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Missing Student; Jackson Trial; Citigroup Blames Brown for Lost Information; Show of ForceL Teen Travel; Travel Tips

Aired June 07, 2005 - 10:00   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Twenty-five thousand U.S. workers will lose their jobs in the next three-and-a-half years. The automaker says it needs to reduce capacity by one million units by the end of 2008. GM also plans to buy more components from outside the U.S.
Homeowners will be allowed to move back into some 18 houses that were deemed unsafe after last week's landslide in Laguna Beach, California. Twenty-one other homes are still sealed off amidst lingering safety concerns. Residents are hoping that their neighborhood will be declared a federal disaster area so they can qualify for low-interest loans.

Jurors go back for their second full day of deliberations in the Michael Jackson case. Yesterday they sent a question to the judge but its contents was not revealed. News media lawyers are seeking more open records in the molestation case.

On Capitol Hill this hour, a live picture for you, the heads of three major airlines are answering questions about their pension plans. Lawmakers are looking for ways to ensure pension funds are available. Many plans have less than promised benefits or deposit. The Senate Finance Committee is trying to defuse a potential crisis.

A U.S. soldier has been killed in the joint U.S./Iraqi offensive in the northwestern Iraqi town of Tal Afar. About 600 U.S. troops and 200 Iraqi soldiers are in the joint operation in the insurgent stronghold. Troops, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, have gone door-to-door in their searches and made at least 23 arrests.

Good morning to you. Thanks for either starting or continuing your day with us. I'm Daryn Kagan.

We're going to start in Aruba this hour about what may be new information in the search for an 18-year-old Alabama student. CNN's Karl Penhaul has the latest. He is in Palm Beach, Aruba.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Hundreds of government workers joined the hunt for Natalee Holloway Monday afternoon on the windswept eastern tip of Aruba. They were backed by Dutch marines and Aruba's search and rescue teams. A senior police official has told me this morning that two items of interest were found. They're now the subject of intense police scrutiny.

The first item found was a pair of ladies' sunglasses. He declined to specify the make. The second item was a man's white shirt, stained with blood, and bearing the logo of a local security firm. He didn't specify the name of the security firm, but he said that it was not the same security firm that the two men arrested over the weekend worked for. That said, he did say that the two suspects now in police custody were subcontractors and that they may have worked for other security companies in the past.

On the subject of those two suspects, the police have said that they will not appear in court as earlier expected today. They will now come before a court tomorrow. At that stage, judges and prosecutors will have to decide whether to continue to detain them for a further eight days while the investigations proceed.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Palm Beach, Aruba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: As we have been reporting, Natalee Holloway was on a trip to Aruba when she vanished. While her fate is uncertain at this point, her case underlines the possibility of danger facing some travelers. So coming up later this hour, an expert joins us with some safety tips for traveling outside the country.

Jurors in the Michael Jackson trial will go back to work in a little more than an hour. They are trying to reach a verdict in the third day of deliberations. Our Chris Lawrence is outside the courthouse in Santa Maria, California.

Chris, good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

We've learned that the jury foreman is a retired man with two grown sons. And people who have been in the courtroom watching every day describe him as a very serious man. Say he's been taking a lot of notes during the trial. And just less than two hours from now, he will be leading the jury into its third day of deliberations. On Monday, they did pass a note to the judge but Judge Rodney Melville decided not to make that public, although he did say it was more an administrative question than anything to do with actual evidence.

Now the eight women and four men who are inside that jury room are considering hundreds of exhibits, testimony from about 140 witnesses. Meantime, Michael Jackson himself is resting at his Neverland Ranch about a half hour away from here. He'll probably be there until he gets a call from the court saying that the jury has reached a verdict. At that point, he'll have about an hour to get back here to the courthouse and CNN will be broadcasting a live audio feed of that verdict. So we will hear it all at the same time.

Right now, it is pretty quiet here. Just a few people waiting outside. Still pretty early here on the West Coast. But in the a matter of hours, we expect this crowd to be like what it was yesterday. Literally people just coming in by the dozens, almost surrounding the entire front of the courthouse, waving signs. Probably 95 percent of them are Michael Jackson supporters and they're telling us that the wait is almost as hard on them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could cut the tension in this crowd with a knife, that's how bad it is. It's been like that all of the week. We've been like on a roller coaster ride. Our feelings are up one minute and down the next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Yes, Michael Jackson's father also caused a bit of a stir yesterday when he came walking through the crowd here. The crowd just erupted around Joe Jackson. He walked up to a bailiff and asked him, where's my son? The bailiff was a little bit confused. Said, sir, your son's not here. Apparently someone had moved the car at Neverland Ranch and Joe Jackson assumed that maybe Michael Jackson had come back to court or was taken back to court. But just that scene alone shows you how quickly it can go from very quiet to pretty ruckus out here.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes. About this question that the jurors asked of the judge. No indication about what that might have been about, Chris?

LAWRENCE: No. It's - the judge - really it should be out in the open but, you know, judges are judges and they kind of make their own decisions. And Judge Rodney Melville decided not to make this public, although he did say it wasn't a question about hard evidence or something to do with what they had heard in court. It was more - he described it as an administrative question.

KAGAN: All right. Chris Lawrence in what is right now a quiet Santa Maria, California.

Thank you, Chris.

Other legal news for you now. A jury in California is in its third day of deliberations over the fate of Marcus Wesson. He's accused of killing nine of his children last year in Fresno. Some were children he'd fathered with his own daughters. Wesson also faces 14 counts of sexual abuse. Wesson maintains his innocence.

Mark Hacking will serve six years to life in prison for killing his wife Lori. At his sentencing hearing yesterday, Hacking said he couldn't explain why he shot his wife to death and then dumped her body in a trash bin. A Utah parole board will make the final decision on how long Hacking is locked up.

And next hour in Los Angeles, a rapper accused of stabbing a man at last year's Vibe Awards will be in court. David Darnell Brown, who goes by the name Young Buck, has been ordered to stand trial for assault. He's pleaded not guilty to stabbing a man who punched rap producer Dr. Dre.

And we're following the latest case of lost financial data. One that could put nearly 4 million Americans at potential risk of identity theft. New York-based Citigroup is notifying customers that computer tape with their Social Security numbers and payment histories have been lost in transit. The company says there's no evidence that anyone has accessed that information, but the big concern is big business and big profits for those who offer safeguards. Our senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is in New York to explain why Citigroup might not be too happy with Brown today.

Good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Good morning to you, Daryn.

Well, as you know, Citigroup did have the data on 4 million customers lost by U.P.S., known as Brown, as it was being shipped to a credit bureau. Now these people are certainly at some risk of ID theft. And the problem here is that you really cannot prevent identity theft but you can watch for it.

Citigroup is actually offering all these customers 90-day credit monitoring service. They may want to go a little longer because certainly if there's going to be a problem, odds are it would actually be after 90 days. So this is a great business opportunity for the big credit bureaus. And they include Experian, Transunion and also Equifax. Equifax itself offers gold service - gold monitoring service for $99 a year. So it's certainly not cheap but a lot of people do get it.

As a matter of fact, this story hits home because, as you know, Daryn, we at Time Warner, the parent of CNN, had our personal data lost as it was being shipped to a storage center. And Time Warner actually has offered this service to customers. I myself received an e-mail over the weekend, as no news is good news e-mail, saying that nobody had tried to open a new credit card account in my name. So hopefully that will continue. But this is the sort of thing that these monitoring services do offer. In addition, there is insurance that people can purchase.

KAGAN: Yes, I read (ph) that.

CHERNOFF: And that is against identity theft. All the major insurance companies offer this. St. Paul Travelers actually has two million customers. You can pay $25 on top of your homeowners' insurance to receive this type of insurance. The question is, though, do you really need it? Because this will provide coverage in terms of retrieving any information, fixing your credit history, but it won't protect you against losses suffered as a result of ID theft. So people want to think about that.

Do they really need this type of service? The fact is, most ID theft is a low-tech crime. Let's have a look at the survey that was done by Javelin Strategy and Research for the Better Business Bureau. Twenty-nine percent of ID theft and, of course, this is in cases where people actually knew how they lost their data, lost, stolen wallet or checkbook, 13 percent a transaction perhaps giving a credit card at a restaurant, and 11 percent, a friend or a relative. So, Daryn, certainly you want to be very careful who you lend your credit card to.

KAGAN: Right. Sometimes - it's something as simple as just shredding your bills when you're done paying them.

CHERNOFF: Yes, that's helpful. But that is relatively low innocence. Only about 2 percent or so of people surveyed said that they believed that's how they lost their personal identity. But certainly that is - that is an important thing to do. It's certainly helpful not to just put those papers just like that into the trash can for anyone to grab.

KAGAN: Yes. See, I tried to apply for that credit card in your name, Allan, and no go!

CHERNOFF: No dice.

KAGAN: No go.

CHERNOFF: Good thing.

KAGAN: So you're safe from me so far.

Thank you!

Tune in to a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT." It's called "AT RISK: YOUR PRIVACY." That's 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific here on CNN.

Let's see what the markets are looking like on this Tuesday morning. They've been open about 41 minutes. Well, look at that. Looking a little bit healthier than we've seen at this hour lately. The Dow up significantly, up 87 points. The Nasdaq up as well. It is up 14, almost 15 points.

The case of a teenager missing in Aruba has parents rethinking any plans to send their teens overseas by themselves. Still to come, a look at what can happen on these trips. How you can keep your family safe while traveling abroad.

Plus, a dramatic smash and run, all caught on tape. We're going to take a look at what the thieves made off with, coming up.

But first, a major operation, that's more detainees in Iraq. We will take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In "The Fight for Iraq," insurgents attack with car bombs. Coalition forces launched a major offensive. First in Baghdad, a car bombing apparently targeted a police patrol. The bomb, in a parked car, exploded as the patrol passed by. Twenty-eight people were injured, including two police officers.

North of the capital today, three car bombings killed at least 14 people in the Hawega (ph) area. Ten of the dead were civilians. The others, Iraqi soldiers. Thirty-nine people were wounded. One of the attacks was in the city market.

And now the major military operation against insurgents in Tal Afar. It is a city about 40 miles from the Syrian border. Tal Afar has been an apparent gateway for foreign fighters entering Iraq and a place of frequent attacks. Well now U.S. forces are trying to make this city safe. CNN's Jane Arraf is embedded with the troops. She filed this exclusive report just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): At dawn, U.S and Iraqi troops, tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles rolled into the troubled city of Tal Afar. That city is about 60 kilometer, 40 miles, from the Syrian border and military officials say it has become an insurgent stronghold, the scene of frequent attacks against Iraqi police, against tribal fare (ph), against U.S. soldiers.

And this morning's operation meant to show the presence of the Iraqi military, as well as U.S. forces in the region. They rolled into those streets, very narrow streets, the worst kind of urban warfare. And as they came in, gunfire rang around us. Scattered gunfire as the hours went on, as well as a couple of mortar rounds that fell.

One U.S. soldier was killed. Three suspected insurgents killed as well when they returned fire. The U.S. military says that they have detained 28 suspected insurgents - most of them on their target list. All of this in an effort to bolster the Iraqi army in that neighborhood, in that city, and to disrupt the operations of insurgents.

Jane Arraf, CNN, reporting from near Tal Afar, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: The disappearance of an Alabama student overseas has vacationers being even more careful. Still to come, some traveling safety tips you need to know before you pack for your next trip.

And later, the whistle-blower who blew the lid at the Los Alamos National Laboratory running into a little trouble before he's set to testify. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This looks like a river but it's actually a road. Central Pennsylvania expecting sunshine today. Good for them. Strong storms swept through on Monday. Rain, hail and wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour caused power outages and minor flooding. Crews worked through the night to restore power and hope to complete their work by early this afternoon.

Work is just beginning for our Jacqui Jeras, however, in our weather center.

Good morning. (WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: See, you think about sweat, I think about big hair. Talk about, whew!

All right. Thank you, Jacqui. We'll see you in a bit.

The disappearance of an Alabama teenager vacationing in Aruba has revived parental scrutiny of spring breaks abroad. But what of travel packages aimed at high school and college students who rely heavily on the appeal of parties and booze. Drinking age limits in these sun- soaked destinations are often much younger or they're ignored altogether. Now a lot of parents in Natalee Holloway's hometown say her story has been a wake-up call.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knowing what you know today, would you let your daughter go on a grad trip to another country?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I would not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You wouldn't?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would not. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've thought it through?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would - I would go - if I were go - I'd let her go if I were going but I've already moved - she doesn't go on trips now without me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the only way you'd let her go on a grad trip to another country is if one of the chaperons is you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If her mom is there with her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. That's it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Otherwise, forget about it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. That's correct.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Travel industry observers says that teen-oriented trips have grown in popularity in part because of MTV and other shows showing that all wild times that are available.

Well, traveling abroad for both teens and adults offers not only excitement but sometimes greater risk as well. So before you pack your bags, some things you need to know before you take off. Joining us to share some of those travel tips, Nilou Motamed of "Travel & Leisure" magazine. Nilou, good to see you.

NILOU MOTAMED, "TRAVEL & LEISURE" MAGAZINE: Hi. How are you?

KAGAN: I'm doing great. Good to always have you along here.

Let's get to about five tips that's not just for kids, for us grown-ups as well.

MOTAMED: For everyone.

KAGAN: Yes. When you're going somewhere unfamiliar, do research about where you're going.

MOTAMED: Absolutely. I mean we're so used to doing research for basically finding great deals online or finding the best beach to go to. Well, one important thing to do is actually do research to find out where you're going and if it's safe there. The State Department does a great job of putting up advisories on their Web site. And it's a really good idea to go there, to travel.state.gov, before you head to a destination that you're unfamiliar with, to figure out what's going on there.

Also, the Internet Public Library. You can go there and actually read newspapers from destinations all around the world. So if you know what the local news is, if you know if there's a transit strike or if there's a public holiday, I mean it just makes your trip a little bit easier and safer.

KAGAN: Information is power.

We all travel with stuff, a lot of personal information. You say, make copies of that and leave it at home.

MOTAMED: It's so important to have copies of all of your documents, which includes your passport, your airline tickets, your credit card with you. And also, leave one at home in case you lose anything. That's the only way, and the easier way, that you're going to be able to replace them right away. Also, it's important that your itinerary be with somebody at home. I mean especially for kids traveling, their parents should know where they're going to be and how they can reach them.

KAGAN: When you go to a foreign country, register with the embassy or the consulate in that city.

MOTAMED: This is something that people don't really think about. But especially if you're traveling someplace that could be slightly dangerous or is on the State Department's list of places to watch, I would suggest registering with the embassy or the consulate. In fact, they've made it easier and you can now register online at the State Department Web site.

KAGAN: Wow.

We've all heard of the ugly American traveling overseas. You don't have to be like that, you can kind of blend in more with the crowd.

MOTAMED: It's so important not to feel like you're going to Disneyland when you're going on vacation. Everywhere - I mean, these are foreign countries with their own customs. And one important thing about - besides having your camera strewn about your neck, which makes you look automatically like a tourist, dress a little bit more conservatively, especially if you're a woman and it's summertime somewhere. I mean I would say, long pants, long sleeves. It doesn't make you stand out and it actually doesn't make you a target, which is more important.

KAGAN: And then also - this was one I hadn't thought of. Figure out what kind of transportation for getting around the city because what's safe in one city might not be safe someplace else.

MOTAMED: There are definitely different norms in different cities. If you don't know the lay of the land, it might be a great idea to hire a car and driver. Often it's a lot less expensive in other countries. I would definitely recommend knowing where your hotel is in relation to where you're going for the evening. For example, late at night, if you don't speak the language, it's hard to communicate with a taxi driver. Have your hotel give you a card that says the address of hotel in the language of the country you're in.

KAGAN: Great tips from a woman who has traveled to some pretty fabulous places.

Nilou, thank you.

MOTAMED: Thank you so much, Daryn.

KAGAN: Nilou Motamed from "Travel & Leisure" magazine.

Well, an avowed ally asks for a helping hand. Coming up, British Prime Minister Tony Blair will ask the president for more aid to Africa. But will the president ante up.

And unbelievable images from a real smash and grab. Watch this. Yes, into resource, grab and they are off! More on how thieves in Missouri were violent and creative in their robbery, when CNN'S LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired June 7, 2005 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Twenty-five thousand U.S. workers will lose their jobs in the next three-and-a-half years. The automaker says it needs to reduce capacity by one million units by the end of 2008. GM also plans to buy more components from outside the U.S.
Homeowners will be allowed to move back into some 18 houses that were deemed unsafe after last week's landslide in Laguna Beach, California. Twenty-one other homes are still sealed off amidst lingering safety concerns. Residents are hoping that their neighborhood will be declared a federal disaster area so they can qualify for low-interest loans.

Jurors go back for their second full day of deliberations in the Michael Jackson case. Yesterday they sent a question to the judge but its contents was not revealed. News media lawyers are seeking more open records in the molestation case.

On Capitol Hill this hour, a live picture for you, the heads of three major airlines are answering questions about their pension plans. Lawmakers are looking for ways to ensure pension funds are available. Many plans have less than promised benefits or deposit. The Senate Finance Committee is trying to defuse a potential crisis.

A U.S. soldier has been killed in the joint U.S./Iraqi offensive in the northwestern Iraqi town of Tal Afar. About 600 U.S. troops and 200 Iraqi soldiers are in the joint operation in the insurgent stronghold. Troops, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, have gone door-to-door in their searches and made at least 23 arrests.

Good morning to you. Thanks for either starting or continuing your day with us. I'm Daryn Kagan.

We're going to start in Aruba this hour about what may be new information in the search for an 18-year-old Alabama student. CNN's Karl Penhaul has the latest. He is in Palm Beach, Aruba.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Hundreds of government workers joined the hunt for Natalee Holloway Monday afternoon on the windswept eastern tip of Aruba. They were backed by Dutch marines and Aruba's search and rescue teams. A senior police official has told me this morning that two items of interest were found. They're now the subject of intense police scrutiny.

The first item found was a pair of ladies' sunglasses. He declined to specify the make. The second item was a man's white shirt, stained with blood, and bearing the logo of a local security firm. He didn't specify the name of the security firm, but he said that it was not the same security firm that the two men arrested over the weekend worked for. That said, he did say that the two suspects now in police custody were subcontractors and that they may have worked for other security companies in the past.

On the subject of those two suspects, the police have said that they will not appear in court as earlier expected today. They will now come before a court tomorrow. At that stage, judges and prosecutors will have to decide whether to continue to detain them for a further eight days while the investigations proceed.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Palm Beach, Aruba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: As we have been reporting, Natalee Holloway was on a trip to Aruba when she vanished. While her fate is uncertain at this point, her case underlines the possibility of danger facing some travelers. So coming up later this hour, an expert joins us with some safety tips for traveling outside the country.

Jurors in the Michael Jackson trial will go back to work in a little more than an hour. They are trying to reach a verdict in the third day of deliberations. Our Chris Lawrence is outside the courthouse in Santa Maria, California.

Chris, good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

We've learned that the jury foreman is a retired man with two grown sons. And people who have been in the courtroom watching every day describe him as a very serious man. Say he's been taking a lot of notes during the trial. And just less than two hours from now, he will be leading the jury into its third day of deliberations. On Monday, they did pass a note to the judge but Judge Rodney Melville decided not to make that public, although he did say it was more an administrative question than anything to do with actual evidence.

Now the eight women and four men who are inside that jury room are considering hundreds of exhibits, testimony from about 140 witnesses. Meantime, Michael Jackson himself is resting at his Neverland Ranch about a half hour away from here. He'll probably be there until he gets a call from the court saying that the jury has reached a verdict. At that point, he'll have about an hour to get back here to the courthouse and CNN will be broadcasting a live audio feed of that verdict. So we will hear it all at the same time.

Right now, it is pretty quiet here. Just a few people waiting outside. Still pretty early here on the West Coast. But in the a matter of hours, we expect this crowd to be like what it was yesterday. Literally people just coming in by the dozens, almost surrounding the entire front of the courthouse, waving signs. Probably 95 percent of them are Michael Jackson supporters and they're telling us that the wait is almost as hard on them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could cut the tension in this crowd with a knife, that's how bad it is. It's been like that all of the week. We've been like on a roller coaster ride. Our feelings are up one minute and down the next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Yes, Michael Jackson's father also caused a bit of a stir yesterday when he came walking through the crowd here. The crowd just erupted around Joe Jackson. He walked up to a bailiff and asked him, where's my son? The bailiff was a little bit confused. Said, sir, your son's not here. Apparently someone had moved the car at Neverland Ranch and Joe Jackson assumed that maybe Michael Jackson had come back to court or was taken back to court. But just that scene alone shows you how quickly it can go from very quiet to pretty ruckus out here.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes. About this question that the jurors asked of the judge. No indication about what that might have been about, Chris?

LAWRENCE: No. It's - the judge - really it should be out in the open but, you know, judges are judges and they kind of make their own decisions. And Judge Rodney Melville decided not to make this public, although he did say it wasn't a question about hard evidence or something to do with what they had heard in court. It was more - he described it as an administrative question.

KAGAN: All right. Chris Lawrence in what is right now a quiet Santa Maria, California.

Thank you, Chris.

Other legal news for you now. A jury in California is in its third day of deliberations over the fate of Marcus Wesson. He's accused of killing nine of his children last year in Fresno. Some were children he'd fathered with his own daughters. Wesson also faces 14 counts of sexual abuse. Wesson maintains his innocence.

Mark Hacking will serve six years to life in prison for killing his wife Lori. At his sentencing hearing yesterday, Hacking said he couldn't explain why he shot his wife to death and then dumped her body in a trash bin. A Utah parole board will make the final decision on how long Hacking is locked up.

And next hour in Los Angeles, a rapper accused of stabbing a man at last year's Vibe Awards will be in court. David Darnell Brown, who goes by the name Young Buck, has been ordered to stand trial for assault. He's pleaded not guilty to stabbing a man who punched rap producer Dr. Dre.

And we're following the latest case of lost financial data. One that could put nearly 4 million Americans at potential risk of identity theft. New York-based Citigroup is notifying customers that computer tape with their Social Security numbers and payment histories have been lost in transit. The company says there's no evidence that anyone has accessed that information, but the big concern is big business and big profits for those who offer safeguards. Our senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is in New York to explain why Citigroup might not be too happy with Brown today.

Good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Good morning to you, Daryn.

Well, as you know, Citigroup did have the data on 4 million customers lost by U.P.S., known as Brown, as it was being shipped to a credit bureau. Now these people are certainly at some risk of ID theft. And the problem here is that you really cannot prevent identity theft but you can watch for it.

Citigroup is actually offering all these customers 90-day credit monitoring service. They may want to go a little longer because certainly if there's going to be a problem, odds are it would actually be after 90 days. So this is a great business opportunity for the big credit bureaus. And they include Experian, Transunion and also Equifax. Equifax itself offers gold service - gold monitoring service for $99 a year. So it's certainly not cheap but a lot of people do get it.

As a matter of fact, this story hits home because, as you know, Daryn, we at Time Warner, the parent of CNN, had our personal data lost as it was being shipped to a storage center. And Time Warner actually has offered this service to customers. I myself received an e-mail over the weekend, as no news is good news e-mail, saying that nobody had tried to open a new credit card account in my name. So hopefully that will continue. But this is the sort of thing that these monitoring services do offer. In addition, there is insurance that people can purchase.

KAGAN: Yes, I read (ph) that.

CHERNOFF: And that is against identity theft. All the major insurance companies offer this. St. Paul Travelers actually has two million customers. You can pay $25 on top of your homeowners' insurance to receive this type of insurance. The question is, though, do you really need it? Because this will provide coverage in terms of retrieving any information, fixing your credit history, but it won't protect you against losses suffered as a result of ID theft. So people want to think about that.

Do they really need this type of service? The fact is, most ID theft is a low-tech crime. Let's have a look at the survey that was done by Javelin Strategy and Research for the Better Business Bureau. Twenty-nine percent of ID theft and, of course, this is in cases where people actually knew how they lost their data, lost, stolen wallet or checkbook, 13 percent a transaction perhaps giving a credit card at a restaurant, and 11 percent, a friend or a relative. So, Daryn, certainly you want to be very careful who you lend your credit card to.

KAGAN: Right. Sometimes - it's something as simple as just shredding your bills when you're done paying them.

CHERNOFF: Yes, that's helpful. But that is relatively low innocence. Only about 2 percent or so of people surveyed said that they believed that's how they lost their personal identity. But certainly that is - that is an important thing to do. It's certainly helpful not to just put those papers just like that into the trash can for anyone to grab.

KAGAN: Yes. See, I tried to apply for that credit card in your name, Allan, and no go!

CHERNOFF: No dice.

KAGAN: No go.

CHERNOFF: Good thing.

KAGAN: So you're safe from me so far.

Thank you!

Tune in to a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT." It's called "AT RISK: YOUR PRIVACY." That's 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific here on CNN.

Let's see what the markets are looking like on this Tuesday morning. They've been open about 41 minutes. Well, look at that. Looking a little bit healthier than we've seen at this hour lately. The Dow up significantly, up 87 points. The Nasdaq up as well. It is up 14, almost 15 points.

The case of a teenager missing in Aruba has parents rethinking any plans to send their teens overseas by themselves. Still to come, a look at what can happen on these trips. How you can keep your family safe while traveling abroad.

Plus, a dramatic smash and run, all caught on tape. We're going to take a look at what the thieves made off with, coming up.

But first, a major operation, that's more detainees in Iraq. We will take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In "The Fight for Iraq," insurgents attack with car bombs. Coalition forces launched a major offensive. First in Baghdad, a car bombing apparently targeted a police patrol. The bomb, in a parked car, exploded as the patrol passed by. Twenty-eight people were injured, including two police officers.

North of the capital today, three car bombings killed at least 14 people in the Hawega (ph) area. Ten of the dead were civilians. The others, Iraqi soldiers. Thirty-nine people were wounded. One of the attacks was in the city market.

And now the major military operation against insurgents in Tal Afar. It is a city about 40 miles from the Syrian border. Tal Afar has been an apparent gateway for foreign fighters entering Iraq and a place of frequent attacks. Well now U.S. forces are trying to make this city safe. CNN's Jane Arraf is embedded with the troops. She filed this exclusive report just a short time ago.

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JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): At dawn, U.S and Iraqi troops, tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles rolled into the troubled city of Tal Afar. That city is about 60 kilometer, 40 miles, from the Syrian border and military officials say it has become an insurgent stronghold, the scene of frequent attacks against Iraqi police, against tribal fare (ph), against U.S. soldiers.

And this morning's operation meant to show the presence of the Iraqi military, as well as U.S. forces in the region. They rolled into those streets, very narrow streets, the worst kind of urban warfare. And as they came in, gunfire rang around us. Scattered gunfire as the hours went on, as well as a couple of mortar rounds that fell.

One U.S. soldier was killed. Three suspected insurgents killed as well when they returned fire. The U.S. military says that they have detained 28 suspected insurgents - most of them on their target list. All of this in an effort to bolster the Iraqi army in that neighborhood, in that city, and to disrupt the operations of insurgents.

Jane Arraf, CNN, reporting from near Tal Afar, Iraq.

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KAGAN: The disappearance of an Alabama student overseas has vacationers being even more careful. Still to come, some traveling safety tips you need to know before you pack for your next trip.

And later, the whistle-blower who blew the lid at the Los Alamos National Laboratory running into a little trouble before he's set to testify. Details straight ahead.

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KAGAN: This looks like a river but it's actually a road. Central Pennsylvania expecting sunshine today. Good for them. Strong storms swept through on Monday. Rain, hail and wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour caused power outages and minor flooding. Crews worked through the night to restore power and hope to complete their work by early this afternoon.

Work is just beginning for our Jacqui Jeras, however, in our weather center.

Good morning. (WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: See, you think about sweat, I think about big hair. Talk about, whew!

All right. Thank you, Jacqui. We'll see you in a bit.

The disappearance of an Alabama teenager vacationing in Aruba has revived parental scrutiny of spring breaks abroad. But what of travel packages aimed at high school and college students who rely heavily on the appeal of parties and booze. Drinking age limits in these sun- soaked destinations are often much younger or they're ignored altogether. Now a lot of parents in Natalee Holloway's hometown say her story has been a wake-up call.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knowing what you know today, would you let your daughter go on a grad trip to another country?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I would not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You wouldn't?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would not. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've thought it through?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would - I would go - if I were go - I'd let her go if I were going but I've already moved - she doesn't go on trips now without me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the only way you'd let her go on a grad trip to another country is if one of the chaperons is you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If her mom is there with her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. That's it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Otherwise, forget about it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. That's correct.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Travel industry observers says that teen-oriented trips have grown in popularity in part because of MTV and other shows showing that all wild times that are available.

Well, traveling abroad for both teens and adults offers not only excitement but sometimes greater risk as well. So before you pack your bags, some things you need to know before you take off. Joining us to share some of those travel tips, Nilou Motamed of "Travel & Leisure" magazine. Nilou, good to see you.

NILOU MOTAMED, "TRAVEL & LEISURE" MAGAZINE: Hi. How are you?

KAGAN: I'm doing great. Good to always have you along here.

Let's get to about five tips that's not just for kids, for us grown-ups as well.

MOTAMED: For everyone.

KAGAN: Yes. When you're going somewhere unfamiliar, do research about where you're going.

MOTAMED: Absolutely. I mean we're so used to doing research for basically finding great deals online or finding the best beach to go to. Well, one important thing to do is actually do research to find out where you're going and if it's safe there. The State Department does a great job of putting up advisories on their Web site. And it's a really good idea to go there, to travel.state.gov, before you head to a destination that you're unfamiliar with, to figure out what's going on there.

Also, the Internet Public Library. You can go there and actually read newspapers from destinations all around the world. So if you know what the local news is, if you know if there's a transit strike or if there's a public holiday, I mean it just makes your trip a little bit easier and safer.

KAGAN: Information is power.

We all travel with stuff, a lot of personal information. You say, make copies of that and leave it at home.

MOTAMED: It's so important to have copies of all of your documents, which includes your passport, your airline tickets, your credit card with you. And also, leave one at home in case you lose anything. That's the only way, and the easier way, that you're going to be able to replace them right away. Also, it's important that your itinerary be with somebody at home. I mean especially for kids traveling, their parents should know where they're going to be and how they can reach them.

KAGAN: When you go to a foreign country, register with the embassy or the consulate in that city.

MOTAMED: This is something that people don't really think about. But especially if you're traveling someplace that could be slightly dangerous or is on the State Department's list of places to watch, I would suggest registering with the embassy or the consulate. In fact, they've made it easier and you can now register online at the State Department Web site.

KAGAN: Wow.

We've all heard of the ugly American traveling overseas. You don't have to be like that, you can kind of blend in more with the crowd.

MOTAMED: It's so important not to feel like you're going to Disneyland when you're going on vacation. Everywhere - I mean, these are foreign countries with their own customs. And one important thing about - besides having your camera strewn about your neck, which makes you look automatically like a tourist, dress a little bit more conservatively, especially if you're a woman and it's summertime somewhere. I mean I would say, long pants, long sleeves. It doesn't make you stand out and it actually doesn't make you a target, which is more important.

KAGAN: And then also - this was one I hadn't thought of. Figure out what kind of transportation for getting around the city because what's safe in one city might not be safe someplace else.

MOTAMED: There are definitely different norms in different cities. If you don't know the lay of the land, it might be a great idea to hire a car and driver. Often it's a lot less expensive in other countries. I would definitely recommend knowing where your hotel is in relation to where you're going for the evening. For example, late at night, if you don't speak the language, it's hard to communicate with a taxi driver. Have your hotel give you a card that says the address of hotel in the language of the country you're in.

KAGAN: Great tips from a woman who has traveled to some pretty fabulous places.

Nilou, thank you.

MOTAMED: Thank you so much, Daryn.

KAGAN: Nilou Motamed from "Travel & Leisure" magazine.

Well, an avowed ally asks for a helping hand. Coming up, British Prime Minister Tony Blair will ask the president for more aid to Africa. But will the president ante up.

And unbelievable images from a real smash and grab. Watch this. Yes, into resource, grab and they are off! More on how thieves in Missouri were violent and creative in their robbery, when CNN'S LIVE TODAY continues.

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