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CNN Sunday Morning

Threats Close U.S. Embassy in Yemen; Iran's Crackdown on Protesters

Aired January 03, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's January 3rd.

Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.

RICHARD LUI, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, good morning to you. I'm Richard Lui, in for T.J. Holmes this weekend. Thanks for starting your day with us.

Breaking news for you out of Yemen: First, the U.S. embassy there has closed its doors after it issued warnings to U.S. citizens earlier this week to be on alert for possible attacks. The president has already blamed al Qaeda in Yemen for the failed Christmas Day Northwest Airlines attack and the U.S. military top brass, General Petraeus, there just held a meeting with Yemen's president.

What can be done to stop al Qaeda from growing in the country? We will take a look there.

NGUYEN: Plus, can you say arctic blast? Well, you're going to feel it. Half of the nation is waking up with low temperatures either at/or below zero. Reynolds Wolf will have your forecast in just a few minutes.

Let's get to you to our top story right now. It is out of Yemen. As we just told you, the U.S. embassy there has closed because of threats from al Qaeda to attack American interests in Yemen. We'll get a live report from Dubai in just a home.

And we're also told that U.S. General David Petraeus met with the Yemeni president yesterday. He pledged his country's support for the investigation into the failed Christmas Day bombing. This comes after President Obama linked the attempted attack directly to Yemen. A bail hearing for the suspect Umar Abdulmutallab is scheduled Friday in Detroit.

And an intelligence hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is set for Tuesday.

LUI: Florida police have arrested a suspect here in the Thanksgiving murders. Paul Merhige, seen in this surveillance videotape here, was taken into custody at a motel about 200 miles from the crime scene last night. Police were reportedly tipped off to his whereabouts after an episode of "America's Most Wanted." Now, Merhige is accused of killing four family members, including his 6-year-old cousin. Relatives were relieved when they heard the news of his arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SITTON, MCKAYLAH'S DAD: It means I'll be able to sleep a little better tonight and I won't be patrolling the inside of my house with my shotgun waiting, you know, thinking that the monster is right around the corner. I've been in protective mode, and now that's he's captured, at least, you know, my family, we can even begin the healing process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: Merhige faces four counts of first-degree murder and at least one count of attempted first-degree murder.

NGUYEN: Well, an ultimatum from Iran. It is demanding that the West renegotiate a U.N.-backed deal aimed in keeping enriched uranium out of Iran or the Islamic Republican will go head and enrich nuclear fuel on its own. Now, the West has until the end of January, according to Iran to accept this proposal.

(MUSIC)

LUI: All right. More now on that breaking news from Yemen. The U.S. embassy there is closed following threats from al Qaeda.

Mohammed Jamjoom is joining us live now from Dubai.

And, Mohammed, what do we know about these threats against the embassy there?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, we heard today from the U.S. embassy, they are closing their doors because of unspecified threats from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is located in Yemen. They are basically ratcheting up the rhetoric. They are saying that they are going after American targets. One of those American targets would be the embassy.

This is not the first time that the American embassy has closed for an indefinite period of time in Yemen over the last several years. In fact, the embassy was attacked by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in 2008. So, there is a history there.

There are American targets that prime spots for attacks by groups like al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. And when there's a heightened threat level, as there is now, because of what's going on in the region, it is usually the case that the American embassy will close their doors -- Richard.

LUI: Now, it's not just al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula that we are talking about here, though. This is a hub for terrorism.

JAMJOOM: That's right. Yemen has increasingly become a magnet for terrorists, for militants. It's really become a hub. It's attracted a lot of those groups.

What you are seeing in Yemen now, it's a very poor country in a very rich neighborhood. A lot of the neighboring countries are very rich from oil money.

Yemen is not. Yemen is a poor country. It's got very porous borders. It's very easy to come in and go out. And it's also got a very weak and ineffective central government.

And because of that, it sort of is the perfect storm of conditions for militants and their groups to set up base there, to have camps, to train people, to plan attacks and to carry out those attacks. So, you are seeing all kinds of groups that have been refugees coming from Somalia. There have been a lot of al Qaeda-type groups and militants who have come in and set up a base there.

And only in the last year have regional neighbors and the U.S. really kind of taken notice and seen how dangerous the situation has become in Yemen and how difficult it's become for the government in Yemen to combat those terrorists -- Richard.

LUI: All right. Based on what you're saying there, that it looks like the Yemeni government does need some help. General David Petraeus there is meeting with the president.

What sorts of information do we have in terms of how much the United States will be involved in working with Yemen to combat terrorists?

JAMJOOM: Well, what's interesting, Richard, is in the last few weeks, because there have been air raids that have carried out by Yemen's government against al Qaeda targets, there's been a lot of mounting speculation that the U.S. has been involved more in these attacks than the U.S. would led on. The U.S. has said that they are supporting Yemen with intelligence and monetary aid.

Certainly, you've seen David Petraeus. He was there yesterday. He was also there in July. You've seen other high-level delegations go there in the past few months to pledge aid and support in Yemen's fight against terror.

But nonetheless, people are wondering what kind of a role the U.S. has played in the past few weeks. The U.S. has not confirmed that they've been involved in any kind of drone strikes or any kind of aerial support to Yemen's military, but a lot of people that think they have.

Now, you're seeing the U.S. saying that they might be planning retaliatory strikes, joint retaliatory strikes with Yemen's government against al Qaeda targets there. But at the same time, there's a conflicting message. Yemen's government is maintaining that any attacks that happen -- they may get backing from the Americans, intelligence from the Americans, but they will be doing this themselves.

So, what exactly will happen, we don't know yet. But it's clear that U.S. and Yemen are working together to try to battle al Qaeda in the region -- Richard.

LUI: All right. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom live in Dubai with the latest on what is happening in Yemen -- thank you so much.

(MUSIC)

NGUYEN: In other news, Iran is talking tough to the West. And as we mentioned just a few moments ago, it also is taking a hard line with some of its own people right now.

LUI: Yes, opposition protests turned deadly in Iran a week ago.

Our Reza Sayah is at the Iran desk with some new images from that day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For nearly a week now, Iranian officials have said the security forces did not fire weapons during mass protests last Sunday by the opposition movement. Now, new amateur video into the Iran desk reportedly from the Sunday protests indeed appears to show a security officer take aim with a weapon and fire.

Here's the video. The video appears to be shot by a person hiding behind the car looking down at an intersection. And in a few second, you're going to see what appears to be a gunman run into the intersection, take aim, fire and then run away. Moments later, he is chased by what looks like dozens of protestors.

According to Iran's state-run media, at least seven people were killed during the Sunday protests. Some run over by security vehicles.

But Iranian officials deny that security officers were responsible for the deaths. They say many of the deaths were either staged or accidents.

Among those killed: the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was shot and killed. Mousavi's Web site said on Saturday, key opposition figure Mehdi Karoubi visited him and his sister to pay his respects for his nephew's passing. The visit comes after Mousavi released his first statement after the Sunday protest. In that statement, Mousavi said he's ready to die for the movement.

Meantime, more threats from the hard-liners, this time from fired grand cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who, during Friday prayers, called the opposition movement and its supporters enemies of the regime and enemies of God and suggested they should be executed.

Over the past weeks, hundreds of opposition figures and their supporters have been arrested. Iran's state-run media say many of them will be put on trial in the coming days.

Reza Sayah at the Iran desk in Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, it's a big travel day. A lot of people are heading home after the holiday.

LUI: Yes.

NGUYEN: But there's also heading into a bit of mess. There's lots of ice and snow to report.

LUI: And it looks like it's all across the country. Let's go to meteorologist Reynolds Wolf, the big man.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys. The biggest problem we're going to have travel-wise is going to be parts of the northeast, due to some strong winds and some heavy snow in parts of Maine that could cause some backups at Logan Airport in Boston and other airports in places like New York.

But the other kind of traveling you might do, say, on foot in the Northern Plains -- parts of the Midwest, don't even bother. We'll snow you why coming up. Unbelievable cold air.

Back to you.

LUI: Yes, don't do that.

NGUYEN: All right. Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

LUI: And how difficult is it to get into the United States? The rules for getting a visa -- that's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

NGUYEN: Britney Spears -- but what was that?

WOLF: Sometimes, you start to lose control. I mean, I celebrate -- start to finish -- I celebrate her entire collection.

NGUYEN: I got you. I got you.

All right. Well, you know, a lot of people aren't celebrating today at the airport because of all this, you know, the snow and the ice. Is it really causing any airport delays at this point?

WOLF: In some places, yes. I mean, let's be honest. This is not the biggest travel day in the year, but there are a lot of people that are going to be heading home today.

NGUYEN: Yes, heading home.

WOLF: And think about the northeast corridor, if you happen to be in Boston and any of the New York airports, maybe even Philadelphia and then in D.C., you are going to see things stack up all due of the wind and because of the snow.

NGUYEN: Right.

WOLF: Some of the snow is coming in very heavy especially up in parts of upstate Maine, but in the Central Plains, it's not the stuff you can see. It's the stuff you can feel, the cold air. And I'm sure you felt it coming in today, didn't you?

NGUYEN: It was so cold this morning. I mean, there's no ice on the ground, you know? No snow. But, boy, you stepped outside and you just want to run back in.

WOLF: I know. And you know, it's funny -- some of the places where you think you can seek some refuge would be a spot like Florida.

NGUYEN: Yes.

WOLF: Well, take a look at this video that we have along the beach in Florida, in Clearwater where you got people out there, some wearing the bikinis, others bundled up. I mean, look at that. I mean, she's dressed like "Nanook of the North." I mean, why not?

I mean, you got the wind coming in. It's going to be a chilly day for you. Expect no major changes for the forecast for parts of Florida. Plenty of sunshine, sure, is mixing in with the sun and the clouds, but, lady, go get a jacket or go get a parka.

There you go. That's what I'm talking about, wearing a bikini. I mean, good times in July. But this time of the year, it's just nuts.

All right. Let's show you what we have in terms of that cold air. We're going to give you just some of the cold, hard numbers right now. And what we have for you is just startling in many places.

Fargo, we've been talking about you guys over the last couple of days. Certainly, today, is certainly worth mentioning, 25 degrees below zero. That doesn't include the wind chill. Twelve below in Duluth. Thunder Bay, 18 below; Green Bay and Milwaukee and Chicago, single digits for you; Des Moines, same deal; Omaha and Kansas City, single digits.

When you get back over to Denver, 28 degrees -- which seems warm all things considered. Denver later on today going to 40 degrees, not too bad.

But Kansas City, Minneapolis and Chicago, still in the teens or single digits. Tampa with 51; 63 in Miami.

So, again, that cold is going to be in place for quite a while. And when you factor in the cold air with the wind, here's what you have. You have a thing called the wind chill factor, which is the wind chill kind of feels what do feel like to the exposed skin. When you combine those factors, the cold air and the wind, it's going to feel like 10 to 20 degrees, even colder when you get into the Ohio Valley and into the Tennessee Valley. Meanwhile, for the rest of the day, here's what Betty was talking about in terms of your big delays. It's going to stem from this area of low pressure, bringing blizzard-like conditions for parts of Maine. The winds are going to keep planes on the tarmac, probably longer that you feel comfortable if you have to be traveling. But I would say, New York, D.C., many of these places might have some issues.

Miami, probably not. But we have a live image for you there. You may see some stray showers later in the day. We've got some clouds coupled with those highs that will be going in to 60s for south Florida.

All right. That is the latest on your weather story. As always, it gets busy on the weekends. I'm sure it will be pretty much the same for the week ahead.

Let's send it back to you.

NGUYEN: All right, Reynie, thank you so much for that.

WOLF: You bet.

NGUYEN: OK. So, which were the clips that we couldn't get enough of this year?

LUI: Well, we got Josh Levs...

NGUYEN: Lots of 'em.

LUI: Plenty of 'em. Let's go to Josh Levs.

NGUYEN: Viral video.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, man, I love this. So, this right here, one of the biggest YouTube stars of the year. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: I am going to tell you who this little baby is, plus the classic music video and the international phenom that can show you how to have your own viral video in 2010.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

NGUYEN: It is like you are doing this.

LUI: Yes. Beyonce gets a lot of people to move around. She got some good music.

NGUYEN: Yes, of all ages, apparently.

LUI: Yes, that's right. A lot of people have their goals set for 2010. For some, one of the big goals is to have a big viral video. That's what you're alluding to, right?

NGUYEN: Oh, you have got to see this video of a baby dancing to that song that we were just airing.

Josh Levs joins us now with some of the best video on the Internet.

Hey, Josh.

(MUSIC)

LEVS: All right. Let's break this down.

Some of the top videos of 2009, because, you know, the most likely way that you can have your own huge viral video in 2010 is the one that's really out of reach for basically everyone on Earth. The best way to have a huge viral video is to become an overnight international superstar sensation.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: We've seen this a lot of time, Susan Boyle on "Britain's Got Talent." She's from being unknown one day to the most watched and listen-to singer in the world the next day. And she was, it's official now, the number one viral video of the entire year, according to this right here, from TIME.com. They broke down the top 10 viral videos. We linked this at CNN.com on our main page.

All right. Now, it's time for Betty's favorite video. And another way to have a hit viral video is to capture image of a kid doing something awesome and hilarious. Watch this.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: There you go. There goes the kick. We are loving this.

This baby is getting down to Beyonce. This is baby is Cory Elliott (ph) from New Zealand. And as a result of this, his dad has actually created Web site now called SingleBabies.com.

(LAUGHTER)

LEVS: There you go. He keeps going. He doesn't stop.

NGUYEN: I love this child.

LUI: The head turn. He did the head turn, too.

NGUYEN: The kick is precious. Look at that.

LUI: There you go.

LEVS: This is like a future star of, what's the show, "You Think You Can Dance?" or something?

NGUYEN: Yes. Who knows. I mean, this child just got some moves early on. You got a baby, can yours do this?

LEVS: Not yet. Let's give it a few months.

NGUYEN: All right. You got to work on viral video of your own, Josh.

LEVS: Seriously. Yes. We're not going to do this one.

All right. We'll let you know. You can send us your favorite viral videos at any time. We got a competition going on at blog, CNN.com/Josh. Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN.

Always good to stop on a Sunday morning, put a smile on everybody's face. So, there you go. Dancing baby did it for the year.

NGUYEN: Yes, and we love it.

LUI: That woke us up. That was great.

NGUYEN: It sure did.

LUI: Not that we were asleep.

NGUYEN: Putting a smile.

LUI: Yes.

NGUYEN: We needed good news every now and then.

Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks, guys.

NGUYEN: OK. So, you probably sat in front of a television yesterday and watched some football. I'm sure many of you did.

LUI: A lot of football, lots to watch.

NGUYEN: There were lots of Bowl Games.

LUI: Yes.

NGUYEN: My goodness.

LUI: So, who had the play of the day, though? We got it for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Here are some of the top stories that we are following from overnight.

The U.S. embassy in Yemen is closed today in response to ongoing threats from al Qaeda to attack American interests in the country. Now, officials are not saying when they will reopen the embassy, but this announcement does come just a day after President Obama linked the Christmas Day bombing suspect to an al Qaeda group in Yemen.

LUI: And one of the oldest survivors of the San Francisco earthquake in 1906 has died. Jeanette Trapani was 107 years old. Her daughter is saying she was suffering from pneumonia. Trapani was only 6 years old when the quake hit. Much of San Francisco was left in ruins back in 1906.

NGUYEN: Well, the prayers have been answered for evangelist Rick Warren. The "Associated Press" says his mega church in southern California has raised -- get this -- a whopping $2.4 million just since Wednesday. That is more than enough to cover the Saddleback Church's $900,000 deficit and more, in fact, is expected to roll in. Warren made his plea for donations online.

Well, the failed bombing attempt Christmas Day has put our visa application process under a whole lot of scrutiny. But getting permission to come into the United States is still a hot ticket in many countries.

LUI: Yes. Our Sandra Endo takes a closer look at the process of deciding who comes in and who is kept out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Foreign entry into the United States, how difficult is it to get an admission ticket to America? Citizens in 35 countries don't even need a visa to gain entry as part of the visa waiver program that allows them a maximum 90-day stay.

But for those from other countries, travelers must apply for specific visas. There are temporary visas for tourists, business travelers, short-term employment and students. Each visa-type allows a person to stay in America for different lengths of time.

Longer term visa applicants need to show strong ties to their country of origin as proof they'll return home.

Student visas allow a person to say for the duration of their studies, and more than 650,000 foreign students attended U.S. colleges and universities last year.

Temporary worker visas, like the H1B, permit a three-year stay with roughly 100,000 issued per year.

The most common tourist or business visas allow a six-month stay.

Immigrant visas are for those looking to become a permanent U.S. resident. Those applicants need sponsors like an American relative or U.S. employer.

The U.S. State Department can deny a visa to individuals with criminal records, certain diseases or suspected terrorists.

The alleged Detroit bomber already had a visa, but some critic says the process needs to work better to keep the bad guys out. And that includes revoking or flagging a visa holder for secondary screening.

MICHAEL CUTLER, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: The chain is as strong as its weakest link. It starts with gathering intelligence. Next, it's the dissemination of the intelligence. Next, it's acting on the intelligence, both at embassies and at ports of industry.

ENDO: The demand for visas to the U.S. continues to increase, with 6.6 million non-immigrant visas issued in fiscal year 2008 and nearly 237,000 immigrant visas granted in 2009.

(on camera): One problem is people overstaying their visas. The Department of Homeland Security estimates roughly 4 million people are overstaying them right now. Congress is calling on the State Department to revamp its visa regulations and close loopholes.

In light of the Christmas Day plane bombing, the State Department now requires U.S. embassies abroad to find out if suspicious individual they're tracking also have U.S. visas. And the State Department may start automatically identifying airlines if a person's visa has been revoked.

Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, you can call it a reversed collection plate of sorts -- churches helping out in this economic crisis by giving back to parishioners.

LUI: And that is in our "Faces of Faith" segment, something we do every Sunday morning in the 8:00 a.m. hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

WOLF: OK.

LUI: That animation is always funny.

WOLF: It is freakish.

NGUYEN: It wears down the weekend.

WOLF: It makes dogs howl and makes children cry. It's a terrifying thing.

You know, on this time of the show, we often show people some wacky weekend events.

We're actually going to go back in time and show you something that happened just yesterday. It is the play of the day in from PapaJohns.com Bowl.

NGUYEN: I have not seen this yet.

WOLF: Oh, it's amazing. In Birmingham, Alabama, legendary Legion Field. Take a look at this.

UConn's Zach Frazer throws one down the sideline and Yukon's Kashif Moore makes the incredible one-handed catch and takes it for the 37-yard...

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF: Bear-sized poles (ph) and pulls that thing into his chest for the touchdown in round two, a 20 to seven.

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: Look at that.

WOLF: My goodness. Take a look at that. The focus on that...

LUI: And the balance after.

WOLF: Yes. Well, Frazer looked. The two-step drop, looked back, saw a man open. They just kind of blew their coverage, referring to the South Carolina Gamecocks, pulled them on the way to a 20-to-seven win. But just unbelievable.

There it is -- touchdown, a beautiful thing to see. And I'm happy for Steve Furrier, of course, of South Carolina Gamecocks, but for UConn Huskies, huge win, great catch. Our play of the day.

NGUYEN: Play of the day, no doubt.

All right, Reynolds, we'll be seeing you very shortly.

WOLF: You bet.

NGUYEN: CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in 30 minutes. But first, "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta starts right now.