talk to your doctor about chantix and a support plan that's right for you. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. tell your doctor which medicines you are taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit smoking products.

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call the number on your screen. right now on msnbc, al qaeda connection. president obama makes his first direct link between the group, and the botched terror attack on christmas day. heart healthy. rush limbaugh out of the hospital, and talking about what might have caused his chest pain. the getaway. tiger woods' wife takes a trip far from the troubled golfer. she's been spotted at a resort. we'll tell you where. plus how much will a trip to the top of the empire state building ten years ago? we'll compare a lot of price tags, then and now. good morning, i'm chris jansing in for alex wit. we'll have all that plus your weekend weather forecast. it's awfully cold in many parts of the country. but first, president obama explicitly blaming al qaeda

today for the attempted bombing of a detroit-bound plane on christmas day. in his weekly address to the nation, the president revealed what the government has confirmed about the suspect. >> we know that he traveled to yemen, a country grappling with crunching poverty and deadly insurgencies. it appears that he joined an affiliate of al qaeda and that this group, al qaeda in the ararian peninsula trained him, equipped him with those explosives, and directed him to attack that plane headed for america. >> nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house. we've been talking about a possible al qaeda connection for several days now. but this is the first time it's actually come from the president. >> reporter: well, that's absolutely right. directly from him, not from some leak, not from some congressional hearing. aides had talked about a possible al qaeda connection. but the president making it clear today in his weekly radio and internet address, chris, that al qaeda on the ararian peninsula is partly responsible for helping this young man try to blow that plain up on christmas day over the skies of detroit. the president and the administration, as you know,

have been under some attack since that day. primarily from republicans, but also from concerned democrats that the intelligence community has somehow dropped the ball, and from republicans that the president had not taken the lead in fighting terrorism, has de-emphasized the war on terror. the president and the administration say that's not true, and after this comment that you just played, the president really defended himself, and what he called a focus on yemen and other terrorist organizations. >> i refocused the fight, and bring to a responsible end the war in iraq which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, and dramatically increasing our resources in the region where al qaeda is actually based. i've set a clear and achievable mission to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al qaeda and its extremist allies and forge new partnerships. as in yemen and put unrelenting pressure on these extremists wherever they plot and train. >> and the president went on later in that address to call for a bipartisanship or at least

a back of partisanship when it comes to the war on terror. there's been a back and forth all throughout this holiday week from republicans and others on the intelligence community. the president meets on tuesday with a lot of those very same agencies, and then later this month there are going to be some very uncomfortable congressional hearings up on capitol hill. >> too early to say who might be the target of this? i mean the white house has said, president obama has said he's going to hold his own white house accountable here. >> well, that's right. and some of these agencies we just put up the graphic there with some of their symbols and seals. the department of homeland security, the national counterterrorism center, the director of national intelligence, the transportation security agency. all of these agencies were created as a direct upshot of 9/11 and 9/11 commission and the recommendations that the 9/11 commission made. these were the agencies that were supposed to end the lack of information sharing. the stovepiping, if you will, keeping information from one another, apparently that did not happen in this case, and a lot

of these agencies, including the national security agency, which is in charge of electronic eavesdropping in the intelligence community, are going to be called on the carpet and have some questions that are going to have to answer. some tough questions, chris. >> all right, mike, thank you. for some perspective now i'm joined by "washington post" national security reporter joby warrick. happy new year. >> you, too. >> what's your take on how significant it is that the president is saying now that there's an al qaeda link near? >> it's an important clarity. we knew this guy. he could have been lone actor, maybe he was inspired by al qaeda. now we know for a fact that he was al qaeda. al qaeda trained, equipped. now that we know that, it gives us something to work with, and it couldn't be more clear. i think it's becoming clearer by the day exactly how this worked out. >> the president also said that it's a priority for him to strengthen the u.s. partnership with the yemeni government. but is that easier said than done, given the fact that, for starters, there's two civil wars going on in that country? >> yes. we've had a rocky history with

yemen. they've been on our side, at least nominally. but we've had some difficult times getting them to do things that we want them to do. this is a country that needs resources and we really need them. so it's important to somehow get this government to cooperate with us, to get our people on the ground to increase resources, to go after some very serious problems that they know now that they have over there. >> i guess the question, and one of the key questions that the president will be looking at, and congress as well, is exactly what kind of resources to put in. we already know that they gave yemen a second only to pakistan in that region and that they had already been stepping up some efforts within the country. but how far do they go? >> intelligence people complained that sometimes they've given this aide and seen it go into people's pockets, seen the government be wishy-washy. sometimes they're helping us. sometimes they're immersed in local politics. it's a very weak central government. it's fractured. there's no question this is a difficult place for us to work. but what choice do we have? sort of the thing that the

agency folks keep saying over and over again. we let this fester and continue as it has, we see the results that we've had the last few weeks. >> you know, right after 9/11 we really had to focus on osama bin laden, and so much time and effort was focused on him. there is a lot of talk now about these radical clerics, including anwar al a la hi who's been tied not just to the christmas day would-be attempt, but also to what happened at ft. hood. how much time and resource is the government spending right now and how much do they plan to step up resources in terms of what they're calling these sort of televangelists of radicalism? >> yeah, well this guy is a real case study. he's the guy that seems to have his finger in every pie. the ft. hood shooting, as you said. and with this recent case. this nigerian bomber met with him face-to-face. he visited his house. and u.s. is very concerned about this guy. they targeted him in a raid a couple of weeks ago.

and these guys are dangerous. if they're not physically aiding terrorism, they're certainly inspirations, in this case, the guy was clearly much more than an inspiration. >> joby warrick, good to see you. thanks a lot. >> thank you. >> this weekend on "meet the press," deputy national security adviser john brennan on how the terror attempt could have been prevented. also on the show, former homeland security chairman michael chertoff and former cia director michael hayden. check your local listings for times. an update now on a developing story we're following this morning. british officials say pirates have hijacked the british-flagged cargo ship "asian glory" off the coast of somalia. pirates reportedly seized the ship east of the somali coast before it joined a convoy heading for the gulf of aden. 25 people are said to be on board including bulgarians, romanians, indians and ukrainians. conservative radio talk show host rush limbaugh is out of the hospital this morning. the 58-year-old was taken to a honolulu hospital on wednesday, suffering chest pains. nbc's lee cowan has the latest

on his condition from honolulu. lee? >> reporter: well, good morning. a very relieved rush limbaugh resumed his hawaiian vacation here yesterday, calling his health care something that was very humbling but also very mystifying, as well. he described the pain that he had as some of the worst pain he's ever experienced. cardiologists now here in honolulu say that he did not appear to have a heart attack. but they're not exactly sure at this point exactly what he did have. take a listen. >> i wish i knew what it was. there's all people can do is make wild guesses about it. best guess was it might have been a spasm in an artery. but this angiogram showed literally no heart disease or arterial disease whatsoever. >> reporter: health care and health care reform are two of the key bones of contention that rush limbaugh has with the president and he didn't waste the opportunity yesterday to say that his experience at the hospital here was proof that the health care system is just fine. it's expected to hear probably a lot more of that on his radio show when he gets back.

he's expected to be back on the air on wednesday. that's the latest from honolulu. back to you guys. >> thanks very much, lee. across new england, preparations are under way for heavy snowfall today. boston could get buried by up to ten inches of snow. in portland, maine, snow removal crews plan to sold, sand and scrape their way for what is expected to be 15 to 18 inches of snow. nbc meteorologist bill karins has our forecast for us. good morning, bill. >> good saturday morning you to, chris. waking up to snow. new york city a late dusting overnight. it's still snowing in long island, connecticut, also through massachusetts. it's going to be pretty much an all-day snow event in northern new england. in boston the next two days it's going to be windy, you're going to see periods of snow, and it will be enough that you probably are going to have to do some shoveling, too. official forecast calling for 3 to 6 in boston. but areas of northern new england, at least 6 to 12 inches with this latest storm. that's the travel trouble spot on the eastern sea board. other locations are cold, including the southeast.

but if you want to talk about cold, look at the midwest. windchills are in the negative 37 range in bismarck. minneapolis negative 29. just a horribly cold period into the new year for minneapolis. today's high is going to be 2 degrees. tomorrow, only 7 degrees. so, by far the worst area for winter cold this weekend. in the midwest. back to tu. >> all right, thank you, bill. tennessee police have just released video showing one man who apparently just couldn't quench his thirst. here it is the man dragging a soda machine from the back of his truck, sparks flying everywhere. he allegedly stole the machine earlier in the day. officers did catch up with him and arrest him before anyone was hurt. police say he was hoping to get the money out of that machine. still ahead, proof that police really have their hands full new year's eve. how a highway stop got out of control. and later, the realities of flying in the wake of the christmas day plot. what to expect if you're getting on a plane this holiday weekend.

the wife of tiger woods spotted on vacation. we'll have a live report with details. but first, what a difference a decade makes. compare the price of ordinary items from years ago to today. or maybe just sit down because you aren't going to want to be standing when you hear these numbers. we'll be right back. because little bodies need special care, pediatricians trust children's tylenol. to help their fevers, aches and pains feel better.

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new this morning, president obama is blaming al qaeda directly for the attempted bomb attack on a u.s. passenger plane. the president has summoned security officials from key government agencies for a meeting in the situation room tuesday. nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd is covering the president, who is on vacation in hawaii. chuck, what do we know about the agenda for tuesday's meeting? >> well, we do know this, he's going to bring every major

agency head that's involved, from the fbi, to the cia, to the director of national intelligence, to the head of the national counterterrorism center, homeland security secretary janet napolitano. all of them are going to be around this table and a few others. all of them are going to be around this table, in the situation room, and it's going to be very similar to the afghanistan review. probably going to be a very lengthy meeting. hours, not minutes. that's for sure. and they're going to pore through these internal reviews that all of these agencies have done. they've sent them all to the president and he's been every day on this vacation poring through them himself. he gets an update in the morning from john brennan, his chief counterterrorism aide. and then he's been poring through the reviews at night. been very much more of a working part of vacation that all presidents are getting more and more used to these days. >> we were talking earlier with some of the folks from "the washington post," not just about what the president's going to do on tuesday, but you have something like five different congressional hearings coming up and there's going to be a lot of

finger pointing. what are the chances that there will be a shake-up at the top or at least at some level of some of these agencies? >> short-term, chris, i don't think you're going to see a major shake-up. i think there's certainly, if you start wondering behind the scenes what happened. look, at the end of the day, the groups that are charged now with connecting the dots, that were created post-9/11, and that's namely the director of national intelligence, this uber umbrella for all intelligence around the world that our folks collect, and the national counterterrorism center, those were creations post-9/11, and they're charged with connecting the dots. so if you try to speculate of who's -- could be held the most accountable, those two gentlemen in particular, admiral blair, dennis blair who is the dni, and michael lighter who runs nctc, you're going to hear a lot of republican chatter about janet napolitano, head of homeland security. but i can tell you this, the

president has 100% confidence in her. probably one of his favorite cabinet secretaries personally. they're very close. and a lot of white house aides believe she's gotten a bum rap in that she wasn't, when she said the system worked, which, of course, got a lot of criticism for that, she wasn't talking about the intelligence aspect, but about what they were doing on her end, after the terror attempt was thwarted. >> what is this likely to do, chuck, to the president's agenda going into the new year? because there are only so many major issues that can be fought. and there are so many issues that are brought about by this, from guantanamo, to airport security. how do we deploy our resources abroad? where does yemen fit in to all of this. what might this mean for the bigger picture? >> well, think about this. the president delayed the start of his vacation from december 23rd to december 24th because, remember this issue called health care? you know, that was what he

stayed an extra day in washington to make sure health care got passed out of the senate. that is what, in fact, in talking to aides, the first day or two before the attempted terrorist attack, you know, they assumed that any work the president was going to do here was probably going to have to do with health care because they were trying -- they still want to get the bill signed before the state of the union at the end of january or the first week of february. but now when you think about what the first week back is going to be like, it's not going to be about health care and the economy, it's going to be about this. you're right, chris. this probably means energy, immigration, some of these other issues they wanted to tackle in 2010 are going to get put on the back burner because you're going to have huge debates. i'll give you one quick issue on guantanamo bay. okay? is it -- you know, it's not going to get shut down when the president said it was going to get shut down at the end of january. but, are we going to -- we've got to change some laws in order to move some of these remaining nationals that are currently being held there, we're going to

move them to this new facility in illinois. there's going to be a huge debate about that. that's going to get very heated. >> oh, the best-laid plans. chuck todd, thanks so much. police in northwest pakistan say a suicide bomber who killed 96 people at a volleyball tournament was apparently exacting revenge. the new year's day bomb attack took place in a village that was trying to resist infiltration by the taliban. the explosion happened right near a meeting of elders who had set up an anti-taliban militia. today, pakistan's prime minister is vowing to defeat militants who try to destabilize his country. to california now, where a power plant fire disrupted new year's day skiing at a resort north of sacramento. ski lifts were forced to close about two hours early at the kirkwood mountain resort because of this fire, which started on the roof of the power plant. no injuries were reported. resort officials are hoping to have the lifts running normally in time for skiing today. and still ahead, what to know before you head to the airport this weekend. how long do you really need to

show up ahead of time?

as we head into another busy holiday travel weekend, many travelers are experiencing the new realities of flying. on top of the usual crowds and delays, some stricter security measures are greeting passengers flying for the first time since the christmas day terror incident. travel and leisure joins me now with some important information you need to know before heading out to the airport. good to see you. >> good morning. >> so, it's been a week since the terror incident and i am getting reports all over the place about what it's like to go through security now. does it sort of depend on where you are? >> i think it really does depend on where you are. i think people are going to see some increased security measures at major airports. we're saying you should arrive three to four hours early for international flights. and two to three for domestic flights. slightly more if you're traveling with a family or have a lot of extra bags. >> what about packing? are there ways we can get ourselves through the line

quicker? >> i think the best way to pack is to be very organized. you should participate perhaps some of your carry-ons are going to be hand searched. so if you can put light items together. put cards in a separate bag, keep everything very organized. additionally, a great tip is to check in online and to check your bag in online. not only will that mean you'll avoid an extra line at the airport but you'll also pay $5 to $10 less if you check in online. >> okay. so if people are going to be asked to go now through some physical patdowns potentially, we know that they've been increasing them. what's the best way to handle it if you're asked? >> i think the best way to handle it is to be patient, to be calm, to understand that all of these increased security measures are for your safety. a great tip is to wear a lot of layers that can be easily taken off when you get through security. additionally, avoid wearing lots of heavy jewelry. slip-on shoes, other items easy to take on and off are a great idea when going through airports. >> what about in-flight? we heard on the international flights you couldn't have say pillow on your lap, couldn't have a blanket, couldn't get up in the last hour of flight.

what are the standard operating procedure now? >> i think a lot of people are going to see a very similar in-flight experience which they did before christmas day. you know a lot of these increased security measures are up to the pilot and the crew and it's to their discretion. however if you are on a flight with these increased security measures, be understanding, be patient and recognize that it is for your safety. a lot of these are only in place for international flights. >> let me ask you a question that has nothing to do with any of these security scares and that is, it is a busy travel weekend. a lot of people have this week on vacation, so folks are starting today, tomorrow, to get on those planes. what advice can you give to travelers because, i looked at the forecast, cold, snow, rain, inevitably there are going to be some delays. >> i think it's true. inevitably there are going to be some delays. arrive a bit earlier than you would have anticipated. go to tsa.gov, the transportation security administration for up-to-date details on all of the new

security measures. additionally, stay in touch with your airline, ask to get e-mail updates. you can even follow your airline on twitter, and you know, just be patient and be understanding when you get to the airport. there are going to be delays but let's be sure to get home safe this holiday season. >> you know, i used to think i was smart because i would check not just my flight but where that inbound plane was coming from. but sometimes they switch planes out. so you really do just have to be there when your flight's supposed to take off. >> grab a great magazine, a great book and take it easy. >> thanks, sarah. still ahead the wife of tiger woods out of hiding but maybe just for a moment. where she was spotted. next. can start fast... new tylenol cold rapid release gels day and night release medicine fast to relieve painful coughs, congestion and sore throats. so you can feel better.

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oh, that's kyle. he aced his fifth grade geography class. you see, now that we're using fedex to ship globally, i have to learn all the countries again, so i brought in kyle as a consultant. did you know that we have customers in czechoslovakia? actually, it's called the czech republic. yes, kyle, you're a lifesaver. without kyle, i never would have heard of that new country called buttheadistan. shh. [ male announcer ] we understand. you want to grow internationally. fedex serves over 220 countries and territories. now the latest on the deadly attack in afghanistan that killed seven cia employees at a row moat outpost in the southeastern region of the country. the pakistani taliban claims it sent a double-crossing operative to bomb the u.s. base. according to a senior intelligence official, the u.s. had been courting the afghan

bomber as an informant. nbc's jim maceda reporting from kabul, afghanistan, for us today. and jim, as i understand it, the pakistani taliban isn't the only group taking credit for this attack. what can you tell us? >> that's right, chris. not the only one. just the latest one. and it's becoming quite a confusing picture. there are competing claims now, probably for propaganda reasons, but again, they are creating a mess in terms of trying to sort out the identity of this bomber. the first one was what we're calling the cia version. that leaked first from -- former u.s. intelligence officials suggesting that the bomber was actually invited on to base, forward operating base chapman as part of a process of warming him up and turning him into an informant and to gain the trust and confidence of that potential informant, the standard security procedures, frisking, patdowns, heavily guarded gate were foregone. in doing so, the -- there was an

attempt to gain his trust but that trust became fatal, if, indeed, this scenario played out. now we're told by some sources that it's not uncommon to try to relax the situation on these toward operating bases to gain that trust. other sources are saying that would be out of the question. that these are, and i've been on these bases, they are layered in terms of security. you had the afghan taliban claim. we know that one, that it was a disaffected ana officer. now the latest claim from the pakistani taliban saying that this guy was, in fact, a cia trained individual who they flipped into a double agent. so it's murky. hopefully we'll get some answers in a day or two from the investigation. chris? >> okay, jim, thanks very much. and today for the first time, the president is pointing the finger publicly at al qaeda in yemen. saying they are behind the failed christmas day terror attack. >> we know that he traveled to yemen, a country grappling with

crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies. 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 those explosives, and directed him to attack that plane headed for america. >> he's talking, of course, about omar abdulmutallab. and we know this isn't the first time al qaeda in yemen has targeted the u.s. in the last couple of years they've bombed western hotels, restaurants, and in 2008, the u.s. embassy in that country. in two thank you, 17 american tailers were killed by a suicide attack on the "uss cole" which was docked in aden harbor. i'm joined by msnbc military analyst jack jacobs. good morning. let me ask you first your reaction to what you heard the president just say? >> well, believe it or not, it sounds like a remark of reassurance. we know where this guy came from, we know where he trained, we know who gave him the training and the direction. it's -- we've got everything under control.

we know everything that's going on. and, in addition to that, just like actions against afghanistan after 9/11, it justifies any future actions against yemen. >> where does it fit into this? you have afghanistan, you have pakistan. where does yemen fit in in the al qaeda picture? >> well, al qaeda used to be a centrally directed operation and now it's been franchised out. just about every muslim country has got an al qaeda. so at least, if not a full-blown operation, yemen is no different. we have a carrier battle group always stationed in the ararian sea just south of yemen to support activities in iraq and afghanistan. and from time to time we launch attacks from that carrier battle group into yemen when we have good intelligence. very, very close. we also have an operation in east africa in djibouti, not very far away, because there are lots of incipient muslim revolutions taking place in east africa, away. >> there's also been some talk that the u.s. essentially conducting a covert war in yemen. we pulled some numbers on how

much the pentagon publicly disclosed counterterrorism programs is at work there. 2006, just $4.6 million. 2009, $67 million. second only to pakistan in that area. what's the significance of those numbers? >> well, two things about that. first of all, in the giant scheme of things it actually doesn't sound like a great deal of money. >> $67 million is a drop in the pentagon. >> certainly for the pentagon, when they spend more money than that on pencils and light bulbs. but it's a 1200% increase. that's the first thing. and second it does not even take into account ancillary money being spent on things like black programs in areas nearby in places like djibouti. things are heating up in the arabian peninsula. it's not surprising when you consider the fact that one of al qaeda's biggest targets is saudi arabia. >> you really think that yemen has a lot in common with afghanistan? >> oh, sure the two countries are really remarkably similar in many respects. yemen is about the size of

california. otherwise it looks a lot like afghanistan. impoverished, mountainous, lots of deserts, very, very tribal, and never successfully governed from a central location. yeah, looks a lot like afghanistan. >> that doesn't bode well, does it, jack? >> no, i'm afraid not. >> for more on the investigation into the christmas day plots, plus how some are questioning the worth of patdown searches at the airport, head to our website, which is, of course, msnbc.com. officials in rural missouri are investigating the cause of a house fire that killed five people, including three children. the victims were all related, ranging in age from 24 years to 4 months. a plymouth county official says two people did escape from the home, and that an unattended fireplace may be to blame. two men in san francisco are facing charges after passing out in a car in the middle of the highway. apparently they partied just a little bit too hard on new year's eve, and, in fact, the passenger was so out of it, the officer had to actually carry him to the police cruiser.

both men were then arrested. now the latest on the tiger woods saga. a british tabloid is reporting that the golf star's wife elin has turned up at an exclusive french ski resort. nbc's stephanie gosk is in london with more. what's the tabloid saying? >> good morning, chris. the tabloid is saying that she's at chamonix resort in the french alps. she's been there for about a week with family and friends. reportedly costs $8,000, more than $8,000 a night to stay in the chalet that she's been staying in the paparazzi on the ground haven't had much luck finding her. the pictures you're looking at could be her twin sister josephine who is a great skier and apparently elin is a great skier, as well. some of the paparazzi a bit frustrated by the lack of her appearance there. rumors that she will be heading out of the resort tomorrow. >> how do we even know it's her then? i've seen the pictures of her and her sister. certainly with a ski hat on and goggles, i don't know how you'd tell them apart.

>> you can't tell them apart. i mean, it really is rumor at this point. the tabloid is a bit funny in how they play it. they say at one point elin did leave the house but decided not to go skiing and then the sister did go skiing one day. so it's a bit unclear. but certainly the rumors on the ground, and the paparazzi on the ground are saying that they think that she's there. although they haven't had much sightings. you know, you put this next to the fact that we've not seen tiger woods since before the accident, and the scandal broke. i mean the big question here is, where could he possibly be? the only thing we've heard is that written statement where he admitted to his infidelities. there are a lot of people clamoring for a public apology from the golf star, and that just hasn't happened yet. >> and a lot of paparazzi clamoring for that photo of tiger, because what would that be worth? can you imagine? >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, the fact that he's been able, and his wife, for the most part, with the exception of a couple of pictures, been able to

evade the media hurricane that is surrounding them is really pretty remarkable. i think it goes to show, first of all, how much money they have. and second of all, the infrastructure that supports tiger woods, him being able to slip away the way he has. >> yeah. fascinating stuff. thanks, stephanie. appreciate it. >> you're welcome. and still ahead, a new year with new laws. we'll tell you about some of the new bans in effect in parts of the country. but first a little quiz. think back to 1999. how much was the price of gold? get ready for some sticker shock. the answer ahead. announcer: trying to be good to your heart? so is campbell's healthy request soup. low in fat and cholesterol, heart healthy levels of sodium,

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new year, new decade, a lot has changed in the past ten years. including the cost of just about everything. take the cost of a ticket to the empire state building observation deck in new york city. in 1999, it cost four bucks. flash forward ten years and the cost in 2009 is 20 bucks. a 400% increase, if it's too early for you to do the math. for more surprising numbers i'm

join lived by rick newman, chief business correspondent with u.s. news and world report. let's get a little more depressed, shall we? a few more items that jumped in the last decade. >> not all bad news. >> an ounce of gold. >> that one is obvious. when times are unpredictable and people are scared they take their money out of the usual type of investment talks and put it in gold. which is presumed to be safer. that's why we've seen this big run-up in gold. gold may come down as people get more comfortable in some kind of recovery in the financial system's more stable. >> the daily edition of "the new york times." 75 cents to $. a 7-eleven slurpee, 99 cents to $2.12. a gallon of gas up 97%. the cost to raise a newborn to age 18 just 76%. that may be birth control in and of itself. we know it's common for prices to go up. but seriously, these semak sesive. >> yeah, i think well there's a story behind each of these

things, chris. gas has gone up because oil is a fixed commodity. we have a fixed supply of oil and there's a lot of demand for that throughout the world. price of -- i guess the price of a slurpee has gone up because it has been supersize nation for the last few years. and i guess we're willing to pay for those bigger sizes. that may be changing, as well. as you mentioned, the empire state building. the empire state building used to be the second tallest structure in new york city after the world trade center. no one in new york wants second best. now, of course, the world trade center is gone and the empire state building is the tallest building in new york. so -- >> let's be serious, sleepless in seattle is totally responsible for that price increase. who will we kidding? >> that had something to do with it, too. >> let's look at items that stayed relatively flat. average cost for a wedding just over $20,000. gallon of milk up about 6%. top 100 music cd costs 2% more now and tom cruise still earning just $20 million a movie.

i do not know how he lives on that. what else has stayed relatively flat in terms of cost? >> those prices effectively are cheaper, chris, because inflation over this last decade has been about 30%. that's fairly normal inflation. that's healthy inflation, actually. anything that's below 30% is effectively more affordable. and you can also put on this list levi's jeans for instance have only gone up by about 19%. that means they're cheaper and you can thank china for that. anything made in china is less expensive now. and it's likely to stay that way. electronics, there's a macintosh computer in here which is actually down 33%. again all electronics getting cheaper. and you know, there's a lot of disinflation here. things getting cheaper, which is obviously good news for a lot of people. >> all right. well i like ending on a positive note, rick newman, thanks so much. >> see you. >> getting enough sleep could be see to the mental health of your teenager. a new study finds that

adolescents who have bedtimes much midnight or later are 24% more likely to be depressed. and 20% more likely to think about committing suicide. that's compared to teens whose parents set bedtimes of 10:00 p.m. or earlier. the research from columbia university included more than 15,000 teens and their parents. let's talk box office, shall we? "avatar" continuing to break box office records. it's expected to be the first number one movie in the new year. boxoffice.com says it set a new daily record for new year's eve with an estimated $15 million. later in 2010, another movie that's expected to become a big hit may look familiar to you. it's a shrek sequel again. >> my dear friends, we have come to the final chapter. >> i'm afraid our hero's fallen victim to a terrible curse. >> oh, no. >> oh, no, joining me with a look at films of 2010. >> hi, chris. how are you? >> that's not going to be the only sequel of 2010.

>> sequels are always big money. people know the characters, so there's shrek, there's also another iron man. the first iron man. >> excellent, i'm up for that. >> made over $300 million in 2008. this one should probably rocket up to the same neighborhood. you know, the first one turned hollywood on to women audiences for the first time. and there's also a strange '80s flashback happening. there's a movie of the a-team, a new karate kid. there's also footloose, of course, and there's also wall street two, money never sleeps. for some reason, you know, hollywood wants to go back to the '80s for some reason. >> and they always recycle. so they just have picked a decade. >> that's right. >> also this year a movie with just about every star in hollywood. valentine's day. what's that about? >> directed by garry marshall. set in l.a., probably all these stars probably just rolled out of bed onto the set. looks a little like "love actually" and la la land. >> i love "love actually." >> this one you'll watch every

valentine's day. it's got bradley cooper, anne hathaway, a lot of terrific people. whether it will be a hit or not but a movie called "valentine's day" has got money in the bank to start with. >> also rules. taylor lautner has set off a frenzy. >> wolves are giving vampires a run for their money. the werewolf is more interesting for a vampire. but the wolfman is a direct remake of the lon cheney film. and taylor lautner brought sort of a tiger beat style wolf appeal to the last twilight movie. he'll bring that back for eclipse which is coming out in july. >> have you seen the bbc america series being human? it's a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost. >> that's right. right. >> that will be the next thing being made into a movie, i'm sure. 3-d is going to be very big. a lot of folks, i mean, the vast majority of people seeing "avatar" are seeing it in 3-d? >> the 3-d appeal is boosting "avatar's" money haul i think. and that's, you know --

>> they can charge you more. they love that. >> they can charge you more. as can imax. a lot of theaters are not equipped for 3-d. i also think this past year has seen a big jump in the technology of 3-d. and alice in wonderland which is coming out in march, tim burton must have been so jazzed to be able to do it in 3-d. we'll see more of hat. >> what movie are you most looking forward? >> most forward to iron man 2. i think robert downey jr. have really made a mark for themselves. they want to make a rock 'n' roll superhero franchise that stands apart from itself. i think that one's going to be the best. >> it's always good to see you. thank you for coming in. and still ahead, more on those full body scanners in the wake of the christmas day plot. are they an invasion of privacy? and in our next hour, man gets creative as he tries to come up with some extra pocket change. but his extra effort didn't get him very far. (woman) dear cat.

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welcome back to msnbc i'm chris jansing. security versus privacy. that debate is raging over airports using full body scan machines during this busy travel weekend. in the u.s., only 40 of the machines are deployed and only for passengers requiring extra screening. add to that the 150 machines the tsa just bought, they plan to buy 300 more. joining me now live michael german, a former fbi age enand richard minimum tour a contribute are forethe daily beast. how hot a topic is this going to be? >> pretty hot. especially after the bomber nearly blew up a train bound for detroit. it's time for an adult conversation about privacy. no one is talking about ripping up the bill of rights. but clearly some things have to be done to maintain airport security. we need to learn from the israelis and from the germans and learn how to do airport security in an intelligence way. no one wants to be looked at naked or essentially naked with these scanners. but the next generation's going

to have computers looking for pattern recognition so there won't be human eyes looking at you, but computer eyes. maybe that will allay some of the concerns of privacy activists. >> you wrote a piste called to hell with privacy and i want to quote it. the underpants bomber teaches us that there are two kinds of americans, those who'd rather be right, and those who'd rather be alive. are those our only two choices? >> i think there is a small group of people out there who are extremely picky about certain technical's expects of so calmed civil rights. so for example, when an airplane comes in, air bangladesh filled with people who are not u.s. citizens the presumption is still that they are u.s. citizens and they're given the same level of protection, because we don't want to accidentally violate someone's rights. when really we should be looking at a much more detailed way for people who fit certain patterns and profiles. obviously i'm not in favor of racial profiling. and look at the more plausible cases. it's ridiculous to search the 88-year-old woman with the

walker, and the 6-month-old baby. why don't we focus on the young males who have got known connections to terrorist organizations through phone records, or e-mail contact and that kind of thing. >> mike with the ucla, agree with that? >> well, you know i think that the conversation is a little, even simpler than what was suggested. that before we even get to the privacy question we need to focus on intelligence security. and in this case, you know, in the case of body scanners, we know that al qaeda has already adopted methods that would defeat this body scanner. so, it's giving up privacy for no added security benefit. and that, of course, is not intelligence. so what we need to do is make sure that our government is focused on intelligence methods, and not this idea that if an innocent person, or an ordinary -- >> i've talked to a lot of terrorism experts over the last week, they all say you can't depend on any one thing. yes our intelligence needs to be better. but even if we get it really great, there will always be

maybe a few people who slip through. there has to be many levels of security, and could the body scanner be one level? >> well, why not develop a technology that's better than a body scanner? that detects trace materials. we already have that technology in use today so let's put the money in that, rather than in machinery that has a huge privacy setback. yet provides no security for the methods the terrorists actually use today. >> richard, is there a reasonable question to be asked about how this money is being spent? >> well, you know, sometimes i wonder if the californaclu is a anything that might actually work. >> it's the opposite. i just said exactly the opposite of that. we're asking the government to do something that works. >> of course you did. >> rather than something that we already know doesn't. >> these body scanners do work. they've been deployed in europe and elsewhere and it is working there. >> perfect example -- >> the tsa is a dysfunctional organization. i agree with you. we need some more intelligent

airport security. we need to search fewer people and search people for much better reasons, rather than -- >> and we agree on that. >> x-raying and scanning every human being that comes been range of the airport. >> that's what the aclu would say. >> right. which means that we need to use more john doe wiretaps. we need to know when we capture terrorists in pakistan, afghanistan, iraq and elsewhere, why there are hundreds of cell phone calls on their cell phones from people inside the united states. we need to know who those people are, we need to track them, listen to them, analyze them and see are these just ideological fanatics or are these people planning to kill other people? that's the key question. there's a lot of intelligence, but there's also going to have to be some scanning, some wiretapping, some listening in, and some intelligent surveillance. >> michael i'll let you have a quick last word. >> sure. and the question we need to ask is why all those patriot act and all those other things where they said the ordinary american has to sacrifice their privacy, and it will give you security, why all those systems didn't work, as well. >> michael, richard, thanks to both of you.

a debate that will continue in the halls of congress. still to come, rush limbaugh talking about his latest trip to the hospital. we'll have a report from hawaii coming up.he tell a story. my parents all smoked. my grandparents smoked. i've been a long-time smoker. i'm a guy who had given up quitting. what caused me to be interested was, chantix is not a nicotine product and that intrigued me. the doctor said while you're taking it you can continue to smoke during the first week. (announcer) chantix is proven to reduce the urge to smoke. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. today i see myself as a jolly old man,