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American Morning

Suspect's Bomb Can Take Down Plane; The New Rules of Flying; U.S. Considers Yemen as New Terrorist Hub; Holiday Retail Sales Up; SAT To Be Scrapped

Aired December 28, 2009 - 07:59   ET

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


RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. It's Monday, December 28th, just about 8:00. John and Kiran are off today. I'm Randi Kaye.

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: And this is the last Monday in 2009. I am Joe Johns. I'm in for John Roberts, and I'm pretty excited about it.

KAYE: And that would be the last Monday in this decade, too, then, right?

JOHNS: Unbelievable. Where did it go?

KAYE: I don't know.

JOHNS: Wow. Snuck up on us.

KAYE: Sure did.

JOHNS: Yes.

KAYE: Very fast. Just like that.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: Well, here are the top stories that we're going to be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.

Right now the Obama administration ordering a thorough review of security procedures after an alleged terror incident on a Northwest flight on Christmas day. A source says he had enough explosives to blow a hole in the side of that airplane. So why was he allowed on? We're live in Washington.

JOHNS: And the alleged bomber claims he was trained and armed in Yemen, a lawless country that is becoming a training ground for terrorists. So, what is the administration doing about it? We're live at the Pentagon this morning.

KAYE: A holy day in Iran turns into a bloody day of violence. At least eight are dead, 300 arrested after protesters clash with security forces across Iran. Is this a turning point in Iranian history? We'll talk live to the president of the National Iranian- American Council. JOHNS: But, first up, developing news. In just a few hours, President Obama is expected to speak for the first time about the alleged terror plot to bring down a Northwest airline. Already, the administration has ordered a security review to find out how the suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was able to board two flights with an explosive device.

Earlier, Randi spoke to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, EARLIER ON AMERICAN MORNING)

KAYE: Have you been able to learn any more about the suspect's alleged ties to al Qaeda?

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: No, that's under investigation to the criminal justice process. What we are doing is going backwards. How did this individual get on the plane? What didn't work in the screening procedure to pick him up? And why -- and why was the material that he was carrying not picked up in the screening procedure as well?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Our national security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is live in Washington.

And, Jeanne, we are learning the amount of explosive on the plane was enough to possibly take it down?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. A source, Joe, familiar with the investigation tells CNN the device carried by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was powerful enough to have blown a hole on the aircraft and taking it down. But, of course, the device did not work properly, and passengers and crew reacted quickly.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is taking some heat for saying on CNN "STATE OF THE UNION" on Sunday that the system works. On AMERICAN MORNING, she clarified her remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, EARLIER ON AMERICAN MORNING)

NAPOLITANO: That's a phrase taken out of context. What I said is moving forward I'd -- meaning, once the incident happened, we were able to immediately notify the 128 flights in the air as well as airports on the ground, domestically and internationally, our law enforcement partners, our other allies, instituted immediate safety procedures to make sure that this could not happen on other flights and that people were watching out for it on other flights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: But Napolitano went to say the system for keeping dangerous people and material off airplanes clearly did not work.

President Obama has ordered a sweeping review of airport screening procedures and watch list protocols.

Napolitano said this morning she, too, wanted to know why Abdulmutallab's visa was not revoked after his father raised concern about his son's radicalization. Under current protocols, the information wasn't specific or credible enough for him to be placed on a no-fly list or flag for additional screening.

Also, there's a court hearing today. The government is seeking authority to get a DNA sample from the suspect. He is not expected to be in the court.

Back to you.

JOHNS: Jeanne, it seems pretty clear that there is technology available to detect PETN. But, I guess, the question is: why isn't that technology more widely deployed?

MESERVE: Well, there actually are a couple of technologies. The so called "puffer" machines that pick up traces of explosives have been hard to be maintained in a dirty airport environment and they're being used less and less.

Explosive detections swabs could pick up PETN but because they take time to do, they're only conducted on passengers designated for secondary screening -- and Abdulmutallab was not.

And then there are those body imaging machines that should have shown he had something on his body. Forty of them are deployed around the U.S. and other 150 are in order by the TSA. But they have been called an electronic strip search because they show so much detail and there's been a lot of pushback on deploying them more widely -- Joe.

JOHNS: Jeanne Meserve in Washington -- thanks so much for that great reporting.

KAYE: And because of all this, there could be big changes on your flight home from the holidays.

Jim Acosta joins live from Washington -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Randi.

You know, we are seeing some travelers here this morning, not that many, but the ones who are flying early this morning are doing themselves a favor because as the day goes on, the lines should get longer because of these new security precautions. And it was originally thought that this was only really going to affect people who are flying internationally, but we are hearing, anecdotally, from people flying on domestic flights, that they are seeing some security upgrades.

And while we haven't had many arrivals here at Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C., to talk to passengers over the weekend, plenty of international flyers were saying they've noticed the changes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last hour we come in, we had to make sure we were seated, had nothing on our lap, no pillows or blankets. It was a bit strange I thought, but just I think precaution for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only thing that was different was that coming into the plane in Mexico City, they search all of our bags individually, the security guys, and then they searched us like a body search, each one of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, what are some of the security changes you're going to be seeing over the coming days and weeks? Well, according to the Transportation Security Administration, one of those things you will see is pat-downs not only at security check points, but at the gates. So, be ready for that -- not only adults but the children flying as well. They're going to be randomly stopping people for pat-downs at those gates.

Also, you may see something that you haven't seen in this post- 9/11 era, and that is, flight attendants asking passengers not to have anything in their lap. Those road warriors, those frequent travelers who have laptops on their laps, they're going to be asked to close those laptops and stow them one hour before they land on some flights.

And then also, one of the things that we have seen in the post- 9/11 era, people not being able to get up one hour before it lands -- that flight lands. So, that is something you're going to see perhaps on your flight.

And one last thing that the TSA is saying is "expect the unexpected." You will not see all of these changes on every flight and at every airport. It's going to vary. And that's on purpose, because they want people to expect the unexpected.

And one of those passengers that we saw this morning, picking up on what Jeanne Meserve was just talking about a few moments ago, Joe Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, came through the section of Reagan just a few moments ago and told us one thing he wants to see is many more of those full body scanning imaging systems stationed at airports across the country. He says he's having a hearing coming up next month. He wants to demand some answers as to why we're not seeing more of those across the country -- Randi.

KAYE: Jim, a lot of people concerned about privacy, I guess, related to those. But I know he does want to push forward with that.

Jim Acosta for us in Washington.

ACOSTA: Yes, he said that even with those privacy concerns he says we need those -- we need those scanners.

KAYE: All right. Jim, thank you. And still ahead, we are learning much more about the young man behind the scare and his life before he allegedly turned to terrorism. We'll get a live report from London.

JOHNS: Also new this morning, another scare in the air, this one in Phoenix, Arizona. The FBI says it released two men after they were questioned by antiterrorism authorities. Officials tell U.S. passengers on the U.S. Airways flight from Orlando to Phoenix said they acting suspiciously. Both were described as Middle Eastern and speaking loudly to each other in a foreign language.

KAYE: Jamaican investigators will receive flight data this week from the jet that over shot the runway last Tuesday. Officials say offshore lights that guide pilots into the airport were not working at that time of the accident, but that pilots were warned and the runway was fully lit. American Airlines Flight 331 landed in the rain, hit a fence, and broke apart within 10 feet of the Caribbean Sea. Nearly 100 people were injured.

And let's get a look at our weather now from Reynolds Wolf standing by.

Good morning, again, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, guys.

You know, it's this time of year that people happen to look outside, they might see a little bit of snowfall. From that perspective, you know, a wind that separate you from the (INAUDIBLE) side, it looks great. But if you have to go out and shovel it, it's a different matter altogether. And that's going to be the situation for parts of New York State, especially right along the Finger Lakes and places like Rochester and back at Buffalo, lake-effect snow fall.

Same story can be expected in parts of Vermont and New Hampshire, and then, of course, you head back towards Michigan, it's going to be the same deal. So, expect some issues on the roadways, especially along 75 through parts of Michigan.

For your travel delays, let's take look. In New York, wind could be an issue. Same deal in Chicago and Detroit. Also with low clouds and light snow. And light snow and wind could be a big issue for you in Minneapolis, anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes might be your delay.

All right. That's the latest we've got for you. And, of course, more updates coming up throughout the morning. Let's send it back to you guys at the desk in New York.

KAYE: All right. Thank you, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

JOHNS: Still ahead: It's a small country on the Arabian Peninsula and it could be the next front on the war on terror. Barbara Starr will join us with an A.M. original.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: And welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It is 11 minutes after the hour -- and that means it's time for an A.M. original.

But, first, new this morning: two leading House Democrats are indicating they may say support health care reform without a government insurance plan. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and Congressman Chris Van Hollen both say they'll lose the public option, which is in the House bill but in the Senate, so long as the final bill was designed to keep costs down. Negotiators from the House and Senate will meet next month to try and reconcile the two bills.

JOHNS: Another deadly suicide attack in Pakistan. Police say a second blast in Karachi in less than 24 hours killed at least 15 people and wounded 20. The target was a Shiite religious procession.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials are looking at one Middle Eastern nation, worried that it's becoming the new hub for terrorists and extremists. That country is Yemen.

KAYE: Located right in the center of the region, more and more terror suspects and insurgent attacks can be linked to this one nation, including the Christmas incident.

Our Barbara Starr is live in Pentagon, breaking it down this morning with an A.M. original.

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to both of you.

Well, you know, we all know that Afghanistan and Iraq have been the very public wars against terror in the administration. But for the last several months, it is the secret war against al Qaeda in Yemen that has been at the center of many concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): In Yemen, eulogies for those killed in a recent air strike on al Qaeda hideout. U.S. officials privately acknowledged they've provided secret intelligence on several al Qaeda targets to Yemen's government, but won't say if U.S. fighter jets or armed drones were involved.

All of this happened before the suspect in the attack against Northwest Airlines Flight 253 claimed he traveled to Yemen and was given bomb-making materials there -- a claim that has the U.S. worried. Al Qaeda in Yemen has already been the focus of secret U.S. military and intelligence operations for months.

General David Petraeus sounded a warning about Yemen earlier this year.

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CMDR., U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: That's where al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has established its headquarters. This is a concern.

STARR: And with tribal rebel movements on the rise in Yemen, the central government can't fully control the country, al Qaeda has found a new safe haven.

JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: There is a very real sense that the central government is losing control over most of the country, that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is setting up bases hosted among tribes.

STARR: Look at the map and you see the potential for disaster. Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen are within striking distance of Saudi oil facilities. Hundreds of cargo ships pass the coastline each year. They come through the Suez Canal in one direction and the Indian Ocean in another, ripe targets for attacks.

The bottom line, expects say, al Qaeda in Yemen may now be able to attack the United States.

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The important thing here, is if indeed this does lead back to the -- to the Yemen's cell, most of the attacks that we've seen in the past have been in Yemen or in Saudi Arabia. The Yemeni affiliate there has not been able to do out of area operations, like al Qaeda central on the Afghan-Pakistan border, and this would represent an out of area operation and a significant one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: So, why is the U.S. so quiet about all of this? Well, the goal now, officials say is to make it look like the Yemenis are front and center in taking out after Al Qaeda in their own country and making it appear that the government there is in control of the country. But the U.S. is now funneling between $60 million and $70 million a year in military and security aid to Yemen -- Joe, Randi.

JOHNS: And Barbara, what are the Yemenis saying about all this?

STARR: Well, you know, we have spoken to some Yemeni officials, and they say they do need U.S. military and security assistance, and they make this point. They say, look, it's going to cost America a lot of money to help us right now. But, if the country collapses, it becomes a failed and a true Al Qaeda safe haven. It is going to be a disaster, and it is going to cost everybody a lot more. Joe.

JOHNS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning. Thank you so much for that.

And still ahead, a sign that the economy is coming back. We will show you why this was a pretty merry Christmas actually for retailers this year. Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business." It's 8:16.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Welcome back, everyone, to the Most News in the Morning. It's 8:18, and that means time for "Minding Your Business." STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And how about some good --

JOHNS: Experts say tighter security measures at U.S. airports may hurt the airline industry. New measures like pat downs and increased baggage searches could cause significant delays and dampen enthusiasm for air travel. The criticism comes, at a time the industry is poised to recover from a period of bruising losses.

One thing that is up because of the recession, and hard to believe this, court cases. That is right. The New York Times reports that states courts are closing the year with 4.7 million cases. The highest year total ever. Many of the cases are linked to the nation's economic collapse and people's financial troubles. Numbers also suggest this may just be the start of these kinds of cases.

JOHNS: Holiday shoppers spent a little more this season than they did a year ago according to MasterCard advisors spending polls which tracks purchases. Retail sales rose 3.6 percent from November first to Christmas Eve. Last year, it was 2.3 percent drop.

Paramount Pictures has the number one and number two films on a list that they cannot be real happy about. Star trek and the sequel to Transformers were the two most pirated movies of 2009. The file sharing service, Torrent Freak, reports that eleven million copies of Star Trek were downloaded online. That may have cost the studio as much as $79 million in ticket sales. Not exactly a list that you want to be on. Not at all.

JOHNS: That's right. And now, Stephanie Elam -- we were all ready for you and we had some talking to do.

ELAM: Yes, it's because we finally have some good to talk about. You know, for business correspondents, you spend a lot of the last couple of yours talking about negative stuff. It's kind of nice to have something decent to share. And we are taking a look at holiday sales today. And you look at the period between the day after Thanksgiving, all the way through to December 24th, numbers were looking a little merrier.

They are up 3.6 percent during that period versus the decline of 3.4 percent. Now, just think about how you were feeling at this time last year. It's probably a little bit better this time this year. So, that's part of the reason we are seeing the numbers increase.

Also, there is one extra day between that period this year versus last year. And so that is also adding to the pot. Now, of course, if we take that day out, sales are up just about 1 percent, which is pretty much in line with forecast here.

But also, think about people on the East Coast, part of the Midwest, I managed to get out the morning of that big storm that hit, the weekend before Christmas, thank goodness, it did not affect my flight. But for a lot of people, that affected their shopping and that meant that they could not go out, so that led to online shopping sales going up 15.5 percent. That's really a big number to see that number jump up like that. Keep in mind though that retail sales, as far as they are concerned, online shopping, only 10 percent of that. So, still, it's all about getting people to the stores.

Electronics, they were on the upside there by 5.9 percent. Jewelry sales up 5.6 percent. Last year, they were done nearly 30 percent. So this is obviously a much better number for them. Apparels still weak, department stores feeling some pain there as well, but overall it does look like the holiday shopping season was better. We are going to get a better idea of how sales look for the entire period when January -- when the December numbers come out. But overall, it does seem that things were getting a little bit better here.

I don't know about you, did you venture to a mall, which normally freaks me out --

JOHNS: Yes, I did. I did. I went out shopping a little bit, and as I told you earlier, I did not see a lot of stuff that I wanted to buy, you know. There was a lot of junk.

ELAM: There is a reason for that. The reason for that is because the retailers really got hurt last year. They had too much on their shelves, they had too much inventory, it did not sell. It really hurt them going into the New Year. So, because of that, they scaled back on how much they ordered. So, if you did not get out there early to get what you wanted, for a lot of people, it hurt them.

But, you did not have to brave the crowds, either, right?

ELAM: No. I could not even believe the fact that three times I went to the mall while I was home in California and all three times pulled in, got a parking space right away in Silicon valley, which shows you that perhaps it is just a different way, maybe some people doing their shopping in advance, they also had that big storm the last weekend before Christmas, so that could have been a part of it too. But, for a lot of people it's just changing the way they were shopping. There were not as many big deals, but there were other things to get people in, hoping that that could just get them to shop.

Did you get anything?

ELAM: Yes. Fresh out. Nothing. Nothing at all.

JOHNS: Online? I have to keep working it. All right. Thank you, Stephanie.

ELAM: Sure.

JOHNS: You bet. Still ahead is the most dreaded test in high school. Could the end be near for the SAT? Carol Costello has that coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Checking the time for you on this Monday morning. It's 8:25 and that means time for an A.M. original, something you will see only on "American Morning."

JOHNS: Teenagers are told that their SATs could make or break their chances at their dream school. But those all-nighters may not be necessary anymore.

Carol Costello is taking a look at the changing standards for standardized tests in an A.M. original, "Educating America".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Never has one test caused so much angst. That's a-n-g-s-t, a feeling of anxiety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you nervous? Are you excited?

MCKENNA BASKETT, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Oh, I'm so nervous.

COSTELLO: Hence, this class designed to beat the test.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's enough to get D over E.

COSTELLO: Parents pay The Princeton Review and other organizations anywhere from 600 to $8,000 for special classes or private tutors so their child can literally beat the SAT. 16-year-old McKenna Baskett from Missouri...

BASKETT: I got the gist of it.

COSTELLO: Is spending her summer in SAT class.

BASKETT: I'm really a bad test-taker and they're really hard questions, so I'm just hoping I can get through it.

COSTELLO: Imagine, all of this a-n-g-s-t for a test that many say doesn't even measure how smart you are.

ED CARROLL, THE PRINCETON REVIEW: There's a whole word list you can do.

COSTELLO: Ed Carroll tutors students to take the test.

CARROLL: There are people who think naturally and incorrectly that the SAT is a measure of intelligence and it never was. The only thing the SAT is really good at is predicting how well you do on the SAT.

COSTELLO: Carroll says it's not that a student needs to take special courses to ace the SAT. But once a student realizes there are patterns involved, sort of like Sudoku, it's a whole lot easier.

CARROLL: A squared plus B squared equals C squared. On this test the numbers that you will see most frequently, three squared plus four squared equals five squared. So if I tell students, three, four, five, that's what you need to know. You don't need to know all the terms and all the diff kinds of solutions. You need to know three, four, five. LAURENCE BUNIN, THE COLLEGE BOARD: That's just wrong.

COSTELLO: Laurence Bunin overseas the SAT for The College Board.

BUNIN: The SAT is a test of the basic skills that one needs to succeed in college.

COSTELLO (on camera): Does it show you how smart a kid is?

BUNIN: Well, it shows you how much they've learned in school.

COSTELLO (voice-over): But many universities are now saying the SAT says very little about what a student can do. Some 850 of them have now made the SAT optional for most applicants including ten this year, some of them highly selective top tier liberal arts schools.

Would you like to see the SAT go away?

SHAWN TOLER, PRINCIPAL KIPP UJIMA VILLAGE ACADEMY: I would love to see it go away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Am I clear?

STUDENTS: Crystal.

COSTELLO: Shawn Toler, principal at the KIPP school in Baltimore for inner city kids, says the deck is stacked against lower income children. They're generally not able to attend elite high schools or afford expensive tutors. According to the college board's own stat, in 2009, kids whose parents make up to $20,000 a year, scored an average 1,321 on a scale of 2,400. If a kid's parents makes above $200,000 a year, that score shoots up 381 points to an average of 1,702.

BUNIN: What you're really seeing is that the playing field isn't fair. It's not the SAT that's the problem. It's any measure of educational achievement that's going to show the same thing.

COSTELLO: But if the playing field isn't fair to begin with, educators like Principal Toler wonder why a perfect 2400 on the SAT seems to matter so much.

(on camera): Keep in mind, universities use the SAT as just one indicator of what a child is capable of in college. They also use things like high school grades, activities and written essays. All of those things weigh in.

Carol Costello, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Well, I don't know about you, but for a short time I did wish that the SATs would be scrapped when I was studying for them.

JOHNS: People have been predicting that they would be scrapped for the longest time and they are still around. KAYE: They are still here.

JOHNS: LSATs, and all those, the GREs.

KAYE: All those fun tests. We want to know though what you think. Should the SATs be scrapped? Tell us what you think. Comment on our blog. It is cnn.com/amfix.

JOHNS: And it's 29 minutes after the hour, checking our top stories this afternoon. Prosecutors in Michigan are expected to ask a judge for DNA samples from the man accused of trying to blow up a Northwest flight. They are trying to link him to evidence found on the plane, though he is not expected to attend today's hearing.

KAYE: In Iran, the death toll is rising, the riots are more violent as the government crackdown continues. Iran's state-run media says eight people died during Sunday's clash which took place on one of the holiest days in of the Shiad calendar. Another 300 people have reportedly been taken into custody.

JOHNS: Another deadly suicide attack in Pakistan, the death toll rising in just the past hour. Police say a second blast in Karachi in less than 24 hours killed at least 15 people and wounded 20. The target was a Shiite religious procession.

KAYE: More now of the alleged terror incident on a Northwest Airlines flight over Detroit, Britain's police combing through terror suspect Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab's last known address. Britain's home secretary has confirmed that he was denied a student visa and placed on a U.K. watch list in 2008.

The worldwide resources of CNN take us to Phil Black live in London. Phil, it's a very interesting detail he was placed on the list in the U.K. in 2008.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's correct. The British government today confirmed that he was in fact placed on the watch list in the country that prevented him from free reentering the country. This followed though what was a failed visa application.

We know that he stayed here for three years between 2005 and mid 2008, and then earlier this year he reapplied for another visa to come back and study again. That was rejected though on the grounds that the college he claimed he wanted to stay at was a fake, it's did not exist.

Take a listen to the British Home Secretary, Alan Johnson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN JOHNSON, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: What we do know about Abdulmutallab is he was here on a student visa and studied on a degree course at UCL, hadn't been in this certainly for 14 months, applied to come back on a student visa in May, which refused, which means he went on to our watch list and cannot enter the country. Now, where he was radicalized, that's all the subject of an intensive enquire ease the Americans are making at the moment and the U.K. security services and the police are helping them with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: For a third day now, British police and security agencies are investigating Abdulmutallab and those years that he spend in London to determine what role if any they played a part in the Christmas attack, to what extent he was influenced during that time, was he radicalized here, could he possibly still have associates in that attack here.

KAYE: And Phil, the U.S. government is certainly still trying to find out more about this suspect. What have you been able to learn that you can tell us about his life growing up before all of this happened?

BLACK: CNN had an interesting conversation with one of his high school teachers. We know he went to a fairly good school in Africa, and during those schooling years he made a couple excursions, school trips to London itself.

And through speaking to his teacher, Michael Rimmer, we have been given a picture who at that very young age was known to be fiercely religious, devout. His nickname was "The Pope." He was also described as being capable, intelligent, and curious.

And his teacher at the time says although he was fiercely religious and clearly sympathetic with extreme views because of some of the comments that he made in the class, it was hoped believed it was just a phase and he would grow out of it -- Randi.

KAYE: Phil Black for us following this developing story in London. Phil, thank you.

JOHNS: Coming up, if you were going to assess the successes and failures of foreign policy in this Obama administration over the last year, what kind of a grade would you give the president?

KAYE: That's a good question.

JOHNS: We will ask that question in just a few minutes. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

President Obama started 2009 pledging to reach out to Iran, scale back troops in Iraq, and focus the mission in Afghanistan. So it has been accomplished, and what comes next?

To help with this "A.M. Breakdown," we're joined by author Robin Wright and William Cohen, chairman and CEO of the Cohen Group. Good morning to both of you. Let's start with Iran. We will talk about engagement. The administration has been trying to engage Iran, use diplomacy to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, which is of course a departure from the Bush administration's strategy.

There are a lot of people who are saying you haven't seen so much progress, at least so far. Was putting the emphasis on talking a good idea? We ask you both, and start with you Robin Wright.

ROBIN WRIGHT, FORMER DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON POST": I think it was. The president gets a B-plus for effort and B-minus for results. This was an effort that was critical in rallying international support from the allies, people who will be essentially to any kind of sanctions or other initiatives the United States is forced to take if Iran does not comply.

JOHNS: Secretary Cohen?

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think it is a positive step to try to engage Iran, but at this point we are looking at the need for some kind of action. I think we have gone as far as we can in terms of timeframe, and now is the time for the U.N., but especially for Russia and China to join in and really impose targeted and pointed sanctions against those financial institutions in Iran, and especially the Iranian revolutionary guard core. I think they are the ones who are really running things right now and they need to be focused upon in terms of the sanctions.

JOHNS: The U.S. essentially is threatening Iran with tough sanctions if they don't agree to certain concessions in the nuclear program by the end of the year. Would sanctions work, and are there any other options, including military options, Robin Wright?

WRIGHT: Sanctions are a reflection of the failure of diplomacy. But I think the interesting things is Obama administration plans to keep the door open on diplomacy even as it imposes sanctions.

And this is saying to Iran you have a choice -- you can either become part of the international community again or you face consequences.

Sanctions are certainly much preferable to military action, but there are questions about whether either one will convince Iran to comply.

The reality is that Iran, this particular regime is facing extraordinary pressure internally because of the uprising over the past six months, and that makes it very difficult for it to take an action that might be seen as controversial at home.

JOHNS: Bill Cohen, is a military option viable?

COHEN: Well, there are only three options. One is to impose tougher and targeted sanctions.

Second would be a military option which would have to have extraordinary military intelligence and the execution would have to be very precise and it carries a number of dangers -- the danger of a backlash throughout the Muslim community with untoward consequences. So it's not a highly dishonorable option, to say the least.

And the third option is the one we appear to be headed for, and that's to live with an Iran that has a nuclear weapon. And that sets off a whole cascade of considerations, namely a proliferation of nuclear armed countries, possible Egypt, possibly Saudi Arabia and others who would then feel compelled to also develop nuclear weapons.

And what that means is that we would see the end of the nonproliferation regime as such, and we could see nuclear materials end up in the hands of terrorists groups smuggling them into the U.S. and Europe or anywhere and having a very catastrophic result.

So that appears to be where we are headed, and so sanctions may be the only issue we can apply right now. The military option is not a good one, but it's not off the table.

JOHNS: Talk briefly about this morning's headlines. Iran is experiencing the biggest uprising and the most violent government response it has seen in months. The U.S. has been fairly measured in its response so far.

Is that the right approach or does the U.S. need to get tougher in its stance on this, more supportive, say, of the opposition and more critical of the government -- Robin?

WRIGHT: There is a real danger if the United States takes a stands on the side of the green movement that it will taint it, that it will make the opposition even more vulnerable to a crackdown by the regime, arrest, show trials, and other measures, because they will be seen by the regime as agents of the United States.

So I think the Obama administration has been very cautious for a reason. In the last couple weeks it has been more vocal in pointing out the ruthlessness of the government without taking sides. And I think an important development. I think we are seeing that happen in other parts of the world, too in a coordinated campaign to say to the regime you need to be careful what you do internally.

JOHNS: Robin, I heard you at the top give the administration something in the range of a b. Bill Cohen, I would like you to give me a grade if you would, and also answer that same question -- do you think the administration needs to toughen up?

COHEN: I think we're likely to see an elevation of the condemnation of what is taking place as far as the suppression of human rights. And I would hope that the United States would have allies in the United Nations, especially those that profess to be concerned about human rights conditions.

And so if there can be a coordinated and an uprising in the civilized community to condemn Iran, I think that would carry much more weight than simply the United States coming forward and being more critical. So a coordinated approach would be best. On the grading, I am fond of what Chen Lai said to President Richard Nixon when he asked him about the impact the French Revolution, and Chen Lai responded "It's too early to tell."

I think that's is the situation for any new administration. First year in, I give them high marks for reaching out to the rest of the world, trying to change the tone of our diplomacy and our approach and how we worked on a multilateral basis as opposed to a unilateral basis.

But it's very incomplete. We don't know what the results are going to be. I didn't particularly appreciate the decision on how the cancelation of the missile defense system was handled. I thought that the joint statement of China was unnecessary in terms of the implications for India.

But overall I think they get high marks for changing the attitude that other people have towards the United States, and that gives us I think some leverage in moving forward and puts us in a better position to reach greatness in the future.

But incomplete in terms of results. You won't see those for years to come.

JOHNS: Good enough.

Thank you William Cohen and Robin Wright, appreciate you both coming in this morning.

KAYE: Tired of your old credit card rate? Gerri Willis has some financial resolutions you might want to consider for the new year. It is 8:43 and we'll be right back.

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KAYE: Oh just a little bit of snow left there.

JOHNS: Oh, yes.

KAYE: ... at Columbus Circle here in New York. After all the rain washed...

JOHNS: Yes, just washed it all away...

KAYE: It sure did.

JOHNS: Isn't that a beautiful thing let's keep it away. I am not real big on snow, you know.

KAYE: Yes.

JOHNS: It's nice to look at, but as long as it's in somebody else's neighborhood.

KAYE: Yes that's true but you know, Reynolds Wolf...

JOHNS: Yes.

KAYE: ... really big on snow. And Reynolds, it's because it gives you something to talk about, right? You like that?

JOHNS: You're sort of the snowman.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JOHNS: So tired of skyrocketing fees and shrinking credit limits? In the first of our series on "Financial Resolutions" Geri Willis tells you how to find the best terms next.

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KAYE: Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning.

Tired of getting squeezed by your credit card company?

JOHNS: In the first of our series on "Financial Resolutions" Gerri Willis tells us how to find the best deals on your terms.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right, good morning guys.

JOHNS: Good morning.

WILLIS: It's good to see you. Yes, I know everybody is just a little grumpy with their credit card, right?

JOHNS: You got that right.

KAYE: Just a little bit.

WILLIS: Yes, just a little bit...

JOHNS: And then they jack up the rates...

WILLIS: Yes.

JOHNS: And then -- and good customers are the ones who are getting nailed.

WILLIS: Everybody is getting nailed.

I want you to take a look at these numbers. It's shocking how much these rates have gone up. They're up 32 percent since January...

JOHNS: Geez, wow.

WILLIS: The average rate is 15 percent. And that means that since last January, you paid $110 just in interest on your credit card.

For all of us, that's $10 billion according to BillShrink.com. $10 billion, we could have...

JOHNS: Yes.

WILLIS: ... gone out and rescued a few banks for that.

Ok, the worst offenders here: Capital One, Citi and Discover. So those are big institutions. You know, as I said, you know the rates are up and up dramatically. Fortunately the end of the arbitrary rate hike is coming very soon. The House voted to enforce tougher credit card rules with that card act going into effect February 22nd of this coming year.

So the big question; how can you find a card that really fits your needs? Well, one of the big secrets here is to use a local community bank because their rates are typically one to two percent lower than big bank cards.

And I want to show you some things you should ask for when you're signing up for a new card. You should get interest rates below 10 percent if you have a decent credit store -- score. Your fees should be capped, a 25-day grace period. If you're shopping right now, of course, all those rules are going to change in February.

And we've even got a list of actual cards that you could get if have you a decent credit score that have decent terms. And we got this from CardRatings.com. There are thousands literally, thousands of cards out there, of course.

Pentagon Federal has a fantastic card called the Pentagon Federal Low Rate Visa Gold. Percentage interest rate low at 12.9 percent, low balance transfer fee. Simmons First Visa Platinum, 7.25 percent...

JOHNS: Wow.

WILLIS: And you've got to like that.

JOHNS: That's for sure.

WILLIS: No balance transfer fee if you decided to leave that card. IberiaBank Visa Classic, they have a 25 day grace period, low balance transfer fees.

You've got to shop around here, guys.

JOHNS: Yes.

WILLIS: There's no other way to get a good card. You can't just pull the offers out of your mailbox and expect to get something that's going to make a lot of sense.

KAYE: It's really unbelievable about what's going on because they are all doing this right before the rates are changed and the rates are capped.

WILLIS: And they are trying to do it proactively, because once the law changes, then they're going to have to give you a notification for weeks ahead of the rate change. They won't have complete freedom to do that anymore. They're trying to get out in front of it. But I know people are frustrated, and it makes sense to go shop for a new card out there.

JOHNS: And hopefully they're going to simplify that language of that fine print that you have to read and it makes no sense.

KAYE: Yes, that's right.

JOHNS: ... that's gobbledygook's...

KAYE: That's right.

JOHNS: ... about 12 pages long.

WILLIS: We've already seen some of the language they are starting to use that does makes more sense. But at the end of the day, go to a Web site like ratings.com. Look at the offers out there and see what's fits your lifestyle and what you are doing.

JOHNS: You bet. Thanks so much Gerri Willis.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

KAYE: Thanks Gerri.

Don't have a corkscrew for that bottle of wine? Well, don't worry. This guy has a very unique solution to that problem.

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JOHNS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 56 minutes after the hour and that means it's time for "The Moost News in the Morning".

KAYE: By now you've probably sobered up maybe from the holiday weekend, but if you are lucky there is a bottle or two leftover.

JOHNS: And in your case, if your in-laws took off with your corkscrew, Jeanne Moos has this helpful tutorial on how to open a bottle of wine in a pinch.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You may not be the world's greatest wine connoisseur but this Frenchman sure knows how to pop his cork and we don't mean the usual will way, we mean without a corkscrew -- call it the cork shoe technique.

He's the toast of the Internet for his sure-footed effort to open what surely wasn't the first bottle of the night. Go ahead and laugh; 20 seconds later this Frenchman had that bottle uncorked. His feet is the subject of Internet instruction...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew. Step one stick a screw into the cork. MOOS: Ranging from using a crew and a hammer to a hammer and a beater from a mixer. That method ended in the cork was shoved inside the bottle. Others recommend using a sharpie. This method is best if you're planning on polishing off the whole bottle. If caught without a corkscrew, A wine professional might resort to a tree.

Or you could try using the phone book. Who says the Internet has made the phone book obsolete, try doing this with a laptop. You know a nice red goes very well with the yellow pages.

Funny, when they did it, it looked so easy.

Do you think it's because it's cheap wine?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nada.

MOOS: I'm exhausted.

So my producer Richard Davis took over.

Champagne corks are much bigger and easier. Even swordplay works. Here is a method that leaves you more screwed than a corkscrew.

We tried whacking the floor. We tried the bottle and boot technique, but the cork would not budge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 85 percent of the world's wine's corks come from Portugal.

MOOS: Yes, well, ours was the cork from hell.

RICHARD DAVIS, CNN PRODUCER: This is really frustrating.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Man.

KAYE: Jeanne's producer has the toughest job.

JOHNS: Absolutely and I'm surprised he didn't crush his thumb trying to open that bottle.

KAYE: That was a tough one.

JOHNS: I know.

Anyway, if you want to continue the conversation on today's stories, go to our blog at cnn.com/amfix.

KAYE: And I believe that's going to do it for us. Here is "CNN NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins -- Heidi.