here's a look at merrill neuman who lives in a retirement community near downtown baltimoreo. reportedly in mid october neuman and a friend went on a trip with a tour group from beijing. his son says everything was going well until neuman, a veteran of the korean war started talking about the war. it was then he was taken into custody. i'm saying reportedly and allegedly. north korea has not confirmed his detainment and neither has the state department. the state department acknowledges it is aware of reports that a u.s. citizen has been detained. we spoke to a professor who specializes in asian pacific foreign affairs. they may hope to use him as leverage. >> i hope they understand it's not a very smart thing to do under any circumstances. that they will see their way towards doing the intelligent thing. >> for the friend neuman was with he made it back to the u.s. and released this statement. he says quote there has to abterrible misunderstanding. i hope that the north koreans will see this as a humanitarian matter and allow thyme return to his family as soon as possible. nor

we are hearing more from the son of 85-year-old merrill neuman and since my last report at 5:30 we learned that the inspiration behind his decision to visit north korea may have come from time spent there during the korean war. this according to his son jeffrey. here is a look at merrill who lives in a retirement community. his son telling the press his father spent three years as an infantry officer in the korean war but says his father never talked about his service and his son believes that neuman's time overseas spurred his desire to travel there. he says his dad along with a friend joined a tour group from beijing for the 10-day trip. his purpose was to be a tourist. it was on his final day on october 26 almost a month ago when he was allegedly taken into custody. he was on a plane when a uniformed officer asked to see his passport and pulled him off the plane. north korea has not confirmed his detainment. neither has the u.s. state department. it does say the u.s. state department sus say it's in close talks and coordination with the u.s. embassy, rather with the embassy of sweden an

korea is confirming that it is holding an american but the regime did not say that person is merrill neumanhis family says he was taken off his plane just as he was getting ready to leave north korea after a ten-day tour more than three weeks ago. we're also hearing from neuman's wife for the first time. in a statement released this morning, lee neuman said the family feels there's been some dreadful misunderstanding leading to his detention and asked that the dtrk -- dprk work to settle this issue quickly and return this 85-year- old grandfather to his anxious and concerned family." >>> we're learning that the president is scheduled to make an appearance in chinatown urging congress to pass immigration reform legislation. he's scheduled to speak at the jazz center. >>> holiday travel patterns are changing. officials at san francisco international airport say today is expected to be the busiest travel day of the thanksgiving holiday. airport officials are predicting 130,000 passengers coming and going at sfo. about 1.2 million people are expected to pass through sfo from today through decem

. >> reporter: merrill neuman is known to travel to parts of the globe. last month the korean war veteran visited north korea and hasn't been heard from since. he was with a friend. his son cities two were there legally as tourists but at the end of the stay his father was questioned by north korean officials about his military service during the korean war. five minutes before departing back to palo alto on october 26, his family says neuman was taken off the plane. north korean authorities haven't confirmed they are holding him but if true, he would be the second american held after missionary ken bay. the u.s. state department has since tightened its travel warning to north korea saying the protection of its citizens is a top priority. for neuman's family they are worried about his heart condition and want him home. >> thank you very much. we do have more details. neuman's traveling companion releasing this statement. there has to be a terrible misunderstanding. i hope that the north koreans will see this as a humanitarian matter and allow him to retur

. >>> in other news -- concern about a man held against will in north korea. 85-year-old merrill neuman of palo alto went to north korea last month but was pulled off a plane and has been detained ever since. secretary of state john kerry says it is another disturbing choice by the pyongyang government. other officials say this hipedders efforts to restart negotiations over north korea's nuclear program. >>> the u.s. is downplaying claims by the president of the central african republic that he's negotiating the surrender of joseph coney. the president said he's negotiating with coney and that his government had complied with a request from kony for food supplies. u.s. officials say there's no reason to believe that kony is part of the negotiations. >>> students in san jose, you may be spending more time in class. city councilman sam lakardo is launching an online petition to extend the school day for public school students. he's hoping to get in on the ballot. he says a longer school day would help prepare many students for college. he says that would also reduce crimes since kids woul

. >> 85-year-old merrill neuman was escorted off a plane in north korea about a month ago just before was due to come home. his family has sent his heart medication to him through diplomatic channels. they are hoping it gets to him. he was reportedly questioned about his being in the war the night before he was detained. >>> aides say bob menendez and senator mark kirk hope to have a bill ready for other lawmakers to consider when the senate comes back december 9th from its two-week recess regarding the iran situation. >>> the supreme court could announce whether it will take up a birth control coverage dispute in president obama's healthcare law. at issue is the provision in the affordable care act requiring employers of a certain size to offer insurance coverage for birth control. some companies and nonprofits object saying it violates their religious beliefs. >>> the fda is looking into whether the morning-after pill or plan-b will work if taken by women over a certain weight. scientists say it may lose its effectiveness in women who weigh more than 165 pounds. it might not work at

learning more about the 85-year-old man reportedly detained visiting north korea. 85-year-old merrill neuman is a korean war veteran. he was on a plane ready to come home to palo alto when a uniformed north korean officer boarded and pulled neuman right off that plane. this happened on october 26. he and a friend were on a 10-day trip with a tour group. neither north korea nor the u.s. state department has commented to confirm neuman's detainment but the state department does say it is aware of the report. >> the b.a.r.t. board scheduled to vote on a contract glitch that could derail the new labor deal. the vote is supposed to happen later on this morning. b.a.r.t. and its unions now in a disagreement over provisions of that new contract regarding paid family leave. b.a.r.t. claims its negotiator signed the wrong tentative deal and the provision should not have been in there. let's check things out on a friday eve. good morning. >> good morning to you, jon, good morning to you at home. the sky over san jose, looking pretty out there. temperatures are warming nicely. we're only going to hit t