Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Former Employees Accuse Yoga Center of Being a Cult; CIA Bomber was Jordanian Double-Agent; White House Briefing; Bakersfield Airport Evacuated and Locked Down; 14-Year-Old Baltimore Girl Struck and Killed by Amtrak Train; Mother and Baby Get Second Chance at Life

Aired January 05, 2010 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Kyra Phillips in New York City.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Tony, thanks so much.

Well, the world is watching two events that you'll see just moments from now in the CNN NEWSROOM. From the White House, the first formal briefing since the Christmas-Day airline terror scare. President Obama gets a private briefing next hour from his homeland security team.

And from Mountain View, California, the cell phone according to Google. Should everybody else just hang it up?

We begin now, though, with intelligence lapses. Haphazard screening, multiple watch lists, and we expect to hear more about all of that when the White House press secretary steps up to face reporters just about 20 minutes from now.

Later still, at in about three hours, we expect to hear from the president himself, and that will be after the president hears from his intelligence and national security teams on the plot to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner and why it wasn't stopped long ago.

Overseas, the U.S. embassy in Yemen once again open for business. It closed for two days over an apparent threat from al Qaeda.

Let's get right to the White House now. Dan Lothian standing by.

Dan, it seems everybody's there. What's the goal at that top- level meeting that's going to take place in the sit room?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the goal really is to get to the bottom of this incident, to find out what went wrong; how were these bits and pieces of information not connected to get that smoking gun to actually prevent and foil this person from getting onto the airplane.

That is something that the president will be asking. All of these top officials will be in this meeting, some 20 -- 20 cabinet members; also some heads of agencies at this meeting including Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, the homeland security secretary, Napolitano, also director of national intelligence and the director of the CIA, Leon Panetta.

Now, an administration official says that they'll be focused on several issues. First of all, the review of the terror watch list. That's what names should or shouldn't have been have been on the list. Should additional names be added? Should that whole system be reformed?

They'll also be taking a look at the intelligence gathering that did or did not happen in this case. And again, we talk about what Mr. Brennan had to say about this over the weekend on the Sunday morning talk shows, where he said that there were lots of bits and pieces of information, but no one really connected the dots. So that's something that will be reviewed at the meeting today.

Also, how to stop future attacks, and then the review of airline passenger screening. Already the -- there have been some changes by the TSA in terms of some -- more than a dozen countries where there will be additional screening before passengers can get onto airplanes that are coming into the United States.

So, these are all some of the issues that will be the focus today, but certainly the president not very happy about how the intelligence was gathered and handled in this case. And he wants to get to the bottom of it to make sure that something like this does not happen again, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dan Lothian, thanks so much.

And don't forget President Obama talks airline security, 4 p.m. Eastern. You'll see it live right here at CNN.

All right. This hour, at Google headquarters, the company is unveiling the Nexus One, a.k.a., the Google phone. Photos and some details have been popping up on the Web for weeks, raising both big expectations for this thing and some pretty big questions.

Don Abell, the New York bureau chief for Wired.com, your company actually mentioned the word "underwhelming." Now, we've got that word right. But I'm looking at headlines here: "The Google Phone Cometh." It's like the second coming of Christ.

DON ABELL, NEW YORK BUREAU CHIEF, WIRED.COM: Well, we have this sort of hyperbolic reaction in the run-up to the iPhone, and since the iPhone we've been waiting for a second coming of sorts.

Google has put its operating system in a number of handsets before. This is the first time it's taken sort of an active role in the design of the product, and it's actually putting its very, very important brand on it. So, whatever happens, this will be a very interesting story.

PHILLIPS: And a lot of people saying, "Hey, this is just a bunch of hype." But it really doesn't matter, because even if this crashes and burns, it still has the Google name, and Google's not in any financial trouble. ABELL: Google's not in any financial trouble. Nobody likes a failure. Google famously puts "beta" on their products forever. I think Google Gmail just exited beta. So, they can take a hit.

And they're not in the product design business the way Apple is. So if Apple designed a product that was awful, it would be much worse for Apple than if Google participated in a design of a product, which didn't resonate. But they're still going to make $5 billion a quarter, and the sale of this phone isn't going to affect it materially at all.

PHILLIPS: We're going to talk about the phone in just a second. But you mentioned Apple and you know its genius. Steve Jobs says, "We see" -- well, quote, "We see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon." You've got to say...

ABELL: Well, it's funny...

PHILLIPS: He doesn't say, "Oh, I'm nervous!"

ABELL: He doesn't have to say that. But he doesn't have to say anything.

PHILLIPS: OK.

ABELL: But the fact that he's saying something at all is a little bit significant.

PHILLIPS: OK.

ABELL: Because he doesn't have to say anything. He could sort of ignore this and just think about CES and the next event that Apple's going to have. So, he's weighed in, and I would say that might be an indication that he's a wee bit concerned about at least the attention that Google is getting with a hardware product launch.

PHILLIPS: All right. That's the interview you have to get tomorrow morning.

Now, the phone, the "oohs" and the "ahhs." Let's talk about it.

ABELL: Well, the announcement is going on right now, so all of this is speculative. There had been some hand sets in the wild. Google gave them to employees, and there have been pictures and the like.

So, we think that we do know that it will have some of the best cool features of the iPhone: the accelerometer, a multi-touch screen, a very large screen for the device, and that sort of thing. Allegedly, it will be thinner. It will have a very fast processor. And, of course, it will have the Google android operating system, which a lot of people love.

PHILLIPS: OK. And for non-technogeeks like me...

ABELL: Right. PHILLIPS: ... bottom line for someone that really may be looking at all these, thinking, "OK, I've got to upgrade. I've got to, you know, become a part of 2010 in the right way."

ABELL: Right.

PHILLIPS: What are a few of the things that I may not find on the other phones that I could get with this?

ABELL: That's unclear.

PHILLIPS: OK.

ABELL: But apps, apps, apps. The Google app store does not have any nannies watching it the way Apple does. They have fewer apps now and obviously fewer downloads, but the apps are what's going to make the difference for any Smartphone.

PHILLIPS: Well, of course, CNN app, I know all about that. Don Abell...

ABELL: Don't we all?

PHILLIPS: That's right. And it's doing quite well.

ABELL: It is.

PHILLIPS: Wired.com. Thanks so much for stopping by.

ABELL: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: We appreciate it. OK.

Well, we knew that his fight to heal was going to be long and painful with speed bumps along the way. Well, he's hit one of them already, just days after he took a big step forward. We'll update you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Michael Brewer, the 15-year-old Florida boy set on fire, burned over two-thirds of his body, well, he took a big step forward just before Christmas when he got out of the hospital, but now a step back into intensive care, a reminder that his battles are nowhere near over.

Here's David Sutta from our Miami affiliate, WFOR.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SUTTA, WFOR REPORTER (voice-over): Two weeks ago Michael Brewer's tragedy turned into a story of hope. The teenager had not only survived being doused in rubbing alcohol and set afire by classmates, but he was making a speedy recovery. In just two months he had overcome ventilators, feeding tubes, and four surgeries to repair burns that cover 65 percent of his body. Doctors had predicted it would take him six months to recover, followed by physical therapy. Just before Christmas, three months early...

DR. NICHOLAS NAMIAS, JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL BURN CENTER: This is miraculous, but I don't want to it take anything away from Michael, because the reason why he's home so early is because of him.

SUTTA: Sunday, though, that wish was cut short. Brewer's family rushed him into Jackson Memorial's emergency room. Doctors are not saying much right now but that he's having respiratory complications.

He's been admitted to Holtz Children's Hospital and is currently in the intensive care unit. His mother is there by his side, as she has been since the horrible day he was set on fire.

As Michael continues to fight to survive, the teenagers accused of putting him here are still fighting to get out of jail. Sixteen- year-old Jesus Mendez, who allegedly lit Michael on fire, is expected to have a bond hearing later this week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: David Sutta of WFOR-TV. He also reports that Michael is listed in serious condition. The hospital might tell us later this week just exactly what is going on.

And learning a bit more what might have set off that gunman at the federal courthouse in Las Vegas yesterday. Turns out 66-year-old Johnny Lee Wicks was denied a Social Security claim about four months ago. That's not written in stone as a motive, but investigators are looking into it.

Wicks killed a court security guard and wounded a U.S. marshal before other marshals shot and killed him.

And today we should find out how prosecutors will push forward the nursing home murder case in Massachusetts. Remember this story? A hundred-year-old Elizabeth Barrow found dead with a plastic bag wrapped around her head. Her 98-year-old roommate, Laura Lundquist, charged with killing her.

The accused has been getting psychiatric evaluations. A court hearing was set for today, and last month the D.A. doubted there would even be a trial.

YouTube, we all watch it. But are radical Islamic groups using to it recruit the next suicide bomber? Find out in a report you won't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: What would we do without it? The funny, the zany, the outrageous videos on YouTube, but there is a darker, sinister side that you probably don't know about: radical Islamic groups apparently using YouTube to recruit young terrorists. CNN's Nic Robertson has this alarming story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is as simple and scary as this: YouTube videos as a connection between young men and gun-toting radicals.

BEN VENZKE, CEO, INTELCENTER: YouTube is sort of -- could be that first hit for some people simply because of the mere scale and size of it. But it's going to be just that initial hit, and then they're going to move on into deeper levels.

ROBERTSON: Pakistani police say it's exactly what happened in the case of five Americans arrested there. Police say the men, aged from 18 to 25, were on their way to terror training camps.

But why would an average youngster even look at a radical video?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY CENTER ON LAW & SECURITY: A friend might encourage the kid to look at a YouTube video. He visits the site. He sees the video is well produced; it's compelling. He sees there are lots of comments on the site, all of them in English, and soon he starts commenting, as well.

ROBERTSON: After that, it's a very slippery slope, say terror experts. Extremists are watching online chats, looking for potential new recruits.

VENZKE: It sort of provides a filtering opportunity for them. They are able to sort of push out their message, see who responds to it.

ROBERTSON: It's getting the conversation and the videos together that's making the difference. According to CIA veteran Marc Sageman, no one ever got radicalized watching videos alone.

MARC SAGEMAN, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: YouTube, the various videos that are posted, are very important in terms of seeing them. But then it's really discussing their significance with your friends that, in a sense, drives the point home as opposed to just watching them.

ROBERTSON (on camera): What's making YouTube such a powerful tool for the Internet radicalizers is the built-in social networking media. Look at this: Revolution Muslim, an American group, 296 subscribers. Look at those subscribers here.

We'll choose one of them, Lone Wolf. Go into his account. He's posting his own videos supporting al Qaeda here. Go down. We see his comments. Here he's supporting the Ft. Hood shooter.

And we go down even further, and this is what worries the terror experts the most: the conversations he's having with the other jihadists out there. This networking that's going on.

STEVEN SIMON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL OFFICIAL: Something, you know, very appealing for a kid to do, who's looking at his menu of options when he's -- when he's seeking to rebel, when he's looking for that path, out of his, you know, self-conceived terrible situation and, boom, you know, there it is.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): And online peer pressure works like anywhere else. Only here, peers can be anyone, anyplace in the world. New friends, a big appeal for alienated, isolated youngsters.

VENZKE: Suddenly they're not alone. They're going to do something that 20 other people, 100 other people have, yes, this is good, this is important. And it can be that pivotal point that pushes them over the line.

ROBERTSON (on camera): We contacted YouTube, and a spokesman told us they have 20 hours of video uploaded every minute, every day and more chats going on than they can monitor. They say the site bans incitement of specific serious acts of violence, but they can't stop the postings before they happen. They rely on users to police the site and flag offending material.

(voice-over) At homeland security, they don't have any simple answers either.

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I think that's fair to say: that the social media is having an impact. It is an illustration of how this is a changing environment.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Can I ask you, how you stop this sort of social chatter that becomes radicalized, that is used for radicalization? How do you sort of single that out?

NAPOLITANO: I don't have a magic bullet for that, and I don't know that anybody does. This is the dark side of the Internet and social media. And I don't know, sitting here today, that anyone has a silver bullet for it.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): And for anyone with teenagers on the Internet, that has to trigger concern.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.

A bomb squad removed a half pound of powerful homemade explosive material from an apartment in the Spokane valley in Washington state. Officials described the material as very potent, very unstable. A suspect is now under arrest.

And behind bars, no bail. That's the fate of a Massachusetts man charged with setting a fire last month that killed two of his neighbors. That fire was one of nine in Northampton set within hours. Anthony Bay pleaded "not guilty" today. He has not been charged with the other fires. And still no improvement for snowboarder Kevin Pierce. He remains in critical condition at a Utah hospital with a brain injury. Pierce was injured last week while training for the winter Olympic qualifying events.

The weather's so cold, it's killing people in the Deep South. Even south Florida's feeling the chill. When will it get warmer?

And 40 years worth of stories out of Pine Valley. "All My Children" debuted January 5, 1970. Part of the soap's cast back then, and now, the fabulous Susan Lucci. And if you're counting, today's episode is number 10,282.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, this house in the Memphis, Tennessee, area turning into an icy tome for a 68-year-old man. The first week of the new year is one of the coldest in the south in nearly a decade, and neighbors say that the man's utilities were working but his heat, for some reason, was off.

In Tennessee at least four deaths are blamed on that Arctic air, including an 81-year-old man with Alzheimer's who wandered out during the night with nothing but a bathrobe.

And it's only going to get colder. Chad Myers with us now in the CNN weather center in Atlanta. How cold is it going to get, Chad?

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This has been a very long, prolonged cold spell, and that's when people get in trouble, because they are outside too long and also pets are outside too long. You need to take care of them. Check on the elderly. Make sure that the heat's on. You see the guy next door, "Hey, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm doing fine."

And then the kids will be all right, too, because they can take care of themselves. But you know, you don't want to let them outside for two hours. Let them out and let them back, warm in.

I used to play outside and didn't even know it was cold. And my mom would say, "Hey, come on in. You're too stupid to get out of your own -- rain. Come on." So, you know?

PHILLIPS: Well, I knew it was cold, but Mom, you know, would put everything on me from head to toe. I looked like the abominable snowman there in Jacksonville, Illinois. Exactly. But I didn't -- you know, I didn't lick the telephone and freeze it, you know?

MYERS: Don't even give them that idea.

PHILLIPS: OK. That's right. Sorry. All right, Chad, we'll keep talking.

MYERS: All right.

PHILLIPS: Thanks so much.

Want to let you know, we're waiting for the White House briefing. That should start any moment now. We're waiting to hear more, of course, about airline security. A lot of criticism over the new regulations being put forward. So, we will take that live as soon as Robert Gibbs steps up to the podium there.

Also straight ahead, a yoga and wellness chain accused of being a cult. Listen to what some former employees are now saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And once again we are waiting for the White House briefing. As soon as Robert Gibbs steps up to the podium, we will take the Q&A live.

And in just about an hour, President Obama heads into a high- level meeting on airline security. Robert Gibbs probably going to address that any minute now. Specifically, how to close the gaps an alleged would-be bomber exposed and exploited on Christmas.

The president is going to meet with 20 or so of his top intelligence and homeland security staffers, after which he'll make public comments which you'll see live right here on CNN. That's at 4 p.m. Eastern, about 2 1/2 hours from now.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- that would be Yemen -- claims responsibility for the botched attempt to blow up an airliner bound for Detroit. And if it's attacked in return, it won't be the first time.

Here's CNN Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, in a segment from CNN's "SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you want to know where some of the targets could be, let's look at where they've hit already.

This is where a counterterrorism operation was launched by Yemen's forces just last month. And then as we take it further wide- out, we can show you where some of the other attacks have been, some of the other strikes.

There was a missile strike right here on December 17. They captured one al Qaeda member and used the information they got from him to launch a second strike on December 24. And, again, so those are areas where you might likely see some efforts at U.S. retaliation.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Based on everything, Chris, you are hearing from U.S. sources and other sources, is the Yemeni government really committed to this war on terror?

LAWRENCE: Well, they definitely stepped up efforts recently. You can look at the counterterrorism operation they launched there. Take a look. Those are Yemen's counterterrorism forces, launching an operation.

The Yemenis -- Yemen's government also says that just today, they launched another operation which killed two of those al Qaeda terrorists who were plotting to blow up the U.S. embassy. So, yes, they are making efforts.

But they've got problems, Wolf. Along the southern border you've got a group that has been trying to secede from Yemen proper. Along the north you've got an ongoing civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. All of that is taking attention away from Yemen's fight against al Qaeda.

BLITZER: What's the biggest potential nightmare scenario if al Qaeda gets a real, significant base in Yemen?

LAWRENCE: Look no further than just go right north. Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest oil-producing regions. See all these black dots and black spots? Those are the Saudi oil fields. The danger is that al Qaeda could launch attacks there.

Also the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, when you look at that, at its narrowest point down here, it's only 1,000 feet wide. There's a danger that al Qaeda could attempt some sort of blockade. And when you look at Saudi Arabia, that border is 1,000 miles of mountains, caves, valleys. Very, very, very difficult to try to secure. And when you look at its place, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, very strategic and very important part of the world.

BLITZER: Yes, it doesn't get more strategically critical than that tip of the Arabian peninsula right there. Chris, thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, after last week's deadly attack on a CIA post in eastern Afghanistan, the head of U.S. military intelligence there says that his own people are ignorant, incurious, disengaged. A blistering report claims that Military Intel is focused too much on enemies and tactics, not enough on Afghan people and culture. Again, that report is on Military Intel, not CIA, which is said to be doing a lot of soul searching after the agency's single biggest loss in more than 25 years. Suicide bomber killed seven officers at forward operating base Chapman last Wednesday.

We now know the bomber was Jordanian double-agent. A known and supposedly trusted source. Our source says he wasn't searched. And on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," a pair of former CIA officers weighed in.

Let's take you now live to the White House briefing. Robert Gibbs stepping up to the mike.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Before we get started with a few questions here, let me just make one quick scheduling announcement. The president will travel to Lorain County in Ohio on Friday, January 22nd, the next stop on the White House to Main Street tour. During a visit, President Obama will meet with Ohio workers, local CEOs, small-business owners, and other local leaders about -- about ideas for continuing to grow the economy and put Americans back to work. QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) what -- we didn't understand the county, Lorain. GIBBS: Lorain County in Ohio, January 22, 2010. QUESTION: Thanks, Robert. Happy New Year. GIBBS: Happy New Year to you guys. QUESTION: A few questions about security and today's meeting. Will the president be unveiling any new steps or policies today? Or would you characterize this as a recapping of what the government has done since the incident? GIBBS: Well, let me -- let me break up the meeting, which is scheduled for about 2:30 in the Situation Room. I think you guys have the participants. The meeting is scheduled now to go almost an hour-and-a-half. At the conclusion of the meeting, the president will make a public statement. I think -- not getting ahead of -- of what he'll say -- I think you'll hear the president give an candid update on where we are in the review, outline the specific steps that have been taken to strengthen security in our country -- in particular, our airports -- over the past several days, and go through some timelines about additional security announcements that may be forthcoming. QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) questions? GIBBS: Say again? QUESTION: Questions? GIBBS: No, he's just making a statement. QUESTION: So additional steps that may be forthcoming... GIBBS: Yes. QUESTION: ... but not necessarily steps to be announced today? GIBBS: Right. QUESTION: Will -- will he be challenging the agency heads about, in their purview, what went wrong and -- and seeking some accountability there? GIBBS: Well, we -- as you know, the president requested this review right after the incident that took place on Christmas Day. Many of those reports, the reports have come in -- some of -- one agency's came in a little bit late because of some -- because of an incident that happened that you all are aware of. The president now has had an opportunity to review those initial reports with Mr. Brennan in the Oval Office for about an hour yesterday, along with other members of his national security team here at the White House. I think you heard the president's statement over -- over the break. And he's -- the president has a series of questions that he's asked all of us to look into, and he'll start going through those questions and looking for answers that are satisfactory to him and to the American people. QUESTION: Do you -- is there any talk within the White House where you can speak about this about any kind of military response against suspected terrorist training facilities in Yemen, for example? GIBBS: I don't want to get into information like that. Obviously, you should pose, also, that question to the Pentagon. I think, suffice to say -- and you've seen this over the past several weeks -- we are strongly supportive of the efforts by the Yemeni government to take strong action and root out terrorists that are members of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. We'll continue to -- we'll continue to do so and continue to be supportive of those efforts. Yes, sir? QUESTION: The president has come back from the holiday with quite a bit on his plate, and now... (CROSSTALK) GIBBS: He left with quite a bit on his plate, so, yes. QUESTION: Still there on his return. GIBBS: True. QUESTION: Now counterterrorism has shot up the list and taken greater prominence than -- than anybody would have expected because of the -- the bomb plot. The question is, is there any concern within the administration that this may distract him from his other domestic priorities, such as jobs, economic recovery, and health care? GIBBS: First of all, let's understand -- first of all, the president understands and believes wholeheartedly that keeping the American people safe and secure is his first job. Nobody here would ever describe that as any sort of distraction. Secondly, I think if you look at -- and you'll hear the president discuss this today -- the actions that we have -- that we have supported in -- in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, in Somalia, as I just mentioned to Ben in Yemen -- are not things that have happened since the 25th of December. Those things were happening -- have been happening for quite some time. So the notion that somehow this got put on the president's plate in the intervening 10 days I think is something -- given the amount of time that he's spent working on these issues, I -- I don't think I would agree that somehow this is -- this is something that's been put on his plate over the last few days. These are, obviously, threats. And places in the world that are supportive of terrorists and terrorist organizations have been something the president has been dealing with since the transition, before he was even sworn in. QUESTION: But -- but, arguably, the president would have been come back from the holidays to deal with things like job creation, economic recovery. He's spent his first day back yesterday and a large chunk of the day in meetings, at very intensive meetings about how to fix the problems on... (CROSSTALK) GIBBS: Right. But I guess my point would be that I don't think that -- we didn't have a mindset that this problem didn't exist prior to December 25th. The president spends, as you know, each day getting a daily intelligence update. QUESTION: Nobody is saying that. They're saying you blew it. (CROSSTALK) GIBBS: Helen, let me just answer -- let me just answer Matt's question, and then we -- we'll -- we'll get to your question. The -- the president has spent part of every day since he's been here working on terrorism, working on terrorist threats, working on -- dealing with extremists. We've talked about Afghanistan. We've talked about Pakistan. We've talked about many of these issues. You know, I wouldn't quibble with the fact that the president has a full plate. I don't -- I don't think that you would find that the president would find his plate altogether a lot fuller than it was, quite honestly, just a few days ago. It's -- he's used to carrying around an otherwise full plate. QUESTION: Some of the measures, the reforms that the president and the administration are talking about, including tighter security, more stringent safeguards on -- on visas, people being added to the selectee and (ph) no-fly lists and -- and other things having to do with challenging intelligence assumptions. Can you look at Abdulmutallab's path from Yemen to Ghana to Nigeria, to Amsterdam, to Detroit, and show us, tell us how these new reforms would have perhaps detected him along that path? GIBBS: Well, let me not get into that. I think the president will begin to get into that some today and in the coming days as the review continues and wraps up. I think what you'll hear again from the president -- part of what you'll hear from the president today was -- is to go into a number of steps that we have taken, but also to walk people through the systemic failure that the president pointed out had happened in his remarks last week. QUESTION: He also, in his remarks, mentioned human failure. And so far, as far as I know, nobody has lost their job or been reprimanded. Not to pick on Admiral Blair, but it is the job of the director of national intelligence -- specifically, that job was created to connect the dots. Is anybody -- is anybody at all going to lose their job over this? GIBBS: Well, again, the review is ongoing. I think you'll hear the president begin to address aspects of that review today. I think the president is anxious to sit down. He's obviously spoken with a number of these individuals over the course of the many days, and he's anxious to sit down with them as a group and walk through this. I think the president has discussed ensuring that adequate steps are taken to ensure the American people's safety, and that's what he'll be discussing and working through today. QUESTION: One -- one final question, if I may. How cooperative has the Abdulmutallab been after he was arrested and since he got a lawyer? GIBBS: The subject, as you know, was -- was taken from the plane in Detroit. FBI interrogators spent quite some time with him. I don't want to get into all the specifics, but I think they would agree, and I would say, that he has provided in those interrogations useful intelligence. QUESTION: And since he got a lawyer, anything? GIBBS: I -- I'm not going to get into all of what he said. But, again, I think that the -- the interrogators have -- believe that he has provided them with useful intelligence. Yes, sir? QUESTION: Thank you, Robert. What would the president say to the American people who have deep concerns that -- that some of the same questions that are being asked now were asked after 9/11? All these years later, obviously, there's been some breakdown, a communication breakdown, information-sharing, within the intelligence community. GIBBS: I think the president will get into some of that today. I think the -- the -- I think the American people will hear directly from their president today on -- on some of those failures. I -- you know, I don't want to get too far ahead of the review itself. I think there are some substantive differences from what we saw in the pre-9/11 days that have -- have and were addressed between that incident over the past eight years. QUESTION: But there is a skepticism, though, still... (CROSSTALK) GIBBS: There are some -- I think, while there are some -- while this involves intelligence, I think some of the problems are not completely analogous to -- you'll hear the president talk about that. I think you heard John talk about that over the weekend. And I think -- the -- the president's charge in these reviews, both in the watch listing and in the detection capabilities a review that's being done by the Department of Homeland Security -- look, the president is -- is as frustrated as I'm sure many American people are. We've spent a lot of money in the intervening years. We have set up new positions. We've stood up new agencies, so to speak. We have to ensure -- and I think the president will strive to do so -- to reassure the American people that all that can be done is and will be done in order to protect them. QUESTION: A question on health care. C-SPAN television is requesting leaders in Congress to open up the debate to their cameras, and I know this is something that the president talked about on the campaign trail. Is this something that he supports, will be pushing for? GIBBS: I -- I -- I have not seen that letter. I know the president is going to beginning some discussions later today on health care in order to try to iron out the differences that remain between the House and the Senate bill and try to get something, hopefully, to his desk quite quickly. Helen? QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) couple questions. Before Pearl Harbor, there was -- the Navy didn't talk to the Army, and War Department didn't talk -- was there a lack of coordination on all the security information we've had? And what is the core reason you think -- or your the president thinks for terrorism? GIBBS: He's your president, too, Helen, so just... (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: What do I think? GIBBS: No, no, no, you asked me about my president. I -- we -- we have the... QUESTION: I thought it was our president. (LAUGHTER) GIBBS: Well, I agree. You added a my to our and somehow came up with your. (LAUGHTER) Go ahead. I'm sorry. I interrupted your question in our... (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: Is there any coordination (OFF-MIKE) coordination (OFF-MIKE) on -- on intelligence? GIBBS: Right, well, building on what I just talked about with Dan, the -- I think the president said quite clearly there was a systemic intelligence failure. QUESTION: A breakdown. GIBBS: Yes, the president will -- will discuss that more today and what the review has preliminarily shown and will begin to go through --

PHILLIPS: You just heard from Robert Gibbs there at the White House. President Obama holding a high-level meeting on airline security, specifically how to close the gaps from that alleged bombing on Christmas Day.

The president's meeting with 20 or so of his top intelligence and Homeland Security staffers. Robert Gibbs saying that he'll be giving a candid update of where the administration is with regard to the review. After that attempted bombing. Also steps taken to strengthen security. And also more changes that are in the works when it comes to our security here in the U.S., especially when it comes to flying.

Other top stories now. Bakersfield, California airport evacuated and locked down after two TSA agents were sickened by a piece of suspect luggage. Initial test suspected a possible hazardous material and when agents searched it, they soon became nauseated. Well, the luggage owner is being questioned. We're going to keep on top of that story for you.

The U.S. Embassy in the capital of Yemen, back in business after a two-day shutdown. It was closed Sunday over fears of a threatened al Qaeda attack. The embassy says the successful anti-terror ops by Yemeni security forces prompted it to open its doors again. But it warns threats against American interest remain high.

Rail traffic between New York City and D.C. slowly resuming after a 14-year-old girl was struck and killed by an Amtrak train outside Baltimore this morning. She was walking to school along the tracks. No passengers were hurt.

A mom and baby get a second chance at life after what some are calling a Christmas miracle. Doctors thought both were dead, and they can't explain why they're not.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Think you know what's in your household products? Well, there's a whole lot you don't know all because of a federal law to protect trade secrets. According to the "Washington Post," the make-up of about 17,000 chemicals used in thousands of commercial products is kept secret thanks to a loophole in the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. 151 of those protected chemicals are churned out in mass quantities, more than 1 million tons a year. And 10 of them are used in children's products. This year for the first time in decades, Congress plans to rewrite those rules.

A Colorado mom and her newborn are alive and well today, a far cry from the boy's traumatic arrival. On Christmas Eve, mom went into labor and her heart stopped.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HERMANSTORFER, TRACY HERMANSTORFER'S HUSBAND: 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, they -- 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, doctors performed an emergency caesarean to save the baby, but he showed no signs of life. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, author of the new book "Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles that are Saving Lives Against All Odds" share his thoughts about how mom and baby came back from the brink.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in many ways I think it is a miracle, a lot of people would call it that. But it's certainly a fascinating story with a happy ending and I think that's true at a minimum.

You know, we tend to think of to think of life and death in binary terms. One moment you're here, the next you're not. But we know that it's much more of a process than that -- several things happening in the body. And in fact, the heart stopping beating as was the case with Tracy, is one part of the process.

The good news is for doctors and nurses and health care professionals is that a lot of points along the process of death and intervention can occur and the process can be potentially be reversed. People can cheat death as were the case here.

You know, several things to keep in mind, she was being resuscitated during the whole time, so someone was pumping on her chest, moving oxygenated blood through the body. That's very important. She also had a breathing tube placed so she was getting plenty of oxygen into her bloodstream. Those two things alone, very important, in terms of trying to resuscitate someone.

I think it's probably safe to say that she wasn't dead, you know, the way that people typically think of it, but she was in the process of dying, and that process was subsequently reversed.

Now no question that doctors had a incredibly difficult decision to make. Just a few minutes into the resuscitation, they had to sort of decide, are they going to focus the energy on mom, or start to move some of their focus to the baby? And usually around three or four minutes they have to decide that because the window is so tight that if they're going to deliver the baby, usually within five minutes. In this case, they did that by cesarean section and the baby was born with a very weak heart beat, as well. Turns out, as soon as they removed the baby, delivered the baby, the mom started to improved as well. So it may have had something to do with the pressure from the uterus on mom's veins.

No one knows exactly what happened to Tracy, you know, what exactly caused this. Sometimes things like an amniotic fluid embolism a little bit of amniotic fluid gets into the blood system of the mother, that can cause a profound allergic reaction. Sometimes a pulmonary embolism. Could there have been some underlying heart disease? Don't know the answer. I'm sure doctors are going to investigate that, especially if she's considering having another baby.

But again, fascinating story, happy ending. Good luck to them both. Back to you. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All dating web sites want to make beautiful matches but this is ridiculous. We've the skinny on beautifulpeople.com and why it's just dumped thousands of formerly foxy people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Being dumped around the holidays is awful. And guess what? Not even singles are safe. Beautifulpeople.com, a dating web site, has just dumped about 5,000 members. Why? Well, the deal breaker is holiday weight gain.

Who knew a couple Christmas cookies separate the fine from the fugly. But what's really ugly here is this statement from the Beautiful People's founder combing corporate speak and cruelty, quote, "Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model." And we sit here and wonder why so many of our friends have eating disorders. Real pretty talk there, folks.

Pushing forward to next hour, they're carrying guns, patrolling the halls, sniffing out trouble. By the way, did I mention they work at the Humane Society?

Plus pat-downs, watch lists. Security is so tight they can see your insides. But are you really any safer?

A yoga and wellness chain accused of being a cult. Listen to what some former employees are now saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we all want to believe in something, right? We all want to feel good about ourselves, lead lives of good health filled with good deeds. This desire, this philosophy actually led me to a pretty fascinating investigation of a place you've probably have seen or heard of. Maybe even you're going there later today. I'm taking about Dahn Yoga. It has centers all across the nation with thousands of members who claim it changed their lives. But now this chain that promises the members healthier and happier times is under attack. Former employees claim that the organization is a destructive cult.

Here's a preview of my investigation. It'll air in its entirety tonight on "CAMPBELL BROWN."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (on camera): What's bow training?

LIZA MILLER, FORMER DAHN YOGA EMPLOYEE: Bow training would be a series of repetitive motions to -- over and over again.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Bowing over and over like this. Liza says it drove her to the brink of exhaustion just to reinforce her dedication to the group.

MILLER: We actually had to do 3,000 at one point which took about 10 hours and we didn't eat or drink in that time.

PHILLIPS (on camera): 10 hours of bowing, no eating or drinking. Did people pass out? Did they get sick?

MILLER: People were rolling around moaning, crying, wailing. There was a lot of emotional distress.

PHILLIPS: And nobody at any time said, this is crazy, this is ridiculous?

MILLER: If we were to come out and say things like that, we would again be refocused to ourselves and our problems.

PHILLIPS: Alexander says that depiction is simply untrue.

JOSEPH ALEXANDER, V.P. OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, DAHN YOGA: Generally, people do a smaller number of bows and they build up to more. I know of no one who does 3,000 bows on a regular basis.

PHILLIPS: But allegations against Dahn Yoga and Ilchi Lee don't stop at money and abuse. There's much more.

(on camera): We just want your side of the story, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now on its web site, Dahn Yoga boasts an impressive list of scientists and politicians who applaud the work of Ilchi Lee. Even so, there are serious allegations about his behavior and the organization as a whole.

A lot more on my investigation tonight on "CAMPBELL BROWN," 8:00 p.m. Eastern.