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President Obama's Security Summit; Training Kids to be Suicide Bombers; Counting Heads in 2010

Aired January 05, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It is Tuesday, January 5th, 2010. Here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The president gets input from his national security team today. How to prevent another incident like the attempted Christmas day bombing of a U.S. jetliner.

They have a job, they just don't like it. A new survey finds most of us are unhappy at work.

The temperature in Nashville is about the same as Gnome, Alaska right now, and a second blast of brutal Arctic air is about to invade the U.S.

Good morning, everyone, I'm Tony Harris and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

What went wrong, and how do we fix the problem? Questions President Obama wants answered about the attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner. He gets an update on the review when he meets with his national security team today. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us with the preview.

And Suzanne, great to see you.

Who will be in the room for this meeting with the president today?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, this is really going to be a big crowd. We're talking about more than 20 people or so gathered around this table inside the Situation Room with the president, all of the key players, obviously heads of all the agencies that are critical to security.

So we're talking about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; as well as Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano; as well as the director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair; the head of the CIA, Leon Panetta; the attorney general; the head of the FBI. All of them to give these initial reports to the president, what went wrong, what needs to be fixed.

There are a couple of key areas here that they're going to focus on. First and foremost, taking a look at those terror watch lists, whether or not they need to be broader, have more names, vet more people on there so that if there's a suspected terrorist, or somebody who's been warned that they could be a threat, that they net them and that they're on that list.

The other thing, intelligence gathering, whether or not these agencies were speaking with one another, whether or not they were sharing information, or if it just didn't happen inadvertently or advertently. The other thing, how to top another potential terror attack.

And finally, what we've all been talking about, those prescreening processes in the airlines for passengers. You know, who gets a visa, how well should people be screened, all of these things that are really going to impact every single one of us, particularly those who are traveling as well, that these are new kinds of things, changes that are on their way.

One of the things we know, Tony, is that the president is going to come out after this meeting and say there are some initial reforms, some things that we're ready to do right away. One of those is potentially expanding those terror watch lists so that they'll get more information on folks. And that's the kinds of changes people are going to have to deal with.

HARRIS: Well, speaking of changes, you know, everyone has an opinion, it seems. And you read some of the stuff in the blogosphere and it's crazy sometimes. But some are suggesting the president should announce some big massive staff shakeup of some kind today. We don't expect anything that dramatic from the president, do we?

MALVEAUX: No, we really don't. I mean, I've been talking with folks here at the White House all morning, and they say no, don't expect any kind of shakeup or resignations or that kind of thing, but that the president did say, and he will continue to say, that he's going to hold folks accountable. So he wants to see what they're calling these lessons learned from this foiled attack, what needs to change here.

If there's lower-level staff and more information that comes out that folks might have to go, maybe that will happen, you know, in the weeks and months to come. But we're not expecting that today. We're expecting the highest levels of the government to say here's what went wrong and here's what we're going to do to make it right.

HARRIS: OK.

Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, for us.

Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.

CNN's national security contributor Fran Townsend joins me in the NEWSROOM next hour. She's been in those high-level Situation Room meetings and she will tell us what really goes on.

Checking the wire now. Two days after security concerns shut it down, the U.S. Embassy in Yemen reopens. U.S. officials say Yemeni security forces have conducted a successful counterterrorism operation. Americans in the country are still being urged to be cautious. Officials say the threat of terror attacks remains high.

In Las Vegas, law enforcement sources say the man who opened fire in a federal building yesterday may have been upset over losing a Social Security discrimination case. Witnesses say the 66-year-old suspect walked in with a shotgun under his jacket, he killed a security guard and wounded a U.S. marshal before he was shot to death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN ENSIGN (R), NEVADA: As soon as the gunman opened fire, there was an exchange of fire and then the gun battle then ensued into the street, and then across the street, ,where the gunman was fatally shot. What's unclear at this point is whether it was U.S. Marshals, Metro shot him. Nobody is really sure, or even whether they were self-inflicted wounds at that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The Florida teen who police say was set on fire by a group of classmates has a setback. Michael Brewer was checked back into a Miami hospital after suffering respiratory problems. He is listed in serious condition.

And much of the nation -- wow -- still stuck in a deep freeze. At least four deaths in Tennessee being blamed on the bitter cold weather, including a 68-year-old man found dead in his home because neighbors say he didn't have the heat on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN TENNORT, NEIGHBOR: When they came back, the food that they'd left for him was still there. We don't know exactly what his reasons were for not having any heat on in there because he did have utilities in the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It's expensive and getting even more expensive.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: You know, it's called paradise or heaven. It is actually a center where the Pakistani military claims children are being brainwashed to be suicide bombers. In our international focus, CNN's Arwa Damon takes you inside.

But first, let's look at the Big Board, New York Stock Exchange right now.

A big rally yesterday, huh? Up over 150 points. Not so today. At least so far, we are down in negative territory, seven points. We are checking these numbers throughout the day with Susan Lisovicz, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, you hear about suicide bombers and you wonder what kind of people willingly strap on explosives and blow themselves up. Well, Pakistan's military says the Taliban brainwash children to commit terrorist acts.

Here's CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Only a 15-minute drive from one of their bases in south Waziristan, the Pakistani military says children were being trained to become suicide bombers.

(on camera): After three days of fierce fighting, the Pakistani military took over this compound. They say that they knew that it was a training facility of sorts for suicide bombers. They suspected that maybe children were involved. What they didn't know or realize was the level of indoctrination.

(voice-over): The military says it learned that the Taliban used this compound to brainwash children as young as 12 years old.

(on camera): The children were told images like this is what awaited them in heaven. Here, for example, we're told, is a river that symbolizes milk and honey. On its banks, virgins and heavenly creatures.

(voice-over): Zahid Hussain has been studying the Taliban for decades.

ZAHID HUSSAIN, TALIBAN EXPERT: I have never seen this kind of elaborate painting about so-called heaven.

DAMON: These images easily able to captivate the minds of children from this part of Pakistan. They grow up in abject poverty, surrounded by this harsh landscape with no exposure to the outside world, making them gullible and easily manipulated.

HUSSAIN: They tell them, look, life is based here. And if you do good things, then you will die and go to heaven, immediately go to heaven. For a person who does not have anything to look forward to, then, obviously, this kind of thing comes as a big incentive.

DAMON: He says it's a complete distortion of Islam but one that the children fervently believe.

HUSSAIN: They also are meant to believe that all the Muslims who are killed in suicide bombing will also go to heaven. So that is a very powerful instrument of brainwashing.

DAMON: The Taliban denies this compound was under their control, but says they are actively training children from Pakistan, Afghanistan, central Asia and the Middle East to be suicide bombers. The military says parents sent their children to this center for the free food and religious education.

LT. COL. YUSUF, PAKISTANI ARMY: When they brought them here, the students were to be confined to the location. They used to be kept in these rooms which are having the photographs of heaven in there. And they were not allowed to intermingle with the local population, go to bazaar or anywhere else.

DAMON: This compound housed an estimated 200 to 300 children.

YUSUF: They were taught in weapon handling and preparing of suicide jackets.

DAMON: The military says the children are now fighting on the front line, or dead, having carried out their mission.

HUSSAIN: Almost 90 percent of the suicide bombers, if you look at their profiles, they are between the age of 12 to 18.

DAMON: Innocent children turned into cold-blooded killers, believing it's their only escape from a hopeless life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: Now, the government does acknowledge that this is an increasing problem. Just this past October, for example, a teenager blew himself up in a crowded marketplace and killed dozens -- Tony.

HARRIS: We're talking about a generation or more of young people who are being indoctrinated this way.

What can be done to prevent this from happening again?

DAMON: Well, Tony, experts will tell you that the war on terror should actually be rebranded as a war on poverty with a focus on education. And if you were to do that, you would be able to remove one of the main significant factors that is allowing groups like the Taliban to manipulate children and even adults, in many cases, into becoming suicide bombers.

It really boils down to those basic things. And the military here is saying that they are trying to focus on education. When they rehabilitate people into these areas that were once under the control of the Taliban, they're going to try to create economic opportunities for them, they're going to try to build better schools. But it really has to be a global effort -- Tony.

HARRIS: How would the war on poverty look different than the war on terror? That is -- that's interesting to consider.

Arwa Damon for us. Arwa, thank you.

It is a process that's just getting started, and you'll hear about it until the end of the year. The census -- will you participate?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

HARRIS: Yes, can't hear enough of it.

All right. Think of the 2010 census as its own mini stimulus program. The government is spending in the neighborhood of $14 billion on the headcount, and the Census Bureau is hiring around a million workers through this April. The number-crunching also has big political implications.

Here's CNN's Christine Romans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In New York's Times Square, the launch of a road show. Not a Broadway show, but a national tour sponsored by the U.S. government to get America ready for the 2010 census.

GARY LOCKE, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: It will have enormous impact on communities and people all across America.

ROMANS: Commerce Secretary Gary Locke heads up the agency that's supposed to count every single person in the country.

LOCKE: It's the responsibility of every person living in America, whether they're are a voter or not, whether they're registered as a voter or not, or even whether or not they're a national U.S. citizen.

ROMANS: The government is spending more than $340 million, including a massive ad campaign in 28 languages, to get people to fill out this census form. At stake, power and money. Congressional seats are doled out depending on a state's population, and so is $400 billion in federal funding.

LOCKE: If you want your fair share, be counted, because this is money for schools, for human services, for medical services, as well as for transportation.

ROMANS: Things got so contentious during the 2000 count that Utah sued the Census Bureau.

PAMELA PERLICH, SR. RESEARCH ECONOMIST, THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH: In the end, we were 856 persons short of having that Congressional seat.

ROMANS: The Supreme Court ruled Utah couldn't count missionaries serving overseas. Since Congressional seats are limited to 435, the extra seat instead went to North Carolina.

PERLICH: Who knows exactly what that would have meant as far as dollars and cents and programs and policies, but, at the margin, to have one more person there in the Congress working on behalf of Utah does make a difference.

ROMANS: This time around, Utah is likely to get that House seat. According to one projection, eight states in the South and West are expected to gain at least one seat after the big 2010 census. Texas could gain as many as four. Ten states, most located in the Northeast and the Midwest may well lose at least one House seat, but those numbers could have been far worse.

LARRY SABATO, DIR., CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: The recession has actually frozen a lot of people in place, and so people who might have left the North and Midwest and gone South or West stayed. They stayed where they were. And that's saved some seats for the North and the Midwest.

ROMANS: All of this depends on how many people actually fill out the form. Historically, counting minorities has been an issue and the Census Bureau is working hard to combat mistrust.

ROMANS (on camera): There are some - a vocal minority, I would say, who've been cautioning against some people in the Latino community actually participating in the 2010 Census. What do you say to that?

LOCKE: You don't obtain political empowerment unless you're counted, so that we know exactly how strong and how large you are. So I think that boycotting the census is actually counterproductive to their goals of greater political participation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Tony, no question the Latino demographic is the fastest growing in this country over the past 10 years. An accurate count will show just how fast-growing. But think of it, this is a snapshot of what America looks like, where people are moving, how many people we have. And it's incredibly, incredibly important for the representation of power in Washington and the doling out of that all- important federal money, Tony, that comes out every year.

HARRIS: Yes, which I don't understand why some suggest that you shouldn't participate. I guess there are reasons, and we will certainly get into those reasons in the months ahead.

But what about counting the people who have been displaced by foreclosures?

ROMANS: It's another challenge for the Census, a particular wrinkle of this time around. And the commerce secretary says that they are going to be very careful about following forwarding addresses, about making sure that when they are going to people's homes, they know if there are relatives who are living with them, people who might have been displaced by foreclosure in the last year and a half.

Census workers are very, very aware that this is a trend that will make it an extra challenge for them as they count these people. These forms are coming in the mail, Tony, in March. They'll come in March. And then if people don't fill them out, then you'll have that knock on the door from the Census worker.

HARRIS: Yes, let's get them filled out. All right, Christine. Appreciate it. Thank you. Good report.

Our NEWSROOM blog question deals with the 2010 census. You will get your questionnaire, as Christine just mentioned, in March. Do you plan to fill it out or toss it?

Why would you toss it?

Go to our blog, CNN.com/Tony. Tell us what you will do with your census form and why.

You can also participate in our "Quick Vote" at CNN.com right now. Let's see some results.

Oh, no results now? OK.

I guess we're just talking about the question, offering it up to you. So if you go to online, CNN.com/Tony and weigh in, we'd appreciate it.

The big chill is on. It is not just freezing cold up North. Even people in Florida are bundling up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A check of our top stories now.

The U.S. Embassy in Yemen reopened today after a two-day shutdown. Officials say a raid on al Qaeda targets ended a threat. Other western embassies in Yemen have also reopened, though some are restricting visitors and services.

President Obama sits down with 20 members of his national security team in a few hours. Afterward, he is expected to announce upgraded security measures for air travel. The review comes after the botched attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day.

A Washington State man is expected in court today on explosive charges. A Spokane County police robot removed a half-pound of TATP from his apartment. The explosive is highly sensitive to impact and temperature. Police say the man was angry over his divorce.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Pretty sad news here just into CNN. An Amtrak train traveling from New York to Washington struck and killed a 14-year-old girl this morning. And as you can imagine, Amtrak has halted all trains throughout the Northeast Corridor. Let's do this -- let's get to our Raquel Scott, a CNN employee who's on the beeper line with us.

And Raquel, you were actually on the train?

RAQUEL SCOTT, CNN EMPLOYEE: Yes, I'm on the train. We've been on the train about two hours. It's Raquel. And it struck, I'm told, a teenage girl. But now the conductors are saying that they finished their inspection of the tracks and will be moving shortly.

HARRIS: Describe what you heard, what you saw, what you felt.

SCOTT: It was like a thump, and the train completely stopped. And they made an announcement shortly thereafter that they had to do an inspection of the train. The conductors were out there for about 30 minutes. And that's when they announced that there had been a fatality.

HARRIS: OK. And Raquel, any word on when you're expected to get moving again?

SCOTT: They're saying that they are finished with their investigation and we will be moving shortly. We're north of Baltimore.

HARRIS: North of Baltimore. Do you know the town that you're in now?

SCOTT: We're in Middle River...

HARRIS: In Middle River?

SCOTT: ... about 10 minutes, 15 minutes from Baltimore.

HARRIS: OK. Raquel, appreciate it. Thanks for calling in. Thank you.

SCOTT: Thank you.

HARRIS: Let's get to weather now.

Cold, and getting colder in much of the United States. And you, of course, are sending in your iReports to prove it. Take a look at this.

These pictures are in from Janet Malsam. She's in Omaha, Nebraska, and she says getting anywhere means driving through a maze flanked by walls of snow.

That's pretty descriptive, Janet.

And she also says this is the most snow she has seen in the 10.5 years she has lived in Omaha.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: One in 10 American workers can't find a job. And for those who do work, many are unhappy.

What's going on here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We can't get no satisfaction. Millions of Americans are out of work, and even those who do have jobs are increasingly unhappy.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details of a new report.

Good to see you. Happy new year, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Tell it, Mick Jagger. I mean Tony Harris. Happy New Year to you.

You know, everybody complains that you can't get a job, but the fact is there's a new survey that shows only 45 percent of Americans that have a job are satisfied with it. And that is a record low. The Conference Board has measured this particular trait for 22 years.

Why is it? Well, a lot of us are bored. And this really does have broader ramifications because people who find their jobs stimulating are more likely to be innovative, take calculated risks, take the kind of initiative that drives productivity and real growth.

Why else are we not happy? Well, our wages. Incomes quite simply have not kept up with inflation and then there's health care costs that are eating into our paycheck.

One thing that does keep us all happy, and that is money. In this survey, Tony, those who made the most are the most satisfied. It's as simple as that.

HARRIS: Makes sense. Is this a recession-related problem?

LISOVICZ: Well, it's certainly been exacerbated by the recession because let's face it, how many people do you know that found a job that really didn't quite measure up to their skills, their experience, their training, what they really should be making. And workers that are least satisfied are those who are the very youngest, like under 25, which is the group that also has the highest unemployment rate.

But worker satisfaction, Tony, has been declining for decades. When the Conference Board first did this survey in 1987, 61 percent of those folks surveyed said they were happy in their jobs. And that really speaks to, again, these falling incomes, the fact that we're paying more for our benefits and they're eating into our paycheck and our ability to have -- enjoy a quality of life. And so this is something that measures that. It has ramifications, I'm sure, for many of us.

What also has ramifications is our investments. We had a terrific first trading day of the year. Today a little give-back. The Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P 500 are down, but just modestly, Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Susan. See you next hour. Thank you.

Google is out with its new phone. Which cell phone is best for you? See the smartphone showdown at CNNMoney.com.

We are learning new details about a man that opened fire at a Las Vegas federal courthouse yesterday. He killed a security guard and wounded a U.S. marshal before he died in a shootout with officers. Law enforcement sources say Johnny Wicks may have been set off by cuts to his Social Security. Police say Johnny Wicks began his rampage just in front of the courthouse metal detectors. The shooting bringing to light security concerns.

Last night, CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke with an Alabama judge who has taken an unusual step to protect herself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now is Judge Suzanne Childers of Jefferson County, Alabama.

Judge, you've become so concerned about safety in your own courtroom, you've begun carrying a gun into the courtroom with you. How bad is it?

JUDGE SUZANNE CHILDERS, JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA: Well, it's a concern. The concern started in October when we had cutbacks and when we no longer had had security guard. Well, we had security, when we no longer had deputy sheriffs with us.

COOPER: So you have no bailiffs or type of security in the actual courtroom?

CHILDERS: No, sir, we do not. We originally had two deputy sheriffs who sat outside our door and we had two sheriffs for three domestic relations judges. And the cutbacks took those away. So now we have security guards, but the problem with the security guards is they are not trained, they are not bonded, they have no arrest capability.

COOPER: So when you heard that story today about this shooter in the courthouse and you saw that video and hearing the sounds of the gunfire, what goes through your mind?

CHILDERS: Well, it's a terrifying situation. I don't know that it's any worse now than it has always been, but the problem now is we don't have the security that we once have had.

COOPER: I mean the Justice Department says that, you know, threats against federal judges and prosecutors have more than doubled in the last six years. Do you think it's just being better reported or do you think that the crimes are actually -- or the threats are actually increasing?

CHILDERS: Well, I don't know. I do know that there has been a problem for years. It hasn't been that long ago that a federal judge was killed here in Birmingham. COOPER: How common is it for a judge to carry a firearm into the courtroom?

CHILDERS: More common than you think. My predecessors carried them, and there are a lot of judges with guns.

COOPERS: You haven't actually had to use it or even threaten it, have you?

CHILDERS: No, I haven't, and I pray every day that I never have to use it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: From grief to joy in just minutes. A husband and father talks about his Christmas Day miracle when both his wife and newborn son are brought back to life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The bodies of seven CIA officers killed last week in Afghanistan have been returned home to the United States. We now know the suicide bomber who killed them was a trusted double agent.

Live now to CNN's Atia Abawi in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Atia, what do we know about this double agent?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, we definitely know more than we did a few days ago. What we know is that he was a Jordanian who they thought was working on their side. It was a Jordanian who was once a fundamentalist and that the Jordanian intelligence said was reformed. And they believed he was reformed and for some time he was gathering information for them.

And this time he said he had information on al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is believed to be in Pakistan. And it is said that they went off base to pick him up, brought him back in without searching him and that is when he was around those high- ranking American officials and detonated his suicide vest killing those seven Americans as well as a Jordanian officer.

A little more that we know about him is his hometown is a place called Zarka in Jordan. Zarka, if many people know about it, was also the hometown for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who was the onetime leader of al Qaeda in Iraq -- Tony.

HARRIS: Can we, Atia, expect changes in operations at military bases as a result of this?

ABAWI: Well, I spoke to a military official today, Tony, and he said that when situations like this occur, when it happens on any base, American base in Afghanistan, particularly the situation that occurred last week at Ford Operating Base Chapman that killed these CIA employees, he said that they do dissect exactly what went on, what procedures may have failed and they give new guidance to the bases throughout the country, which they also did in this situation. But for obvious reasons, he can't exactly share what guidance was given -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Atia Abawi for us in Kabul, Afghanistan. Atia, appreciate it, thank you.

Top stories now.

The decades-long ban on HIV-positive visitors to the U.S. has now been lifted. The government removed HIV from a list of diseases that prevent non-U.S. citizens from entering the country. An AIDS research foundation says the U.S. was one of 13 countries that had this ban in place.

Another strong earthquake has hit the Solomon Islands in the Pacific a day after the sparsely populated islands were hit by eight quakes in just 14 hours. So far there are no reports of damage from today's quake. Yesterday, a ten-foot tsunami destroyed about 200 homes on one of the islands.

Reports out of Iran say Senator John Kerry's request to visit Tehran has been denied. An Iranian news agency reported Kerry requested a visit in December. Senator Kerry is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. President Obama has made gestures toward reestablishing a dialogue with Iran.

It is called the Christmas miracle. A mother and baby both die in childbirth, then come back to life. Hear from the mom next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: This little guy right here was born limp, lifeless on Christmas Eve. His mother's heart had also stopped beating. Then, something amazing happened that took doctors completely by surprise. The family recently shared their near-death experience with our Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: When did you realize that something was going wrong?

MIKE HERMANSTORFER, FATHER: After they did the epidural, I noticed that her finger tips and everything were just ice-cold blue. And I reached out and felt her hands and she was -- she was cold.

COOPER: And at that point, what's going on in the operating room? What's going on in your mind?

M. HERMANSTORFER: Well, we were just in a regular, everyday hospital room at that point in time waiting for the pregnancy, the delivery to come a little further along. When everything -- when everything transpired and the nurses and everybody noticed that Tracy's color was blue and they checked for a pulse and everything and she had stopped breathing at that time, the whole hospital went nuts. They called a code blue over the intercom system and the whole hospital emptied. Everybody from every area of the hospital was in that hospital room. COOPER: And I know they tried to revive Tracy, I think for about four minutes, and then decided they had to try to get Colton out. He was born lifeless. What happened when they put him in your arms, Mike?

M. HERMANSTORFER: They put him into my hands and he was totally lifeless. There was no sign of anything at that point in time. They were still working on him, trying to get him going. And it was about a minute after he reached my hands that he finally took his first breath.

COOPER: And what -- and -- I can't imagine what that moment was like, hearing that sound, seeing him take his breath.

M. HERMANSTORFER: Oh, it'll take your legs out from underneath of you. There is no feeling in the world that will describe it.

COOPER: And he let out a cry as well? I mean, you knew he was alive?

M. HERMANSTORFER: Yes. Yes, when he let that cry out, that's when the whole world stops.

COOPER: That must have been the greatest sound you ever heard.

M. HERMANSTORFER: Yes, it was. Most parents can't stand the sound of a crying baby, but I'll tell you, from experience, that is one of the best sounds you could ever hear.

COOPER: And, Mike, at what point did you hear that Tracy had had made it as well?

M. HERMANSTORFER: It was about 30 minutes after Colton came to that a nurse came up from the operating room and told me that Tracy did have a faint heartbeat, but they were still breathing for her. And it wasn't until about 30 minutes after that that they had told me that she was up in the ICU unit and she was stable.

COOPER: Do you remember what you said to each other when you were finally able to talk?

TRACY HERMANSTORFER, WIFE AND MOTHER: I said I was sorry.

COOPER: Sorry? You didn't do anything.

T. HERMANSTORFER: I just knew what I -- after hearing what actually happened, I knew what he went to, all I could say I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen.

M. HERMANSTORFER: I walked into her room as soon as they allowed me in there and I just walked up and gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her "I love you."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: There you go. Keeping you safe, it is the TSA's main priority, but the agency has been without a leader for a year. Hear about the delay in filling the position next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, today, President Obama will get an update on how to fix the security lapses that led to the Christmas Day terror attack. Former September 11th Commission Chairman Thomas Keen told CNN's Campbell Brown last night the botched attack on board the Detroit flight may have been the wake-up call the U.S. need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS KEAN, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: Maybe they have actually done us a favor. We're now focused on something we should have been focused on all along. The president is concentrating on it. He's going to do a full investigation and find out what went wrong. We're going to concentrate on Yemen where these people are all coming from. All that's good, and we're going to relook airport security and it's time now to relook at things.

CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: But do you really think this wouldn't have happened if someone else had been president?

KEAN: No, no, no, no, no. When I said he wasn't focused, what I meant was, look, he's been focused on health care, he's been focused on climate change, he's been focused on the economy.

And he should have been, it just when you're so focused and you're a brand new president in your first year, you can't sometimes look at everything at once. This is the reminder that there is nothing more important than the safety of the American people. And I like the people he's appointed in these positions and I think the president has taken the right response now and I really hope he'll do a good job here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: That's former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean.

One position that hasn't been filled on President Obama's security team -- chief of the agency in charge of air security. CNN's Lisa Sylvester looks in to the delay in filling this crucial spot.

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LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly a year and counting it's been that long since there has been a leader at the Transportation Security Administration. Acting Administrator Gale Rossides, leftover from the Bush White House, is temporarily holding the spot.

Transportation experts say having a permanent TSA chief probably would not have prevented the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing, but it is an important step moving forward. STEVE LOTT, INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION: During a time of exceptional security threat, we really want somebody to come in, provide a new vision, drive the administration forward, in order to increase security for travelers in the U.S. and around the world as well.

SYLVESTER: Erroll Southers, a former FBI agent, is President Obama's nominee to head TSA. Senator Jim DeMint has a hold on the nomination, wanting a commitment that Southers will not advocate collective bargaining rights for TSA employees.

SEN. IM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: All the members of the employees of the TSA are free to join a union now and the union can advocate for them. But collectively bargaining would bring the security concerns of TSA under the authority of union bosses.

SYLVESTER: DeMint put some of the delay on the White House saying it took the Obama administration eight months to name someone to the TSA position. But Senate democrats accused DeMint of playing politics.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: This man will get confirmed, and he'll get confirmed by a wide margin. And playing games with the process, all it's doing is hurting the traveling public.

SYLVESTER: Recently Southers acknowledged in a letter to committee members that he had inadvertently given them misleading information on a background check he ran on his estranged wife's boyfriend when he was still in the FBI. The White House is standing by him, saying he regretted an error that he made in account of events that happened over 20 years ago.

(on camera): Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised to close off the debate and call a vote on the Southers' nomination when the Senate returns later this month, but this is not the only key vacancy. The top position at Customs and Border Protection in charge of screening cargo and security at the borders, that position has been vacant for nearly a year. The Senate is so busy with health care, that it hasn't voted on this nomination either.

Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.

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HARRIS: The botched terror attack on Christmas Day will be the focus of a White House situation room meeting in about 2 1/2 hours. What happens inside? I will talk to Fran Townsend in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Also coming in our next hour, counting up the cost of counting America. We'll look at the astronomical price tag for the 2010 census and we'll examine the challenges census takers face this time around. And a reminder, send me your thoughts on the census at CNN.com/tony.

And campaigning for a cause like he was a candidate. Inside one powerful union's push for health care reform including a visit to the war room.

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HARRIS: Our NEWSROOM blog question deals with the 2010 census. You will get your questionnaire in the mail in March, do you plan to fill it out or toss it? If you would, go to our blog, CNN.com/tony. Tell us what you will do with your census form and then tell us why, please. You can also participate in our quick vote at CNN.com.

Right now, 100 percent of you -- glad to hear it, glad to see it -- say, yes, you will fill out the questionnaire. We'll share some of your comments next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is true, the rich are different. The uberwealthy trust one of their own to handle their old money. CNN's Jim Boulden now from London.

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JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you haven't heard of Alex Scott or his small London-based investment firm, SandAire, then you and your family probably didn't inherit hundreds of millions of dollars. Alex Scott's family did.

ALEXANDER SCOTT, CHAIRMAN, SANDAIRE: That's my great grandfather, James Scott. Taken about the time probably that he founded the original family business.

BOULDEN: Then, after nearly 90 years, the Scott family sold its insurance company, Provincial, in 1994, for nearly a half billion dollars. So what to do with the windfall? Alex got an idea. Pool the Scott money with other superwealthy families who used to own a company and start what is known as a multifamily office, a boutique investment house, one of many now dotted around West London.

SCOTT: I felt that by clubbing together with other families, we would be able to attract and retain talent to work on our behalf and all our behalves, all our clients, that would be significantly broader and deeper, therefore, more effective, than we'd be able to attract and retain for ourselves.

BOULDEN: While this might be the stereotype of inherited wealth, Alex Scott says the families who invest with SandAire are discrete. He won't reveal any of the 20 clients. But on average, his clients have around $100 million under management with SandAire.

SCOTT: They've come to us because they're wealthy. If something happens so that their wealth halves, that's going to change their lifestyle. If it doubles, it probably won't.

BOULDEN: Peter Leach has written a number of books to help the families with family-run businesses. His clients have included British property developers and families that own Asian conglomerates.

PETER LEACH, AUTHOR, "FAMILY BUSINESSES: THE ESSENTIALS": Family and business are two words that don't go together. The idea is to strive for the family to have financial independence from the business. And so ultimately you end up a family business which is the generator of wealth and cash flow and growth and the family office, which looks often the collective family wealth that's been accumulated but not at risk in the business.

BOULDEN: It's believed many superrich families were unprepared for the economic turmoil. Some have their own family investment office, many with the welfare of multiple generations to look after.

SCOTT: Primarily, because we're engaged, involved, interested and empathetic with their success in the context of their wealth, it's just the case that wealthy families have very complex affairs.

BOULDEN: Alex Scott is torn between publicizing his family office and keeping the low profile of clients. But he points out he started the company and created jobs with his wealth, while also keeping a close eye on the family silver.

Jim Boulden, CNN, London.

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