>> julie: a beloved educator found dead across the border. new details on what is described as an execution style murder and the american who lost his life in mexico's growing drug war. i'm julie banderas. we're live as "fox reports" tonight. tonight, new information on the attempted attack on an airliner bound for detroit. as the president lays out the strongest connection yet between the suspect and a known terror group. >> gregg: it appears that he joined an affiliate of al-qaeda and that this group, al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula trained him, equipped him with the explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for america. >> julie: ahead, more on the

attempt connection to yemen and what that country is doing to hunt down extremists. plus, it was the year of bernie madoff. >> everybody in my life has been demolished. >> a loss of investor confidence. >> your warranty will be safe. it will be safer than it's ever been. >> julie: bail-out for the auto industry. tonight, some of the biggest financial stories of 2009 and their impact on the year ahead and your wallet. but we start with the latest from president obama, who for the very first time is directly linking al-qaeda to the failed christmas day attack on a u.s. airliner. in his weekly address, the president said it appears 23-year-old umar farouk abdulmutallab was trained and armed by an al-qaeda affiliate in yemen. abdulmutallab is now in federal custody as you know, after he boarded a northwest airline flight in amsterdam, armed with powerful

explosives, capable of bringing the plane down, though they failed to ignite. president obama today promising to track down all those responsible for the plot and also defending his administration's anti-terror policies. >> i made it a priority to strengthen the partnership with the yesm meeyemeni governm. even before christmas day we have seen the results. training camps were struck, leaders eliminated, plots disrupted. all those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on christmas must know you, too, will be held to account. >> julie: based on the president assessment, holding them to account will essentially require an increased anti-terror effort in yemen. a country considered a growing safe haven for terrorists, where the u.s. has been monitoring al-qaeda for some time now. molly henneberg is live with the very latest. hi, molly. >> hi, julie. president obama says the u.s. is at war against a,

"far reaching network" of violence and hatred. the investigation in the failed christmas day bomb plot is focussing on al-qaeda in yemen, a country president obama says is grappling with "crushing poverty and deadly insurgency." today, yemeni officials said they sent hundreds of troops to the provinces, the areas where the government doesn't have much control and al-qaeda is said to be strong. president obama says al-qaeda in yemen struck previously. >> this is not the first time the group targeted us. in recent years they bombed the yemeni government facilities and western hotels, restaurants and embassy. including our embassy in 2008 killing one american. >> today, a new statement from michael leiten who says it's reminder of the insidious threat we face, al-qaeda and those supporting the ideology continue to refine their methods to test

our defenses and pursue an attack on the homeland. in the g.o.p. response, mitch mcconnell did not mention the christmas day terror attempt but said with two ongoing wars and prolonged recession, these are "difficult days for our nationnation." >> these challenges don't define us as a people. what defined america has been even the most daunting dif can cullties. in the new year we can be filled with new hope and optimism that our greatest challenges will be met, better days are ahead and in the difficult times we will persevere as we always have. >> president obama says he expects a final report on the bombing investigation from his advisors in the coming days. julie? >> julie: molly henneberg in washington, thank you very much. as the u.s. renews the counterterrorism effort in yemen, the failed attack put

a spotlight on umar farouk abdulmutallab's homeland of nigeria. it's a country not generally associated with extremism and even the suspect's own father reported his son's suspicious activity to the united states. so what led umar farouk abdulmutallab to radical islam? contact and reaction from nigeria coming uppen up on thex report." we're looking into security lapse at one of the busiest airports. this oversight coming days before the failed plot to take down delta flight 253. the tsa launching an internal investigation after a security check point at dallas/ft. worth international airport was left unattended for an hour-and-a-half. we understand employees from the airport department of public safety were actually the ones who find the unsecured area during routine patrol. now the tsa is responding to the incident. laura ingle joins us to explain. >> hi, julie. the idea that anyone or anything could have passed

through the security screening area for the 90 minutes is unsettling to say the least. if there is any good news to report it's that no one was hurt here. as many travelers know, dfw airport is massive. it covers more than 29 square miles and has 164,000 passengers who come in and out of that airport on a daily basis. in a statement released to fox news, tsa officials say, "an immediate review of closed circuit television tapes verified that no passengers or items entered the sterile area while the gate was unsecure. tsa finds this unacceptable and moved swiftly to conduct a complete investigation and take all appropriate corrective action. the tsa reportedly suspended three agents while it conducts its investigation. the agents allegedly left the check point at gate e-8 on december 16 from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. unattended and opened. the gate was apparently discovered in a routine patrol at the end of the night by other personnel by the dfw department of public

safety shutting down the operations for the evening. it spoke with the former head of the security for major airline who calls this is lapse and that there needs to be a re-evaluation of tsa training programs, corrections andgoing testing to make sure that the security agency are compliant at all times and that this never happens again. julie? >> julie: hope not. laura ingle, thank you very much. senators may face a growing controversy on capitol hill when they return from the winter recess. it resolves around summers who is tapped to head the transportation security administration. "washington post" says some lawmakers supported sothers despite knowing about a troubling personal incident in his path. could it derail the nomination? we have more from the capitol. >> harry reid plans to push hard if a full confirmation vote on erol sothers but reid could have a fight on his

hands. "washington post" reports that some senators already knew before they voted to confirm southers that he mischaracterized personal incident in his past. that incident is from 20 years ago when southers was an fbi agent and accessed controversial records about his ex-wife's boyfriend. a day after the vote, southers admitted he did searches himself. republican from maine said he had concerns but now says is satisfied with the explanati explanation. but jim demint isn't. he blocked southers' nomination over concerns he might unionized tsa and now says he shouldn't be confirmed if he couldn't tell the truth. and the white house is standing by the no, ma'minenomi.

>> cons gets back over two weeks from now. for southers to become the tsa head, the full senate has to approve the nomination. >> julie: caroline shively, thank you. some people want him dead and it's all because of something he drew that ignited outrage across muslims all around the world. but the death threats against the danish artist, it's now taken to extreme. this is kurt wester westergaar his granddaughter managed to press alarm and flee to safe room as a man came after them with with an axe and knife. police shooting the alleged attacker. today the suspect arrive in court on stretcher to face two count of attempted murder. and they say the 28-year-old somali man has ties to al-qaeda. you may remember westergaard's 2005 cartoon sparked riots among some muslims that had the prophet mohammed with bomb-shaped

turbine. and cold-blooded murder captured on security camera in chicago. victim, just 16 years old. adding to the tragedy, the student attended the same very school rocked by another senseless murder that gained national attention. the story straight ahead. plus, president obama vacationing in a place where he was born and partially raised, hawaii. gladly welcoming home the native son amid severe drop in tourism. more on how the state hopes the first family visit might reverse fortunes next.

♪ cause it's the little things that mean a lot ♪ oh, thank you.

you're welcome. what a nice young man; my goodness. >> julie: tragic story out of chicago, where it might feel like history repeating itself. surveillance camera capturing the death of a high school student outside convenience store. murder of 16-year-old fred couch on the city's south side wednesday night.

he was a student at christian finger academy high school and now they're asking the public's help to find his killer. in september, the murder of another student was captured on a cell phone video camera. you may remember the beating death of honor student darren albert captured national attention. new information tonight about a van that caused the security scare along new york's times square last week. nypd officials are revealing why the van had been illegally parked on broadway for two days before it aroused suspicion. it seems the vehicle was bearing a windshield plate card belonging to fraternal group or police officers but the placard wasn't supposed to be used as a parking permit and the organization says he's not a member. so it was basically a bogus placard. the suspicious looking van forcing a partial evacuation of times square one day before the new year's celebration. but it belonged to a street

venner dor. george friar has been hit with felony charge and released on bail after manhattan court appearance. his lawyer says he's innocent. police say he forged his registration and he faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. president obama's vacation to his childhood home of hawaii is bringing media attention to the islands these days and the locals hope the presidential visit will translate to increase in visitors. tourism is key to the state's economic infrastructure, but lately unprecedented slowdown has caused unemployment to more than double over the last two years. according to hawaii's tourism department tourist spending in hawaii fell 11% in 2008. a bigger drop is expected for 2009. for first 11 months of 2009, the number of visitors decreased more than 5% from the same period the previous year. many hope the high-profile visit will get more vacati

vacationers to set their sights on the state. steve centanni is in hawaii on the story. it must be nice to be stuck in hawaii. >> beautiful spot but there is trouble in paradise. the state's economic woes are severe and the state officials are looking to the tourist in chief, president obama to turn it around. with luxury hotels along the beaches, island of hawaii have long been vacation spot. >> [ inaudible ] united states hawaii is one of the best places on earth. >> the promise of sunshine year round has not been enough to save the state once booming tourism industry. now the state officials look to president obama's hawaiian vacation to bring in much needed revenue. >> we depend mostly on the tourism for the economy. when the tourism went down it affected everyone. >> marsha weinert says

tourism is 20% of their overall economy and declined in the last two years for as will of $3 billion. now, with an unemployment rate of 7% and budget shortfall expected to reach $1.2 billion by the end of 2010, the state officials look for ways to cut. one proposal is mandate furlough days for teacher and cut the number of school days. but weinert says reviving tourism is the key to rebuilding the state economy and welcomes the free publicity that comes along with a presidential visit. >> all of the images that have been shown throughout the world because of his visit will help hawaii immensely, to move forward and put the desire in people's minds. >> not all welcome him enthusiastically. pat mcgee says flight restrictions due to obama visit will cost them greatly. >> we are estimating $20,000

to $30,000, which after this past year with the economy is really bad. we just barely scraped by for the year. >> in spite of the short-term impact that might curtail some businesses in hawaii, wienert anticipates the obama visit will bring ben it in the long run. >> we are happy to see the coverage coming out of hawaii right now and we do believe it will have positive results. >> now some say president obama himself didn't help matters when he discouraged big companies getting the bail-out funds from holding out-of-town seminars and conferences like here in hawaii. and about 100 big companies did cancel their plans to come to hawaii. nonetheless, tourism officials are optimistic things will start to turn around slowly from 2010. and beyond. back to you. >> julie: all right, steve centanni, thank you very much. 2009 is gone, but certainly not forgotten. neither is a multi-billion dollar scam artist who ruined thousands of lives. bernie madoff may be sitting

in prison for life, but the fall-out from his historic ponzi scheme will continue to 2010 and beyond. that story is straight ahead. and it raises from the desert like a mirage but it's no figment of the imagination. dubai, ready to unveil the world's tallest building. its jaw-dropping height and the big celebration planned for when it opens its doors next.

>> julie: it towers over half a mile in the air, has 160 floors and can be seen for 60 miles away.

just two days from now, the world's tallest building set to officially open its doors. to see dubai rising more than 2600 feet. they are not going to reveal how top it is, for fear another build willing try to top them one dough. dubai is planning a big celebration on monday complete with fireworks and a parachute jump. construction began in 2004. the estimated cost $1 billion. dubai towers is 1,000 feet taller than the taiwan 101 tower, now formerly known as the tallest building in the world. many of us are ready to welcome the new year. a lot of the eagerness is grounded in the expectation america's financial and economic prospects will improve in 2010. after all, 2009 was the year we saw millions lose jobs

401(k)s dropping to depressingly low levels before the market started to recover, the car industry collapsed, the mighty trio of industrial giants, general motors, ford and chrysler all pushed to the brink. u.s. taxpayers becoming the majority shareholders in two of the companies. more on that in a bit. who can forget bernie madoff? many of us never invested in him or heard of him before his unbelievable ponzi scheme dominated headlines but for the victims, the devastation will last a lifetime. many lost everything they secured with him. and the trust in the institutions that were supposed to protect them. adam shapiro of the fox business network has more. >> 2009 was the year madoff became a household name. >> to ponzi scheme wiped out billions of dollars. victims worldwide are still trying to recover. >> everybody in my life has

been demolished. it's not about the rich and famous. it's about the life work of many people. >> reporter: people who say the year of scheme, scam and fraud, not only stole money -- >> this was far more than the loss of money. but there was also a tremendous violation of trust. >> reporter: trust in the very institutions that were designed to protect american investors. >> can i trust wall street? >> absolutely not. >> can i trust sipc? >> absolutely not. they have proven themselves to be dishonest. >> can i trust the sec? >> absolutely not. they have proven themselves to be in wall street's hands. they're like an agency that is directly working for wall street. >> can i trust fnra? >> oh, my gosh, no. >> helen chaitman represents more than 250 madoff victims and is suing the securities investor protection corporation or sipc because she says it's trying to change the rules and attempting to deny victims

their money. >> there was a history of people in congress writing to the sec and sipc saying that sipc is grossly underfunded and won't be able to handle major liquidation. >> reporter: many americans as well as madoff victims are critical. >> i don't think they have any sense of responsibility that they have to the taxpayers that are paying their salary. >> reporter: in new york, i'm a dai'm adam shapiro, fox business. >> julie: arguably, no industry fell hardener 2009 than the car industry. two of the big three filing for bankruptcy. the u.s. government taking majority stake in g.m. and chrysler. brands like pontiac and saturn, vanished. and who can forget cash for clunkers? jeff flock of the fox business network takes a look back. >> 2009 kicks off with a scaled-down detroit auto show. recession racked g.m. sales lost 50 in fact january and toyota even said it will lose $5 billion, the first loss in the 70-year history.

february, the mandated restructuring plans asked for another $22 billion in government dollars. president obama says not good enough and forces gm ceo rick wagoner out. in april, chrysler goes bankrupt and merges with fiat. ceo robert nardelli out, fiat's ceo in. and april 27, bondholder res ject a final deal and three days later, g.m. becomes in effect government motors, filing for chapter 11 protection and emerging 40 days later with $50 billion in taxpayers dollars. fritz henderson the ceo, and the uaw ron gettelfinger taking concessions in return for piece of the new company. meantime ford, gained sales and market share with the new taurus and fusion. which later wins motor trends car of the year award. by july, the government cash for clunkers program has given $1 billion to new car buyers disperse sales as g.m. claims the electric volt will get 230 miles a gallon.

they dump pontiac and tries to sell saab, the turn, hummer and opel. most of the deals go south. vetoing the opel sale and parting ways with fritz hernedson november. i'm not a car guy ed whitacre now in charge after the sacking of henderson. g.m. and detroit shook up with the outsiders running all of motown's not quite so big three. in chicago, i'm jeff flock, fox business network. >> julie: nigerians react as one of their own stands accused of trying to blow up an american jet. coming up. plus, a new call for full body scanners at the airport. after the alleged christmas day bomber managed to get on a plane on to powerful explosives. but critics say the scanners leave too it will to the imagination. our report straight ahead.

>> julie: aweather alert.

frigid week for much of the country. cold air settling over two-third of the u.s. and heavy snow in store for northern new england. parts of ohio, pennsylvania and west virginia have also been under winter weather advisories. cleveland could even see up to 12 inches of snow tonight. followed by arctic air and temps dipping in the teens. domenica davis is live in the fox weather center with the latest on a chilly, chilly weekend. hi. >> it's very chilly. especially when i show you the temperatures in the wind chills we look at now in the plains. the current temperatures are minus 4 in minneapolis, five degrees in chicago. 10 in kansas city. notice how far down the cold is going. 28 for the current temperature in memphis. 47 in tampa. down right chilly even for the folks in the south but not as chilly as it's been feeling up north. coldest air across the country. all the cold air is coming in from canada, dropping the temperature with the winds whipping for much of the country, too. minus ten is what it feels like in bismarck.

s sioux falls coming in at minus 18. lake effect snow showers are kicking up. but the biggest storm is through the northern new england. it's sitting to the north. it's starting to strengthen. tonight, the winds will pick up. the snow will be the most intense. by form morning we could look at 18 plus inches in parts of maine. blizzard warnings in effect from tonight to tomorrow afternoon. a look at the snow accumulation over the next 48 hours. >> julie: all right. domenica davis, thank you very much. a nigerian daily newspaper called him the man who shamed nigeria. 23-year-old umar farouk abdulmutallab accused of trying to blow up a u.s. airliner christmas day. president obama says the young man was trained and arm under the guidance of al-qaeda operatives in yemen but the alleged plot also has u.s. counterterrorism officials focussing new

attention on his native country nigeria. officials there have condemned umar farouk abdulmutallab and say they don't want nigeria to be identified with terrorism but the damage may already be done. greg burke with perspective. >> talking to friends and family of umar farouk abdulmutallab over the past few days, it became very clear that they embrace the much more moderate version of to islam than their son. and most nigerian muslims do. they're quick to point out that the radical ideas that umar farouk abdulmutallab picked up were acquired abroad. despite having 75 million muslims, nigeria is not known for breeding international terrorists. >> it's not in the culture of the people. even amongst muslims in the country. they're progressive. >> he came from the elite of the nigerian society, unlikely to get a radicalized but useful to terrorists once he was. most nigeriance live in

devastatingly poor conditions, often without running water. life expectancy is just under the age of 47. what seems to unite most muslims and christians in the country is poverty. >> what might be on the collision course is not christianity and islam. it's not religious. it might be have-not and the have. >> a very small percentage of nigerians with money and possibility to travel. just one more reminder perhaps that not all terror suspects are angry with the west because they think they have no chance for better life. in nigeria, greg burke, fox news. >> julie: thank you. stepping up security on the ground to avoid disaster in the air. one major u.s. airport planning to instinstall full boy scanners to disrupt items hidden by terrorists. newark international airport getting the high-tech machines to keep the passengers bent on destruction from ever

boarding the plane. chris t we have more. >> the revealing body scanners are the hot topic at liberty. travelers may have to walk through them to catch a flight out of the airport. >> it would make me uncomfortable but it's worth it honestly. >> most travelers we spoke with are willing to put modesty aside for safety sake. >> i have no problem with that. it's for your own safety. whatever makes it safe to fly. >> newark liberty international airport is expected to receive full body scanners sometime this year. many say the high-tech machines could have prevented umar farouk abdulmutallab from boarding the plane he tried to blow up in detroit. the x-ray machine show what is underneath your clothing but some like the german tourist thinks it needs too little imagination. >> no, i don't want to be caught -- >> no. >> there are other ways to do it? >> this man would welcome the

machine and is angry about the attempted bombing. >> with all the precaution and the steps we're taking, we must pay more attention. >> back to the full body scanners the airport officials hope to get them soon. when they do, you may need extra time to board the plane. while the metal detectors take a second to walk through, the scanners take 15 seconds. so if there is a line, there could be a delay. at the airport, christine persikety. >> julie: terrorists on the high seas not wastes time to continue a brazen attack in 2010. this is despite the community organization last year of naval armada to protect a crucial shipping lane for local trade. pirates hijacking two ships off the coast of somali hours apart. cargo ship called the asian glory taken late friday. 600 miles east of somalia. the same day pirates captured a chemical tanker called the promoni in the gulf of aiden. the latest hijackings bringing to four the number of ships seized in the past

week. israel military responded to a recent rocket attack by gaza militants. overnight, israeli warplanes bombing two smuggling tunnels along the gaza strip. this comes days after the militants fired a rocket in the southern israeli town of netivot. palestinians in the northeast section of the gaza strip saying that the bombing injured four people. reena ninan has more from jerusalem. >> hi, julie. the recent escalation comes in the one-year anniversary of the war in gaza beginning last year on december 27. the three-week war left 1400 people dead. last night, israeli warplanes bombed and destroyed two smuggling tunnels under gaza's border with israel. witnesses in gaza says israel struck several targets. according to medical sources, four people were wounded. the attack comes after two rockets were fired by militants in southern israel on thursday.

the israel gaza border had been relatively quiet since last year's gaza war launched to end the rocket fire from the gaza strip. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said israel would respond to every rocket fired by gaza militants. despite the violence, advanced talks are continuing over the release of kidnapped israeli soldier who has been in hamas custody since 2006. hamas officials are expected to give their reply to the deal any day now. the german mediator returns to the region tomorrow. >> julie: thank you. election delays will not keep the troops to leave by the end of august according to ray odierno. the top u.s. general says he expects 100,000 troops will be in iraq in the march 7 elections. two months later, he will assess the country's stability and move troops out. they were supposed to hold the election this month but a

political dispute pushed up the date to march. all u.s. troops are slated to leave iraq by september. leaders are welcoming the new year. a stop as we go around the world in 80 seconds. >> china. explosion at a fireworks factory leaving nine dead and at least eight others injured. the police searching for the factory owner who according to the state run media fled the scene. manufacturering of fireworks is a massive industry in china. and has long been known for lax safety standards. brazil. 19 are dead as torrential rains caused mountain side to collapse burying a result and three homes. more than 100 rescuers digging through mud, rocks and uprooted trees in a search for survivors. the lodge near rio de janeiro, one of nearly 80 mudslides in the region.

north korea, 100,000 braving the cold to support the new year's message. welcoming 2010, the year the marks the anniversary of the ruling korean working party and lig ration of korea -- liberation of korea from japanese occupation. japan, the everyo emperor and r family greeting thousands of well-wisher ins tokia, welcoming a new year and new decade. the leader speaking behind bullet proof glass expressing hopes of happiness for the nation and the world. it's an annual tradition every january 2. and that's a wrap on this fox trip around the world in 80 seconds. bizarre kidnapping case involving an 8-month-old boy. multi-state search tonight. now underway for this child. but wait until you hear who is accused of kidnapping him and why authorities fear this little boy might be in danger. plus, an unusual high-speed chase with a lot of fizz.

you're probably wondering why in the world is that driver hauling a vending machine behind him. we'll explain and tell you how he finally got canned next.

>> julie: a young arizona woman is behind bars accused of kidnapping her own baby. but the whereabouts of her child remains a mystery. police say 23-year-old elizabeth johnson fled her home on december 18 with her 8-month-old son gabriel. ten days later, johnson lost custody of the child because she failed to appear for a court hearing. the mom was finally found by police at a miami youth hostel last wednesday but she refused to say where gabriel is. they launched a multi-state search but they are concerned for the safety because the mom has allegedly threatened

to harm him. tonight, a family demanding answers of a brutal murder of educator in mexico on vacation visiting relatives when he was abducted and killed by gunmen. the 33-year-old body found thursday in the northern state of durango. his death a shock to his southern california community. at last, fox affiliate kttv has more. >> i'm in shock, disbelief. i cried. i yelled. it just can't believe that someone so special to us is gone. >> the mayor talking about bobby salcedo. he will forever be 33. >> i'm just in disbelief. like i said, we did everything together. i think the first time where there was an occasion to go somewhere is when it will really hit me, because i'm going to have to go alone. >> we are learning from the mexican cicity.

at a restaurant, gunmen burst in and kidnapped six men. later, the bodies all found near a canal, shot in the head. >> we want justice. we want somebosomebody, the president, he has to do something. this is the wrong person they have to get. >> neighbors remembering salcedo who more than left his mark. a former assistant principal of instruction at the high school, current school board member, education and helping others. that was his life blood. >> bobby as an educator, administrator. made it his work to help as many people as you could. >> it's like being in a mig nightmare you can't wake up from. hopefully we'll get answers for bobby, and his family and our community, because they

stole our future. >> julie: major marijuana bust near the arizona border with mexico. we're told border patrol agents followed a set of tire tracks and ultimately led to this abandoned jeep cherokee. inside, more than 400 pounds of weed stacked in a plastic bundle. the street value, estimated $330,000. officials say footprints from the abandoned jeep led to mexico where it appears the smugglers returned in order to avoid arrest. soft drinks taken for a hard ride on a high-speed police chase and twins born seconds apart have birthdays separated by a decade. two stops as we go across america. >> tennessee. this isn't your usual high-speed chase. that thing getting dragged behind the suspect's truck is a soda vending machine. police saying the 29-year-old driver needed some quick cash. so he tied a heavy chain to a

coke machine elocated outside a store and then hit the road. the chase near chattanooga going on for miles with sparks flying as the soda machine swung across the pavement. police finally nabbing the bandit after he pulled over. north carolina -- >> three, two, one. [ cheering ] >> plunging into the new year literally in atlantic beach. hundreds of people braving the chilly waters of the atlantic ocean as part of the annual penguin plunge on new year's day. the event raising thousands of dollars for charity. pennsylvania. >> happy new year! >> julie: philadelphia's mayor marching in the 110th new year's day mummers parade. the annual tradition drawing crowds and at least one wedding proposal. finances almost sidelining the parade this year, but the city and organizers worked out a deal much to the delight of philly native and actor kevin bacon.

>> it's great the way we all came together. my brother specifically worked really, really hard on this whole project. we're happy to have it come full circle. >> florida. a set of twin boys born a decade apart. one baby delivered just before midnight on new year's eve. the other coming out seconds in 2010. the delivery coming by cre section in tampa. that -- c-section in tampa, that allowing the doctors to give the parents a choice. >> i turned to nobles and her husband and i said do you want them to have the same birthday or different birthday? >> because of their early delivery, the twins will stay in intensive care for eight weeks before they can go home. their mom said to be doing fine. that is a fox watch across america. >> julie: the nation's first paperless postal system is up and running in major cities across the u.s., converting snail mail to digital transmissions. residents get a digital mailbox based on the street address, basically an e-mail address for your house. and cities can can actually

use it to communicate with people about things like street maintenance and sanitation or even missing pets. advocates say it could save millions. claudia cowen has the story. >> reporter: to cut down on the mail, ryan nickel of san francisco is paying his bills and keeping in touch with friends and family online. and now he's also using a new web-based postal system that uses his street address for e-delivery. it's called zoom box. >> i can just with one click say i want this paperless in the future, please. and i'll never see a paper copy of it again. >> we created a digital mailbox for every street address in the u.s. so now all mail can be sent online the same way it's sent on paper. >> it saves a bundle on printing and postage which caught san francisco's attention. last year they sent 7 million pieces of mail at a cost of over $3 million. money mayor gavin newsom would like to spend on other things. >> nice thing, take advantage of technology and go

paperless. this is invariably the future. he used zoom box to notify residents about a composting ordinance with hyper links to other ecofriendly programs. >> we're trying to encourage residents to cut down on the amount of paper they send to the landfill. recycling but if they can reduce the paper they use up front, that is the best possible scenario. >> and because zoom box allows for geotargeting, users can alert neighbors about a missing pet or other local events. >> block party or garage sale. really, potential for zoom box is to build and strengthen communities by enabling the electronic communication that didn't exist before. >> new york city, minneapolis and newark are also using zoom box to some extent and with every address in america already on the system, more cities are expected to give this paperless postal system a try. in san francisco, claudia cowen, fox news. >> julie: your town might soon suffer another casualties of hard time.

library staffs across the nation are being shelved. we have talk to people who will explain why it could make it harder for unemployed americans to find new jobs. plus, when gravity just won't cooperate. an unusual occurrence in china leads to unusual attraction. coming up, the strange story behind the leaning power of lazu next. eeeeeeeeeee

when it comes to trimming the community, libraries are

feeling the pinch of the tough economic times. so i remember the rolodex things or the files. gone. computers took over. what is going on with the libraries? >> libraries are closing. happy new year. where did the time go? 2010 is here and it means another year of cuts and layoffs and tax hike hikes s fo lot of communities. there are holes in the budget. but now joining the list of casualties is your local public library. more and more cities either trimmed library hours force

to shut them down altogether to improve the bottom line. >> in the past year, we had 1.2 billion people coming to the libraries across our nation and checking out 2 billion items. so you get some sense of closures effect people in dramatic ways. >> listen to this. a southern california city closed all three laying off 60 employees. and the problem is twofold. people come to libraries for more than just books. these days people come to use a computer and surf the internet. tools in high demand with the unemployment rates at record highs. >> these are the people that get hurt the most. not the people who can afford to go to a bookstore and buy a book. or the people who have the internet access at home. they're not feeling the pinch as much. it's the people on the edge. it's the kids that don't have access to commut computers at h.

>> california is not alone. state of south carolina trimmed 30% from the library budget. the state of florida trimmed 24%. this is felt everywhere. julie? >> casey stegall, thank you very much. demolition gone awry. no that is not the leaning tower of p piza. crews in lasu created a new sight-seeing attraction. when demolition explosives left part of the building leaning to one side. according to the report, blast broke the 20-story building in two parts as planned but we're told one side crashed to the ground sideways. instead of collapsing into itself. that was the first near miss. then the other stopped midfall at precarious slant. no one was hurt and the leaning tower has since been successfully demolished.

now more on what you might call a new year's miracle, that story ahead. maybe he didn't have a number for a cab. asked friends to give him a lift. for whatever reason, this guy here with lovely face paint decided to call 911 to get a ride to a bar. 911. i need a lift. the outrageous story he told the operator next. according to the epa, the air in your home can be two to five times more polluted than the air outside. smoke, germs, viruses, allergens, pet dander, even smelly and potentially harmful voc compounds can actually be floating in the air you're breathing! but now you can clean that air with the incredible oreck xl professional air purifier. and if you call and order now you'll pay no interest ever!

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day. the plane part of douglas mawson's expedition in the early 1900s had been abandoned because it couldn't withstand the extreme cold. next time he should call a cab instead. he called 911 to get a lift to a bar. they say gregory oris made up a story of being beaten and shot at so the responding officers could drop him off at a local watering hole. he called 911 not once, but three times. now he faces charges of misusing the 911 system and battery of police officer. arrest report says he was tasered after kicking a sheriff deputy in the knees. recapping the day's top stories. obama promises to track down all those responsible for the christmas day bomb plot on a northwest plane. he is defending his administration's anti-terror

policies in the weekly address. the president directly linked al-qaeda to the failed airliner attack. the transportation security administration is looking into an apparent security lapse at a u.s. airport. it happened at a check point at dallas/ft. worth international airport. employees from the airport department of public safety discovered the area had been left unsecured for more than an hour-and-a-half. on this day in 1980, the age of detance ends as the u.s. reacts to the cove yet union invasion of afghanistan and recalled the ambassador to moscow. president jimmy carter called on the senate to postpone action on the so-called salt two nuclear treaty in response to moscow actions. carter feared the move may disrupt balance in the region and leave much of the oil supply in the hands of the ussr. months later, carter lost to ronald reagan who supported a more aggressive approach to the soviet union, escalation