if you juwant to continue the conversations, go to our blog. >> i believe that will do it for us. here is "cnn newsroom" with heidi collins. terror aboard flight 253. today we have new details and new reasons for concern. also, in iran, the government cracks down against protests. hundreds are taken into custody. and a new year's resolution on your credit cards. before the big bills start rolling in, it might be a better time to shop for a better deal. today is monday, december 28th. you are in the "cnn newsroom."

this hour we will break down the latest on what has been the talk of the town, if you will. the alleged terror attack, homeland security correspondent, who you see there, will be giving us the latest on the investigation. also, our allentu churnoff,e will talk to him about the suspect. and then barbara star will look at the links to al qaeda. do americans have new reason to worry? first, let's get the details on the man accused of targeting a u.s. airliner on christmas day.

investigators say below his waste he tucked away a small bag of liquid and powder explosives. a source tells cnn the package would have been powerful enough to blow a hole in the side of the plane and possibly bring it down. our correspondent is joining us from washington this morning. >> we don't have the weight yet, but a source familiar with the investigation tells cnn the device care yaed by umar farouk abdulmutallab was powerful enough to blow a hole in the aircraft and would have taken it down, but the device did not

work properly. janet napolitano has taken heat for saying the system worked. what i said was moving forward, meaning once the incident happened we were able to immediately notify the 128 flights in the air, as well as planes on the ground. we made sure that this could not happen on other flights. >> napolitano went on to say keeping people with dangerous chemicals off airlines did not work. under current protocols information was not specific or credible enough for him to be placed on the no-fly list.

there is a court hearing today. the government is seeking authority to get a dna sample. the suspect is not expected to be present. >> when we talk about the petn. there are technologies, are there not, that could have detected it? why are they not more widely destroyed? >> there are a few more technologies that could have worked. puffer machines have been hard to maintain endurin dirty environments and are being used less and less. and then there are the body imaging machines that could have shown he had something on his person. 150 are on order. but they have been called an electronic strip search because they show so much detail and

there is pushback about deploying them more widely. >> we could see changes there. thank you for that. we have this coming into us now from hawaii, where obama is owe vacation with his family. when he makes comments today we will bring them to you as soon as they are available. want to give you a look at the terror suspect at umar farouk abdulmutallab. in november he was placed in a u.s. database that people suspected him of having ties to a terrorism group. his father shared concerns with embassy officials in nigeria. and the 23-year-old was placed on a british watch list after refused a student visa. the u.s. should have been notified of the concerns from the british. abdulmutallab comes from the wealthy family and well

educated. he received a degree in engineering and finance from the university college of london. new rules and higher stress levels. on the same route yesterday, a sick passenger brought things to a virtual stand still at the detroit metropolitan airport. we will explain more about that. allen, good morning to you. how are passengers in detroit responding now to the events over the past few days? >> reporter: heidi, they are arriving very, very early for their flights. the passengers are still coming, but the lines have been massive, streaming through the entire terminal. people arriving three hours, at least, in advance in some cases for domestic flights. now, they are doing that partly, of course, because it's post holiday, and partly because of

the weather and also because of anticipating extra security. many passengers say they are more than willing to submit to the extra security, and that includes some behavioral detection officers that are strategically placed in the airport right now. we should talk about yesterday's incident. that false alarm. that indicates just how alert security is now, and how much on edge not only law enforcement is but also airline crews. it was the same flight number, northwest 253 from amsterdam into detroit. the same passenger description. a nigerian man in his 20s. he was in the bathroom for much of the flight and would not come out when flight attendants asked him to return to his seat. the pilot contacted the dispa h dispatcher, and law enforcement met the flight when it arrived in detroit. it was anxiety provoking for passengers.

>> about an hour and a half before we came in, they said everybody has to sit down and stay in their seats. nobody goes to the bathroom or anything like that, no standing up. >> after all of that, we just said okay. i figured it just came from december 25th, the thing that happened. they said they had to take somebody off. that was a little panicky. when i saw the police outside the window, i said huh-uh. >> it was just a sick passenger, food poisoning. passengers were kept waiting for hours. that reflects the anxiety here at the airport and overall because of the incident on christmas day. >> no doubt about it. a very cold-looking michigan this morning.

thank you, allen. here is a new look at the rules. airlines are implementing slight variations, but generally the new security rules require this. more physical pat downs at the gate. more freak chekds of carry on bags. during the last hour of flight, you must stay seated. you cannot have blankets or personal items on your lap. you cannot touch your carry on baggage, and you cannot use the bathroom in the last hour unless escorted by a crew member. and then a free for all in the streets. we have fairly heavy snowfall in michigan and new york. we will let you know how it could affect your weekday travel. that's coming up in a few mom t momen moments. see you. down fast. children's motrin.

yeah. would you like a pony ? yeah ! ( cluck, cluck, cluck ) oh, wowww ! that's fun ! you didn't say i could have a real one. well, you didn't ask. even kids know when it's wrong to hold out on somebody. why don't banks ? we're ally, a new bank that alerts you when your money could be working harder and earning more. it's just the right thing to do.

the nasty weather in the midwest is making it a nightmare for commuters driving back after the holidays. in indianapolis, people are dealing with slippery roads and very low visibility.

authorities dispatched about 75 trucks to help clean up the roads for this morning's rush hour. here is how things look in iowa. they got slammed with 20 inches there. people got snowed in for days. some of them spending it in the dark because the deep freeze took out power lines. people have started to get electricity back now. and not pretty, and it does not look warm. reynolds is with us to talk more about it. >> yeah, and when you have the winds, we refer to this as lake-effect snow fall. it's parts of 81 and parts of 390 where it comes down in sheets. before all is said and done, we may see some places between now and tomorrow afternoon with upwards of a foot of snow. and as we look back at the west,

you will see activity in parts of michigan. and it's going to be especially tough for you north of flint back in detroit. you will have scattered snow showers. and one thing in new york, although it looks bad out towards the west, in the city, not so bad. let's look at the live shot that we have for you, a pretty nice day for you, skaters making the most of the ice. in atlanta, conditions better. high temperatures in atlanta going to 41 degrees in the afternoon. with a little bit of a breeze coming out of the northwest here also it whim make things nippy. and then further south into places like miami, lucky devils going to 73. 51 in vegas. that's a wrap. >> that was an excellent segue. by now all the wrapping

paper is balled up in the crash for some people, but how did the retailers make out this holiday season? good morning to you, stephanie. i understand retailers did better than they thought they were going to do? >> yeah, many retailers are going to feel like they can toast the new year with a little more calmness this year than last year. last year people were freaked out. things are stable now even though employment is at 10%. if you look at the period from november 1st through december 24th, the key holiday shopping period. sales were up 3.6% compared to last year when they were down 3.4%. there was one more day this year during that period between thanksgiving and christmas, so because of that, sales were up just really up about 1%.

remember the huge storm we had -- >> yes, i was just going to say that. >> yeah, that did affect what they could do as well. but it looks like things are okay. >> what areas did they see the most gains in? >> they did a lot of online shopping, so you saw online sales jumping during that period. online sales account for 10% of the overall holiday shopping numbers. it's about getting people in the stores. interesting to note that last year julewelry sales were down. the comparison just looking a lot better from last year. and retailers hoping that would continue in january.

retailers are hoping the gift cards are looking good in the months to come. >> gold is doing well? >> yeah. >> thank you. by the way when all the people gather in new york times square to begin the new year's eve countdown they will do it with a brand-new crystal ball. the ball is getting a makeover. they will install 300 new crystal triangles on the ball yesterday. there is a pattern woven into a knot. percy sutton and the legacy

he leaves behind next. packet. new sun crystals ® all natural sweetener. was it really for fun, or to save money on heat? why? don't you think nordic tuesday is fun? oh no, it's fun... you know, if you are trying to cut costs, fedex can help. we've got express options, fast ground and freight service-- you can save money and keep the heat on. great idea. that is a great idea. well, if nordic tuesday wasn't so much fun.

(announcer) we understand. you need to save money. fedex the more you expect from your pain reliever. tylenol 8 hour eases body pain... with one layer that works fast... one that lasts all day... and no layers that irritate your stomach the way that ibuprofen can. checking some of the top stories now. a fire chief in massachusetts says two people are dead after a series of fires in a small college town. the d.a. calls the fires suspicious. nine fires, some in buildings and some in cars broke out in a neighborhood in northampton earlier this morning. they believe they were set

intentionally. and percy sutton has died. he was an influential politician and radio mogul. he was credited for the restoration of the famous apollo theater. sutton was 89 years old. prosecutors will try to get dna samples from the man plotting to blow up a northwest airlines plane on christmas day. the fbi says the 23-year-old umar farouk abdulmutallab was carrying a small bag of liquid and powder explosives. a hearing in the case happens this afternoon in detroit. abdulmutallab is not expected to be there. and that got us thinking about airline security. we are asking you a question about it this morning on the blog.

i want to know how safe you feel when you are flying these days. things have changed ten fold from 2001, of course, september 11th, and then 2006 with the alleged shoe bomber. how do you feel now after the most recent events? go to cnn.com/heidi. you will see more about the actual story we are talking about. we will read comments later here in the "cnn newsroom."

anti-government protest turning deadly in iran. the country's state-run media says eight people are dead and hundreds in custody and more

arrests could be on the way. reza sayah is monitoring this. good morning. >> what a weekend in iran. this was by far the most violent weekend we have seen in iran since the disputed elections on june 12th based on the witness accounts, and based on the amazing amateur video we have been seeing. security forces were out enforce and out on a mission to deliver a harsh and violent crackdown. there you see the after math. graphic video showing protestors. many head injuries. security forces were smashing protestors in the heads with batons, and that's probably some of the reasons why we are seeing a lot of head injuries. several deaths as well taking place during the sunday protest. sunday was one of the deadliest days in iran since the disputed elections on june 12th. amuck the dead, this man.

this is his picture. this is mir hossein mousavi. this is his nephew. according to a state-run news agent, mousavi's nephew was killed on saturday. we have amateur video of what is reported to be mir hossein mousavi's nephew after he was killed on sunday. an opposition website is reporting that mousavi's body is missing. look for that to add fuel to the fire of the opposition movement. the state-run agency has an entirely different take on what is happening. they are reporting that all of the deaths were not inflicted by state-run -- by state security forces. they are also saying all the deathses were staged in an effort to take advantage of

public sentiments. based on witness accounts and what they see on graphic videos, they tell a different story. >> no question. it leaves you believing or thinking, anyway, because of that, we are watching the opposition movement getting more aggressive. >> yeah, no doubt about it. i want to go to a piece of video that is one of the most compelling pieces of video that we have been seeing. protesters, according to what we have seen, going after security forces. there you see uniform riot police. they are demanding the security forces to apologize. demanding them to condemn iran's supreme leader. the protests lasted throughout the weekend. men, women, old and young, the protesters also taking place in cities outside of tehran.

according to police, 300 people were arrested. more arrests taking place. opposition figures also under arrest. a lot of turmoil. some of the most intense protests we have seen since the elections in june, heidi. >> yeah, certainly alongside all that. we will check in later with you. thank you. 25 people are dead in a suicide blast in karachkarachi. this comes after another suicide attack at a mosque in pakistan yesterday. seven people died in the blast. the suspect on flight 253 says he got his device in yemen.

hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today.

welcome to the now network, population 49 million. right now 1.2 million people are on sprint mobile broadband. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. 154 are tracking shipments on a train. 33 are iming on a ferry. and 1300 are secretly checking email on a vacation. that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. right now get a free 3g/4g device for your laptop. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard-of-hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com

on wall street, can the holiday cheer from last week actually carry over to this week? that's what everybody is hoping, of course. we go to new york as the opening bell rings with cheer leaders and all. hi, there, alison? >> a very festive way to start the day. stocks are at a higher start as we come off the long holiday weekend. we have a winning streak. we are expecting very light volume this week as many traders already closed their books on '09. we want to focus on protecting the year's gains. the dow and s&p are up 20% respectively. and the nasdaq gained almost 50% over the past 12 months. the focus today remains on the retail sector. data from master card's spending

polls shows shoppers opened up their wallets this year, but that is compared to a weak last year. people were going for electronics and jewelry, while apparel sales struggles. and then we will keep a close watch on airline stocks after the incidents in detroit. they will focus more on the bigger picture of improving demand and prices. others worry that business passengers that produce the most profit for the airlines could drag on stock prices just as the industry was beginning to recover. the dow industrials up about 12 points. the nasdaq higher by 3. we are watching oil prices. they are up more than 1%. they have climbed more than 12% and falling supplies, we will see how that translates to the

gas pump. >> the new york jets cheer leaders and dancers, i think they are happy today. >> entertainment for the morning. >> taking down the colts, formally undefeated. big game yesterday. we will keep our eye on the numbers for everybody this morning. the failed terror attack on christmas day. the suspect made it past security in two countries before boarding the plane to detroit. so those lapses happened outside the u.s., but our homeland security second is facing increasing criticism for this comment that she made defending security measures at our airports. >> one thing i would like to point out is that the system worked. everybody played an important role here. the passengers and crew of the flight took appropriate action, within literally an hour to 90 minutes of the incident occurring, all 128 flights in

the air had been notified to take special measures. >> here now is how she clarified that comment when she was asked about it earlier on cnn's "american morning." >> you said throughout this that the system worked smoothly. what exactly worked in your opinion? >> yeah, that's a phrase taken out of context. what i said is moving forward, meaning once the incident happened, we were able to immediately notify the 128 flights in the air as well as airports on the ground domestically, internationally. our law enforcement partners and other allies instituted immediately safety measures to make sure this could not happen on other flights and people were watching out for it on other flights even as we focussed on what went wrong prior to this one. >> all right. so what actually worked and what didn't? that's what we are trying to talk about this monday morning. we want to do that with a former white house security homeland

security advisor with fran to townsand this morning. what worked and what didn't? >> well, heidi, we should be real clear. i am sorry the secretary has not been clearer. the system put in place, the one we spent billions of dollars on to prevent the terror attack failed, it did not work. this guy gets on with a high explosive, petn, and the capability to initiate this explosive device. the system failed. what she is saying, which is correct, is that once this guy failed in his attempt to blow up that northwest airlines flight coming in from amsterdam to detroit, the system notified others. that's true.

the whole thing was to build a system to prevent this from occurring. we saw the capability to respond, we saw it on 9/11. we had the capability to respond. the idea is to have the system that prevents these things. >> yeah, so much of that depends on the passengers on the planes? >> yeah, the real heroes are the passengers and crew that took it into their own hands to subdue abdulmutallab from doing damage to the plane. while we want that to happen, you don't want a system that relies on that to happen. >> what is next? there is a review ordered by the president, a review of airport security, and airline security. what does all that mean? as you mentioned, it seems like stepping back, many steps in fact to this overall database, a global efficient user friendly

type of security system that would find the potential terrorists before they get on airplan airplan airplanes? >> heidi, the american people understood we had not adequately shared information. what we are seeing is that it's a work in progress. the system didn't work as you would want it to. what happens is when you get information about threats around the world at our embassies, they get flooded with people that are trying to distract us. being able to shift through that information for what is important and know what to act on and what to share with other agencies is very difficult. i suspect that will be the focus of the president's review and an area for improvement.

>> yeah, all this time later, eight years now, a work in progress still. it's amazing to a lot of people out there. we sure appreciate your time this morning. we will continue to follow this story closely. abdulmutallab claims he got his explosive device in yemen. barbara starr has more. >> in yemen, eulogies for those killed. u.s. intelligence provided intelligence to yemen's government, but they won't say the if armed drones or u.s. fighter jets were involved. all of this happened before the suspect in the attack against northwest airlines 253 claimed he travelled to yemen and was given bomb-making materials

there. al qaeda and yemen has already been the focus of secret u.s. military and intelligence operations for months. general david petraeus sounded a warning about yemen earlier this year. >> that's where they established their headquarters. that's a concern. >> al qaeda has found a new safe haven. >> there is a real sense that the central government is losing control over most of the country. al qaeda in the iranian peninsula is setting up bases hosted among tribes. >> look at the map and you see the potential for disaster. al qaeda operatives in yemen are within striking distance of saudi oil facilitiefacilities, hundreds of cargo ships pass the area each year, and ripe targets for attacks.

the bottom line, experts say, al qaeda in yemen may now be able to attack the united states. >> the important thing here is if indeed this leads back to the yemen cell. most of the attacks we have seen in the past have been in yemen or saudi arabia. the yemen affiliate there has not been out of area operations like on the border, and this would represent an out of area operation and a significant one. >> barbara starr is joining us live from the pentagon with more on this. >> we have spoken to the yemen officials that say they need u.s. intelligence, their help, and the military assistance. they know they have not always addressed the problem in their country, but they say it will cost a lot of money to go after al qaeda right now, but it will be cheaper and easier than if

you wait until the country collapses. >> it's not exactly new in yemen. i was reading things this morning to remind me al qaeda started there, but then sort of was moved to afghanistan to grow more, if you will. so now it seems like they are coming back there and there is a new generation of those who are moving more towards jihadists? >> well, certainly they are very active in that border region between afghanistan and pakistan. al qaeda tends to move where there is the least resistance, the least opposition of any military force or government. in yemen, because the central government does not control the whole country, there are places that they can pretty much have free reign. the whole idea of the secret war

of secret strikes, and they need to go and try to shut them down. >> thank you, barbara starr. we want to check on some of the top stories. violence in iran. let's get back to reza sayah. what is happening now? >> based on what we saw these were some of the most intense protests in iran since the disputed election on june 12th. despite a harsh government crackdown, they were not able to stop the opposition movement. take a look at the video coming into cnn and listen as well. what you are looking at is nighttime video overnight sunday of protesters chanting god is great throughout the night on sunday and into monday morning. this is a chant we have heard every since the disputed

elections. they were especially loud overnight. this is what tehran looked the morning after. parts of tehran looking like a war zone. there you see what looks like a police vehicle. a number of police vehicles attacked by protesters after security forces came out yesterday on a mission to deliver a harsh crackdown on protestors. we saw a lot of graphic video of protesters with head injuries. there you see still pictures of some of the protests yesterday. keep your eye out on the developments of involving mir hossein mousavi's nephew. he was killed according to opposition web sites and news agencies during the protest. according to opposition web sites, his body is missing. look for that to be a flash point with the opposition movement going unagainp against regime in the days to come.

it's new year's resolution time and getting better credit cards could be at the top of the list. we will tell you how to do it in a moment.

skyrocketing fees, shrinking credit limits. people are fed up with their credit cards. but for 2010 you can resolve to get a better deal maybe. our personal finance editor is here to tell us how that will happen. hey, there. how do you know if it's time to make a change with the credit cards? >> well, it's astonishing. we have seen the rates go to the sky, right. average rate 15%. if you have a card, you probably

paid $110 this past year just in interest alone on your credit card. americans altogether paid $10 billion in credit card interests. that's a b on that. just dramatic numbers here. and of course the worse defenders are the biggest banks, capital one, and citi, and discover. there was a 32% rate hike on the cards since january. and anow the big question is ho can you get a card that will work for you? first off, try a different bank. local community banks as opposed to the big national banks typically have lower rates. 1% to 2% on average lower than big bank cards. >> if you decide to switch credit cards, what should you ask for? >> you should get an interest

rate below 10% if you have a good credit score. be sure you have a 25 day grace period to make the payment each and every month. >> what cards are at the top of the list then of all the experts, anyway? which ones will give you all that stuff you just said we should be asking for? >> we went to cardratings.com. simmons first visa platinum, no balance transfer fee. and then iberiabank, no transfer fee. don't just pick the card offer that comes into your mail box. you have to go on the web and do research. roll up your shirt sleeves and

get something that makes sense for you. heidi? >> thank you. it's tough enough to relearn every day activities after a major injury, so the challenges of getting on a plane and flying could be pretty overwhelming. but these passengers are getting help to find their comfort zones. at the hartford, we help you pursue them with confidence. by preparing you for tomorrow. while protecting what you have today. you've counted on us for 200 years. let's embrace tomorrow. and with the hartford behind you, achieve what's ahead of you.

welcome to the now network, population 49 million. right now 1.2 million people are on sprint mobile broadband. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. 154 are tracking shipments on a train. 33 are iming on a ferry. and 1300 are secretly checking email on a vacation. that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. right now get a free 3g/4g device for your laptop. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard-of-hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com ies who need sprint. the now network. assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little or no cost to you. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life.

one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. hi i'm doug harrison. we're experts at getting you the power chair or scooter you need. in fact, if we qualify you for medicare reimbursement and medicare denies your claim, we'll give you your new power chair or scooter free. i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. with help from the scooter store, medicare and my insurance covered it all. call the scooter store for free information today.

a lot to get you up to speed on this morning. our crews are in place to bring it all to you. first off, sheryl jackson at the detroit metropolitan airport. good morning, cheryl. >> reporter: yeah, we're live here at the detroit airport and we'll have the latest on the terror investigation and the changes at the airport coming up next hour. and old man winter painted a snowy bulls eye across the great lakes. how long it's going to last wraen the system is headed next moments away. and i'm stephanie elam in new york where the markets are poised for double-digit gains for the year but for the decade, i'll have that story at the top of the hour. >> thanks so much. also ahead, a look at al qaeda's new foothold and what that could mean in the group's campaign to kill americans.

take all of the stress of flying this time of year and imagine you're doing it in a

wheelchair for the first time ever. our reynolds wolf looks at program helping passengers travel after they have suffered major injuries. >> okay. so you want me turned snarnd. >> reporter: constance kay is getting on the airplane for the first time since her injury. are you nervous? >> absolutely. i never thought i could do it at all so, oh yes. beyond a doubt. >> reporter: she's taking nart a program between delta airlines and the shepherd center in atlanta, a rehabilitation hospital for people with spinal cord and brain injuries. >> we want them to be very comfortable flying with us. we twant employees to be comfortable in interacting with passengers with disabilities and make sure that the passengers with disabilities know it's okay to be an advocate for their own needs. >> you really want to be familiar with the bullet points of the air carriers' act before you travel. >> reporter: it begins with a class at the center where recently disabled passengers

learn how to navigate an airport. >> for travel specifically, we are looking at what are the accessibility concerns about the airport? what are rights when you travel? >> reporter: it's a daunt process in a wheelchair. checking in, going through security, getting the gate. but what scares these guys the most is being transferred from their wheelchairs to a thinner, less bulky version to their seat on the aircraft. >> one, two, three. go. and i am in. so they have to two-man lift you? so you fly through the air like peter pan or tinkerbell? that's the anxiety producing part. >> reporter: there's people that see this as being a kind of -- just getting on a plane but this is really part of the heal process. >> oh, it is. it's a major facet of heal process. it gives you the courage and strength to keep going on and to know you can conquer life.

that you're still you. that underneath this body that doesn't work like it used to is me and it's so easy to lose track of that. >> well, reynolds, great story. something that i really haven't thought about before i guess because i haven't seen it personally while sitting on an airplane. but i imagine they must be most worried about the people who are transferring them from their wheelchair as you said, you know, into a smaller one and then eventually into a seat. what's the training like for the people who end up having to do that and maneuver, if you will? >> what's funny is when you look at it as an outsider and seems like a simplistic thing. you know? getting on an airplane. seeing so many -- millions of americans, people take it for granted. as i mentioned, it is the smael little details more daunting going through something like that, going through security, going through a gates and handing out your i.d. all that is just some much more

difficult and tlas compulsion for a lot of people in a debilitating condition to shut yourself away from the world but this is part of the heal process to become whole once again. constance kay, the lady who we built the piece around, shaefs traveler before this and this is part of regaining the freedom, good for her soul. it really is part of rebuilding who she once was. >> letting go of the trust to be transported has to be -- >> it's deeply personal. some of us don't like to have someone handling some of your stuff. guess what? in this time of year and sicknesses and that kind of thing, people might be paranoid but for them tough make the transfer from their chair on to the thinner version to get on the plane itself so it is kind of an intimidating thing to say the very least. a lot of adjustments to make in their lives to get back to who they used to be. >> mobility and independent, though, great, great goal. all right. reynolds wolf, appreciate the

story. thank you. >> you bet. at least 25 people dead in a suicide blast in karachi, pakistan. it came in the observance of ashura. it hit a procession along a road. yesterday, another suicide attack at a mosque in pakistan killed seven people. in south carolina, four men are charged with first-degree lynching after a 42-year-old man was beaten to death o. officials say the suspects struck him in the head on christmas night with a two by four. all four men are held without bail. lynching in south carolina is defined as an attack by a mob which results in death. you're not kansas anymore. you are on pandora. >> another great week for the movie "avatar." it is the most popular movie in america for the second straight weekend.

holiday travel and tremendous vails. u.s. airports are ramping up security just days after an apparent terrorist attack fizzled. passengers face new precautions o. officials face tough questions. >> security is something that we all have a part in. we are looking at the technology. we have deployed new technology in some airports. the question is, would it have detected this material in the way he had hidden it on his person? we're ascertaining that. we're ascertain why it was he was not flagged in a more specific way purchasing the ticket, given the information that we think was available. allegedly was available. and that's moving forward. we need to go backwards and say what happened here? what do we need to change? what do we need to do to make sure that passengers are safe moving forward? >> certainly a lot of questions

this morning. terror aboard flight 253. who is the suspect and why did he allegedly try to kill 300 people on christmas day? this morning, new details and new reasons for concern. want to get the very latest from homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve from washington. the suspect's family issued a statement a few minutes ago. what does it sna. >> reporter: right. i have it here in front of me. prior too this incident, his father having become concerned with his disappearance and stoppage of communication while schooling aboard reported the mat tore the nigerian security agencies about two months ago and to some foreign security agencies about a month and a half ago. seeking their assistance in getting him returned home and goes on to say we provided them with all the information required of us to enable them to do this. we were hopeful they would find and return him home and while we were waiting for the outcome of their investigation that we got the shocking news about what

happened on christmas day. the statement goes on to say that the family will continue to cooperate. it says that we along with the whole world thankful to almighty god that no lives were lost in this incident and trying to find out more specifics of what the family told the security agencies. we wanted to know whether they told agencies that he was going to yemen. if they had any specifics of what he was up to. the statement doesn't nil all the blanks but gives us a good timeframe. back to you. >> what's the latest on the investigation? what will happening in the days to come? >> reporter: well, a source familiar with the investigation tells cnn the device carried by umar abdulmutallab could take out the aircraft. homeland security secretary janet napolitano now says systems for keeping dangerous people and material off airplanes did not work as they were supposed to. this after saying sunday that the system did work.

on "american morning" she tried to clarify her remarks. >> what i said is, moving forward, meaning once the incident happened, we were able to immediately notify the 128 flights in the air, as well as airports on the ground, domestically, internationally, our law enforcement partners, our other allies instituted an immediate safety procedures to make sure that this could not happen on other flights. >> reporter: president obama has order add sweeping review of airport screening procedures and watch lists protocols. we expect to hear from him later today and also today there's a court hearing in detroit. the government is trying to get a dna sample from the suspect and connect him to specific evidence and trying to build a legal case here. he is not expected to be in the courtroom for that, heidi. >> we'll be watching. thank you. the suspect was a uk watch list. the british home office says they placed umar farouk

abdulmutallab on the list. he wanted to reenter britain for education but authorities suspected the school listed was not genuine. the british home secretary looking to see if umar was radicalized in britain. this morning, airline passengers in the u.s. are facing tough, new rules and probably higher stress levels. in fact, signs of strained nerves became all too apparent on the same route yesterday. at detroit metro airport, luggage was removed yesterday's flight 253 and inspected by bomb-sniffing dogs. >> we were kept on the airplane for a while and boarded -- guards would not let the plane -- let the passengers off the plane. and when we got to the customs control, we entered the country normally and waited an hour for luggage. that's all we know. >> well, as it turned out the

reason for the precaution, a sick passenger had spaent unusually long amount of time in the plaeb's bathroom. so that incident turns oud to be out to be a false alarm. they've beefed up security at airports across the country. our cheryl jackson is looking at how flying fears as well as airport security have been increasing since the terror attack. >> reporter: umar abdulmutallab seen here is in federal prison and the government is under strutny, many wondering how he could fly. he was on a watch list after his own father reported him as a possible threat to the u.s. authorities are searching his last known residence in london. >> how does a person on a terrorism watch list get a u.s. visa? i think there's much to investigate. >> reporter: on the defensive, homeland security secretary janet napolitano says suspect was on the general watch list, not on the no-fly list but says president obama ordered a full review. >> how do this individual get on the plane?

what didn't work in the screening procedure to pick him up? and why was the material he was carrying not picked up in the screening procedure, as well? >> reporter: though napolitano insists american travelers are safe, many are on heightened alert. the number of air marshals is increased and passengers noticed ramped up security on international and domestic flights. >> last hour we came in, we had to make sure we were seated, nothing on the lap. >> coming into the plane in mexico city, they search all of our bags individually. >> reporter: sunday, police converged on another northwest flight from amsterdam to detroit. the crew reported a man was disruptive and spaent extended amount of time in the plane's bathroom. the man was released after it was determined that he was sick. >> cheryl jackson joining us from detroit airport. just outside the city. so cheryl, you were there as the incident actually unfolded yesterday. what did the reaction look like from the passengers who were on the plane?

>> reporter: well, heidi, we talked to the passengers as they came off of the plane and they didn't know anything had happened until the plane had landed and one of the flight crew told them they had a security problem. later thank you did see a man taken away in handcuffs but no one knew in the air there was a problem. they said that the man was very cooperative and went willingly with police and that's what we were able to determine from the people we talked to, heidi. >> specifically then, how has the detroit airport responded to this? have you seen with your own eyes a big change in security? >> reporter: yes. you know, we are staying in a hotel here at the airport and now we're being frisked leaving the airport. yesterday, my shoes were checked for chemicals. today we were told there's behavior specialists studying the passengers in order to be able to further secure the area. >> all right. we'll be following it closely.

cheryl, thank you. we are actually talking about this story of airline security on my blog this morning. wanted to know what you think about it. tell us how you feel these days about flying. do you feel safe? go to cnn.com/heidi. you will find more about the story in specific that we are talking about today do you feel safe when you fly these days? people in parts of the country still dealing with that. snow. our reynolds wolf keeping a close eye on what's going on in the weather center. that's a lot. >> looks like a giant snow globe out there. we'll see the conditions in parts of michigan, upstate new york and coming up, an idea of how much snow they may get and where the system is headed next, moments away. my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries. that's why my doctor prescribed crestor. she said plaque buildup in arteries is a real reason to lower cholesterol. and that along with diet,

crestor does more than lower bad cholesterol, it raises good. crestor is also proven to slow the buildup of plaque in arteries. crestor isn't for everyone, like people with liver disease, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. you should tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. while you've been building your life, plaque may have been building in your arteries. find out more about slowing the buildup of plaque at crestor.com. then ask your doctor if it's time for crestor. announcer: if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. who's not answering. announcer: there's a better way. intuit quickbooks online p9 organizes your business in one place,

and helps you stay on top of your business anytime, anywhere. get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com. are you a cop? no. you didn't hear it from me, but this malibu, it offers better highway mileage than a comparable camry or accord. estimated 33 highway. i saw that on the epa site. so how come the malibu costs so little. it's a chevy. you have cop hair. now during the chevy red tag event, get an '09 malibu with o percent apr for 72 months. see red and save green. now at your local chevy dealer.

well, the graphic is correct. the little snowflakes there across the severe weather banner. reynolds wolf is standing in for rob this morning to talk more about a nor'easter. is that right? sort of? >> not necessarily yet. >> lake effect. >> may come in a couple of days. it is a snowmaker and was over the weekend. we have proof of great video out of gray, iowa. gray, iowa. don't see gray here. very white and plenty of it. video compliments of kccc. problems with trees and what happens with the ice on the power lines and the trees, the trees become very heavy and things begin to fall apart.

the power outages across the region. you have plenty of snow coming down leaving iowa and moving toward the great lakes. let's switch in other pictures around the nation. the nation's capital and the shot is pretty self explanatory. a little mix of sun and clouds. see the top of the flagpole at the white house. breeze is strong. pretty nice there. heidi, check out this sight. atlanta, georgia. we have mostly sunny skies. beautiful, cobalt blue skies. nice day at centennial park. those are the nicer places. first image, of course, video was from the heavy snow in parts of the midwest. that area of low pressure moving into the great lakes and expecting heavy snowfall in places and lake-effect snowfall could spell out to a foot of snow in syracuse. awful for drivers along parts of 81. please be careful. to pull back towards michigan, showing you live shots this morning in detroit.

the snow's going to continue to come down. the wind is whipping and the wind out of the northwest, what that's going to do is pick up moisture from lake michigan, even lake superior, and that's where your snow will stack up, especially in high elevations near i-75. rough time there is to say the least. in the southeast, just fine for you in terms of the sky and chilly out there. 41 degrees the expected nigh atlanta. 51 in las vegas. 53 in san francisco. back over to minneapolis and chicago, mainly 20s and 30s. new york and bostons into the 30s and 40s. delays today, here's how they stack up. we anticipate due to the wind in new york, you will have some issues there at the major airports. chicago and detroit, same deal. some wind and light snow and low clouds. minneapolis, light snow and wind really tests your patience and patience is a virtue. especially on a day like today with the increased skurt. be careful out there. back to you. >> thank you. >> you bet. last hour, wall street opened its final week of trading for 2009. it is not just the end of the year, but also, the end of the

decade. with a look back and forward, stephanie elam joining us from new york. that is like a huge lead-in to you. big task. >> indeed. i'm having problems with the fact that the decade is over. >> oh. >> biggest part of that. that was kind of quick. look at it first by looking that the week. volume is going to be light. may be people getting the positioning together before the year ends. and i should remind anyone that wants to do that, thursday's your last day because the markets will be closed on friday for new year's day and i'm sure people won't be up in trading hours anyway because they would have been out reveling the night before. if you take a look as for this year, we are on track for double-digit gains. you see the dow on point to be up 20%. the s&p 500 up 25%. nasdaq up 45%. you think back to the march low hitting the low of this recession which started in december 2007, heidi. you can see that there was a lot

of ground to gain back. however, if you compare that to the decade, the s&p 500 index on track to drop 25% for the decade and shows you there this is a rough period n. fact, this is the first time ever that we will have a decade where an indice ever drop. even after the great depression, that whole decade actually ended a bit more positive. not huge but it still was on the positive side. but think about all the things that happened in the decade. burst of the tech bubble in 2000. we also had the recession in 2001 which was eight months and then 9/11, you've got all of those factors in this decade that really hurt the overall market so if you think about it, the fact to come out and still be able to see the sun on the horizon says something about the american spirit there. now, as far as the end of the year goes, january -- which sounds crazy to talk about again, but it is true. january effect usually seeing

stocks take off in the month and could be stronger than ever this year coming up because of comparisons to '09 was so rough with a rough period last year. >> yeah. >> more gains. >> hopefully. i guess when you compare it to something really bad, you can always look better and that's the way we'll do it. >> that's true, yeah. >> stephanie, thank you. >> thanks. he was known as a political power broker and key figure in harlem. remembering civil rights attorney percy sutton and the legacy he leaves behind. xxxx

checking top stories, prosecutors will try to get dna samples of the man accused of plotting to blow up a northwest plane on christmas day. the fbi say it is 23-year-old abdul mutt tab was carrying explosives. prosecutors hope to tie him to the evidence found on the plane. a hearing in the case happens in this afternoon in detroit. he is not expected to be there. pioneering civil rights attorney percy sutton has died. he represented malcolm x and his wife before launching a career as an fluent shl new york politician and radio mogul. the cause of his death is not released.

sutton was credited with leading the revitalizization of harlem. he also mentored jesse jackson in two presidential races. percy sutton was 89 years old. at least eight people are dead in clashes in the streets of iran. the government cracking down on protests that boiled over on ashura. police took hundreds into custody and more arrests could be made. among those reported dead is the nephew of on sigs leader. iran has not seen this level of violence since he lost the disputed presidential election back in june. here's a question you probably haven't thought much of before. what did heavy metal bands and nascar drivers have in common? a constant ringing in the ears. our dr. sanjay gupta explains. ♪ >> reporter: drummer lars ulrich

didn't know he was abusing his ears until it was too late. >> it is like a con instant ringing in the ears basically. >> reporter: he is playing the drums for 30 yeeshs now and suffers from tin tis, it's a constant noise that sounds something like this. >> it never sort of goes away. it never just stops. >> reporter: exposure to loud noises is the most common known cause and you don't have to be a rock and roller. loud noises from machine troy a speedway. how do you know when something's too loud? >> if you are in an environment where you're about three feet away from an individual and you have to literally raise your voice for that person to hear you, that is already becoming a very loud environment. >> reporter: audiologist says ear plugs and molds like lars now wears can help. >> i never sit down behind a drum kit without protection.

>> reporter: he hopes others will start sooner than he did and protect their ears now. whether at work or at play. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. u.s. airports ratchet up the security in the wake of the botched terror attack on christmas day. we'll tell you what travelers can expect. (announcer) time brings new wisdom new aches and pains, ...and new questions about which pain reliever is right for your body. tylenol 8 hour works with your body, with one layer that dissolves quickly... ...one layer that lasts all day ...and no layers that irritate your stomach the way that ibuprofen can. it's tough on your body pain. not on your body.

this is amazing.

let me take this. wait, there's no such thing as a projector phone. no, it's the lg phone and projector. there's no such thing as an lg phone and projector. ta-da. what ? the man said "ta-da" ! introducing the lg expo smartphone and lg projector. only at at&t.

new capzasin quick relief gel. (announcer) starts working on contact and at the nerve level. to block pain for hours. new capzasin, takes the pain out of arthritis. time now for the cnn security watch. we have new details on the man accused of target ago u.s. airliner on christmas day. this afternoon, prosecutors in detroit will ask a judge for dna samples from the suspect, umar

farouk abdulmutallab. investigators say below his waist he had tucked away a small bag of liquid and powder explosives. a source tells cnn the package would have been powerful enough to blow a hole in the side of the plane and possibly bring it down. and we have guidance this morning coming us from hawaii where president obama is vacationing with his family. the president is expected to make comments later on today. we, of course, will bring them to you just as soon as they become available. this morning, airline passengers are facing new rules, longer lines and more stress, of course. this is the scene this morning from los angeles international airport. so what are the new security precautions? cnn's allan chernoff is joining us with a closer look at detroit's metropolitan airport. yeah, a lot of things passengers going through today, right, alan? >> reporter: yes. security very tight here, heidi. first let me divert because we

have an update about that scheduled dna hearing. it now actually has been canceled according to an e-mail that we have just received from the public relations representative for the u.s. attorney's office here. now saying that that hearing that had been scheduled for 2:00 local time has been canceled and not rescheduled for any time. that was going to be an effort by the prosecutors here to request that a swab be taken of the suspect to have his dna and presumably to be able to match that dna to evidence found on the aircraft where he allegedly tried to blow the aircraft up. heidi? >> any idea at this point why they would cancel something like that? >> reporter: i'm sorry? pardon me? >> any idea why they would cancel something like that, trying to get the dna from the

suspect? >> reporter: this just may be a legal complication. frankly, it would appear to be a fairly straightforward request by the prosecution. >> yeah. >> reporter: you wouldn't think they would have much trouble gaining permission from the judge but we don't have further detail on that right now. >> understood. from this point, alan, we'll keep our eye on that and continue to follow that part of the story. if you would, let's run through the security precaution that is people are going to be seeing, at least in the recent few days. not sure all of these new security measures stay in place but tell us what you know at this point. >> reporter: well, i was in the terminal only a few moments ago, and they're play ago recording through the day that basically says that security has been tightened. reminding passengers to make sure that their bags are not unattended at any time. and also, saying that the bags can be checked and rechecked, as

well. passengers are taking this quite seriously. many people arriving well, well in advance of their domestic flights. i spoke with a number of passengers who were here three hours in advance and were waiting on very, very long lines this morning. but the fact is, all of them said to me, you know what? we're okay with that because we understand this is an environment where security simply has to be tight. >> yeah. no question about it. all right. well allan chernoff, we sure do appreciate the update and continuing to follow a little bit more on why that dna collection has been canceled and the hearing later on today for the suspect in all of this. allan chernoff, thank you. want to give you a specific look at some of the rules that you will notice when you're flying now. airlines are implementing slight variations on those domestic and international flights but generally, the new security rules require this. more physical pat downs at the gate.

more frequent checks of carry-on bags and then during the last hour of flight, you must stay seated. can't have blankets or personal items on the lap and cannot touch the carry-on baggage and cannot use the restroom unless you're escorted by a crew members. the regulations in the last hour of flight. that brings tous today's blog question. we wanted to know, because of the stories out there now, beginning on christmas day, how safe do you feel these days when you fly? what are some of the concerns that you have? just go to cnn.com/heidi and you can share some of your comments there. in fact, take a look at a few of them already this morning. andrew says this --

and remember, we always want to hear from you. your feedback on all of these stories, forpt us here at cnn so please log on to cnn.com/heidi to give us your thoughts on how safe you feel flying these days. here's a closer look now at the terror suspect. umar farouk ab dull mutt lab. he was on a database of people with ties to terrorism. the reason? his father was worried about his son's deepening religion-ism and

learned the 23-year-old placed on a british watch list after he was refused a student visa. the u.s. should have been notified of the british concerns. abdulmutallab is well educated. this incident now putting the tiny country of yemen back in the spotlight. is it the newest breeding ground for terrorists? paul crookshank is a fellow at the nyu center on law and security and author of "al qaeda: the current threat." he is joining me now from london. paul, thanks for being with us. let's start for a moment with the suspect himself. umar farouk ab dull mutt lab. what have you learned about snim. >> we know something of his upbringing at the moment. from a rich nigerian family. very educated guy. he was in school at sutton point

and expressed in classroom debate support for the al qaeda. not clear if he was playing the devil's advocate in those debates. i just spoke to the teacher in question. or whether he was radical at the time. he then came here to the united kingdom for engineering, a very, very prestigious university here in the united kingdom. he studied here for a while and possible he continued on a radical trajectory here in the uk and went back to the middle east and eventually went to yemen where he appears potentially to have hooked up with an al qaeda affiliated group in yemen. he say that is that was the group that gave him this bomb-making kit that he used on this flight coming into detroit. the explosives, petn in this incident similar to an attack that al qaeda in yemen had against the saudi prince several months ago, heidi. >> in fact, i want you to talk more if you would about this group.

this aqap. apparently a new group, if you will? a new generation of people in yemen. tell us a little bit more about what you know. >> well, al qaeda does have a presence in yemen. a growing presence in yemen. that is al qaeda affiliate. there's some indication that is it's moving some of the operations away from pakistan because of all the predator strikes. they're in yemen. also, after there was a crackdown in saudi arabia after 2003, more and more people, militants, went from saudi arabia to yemen. so there's an increasing presence of al qaeda in this country, yemen, heidi. >> yeah. so then what happens? if everybody knows this and many articles read and i have read several of them this morning. what happens in yemen? >> that's a great question. the yemeni government knows they have a real problem over here. i'm talking to officials about this. the trouble they have is that a lot of the country real is a no-go area for them controlled

by local tribes and worried about launching too many operations in the area to alienate the tribes and may have pakistani taliban in yemen and concern about what they should do. they're a poor country and don't have the resources or intelligence to monitor the people. there's a cleric, heidi, who's believed still to be in yemen at the moment and to have connections to many plots. they would seemingly not yet managed to apprehend this man even though he is in their country, heidi. >> it just seems like there's so much more to be discussed here as far as moving forward in this country and some sort of crackdown and how it can be done and i'm curious to know, paul, about his father, the suspect's father, actually contacting all of these agencies, authorities, including u.s. embassy in nigeria about what his son was doing. and being increasingly concerned about his activities. >> well, it's remarkable that

the father was contacting various security officials from various countries to help the family track him down so there were real red flags here and but this guy seems to have managed to get on a plane all the way to detroit. he apparently told fbi officials that there are more people like him who have been training in yemen, willing to go across and that's very disturbing because airlines have a real vulnerabilities against powdery explosive that is metal detectors kabt pick up, heidi. >> all i think about with everything i'm reading is this is one guy. this is just one guy. so what happens from here is obviously the big question and seems like we are working on this all the since september 11th with regard to security on airlines in specifics. so paul, we sure appreciate the discussion this morning and continue to talk with you. thanks again coming to us from london this morning. >> thank you. a lot of bottled up anger following the summer's election in iran.

want to talk about that now. the exploding violence in the streets now during a holy observance that we're talking about and the government is cracking down hard on protesters. but pressure... and congestion. (announcer) you need a sinus medicine ooohhh... that rescues you from all three symptoms introducing new sudafed pe® triple action™. for more complete relief from the sinus triple threat. get more complete relief. with new sudafed pe® triple action™. also find sudafed® behind the counter. announcer: there's an easier way. create your own business site with intuit websites. just choose a style, then customize, publish and get found.

sweet. get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com.

a fire chief in massachusetts says two people are dead after a series of fires in a small college town. the d.a. calls the fires suspicious. at least nine of them, snom buildings and cars, broke out in a neighborhood in northampton yesterday morning. federal, state and local fire and police officials are investigating but they do believe they were intentionally set. in south carolina, four men are charged with first-degree lynching after a 42-year-old man was beaten to death.

officials say the suspect's hit him in the head on christmas night with a two by four. all four men are held without bond. first-degree lynching in north carolina is defined as an attack by a mob which results in death. another great weekend for james cameron's movie "avatar" making $75 million over the christmas weekend. most popular movie in america for the second straight week. in iran, anger at the government is spilling into the streets now and protests during a holy observance there turned deadly. resa assay is monitoring this. hi. >> reporter: hi, heidi. we saw the biggest outburst of violence since the disputed elections on june 12th. let's go to new video coming into cnn this morning showing the aftermath of protests and clashes. this is video of streets of teheran the morning after, monday morning. parts of the city looking like a

war zone. the streets filled with debris, several vehicles belonging to security officials, they're charred remains after weekend of intense protests. and clashes. based on the dramatic and amateur video of the past couple of days. we saw security forces come out in force, out on a mission to deliver a harsh and violent crackdown on protesters and that's the end result. a lot of protesters with bloodied faces. witnesses telling us, security forces going after and smashing protesters in the head with their batons. that, perhaps, explains why we saw so many head injuries. we also saw a number of deaths according to state-run news agencies in iran. there were at least eight deaths. among the victims, and this could be perhaps the biggest development over the weekend, is the nephew of opposition leader mir hossein mousavi and there you see a picture of the two, the opposition leader, former

candidate on the left. to his right, the nephew who according to state-run news agency and opposition websites was killed on sunday and i believe we have video of what's purported to be mir hossein mousavi's nephew moments after he was killed. new information coming into cnn. a website saying mousavi's nephew's body is missing so look for that to add fuel to the fire. iran state-run news agencies painting an entirely different picture. they're saying all these deaths were staged. saying not a single gunshot was fired by security forces but, heidi, if you look at this void owe, certainly paints a different picture. >> yeah. certainly. all right. we know you're following for us. let us know if we need to come back to you. reynolds wolf joining us now for a picture of the weather scene outside and kind of a mixed bag.

>> it really is. parts of the country, weather couldn't be better. in miami, a good part of the nation angry at you. jealou jealousy. highs in the 70s today. but for places like the midwest, dealing with all kinds of snow and we have some proof for you. parts of the ohio valley. this is from indiana taken this weekend. and the snow is just really tough for people to drive in. take a look at that. nearly white-out conditions in minneapolis. winds around 40 miles per hour. and it was just rough going on many parts of the highway. south bend, salt sprayers on the roadways, plows. of course, just the sheer volume of people on the roads over this long holiday stretch. if you look behind me on the magic wall, see that conditions in indianapolis are looking pretty good but you go to the north and take you up into michigan, it is an entirely different situation because you have got the strong winds coming off lake michigan and northwesterly flow aloft is going to pick up that moisture

and then going to drop into the colder areas, colder levels of the atmosphere and spill out into snowfall in places like grand rapids, big rapids, even in detroit. you have seen the wind and dealing with the snow. back in new york, seeing some of that from buffalo, rochester, syracuse. moderate snow showers and some of them, more than moderate. by tomorrow afternoon, could have a foot of snowfall in some places. this is snow belt. that's the reason why. we're seeing that area of low pressure bringing scattered rain showers to parts of the northeast, as i mentioned dry in the southeast and look for rain in the san joaquin valley of california. let's send it back to you, heidi. >> all right. thank you. >> you bet. well, the stockings are empty and at least most of the boxes are opened so has this been a happy holiday for retailers?

in your quest for holiday gifts you may have noticed the stores felt more crowded this year than last. and that's present enough for retailers. we have more on that. alison, are we finally see ago turnaround maybe in the retail sector? >> well, heidi, i don't know if we can call ate turnaround but there's an improvement. there's information out showing that holiday spending rose more than 3.5% from a year ago. of course, that's compared to a horrible 2008 when sales tumbled

by almost 2.5%. we can't forget that. still, the bounce in spending is great news for the retail sector avoiding last year's disaster despite tight credit and double digit unemployment. mastercard says online sales were particular hot spots, surging more than 15% between november 1st and december 24th, consumer electronics, footwear and jewelry, those were the hottest sellers online and in stores while apparel sales, they struggled. fortunately, though, that major winter storm, that wallop on the east coast the saturday before christmas didn't take much of a toll with shoppers making up for the lost days hitting the stores in advance of the storm. >> the big question is how hard will it be for retailers to keep the shoppers coming now that we're into january. >> oh, sure. that's really the big question. it is a big hurdle for retailers, partly because many

of them kept the inventories so lean so there's not as much merchandise to put on sale. another negative is that gift card sales don't appear to have been very strong this year and that's a big worry since many experts consider redemption the life blood of the post christmas season because shoppers spend more than the value of the card. we'll have to wait and see what happens. retail stocks are broadly higher wi . modest increase, the dow up about nine points. nasdaq better by four. i want to mention more thing about airline stocks, they're taking a dip today after those two weekend security incidents in detroit. carriers are hoping that despite the jitter, travelers may have, investors can look past the incidents and focus more on the bigger picture of improving demand and prices. back to you. >> we shall see. thank you. in fact, with anxiety over

airlines high and economic worries keeping travel plans at minimum anyway, it may come as a surprise to learn that the travel industry staged a comeback in 2009. poppy harlow is in new york with more on that. it is a shocker. >> total shocker. when you look at the stock market, we have had a huge run-up this year but travel one of the best performing sectors having to do with the major deals and deep discounting. when you look at the stocks, look at, say, priceline or expedia.com, the stocks soared as have surprisingly represental car companies. dollar, thrifty, the stock hate all-time low of 60 crepts. today, over $25. so an amazing increase there. what we're seeing looking at the numbers is americans are not only driving more but flying more. when you look at individual miles driven, that was up about 16% in the latest reading from the february lows we saw.

and then air travel, that's sort of slowly staging a turnaround w. the data of september, that's the first month when airline passengers increased and following 17 months of declines for the industry. heidi, i talked to a lot of travel analysts this morning. one who said if they tell you the airlines are poised far rebound, they're living a fantasy. the reason they're apparently doing better, fewer seats and record low airfares this year and helped people out all, of course, this comes before the most recent terrorist scare to keep that in mind, as well, looking forward for air travel. >> yeah. so then what's the outlook for next year? further recovery possibly? >> yeah. they think so. the u.s. travel association is saying that we're going to see a 2% increase in lee which you are travel so individuals spending more next year and the industry needs it. looking at the data, combined 400,000 jobs lost in the

industry 2008 and this year all in and this industry believe it or not supports one out of every eight non-farm jobs. think of people at hotels, airlines, rental car companies. total of 8 million u.s. jobs and the travel association is saying next year's increase could bring us, heidi, 90,000 new american jobs, that would be very welcome. here's the sticker. business travel, that is going to remain very, very weak according to most analysts. one told me, 2009 was probably the low. 2010 won't be bet we are business travel and here's something to keep in mind, hotels. you might be seeing really low hotel prices right now because the owners have been hammered. commercial real estate crunch taking effect now. seeing unbelievable bargains but that's because they have too many hotel rooms. chicago, orlando, las vegas. that's what we're seeing. heidi? >> all right, poppy, thank you. >> you got it.

and on our blog this morning, we are talking about how safe you feel flying. obviously, in light of the potential attack that could have happened, it was foiled on christmas day, flight 253 from amsterdam to detroit. we're wondering just how you're feeling about things. we are getting an enormous amount of blogs and e-mails this today. this one from dale, i believe it says -- remember, we always like to hear from you. go ahead and log on to

cnn.com/heidi and you can post your thought there is and share more of them throughout the program today. moms in the u.s. making a difference by helping babies a world away. giving a simple gift that has a profound impact.

in today's giving in focus story, milk. it's basic need for every infant but for some orphaned babies in africa, it is not so easy to come by. we see what some mothers right here in the u.s. are doing to help.

>> my name's nicole and i have a 16-month-old daughter ella. >> i'm passionate about breast feeding. so i started pumping. very quickly my freezer filled up with a lot of frozen milk. >> i realized, i don't know what we'll do with this milk. i'm producing faster than she can drink it. >> my freezer was filled with frozen milk bags. >> first thing i did is google donate breast milk. >> i looked over their website and knew that once i was reading about how they were sending the milk to south africa and helping these mall nourished infants, i knew it was something that i wanted to do. >> they send somebody, a nurse, to draw blood. make sure that you qualify and healthy enough to donate and ship you a cooler. >> i have probably shipped about four or five coolers full of

frozen breast milk or 300 or 400 ounces worth. >> i would guesstimate that i have donated about a thousand, maybe a little bit over 1,000 ounces of breast milk. >> it is healthiest for babies. has the natural anti-bodies and pass along the immunities to babies. babies born in the critical situations. >> as i'm pumping, every day, i'm picturing, you know, these little children, little infants in south africa receiving this breast milk and thriving on it. it is so satisfying to give this milk knowing that i will probably never meet the people, the baby that is are benefitting from it. >> this is probably the most rewarding and gratifying volunteerism i've ever done. not writing a check or giving money to a homeless man on the street. it is very personal and -- i spent a lot of time thinking about that. it's been very rewarding. >> well, some of the mill senior citizenna