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The Missed Clues of Flight 253; Yemen Cleric Connection; Another Arctic Blast; Child Vaccine Rate Rising; Retail Relief

Aired January 07, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning, guys. Good morning to you, everybody. Here's what we're working on for the CNN NEWSROOM now.

Winter's one, two punch. Boy, brutal cold for much of the East and now snow reaching all the way down South. We'll tell you about that.

Also, meeting in Yemen. We've got new information and ties of the suspect in the airline bombing attempt to the controversial cleric that you have heard before.

Also, want to get to this story for you. You see there, out today, a report that the president's national security adviser says will shock us. Missed clues that could have prevented that Christmas day bombing attempt.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is Thursday, January 7th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The failed bombing of Northwest Flight 253. Today we all get to see just how many mistakes led to the near catastrophe on Christmas day.

CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is now with a preview of the report and the president's remarks that will come later today.

Ed, good morning to you. What exactly are we expecting? Those were quite interesting words hearing that we're going to be shocked by some of this.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Heidi. That's according to the National Security adviser here at the White House, General Jim Jones, saying there could be some shocking revelations about the failure to sort of connect the dots and disrupt and prevent this terror attack.

General Jones telling "USA Today" that there were various missed clues that the government should have sort of pieced together in order to stop the potential suspect from ever getting on the plane in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JAMES JONES (RET.), WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Once people read it, I think there's a certain shock to it in the sense that, you know, the man on the street will say -- will be surprised that, you know, these correlations were not made.

Because there is data out there. There was a number of things that could have triggered a prevention of this individual ever getting on an airplane, and they did not happen. And so the man -- the average citizen when he reads this will probably be a little bit surprised to see it in print.

But the president is already going to cover that in his statement. But sometimes when you read it, you say, you know, it has greater shock value.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Shocking perhaps because of how close it came to being a catastrophic terror attack. We're going to finally get those details about 1:00 p.m. Eastern today when the president addresses the nation, again, then about 1:30 Eastern, the president's top homeland security advisers will be briefing reporters live as well to sort of give us a read, give us more details about what the government is learning, about what went wrong, but also how to fix all of this -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Meanwhile, I know there's a report out there today, Ed, by the "Los Angeles Times" that suggests federal agents learned new information on the suspect, Abdulmutallab, while he was actually en route on that Christmas day flight.

What is the administration saying about this information, if anything?

HENRY: Pushing back pretty hard this morning, administration officials suggesting that this story was overwritten and that there really was no new information gleamed while the suspect was in the air that could have, you know, stopped anything.

Specifically a statement from administration officials saying look, there had been bits and pieces of information prior to Christmas day, as we all know, but, quote, "There was no new information that emerged when the plane was in the air. All that happened is Customs and Border Protection followed its normal procedures and checks as it prepared for arriving passengers, and by doing so they accessed the suspect's TIDE-based record."

You'll remember TIDE is an acronym for the database that the suspect was on, which is why they were going to ask him a few additional questions after he landed before allowing him admission into the country and why they didn't stop him in Amsterdam first.

Now they're saying, though, that because there was no new information in air, there was nothing that would have demanded sort of secondary screening or anything like that. And they really think that this report is sort of exaggerating the situation -- Heidi. COLLINS: Ed Henry for us back at his post at the White House there. Thank you, Ed.

We will have live coverage, of course, of President Obama's comments on the declassified report. He is scheduled to speak at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, and we, of course, will carry that for you live.

We also have an update on terror suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He's set to appear in a Detroit court tomorrow for his arraignment. Yesterday, a grand jury indictment was filed against the 23-year-old Nigerian. Now he faces six charges including attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction.

CNN has now learned Abdulmutallab met with a controversial cleric while he was in Yemen. It's the same cleric who talked to the man accused of killing his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood.

CNN international security correspondent Paula Newton is joining us now on the phone from the Yemeni capital of Sana'a.

What more do we know here, Paula?

PAUL NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, what's interesting here is that many had suspected that this communication had gone on, but today the Yemeni government confirming that there was communication.

The interesting thing here is they couldn't confirm if they actually met or if it was Internet communications, those are the kinds of things that they are investigating. I know American officials are trying to gain more information about his contacts with this cleric, exactly what was the major of those contacts.

American officials were assuring me that the Yemeni government is doing all they can to try and get them that kind of intelligence.

It's very unsettling, though, Heidi. I mean right now, his family has told CNN that he is alive and well despite being targeted by Yemeni officials. And yet we don't know much more about what exactly was the nature of that communication.

COLLINS: Is there any update of any kind, Paula, on the actual cleric himself, questioning or how hard they are looking for him, and wanting to talk with him to get more information?

NEWTON: Well, American officials tell me that there -- you know, the Yemeni government sources in the area are quite good. That's how they were able to actually initiate any of those air raids in the south. Awlaki family, they said, telling CNN, his father told us, that he is a live.

This is also (INAUDIBLE) believe right now, that he is still alive. But as you can imagine, he is keeping a very low profile. The Yemeni government officials, of course, still looking for him in the south, wanting to talk to him. The problem here, Heidi, is the tribal (INAUDIBLE). He's under the protection of one of those southern tribes, and it's very difficult for the government to go in now and do anything like a house-to-house search, which has never happened in that area.

It would alienate the tribes and risk tribal blow-back. What they're doing is continually just checking their intelligent sources.

COLLINS: All right. Paula Newton for us from Yemen this morning. Thanks, Paula.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN. Your severe weather headquarters.

COLLINS: Well, brace yourself. Another Arctic blast is on the way with snow from Minnesota to Mississippi and east to Atlanta. Blizzard warnings out for parts of South Dakota this morning, as well. Up to a foot of snow could fall over the northern plains. Now to top off, nearly two feet since Christmas.

Plus more bone-chilling cold. IReporter Richard Lewis said it was only about 12 degrees when he took these photos in the Smokey Mountain yesterday. We could see wind chills near zero from Louisiana to South Carolina.

In fact, seven deaths are being blamed on the frigid temperatures that took hold earlier this week. Four in Tennessee.

Our own Rob Marciano is in Memphis this morning.

Rob, good morning to you. What are authorities doing now to help people cope with these really, really cold conditions?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, alarming news just yesterday with those reports of fatalities, and in some cases, Heidi, it's just -- people in their homes, either the heat not working, not turned on, and people dying of hypothermia in their homes. So that was alarming news for the folks and officials here in western Tennessee.

So the mayor got together with the power company and said hey, we've got to do something about this because they had something like 1,700 customers that were without power because they haven't been able to pay their bills in the past couple of years.

So this is what the mayor had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR A.C. WHARTON, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: This is a situation in which I simply don't have the ability to compare the threat to human life with some dollars over here. So to me it was fairly simple. We just push that aside. We've got some lives to save out here.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MARCIANO: All right. So they set up some warming tends, some shelters, the usual stuff during this sort of ordeal. But they also went one step beyond. And yesterday they managed to go around to 500 customers and -- who had their lights and power and heat turned off in the recent months because they haven't been able to pay their bills, and they turned their lights back on.

We caught up with one woman, Jackie Mosley, and she was thrilled after two years of being out of work, and after almost a year of being without power or heat, and spending the last several nights in the freezing cold of her home, to tell you what, Heidi, we were in her home, and we could see our breath much like you can see it out here.

It was actually colder inside her house than it was outside, and she was just thrilled...

COLLINS: Wow.

MARCIANO: ... that she got some heat and some light back on. It's just temporary. I mean once this heat -- this cold snap warms up in the coming week or so, then they're not sure what they're going to do. Probably just turn it back off again. But again it's temporary fix to what has turned out to be a cold snap that they haven't seen in over a decade here across the south.

COLLINS: Yes, boy.

MARCIANO: Back to you.

COLLINS: That's the truth. All right, Rob, we're going to continue to check in with you this morning. Thank you.

So how bad could it get? Well, Jacqui Jeras is monitoring it from our weather center right now. The headquarters, of course. We've been watching this, Jacqui, for days and days now. It's just crazy how long it's been lasting.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And that's what's so unusual. You know, we haven't had a lot of records, Heidi, but it's been lasting for a long time. And we're going to start to see some records in terms of duration, so the longest you've seen temperatures below freezing kind of thing.

And that's what's been happening in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We'll talk a little bit more about this next blast of air, how long it's going to last, and yes, there is a warm-up in sight. You just have to be patient. We'll tell you when.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, everybody's patience is being tried, that's for sure.

Jacqui, we'll check in later. Thanks.

Two planes, two disruptive passengers at a time of heightened airline security measures. We'll tell you about incidents that caused flights to turn back. And a surprising jump in the number of kids getting vaccines. We'll find out what's behind the increase.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We're learning more about the case of a passenger jet bound for Hawaii that was turned back to Portland, Oregon. A disruptive passenger and his female companion were released yesterday after being questioned by the FBI. A TSA spokeswoman says the man made threatening remarks and refused to store his carry-on bags. Two F-15 fighters were actually scrambled to accompany that jet back to the Portland airport.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE YTURRI, PASSENGER: We see the fire department surrounding our airplane as we landed. Next thing you know they told us we couldn't move out of our seats. Then all of a sudden the doors opened and the police were there escorting two people out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.

YTURRI: So we knew it wasn't a mechanical problem right then and there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The FBI has turned the case over to federal prosecutors now but we don't know whether charges will be filed.

In Miami, police arrest a passenger on board a Detroit-bound plane. The Northwest Airlines flight was taxiing for takeoff when witnesses say a passenger got loud and disruptive and said, quote, "I want to kill all of the Jews."

Mansor Mohammad Asad and three of his companions were taken off the plane and questioned. The plane was then allowed to take off.

Asad, a Toledo, Ohio resident, faces several charges including disorderly conduct.

Jacqui Jeras joining us now from the Severe Weather Center to talk about all of this cold and now some major storm warnings in the south, at least. We also want to let everybody know, because it is a big weather day -- it seems like it has been for days, actually, Jacqui.

JERAS: Yes.

COLLINS: That we have the weather along the bottom of the screen, so if you want to check it out throughout the day for where you live, it will be right there for everybody.

JERAS: Right. And CNN.com, too, another good source to help you throughout the day with your weather information. It is a very powerful system and it's gripping so many people, Heidi. You know, really, the eastern two-thirds of the country gripped in this cold. The best thing I can tell you is that the weather system we're looking at here today -- it's a very fast moving system. So the snowfall accumulation with it is going to stay a little bit lower for most places.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JERAS: There is a pretty-looking picture for you in Atlanta, Georgia. We're very dry right now but the air is going to saturate this afternoon, and we're expecting to see a rain snow mix and a little bit of snow overnight. Heidi?

COLLINS: It's exciting down here and...

JERAS: It is.

COLLINS: And terrifying at the same time for a lot of people.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: Can be. Yes.

COLLINS: We'll be watching closely. Thank you, Jacqui.

We're talking about the weather on our blog. In fact, we've been asking you to fill in the blank, finish this thought, "It's so cold that," and we have gotten nearly hundreds of responses.

This one from Shane says, "It's so cold that I'm thinking about leaving Florida and returning to my home in Nova Scotia, Canada, where it is just as cold."

And from Carrigan, "It's so cold that Republicans and Democrats are actually huddling together." Yes, that's cold.

And from Michael, "It's so cold that I'm milking ice cream from my cows." Also something I've not seen.

And from Sean, "It's so cold that I'm wearing two snuggies, in Key West!" We've got some snuggies around the NEWSROOM today.

We can't get enough of these obviously. So go to CNN.com/heidi and share your comments if you would.

She was calm and collected in a scary situation. Now a 5-year- old girl is getting credit for saving her dad's life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Time now to get a quick check of some of the top stories we're following this morning.

Tensions boiling over in southern Egypt after an attack on Christians celebrating Coptic Christmas. A riot started outside the hospital where the bodies of seven people killed in the attack are now being held. The victims were gunned down as they left church. The families want the bodies back so they can be buried.

The Coptic church follows the old calendar which means they celebrate Christmas on January 6th.

Not fit to take the court. That's what the NBA is saying about Washington Wizards' player, Gilbert arenas. Commissioner David Stern has suspended him indefinitely without pay now. He's accused of bringing unloaded handguns into the team's locker room. We told you about this story. Federal and local authorities are investigating.

He'd joked, in fact, about the incident but now says he is sorry. He'll lose $147,000 for each game he misses.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Childhood vaccines at the center of a lot of controversy, as you know, but it appears parents are making a turn now according to a new study.

Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining me now to talk a little bit more about this. So this is really interesting because we've been talking about immunizations for a long time. And some of their connections or possible connections to autism. So what is all of that have to do with it?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting because vaccination rates have gone up, and a lot of people originally thought...

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: ... it was because so many studies have come not showing a link between autism and vaccines. And that's exactly what I thought the reason would be as well. We talked to the study authors about that. And they say it doesn't really seem to be that connected.

Instead, over the last several years, more than a decade now, you've had increased access to vaccines for kids, so increased physical access, for example, more wellness clinics around, for example.

It was also programs that address the uninsured and the under insured. And they point to two specific programs, the S-CHIP program and the Vaccines for Children program. You know, both middly (ph) 90s went into effect. They say we're starting to see the ramifications of this.

Take a quick look at the numbers here specifically, just comparing over the last eight years. 2000, 47 percent, Heidi. You know, less than half...

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: ... of the children on these public programs were getting vaccinated. And now up to 72 percent. You're seeing decreases in gaps between wealthy and poor, between urban and rural. Between various ethnicities. And they -- you know, they say it's a good thing.

We've eradicated measles...

COLLINS: Sure.

GUPTA: ... polios, things like that. One thing you'll find really interesting is that within families, it's usually the youngest child that is the least likely to get vaccinated. Parents spend a lot of time not only taking pictures of their oldest child, but also getting them more medical attention.

COLLINS: It's so sad, isn't it?

GUPTA: And then the third or fourth child -- is that supposed to get the child vaccinated?

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: It's terrible. It's like...

GUPTA: I know.

COLLINS: At first, you're the nervous parent and you do everything by the book and everything the pediatrician said, and then the second and third comes, they're fine.

GUPTA: Certainly unnecessary.

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: Hey, but curious about -- you know, back to the health care reform bill that we've been talking a lot -- with you about those. And I know that there are a lot of federal program for people who can't afford immunization and so forth. Will that continue or what are we going to see?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting because both the Senate bill and the House bill, we looked specifically at that question. In the Senate bill, it's really well spelled out. So well child visits, for example, are going to be covered. And there's not going to be any co-pays for childhood vaccinations.

The House bill was a little less clear. Well child visits are covered but they didn't specifically talk about whether they have co- pay or something for vaccinations. So, you know, obviously, details still being worked out. But this idea of preventing the disease before ever occurs in the first place does seem to be a mantra in terms of the language in both bills.

But, you know, I'm sure...

COLLINS: We won't know, I guess, until it actually passes, what is in the bill? Or I mean, when are we going to...

GUPTA: If and when it passes.

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: Right. Yes. I mean, you know, the House is back in sessions. Senate is back in session over the next couple of weeks. Closed-door meetings going on now. But this is a biggie.

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: And most of the implementation of things affecting children will probably take place sooner or faster than with adults.

COLLINS: OK.

GUPTA: And maybe even this year or next year.

COLLINS: Yes. OK. Very good. Well, we'll keep our eye on it as closely as we can, obviously.

GUPTA: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: Also want to get this to you just as soon as we're getting it into the CNN NEWSROOM now. A little bit of information to share with you about a workplace shooting. We have been able to confirm that three people, in fact, have been shot inside that building there that you are looking at.

This is St. Louis, Missouri. Don't have much more information for you other than that. But we have been able to confirm, once again, that three people have been shot, and it is some type of workplace shooting in St. Louis, Missouri. So we will continue to follow that and bring you any more detail that we might get on what exactly has happened here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Seems like investors have been on the fence the past few days. Let's see if some upbeat retail sales numbers could actually prompt some buying today.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with more on that as we await the opening bell.

Hey there, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. We know that consumers were scooping up bargains in December. We're not sure that investors see bargains. We're not expecting that at the open. But some retail stocks have been showing a lot of movement in the premarket.

Sears up 14 percent. Macy's up 3 percent. The nation's biggest retailers are reporting sales for that critical month. Costco, Children's Place. Youth retailer the Buckle and Sears are all reporting sales gained. Sears is even raising its earning outlook for the year as is Limited Brands and Macy's.

Retail has really cut back on inventory so they didn't have to move as much clearance but consumers did show up and that's encouraging.

What also is encouraging is more news from the labor market. New jobless claims rose much less than expected last week. 1,000 people added to the jobless roles during the holiday week. That's the third sign in two days that layoffs are slowing.

General Motors, meanwhile, says it will turn a profit this year. The automaker has been losing money since '05. But GM's new chairman Ed Whitacre is as confident about a sale of Saub. So GM is proceeding with its wind down plans. Today is the deadline for bids to be submitted for that fine Swedish brand, Heidi. So there's still time for you and me and a few others to accomplish together something for Saub.

COLLINS: Yes, maybe we'll work on that behind the scenes, you know.

LISOVICZ: OK. Exactly.

COLLINS: OK.

LISOVICZ: And, finally, signs of life in the housing market. Lennar says orders for new homes rose last quarter for the first time in three years. The builder also swung to a profit. Lennar shares are up. Well, but the Dow, the Nasdaq and the $&P -- I don't know, The Bulls just don't have the mojo. They put it all in to Monday's session. Maybe we'll bookend it for Friday with that big jobs report we're expecting tomorrow.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: Yes, that's right. OK. Well, we'll be looking toward that. Thanks so much, Susan Lisovicz. We'll check back later on.

As you know, much of the nation including the south is still in the grips of an arctic blast. Here is what we know at the time. Frigid temperatures blamed for at least seven deaths across the nation. But, today, snow is a real concern in several southern states, and behind that, icy precipitation. More cold temperatures with wind chills dropping to 15 below zero in areas of the southeast. It's such a foreign thought I could hardly say it. A light snow already falling in parts of Tennessee with another arctic blast expected to follow. That's the worst part of it.

Rob Marciano is braving those frigid temperatures with his very warm CNN jacket. He is joining us now live. Dare I ask how it feels out there, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this is Beil Street. That's the biggest truck I have seen in Memphis. Let alone any action on Beil Street this early in the morning. Baby Cain's place is right there. Kind of surreal to have snow falling here. I mean, it's not unheard of but certainly rare.

What's even more rare, Heidi, is the extended cold snap that not only Memphis is seeing, but, of course, much of the eastern two thirds is seeing across western parts of Tennessee. It's been so bad yesterday that the power company and the mayor got together, and said, you know, we need to do something about the people that don't have any power.

I mean, they set up warming huts and warming shelters. What about people that just sit in their homes and they don't have any power because they couldn't pay their bills. They went out and they turned on about half of the people that didn't have power, because they couldn't pay for it, and now they have power and heat at least for now until the temperatures warm up. And that's not going to happen until the beginning of next week.

The winds have change. We're right about freezing earlier this morning now. Temperatures are dropping. The bigger story is not so much the little dusting of snow they got here, but the colder air, the second surge of colder air that's coming down. And it will -- in many cases down into the single numbers, maybe down near zero tomorrow and Saturday morning. So it certainly chilly down here in Memphis, Tennessee. A place you wouldn't think to see much snow flying around, but it's been occurring until the beginning of this decade. No doubt about that.

COLLINS: We have, for sure. All right, Rob, appreciate that. Thank you.

And Jacqui Jeras is at CNN winter weather headquarters, where we're looking at the entire map. And you will be hard pressed not to find these cold temperatures, huh?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: You know, the winter weather is hitting other parts of the world. Pretty hard as well.

In Britain, the airports are now reopening. But that doesn't mean things are even close to being back to normal. We will get more on their snow woes in about ten minutes.

To Afghanistan now, where militants carried out a deadly attack this morning, targeting a top government official. It happened in Khost Province. Security officials there say a bomb in a trash can injured seven people, including the area's acting governor. Khost is also where those seven CIA officials were killed just last week. Al Qaeda, in fact, now claiming responsibility for that attack. The suicide bomber was a double agent brought on to base by U.S. intelligence officers.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has been working this story and joining us now.

Barbara, what are we learning about the bomber's identity? It's just such an incredible story.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Heidi. It is right out of the pages of a spy thriller, but sadly, this is a real tragedy for so many people. First of all, a U.S. intelligence official tells us now that the U.S. does believe this attack was plotted at the highest levels of al Qaeda. We now have a picture of the alleged bomber. The Jordanian. His name is Humam Khalil Abu Mulal Al Balawi.

This is a man who lived in Jordan, then went to Pakistan to study. It is believed he might have even been a triple agent. Let me walk you through that. He started out sometime ago with militant writings on the Internet. It is said by sources he was then supposedly brought over by the Jordanians and the U.S., turned to work for the coalition to help them hunt down suspected al Qaeda targets in the war zone, and now perhaps turned once again, a triple agent by al Qaeda to carry out this attack.

The question now is what is the impact of what has happened here? We spoke to a former CIA agent about what the agency may be thinking about now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK RICE, FORMER CIA OFFICER: They need to now be concerned about any intelligence that they may have inadvertently given to him, which could very likely and probably did end up into the hands of al Qaeda, including the identities of Jordanian officers, American officers and anybody else who may have also been working for the Jordanians and the Americans in Pakistan, Afghanistan or any place else in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And what this also has done, of course, Heidi, is list the veil of secrecy about how espionage works, how the intelligence situation works, in a very close, very covert relationship between the U.S. and Jordan in the espionage. This has existed, of course, for many years -- Heidi?

COLLINS: Which can obviously be dangerous in many ways. What's the real implication then, of this attack, Barbara?

STARR: Well, it's really twofold. Which is, you know, does the United States continue to work with its coalition partners to hunt down Osama bin Laden, and people like Ayman al-Zawahiri, which this bomber said he had information about. By all accounts, yes. But it is going to lead to a lot of caution, renewed security concerns and really going back through everything to make sure that other intelligence operations, other covert missions haven't been compromised by this man's activities, and who he may have been dealing with back on the other side inside al Qaeda -- Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes, it could really be wide ranging. All right, Barbara, we know you are following it for us. Thank you.

Bad economies bring out bad people, the kind who wants to scam you. Find out how you can protect yourself in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Let's get a look at our top stories today. A bomber has targeted the homes of an Iraqi army officer and his father today. At least six family members were killed in the attack in the town of Hit. The officer who is the director of the town's anti-terrorism unit and his father were not among the dead.

A trial on California's same-sex marriage ban will become one of the few federal trials to be taped and aired in public. The trial on the constitutionality of proposition 8 is scheduled to begin next week. A judge has ruled the child will be videotaped by court employees and then put on YouTube for a delayed broadcast.

Watch closely as this chain gang is led out of the New York City police station for court appearances. One man slips free from his cuffs and runs down the street. The chase ended and the suspect left off and ran, and onto train tracks. He broke his angle and police then arrested him. New York police commissioner Ray Kelly says the suspect was able to get out of the handcuffs because he was thin. Kelly says department procedures will now be reviewed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: 2009, clearly a very rough year for the economy. And as you would imagine, scam artists were out in full force taking advantage of those tough times.

Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is joining us now to talk more about this.

So, Gerri, tell us about some of these scams from last year. You just can't believe somebody would be taking advantage of people in these times.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I know. OK, the Better Business Bureau put together a list of the top scams from this past year. The first one, stimulus government grant scams. Look, even before President Obama announced the stimulus plan in February, scammers were hard at work trying to convince consumers that if they paid for assistance or advice, they could get a piece of the stimulus pie or qualify for government grants.

And then the job hunter scams. And this one, the scam artist tries to gain access to information like your bank account or social security number, and you may be ask to pay a fee, even to be considered for a job.

And then the mortgage foreclosure rescue scams. With foreclosures rates near record highs, hucksters are offering to help troubled homeowners save their home from foreclosure. Victims are paying hundreds of dollars upfront, well, for nothing.

Robocalls. You probably gotten this. Basically, automated telemarketing calls that claim, for example, that you can lower your credit card interest rate if you pay the money. Fees from $700 to $1,000, and it's money that you can save by negotiating with your credit card company on your own.

And then free trial offers. You know, we told you about. You may have seen those free trial ads on the Internet for teeth whiteners or miracle supplements. In some cases, when you click on the free trial, you may or may not get the product. But then if you don't cancel the product or opt out, down the road, you get charge for more of these products or services -- Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes, we've seen that before. All right, so now that we are aware of a lot of these scams that were out there, what can consumers do now this year to protect themselves?

WILLIS: All right, well, first of all, if you are offered a job to make easy money, watch out. Unemployment in the nation is high and scammers are targeting the large pool of job hunters. Read the fine print especially for free trial offers. If there are pre-checked boxes on the web when you're trolling around and looking for -- maybe good deals, uncheck those boxes before you agree to buy something you don't want.

Don't open attachments or click on links and emails unless you can confirm the e-mail came from somebody you trust. Get every verbal agreement in writing to limit miscommunication. And of course, any company you decide to do business with, check it out with the Better Business Bureau or your local attorney general's office.

Bottom line here, if you think there might be a problem, heck there probably will be -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, for sure. All right, Gerri Willis, we sure do appreciate that. Thank you.

They are a last line of defense between you and the terrorists when they want to bring down your flight. But have recent headlines made you asked if the TSA is really up to that challenge?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The winter weather causing a lot of frustration. In Britain heavy snow has brought travel to a virtual standstill. Planes, trains, automobile all got caught in it. The airports are now reopening. But that hasn't fixed all the problems.

CNN's Morgan Neill, is hanging out at London's Gatwick Airport is joining us now to talk a little more about it. So Morgan, when we say you're hanging out, I'm wondering if things are really getting any better where you are? MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Actually it may not look like it, Heidi, but they actually have and I can tell you why. It's because today we are seeing a lot less of this and this has been the problem here at Gatwick really from earlier this week. So much accumulation of snow on Gatwick's one runway that they couldn't manage to keep it clear and keep those flights coming in and going out at the same time.

So they wind up having to divert a lot of flights and to just cancel them. Now, I say they're getting better. There are still delays and cancellations today. We have seen more than 100 today to this point and that's meant a lot of very frustrated passengers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We spoke to four different people yesterday when we tried to get on our flight and they all gave us different times as to what time the plane was supposed to be going. And then in the end they just said it was cancelled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's seven different numbers I got and it's the same answering machine. You can't actually get through to an actual person talking, just the ultimate answering machine. Press 1, press 2. That's what it is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody knows what's going on. Nobody from first choice can put words that are simple into people's heads to give them the right information. I now think it's absolutely stupid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEILL: Now, the problems, as I say, have not just been here at Gatwick, they've really been in a lot of airports in the U.K. but here at Gatwick, also at Heathrow, which is again in London but really Europe's busiest airport, you've heard those frustrated passengers.

The best advice we can give after having been here for a couple of days, anybody planning on coming to London or leaving for that matter is check the Internet, check your airline site on the Internet before you leave the house, because it's really hard, as you heard there, to get information once you're in the airport -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, yes, we've experienced that here many times, I'm sure. What's ahead, though, in terms of weather there?

NEILL: Well, it's going to be some very severe weather. Much more severe than people are used to here, they are predicting forecasters are saying another two weeks of deep freeze. But what really matters as far as travel goes is precipitation on the runways, on the tarmac. And at this point at least for the last couple of hours, it's been clear and that's good news.

COLLINS: Yes, that is good news. All right, Morgan Neill, thank you, from London this morning.

Well, it's so cold here that London looks like the Bahamas, kind of. Actually we are asking you to fill in the blank of this question. It's so cold that, what? Go to my blog CNN.com/Heidi and tell us just how cold you think it is. I'll read some of those comments coming up in the next hour.

Busy morning here in the CNN NEWSROOM; we're following all of the big stories for you this morning. Our correspondents hard at work getting the details for you. We want to go first to meteorologist Jacqui Jeras this morning. Hi Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey Heidi, of course we've been dealing with this Arctic blast for quite some time but the worst isn't over yet. There is relief in sight. We'll tell you when coming up.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in Memphis, Tennessee, where they're going around and turning their lights and heat back on to people who haven't been able to pay their bills because of this cold snap. The second punch coming through is going to be even worse than the first. Live report coming up next hour.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. Maybe this year you made a New Year's resolution to lose weight or to eat better but maybe you should have made a resolution to have more sex. I'll tell you why at the top of the hour.

COLLINS: What? Wow, that's a heck of a tease, Elizabeth. All right, forget the other reports -- no, kidding.

All right, we'll have all you guys coming up a little bit later on.

Meanwhile, ahead this morning, Las Vegas is where hundreds of people are getting together this week for the latest in consumer electronics. Well, if you can't make it, don't worry, Josh Levs is going to show us some of the best gadgets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The Transportation Security Administration, the TSA, that's the agency in charge of keeping the flying public safe, is facing a crisis of its own. A series of embarrassing headlines and gaffes have cascaded down the top and down to the bottom. CNN's Randi Kaye is taking a closer look now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Sunday at Terminal C in Newark Airport, a man slips past a security check point. A TSA worker is distracted and doesn't notice. Even when a passenger alerts officials, the TSA waits more than an hour before alerting airport police to the security breach. If this was a real threat, that's precious time.

And when the TSA tries to view security tape of the incident, it discovers the cameras are running but not recording. And we've learned that's not unusual. The union representing airport police tells us the TSA routinely informs them of illegal activity long after the fact.

The TSA says it accepts full responsibility for the failure and has placed the employee involved on administrative leave. The unidentified man, no trace.

"Keeping them Honest", what's going on at the TSA and who is in charge?

(on camera): The man nominated as its head has admitted improperly accessing a government database 20 years ago to run a background check on his ex-wife's new boyfriend. The nomination has also been held up because of Republican's concern he would allow TSA workers to join a labor union. And there are other problems.

(voice-over): The TSA spent $30 million on its fancy puffer machines, which blow air on you to release explosive material. They didn't work and are being phased out. One security expert says TSA pat-down practices miss all sorts of things.

BRUCE SCHNEIDER, SECURITY TECHNOLOGIST: Any pat-down that you experience that doesn't embarrass you physically is one that's not very effective.

KAYE: Even the agency's animals seem out of sorts.

In Philadelphia, three of the TSA's bomb-sniffing dogs failed consecutive tests. The dogs were responsible for checking cargo at Philadelphia International. Ten other airport dogs did pass the tests.

REP. ROBERT BRADY (D), PENNSYLVANIA: They don't retrain them. They've got to retrain then and recertify. It's not the dog's fault. The dog can't say I can't smell a bomb.

KAYE: TSA's response? There are more than 700 dog teams at airports and mass transit hubs and all are supposed to be recertified occasionally.

Back in December, when the TSA inadvertently posted its screening procedures manual online, a leak that might aid terrorists, five employees were put on leave.

Just this week in Bakersfield, California, the airport was evacuated, shut down for five hours, after two TSA workers found what they thought were traces of explosives on a bag and bottles. They complain they felt sick after smelling fumes from the bottles. Turns out, the bottles contained honey. Officials are still puzzled.

On its Web site, the TSA says its vision is to, quote, "continuously set the standard for excellence in transportation security". A vision that to some, seems blinded by mishaps and confusion.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)