the airline finalized its order today, which includes an option to buy 50 more of those planes. the price tag is more than $4 billion. united expects to take delivery of the dream liners in 2016. the new planes will replace older boeing models flying international routes. the dream liner is more fuel efficient, allowing airliners like united to add new nonstop international routes. >> susie: at today's congressional testimony, the fed chief weighed in on china's large holdings of u.s. assets, saying they could pose a risk to our financial system. ben bernanke suggested we'd be better off if china saved less and we saved more. tonight's commentator is also worried about our largest trading partner. he's leo hindery, managing partner at inter-media partners, and chairman of the u.s. economy smart globalization initiative at the new america foundation. >> america's great recession has turned into china's great opportunity. american companies have cut both their payrolls and their capital spending and have driven business to china at the same time that chinese manufacturers are boosting their global competitiveness through mass

the legacy carriers all saw nice action on the upside led by united airlines. u.a.u.a. helped lift the sector as it reported much better passenger revenue results for january. with united's global reach, investors see it as leading some good news to come. american airlines won the fight to keep its alliance with the bankrupt japan airlines. delta lost out, but not its stock-- continental was up and us airways hit a new 52-week high. selling stock below the market price helped boost interest for shopping center owner developers diversified realty. d.d.r. sold more than 37 million shares at $8.16 a share to raise money to pay off short-term debt, and the price shot higher on huge volume. we showed you yesterday how the homebuilder's bucked the selling, but pulte didn't escape its earnings results today. the company reported another loss. now, its c.e.o. says there are reasons to be hopeful about housing in 2010. pulte's revenues were up and its orders for new homes doubled from the doldrums of a year ago. but that didn't help the stock today. it was down on about twice no

but, united airlines has cancelled all transatlantic flights out of dulles airport after this morning's 8 a.m. flight to london and southwest has cancelled all flights after 2:00 p.m. from dulles, bwi and philadelphia. again, when you can not be with us, you can check on your airport and your road conditions anytime by going to wusa9.com. and click the traffic heading on our home page topper and howard are coming up next. full details on the forecast. plus, of course, we will check the road conditions in virginia. when it comes to constipation relief... miralax is the one. it's the one. the one recommended by more doctors. only miralax is clinically proven to relieve constipation with no harsh side effects. miralax is the only one. restore your body's natural rhythm with miralax. >>> our severe weather coverage continues with a looked at packed home depot parking lot on georgia avenue in silver spring. shoppers rushed the shelves to pickup last-minute supplies like salt, shovels and snow blowers. and apparently weather is not an issue for some swimmers. taking a few laps in an outdoor s

united airlines has cancelled the flights after 8 a.m.ncelled all flights after 2:00 p.m. from dulles, philadelphia and crews are mobilizing their plows and filling up with the salt and sand mixture. crews expect to work around the clock once the snow starts to fall later today. howard bernstein is here to tell us when we should start to see flakes. >> third time it is snowing this week. >> and more to come. >> by noon here and earlier south and west. we are picking up verga. this is at the upper levels but the beginning signs of the moisture getting to us. may have a few flakes fall in southern maryland. the next several hours the snow will be moving in. we have moisture coming in from the carolinas and tennessee, actually the gulf of mexico. and you see in southwestern virginia. parts of southern west virginia, that's where it is snowing right now. there could be areas southwest of virginia with a half inch of ice and snow, as well. we are lucky. we will get mainly snow in that regard. 28 manassas. snow gets heavy this afternoon. some s

by 2005, colgan had successfully bid and won flying contracts with continental, us air and united airlineserving regional markets across the northeast and throughout texas. in just four years, colgan had more than doubled in size. that's a lot of growth to manage there, isn't it? >> a lot of growth for colgan to manage. this has been a lot of growth for the regional sector to manage. from flying a small portion of overall flying to operating 52% of the departures today. you know, it's been a huge transition for the regional sector. >> o'brien: even before the crash of 3407, there were growing safety concerns about the regional airlines. since 2002, the last six fatal commercial airline accidents in the u.s. have all involved regionals. in four of the accidents, the ntsb cited pilot error as a cause. the investigation of 3407 opened a window into the lives of regional pilots, where the work is hard, and the days are long, says former colgan pilot chris wiken. >> it's challenging. it's very challenging. a lot of short routes, a lot of take offs, a lot of landings, and going in and out of bad

i worked for united airlines for nearly 30 years. i was severely injured during flight. i have a workman comp's case that have fallen on deaf ear. the lawyers and the doctors and this whole problem has drove my life really to almost not having a life at all. i don't know where else to turn. i don't know who else to talk to about the problem. i've written you letters. i've written letters to many of the senators here in las vegas. i've talked to the doctors. i've done everything i know how to do. but i am a widow with a special needs child. i have lived in the house that i live in for 19 years. my house is in foreclosure. i have disability insurance. i have social security disability. that disability tells me, your insurance is not accepted here. i can't get the medical help that i need to get better. >> what's your -- >> i'd love to be a flight attendant for you on that u.s. one. i'm trained on that u.s. one. [laughter.] >> well, look, in terms of your specific issue, come see harry reid and harry reid will see if he can help you out here. [applause.] all right? workman'

fly out ahead of the storm temperature things were running smoothly last night at national but united airlines has cancelled all transatlantic flights out of dulles. and southwest cancelled all flights from dulles, pwi and philadelphia. >>> when you can't be with us, you can check on the airport and road conditions anytime at wusa9.com. click on the traffic heading right there on our home page. and we'll be bringing you extended coverage all weekend long. tomorrow wake up with me bright and early at 6:00 a.m. as we bring you the latest on the super snowstorm. >>> michael jackson's doctor is expected in court today. that story is coming up. >>> plus, we will have ideas on things the family can do indoors while the blizzard rages this weekend. it is 5:38. >>> here's angie. >>> we are traveling 50 westbound from from the bay bridge to bowie and the beltway. a quiet ride on this friday. what's in the news now. that's next. stay with us. >>> in the news now, police say the person who killed a virginia tech student was probably very familiar with the area where her body was found. the remains of 20-

. >> reporter: well, remember, a commercial united airlines jet was diverted because of a threatening note found in the galley of the plane. out of an abundance of caution, fighter jets were scrambled. now, that was probably the right thing to do. you scramble first, and then you figure out later if the austin thing and united airlines thing were related, but i think, martha, the real lesson for military officials is they've got to think again about how they should respond in such incidents. in a society that has a vibrant and free aviation system, is there really anything you can do to protect against a lone nut who makes a kamikaze run? there are solutions for private pilots that would be an onerous burden on private pilots, and there is really no easy answer to that particular problem. march that: you're absolutely right, nothing to stop a certified pilot to go for a fly. it raises a lot of questions. brian, thank you. good to see you as always, brian wilson in washington. bill: what a day it was to watch that and get the developments hour by hour. clearly, a twisted man who chose

meantime, we are learning more about a united airlines plane forced to make an emergency landing in salt lake city after a threatening note was found onboard. now we are learning that the pilot actually told h 168 passengers that there was a, quote, credible threat while they were still up in the air. can you imagine? a united spokesman says early reports that the note contained a bomb threat were incorrect. after the plane landed, it was searched for ec employeestives and -- explosives and eventually cleared. the fbi interviewed all passengers before releasing them to continue their trip from denver to san francisco. radioactive carcinogens may be with leaking into a new new england river. nuclear waste on the grounds of vermont yankee nuclear plant. this is just the latest of dozens of leaks at u.s. plants, and molly line has got the latest live from vernon, vermont. is that how you pronounce it? what is this stuff and how dangerous is it? >> reporter: yeah, it's called tritium. it's a by-product of the nuclear process, and essentially if it's ingested in a large enough quantity, it co

airlines longer term. >> tom: and what sets southwest apart, outside the avoidance of baggage fee ohs, and where can it grow its routes in the united states and continue to beat profits? >> it is now one of the largest airlines in the united states. and i think it will just continue to grow, they have one aircraft type, they've got enormous loyalty from their employees. and just look at the last two decades how this company has grown. it's been an extraordinary success story, and i think it will continue, because they've got fabulous management at southwest. >> tom: of the four stocks mentioned, any disclosures to make this evening? >> in terms of the disclosures, what i have is delta airline. >> tom: fair enough, our guest tonight, julius maldutis, president and chief airline analyst at aviation dynamics. >> tom: here's what we're watching for tomorrow. our appetites, cheesecake factory, chipotle mexican grill, and panera bread report quarterly results. we'll also see the weekly numbers on jobless claim benefits. also tomorrow, we're one-on-one with klaus kleinfeld, c.e.o. of aluminum giant alcoa. we'll talk about job creation in

i worked for united airlines for i don't know where else to turn.ers and letters to many of the senators here in las vegas. i've talked to the doctors. i've done everything i know how to do. but i am a widow with a special needs child. i live in the house that i lived in for 19 years. my house is in foreclosure. i have disability insurance. i have social security disability. that disability tells me, your insurance is not accepted here. i can't get the medical help that i need to get better. i would love to be a flight attendant for you on that u.s. one. i'm trained on u.s. one. >> well, look, the -- in terms of your specific issue, come see harry reid and harry reid will see if he can help you out here. all right? workman's comp is generally a state issue as opposed to a federal issue. so -- but harry -- he's got a few connections here in nevada. so i suspect that he can help out. but look, to the larger point, there are a lot more people who are actually going on disability right now, partly because job opportunities have shrunk. and that's why it

people in the united states are very familiar with airline black boxes because they know that a in that black box is critical information. and if you get to it fast you can find the cause. you can put -- you cannot only respond to those who have been hurt, you can put to rest some of the concerns as people begin to speculate what, indeed, caused this. and they come up with sometimes wild conclusions. but that black box is critical. now, other manufacturers, understanding just how important it is to get to the cause of the accident for all concerned, make the black box data available to do download. i have had a hard time understanding, therefore, given the fact that your competitors make this data downloadable easily, i have had difficulty understanding toyota invoking proprietary technology that allows only you, toyota, on the spot to download. why should we respect your proprietary technology any more than we with respect the proprietary technology of other automakers, particularly given the safety aspects of this matter and the fact that an accident has already occurred. why do you n

united airlines, check the website or call before going out to the airport.ing flights to d.c. probably will expand that as well. snowiest seasonal records. look at that. philadelphia, baltimore, washington, atlantic city, all will most likely break their records for their snowiest seasonal snowfalls. winter storm warnings in effect all across the northeast into the mid-atlantic states where it's looking for winter storm warnings, winter storm watches. we've got on the radar, you can see a widespread area of snow from green bay all the way down into ohio. heavy rain down into the southeast. low pressure stem, two of them combining intone big nor'easter off the coast wednesday morning, moves off, brings in hurricane-force winds. we're looking at snowfall amounts anywhere from six to nine inches throughout parts of michigan, three to six inches from cleveland on into chicago. and here's the big one. we're looking at anywhere from one to two feet of snow washington, baltimore, philly, central jersey, new york city, long island, coastal connecticut. boston may se

several major airlines including united and southwest have already canceled a lot of their flights tond from the east coast over the next three days. amtrak has already canceled several trains. >>> something you never want to see anywhere near the state of florida or anywhere, blood in the water in stuart, florida. the first deadly shark attack in that state in five years. 38-year-old man seen here was killed when sharks apparently swarmed around him. he had been kite boarding about 1/4 mile offshore. >>> when we come back, what some are calling the biggest change >>> when we come back, what some are calling the biggest change in the fast food business. also dispenses wisdom...s t to help you stay well. so if you're on medicare part d, schedule a free one-on-one plan review session... with your walgreens pharmacist. they'll review all your medications... no matter where they're from... and help you get the most from your plan. so you can relax and enjoy all your benefits. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. so you can relax and enjoy all your benefits. [music playing] when you take

>several airlines, including southwest, united, airtran, u.s. airways have already canceled flights to and from thurgood marshall airport. amtrak is cancelling service south of washington, d.c. secretary akaka before you travel. there is continuing weather coverage on our website, wbaltv.com. with your carrier before you travel. you'll find the latest school closings and early dismissals and have them sent directly to your cell phone. bluetooth wbaltv.com. >> of baltimore city police officer is recovering. one man is dead after shots were exchanged a northwest baltimore. two plainclothes officers returned to the scene of the shooting from tuesday in the 3700 block of clermont avenue. there is a possible drug dispute. reports of weapons fired. one suspect was pronounced dead at the scene and another suspect wounded. the city police commissioner and the new mayor are praising the officers' actions. >> this is the kind of heroic action that the men and women of this a problem to do try to take bad guys and put them in jail that have guns on the str

i worked for united airlines for nearly 30 years. i was severely injured during flight.the doctors and this whole problem has drove my life really to almost not having a life at all. i don't know where else to turn. i don't know who else to talk to about the problem. i've written you letters. i've written letters to many of the senators here in las vegas. i've talked to the doctors. i've done everything i know how to do. but i am a widow with a special needs child. i have lived in the house that i live in for 19 years. my house is in foreclosure. i have disability insurance. i have social security disability. that disability tells me, your insurance is not accepted here. i can't get the medical help that i need to get better. >> what's your -- >> i'd love to be a flight attendant for you on that u.s. one. i'm trained on that u.s. one. [laughter.] >> well, look, in terms of your specific issue, come see harry reid and harry reid will see if he can help you out here. [applause.] all right? workman's comp is generally a state issue as opposed to a federal issue. but harry,

airlines are cancelling flights early. united cancelled the flights from dulles today except for the earliest flights from london. southwest will halt service from dulles and bwi starting at 2:00 p.m. the best advice, call your airline. >>> we will help you get a jump on filing taxes if you haven't already done so. one key word is free. with me now is irs spokesman jim dupree. good to have you with us. jim, free and the irs. come on. >> there's a lot of free help. the first place to look for free help is at the irs website which is irs.gov. we have all of the latest tax law changes and the information will be there. 5,000 forms and publications, answers to frequently asked questions. an earned income tax assistance to see if you are eligible for the credit and you can prepare and file your return this year. look for the free file program on-line. >> is there any income limit or is this open to everyone. >> just about anyone can do it. we have two types of free file programs. the first is if you earn less than $57,000 a year. it i

i work for united airlines for nearly 30 years. i was severely injured during flight.ave a workman's comp case that has fallen on deaf ears. the conflict in the city with lawyers and the doctors and this whole problem has drove my life really to almost not having a life at all. i don't know where else to turn. i don't know who el to talk to about the problem. i have written you letters. i have written letters to many of the senators here in las vegas. i have talked to the doctors. i have done everything i know how to do. but i am a widow with a special needs child. i lived in the house that i live in for 19 years. my house is in foreclosure. i have disability insurance. i have the social security disability. that disability tells me, your insurance is not accepted here. i can't get the medical help that i need to get better. i'd love to be a flight atte attendant for you on u.s. one. >> well, look, in terms of your specific issue, come see harry reid and harry reid will see if he can help you out here. all right. [applause] workman's comp is generally a state issue as

united states. talk about a ripple effect, the airlines have already canceled more than 2,400 flights in this country. here in the new york city metropolitan area we are expecting anywhere from a foot to about 1.5 feet of snow, but again, the concentration is to the south. those metropolitan areas that just can't take another punch this winter. we have it all covered tonight. anne thompson is in central park not r from here. my friend al roker is here on the rink with us. to start us off, tom costello in already hard-hit washington, d.c. hard to believe here we go again. >> reporter: absolutely, brian. good evening. we've still got winds here 30 to 40 miles per hour. in maryland, the governor estimates they got 20 inches on top of the 30 they got over the weekend. 17,000 homes thought to be without power in northern maryland, in d.c., 1/4 of the snowplows have broken down at one point or another and tonight d.c. is largely paralyzed. for much of the day, blowing snow and a near whiteout covered the mid atlantic. the capitol nearly impossible to make out through blizzard conditions. while on the stree

. >> the alleged christmas day airline bomber is cooperating with investigators in the united states according to officials. he is said to be providing useful intelligence have been previously exercised his right to remain silent. he is accused of trying to use a bomb hit it in his underwear to bring down a passenger airplane headed from amsterdam to detroit three years our washington correspondent. >> the 23-year-old is said to be providing useful and current intelligence, which the american authorities are following up. he previously exercised his right to silence after he was indicted on charges related to his alleged attempt to blow up a passenger plane. senior officials say the suspect was persuaded to talk by close family members, who were approached in nigeria and then brought to america by fbi agents. last week he began offering new information, which might lead to a plea bargain. when first arrested, the suspect said he had been trained in yemen, which is why congressional republicans say he is an enemy combatants who should appear before a military tribunal. the obama admin

southwest airlines have canceled all of arizona lines. delta, and united are allowing passengers to make changes without any penalties at the bwi airports. you can check your flights at foxbaltimore.com just click on news links. >>> you might also want to hit the grocery store sooner rather than later. chris from cockeysville sent us these pictures from the wal-mart there. he took them around midnight and as you can he see, or not see, eggs were extremely hard to find. bread aisle completely bare, milk just missing. they had plenty of other food and although there were a lot of people shopping at the time. they had extra check out lanes working so people could get out relatively quickly. how do the grocery stores look today joel d smith is live at sntonis' with a look at how they're preparing. i'm looking at the facebook. i never understand why people don't have food toilet paper and make a mad rush to the grocery store but it happens every time. >> reporter: it happens every time. here are the salt crystals. they're putting an extra couple hundreds of bag

. >> reporter: airlines are issuing advisories for the weekend. us airways and united are waves fees ahead of the storm. if you are planning a trip out of town, hopefully to somewhere warm and snow-free, tomorrow looks like it will be the best day. back to you. >> thank you, jackie. >>> crews started pretreating roads in the district tonight to try to get ahead of this weekend's storm. mayor adrian fenty said money concerns will not stop the full arsenal from keeping streets safe. >> we definitely will go over budget for this year, but we will have whatever resources are necessary. >> the mayor says money may be shifted to help. there is also federal funding available to help pay for snow emergencies. >>> the parts at the center of toyota's massive recalls are arriving at dealershipes a cross the washington area tonight, but it may be a while before all toyota owners can get their gas pedals fixed. there's taking a toll on the company and its employees. craig melvin has more on this story. >> reporter: here it is. this is what drivers, dealers and toyota have been wait

air, stand by for united and american airlines, the standby for the no-fly list. but some of those 500,000 people on a suspected terrorist list at any time in you could be sitting next to one of the 496,000 who like frustrated and residents of manhattan tried to get into a good restaurant haven't been able to get a seat on the much coveted no fi list. and why is that? that's because we have decided as a proposition and that we as a basic proposition of homeland security that all 7 billion people on the planet have to be treated as an able security risk when they turn up at the airports. recant you anything about that. likewise even george w. bush who is regarded around the world as a huge robert, diggs library texan cowboy as we've heard, couldn't -- could only declare in the days after september 11th a war on the terror. now, normally you have a war on germany, you have a bar on belgium, you have a war on pg -- answering at suggestions by the way with and if you have a warrant and belgium were on fiji you now have it will end with your guys marching through this

. >> airlines have waived fees allowing people lucky eugh to get on board. >> united helped us out to get us out early. >> others were not so fortunate newschopper7. church of the chs at reagan national airport. this will happen through sunday, the cancellations. it is not just taking off and landing that poses problems. it is getting around in general. eager to department of transportation has 1800 trucks on the road with more than 1 foot or two expected to black at the metro area. there were a 24-72 hope you will stay off the road. >> there is a good mix and everyone is starting to get home. we are treadi -- trying to do a good job on the roadways. you never know with these types of storms. >> this could be a shame for metro. once 8 inches covers the above ground rails, they will shut down. metro is still running right now. we cannot reiterate enough that vdot is asking you to stay off. the off they need to get their job done. which you out there, they cannot do what they need to. we will follow all of the airport delays and let you know the very latest. >>> worried shoppers are sti

several airlines have decided not to fly in and out of b.w.i. thurgood marshall airport. southwest, united, airtran, and u.s. airways have decided to ground some if not all of their flights. amtrak canceled most planes heading south of d.c. - -- most trains heading south of d.c. on our website, you can look at pictures and check out the block, wbaltv.com. >>> still to come, the latest on the police involved shooting in northwest baltimore and toyota says it is ready to fix the vehicles affected by the recall. what it hard to breathe. but now that i'm breathing better with advair... i can enjoy the zoo with my grandkids. (announcer) for people with copd including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, great news. advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taki

, faa's into action and i would encourage you as well to contact your united states senators to encourage them to address the airlinebill to stress the importance they need to act so we can move legislation or move it into law. let me again think you mr. scovell and administrator babbitt for being here and that concludes the hearing. we stand adjourned. [inaudible conversations]

. >> reporter: airlines waved fees to allow those lucky enough to get on board. >> there was no charge what so ever. unitedwas fabulous. they switched us to u.s. airways to get us out quickly. >> reporter: others not to fortunate. chopper 7 captured the chaos at dulles international. hundreds of flights canceled today through sunday. it is not just taking off and landing that poses problems. it is getting around in general. the virginia department of transportation has 1800 trucks on the roads with a foot or two expected to blanket the metro. they are working 24/7 hoping you stay off the roads. >> we have a good mix of air one trying to get home. we are trying to get our job done on the roadway. hopefully the timing will work out. you never know with these storm events. >> reporter: roads frozen it could mean the same for metro. once eight inches cover above ground rail like these they'll shut down. >>> as much as two feet of snow could fall in the nation's capital. mayor fenty announce had the the city is under a snow emergency. >> our records show that the largest snowfall in washington, d.c. is about 28

several airlines have decided not to fly into or out of marshall airports. southwest, united, airtran, u.s. airways have are decided to ground some if not all of their flights tomorrow. amtrak reports its services south of washington, d.c., check with your carrier tomorrow before you venture out. we invite you to follow the forecast act wbaltv.com. -- at wbaltv.com. >> in other news, baltimore city police officer recovering after a deadly police involved shooting in northwest. at around 8:00 last night a pair of officers on patrol approach two men acting suspiciously in the 3700 block of oakmont ave. one of the suspects opened fire on the officers. they wounded one of the officers in the right on. the officers returned fire, killing one of the men and wounding another. it may be connected to a shooting earlier this week. >> what we believe and what we have been on the alert for is retaliatory violence and that other bad guys in the neighborhood would be harming themselves with guns in preparation. if that is what it looked like happened tonight. >> we have to be aggressive. i

people in the united states are very familiar with airline black boxes because they know that a in thatack box is critical information. and if you get to it fast you can find the cause. you can put -- you cannot only respond to those who have been hurt, you can put to rest some of the concerns as people begin to speculate what, indeed, caused this. and they come up with sometimes wild conclusions. but that black box is critical. now, other manufacturers, understanding just how important it is to get to the cause of the accident for all concerned, make the black box data available to do download. i have had a hard time understanding, therefore, given the fact that your competitors make this data downloadable easily, i have had difficulty understanding toyota invoking proprietary technology that allows only you, toyota, on the spot to download. why should we respect your proprietary technology any more than we with respect the proprietary technology of other automakers, particularly given the safety aspects of this matter and the fact that an accident has already occurred. why do you not

people in the united states are very familiar with airline black boxes because they know that a in that is critical information. and if you get to it fast you can find the cause. you can put -- you cannot only respond to those who have been hurt, you can put to rest some of the concerns as people begin to speculate what, indeed, caused this. and they come up with sometimes wild conclusions. but that black box is critical. now, other manufacturers, understanding just how important it is to get to the cause of the accident for all concerned, make the black box data available to do download. i have had a hard time understanding, therefore, given the fact that your competitors make this data downloadable easily, i have had difficulty understanding toyota invoking proprietary technology that allows only you, toyota, on the spot to download. why should we respect your proprietary technology any more than we with respect the proprietary technology of other automakers, particularly given the safety aspects of this matter and the fact that an accident has already occurred. why do you not want to

that's recently merged with northwest airline to form the largest airline the united states of americathe national mediation board oversees labor issues with regard to the aviation industry. in the mencher of delta and northwest, -- in the merger of delta and northwest, it's a merger of two different companies with two different cultures. delta much less organized, northwest more. one of the major questions about that merger as it related to labor law would be what would the law be to govern an organizational vote, in this case of the flight attendants. northwest flight attendants were organized, delta's were not. for the 75-year history of organized labor law in the united states of america, the principle under the national mediation board called for a majority vote of all members of the company in the employee class, meaning if there were 1,000 flight attendants in the class, it would take 501 votes to pass a motion to organize. as we consider the nominees for the national mediation board in the "help" committee last year, i spent extensive time questioning the nominees that were nom

to make sure americans remain safe from attack, there are more than 700 million airline passengers boarding in the unitedo are obvious in his and. one particular technology which has received widespread coverage in light of the christmas incident is whole body scanners. which allow airport screeners to see concealed contraband beneath passengers close. while the desirability of this technology is understandable from a security standpoint, i look for to learn how technological advances in other fields such as explosive detection and behavioral sciences. thank you again, mr. chairman. i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you very much, mr. 's myth. if there are members who wish to submit additional opening statements, your statements will be added to the record at this point. and now it is my pleasure to introduce our distinguished witnesses. first, mr. brad buswell is the deputy undersecretary of the science and technology director at the department of homeland security. dr. bert coursey is the program manager of the coordinated national security standards program at the national institute of sta

has confirmed that the united states maintains a policy that allows the targeted killing of americans. abdulmutallab first. the nigerian suspect in the failed christmas day airline attack is reportedly cooperating with the fbi in providing intelligence on a radical muslim cleric hiding in yemen according to an unnamed law enforcement official. the cleric was born in the u.s. but is now believed to be a prominent recruiter for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he's not only been linked to the 9/11 hijackers and the failed christmas day attempt but also to major nidal hasan and the shooting at fort hood. the director of national intelligence surprised many on the house intelligence committee when he spoke frankly about the u.s. policy of allowing intelligence agencies to kill u.s. citizens abroad involved in terrorist activities. the euphemism for this is direct action. >> we take direct action against terrorists in the intelligence community if that direct action, we think that direct action will involve killing an american, we get specific permission to do that. >> questioned about the precise parameters of killing americans, in light of the fact that there are

, faa's into action and i would encourage you as well to contact your united states senators to encourage them to address the airlinees we have put in our bill to stress the importance they need to act so we can move legislation or move it into law. let me again think you mr. scovell and administrator babbitt for being here and that concludes the hearing. we stand adjourned. [inaudible >> live at 7:, your phone calls and comments on today's washington journal. jo i try to be entertaining, informative and relevant. >> thom heartman is our guest tonight on c-span's "q&a." >> now president obama meets with fellow democrats at their winter meeting in washington. he alks about their agenda for the coming year. this is 20 minutes. >> thank you. it is go to see you. good to be among friends. >> i have a few folks i'd like to thank. dnc secretary and treasure. thank you for the great work you do. i want to thank tim caine who is an outstanding former governor and leader of this party. busy building the best on line and grass roots organization we've ever have. give him a round of applause. >> mike, are you here? >> barbara

prime minister brown of the united nations -- of the united kingdom is proposing a bank tax. the french have proposed taxes on airlineour transactions with the bank or the airline. this is a way to get funding. these various taxes are often hidden. whenever anybody identifies one of these taxes, it does not matter what the purpose is. it does not matter how grave the situation. once the american people lose the ability to determine where they will be taxed, we have lost the revolution, my friend. [applause] . many reporters ask the question, "are we more secure today than we were a year ago?" i do not have a problem saying we were not, but that is not the right question. if president obama continues the policies he has been pursuing so far, the right question is, "how secure will we be three years from now?" that is the most troubling aspect of all. we need to keep up the debate, not be distracted by other issues. we need a sustained, unremitting effort until 2012, when we can evaluateçó our presidential candidates based upon their ability to defend our national security. we will not let you reduce american sovereign

united states for new attacks and urging home-grown terrorists to strike out ao. their own. meantime, law enforcement officials say umar farouk abdulmutallab is talking. the nigerian man accused of trying to blow up an airline ore christmas is now cooperate with the f.b.i. >>> it is another round of interrogation for missionaries arrested in haiti for trying to take children out of the country illegally. thehave not been formally charged yet. a judge questioned the women yesterday and today will focus on the men. they are accused of trying to take 33 children across the border to the dominican republic. >>> this morning's big story is once again the weather. on top of this, we've got more snow in the forecast. we'll check back in with tony in a few minutes. >>> we want to remind you to send in your snow photos. go for myfoxdc.com. here is one that i viewer sent in. nice picture this morning. at least somebody is enjoying the snow out there this morning. we're back with more after this. e we're the watchful ones. we like to know where things stan we keep a close eye on what we have and what we spend. suntrust would like to applaud our solid financial ways. now when you pay your bills

united states congressman is weighing in with new charges. plus, federal investigators reveal the safety faults that led to that terrible airline crash a year agoe hamburger helper? cheeseburger mac... how 'bout some after the show? hamburger helper. one pound. one pan. one tasty meal. if toyota gets credit for being the most fuel efficient car company in america, well, then how do you explain all this? chevy malibu, cobalt, silverado, and the all-new equinox. compare them to anyone. may the best car win. rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr$ >>> new evidence today of how toyota is realing even as it tries to fix its recall crisis. they didn't fix it while gm and ford saw their sales rise. toyota needed convincing from federal safety officials that it was dealing with a very serious problem. brian todd is working this story for us. brian, update our viewers. some dramatic development today. >> there is, wolf, some dramatic development, especially tonight. new information in a letter to toyota's president. two members said they gave conflicting information to congress about these recalls. t bart supak sent the letter to toyota's president. with their

i need to know the name of an airline you may have heard while you were training in a place like yemen to come to the unitedcombat mission and kill americans. they should be treated as enemy combatants. that's exactly who they are. and when you make this fundamental switch from a proactive intelligence approach to keep them at bay to a law enforcement effort to bring them to the united states, it will have negative consequences for the national security of the united states. to not allow the amendments -- i have had many, many of the colleagues here had amendments to debate and talk about these very serious issues. there is a reason that they couldn't wrap up the fact that there was a shooting at fort hood and the christmas day bomber. there is a reason that happened because when you bring in law enforcement, it slows things down. they stop providing information until their lawyer can cut their best deal possible. this can't be about lawyers in the backroom cutting good deals for foreign trained terrorists trying to kill americans. it has to be about the protection of every citizen in the united states and

united states. yes. i would not have any problem with that. the republicans have to take that into consideration when they go out. host: bertha on airlinefor the democrats. you are on the "washington journal." caller: i wonder why in the world that it is taking so long. i think they have held the bills that they should not have held up. whatever they tried to pass, if they have really stopped the government from doing their job. you think you can go on your job and say, i'm just one to say no to everything and continue to collect your pay? it doesn't make no sense. these people have not done anything for over a year. they get their salaries and they will probably get back in because of all of the polish people and the t backers that will put the my beckham. -- all of the foolish people and the tea baggers. i am a nurse. do think i can go on my job and say i will not take care these patients that pay me. host: where one to leave it there. obama is making plans to use a ticketed power on action on several fronts. mr. obama has not given up hope of progress on capitol hill. he has scheduled a session with republican leaders on health care

united states. >> well, let's put on the screen here a response from the faa, and gary, i'm going to bring you back in after we read this statement here, but the faa says u.s. airlinesd safety as their highest responsibility. the maintenance programs reflect that commitment to safety. now, after your reporting, gary, do you have a problem with that statement? >> well, i believe airlines do want to have safe flights. no one wants to have flights that have problems. however, these problems just keep recurring. the inspector general for the department of transportation has pointed out that airlines and the faa have poor oversight over a lot of the repair-station work, so the oversight is not being done, the work is not being done. yes, i believe the airlines would like to have safe operation, but there are so many problems. >> the last thing to both of you, quickly, if you can, do the airlines need some kind of help? of course, they are trying to keep a business running and we historically over the past few years, several years at least, they have been losing, hemorrhaging money, in a lot of ways, do they need federal help to raletz tise the standards, b a lot of it se

unit sniffed him out and efforts arrested. >>> a french court is looking into who is to blame for the air france concord crash back in 2000. five people and continental airlinesre charged with involuntary manslaughter in the crash of air france flight 4590. three of the people were responsible for the concord's original design. the supersonic jet crashed just after takeoff from charles de gaulle airport in paris. investigators say a tire blew on takeoff when it struck a strip of medal on the runway and that titanium strip penetrated part of the wing and, of course, there's fuel in the wing. it sent debris into that fuel tank, it ruptured, and sparked a deadly fire that killed 113 people. >>> nearly a year after the crash near buffalo that killed 50 people, the chair of the ntsb says the pilots made critical errors that resulted in ka tas t trophy. all 49 on board and one man in a house were killed february 12th last year in the crash of continental connection flight 3407. the crash raised concerns about whether pilots with low fare airlines are vulnerable to fatigue, long distance commutes, and inadequate training. >>> you along with millions of others may ha

airlines flights wouldn't be held because we didn't have military commissions. military commissions aren't a venue for interrogation, it's for adjudicating justice. is attorney general saying that the unitedates of america, the minute they walked a mirandaized richard reed didn't have attention? it's a principal that has -- it's a principal that we've had for as long as this country has existed. so i don't know if he ruled that law attention didn't exist on that day. >> on the case, how concerned is the president or white house legislative team about what appears to be a growing number of senate democrat signing on to block all funding entirely. to what degree is the president telephoning members to try to persuade them to hold off or change their mind? >> i don't know know of calls that the president has made. there may have been calls from the council office or from legislative affairs to discuss people's opinion on legislation or on potential upcoming votes. look, i just leave it at this. >> it was a very important consideration of congress in the entire debate, was it not? >> there's no question about it. and i think -- it is an important aspect of this. it's an important aspect of ou