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Update on Attempted Terror on Northwest Airlines Over Detroit; Tightening Airport Security: What You Can Do to Speed Up the Process

Aired December 26, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everybody from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM for this Saturday, December 26th. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin in for Betty Nguyen. It is 11:00 a.m. on the East, 8:00 a.m. on the West Coast.

HOLMES: Well, a low -- whole a lot happening this morning. Some of you may have missed yesterday while you were busy with your families and may have missed overnight. Well, a lot of developments in what officials call an attempted terror attack on a U.S. plane happened on Christmas Day.

The focus is a 23-year-old Nigerian man. Associated Press reporting now that a banker in Lagos is meeting with police right now saying the man might be his son. Now, this is a CNN exclusive photo you're looking at of the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, 23-year- old. You see him there in the white shirt surrounded by security officials.

He was taken by a passenger aboard Northwest -- so this picture was taken by a passenger aboard that Northwest Airlines Flight 253. The plane was coming from Amsterdam, was about to land in Detroit when passengers say they heard what at the time sounded like firecrackers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHELLE KEEPMAN, FLIGHT 253 PASSENGER: We were in the back of the plane and all of a sudden heard some screams. And the flight attendants ran up and down the aisles. And I think we knew at the point when we saw the fear in the flight attendants' eyes and they grabbed the fire extinguishers and then also we smelled a bunch of smoke.

MELINDA DENNIS, FLIGHT 253 PASSENGER: From what we can tell, there was a gentleman that had some sort of device on him that caused him to catch on fire. They put out the fire; brought him up front where they stripped him down to make sure he had nothing else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now that is what we're hearing from passengers. Here's what we're hearing about the suspect. Now, he claims to have extremist ties. And CNN has learned that he had access to money, recently lived in this apartment building in London where counterterrorism police are searching these homes, including this one right now in this upscale central London neighborhood.

Now, from his vacation in Hawaii -- talking about the president here -- President Barack Obama told federal authorities to take all appropriate security measures. And take a look at this here; long lines in the airports as a result of this -- as a result of this possible terror attack and the heightened security measures.

HOLMES: Yes and the video we're seeing now is out of Detroit, and that's essentially where you can call the scene of the crime if you will, where his plane was landing.

Our Deb Feyerick is keeping an eye on things there. You see our correspondents are all over the place literally from Amsterdam to Hawaii.

But Deb Feyerick has been with us this morning reporting from there. Deb, a lot of people, a lot of questions, of course, but exactly who this guy is going to be a big part of the investigation. You are there in Detroit, which is going to be a big point of interest for investigators.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly. One of the reasons, obviously, why did the suspect wait until he was virtually landing, the plane was on descent, when he decided to detonate that device. The device appears to have been on his lap that's where these second and third degree burns were sustained. He was sitting towards the front of the large plane in row 19A in a window seat. Clearly that may have been some strategic placement on his part.

We are told that he went to Yemen to pick up the device and get instructions on exactly how to use it. That was one point that he's linked to. Another, obviously, being Lagos, Nigeria, his point of departure, then on to Amsterdam, which is the fifth busiest airport in all of Europe, that's where he boarded the plane here for Detroit, Michigan.

We do know that he is a 23-year-old Nigerian. It appears he was a student at the University of College in London, that's one of the -- a very prestigious university. Also, searches of homes would indicate that he comes from a family perhaps of mean, living in a very sort of elegant apartment in a chic area of London.

So whether this is self-funded, that is something investigators are looking into. Also, whether, in fact, he ever had any formal terror training or whether he's simply a self-radicalized the lone Jihadi. So all of that right now under investigation.

And here in Detroit, the lines have died down a little bit. I have friends who are traveling today. One coming from Miami up to New York saying lines weren't so bad. Another going from New York down to Florida and they said really they had no problem. There didn't seem to appear any additional screening there. But again, airports across the country are on alert, they know what they're looking for and they just know that right now this is a warning and they've got to be prepared -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Deb Feyerick for us in Detroit. Deb, thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Well, President Obama has been briefed on this foiled attack and is certainly keeping track of the latest developments from Hawaii, where he is on vacation with his family. And that is where we find our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry and a much, much warmer location with the president, joining us from Honolulu and a very early Saturday morning for you.

Ed, good morning. We know the president has been briefed. Have we heard any reaction from Mr. Obama?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Brooke.

That's right. He has been kept in the loop even though he's on vacation here in Hawaii. The president has been getting security updates from his top advisers. John Brennan, his top counter-terror and Homeland Security Adviser, as well as Dennis McDonough who's traveling here with the president; he's on the National Security Council Staff.

The key is what the president is being told behind closed doors. And one piece of information we've gotten is that the president was told this was an attempted terror attack. Secondly, the president was told that this suspect is now being debriefed by the FBI and is, quote, "talking a lot" according to one senior U.S. official who's familiar with this investigation.

Now, this senior official also told me that the early impression within the White House is that this suspect was a lone wolf, acting alone, to pick up on what Deb was just reporting. It does not appear, at least in the early stages of this investigation, that this suspect had any formal ties to an organized terror group like al Qaeda.

He may have had aspirations to be connected with al Qaeda. He may have been inspired by al Qaeda but did not have any formal ties. And finally, there was no evidence that there were other devices planted on other airplanes across the United States. Nevertheless, this senior U.S. official said that of course they have been running those traps to make sure there's not anything else out there, to make sure this was not part of any sort of plot.

And as you noted, the president after initially being briefed immediately ordered federal officials to really beef-up aviation security across the United States. That's undoubtedly going to lead to some delays. But the White House officials saying obviously security in this situation is paramount -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Absolutely. And Ed Henry, stay safe when you're flying home back to Washington. Ed Henry for us in Honolulu. HENRY: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

HOLMES: We know a big part of this story has a huge homeland security component. They certainly are wanting to beef up security but also trying to keep those lines moving, as well.

Our Jeanne Meserve, our Homeland Security correspondent, keeping an eye on all things related to homeland security. And, Jeanne, the TSA now, of course, always has a pretty busy job, but you got some new information about that job, what they are doing. So what's up?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, they told us yesterday that they are beefing up security, seen and unseen at the nation's airports, that you'll see more behavior detection officers. Those are the folk who look for suspicious behavior. You might see more K-9 teams, you might see some more screening at the gate and there would be other measures in place.

But we have not yet heard anything from the TSA about guidance for passengers beyond the fact that there might be longer lines at the airports. It's a bit of a surprise considering that after the liquid explosives plot the TSA was very proud of the fact that within 12 hours they completely changed the screening protocols, they banned liquids from being carried onto flights and they instituted that, as they said, on a dime.

Now, it may be that in this instance they're still in the investigative phases, trying to find out exactly what this explosive device was that this man was carrying, also trying to figure out if he was a lone actor or whether there's a broader conspiracy that requires a broader security action.

But the TSA and others during the Bush administration used this rapid response during the liquids explosives plot as an argument for why TSA screeners should not be unionized. They said if there were unions in place they might have to go through some cumbersome procedure for changing screening protocols.

They argued that was inappropriate in this kind of security environment. The TSA screeners have not been unionized as a consequence, although there is certainly a move afoot to do that. And so we're a bit puzzled.

Here we are in a phenomenally busy travel period, people flocking to the airports today, trying to get home from where they've been for the holiday and yet still no guidance almost 24 hours after this incident as to whether there are any changes in screening procedures at the airport.

So we're waiting and we'll let you know when we see them.

HOLMES: Yes, that's very important to get from you, you all who are there and cover this homeland security all of the time. And what I'm getting here from you, I want to make sure we make this point for our viewers, I mean, here we are, he obviously got something on board, but passengers right now are being told to change how they pack, to change what they take on board, to change a thing, essentially get there a little earlier, it might take more time.

So I mean, I don't know what that could lead us to believe. But like you said, that leaves you kind of scratching your head. There is no guidance for how we should change doing a single thing.

MESERVE: And it may be that they're not going to change anything, but one would think that they'd let the traveling public know so when they got to the airport they'd be prepared for whatever the security changes might be. I mean, we've heard all kinds of rumors this morning from different airports, from different airlines, from travelers. I'm not going to repeat them here because we don't know if they're official ...

HOLMES: Right.

MESERVE: ... or if they're not. But that's the problem there's a vacuum of information here for the traveling public and what they should be doing to prepare for the travel and to ease the screening process when they get to the airport.

HOLMES: Jeanne, very important point to make.

Thank you so much for putting that in perspective and reminding us how it went the last few times we have seen some changes in security, it almost happened instantly. And right now we're still waiting to see if anything changes.

Thank you so much for checking in with us. Please check in again if you do get something beyond those rumors that are out there right now. Thank you so much Jeanne.

MESERVE: You bet.

HOLMES: And we want our viewers out there to please, we want to hear your thoughts. Share them about the incident, about the state of airport security.

If you are traveling right now, your horror stories maybe out there about some of the long lines. We're hearing that some aren't so bad but others we've seen these long lines especially here in Atlanta. We know what it's like in this airport and it's not like this normally.

BALDWIN: Absolutely not and I got to (INAUDIBLE) off from someone in New York's John F. Kennedy and they said we had no idea this was happening.

HOLMES: Yes.

BALDWIN: Because yesterday was Christmas and a lot of people weren't watching the news so a lot of people rude awakening as they head to the airport.

HOLMES: Yes.

BALDWIN: But a lot of you, if you are getting on flights today or even in the coming day we want to hear from you. Please share your thoughts. You can hop on our Facebook page, Twitter, or simply go to our blog.

And I know Josh Levs is keeping an eye on these longer lines...

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BALDWIN: ... and some advice, we're trying to help folks getting out or at least try to expedite and be prepared as they're at the airport.

LEVS: You know, it's interesting what you're saying. I think this morning I've heard from people about 30 different airports now and some are saying, oh everything is fine and moving along. Others are saying complete nightmare.

Here is -- just as I promised, what I'm going to do, you know in the wake of this incident, authorities are saying expect longer lines, particularly at security, but there are things that you can do to speed up the process for yourself that actually helps, some of which are very specific to the holiday season. I'm about to show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Our top story this morning what officials are calling an attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. airliner. This is what we know right now.

BALDWIN: Federal officials are questioning this 23-year-old Nigerian national who is now in custody after this whole thing went down yesterday on board this flight, this Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

HOLMES: Yes, the suspect identified as 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. He's alleged to have ignited a small explosive or incendiary device as the plane was on approach and set to land at the airport in Detroit around noon yesterday.

BALDWIN: Now, the incident has prompted an enhanced air security here in the United States and abroad and put counterterrorism agents in the United Kingdom into action. Police, in fact, right now in central London, they're connecting searches of several different homes there in connection to this attempted terror attack.

Since officials are taking all these extra precautions at airports, that of course means longer lines.

HOLMES: Yes. We were going to see longer lines this weekend anyway because of the travel -- or the holiday season, I should say...

BALDWIN: And now...

HOLMES: And now we have this on top of that. Also, you throw in some weather and you just have got a mess. But there are things you can do to try to speed you up a bit. Any little thing helps. Josh Levs with that again for us this morning. Hello again Josh.

LEVS: Yes, hi again to you guys. A little while ago, we were looking at check-in. Now what we're going to do is look specifically at airport security. I want to talk you through what the TSA says are some really helpful steps you can take to shrink your time in the security lines.

Let's zoom in here for a second, actually. They have some helpful stuff. I'll show you in a minute how to get there yourself. They talk about how to pack and how not to pack. And they actually show you how some people out there kind of smush (ph) their stuff into their suitcases and why it ultimately takes them so much longer in security.

Let's go to some points for you. I have it on graphics. We're going to start off with this one, which is that there's a way to pack in layers. If you do this, you will save a lot of time, and multiply that by all the passengers, it could save hours and hours around the country.

They say do a layer of clothes, then a layer of electronics, then another layer of clothes and then a layer of heavy equipment. You can see why at the Web site.

Now this is the next one with these liquids. Prepare this quart- sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag of liquids ideally before you get to the airport. If not you can buy it at the airport but do it before you get in line.

Let's go to this next one here. This talks taking your coat. If you're comfortable doing this, take your coat off, put it into your checked baggage; takes a lot more time in the security lines. I know there's the risk because you don't want to end up somewhere without your coat if your luggage doesn't make it, but TSA does suggest that.

A few more here. Limit how much metal you're wearing on you. They say don't wear accessories. No big, huge jewelry because that is going to take up a lot of time and could set off the metal detector several times.

Two more here: specifics to the holidays, they're really interesting. You know you're off visiting relatives, you might want to come back with some of that great Vermont maple syrup or grandma's cranberry sauce, whatever it is. If you have anything like that -- one of these jells, jelly sauces inside your carry on, they will probably find it, they'll throw it out, they'll take a while searching through what else you have and you'll end up without it. Do not bring those in your carry-ons.

Finally, I found this really interesting. Don't bring on a snow globe. The reason is snow globes have some liquid on them. They can't tell how much liquid is in it so they're actually taking snow globes out of your carry-ons and they'll get rid of them unless you find a way to check it. So that's a handful of points from the TSA. This is where we posted the whole link for you. It's up on my blog, cnn.com/josh. I've also put it up on my Facebook and Twitter JoshLevsCNN.

And Brooke, T.J., we're getting a lot of comments from people at airports all over the country talking about what their experiences are like so I suggest people actually check out those Web sites because who knows, maybe you're headed to one of those airports and you can hear from people right there right now.

BALDWIN: No cranberry sauce or snow globes, you got that?

HOLMES: I got it. I usually travel with a snow globe. I'll pack it in the -- I know now. All right?

BALDWIN: Check it.

HOLMES: Hadn't been a problem before but all right.

BALDWIN: There you go. Josh Levs, thank you.

LEVS: Got you.

BALDWIN: Well, it looks like Pope Benedict is in good shape after his recent attack.

HOLMES: Yes. This was -- it looks pretty bad at first, but apparently the Pope is in pretty good shape. He can take a licking and keep on ticking. The Vatican still deciding what to do with the woman who jumped the Pope.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to get you the latest now on what it was that happened, that incident on board a plane landing in Detroit on Christmas Day and why if you're headed to the airport you are going to stand in line for a little while if you're traveling not just today but the next couple of days. The reason, the FBI questioning this man -- there he is in a white t-shirt heading through the first-class cabin, apprehended by some security officials. This is 23-year-old Farouk Abdul Mutallab.

We hear he is talking, and according to the FBI, he is talking a lot. The Associated Press is now reporting that a Nigerian banker says the suspect may be his son.

The picture you're looking at, this is a CNN exclusive photo taken by a passenger on board this flight, this Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. The suspect here was taken into custody after passengers say he had some kind of explosive device, tried to blow up presumably the plane as it was just about to land there yesterday. This 23-year-old amazingly the only one injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS: He didn't say anything. He was injured. He was burned quite severely on his leg. They were very careful in trying to make sure that he had nothing else on him so it was easy to see from the exposure that he had gotten significantly burned.

He was very calm. He, you know, didn't show any reaction to pain or to any feeling of shock or nervousness, you know. He just looked like a normal individual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: President Obama has told federal authorities to take all appropriate security measures. That means, again, more than likely because they have to take a little more time and they're going to have to screen you a little better. This could take a little while, going to have some longer lines. This is just at one airport here in Tampa, Florida -- we're looking at here, just a taste of what some people are experiencing around the country.

Some other story we're keeping an eye on for you this morning. Vatican reviewing some security, as well, after that incident; security procedures certainly being scrutinized in the wake of this Christmas Eve attack on Pope Benedict. The pope was not hurt. You could see him; he did go down to the ground. The woman who jumped the railing got up close to the Pope got a hold of him. Then she was taken down by security and he went down with the whole group.

The woman described as mentally unstable, still being held in a clinic for treatment. Officials will decide what to do with her sometime over the next few days.

BALDWIN: And we're getting some new video in this morning from Iran. Police there violently cracking down on demonstrators there this morning.

Take a look here. This is an amateur video showing this opposition protest, people there walking along; they're marching in this annual Shiite Muslim observance. They're also paying tribute to the leading voice of the opposition who died last week. You hear them chanting. More protests, they say, are expected tomorrow.

HOLMES: All right. We're going to turn now -- we talk a lot about travel and Reynolds, we did. We thought the story was going to be weather and some problems there today, but it turns out unfortunately with this incident, but still weather causing problems for people trying to drive around as well.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, guys, just driving through the snow. And see the thing that's going on in parts of the northern plains is we're not getting a whole lot more in terms of precipitation but the wind is picking up a lot of that snow and it was giving us some whiteout conditions earlier today. But thankfully conditions in the northern plains are greatly improving.

The problem is we're seeing more snow developing in places like Chicago. In fact, take a look at this shot. You can see, again, almost white all over the map at this point. They could see another 2 to 4 inches of snowfall. And farther to the north, past (INAUDIBLE) and then back up to say spots like back to Milwaukee, it's going to be basically the same story.

Now back over into Detroit, pretty good there. A few scattered snow showers out on 96 and 94. What we're going to be seeing is you make your way into the afternoon is more of that snow develop a little bit farther to the north and then a combination of rain and even some ice in parts of New York, back in Vermont, New Hampshire, even into Maine before all is said and done and scattered snow showers also possible for the nation's capital but just phenomenal conditions in the southeast.

If you don't mind the cool conditions, because it will be in the 40s and 50s for much of the deep south, and (INAUDIBLE) that cold air that's been making its way across the nation's midsection will tumble right along parts of the Gulf Coast. Texas dry and sunny for you, but out west it looks like it will be kind of a rain event for you from about I'd say Santa Barbara northward past the San Francisco Bay Area as far north as about Astoria, Oregon, and dry for you in the Pacific Northwest.

Very quickly, temperatures 46 degrees the expected high, Memphis; for Washington, D.C. about 47 degrees; 48 in Atlanta; 49 in Dallas; 61 in phoenix; and 55 in San Francisco. In terms of your delays we're talking about Chicago and Minneapolis, but keep in mind where you're going to see some backups at your airports, New York, every -- all of them -- every single one of them.

Logan Airport in Boston could have some issues with low clouds, rain and wind. The delay there is going to be about an hour to maybe even a little bit longer as we get to the afternoon. And Chicago and Minneapolis, we certainly mentioned that. And we could see more of that stretch out into tomorrow.

So a very frustrating weekend obviously for the travelers. We've had issues on the interstates, on parts of 90, also interstate 29, and of course the airports. We're going to see that overflow extend into Monday as more people make their way home from the holidays.

Let's send it back to you guys at the news desk.

BALDWIN: Yes. I thought I saw some snow falling where Deb Feyerick was in Detroit; so very cold in some parts of the country.

WOLF: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Tough to travel. All right. Reynolds, thank you.

WOLF: You bet, guys.

BALDWIN: Speaking of a story out of Detroit, it makes sense why we're talking about Nigeria, Amsterdam, Detroit. But why are we talking about London? More coming out, some new information this morning about this attempted terror attack on board this Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

We will take you live to central London where police are searching several houses. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We want to get more now, what U.S. Officials are describing as an attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. plane yesterday. So, we now, walk you through what we know.

BALDWIN: All right. Federal officials, they have this 23-year- old Nigerian national in custody. In fact, you're looking at a CNN exclusive photo from one of the passengers. He had on that white t- shirt. After this incident on a Northwest Airlines flight that from Amsterdam to Detroit.

HOLMES: The suspect, his name is Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Also I want to explain that you're seeing a Delta plane here with the Northwest flight, you remember Delta Northwest merged, so that's why you see Delta on the side of that plane. Now, the suspect allegedly tried to ignite a small explosive device as the plane was on approach, was getting ready to land there in Detroit.

BALDWIN: Now, the incident has prompted an enhanced air security alert here in the United States and abroad and it's also put counterterrorism agents in the United Kingdom into action. Police right now in London, they are out and about conducting some searches of several homes there in connection to the attempted terror attack in Detroit.

HOLMES: Our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is live in London for us. He's been on the story for us this morning. What more do we know? Hello to you again, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, T.J.

Well, the police are still searching the building behind me, a very expensive residence in the center of London. The average apartment to buy these building would cost between $2 million and $4 million. I guess, that is an idea of the sort of people that live here but it is apparently the last known address in London of where this young man lived.

He was attending a university just around the corner from here, University College of London. According to the university officials, they say a man of the same name attended a mechanical engineering degree course there until June 2008, June last year.

They say they don't know if it is the same man, but the name does seem to match. And this residence just a few minutes' walk away from one of the university's premises. We've been watching police going in and out of this building all day, earlier in the day wearing forensic suits.

But the last few police we have seen going in look like the specialist anti-terror police which holds the searching of the building, they've been going in and out with pieces of equipment. They're not saying, they're not saying what they discovering.

The British Prime Minister here has said that the security of people in the country is first and foremost and that Britain is working closely with U.S. authorities, and it is, we understand from the police here, the reason that they're at this premise is tipped off by U.S. authorities possibly from questioning of this man.

BALDWIN: Now, Nic, we see the media presence in front of this particular location, the former residence, obviously a very after affluent address there in Central London. But we know, also that the police are searching other homes that we still un clear whether or not there is any other additional individuals working with this 23-year- old?

ROBERTSON: You know, we haven't been told of anyone else so far who was working with the 23-year-old. Obviously that's going to be very, very high on the police's mind as they quickly try and determine was he part of a group, a cell, are there other terror plots that in the workings here. To nail that down very quickly, obviously important for any investigation.

It's not clear where those other premises are, if he did study at the university here, as the university believes he may have done, that would likely be another location where the police would want to search there, but it is a year and a half since he was a student there, we understand.

But the other premise is where the police are, we haven't so far discovered them. This does seem to be the only one that -- where we've seen a visible police presence. They've been coming and going through the basement area of this building, which appears to be where the lower ground floor apartment does appear to be where this man was living at some point -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Amazing. Just 23 years of age. Senior International Correspondent on the ground for us in London, Nic Robertson, thank you.

HOLMES: Still to come for us this morning, we're going to hear from a passenger who was actually on board that northwest flight, get his reaction and get him to set the scene of exactly what was going down on that plane. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And again our top story this morning, an attempted terror attack on a U.S. Airliner. Let's go through what we do know so far. And that starts with this 23-year-old man, a Nigerian man accused of igniting a small explosive device as Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam was trying to land in Detroit. This was yesterday. He was the only one hurt in this thing.

The suspect seen here in a white t-shirt. You see there on the right. Taken in by officials. This was a CNN exclusive photo. He was burned on his leg, nobody else hurt here. Apparently he had this device, whatever it was, attached to his leg. He's now being questioned by the FBI. The associated press reporting, he may be the son of a banker in Nigeria. BALDWIN: Now the device -- according to this guy, who has really been talking and talking a lot apparently to FBI, says that he got this device in Yemen, it stops in Saudi Arabia and its remains are being examined right now at the FBI Lab in Quantico, Virginia, so they're waiting to see what this thing was made of, what it was, maybe what potential it could have had.

So far, the suspect has not been linked to any terror groups, but counterterrorism police are certainly searching several houses in London. One of his former residences as we saw Nic Robertson reporting from Central London.

We've been asking you all morning, how this is affecting your air travel and what thoughts you might have just on the situation in general. I want to read you something from David, David writing from Arlington, Washington. He says in reaction to this, here we go again. TSA is going to have a major knee-jerk reaction to this attempted bombing.

Every problem and threat to airlines in the past few years has come from international flights coming to the U.S. from Europe. The person involved in this incident flew from Nigeria where the level of security checks is known to be poor. The level of secondary screening at Amsterdam is questionable for in-transit passengers.

This guy was traveling on a one-way ticket and was on a list of persons with known contacts with terrorist organizations. A 2-year- old could connect those dots. He ends it by saying, now TSA is going to treat every domestic passenger as a potential terrorist.

The last time I traveled on a one-way ticket was from Duluth to Detroit and it took me over an hour to complete my security screening. How about applying the same screening to inbound international passengers?

HOLMES: I have a ton, as well, from folks who have been responding on Twitter and also on Facebook. Just a couple, I'll hit here in a second. Actually, I want to stop and not do that because we've been waiting to hear from our Jeanne Meserve. We just got her back up, our homeland security correspondent, who was with us a little earlier.

And again, I know there was some bewilderment that we had not gotten more information from TSA, more guidance from them at least from them to tell passenger what to do now. There is going to be anything changes. I know, you're getting more information now. By all means pass it along.

MESERVE: TSA official tells me that there will not be any changes to screening requirements for either domestic or international flights. All the rules that are currently in effect, that have to do with that 311 rule, putting your liquids in a quart-sized plastic bag and so forth, those all remain in effect.

But there's nothing new, there's nothing additional, no restrictions on the number of bags you can bring apart from the airline restrictions of one carry-on. But what I'm saying is, you still can bring a carry-on. So no changes at all. They are still saying, as they did yesterday, that there is stepped-up security.

You will be seeing more, and I'm sure, the screeners will be taking more time than they sometimes do to check everything that's going through their checkpoints, so they're advising that everybody get to the airport early, particularly if you're on an international flight.

They're saying back it up yet another hour and domestic flights, you'd be well advised to take some extra time to get to the airport. But you don't have to pack any differently than you were otherwise planning. All the rules currently in effect remain in effect at security checkpoints in the U.S. and internationally.

Back to you, T.J.

HOLMES: Well, Jeanne, do we know at all, then any idea of how long this stepped-up security will be in place?

MESERVE: No. My guess is, T.J., that they don't know how long this is going to be place. I think, really, this is going to key on this investigation and exactly what they determine about this individual, who he knew, who he was in contact with, if anyone, whether this was a lone actor, whether he was part of some broader conspiracy.

I'm intuiting things to a certain degree here but one would think that if was part of a larger conspiracy, if they thought there had been other incidents that might be related to this, there might be some changes in screening protocols. What we're hearing here is no, no changes at all.

HOLMES: Well, that is awfully interesting to hear there. We've been asking, Jeanne, our security experts this morning if this guy happened to sneak something through that he shouldn't have got on or if he had come up with something new that security screeners didn't know to look for in the first place.

So, interesting here that nothing has changed. And this incident at this point has changed nothing, not going to change anything. Just a more, bigger headache and longer lines for time being.

BALDWIN: That we know of yet.

HOLMES: Yes, go ahead Jeanne.

MESERVE: Yes, let me mention that, you know, there are various machines that you see at screening checkpoints and they check for different things. Most of us at most airports just go through a magnetometer. Those pick up things that are metal, some guns, knives, things of that kind would be picked up. But if this guy indeed had some sort of powdery substance trap to his thigh, that would not have been picked up by that magnetometer.

Now if he went to a puffer machine, yes, that might have picked up traces of an explosive. If he went to secondary screening and they did explosive trace detection on the things he was carrying, that might have picked something up. But the fact of the matter is, this isn't a perfect system. That's why they say, they have these various layers of security at the airport. That's why today they are beefing up those layers of security. But no changes to protocol.

HOLMES: And we don't have those puffer machines in too many places just yet. We know those aren't everywhere and not always get that explosive screening at every place either. So like you say, unfortunately there are just holes in it and sometimes some things get through and maybe this is an exception and one time something got through. Jeanne, thank you so much for being on top of this story and getting back to us.

BALDWIN: Well, President Obama says the U.S. will take all appropriate security measures of course in light of this attempted terror attack. But we want to know, what does that mean for air travelers? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Again, the very latest here on what U.S. officials describe as an attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. Airliner. Here is the very latest.

BALDWIN: The federal officials, they have this 23-year-old Nigerian national -- that's him in that white t-shirt courtesy of our CNN exclusive photo. This happened yesterday, Christmas day, this incident on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253 originated in Amsterdam, went to Detroit.

HOLMES: Now, this suspect, the 23-year-old identified as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, he was subdued by passengers after he allegedly ignited a small explosive device as the plane was about to land at the airport there in Detroit.

BALDWIN: Now, it has prompted an enhanced air security alert here in the United States and abroad and has put counterterrorism agents in the United Kingdom into action. We saw a Nic Robertson reporting from Central London. And they're conducting searches in some of the homes, one of the former residences of this 23-year-old. And we are also hearing from some of these passengers who were on board that very flight who have relived what went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIAS FAWAZ, FLIGHT 253 PASSENGER: What we heard in the beginning was a bang. It sounded first like a balloon being popped, and then there was later, a lady shouting back, and she was saying things like, what are you doing, what are you doing? And then we looked back. There was a struggle. I think it was about four five rows back on the left of where we were sitting. And we saw, like, fumes and then there was a flame fire coming out, and there was another man that jumped on the assailant, I think, the guy who was responsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Those are the passengers from that flight. A lot of you have tickets heading off to other places across the country here. You may want to plan for some of the longer lines, longer wait times as transportation officials add screening and security measures on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

CNN's Kate Bolduan live for us once again this morning at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C. Kate, we've been talking to you for a couple hours. People are buzzing about behind you. What are you seeing? And in speaking to some of these folks in regard to some of these increased security?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Brooke, we've been talking to passengers both arriving into Dulles as well as getting ready to depart out of Dulles for, you know, various places domestically and internationally.

What we're hearing from people anecdotally is that they are experiencing some of this stepped-up security measures, things like additional checks of passports than they've never seen before, a check of a passport just about as you're about to enter a plane, that was for a flight entering that was in India and that was flying to the United States.

Other people saying they were experiencing increased scrutiny of liquids as they were going through security. But I will tell you that by and large people say that these stepped-up security measures are welcomed and that these inconveniences really are not bothering them if it means the safety of themselves, their fellow passengers or their family members.

And many people are saying they're confident despite the incident yesterday in Detroit, they were confident and comfortable with security measures that are in place for aviation travel. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The chances of it happening are so slim and the frequency is so small, that if they get more security, that's fine, we still get where we're going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Some of the things that we have been hearing and we've been reporting morning that administration officials are telling us that you could be seeing in terms of the stepped up security measures that we keep talking about. They say, they will be both seen and unseen.

Things that passengers could be seeing when they go to the airports are additional gate screenings, additional security personnel. They could see more bomb-sniffing dogs and those kind of things around the airport, but as we've been walking around here since early this morning. I'll tell you that it really does seem, the sense that I'm getting from passengers as we've been walking around, there seems like a normal travel day. It's a busy travel day. But in terms of the entire holiday travel seasons, this is not as busy of a day, I'm told by airport officials.

And we've really been seeing, people are saying they're getting here little earlier because of what they're hearing, to be a little more careful what they're packing on their carry-on but they said, they are very comfortable and they haven't had any snafus, I would say or major delays in trying to get in their final destination -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: That is certainly a good thing and I feel just like that plane seems fairly calm behind you. So, that's also great for some of the travelers heading out for the end of perhaps their holiday travel. Kate Bolduan, we appreciate you talking to some of those folks and passing that along to us.

HOLMES: And our Fredricka Whitfield is here now, supposed to be uneventful. Everybody just trying to travel back home, get home safely after the holiday and here we go.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, surprise.

HOLMES: We got a mess going.

WHITFIELD: Yes, forget it. Which means, a very busy day for travelers and busy days for us as well, and anyone else who's going to be now working the weekend to try to sift through this investigation and determine exactly what it's going to mean for those heading to the airport over the next few days. So, we will going to continue our live coverage of this investigation what the white house is now calling an attempted act of terrorism.

Our Drew Griffin is going to be joining us. A little bit more information about this suspect, and whether indeed he was a lone wolf, and whether the investigation is now going to lead to U.S. charges and potentially from other charges, because this is a transatlantic flight. Our legal guys will delving in on that front as well.

Stick with us in the noon Eastern hour and beyond. We're going to continue this coverage through out the day.

HOLMES: And it's just been such a fast-moving story. Just we think, OK, we know this, we know that, and then something else keeps coming, keeps coming, keeps coming on this story.

WHITFIELD: Right. And one of those things that have just arisen in the past hour too is a Nigerian banker who is now being questioned by authorities, because he says potentially this could be his son. And now also a London apartment also being investigated, because potentially this guy was living in an upscale apartment in London. So, all of the pieces being brought together. Right?

BALDWIN: Moving parts.

WHITFIELD: All right. You have a great time.

HOLMES: We will see you in a few minutes.

WHITFIELD: OK.

HOLMES: Thank you.

Well, it is just about eight minutes to the top of the hour. Of course, Fredricka is coming up. But Brooke and I back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Again, updating with you, officials are calling it an attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. Airliner. Again, we will going to take you to exactly what we know at this point on this fast developing story.

BALDWIN: Yes, as we said, a lot of moving parts still. Federal officials have this 23-year-old Nigerian man seen in this exclusive CNN photo in custody. There he is being taken through first class in the white t-shirt. This is after a security incident Christmas day on Northwest Airline Flight 253 originating in Amsterdam in the Netherlands bound for Detroit, Michigan.

HOLMES: The suspect we just mentioned, he is 23-year old is Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He reportedly subdued by a fellow passenger first. After he allegedly ignited a small explosive device as the plane was getting ready to land at the Detroit airport.

BALDWIN: Now, this whole thing is prompted an enhanced air security alert here in the United States and abroad and has put counterterrorism agents in the United Kingdom in action. They have been searching homes and up scale neighborhood in London including one very specific building where the suspect might have lived at one point in time.

HOLMES: All right. So, never going to be far away from that story, Fredricka Whitfield coming up here in just a few minutes to continue our coverage at noon.

BALDWIN: All right. Remembering the tsunami of 2004. Do you believe it has been five years today? Its monster waves killed more than 240,000 people just after Christmas.

HOLMES: Yes, there were survivors there. Among them, Kalle Widelius, he talked to CNN's Dan Rivers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sarah Widelius and her boyfriend Kalle Widelius were enjoying the holiday of a lifetime on the Koh Phi Phi Island in December, 2004.

KALLE WIDELIUS, 2004 TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I mean it was a pure paradise and when I met Sarah, I decided, I had to bring her there to show her the most wonderful -- one of the most beautiful places I'd ever been to.

RIVERS: The day after Christmas, Kalle decided to shoot a video of Sarah as the sea mysteriously retreated.

WIDELIUS: The water just grabbed my ankles and there was a huge pressure. I felt -- it was, as if someone was trying to pull me out in the ocean. So, more or less is telling Sarah, come on, get out of the water. And let's go to the other side of the island, because something is weird here.

We started walking towards the other side of the island, and the faster we walked, the more water comes after us, and then we started to run slowly and the water just chased us, and then we, you know -- seconds later we ran for our lives.

At one point, I'm telling Sarah to run straight towards the other side, thank God, she told me -- if I'm (INAUDIBLE)

And when we came in there, I remember seeing luggage just floating around, and more and more water was just coming from -- from everywhere, and this was the point where everything started to be really scary. Sarah told me, let's just go upstairs. Just when we reached the top floor, the whole ground just, everything came with a bang.

And that was like -- it felt like an earthquake, because everything shook and there was a tremendous sound. You couldn't see anything on the island. Small -- small houses just collapsed. And a boat just came from one side to the other and just passing the island, and -- and I remember just, oh ...

RIVERS: The tsunami brought Kalle and Sarah close to death, but it was also a life-changing experience.

WIDELIUS: I said, Sarah, I whispered in her ear, that if we would make it down alive, let's get married when we get back home. Today we have two beautiful kids as well. Lydia and Christen (ph) 2 1/2- years old and 1-years-old today and life is quite strange, and there's this -- I really -- a really tragic story, but we have some kind of beautiful memory from it as well.

RIVERS: Today there is little trace of the disaster on Thailand's Holiday Island, but those awful images and memories will live forever in the minds of people like Kalle, who fought to survive the tsunami.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Koh Phi Phi, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, the CNN NEWSROOM continues now with our Fredricka Whitfield.

BALDWIN: Hello, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Hello, good to see both of you. You all have a great day.

HOLMES: All right.

BALDWIN: Thank you.