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Suspicious Packages Found at Boston Airport; Major Storm Pounds Western United States; Military Clash Along Korean Border; No Match in Natalee Holloway Case

Aired November 23, 2010 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Kate Bolduan.

Kate, you were all over this, this week. We're going to put a punctuation on it. Want to give you a quick update on two breaking stories, one out of Boston.

Two suspicious packages found inside this terminal at Logan Airport. You know by now it has sparked all kinds of panic. In fact, crews evacuated the building there. Well, the good news, we have the all-clear, but we're now getting those details as to what exactly happened.

I want to go to Allan Chernoff. He's in New York for us with the latest.

And, Allan, fill me in. What the heck happened?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: What happened was a TSA canine unit detected something suspicious in two duffel bags. This was at the Delta cargo building. That's about a mile away from all the passenger terminals at Logan Airport in Boston. These bags had mailing addresses in Nigeria.

Now, we don't know yet whether indeed they were destined for Nigeria, but those were the mailing tags on them. What happened was the bomb squad came. The building was evacuated. The bomb technicians went in. They cut the bag open after X-raying the two bags. Then they photographed and did a hand search.

The state police tell us bedding material was inside. They can't tell us whether that means blankets, quilts, sheets. We just don't know yet.

BALDWIN: Hmm.

CHERNOFF: However, all clear, and, indeed, the spokesperson at Logan Airport ended this with a bit of humor, saying that the -- the threat level has been lowered to squat.

(LAUGHTER)

CHERNOFF: Brooke. BALDWIN: It's good we can laugh about it now. I know a lot of people were frightened earlier.

Allan Chernoff, thanks for the good news with the all-clear.

By the way, we have sort of a fortuitous booking. We're talking to the head of the TSA this hour. And I will talk to John Pistole about what happened today, and, obviously, the security we're all going through in the airports right now. That's later on.

Also developing right now, we're keeping our eye, as I'm sure you are, depending on where you live, on the weather. Look at this, powerful storms rocking many, many parts of the country. You see the white stuff -- obviously, blizzard warnings for several states. Tens of thousands without power. Out West, the weather even caused a cargo plane to overshoot the runway.

We are monitoring the roads and the skies for you as Americans make their way home for Thanksgiving. And coming up, I'm going to be talking with a chopper pilot in Seattle. Apparently, he hasn't seen anything this bad this early in the year. Obviously, he has a front- row seat to that mess. We will be talking to him.

But, first, a South Korean news agency is calling it the first direct artillery attack on their territory since the Korean war half- a-century ago. North Korea pounded a South Korean island with rounds of fire today. Two South Korean marines were killed. Fifteen South Korean soldiers and civilians were wounded.

Forest areas, more than 60 buildings set on fire. You see the huge smoke there, flames as well. Look, this all started when North Korea fired about 100 rounds of artillery at Yeonpyeong Island. Now, South Korea then responded with more than 80 rounds in return, and they also deployed some fighter jets.

So, the back-and-forth firing lasted about -- about an hour, hour-and-a-half there in the Yellow Sea. There is also speculation now developing later on today that this action, coupled with reports this week that North Korea has that highly advanced new uranium enrichment facility, really trying to send a message to the U.S.

And that notion was addressed today by the State Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK TONER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: What happened overnight was an unprovoked military attack on both Korean military personnel, as well as civilians.

Our condolences go out to those who lost their lives and their families and loved ones. But, moving forward, we're going to take a measured and unified approach. We're going to work with China. We're going to work with all our six-party partners on -- on -- on our response.

But, again, just to stress, it's going to be a measured and unified response. We have seen this story before. And I -- I -- you know, your -- your question is -- is right on the money. We're -- we're not going to buy into this reaction/reward cycle that North Korea seeks to perpetuate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, CNN's Stan Grant, he's in South Korea for us. We will get to Stan in just a second, but, first, let's go back in time.

Want to you back to 1945. It's a big year. We all know that year, right, end of World War II. Help you understand why Americans should really care about what's going on in this part of the world. You see, when Japan surrendered in World War II, the U.S. occupied the southern half of the peninsula. The USSR had the northern half.

So, within three years' time, separate governments were established. Kim Jong Il is the president of North Korea, and China is now their main ally, their main trading partner. And so it was those two, China and North Korea, who fought against U.S. and South Korean troops back in the Korean War.

Well, today, the U.S. has more than 28,000 troops deployed there in South Korea. And some of those very American troops were actually helping South Korean troops today carrying out that war exercise in the Yellow Sea. And even though North Korea knew ahead of time about this particular exercise there on that island, they launched an attack that led to all of these hostilities.

Let's now go to Stan Grant for us in South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: North Korea is ratcheting up the rhetoric after the military confrontation. It is calling South Korea a puppet group, saying that South Korea had been carrying out war exercises near the island, and that's why it decided to respond.

It said it had called on South Korea to stop the shelling. And that's when North Korea intervened. It's saying that any more provocation from South Korea will be met with military muscle, that they will respond with military might and there will be all-out confrontation if there is more provocation from South Korea.

South Korean officials, of course, have been bunkered down themselves, looking at just how they can respond to this, calling for calm, not wanting to provoke the situation, but also saying that they cannot respond just with words.

Watching on, of course, other parties in the region. China and the United States in talks right now. The U.S. envoy, Stephen Bosworth, has been in the region trying to look at a way -- way through, a way forward, with North Korea.

Watching on warily as well is Japan. It has its own tense relationship with North Korea. North Korea in the past has talked about being able to fire missiles, missiles directly to Tokyo. Now, I'm standing here at the port of Incheon, about 70 kilometers from the island itself. And we have seen people evacuated who were there when the attack actually took place. They have been coming ashore, many of them elderly, saying they are shocked and they are saddened, one elderly lady saying that she had to leave all of her possessions behind.

So, right now, a very tense situation, always volatile, it is right now on a knife edge.

Stan Grant, CNN, Incheon, South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Stan, thank you.

Coming up next hour here in the NEWSROOM, I'm going to talk to John Park. Park is this guy very much so well respected on foreign policy in this part of the world. So, I'm going to ask him, you know, were these actions actually a message to the U.S., and, if so, perhaps what our response should be. That is next hour in the NEWSROOM.

And just in time for Thanksgiving holiday and a busy, busy travel season, you have this winter storm slamming into the West, causing all kinds of damage. In fact, these are live pictures obviously from the skies from our affiliate out of Seattle. At least it looks like sunny skies there today. Maybe this -- some of this stuff will be melting. I'm heading that way in a couple of days. I'm curious as well. We're going to have a live report coming up.

And have you heard about this story? We're calling it the big dupe. Did the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai -- there he is -- did he meet with a lowly Afghan shopkeeper, thinking this guy was the head of the Taliban? No way, right?

We're digging down on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.

Here's a concept for you: negotiating peace with an impostor. I know, it sounds crazy, but that is what's been going on in Afghanistan. Afghan officials say a guy they thought was a top Taliban commander, a guy they had been having these secret talks with about maybe how to end this nine-year war, is not exactly who they thought he was.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is investigating this one.

And, Chris, I mean, let's just talk about what was given to this guy, apparently a -- a bunch of money. He was flown in this NATO plane to Kabul. I mean, what -- what more do we know was -- was given to him?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's all kinds of conflicting stories.

I mean, there's -- the -- according to "The New York Times," it's a Western diplomat who was involved in these discussions who says, yes, we gave him a lot of money. Meanwhile, an official here at the Pentagon, a senior defense official, says, you know, the U.S. did not give this man any money.

But, first, let's back up and tell you who he was supposed to be. He was supposed to be this man named Mullah Mansour. Basically, this guy would have been the second highest ranking person in -- in his Taliban organization, just under Mullah Omar. So, he was -- he was believed to be very much a high-value target.

They had, you know, two to three meetings with him, you know, but it took that long, according to "The New York Times," for someone to realize this was not Mullah Mansour that they were talking to.

BALDWIN: And do we know, Chris, at what point somebody sort of raised a red flag? You know, when did the doubts arise that they said, hang on a second, this isn't exactly Mr. Mansour, is it?

LAWRENCE: Again with the conflicting stories.

(LAUGHTER)

LAWRENCE: You know, Afghan -- some Afghan officials are still saying it might be him. U.S. officials aren't necessarily ruling it out. They're saying they -- they still are -- are looking into this.

But there are other officials quoted by "The Times" who are there in Kabul who say, no, it's -- it's not him. They say it took until about the third meeting when someone who had known the real Mullah Mansour looked at him and said, I -- I don't think this is him.

But what it -- what it does, whether that -- this is true or not, it points to an even bigger issue, which is that most NATO and American officials have not seen most of the Taliban leadership in person. You know, there is no personal recollection or someone who can sit there and go, I know that man.

It -- also, one of the things that came up, according to "The Times," were the demands. They were sort of out of whack. The Taliban have been pretty insistent that any of their demands are going to have to involve foreign troops getting out of the country, whereas this man was saying, no, I just want Taliban leadership to be able to come back into Afghanistan...

BALDWIN: Mm-hmm.

LAWRENCE: ... give Taliban soldiers some jobs and release some prisoners.

So, that may have been a warning sign as well, that the demands were a literal bit more moderate than what they had been working with before. BALDWIN: Do we know, Chris -- and I think you sort of hit on this. You know, so far, the line from the Taliban has said, look, we're -- we're not talking. We're just going to keep fighting. Have the Taliban come out at all maybe since perhaps this story broke or even the story that Mr. Mansour allegedly was taking part in these talks, have they come out publicly and reacted to the news?

LAWRENCE: Nothing publicly.

But -- but, again, a lot of this, Brooke, is -- this is going to be a long time. You know, there was a lot of talk, you know, from General Petraeus, from senior defense officials here in the Pentagon, you know, sounding very, very positive about these reconciliation talks over the last month or two.

BALDWIN: Right.

LAWRENCE: And someone that I spoke with here just about an hour ago said, you know, this really shows this is a long slog. This is -- this may not pay of for two years down the road. So, if the American people are sitting at home thinking this is going to be a quick fix, you know, work some kind of deal, it doesn't look...

BALDWIN: It's not.

LAWRENCE: ... like that's going to be the case.

BALDWIN: It's not.

Final question, I guess -- and I know you said some Afghan leaders are still holding out hope this could be the guy, the number- two guy of the Taliban. We know, if it isn't Mr. Mansour, do we know who he is?

LAWRENCE: Well, according to "The Times" he's just a -- he's a shopkeeper. He's not a high-value target at all. And so that -- that still is something that needs to be looked into exactly by what means, you know, he was brought into the loop and -- and how this came to be.

BALDWIN: Talk of maybe being a -- a shopkeeper, maybe an agent from the Taliban, maybe Pakistani intelligence. We just don't know.

LAWRENCE: Yes.

BALDWIN: Let's stay on this story, because it certainly jumped out at us. There's an impostor talking with these high-level officials.

Chris Lawrence, thank you, from the Pentagon.

Here's a number for you. Over 40 million people will either be driving or flying somewhere for this holiday this week. But, if you're flying, the TSA is asking you this. Embrace the new airport security screening measures. We going to talk live to TSA's head guy, John Pistole, about what all of us should expect this week. That's ahead. And the president has left the Beltway in Washington, D.C., to put his focus back on the economy. Gloria Borger is all over the president's trip to a Chrysler plant in Indiana and a bunch of really excited schoolkids as well. That's what you're looking at.

We will be right back, CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.

Want to show you what happens when a group of schoolkids receive, not just one, but two very important people. This was shot late this morning in Kokomo, Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep moving back.

So, keep moving back. We're going to slowly walk back the entire (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Look at these kids jumping up and down. You would think it was Justin Bieber, but oh no. There's the president. There's the vice president. Kind of cool for -- for a day at school. Apparently, there's no school tomorrow, and today, of course, this visit from the number one, number two here for us in the United States.

President Obama went to the heartland today to really highlight the way his recovery program has benefited this one particular town. And, so, a -- a federal grant of some $90 million helped open this plant. You see him getting a tour today. And it makes parts for hybrid cars.

Bailout money allowed Chrysler to modernize this local transmission plant, which meant 1,000 workers were able to keep their jobs. And, today, Chrysler announced it's pumping another $800 million into local operations.

And, so, the president chose this moment to hail the return of the U.S. auto industry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today each of the Big Three automakers has increase their market share -- each of them. For the first time in over a decade, Americans are buying a larger share of Chryslers, Fords and GM cars and a smaller share of their foreign counterparts...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: ... for the first time. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: ... in a decade.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We're coming back. We're on the move.

All three American companies are profitable and they are growing. As some of you read last week GM's stock offering exceeded expectations, as investors expressed their confidence in a future that seemed so dim just 18 months ago. And as a result, the Treasury was able to sell half of its GM stock.

So here's the lesson: Don't bet against America.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Don't bet against the American auto industry.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Don't bet against American ingenuity. Don't bet against the American worker.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Don't bet against us.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Obviously, a lesson that the president is touting today.

I'm sure Gloria Borger noticed that as well, our CNN senior political analyst.

And, Gloria, I mean, we saw the president come out after GM went public last week talking about all these jobs created. Of course, again, today, we're hearing narrative of resurgence, resurgence of the American auto industry.

And I have a feeling this is not the end of the last time we hear about this.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: No. I -- I was looking at the -- the great pictures of the president with the schoolchildren.

And I kept on thinking back to my years in school in show and tell, right?

BALDWIN: Right.

BORGER: Remember that? This is a little bit of show and tell here.

BALDWIN: Huh.

BORGER: The president is going to Kokomo, Indiana, where unemployment is down 8 percentage points since 2009, and trying to sell the success of what he's done.

You notice he doesn't use the word bailout. Bailout was a really, really bad word during this last election. But what he's doing is, he's saying, look, we invested in General Motors. We invested in Chrysler, $17.4 billion, to be exact. And look at what's happening now. The auto industry is turning around. We're beginning to see a change in the economic equation.

And that's the challenge that he faces over the next two years, which is not only getting unemployment down, but convincing the American public that what he did is actually showing results right now.

BALDWIN: Now, here's something else that the president said, Gloria -- quote -- "There were those who wanted to give up on the auto industry, voices telling us to do nothing."

Who do you think those voices...

BORGER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Who were those voices, Gloria Borger?

(LAUGHTER)

BORGER: Take a guess. Take a guess. You know, he's obviously referring to congressional Republicans. And he's obviously going to make the case now that what he did in the stimulus package really turned out well.

He couldn't do that -- you know, the irony is, here, he's just lost 63 seats in the House, right? He couldn't do that very well during this last election, because, if you talked about bailout, you would get booed. And so now he's -- he's turning the page. And he's saying, OK, heading into 2012, we're going to look back on what we did, and we're going to see the results.

So, what we're seeing right now in its own way is the beginning of his own campaign for reelection.

BALDWIN: Hmm.

BORGER: And -- I hate to say it, but we are there.

And, also, this is a talking point for him with congressional Republicans, as they head forward and try and figure out what to do next to continue to create jobs in this economy.

BALDWIN: And, obviously, you know, look, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you want to create those jobs. The message and the intent is the same.

But, you know, you talk about how this can be the beginning of the campaign for the president. What -- how would you counter that message if you're Republican?

BORGER: Well, if you're a Republican, you would say that it was too much government intervention, that the marketplace would have taken care of itself, and you didn't need to spend $787 billion and add so much to the federal deficit.

And some Democrats would say to you, you know what? We didn't stimulate the economy enough. If we had added more stimulus to the economy, we might be seeing more of a recovery, we might be seeing the jobless rate go down.

So, this is an argument that's going to continue. But, with Republican control of the House, you can be sure that there's not going to be another large stimulus package going forward.

BALDWIN: Well, we need those jobs. And no matter what aisle you're on...

BORGER: We do.

BALDWIN: ... you're going to agree with that.

Gloria Borger for us in Washington -- Gloria, thank you.

BORGER: Sure.

BALDWIN: Let's talk weather, shall we? Look at this winter storm. Imagine driving through this stuff. I guess, if you live there, you're used to it. I'm not -- slamming part of the West as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday travel season.

We're going to have a live report from Seattle just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This excludes that the bone matter belongs to Natalee Holloway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Another letdown for the Holloway family. That jawbone we have been talking about found on that beach in Aruba not -- not -- connected to Natalee Holloway. We will get an update for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, a couple of stories moving this hour.

First, let's get to this disappointing news, because, really, that's what it is, in the five-and-a-half-year-old Natalee Holloway mystery. It turns out that bone that was found on an Aruban beach this month is human, but not Natalee Holloway. Scientists in the Netherlands compared the piece of jawbone to Holloway's dental records and determined no match.

Holloway's family says they still hope to one day learn what happened to their daughter.

North Korea fired artillery shells. South Korea fired back. Two South Korean troops are dead. This is the two countries' deadliest exchange of fire in years. Watch the explosion with me. This is a North Korean shell hitting a civilian shopping center. You see that massive explosion there, all the smoke?

Houses and trees burned for hours and hours after this barrage. It happened during a military exercise near the tense border the two Koreas share on this teeny-tiny island. International diplomats are urging both sides to show restraint, despite very aggressive language from both directions about who is to blame and how to retaliate.

And we're still getting some details about this, this hour, but here's what we know. This loaded magazine, you know, the -- the part of an automatic weapon that holds the ammunition, it was found on a Southwest Airlines plane that landed in Phoenix.

Who found it? Lo and behold, some CNNers just who happened to be on that flight. And they say a kid was kicking it around. That -- that's how they saw it. They alerted the flight attendant. Three passengers were rescreened. So, it turns out the gun magazine belongs to a law enforcement officer who was on an earlier flight on the same plane, apparently misplaced it.

Airport and airline security is under a particularly strong light this holiday week, as you know.

And who best to talk to us about it today? How about the head of the TSA, the big guy in charge? John Pistole joining me in just a couple of minutes. We will talk to him about some of these stories unfolding today -- this, the Boston airport scare, and things you need to know about as you are traveling this week.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PISTOLE, ADMINISTRATOR, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: 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)

BALDWIN: There he is, the head of the TSA, selling the new airport security screening options for you, the passenger, even though even he admits the screenings can be a bit invasive.

But is the public buying it? I'm going to ask him. That's ahead. And a winter storm in the West is not so Thanksgiving, just in time for the holidays. Chad joins us next with the very latest on the weather.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Does it seem kind of early for this stuff? Maybe you're welcoming it. Maybe you like it. Maybe you're ready for a blizzard. I don't know about you. I don't know if I am.

A storm barreling out of the great northwest can give us precisely that. You're looking at some of these pictures. I believe this is from our Seattle affiliate. In fact we were hoping -- I'm sort of bummed to be honest. We were supposed to talk to a chopper affiliate out there, but apparently that's in wall-to-wall weather coverage.

I was reading, Chad Myers, a bunch of city busses stuck on highways. People had to ditch their cars, kids out of school. It's a mess.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's a mess, and it's a hilly town. You think about Seattle. It's down by Puget Sound. You get just a little bit away from Puget Sound and you start to see bumps, hills. And we just saw a couple shots here of city busses that were -- and the long ones, looks like it's got an accordion in the middle. They can't even make the corners.

BALDWIN: Hard to drive let alone with the ice.

MYERS: Let alone this is up against the stop sign and this won't come around because it's sliding back down the hill.

What they have now is a day that's not going to get up above 32. You asked for melting. The sun looks good, but you know what the sun does when the temperature is below 32? It makes icicles, you get a little bit of melting, and the shade comes in from a building area frozen again. So what was good an hour ago is now all refrozen

BALDWIN: I saw the sunshine and thought yes good news for Seattle, but not so much.

MYERS: Not so much. When I was a kid we'd have icicles in Buffalo, the sun would come out, melt and drip down but it wouldn't drip down to the ground. We had big stalactites and stalagmites coming up off the ground. And that's what these people are dealing with now.

They're going to get morning lows around 13. The low temperature ever, the lowest temperature ever in Seattle was six ever. I mean any day they've ever measured. So we're getting down close to single digits tonight in many spots.

BALDWIN: So this is rare. This is not a normal kind of thing for Seattle? MYERS: Correct. And let's not focus on this town. We have to focus further. Let's go to I-90 to Spokane. The morning low will be 10 below zero. I have many friends up in Sand Point, Idaho, because I go fishing up there. The morning low is 17 below. You can't run your boat or anything at 17 below.

BALDWIN: Do you go outside at 17 below? I'm such a wuss.

MYERS: If you go to Schweitzer Mountain you do a couple of runs and then warm up. You can play in it, but you have to be careful because at a certain temperature, it might be 10 or 15 depending on the salt, salt no longer works. It was a salted road, got too cold. Even salted ice will refreeze at some point.

BALDWIN: So what part of the country are we talking? Generally the Pacific Northwest or specifically north Washington?

MYERS: I had blizzard conditions in Salt Lake City a little bit ago. And snow on the benches. Great snow for skiers. All you have to do is get to the ski resort last Friday and you are having a ball today, six and a half feet in Lake Tahoe. Talk about heavenly, Lake Tahoe, the north and south. All around Lake Tahoe, six feet brand new snow.

Salt Lake City, there are the benches. If you've never flown into Salt Lake City there's a low bowl.

BALDWIN: Beautiful flying in there.

MYERS: And the mountains now are dusted -- dusted a relative term with feet of snow.

BALDWIN: Hopefully the end of the show -- I don't know if it will be in wall to wall, but I would love to get the perspective of this helicopter pilot out in Seattle to hopefully we can talk with him at the very end.

MYERS: There's just one problem after another. If we don't get him we'll go to traffic.com and I'll show you the big red triangles that skid off the road. That's why he's busy.

BALDWIN: Yes, he is. Very busy indeed.

Charlie Sheen -- there's really no segue there -- Charlie Sheen answering a lawsuit filed against him by a porn actress with one of his own. The actress Capri Anderson, he says trying to extort $1 million from him after their stay at that Ritzy New York hotel. That's part of trending. That is ahead with Brooke Anderson.

And if you're traveling by air and have to go through that extra screening, do you opt for the full body scan or the invasive pat-down, or does any of this really help prevent a terror attack? I'll talk to the head of the TSA making the rounds, John Pistole. Our interview is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: The TSA pat-downs have been characterized as intrusive and as a necessary evil. But the real question is this. Are they an effective way to prevent terror attacks? And who better to ask than the head of TSA John Pistole.

And John, first, before I get to all of that, with everything that happened today at Boston's Logan airport. We know the good news, it's all clear. Apparently the TSA doing some drills today. But there was a huge hazmat presence. What can you tell me about that and what can you tell me about it?

JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: Brooke, frankly a little difficult to hear because they're making an announcement at the airport. I heard about the cargo in Boston if that's what you're referring to.

BALDWIN: Yes. What can you tell me about that?

PISTOLE: During routine screening of cargo packages at Logan Airport, a k-9, a dog alerted on a package. We followed the normally protocol of having an EOD, explosive ordnance disposal team respond and address that in a way that would render it safe if it was an explosive device.

BALDWIN: So with the hazmat team and crews that swooped in, was that standard operating procedure or is that elevated as well now with the TSA?

PISTOLE: That's the standard procedure, Brooke. It's just I think there's obviously a lot of attention on anything like that given the recent cargo plot out of Yemen, the two packages destined for the U.S. So anything where there is an alert using our normal protocols just causes a lot of attention. So this is what we do to make sure that Americans are safe and the cargo is safe.

BALDWIN: Got it.

Let's switch gears, sir. All these complaints -- and I know you are intimately familiar with them with regard to some of these pat-downs. You yourself said they are invasive and a necessary evil, if you will. I'm just curious -- do you think a bunch of Americans are really just wimps when it comes to all of this extra security?

PISTOLE: Well, Brooke, of course I think everybody wants to travel safely and securely. So it comes down to what is the best way of doing that.

And as I've said, I think reasonable people can disagree as to where that security and privacy come together. For you or for me, we may have different comfort levels about that just based on our own experiences.

So it really comes down to everybody agrees they want to arrive safely. Everybody also agrees they want to know everybody else on that flight has been thoroughly screened, and everybody else wants to make sure you and I have been thoroughly screened also. So that's the dynamic tension that we're dealing with.

BALDWIN: We're looking at some of the pictures and people are very much so being screened. That level is up. I hear the airport's announcement over you talking about that level. But let me ask you this --- what if the terrorists -- play the "what if?" game with me. What if a terrorist put a bomb inside his or her body? Then what when it comes to TSA screening? Where do you draw the line?

PISTOLE: And obviously, Brooke, we're not in the business of doing those type of searches. The -- what we know, informed by intelligence is that we have not seen those types of devices. There was a report about -- there was attempted assassination of a Saudi deputy minister of the interior. That was not a body cavity bomb as some people have reported.

And we know even if there is something like that, there has to be some type of external initiator. And that's the benefit of the advanced imaging technology. It will pick up those anomalies that would allow for detection and deterrence of somebody trying to blow up a plane and killing hundreds of people.

BALDWIN: Looking at the situation, John, you're almost, as head of the TSA, you're damned if you do and if you don't. You're damned if you do the invasive and pat-down and the body scan but if you have don't and heaven pho bid a terrorist gets on the plane if you don't have the practices in place perhaps this is TSA being reactive, not proactive.

Do you have intel this is what we have to do based upon x, y and z?

PISTOLE: Clearly we know Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are particularly focused on aviation just going back to last Christmas or the cargo plot that we saw. So there is a clear intent.

And we also know they're very adept at designing and especially concealing nonmetallic bombs that would not be picked up on a walk through metal detector. So the regimen we have in place gives us the best possible opportunity in a multiple layer of security to protect, deter and prevent a terrorist from blowing up a plane.

BALDWIN: But I imagine, Mr. Pistole, you also have to have additional intelligence, not just based upon past incidents.

PISTOLE: No, no. Obviously, Brooke, there is a current threat stream just talking about interest in aviation. We're also informed by al the covert testing that's been done really over the last five years by other agencies that have been successful in getting through our security primarily because we were not thorough enough in our pat- downs.

So given that information coupled with the two attempts we know of, coupled with additional intelligence, that's what we're dealing with. We're really looking for partnership with the American people.

BALDWIN: Right, right. Let me get one more question in there. You pointed out the parcel bomb plot originated in Yemen and underwear bomber last Christmas. We got a great question if we could roll over this way because one person has this question. "Since 99 percent of the last attempts to blow up a plane came from outside the U.S., shouldn't this process be set up in those countries? Mr. Pistole, how do you explain that, other countries?

PISTOLE: It's a great question. And so we work with other countries to have the same level of security screening there. But we know that all countries are not the same, and just as if we different capabilities here.

So we work with those countries to make sure they do especially on the last point of departure if there's a plane leaving the country and coming directly to the U.S., they have to have layers of security like we do.

And we also recognize given the age of the internet and availability of information on how to construct and design bombs that unfortunately, that somebody here in the U.S. could do something bad just like we saw with Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, or Timothy McVeigh, Oklahoma City, Eric Rudolph in the south in terms of Centennial Park and other bombings. It's not just limited overseas.

In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to address any of these things, but we don't live in that word.

BALDWIN: John Pistole, head of TSA, appreciate it. Live from Washington.

Cambodia mourning the loss of hundreds and hundreds of lives after that deadly stampede. We told you the story. It was a breaking story this time yesterday. There was a water festival. Millions are in the capital city, hundreds injured. What caused this stampede? We'll get a report ahead.

Also, lawsuit versus lawsuit -- actor Charlie sheen sues a porn actress for extortion a day after she sues him for battery and false imprisonment. We're going to have the back and forth in "Trending," all the drama coming up.

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BALDWIN: Time for a look at what is trending today. We have breaking news on Charlie Sheen. We have a controversy surrounding "Dancing with the Stars." I bet you know what that's about. And might there be a surprise performance at the royal engagement party?

Brooke Anderson who hosts the HLN show "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" is live in L.A. with more on these fascinating stories. And Brooke, if only we could head to the royal engagement party together. We could be dates and go and have a good time.

BROOKE ANDERSON, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": That's right. It's going to be quite a party too. I'll get to that.

BALDWIN: Quite a party. We'll get to that in a minute. First Charlie Sheen. What do you have?

ANDERSON: Let's start with the Charlie Sheen saga, Brooke. Porn star Capri Anderson we have now learned a criminal complaint against Charlie Sheen in New York City yesterday the NYPD confirms to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" and tells us the complaint accuses Charlie of harassment.

This comes after Charlie filed a lawsuit against her yesterday claiming that she has been trying to extort $1 million from him. In the legal papers Charlie calls this woman "opportunistic" and says that she is a "publicity hungry scam artist."

OK, all of this turmoil stems from an incident last month at the plaza hotel in New York City. Capri claims that she was hired by Charlie to escort him to a party. She says Charlie was drinking heavily and snorting a white powdery substance.

She claims that later she got violent and put his hands around her throat. Charlie's lawyer, of course, denies all the allegations saying that Capri is just trying to cash in on his celebrity. Charlie also claims that this woman stole his $165,000 watch.

Brooke, it almost doesn't seem real, any of this. But, you know, I'm holding the legal documents right here in my hand, and it is real and it is ugly.

BALDWIN: Very real and very good ratings for Mr. Sheen, I bet, still, for his show.

ANDERSON: That's right.

BALDWIN: Also with great ratings "Dancing with the Stars." There has been all kind of buzz about that. No matter who you think should win a lot of people are watching.

ANDERSON: That's right. We may see somebody win, brooke, who has zero performance experience and who has consistently scored low from the judges. Bristol Palin may win the entire thing. She had the lowest scores out of the three finalists in last night's show. Jennifer Grey, on the other hand, scored perfect tens for both of her performances.

Judge Len Goodman, he said she's heading for that mirror ball trophy. I'm not so sure about that, Len. Kyle Massey came in second and Bristol Palin in third.

I have to tell you that "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" conducted an exclusive poll, and we asked if Bristol Palin winning "Dancing with the Stars" would hurt the show, and 77 percent said yes and 23 percent said no.

BALDWIN: Wow.

ANDERSON: People are stunned that she's made it this far. But the fact of the matter is the show is partly a popularity contest. Viewer votes account for 50 percent, and she has a whole lot of momentum heading into tonight.

BALDWIN: She does. We'll be watching to see who wins.

And, finally, the big royal announcement we were talking about. What is the big news?

ANDERSON: That's right. Prince William and Kate Middleton will be married next April. And listen to this. According to reports in U.K. tabloids and hip-hop websites, Snoop Dogg, yes, Snoop Dogg in talks to perform at their engagement party.

You may ask, what in the world could prince William have to do with Snoop Dogg? Well, I want to connect the dots for you. Before you go writing this off, I want to add it's Prince Harry who is reportedly planning the party, which they say will have a hip-hop theme. It makes more sense that it could be Harry doing this.

He apparently wants snoop and another one of his favorite British rapper to perform. Of course, in addition to being the better known partier of the brothers, Harry has never hidden his love of hip-hop. But William is a fan of hip-hop, too. Remember that big 2007 charity concert, that was spearheaded by William and he brought in Kanye West for that show.

BALDWIN: You know they'll be there for advice.

ANDERSON: Snoop Dogg with the polite, proper, royal family.

BALDWIN: I'm not seeing it, Snoop Dogg.

ANDERSON: I love it.

BALDWIN: That's good scoop, Brooke Anderson. Thank you, live from Hollywood.

ANDERSON: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Look at this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can exclude that the bone baone might have belonged to Natalee Holloway.

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BALDWIN: More bad news for the family of Natalee Holloway. Part of that jawbone that was found on the Aruban beach is not that of the missing teenager. We'll get a live report for you from Aruba. That is ahead.

And Cambodia declaring a national day of mourning after the stampede at that water festival killed hundreds of people and injured hundreds more. That report is next.

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BALDWIN: This horrific story was breaking on this program just about this time yesterday. In Cambodia, that massive water festival and all the crowd and human stampede and hundreds of people died.

Here's what we now know today here about 24 hours letter. We can see it better in the daylight. The narrow bridge was crammed with people when panic suddenly spread through this crowd. People who watched it happen said victims were jumping off the bridge, pushed off the bridge into the water below. Hundreds more were caught up in a crush they simply could not escape.

Here are the numbers as we know them at this point in time -- the death toll 345 people, 345 dead. More than that number, we're told, are injured, and all this happened during this enormous annual festival in Cambodia, the water festival attended by just about 4 million people.

And we have all your political news making headlines for you today. Your Political Ticker with Ed Henry -- aren't we lucky? Ed Henry is next.

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