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Mall Grenade; Attack Foiled; Law Office Shooting in Chicago; Power Returns in Decatur, Illinois; Wilderness Survival Techniques; President Reacts to Iraq Study Group Report; Dr. Marc Siegel Discusses Trans Fat

Aired December 09, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: This just in to CNN. The AP is reporting that NASA is indeed scrubbing tonight's launch of the shuttle Discovery for that 12-day mission. That is, again, according to The Associated Press.
You can blame the decision not to launch on the lousy weather over Florida's Kennedy Space Center. NASA, you may remember, scrubbed the first launch attempt Thursday.

Also, bad weather the problem there.

Moving on now to Iraq.

At least two car bombs today. This attack in Karbala killed five people and wounded more than 40. Another car bomb in Mosul killed three and wounded three. The U.S. military also announcing today two more Marines have died in combat in Anbar Province.

Not getting paid and showing their frustration. The sound of gunfire rumbling across Gaza City. Hundreds of Palestinian police officers protesting a lack of paychecks. The Palestinian government, led by the Islamic militant movement Hamas, hasn't had the money to pay police or other government workers for the past eight months.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take you to Capitol Hill now. The 109th Congress comes to a close, ending 12 years of Republican control. Lawmakers passed a number of last-minute bills, including a measure that extends expired tax breaks, but they left the budget to be finished when Democrats take control in January.

Democratic congressman William Jefferson facing a runoff vote today. You may remember the FBI is investigating him after agents found $90,000 of alleged bribe money stuffed in his freezer. Jefferson got only 30 percent of the vote back in November. His challenger, Karen Carter, is a lawyer and state representative.

As you see there, that was a simulation. But it is indeed intense training for U.S. troops as they prepare to help Iraqis take charge.

We have a lot more on this.

From the CNN Center, this is CNN, the NEWSROOM. It's Saturday, December 9th, 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes.

Thank you so much for starting your day here with us, where we are following three major stories.

From the Midwest this morning, a deadly shooting at a Chicago office building. Chilling details about how it all unfolded.

Also, in the cold and in the ark. Most power has been restored, but lights are still out in some parts of the heartland more than a week after a powerful store.

But fist this. A Midwest mall crowded with holiday shoppers, perhaps an inviting target for an attack. And in our CNN "Security Watch," the FBI says that is exactly what a man in Rockford, Illinois, was plotting. He's now in custody, and authorities say there's no reason for people to be alarmed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): This mall, literally in the middle of America, was the alleged target. This man, with no prior arrests, has been charged with planning to attack it. But how? According to the federal complaint, with hand grenades.

ROBERT GRANT, FBI: He began focus on obtaining weapons, began to prepare himself through a purification process. He began to prepare videos in the event he did not survive the attack.

He fixed on a date of December 22nd, on a Friday, which he picked because it was the Friday before Christmas and thought that would be the highest concentration of shoppers that he could kill and injure. At that point, we decided to effect a plan with the joint terrorism taskforce to introduce an undercover agent.

HOLMES: As frightening as the notion of a grenade attack on a mall during the holidays might be, federal authorities urged shoppers and others to keep calm.

GRANT: I just want to, for everybody's sake, reemphasize what Pat said earlier. He was acting alone. The only people he was acting with were people either under our control or ourselves.

He's now in custody. We don't -- there are no other threats that we are aware of. And I just want to kind of keep the potential hysteria at this time of the season down to a bare minimum.

HOLMES: The suspect, Derrick Shareef, had no compatriots, no weapons, and no clear plan. At the only mosque in Rockford, the Imam says he's never heard of Shareef.

PATRICK FITZGERALD, U.S. ATTORNEY: I believe the only thing we're aware of from the complaint is that he stated in his own video about what would happen if would die, is that he was 22 years old and an American.

HOLMES: He was arrested, agents say, while trying to trade used stereo speakers for hand grenades. What he didn't know, he was dealing with an undercover federal agent.

The arrest follows by a few months the highly publicized arrest of seven Miami men accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower. The men pleaded not guilty and faced trial, but it's pretty clear they were far from gaining the ability to actually pull off such an attack. As one agent told CNN, this guy was three rungs below those guys.

So, another arrest in the war on terror, but even those making the arrest acknowledge there was little actual threat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

NGUYEN: Want to get you some more details this morning about that deadly shooting in a downtown Chicago law office. Three people were killed. The gunman shot dead by a S.W.A.T. officer. And police say that officer probably prevented an even bigger tragedy.

The story now from Paul Meincke of our affiliate WLS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL MEINCKE, WLS REPORTER (voice-over): It began at 3:15. A lone gunman entered the Ogilvie Transportation Center lobby and took an elevator to a law office on the 38th floor. Police say he carried with him a large manila envelope that inside contained a snub-nosed revolver, a knife and a hammer. As soon as he entered the office, he demanded to see one of the lawyers.

SUPT. PHILIP J. CLINE, CHICAGO POLICE: The offender then displayed a handgun and chained the door shut with a padlock and chain that he had brought with him. He then began shooting. He grabbed a hostage, and he was pointing the gun alternately at the hostage's head and his own head.

MEINCKE: Before grabbing the hostage, the unidentified gunman had already fatally shot three people in the office, all men, including the particular lawyer he had demanded to see. He also shot a female employee in the foot.

First district and S.W.A.T. team officers arrived on the floor. And as the gunman stood in an entryway holding his hostage and moving his gun about, a sniper-equipped S.W.A.T. officer found himself with a brief but clear shot 25 yards down a hallway, and he took it. The gunman's wound was fatal; the hostage is OK.

While all that was happening, office workers on the 38th and other floors were told to lock themselves in their offices. People on lower floors were evacuated and no one was allowed into the busy passenger terminal. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They just told us to stay in our offices. And then after that, they evacuated us. The police came and evacuated us, and we walked down the 38 floors and left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty -- pretty exciting and pretty scary. You know? When it happens that fast you really don't have a lot of time to think. You just do.

MEINCKE: Roughly 45 minutes after it began it was over. Police say the gunman had had previous encounters with individuals in the 38th floor law office. They would not immediately characterize what they were about. They do say that the responding officers kept a tragic situation from becoming even worse.

CLINE: There was at least another 25 to 30 people on the floor, and I think the Chicago police officers from S.W.A.T. saved those people's lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, authorities say two of the people killed were attorneys. The third was a retired school teacher who worked part- time at the floor sorting mail and making deliveries. .

HOLMES: No lights, no heat. Some people in Illinois are beyond frustrated at this point. They still don't have power more than a week after a big snow and ice storm. But just moments ago, some good news, at least for a family in Decatur, Illinois.

Our Jeff Flock has been spending some time with that family. And this was a welcomed sight.

How are things going there now?

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., I love a happy story with a happy ending. And we've got one here.

Take a look at something that usually doesn't make people happy. That is a spinning electric meter which generally means you're going to be paying. But the folks in Decatur, they love this scene.

Let's take a look at the scene overnight here on Leafland Avenue (ph) in Decatur, Illinois. That was a night that we spent with the Reif family. Cold, no power, no heat. A kerosene heater, I guess. People like our little friend Becky here with -- boy, she looks like Nanook of the North or something here.

And that's only now because you're outside. But with that meter spinning, that means it's going to warm up in there very soon.

RUSS REIF, DECATUR, ILLINOIS, RESIDENT: Real soon. Real Soon. It's a happy sight.

FLOCK: Yes. As we said, that spinning there, you don't really care for that, but...

REIF: Not normally. That usually means money coming out of my pocket, but I'll pay it today.

FLOCK: You've got a much happier look on your face right now. It's tough being without power.

REIF: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. I never realized just how much I appreciate electricity until last night.

FLOCK: Yes.

And Tim, your son, went through this watching the arching out here, watching -- you know, it was kind of a scary situation.

TIM REIF, DECATUR, ILLINOIS, RESIDENT: Yes, it was kind of spooky because I saw all sorts of sparks and stuff. And I didn't know what was going to happen because it could have caught the house on fire. And just that and fire is not a good thing for a house.

FLOCK: Yes. No, no.

Well, I'll tell you, there could have been a lot more tragedy here. And we can just see it on your face, though, the intense -- we cannot see it on Becky's face.

Well, now we can. Now we can.

OK. You can put it back up, Becky. We don't want to freeze you out here.

So, at any rate, a nice scene.

We can see the lights through the window. We wanted to go ahead and take our cameras inside. But, you know, it's so cold out here, if we go into what's now a warming house we get the lens all fogged up. So you can't see the lights on.

But, T.J., take my word for it, the power is on here at -- what's the address here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 893.

FLOCK: 893. Everybody can come down and see the power on at the Reif household here in Decatur.

NGUYEN: Oh, I'm sure they're going to love that when people show up at their front door.

FLOCK: Maybe I shouldn't have given that address away, but that's all right. They're happy. They'll be happy to see you.

HOLMES: Want to give their phone number there while you're at it?

NGUYEN: Yes,. We'll be over for dinner. Thanks.

Thank you, Jeff.

HOLMES: Thanks, Jeff.

NGUYEN: Well, Reynolds Wolf has a check of the weather outside.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: And to continue with that, we're going to be coming up talking about here tips to help you survive if you're stuck in the cold without the proper clothes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thing we teach is what we call a desperation trench.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a shelter of last resort, if you will?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Basic rules that could save your life. We'll hear from an expert on how to survive if you're stuck out there in the cold.

NGUYEN: And trans fat is out. Eating healthy is the new trend. Even the government is stepping in. But, before you make the trans fat transformation, we have the skinny on exactly which foods you need to avoid.

HOLMES: Plus, a young girl left paralyzed by a stray bullet receives a special gift. We'll have the details next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Look at this. In news "Across America," pushing and shoving at a funeral in Texas for a teenaged boy allegedly killed for refusing to join a gang. The mayhem began after the boy's father and stepfather got into a fistfight.

The 16-year-old boy was shot in the chest just steps away from his high school. No arrests have been made.

HOLMES: In Orlando, Florida, actor Wesley Snipes released on $1 million bond after pleading not guilty to federal tax charges. Wesley Snipes is charged with fraudulently claiming refunds of nearly $12 million and of failing to file tax returns for several years.

NGUYEN: And in Boston, she was only three when a stray bullet shattered her spine. Now three years later Kylie Harriet (ph) is getting a specially-equipped SUV. Her new ride comes courtesy of a Boston philanthropist who discovered through a friend that the Harriet family didn't own a vehicle, much less a specially-equipped one.

HOLMES: We have an update for you now on the story of the San Francisco family stranded in the snowy Oregon wilderness. Authorities say vandals cut a locked gate designed to block the remote road where James Kim and his family got stuck.

Kim died from exposure after hiking for help. His wife and two daughters stayed behind in their car. They survived.

CNN's Rick Sanchez now spends some time in the snow and cold. And he has some tips on how to survive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: A recent snowfall has left a couple feet of snow in this area. We're right in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. Our elevation right here is about 8,000 feet. It's about 20 degrees.

It's going to get into the teens pretty soon. These conditions are very difficult and very disorienting for someone who is in this element suddenly. And you can see, from these conditions, how easy it would be to get disoriented, between the trees, also the elevation itself. You think you're heading in one direction, and, suddenly, you're going around in circles.

Here, let me show you what I'm talking about. Now imagine what it's like to be out there for several hours. You begin to appreciate what the experts call the rule of threes. And that is, you can probably survive about three hours without shelter, about three days without water, about three weeks without food.

Now you begin to get a sense of how we prioritize these things, according to what experts teach.

Let's talk to an expert, if we can. This is Ken Brink. He's with Colorado State Parks, an expert on surviving.

Thanks, Ken, for joining us.

KEN BRINK, COLORADO STATE PARKS: You bet.

SANCHEZ: I probably made a mistake by trying to walk through the woods. Had I been stuck out here, and I had a car near me, I should have stayed in the car?

BRINK: We tell people to stay put if you're in trouble. If you tell people where you're going, and, when you get in trouble, you stay put, there's a very high possibility that we can find you within 24 hours, not always, but usually.

SANCHEZ: And don't give up your shelter?

BRINK: Absolutely. If you're with a vehicle, it can provide good shelter for you. If you get out wandering, like you were, there are some things you can do.

As an example, one thing we teach is what we call a desperation trench.

SANCHEZ: This a -- a shelter of last resort, if you will?

BRINK: Absolutely.

And you don't need any special equipment to make it. You are not going to have to work real hard to put it together. And, hopefully, you are not going to get soaking wet building it.

SANCHEZ: So, it's -- it -- it sounds -- it looks like a hole in the ice that you have made, taken some tree branches, covered it with snow. And you would literally just get yourself in there.

BRINK: Absolutely. You don't want to make it much wider than you are. If you can, build it so that it goes on an uphill slope. That is ideal, because the warmth from your body will rise.

SANCHEZ: Let me try and get in here, Ken.

I'm going to -- I'm going to try and just show -- so, it's -- it's deep, and deep enough in the back, that I can raise my head. And what do I do, put my -- just kind of get into a ball?

BRINK: You want to pull your knees up and put your hands around your knees.

SANCHEZ: Right.

BRINK: You want to minimize the air that's around you inside. And, once you put the pine boughs on the top, you seal it with snow. And, if you have got this built on an uphill slope, that will hold your heat and keep the wind off of you.

SANCHEZ: And this keeps me warm, because of my own, what, breath?

BRINK: Your own body heat certainly will stay in there. You're insulated from the ground with the pile of pine boughs we put on the ground. And you're insulated at the top. And you have no wind on you. So...

SANCHEZ: So, this is not an ideal condition. It's a -- it's -- it's basically a shelter of last resort; that's correct?

BRINK: Absolutely. Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BRINK: But it will minimize the -- your exposure to weather, and, hopefully, help you get through a tough night.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Ken. Appreciate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Good tips there.

HOLMES: Yes. And can you just imagine really being out there in the wilderness, don't know where you are, it's freezing cold? What does that do to your mind? Will your brain start to pay tricks on you? Could you even start to lose your mind?

We'll try to answer these questions this afternoon in the NEWSROOM at 12:30 with Dr. Gail Anderson, medical director at Harvard UCLA Medical Center.

And then CNN goes beyond the headlines and behind the tears for an emotional look at one man's heroic sacrifice to save his family. Tune in Monday night for "Stranded: The James Kim Ordeal." That's a special "PAULA ZAHN NOW." That's Monday at 8:00 Eastern.

NGUYEN: It's a crash course for U.S. troops helping Iraqi troops get control of their country. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From this convoy of Humvees, advisers are taught how to train their Iraqi counterparts to watch out for roadside bombs and hostile fire and how to respond if they're attacked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: CNN's Brian Todd is on the training field. And we'll take you to Fort Riley, Kansas, for an inside look.

HOLMES: Also, the Big Apple takes big bites out of trans fats. Taking your health to a whole new level. But, before the government trims the trans fat for you, we've got some tips to cut off the oil on your own.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: This just in to CNN. We're continue to go watch the launch pad down there at the Kennedy Space Center as we're waiting to see if Discovery is going to get off ground.

Now, the percentage of it getting off the ground is not so good today. Only about a 30 percent chance of it lifting off.

And we have learned that NASA at this point, to be very clear, has made no decision on the launch tonight. It has not decided to scrub it as of yet.

So all things are a go until we're told otherwise. But to be realistic here, the chances don't look so good today. And as soon as we get word from NASA, we will bring it to you.

Another round of deadly attacks in Iraq this morning. The latest in Mosul, where a car bomb exploded in a city square. Three people died in that attack.

Meanwhile, in Karbala, a car bomb went off just yards from a holy shrine. Five were killed in that blast. NGUYEN: Well, it's the common danger of attacks like the ones in Mosul and Karbala that make places like this one very necessary. What you're seeing is a mock war zone at Fort Riley, Kansas. There is where American troops are trained to train their Iraqi and Afghan counterparts for the front lines.

CNN's Brian Todd has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A mission to kill. U.S. troops storm a mock Iraqi village at Fort Riley, Kansas, kicking down doors, taking out one insurgent at the top of the stairs and then turning to face a hostage taker.

SGT. SAMUEL SISTARE, U.S. ARMY: You make the call or the guy behind the weapon has to make the call.

TODD: A call tough enough for an American, even tougher for a soldier fighting on his own turf.

MAJ. GEN. CARTER HAM, U.S. ARMY: To help that Iraqi, help that Afghan leader help him make those decisions, instead of the American making the decision.

TODD: This unit training how to help Iraqis deal with a common danger.

This drill is called mounted combat patrol. In this convoy of Humvees advisers are taught how to train their Iraqi counterparts to watch out for roadside bombs and hostile fire and how to respond if they're attacked.

Keep your bearings!

TODD: These soldiers badly wounded. Their buddies criticized for leaving them exposed. But how do you escape a disabled vehicle?

This is called the Humvee assistance trainer, essentially how to get out of a Humvee that's hit by an IED and rolls over and catches fire or goes into the water. I'm going to take a run at it. Flipped over, debris flying around inside. "I need help, I might not have survived."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the toughest part, finding the latch when you're upside down.

TODD (on camera): This program has only been in place since June, but it's intense and very ambitious. Each adviser goes through a period of training of about 60 days. They go through it in teams of 11, and those teams are embedded in Iraqi battalions of about 500 troops. Those are the Iraqis that are going to be on the front lines of this war.

Brian Todd, CNN, Fort Riley, Kansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, you doughnut lovers, you French fry...

NGUYEN: Yes.

HOLMES: That's you? Doughnuts?

NGUYEN: Love them both.

HOLMES: And French fries. All right. Well, listen up.

NGUYEN: Uh-oh.

HOLMES: Trans fats may be taking a toll on your health, Betty, and I want you to be OK.

NGUYEN: OK.

HOLMES: All right? So coming up in eight minutes we have got the skinny on which foods you need to leave off that plate.

NGUYEN: And in the meantime, we're going to be saying good morning, Veronica, because you've got a lot to tell us.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN PIPELINE ANCHOR: Do pancakes count?

NGUYEN: Yes, they do.

DE LA CRUZ: No.

NGUYEN: They actually do. Cookies, pancakes.

DE LA CRUZ: I can't give them up. I can't give them up.

NGUYEN: Well, you're going to have to make some changes. That's all I'm saying.

DE LA CRUZ: All right.

Well, coming up next, what's clicking at CNN.com. We've got the list of the three most popular stories.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Word out of NASA this morning, no decision yet on whether to launch the shuttle Discovery tonight. The weather over Florida's Kennedy Space Center, in a word, lousy. That's right. NASA halted its first launch attempt on Thursday because of bad weather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Secretary, how do you want history to remember you?

DONALD RUMSFELD, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: My goodness. Better than the local press. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Donald Rumsfeld making light out of it, still cracking jokes. The outgoing Defense secretary holding his last town hall meeting with the Pentagon employees yesterday, but more some serious things to talk about there as well. He did say his worst day on the job was when he learned about the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.

New information about a deadly shooting in a Chicago law office. Authorities say two of the three people killed were attorneys, the third a retired teacher who worked part-time sorting mail and making deliveries. Police say the gunman killed all three before being shot dead by a SWAT officer.

NGUYEN: Well, this could be the day the lights and heat come on for hundreds of people still without power in Illinois and Missouri. They've been without electricity since the big snow and ice storm hit the area more than a week ago. Utility officials expect to have all power back on soon.

HOLMES: While most of us who were sleeping, the Republican ruled Congress got rid of some unfinished business. Here's a look at what they passed. Tax cuts totaling $38 billion over five years, a plan to open more than eight million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to new oil and gas drilling and a move to establish permanent normal trade with former enemy Vietnam.

NGUYEN: So the old Congress is history with the Democrats in control come January. And right now President Bush is working on his Iraq policy. CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us from the White House this morning.

Good morning to you, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Betty and on the heels of that sobering report by the Iraq study group, that report released earlier this week, President Bush in his weekly radio address today praised the panel for its work, but he continued to remain vague about its recommendations. Now the report released on Wednesday called the situation in Iraq grave and deteriorating.

Today in his address, the president said that the report was a straightforward picture of the grave situation in Iraq. And he also went on to stress areas of agreement with the Iraq study group, including the overall strategic goal of seeing an Iraq that can one day govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself. But as he's done since the report's release, the president was careful not to weigh in, in any specific fashion, on any of the 79 recommendations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iraq study group understands the urgency of getting it right in Iraq. The group also understands that while the work ahead will not be easy, success in Iraq is important and success in Iraq is possible. The group proposed a number of thoughtful recommendations on a way forward for our country in Iraq. My administration is reviewing the report and we will seriously consider every recommendation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: The push for a new Iraq strategy comes as Democrats are preparing to take control of Congress early next year and ahead of that, we saw some outreach by the president earlier this week, sitting down with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Iraq is really going to continue to dominant the president's agenda, at least for this next week or so. On Monday, he's going to be heading to the State Department for a briefing with officials there.

He'll also be meeting with an outside group of experts on Iraq. And on Tuesday, he'll be taking part in a video conference with top military commanders as well as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. Wednesday he'll go to the Pentagon for a briefing there. And all of this, Betty, really is in advance of what we expect to be before the end of the year, possibly before Christmas, an address by the president announcing some sort of change in his Iraq policy -- Betty.

NGUYEN: He's waiting for a lot of these studies to come out in order to make that decision. Elaine, thank you.

And tonight check out "This Week at War." Hear from two members of the Iraq study group and get in-depth analysis of the military and diplomatic situation in Iraq. John Roberts hosts "This Week at War." That's tonight 7:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

HOLMES: The New York City restaurants, bakeries and fast food joints have to trim the fat. We're talking trans fat. So, it's time for us to get the skinny on this stuff and Dr. Marc Siegel is a practicing internist and associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine. He's also the author of "False Alarm, The Truth about the Epidemic of Fear." Here now to give us that lowdown on trans fat. Sir, you didn't have doughnuts for breakfast this morning probably did you?

DR. MARC SIEGEL, NY UNIV. SCHOOL OFF MEDICINE: Not today, T.J. I admit it. I stayed away from trans fats knowing I was coming on.

HOLMES: All right, We appreciate your staying true to the segment then. Well, I will start, just give people the quick rundown what are trans fats? What is this stuff?

SIEGEL: Trans-fats start out as unsaturated vegetable oils which actually are oils at room temperature. But the problem is, that we hydrogenate them. We bombard them with hydrogen and make them artificial, so that they will last longer. That's shortening and margarine and oils that we can stay on the shelf for longer.

The goal is to preserve taste but also to conserve cost and the problem with that is that they're not heart healthy, meaning that they're bad for the coronary arteries of the heart and they can cause you to gain weight. They can cause your cholesterol to go up and they also may be bad for your liver. So the process backfires.

HOLMES: All right, well, let me get you -- the people know about the fries and people know about the doughnuts. That's what people often associate with trans fats. They talk about that. But there might be some other things out there on the store shelves we might be surprised to know contain this trans fat as well.

SIEGEL: Right T.J. . There's a lot of things. We know about the cookies and the doughnuts, but a lot of people don't know that those soup cups in the freezer and the pizzas and the bread sticks, all of these frozen products, the frozen dietary products have a lot of trans fats and margarine. You may think that you're saving going away from butter to margarine, but margarine tends to have a lot of trans fats to it and cakes have a lot.

Your granola bar doesn't have it, but your cakes have it. Butter doesn't have it, but of course butter has a lot of saturated fat. So one of the things we're concerned about in New York maybe they're going back to using more butter, but that's also very bad from you. You got to stay away from cholesterol, saturated fats which are animal fats and then these trans fats.

HOLMES: You don't have a choice. You just need to turn over the packaging and figure it out right there. That's no way, because it could be in anything, listening to you.

SIEGEL: Well, that's right. And the main thing it's in is packaged products, things that have been on the shelf for a while. The good news is that the FDA as said as of January '06, a year ago, that they have to be on the label in most products. So you really can, but you're looking for something called partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. That's a synonym for trans fats.

HOLMES: And tell me this. Isn't this all just in our heads that we think the stuff tastes better that has the trans fat in it or have we just gotten used to that stuff and we think it tastes so good we don't want it to change? But is there any reason that trans fat would make something taste, oh, just so tasty to us?

SIEGEL: That's a really excellent question T.J. . I think it's a combination. I think we get used to a certain flavor and then we have to be trained in a different direction. Plus, those hydrogens really do give you a tangy taste. So I think it's both. But there's many ways to make foods tasty, to signal the brain, hey, that's great without it being something bad for you. This is definitely not good for the heart.

HOLMES: All right. Is it realistic, really, to think that we can completely eliminate this stuff from our diet? Is that even possible? And also is it OK in moderation as well and how much of it?

SIEGEL: The restaurant owners are really complaining a lot about this. But I do think they can get those oils out of there. That part is easy. You can switch over to peanut oil or to olive oil which is much, much better. I think the restaurants can comply with that. We're never going to go to the point though where we can go to zero trans fats in our diet. You wouldn't be able to do that, but this is a signal for a more balanced diet, really have a healthier diet with more veggies and more salads and less of the baked products and less of this fried stuff.

HOLMES: Sir, we appreciate you staying true to the segment and not having the doughnut this morning but enjoy breakfast tomorrow.

SIEGEL: Thank you. I will.

HOLMES: Dr. Marc Siegel, practicing internist, associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine. Sir, good to see you. Thank you so much for the info.

SIEGEL: Good to see you.

HOLMES: And of course, trimming the fat, trimming the trans fat is a subject we'll be chewing on all day. You liked that, didn't you? Can New York City legally ban -- is the thought of regulating food too much to swallow possibly? At 2:00 p.m. Eastern, our legal experts debate this issue. And we want to know what you think. Are you on board with that ban or does it leave just a nasty taste in your mouth? E-mail us at WEEKENDS@CNN.com. We'll read some of your responses later on in the show.

NGUYEN: All this talk about trans fat. Let's see what folks are clicking on.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, the fries, the doughnuts

NGUYEN: ... change the oil a little bit. We won't miss it so much.

DE LA CRUZ: Maybe.

NGUYEN: It's just a matter of changing your diet. What do people click -- are they interested in this at CNN.com Veronica?

DE LA CRUZ: One of the stories, that you know millions of people visit CNN.com day in and day out. And here is actually what you are looking at this morning. Let's go ahead and start in Utah with number three. A chief law enforcement officer there pledging his love to polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. In a letter obtained by Federal officials back in 2005, the officer wrote, I love you and know that you have the right to rule in all aspects of my life. The police officer could lose his certification. Warren Jeffs is facing rape charges in Arizona and Utah.

Number two, tiny towns wiped off the map, I mean literally wiped off the map. Georgia's cartographer has deleted 488 communities, most consisting of populations less than 2500. They're off the map to reduce the clutter. Gone are communities once known as Experiment, Hemp and Dewey Roads. And then the Hickory Level community had just put up its welcome signs. NGUYEN: It's not even on the map anymore.

DE LA CRUZ: Wiped off the map. What are you going to do?

All right, number one, drum roll, please. Thank you very much. He once accused the folks at Miriam Webster for being the word police or wordinistas. But now he is saying I am honored after his expression wins word of the year. Stephen Colbert, star of the Comedy Channel's "Colbert Report," coined the word truthiness which has been named the word of a year in an online survey by Miriam Webster. It means truth that comes from the gut and not books.

NGUYEN: Truthiness.

DE LA CRUZ: Can you use that in a sentence, truthiness?

NGUYEN: There's a lot of truthiness to that statement.

DE LA CRUZ: OK, I say that pancakes have no trans fat and that is the truthiness.

NGUYEN: That's from the gut, literally.

DE LA CRUZ: Exactly.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Veronica.

HOLMES: You can't let the pancakes go. We are going to talk about some bomb-sniffing bees. They're actually giving dogs a run for their money. Next up, a sting operation that could help fight the war on terror. We'll have details coming up in the newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The separation of church and priests. A group of married Catholic priests want back into the fold. Should the church reconsider its rules? We'll examine the issue in our faces of faith.

NGUYEN: Plus, looking for your sole mate? Well, look no further than his shoes. That's right. Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. our shoe psychologist will help you analyze your man's sneakers, maybe even his loafers to find out if he is the perfect fit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Here's some of the stories that we are following overseas this morning. At least eight people killed in Iraq today by a pair of car bombs. One was in Karbala, the other in Mosul. Arson is suspected in a hospital fire in Moscow that claimed at least 45 lives today.

Officials say one exit at the drug rehab facility was blocked by a metal grate. And fire crews in Australia say this season's wild fires are the worst in nearly 60 years. Look at this. About 18 separate fires threaten to converge into one so-called super fire covering a million and a half acres. HOLMES: All right. Now take a look at this. This is some amazing stuff here. First glance, you can't really make out what that is. It looks like a kids' game or can't tell what that is. Look close enough. These are live bees, bees in training. They're actually training to fight the war on terror.

CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This mini army of honey bees could be our next defense against terror attacks on targets like airports and train stations. Bees have an intense sense of smell. So scientists are training them to have a nose for explosives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we do is we present a smell to the bee. At the same time we give them food. And so they associate that the smell equals food.

VAN MARSH (on camera): The food is sugar water served up on a q- tip. This is how it works. The bees are already trained to pick up the scent of explosives and they will stick out their tongues. So they put the bees on the scent and the scent is placed into this sniffer box if you will. Now this box has a series of tubes exposed to the outside air. The scent of explosives is picked up by the bees. They'll stick out their tongues. And there's a camera inside here, capturing that motion on video.

(voice-over): Computer software measures when bee tongues are wagging, alerting security teams, for example, at metro rails or roadside check points. Scientists say the bees learn to make the explosive association in about 15 minutes. That's a lot faster and cheaper than it takes to teach bomb-sniffing dogs to do the same. And, no scientists say, bees can't be fooled by bombs covered in honey. Researchers at Inscentinel, the tiny English company behind this sniffer box prototype, showed us how it could be used.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the end of the year, with the right resources behind it, we could be saving lives with this technology.

VAN MARSH: Technology that has numerous applications like teaching bees to sniff out bombs, dry rot in buildings or disease in the human body.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Hartfordshire, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: That is really fascinating. And something else that's kind of fascinating. Can your holiday directions or decorations I should say, top this? Check it out. That's quite a production.

HOLMES: I wouldn't want to live next to that guy. This is the latest trend in Christmas light displays and it's pretty cool and it's coming up in our pretty cool "WaterCooler." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Yes, it's time for your morning entertainment. CNN SATURDAY MORNING presents the "WaterCooler."

HOLMES: You've been entertaining all day.

NGUYEN: This is really good stuff.

HOLMES: This is where we tell you about all the news and some stuff you may have missed.

NGUYEN: Check this out, an odd nativity scene at the University of Texas, right there. So look closely. A group called Young Conservatives put it together to poke fun at the ACLU.

HOLMES: Yes, this is the Solstice Barn and it features Gary and Joseph as the holy couple. The three wise men are Marx, Lenin and Stalin. Nancy Pelosi is the angel. And the shepherd is a suicide bomber.

NGUYEN: Well, for the record, the ACLU is not offended by the parody, calling it a perfect example of 1st amendment liberty.

HOLMES: Well move on to Santa's reindeer.

NGUYEN: What's in the reindeer's hand? Beer.

HOLMES: They need a designated driver as well. This is a new public service spot airing in Texas as well this holiday season. It shows Rudolph getting red nosed and the rest of the gang getting blitzened at the office Christmas...

NGUYEN: Good old Texas. Well, Santa ever the responsible adult, fires the reindeer and enlists four taxis to pull the sleigh instead. Now watch this.

Yes T.J. , you can do this at your house too and all it takes is some special software to synch up with the music and the lights.

HOLMES: I have a different song plan, but, yeah. The music doesn't disturb the peace and quiet of the neighborhood. It can only be heard by tuning to a designated frequency on a car radio.

NGUYEN: Except I think the lights blinking might disturb the quiet and the peace.

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: I'm sure. I'm sure. All morning long we've been asking for your thoughts on our e-mail question. Talking about trans fat, here it is, trans fat crackdown. Does it leave a bad taste in your mouth? As you know, New York is banning trans fat in its restaurants.

This from Jake. He says "Even as a libertarian, I find the ban on trans fats a good move. Part of the government's role is to protect the people and that includes major health risks such as trans fats, not just terrorists."

HOLMES: Also from Ross who's in New York City where this ban is going into effect. "The trans fat ban does not go far enough. It should be extended to prohibit the sale of any food items in city stores which contain trans fats. If this means no more Twinkies, then so be it."

NGUYEN: Fred is not on this trans fat bandwagon. He says, "after serving 20 years in the U.S. Navy, protecting our freedom of choice, I am retired and I'm tired of being told what to eat, where to smoke, who I can marry, et cetera. I had one set of parents and I don't need or want another."

So there you have it and we appreciate all your remarks today and how you feel about that trans fat transformation. Of course, we'll have another question for you tomorrow.

HOLMES: And we certainly know which side of the debate Reynolds Wolf is on.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: I'm starting to worry about you. You may want to get that stuff checked out. We want you tomorrow.

Well Santa is busy shopping and there are a lot of hot tech toys on his list. Coming up, we'll tell you what is in and what is out for this year's Christmas gifts.

HOLMES: But first we have a problem. Nintendo is out wit HOLMES: a safety warning for its new video game system. We'll let you what parents need to know and also let you know Miles is OK.

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