MOSHER, U.S. ARMY: He'll be home in about 15 minutes.

CHO: And these two men will deliver the message. Colonel Jack Mosher and Chaplain Andy Gibson begin by rehearsing what they'll say.

MOSHER: We have some very difficult news for you this evening. May we come in?

CHO: Next, they say a prayer.

MAJ. ANDREW GIBSON, CHAPLAIN: Dear Father in heaven, we have to go on a very difficult mission.

CHO: Then the silent drive to the home where a military family will soon hear their loved one has died in Iraq. This is what Mosher will say.

MOSHER: It is my solemn duty to report to you the death of, stating the person's name, who died early this morning in combat.

The message that you deliver has to be an assertive message, because people will hold out in their hearts for some hope that perhaps there's been a mistake made, a mistaken identity.

CHO: Once the family understands there's no mistake:

GIBSON: We've had people fall right on the floor when we've told them. Every once in a while, you have somebody who gets extremely angry

CHO: Tuesday night, the Dostie family in Somerville, Maine, got a knock on the door. Their 20-year-old son Tommy was killed in the bombing in Mosul. Ron Cyr, who himself has two sons in Iraq, was with Tommy's mother when she got the news.

RON CYR, FAMILY FRIEND: She saw the uniforms and she immediately started crying and...

CHO (on camera): She knew?

CYR: Oh, sure. Sure she knew. For the past year, that's what we've all been dreading, you know, when two uniformed officers coming up to your house, nobody wants to see that.

CHO (voice-over): Mosher and Gibson are told not to touch the family during notification. This time, they broke the rules.

MOSHER: I think it's the first one that we've done where we actually hugged the mother. And she clung to us for a long time. That was difficult.

CHO: These two men in uniform are best friends. They call their work a solemn duty.

GIBSON: The bad thing has already happened. We didn't do the bad thing. What we're doing by doing the notification correctly, by doing it with honor, we are actually starting the family's healing process.

CHO: A job they hope to do until they retire.

Alina Cho, CNN, Augusta, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

Time now for our Security Watch.

Numerous complaints have led to an immediate change of policy for the Transportation Security Administration. Beginning today, airport screeners will no longer be able to pat down a woman's breast area unless there is adequate cause. Many passengers complained that the screening is overly intrusive, but the TSA says if a metal detector wand goes off, then a search is still warranted.

A Virginia man has been charged with trying to board an airplane with a concealed weapon in his shoe. An airport screener in Hawaii found a razor blade inside the shoe after it went through an X-ray machine. The man's attorney says his client didn't know the blade was in his shoe. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the charge.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:41 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Police in Karbala have arrested six men in connection with the last three insurgent attacks in that city. One suspect is described as an East Asian who claims to be a member of Al Qaeda.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has pardoned three men convicted of drug charges in the '70s. They are the first such pardons in six years. Schwarzenegger's predecessor, Gray Davis, pardoned no one.

In money news, a federal investigation of auditing problems could force Fannie Mae to restate $9 billion in earnings. Irregularities have forced the resignation of the mortgage giant's CEO and its chief financial officer.

In culture, Twinkie lovers can now be part of the snack cake's history. International Bakeries is planning a Twinkie cookbook made up of recipes from regular folks. The cookbook is part of Twinkies 75th anniversary celebration.

In sports, the NBA and the players union will be in federal court today to argue over the Pacers Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal was suspended 25 games for his part of the brawl in Detroit, but an arbitrator ruled that O'Neal's suspension should be reduced to 10 games.

To the Forecast Center and Chad.

MYERS: And good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Chad, how would you describe this storm? Would you describe it perhaps as a major wallop to the nation's solar plexus?

MYERS: I would call it a classic low pressure that came out of New Mexico, but you can call it what you like.

COSTELLO: That's too boring, Chad.

Let's head to Cincinnati. Brian Hamrick of CNN affiliate WLWT joins us live from there. Join in Chad.

Good morning -- Brian.

BRIAN HAMRICK, WLWT-TV REPORTER: Well good morning. I think the best way to describe this is a double black diamond day.

MYERS: I like that.

HAMRICK: We've got quite a bit of snow out here.

COSTELLO: Go ahead, Chad, what were you going to say?

MYERS: You had -- first of all, the problem was you had a little layer of sleet and ice yesterday morning, then snow, then sleet and another more freezing rain and now it's snowing again. How do you know what to drive on?

HAMRICK: Well I'll tell you what, it's been really difficult out here. Just take a look at the interstate. What you're driving on is ice and snow. It's very deep on the road right now. We've got vehicles making their way through here.

MYERS: Wow!

HAMRICK: People are braving this, believe it or not. The problem is the snow is so deep your car can actually bottom out as you go through the snow. And I drove in this morning, I was driving behind a tractor-trailer, the thing went sideways. I got out of the rut, I went sideways. So it's very treacherous right now. I'm telling people that if they're driving out here be prepared to be stuck.

MYERS: Is that interstate?

HAMRICK: Yes, that's an interstate. This is Interstate 71.

MYERS: Holy cow!

HAMRICK: This is Lydell (ph) Tunnel. We're right downtown Cincinnati. And what I want to do, I'll tell you what, I'll show you the side street over here. We can make our way over. The side streets are no better. When you get on to the side street, this is a side street, this is downtown Cincinnati, and we've got pretty deep snow, you can see. Here's a snowdrift over here and it's really deep.

MYERS: Where are the snowplows?

COSTELLO: That's what I'm saying, where are the snowplows -- Brian?

HAMRICK: I want to tell you something, they've been working downtown on some of the main thoroughfares through downtown, but there's so much snow, they have to use an inloader (ph) to actually get the snow out of downtown because there's nowhere to pile it up. It'd go right on the sidewalks. You wouldn't be able to get around. So it's pretty crazy down here right now.

COSTELLO: Unbelievable! Well I guess in Cincinnati it really doesn't snow all that much, right?

HAMRICK: Well you know we get a few good snowfalls every year. But this year I think this is probably one of the worst ones we've seen around here. And I want to show you something here, just give you an idea of how deep it is. You know you would think we were in Buffalo or something. I brought a snow shovel and this is really it's about like the consistency of sand.

MYERS: Hey, dude, that's a coal shovel not a snow shovel.

HAMRICK: Yes. Yes, I know. Well, I'm from West Virginia originally, so this is all I have.

(LAUGHTER)

HAMRICK: Yes, this is great. But I tell you what, the other problem is the wind is just incredible out here. It's been snowing pretty hard. And the wind is so bad, I mean at times you get real practically whiteout conditions downtown.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Unbelievable!

MYERS: That's going to be part of the problem all day, Carol. And you know what, that wind is going to be blowing at up to 30 miles per hour. So even the roads that they do get open, they will be blown shut again with more blowing and drifting snow.

COSTELLO: So, Brian, keep your shovel handy and thank you for joining DAYBREAK. We really enjoyed it, actually, and we're just glad we're not in Cincinnati in person and you are.

HAMRICK: Yes, I appreciate it.

COSTELLO: Brian Hamrick. Bye -- Brian.

HAMRICK: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Brian Hamrick of CNN affiliate WLWT joining us live from Cincinnati. He was a lot of fun.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Just reading some of your e-mails this morning about Donald Rumsfeld. We're going to read them on the air a little bit later. Keep them coming, DAYBREAK@CNN.com. They are quite feisty this morning, and of course you know we like that on DAYBREAK.

In Health Headlines for you this morning, the FDA is demanding that ads for the anti-cholesterol drug Crestor be taken out of print. The agency says the ads falsely play down the risk of liver damage linked to the drug.

If you're a big cell phone user, listen up. Two of the world's top mobile phone makers, Motorola and Sony, want more research to determine if cell phone radiation is harmful to you. A laboratory study by 12 European institutes has found that radio waves harm body cells and damage DNA.

And did you know that more women become pregnant or just think they are during December and January. The makers of the pregnancy test Clear Blue Easy says sales typically soar in the first month of the year. The false alarms are blamed on missed periods due to holiday stress. As for increased pregnancies, we'll chalk that one up to holiday romance or maybe the cold weather.

Are you going home for the holidays or just going to pick up the phone? Now is a good time to get in touch and stay in touch with elderly family members.

CNN consumer reporter Julie Vallese has information on a new program designed to keep older family members safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JULIE VALLESE, CNN CONSUMER REPORTER (voice-over): Christmas may be stressful for some, but it will be shocking for others.

SANDY MARKWOOD, CEO, AREA AGENCIES ON AGING: And oftentimes over the holidays it will hit them and people will come back home and say when did mom and dad get old?

VALLESE: So the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging says it is the perfect time to start making a plan to take care of friends and relatives who live on their own.

Earlier this month, a Greenville, South Carolina woman died from exposure after the power to her home was turned off. Officials say the tragedy is that she had the money to pay her bill.

Brenda Terrell has put a plan in place to make sure nothing like that happens to her mother.

BRENDA TERRELL, CARES FOR MOTHER: It gives me peace of mind to the fact that she's healthy, she's fat, she's gained weight. It's just looking at her makes me know that everything that I'm doing is just worth it.

VALLESE: Brenda has nine brothers and sisters to help with her plan, which includes doctor's names and numbers, medications and any assistance available if there is an emergency.

But anyone can get help putting together their own plan from the Eldercare Locator, which links people to community services.

MARKWOOD: These are services from Meals on Wheels to friendly visiting services, services where a volunteer will come and check in on your older relative. It could be chore services, home health care services.

VALLESE: For a copy of the Eldercare plan and to contact the Eldercare Locator, you can call 800-677-1116 or log on to www.eldercare.gov.

Julie Vallese, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site, the address CNN.com/health.

Weather could be a big problem in more than a few cities. In the next hour, we'll have a live report for you from Indianapolis.

Also next hour, world domination, sort of. We go inside the world of cyber games. See what it takes to be a champion gamer, and I know you want to be.

You are watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: We want to check out our Web Clicks this morning, because we're always interested in what you're clicking on to on CNN.com.

And, Chad, you know what the No. 1 story is?

MYERS: About these parachutes and planes, is that the No. 1?

COSTELLO: Isn't this insane. Yes.

MYERS: Yes, you can find this. Go to CNN.com and then there's a little arrow that says most popular. You can click on that and this is where we get all this information from what you're clicking on. This is awesome!

COSTELLO: Isn't it? It's a huge parachute.

MYERS: $16,000.

COSTELLO: It's a huge parachute designed to save crashing planes. So if you're going to crash in your small plane, you just like you know pop a parachute and you just float to the ground.

MYERS: Right. Right, $16,000, a bunch of them were installed in 2004, actually over 500 of them. But could you imagine if that was in the Payne Stewart plane that you know all those people passed out in because of the oxygen or whatever the problem was.

COSTELLO: That's right. That's right.

MYERS: They could have maybe remotely set that off somewhere, would have landed safely.

COSTELLO: That would have been cool.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Yes.

Second most clicked on story, a teenager suing over the Confederate flag that she fashioned into a prom dress. This is from Lexington, Kentucky. She called her school and said she was making this dress. They said don't show up, that is not politically correct. When she showed up to go to her prom, there were police waiting there for her. Now she's filing a lawsuit against the school saying that she missed the prom.

MYERS: And she has to say happy holidays, too.

COSTELLO: The third most clicked on story, pirate radio calls for inauguration protests. You know that January 20 is the presidential inauguration?

MYERS: Sure.

COSTELLO: There is this rogue radio station somewhere in Washington, D.C. They can't find where it's broadcasting from and they are calling for these huge protests. So authorities are trying to find them.

MYERS: Well when I first heard about this, I thought, OK, low power radio, it probably goes a mile, you know, nobody can really hear it. But CNN was monitoring it. We had it in our car radio there 10 miles into a Maryland suburb. So clearly it can be heard.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Let's get to our e-mail Question of the Morning. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is defending himself and the progress of the war of Iraq from critics. Rumsfeld spoke a day after a suicide bomber killed 22 people in Mosul, including 14 U.S. troops.

He says while his thoughts and prayers are with the families of those wounded or killed in the attack, he says the United States must do what it takes to get the job done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I am truly saddened by the thought that anyone could have the impression that I or others here are doing anything other than working urgently to see that the lives of the fighting men and women are protected and are cared for in every way humanly possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So we wondered, what do you think? Do you think that Donald Rumsfeld should resign, because even some very conservative people are calling for him to step down now?

So, allow me to read some of these.

This is from Brian (ph). Why should Secretary Rumsfeld be forced to resign? What purpose would it actually serve? We're always looking for a scapegoat. If the administration had created policies which it could have realistically enforced in Iraq, he'd be the best bureaucrat for the job.

This is from Indian Head, a Vietnam combat veteran. Yes, Donald Rumsfeld should resign. After a year of knowing that Humvees weren't properly armored, after a year of knowing we didn't have enough boots on the ground for our security, much less the friendly Iraqis, after a year of machine signings of condolences to the families of those killed in action, after not once going against the administration on behalf of the troops, he damn sure should resign.


Aired December 23, 2004 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: To the deadly fight for Iraq now. FBI bomb technicians are being deployed to Mosul to help investigate the mess hall attack at a U.S. military base.

The Pentagon now blames a suicide bomber for the blast that killed 22 people. Fourteen of the dead are American soldiers. Four other Americans killed in that attack work for Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton. The deaths bring the total number of Halliburton employees or sub-contractors killed in Iraq to 59.

As for those wounded in the Mosul attack, up to 50 of them are being treated at Landstuhl Military Hospital in Germany. The commander there is scheduled to hold a news conference about 30 minutes from now. We'll bring it to you live when it happens.

Want to talk more about the Mosul attack. Live from Washington, CNN military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson.

Good morning -- Ken.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know the military right now suspects that just one suicide bomber may be to blame for that huge explosion. But is it possible for one man to strap that many explosives around his waist to cause that much damage and injure that many people?

ROBINSON: It sure is, Carol. They even have a virtual network of suicide bomb how-to classes which are on the Internet in language in the different Arab dialects that show line by line how to make it, how to employ it and then demonstrate how deadly it is.

COSTELLO: So one man could cause that much damage and injure that many people?

ROBINSON: Yes.

COSTELLO: Wow!

ROBINSON: The other tragic thing about it, Carol, is that they only have to be right once. They only have to slip through security one time. The United States military all over Iraq has to have eternal vigilance 110 percent of the time to prevent these because there's a soft underbelly.

There's an enormous amount of infrastructure on these bases, these forward operating bases, which are specifically designed to employ and get Iraqis back to work. And now they've got to make a gut-wrenching decision of how to separate the military from the very people they are trying to establish relationships with.

COSTELLO: But you know, Ken, a lot of people are thinking this morning I know it's difficult to stop a suicide bomber. But of all places, a U.S. Army base inside the mess tent, you would think that of all places that would be the place to stop a suicide bomber from coming in.

ROBINSON: I agree. Several things that need to occur in these bases, from my own experience in the military, and one of them is the concept of tactical feeding. Anytime that you're in an area that is under attack or has the potential to be under attack, you don't congregate into a large mess environment. You do what's called tactical feeding where you stop using hot meals and you use meals ready to eat and you separate and distribute your forces around the base that way you don't present clusters.

The other problem, though, Carol, is these guest workers who come and go from this base. They have identification (INAUDIBLE). The betting (ph) process for them is very tough, very dynamic because they don't have the same system to be able to check backgrounds as we would (INAUDIBLE) security job in the United States. And there are those within the population who are very sympathetic to the insurgents. And so it creates an enormous problem if you're going to choose to allow them within your perimeter.

COSTELLO: Well let's say -- of course they did allow the guest workers to come in, but aren't they searched every time they come on to the base?

ROBINSON: No, the Public Affairs statements from the military in the region themselves have said that they issue identification cards but they had been doing spot checking, not physical searching of every single person. Remember that there are thousands of people coming through these gates.

COSTELLO: And I guess that hiding the explosives underneath one's clothes wouldn't be easily detectable just if you looked at him?

ROBINSON: No, it does not -- the way they dress, it does not. You almost have to physically do a pat down. On the Internet, when you look at these specific vests and how they are designed, they are very thin and they could very easily be slipped through any type of security check for a visual look. You have to touch and feel every person coming through.

Now in Kuwait and some places where I've been, they make every single person go through metal detectors and then there's an ex-pat who pats people down. So you know just the security measures have been different in the different locations that I have been on the ground there.

COSTELLO: Well we'll see if there are any changes in the security methods employed by the U.S. Army in Iraq.

Ken Robinson, joining us live this morning, thank you.

The families of 14 American troops are getting the worst possible news that their loved one was killed in that mess hall attack in Mosul.

Our Alina Cho reports on the delicate and dignified way the military handles those death notifications.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A father is about to get the worst news imaginable.

LT. COL. JACK MOSHER, U.S. ARMY: He'll be home in about 15 minutes.

CHO: And these two men will deliver the message. Colonel Jack Mosher and Chaplain Andy Gibson begin by rehearsing what they'll say.

MOSHER: We have some very difficult news for you this evening. May we come in?

CHO: Next, they say a prayer.

MAJ. ANDREW GIBSON, CHAPLAIN: Dear Father in heaven, we have to go on a very difficult mission.

CHO: Then the silent drive to the home where a military family will soon hear their loved one has died in Iraq. This is what Mosher will say.

MOSHER: It is my solemn duty to report to you the death of, stating the person's name, who died early this morning in combat.

The message that you deliver has to be an assertive message, because people will hold out in their hearts for some hope that perhaps there's been a mistake made, a mistaken identity.

CHO: Once the family understands there's no mistake:

GIBSON: We've had people fall right on the floor when we've told them. Every once in a while, you have somebody who gets extremely angry

CHO: Tuesday night, the Dostie family in Somerville, Maine, got a knock on the door. Their 20-year-old son Tommy was killed in the bombing in Mosul. Ron Cyr, who himself has two sons in Iraq, was with Tommy's mother when she got the news.

RON CYR, FAMILY FRIEND: She saw the uniforms and she immediately started crying and...

CHO (on camera): She knew?

CYR: Oh, sure. Sure she knew. For the past year, that's what we've all been dreading, you know, when two uniformed officers coming up to your house, nobody wants to see that.

CHO (voice-over): Mosher and Gibson are told not to touch the family during notification. This time, they broke the rules.

MOSHER: I think it's the first one that we've done where we actually hugged the mother. And she clung to us for a long time. That was difficult.

CHO: These two men in uniform are best friends. They call their work a solemn duty.

GIBSON: The bad thing has already happened. We didn't do the bad thing. What we're doing by doing the notification correctly, by doing it with honor, we are actually starting the family's healing process.

CHO: A job they hope to do until they retire.

Alina Cho, CNN, Augusta, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

Time now for our Security Watch.

Numerous complaints have led to an immediate change of policy for the Transportation Security Administration. Beginning today, airport screeners will no longer be able to pat down a woman's breast area unless there is adequate cause. Many passengers complained that the screening is overly intrusive, but the TSA says if a metal detector wand goes off, then a search is still warranted.

A Virginia man has been charged with trying to board an airplane with a concealed weapon in his shoe. An airport screener in Hawaii found a razor blade inside the shoe after it went through an X-ray machine. The man's attorney says his client didn't know the blade was in his shoe. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the charge.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:41 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Police in Karbala have arrested six men in connection with the last three insurgent attacks in that city. One suspect is described as an East Asian who claims to be a member of Al Qaeda.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has pardoned three men convicted of drug charges in the '70s. They are the first such pardons in six years. Schwarzenegger's predecessor, Gray Davis, pardoned no one.

In money news, a federal investigation of auditing problems could force Fannie Mae to restate $9 billion in earnings. Irregularities have forced the resignation of the mortgage giant's CEO and its chief financial officer.

In culture, Twinkie lovers can now be part of the snack cake's history. International Bakeries is planning a Twinkie cookbook made up of recipes from regular folks. The cookbook is part of Twinkies 75th anniversary celebration.

In sports, the NBA and the players union will be in federal court today to argue over the Pacers Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal was suspended 25 games for his part of the brawl in Detroit, but an arbitrator ruled that O'Neal's suspension should be reduced to 10 games.

To the Forecast Center and Chad.

MYERS: And good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Chad, how would you describe this storm? Would you describe it perhaps as a major wallop to the nation's solar plexus?

MYERS: I would call it a classic low pressure that came out of New Mexico, but you can call it what you like.

COSTELLO: That's too boring, Chad.

Let's head to Cincinnati. Brian Hamrick of CNN affiliate WLWT joins us live from there. Join in Chad.

Good morning -- Brian.

BRIAN HAMRICK, WLWT-TV REPORTER: Well good morning. I think the best way to describe this is a double black diamond day.

MYERS: I like that.

HAMRICK: We've got quite a bit of snow out here.

COSTELLO: Go ahead, Chad, what were you going to say?

MYERS: You had -- first of all, the problem was you had a little layer of sleet and ice yesterday morning, then snow, then sleet and another more freezing rain and now it's snowing again. How do you know what to drive on?

HAMRICK: Well I'll tell you what, it's been really difficult out here. Just take a look at the interstate. What you're driving on is ice and snow. It's very deep on the road right now. We've got vehicles making their way through here.

MYERS: Wow!

HAMRICK: People are braving this, believe it or not. The problem is the snow is so deep your car can actually bottom out as you go through the snow. And I drove in this morning, I was driving behind a tractor-trailer, the thing went sideways. I got out of the rut, I went sideways. So it's very treacherous right now. I'm telling people that if they're driving out here be prepared to be stuck.

MYERS: Is that interstate?

HAMRICK: Yes, that's an interstate. This is Interstate 71.

MYERS: Holy cow!

HAMRICK: This is Lydell (ph) Tunnel. We're right downtown Cincinnati. And what I want to do, I'll tell you what, I'll show you the side street over here. We can make our way over. The side streets are no better. When you get on to the side street, this is a side street, this is downtown Cincinnati, and we've got pretty deep snow, you can see. Here's a snowdrift over here and it's really deep.

MYERS: Where are the snowplows?

COSTELLO: That's what I'm saying, where are the snowplows -- Brian?

HAMRICK: I want to tell you something, they've been working downtown on some of the main thoroughfares through downtown, but there's so much snow, they have to use an inloader (ph) to actually get the snow out of downtown because there's nowhere to pile it up. It'd go right on the sidewalks. You wouldn't be able to get around. So it's pretty crazy down here right now.

COSTELLO: Unbelievable! Well I guess in Cincinnati it really doesn't snow all that much, right?

HAMRICK: Well you know we get a few good snowfalls every year. But this year I think this is probably one of the worst ones we've seen around here. And I want to show you something here, just give you an idea of how deep it is. You know you would think we were in Buffalo or something. I brought a snow shovel and this is really it's about like the consistency of sand.

MYERS: Hey, dude, that's a coal shovel not a snow shovel.

HAMRICK: Yes. Yes, I know. Well, I'm from West Virginia originally, so this is all I have.

(LAUGHTER)

HAMRICK: Yes, this is great. But I tell you what, the other problem is the wind is just incredible out here. It's been snowing pretty hard. And the wind is so bad, I mean at times you get real practically whiteout conditions downtown.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Unbelievable!

MYERS: That's going to be part of the problem all day, Carol. And you know what, that wind is going to be blowing at up to 30 miles per hour. So even the roads that they do get open, they will be blown shut again with more blowing and drifting snow.

COSTELLO: So, Brian, keep your shovel handy and thank you for joining DAYBREAK. We really enjoyed it, actually, and we're just glad we're not in Cincinnati in person and you are.

HAMRICK: Yes, I appreciate it.

COSTELLO: Brian Hamrick. Bye -- Brian.

HAMRICK: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Brian Hamrick of CNN affiliate WLWT joining us live from Cincinnati. He was a lot of fun.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Just reading some of your e-mails this morning about Donald Rumsfeld. We're going to read them on the air a little bit later. Keep them coming, DAYBREAK@CNN.com. They are quite feisty this morning, and of course you know we like that on DAYBREAK.

In Health Headlines for you this morning, the FDA is demanding that ads for the anti-cholesterol drug Crestor be taken out of print. The agency says the ads falsely play down the risk of liver damage linked to the drug.

If you're a big cell phone user, listen up. Two of the world's top mobile phone makers, Motorola and Sony, want more research to determine if cell phone radiation is harmful to you. A laboratory study by 12 European institutes has found that radio waves harm body cells and damage DNA.

And did you know that more women become pregnant or just think they are during December and January. The makers of the pregnancy test Clear Blue Easy says sales typically soar in the first month of the year. The false alarms are blamed on missed periods due to holiday stress. As for increased pregnancies, we'll chalk that one up to holiday romance or maybe the cold weather.

Are you going home for the holidays or just going to pick up the phone? Now is a good time to get in touch and stay in touch with elderly family members.

CNN consumer reporter Julie Vallese has information on a new program designed to keep older family members safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JULIE VALLESE, CNN CONSUMER REPORTER (voice-over): Christmas may be stressful for some, but it will be shocking for others.

SANDY MARKWOOD, CEO, AREA AGENCIES ON AGING: And oftentimes over the holidays it will hit them and people will come back home and say when did mom and dad get old?

VALLESE: So the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging says it is the perfect time to start making a plan to take care of friends and relatives who live on their own.

Earlier this month, a Greenville, South Carolina woman died from exposure after the power to her home was turned off. Officials say the tragedy is that she had the money to pay her bill.

Brenda Terrell has put a plan in place to make sure nothing like that happens to her mother.

BRENDA TERRELL, CARES FOR MOTHER: It gives me peace of mind to the fact that she's healthy, she's fat, she's gained weight. It's just looking at her makes me know that everything that I'm doing is just worth it.

VALLESE: Brenda has nine brothers and sisters to help with her plan, which includes doctor's names and numbers, medications and any assistance available if there is an emergency.

But anyone can get help putting together their own plan from the Eldercare Locator, which links people to community services.

MARKWOOD: These are services from Meals on Wheels to friendly visiting services, services where a volunteer will come and check in on your older relative. It could be chore services, home health care services.

VALLESE: For a copy of the Eldercare plan and to contact the Eldercare Locator, you can call 800-677-1116 or log on to www.eldercare.gov.

Julie Vallese, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site, the address CNN.com/health.

Weather could be a big problem in more than a few cities. In the next hour, we'll have a live report for you from Indianapolis.

Also next hour, world domination, sort of. We go inside the world of cyber games. See what it takes to be a champion gamer, and I know you want to be.

You are watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: We want to check out our Web Clicks this morning, because we're always interested in what you're clicking on to on CNN.com.

And, Chad, you know what the No. 1 story is?

MYERS: About these parachutes and planes, is that the No. 1?

COSTELLO: Isn't this insane. Yes.

MYERS: Yes, you can find this. Go to CNN.com and then there's a little arrow that says most popular. You can click on that and this is where we get all this information from what you're clicking on. This is awesome!

COSTELLO: Isn't it? It's a huge parachute.

MYERS: $16,000.

COSTELLO: It's a huge parachute designed to save crashing planes. So if you're going to crash in your small plane, you just like you know pop a parachute and you just float to the ground.

MYERS: Right. Right, $16,000, a bunch of them were installed in 2004, actually over 500 of them. But could you imagine if that was in the Payne Stewart plane that you know all those people passed out in because of the oxygen or whatever the problem was.

COSTELLO: That's right. That's right.

MYERS: They could have maybe remotely set that off somewhere, would have landed safely.

COSTELLO: That would have been cool.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Yes.

Second most clicked on story, a teenager suing over the Confederate flag that she fashioned into a prom dress. This is from Lexington, Kentucky. She called her school and said she was making this dress. They said don't show up, that is not politically correct. When she showed up to go to her prom, there were police waiting there for her. Now she's filing a lawsuit against the school saying that she missed the prom.

MYERS: And she has to say happy holidays, too.

COSTELLO: The third most clicked on story, pirate radio calls for inauguration protests. You know that January 20 is the presidential inauguration?

MYERS: Sure.

COSTELLO: There is this rogue radio station somewhere in Washington, D.C. They can't find where it's broadcasting from and they are calling for these huge protests. So authorities are trying to find them.

MYERS: Well when I first heard about this, I thought, OK, low power radio, it probably goes a mile, you know, nobody can really hear it. But CNN was monitoring it. We had it in our car radio there 10 miles into a Maryland suburb. So clearly it can be heard.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Let's get to our e-mail Question of the Morning. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is defending himself and the progress of the war of Iraq from critics. Rumsfeld spoke a day after a suicide bomber killed 22 people in Mosul, including 14 U.S. troops.

He says while his thoughts and prayers are with the families of those wounded or killed in the attack, he says the United States must do what it takes to get the job done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I am truly saddened by the thought that anyone could have the impression that I or others here are doing anything other than working urgently to see that the lives of the fighting men and women are protected and are cared for in every way humanly possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So we wondered, what do you think? Do you think that Donald Rumsfeld should resign, because even some very conservative people are calling for him to step down now?

So, allow me to read some of these.

This is from Brian (ph). Why should Secretary Rumsfeld be forced to resign? What purpose would it actually serve? We're always looking for a scapegoat. If the administration had created policies which it could have realistically enforced in Iraq, he'd be the best bureaucrat for the job.

This is from Indian Head, a Vietnam combat veteran. Yes, Donald Rumsfeld should resign. After a year of knowing that Humvees weren't properly armored, after a year of knowing we didn't have enough boots on the ground for our security, much less the friendly Iraqis, after a year of machine signings of condolences to the families of those killed in action, after not once going against the administration on behalf of the troops, he damn sure should resign.