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CNN Saturday Morning News

Attempted Terrorist Attack; Surviving the Tsunami: A Look Back; Snowstorm in the Plains Causing Travel Delays

Aired December 26, 2009 - 06:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this December 26th.

Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin, in for Betty Nguyen this weekend.

I hope you had a nice, long holiday weekend. Thank you for starting your weekend with us. Hope you're nice and cozy this morning.

We have a lot to get talking about this morning, including this big story, this attempt -- what the White House is calling this attempted terror attack on a Northwest Airline.

HOLMES: Yes, a developing story -- a fast-moving story, really, here. This was an attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on an inbound international flight.

This will affect you and your loved ones -- anybody you know that is trying to fly anywhere this weekend. You need to pay attention to this story. It will affect your travel plans.

Well, what happened here? A Nigerian man, accused of igniting a small explosive device as a Northwest flight from Amsterdam was trying to make its landing in Detroit. That plane was carrying some 278 passengers.

Our Kate Bolduan picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to a federal security bulletin obtained by CNN, this started when an in-flight emergency was called due to a fire indicator light.

(voice-over): And we're told this is a Nigerian national that ignited a small explosive device, but real questions remain about what type of device this was. Early reports from Delta Airlines was that it was firecrackers, but Congressman Peter King, who was recently briefed on the situation, said it was a fairly sophisticated device.

The FBI is leading the investigation and is obviously checking into this person's background and capabilities. According to this security bulletin, this man claims to have extremist affiliations and claims the device was acquired in Yemen, along with instructions as to when it should be used.

(on camera): He is in custody, taken to a local hospital to be treated for burns sustained from the explosion.

An administration official tells CNN it is just too early to know if this individual was part of any broader conspiracy. But, as a result of all of this, holiday passengers could be seeing additional security measures in place at airports in the coming days.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Well, you know, the president has to know every bit (ph) that's going on. He's been busy on vacation in Hawaii, but he has gotten some details during a secure phone call with some of his aides.

HOLMES: Yes. Had a discussion with key security advisers. He's staying up to date.

Our Senior White House Correspondent, Ed Henry, is traveling with the president. He's in Honolulu with more on this part of the story.

ED HENRY, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Brooke and T.J., senior officials tell CNN that the White House believes this was an attempted terror attack, and that's why even though he's on vacation here in Hawaii, the president has been getting secure briefings from the White House Situation Room back in Washington all the way here to Hawaii so he can stay on top of the situation.

It all started on Christmas morning, around 9:00, 9:30 in the morning here in Hawaii. That's five hours back from the East Coast where the president decided to convene a secure conference call with two of his top aides, John Brennan, his principal Homeland Security adviser, as well as Denis McDonough, the National Security Council staff.

We're told by White House spokesman Bill Burton that on that call the president ordered federal officials to do everything they can to increase aviation security all around the country. Officials say that could mean more canine dogs at security check points. It could mean officials taking a closer look at behavior, looking for people who may be acting suspiciously.

Obviously, all of this could cause more delays at airports during what has already been a very frustrating holiday travel season, but administration officials say that security is paramount, obviously, in this situation, the White House very sensitive also to making sure the president is on top of this situation even while he's on vacation.

He's obviously been talking a lot about the economy, health care in recent weeks and months, but the president himself has said publicly and his aides repeat privately that protecting the American people is always his first priority -- Brooke, T.J..

HOLMES: You just heard Ed allude to it there, but you are going to probably see some increased security at airports. The security threat level has not changed. We're still at orange. That's at high risk as far as flights go. But you could see some longer lines. It could take you a little longer to get through airport security. Screening is going to be even tougher.

Let's take a look at the plane here and where this incident happened -- precisely where it happened. He was in seat 19-A. Authorities say there's where 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was sitting on this Airbus 330. Again, it had 278 passengers on it.

The remains of the device -- now this is a big deal here. They're being examined at the FBI's explosives lab in Quantico, Virginia. Very important for the investigation there to try to figure out what he had so they can figure out exactly maybe what they need to look for as far as other possible passengers, any threats go, because something was able to get through airport security.

Now, several other passengers aboard that Northwest flight, they're talking about the incident. They talked about it after they got off the plane. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ILIANA SCHILKE, NORTHWEST PASSENGER: Well, we heard a loud pop and a bit of a smoke, and then some flames, then yelling and screaming.

ELIAS SAWAZ, NORTHWEST PASSENGER: There's a lady who shouted, "What are you doing? What are you doing to?" And then we looked back. There was some fumes and some flames.

ZEENA SAIGAL, NORTHWEST PASSENGER: And they said there's fire. Bring water. People bringing water. Then two of the hostesses brought fire extinguishers, and they put out (ph) the fire. And then one guy, a sturdy (ph) guy put out, you know, a lock on his head and dragged him to the front with pants (ph) down -- and I heard the pants (ph) were on fire. I thought they put it down because -- so that he can't run.

MELINDA DENNIS, NORTHWEST PASSENGER: He didn't say anything. He was injured. He was burnt quite severely on his leg. They were very careful in trying to make sure that he had nothing else on him, so it was easy to see that -- from the exposure that -- that he had gotten significantly burned.

He was very calm. He, you know, didn't show any reaction to pain or to any -- any feeling of shock or -- or nervousness, you know. He -- he just looked like a -- a normal individual.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Well, obviously part of the story is you hopping on a flight today and how this affects you. But the other side, of course, is security and terrorism, and CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen says this attempted terrorism attack comes at what has become quite a popular time of the year for these kinds of attacks -- that being Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: A lot of interesting things about this case. First of all, an attack on Christmas, which is, after all, a -- a major Christian holiday, by somebody associated with al Qaeda.

We've seen this before. Richard Reid, the so-called shoe bomber, also planned an attack very close to Christmas. And we also saw this with a guy called Ahmed Ressam who tried to blow up Los Angeles International Airport in the middle of Christmas. Luckily he was arrested at the Canadian border with a trunkful of explosives in his car in December of 1999.

But, obviously, attacking during the holiday season is designed to terrorize. Obviously, a factor in this guy getting on the plane and avoiding detection might have been the fact that on a holiday there's less -- you know, less attention paid to people, people not -- not the A-team on -- on the security shift, perhaps.

I thought it was very interesting that Representative King said this guy may have originated in Nigeria. If we know he's a Nigerian, but the -- the fact that his flight came from Nigeria is very interesting, because Nigeria's had a long history with having extremely poor airport security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And you should stick around this morning because we'll be talking with Terrorism Analyst Peter Bergen, tapping into his expertise, dig a little deeper on the story. That'll be coming up at the top of the next hour.

HOLMES: And we're asking for your thoughts out there as well about this incident, about the state of airport security in general. A lot of people out there are flying today, or at least -- I mean, everybody knows somebody who is probably flying in some way, form, or fashion. What do you think about some of these tighter security procedures today?

BALDWIN: Yes. We want to know how it affects you, and we know it has to. We just want to know how. Many of you are hopping on flights. My own brother hopping on a flight. I'm thinking about him. I'm sure you have (ph) your loved ones.

Tell us, let us know. Hop on our Facebook or blog. You can e- mail us. Let us know what airport you're in, and we want details. We want to know how the security's changing. We want to know the mood, the atmosphere. Are people just kind of going along with the flow? They understand why this is happening? Or -- or if any kind of kinks happen along the way.

We want to hear about that. Share your thoughts. You can find us on the CNN blog, Facebook, and of course, Twitter.

HOLMES: And it was one thing -- at first it seemed like just people were concerned about weather when it comes to travel. Now you...

BALDWIN: That was one story.

HOLMES: ... throw this into the mix. Reynolds still keeping an eye on weather and the weather could be, you know, on -- on top of all of this we're dealing with now and these terror plots and whatnot. Reynolds, weather's could be an issue at some flights (ph).

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You're absolutely right, guys. And we know (ph) not just in the skies above but also the grounds.

We're talking major interstates remain closed in parts of the Northern and Central Plains. It's going to be a huge mess. We do expect the blizzard conditions to wind down this morning, but still, it's going to leave over a foot of snowfall on the ground, still some strong wind gusts and possibly some icy conditions in parts of the northeast.

We're going to let you know how that's going to affect your travel, coming up in just a few moments right here.

BALDWIN: Reynolds, thank you.

And of course, we're staying on top of this top story here, that being, of course, this attempted terrorist attack on a Northwest Airlines flight.

We keep seeing the delta signs on the outside. Of course, Delta- Northwest have merged. Delta bought Northwest, but this is actually technically a Northwest flight.

CNN all morning long will be tapping into our global resources. We will have reports for you from Amsterdam, see how that's affecting things in that airport, that being where part of the leg of the flight initiated here, part -- part of the flight. London, Detroit, where this thing landed, and, of course, from the president's vacation retreat in Hawaii.

Make sure you stay right here, CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF: Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

My gosh, what an active holiday it's been for so many people, especially in terms of your forecast.

So we've had the heavy snowfall in many areas, some strong winds that remain this morning. And if you want to (ph) see some heavy snow, take a look at these numbers very quickly. Duluth, Minnesota, 22.9 inches of snow. Iowa City, Iowa, about 17.2. And let's see -- speaking of Iowa, you know, let's jump right to the video. We've got some compelling video to share with you, again, some of the places getting well over a foot of snow. That combined with the -- OK, did you see that sign? It said Jamaica. Show the sign. And look, there's the snow and the snowplow.

And what a huge day it's going to be for Mr. Plow, not only in this area but along parts of I-29, even I-90. You're going to have road conditions closed.

Very slippery out there, and even the most experienced winter weather drivers are going to have issues on a day like today, and although the conditions are expected to drop, in terms of your blizzard warnings and watches, you're still going to have a lot of ice in the road, you're still going to have some strong wind gusts, and it's still going to be just a major pain for a lot of people.

Now back to those snowfall totals. Omaha, Nebraska, 10.5 inches, and Indianapolis about 9.2. And many of these places could see another 2 to 4 inches of snowfall. So we're not done just yet.

Now, in terms of those blizzard warnings, here's what we have for you. Take a look at this map. From Fargo, southward to places like Omaha, you're going to have these issues along 35. Not so much, but again, heading back on I-94 (ph) could be a major problem for you. And if you look back right in this particular area -- take a look at this for you -- for me.

If you look just due west of Chicago, you're going to see a little bit of rotation in the atmosphere. That's an area of low pressure and, with that, you get that wind that's -- this tailwind (ph) coming out of the north up near Fargo and that's going to funnel in some really cold air.

Chicago, you get -- you might get a light dusting of snowfall. Same deal in Detroit. But it looks like a lot of that action is really going to pop up in some places right along this area of low pressure. We take a look at this national map, as well as this frontal boundary for the UP (ph).

Back to the parts of the northeast, we're looking at a mix of not just rain and sleet, but maybe even some icing on some high power lines, even some trees. Southeast pretty quiet for you, cold for you in the Central Plains. And back out west, no problems until you get to the coast, some scattered showers can be expected.

We've got a big weather day for you, and, of course, going to bring you the very latest details. And of course, you get a lot of news and of course T.J. and Brooke are going to have that for you back over on the news desk. Let's get it back to you guys.

BALDWIN: Reynolds, thank you. Good morning, by the way.

WOLF: Good morning, guys.

BALDWIN: I hope you had a nice Christmas. Thank you. WOLF: Back at you.

BALDWIN: We will be talking weather. We're also talking, of course, about our top story, this attempted terror attack on this Northwest flight that originated, really, actually in Nigeria, through Amsterdam, all the way to Detroit.

HOLMES: Yes. You got -- this has been a fast moving story. We of course heard about it yesterday, early afternoon. But development, new ones just coming into us this morning.

We'll have those breaking developments, including the first picture -- an exclusive picture of the suspect on the plane...

BALDWIN: Twenty-three-year-old.

HOLMES: ... being taken into custody. He was a young man, a 23- year-old. We'll have that photo coming up.

Also, developments happening in London, CNN confirming some details there. A search is going on there in connection to this plot.

So, again, a fast-moving story. Stay with us, the breaking (INAUDIBLE) -- the breaking developments right here with us. We'll have a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And we return now to our coverage of what officials are calling an attempted terror attack on an airliner that was landing in the US.

This was Northwest flight 253, a final departure point. This was yesterday. And Schipol in Amsterdam -- the airport there -- this is where the flight left in Amsterdam. It was heading to Detroit.

CNN's Richard Quest is in Amsterdam for us. He joins me now on the phone. What is happening there? We got investigations going on in several spots around the country. What, I guess, are people looking into there at the airport in Amsterdam?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the key thing here at Schipol that the officials are looking into is what actually happened when the passenger got on board (INAUDIBLE) the Northwest flight.

All US flights tend to go from the same area, the E or the G Pier of the Schipol Airport, which is a very large airport and is certainly one of the main transatlantic crossing points. And we are told by officials here that all -- ever since 9/11 and the 7/7 British attacks, all US flights, all passengers from wherever they've come from, do go through secondary searches before they then board the plane.

Now, what we also understand this morning, T.J., is that those -- the level of searching has now been elevated. There will now be much more looking into people's bags. There will be people -- there will be more body searches. But they do assure us, and they do say that they believe that the passengers were searched yesterday on that Northwest flight.

HOLMES: So -- well, that's very important there, because this -- this man, the one who allegedly was in charge of this plot on the plane that was landing here in Detroit, he went from Lagos, there to Amsterdam.

Of course, he would have been -- gone through security at the Lagos airport, but they are saying to you there that they're pretty sure that he would have gone through. You know, sometimes you go through security, you go to a connecting plane -- a different airport, and you're already through that secure area and you don't go through security screening again. But you're telling me he would've gone through security again in Amsterdam?

QUEST: Yes. Two things on that. Certainly, if you were coming from within an intra-European flight, then, yes, you wouldn't necessarily go through a secondary security search. That's pretty much like traveling within the domestic United States.

But there is no doubt that if you had come from somewhere like Lagos, Nigeria and you have come into Schipol or Heathrow or Frankfurt, arrangements are in place, usually at the gate, where another search takes place.

Now, we put this slightly to the test. I agree, it's not -- it's not completely realistic because of the event. But, this morning, we did go round the gate where US flights to Atlanta, to Chicago and to Detroit were leaving from, and yes, there were the security metal detectors and x-rays in place. What we believe they're doing today is -- is increasing the depth and integrity of that search.

So, now, for instance, passengers' bags will be opened. Attention seems to be focusing on liquids that might be within the -- the volume allowed to take on the plane, but now passengers are being asked, what is the liquid? What seems to be the way this is going is that the passenger was searched, but -- but was allowed to or had nothing that caused suspicion that (INAUDIBLE) been able to take on the plane.

But that at the moment is the way they're looking at it here.

HOLMES: All right. Richard Quest for us. Richard, we appreciate you checking in. We'll be checking in with you. We know you're on this story, so -- so are so many of our correspondents around the world now as a part of this investigation. Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: I want to just pause from that top story and take a look at some of the other stories we're following for you this morning.

First up here, the search for a missing 11-year-old from Maryland. It's over. Authorities found the body of Sarah Foxwell yesterday near the Delaware state line after three days of searching for her. They have charged her aunt's former boyfriend with the kidnapping. Authorities say he is a registered sex offender.

The Taliban has released this new video of Private First Class Beau Bergdahl who was captured in Afghanistan back in June. And the US military says the release on Christmas Day is demonstrating contempt for religious traditions and the teachings of Islam.

It's still not clear, though, as to where or when specifically this video was shot. Military officials say it does not prove Bergdahl is still alive.

And did you see this video? Wow! Pope Benedict looked OK when he delivered his Christmas message, but that was just hours after that woman tackled him during Christmas Eve mass. But the "Associated Press" says that a cardinal who fractured his hip during the incident is still waiting for surgery.

And for many, it seemed to come out of nowhere, and when the waves rolled back, almost 250,000 people were dead.

HOLMES: Yes. Five-year anniversary now of that massive tsunami, and we are talking with a man who actually made it out alive.

Stay with us on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Hard to believe it has been five years ago today that all of us -- you remember where you were. The world really watched in horror as the tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed about 250,000 people in 14 countries.

HOLMES: Yes. It started as a day in paradise for a visiting couple. But as our Dan Rivers tells us now, it ended with them running for their lives, like so many others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sara Thore (ph) and her boyfriend, Kalle Widelius, were enjoying the holiday of a lifetime on Phi Phi Island in December, 2004.

KALLE WIDELIUS, THAILAND TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I mean, it was a pure paradise, and I -- when I met Sara, I decided I had to bring her there to show her the most wonderful -- one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.

RIVERS: The day after Christmas, Kalle decided to shoot a video of Sara as the sea mysteriously retreated.

WIDELIUS: The water just grabbed my ankles, and there was this huge pressure. I'd never felt anything like it. It was as if someone was trying to pull me out to the ocean. So I'm more or less telling Sara, come up. Get out of the water and let's go to the other side of the island because something's weird here. We started walking towards the other side of the island, and the faster we walked, the more water comes after us. And then we started to, you know, to run slowly, and the water just chased us. And then we, you know -- seconds later, we ran for our lives.

At one point, when I'm -- I'm telling Sara to run straight towards the other side, thank God she told me run towards the hotel instead. And when we came in there, I -- I remember seeing luggage just floating around and more and more water was just coming from -- form everywhere. And this was the point where everything started to be real scary.

Sara told me, let's just go upstairs. Just when we reached the top floor there, the whole ground just -- everything came with a bang. And there was, like -- it felt like an earthquake because everything shook and it was a tremendous sound.

You couldn't see anything of the island. Small -- small houses just collapsed, and a boat is coming from the -- from one side to the other, just passing the island. And -- and I remember just, oh, hell.

RIVERS: The tsunami brought Kalle and Sara close to death, but it was also a life-changing experience.

WIDELIUS: Well, I -- I said to Sara, I -- I whispered in her ear that if we would make it -- make it down alive, let's get married when we get back home.

Today, we have two beautiful kids, as well, Lydia (ph) and (INAUDIBLE), 2 and a half years old and 1 year old today, and -- life is quite strange. This is a really -- a really tragic story, but we have some kind of beautiful memory from it, as well.

RIVERS: Today, there is little trace of the disaster on Thailand's holiday islands, but those awful images and memories will live forever in the minds of people like Kalle who fought to survive the tsunami.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Phi Phi, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, we are not going to be at any point this morning too far away from our top story. A major story on this weekend. It's holiday weekend, when so many people are traveling. You heard probably by now someone tried, according to authorities, to blow up a plane that was attempting to land in Detroit.

That man was not successful in blowing up that plane. He's now in custody, but, still, this is a fast-moving story, a lot of new developments, including a couple breaking developments this morning on that story, including -- we're going to have an exclusive picture of the man being taken into custody on that plane.

Also, a breaking story getting out of London as part of the investigation. BALDWIN: Right. We understand CNN has confirmed that metropolitan police in London are searching a couple of houses. We don't know where, we don't know how many, but all connected to this incident on this Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

One other question we're also asking this morning, is America to blame for al Qaeda? Apparently, one Yemen man says yes. This explosive device we're going to be talking about all morning, here on this flight 253, allegedly came from Yemen, and we will take you to the terrorist recruiting hot bed after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to the CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BALDWIN: I'm Brooke Baldwin in for Betty Nguyen. Thank you for starting your day with us.

We want to begin with a CNN exclusive here. This is the very first picture you're seeing, we're seeing. This is the suspect; this is 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. There he is in a white T- shirt on the Northwest plane yesterday that came in from Amsterdam to Detroit. This is the young man who allegedly sat in the seat 19A with some sort of explosive device he detonated on board.

He, of course, has been taken into custody. A whole lot of questions today originating, motive, what kind of group, if at all, he might have been operating from. But again, CNN exclusive first picture of this 23-year-old Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

HOLMES: And you're seeing a lot of folks around him. A lot of security around him. He was apparently taken up to first class where there weren't as many passengers we're told. They got him out of the main cabin where so many other people were.

But he apparently tries to -- and we're trying to piece this together, exactly what it was that he set off. Some calling it an incendiary devices versus an explosive device. Maybe not trying to blow up the plane, maybe just trying to start a fire on the plane. That still could be awfully disruptive. But trying to figure out what he had.

He apparently has pretty extensive burns on his body, mainly on his leg, where we are told he had this device, or whatever it was, strapped to him. Part liquid device, part powdery device, we have heard both of those. But whatever it was, he was able to light it in some way that it popped and a lot of people heard it.

So he was able to have success in some way, but still a major failure, a lot of people would say. Certainly didn't cause the damage a lot were assuming he was trying to make. He is in custody right now, in the hospital.

But still this is going to change the game this weekend as far as your travel plans go. You know, already a pain in the neck trying to get to the airport, get there early, deal with the crowds. We're told by Homeland Security it is going to be even worse because this man who has now caused this disturbance on the plane. It is going to change now some of the security at airports that's going to be even tougher. Higher level of scrutiny, means longer lines, going to be even more patient.

But pay attention, folks. We can't stress that enough to your airline. You need to check your flight. If it's on time, you need to get there even earlier. You need to pay attention to that this weekend. So this incident really changes what's already a headache and a busy travel holiday weekend for a lot of people.

BALDWIN: And as you said, we're not going too far from the story. We'll be talking about this all morning long from Amsterdam to London to Detroit, everywhere in between. We'll be talking about it. But I want to move on and let you know some of the other stories we're keeping our eye on for you this Saturday .

Pope Benedict gave his Christmas message. And he looked okay, but did you see this video? Here it is. This is hours after a woman tackled him during Christmas Eve mass. We are hearing from the Associated Press, that a cardinal who fractured his hip during that entire incident, he is waiting for surgery.

HOLMES: Well, actor Charlie Sheen. We'll show you his picture and you can guess that's not the right picture taken. That's a mug shot. He's been released from jail after posting an $8,500 bond. Sheen was arrested in Colorado yesterday on charges related to domestic violence. His alleged victim, well, we don't know who that is exactly. The actor's spokesman cautions everybody from jumping to any conclusions just yet.

Well, that explosive device on Flight 253. Breaking story we have this morning. Well, allegedly the device came from Yemen, which has become a hot bed for terrorist recruiting as our Paula Newton tells us in this report that she brought us more than a year ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For every crevice of the ancient city of Sena, there is an unease, a feeling that Yemen could at any moment descend into chaos. Through biting poverty and tribal wars, this country has muddled along in a state of controlled chaos. Outside the urban centers the government has given ground to separatists and insurgents.

ROSEMARY HOLLIS, ROYAL INST. OF INT'L. AFFAIRS: Loyalty to a national policy dedicated to reinforcing a U.S. war against terrorism simply isn't there.

NEWTON: This was, after all, the country where Al Qaeda successfully attacked the USS Cole in 2000 killing 17 U.S. sailors, and this was not the first assault on the U.S. Embassy in Sana. The government insists it is a loyal and effective ally against Al Qaeda. It claims to have arrested more than two dozen terrorist operatives. But the more it cracks down on Al Qaeda, the more vulnerable the country seems to be. Violent uprising, separatist movements, regular insurgent attacks, even in the capital, it all underlines a suspicion among many Yemenese that their government has picked the wrong war.

"I blame America," he says, "for creating Al Qaeda. And of course, Osama bin Laden for cultivating extremist thoughts," he tells me. But he adds, many Yemenese could never completely turn their back on bin Laden, he is half Yemeni and still respected even if he is not seen as the hero he once was among Yemenis.

"Maybe if he wanted to declare a war against America or Israel, then he might find support. But he uses unacceptable methods," this young man says, "like killing innocent people who just have a different point of view."

That's hardly an expression of support for the war on terror. Yemen remains not just a hot bed of extremist thought, but real action. A country still awash with weapons and recruits and that still believe in a holy war against the West.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And we are asking a lot of you, as far as this terror plot goes, actually, just what your situation is like out there today. We know you're talking about your brother.

BALDWIN: Right, my brother hopping on a flight today. And you know it's tough as it is. We know it's the holiday season, long lines already. Now you know the FAA, TSA taking it further. Perhaps, as I know Richard Quest said, I know that is the situation in Amsterdam, taking an extra closer look at some of the liquids you might be trying to bring on.

Of course, if you're having a belated Christmas, there's all kind of rules now coming up from the TSA, like, obviously, don't keep your wrapped packages. You've got that new Swiss army knife for Christmas, don't bring it on board. Things like that. You've got to be careful.

HOLMES: You have to be careful. But you know, that's one thing -- it's already a headache to travel. And some of the longer lines and all that maybe -- but on top of that, you have to worry about, my goodness, is somebody trying to attack, or somebody trying to blow up this plane? It's all kind of concerns of people traveling and also the loved ones of those traveling, as well.

Getting some feedback from you this morning on Facebook and Twitter. We are going to share and read some of those a little later on. In general, a couple of people are already complaining saying they see the police officers actually being a lot tougher on them right now than they're used to seeing. The lines are longer, trying to just drop people off. Some places, I think, Miami, Newark, I have reactions from some people saying fairly calm, right now, at least. But it is just getting started. But a lot of other people commenting they're worried about their loved ones having to get on a plane right now. Please continue to have those come in to us. Once again, we have this picture we're going to put up for you, as well.

I saw you had it there, Didrie (ph), just a second ago. There we go. We can show it to you. But this is that exclusive photo that we told you about just a minute ago. This is the first picture we are seeing of this suspect. There he is, in the white t-shirt. You can see -- all of those officers around him. But this is up in the first class cabin not too long after this happened.

BALDWIN: Right. This is 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. And still a whole lot of questions. But from what we gather, he had some kind of incendiary or explosive device somehow strapped around his leg. He was seated on an aisle seat, 19A. In this fairly large plane headed from Amsterdam to Detroit.

And after it blew up, somehow after he lit it, he was rushed to the first class area, where there were fewer people seated as he had burned his legs and they were treating him, of course, before they were able to get him off. That is one part of the equation as people dealing with this story and the repercussions in airports around the country and globally, but also the weather.

HOLMES: Yeah, that was an issue. We thought, Reynolds, for so long, people that were going to be traveling. Oh, lord, have to worry about this weather. But they seem to have much bigger problems and much bigger concerns, a lot of people. But still, the weather's going to be an issue, going to be a factor.

WOLF: Absolutely. But you know what's funny when it comes to the weather? Obviously, you are going to have some issues in terms of weather and travel, on the airplanes. But you think, hey, let's take the train. But we've had some issues we're seeing this last weekend in terms of the train and the weather.

Then it comes to the trusty car. Take a look at this video we have for you from Arkansas. In some places around the country isn't much better there. Cars on the side of road, people not used to driving in these conditions. And it gets kind of slippery and sure enough the cars lose control and then, boom, off the side of the road.

This is a scene that has been playing out up and down the Northern Plains. In fact as we speak, parts of I-29 and I-90 are closed as we speak due to the blizzard-like conditions. However, it is expected to improve, but not before more snow on the ground.

Check this out, let's go to the magic wall, for just a moment. I'm going to show you some snowfall totals. And here they are. Taylor Ward (ph), our producer, put these together for us. Nearly 2 feet of snowfall in Duluth, Minnesota, Sioux City, Iowa, same deal, Sioux Falls had over a foot of snowfall. Omaha, Nebraska, had about 10 inches of snow, could see another two to four before the day is out; probably on the lower side of that. In Minneapolis about 9.2 inches. Here's the big weather maker. See this the big trouble spot. See this area of low pressure? This is a giant weather machine. It pulls in a lot of cold air from the north. At the same time it also taps into some moisture coming in from the South and the Great Lakes. Almost like a giant mixing bowl. Well, that giant mixing bowl is going to bring those rough conditions to parts of the Northern Plains.

As we put this into motion, you can see that area of low pressure spinning as we go back towards the East. It's not going to be snow that's an issue, but some scattered showers and possibly icing right along power lines and on trees, exactly where you don't need it. So might have issues later on today. Maybe some power outages. And of course, tree branches breaking, getting on roads, which means, you got it, more delays. So, just be advised of all of that.

In terms of your temperatures today, pretty nice for you in parts of Florida. You lucky devils. Take a look at that. Miami with 75 degrees, 63 in Tampa, 56 in Houston, 46 degrees in Las Vegas along the strip, 23 in Minneapolis, Chicago 29 degrees and New York right at 43. There you go. There's your forecast. Kick it back to you guys.

BALDWIN: Oh, 75 in Miami. I like it.

WOLF: Aces. That's what I'm talking about. Good times.

BALDWIN: Thanks, Reynolds.

HOLMES: All right, thanks, Rennie.

And please know you're not going to be too far away. We are never going to be too far away from our top story today. That terror plot, these developments continue to develop. Continue to come into us this morning.

But what you need to know is that your travel and the travel of your loved ones is going to be a little different this weekend. Going to be even tougher. Lines are going to be even longer because, apparently a man tried to set off some kind of explosive device aboard a plane that was landing in Detroit yesterday, and that is going to change security this weekend.

We do want to hear your thoughts, as well, about this incident. About the state of airport security in general, what you think about the tightening of security. Also want to hear from you if you're out there on a plane right now, at an airport, trying to leave somewhere right now.

BALDWIN: Yes, I was just Tweeting, you were Tweeting, we're all Tweeting about this. We'll read your responses live this morning. What airport are you in? How long are you waiting? What kind of differences this morning versus any other morning? We wish you safe travels, though, as you are heading out this Saturday. We will stay on top of this story live all morning long here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: All right. Checking our top stories on this Saturday. We are talking all about this here, there has been what is being called an attempted terror attack on this Northwest air flight that landed in Detroit yesterday around noon. The Northwest plane has Delta markings over the outside, you're wondering why. Because Delta took over Northwest, they merged.

But authorities are saying this 23-year-old Nigerian man set off this small, some are saying explosive, some are saying incendiary device strapped around his leg. One passenger on board that Amsterdam to Detroit flight says the explosion sounded like a balloon popping.

And we are getting the very first picture. Look at it with me here. This is the first picture of this 23-year-old Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, you can see him being taken by members of the crew on board this flight to first class after he detonated this explosive device. Right around his leg, burned his leg, they had to grab a fire extinguisher to try to put this thing out. He is being interviewed by the FBI. No one, amazingly, was hurt, though, on the plane in the incident.

HOLMES: The body of a missing 11-year-old girl from Maryland has been found near the Delaware state line. The search lasted three days. Authorities have charged a 30-year-old registered sex offender with kidnapping Sarah Foxwell. He's a former boyfriend of the girl's legal guardian.

BALDWIN: The big winter storm that socked the Plains states winding down just a little bit for you. But be careful, as Reynolds was saying, if you're traveling out there on the roads because they are still dangerous. Take a look at those cars, there, a lot of snow. That is not fun. A lot of areas getting as much as 20 inches of the stuff on another two to four inches of snow could be on the ground by noon today.

HOLMES: If weather was perfect, during a holiday weekend, holiday time, it's still tough to travel because of the crowds. Now throw in some weather, the weather alerts, now throw in terror alerts. This is a really tough time to be traveling.

BALDWIN: This is a tough time to be traveling, of course, Josh Levs, though, has some guidance that could help minimize the headaches out there.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi to you, guys.

These are some steps that if every body takes it really could make a huge difference in airports all over the country, today, tomorrow, and into the future.

In the wake of the incident, authorities are saying expect longer times going through security at airports. There are some specific things, though, that you can do to speed up the process through security. I am about to show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, a difficult and frustrating travel weekend has now just gotten more difficult and may be more frustrating for a lot of people. And a lot scarier because of an incident we saw yesterday in which a man, according to a White House official, tried to blow up a plane that was attempting to land in Detroit. Everybody on that plane is fine. The man is in custody. But still, this is now caused some issues and now caused concerns about the level of security.

That plane was heading from Amsterdam to Detroit. So it originated outside of the U.S., but still was landing in Detroit. A lot of people trying to make it home after the Christmas holiday; a lot of people carrying back things they didn't have with them when they first flew somewhere, which is a lot of those gifts. A lot of that stuff is going to get a lot tighter scrutiny. There's going to be tighter security.

And the Homeland Security secretary put out a statement. I'm going to share with you, in part what it says. It comes from Janet Napolitano, and I'm quoting here, "Passengers may notice additional screening measures put into place to ensure the safety of the traveling public on domestic and international flights. As always, we encourage the traveling public to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior or activity to law enforcement officials."

Now, this does not mean they have stepped up, or changed the security threat level. We are still at orange, that's high alert, when it comes to traveling. That's the same it's been since 9/11. It hasn't gone below that. We've been at that point, but still, just because we haven't changed the level, doesn't mean they're not changing security.

Things are going to be a little different and a little tighter this weekend. You need to pay attention to your flights, your times, and make sure people get to those airports on time. You always have to pack your patience, but man, you're really going to need it this weekend.

BALDWIN: Get there on time, get there a little earlier if you want to be safe. Since we heard Janet Napolitano, she is saying yes, we are taking extra security measures, precautions at the airports.

We already know there are long lines, Josh Levs. We know it's a pain.

LEVS: It is the busiest weekends of the year, when people travel.

BALDWIN: But now because of everything going on. What's interesting, some great tips from the TSA thank you very much.

LEVS: From the TSA, and you know what, the idea here isn't got get them to not do their job, it is help them do their job. This is the idea. I'm going to show you some tips that will help people get through security faster.

BALDWIN: Faster, we like that.

LEVS: Take a look at this picture here. They're saying how not to pack. This is from the TSA web site, right here. And they're making this pretty specific. They're actually showing you what you should do inside your suitcase. You can see a big mix of gunk right there.

What I have done, is I've gone to the site and I boiled down some key points for you to help you get through that airport. The more everyone does this, the faster security is for everyone. First of all, in your suitcase, pack in layers; clothes, then, electronics, then another layers of clothes, and then heavier items.

This is specifically for carry ons, because the idea here is that they need to be able to distinguish what's in your bag and what isn't. If it's in those layers, security people, who are trained to check your security, are specifically able to go faster that way.

Let's go to the next one here. Prepare everything. Inside, you know, this quart size clear plastic zip top bag of liquids. You can get these bags and the containers outside the airports or at pharmacies. If you have that ready, you can save minutes per person, which multiplies into our hours and hours across security lines.

Next try one, try to pack your coat. If you can get to the airport, then shove your coat inside your checked baggage, it's going to be a lot faster once you get through security.

Then, this one's interesting to me. Limit the metal you're wearing. I always think this is obvious, but I'm seeing a lot of places online. There is a line that said, yes, this is not a time for people to accessorize. Don't lots of big heavy jewelry, lots of metal all over you. They say so many people do that, it slows down security nationwide by hours.

The next one is interesting because it is specifically about the holidays. You were just at mom's house, grandma's house, whatever it is, you want to bring home some of that maple syrup from Vermont, some of that cranberry sauce. If you try to put it inside your carry-on, they're going to notice there's a liquid in there. They're going to pull out not just that thing, they're going to pull out everything. And they are probably going to end up throwing that out.

And finally, I found this one interesting, no snow globes. Do not try to bring a snow globe on the plane. Why? Because there's liquid inside of it. In fact, our videographer here Scott Hall (ph), tells me his wife just tried to take one on. Did they throw it out? Did they toss it?

SCOTT HALL, CNN VIDEOGRAPHER: She had to check it.

LEVS: She ended up having to check it. So, don't try to get those on there. Those are just a handful of the major things to keep in mind to try to speed up security. I've posted links for you, at my blog, you can see it here, CNN.com/josh. It is also on my Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. Even if you're in an airport, if you are traveling, wherever you are, you should be able to go to the websites on whatever you have with you, on your phone. And we have the links for you, all sorts of things to do and not do, to speed up security.

And T.J. and Brooke, I'm going to tell you next hour I'll be along with tips for how to speed up the check-in process, which is the other half of what you have to deal with when you get to the airport. Hopefully we can empower people with information to make it less awful at airports today.

BALDWIN: I guess, kind of like, when in doubt, check it.

LEVS: In fact, that's an exact line, that's on TSA. When in doubt, check it.

HOLMES: That's unfortunate. And that's a great point there. But you know what has happened? It discouraging everybody from checking. They charge you for your bags now you check. And people -- nobody wants to spend extra money if you don't have to. But I know airlines have to do what they want to do. But so many people are discouraged from checking bags now because it's an extra ...

BALDWIN: You have extra bag fees.

HOLMES: It is an extra 25, 50 bucks.

BALDWIN: I know.

HOLMES: And Lord knows if it weighs a little something, that is even more money. So, that is unfortunate. Maybe we can look at that, as well. Josh, we appreciate that important information this morning on a story.

BALDWIN: Good tips.

HOLMES: Again, folks, we are going to stick with this morning. We'll be covering that story inside and out this morning including with our terrorism expert who we always love to have a friend of our show on CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING. Peter Bergen going to be joining us live in just a bit.

BALDWIN: We'll also continue talking about travel and of course, security issues, relating to weekend travel. And we'll continue here, actually from passengers on board that flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. W e are talking about Northwest 253. Hear from them coming up.

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