American Morning

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January 6th, 2010
09:00 AM ET

Cameras not on during airport breach

(CNN) - Cameras that might have shown the man who walked through security Sunday at Newark, New Jersey, Liberty International Airport were not recording during the incident, a federal official said Tuesday.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Ann Davis said TSA-funded and Port Authority-installed and -operated cameras were running but not recording at the time of the security breach on Sunday evening, which led officials to shut Terminal C for hours and re-screen thousands of passengers.

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Filed under: Airline safety
January 6th, 2010
08:00 AM ET

Govt. changes watch list system after failed bombing

Washington (CNN) - The U.S. government has lowered the threshold for information deemed important enough to put suspicious individuals on a watch list or no-fly list, or have their visa revoked, senior State Department officials tell CNN.

The government overhauled criteria it uses for putting possible terrorists on such lists as a result of the failed Christmas Day attack, officials said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material. Our Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty has the report.

Read more: U.S. changes criteria for inclusion on no-fly lists


Filed under: Airline safety
January 6th, 2010
07:00 AM ET

Sen. Dodd to announce retirement

(CNN) - Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, plans to announce his retirement Wednesday, two sources close to the lawmaker told CNN. He plans to announce the decision at a news conference, one of the sources said.

Dodd, 65, had been winning congressional elections in his state since 1974, but he's recently been considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats seeking re-election in 2010. Our Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash has the report.

Read more: Sen. Dodd to retire, sources tell CNN


Filed under: Politics
January 6th, 2010
06:00 AM ET

Lobbying for Your Health: 150,000 seniors in revolt

Editor's Note: Lobbyists have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to influence the health care debate in this country. By some counts, there were six health care lobbyists for every member of Congress. In part three of the American Morning original series, "Lobbying for Your Health," Carol Costello looks at the AARP's contentious role in the debate.

By Bob Ruff and Carol Costello

November 5, 2009. That's the day the AARP endorsed the House health care bill. With nearly 40 million members, it's not surprising that the president quickly came before cameras in the White House to thank the AARP for its endorsement.

That AARP endorsement wasn't universally applauded by all of the organization's millions of members. The organization admits it has lost 150,000 members since the endorsement but says that's been offset by more than 2-million new or renewed memberships.

Some, like Robert Tice, feel the AARP is out of touch with its members by focusing so much on selling insurance. He says he will let his AARP membership lapse without renewal because he doesn't like what they're up to.

"The letters don't mean American Association of Retired Persons," he told CNN's Carol Costello. "It just means AARP. It's just a name. ... The AARP is about insurance. People need to know that. AARP is not out there to help you."

In fact, the AARP brands several types of insurance, including health policies with United Healthcare. By endorsing so many insurance policies the organization brought in around $650 million dollars last year in premiums. That's almost three times what it took in from membership dues.

FULL POST


Filed under: Lobbying for Your Health • Politics
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