the tsa gives ideas. first of all how to pack and how not to pack. they talk to you about packing in layers. there's a good reason for that if your bag gets opened, easier to look at it a certain way. i'll show you where it talks you through step by step instructions how you can pack in layers. check this out, certain types of locks that you should use on your luggage because the tsa has certain kinds of basically lock recognition that they use if you use a different one it might get broken and never get it back. certain kinds of locks to use and one more to keep in mind this time of the year, traveling with gifts, do not wrap them. it's easy to forget that. here is where i've linked all of this information for you. take a look at my page right there, the blog, cnn.com/josh, take a look at the facebook page joshlevscnn has a lot of links for you and it should help you get the information you need and one of the main links is a special section that we have created just between now and the end of the year called holiday travel on cnn.com. it's actually

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 the passengers. listen to a little bit from president obama. >> at this point, tsa, in consultation with our counterterrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures that they've been putting in place are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective against the kind of threat that we saw in the christmas day bomber. but i'm going to -- every week i meet with my counterterrorism team, and i'm constantly asking them whether is what we're doing absolutely necessary, have we thought it through, are there other ways of accomplishing it that meet the same objectives? >> and

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 tomorrow as well. >>> we have some hopeful economic news this holiday season. there are strong new signs tonight that retail sales are america are rebounding from bargain hunters to luxury buyers. americans taking advantage of prices slashed early. online shopping is red hot. so what does this mean for per

that from a tsa agent. much more on this story coming up as we approach the big holiday travel week. >>> elsewhere, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is promising more small-scale, inexpensive attacks like its recent attempt to bomb two u.s. bound cargo planes. in an english language magazine editors boasted a failed plot known as "operation hedge raj" cost $4200 to carry out. adding it's such a good bargain to keep him on his toes in exchange for a few months of work and thousand bucks. the magazine's publication represents a new propaganda tactic by al qaeda which according to the "washington post" has never provided such a detailed description of its planning in the aftermath of an attack like the one with printer cartridges. >> the associated press reports there are growing signs this morning that u.s. and nato forces have worn out their welcome in afghanistan. despite plans to stay in the conindustrytry for -- country for another four years by the united states and nato sources. according to the ap for

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 tomorrow as well. >>> we have some hopeful economic news this holiday season. there are strong new signs tonight that retail sales in america are rebounding. from bargain hunters to luxury buyers, americans taking advantage of prices slashed early. online shopping is red hot. so what does this mean for per

this morning a different tune from the director of the tsa. of course, passengers have been complaining about these new security procedures since they were implemented. yesterday the tsa director said on the sunday talk shows that there would be no change to these patdown policies. but then in a written statement late yesterday, and again this morning on the tv talk shows, tsa director john pistole now says federal officials do understand that there is a balance between safety and privacy. >> no, i'm opposed to that. i think the scanning is important somehow. some kind of security. >> do you think the protests may cause some delays? >> absolutely. absolutely. it's always the few that ruin it for the majority. so... >> reporter: now, the tsa is reaffirming its commitment to review its policies on patdowns. it says they must be, quoting now, as minimally invasive as possible. tsa director john pistole saying only one percent of passengers going through the full-body scanners are opted out and refusing to pass through them, at which point they ar

frustrated passengers. >> the tsa is out of control. >> the tsa tried to convince passengers the methods are necessary. added airport security procedures will be adapted as conditions warrant. >> you have the option to request that the pat-downs be requested in a private room and that'd be witnessed by a person of your choice. >> there are body scanner across the country but only 2100 border security agents. that means there are not with as many agents available to do a pat-downs. >> i feel greater security with the scanners. >> there is an internet movement urging passengers to opt out of body scans this week to appoint to the tsa and to slow down security. >> most travelers just want to get to their destination as fast as possible. >> with more than 1 million americans traveling this thanksgiving week, get to the airport with 90 minutes to spare, according to experts. lives at reagan national airport, abc 7 news. is al qaeda's yemen branch promising more plots similar to an attempt to bring down two cargo planes last month. the group says that it is part of a shift from spectacular att

some airports are looking to replace the tsa with doubleday tsa with private security. -- replace the tsa with private security. >> if they want to see me take my clothes off, i will. >> i would rather be searched then blown up. >> there are still those who call it an unnecessary invasion. >> there have been over for under a complaint filed. when county wants to press charges against tsa agents conducting the past downs - pat- downs. >> there are still traditional metal to actors -- metal detectors in use. they are often reserved for secondary screening. >>> the faa is investigating some frightening moments for passengers on an eighth delta air -- delta flight. a window was broken during the flight. >>> as it is and -- a suspicious package that grounded flights for hours was a mistake. it was apparently meant to look like a bomb. it is not clear who put it there. >>> president obama is across the atlantic tonight in portugal for the nato summit. they will agree on a gradual withdrawal from afghanistan. security will be turned over to afghan forces by 2014. >>> newly ed -- newly electe

with tsa guidelines to avoid a backup. >> do the airport pat downs bother you? more than one-third say they bother. about half say, no. you can vote at wbaltv.com, just click on travel. >> some demonstrators outside city hall made it clear they're not happy at all with wal-mart's business practices. david collins is at city hall. >> all voted in favor. there was one abstention, city councilman carl stokes. this opens a new chapter for this community. baltimore city council voted in favor of allowing this project to go forward, despite pressure from a coalition of labor and community groups to make wal- mart pay as a condition for opening its doors. they passed a bill that increases the living wage that has been the same in baltimore city since 1984. >> it was deadlocked in committee. >> the project will take over 11 acres were injured -- angela -- anderson chevrolet stood for decades. >> it has been a very fought out, long process to make sure that the communities are heard. >> the blueprint calls for three and a 30,000 square feet of retail space. wal-mart is t

. >> maybe the tsa has a point. germany shutting down a popular tourist site over concerns regarding security this morning. more on the fox news alert. >> and teen sensation justin bieber, joe's idol ruining night at the american music awards. some blast from the past stole the spotlight. he's back. >> oh, no! >> "fox & friends" starts now. >> actually saw the performance by justin bieber, the first time i have seen him perform. he doesn't have the same haircut anymore. >> he's change. he's growing up just in time. >> i don't know. >> by the way, who is his mentor? was it usher? >> bangs wise? >> no, music wise. >> they showed him in the audience right after. how far you want to go back? wayne newton. >> i'm not looking for the artist but wondered if you knew. >> more on the bieber coming up. we have breaking news right now overnight. germany shutting down one of the most popular tourist sites because of the security concerns. it's the parliament building in berlin. german officials not elaborating on the threat at

>> then why not go through security at an airport. >> tsa. >> tsa arguments ready and standing by to give you a little something extra to feel thankful about this holiday season. >> tsa. >> what are you waiting for. i want to check under your testicle testicles. >> it's forced our highest ranking government officials to answer some very uncomfortable questions. >> i understand how difficult it is and how offensive it must be for the people going through it. >> final question, my time is up. but would you submit to one of these patdowns. >> not if i could avoid it. no. i mean, who would? >> secretary clinton might not like the idea but her boss says the occasional patdowns are the best way we have to stop the threat of another underwear attack. >> tsa, in consultation with our counter-terrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures they have been putting in place are the only ones right now they consider to be effective against the kind of threat that we saw in the christmas day bombing. >> so how big a problem is this really and how much privacy are americans willing to g

the tsa, john pistole, the head of tsa called him to apologize. we herd about the stories but this is just absolutely unacceptable. >> the tsa saw him on "american morning" yesterday and said how do we get in touch with him? you can imagine what he went through. he was trying to explain to the screener, i have a medical condition. you need to know about it before you pat me down knowing that the appliance was there and the guy just didn't seem to care too much about it. but the tsa administrator john pistole did care about it, to his credit. telephoned thomas yesterday. they talked at length and shared some light banter back and forth. how's your day been? not too busy. mine either. then they got down to the nuts and boltsof it. he was very apologetic and thomas even suggested maybe he had something to teach to the tsa. let's listen to a little of what he told me this morning. >> he went on to apologize to me on behalf of the tsa and had some things to say. i had to do a little correcting. he had a part of the story mixed up which a lot of people

take off your damn shoes. >> the tsa. it's our business to touch you. >> it's probably going to be me. that's good. on the heels of that, let's get to today's tech headlines. we're getting the reports of a second generation ipad and a facebook myspace mash-up that allows facebook users to access myspace. i'm joined by you who were following along with me. >> it's hysterical. >> first ipad 2. the computer world says it's on its way. >> i've got to say apple must love the fact that right before the holidays when i think they're hoping lots of people will buy ipads. here comes a rumor big improvements are coming in four months. there are reports that apple has upped production or has upped its orders of components. they're saying it will be thinner and lighter as usually happens. also probably a front-facing camera which would enable that face time video chap that we're seeing on the iphone four and on the mac. >> if you own an ipad that you say got to shelf this one and go out and get another one? >> i'm always been an advo

but the tsa insists they are vital for ever shifting security demands. and tonight, neal karlinsky items us why. >> reporter: to hear the increasingly loud rallying cry, you would think america's airports have turned into a peep show, where passengers are being groped and molested. >> how is it the freest country in the history of the world is now subjecting their citizens to panty patdowns? >> reporter: the field generals in this crew said against the tsa include a random passenger with a camera. a toddler. and a talk show host. john tiner, a would be flyer from san diego, is now know world wild as the "don't touch my junk" guy for this video that he recorded. >> we're going to be doing a groin check. that means i'm going to place my hand on your hip, other hand on your inner thigh. i'm going to do that two times in the front and two times in the back. >> all right. >> if you'd like a private screening, we can make that available for you also. >> we can do that out here, but if you touch my junk, i'm going to have you arrested. >> it was frightening. >>

here's how the tsa defines it. it compliments the hand wand inspection in order to ensure security, it may include sensitive areas of the body. if you have some washington speak you'd like us to clarify, send us an e-mail. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ i'm gonna get my hair cut ♪ even if i have to cut it myself ♪ ♪ i'm gonna get my hair cut ♪ even if i have to cut it myself ♪ ♪ but it makes me out of breath ♪ ♪ when you say ♪ ♪ love is a game -♪ a game for two -[ ring ] ♪ love is a game i want to play with you ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing the dell streak 5 pocket tablet exclusively at dell.com and best buy. [ female announcer ] introducing the dell streak 5 pocket tablet it's that time of year. time for campbell's green bean casserole. you'll find the recipe at campbellskitchen.com. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ to give our war fighters every advantage. ♪ request if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better we

here's fox 5's tom fitzgerald. >> reporter: when a tsa agent performs an intense hands on patdown of mike johan's body, the kind of a feeling he won't soon forget. >> the patdown is intrusive. there's no getting around. it. >> reporter: but while mike johan is a frequent flyer, he is also a united states senator from nebraska who just happens to sit on the very committee that oversees the tsa. >> does that worry you where maybe we're at a point here that this is not a vocal minority that, people just think you've overstepped? >> reporter: the senator says the problem is since tsa rolled out its new body scanners that see through clothes, it's told passengers that either get scanned or patted down -- they'd either get scanned or patted down. he got both. >> it was not explained why myself as a senator or why any citizen would have to go through both and interestingly enough, i got some phone calls yesterday from people saying i had to do both. >> reporter: in the meantime passenger protests have now sprung up calling the searches too intrusive. it's a situation of tsa's own making say

. >> on her way to work next thing she knows she is half naked in front of a tsa agent. what an agent did to one flight attendant. >>> a car full of teens. two are dead. no word on drugs or alcohol. why the drivers still has no business being behind the wheel. >>> banned in the united states. but we found them for sale. we go undercover to track chinese diet pills. how they get to bay area store shelves. >> i'm dana king. >> i'm ken bastida. weekend washout. our first cold storm of the season. there is a live look at downtown san jose where it is coming down right now. latest right now from roberta. >> this is the first winter storm and it is only autumn still and it is producing heavy presip taking right now for the eastern portion of our bay area. across the central bay into the peninsula. pretty moderate to heavy rainfall. if you're in the san jose area we saw rain drops on the floor there and on the roadway and now you have heavier rainfall upstream. let's head to the east bay. we have a shot of moderate rainfall passing through the corridor an upstream even heavier

i will also say in the aftermath of tsa bombing, our tsa personnel are properly under enormous pressure to make sure you don't have somebody slipping on a plane with some sort of explosive device on their persons. and since the explosive device that was on mr. abdulmutallab was not detected by ordinary metal detectors, it has meant that tsa has tried to adapt to make sure passengers on planes are safe. now, that's a tough situation. one of the most frustrating aspects of this fight against terrorism is that it has created a whole security apparatus around us that causes huge inconvenience for all of us. i understand people's frustrations. what i've said to the tsa is that you have to constantly refine and measure whether what we're doing is the only way to assure the american people's safety. you also have to think through are there ways of doing it that are less intrusive. but at this point, tsa, in consultation with our counter-terrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures that they have been putting in place are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective

>> then why not go through security at an airport. >> tsa. >> tsa arguments ready and standing by to give you a little something extra to feel thankful about this holiday season. >> tsa. >> what are you waiting for. i want to check under your testic testicles. >> it's forced our highest ranking government officials to answer some very uncomfortable questions. >> i understand how difficult it is and how offensive it must be for the people going through it. >> final question, my time is up. but would you submit to one of these patdowns. >> not if i could avoid it. no. i mean, who would? >> secretary clinton might not like the idea but her boss says the occasional patdowns are the best way we have to stop the threat of another underwear attack. >> tsa, in consultation with our counter-terrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures they have been putting in place are the only ones right now they consider to be effective against the kind of threat that we saw in the christmas day bombing. >> so how big a problem is this really and how much privacy are americans willing to giv

the tsa screens 2 million passengers every day. now a small number of passengers is talking about boycotting the tsa's latest screening methods just as the thanksgiving rush draws near. when john tiner hit record at 6:00 a.m. saturday with his cell phone camera face up and the x-ray machine at san diego's airport, he was anticipating a showdown with the tsa. having refused a full body imaging scan, he would have to go through the new tsa pat-down. >> also we're going to be doing a groin check. that meaning we're going to place my hand on your hip and groin and slowly go up and slide down. >> reporter: tiner said no. >> we can do that out here. but if you touch my junk, i'm going to have you arrested. >> reporter: one supporter wrote, civil rights icon rosa parks would be proud. >> i don't want some random stranger looking at my naked body. my traveling about the country by plane doesn't seem to warrant that by me. >> reporter: his rant has truck a pop ulist cord, though. since 9/11, the tsa strategies have evolved to respond to the

the tsa is making changes. some people will now be exempt from enhanced pat-downs and those body scanners. the problem is, though, there's a good chance you're not going to be one of them. this comes as some airports are also choosing to opt out of using the tsa altogether. >>> also, sarah palin, stay in alaska. those words from former first lady barbara bush. you'll hear what else she tells larry king about sarah palin, as well. >>> good morning from the cnn center in atlanta, georgia. wherever you are, glad you're right here. i'm t.j. holmes. let me tell you what we have on the rundown this morning. a look at stories making headlines. >>> including in new zealand, where there has been a mine explosion. this happened yesterday, and now families are awaiting word on the fate of 29 trapped miners. there has been a delay in trying to rescue them because they keep checking the gas levels. trying to see if the air is okay for rescuers to actually get in there. the men are trapped about 1 1/2 miles from the entrance

what is the tsa saying? >> well, i think we have to understand that when tsa was created in 2001, the congress gave them very broad and deep authorities to spons respond on an immediate basis to threats that show up in intelligence and vulnerabilities that they identify. and that's what we're seeing happen here. let's keep some perspective. tsa is screening some 2 million people every single day of the week. while there are some instances where things aren't going exactly as we would hope, the vast majority of people are accepting the new body imaging technology, the vast majority of people are going along with the pat-downs when they're deemed necessary. and i think what we've come to see is that tsa isn't doing this for some random or silly reason. we know terrorist chatter goes up during the holidays. it's a high risk season. we know they probably have some intelligence, they've identified some vulnerabilities. they've tried to identify explosives from moving through the checkpoint and prevent planes from

the tsa screens 2 million passengers every day. now a small number of passengers is talking about boycotting the tsa's latest screening methods just as the thanksgiving rush draws near. when john tyner hit record at 6:00 a.m. saturday with his cell phone camera face up and the x-ray machine at san diego's airport, he was anticipating a showdown with the tsa. having refused a full body imaging scan, he would have to go through the new tsa pat-down. >> also we're going to be doing a groin check. that means we're going to place my hand on your hip and the other hand on your inner thigh, slowly go up and slide down. >> okay. >> we're going to do that two times in the front and back. >> reporter: tyner said no. >> we can do that out here. but if you touch my junk, i'm going to have you arrested. >> reporter: after he posted a video on his blog, one supporter wrote, civil rights icon rosa parks would be proud. >> i don't want some random stranger looking at my naked body. my traveling about the country by plane doesn't seem to warrant th

this morning the director of the tsa is change his tune. of course, these new body patdowns creating all sorts of complaints from traveling passengers. yesterday the tsa director was saying on the sunday talk shows there would be no change to the patdown policies but in a written statement yesterday and again on the tv talk shows this morning, the tsa director john pistole says federal officials understand they need to find that balance between safety and privacy. >> very few people actually receive these patdowns. they either alert through a walk through medical detector or opt out of the full-body scans. >> not if i could avoid it no. who would? >> reporter: now take a look at this youtube video showing a boy being searched without his shirt on at the salt lake city airport. the tsa says the boy triggered a metal detector and the father took the boy's shirt off but this incident was very disturbing for other passengers who can be heard on this tape making comments like, are they harassing the kid? and this is ridiculous! now, back to thos

still have to use the exact same tsa methods because the tsa sets the federal guidelines. what's the advantage of going to private contractors? >> there are many advantages. i happened to draft the legislation and we already -- while we set up five airports initially with private screening under federal supervision and when i had an independent analysis done and we compared apples and apples, we found out, not by my estimation, but by, again, independent evaluation, that the private screeners under federal supervision -- and again we have that in place -- perform statistically significantly better. >> do you have proof of that? can you release proof of that? >> oh, yeah. i'll be glad. i'll give you a gao study that compared that. but it's beyond that. tsa in my opinion is out of control. i have 3,000 -- 3,590 administrative personnel making on average over $105,000 just in washington, d.c. i never intended when i wrote the tsa law to have that kind of bureaucracy or another 8,000 out in the field and 67 growing to 67,000 people. it's a massive bloated bureaucracy. it feeds

they're going to do away with tsa screeners erers there. >> we're hearing the tsa any minute may make an announcements with regard for pilots going through the security measures, the screenings. can you do me a favor and stand by, i'd love to get your reaction once we hear from the tsa momentarily. stand by for that. thank you. >>> there have been false alarms before. we could be on the verge of a major break in the natalee holloway case. i know a lot of you have been following this for years now. the latest is that the jawbone and a molar found on an aruban beach has gone through preliminary tests. we're going to get the latest on that ahead. >>> it's happened yet again. dozens of coal miners are missing after an explosion. two did manage to survive the blast. might there be others? that's next in top stories. [ beeping ] ♪ my country ♪ 'tis of thee ♪ sweet land ♪ of liberty ♪ of thee i sing [ laughs ] ♪ oh, land ♪ where my fathers died ♪ land of the pilgrims' pride ♪ from every mountainside ♪ let freedom ring ♪ >>> there is a lot going on today on this friday.

the tsa screens 2 million passengers every day. now a small number of passengers is talking about boycotting the tsa's latest screening metds just as the anksgiving rush draws near. when john tyner hit record at 6:00 a.m. turday with his cell phone camera face up and the x-ray machine at san diego's airport, he was anticipating a showdown with the tsa. having refed a full body iming scan, he would have to go through the new tsa pat-down. >> also we're going to be doing a groin check. that means we're going to place my hand on your hip and the other hand on your inner thigh, slowly go up and slide down. >> okay. >> we're going to do that two times in the front and back. >> reporter: tyner said no. >> we can do that out here. but if you touch my junk, i'm going to have you arrested. >> reporter: after he posted a video on his blog, one supporter wrote, civil rights icon rosa parks would be proud. >> i don't want some random stranger looking at my naked dy. my traveling about the country by plane doesn't seem to wrant that to me. >> r

you tsa pat down controversy. it's one of their best spoofs that i can ever room and that's in the "hardball" sideshow tonight. >> ut we start with sarah palin, well we have to. some people are afraid that we'll end up with her. david corn is washington bureau chief for mother jones and write for dailypolitics.com. >>> and pat buchanan is an msnbc political analyst. look at former governor palin last week in an interview with barbara walters what a showdown that was. listen to the key question. >> i'm look at the lay of the land now, and trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing. >> if you ran for president, could up beat barack obama. >> i believe so. >> i would love to know what's going on in barbara walters' head. she's seen them on. sheness the way, she can judge the people and there's she's look at this woman, what is her story. >> that came across as a real "hardball" interview there, chris. >> well, okay. sometimes the wide -- as

will the tsa back down in the face of passenger outrage? >> are you actively rethinking this policy? >> yes. we want to look at how

. >> i think tsa has gone overboard. if the threat was coming from 92-year-old women, i would expect my mother to go through enhanced search, yes. okay? but that's not where it's coming. and we just need to be smart about it and quit being so politically correct about it. i think it's offensive and i think you'll hopefully see the house try to do something to stop it. >> pat buchanan is an msnbc political strategist and democratic analyst karen finney. good morning to the both of you. pat, do you think we'd be hearing complaints about this if we weren't so far removed from 9/11? >> we'd hear fewer complaints about it, alex. you have a very good point. that detroit christmas bomber was carrying the would-be explosive in his underwear. and in saudi arabia, actually an individual came to meet the security minister and he had it in a body cavity and exploded it. so these things are very important. this is why we're getting the enhanced security, but your point is very valid. we haven't had one of these airliners blowing up i

. >>> and tsa critic congressman john micah. >> i'm going after reforming tsa. i can tell you that. >> 'm candy crowley and this is "state of the union." >>> nato set 2014 as the year they want to turn over all security in afghanistan to the afghan government. not soon enough for some but too soon for others for the risky politics and violence in afghanistan may defy a solution for years to come. 655 coalition troops including 451 americans have been killed in afghanistan so far this year. now the deadliest year since the war began in 2001. joining me to discuss the way forward in afghanistan and more admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. thank you, admiral mullen for being here. >> good morning. >> preern it. 2014, vice president joe biden was on "larry king" and called it a drop dead date. what does 2014 mean to you? what does that mean? >> i'm encouraged by what happened in lisbon over the weekend. nato, 28 nations, member nations in addition to another 20 nations who contribute troops all affirmed 2014 for the thyme we turn over securit

congressman john pháeubg complains the tsa -- mica complains the tsa costs $7 million a year and is going too far. he's now asking the nation's 100 largest airports to fire the tsa and bring back contractors to do the security screening, the same way things worked before 9/11. bwi is among the airports that got the letter, according to spokesperson linda weirheim. >> we have received the letter. we are evaluating our options. >> i don't think it should be private irzed. >> reporter: why not? >> i think it would be more consistent if it was done by the government. >> i say bring the private sector on, see if they can do a better job. >> reporter: i'm surae chinn in vienna where residents across the region are breathing a huge sigh of relief after police say this serial burglar is behind bars. police say this is the serial burglar, 34-year-old brad edmonds from oxen hill, maryland. fairfax county police say they were conducting two weeks of surveillance on edmonds, tracing him to this potomac maryland neighborhood on lake potomac drive. in the last several months, investigators say he's bee

all of the tsas procedures. >>> it is a cold and rainy night. we have steady light to moderate rain falling right now here on storm tracker 4. basically to the southeast of i-80 things beginning to dry out now as the back edge of this slowly moves to the south. it's going to be several more hours before this form banned of -- band of rain is out of here. so expect the rain to continue to come down for the overnight hours. more is on the way later this weekend. here is storm tracker four where you see the green and yellow, that's where we have the snow and a lot of it in the seer are tonight. they will be dropping to about 1500 feet by sunday morning, lots of snow is forecast here in the -- forecast here in the mountains. snow fall mountains over 3 feet. it's not out of the question that some of the higher elevations could get upwards of 4 feet of snow. with snow levels dropping, we'll see 3 to 4 inches possibly. here it is future cast at midnight, the light rain now into the east bay and moving into the south bay it will continue to push south t

let me play you a found from president obama, playing his thoughts on the tsa screenings. >> tsa in consultation with our counterterrorism experts have indicated to me that the procedures that they've been putting in place are the only ones right now that they considered to be effective against the kind of threat we saw in the christmas day bombing. >> congressman petry, let me get your take. the president says this is the only thing we've got the best possible solution right now. do you buy that? >> no, we're facing a global threat and a lot of countries are having to deal with it and this is a procedure that's not being used in many other countries in the world. it's, in my opinion, being driven by the technology of these body scanners and that's something that is not appropriate, really, either. the europeans have been coming up with a better scanning technology that uses an outline and that highlights if something is unusual, you know, a box will show up on the screen instead of all of this personal intrusion. and we can do a better job of this and protect people without destroying the value

the boy is being patted down by a tsa officer. it's not clear what led tsa officials to pat the kid down. they say the boy didn't set off any metal detectors. >> he tore the son's shirt off an gave and gave it to the is tsa agent. you'll have to deal with security screenings. more to add to your stress, you're going to run into a grassroots protest that wants to make a point. national opt-out day is urging travellers to refuse body scans, and forcing screeners to do those more consuming physical inspections. >> don't want people to be inconvenienced, but mainly don't want them to be radiated and assaulted by tsa workers. >> the president is saying we should remember the underwear bomber. don't let your guard down. >>> the church may be the last place you'd expect to find a collection of guns. but a buy back program was happening saturday. the priest there says that more people have found guns in their yards, they suspect from drug dealers or people just leaving them at scenes. so right now the church says dropping the gun off is l

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 dose is so low but rather higher than the tsa is saying. >> reporter: 10 to 15 times higher, the scientists say. independent scientists haven't had a chance to examine those scanners and they would like to. abc news has put in that request and hopes to get answers. sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >>> the u.s. is caught up in an embarrassing situation involving afghan peace talks. turns out the top taliban leader, mullah achter mohammad mansour, who had been secretly meeting with afghan officials, wasn't mansour at all, it was an imposter. the "new york times" reports the fake leader even met with president hamid karzai, had been flown to kabul on a nato aircraft and ushered into the presidential palace. >>> the search is on for a second robot that can be sent into that mine in new zealand where 29 men remain trapped. the first robot that was sent to the mine

>> so michelle, how is the tsa responding? you hear about this planned boycott wednesday of the full body scanners. what are they doing? >> key spite all the talk of boycotts, tsa officials are predicting a smooth holiday travel season but could still be ripples for them. interesting no-to-note, one website claims to post the view of some disgruntled tsa screeners. the posts are anonymous and many say they, too, don't like the new body scanners and enhanced patdowns. >> okay, michelle franzen, thank you very much. see you next hour again. >>> so does the uproar over the new tsa searchers mean we are becoming a nation of whiners? syndicated radio talk show host and msnbc contributor michael smerconish thinks so we will talk to him at the bottom of the hour. >>> hunt for a man accused of shooting a park ranger in utah continues this morning. the man, believed to be wounded, was running into a canyon west of moab where officers continue their search. brody young was shot throw times friday night while on routine patrol. he is in

what do you think the tsa should do right now? i mean, on under hand obviously you have real concerns. ongoing concerns about possible terror strikes but is this the most effective way to go about it? >> first of all we need to keep in mind the tsa has a vouler inability in finding explosives hidden 0 a person's body at checkpoint. that has to be their priority. secondly what we may see tsa do over the next period of time is what we should expect them to do they should evaluate the intelligence, evaluate the threat, and determine the best way to try to defeat the threat that they perceive. and if that warrants some changes so that they get the right balance between security and passenger service, i think they'll proceed to do that, if it's warranted in their ongoing risk an al. >> i guess one of the bigger concerns that a lot of people have who fly a lot, when you see an 80-year-old woman patted down or a teenager in a wheelchair, it does make you wonder, and then you know, online if you look at blogs, even poor tsa agents anonymo

bwi marshall refers all security issues to the tsa. overall the airport does say they expect a big travel weekend to be big with daily crowds from wednesday through sunday, possibly topping 70,000 or more each day. >> the airlines have flights for november as well as for the thanksgiving travel period itself. so we do expect to see some -- a busy period but we also expect it to move smoothly. >> reporter: for the airport and airlines, they won't see anna ferrera any time soon. she'll take the long way from oregon next time. >> they put your hands on your body it makes me feel uncomfortable. >> reporter: will it keep you from flying again, do you think? >> i always hated flying. >> reporter: what is the best thick you can do as a traveler? according to bwi marshall, the same thing you can do any time you come to the airport, get here early, get here early enough that you can handle the crowds in case there's some kind of slowdowns because of people going, opting for the more personal search, the patdown search as opposed to going throug

tsa's are not. and while most of them do a good job, i know too many people that have had experiences, even before this pat down came along. now i have confidence in our congress. i have confidence in our constitution that congress is going to fix this. i'm a police officer. i'm the commander of our police department. i can't do that type of intrusive search unless i have probable cause. >> but back to my whole point, it would not change because the tsa guidelines would have to be followed. >> wouldn't change them doing it. i have confidence congress will. it will change the compassion. their jobs are at stake. >> larry dale, thank you for joining us. let's bring in nationally syndicated radio talk show host, michael smerconish. the bottom line is, private or not, the tsa' guidelines, if those are the guidelines, they have to be complied. >> you asked the entirely appropriate question. we brought in private contractors. nothing changes. and the issue here -- i feel like these folks are demonized. wh

they do not use the tsa. some officials say those services have been more responsive than other airports where there is the tsa because if the private screeners aren't doing a good job, they ditch them and get a new company, a new contractor. >> it's so typical for travelers to understand. it's the private screeners the problem in the first place, which is why the tsa was created. now they're saying no, the private screeners are better? >> the air travel experience has been rotten for about ten years. and first we blamed the private screeners and what was happening after september 11th, and now they're blaming the new government bureaucracy. so it is really interesting. but some of these small airports, jacksonhole, rochester, do not use tsa screeners. and some of those executives are saying it's been working out fine for them without the tsa screeners. they have not had these big problems. >> we'll see where this goes. >> we'll see. >> thanks, christine. >> thanks. >>> the list of things you can't bring to t

now, we won't get rid of tsa, but they would operate under tsa and tsa won't be the administrator, operator, auditor and overseer. we would leave part of that to the private sector and then they do the important role. so i think they can do a better job and then, wow, a bonus, if they could save money. i think you could get rid of half of the 67,000 army that's been created. it's totally out of control. >> now, some predictors saying you're pushing for some of the private contractors because some of the individuals contributed to your political campaign. how do you respond to na? >> well, i think they're trying to play a little bit with my junk on that one because they took a couple of florida corporations, i've been in office for 18 years and combined all contributions for 18 years and wow, this has only been in place since 2001 and added it to a couple of contributions from some of the screening, private screening firms. so they put all of this together and try to make it look like i don't know what i'm talking about. that, that's part of the game that's played here with tsa. even when th

we'll look at the controversy over tsa pat-downs and full-body scanners. the unintended consequences of u.s. aid to mexico. special forces trained by americans have gone rogue. and we conclude our 12 in 2012 series with new jersey governor chris christie and other possible candidates. "special report" starts right now. >> good evening. i'm bret baier reporting from fox news headquarters in new york. president obama is in portugal tonight at the conclusion of a busy day with nato partners inlies done. while afghanistan is the main focus, the president already has an agreement on another sticky issue. >> in lizton for the nato summit president obama announced a deal on developing a missile defense system which he says will be capable of protecting europe and the united states. >> it's an important step forward builds on the new phase adaptive approach to missile defense that i announced for the united states last year. it offers a role for all of our allies. >> the president also pushed republicans in the senate to stop blocking ratification of the start nuc

even the tsa is trying to explain its actions. if passengers across the country say that in the balance of security versus privacy, they feel things are tipping the wrong way. full body scanners are in 60 airports. full body pat-downs are in every airport. this is a of the measures are necessary because of threats. republican congressman wants airports to fire the tsa and hire private security contractors. the california district attorney has warned tsa orders that he will prosecute anyone in april really touching passengers during pat-downs. it could be a misdemeanor, even over your clothing. the tsa has posted information on its website because of the rumors. they say it's important to keep everybody on the same page, as does lacklustre the thanksgiving holiday. back to you. >> thank you. >>> 40 degrees. 5:36. >> still ahead, the movie has arrived. dozens of people weren't out at midnight last night to get a first showing. >> we will have the latest from the chandra levy murder case in a live report. >> first, and a good check o

some airports have found alternatives to the tsa. an increasing number of people are wondering if there isn't a better way and are saying they shouldn't have to go through it. that includes some airline pilots who argue they're in a different category. we want to begin tonight with our own pete williams at reagan national airport tonight. pete, good evening. >> reporter: that argument by pilots has prevailed because the rules are changing for them starting early next year. they will no longer be required to go through the full body scanners or the new more intrusive patdowns. they'll still have to go through the metal detectors, but these are the first changes in enhanced security, and tsa says more may be coming. the new rules were just what pilots like ann po of south florida were hoping for. she abruptly stopped flying for continental two weeks ago and sued tsa over the full body scanners and physical searches. >> it's just not right. i don't believe under any condition to be sexually molesting people and that's what i consider th