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American Morning
Crisis in Korea; Pat-Down Protest at Airports; Tracking Your Holiday Travel; Sarah Palin Hits the Road
Aired November 24, 2010 - ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Wednesday morning to you. And thanks so much for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING on this Wednesday, the 24th of November. Biggest travel day of the year. Are you ready?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: I'm ready. I'm ready. And it's one day until Thanksgiving.
ROBERTS: Good morning. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us.
COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello. Kiran has the morning off. So let's get you right caught up. Let the holiday hassle begin.
It's shaping up to be a travel nightmare for Americans from coast to coast who are visiting family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. Forty million people expected to travel today. So you have plenty of company. Gas prices are up. The weather isn't cooperating in many places, and, oh, that protest at the airport, it could create security gridlock.
ROBERTS: I got a call last night. My flight was canceled this morning. Thank you, Delta.
It's "National Opt Out Day," an online campaign to get people to pass on the new TSA body scans and overwhelm screeners who have to give you a very personal pat-down. We're going to speak to the man behind one of those sites and also to the head of the TSA. Are they ready for today?
COSTELLO: Snow and blizzards-like conditions out west could spell trouble for many people trying to get to where they want to be for Thanksgiving. We'll look at some of the troubled spots and what's in store weather wise for holiday travelers.
ROBERTS: Whatever you need to know for your holiday travel planning purposes, we've got you covered this morning. Jeanne Meserve is in Washington's Reagan National Airport checking on the pat-down protest. What it's going to be like from getting from point "a" to point "b." Our David Mattingly at Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta. He's got details on all of that. Reynolds Wolf tracking the holiday weather conditions. And Jacqui Jeras stationed at our travel desk for you today.
COSTELLO: Oh, we got you covered. But first, we begin one of the most dangerous parts of the world where nearly 30,000 U.S. troops are now stationed. This morning, South Korea's threatening enormous retaliation after an attack by the North. At the same time, the White House is weighing what to do next. The U.S. says George Washington is on its way to the Yellow Sea as previously scheduled. It will take part in exercises with South Korea not far from yesterday's attack.
ROBERTS: President Obama has also called South Korea's president to express his support. And this morning, the South reports the bodies of two civilians have been found on the island nearly 24 hours after one of the worst attacks since the Korean War. Our Stan Grant is live in Incheon, South Korea with the very latest.
Stan, how high are the tensions there in the peninsula this morning?
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, this is always a volatile region. Now it is really on an (INAUDIBLE). You're describing there the enormous retaliation that South Korea is planning to take against North Korea. Well, North Korea ratcheting up the rhetoric. It's talking about a merciless military confrontation.
Now, words are often used as weapons in this part of the world. But we know now that they are backed by real firepower, a 50-plus year armistice were shattered when North Korea and South Korea traded fire on this island just about 24 to 36 hours ago. You mentioned that two more civilians now found dead. That's four people dead. There are about 15 others who have been wounded and the United States saying they're going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with South Korea at this time. Well, of course, North Korea, as well.
Such a puzzle for the hermit kingdom. And for good reason it's very, very difficult to read their motive. But we know that Kim Jong-il, the leader of North Korea, has been unwell for some time and planning a transition to his son. Many are seeing this as an attempt to bide his son. He's only 27 years old. They're trying to establish his credentials, to try to show that he's a tough guy, that he can actually stand up to the United States and South Korea, as well. It's a high-stakes game, John.
COSTELLO: You're not kidding. It's Carol here. I just wondered -- and I hate to even mention it because Thanksgiving is coming up and it's the last thing anybody wants to hear in the world. But could this lead to war?
GRANT: Well, many are saying that's exactly what we did see, Carol, when we saw this clash on the island itself. You know, at the time that South Korea was carrying out its own military exercises, the North saw that as a provocation. But this has been building for some time.
Remember earlier this year there was an attack on a South Korean naval vessel. Forty-six sailors killed were killed then. And now, of course, you've had this attack, as well. And just remember last week, an American scientist was shown around a nuclear facility in North Korea where they say they are now enriching uranium. They're ratcheting up their nuclear program, as well. So you're talking about an unstable regime, a secretive regime, one that's been hit hard by sanctions, but is looking at a leadership transition. It is not a pretty picture. If you look at all of those things, you look at it also having a nuclear capability, you realize just how high the stakes are here, Carol.
COSTELLO: Stan Grant reporting live for us this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Stan, thanks.
Planes, trains and automobiles. What is typically the busiest travel day of the year is getting started right now.
COSTELLO: Aren't you excited? Two million people expected to board planes today are being encouraged to pass on it, go for the pat-down instead to create a delay that the Feds cannot ignore. Jeanne Meserve live for us at Reagan National Airport this morning.
Do you see anybody out there refusing to go through that full-body scanner, Jeanne?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Carol and John, I haven't seen any sign of that at all. The lines are really just starting to get long here at Reagan National. But that's the usual Thanksgiving rush. There are two of those body imaging machines here at this checkpoint. We haven't seen anything that resembles any sort of protest going on here at Reagan National. But the day is young. But there are some experts who say this is perhaps a dangerous way to express your point of view.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): Airport security lines are a hassle every Thanksgiving, but this year could be worse than most. If a significant number of people participate in so called opt-out protest. The grassroots campaign encourages travelers to turn down those detailed body scans, which they say amount to a virtual strip search and instead undergo those intimate pat-downs.
JAMES BABB, WEWONTFLY.COM: It's not going to be fun. It could be very uncomfortable, but it's better for your health. And if enough of us do it, it could bog down their security theater. They just don't have the manpower to put their hands in everyone's pants.
MESERVE: Some aviation security experts and travel groups are urging travelers not to participate in the protests because longer lines and aggravated passengers could create a security vulnerability. Overwhelmed and rushed, transportation security officers could miss a weapon, explosives, or other threats.
JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: We've worked with our security officers to ensure that they are focused on exactly those things, especially components of an IED, something that may be difficult to detect but keep the focus on that.
MESERVE: Experts also worry that more congestion in boarding areas could make them a more tempting target for terrorists.
RAFI RON, FMR. SECURITY CHIEF, BEN GURION INTERNATL. AIRPORT: The idea of having a very large number of people crowded at the airport becomes a target for itself in the -- whenever there is an attack on large number of people, obviously the consequences could be very high.
MESERVE: Airports have been hit before. In 1985, just a few days after Christmas, terrorists stormed the airports in Rome and Vienna. And in 2007, terrorists tried unsuccessfully to ram a car loaded with propane into an airport terminal in Glasgow, Scotland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: "USA Today" and Gallup did a new poll about the pat-downs and the body scans. According to their poll, about 71 percent of frequent travelers said the loss of privacy or potential loss of privacy in using these techniques was worth it. And the TSA says since the new methods went into effect on November 1st, it has gotten about 2,000 comments. That's when they're screening about two million people a day. So it's really unclear how big this protest today is going to get. We, of course, will be keeping an eye on it for you. Carol, John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Jeanne, what's your sense of all of that? You know, any time that you're in a line to get through security, it seems that people just want to get through it as quickly as possible. Would a group of people really tie things up? Wouldn't they just want to get on the plane and get home?
MESERVE: Well, they say this is their chance to really make an expression of their opinion that's going to have an impact. If they do succeed in tying up travel at the major airports, people are going to pay attention to their message, which is, we don't want these new screening procedures. So we'll just have to wait and see.
Clearly, there are people here. A lot of people with kids, for instance, who want to get their kids through screening and on to the airplanes and to their destination as fast as they can. It's going to be interesting if the protests pick up steam to see what the dynamic is between those two groups. We'll see.
COSTELLO: I like how you put that, the dynamic is. Because if I'm frustrated already getting my kids through and somebody's saying don't go through the full-body scanner --
ROBERTS: Yes, the protesters will be sending one message, but I can imagine, Jeanne, some of the frustrated passengers behind them might be sending their own message right back. So yes, we'll watch that dynamic today. No question. Jeanne Meserve at Reagan this morning. Jeanne, thanks.
Coming up at 7:15 Eastern, TSA administrator John Pistole is going to join us. He's the man in charge of your safety at airports and making sure everything goes smoothly. Are they ready to handle the crowds today? And what about those planned protests? Does he think they'll come off?
COSTELLO: Something you cannot control no matter how hard you try would be the weather. And unfortunately, we're expecting snow and blizzard-like conditions in many parts of the country. So -- and I guess that means a white Thanksgiving in many parts of the country. We're talking about a major storm out west. It's now making its way east and that's a sure bet to cause problems for millions of people traveling by planes, trains and automobiles throughout the holiday weekend.
ROBERTS: Our Rob Marciano already on a plane somewhere, so CNN's Reynolds Wolf is at the extreme weather center in Atlanta tracking the holiday travel forecast for us this morning.
How are we looking so far, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Guys, to tell you the truth, if this was one of those days where you had to make a choice of either doing the weather or actually being on a plane like Rob today, I think I'd rather be here in the studio. It's going to be an interesting day.
You've got millions of Americans who are going to be heading out to the roads, the airports, and, of course, the railways. You want great weather. We've got it on the east coast. We've got it out towards the west. But right in the center of the country, we've got a massive storm system that's going to mean a lot to millions of people. As we zoom in on the maps, the first thing we're going to notice is the winter weather we can expect in the northern half of the country. In fact, we're already seeing a little bit of light snow just beginning to develop south of Minneapolis. A little bit of a freezing mix at this point. But in the northern plains, we're going to see this really ramp up, really intensify. And everything you see on the map that's shaded in the pink and purple, those are your watches and warnings.
The advisories with the heavy snowfall in some places anywhere from six to eight inches of snow is one issue. But when you get back down into parts of the central Rockies, it's not just going to be some of the snowfall, which could be heavy at times. It's also going to be the wind that's really going to pick up. We're talking about wind gusts that will be approaching, say 70 miles per hour. So we're talking about the equivalent of a Category One hurricane in some locations.
Now, as we zoom in, again, places like Salt Lake City back over towards Denver, we're going to have a few issues in few of those key locations. One of the problems that we're going to be dealing with for a good part of the morning hours, that we're going to be seeing some issues in terms of some fog that is developing in parts of the southeast too.
We're going to give you some updates on that coming up in just a few moments. We had some rainfall here in parts of Alabama, Georgia and into Florida. This morning, the issue with that leftover moisture, very humid air, fog and very low visibility. So we've got all kinds of travel issues and, of course, we're going to take care of all that for you this morning. Keeping you up to speed. Back to you.
COSTELLO: Oh, we are, because we have more. We actually have a travel desk and it's being manned by the incredibly brilliant Jacqui Jeras. I always like to make fun of Jacqui because -- JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, Carol.
COSTELLO: I know.
JERAS: I told you today how much I like working with you. Yes, I am at the --
ROBERTS: You want to take this outside?
JERAS: You too, John. You too, John, of course. As always.
Yes. You know, lots of problems out there. And I'm glad we're starting out laughing because, you know, otherwise you'd be crying when you think about some of the travel issues that we're going to be dealing with today.
When you start out of the gate, you know, this early in the morning at 6:00 a.m. Atlanta time. Take a look at the picture that we have here. There is an incredible amount of fog all across the area. Visibility at the airport right now about two miles, but it's less than a quarter of a mile in some of the lower-lying areas across town. So there are going to be lots of problems on the interstates this morning. No delays at the airport right now, but we do expect they could be very well be over an hour as we head into this afternoon.
Now, some other areas that we're going to be dealing with travel issues. Look down here. This is from traffic.com. We have problems on the Massachusetts turnpike at this hour. And we have very blustery conditions. So expecting to have problems on the roadways. East/west travel to interstates in particular.
Over here, Salt Lake City, we're still dealing with those blizzard- type conditions and we do have a blizzard warning in effect until 11:00 in the morning. This is a great Web site. Commuterlink.Utah.gov. And you can click on this power Kansas all out on I-80. And look at how bad those roadways continue to be. So you don't want to be out there driving this morning if you don't have to.
And other airports that we're expecting to have problems with later on today. Take a look at this. Chicago, Minneapolis, due to clouds, rain and snow mix. And then also Cincinnati and St. Louis, strong to severe thunderstorms expected later on there today. And Dallas may have some low clouds and thunderstorms, about 13, or 15 rather, to 30- minute delays or so. So a lot of different areas in the country where we get a lot of high volume. Volume in and of itself, guys, can cause major problems. So you throw these weather issues and they're with it, as well. It's going to be a rough day of travel for a whole lot of people.
ROBERTS: So myself and 185 of my fellow passengers are wondering, Jacqui, why Delta canceled our 11:00 flight from LaGuardia to Atlanta today.
JERAS: Today?
ROBERTS: Today. JERAS: I don't know. I don't know. It has to do with the fog, I guess.
COSTELLO: Probably because John is going to be on the plane.
ROBERTS: Must be.
COSTELLO: Yes, they knew you were coming, they're like, no.
ROBERTS: Have I ever told you how much I like working with you, Jacqui?
JERAS: Oh, you know, tell me every day, John. I love it.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Jacqui.
COSTELLO: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Well, Sarah Palin is doing some traveling too. Sixteen cities in 11 days. Officially it's a book tour, but there's all that talk of 2012 again. More just ahead.
COSTELLO: She wasn't there for Bristol's big night last night. You probably know the outcome already. But we're going to get into that a little later.
The first Apple computer sold for $666 back in 1976. Want to take a guess how much an Apple original just went for at auction? Well, it just -- it wasn't $666, I can tell you that.
ROBERTS: And forget about snakes on a plane. These snakes don't need an aircraft to fly. Literally slithering through the air. Why is the military studying them? We'll tell you coming up.
Fourteen minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A look inside Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport this morning as people get set to go home across (INAUDIBLE), through the valley, over the river, and onto grandmother's house.
Looks nice and clear inside the terminal. Apparently outside, though, Atlanta's socked in with a little bit of fog. Departure delays right now about 15 minutes but that could grow throughout the morning.
COSTELLO: That's why we've got a team of reporters standing by to fill you in on all the weather delays across the country and also flight delays.
ROBERTS: I wonder if we could get that fellow there with the backpack to find out why they canceled my flight this morning. Hey, Sir, excuse me.
COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE). In the news this morning, investigators are trying to figure out what led to a second blast at a New Zealand mine that killed 29 miners. The miners have been trapped underground after an initial explosion last Friday. It's not clear if the miners survived the initial blast, and rescue attempts weren't possible because of dangerous gas levels underground.
ROBERTS: Oh, a terrible thing that happened there.
Well, Johnson & Johnson pulling nearly 5 million packages of two children's medications this morning because of manufacturing insufficiencies. The Benadryl and junior strength Motrin were made at a Pennsylvania plant that was closed earlier this year because of quality control lapses.
The company says it's not a consumer-level recall, meaning that the products have yet to hit store shelves.
COSTELLO: I'm sure you were watching "Dancing with the Stars" last night. I'm positive, weren't you, John?
ROBERTS: You know, my - my DVR has been recording it even though I haven't asked it to. So, go figure that one out.
COSTELLO: I'm sure the Tea Party had something to do with that.
Bristol Palin - let's talk about her improbable run on "Dancing with the Stars." Well, it's over. The show's underdog finished third in last night's finale, but not before telling America that a win would be, quote, "Like a big middle finger to all the people out there that hate my mom and hate me."
ROBERTS: OK. In the end, actress Jennifer Grey took home the trophy. The "Dirty Dancing" star earned nearly perfect scores from the judges in her last dances, enough to overcome Palin's wave of viewer votes.
COSTELLO: That's right. No one puts Baby in a corner.
Bristol's mom, by the way, Sarah Palin, was not in the audience for last night's finale, because, as John said, the former Alaska governor, she hit the road this weekend.
ROBERTS: Yes. She's promoting her new book, "America by Heart." The first stop in her 16-city tour, Phoenix, Arizona.
CNN political producer Shannon Travis is there live this morning. So what was the scene like, Shannon?
SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: It was a lot of people well into the night, John. Here's the book right here, maybe a little stocking stuffer for Christmas, maybe a little read over the weekend.
A lot of people were snapping up this book last night. We counted a few hours that people were waiting in line. And the former Alaska governor, she stayed for a while. She signed copies, shook hands, kissed babies. There was a lot of excitement. It was like a rock star reception for her, a lot of people just wanting to meet her.
I talked with a lot of people, and one of the people that I spoke with is a woman named Zac Wilde (ph), and she wasn't quite a fan. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS: Are you a Palin fan?
ZAC WILDE (ph), OBAMA SUPPORTER: No, I am not.
TRAVIS: Well, why are you here?
WILDE (ph): Because my mom is, and so - she asked me to do this and I thought I would.
TRAVIS: You just mentioned a moment ago that you're an Obama supporter?
WILDE (ph): I am.
TRAVIS: Might be rare in here.
WILDE (ph): I'm sure, probably, it is.
TRAVIS: Will you mention that to her once you get your book signed that you're an Obama supporter?
WILDE (ph): If I get the chance. I might be ushered out very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS: Yes. So, just one of the people. She was in the minority, definitely, here last night, John and - and Carol in terms of fans. But, yes, Sarah Palin kicked off her book tour yesterday here in Phoenix.
ROBERTS: So - so the people, Shannon, who actually appreciate her, the ones who were there to really see her and the ones who might vote for her, what were they saying?
TRAVIS: Well, there was a lot of enthusiasm, definitely, for Sarah Palin. I spoke with a few other people who were saying we definitely want her to run, that we'll definitely vote for her.
But there's a lot - there was a - there was a mixed response when I said, hey, do you think she will run? A lot of people said, yes, we think maybe she will. A lot of other people said maybe she'll just continue to be a reality TV star, a publishing star. So it was mixed reaction to that.
COSTELLO: Yes. People are so passionate, though. I mean, what? She has more than 70 percent approval rating from Republicans? ROBERTS: Yes.
COSTELLO: So I'm sure there were many Republicans in line and other people who love Sarah Palin.
The book tour is only now beginning, though, Shannon. Where does she go next?
TRAVIS: That's right. She's off to a lot of red states, Carol. Not many blue states dotted on that schedule there.
Interesting to note, three particular stops. Two stops in Iowa. Why is Iowa important? Because that's going to be the first presidential caucus there, coming up. And in South Carolina, the first southern presidential primary.
So there's a lot of speculation about this tour possibly being a bit of a presidential kind of whirlwind tour. It's anyone's guess. She's obviously been coy about her presidential ambitions.
But this book tour is going through red states and it's hitting some key important presidential battlegrounds.
ROBERTS: And they're going to love her in those states, no question about that.
Shannon Travis for us this morning in Phoenix. Shannon, good to see you. Thanks.
TRAVIS: Sure.
COSTELLO: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, an ancient Apple computer, complete in its original packaging, is sold for a record price at auction. We'll tell you what somebody paid for the Apple-1.
ROBERTS: And slithering through the sky, snakes that don't need planes. That's coming up, too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, here's some of the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning.
Remember when the Beatles went to iTunes? There were a lot of music industry analysts who said why would you want to buy the Beatles off of iTunes? Anybody who's a Beatles fan already has the CDs, has a lot of -
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Like about 10,000 of them already in their collections.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
Well, listen to this. The Fab Four obviously still fab, the Beatles selling more than two million songs now and more than 450 whole albums - 450,000 whole albums during their the first week on iTunes. "Abbey Road", the top selling digital album, and "Here Comes the Sun" -
COSTELLO: Wow.
ROBERTS: -- the top individual track.
COSTELLO: That's the power of the baby boomers, man.
ROBERTS: Power of baby boomers.
COSTELLO: That's right.
And the computer that many say started the desktop revolution, the Apple-1. It sold for more than $213,000 at auction. The Apple-1, the very first Apple computer ever built. There were 200 of them built, actually, in a garage by the Apple co-founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and they did that in 1976. They were shipped without a monitor or keyboard.
The Apple original came with a typed note from Jobs. It originally sold for $666.66, which is really odd, isn't it?
ROBERTS: It was a little bit of a joke on their part.
COSTELLO: Well, OK. I get it.
ROBERTS: Think of the numbers.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROBERTS: And two words - flying snakes?
Check this out. At first it looks like the snakes are just falling out of a tree, but when you - look at this. The - it just kind of leaps out there. But watch. It falls for a bit and then all of a sudden the aerodynamics kick in and it kind of slithers right through the sky there. It's not really flying so much as it is gliding, almost employing Frisbee-like principles.
And, in fact, the aerodynamics of these snakes, which you wouldn't think would be able to glide, let alone fly, has got the attention of the U.S. military which is studying them for potential applications in high-level drops.
COSTELLO: So you're walking through the woods and this snake comes out of the sky and falls on you?
ROBERTS: Just slithers right - right down from the top of the tree on you.
COSTELLO: That's disgusting.
Well, I hope they find something useful, militarily, for the snakes.
ROBERTS: Well, coming up, a powerful storm out west heading east that could stall holiday travel. Our Reynolds Wolf has got the Thanksgiving travel forecast for you, coming up. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We're crossing the half hour now. It's 6:30 Eastern Time. Let's go to our top stories this morning:
The bodies of two civilians have been found one day after North Korea pounded a South Korean island with rounds of artillery. Two South Korean marines were also killed in the attack. President Obama has spoken with South Korea's president. The two leaders agreed to hold joint military exercises in the waters not far from the attack.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators in Aruba say a jawbone discovered on a beach earlier this month does not belong to Natalee Holloway. They made the determination after comparing the bone which had a tooth attached to Holloway's dental records. Natalee Holloway, of course, as you know, disappeared five years ago while on a class trip to Aruba.
ROBERTS: Before the Thanksgiving feast comes the travel fatigue. If you're flying, an opt-out protest could mean extra delays at airport security. And if you're driving -- stormy weather out west is heading east and could slow your trip to a crawl.
COSTELLO: Oh, but we're here to help, aren't we?
ROBERTS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: You're looking right now at live pictures of Chicago's O'Hare Airport, one of the busiest on a normal day. Airport officials are bracing for that crush of Thanksgiving fliers and, of course, the potential for the opt-out fallout.
ROBERTS: CNN's Reynolds Wolf is at the extreme weather center in Atlanta for us today and he's tracking the holiday travel forecast.
Good morning, Reynolds, how are we looking?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It looks it's going to be a pretty rough day. No question about it.
You know, guys, winter officially begins -- at least in the northern hemisphere -- on December 21st, but try telling that to Mother Nature, because we got all kinds of rough winter weather we're going to be dealing.
Western half of the Great Lakes, Northern Plains, Northern Rockies, Central Rockies, it's going to be a huge mess. We're going to see some of that weather transform from snowflakes to rain drops to possibly some thunderstorms across parts of the nation's midsection, the mid-Mississippi Valley, and maybe some as you get closer to the Gulf Coast.
Now, a couple issues that we're dealing with to start off this morning -- we are seeing some precipitation begin to kick up out towards the west, and what we're talking about is that combination of snow and even some rainfall -- snow back towards Grand Forks and Fargo. But when you get to places like St. Louis, some scattered showers and thunderstorms right along parts of 70. If you're making that drive from St. Louis back over to Kansas City, it's going to be a wet beginning for you. But things will ease as you get towards Kansas City.
In terms of your air travel, it could be interesting for you in places like, of course, St. Louis and many of your other regional airports. A few other issues we're going to be dealing with: not in terms of rainfall but rather visibility in parts of the Southeast. We already have fog that is developing from Chattanooga southward into Atlanta, even into Montgomery. The issue with fog might be towards the Gulf Coast. So keep that in mind.
But in terms of issues of visibility out towards the West, it's not fog, but rather blowing snow. And we're talking about wind gusts that may approach 70 miles per hour into the afternoon, especially along parts of 70. Once you go from Denver, heading towards, say, back into Intermountain, even into Salt Lake City and into the Wasatch Range, the snow, the wind, it's going to be very treacherous. So, keep that in mind.
So, I'd say from Denver, back over to Salt Lake City, of course, Minneapolis-St. Paul, maybe even Chicago and Detroit before the day is out and back into St. Louis, widespread delays can be expected.
Out to the West Coast, things are pretty for you for the time being. In the Eastern Seaboard, things look pretty good too. In south Florida, scattered showers possible later on this afternoon.
That is a rap on the forecast, guys. We got a lot more coming up, plus, Jacqui Jeras is going to be coming in in just a bit, just to give an idea of what you can expect when you head out to the roads and you head out to the airports, just a little bit of advice -- be patient with what you're going to find.
COSTELLO: Kind of makes me glad I'm working Thanksgiving.
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. You better believe it.
COSTELLO: Not. Are you crazy?
WOLF: A little bit. That's a loaded question. It might take some time to answer that one.
ROBERTS: Reynolds, thanks. We'll see you soon.
WOLF: You bet, guys.
ROBERTS: And Jacqui, as well.
Our holiday travel coverage moves to Atlanta right now. Our David Mattingly takes us along for the ride as he travels to Tampa and back to Atlanta today.
COSTELLO: But first, he has to get through Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, never a pretty traveling day at Atlanta's airport. So, David, how is it going? Are you calm? Are there already crowds?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm -- well, I'm always calm, Carol. And, you know, we travel through this airport all the time. But what makes this different is that you're not going to see a lot of business travelers like you would during the week. There's a lot of families traveling this time. The airlines are expecting 24 million people through this long holiday weekend.
So, we're going to be hitting the air today to go around and see what they're going through. I got my boarding pass. We're flying on AirTran today and we're going to be heading south down to Florida from Atlanta.
You can see some of the people here taking the advantage of coming in early. And that's what airline and that's what security's telling everybody to do. If you want to get where you're going today, come in early and do the best you can of getting through all the big crowds that they're expecting today.
We want to talk to one of these couples.
I see a family traveling today. What are you worried about today? Where are you headed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Minneapolis.
MATTINGLY: So, you're heading west toward all that weather that's coming in. What's on your mind today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weather.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically the weather. We caught an earlier flight and try to avoid any travel delays. Once we get in, we have a two-hour drive. So, just extra time.
MATTINGLY: All those questions about security today -- have you thought about what you might do the body scan or the pat down?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, with the little one, I think we'll probably end up doing a pat down. But I don't know, it just depends when we get in there, but I'm not really concerned about it.
MATTINGLY: OK. Well, good luck. I hope you'll have a good Thanksgiving. Hope you get where you're going today on time. So, that'll be a good early Thanksgiving present.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say bye.
MATTINGLY: All right. Thanks.
Well, so far smiles today, let's see what happens a little bit later today. But, again, these are the early travelers. These are the ones who have been listening to all those warnings to get where you're going early today. So, we'll see what happens. So far, so good.
Back to you.
ROBERTS: A sampling there, David. Have you talked to any other passengers there about the choice of going through either the body scanners there at Jackson or the pat down?
MATTINGLY: Right. Well, we can't take our cameras into security here at this airport, but I did spend time over there earlier today. I saw a lot of people going through security and talking to them there. They say they've thought about this, and they're concerned about time today.
So, if they have a choice, they're going to opt for the full-body scanners. This is most the people I talked to -- instead of going to the time-consuming pat down. It's all about getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible today. So, that's what's weighing on the minds of most travelers I've spoken to.
ROBERTS: All right.
COSTELLO: But you haven't seen any protesters out there, any opt-out people so far? I mean, the organized groups.
MATTINGLY: No protests, but if there are -- no, nothing organized. But there are people opting out today, that's beyond our view. I did see some pat downs going on in security today. But it didn't look like anything out of the ordinary today.
But again -- I mean, it's still really early here. We're not going to expect to see the real crush of people for a couple more hours yet. And if there were weather delays, we're going to have more backups. The problems we're looking at that we could have today are going to compound and be a lot more obvious later today if they do occur.
So, we're going to keep our eyes on it. We're going to travel today. And we're going to see what happens at the end of our trip as opposed to the beginning of our trip what you see here.
COSTELLO: What's David going to choose? The pat-down or the body scan?
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: We want to know, David.
ROBERTS: He'll roll the dice when he gets to security. Hey, and if you se my neighbor Mimi, say hi. She's a flight attendant on AirTran and a real sweetheart. She'll take good care of you.
MATTINGLY: OK. You got it.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, David.
Well, as a Web site says, avoid the TSA's porno scanners. We'll talk to one of the men behind national opt-out day at the airports -- just ahead. COSTELLO: First, Facebook didn't want any other online company to have the word "book" in their name. Now they're going after the word "face." We'll explain.
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COSTELLO: Forty minutes past the hour. Good morning to you.
"Minding Your Business" -- Facebook is one step closer to trademarking the word "face." The paperwork still has to be completed. But eventually, this could mean that some online companies with names that include "face" could be in trouble. The company is also in the process of trying to trademark other words associated with the site like poke and like.
ROBERTS: How greedy can one company be?
COSTELLO: It's bizarre.
ROBERTS: Yes.
New York City could soon become the bike riding capital of the world. If Mayor Michael Bloomberg gets his way, the city will soon be home to the largest bike share program anywhere. It's a system that would put 10,000 bicycles on the road, allowing riders to rent a bike at one location and drop it off at another.
This works brilliantly in European cities like Amsterdam. But --
COSTELLO: Actually, they have that in Washington, D.C., and it's working beautifully there.
ROBERTS: Any time you leave a bicycle anywhere in New York, it's gone within about 30 seconds. So
COSTELLO: It's so cynical of you, John.
ROBERTS: No, it's reality. Seriously, ask anybody.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: If you fly Southwest tomorrow, you can have one on the house. The airline is offering one free alcoholic drink to passengers on Thanksgiving Day. The carrier announced the holiday treat on Twitter. So, one alcoholic drink -- you think they'll stop at one? Which will only make your family get together more fun, don't you think?
ROBERTS: Or tolerable.
COSTELLO: Exactly. It depends on how you look at it.
He says the TSA doesn't have the manpower to put their hands down everyone's pants -- just wanted that to sink in a little this morning. We'll talk to one of the men behind the national opt-out day at the airports -- next.
ROBERTS: And coming up in 10 minutes' time, the science of storm chasing. See why a team of guys are putting their lives on the line to chase deadly and dangerous tornados. Why would they do it?
It's 42 1/2 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Forty-six minutes after the hour. There's a live look inside Chicago's O'Hare Airport, the American airlines ticket counter. Crowds beginning to build, but looks like things are moving pretty well. Not probably going to be the case throughout the morning, though, as more and more people try to get home to grandma's house and see the family for Thanksgiving.
COSTELLO: Weather delays pile up. It could be nasty out there. As we said, it's one of the busiest travel days of the year. And you know, there's a lot of outrage over these new body scans and pat downs. And of course, that could lead to even bigger delays at the airport. We're talking about national opt out day, an online campaign encouraging fliers to tie up TSA agents by opting for a pat-down instead of the machine.
James Babb is the co-founder behind one of the sites, wewontfly.com. He's at the Philadelphia International Airport this morning. James, thanks for joining us.
JAMES BABB, CO-FOUNDER, WEWONTFLY.COM: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, tell me, what's your plan for the airport this morning?
BABB: We're going to be educating travelers about the dangers they may find inside the airport. In Philadelphia, here, it's at terminal "F," passengers may be exposed to the radiation strip search or they may opt out that and go for the enhanced pat down, which under any other circumstance might be considered sexual assault. So, for weeks, we've been encouraging travelers to avoid the airport altogether.
For those that must fly, we ask to consider opting out of the scan. It's going to be better for your health and might put them in a position where they must accommodate the travelers who refuse to be abused.
COSTELLO: OK. We're going to get into those issues in a little bit. I just wonder, how many people do you have with you?
BABB: There's people all over the country at different airports today. Our demonstration here in Philadelphia will be later this evening.
COSTELLO: And how many people will be at the demonstration?
BABB: That's a good question. I expect a very good crowd. Probably somewhere between 50 to 150 demonstrators will arrive to help us educate the travelers. COSTELLO: You know, "USA Today" had this poll out, and they say that 71 percent of frequent fliers don't mind these pat downs at all. They say it's necessary for security. In fact, a lot of polls you look at say people say better safe than sorry. So, I guess, my question is why go to all this trouble when a minority of people feel the way you do?
BABB: The newest poll from Zoghby says 61 percent are opposed to the scanners and the enhanced pat downs. Those that find out about the detail of the scan, that they can determine if a man is circumcised or not or if a woman is menstruating are appalled. Once someone has seen or experienced the enhanced pat-downs, the thought of them putting their hands between legs, pressing against genitals, feeling around breasts, hands between buttocks, it's just outrageous to almost everyone.
COSTELLO: So, the TSA is trying to address your concerns. It says it's going to look at the policy. It's already moderated some things. What more do you want?
BABB: I want everyone to be able to travel with dignity. We are human beings. We are innocent until proven guilty. We have the inherent right to be secure in our person.
COSTELLO: I think a lot of people --
BABB: We will continue to fight.
COSTELLO: I think, James, a lot of people understand those concerns. But when you look at somebody like the underwear bomber, what do you do? I mean, how do you keep the flying public safe if there's no intrusion in privacy?
BABB: What we're talking about right now is not about security. We're talking about security theater. The experts pretty much agree that what they're doing here is completely ineffective. I understand the manufacturers of both the millimeter wave and x-ray machines say they probably wouldn't have caught the underwear bomber or the shoe bomber. The creator of the TSA himself, the man, the congressman from Florida who helped write the bill that made the TSA is calling it a big kabuki dance.
COSTELLO: The TSA, though, those people who are in charge of safety are not saying that.
BABB: Of course. They say obey, obey, we know what's best for you, obey. Well, the American people are smarter than that.
COSTELLO: So, what if by not doing a pat down, you know, something happens? Somebody got on a plane who shouldn't have gotten on because security wasn't quite up to speed? I mean, what's the answer?
BABB: I want us to have the best security possible. That means we have to abandon the security theater, and we have to bring in common sense. What they're doing right now is for show. It's actually creating a false sense of security. It could make passengers less vigilant because they see these high-tech gadgets and invasive pat- downs. The passengers have been our best line of defense. They're the ones that stop the underwear bomber, the shoe bomber, the 9/11 attack over Pennsylvania.
That's our best line of defense. So, we need to let them know, let everyone know that what they're doing right now is not making anyone safer. So, once we can get rid of the fake security, we can actually make our airports and air travel much safer.
COSTELLO: I guess, my last question is if you do cause big delays at Philadelphia's airports, I mean, do you worry about a backlash? Won't people be angry that you're slowing things down? Keeping them from their families on Thanksgiving?
BABB: That's not our goal. That's why for weeks, we've been telling people to avoid air travel altogether. For those that are willing to accept the radiation scan, hopefully, that line will be wide open. But for those that don't want to be radiated, get there a little bit early. So, if you have to get the enhanced pat down, and the TSA keeps their heels dug in, there'll be a little bit of extra time to go through that.
COSTELLO: Just a word on the radiation. The FDA says the risk is very, very small. Says the scan produces about the same radiation you get in just 42 minutes of walking around. So, most experts say this is not dangerous because you don't walk through it every day and you don't stay in that full-body scan thing for a long period of time.
BABB: There are experts that say this is acceptable. There are experts that say it's not acceptable. I think that's a choice that the individual should make and it should not be imposed upon us. Cancer survivors, pregnant women, and other people have a sensitivity to radiation. They're not being warned about it. So, that's one of the things we're doing here is to let people know what the dangers are, so they can make their own informed choice.
COSTELLO: All right. James Babb, good luck to you today. We'll see what happens. Thanks for joining us this morning.
BABB: Thank you.
ROBERTS: And coming up at 7:15 eastern. The administrator of the TSA, John Pistole, is going to join us, the man in charge of your security and making sure everything goes smoothly. Are they ready to handle the crowds? What about the protests? We'll ask him. It's 53 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: It's four minutes now till the top of the hour. When a tornado strikes, most people get out of the way, but storm chasers like Discovery Channel star, Reed Timmer are a very special breed. Here's Gary Tuchman with this morning's "Edge of Discovery."
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 100-mile-per- hour winds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tornado on the ground west!
TUCHMAN: Flying debris.
(SCREAMING)
TUCHMAN: And hail bigger than golf balls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shield your eyes.
TUCHMAN: Just some of the everyday dangers of storm chasers.
REED TIMMER, PROFESSIONAL STORM CHASER: We've been hit with trees, debris. We also had our window get blown out.
TUCHMAN: But for Reed Timmer and his team, it's all done in the name of science.
GEOFF CARTER, PROFESSIONAL STORM CHASER: We're looking at new and different ways of using radar technology to track these storms and get data that's never been acquired before.
TUCHMAN: In hopes of better understanding how storms form and move, the team uses these radar probes. They're equipped with GPS and collect measurements of temperatures, moisture, and pressure from inside the storm.
TIMMER: We basically get in the path of the tornado, drop the vehicle to the ground, and then let the funnel move directly overhead.
TUCHMAN: With wind speeds over 100 miles per hour, most cars get crushed by any flying debris. That's why Timmer and team travel in a specially designed vehicle that has built more like a cake. It's called a dominator (ph) and comes equipped with HD recording devices, flexi glass windows and a protective shell.
TIMMER: The whole goal from this research is to save lives.
TUCHMAN: Standing up to Mother Nature's fury, it's Timmer's hope we can learn to protect ourselves in the future.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Those people are crazy. More stories coming your way after the break.
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