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American Morning
WikiLeaks Reckless & Dangerous; Portland Bomb Plot; Actor Leslie Neilson Dead at 84; Clicking Your Way to Bargains on Cyber Monday
Aired November 29, 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: Spies, lies, and missiles. WikiLeaks strikes again. Another huge document dump. The fallout live from Washington this hour ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning. Thanks so much for being with us on this Monday, the 29th of November. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We have more on WikiLeaks document in just a moment.
First, though, some other top stories. A foiled terror plot. A 19- year-old Somali-American could get life in prison for allegedly planning to bomb a Christmas tree lighting celebration in Portland, Oregon. This morning, we're learning more about the teen suspect in a possible revenge attack on the mosque where he worshipped.
ROBERTS: Hollywood mourning a legend this morning. Leslie Neilson has died. He spent much of his career as a dramatic character actor before becoming a comedy icon with his roles in "Airplane" and the "Naked Gun" movies. We'll take a look back at what's surely some of his most memorable movies.
CHETRY: And clicking your way to bargains -- online deals supposedly everywhere this cyber Monday. So how do you get the best bargains out there? Christine Romans will be joining us to tell us how.
ROBERTS: Up first, though, it's part Bond movie, part Tom Clancy novel. The whistleblower website WikiLeaks striking again, another huge document dump revealing conversations between Washington and diplomats that we have stationed around the world.
Jill Dougherty joins us live from Washington. And Jill, there's some question as to whether this information being out there is actually damaging or just more embarrassing.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you know, when you plow through, there are 250,000 documents, not all of them released yet. But one certainly stands out, and that is the cable that indicates Iran getting missiles.
And this is exactly what it says. CNN has looked at that cable. Iran has obtained a cache of missiles based on Russian design. Iran obtained 19 of the missiles from North Korea, and those missiles could for the first time give Iran the capacity to strike at capitals in Western Europe or easily reach Moscow.
And that is really important. It's not saying they are delivering nuclear weapons, but the capability could be there. That would be the delivery vehicles.
And there's another thing on Iran that is very important, and that is the opinion of the Arab countries toward Iran, really fear and loathing. In fact, cable showing that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia urged the United States to strike, strike Iran's nuclear program, and, as he put it, cut off the head of the snake. John, Kiran?
ROBERTS: Jill, some members of Congress are suggesting that people involved with WikiLeaks should face prosecution. Is it possible they could have charges brought against them?
DOUGHERTY: Representative Peter King of New York is saying precisely that. He wants to get Julian Assange on the Espionage Act. King is saying he wants WikiLeaks declared a foreign terrorist organization.
Now, whether that is really legally possible is not clear at this point because it's not clear that Assange himself, who was the one who accessed those documents, the allegation is that Private First Class Bradley Manning did that. So questionable at this point, but there's certainly a real ground swell to do something to shut them down.
ROBERTS: Jill Dougherty for us in Washington this morning. Jill, thanks.
The White House is accusing WikiLeaks of being reckless and dangerous. Coming up at the bottom of the hour, Ed Henry takes a look at how this leak could affect the president's efforts to end the war in Afghanistan and reach peace in the Middle East.
CHETRY: A major cyber Monday setback narrowly averted. Comcast cable said server issue knocked out Internet service in the greater Boston as well as D.C. beltway areas last night. Comcast says service is back up and running right now. Engineers are still trying to pinpoint the cause.
ROBERTS: Tragedy at Chicago's soldier field during yesterday's Bears- Eagles football game. Police say a fan fell 35 feet from an upper level balcony onto a small rooftop outside the state and later died in the hospital.
CHETRY: In just a few hours a teenager accused of plotting to set off a bomb at a Christmas tree lights in Portland, Oregon, is due to appear in federal court. Mohammed Osman Mohammed, a Somali-American is charged with trying to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Authorities say that he wanted those attending the tree lighting to leave, quote, "dead or injured." The foiled terror plot may have sparked a revenge attack against a mosque where Mohammed occasionally worshipped. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is following this story for us live in Portland. Hi, Thelma.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Well, when Mohammed Osman Mohammed was arrested on Friday night just 20 minutes before that tree lighting ceremony, authorities were quick to point out that the public was never in any immediate danger because what Mohammed thought was a bomb was actually a fake.
Now, who is this young suspect? We followed his trail to Corvallis, to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ: Corvallis, Oregon, a picture postcard college town an hour and half outside Portland, the home of Oregon State University. This is where 19-year-old Mohammed Osman Mohammed, known as "Mo" to his friends, has lived for the past year and studied engineering part- time. Alex, a friend from high school, said "Mohammed was outgoing, the kind of guy everyone wanted to hang out."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had a lot of friends. He was pretty popular. It seemed like he was friends from people of every crowd.
GUTIERREZ: FBI investigators paint a different picture. They say Mohammed, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, told an undercover agent he'd been thinking about committing violent jihad since he was 15. According to an FBI affidavit, he plotted for months with undercover agents he believed to be jihadists to detonate a van filled with explosives at a tree-lighting ceremony this past Friday in downtown Portland.
In preparations, he allegedly exploded a practice bomb earlier this month and recorded a chilling good-bye tape, saying "To my parents who held me back from jihad and the cause of Allah -- nothing you can do can hold me back."
FBI agents are investigating an apparent arson attack on the Islamic Center in Corvallis, where Mohammed sometimes worshipped. These men, who grew up in Corvallis, worry that Muslims will once again be targeted for the actions of one misguided person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to assume this mosque is what trained him to do such and such items.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now Mohammed's forever linked with more and more perpetual crimes.
GUTIERREZ: Imam Yosof Wanly of the Islamic center says Mohammed worshipped here once every two months.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): What was your first reaction when you heard he'd been arrested?
YOSOF WANLY, IMAM: I was shocked. And the greatest thing, you know, that affects me most is I wish I could have intervened in a way.
GUTIERREZ: It seems as though you're very saddened by this, very emotional time. Why?
WANLY: Because he had a future, you know.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): And hurt the Muslim community, as well?
WANLY: And he put civilians in threat and the U.S. population as a whole.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ: Mohammed Osman Mohammed could face life in prison if he's convicted for attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Kiran?
And the FBI also says they have not made any connection between that apparent attack on the mosque and his arrest. But there are those in the community who see it as more than a coincidence.
GUTIERREZ: Kiran, we talked to the imam of the mosque and he says absolutely. He says 40 years that mosque has been in the town of Corvallis, they've always had a great relationship with the community. Nothing like this has ever happened before. So he believes that there is a direct correlation.
CHETRY: Thelma Gutierrez for us this morning, thank you.
We're also going to have a bit more on this story at 7:40 eastern. We speak to a former neighbor of Mohammed Osman Mohammed.
ROBERTS: Well, Hollywood has suffered a great loss. Actor Leslie Neilson died yesterday of complications of pneumonia. He had a long career as a dramatic actor before becoming a breakout comedy star in movies like "Airplane" and the whole "Naked Gun" series, his dead pan humor giving life to a second career.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you fly this plane and land it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surely, you can't be serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Strike three!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Nielsen's family says the actor was the life of the party. He was 84 years old when he passed away in Florida.
CHETRY: He'll be missed. He made for a lot of laughs.
ROBERTS: He sure did. Made a lot of Canadians proud.
(WEATHER BREAK)
CHETRY: So forget the crowds, it's point and click day, right, cyber Monday as they call it. And today there are deals to be had if you know how to get them. It's estimated that 107 million people will be doing Internet shopping. And according to the National Retail Federation, it's up from 96.5 million last year.
ROBERTS: Yes, and you will be a crowd of one in front of your computer screen today.
Online retailers are doing about everything they can to win your business. Take a look at some of these cyber Monday deals we found. A Panasonic, 65-inch high definition television set for under $1,800. That's a pretty good savings of $1,400 there.
How about this, a GPS for $79, you save yourself $50 there. And a razor electric scooter for just under $100. Not such a big savings on that, but if you want an electric scooter, there you go.
Christine Romans joins us now live with more. What are we expecting?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Some of those are limited quantities. You've got to move quickly. Sometimes these deals only last for an hour.
ROBERTS: You better be online now.
ROMANS: Exactly. Productivity at work is going to come to a screeching halt.
In the very beginning we business reporters scoffed at the whole cyber Monday thing. We thought it was retail hype. They're trying to get you. They want you to reach in your pockets again. But now this is the first year it's really -- this is really a full-fledged retail holiday. You could see $1 billion in sales today.
So this is starting to become a big deal with real legs. But you need to be careful for a few things here. I always say never pay shipping. Also watch out for the restocking fees. If there are restocking fees, just don't buy it.
Compare prices because there are wildly different prices across the web today. Check for coupons. Kiran is a fan of "retail me not." It's this website where you can look at coupon codes and you should be using a coupon code today.
CHETRY: If you go to retailmenot.com, you type in -- let's pretend you're going to buy something at Ralph Lauren or Brooks Brothers, type in "Coupon for Brooks Brothers" and they'll show you all the coupons, the time they worked.
ROBERTS: I eventually searched up some of those.
ROMANS: So you can find. And there are other websites, as well. But use a coupon code. Also if you don't get it in the hour it's for sale today, don't worry, because most retail analysts are telling me that prices could be this cheap or lower again later in the year. So don't feel the pressure of the cyber Monday hype because it could be cheaper.
CHETRY: Let's say now where you bought something a few weeks ago and now it's way cheaper. Is it harder to get your money back online? ROBERTS: Yes, like if you went to Home Depot and paid $40 for a ladder and you went in yesterday and it was $18.
ROMANS: Did that happen?
ROBERTS: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Home Depot, you just need a credit card, you ask them to give you the difference and if it's -- the big retailers -- you'd be surprised how Costco, for example, also has very, very good favorable return policies.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: What if you don't want to go back online? Do they make it easier?
ROMANS: It's harder online. And watch the restocking fees that, because that can be 25 percent. If that's a lot of electronics. If there's a restocking fee, I say don't buy it.
ROBERTS: The reason I found out it was half price because I walked back into Home Depot, but I had no idea.
ROMANS: You should have walked right to the manager, John.
ROBERTS: I need to have you with me.
ROMANS: Smile and hand him your credit card and say could you give me the difference back, please?
ROBERTS: Maybe he's watching this morning.
(LAUGHTER)
Thanks, Christine.
CHETRY: The airlines are gearing up for more holiday travel. Some of them say they're adding seats. We're going to find out which carriers lead the pack.
ROBERTS: Plus Charles and Diana had the wedding of the century, but William and Kate could have something they didn't, a wedding in 3-D? We'll tell you what that's about coming up. It's 14 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 17 minutes after the hour. Patience is wearing thin on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea promising to pounce if the North attacks one of its islands like it did last week with artillery fire.
The tough talk as U.S. and South Korean warships are taking part in joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea. Our Stan Grant is live in Seoul, South Korea and he's got the very latest.
And Stan, we're hearing that lot this morning. Everybody from South Korea's president to the Chinese. What do we know?
STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we'll start with South Korea's president. These are the words that South Koreans have been wanting to hear from him, some more tough talk. He says that North Korea will pay a big price for any further provocation or aggression.
He said that attack on Yeonpyeong Island last week was inhumane and targeting civilians is unprecedented since the Korean War. He says that South Korea has run out of patience with North Korea.
He says now is not the time for words, but actions, and we're seeing actions right now in the yellow sea with military exercises from South Korea and the United States. John -
ROBERTS: And what about China? As the tensions are escalating on the Korean Peninsula, the United States has been calling for allies of North Korea such as China to try to do something to deescalate these tensions. What's China asking for?
GRANT: China has stepped in. China sent an envoy here to meet with President Lee and is now calling for the heads of the delegations to the six-party talks. Those talks involving China, the United States, Japan, Russia, and the two Koreas.
They want to sit down and try to work a way through this towards a full resumption of those talks. The problem is getting the other parties to agree. Saying this could be a reward for bad behavior for North Korea who in the past have used these talks to up the ante and then walk away again.
And in the words of President Lee, now is not the time for words, now is the time for action. China crucial to this, it is North Korea's biggest ally, and if someone can bring North Korea back from the brink, it could be China.
ROBERTS: All right, we'll see if the parties are going to sit down to the table sometime in the next few days. Stan Grant for us in Seoul this morning. Stan, thanks so much. Kiran --
CHETRY: John, thanks.
Well, the lame-duck Congress is getting set for the first real showdown this week. The battle over tax cuts, unemployment benefits. We're going to have much more on how much they're going to get done before the year is over.
Also, you've seen him show off his moves on Ellen. Well, now Wolf Blitzer has a new repertoire, I guess you could say. It is his take on "The Dougie," he adds a new facial expression to the dance, and notice, he doesn't actually touch his hair. We'll show you more of his "Soul Train" appearance coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Why is Bon Jovi going strong still after 25 years? Doesn't that sound like I was born to be your baby and you were born to be my man? Well, maybe he sticks with what works. Few rock bands emerged from the '80s that have much staying power.
ROBERTS: Yes, it took 25 years goes by with a blink of an eye, doesn't it?
CHETRY: He looks so young and vibrant.
ROBERTS: He's a very nice fellow.
CHETRY: He is sweet. Well, tonight, the band's driving force, lead singer Bon Jovi joins "LARRY KING LIVE" for the full hour tonight 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: Well, here's some of the other stories we got us talking this morning in the newsroom and you're going to want to hear about these ones. No question about that. I hope your turkey turned out a little bit better than this one did. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get it out of there! Step away.
ROBERTS (voice-over): A little thanksgiving drama there. This was sent in by one of our CNN I-reporters over the weekend. He said his wife went to take the turkey out of the oven, all the oil ignited in the hot oven, but apparently when all was said and done, the turkey was salvageable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: She's yelling I have to get the turkey out of there and he's yelling, the turkey! This is what happens. All the emotions. We had a problem with our turkey too. She's laughing. In the end a good time was had by all. Happy Thanksgiving.
ROBERTS: So you can burn the house down when not deep-frying a turkey.
CHETRY: That's right and you can still enjoy it because they said this turkey was salvageable. She's now laughing. I know how you feel.
Well, can't be there for Kate and William's wedding in April? Broadcasters are reportedly talking about the next best thing. This would be a royal wedding live in 3D. And right now several networks are reportedly negotiating to try to make that happen.
ROBERTS: Wow. Have a little pick-up football game over the weekend? Did you watch a lot of football? You might have seen this. It's being called the play of the year in college football. Check this out. Oklahoma State defensive back Rodrique Brown launches himself into the air, pitches to the teammate Shawn Lewis. Remarkable interception. Look at that. Fantastic. He leapt from the air from the field and even though his body was out of bounds, still inbound. Look at that.
CHETRY: All is fair -- good thinking on his part too, number 11 grabbed it and the defense just sort of standing there.
ROBERTS: This has happened before, but obviously very infrequently and something memorable. When it does, so far almost 1 million people have watched this so generating a lot of interest.
CHETRY: Congratulations.
Well, it's official, he really is happening now. Our own Wolf Blitzer was a presenter at the "Soul Train" Awards. He ended up getting dance lessons from none other than Doug E. Fresh himself. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER: The real reason I came here tonight was because I want to learn how to do the "Dougie." They don't have to teach me how to do the "Dougie," you know why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
BLITZER: Because I can learn the "Dougie" from the man himself. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Doug E. Fresh.
CHETRY (voice-over): There we go. Out comes Doug E. Fresh doing his dance, and there's Wolf. Holding his own. Looking good. This is two for two.
ROBERTS: His facial expression really makes the whole thing.
CHETRY: First he rocked it on Ellen and now at the "Soul Train" Awards.
ROBERTS: He's a dancing machine.
CHETRY: He sure is. He also, by the way, ended up accepting an award on behalf of Eminem.
ROBERTS: So, Wolf, doing the "Dougie" and accepting an award for Eminem. A couple of things you probably thought you'd never see Wolf Blitzer ever doing that way.
Our top stories just two minutes away now, including the diplomatic secrets that were exposed by WikiLeaks.
Are the president's foreign policy goals now compromised?
CHETRY: And when it comes to holiday shopping, it's easy to go a little nuts, but if you're on a budget, how to spend like a cheapskate without looking like one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 30 minutes past the hour on this Monday morning, time for a look at your top stories. WikiLeaks under fire again from the U.S. government for exposing another massive collection of confidential diplomatic documents. Top U.S. officials say that it's not only illegal, but could endanger lives.
ROBERTS: Actor Leslie Nielsen being remembered for his one-liners in comedies like "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun", but he started out - if you didn't know as a dramatic straight man in television and film back in the 1950s. Nielsen died yesterday at a hospital in Florida, where he was being treated for pneumonia. He was 84 years old.
CHETRY: Certainly be missed.
Well, the Bush era tax cuts on the table as lawmakers arrive back in Washington today. They have a lot of business to take care of before the end of the year. President Obama and most Democrats want to extend these cuts for families making $250,000 a year or less. Republicans want them extended for everybody, including the top income earners.
ROBERTS: More seats for holiday air travelers, "USA Today" says almost all major U.S. carriers are increasing the number of flights and moving others to bigger aircraft. Travel demand is the big reason. JetBlue and Delta leading the way in beefing up their capacity.
CHETRY: Well, more now on the fallout from another massive WikiLeaks document dump, some of them detailing U.S. spies operation on allies and the U.N.. The White House is warning that the leak could threaten lives and national security.
Ed Henry is live for us at the White House this morning. Some are saying this could damage the president's foreign policy goals? What are they saying this morning about that?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, at the White House, they're trying to push back on the notion that it's as damaging as some critics think. In part because there are no top secret documents in here. But make no mistake, there are secret documents, thousands of them that are exposing things that in some cases are embarrassing, other cases could be damaging. I mean, there's details, for example, about what the "New York Times" calls let's make a deal diplomacy on closing Guantanamo.
The prison there where basically the White House was offering up a meeting with President Obama for the leader of Slovenia. If they took a prisoner from Gitmo and if that kind of deal make is going on it could make it even harder to actually shut that prison down.
Secondly, the White House has made a big deal about Iran's sanctions and how that has really help to start neutralizing the threat from Iran. But as these papers as Jill Dougherty was pointing out, lay out how all kinds of leaders in the gulf are very, very nervous about Iran getting nuclear weapons, moving closer to that. And that basically the sanctions have not done enough. So that could really raise some new questions about whether the president's policies there have really worked.
And when you look at the statement from Robert Gibbs last night and how blistering it was, it shows how nervous this White House is. Gibbs saying "President Obama supports responsible, accountable, and open government at home and around the world. But this reckless and dangerous action runs counter to that goal by releasing stolen and classified documents, WikiLeaks has put at risk not only the cause of human rights, but also the lives and work of these individuals. We condemn in the strongest terms the unauthorized disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information."
Some of that other sensitive information including inside information about one-on-one talks between the U.S. and Israel. That could further complicate the push for Mideast peace. And then, of course, you have the fact that there's more details about the U.S. concerns about President Karzai, his brother, whether he's got ties to corruption. That could obviously further complicate the situation in Afghanistan, Kiran.
CHETRY: So remind people again how this information came to light, how it was leaked, and whether or not the government's going to try to put any changes into place to prevent this from happening again.
HENRY: Well, obviously there's suspicion around Private Manning and whether or he leaked these documents and was able to take them out of the U.S. government and then pass them on to WikiLeaks, which is sort of the middle man to the media organizations like the "New York Times" that are getting the actual cables.
The bottom line is that the administration has made - previously made some changes to try to be more open within various agencies to share information. There's now - pardon me, questions about whether that went too far and maybe they should clamp down on that.
Bottom line, this administration officials say there's going to be a very serious top to bottom review of all of those procedures. But I talked to one top official who said, "look, you can put even the best procedures in place but if some of these are going to leak anyway in the future, there's always going to be something like WikiLeaks out there in the digital world now that's going to put them out there." So it's a very vexing problem for this administration, Kiran.
CHETRY: Sure is. Ed Henry for us this morning at the White House. Thank you.
HENRY: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Coming up on this "American Morning," a Somali-American accused in a failed terror plot to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon, we'll talk to his former neighbor who is shocked by his arrest. CHETRY: And it's back to work and a chilly start to the week for a lot of the east this morning. Reynolds Wolf has the Monday morning forecast, coming up in just 10 minutes.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 38 minutes after the hour, a 19-year-old suspect accused of trying to set off a bomb at a Christmas-tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon, has a date in federal court today. The FBI diffused the plot and arrested Mohamed Osmond Mohamud, a Somali-American on terror charges.
Stephanie Napier lived across the street from Mohamud and his family until last year and is stunned by the news. She joins us this morning in Portland where it's very early. Stephanie, thanks so much for getting up early. How well did you know Mohamud and his family?
STEPHANIE NAPIER, FORMER NEIGHBOR OF MOHAMED: Mohamud himself I did not know that well. His mom and I were friends. You know, we would have tea together, we'd go to the movies, we'd chitchat, neighbors, you know - the son, quiet kid, you know, would say hello -
ROBERTS: Right.
NAPIER: You know, good morning, good night when I'd see him.
ROBERTS: His sister, Mona, babysat your youngest son, Marcus (ph) for a time?
NAPIER: That's correct. Bless her heart. My husband and I at the time both had to leave the house at 6:00 a.m. and don't want to leave your young child at home, so my older son would get him off to Mona's house in the morning and go to school and Mona would walk him to school every morning for quite a while.
ROBERTS: Wow, so you knew them for a couple of years. How did they strike you?
NAPIER: Very nice people. Very nice people. Normal middle class family.
ROBERTS: Wow.
NAPIER: I think that's why it's so shocking. Because you know their house was clean, well taken care of. Nice people. Nice people.
ROBERTS: There was a break up in the marriage, though?
NAPIER: Yes, they separated about a year ago.
ROBERTS: That's a shame. It happens to so many people these days. Any indication - I know you said you didn't know Mohamed himself that well, but I know your son played basketball with him once, maybe a couple of times. Your younger son went over to the home. Was there ever any indication that Mohamed had anti-American sentiments?
NAPIER: None whatsoever. Talking to my son Tyler, he said through talking to him more at school, he would hear some comments from other people about anti-America. But never heard Mohamed say anything negative or derogative.
ROBERTS: He would hear it from other kids at school but never heard it from Mohamed himself?
NAPIER: That's what my son said, yes, sir.
ROBERTS: Wow. How did you and your husband who we should mention is a sergeant first class in the Army Reserve and has just gone back to the Middle East for another tour of duty, how did you hear about what happened?
NAPIER: My son actually via Facebook, believe it or not, came and woke us up at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and said, "oh, my gosh."
ROBERTS: Wow.
NAPIER: "That was Mohamed. Yeah, wow." That's what everybody's saying, I think, "wow."
ROBERTS: It's got to be a real surprise to you. I know that the family moved away about a year ago. But you remain in touch with the mother, Myriam (ph). I know you didn't have close contact with her. But would you talk from time to time?
NAPIER: Yes, sir.
ROBERTS: And have you tried to contact her since this news broke?
NAPIER: I have. I called her and she didn't answer her phone and by all means I don't blame her. I wouldn't answer my phone or the door either.
ROBERTS: Yes.
NAPIER: I'm sure she's just as stunned if not more than anybody else.
ROBERTS: So what do you think -
NAPIER: I did leave her a message.
ROBERTS: So what are you thinking about all of this, Stephanie?
NAPIER: What do I think about it? I Think it's a very, very sad thing. I hope that people don't start racially profiling. Because we don't know - I mean, we don't know enough about it to judge - who's to say it's terrorism? Who is to say it's not just a messed up kid who made a bad choice?
ROBERTS: Right. But it's so ironic because here again, your husband Staff Sergeant in the Army Reserve going off to the Middle East to fight terrorism and then here you have an accused terrorist who was living right across the street from you.
NAPIER: Tell me about it. Wow, right? Wow. Very, very - very surreal.
ROBERTS: Well, we'll be watching what happens in federal court today. Stephanie Napier, thanks so much for getting up early and sharing your thoughts with us this morning. We really appreciate it.
NAPIER: Thank you.
CHETRY: And she expressed, you know, it must be such a shock for people who knew the family and who knew this young man to think that he wanted people to die which is what apparently he said.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine that you send your young child over there for babysitting? And the other members of the family, obviously, upstanding citizens, but you know, here this one person was in the house. And you've got to think back and say, "wow, what was I exposing my child to potentially"?
CHETRY: I know. I know. Tough for Stephanie.
Meanwhile, we're going to be following other stories this morning, one, of course, is that it's cyber Monday. And, of course, often times the feeling that you want to spend money, especially when you see those discounts there, but how do you actually do it and stick within the budget this time of year?
Christine Romans with some great ideas for us coming up.
Also, let's take a look at the snow in the country's midsection right now. Very chilly start to the week in the east. Reynolds Wolf will be along with the forecast, as well.
43 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: There it is. One weekend left in college football's regular season and there's a new top team to tell you about. Auburn replaced Oregon as number one in the BCS standings, after coming from 24 points down to beat 'Bama on Friday. A win over South Carolina next Saturday in the SCC championship game and the Tigers get to play in the BCS title. CHETRY: Congratulations. Well now to the pros. An ugly moment on Sunday's game between the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans. Houston's Andre Johnson, he's in the dark blue; Tennessee's Cortland Finnegan in the white; toe-to-toe at the line of scrimmage. Well, then the helmets come off, the fists fly. Wow, a personal foul and ejections for both of them. No action yet from the NFL.
I can't imagine that's going to go unpunished.
ROBERTS: No, you can bet there probably will be some action, no question about that. Wow.
CHETRY: It went from a football game to a WWE match.
They were arguing about how best to make the gravy.
ROBERTS: And how they were arguing about was how best to make the gravy.
(CROSSTALK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Still to come this morning, 30 years ago next week, we lost John Lennon. He was gunned down outside his New York apartment by Mark David Chapman. Coming up in our next hour, we're going to hear from the killer's wife. Yes, he is still married.
CHETRY: Wow.
And just five weeks until the new year. So what can you do now to save money on this year's taxes? I know it's the last thing you want to hear about, but, you know what, some good thinking now might save you money later. We've got the answers coming up. Fifty minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Seven minutes until the top of the hour. Time to get caught up right now on what you do for the holidays, making sure that you spend what you have. Don't spend more than you don't intend to, and don't end up in the red come the new year.
ROBERTS: Exactly. Christine Romans is author of, "Smart is the New Rich," and she joins us now, live, with ways that we can get more of the bang for our buck.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I wrote that little book and "USA Today" reviewed it and said, Christine Romans' new book will coax out your inner-cheapskate." That was (INAUDIBLE) for about two minutes and I said, wait a minute --
ROBERTS: That's a compliment.
ROMANS: It is. I'm going to embrace cheapskate because --
CHETRY: Or, you can just say frugal.
ROMANS: Frugal. It can be good for you. You have to be. One person's cheapskate is another person's smart shopper.
Check it out.
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ROMANS (voice-over): There's never been a better time to be a cheapskate. The economy gives you cover to pinch your pennies.
(on camera): Let's be serious. There are some people who need to be a cheapskate, they need to prioritize because the same amount of money isn't coming in for a lot of families.
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Oh, I totally agree. And these days being a cheapskate is really a moniker for being a smart shopper. And there's nothing wrong with it.
ROMANS (voice-over): But don't tell that to the retailers. There's pressure to spend and spend often everywhere.
LISA CAVANAUGH, USC MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: As a gift recipient most people are very mindful of the state of the economy and how that might be affecting people's ability or propensity to give.
ROMANS: So when you choose to spend, choose wisely. By one economist's count, $13 billion is wasted on unwanted gifts each year in the U.S., $25 billion worldwide.
JOEL WALDFOGEL, AUTHOR, "SCROOGENOMICS": I'm certainly not advocating taking Santa Claus away from children. But I think being aware that spending often results in things that people don't want could give people pause to think, well, do I want to buy that?
ROMANS: If you have small children and you know exactly what they want, then go for that great gift. If you want to make the gift for your spouse a stunner, go for it. But don't spend yourself into the poor house everywhere else.
(on camera): How do you make sure that you have psyched yourself up to avoid the guilt of maybe not giving as much as you usually do?
GARDERE: I think the answer is actually in the question. Psyching yourself, in other words, looking at what your mindset is. A lot of us have a lot of values around, if we don't give the way that we feel that we should, that we do feel that guilt. A lot of that guilt is self-imposed guilt because whatever you're giving, most people will appreciate it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: So how do you do a cheapskate holiday season the right way? Prioritize. So much of the stress of the holidays comes from spending like crazy and setting high expectations. Next, set a budget. Decide the menu for the meal with the presents for under a tree, a handful of other gifts. Decide all that early. And don't buy anything that's not on that list. Make a list, check it twice.
Finally, if you have kids, concentrate on the one or two big gifts they really want. Figure out how to cut back elsewhere to get those gifts for the kids. For the rest of the family, thoughtful gifts, get creative, raid the attic. If you can't afford to pay it off in three months, you can't afford it. If you can't afford it, don't buy it.
Why are you laughing at me? Seriously, go upstairs, find a great picture of all of your great-grandparents. Get it digitally restored, print it out for all of your brothers and sisters, give that to them. Find something that really means something to them. Or give a gift, something that reminds you of your sisters and brother or your childhood.
CHETRY: You're right. Those are good. I was laughing because I'm thinking if we raid our attic, we'd be like, here's this old baby bouncer. Congratulations.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Not what I mean. Look for something that might be under your nose. We have a lot of stuff already.
ROBERTS: I'll tell you, creative and thoughtful really is the way to go. And for very little money you can give something that they're going to remember forever.
ROMANS: And if you can't afford it you can't afford it. Don't put yourself -- nobody wants you to go in the poor house to buy them something that they don't need.
ROBERTS: Good to see you this morning. Good tips.
ROMANS: Thanks.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way after a quick break.
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