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American Morning
White House Disputes Report About Christmas Bomb Plot; Christmas Terror Indictment
Aired January 07, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thanks very much for being with us on this Thursday, the 7th of January. It's the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
First in just a few hours, the American public will be getting a detailed look at the events that led a suspected terrorist slip through security and nearly blow up a plane on Christmas Day. The White House is releasing a report on the intelligence failures involved, and one government official calls it shocking.
ROBERTS: Democrats may be close to a compromise agreement on health care reform, party leaders meeting privately with the president to merge the two bills already passed by the House and Senate, and it's beginning to look like a public option may not be an option when all is said and done.
CHETRY: Well, when his dream of being a rap promoter died, Jeff Page found himself living on the streets of LA's notorious Skid Row.
That was three years ago. Now, this homeless resident is on a mission to turn America's most destitute square mile into a place to be proud of, and he's even got corporate giant Nike to help him out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF PAGE, "MAYOR" OF LA SKID ROW: I'm determined to succeed. I'm going to finish it. So I will see this through no matter what the odds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: This morning, Jason Carroll is with the unofficial mayor of Skid Row, a true "A.M. Original."
We begin the hour, though, with a story just in to us. The White House now disputing a "Los Angeles Times" report this morning that suggests federal security officials learned brand new information on suspected Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab while he was en route a Christmas Day flight and allegedly trying to blow it up.
Ed Henry is following developments on this story. He's live from the White House this morning.
Hey, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kiran.
That's right. People inside this administration feel that this "L.A. Times" story you're talking about was way, far over written and sort of suggests that the U.S. government was this close to perhaps stopping the suspect and perhaps even learned new information while the plane was in midair from Amsterdam to Detroit.
An administration official telling me this morning that while it's true that as we've all known for sometime that prior to December 25th, these were bits and pieces of information that the U.S. government had about Abdulmutallab, but the official says, 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," TIDE is a system, a database essentially that has records, "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."
Officials wouldn't have pulled him out for secondary screening or prevented him from flying in Amsterdam because as it has been widely reported, Abdulmutallab was not on a selectee, no-fly, or even a terror watch list. And that is, of course, one of the failures the president will be talking about today.
That is in part why this report is coming out so quickly. This administration is realizing with all of these leaks flying around about various bits and pieces of information. They have got to get their narrative out there. They have got to figure out what did go wrong and be direct with the American people so they can show them, "Look, we're going to fix things because there's obviously a lot of uncertainty right now about what the government knew and what the government is, you know, going to do moving forward to make sure that the aviation system in particular in this country is safe, Kiran.
CHETRY: And there have been some in this reporting today, not only on that article, but the other leaks that you have been talking about, underscoring the fear that some of the agencies have to say, "Listen, I don't want this to fall on our lap," and so there's a little bit finger-pointing, saying, "It wasn't us, it wasn't us." Sixteen agencies that make up, you know, our intelligence community.
I mean, is there still fear that heads are going to roll over in one of these agencies for what happened?
HENRY: Well, you're right, that the American people heard the president say back in Hawaii that he's going to get accountability at all levels of government, and he talked about systemic as well as human failures. So far, though, we've only really heard about the systemic failures, about the various watch lists that don't appear to be working, screening systems may that are not be working, but we haven't heard about individuals, the human failings the president talked about. And, as you say, maybe there are various bureaucracies that don't want to take the blame.
But if there really is going to be accountable at all levels of government, as this president promised, sooner or later, one of these reports is going to have to layout who missed something and who's going to do something about it, whether someone is going to have to step down because of it, someone is going to have to radically reform their agency, those are some of the questions that need to be answered with this report and the other reports that undoubtedly will be coming forward, with congressional hearings and various investigations, Kiran.
CHETRY: Ed Henry for us this morning at the White House -- thanks.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: There is also a report this morning that the terror suspect, Abdulmutallab, met with a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen.
Our Deb Feyerick is working that angle for us and she's live in Detroit this morning.
Hi, Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, John.
Well, that information is coming from a top Yemeni official that the American-born cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, did indeed meet with the terror suspect who is accused of trying to detonate a plane onboard a U.S. jetliner. Now, that cleric served as an imam in the Washington, D.C. area. He is now believed to be hiding in Yemen.
And according to that top Yemeni official, the cleric is also connected to the Fort Hood shooter who was charged with killing 13 people. Now, the official said this morning that the two men met about 180 miles outside the capital.
It is not clear when Abdulmutallab met with the cleric, but it is know that Abdulmutallab was in Yemen between December -- between August and December of this year -- of 2009. That is where he got the device. That is where he also got instructions on how to use it.
Now, Abdulmutallab is scheduled to be arraigned here at the federal court in Detroit tomorrow. He is facing multiple charges, including using weapons of mass destruction, attempting to bring down a U.S. jetliner on Christmas Day, and attempting to kill all 209 people onboard that plane.
Right now, the investigation is in full swing. It is going across the globe, really, in many countries where Abdulmutallab is believed to have visited, including Ghana, Yemen, Nigeria. But, again, all in full swing and he is expected to be in court tomorrow to hear the charges -- John.
ROBERTS: Deb, is there any thought being given to American investigators sitting down and talking with al-Awlaki?
FEYERICK: Well, that's what's so interesting. Apparently, this cleric was the target of a strike in Yemen around December 17th. It is not clear whether, in fact, he survived that attack, but he's believed to be hiding there.
What makes him so dangerous, John, is that he's really considered sort of a rock star of the Internet, the Osama bin Laden of the Internet. He has been inciting young Muslims to jihad. And he is now reaching out to so many people that he is really on the radar as to who is he and who he's meeting with. Again, for him to be linked to two different people, not only to this 23-year-old Nigerian who's going to will be here tomorrow, but also to that U.S. Army major at Fort Hood -- again, he is really at the top of the list right now.
ROBERTS: All right. Deb Feyerick for us this morning -- Deb, thanks so much.
CHETRY: The Council on American-Islamic Relations is now expressing some concern that the new airport security measures could unfairly target Muslims. The group wants the TSA to clarify whether Islamic headscarves known as a hijab will now automatically trigger secondary screening measures. The request comes after a Muslim woman claimed she was singled out by screeners who put her through a full body pat-down search when she refused to remove her traditional head covering.
ROBERTS: New this morning, we are getting our first look at the suicide bomber, the alleged double agent who killed seven CIA workers in Afghanistan. Sources are confirming that this Human Khalil Abu- Mulal al-Balawi, a 36-year-old doctor from Jordan. Al Qaeda's number three man is claiming credit for the attack, calling it revenge. The "Associated Press" reporting that one of the CIA employees who died was part of a unit that had been tracking Osama bin Laden.
CHETRY: Another big story this morning is that deep freeze that just won't loosen its grip on the Midwest and parts of the south.
Our Rob Marciano is in Memphis, Tennessee, this morning.
And this is a place where, you know, it's certainly not typical weather this time of year and it's actually costing people their lives.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this is the coldest weather that they've seen really in over a decade. Not so much record-shattering numbers that they have experienced but the prolonged number of days that they have been in this cold snap and a reinforcing shot about to come through.
Snow has all but stop here on Beale Street. But certainly, a little bit surreal to see a dusting of snow on the sidewalks and on the grass surfaces. You can see where this storm is heading west to east on the radar. Most of the heavier snow is to the north of us, in places like Chicago could very well see six, seven, eight, maybe nine or 10 inches of snow. And then the bigger story really is the reinforcing shot of frigid air that will be driving south on this. And this will be probably be about five, if not 10 degrees colder with this go around as it drives all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico and eventually down to Florida and the Mexican border.
We'll have much more from Memphis as this widespread cold snap continues. It has been surreally cold here down across (INAUDIBLE). I have to tell you that and it's affecting people for sure, and we'll have a personal story in about 30 minutes.
Guys, back to you.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to that, Rob. Thanks very much.
The health care debate. We are in the New Year, we've got versions that were passed by the House and the Senate. Now, they have to bring them together and reconcile the differences. They typically do that in a conference committee, but not this time. Negotiations going on behind closed doors and a lot of people on the left and right are upset about that.
We'll talk with Congressman Chris Van Hollen about what's going on -- coming up next.
It's nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
House and Senate Democrats are meeting behind doors this week to iron out a compromised health care reform bill. They're hoping to get a deal done before the end of the month and the president's State of the Union Address.
Republicans and even some liberals don't like the way that it's going down. They're questioning the president's campaign promise of an open and transparent government.
Joining me now is the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Congressman Chris Van Hollen.
Congressman, thanks for being with us this morning. We really appreciate it.
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD), CHAIRMAN, DEM. CONG. CAMPAIGN CMTE.: Good to be with you, John.
ROBERTS: So, typically, when a bill passes the House and then it passes the Senate to be reconciled, it goes to the conference committee. But this is -- that's not happening this time around. It's going to be private meetings behind closed doors. And a lot of folks are wondering why you're bypassing the usual process here.
And is that a good thing for democracy?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, first of all, John, that's not the usual process. As you know many times in the House and Senate, we will take up a bill that's passed by the other body. We will make amendments to that bill and send it back. In fact, that process is used just as frequently and it's just as appropriate as using a conference committee.
The transparency in the process is a totally separate issue. I mean, whether you use the negotiated process, the amendment process or the conference committee process, we are committed to making sure we continue to be very public about what's going on.
This bill, as you know, has been subjected to an unprecedented degree of public scrutiny. It's been on the Internet from day one, every different version. We have had thousands of town hall meetings around the country, lots of hearings in multiple committees, hundreds of witnesses, hundreds of amendments. And whatever develops through these discussions is going to be subject to the public scrutiny, and everyone is going to have an opportunity to debate it and obviously vote on it.
So, the question of transparency is really distinct from what particular vehicle you use for reconciling the bills.
ROBERTS: OK. Well, let's talk about that issue of transparency and rewind the clock back to August 21st, 2008 during the campaign. And the president's pledge to shine a bright light on the health care negotiations.
Let's listen to what the president said back then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BARACK OBAMA: But what we will do is we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents and who is making -- who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Congressman, so what happened to the president's pledge there? C-SPAN earlier this week said, "Hey, we'd like to get cameras in there, we'll offer the airtime," nobody is taking them up on it.
VAN HOLLEN: Well, the negotiations have been going on since the beginning of this bill, John, as you know. I mean, we've had negotiations. They unfold in the hearing process. They unfold during the markup process. And as we now try to reconcile the House and Senate bill, there will be an on going public discussion. I can assure you that on a daily basis, the press is going to be getting updates on what's happening and to the extent that things can happen in a public forum, they will. But, again, you can have a conference committee where the conference committee people just show up at the last minute and sign the conference report. And that would be a more closed forum than if you did the amendment process in a more open way.
So, I think it is important to focus on the question of openness and transparency, and not get sidelined into what particular form is used for the negotiations because they can both be subject to abuse and not enough scrutiny, either method can be more open. And this is going to continue to be an open process.
I think the American people have been very engaged in this debate. That has strengthened the product. We have made multiple changes as a result of input from the town hall meetings. And that will continue to be the case.
ROBERTS: Well, people are hearing what you're saying, Congressman, and hearing what the leadership on the Democratic side is saying, but they are just not buying it.
Let me read you a criticism of the plan to bypass the conference committee and C-SPAN, this whole issue of transparency and the vehicle. Quote, here's the criticism: "Obama has now broken his promise, first by cutting secret deals with the drug industry, and now by endorsing a plan from congressional leaders to hold final legislative negotiations behind closed doors."
I should point out that's not a Republican who's writing that. That's David Sirota, progressive columnist writing at OpenLeft.org.
How do you respond?
VAN HOLLEN: Well I think we have an obligation during this process to make sure that all the issues being discussed by members of Congress are fully disclosed to the public so people can have input through the process. But again the particular vehicle you use doesn't necessarily lend itself one more to transparency than the other. Which is why it is important regardless of what process is used; we have that kind of transparency.
The reason we decided to go for the amendment process was no because people wanted to hide the ball at all. The fact is we saw what happened in the senate with the filibuster rule. I think there is widespread consensus that the Republicans have used that filibuster rule. It's not a consensus; it's a fact, much more than in the past. Senator DeMint made clear what their game plan was. They said that they want to break the President by defeating health care and by going that alternate route you provide much more opportunities for Republicans who have made it clear that they oppose reform period to slow down the process through procedural - procedural tricks.
ROBERTS: No question that they are targeting it, and they have released memos saying we think there are some vulnerable Democrats here, let's try to flip them. But some of the Democrats colleagues in the House are not happy about the process and the vehicle, as you say. They were hoping that when this bill got into the conference committee they might be able to make some improvements to it.
Here's what Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona said.
He said, "I and other progressives saw a conference as a means to improve this bill and have a real debate, and now with this behind- the-scene approach we're concerned even more."
So that they think that a shroud has been draped over this whole process. The curtains drawn on it, they can't make improvements that they want. They think that just for the sake of expediency, you're trying to jam this thing through using the amendment process.
HOLLEN: Well there's no intent to jam this thing through. I mean the most important thing, and I think all Americans would agree that we get it right. There are goals we have in terms of the time to get this done, but the fact of the matter is the most important thing is to get it right. Our Democratic caucus, even though we are not in Washington right now has had already had one teleconference where every member had an opportunity for input.
We have another one today. So every member will be able to talk to his or her constituents, provide input through this process. And again, the amendments I want to make sure that all the people watching understand this. The amendments that we arrive at are obviously then subjected to all the public scrutiny. They will also be available for discussion. You will then have a thorough vetting of them. Then people have to vote up or down on these things.
Look in this age of the internet, even though there are people who wanted to hide things, which would be a huge mistake, there's no way. And so, it would be counterproductive for people to believe that they can somehow cut this deal behind closed doors and no one's going to find out about it.
And I can tell you that on behalf of our members, that obviously would be a huge mistake, and that's why people are going to be very committed to making sure that these things are thoroughly vetted, because at the end of the day it goes on the internet. Everybody has a chance to inspect it and there would be nothing worse than having some you know secret deal that nobody knew about that then wasn't exposed at the end of the day. That doesn't do anybody any good at all.
ROBERTS: All right.
HOLLEN: So, we are going to be committed to continuing an open process. It has been open. Town hall meetings, internet review all have improved the bill.
ROBERTS: All right, well, we'll keep watching. Congressman Chris Van Hollen good to catch up with you this morning, thank you.
HOLLEN: Thanks, good to be with you. CHETRY: Still ahead, Christine Romans joins us. She's Minding Your Business rent prices are actually going lower and lower. She's going to talk about why it's a renters market right now. 19 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It is now 21 hours past the hour.
We have Christine Romans, Minding Your Business for us this morning.
Hey, if you are not in the market to buy a home but you want to rent, maybe your time.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is a renter's market, there's no question about it, 8 percent of apartments in this country. 8 percent apartment, the most in 30 years, are vacant. They are sitting empty, why? Well first off, a few years ago, beginning a few years ago, a lot of people became first-time home buyers.
There was a lot of new supply coming on the market, very easy money, very easy, easy to get loans. People built these big apartment towers, and now, you got people losing their jobs, so they are moving in with friends. Young people are not, are not renting the way they used to. So you have this huge flood of apartments, and rents are falling. So here, let me walk you through why it's a renter's market for you if you are a renter.
The vacancy rate is 8 percent as I said the biggest increase in the vacancy rate in Tucson, Charlotte, and Lexington, Kentucky. Rents falling on average three percent, but leading the decline, San Jose, California, Seattle, Washington. San Francisco, California and a lot of places, rents are falling faster. Falling more last year than just three percent.
What are the average monthly rent? Since some of these towns where the vacancy rates are rising, Seattle, $937 a month. Miami, $992, San Francisco, $1,717. New York, about $2,646 a month for rent. That's down 5.6 percent. Interesting that rent fell last year in New York City more than it did after the September 11th attacks when we had in this town, rents fell because so many people were moving. That's amazing to me. 60 percent of New York City area buildings lowered their rents in the fourth quarter.
You've got thousands and thousands of buildings and apartments coming into the market.
ROBERTS: Yes, it's all because of the boom.
CHETRY: Right.
ROMANS: You have seen them, right? They were built with easy money.
ROBERTS: Actually, right across the street from me.
ROMANS: You can you get free carpet cleaning. You can get free coffee makers, free coffee. You can get free dog walking in some places. You can get free gym memberships. You know you can sign a year and a half lease but only pay a year. So, negotiate.
CHETRY: Gone are the days of having actually pay somebody several thousand dollars for the privilege of finding you a place to rent in the city.
ROMANS: I know. Oh..
ROBERTS: Yes so many brokers are doing it free though.
ROMANS: Are they doing it free?
ROBERTS: There's this building across the street from me. Brand new place, it's like 50 stories tall. I went in and took a look.
ROMANS: Right.
ROBERTS: It was a lovely one-bedroom apartment, southwest exposure.
ROMANS: Beautiful.
ROBERTS: Two balconies, right? They still want the sky for it, they wanted $7,500 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.
ROMANS: No way, no way, hey the economy is not that good, yet.
ROBERTS: So I turned around and walked out.
ROMANS: Yes it's not just New York. You know sometimes with the big New York real estate market it's not just New York. This is happening all across the country. So renter's market, boys and girls.
ROBERTS: All right, thanks.
ROMANS: Great.
ROBERTS: In most places.
ROMANS: Right.
ROBERTS: Thanks Christine.
CHETRY: Well by now you probably heard yes.
And now you have heard about the incident in the Washington Wizards locker room where one of the players admitted to bringing weapons, unloaded, into his locker. Now the NBA is responded that some are saying, why did it take so long. And what really is next? Are their lessons learned when it comes to the NBA's bad boys.
24 minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Who's got the lighter?
ROBERTS: I don't know. 27 minutes after the hour, and as always every day, that means it's time for an A.M. Original. Something that you'll see only on America Morning. Skid row Los Angeles a neighborhood riddle by crime and homelessness. Now, L.A.'s only homeless elected official has made it his mission to clean up this notorious area.
CHETRY: Yes, and he is even convinced corporate giant Nike to help him out in the process. Jason Carroll spent time with the unofficial mayor of skid row in this is A.M. Original.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a haven for crime and the homeless. Attracting thousands from all walks of life when their luck runs out. This is skid row, Los Angeles
JEFF PAGE: Not only are the people homeless there, they're they are helpless.
CARROLL: Jeff Page landed here three years ago after his career as a rap promote fizzled. A mission for the homeless became his new home.
PAGE: To actually be in the community for a long extended period of time and actually see day after day the living conditions of the people here and how deplorable the conditions were, and it really started to sink home of how close on the fine line I was to actually becoming one of them.
CARROLL: So he launched the one-man campaign to turn not only his life but his world around. He started small, organizing street clean ups, mural paintings, connecting with the community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I know you, I've seen you in the newspaper.
PAGE: Yes.
CARROLL: That's general just in case you missed it a nickname a homeless gave him, that's followed him to the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood council. Two years ago, he's only L.A's homeless public official.
PAGE: I am determined to succeed, I'm a finisher. So I will see this through no matter what the odds.
CARROLL: But the odds are stacked against the general in 2009, there was almost 1,000 violent crimes and more than 13,000 arrests in skid row and its surrounding area. And while crime overall is down, it's still dangerous? CARROLL (on camera): I want people to realize, even though we are walking through this, we are not alone. I mean behind the photographer right here, just turn around, we got security here. So that's, I mean --
PAGE: And now you here sirens.
CARROLL: But I think people need to understand that even though skid row, you say, is better; its still is far from where it needs to be?
PAGE: Yes, of course. And we look at it as we are in the early stages, the beginning stages of the transition period.
CARROLL (voice-over): Page lobbied for shelters that can accommodate families and better relations with the police. His proudest accomplishment? The renovation of the park here.
PAGE: It was like the drug dealing prostitution, you know murders. I mean the beat downs, there's a whole -- everything.
CARROLL: Page used his old sales skills as a promoter and got sponsorship from Nike to return the park to the people.
PAGE: They brought a whole -- breathed a whole lot of life to the positive movement.
CARROLL: Something as simple as a basketball court? Now even L.A.'s mayor is paying attention.
MAYOR OF SKID ROW: People like general Jeff, are saying we need more and he's right. We need to provide for a safety net. To address the hunger and homelessness.
CARROLL: But much like his own life, skid row still has a long road ahead to become the place General Jeff envisions.
CARROLL (on camera): Do you see Skid Row as a transitional place for you, because you are still living here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I am still here, but technically now, because I'm here trying to establish this as a community, just like any other place in America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And page is actually up for reelection this summer for the neighborhood council, and at this point he is unsure he will run again. One thing he is sure about is he won't stop finding ways to try to improve live for the folks out there on skid road.
CHETRY: It's amazing. He said I'm going to stay here until I finish the job.
CARROLL: And you know what, given the way this man presents himself, I have every reason to believe that is true. CHETRY: Wish him luck. Thanks, Jason.
CARROLL: You bet.
CHETRY: We check our top stories at half past the hour, the national security adviser now saying the details will shock some Americans. The report on the intel failures before the attempted terror attack on Christmas is coming out today. The president himself said we had the information to stop it but the intel agencies did not connect the dots. He is expected to speak after the report is made public.
ROBERTS: Yemen is now confirming that the so called Christmas bomber met with the radical cleric there. That cleric has also been linked to the Ft. Hood shooter.
CHETRY: The White House not amused over seeing President Obama's image on a Times Square billboard. The administration says it will ask outer wear company Weatherproof to remove the ad because it was done without their permission.
The NBA Commissioner David Stern coming down on Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas. It will cost Arenas $147,000 for each game he misses, and he is also under criminal investigation and could face charges.
But is that enough to get players attention? Joining us now for the "A.M. Breakdown" is "In Session" host and sports attorney Ryan Smith. Good morning, Ryan.
RYAN SMITH, SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER: Good morning.
CHETRY: We had Commissioner Stern announce the indefinite suspension yesterday. What do you think the future holds for Arenas in the NBA?
SMITH: It's a tricky situation right now. A lot will depend on this investigation that's going on and what the penalties are.
What surprised me is the quickness of this indefinite suspension. I think the NBA wanted to wait and see what the results of the investigation were. But Gilbert Arenas had all the actions and the tweets what he did before Tuesday's night game that caught the attention of the NBA and made him say you know what, we need to suspend him now.
CHETRY: Why would they wait when many people say he violated the collective bargaining agreement, you can't bring guns into the arena, and number two, D.C. law. He admitted he brought guns, and whether or not the criminal charges were there, he violated some of the league's policies, so why wouldn't he be suspended?
SMITH: I think the first thing they thought was, at least with a lot of the leagues, they want to let the investigation to take its course, because a player can always say to the player association, I was wrongfully suspended because the investigation was not finished. A lot of time the league will want to avoid that, and they say let's see if there are charges or an indictment, and then we can make the move. But here it's like the activities of Gilbert Arenas provoked the NBA.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I want to show the picture. This is what we are talking about. It was featured prominently in the "Washington Post." It shows Arenas on his knees with his fingers cocked pretending to shoot at a group of his laughing teammates. It appears that he is having a fun, a high old time, a cavalier message.
What type of message does that send in the wake of the seriousness of bringing these guns to the arena?
SMITH: Yes, Kiran, it sends a really bad message. And part of the problem was when it first happened he came out with a statement that said I am sorry and cooperating with the authorities. That's all you need to say.
At that point he had tweets, and it was like he was making light of it. And then to do that at the beginning of the game, it's almost like you are flaunting it for a lot of people, and it makes people think is this really important to him, and is it important to the NBA? That's why they had to act.
CHETRY: And former NBA player Karl Malone came down pretty hard on Arenas and also the NBA. He said the NBA needed to take action, and people like Reverend Al Sharpton saying you cannot make light of the situation. But let's hear what Karl Malone said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL MALONE, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Any other person out there that would take a firearm to work would probably be terminated, no questions asks. I commend the NFL and baseball because they have almost zero tolerance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Karl Malone is making a point that in almost any other walk of life if you admit to bringing a gun to the workplace you'd be fired. So is there a double standard when it comes to star players in professional sports?
SMITH: I think that's a great point. I think he's right. In a lot of instances you would be terminated.
But here you have a collective bargaining agreement where the NBA does have leeway, but they want to make sure they are trying to find out everything about the investigation.
I will tell you this, he makes a good point that they would be fired, but there are also criminal charges. If they were unlicensed handguns that were brought into the workplace, there's a potential for jail time unless a plea is made.
And it's not really clear at this point what's going to happen there, but the fact of the matter is I think this could have been handled by saying we will cooperate with investigators and let that play its course, and then the NBA would have said let's determine appropriate action at that point.
SMITH: Yes. And this is a team that used to be the Washington Bullets, and I grew up watching that. A lot of these guys are certainly heroes to the kids that watch them. We will have to see how the criminal aspect of it plays out. Ryan Smith, always great to talk to you and thanks for being here.
SMITH: Thank you, Karen.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We are learning more about the suicide bomber, the double agent who took out seven CIA operatives in Afghanistan. Our Nic Robertson is in Iman, Jordan, talking exclusively with the bomber's family.
It's 37 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
We are getting our first look at the suicide bomber, the double agent who killed seven CIA workers in Afghanistan.
Sources are confirming this is a picture of the 36-year-old doctor from Jordon. In a CNN exclusive our Nic Robertson went to Jordan to speak to the bomber's family to find out why he went back to the other side. Nic joins us now live form Iman, Jordan. Hi, Nic.
ROBERTSON: Hi there, John. This is the picture on the front of the newspapers here. HE is the man everyone here is talking about.
What he is alleged to have done is a very, very sensitive issue here. What we did is go to his family to try and find out more.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm meeting the father of the man alleged to have killed seven CIA operatives in Afghanistan.
ROBERTSON (on camera): What can you tell us about your son?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now? No comment.
ROBERTSON: Why no comment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is nothing sure.
ROBERTSON: You don't know for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing sure. ROBERTSON (voice-over): We're in a middle class neighborhood of Iman, Jordan. It is late afternoon and he's going to the mosque for prayers at sundown. He promises to speak to us afterwards.
With two other journalists, we knock at the front door to see if others will talk. Someone just opened the door, the brother of the alleged bomber.
ROBERTSON (on camera): You can't talk to us?
ROBERTSON (voice-over): He doesn't want to be on camera, but after a little time shares his concerns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's my brother and he was very good person. He suffers some huge pressures, we know this.
ROBERTSON: He says his brother, a doctor, was angry about the war in Gaza last year, volunteered his medical services, was questioned by Jordanian intelligence officials, left the country soon after, telling the family he was going to Turkey. That was the last they saw of him.
A senior Jordanian intelligence source told us al-Balawi in fact went to Pakistan after he had been questioned about his radical Internet postings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know there is something wrong since he was not in Turkey, so we say where has this guy gone? We thought he was in Gaza.
ROBERTSON: Then last week came the phone call no father wants to get the day after the explosion at the base in Afghanistan.
ROBERTSON (on camera): So they called and said he's made a big operation in the CIA base in Afghanistan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is bad news but this is what happened, so you have to deal with that. That is exactly what they say.
ROBERTSON: They said it's bad news?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They didn't say congratulations?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said this is what happened. He is a hero.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): By the time they come out of the mosque, it's dark. I want to ask him about the mystery phone call, but at the door he's met by his son. They're nervous. Jordon's intelligence services have been calling them.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Who called them 11 times?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The intelligence. ROBERTSON: So in the space of being here half an hour intelligence called them 11 times. They don't want to talk. We have to leave. OK.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's a very sensitive issue. Not only were seven CIA operatives killed, but a Jordanian officer, too, a cousin of the king.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: What the family also told us is that they feel the son was under a huge amount of pressure. They feel that questioning he had with the Jordanian intelligence officials may have been what directly led him on the path he was on to go and be an operative for them. They are very, very confused right now, John.
ROBERTS: Good work though digging on that, Nic, and getting a member of his family to speak. Good job.
CHETRY: Two-thirds of the country under bitter cold. We're going to be getting a check of the extreme weather with our Rob Marciano coming up. It's 43 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: You either love this song or you hate it. I don't know if there is much in between. You should see John right now. He's so happy we're playing it. He's a huge Miley Cyrus fan.
Anyway, sunny, 31 degrees right now. It is nice out there if you're looking at it from inside because it's only going up to a high at 35 here in New York City today. And our Rob Marciano is in Memphis, actually, this morning.
How funny, we played Miley Cyrus, right before her daddy, Billy Ray, a huge country star.
Can you hear us, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes a little, you know, country? The king of the blues? BB King, the king himself, Elvis, they all reside here in Memphis, Tennessee. Beil Street (ph) the quintessential shot. To see snow on Beil Street certainly is a little bit surreal. But that pretty much to start and to wind down. The bigger story over the next couple of days is going to be the next shot of cold air that's going to be rolling down to this area.
Further up river up the Mississippi, parts of that mighty river frozen over and to the west and north of that more on the way of snow, barreling down south here. So the big story is not going to be the snow but the cold air and the prolonged cold air that we've seen not only here but across the south has been the main issue. Because you have people that aren't used to this weather and you have homes that aren't necessarily built for this weather.
Yesterday alone the city of Memphis went around to turn on the power of heat to 500 homes; people who just haven't been able to pay their bills because of the down turn in the economy and warming centers that have been set up here. So I'm sure that that theme has been echoed across the south as this next shot of cold air gets down; 20 to 30 degrees below average is the forecast here over the next two to three days.
Single numbers if not near zero for low temperatures beginning tomorrow -- John, Kiran, back up to you.
ROBERTS: All right, Rob. Thanks so much.
So is there a heart risk in low Vitamin D levels among African- Americans. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been looking in the new research. He's got that story coming up for you.
Coming up now on 49 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning.
A new study may explain why more black patients die from heart disease and it all has to do with, of all things, Vitamin D. We're paging our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent is in Atlanta this morning.
Sanjay, what's this all about?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know I found this really fascinating John. You know for a long time people have been trying to figure out why do these disparities exist between heart disease and between blacks and whites? And one of the things they focused on for some time is this idea that sunlight exposures, simple sunlight exposure may be one of the reasons.
So they started to study this more and more and they realize that blacks, especially blacks who live farther away from the equator and they specifically are getting less sunlight exposure seem to have higher rates of heart disease. And in fact it can be up to 20 times higher. So it might just have to do with Vitamin D production in the skin and might simply have to do with how much sunlight they're absorbing across the skin as well.
You know Vitamin D is amazingly controversial vitamin. Now, they say that you need 400 international units per day, that's according to federal guidelines. But there's also talks that you know, a lot of researchers who study Vitamin D are taking up to 2,000 international units themselves, you can take up to 10,000 without it really having much harm in the body.
So people really aren't sure about how much of Vitamin D take but it does seems to be clear that, blacks, because they're absorbing less sunshine probably need to take a little bit more.
ROBERTS: So what's the relationship here? You know Vitamin D typically associated with calcium delivery, depositing in bones... GUPTA: Yes.
ROBERTS: ... strengthening your bones...
GUPTA: Right.
ROBERTS: ... what does it have to do with heart disease?
GUPTA: Right and it's a great question and you know. First of all, not everyone is sort of bought into this idea that more Vitamin D lower heart disease although it does seem to be gaining some momentum. The thought is that you know, if you look at heart disease, one of the buzz words here is inflammation. More inflammation in the blood stream the more likely you are to have heart events or coronary events as they're called.
Vitamin D seems to suppress the amount of inflammation in the body. What's -- and that's mainly in animal studies John, that hasn't been really proven out in humans. And it's also unclear that you know more Vitamin D leads to linearly less inflammation. That's still a very fertile area of research.
ROBERTS: Ok, but we do have this problem that a lot of people are not getting enough Vitamin D. We've heard these stories about -- you know parents who puts sun screen rightly on their children cuts down on Vitamin D absorption. So how can people whether they don't get enough sunshine because they do not go outside enough or maybe they're wearing sunscreen when they do go outside, how can they be assured of getting enough Vitamin D every day?
GUPTA: Well, you know, first things first and I think there is a way to test for this. So if you're concerned about this, you can get a derivative of Vitamin D checked in your blood. And it's called 25 hydroxy Vitamin D, you don't need to remember the name, but remember the number. It should be 30, 30 nanograms per milliliter. You want the number to be higher than that. If it's lower than that, keep in mind that a lot of foods are fortified with Vitamin D. Cereals for example for kids but a lot of dairy products as everyone knows; milk, cheese, foods liked that.
Getting outside and getting real sun for about 20 minutes a day will give you 20,000 international units, far more than you need. So it's getting a little bit, even for the kids is probably not a bad idea.
ROBERTS: All right, so we don't have to memorize that 25 hydroxyl Vitamin D, ok? We'll make a note of that.
GUPTA: Number 30. Ok.
ROBERTS: All right, thanks Sanjay Gupta to talk to you this morning.
GUPTA: Yes thanks.
ROBERTS: Kiran. CHETRY: Well, Jeanne Moos is going to join us in a moment. You know, when somebody's speaking and giving a speech at the podium, sometimes what's going on behind them or over their shoulder is the most interesting of all. She's going to have a look coming up.
Twenty-five minutes after the hour -- 55 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning right now. It's 57 minutes past the hour. That means it's time for the "Moost News in the Morning".
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Sometimes, you know, when there is a big announcement, it's what happens behind the scenes that actually keeps you fixated.
ROBERTS: Case in point, the real star of yesterday's announcement from Senator Chris Dodd that he wasn't going to seek re- election.
Our Jeanne Moos takes a look at the over-the-shoulder antics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure you can tell everyone where to stand, but getting kids to stand still? Good luck.
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: I'm still driven by the same passions.
MOOS: We were more interested in what Chris Dodd's daughter was whispering.
DODD: So many, many years ago.
MOOS: ... than we were in his speech. Four-year-old Christine had her hand on dad's shoulder, and on mom's nose.
DODD: ... political shape of my career.
MOOS: And check out the older daughter going gaga at the mention of her name...
DODD: These young children of mine -- Grace is 8...
MOOS: When here dad kisses here, she wipes it off. Judging from her parting words, Grace would rather be saying grace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm starving. I'm starving.
MOOS: But beware what they eat, the man voters pick to be New Jersey's next governor wasn't the only thing picked at his acceptance speech.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... to fix every problem they just want to give a hand up...
MOOS: We have seen enough of the lieutenant governor-elect's son getting his hand up.
Remember Chief Justice John Roberts' son. He made the papers for escaping his mom's clutches and crawling around as the president introduced his dad.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's an honors graduate of both Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
MOOS: Young jack graduated to hand signals and fancy footwork.
BUSH: After he was nominated for the Court of Appeals in 2001.
MOOS: Eventually, Jack had to be marched off the stage.
BUSH: I received good advice from both Republicans and Democrats.
MOOS: Even older kids can't stand still. Letterman made this kid famous.
Of course there was Rudy Giuliani's son, all grown up now. But will he ever live down his dad's swearing in as mayor, blowing kisses, and joining in the oath.
You know, it's one thing when your kids steal the show, but how about when it's a couple of koalas? And we do mean a couple.
Tennis star Andy Roddick was talking to reporters at an Australian koala sanctuary.
Who cares about the tennis court when you can watch koalas courting?
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: You know what the koalas were saying? Isn't that Andy Roddick?
CHETRY: Maybe we were like (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: Continue the conversation on today's top stories. Go to our blog at cnn.com/amFix.
That's going to wrap it up for us today. We'll see you again bright and early tomorrow.
CHETRY: And meanwhile, the news continues. "NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins is up next.
Good morning Heidi.
