having these sorts of patdowns?i couldn't find a security expert anywhere that said yes they're doing this at this airport in this way, or that many of them are even using thee enhanced things. so basically, two people came from outside the u.s. that were threats to the u.s. and now we're doing this to basically innocent american citizens as far as we know. >> so i've traveled in europe several times in the last couple months and i have witnessed and experienced thorough patdowns, and i have seen very similar type of screening that is done in several european cities, airports, so i think we're consistent and of course we know some places around the world it's much more thorough than what we do here. >> where is it more thorough? >> well, some places that -- i don't want to say particular country here or airport. >> people going through the airports know. so just like who has a more thorough? >> well, i think the israeli model which a number of people talked about uses intelligence in different way, profiling, and th

. >> would you submit to one of these patdowns? >> not if i could avoid it. no, who would? >> reporter: any federal official with armed bodyguards like cabinet members or congressional leaders of both parties have always been allowed to avoid tsa checkpoints. the rest of us have to wait in line. >> i wouldn't let it happen. i would not do it. i would just not fly. >> it's intrusive to our civil rights but i guess if we have to, to be safe. >> by now, the technology is better and we should have a better system than people just fondling us. >> reporter: a couple of stats for you. less than 3% of people are ever selected for patdowns and of those who go through the full body scanners only 1% decide to opt out and go for the patdown instead. so far no sign of that protest that they've been talking about this week with people opting out, trying to force these tsa checkpoints to get into a choke period. but the crunch day is wednesday, the day before thanksgiving. >> tom costello at washington's national airport. tom, thanks. >>> the clo

now, patdowns are limited. if you go to a metal detector or opt for an ait, you go through and you're fine. if it is necessary for a patdown because you alarm or there are some other problems -- i was traveling this morning and one of the passengers said i need a patdown because i have a metal leg or some form of metal on my personal body. that person volunteered that. and so we have to be very much in context. what happened on 9/11? what happened on christmas day 2009? it's very important to emphasize that. >> congresswoman, you did write today, you co-wrote a letter to mr. pistol l about the enhanced patdowns and you said for the stated reasons above, we respectful ll lly request you reconsider. >> in fact, i was briefed by administrator pistole today as this letter was being written, the intent of that letter -- i'll be at my airport monday and tuesday, at bush intercontinental airport, both speaking to officials, watching what is going on. but -- >> but you do want to change protocols? >> no. we wrote that

now, back to those security patdowns. the tsa now saying they must be as minimally invasive as possible. sydnie, what changes, if any, and when to this patdown procedures at this point we simply do not know. >> mark, thanks very much. mark sayre in san jose. some people are talking about there may be a protest on wednesday. is that right? one of the busiest travel days? >> reporter: indeed. it's the opt out protest asking for people who don't approve of these new security measures to opt out of the full-body scanners. the tsa director this morning saying he hopes people don't do that because it will create a backlog on wednesday. >> certainly ruin the start of the holiday for a lot of people. mark, thanks very much. mark sayre in san jose. >>> travelers will also have higher prize this holiday season. farecompare.com says plane tickets are up 59% compared to last thanksgiving. hotel and gas prices are higher as well. >>> 6:32. some new bus shelters in san francisco are leaving some riders al wet. this is marked and 2nd st

but tonight, the patdowns remain in effect. here's chris bury. >> reporter: just as chicago's o'hare and other airports gear up for a hectic holiday season, security patdowns are suddenly topic "a." >> i think the tsa is out of control. >> i'm not looking forward to being patted down, but it doesn't really bother me. >> reporter: today, one of the nation's elite frequent flyers conceded she would steer clear of the up close and personal tsa checks. >> would you submit to one of these patdowns? >> not if i could avoid it. no, i mean, who would? >> reporter: not that such senior officials have to worry. even the incoming speaker side-stepped the tsa because he has a security detail. the rest of us, out of luck. and a new message from tsa's chief explains the options, if you opt out of a full body scan. >> you have the option to request that the patdown be conducted in a private room. and you have the option to have that patdown witnessed by a person of your choice. >> reporter: if too many refuse body scans, holiday travel could

the obama administration responds to the uproar over those invasive new airport patdowns. and what secretary of state clinton said would she submit to one. >>> tour deforce. first a reality show, and starting this week, a nationwide tour. is sarah palin warming up for a presidential campaign? >>> and dash board diva. the mustry woman guiding us when we're lost. we go for a ride with the voice of your gps. >> recalculating. >>> good evening, everyone. north korea, one of the most secretive nations on the planet, has set off alarms in washington and other capitals this weekend with revelations it's quickly built an advanced nuclear complex. one that gives north korea the power to expand its nuclear weapons program. they showed off the vast new plant to a group of american nuclear experts who said they were stunned by its soes his case. tonight, we have the first tv interview with own of the experts. he spoke to abc's john hendren. >> reporter: behind the military pomp, north korea is advertising a stunning new nuclear development. >> it's going to drop like a bomb shell. >>

patdowns then the -- then the patdown will focus on that area. there are a higher rate of false positives on that area. that results in more patdown. we are trying to stay away from that. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. first of all, i think i'm going to say that i think we should have a classified hearing. we will work with scheduling on that. >> i welcome that. thank you. >> i want to now talk on cargo. is it feasible for all cargo operations to be screened in the same specificity at the passenger processes? secondly, do we have practical solutions? there are now imaging machines that are used on the border for trucks going across the border. are those technologically feasible to be used for air cargo? is it also an affordable option that would be common sense? >> it is not practical at this time to screen 100% of air cargo worldwide it that is the question. we do screen 100% of all passenger flight in the u.s.. we screen high risk cargo coming into the u.s. on passenger flights. there is still a lot of cargo out there. there is almost 9

now, back to those security patdowns.ow saying they must be as minimally invasive as possible. sydnie, what changes, if any, and when to this patdown procedures at this point we simply do not know. >> yeah, but again, everybody is just waiting to see if a few people will get in line and hold it all up on the wednesday before thanksgiving. >> reporter: indeed. >> mark, thanks very much. mark sayre in san jose. >>> it's getting more expensive to fly out of san jose. a recent check shows tickets have on average increased 12% at mineta international airport. now, mineta says it's not because of that billion-dollar makeover. but it's the economy's fault. it hit short haul carriers harder. by comparison fares have fallen 8% at sfo. >>> time now 5:32. you want to keep that umbrella handy. tracy is here with more on the showers we have around the bay area. hi, trace. >> oh, good, juliette and sydnie. yes, we do have showers across the bay area but i do want to revisit quickly how we got dumped on this weekend. take a look. more t

agent made her take off her underwear during a patdown in a private room, her artificial knee had set off alarms. >> we've always told our children to let nobody touch you because it's improper, yet it's okay if our government does it to us? that's not right. >> reporter: at salt lake city's airport agents searched a shirtless young boy, the agency says despite the agents protest the boy's father removed the shirt to expedite the screening. >> and bladder cancer survivor thomas sawyer says his patdown at detroit's airport was so aggressive it spilled his urine bag, he had to travel in urine soaked clothing. >> i was just mortified, my underwear dropped on the floor and i had to ask her to pull it up. >> reporter: the t.s.a. is investigating all complaints, still the all body parts patdown used for passengers who set off alarms or refuse to go through body scanners, continues to raise questions about the line between safety and privacy. even secretary of state hillary clinton said sunday she would avoid the probing hands of the t.s.a.. >> would you submit to one of these patdowns? >> n

. >>> the patdown controversy. the tsa is making a key change, but it won't affect flyers during the busiest time of the year. >>> deadly mistake. authorities take action after the accidental euthanasia of a hero war dog. >>> plus the sky's the limit. we'll introduce you to a new farming concept that could help feed the world. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. those advanced patdowns and body scanners at airports. now the tsa has announced it is making a change to those rules. we're joined with all the details. good saturday morning. this new change in policy only affects a really small group of people, right? >> that's right. airline passengers will still be subjected to the rigorous patdowns and the full body scans but not pilots. the tsa is exempting pilots from the advanced procedures though they'll still have to go through metal detectors and have to show company and government issued i.d.s. that has others legs and used her hand to go up my skirt, that's when i freaked out. >> passengers against the

he says patdowns and body scans are necessary to assure airline safety.acy concerns. the vatican is making an exception in its stance on using contraceptives. pope benedict says the use of condoms can be morally acceptable in some cases. the example he used was if mail prostitutes wanted to use condoms to stop the spread of hiv/aids. we asked john allen, senior cnn vat ran analyst about this if this signaled a major change in the church's policy. this is how he explained it. >> he used the example of a male prost opportuni prostitute but more generally if the intention is to reduce infection that can be morally acceptable which could also, although the pope doesn't say this explicitly, could also apply to the situation of a heterosexual couple, married cup until which one partner is hiv positive and the other isn't, a number of catholic theologians and a vatican commission back in 2006 have recommended that in that set of circumstances, condoms might be justifiable. >> some roman catholic leaders have spoken in the past about the limited use of condoms in

he started the patdown. when we got to the chest portion, he used his open hand to slowly start moving down my chest rather firmly. and i realized he was getting down close to where my urostomy bag was. i said to him, you need to stop for a minute. one, you need to go slower. and two, you need to go a lot lighter. what's doing to happen, you're going to catch your palm in the wafer and rip it off, so can you go a little slower, and he didn't. he didn't go slower and more gently. i asked him to do both. sure enough he got down who here. because i only had my t-shirt on, because he asked me to take my sweatshirt off. his hand slipped between the wafer that goes on my stomach and the seal that the urine is collected in and it opened it up just enough that urine came out on my clothes and then started dribbling down on my leg, on my shorts. >> mr. sawyer, what happened from there? i know you ended up having to get on your flight in that condition. tell us about the rest of your day. >> a little more happened tha

and half of all respondents are against that patdown.in, if this opt out day actually works, more people will be opting for the patdowns. that's not something we have seen thus far at sfo. but, of course, it is still very early. >> anne, thanks very much, anne makovec at sfo. >>> it is 6:37. a powerful union may have helped break the story of meg whitman's illegal immigrant housekeeper. a source tells the "san francisco chronicle" that nikki diaz santillan reached out to a friend who knew a member of the california nurses association. the nurses union then put her in touch with an attorney. santillan says whitman knew for years that she was in the country illegally. >>> california could be next in line to have an arizona style immigration law. a bay area activist is collecting signatures to place a similar proposal on the california ballot in 2012. the measure would require law enforcement to reviewed immigration status of people they stop if they suspect they may be here illegally. it would also make it a crime for illegal immigrants to

him in a moment, by the way, also said he's taking another look at the new procedures including patdowns, as he tries to balance security and privacy. and for a perfect spikive about one million passengers have been patted down in the past month, and just a fraction of those, 700, have complained. don teague is at the dallas fort worth airport tonight. don, the numbers may be small, but some of the stories we're hearing are pretty outrageous. >> reporter: they sure are, seems every day we're hearing new stories of humiliation and outrage, as the t.s.a. walks a fine line between p. r. and safety. >> that's not right. >> reporter: this grandmother sandra murdic says she felt violated at houston's airport when a t.s.a. agent made her take off her underwear during a patdown in a private room, her artificial knee had set off alarms. >> we've always told our children to let nobody touch you because it's improper, yet it's okay if our government does it to us? that's not right. >> reporter: at salt lake city's airport agents searched a shirtless young boy, the agency says despite the agents pro

does everyone get a patdown? no, they will not. you will encounter and be subject to patdowns if you opt out from one of these full body scans, going through the technology, go through the full body scan and metal detector and the alarm goes off and there's a need for secondary additional screening. there's also, fredricka, a chance for random selection in terms of randomly selected for patdowns. that being said, a small percentage of people are subjected to enhanced patdowns. but the people complaining about it, that sure doesn't make them feel any better. >> kate, i'm looking at the line behind you as folks get ready to go through security. is the line long, impacted at all by the changes here, the options people have? >> we've been talking to a few people. right now it seems like a normal security line, 100%. saturdays i don't think are the busiest travel days in general in terms of the weekly travel schedule at an airport. but the line has seemed knowing to really complain about in terms of we know what a security line can look

prepare for the new patdowns if you're traveling this week. the government responds to the latest criticism. and even "saturday night live" weighs in. >>> crime in america. the rankings of the safest and dangerous cities in the u.s. >>> and musical honors. from bieber to backstreet. a big night in the amas. >>> good morning. thanks for being with us on this monday. i'm vinita nair. >> and i'm mike marusarz in for rob nelson. air travelers are looking for added delays. >> passengers angry over the new airport security measures threatening a slowdown on wednesday. and now the government is responding to those complaints. emily schmidt is joining us from washington. >>> good morning to you. passengers have not been shy saying they want more security in their government screenings. the tsa is issuing a statement now promising to make sure at that security screenings are what they call as minimal a invase as possible. >> reporter: new airport security scans and patdowns have turned up one thing so far, a lot of frustrated passenger. >> i think the

in the ultimate kind of patdown or the so-called resolution patdown, the passenger has the right to go in a private room, always with a companion, with an inspector of the same gender. so there is a series of processes there designed to make sure that even in that setting we are paying attention to passenger privacy concerns for those who have them. yes. >> there you have it. the secretary of homeland security saying that they want to be responsive to the concerns of the flying public. thomas hiden berger is a former airline pilot. his wife, michelle, was a flight attendant aboard an american airlines flight na crashed into the pentagon on 9/11. airline security is a personal matter to you in a way few others could truly understand. what's your sense of how the tsa is aproechiproaching safety? >> well, we all want to have the same thing or the same goal, to have safe skies. not just for myself and my family but for all of us. under fortunately, the procedures that have been recently put in place or magnified, they are here to stay. i think in many respects what is overlooked or missed

more importantly, those patdowns. the agency's head says he may rethink now how airport security screening is done altogether. just don't expect it to happen before you fly out this thanksgiving week. >>> meantime more stories about bad screening experiences continue to make national headlines. fox 5's wisdom martin starts us off tonight. >> well, some passengers say it comes down to picking your poison in some cases, either go through a scanner that sees through your clothes or opt out and get a patdown. now even though it's all in the name of security, the question tonight is how much is too much? at dulles airport where the thanksgiving crowd is still small we caught up with passengers arriving from california who had already gone through security. >> i've had patdowns. if it ensures that we're secure when we're flying, i welcome in and because i want to have travel be easy and safe. >> it's pretty normal. we just went through the normal things. we didn't get any patdowns or anything and it went pretty smoothly. >>

paris hilton, so let the patdowns begin. "jimmy kimmel is next. paris hilton, so let the patdowns begin. "jimmy kimmel

specifically talking about the enhanced patdowns. not everyone will be subjected to these patdowns. some people are calling them more groping than patdown. but you will be subjected to them if you opt out of the full body scanner, if you just refuse to go for whatever reason. or if you go through a metal detector and an alarm goes off, indicating a secondary screening or additional screening is needed. also, there are -- you can be randomly selected for these enhanced patdowns. so those are the scenarios that would put someone in the position of being subjected to these enhanced patdowns. tsa says that's a small percentage of the flying public daily, about 2 million people fly and tsa says that's a small percentage of the people that are subjected to those patdowns. but president obama even himself was talking about the new tsa security measures today from portugal. he was asked about it at a press conference, and the president himself said that he understands the frustration of the flying public, but also said that it's a very tough situation, those are his words, for both tsa and

has had a patdown. we've had that experience. we're comfortable with it. >> reporter: but many passengers don't like the experience. tsa agents have been questioned, screamed, even punched by passengers. now, late night comics are taking their shot. >> i get more action going through security than i did all of high school. >> when they go home, you know, to their wives, their girlfriends, a guy goes, not tonight, honey, i've been fondling people all day. >> reporter: but look at these pictures we shot today in the denver airport. look at them. they beg the question, is anything off-limits? how close can tsa get? what can they touch? most people don't know. so, we asked. the tsa says that during a patdown, a screener will examine your head, shirt collar, waistband and use the front or back of their hand to feel your body, including your buttocks, breasts, between your legs, feeling up to the top of the thigh. some women may be asked to remove their skirt in a private screening area and be given a gown or

most people have not been through the scanners or the patdowns yet.'re about to find out over the thanksgiving and christmas holiday just how horrifying it is. our group is receiving about a thousand emails and hot line calls a day from people who are saying they simply won't fly if these are the only two options available to them. >> warner: what do you say to that, clark kent irvin? what evidence is there that these measures are effective for not only the current threats but emerging ones. >> right, margaret. certainly it's the case that there is no technology other than these full body imagers, body scanners that are effective at detecting explosives. the metal detectors that have been in use since the '70s do not detect explosives. they're metalic detectors. there is nothing right now better than these full body imagers that can detect explosives. it's pretty clear from those who looked at this issue, experts, that the case would have been detected by whole body imagers, the christmas day bomber. i think the two key issues is related. different th

. >>> now to another story we're all talking about these days, scan or patdown? that's the question thousands of travelers are gearing up to answer as they prepare for the busy holiday travel season. and this weekend the tsa is hoping a new you tube video will clear up your concerns regarding your rights. fox 5's tisha thompson live in the news room where what we need to know before we fly. >> reporter: well it's been a rough week for the tsa with people threatening to boycott security procedures on wednesday, one of the busiest travel days of the year, because they are unhappy with body scanners and patdowns. so we went to reagan national airport today to see what the first bout of holiday travelers had to say about their experience after they went through security. carol mason said before she could celebrate thanksgiving here in d.c., she had to first go through a body scan machine at the memphis airport. >> they made he hold my hands over my head for a little while and step forward. i stepped forward and i didn't realize they were going to do something else an

children under 12 get modified patdowns now. no religious exemptions now and now pilots because they argued they went through full security, they will not have to go through these procedures. >> the other thing about the pilot is if they wanted to bring an airplane down, they could with their bare hands. it's that simple. >> that's true. all right. 10 minutes after the hour. something else that we covered over the last six weeks leading to the midterm elections when the president went out and said i got to get control of the message, i'll have some town halls and backyard meetings and one of the town halls included velma hart. she's a veteran. she's got a degree in finance and she's a mom and she's a wife and she was talking about how exhausted she was trying to defend the president and keep her head above water. let's listen to what it sounded like. >> quite frankly, i'm exhausted. i'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that i voted for and deeply disappointed with where we

they are not reducing patdowns just those randomly selected.note here, tomorrow is allegedly this opt out day in which these internet calls for people who too protest the scanners, create more patdowns and choke the checkpoints that cause havoc on thanksgiving day. so far this week we've seen no sign of it. tsa and airlines are all hoping there's a very miniscule number of people participating. they point out the planes are leaving whether you're on it or not. they don't want people to miss their thanksgiving holiday because of these protests. >> you'd have to be highly motivated to miss your own flight for the protest. tom costello covering all of it for us. busy week every year, even more so this year. appreciate it, tom. thank you. >>> coming up networks, built by the bank, big banks raking in the dough. how they are hiding the fees and some say getting around those new regulations meant to protect consumers. >>> watch out wall street, the financial world is reeling as the fbi cracks down on insider trading. who is about to get caught with t

and pistole, who went through the procedure himself, called the patdowns invasive. but the failed christmas day attack by the underwear bomber proves terrorists are actively working to smuggle bombs aboard airplanes. >> i recognize the invasiveness of it. i also recognize that the threats are real, the stakes are high and we must prevail. >> reporter: privacy advocates argue patdowns and explicit x-rays violate their rights but security officials say flying is a privilege not a right and protecting aviation is a national security obligation. bob orr, cbs news, washington. >>> the issue of gays in the military goes back on the front burner. senate majority leader harry reid says he plans to call a vote on don't ask, don't tell after the thanksgiving break. president obama has pledged to repeal the policy. >>> the u.s. air force is issuing a warning to troops using facebook and other social networking websites. the concern is over a feature that can identify a person's identification making it possible to let the enemy know where forces are in war zones. the air force

how would a patdown be different?n't think the patdown -- i don't know that the patdown would be different although i have seen patdowns that have gone too far that people have gotten on the news. i gotten beyond what it should be. i think training, compassion and passion for the traveling public, ought to create a positive experience for people or they won't fly. i think congress is going to get into that and understand we're getting dangerously close to doing that. >> you touched on this a moment ago, larry and said we're getting really close to the infringement of our fourth amendment rights to unreasonable search. is that what the tsa is doing right now? >> well, john pistole came to my airport and we had a nice visit. i think he's a very smart man. i registered my complaint there. i'm a law enforcement officer with our police department here in sanford, i can't do that. i have to have probable cause, if i'm going to too a search to that degree, you're going to be in handcuffs because you're going to be under arre

and the actual patdowns themselves. the scanners i'm really nervous about them because they are naked body scanners and we were told that they couldn't take our pictures and save them but it came out in florida that not only were they saving them, there were hundreds of pictures saved of people and with their names and information and we now how that -- we know how that goes. we are not sure of the radiation, what they put out. and the weirdest thing is they were already ordered when we got the big push for these was the christmas day bombing. they had been ordered a year later and they were about to be shipped and all of a sudden we have a guy getting on a plane in amsterdam, tries to blow himself up or i forget exactly what happened. he was helped on by a sharp dressed man and didn't have a passport and that is pretty much a fact. anybody can really do the research and find that out, which ushered the event in. more police state. more looking at us. getting on a plane i would not fly to lauderdale any more because i s

tonight, the tsa says there may be a better way to do the patdowns but tomorrow could be really frustrating. >>> a vicious storm across a big part of our country and more weather that could impact holiday travel. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> a special good evening to our viewers joining us on the west coast tonight. we're covering what may be the largest confrontation of its kind since the korean war. tonight, south korea is threatening enormous retaliation after an attack by north korea. in a dangerous part of the world, where the chance of a nuclear confrontation already runs high on a good day. the first attack happened while most americans were sleeping. it was after midnight eastern time. the north fired a barrage of artillery at an island controlled by south korea. two soldiers were killed and after the volleys, reports of dozens of homes and buildings on fire. tonight, president obama has had his second major briefing of the day. he is calling the president of south korea this evening. president was sharply critical of the north in an i

yesterday it i have verted into talk over the full-body patdown.echnique is invasive and demand changes. but if you deny this additional screening, you won't be flying. >> those security officers there are there to work with you, to insure that everybody on that flight is has been properly screened. everybody wants that assurance. >> i much rather go through a little uncomfortableness and know i'm going to be safe. >> stranger groping you basically. >> the san mateo district attorney's office is getting involved saying it will review complaints of these airport security patdowns and consider a charge of sexual battery. passengers are not happy with the other option either, the full body scan, which is quite reveals. one group has organized national opt out day on one of the busiest travel days of the year, the day before thanksgiving. it wants passengers to opt out of the full body scanner choice and choose the patdown which could actually make security lines even longer. the tsa is user scanners at 68 airports across the country now and plans to a

they have the system down pat without a patdown." for more on the national opt out day and how it can affect your thanksgiving travel just head to our web site at abc2news.com. click on the national tab. >>> weatherwise today, definitely looking at a nice start to the weekend here and in fact i want to take a look, not just at the forecast page we have up but rather maryland's most powerful doppler radar. as you see this, clear skies now over the state and we expect that to hold off but more active weather pattern developing across the east coast and that is going to signal some rain chances as we go through the day 20e78 and much colder day due toward the end of the week. now, mild. 57 in annapolis, 55 frederick. this evening, 60s with a few clouds. and fairly mild weather on tap for us through the rest of the night but pretty quiet. we'll talk about the rain due in tomorrow. when that clears and our shot of very cold weather coming up for the thanksgiving weekend, coming up. >>> baltimore police say there's a possibility that conne

. >>> next on msnbc sunday i patdown if you are wry, americans sound off. how will the beefed up security affect the upcoming thanksgiving holiday travel rush? >>> here we go again, north korea is hiding its nuclear ambitions once again that what is the clandestine communist country up to now? in a squeeze, americans face another gift-giving season on a tight budget. more bargain hunting to make it bountiful for you. >>> seventh heaven, harry potter fans flock to the thesors to see the boy wizard, does live up to the previous six? i'm alex witt, welcome to msnbc sunday. 11 a.m. in the east, 8 a.m. out west. new reaction from the white house on an alarming story out of north korea. a new report says the communist regime has secretly built a new nuclear facility to enrich uranium. mike viqueira is live at the white house. good sunday morning, mike. >> morning, alex. >> this has to have the administration concerned, if not talking about it are they saying anything? >> absolutely. we have reaction from a senior administration official as well as the nation's to

now weighing in on the tsa patdown controversy. she'd rather see profiling.ofile individuals/suspects in other situations. profile away. it is a constant palin palooza. some love it all. but others -- listen to what former first lady barbara bush told larry king in an interview airing monday on cnn. >> she's very happy in alaska. and i hope she'll stay there. >> reporter: so, what's this all about? is she running for president? she told barbara walters -- >> i'm looking at the lay of the land now and trying to figure that out. >> reporter: the problem that may be the risk with this whole media barrage, 67% of americans say she's not qualified to be president. >> if she is beginning with the assumption on the part of many voters that she's not up to the job, constantly being in their living rooms on programming that portrays her as a celebrity probably makes that problem worse, not better. >> let's get the fish before the bear gets the fish. >> reporter: but presidential voting is not the most-pressing election for the palins this week. that would be "dancing

pistole has undergone the patdown. says they're thorough, and i can tell you as someone with a metal hip implant, i can personally tell you they are that. secretary of state hillary clinton says she would avoid the patdown if she could, but the president says pistole has assured him there is no other way to catch people like the would-be christmas day bomber who had explosives scene into his -- sewn into his underwear. mr. obama said he has told his advisers, don't get complacent. >> what i've said to the tsa is that you have to constantly define and measure whether what we're doing is the only way to assure the american people's safety, and you also have o think through are there ways of doing it that are less intrusive. >> reporter: pistole says the tsa is doing that, but he says in the short term nothing's going to change. he says there's always going to be a trade-off between security and privacy. jon? jon: wendall goler outside the white house for us. thanks, wendall. jenna: for more, we're joined by florida congr

tsa agents receive just eight hours of training on how to perform those new patdowns. but the tsa say of the more than 30 million passengers who have flown since the new procedures kicked in, only 700 have filed complaints with them. still, real concerns remain, especially about the safety of those scanners. the tsa maintains they are safe and only emit a minuscule amount of radiation. still, some in the scientific community aren't convinced. >> there's a fair amount of evidence out there right now that the doses are still low but they're rather high than the tsa is saying. >> reporter: he says 10 to 15 times higher. they say independent scientists and experts have not been allowed to test the safety of any of those 409 scanners in airports nationwide and they would like to. abc news has reached out to the tsa to make that request and hopefully, diane, we will get some answers. >> to make the requests to do the tests ourselves. >> exactly. >> and see what it is. >> independent tests. >> independent ones. sharyn alfonsi, thank you. we'll of course cover all of this tomo