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Safety in the Air; Evidence of Terror; Wanted: Homeland Security Chiefs

Aired December 29, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We are pushing forward now on some of our top stories of the day.

The Christmas day bomb suspect sitting in a federal prison in Michigan right now. Some lawmakers would prefer Guantanamo Bay. Congressman Peter King, top republican on House Homeland Security Committee, says Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab should be tried by a military tribunal not in a civilian court.

No reaction so far from the White House. President Obama has promised an aggressive response to terrorists, though, plotting to harm Americans. And he implied that the U.S. would go on the offensive, not strengthen its offenses.

And a funeral home goes on the offensive in the run up New Year's, promising free funerals for drunk drivers. More on Operation Stop and think later this hour.

So, would you give up your carry-ons to make air travel safer, or to feel safer in the air? In the wake of last week's failed attempt to blow up a plane from the Netherlands bound for Detroit, carry-on crackdowns are on the way, especially in Canada. There, at least for now, carry-ons are mostly forbidden on U.S.-bound airliners. They're also being screened and double screened all across America. In many cases, they are swabbed for explosive residue and passengers are patted down, or put through body scanners that the feds are scrambling to put in many more airports.

And who is overseeing all of this? TSA and Customs and Border Protection are both without permanent leaders. Confirmation votes are being held up in the Senate, but we have late word that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will try to force a vote on the TSA nominee Erroll Southers in the next few weeks.

Now I want to get some insight from Larry Johnson. He's a terrorism analyst and business consultant who used to work in the Office of Counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department.

We spoke to him yesterday by phone. He joins me live from D.C.

Larry, good to see you.

LARRY JOHNSON, TERRORISM ANALYST: Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. First of all, Canada saying no more carry- on baggage. Is that really an effective answer to all of this, and could we start to see that in the United States?

JOHNSON: It's a Band-Aid on the sucking (ph) chest wound. I mean, what the Canadians are admitting is they have no effective system in place for detecting the possibility of somebody bringing explosives on board a plane. And what's so disturbing about this is we've known for 15 years about this threat.

Let's recall that it took 13 years for the United States to react to bags with explosives and to finally put in place a system to check bags that are checked into the body of the plane for explosives. That finally came into effect in 2001, 13 years after the bombing of Pan Am 203.

Here, we had December of '94, Ramzi Yousef took components on board a plane, built the bomb, left the bomb under the seat, got off of the plane. It detonated in the air. He was doing this as a test run to blow up 12 jumbo jets. So we've known about this for that time, and so Canada's gesture, then, it's one that will probably last three or four weeks, and then they'll go back to business as usual.

And the unfortunate thing is, what we need to do is start putting in place existing technologies that we have that are both trace detectors and bolt detectors, and then move the effort, advance it, to start really developing a comprehensive technological solution. Because that's our only hope in the long run.

PHILLIPS: Interesting that you say that, trace and bolt detectors, because I had a chance to talk to a man last hour. We were calling him Tony because his work doesn't want him identified, but he used to work for the TSA, the DHS, and also the FAA. And he said exactly what you just said. He said that is the answer to prevent, for the most part, our best chances, at least, because, of course, nothing is 100 percent, but this is the way to prevent bomb-making materials to get on board an aircraft.

Take a listen to what he told me. I want to get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"TONY", FMR. TSA, DHS, FAA OFFICIAL: Knowing what I know from the outside, since Richard Reid, in 2001, eight years ago, there is not adequate screening using the technology which is currently available on passengers coming into this country on inbound flights. TSA, at least until very recently, has been very reluctant to take much care or notice of security on flights coming inbound, not going at all beyond what was in place before Richard Reid.

Richard Reid showed that we needed some way of screening incoming passengers for trace residues of explosives. This could easily have been done by equipment that is deployed all over the United States now, but we don't require it, such equipment to be used on passengers coming in from overseas.

PHILLIPS: And that's my question. Why do we not require this type of equipment for passengers coming into this country from overseas? We have, and you refer to this in this very extensive report that you put together, these chemical detectors in more than a dozen airports in the United States. Why don't we have that internationally?

TONY: Yes, those chemical detectors, I believe, are in more than 100 airports in the United States. They could be deployed internationally. There's a few countries that have done it on their own, which is fine. But we should be requiring that on all flights coming into this country. And you will have to ask the TSA why they haven't done this for eight years, let alone for the last year or two.

We got another tip-off in August, 2006, when a plot to do the same thing, to bring explosives aboard aircraft on flights coming in to the U.S. from London was discovered. And then, again, people reminded TSA, you should use screening overseas on flights coming in.

And they do inspections, they do standard x-rays, they do pat- downs, but they don't use this very well known, functioning, relatively inexpensive and easy to operate system which is all over this country. The TSA, informally, I have heard, leadership talk about how difficult it is to get other countries to agree to such measures. I do not think that it's true, because they agree to other measures which are far more intrusive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So, Larry, two questions.

Our research here at CNN says it's more than a dozen airports have this technology and use this technology. However, Tony is telling me, no, there's 100 airports that have it.

So, does that mean there are airports that have these detectors and they are just not using this them?

JOHNSON: Yes. I mean, there's no requirement to use it, so human nature kicks in. If you are not required to do something, you don't.

I flew two weeks ago from Cairo to JFK, direct flight on Delta Air Lines. There was no screening of the shoes. You know, in the United States, you have to take your shoes off. Inbound flight, they don't do any checking of the shoes to find out if you have anything unusual in the sole that might possibly be an explosive.

So, what we have is still a lack of standardization across the board. There is some of it within the United States, where the federal security directors in the various airports, they can pose different standards.

For example, at one place, if you're a woman and you're wearing, like, a shirt over an undershirt, they may require you to take it off, and then at another airport, they won't. That is sort of minor. But when you go overseas, the United States is in a position to require any air carrier flying into the United States to adopt very specific measures of security, and TSA hasn't, and really, there's no excuse for it except incompetence.

PHILLIPS: Interesting, incompetence, because Tony mentioned the TSA is reluctant. Why should the TSA be reluctant about anything when they are in charge of our security?

JOHNSON: Because security, a lot of times, you wind up being the Rodney Dangerfield. You get no respect, you get beat up, you get pressure. Security is bad news.

Whenever you see the security director at an airline coming through the door, he is not telling you how you're going to save money and, in fact, increase your bottom line. He's bringing you costs, because security involve costs and personnel and equipment. But it's one of those things that's necessary.

This is one of those few areas where you should have a genuine partnership between the federal government and the commercial sector. And it is -- the federal government has a clear role to play in ensuring that the security is done properly in order to keep people safe, because just one or two airlines start going down with explosives, it is going to have a dramatic negative economic impact on this country that will then affect other people who don't even fly.

PHILLIPS: Mary Schiavo, former inspector general at the Transportation Department, also told me last hour, we have got the money, it's politics that's holding everything up.

Take a listen to what she told me.

JOHNSON: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY SCHIAVO, FMR. DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL: We've been relying on profiling since 1988. This equipment will stop them, and it will stop all known explosives used by terrorists. So I don't want to say it's 100 percent effective, because you could always mix something on the plane that isn't detected by this equipment. But for the known explosives used by terrorists today, this equipment is 100 percent effective.

We just have to put it in place. And then that will stop them.

Senator DeMint is from our home state of South Carolina, and there are many political interests that have prompted (ph) this. But it's too important.

The same thing happened when I left. The inspector general job was open for several months because it got bogged down in political issues.

This is not an issue of politics, this is law enforcement. And when we treat it like law enforcement, just as Tony says, we give the equipment to the cops on the beat, except this case, the cops are the TSA agents. And that's how we have to treat it. We do not let politics come into law enforcement in this country, nor should we ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But it is. We don't have the head of a TSA, we've got these chemical detection systems all across airports in the United States. And, by law, we are able to tell airports overseas that they need to assure us that they are doing proper security measures. And none of that is happening.

What's wrong with this, Larry?

JOHNSON: Well, because we have gone -- these incidents are few and far between. If you look at the attempts to put explosives on board planes successfully, there has been, I think, a total of five incidents worldwide since 1994. And so what happens is they argue, well, it's a low risk, low threat, but unfortunately, it's...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: But Larry, when it happens, look at how devastating it is.

JOHNSON: Yes. That's the point.

PHILLIPS: 9/11 happened one time, but, my God, that changed our entire -- all of our lives and our world and politics, and you name it. I mean, why do we have to look at this as, oh, it only happens once in a while? It's like totally devaluing life.

JOHNSON: Well, I agree. We shouldn't look at it this way because for commercial airlines, they can't afford a 90 percent success rate. They have to be 100 percent successful in protecting those aircraft and ensuring that they're mechanically sound, as well as that no threat item gets introduced on board.

And, you know, frankly, the Bush administration still needs to answer -- they did some very good things in strengthening TSA, putting official trained people at those checkpoints and requiring checked baggage to be detected -- to be interrogated for explosives. But why didn't they do that at the passenger checkpoints?

You know, you've got Frances Townsend on the air with you and Tom Ridge. We ought to ask them, why didn't you do that? I mean, what was the reason? Because from a strictly technical standpoint of aviation security, there is absolutely no reason that that should not have been done.

PHILLIPS: Larry Johnson, great talking to you. Thanks again for your time today.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Well, we're not finished yet. We're going to get the latest on the holdup in naming the head of the TSA and the probe under way on the forensics of the failed attack on Christmas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we're getting more details on the chemicals that could have been used to bring down Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve joining me now from Washington with the latest on the forensics.

What did you find out, Jeanne?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it's interesting. This has to do not with that concealed explosive in the undergarment, but with a syringe that was also found on the aircraft.

In an FBI bulletin that CNN obtained last night, it said that preliminary chemical analysis revealed the presence of ethylene glycol. However, I've talked with a law enforcement source today who said they haven't been able to determine that conclusively. They have not been able to figure out yet exactly what the accelerant in this bomb was.

That's because this syringe was so badly damaged, it was largely burned, if you'll recall the picture of it, and looks all shriveled up. So, apparently, a little bit of a challenge there. As this law enforcement source said to me, they do have the garment, they do have the contents of the garment. The only issue is determining the means by which it was going to be set off -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, here we are, Jeanne, with no head of the TSA.

MESERVE: Yes, that's right. And they are really at the center of the storm here.

It turns out that a member of the Senate is holding up the confirmation of the man nominated to take the helm there at the TSA. And it's because of a heated debate over unions, security and, of course, politics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): Fifty thousand transportation security officers screen, inspect, question and observe at the nation's airports to keep dangerous people and items off planes.

Senator Jim DeMint believes giving them collective bargaining rights would hurt security.

SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Collective bargaining would standardize things across the country, make it much less flexible, much harder for the agency to adapt to changing threats around the world. MESERVE: Harder for instance to react to something like the 2006 plot to blow up airplanes with liquid explosives. Within hours of learning of that, the TSA ramped up security and temporarily banned carry-on liquids.

The union, representing 12,000 TSOs, say DeMint's argument is rubbish, pointing out that employees of the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Protective Service, and others all have full union representation.

JOHN GAGE, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: No one talked about union membership when the cops and the firefighters went up the stairs at 9/11 at the World Trade Towers. No one talks about our two officers, two union members, who took down the shooter at Fort Hood. There was nothing in their union membership that stopped them from doing their duties.

MESERVE: During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama wrote the union that giving TSOs collective bargaining rights would be a priority. Unions gave him valuable support in the election.

DEMINT: It's all about politics. It's payback to the unions.

MESERVE: DeMint pushed the issue at a hearing on Wednesday.

DEMINT: How can unionization and collective bargaining enhance security in our airports?

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Well, Senator, the answer is collective bargaining and security are not mutually exclusive concepts.

MESERVE: DeMint is holding up the confirmation of Errol Southers to head the TSA to make his point, though Southers has been noncommittal on the union issue telling DeMint he wouldn't recommend anything that would "potentially compromise the safety and security of the flying public."

JAMES SHERK, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: I think that the nominee is -- understands the confirmation process and that he doesn't want to say anything controversial. But ultimately, once he's confirmed it's not going to be his choice. It's going to be the choice of the secretary and ultimately the choice of the president. And the president has made it clear where he stands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Now, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today that if Senator DeMint hasn't changed his mind by the time the Senate comes back in mid-January, he will take steps to try to hold an up-or-down vote on Southers' nomination.

Back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jeanne.

And Jim DeMint is Wolf Blitzer's guest on "THE SITUATION ROOM." That's at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

These open posts at DHS were a political hot potato even before that Christmas Day wakeup call.

Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry joining me now from Hawaii with more on the president's position here -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you're right. I mean, the president has not spoken publicly about this TSA nomination. He didn't mention it yesterday in his much broader remarks, obviously, about the attempted terror attack. But I can tell you, White House aides are pretty fired up about this, and as you heard Jeanne reporting, the White House position is essentially, you know, why is a union issue that Republican Senator Jim DeMint is bringing up holding up this nomination?

The nomination of Mr. Southers has been held up for several months now. And there is no evidence, obviously, at this point that not having a TSA chief, you know, caused this incident or made it more likely that the suspect was able to get through screening in Amsterdam, for example. There is no one who can prove that link.

Nevertheless, the position of the White House, when you talk to top aides, is, how can you in the middle of what is a big national incident, perhaps even a crisis, not have a regular chief in charge at the TSA? And that's why, as you heard Jeanne report, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now planning to force a vote on this nomination mid-January, when senators come back to work, because they believe this could put safety at risk, and they want to know why Republicans are holding it up.

So, this is going to get certainly a lot of attention once the Senate gets back to work in mid-January -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A lot of us attention from us as well. Ed Henry, thanks.

In Iran, more arrests after a weekend of deadly clashes. Police are still rounding up opposition protesters. And the country's speaker of parliament says they should get no mercy.

At least eight people were killed Sunday in clashes between riot police and protesters. That violence came during one of the country's holiest days of the year. It's the latest in a wave of unrest sparked by Iran's disputed presidential election in the summer.

In southern California, a show of support for the opposition protesters in Iran. This rally near Los Angeles. The city has a heavy concentration of Iranian-Americans. Many of them fled Iran after the 1979 revolution.

All right. New consumer-friendly rules for credit cards go into effect in February, but according to our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, well, you better start getting ready now -- Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey there, Kyra. Yes, credit card companies are trying to get ready for that implementation of the CARD Act in February. And as they have been doing for months, they are expected to continue raising interest rates and lowering credit limits to get ready for the new law.

In fact, since last January, card operators have collected $110 from the average cardholder and $10 billion from all U.S. cardholders. That's according to BillShrink.com.

To find out if your credit card operator is squeezing you more, watch for letters from your card issuer in coming weeks, even the ones that look like junk mail are written in fine print. The bottom line here is that they have to notify you of even small changes -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, can I get out the -- you know, get out of paying these higher fees? As she laughs. Hey, look, everything is negotiable. I know that.

WILLIS: That's right. That's right.

Well, you can opt out, what they're calling it, opt out of paying higher interest rates or other fees, by telling your card issuer you're just not going to do it. However, you'll have to stop using the card and simply pay off the bill under the previous terms. And guess what that means? You'll probably have to shop around for a new card to replace the account you're closing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Final question, what should I be looking for in these letters?

WILLIS: All right. Well, here's the big thing. All right, check out the credit limits. This is how much you can charge on your card.

Many of these issuers, as I say, are dropping this number. And you've got to be careful not to charge too much, because you will incur fees.

Later next year, you will also have the option of opting out of these overdraft fees. These are charges for the convenience of having the bank pay your debit charge when you overdraw your account. You're better off opting out of this service, because it can cost 39 bucks, and some banks will charge you up to five to 10 times overdraft fees every time you overdraw your account.

OK. It may be more embarrassing to be turned down for your debt card, but it's certainly cheaper to operate that way.

And finally, as I mentioned, watch your interest rate. As we have seen, these credit card operators are raising rates across the board, and you need to be well aware of what rate you are paying -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Gerri. Thanks.

WILLIS: My pleasure. PHILLIPS: Other top stories now.

North Korea says it's holding an American who entered the country illegally on Christmas Eve. State-run media hasn't identified the man, but it's believed that he could be Robert Park, a missionary who has been trying to call attention to North Korea's human rights conditions.

Britain has denouncing China's execution of a British man on drug-smuggling charges. It's China's first execution of a European citizen in nearly 60 years. The man was put to death by lethal injection. His family says he was mentally unstable and was unwittingly lured into that crime.

In Arizona, documents released in the deadly sweat lodge case shows serious medical problems at past events led by self-help guru James Arthur Ray. In the latest case, three people died in October in a ceremony led by Ray. The case is being treated as a homicide investigation.

Just one word for it -- brrr. Much of the country is shivering through a cold day. So when is it going to warm up?

And don't mess with Texas, especially on its big day. December 29th, 1845, it became the latest state to join the union. September 28, in fact. It would take another whole year for number 29, Iowa, to come on board.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Spillover in Mexico's drug war. Killings in our border cities are on the decline, but one group remains a favorite target -- uniformed men and women struggling to keep the streets safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we've been telling you for some time about deadly violence along the border with Mexico, and today, good news, and bad news on the situation. Here's bad. Five bodies found Christmas Day in the northern Mexican state of Durango. That area pretty much ruled by drug cartels. Well their turf wars have left more than 15,000 people dead in the last three years.

Now the good news -- good being a relative term here. Efforts to prevent drug killings from spilling over into the U.S. seem to be working. New FBI figures show that murders in the key U.S. border cities dropped in the first half of this year. One of the steepest drops -- Tucson, Arizona. Murders fell from 30 in the first half of 2008, to nine, in the same period this year. Look, even el Paso is seeing a drop. And it's a stone's throw from what's been called the murder capital of the world, Juarez.

So what is keeping the crime from crossing the border?

Our Bill Tucker takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 15,000 people have been killed in Mexico since its president Felipe Calderon engaged federal troops in a war against the drug cartels three years ago. The violence -- shocking and graphic. Earlier this year, it was the focus of hearings in Washington where lawmakers expressed concern about its impact on the United States.

REP. LORETTA SANCHEZ (D), CALIFORNIA: The United States and the Congress cannot ignore our role in assisting the neighbor and ally in this fight. And of course, in preventing that violence from slipping into the united states.

TUCKER: But the latest FBI crime statistics show that violence for now at least is not slipping over but dropping in cities on the U.S. side of the border. The number of murders in Brownsville, Texas; Laredo, Texas; Tucson, Arizona; and San Diego, California are lower. The head of the Southwest Border Sheriffs Coalition credits the decline to several factors: Increased patrol by local law enforcement, greater cooperation between local and state police, and successful interaction with federal agencies like the U.S. the border control.

But this sheriff from Texas warns:

VOICE OF SHERIFF SIGIFREDO GONZALEZ, JR., SOUTHWEST BORDER SHERIFF'S COALITION: The worst thing I think has increased is assaults on the police officers on the border. They're starting to ram out vehicles. Our officers are getting shot at. That has to stop. The violence is still there. The violence is going to continue.

TUCKER: And just this weekend, a border patrol agent was shot and wounded while on patrol in Arizona. One longtime observer of politics in Mexico says he sees drug violence in Mexico intensifying and becoming more of a threat to the U.S.

GEORGE GRAYSON, AUTHORE, "MEXICO: NARCO-VIOLENCE AND A FAILED STATE?": The sadists (ph) are the ex-Army forces specialists who have gone to the dark side and now they have the meanest. leanest cartel in the country. So I wouldn't be surprised to see more bloodletting as Los Zaitos (ph) tries to take over the turf that was once occupied by the Beltran Leyvas.

TUCKER: Congress has agreed to help fund Mexico's war against the cartels, voting to commit $1.3 billion to the fight.

Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And keep in mind, Mexican drug cartels are active throughout the U.S. The map shows where the cartels and their affiliates have drug distribution networks. A trying time for law enforcement in Washington State gets even worse. Deputy Kent Mundell shot last week, responding to a domestic violence call, has died. His family had to make the awful decision to remove him from life support after doctors told them he just wasn't going to recover. Deputy Mundell is the sixth officer to be shot and killed in the last eight weeks. Our condolences to his wife, Lisa, and their two children.

A Tennessee police officer very nearly lost his life. A bullet that would have pierced his chest stopped, not by a vest though, but by his badge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER JOSHUA SMITH, OAKLAND, TENNESSEE POLICE: It felt like somebody hit me in the chest with a baseball bat. I couldn't breathe, I just couldn't catch my breathe. At that point I was worried about finding and wound and stopping the bleeding.

PHILLIPS: Listen to this -- the badge company is actually sending him a replacement badge ASAP -- for free.

Few cash-strapped public schools have the budgets for one-on-one tutoring for students. So imagine how tough it is for homeless kids to get a tutor. Well, one California woman is making sure they get the extra help that they need. CNN photo journalist Greg Cannes shows us how as part of CNN's Giving in Focus series.

(GIVING IN FOCUS)

PHILLIPS: He's got the hair for it, too. He's got that kicking Mohawk.

Well, you can see the examples of how your friends and neighbors are helping the needy. Just click on to our web site CNN.com/ giving. And Saturday CNN will give you a special look at the best of the Giving and Focus series, "Favorites in Focus." That show starts 3:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

Well, to catch a thief, you have to think like a thief. To stop a bomber, well, you have to build bombs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Top stories now. A dramatic high speed motorcycle chase across southern Arizona today. Police say the motorcyclist weaved in and out of traffic reaching speeds up to 140 miles an hour, then his bike stopped. The 22 year-old cyclist is now in custody. Police don't know if the motorcycle broke or it just ran out of gas.

Tylenol is expanding its recall of arthritis caplets. Check your medicine cabinet for 100-count arthritis pain caplet bottles with the red easy open caps. Johnson & Johnson has received reports of a musty smell which triggered nausea and stomach pains. The company will resume production of the caplets next month, when it moves into its new facility. Terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab being held in a Federal prison in Michigan now. We're learning more about his mindset before he allegedly tried to blow up a U.S. passenger jet. More than 300 internet postings are attributed to him under the username Farouk1986. Many of them reflect a growing alienation with his family and a desire for a world wide jihad.

Not only does the U.S. government try to spot bombs to stop bombs before they wind up on airplanes, it also builds bombs so it can better spot and stop them.

Our Jeanne Meserve saw for herself in a piece that we first aired in July.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Airplanes blown to smithereens all in the name of science of and security. But wait, this story really begins at the Transportation Security Laboratory in Atlantic City where Patrick O'Connor builds bombs for the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a real explosive that I have here in my hand.

MESERVE: O'Connor has built hundreds of improvised explosive devises disguised as electronics, footwear, even an innocuous looking stack of DVDs. The designs evolve based on intelligence about the bombs terrorists are building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Usually you use a thief to catch a thief, and that's what we do here.

MESERVE: Some of the bombs are detonated in old planes to test whether a similar device could bring down a flight. Others are put in luggage and run through screening machines. If the bombs are not detected, scientists try to close the security gap to beat the terrorists.

SUSAN HALLOWELL, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY LAB: It's game of cat and mouse. We understand what they're doing, they understand to some measure what we're doing, and we counteract that with better improved technology.

MESERVE: Machines are not the total only answer.

ROBIN KANE, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, TSA: at the end of the day, the technology detects very specific threats, it does not detect a terrorist.

MESERVE: But better machines would be a valuable tool. Scientists do a high resolution cross-section scan of a peanut M&M to show us how they might someday be able to ferret out explosive material by examining its density and granularity. Others are trying to crack the problem of detecting liquid explosives by capturing and measuring the vapors emitted from a homemade concoction concealed in a bottle of cold medicine. HALLOWELL: Well, I can't tell you what is in the Nyquil, but it's something that's really bad that we need to keep off of airplanes.

MESERVE: Not all of the work being done here will lead to better bomb detection, but some might and could prevent something like this.

(on camera): Researchers here practice something they call "bagology." They will take a piece of luggage like this and run it fully loaded through a screening machine to try to figure out what sorts of ordinary objects set off false alarms. That way they can eliminate those false alarms, making airport screening more efficient as well as more effective.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We'll be ringing in a new year and a new decade three days from now. All this week we're looking back at stories that made headlines in 2009, and we're asking our correspondents for their insights on the top stories they covered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I'm Allan Chernoff and for me, this is among the most memorable stories of the year.

After a crash of a Colgan Air plane near Buffalo, New York, we investigated the flight school that had trained the pilot and learned that the school -- Gulfstream Training Academy puts pilots with very little experienced into the cockpits of commercial flights on its sister company Gulfstream International Airlines. We also learned of allegations of maintenance and safety violations at the company, and indeed, the FAA fined that company more than $1 million.

We also investigated the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and followed a case of a whistleblower who had pointed out safety problems at Colgan Air prior to that crash in Buffalo. The whistleblower was ignored, he was demoted. After our story he was reinstated at the FAA.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Candiotti, in New York and here's the Hudson River over my shoulder. I'll be you know what story I'm going to talk about. That's right. It was when Captain Sulley Sullenberger managed to land his US Airways plane right here on the Hudson River.

We ran down here on this day -- it was a day much like this -- overcast and bitter cold. When we were on the way here, we thought, maybe it's just a movie being filmed. That turned out not to be the case, but who at that time knew that 155 people, everyone aboard, would survive.

When we came down here to this pier, Pier 84 along the Hudson, we didn't know what we would find. But shortly after we got here, we ran into a man, a survivor, a passenger on the plane. I remember he was wearing blue jeans and he was shivering and yet he stood there for, I don't know how long, at least an hour telling us about what it was like to survive that crash. I couldn't believe his stamina. But I guess it was the adrenaline keeping him going.

And then we set up a camera out here in the middle of the street as we waited for more people to be rescued and more people to be coming in. We stayed here until 2:00 in the morning that night. And I kept hoping and in fact praying that it was true that everyone had made it off of that plane. And it was.

And I will always remember covering the "Miracle on the Hudson."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And all week here in the NEWSROOM we're going to be reviewing this year's top stories.

And before you undertake risky new year's revelry, well, an undertaker in Georgia wants to make you an offer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Team Sanchez -- working hard on that next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

What you got going, Rick?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're up here in New York, Kyra, and there's a couple of stories we're following. I'm fascinated, as I'm sure you are about what's going on in Yemen. We're going to be talking to one of the ambassadors from Yemen who contact me last night and said, you know, it's time that you understand our perspective on this. So in keeping with what we want to do, and that is let our viewers hear all of the perspectives on this, he's going to be joining us.

But there's this other incredible story that's going on right now that everyone in the sports world is glued to. Mike Leach is probably one of the most famous, one of the most successful coaches in all of college football. This is one of those times when a sports story transcends and becomes a news story. He's not going to be allowed to coach in the Alamo Bowl that's coming up here shortly. And the reason he's not going to be allowed to coach is because of what he did to -- allegedly -- one of the players. Apparently putting him in solitary confinement. So, the university's decided, you're out.

I've got to tell you, this guy's one of the biggest names in college football --

PHILLIPS: Solitary confinement? What for? What gave him the right to do that?

SANCHEZ: Well, here's what's really bizarre. The kid apparently had a concussion. The coach maybe thought it was not just a concussion, that maybe he was working as hard -- PHILLIPS: Faking it?

SANCHEZ: Well, maybe not as working as hard as he should be. So he put him in some place and had the trainer watch over him for several hours, almost as a disciplinary measure, a punishment. Now, coaches do this kind of stuff, you have to understand. But did he go too far? And another element to this.

It turns out the kid who he did this to -- his dad is a famous NFL football player and a sports analyst on ESPN. So he complained, it got all of the way to the university president, and now it makes you ask this question: If his dad hadn't been that famous person, would this coach have been suspended?

PHILLIPS: OK. Interesting question. But I want to know, did the kid have a concussion or not? Do we know?

SANCHEZ: We're going to find out. Because I got two people -- actually I got three people I'm talking to.

I've got Mercury Morris, famous running back for the Miami Dolphins who's just a great, great interview on anything having to do with sports. A really smart guy. Eddie George, one of the finest running backs whose ever been in the NFL, former Heisman trophy winner whose now a broadcaster himself, in his own right. And then we reached out to the Mike Leach, we contacted his lawyer, we asked for a statement. He said, statement, hell, I'll come on the show and set this story straight. So we've got him, he's going to join us here in a little bit and he's going to be telling us what the other side of the story is -- coach's story, which he says is being blown out of proportion by the media.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll be watching. You got my attention, Rick. Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's good stuff.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Well, you don't expect a reward for driving drunk. A free ride to jail maybe, but not an all-expense paid funeral. That's right. A Georgia mortuary going one better. Free funerals for drunk drivers. It's the 10th year for Operation Stop and Think. That program sprang from a loved one's drunk driving death. Basically anyone who plans to party on New Year's, then hit the road, well they can just stop by and sign up. And if they die, services on the house.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY MILLER, MCGUIRE, JENNINGS AND MILLER FUNERAL HOMES: No one has ever came in to sign the contract. We've had some people call that didn't understand the contract, but once they understood the contract and the program they thought it was a great program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the funeral home says that it's more of just a way to get people's attention. It definitely got ours.

Back in February, the big three were broke and had a lot to lose. But their employees had way more. We're looking back at John King's 50-state road trip this year. Next stop, Michigan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, he has been covering D.C. for almost two decades, but this year, CNN's John King wanted to head outside the beltway and actually talk to folks far removed from the halls of power. His goal: Hit all 50 states.

So in February, as President Obama was prepping for the first address to the Congress and the country was debating a GM/Chrysler bailout, John went to Lansing, Michigan, to talk to autoworkers whose careers were hanging in the bowels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The Lansing Grand River assembly line -- modern, clean, efficient. These Cadillacs among GM's best-selling models, and yet this plant is down from two shifts to one. New cars just aren't selling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's scary times right now, for a lot of people.

KING: Thousands already let go. Many on this line will be out of work in just a few weeks. 12 years seniority protects Fred Efaw for now.

FRED EFAW, LANSING AUTOWORKER: I'm married, I have two daughters, and, you know, they want to do things. And you can't commit to those things, not knowing that you're going to have a full income in the next months of weeks ahead. So, you know, it is hard. You've got to explain to your kids it may not be the way it's always been for you.

KING: Just one shift here and just one at another GM plant across town. Mike Huerta remembers when it ran around the clock. He'll be out of work in a few more weeks.

MIKE HUERTA, LANSING AUTOWORKER: We haven't been to see movies. We eat at home and pack lunches, those types of things. You know, you don't really spend anything you don't have to.

KING: Huerta says a tax-payer funded GM bailout is his only hope of being called back some day and he fumes at those in Washington who say that the company should take the lumps.

HUERTA: We had senators from down south in particular, that have a lot of Nissan, or Honda, or Toyota plants basically come out and say, we should go bankrupt. They're not talking about a somebody that you can't see. That means me. That takes away my family's livelihood.

KING: The pain is shared beyond the factory floor. This is one of two Saturn dealerships owned by Sheryl Freeborough.

SHERYL FREEBOROUGH, OWNER, SATURN DEALERSHIPS: This is the biggest vehicle we've ever had.

KING: This SUV is made right here in Lansing. But GM is shedding the brand in three years as part of its restructuring. Saturn dealers like F, who are determined to stay in business are now exploring partnerships with Indian and Chinese automakers.

(on-camera): It's risky.

FREEBOROUGH: It's very risky.

KING (voice-over): But a risk F says she has to take for her employees and for herself.

FREEBOROUGH: I'm a small business owner. Everything I have, I've put into the dealerships. My home, everything is in the company. My husband still can't breathe. I can't have a bad day and go home and tell him because everything we have is wrapped up in this company.

Cup of coffee, cup of tea, or anything? Nothing? OK.

KING: To listen and to look around is to hear and see a way of life fading.

FREEBOROUGH: My dad was an electrician for Ford Motor Company when I was growing up. I mean, I don't think there's very many people in Michigan who don't have some sort of automotive touch to their lives.

KING: GM's roots in Lansing go back more than 100 years. Generous Motors was the favored nickname when Brad Fredline was growing up. Both grandfathers retired from GM. His father, too.

BRAD FREDLINE, PRESIDENT, UAW 602: You graduated on a Friday and by Monday, you were at the factory, you knew you had a rock solid job for 30 years. You buy a little place up north and you retire. Those days are gone, I'm afraid. There's no consumer confidence, there's no hope for the future and that affects our communities, our homes and our families. There's a lot of despair out there in Michigan.

KING: John King, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Philips. I'll see you back here tomorrow, 1:00 Eastern time. Rick Sanchez picks it up from here, straight from New York.