American Morning
Protest leader: Abandon 'security theater', opt out 'strip search' scans
Tensions are already running high on one of the year's busiest travel days, but for one group it's the perfect day for a protest.
Flying out of Philly? You might bump into James Babb, co-founder, wewontfly.com.
He’s at Philadelphia International Airport this morning, representing one of several grassroots organizations supporting leading "National Opt Out Day” - a protest of TSA's full-body scanners and pat-down procedures. Babb has never gone through a full-body scan or pat down, but he says travelers should say no to protect their health and privacy and report "gropers" to the airlines and government.
Today on American Morning, Babb tells Carol Costello why he’s instructing travelers to "raise holy hell."
A recent USA Today/Gallup poll shows most frequent travelers are not bothered by the new TSA scanners, and that majority are okay with giving up personal privacy for safety.
So, which side are you on? If you’re headed to the airport will you opt out?
TSA chief responds to ‘Opt Out’ protesters
The man in charge of those full-body scanners and pat downs tells American Morning how the TSA is bracing for the busiest travel day of the year.
TSA Administrator John Pistole joins AM’s John Roberts from Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.
He responds to protesters who are opting out of the scans over health and privacy concerns. And, Pistole says he willing to meet with the cancer survivor who was humiliated and embarrassed by a TSA patdown earlier this month.
Tigers Face Extinction: Poaching, massive decline in habitat to blame
Wild tigers could become extinct in 12 years if more action isn’t taken, according to global wildlife experts.
The World Wildlife Fund says only about 3,200 tigers remain in the wild, down from an estimated 100,000 a century ago.
Sybille Klenzendorf, director of the species conservation program at the World Wildlife Fund, talks with AM’s Kiran Chetry this morning. She explains how fast the numbers are falling and what humans can do to help.
AM Series: Hard Hits – Slam leaves linebacker brain damaged for life
Seventeen-year-old Max Conradt is viciously slammed down by a 280-pound linebacker during a high school football game. He continues to play and by the end of the game, after many punishing tackles, Conradt collapses into his stepmother's arms. Underneath his helmet, Conradt's brain was swelling.
He was dying - fast.
He was in a coma for two months with a catastrophic traumatic brain injury and had three operations to relieve the pressure on his swelling brain. Max's father Ralph is coming unglued, because doctors say his son probably will not make it.
Did Max live?
In the end we find out he did, but it’s not much of a life. Max lives in a home for brain damaged adults. He will never hold down a job, he will never function independently.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells Max's story on American Morning.
Cancer survivor accepts TSA apology, says agents need training
Yesterday on American Morning, bladder cancer survivor Thomas Sawyer, 61, shared his personal story of the pat down he received at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. After the pat down caused his urine bag to leak, Sawyer said he was embarrassed and humiliated.
Later in the day, TSA chief John Pistole called Sawyer personally to apologize. Sawyer accepted the apology.
Today, he joins AM again. John Roberts asks him what changes he thinks the TSA should make to be better accommodating.
Airport Reality Check: Few receive pat downs, says former TSA official
Support seems to be slipping for the new airport security measures.
In a poll earlier this month, 81 percent of people supported the new full-body scanners. Now, only 64 percent support them, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll. And, 50 percent say the pat-down procedures go too far.
Today on American Morning, Kiran Chetry talks to former FAA and TSA security official Charlotte Bryan.
Bryan, now a consultant for Command Consulting Group, explains how few air travelers will encounter the scans and pat downs this weekend, and if the public scrutiny is justifiable or overly sensitive.
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