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Would-Be Bomber to Appear in Court; Country Hit with Cold Snap; How Safe are Full-Body Scanners?; Reverend Strives to Help Homeless in Chilly St. Louis
Aired January 08, 2010 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You gave me the Treasury Department. No, what do you believe? Do you believe more e- mails should come out so we can learn more?
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I -- I don't know what the story is about the e-mails. I would tell you that there are not e-mails that involve Secretary Geithner in this instance. This is e-mails and decisions that were being made by two people. That decision did not rise to his level.
HENRY: The last thing on this. Various liberals have jumped on this and other stories about Secretary Geithner to say that really is not fit to serve as treasury secretary. He still has the president's full confidence?
GIBBS: Of course.
QUESTION: Robert, at today's 2:40 event, will he be dealing only with the jobs issue and the clean jobs issue, or might he also talk about the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
GIBBS: As far as I know, the last time I saw the remarks, it was just on jobs and the energy announcement.
QUESTION: He has spoken quite a day about the Christmas-Day incident, but he hasn't opened himself up to questions from the media. Do you think he might entertain some questions on that? Isn't it unusual that an event this big that he would not open himself up to questions?
GIBBS: I don't want to speculate. He's not taking questions today.
QUESTION: He'll back me up on this. He hasn't had a press conference since July at the White House. Why, and why can't we get him to respond to questions rather than just get statements on issues like this?
GIBBS: We did this before. I think the last time we did -- we talked about the president's media schedule and here you all, to a person, reminded me of our dramatic overexposure. I assure you that... QUESTION: I don't feel that way.
GIBBS: You did then.
QUESTION: Well, that was then.
GIBBS: I appreciate at least that we've isolated the flip-flop and now we can...
QUESTION: Are there any plans for a press conference?
GIBBS: Not that I'm aware of.
QUESTION: Let me ask you one substantive question since you're not going to answer this one.
GIBBS: If the press could just point out that Mr. Reid (ph) added that he was now going to change to a substantive question.
QUESTION: It was a procedural question, but it was also important. It's different from substantive. It's a legal thing. It's a legal thing.
Admiral Mullen said in his speech yesterday said we've looked -- with regard to Iran we've looked to do all that we can to assure that conflict doesn't break out there, while at the same time preparing forces, as we do for many contingencies that we understand might occur.
GIBBS: Uh-huh.
QUESTION: Is that preparation of forces with regard to Iran per a presidential order, or just something the Pentagon does? And part two, are there also preparations of forces with regard to Yemen as a contingency?
GIBBS: I would point you to his spokesperson at the Pentagon, Chip. I believe the Pentagon, as it should, plans for many different types of contingencies, based on many, many different types of scenarios.
The track that the president has aggressively pursued in relating to Iran deals with engagement, in hopes that they will live up to the obligations internationally that they've signed on to be responsible for.
We've gone through in here our asking them, through the IAEA, about the research reactor and making a proposal that would prove to the world that their intentions were peaceful. They declined that offer. And we are, as we've discussed in the past many days, working with our partners on next steps and not living up to those responsibilities.
QUESTION: Can we assume that there are these kinds of contingency plans regarding...
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: We'll continue to monitor the White House briefing there with Robert Gibbs.
Meanwhile, how cold is it? Well, in Florida, believe it or not, listen to this.
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(THUMPING NOISES)
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PHILLIPS: Iguanas, falling out of trees. You don't want to know about the sea turtles. Mammals are pretty cold, too. And you don't have to look very far to find snow.
Juvenile injustice? Underage offenders molested in detention. If the abuse doesn't shock you, the abusers will.
And health, longevity, prosperity. Are they really all in your head? I'll wrap up my special investigation, "Inner Peace at a Price." Some former insiders claim nationwide yoga chain Dahn Yoga is a cult.
Well, we're going to know in just about an hour, what, if anything, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has to say about the federal indictment against him. But the Muslim community of Michigan says he won't be speaking for them. The Christmas-Day airline bomber suspect due in federal court in Detroit, 2 p.m. Eastern Time for arrangement on a half dozen charges, included the attempted murder of 289 people.
Now, as a criminal defendant, Abdulmutallab enjoys certain rights and protections. On the other hand, how'd you like to be his attorney?
Jeffrey Toobin is a lawyer and also best-selling author and CNN's senior legal analyst. Maybe I should just start there. Would you want to be his attorney?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No thanks. I'll keep my day job, if it's OK with you.
PHILLIPS: Who he is. All that evidence stacked up against him. I don't blame him.
TOOBIN: Yes. There does not appear to be a defense here. The jury will be instructed to presume that he's innocent, but we don't have to presume that he's innocent. We can presume that the evidence is what it is, which is he tried to blow up this plane, and that's a very scary and serious thing.
PHILLIPS: And on top of that you have syringes, explosive materials; you have burns. I was telling you, you know, lawyers are saying it's a classic smoking-gun, a.k.a., smoking-pants case.
TOOBIN: Yes, and on others are calling him the undie bomber. It's not...
PHILLIPS: It's funny, but it's not funny.
TOOBIN: It's funny because no one got hurt, but he came very close to a terrible disaster.
I think the options for the defense are few. And the prosecution has very little incentive to negotiate here. He's probably said all that he's going to say. So, they don't have any deal making for statements he's going to make.
And, you know, this was potentially mass murder. Many more people's lives were at stake than Timothy McVeigh killed. So, I mean, it's an enormous, enormous case.
Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, very similar case, got life in prison without parole. I can't imagine this case will end any differently.
PHILLIPS: Well, isn't this someone that is proud of what he did, and he wants everyone to see him as a holy warrior? So he's just going to say, "Yes, I'm guilty. I did it. This is what I wanted to do, end of story"?
TOOBIN: We'll see. I don't know. It will, of course, be interesting to see how his situation evolves, now that he's away from Yemen and away from the people who are influencing him. He's now in the United States. He can only really talk to his lawyer and perhaps to family members, although that might be -- that will certainly be monitored. It might not even be allowed.
And once he gets away from the excitement that led him to this horrible act, some reality might sink in.
PHILLIPS: Let me ask you. You mentioned family members. It was his dad that came forward, and said, "Look, I think my son is an extremist" and tipped folks off. Would he be called in to testify against his son?
TOOBIN: Well, there's no parent/child privilege that protects him from testifying, like the way there is in the doctor/patient, or spouses can't testify against each other. Fathers can be called to testify against their sons.
Legally, though, or factually, I don't think the government will need the father's testimony. You don't need to know why he did this. You just need to know that he did it. All the evidence in the plane is probably all the government needs in terms of winning this case. The difficulty, the awkwardness of calling a father, is something the prosecution would probably just as soon avoid.
PHILLIPS: Like we said, the arrangement about 2 p.m. Eastern Time in Detroit. You're going to come back and follow it with me, see what we can get, talk about it some more.
TOOBIN: See what we can learn.
PHILLIPS: Great. Jeffrey Toobin, thanks so much. Well, Chad Myers, a busy man with all this frigid weather. When it's going to warm up, for goodness sake? Well, hopefully is going to tell us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Slipping and sliding in the Deep South, the region trying to survive a rare bout with snow, ice and super-cold weather. This morning's commute, a nightmare for folks in Atlanta. A 29-car pileup sent several people to the hospital, and just about every other part of the country also shivering. Call this a cold snap? Understatement of the year.
We've got coverage in some of the hardest-hit areas. Martin Savidge is in St. Louis, Jessica Gomez in Chicago.
Martin, let's go ahead and start with you.
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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Martin Savidge in St. Louis, where with the wind chill tonight, it is going to feel like 10 to 15 degrees below zero.
So what are you supposed to do about the homeless who refuse to come in off the street? I'll have that story.
Meanwhile let's check in with Jessica Gomez north of here on what the weather is like in Chicago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA GOMEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the snow has finally stopped falling here in Chicago, and the big cleanup is under way. About five inches of snow fell in downtown Chicago, slightly less than what was expected, but now we're talking about frigid temperatures on the way. Chicagoans are bracing for that.
We'll have more on that coming up in just a minute.
Kyra, I'll send it over to you.
SAVIDGE: Thank you so much.
And a cold spell like we haven't seen in years. More frigid weather is on the way. Chad Myers, oh, boy, say it isn't so. More, even, on the way?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Depending on where you are. I think the East Coast gets colder. The central plains get warmer by -- by Monday.
Do you have one of these in your backyard, or have you seen one of these turtles? I have one.
PHILLIPS: Really? MYERS: I don't use it often. My son has one. Yes. It's a little sandbox, but when it fills up with water and the temperatures get to 10, it becomes a teeny, tiny ice skating rink. Don't try this at home.
Kyra, I was just thinking -- I was just thinking about this. Do you know what? If you're going to send your kid out to play and, you know, now that we're way overprotective of your children, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put those rollerblading little gloves on them that kind of protect their wrists from falling down, because that would at least take some of the impact if, in fact, you do slip and slide out there.
PHILLIPS: You're such a good dad.
MYERS: You know, I'm always thinking. That's what I like about you, Clark, you're always thinking, Butch. Minus 20 in Bismarck -- that's from a very old movie. Sorry about that. I digress.
Sioux falls, 24 below. Minneapolis, 9 below zero. That's the wind-chill factor right now. Temperatures are cold all the way down to the Deep South, and it's going to be one of those nights where it's keep your pets warm, keep yourself warm, and keep your house happy.
Try to make sure that those pipes, again, are taken care of. If you open up the doors to the -- under your sink. If your sink backs up to the outside wall, you open up those doors under your sink, some of the heat from your home will get under the sink and keep those pipes just a little bit warmer. Careful of any of the poisons that are down there, of course, though, being the dad again. There I am.
PHILLIPS: There you go, once again.
All right. You've got to check this out. This story is just for you. You ready?
MYERS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: All right.
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PHILLIPS: Do you have any idea what that is?
MYERS: That was a frozen iguana.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it was. Oh, you already know the story!
MYERS: I'm very sad about it.
PHILLIPS: It is kind of sad. I mean, the poor guys. They're just dropping out of the trees because they're so dang cold. You know, they're cold-blooded animals.
MYERS: They are not dying, though. They are not dying.
PHILLIPS: Right, exactly. That's why we can kind of have some fun and laugh, but they -- you know, they can't hold on any longer, so they just drop to the ground. They're OK, as you said, just in a zombie state until the weather warms up.
So come on. It's kind of creepy, actually, if you think about it.
MYERS: It's a little bit. It's a little bit creepy.
PHILLIPS: OK. All right. Let's move on here.
MYERS: All right, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: It's also taking its toll on sea turtles, too. Dozens had to actually be rescued from Florida's Atlantic coast after the cold water just shocked their systems. Most of them are endangered green sea turtles and they're are used to the tropical waters.
And the naked truth about full-body scanners. They're coming to an airport near you. But could they be hazardous to your health? We're going to walk you through it.
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PHILLIPS: Well, airport security is about to get up close and personal with the installation of 300 full-body scanners. That's the word from the White House now. But are these machines really just a full-body health hazard?
Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, live in Atlanta.
So, Elizabeth, could the radiation from these scanners lead to health problems down the road? Has there been any research?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what, Kyra? Not -- the folks, experts that we talked to said the answer to that question is no. And the reason why is that the radiation is so low.
Now, first of all, let's be clear about what kinds of machines are going to be in use. One kind doesn't even use radiation at all. It uses a different technology, sort of what your cell phone uses instead. But not the kind of radiation that they use in, say, a CAT scan.
However, what's important to know is that these -- the first type, they use 10,000 less energy than your cell phone.
Now, the other kind that does use radiation, what's important to remember is that it's way less than what you'd get in, say, a CT scan or an MRI, because an MRI or a CT scan. I mean, it wants to see your bones. I mean, it wants to see deep inside you. You can see from the images on these, that they don't see deep inside you. The radiation bounces off your skin, and that's it.
Now, does it mean that there's -- the radiation is absolutely, positively zero? No, of course, not. There's some, but not nearly as much as we think about when we think about different medical tests.
PHILLIPS: But a few weeks ago there were some concerns about how the radiation emitted from a CT scan, it can vary in amount from one doctor to the next. So will we have the same problems at airports?
COHEN: Right, that's a huge concern. You can have 13 full differences between different imaging machines in doctors' offices because a person, a real,-live person, has to set a dial.
However, we're told that the devices that will be used in airports are standardized. And so what that means is that there's supposed to be a certain level that's emitted, that there will be government regulations that keep it standardized, so you won't have the sort of wildly different amount used -- amounts used.
In medical tests, for example, they found that sometimes people will give -- technicians will give children adult-sized doses, and so we're told that won't happen, that it will be standardized for the airport machines.
PHILLIPS: So, what about for pregnant women and children? Would it be safe to them?
COHEN: You know, it's interesting. We talked to two experts who had two different thoughts on it. One said, look, there's so little risk here that you don't -- no one should have to tell a pregnant woman, "Oh, are you sure you want to do this?" No one should scare them.
Other -- another researcher said, look, pregnant women should be told there is some radiation, and we want to let you know.
The bottom line is -- and I think this is a key point -- is if you don't want this, whether you're pregnant or not, you don't have to have it. You can say, "I don't want the radiation. Please physically, manually pat me down." So that's always an option. I think that's important for people to remember.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks.
COHEN: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: We'll see how it goes.
Counting calories? Well, don't count on the number printed on the menu or the box. Tufts University actually looked at ten restaurant chains and found that the meals packed an average 18 percent more calories than advertised. The study included food from Wendy's, PF Chang's and Denny's.
Frozen foods from the supermarket fared a little better. The label undersold the calorie count by an average of 8 percent. Top stories now.
Two more arrests in the alleged WMD plot against New York City. One of the men was taken in after a car accident in Queens early this morning. He and the other man are expected to be arraigned today in Brooklyn. A source tells CNN they'll probably face charges of providing material support to terrorists.
At the center of the case, Najibullah Zazi, accused of plotting to set off a bomb on September 11, 2009.
First he was hospitalized for burns on 65 percent of his body. Then he was re-admitted for lung problems. Now the Florida teen who was doused with rubbing alcohol back in October, then torched, is once again home from the hospital. But doctors caution it's going to be a long road to recovery for Michael Brewer.
Some of his schoolmates are accused of setting him ablaze.
Four people died in a workplace shooting in St. Louis yesterday, and now we're learning the names of the victims. Police say the suspect, Timothy Hendron, fatally shot three of his co-workers before turning the gun on himself at ABB Incorporated. Cory Wilson, Terry Mabry, and Carlton Carter were all reportedly shot in the head. Five other people were wounded.
The streets are nowhere to live in this brutal cold spell. In St. Louis, a lot of homeless wouldn't even make it without the help of a special man.
(MUSIC: "SWEET HOME ALABAMA")
PHILLIPS: Roll Tide. Alabama coach, Nick Saban, rolled right into the record book last night. His team thumped Texas for college football's national title, making him the only coach to win BCS championships at two different schools. The first one? Back in 2003 at LSU.
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PHILLIPS: Cold so brutal that it can kill. This week's cold spell forcing us to face often forgotten populations: the homeless. In St. Louis, special efforts, though, are under way right now to feed and house people out on the streets.
Here's CNN's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Darkness falls in St. Louis, and with it, the temperature.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blowing snow, as well. The wind chill index 5 below downtown at the arch.
SAVIDGE: And at the New Life evangelistic shelter, the homeless have begin showing up for the night. But despite the bitter cold, there are some who refuse to come in. They are the ones that the Reverend Larry Rice wants to find.
(on camera) Do you try to bring them in, or do you just try to look after them in place, where they are?
REV. LARRY RICE, NEW LIFE EVANGELISTIC SHELTER: We often look after them in place, letting them know that we have a place available that they can come. But as meager as their belongings may be and as primitive as their place may be, that's still home.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Our first stop is an abandoned home...
RICE: We have to check on these people regularly, OK?
SAVIDGE: ... that's not abandoned at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, how are you doing, Larry?
RICE: Good. How are you all doing? Staying warm, are you?
SAVIDGE: Inside we find a community of young people in their teens and 20s.
RICE: How are you all doing? I've got a new coat here for you. Can you all use a sleeping bag?
SAVIDGE: Thanks to roaring fires and gas heaters, it's warm. For Susan Fanter, it's heaven compared to the street.
(on camera) How many people are in the house here?
SUSAN FANTER, HOMELESS: I don't know, 15, 20. I don't know. I haven't really -- I never count.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): At the next stop we realize Susan was right about the "heaven" part. This is where she was living, in a tent, in a tunnel.
RICE: Hello there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, Larry?
RICE: Larry Rice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.
SAVIDGE: And as the temperature heads towards zero, we find others still here.
(on camera) Well, what do you do to stay warm?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My lantern.
SAVIDGE: That lantern is your source of heat?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. When I have fuel for it.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Next door, the tent has no ceiling.
(on camera) Why don't you go to a shelter?
DAVID HUCKSTEP, HOMELESS: We prefer to stay out here. We don't like to be around a whole bunch of different people that we don't know. We're kind of like a small group of people that we are around.
SAVIDGE: A small group of people living in the Stone Age, just beneath a modern American city, surviving a night so cold it could kill.
Martin Savidge, CNN, St. Louis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Windy city, try wintry city. Chicago's known for its long, cold, and snowy winters. And it's going to be very, very cold and more frigid as the air moves in.
CNN's Jessica Gomez, live, but freezing -- Jessica.
GOMEZ: Well, the sun is sort of peeking out now here in Chicago. The snow has moved southeast of us. But as you mentioned, Chicago is bracing for some bitter, bitter cold temperatures coming up.
And, of course, there's still a lot of cleanup to be done. Nearly 300 of Chicago's salt trucks have been out since yesterday, clearing roads. And the main roads look pretty good. They're mostly clean. We saw some slower commute times, but not as bad as the hour delays that we saw from yesterday. It's those side roads that are slippery. They are telling drivers to be -- still be careful.
And that's sort of what crews are focusing on right now, getting that taken care of.
And now, as you mentioned, it's time to bundle up, because the temperatures are dropping. Chicago is expecting single digits tonight, and of course, with the wind chill that will feel like zero or even 10 below zero. So, Kyra, it is officially January in Chicago.
PHILLIPS: What about the airports? Have they been affected?
GOMEZ: Yes. Both O'Hare and Midway are saying that they're seeing some slight cancellations. O'Hare has had about 50 of them today, but that's, of course, nothing like the 400-plus you remember from yesterday.
PHILLIPS: Jessica, thanks.
Well, they're not angels; they're in juvenile prison for a reason. But they're not in there to get raped. That isn't injustice; that isn't correction. That's an outrage. And you won't believe just how much it happens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. We're just 30 minutes away from the first appearance in a U.S. courtroom of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He's already been taken to the courthouse in Detroit. The Christmas-Day airline bomb suspect is being arraigned on a half dozen federal charges, including the attempted murder of 289 people. He may or may not enter a plea.
The journey that led the young Nigerian to a courtroom in Detroit started years ago and took him more than once to Yemen. He supposedly admitted meeting militants there, and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for his failed attack.
CNN's Paula Newton saw for herself how terrorism flourishes when the rule of law disappears.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just beyond Yemen's international airport in capital's poor northern suburbs, a road begins leading to thousands of miles of Yemeni tribal lands. Effectively out of government control and the perfect setup for al Qaeda.
(on camera): We're just about a mile from the international airport here. If you want to get an indication about how tribal they are here, we're going to try and go north up this road about a couple miles. It's called Haphap. That is where the al Qaeda strikes have been taking place in the last few days. Up until the last few weeks, the government hasn't even dared enter that tribal area. They have absolutely no control over.
(voice-over): But just as we're approaching the check point, we're quickly turned away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's getting calls saying we need to be out of this area.
NEWTON (on camera): OK, so they're not even letting us approach the check point. We've been on the phone with many people and they're saying not to go to Arhab. Arhab is very telling here. It is just two miles down the road this way, through that check point, and the government is saying, a, it's not safe for us to be there, and, b, it's not safe for them to be there.
(voice-over): It's not just Arhab. There are huge tracks of deserts in mountains across Yemen, al Qaeda sanctuaries where attacks like this are masterminded and executed. Last March four South Korean tourists and their Yemeni guide were killed when a teenage suicide bomber blew himself up. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility saying the South Koreans were U.S. allies in the war on terror.
And just days later when South Korean investigators were in this airport zone, the Yemeni government says it uncovered yet another al Qaeda plot against Korean authorities. All possible because the government simply doesn't control wide areas of the country.
And that's where radical preacher Anwar al Awlaki is counting on. Part of a large and powerful southern Yemeni tribe, he's still out of American and Yemeni reach, almost certainly sheltered by his tribe. Even though Yemeni officials confirm there is evidence he may have given Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab the inspiration to attempt to blow up Flight 253.
Paula Newton, CNN, near Al Ahab, Yemen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: It's not only traumatizing, it's shocking. Strong words being used to describe a brand new report on sex abuse in our juvenile prisons. Here it is: one out of every thee, three -- repeat that, one more time -- one out of every three youngsters out of a sample group of juvenile detention centers reports being raped by another inmate or sexually abused by a staff member. And get this, many of the offending staff members are women.
Take a look at this map. These are all the centers where the survey was done. Thirteen of them in several states, both public and privately run. About 9,000 juveniles answered a computer questionnaire and didn't have to give their names.
So, what's going to be done now? Linda McFarlane from Just Detention International, joining me live from Los Angeles. She works to prevent abuse at detention centers. So, Linda, what was the most shocking part of this report for you?
LINDA MCFARLANE, JUST DETENTION INTERNATIONAL: Well, I think, as you mentioned, the shocking part is, first off, the sheer prevalence, that around 12 percent, 12.1 percent of youth in the survey reported having been abused in the past 12 months alone.
But I do think that the fact that nearly 80 percent of those said that the staff members had been the ones that abused them, is dismaying. It's distressing.
PHILLIPS: So, what's going on here? Is it -- are there -- is it no checks and balances, is it poor training? Are there no security systems in place? How can this happen?
MCFARLANE: Well, I think it's a variety of things. When you see abuse at that level, what it points to is a failure -- problems at all levels of management. In hiring, in training, in supervision and accountability. It has to be breakdowns at all levels of the system for abuse of that size and that level to have occurred.
PHILLIPS: Have you ever sat down with any of these kids, and have they told you stories of abuse?
MCFARLANE: Yes. We -- we hear from survivors regularly at Just Detention International. We hear from them every week. Mostly they can only write letters, so the people who can actually reach out to us are the ones who have access and the ability to write and get information out that way.
But when we do talk with and have done focus groups in juvenile facilities, one of the things we've heard again and again is the youth perception that if they do reach out for help, if they do tell, they won't be believed. That it will come down to "you're a youth who has done something wrong to be here. You're not credible. You're not believable." And it's staff word against yours.
PHILLIPS: Wow. That's why they need organizations like yours. I mean, I thought that juvenile centers...
MCFARLANE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: ... that they're supposed to help rehabilitate these kids and help them get back into the community to do good. Now...
MCFARLANE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: ... if this is taking place like this, they could leave in a worse -- in a worse state than when they came in.
MCFARLANE: Well, that's just it, isn't it? That the juvenile facilities -- and every juvenile facility I've ever interacted with or spoken to, their stated goal is rehabilitation. That's the point of juvenile corrections is to take youth who perhaps haven't had the chance, who are particularly vulnerable to ending up in adult corrections and given them a chance, giving them training, mentoring, teaching, treatment, so they can go on to be productive adults in our communities.
And if they're traumatized in this way, when they're in the very place that they're supposed to be getting that care so they can move on and have productive adult lives, then their chances are essentially taken away.
PHILLIPS: So, bottom line, what needs to happen now?
MCFARLANE: Well, bottom line, currently the attorney general, the U.S. attorney general, holds a set of standards that was developed by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. This is a set of standards, rules or guidelines, that would set out steps in all those areas of corrections management, of hiring, training, investigations, follow-up care, and set out a -- a set of rules for institutions to follow, to address the very problems that were found in this study.
And so Just Detention International, one of the things we're working on very hard right now, in our -- would really push and insist that the standards be signed into a rule and be implemented meaningfully with effective oversight.
PHILLIPS: 12, we'll follow-up. Linda McFarland, sure appreciate your time today.
MCFARLANE: Thank you. Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: You bet. And the Department of Justice wasn't able to make someone available to talk with us for this interview. But they gave us this statement. They said "This first of its kind study highlights the unacceptable conditions faced by too many youth in juvenile correctional facilities. The Department of Justice is committed to addressing these issues, and is taking concrete steps to ensure the health and safety to of all young people in these facilities. The DOJ plans to ask for training center to improve conditions and treatment for juveniles in custody, and to hire full-time juvenile detention and corrections coordinators."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's a cold spell like we haven't seen in years and more frigid weather is on the way. Chad Myers with us now in the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta. What's the deal, Chad?
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: No.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: ... but I've got my application in for other jobs at this point in time.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep talking. Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: Sure.
PHILLIPS; Other top stories in addition to the weather -- about a half hour until justice starts to absorb the Christmas Day terror suspect. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab will appear in federal court in Detroit for arraignment. Among the charges, the attempted murder of 289 people. Michigan Muslims are having an anti-terror demonstration outside the courthouse.
Also coming up next hour -- President Obama. we're hearing he plans to talk about the economy, the terror near-miss on Christmas Day, pretty much stole away the headlines, and, of course, we'll bring those comments to you life.
The economic picture painted today not too pretty. The government reports 85,000 jobs lost in December, with unemployment still in double digits. Ten percent. But hold on a second, apparently the November numbers weren't written in stone. A revised figure showed the economy actually gained jobs that month and snapped nearly a two-year losing streak.
So, who is moving into Harlem? A transition and maybe an identity crisis. For the neighborhood long regarded as the capital of black America.
And a New Hampshire man steps up to the charity stripe to raise money for our wounded troops. David Cummings hopes to sink 1 million free throes by Veterans Day, 2011. Almost 82,000 in and he's almost netted $3,000 in donations. You want to assist? The Web site hoopsforheroes.com. We'll get it up on our blog. CNN.com/kyra.
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PHILLIPS: Harlem has worked hard to earn its reputation as the capital of black America. In its 100-year history, the New York City neighborhood has spawned a renaissance, played home to civil rights leaders and become a cultural touchstone. But new neighbors mean the face of Harlem is changing. Stephanie Elam heads uptown to investigate.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Harlem. It's the birthplace of jazz and the backdrop for movies like "Mo' Better Blues"...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was rich but wasn't white-man rich.
ELAM: And "American Gangster." Since the '20s, Harlem has been the cultural center of black America, but now it seems its blackness is getting diluted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think Harlem will ever be completely taken away from black folks.
ELAM: But according to "The New York Times," the number of blacks living in Harlem peaked in 1950, not becoming the majority of the population, however, until 1970. By 2008, only four in ten Harlemites were black.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's becoming whiter and more multicultural for sure.
REVEREND BUDDS: It will be Harlem.
ELAM: Reverend Calvin Butts of Abyssinian Baptist Church said while Manhattan's tight housing market has led to the changing of Harlem, gentrification isn't always understood.
REV. CALVIN BUTTS, ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH: You've got to realize that gentrification is not just white people. The gentry is made up of those who can afford. Black people never owned Harlem. And if you want to control it, you got to own it.
ELAM: But race aside, Harlem business owners want to see residents spend their money in the community.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a business owner, I want wine drinkers. Regardless of what color, shape or form that they are, but I do think, and I'm saying this as not only a resident, as a business owner of Harlem, but also a resident of Harlem, I want to see people moving into Harlem who appreciate and respect Harlem's history.
ABAGAIL FRANKLIN, LONG-TIME HARLEM RESIDENT: It wasn't fancy at all. ELAM: Abagail Franklin has lived in Harlem for 25 years. She and her husband raised their two sons here, and she says they enjoy a multicultural view of the world.
FRANKLIN: I was relatively fearless about wanting to be part of a mix of different cultures and races.
ELAM: Harlem's importance to the American fabric also attracts people from other countries. Ethiopian-born and Swedish-raised, world renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson now calls Harlem home.
MARCUS SAMUELSSON, CHEF: Now I'm living here and I'm part of this community where people are moving up here, and it's exciting and I feel like it's a new era.
ELAM: So, will Harlem ever lose its place as the black Mecca?
BUTTS: It could. But no time soon. (LAUGHTER)
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PHILLIPS: I love Reverend Butts. He's great.
ELAM: A lot of great sound and great information coming from him.
PHILLIPS: Yes, he always makes for a great interview.
It's interesting that you point out, it's not just the black-and- white issue. Too many white people coming in to Harlem and losing the special blackness and the history and culture of Harlem. A lot of immigrants live in Harlem and are coming to Harlem.
ELAM: Yes, that's the thing. It's too easy to paint a picture and say it's about black people and white people. But that's not exactly how America is. That's not i how it was built and integrated. You have a lot of movement of people from other countries, so they may be from West Africa. They may be coming from Panama or Cuba and you also have Europeans who are coming over, and to them it's a different look at how Harlem is important to the city.
As Marcus Samuelson pointed out to me, around the world, everyone has not heard of Soho, everyone has not heard of these other neighborhoods in Manhattan, but everyone knows about Harlem, everyone knows about that community.
PHILLIPS: Let me ask you this -- and I want to go visit the wine shop there, it looks very nice.
ELAM: It is very nice.
PHILLIPS: You brought up an interesting point about small businesses, how it's important to have the small businesses and that the history is so important. So does it really matter what the color of the population is, as long as the history is preserved? When you go to Harlem, you want to go to the Apollo or to Silvia's or to the Cotton Club or ...
ELAM: Right. And that's exactly what they're saying. Like, this history is so entrenched.
PHILLIPS: That's never going to go away.
ELAM: ...in the fabric of America. It can't go away. Look at, for example, last year when Michael Jackson died, there was a funeral of sorts in Harlem.
PHILLIPS: Right.
ELAM: Even though he never lived in Harlem. There was no time when he was up there, but it just shows thaw that it's so much the fabric of black America. You see the small businesses coming along, their biggest concern is the big box stores will come in and push out the mom-and-pops and the smaller stores, which are really integral to the overall neighborhood fabric of the community. And that's what they fear changing there. The white people that moved to Harlem, they enjoy that, and they don't want to see it go anywhere as well.
PHILLIPS: What a great story.
ELAM: Thank you. Thanks so much.
PHILLIPS: I really appreciate it.
You got to think that the Minnesota police department feels like it's been swatted in the face, so to speak. Guess who the prime suspect is in a series of bank jobs?
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PHILLIPS: Well, all week we have been pushing forward on some serious allegations against the people who run Dahn yoga, and today, the final part of my investigation. A look at the heart of the Dahn yoga philosophy, and so-called brain education. Dr. Sanjay Gupta helps to education us on the practice.
Also, next hour, the picture of happiness until Mexico's drug violence really hit home. An American educator slain south of the border. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez talks to his family.
Don't you know that the law in Augusta, Georgia, wishes they had this moment back. The moment they let this guy out for armed robbery. You see, there's one huge problem. Justice was not through with him. He was supposed to be sent to another prison to deal with some rape charges hanging over him. Charles James, lucky day means some sleepless nights for people in the area. This guy allegedly raped a woman, cut her in the groin with a razor over and over again and left her for dead. If you see him, get in the house, lock the door and call the cops.
From strong arm of the law to outlaw, police in Minnesota have busted one of theirs in a string of bank robberies and holdups. That is Officer Timothy Carson, a three-year veteran of the Minneapolis police department and has two years on the SWAT team. He is allegedly confessed to several stick-ups, and police sources say Carson looks good for at least a dozen robberies in the last two weeks alone.
The FBI is looking for a pair of perps who knocked over a Ohio bank. Suspects described as shortish, female and between 12-16 years of age. Yep, you heard me. Two teen girls walked in and demanded money the other day. They walked out with it and disappeared. Parents, do you know where your kids are?
Grounded and it is snow fun. Winter weather is putting hundreds of flights in the deep freeze and even knocking out a CNN crew's equipment. BackStory coming up next.
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PHILLIPS: Well, cooling your heels at the airport is bad, but freezing your butt is way worse. Today's Backstory comes from snowy London via Michael Holmes in snowy Atlanta. So, Michael, didn't we just see you chilling at London's other airport?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, I'm glad you mentioned that. Thank you for mentioning that. That was a nightmare. It is snowy Atlanta, icy Atlanta right now, and I did a bit of a vehicular ballet on the ice this morning, but no harm done.
But you are right, it was a couple of weeks ago where I was flying to a friend's wedding in London, and the bosses heard I was going and the B.A strike may have been happening, but they said while you are there going from getting off of the plane and spending two days at Heathrow airport for reporting on the strike that ended up not happening, thank goodness.
Which brings us to the Backstory today, which is about the other London airport. Gatwick. You have seen the weather and the snow, and everything, and one of our other crews were out, Leo, Scotty and Morgan Neill, and they were covering the weather there at Gatwick, and we thought that Morgan would send us a little piece about what it is like to work out there and some of to things that go wrong. So, here it is.
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MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Okay. So here we are at Gatwick airport, day two, and what we are meant to cover are travel disruptions. Now, the airport has reopened, but there are a lot of flight cancellations and people inside there hoping to get on a flight to head out here today, etc. We have been here about an hour and a half and we haven't made our live shots, because we are having problems with the dish that appear to be cold-related. So, maybe Leo can tell us about some of his frustrations. What is going on?
LEO, CNN: Oh. The dish probably got really cold overnight. And the computer control system is not driving it, so, I think that I am going to have to resort to the manual wrench system, and try to reset it, but it is in this weather might take a while. NEILL: It appears to have had a negative effect on the sat truck, so we're trying to get that working, and I can tell you its not just us. Without naming names, there is another media organization just nearby who is dealing with the exact same problem, Don.
Well, the good news is that we have sat truck up and running and we managed to work out the kinks, and we have a live shot scheduled for over a little over an hour from now, and we will take that time to head into the terminal to see how the people are coping with all the delays and the cancellations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I expected to be on the flight yesterday, and they all gave us different times as to when the time of the plane is supposed to be going, and in the end they said it is canceled. So luckily, we managed to get a hotel room and stayed another night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One member of the staff yesterday, still with hundreds of people, and no announcements, and no nothing, and then they told you at 4:00 to get your bags connected and leave. So we had to sleep on the floor in the terminal, and no blankets, and heavily pregnant woman, sleep on the floor. They did not provide no hotel rooms or anything, and we have to come back here and do it again.
NEILL: How did you get information?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the Internet. Every time we talk to them, they don't know. It is nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even the Internet is saying scheduled, but it is not telling you anything.
UNIDENTIFIED: Seven different numbers I got and the same answering machine. You can't get through to a actual person talking, but the answering machine, press one, press two. That is what it is.
NEILL: So frustration and anger from the passengers who are trying to figure out what is next, and when they can get out. And while all of the severe weather means that the troubles here are not at an end, our time covering them is coming to an end, at least for today. All we have left to do is to take the tape, Scotty will pop it in just over there, and we can feed it back to you, Michael.
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HOLMES: And they did. I have to tell you that I feel for Morgan and the crew, because the 48 hours I spent at Heathrow, it was raining ice. It was -- I like to get in the field as you know, but that was not my idea of getting in the field.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it is miserable. I don't know, what would you pick? Would you pick doing that in the field with that kind of conditions or would you pick Baghdad and those conditions?
