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American Morning

North Korea Launches Deadly Artillery Attack on South Korea; Royal Wedding Details Announced; Breakthrough in Natalee Holloway Case; Concussions on the Youth; Severe Weather Could Affect Thanksgiving Travel for Some

Aired November 23, 2010 - 07:00   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 on this Tuesday, November 23rd. Thanks for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. Here's a look at this morning's top stories.

The major military clash on the Korean peninsula. North Korea launches a deadly artillery attack on a South Korean island. Two Korean soldiers were killed and more than a dozen others wounded. The south retaliates scrambling F-16 fighter jets and the White House strongly condemns North Korea's attack. We're live in Washington just ahead.

ROBERTS: Crowds at the nation's airport are growing and so is passenger anger over those too close for comfort pat downs by TSA screeners. The TSA even putting out PSAs. We'll show them all to you and tell you what you need to know for Thanksgiving travel.

CHETRY: Investigators this morning are trying to determine what caused a 747 cargo plane to skid off the runway at Seattle Sea-Tac Airport. The plane landed about 100 feet too far down the runway yesterday afternoon after a cross country trip from New York's JFK Airport. Weather may have been a factor. We were talking about that weather there. Snow showers in the area, as well.

ROBERTS: And it could potentially be the first piece of concrete evidence in the death of Natalee Holloway. The teenager disappeared on a beach in Aruba more than five years ago. Prosecutors plan to reveal test results on a jawbone that was found on a beach and announce whether or not it does belong to Natalee Holloway.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHETRY: Breaking news for you this morning off the Korean peninsula. A deadly military battle overnight between North and South Korea. It reportedly began with North Korea's artillery strike on a South Korean island. Two soldiers were killed and a dozen others were wounded.

The South then retaliated, scrambling F-16 fighter jets. The military is now on high alert. The attack by the North targeted an island on the western disputed border.

So how is the White House reacting this morning? CNN's Jill Dougherty live for us in Washington with more. And the White House did put out a statement early this morning about the situation.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they did, Kiran. And it was quite strong. What they're saying essentially is we condemn this, stop it -- to the North. Stop this attack. And then also reminding the North that the United States and South Korea have a defense pact, so if they were attacked in a very serious fashion, the U.S. would come to their defense. So it's a reminder that there are really big stakes here.

You know, this is an area that it has seen a lot of encounters before. You just had back in March the North Koreans allegedly, according to the South, torpedoing a ship. And it's along that disputed border between the two countries.

It is also taking place, by the way, during the military exercises by the South. So a lot of confrontation, not to mention, of course, the nuclear issue, as well.

CHETRY: All right, Jill Dougherty for us this morning. Thanks so much.

And just into CNN right now. We're hearing there will be an announcement about the upcoming royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Up until now we only knew it was going to be royal and upcoming. Now we have some details of the when and where. Dan Rivers standing by in London. Hi, Dan.

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Yes, we now know it's going to be on April 29th next year, on Friday Here at Westminster Abbey behind me, which has 1,000 years of links to the queen herself.

It's seen many a coronation. And it's going to be a little bit bittersweet for Prince William because this is also where Princess Diana's funeral took place in 1997. He was just 15 when he walked up the aisle of this beautiful building behind me.

It's going to be a completely different occasion, of course. In April, the streets will be packed with hundreds of thousands of people. Dignitaries from around the world are expected to attend. We're not sure if the U.S. president will be among those. There's talk of perhaps Michelle Obama coming, but we're not sure if the president himself will be here. But certainly this will be the place to be on April the 29th.

ROBERTS: Dan, why Westminster as opposed to St. Paul's where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married?

RIVERS: Well, I think precisely because that's where they were married, and, of course, that marriage ended in a rather bitter divorce. That was a much more lavish occasion, as well on a much grander scale. And I think there is a feeling, officials telling us that the couple William and Kate are mindful of the economic situation here, they're mindful a lot of people are going through tough times.

And therefore, of course, it's going to be a big occasion, but it's not going to be quite as lavish and some would say over the top as Charles and Di's wedding in 1981. So they've opted to go for Westminster Abbey, slightly more intimate. But they're still talking about 6,000 people possibly cramming into this place behind me.

CHETRY: Right, it's a royal wedding, and 6,000 is considered intimate.

What about the date? There were some guessing closer to July because they'd have time for a longer holiday when the royal staff is on vacation, as well. April, the weather can be tricky.

RIVERS: The weather can be tricky. This is Britain. And you cannot guarantee sunshine ever, let alone in April. There's a phrase here, April showers. It's always a bit dicey. But fingers are crossed. There were some rumors that they would do it as early as March, which would have been really gambling with the weather.

But this was their preferred date. I think they wanted to get the wedding done quickly. In the spring was their preferred date. And I think they were kind of -- there were a few other issues, for example, local elections and a referendum, I think on the 5th of May. So they have to get it out of the way in time for there to be sufficient public debates for those elections and so they settled on the 29th of April.

And this announcement has to be made really before the queen left. She's going to the Gulf on an official state visit tomorrow. So I think there was a feeling they wanted to get this announcement while she was still here.

And there you go. There go the bells right on cue there.

ROBERTS: Give us a taste of what we'll see. Only five months to go. They better get cracking on it. Dan Rivers outside of Westminster. Dan, thanks so much.

CHETRY: You probably heard if you haven't experienced it firsthand, things getting tense and at times perhaps a little strange at America's airports. More and more travelers are taking exception to the enhanced security techniques and taking it out on TSA screeners.

ROBERTS: Yes, the union that represents the screeners is now demanding enhanced security for their own agents. They claim they need protection from the flying public. Meanwhile, a "Washington Post" ABC News poll says that nearly two-thirds of Americans approve of airport scanners. It's the pat downs they have a problem with.

CHETRY: TSA officials are in overdrive trying to convince people that these enhanced techniques are the right thing to do.

ROBERTS: Deb Feyerick joins us now. And the TSA is desperately trying to sell passengers on the new enhanced screening efforts saying it's all in the name of making sure people can travel safely.

DEB FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, absolutely. And bottom line, it is. We have to remember 9/11, when the hijackers got on. We have to remember the underwear attack over -- the attempted attack over Christmas. All of these are issues, things that security agents are talking about.

The big problem, though, is that really they -- security experts say that the United States is always preparing for the last attack. That's part of the issue, which is, you know, will these prevent whatever it is, Al Qaeda or others are planning for the future? The airlines always are a source of interest to these terror groups.

So what's happening now is you've got a lot of people who are being inconvenienced, but in a way that is very private because of all of the touching going on. People are not used to that. People saying, look, I've got to get home, I've got to travel for work. Why are you allowed to do this to me?

There's a lawsuit right now implied basically saying these aren't effective and it's a violation of the constitution vis a vis unlawful searches. So all of that right now is sort of under the microscope.

CHETRY: And there were some who say, look, it's not even a guarantee that the screening techniques would prevent another attack or even would prevent the latest attack, the underwear bombing.

FEYERICK: That's right. And the head of the TSA said, look, this is a layer approach. We have to stop at least this particular attack from happening. You get a chokehold on the United States. The underwear bomber came from outside the United States. How do you stop that?

If it's not consistent all across the world, sure, you can do it in the United States. But the people most inconvenienced are the ones living here.

A behavioral expert said one of the problems is right now we're at the start of the learning curve on this. We have to get used to it and get accustomed and adjusted. And once it's on this routine, these touching by the agents, then maybe it'll become accepted.

ROBERTS: There's one group that's suing the department of homeland security over the enhanced pat downs.

FEYERICK: That's exactly right. They say it's an invasion of privacy. They say that if, in fact, there were some sort of guarantee that these machines did work, then perhaps they would be OK with it. But because of the way this is being done, there's a sense this is a complete violation.

And that's the vibe that you're getting at the airports. That's what this national opt-out day is all about. Whether, in fact, people will say, you know, let me take a moral stand here because the heck with the turkey. I'm going to stand here and block the line. There are going to be issues.

But also, it's really a way that the TSA agents themselves handle the people, handle concerns they may have, treat them with respect. Look, there's already anxiety because of the terror threats. To have somebody patting you down, which in your mind initially makes you think, gee, why do I look like a suspect? Because it's random, there are all of these different factors at play, not just security, but behavioral, as well.

CHETRY: On the flip side, as we were talking about, the TSA thing, we might need additional protection. One TSA agent supposedly punched by a passenger who didn't like the passenger who didn't like the screening process. And there are others say they've been verbally assaulted, as well.

FEYERICK: There's an aggressiveness. People are going to the airports. They're already on edge. They're a little bit confrontational. And then the TSA because they're on the defensive, again, there's that sense of are we in this together? The head of the agency released a TSA service announcement today. It's brief, but gets to the point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PISTOLE: You have important options that we want you to be aware of. You have the option to request that the pat down be conducted in a private room. And you have the option to have that pat down witnessed by a person of your choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: One thing that's not an option is being regarded as a suspect. And a lot of people have an issue with that. So, again, especially when you're traveling with young children and there you are and you've got to stand there quietly while you're being screened, it raises a lot of different issues. So that's something that the TSA is looking into.

ROBERTS: It certainly raises a lot of emotions.

FEYERICK: Absolutely.

CHETRY: Just how many air travelers will actually be subjected to these enhanced pat downs and body scanners this week? We're speaking with former SAA and TSA security official Charlotte Bryan.

ROBERTS: Some frightening moments across the Midwest. A rare November tornado was caught on camera near Rockford, Illinois. Several homes there were wrecked. The storm tipped over a school bus, and six kids inside the bus went to the hospital with minor injuries.

As many as seven twisters were reported in Northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. No reports, so far, though, of anyone seriously hurt.

And in North Dakota, the only way to go is slow. Snow stacked up at a pace of almost an inch an hour in Fargo. Another storm is moving in tomorrow. That could bring four to six more inches.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, it's 11 minutes past the hour.

(WEATHER BREAK)

CHETRY: Some changes coming to Netflix. You may have already gotten an e-mail from the company. We'll explain coming up.

ROBERTS: And also ahead, Ireland's financial crisis triggering street protests with people venting their anger at government officials, calling them traitors.

CHETRY: Rather stay home than get a pat-down or full-body scan? One airline saying you may be able to get your money back.

It's 13 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHETRY: Sixteen minutes past the hour right now. And we just got the news a few moments ago. The details of the when and where of the royal wedding. It's set to take place at Westminster Abbey. The date, April 29th, 2011.

Royal biographer Mark Saunders is on the phone with us now. He joins us from Windsor Castle in England.

Thanks for being with us this morning. So I'm not going to rib you, but you did say you thought it might be July.

MARK SAUNDERS, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER (via telephone): Yes, I did. And also I was banking on St. Paul's Cathedral, as well. So pretty much a double-whammy incorrect. Westminster Abbey, I think in retrospect is probably the better venue. It is one of the most beautiful abbeys probably in Europe. But I'm wondering why William was so keen to go there. And there is -- his mother and father as you know were married at St. Paul's, and many, many people were saying maybe he felt there was something of a jinx there. But that's somewhat negated by the fact that he gave Kate his mother's engagement ring. But it's strange -- well, it's great how many tourists have congregated immediately here at Windsor Castle and how excited everybody is. And I was just asking if it was possible to get tickets for the wedding.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: So, Mark, what happens there in the U.K. between now and April the 29th?

SAUNDERS: Oh, well, first of all, you'll have an explosion of news across all the tabloids. The world and his mother will be chasing Kate and William. The buildup will be massive. I mean, I remember the first time around with Charles and Diana how great the coverage was then.

Right now, I suppose it's wrong to say we're in the honeymoon period. That will come after the wedding. But the news will all be positive. And, you know, this is the first major royal wedding in the new world, you know. The technology that we have available today is perhaps different than it was in '81. And the demand for news is going to be so much greater. But I'm kind of hoping that the Pentax (ph) paparazzi will keep away from this one and leave it --

CHETRY: No, I thought you were stopping there. It's interesting because is five months enough time for all of the planning? Not just for the couple, but for security, for all of the considerations of the logistics to take place?

SAUNDERS: Well, you can be sure. It's been what? It's been a week now since we heard the announcement of the engagement. Now you can be sure that Buckingham Palace in conjunction with Scotland Yard have been working around the clock to make sure everything is ready for today's announcement and, of course, for the wedding in five months' time.

The date, you have to remember because William is heir to the throne of England, the royal protocol dictates that every major head of state has to be invited. So there would have been discussions with other countries. Certainly there would have been talk with Washington about what dates everybody is free. I mean, you don't just sort of stick a wedding in the post with an RSVP.

ROBERTS: Well, it will be interesting who, in addition to the heads of state gets that royal invite because there's only room for what? Six thousand people at Westminster. So, it will be a pretty tight guest list.

Mark Saunders, great to talk to you this morning. Thanks so much for joining us.

SAUNDERS: Thanks, guys.

ROBERTS: All right.

CHETRY: Interesting also that the royal family is going to be paying for the wedding. There's a lot of talk in the tough economic times and the recession should British taxpayers be on the hook for a lavish wedding.

ROBERTS: Well, somebody's got to pay for it, I guess.

In just a few hours' time, prosecutors in Aruba plan to reveal test results on a jawbone that was found earlier this month on a beach on the island. It could confirm the death of Natalee Holloway who disappeared in Aruba more than five years ago.

CNN's Martin Savidge is live. He's in Oranjestad, Aruba. And what do we know at this point? Any idea when we're expected to hear the results of these DNA tests?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Looks like it's going to be this afternoon. The information is going to come out in two ways. One, it will be released electronically through an e- mail. And then also it's going to be delivered by the spoken word. In fact, just a few minutes ago, I had an interesting conversation with the solicitor general. He's the man that's actually going to deliver the information from his office down here. This is the same office behind us here where the prosecutor's office is located. And we saw the prosecutor going in to work today. But in conversation with the solicitor general, what was interesting was that he said, look, he doesn't even know what the results are yet. So that would imply that that information has not been transmitted from The Hague, which, of course, where that jawbone was sent after it was discovered on the beaches here on November 12th. It was sent out for scientific discovery over there at The Hague.

What you expect to hear back are two things. One, will they confirm that it is in fact human. And two, is there anything either dental records or DNA that will connect it to Natalee Holloway? Because if there was a connection, that would be huge. It would be the first real major break in this case in some 5 1/2 years. But as we say, we're waiting for that information to come out. But the solicitor general, since he says he doesn't know it yet, it would imply that this is very much from a top-down level kind of security to make sure that there are no news leaks. That they hang on to the information in The Hague and they will transmit it later today and then he will come out and deliver it to us and we will be right here -- John.

ROBERTS: Are there any theories, Martin, on how that jawbone got on to the beach where other bones don't float, so it's not likely that it washed up. It's near a bird sanctuary. Could it potentially have been carried and dropped by a bird?

SAVIDGE: Right. Well, there are a couple of theories on this one. You might remember there was Hurricane Tomas, which down here when it passed by was not a hurricane, but was still a very powerful storm. And those storms are relatively rare this far south in the Caribbean. So there is some speculation that that somehow churned up the waters, that there was a lot of beach erosion, that that could have had an impact in some way of transporting the bone from where it was to where it was discovered on the beach. There really is no clear explanation. And all of this could be just speculation until we get a definitive answer. And quite frankly, there has been so much of that. So many false leads and false hopes for the Holloway family. They are trying to be guarded on this particular subject. Beth Holloway says that she doesn't believe there's any significant information to come. However, Dave Holloway, the father of Natalee, says he is optimistic. So I guess we all wait for the word that comes from the office behind us, John.

ROBERTS: See you this afternoon. Martin Savidge for us in Aruba this morning. Martin, thanks so much.

CHETRY: Meantime, Oprah's final favorite things giveaway. We knew, of course, it was going to be huge. The paramedics reportedly on standby. Just wait until you see the looks on the faces of the audience, their reactions when they found out everything they were getting.

Twenty-two minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back. Some of the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning. Well, we knew it was going to be big. Of course, Oprah's giveaway. The favorite show everyone wants tickets for Oprah's favorite things episode, and she certainly didn't disappoint. Check out what she gave her entire studio during part two of her final favorite things show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST: They said, we cannot give you this beetle, but how about if we give each person in your audience the brand new totally redesigned 2012 Volkswagen Beetle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: That one fellow looked pretty happy about getting that car.

CHETRY: They're leaping in the air.

ROBERTS: My goodness. How many people in the audience?

CHETRY: I don't know how many. But man, there was a little bit of a controversy some years past saying these poor people have to pay taxes on all of these goodies. Well, they took care of that.

ROBERTS: Yes, here's your car, and then the IRS comes calling.

CHETRY: Come knocking, right.

ROBERTS: There's the 10 grand for the car.

CHETRY: But yes, look how happy. I'd be too. Hey, it's a free car.

ROBERTS: Could not constrain himself.

Bristol Palin could win "Dancing with the Stars" tonight. She had her last dance last night. It didn't impress the judges. But even when she comes up short with the judges, the fans have kept her on the show. She's up against "Dirty Dancing"'s Jennifer Grey and Disney star Kyle Massey. So this one's going to be for all the marbles.

CHETRY: Good luck.

Meanwhile, the new Disney movie "Tangled" comes out tomorrow. And if the report in the "L.A. Times" is right, it may be the company's final fairy tale movie for a while. The paper says Disney's finished with fairy tales and princesses because girls by the time they're 5 think they're too cool for that these days. I don't know if I agree with how much Disney princess memorabilia that I have to buy because my daughter --

ROBERTS: How old is your daughter?

CHETRY: She's 4 1/2, but her 5-year-old friend love it too.

ROBERTS: You've still got a good six months to go.

CHETRY: Yes. Exactly. And then we have to ship it all out. ROBERTS: There you go.

CHETRY: On Disney's official Facebook page, though, it says that fairy tales are alive and well.

ROBERTS: Well, you don't like those enhanced body pat-downs? You want your money back, you don't want to fly? Well, one airline now considering refunds over the TSA security backlash. We'll tell you about that coming right up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Crossing the half hour now, it's now for this morning's top stories this Tuesday morning. Breaking news today. The Koreas clash. A deadly confrontation leaving the region and the world on edge over night. Reports say North Korea hit a South Korean island with some 200 rounds of artillery killing at least two soldiers and injuring more than a dozen others. South Korea fired back and also scrambled F-16 fighter jets.

CHETRY: Well, the comeback on the field has been nothing short of incredible. Off the field, Eagles' quarterback Michael Vick is still looking for forgiveness. He will join the president of the Humane Society today to talk to Connecticut High School students about the horrors of dog fighting. Vick spent almost two years in prison on dog-fighting charges before returning to the NFL.

ROBERTS: And if you're outraged by the TSA and would rather stay home as opposed to subject yourself to those enhanced security measures, Delta says it will consider refunds in some cases for travelers who cancel because of the TSA's new body scans and pat downs. But the airline says you are still out of luck if you have a non-refundable ticket.

CHETRY: Well, it's day two of our series "Hard Hits, Dangerous Games." It's a special look at pro-football's concussion crisis.

ROBERTS: Yesterday we heard Dr. Sanjay Gupta's conversation with NFL MVP Kurt Warner about players determined to keep playing through the symptoms. But the hard hits are coming at a much younger level these days. And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back with us again today.

And Sanjay, when you're talking about kids and concussions, it's a whole different story from a brain perspective. And the story you've got this morning is just so tragic.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is. I mean, there's a couple of things to keep in mind. Concussions can have much more of an impact on a developing brain. And a young person's brain can take a lot longer to recover. So as part of our investigation, we're going to introduce you to Max Conradt, 17 years old, and he played through concussions, like so many high school players do. But what he teaches us is that there's a real sense of urgency to all of this, especially at the youth level.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GUPTA (voice-over): Friday night, game night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crosses the 20, 25 -

GUPTA: On a kickoff return, 17-year-old Max Conradt takes a hit.

RALPH CONRADT, MAX CONRADT'S FATHER: He took a knee to the head and went down for several seconds and was staggering off the field.

GUPTA: A week later -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conradt -

GUPTA: - another game. Another hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ball gets taken away from Conradt!

RALPH CONRADT: He drills his forehead and helmet right into Max's chin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For some reason Conradt let him catch the ball.

GUPTA: Astonishingly, Max continues to play, but then -

JOY CONRADT, MAX CONRADT'S MOTHER: He was walking toward me and he looked at me and he said "my chin hurts." And then he collapsed.

GUPTA: Max Conradt, star athlete, stellar student, was dying. What happened second impact syndrome. One concussion closely followed by a second one before the brain has time to heal. In Max's case, his brain began to swell uncontrollably.

(on camera): Now, during a concussion, the brain which is the consistency of Jell-o is stretched and twisted, all sorts of things are happening. As the brain is rocked, chemicals start to flood it, damaging all sorts of different cells within the brain and throwing the brain into a sort of state of crisis. Now, with rest, those damaged cells can heal. But when a second concussion happens too soon after the first, brain cells die and that's when permanent damage sets in.

(voice-over): Max was rushed to the operating room.

RALPH CONRADT: The head surgeon comes over and puts his hand on my back and he just goes, "I'm really sorry." Basically telling us he's not going to make it. He's not going to survive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throw the ball. Throw the ball.

GUPTA: Three operations in 10 days, Max is alive, but barely conscious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Max's first time back.

GUPTA: It took months before he finally woke up.

MAX CONRADT: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened?

MAX CONRADT: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were hurt in a football game.

MAX CONRADT: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MAX CONRADT: Oh, my god.

GUPTA: That was 2002.

MAX CONRADT: I don't remember the season. I don't remember the football season.

GUPTA: This is Max today. He's 26. Living in a home for brain- injured adults. He still has no memory of the hit that changed his life. In fact, these days, he has problems remembering period.

MAX CONRADT: Once in a while I get upset about if I can't remember the stuff I want to remember. I wish it never happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: I'll tell you. It's amazing, he really has no memory of that particular game, really no memory of the entire football season. It's pretty remarkable. Now, his parents were instrumental in getting what was known as Max's law passed in Oregon. This requires coaches have training and being able to recognize symptoms of concussion.

Also, that players stay off the field for at least a day if they have any symptoms whatsoever and that only after a medical professional has cleared them. That's the law in Oregon now. But again, as I think we've talked about before, in many states, there's not a real consistency, at least at the youth level with regard to when to keep players off the field.

ROBERTS: So if we're talking, Sanjay, about when to keep a player off the field, what are the symptoms that a player has got a concussion and should be taken out of the game

GUPTA: Well, one thing to keep in mind, there's no specific blood test or scan for this, so you really do rely on a clinical diagnosis. Some of the symptoms, for example, and again some of these exams are conducted at the sideline. Headaches, for example, pressure in the head. Sometimes people will describe nausea or vomiting clearly, balance problems, dizziness, vision problems, light sensitivity but also confusion, attention, and memory problems.

And again, these are things that can be tested right at the sideline. There's also a lot of things about concussions we don't know, as well. I mean, for example, subconcussive hits. Hits that don't give you quite enough impact to cause some of those symptoms but can they accumulate over time? And also, is there a genetic predisposition? Where some people are more likely to suffer concussions. Because of this unknown science, the approach seems to be a more conservative one keeping players off the field longer making sure you get those sideline exams right away.

CHETRY: All right. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

ROBERTS: And tomorrow, Dr. Gupta talks to former NFL linebacker Fred McNeil, a man who lashed out at his family and considered suicide after his playing days were over because of the brain injuries he suffered. That's tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.

Hey, we need to make a clarification. The story we told you about Delta Airlines and potential refunds if you don't want to go through the enhanced security proceedings. They will, on a limited basis consider refunding non-refundable tickets. But other airlines aren't considering doing the same thing. American Airlines says a non- refundable ticket is just that, a non-refundable ticket. So they're not considering anything but if you're flying on Delta, if you don't want to go through those security screening procedures, contact them, and if you've got a good enough story, maybe they'll give you your money back.

CHETRY: All right. Well, still ahead, a lot of anger right now at U.S. airports, as we've been talking about this morning. But how many air travelers will actually be subjected to those enhanced pat downs and body scanners? Before you cancel your ticket, a reality check coming up.

38 minutes - I'm sorry.

ROBERTS: Yes, we've got some bad weather. Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, weather hot spots this morning, very strong storms moving through the region. And Utah, blizzard conditions bringing transportation there to a standstill. Rob's got the whole forecast for you.

It's 38 minutes after the hour.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: 41 minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to the most news in the morning. We've been hearing from you all morning. A lot of people confused and angry over the TSA's new body scans and aggressive pat downs. There are others though who say that it's necessary in the day and age we live in. But as we told you earlier, security meaning TSA agents are asking for their own security after passengers have gotten very physical and in some cases verbally abusive over these pat downs.

So what is going on? It makes you feel almost feel terrified to fly. Well, we're separating fact from fiction today with the TSA reality check. Charlotte Bryan is a former FAA and TSA security official, now a consultant and she joins us from Washington this morning. Charlotte, good to have you with us.

CHARLOTTE BRYAN, FMR. FAA & TSA SECURITY OFFICIAL: Good morning, Kiran.

CHETRY: So if you opened up a paper, you watch, you know, the news, I mean, I'd be scared to go to the airport right now. How likely is it if you're heading out there for the Thanksgiving holiday, you're going to be subjected to the enhanced pat-down?

BRYAN: Well, Kiran, what I'm told it's less than three percent of the traveling public will be subjected to it. There are about 385 advanced imaging technology machines out there at about 85 airports. That's such a small number. However, at the airports where they are deployed, they will be used as the primary screening technology.

So passengers will be directed towards those machines. Once those lanes get busy and backed up, then they will begin using the walk- through metal detectors. But it isn't very likely that you will be subjected to the AIT technology.

CHETRY: OK. So that's interesting. You say that if they do get backed up at these airports when they do have the machines, they may then turn to the enhanced pat downs. But how much longer does it take to go through the x-ray machines than the standard metal detector?

BRYAN: I'm not exactly sure. I don't think it's that much longer. However, if there is an alarm, the passenger is asked to if they would like to try to clear it, you know, empty something out of their pockets or take something off and then they'll go through again. But it isn't that long.

CHETRY: So, you know, what has some people angry and as you know the ACLU filing a lawsuit saying that this is basically, you know, unfair search and seizure. They also question whether or not it's actually effective. Because as you said, there are only 400 of these machines, do we - and, you know, the TSA is saying that these machines are necessary and vital for keeping us safe. So for all of the other security lines, the 2,000 something other airports that don't have these machines, are they then less safe?

BRYAN: No. As you've heard before, TSA has many levels and layers of security. There's always - they're always able to introduce some random security measures. They don't want the traveling public to know everything that's going on. You can understand why we want to keep the terrorists guessing what's going on.

The walk-through metal detectors are very comprehensive. And they can also once a passenger exits a regular walk through metal detector, they can then be subjected to a pat down, as well. So the randomness element, I think is a key part of the security measures.

CHETRY: I got you. Is the goal eventually to, though, replace all standard metal detectors with these machines, the x-ray machines?

BRYAN: Yes, it is.

CHETRY: And so, how would that then change life for the flying public?

BRYAN: Well, as we - as has been discussed, a passenger can always opt out and have - and be subjected to the enhanced pat-down. And I think that there's continuous investment in technology and there will be improvements. I've seen some other machines that don't quite -- that aren't quite as revealing and there aren't some of the privacy issues that there are today.

But I think in another year or so, we're going to see some enhancements in this technology and we may not have the situation that we have with all of the concern here in the U.S.

CHETRY: I'm interested to get your take about the issue of whether or not it would stop the underwear bomber. I talked to TSA administrator John Pistole yesterday, to be clear on whether or not these enhanced pat-downs would've have indeed caught the underwear bomb that Abdulmutallab had.

Is this purely by touch, and are you 100 percent confident that you would catch something like that?

BRYAN: I believe it would have caught last year's underwear bomber. What I'm concerned about is people putting things inside, in cavities and things like that. That to me continues to be a vulnerability. I know there's some work ongoing in those areas. But I believe last year, had we had these out there -- in fact, you and I talked after this occurred about the need for these whole body imaging systems. And it would have identified something in his crotch that would've had to have been resolved.

CHETRY: Gotcha. All right. Well, Charlotte Bryan, thanks so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

BRYAN: Thanks, Kiran.

ROBERTS: Still to come this morning, put the rumors to rest. We now have a royal wedding date. We're live in London at the top of the hour with new details about the prince's big day.

And the Ohio Valley starting off stormy this morning. Rob Marciano's got this morning's travel forecast right after the break. Stay with us. It's 47 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Coming up, the effort to save the tiger. One of the most magnificent creatures on the verge of extinction in the wild. We'll tell you about a global effort to prevent that from happening. It's coming up at 8:40 Eastern. It's 53 minutes past the hour.

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ROBERTS: Well, new this morning, Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller not going down without a fight. Miller's campaign filed a lawsuit yesterday, challenging the way write-in votes were counted in Alaska's Senate race. Miller claims his state's laws are clear. Voters who misspell write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski's name on their ballots should not be counted. Murkowski's victory is scheduled to be certified next week. Miller's suit could push that date back, though.

CHETRY: Well, you may recall -- Sarah Palin wants to make one thing perfectly clear. If she runs for president in 2012, she wants nothing to do with CBS News anchor Katie Couric. You'll recall in an interview with Couric during the 2008 campaign, Palin unable to name a single publication that she read regularly and she felt that was a "gotcha" question.

Of course, for all the latest political news, check out the political ticker on our web site, CNN.com/ticker.

ROBERTS: It's about three minutes now to the top of the hour. The top stories are coming your way after a quick break. Stay with us.

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