Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Sunday
Financial Institutions, Corporate Headquarters Possible Terrorist Targets; Interview with Jon Kroll, Daniel Lakind
Aired August 01, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: CNN LIVE SUNDAY is just ahead. But first a look at what is happening now in the news.
The terror threat level is now at high in New York, Washington, and parts of New Jersey. There is specific evidence that al-Qaeda may be plotting to use a car or truck bomb in those areas.
A string of explosions target churches in Iraq. U.S. military authorities say the blast in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul killed 10 people, and wounded 40 others.
The first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is about to strike, and is heading for North Carolina. Right now tropical storm warnings are in effect along the coast of both Carolinas. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Good evening. I'm Carol Lin. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. The big story today -- the terror alert.
We begin with what the government calls unusually specific information about where al Qaeda wants to attack. Homeland Security is raising the terror threat level to orange. But, for the first time only in specific targeted areas.
They include the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, the Citigroup buildings, and the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. And Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
Tom Ridge had a news conference this afternoon. Cnn Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Washington with more details. Jeanne, did the Homeland Security Secretary say when al Qaeda might actually strike?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There is no timeframe mentioned in the specific intelligence. However, officials remain concerned about this timeframe running up to the U.S. presidential elections.
What is remarkable about the security they continue to say is the specificity of the information. That is why they were able to raise the threat level only in those specific locations, New York, northern New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. And mentioned those specific sites that you outlined just a few moments ago.
They said the intelligence was meticulous in it's detail. They looked at things, for instance, al Qaeda did in its intelligence about security guards and when they worked, whether they were armed or not. Here's a bit more on the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE (voice-over): A truck going through a security check in front of the World Bank as the financial sector in New York, northern New Jersey, and Washington is moved to threat level orange. Intelligence indicates al Qaeda is targeting specific buildings.
In the capital, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In northern New Jersey, Prudential Financial. In New York, Citigroup buildings and the New York Stock Exchange. And more may be named as intelligence received in the past few days is pursued and analyzed, according to officials.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The quality of this intelligence, based on multiple reporting streams in multiple locations, is rarely seen. And it is alarming in both the amount and specificity of the information.
MESERVE: Senior intelligence officials characterize al Qaeda's reconnaissance information as chilling in its scope and breadth. It includes meticulous detail about whether security guards are armed, the location of security cameras, traffic patterns, and possibly escape routes, building construction and what kind of explosives could do maximum damage.
It also details the configuration of parking garages, which kind of vehicles are allowed, and when. Even the incline of garage entrances.
RIDGE: The analytical piece that is associated with this would suggest, based on what we've gleaned so far, the preferred method of attack, or what's being suggested in the reporting, is car and truck bombs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Officials say they believe al Qaeda began its reconnaissance before 9/11, and that it probably continues to this day. And although no time-frame for attack is mentioned in the intelligence, officials remain most concerned about the run-up to the November elections.
Here in Washington, the U.S. Capitol Police are holding an emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss ramping up security around the capital, and members of congress. One spokesman said, it is a small city, so a threat to one part is a threat to a whole.
Another side of how seriously officials are taking this situation, this afternoon the Interagency Incident Management Group was activated. Its role is to manage the response should there be a terrorist attack. Carol, back to you.
LIN: Thanks very much, Jeanne Meserve, live in Washington. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a news conference a little over an hour ago, and CNN's Jason Carroll is covering that angle of the story. Jason, how are they going to they protect the city?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They do have a plan that is in place. New York City's mayor just a short while ago, basically affirming that many in the intelligence community have been saying all along. That New York City continues to be a target of choice.
The mayor saying, "We will spare no expense, and we will take no chances." Basically, he outlined how the city has upped it's security efforts because of these specific threats to places like Citicorp and also the Prudential Financial Building in Newark, New Jersey.
He talked about, one, that law enforcement officials have already been in contact with the security departments from these particular corporations, making sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of how to deal with this new security threat. Telling them that they should be paying special attention to for example, the parking structures in the area. All those coming and going from those facilities.
Also, there will be increased inspection at the city's bridges and tunnels. In fact, one of the bridges, the Williamsburg Bridge will be closed to truck traffic until further notice. In addition, we can expect increased police patrols of subways. Especially the subway beneath the Citicorp building in midtown Manhattan.
New York City as you know has been at a heightened level of alert, level orange ever since 9/11. So the question was asked, given the seriousness of these new threats, and how specific these new threats are, why then has the security level not been raised to level red.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMM. RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: The information we have now is not specifically tied to a threat. If you had something with this level of specificity tied to a specific threat, which was also specific, then I think that's when you might see the alert level raise.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Get up tomorrow morning, go to work, go about their business, and enjoy the very freedoms that the terrorists find so threatening. There is for them nothing different this Monday than it was last Friday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: But it won't be business as usual in just a few weeks when New York City hosts the Republican National Convention. There may have to be some sort of balancing act in terms of resources. The Mayor saying that the city will do its part, but also expecting the public to do its part, and try and remain as vigilant as ever -- Carol.
LIN: Yes. Vigilant, but not quite knowing exactly what to look for. Thanks very much, Jason Carroll, reporting live in New York.
Before Tom Ridge stepped in front of the cameras today, President Bush signed off on raising the terror alert level. Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has details about how the President was briefed. And Suzanne, it was over a series of days.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As a matter of fact, it was over a series of three days. But Carol, this is an administration, a President is very much aware of the political risk in raising the terror alert.
White House officials say despite that, it is well worth it. Now at the same time, there are some skeptics who are questioning the timing of this announcement, following a Senator John Kerry's bounce after the Democratic Convention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: The financial buildings, targeted for a possible attack in Washington, the IMS, and World Bank, are just a few blocks away from the White House. There, the President was briefed by his Homeland Security Team that there was very new information coming in about potential terrorist threats.
The intelligence came over a 72-hour period, a White House spokeswoman said. Mr. Bush learning of the new threats while he was campaigning on the road over the weekend. From telephone briefings with his Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
Top Homeland Security officials met at the White House twice over the weekend, before the president signed off on Ridge's recommendation Sunday morning to raise the terror alert in the financial sector.
RIDGE: This is the first time we have chosen to use the Homeland Security advisory system in such a targeted way.
MALVEAUX: Even before Ridge emerged, news of the move was immediately met with skepticism by some Bush critics.
HOWARD DEAN, (D) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card which is terrorism. His whole campaign is based on the notion that I had can keep you safe, therefore in times of difficulty for America, stick with me. And out comes Tom Ridge.
It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics. And I suspect there's some of both in it.
MALVEAUX: But not everyone believes the announcement was politically motivated.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) CONNECTICUT: I don't think anybody who has any fairness or is in their right mind would think that the President or the Secretary of Homeland Security would raise an alert level and scare people for political reasons. MARC RACICOT, CHAIRMAN, BUSH-CHEYNEY '04: No one would engage in that sort of thing. To suggest that I think corrodes the confidence of the people of this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, Democratic opponent John Kerry has been briefed by administration officials about these terrorist threats, and in a statement, a Kerry adviser used the terrorist alert to make the case that the 9/11 Commission's recommendations must be implemented aggressively.
LIN: Aggressively, but how soon Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: If it was up to Kerry, Kerry says he would want them right away. But we do have some indications Carol, that it could be as early as tomorrow that the President could announce at least some of those recommendations that he can implement by executive order.
LIN: Thanks very much, Suzanne Malveaux. Live at the White House.
Consider the specific nature of the intelligence that Homeland Security got. It's very chilling. Our Terrorism Expert is Harvard University's Jim Walsh. Jim, always good to have you on these days.
JIM WALSH, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Good to see you Carol.
LIN: Let me ask you this. The description has been the information that Homeland Security has gotten has been so specific, the number of people that actually walk on the sidewalk outside of a place like the World Bank, how they get through the security, even where they turn, how much security is actually in place.
What does it take for al Qaeda to actually accumulate that kind of information? What did they have to do?
WALSH: I think it takes quite a bit of effort on their part, particularly if you're talking not about one building, but as we had on 9/11, multiple targets, multiple sites in different cities. So they need to be able to observe those buildings and their patterns.
How do messengers get in? How do delivery trucks get? They have to watch it through the course of an entire day for days or weeks to see how it changes. Particularly if it changes when the terror warning is raised or lowered?
LIN: How do they do that without attracting attention to themselves?
WALSH: I think one way to do it, and of course, this is speculation on my part. One way to do it is to infiltrate either a messenger service, or to somehow get a job, a lower-level job at one of the buildings.
In a janitorial service, or a security guard, or perhaps maintenance people who regularly visit and work at those buildings. So that would be one way. The other, of course, is to pose as a visitor. There are millions of visitors who come to New York and D.C. every year and take pictures like any self-respecting visitor would take.
LIN: But if you're suggesting that some of the information, for example, when people go through security at the New York Stock Exchange, or the IMF, that they turn left or they turn right. You have to be inside the building.
And if what you are speculating clearly here is that al Qaeda had to be working in there. Doesn't that suggest that they have a security pass, and therefore a lot of the security precautions being put into place may not work?
WALSH: Well, it's certainly true that if they have gotten access, then they've been able to bypass at least some of the systems. There's a difference between being able to get in on a certain day, and being able to mount an attack. Particularly a truck bomb attack.
That, of course is what Governor Ridge is suggesting is the most likely form of an attack. You don't -- getting just one person in a building isn't going to bring the IMF -- The International Monetary Fund down. If they're going to really do that sort of level of damage, they have to get a very large vehicle packed with a lot of explosives close to their target, or inside of that target to detonate it.
It's one thing to get reconnaissance, and it's another thing to execute an operation, I think.
LIN: And the operation -- the security operation on the ground. I mean essentially doesn't Homeland Security have to institute something like a police state in order to prevent that kind of an attack?
WALSH: Well, you know, Carol, I've been a big critic of this terror warning system. We've had repeated press conferences where there have been vague warnings, with no information and no guide to the public. I think today's announcement is quite different. In fact, it's unprecedented.
One of the good things I like about it, one of the improvements I think they have made is by targeting specific areas, not raising the terror alert level in Idaho, or in South Dakota. But really focusing on a financial sector, and on particular buildings.
I think that limits the costs that are involved, the monetary costs, and it limits the degree to which the police will become a burden or to which people are impositioned by focusing in on selected targeted areas.
LIN: But consider the people who are going to work tomorrow, Jim. This is a frightening time.
WALSH: Sure, it's a frightening time Carol. And more importantly, not only the folks that go to work. I think what's being left out of this conversation, and what is consistently left out of these terror warnings is talking about the families. It's the spouses; it's the kids of these folks who will going to work tomorrow.
They're going to go to school tomorrow. They are going to talk to other youngsters. They are going to hear about these warnings. We need to do a better job of reaching out to them.
I encourage anyone who knows folks who work in D.C., work at these places, pick up the phone, call a loved one, call a friend, reassure them. Let them know they're there to help them and to talk through this difficult period. That's a very important thing that any average American can do.
LIN: Jim, we book you as a terrorism expert, and we are now drawing on your social science background. Thanks very much. Jim Walsh, Harvard University.
Still to come on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, different targets come under attack in Iraq.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, BAGHDAD: I'm Matthew Chance in Baghdad. A string of deadly explosions across Iraq, targeting apparently not U.S. forces, but Iraq's Christians instead. We'll have all the details coming up.
LIN: Thank you Matthew. Plus, a supermarket goes up in flames. Is it an accident or intentional? We're going to tell you what the store's owner had to say.
And no television, no phones, and no cars. That's the way of life for the Amish. But what happens when they explore the outside world? You're watching it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We've got more on a coordinated attack on churches in Iraq. The Vatican is worried, because for the first time the targets were Christians. Bombs exploded at five churches in two cities, killing at least ten people and injuring dozens more. CNN's Matthew Chance is covering the developments in Baghdad. Where at least four churches were hit. Matthew any idea of the strategy behind this?
CHANCE: It is not altogether clear, possibly an attempt to deepen the already deep divisions that exist between all the various religious groups in Iraq.
But Iraq's religious community of Christians has been discriminated against in the past, but this was altogether more brutal. Five car bombs targeting five churches in the country. Four in Baghdad, one in Mosul.
The latest casualty figures that we have coming to us from U.S. led coalition officials, at least ten people killed, another 40 injured. But we're told by Iraqi health officials that that death toll could climb much, much higher. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE):
CHANCE (voice-over): Sunday mass in Baghdad turned to carnage. The first car bomb detonated outside a crowded church in the central in the Karadi (ph) district. Stain glass windows shattered in the streets. Sunday worshippers killed and injured together with Iraqi Muslims outside.
COLMES: MIKE MURRAY, U.S. ARMY: I don't know if it's a surprise. I think it is another step down for the people that are doing this. I mean, the people that were injured and the people that were -- and I'm sure they'll be killed before this is all said and done.
But these people were doing nothing but just going about their daily lives. They were in the church for prayer when the car bomb went off.
CHANCE: Minutes later, another car bomb, another church in the same district. This time rescue workers backed by U.S. forces struggled through a nine-foot crater to reach the casualties. Two more churches were also attacked in Baghdad in what appears to be an orchestrated assault. Christian areas of the city were in flames.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The car bomb crashed into the church and exploded there with many dead and injured. They are our Christian brothers and friends. This is a dangerous, criminal act.
CHANCE: There was more to come. In the northern city of Mosul, a car bomb exploded at a church as worshippers were leaving. Christians in Iraq have long been discriminated against, even persecuted, but not like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: Iraq's Christian community is small, a little over 700,000 people. Many of them own stores selling liquor, alcohol. Others are seen as being rich by the Muslim majority in this country. For that reason, in the past they've got targeted both by Islamic radicals and by criminals.
But this coordinated campaign of attacking Christian churches seems to be a new and destabilizing tactic -- Carol.
LIN: Thank you very much. Matthew Chance, live in Baghdad.
And where are the seven truck drivers who were taken hostage in Iraq? We have got conflicting reports about what happened to them. The Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister says negotiations with the captors ended, and the hostages are supposed to be released.
But the man representing the hostage holders is denying that. A source tells CNN he later pulled out of the talks. India's Deputy Foreign Minister also says the negotiations are not over. And elsewhere around the world. No word yet on what caused a huge fire that killed more than 100 people today in a supermarket in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Paraguay. Authorities report at least two blasts and a fire ripped through the three-story building crowded with midday shoppers.
Police in Prague suspect racketeering because was behind today's bombing outside a hotel and casino. A hand grenade went off beneath an SUV wounding 18 people. The casino's original owner was murdered two years ago.
And Poland is observing the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw uprising when Polish resistance fighters held out for 63 days against Nazi occupiers. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell took part in a wreath laying ceremony. And afterward, He promised Poles (ph) would never have to stand-alone against outside domination again.
Still to come, a seasonal debut, the calm before the storm as tropical storm Alex churns off the Carolinas.
Plus, unusual twists and turns in the case of the missing Utah woman. Find out why her family wants volunteers to call off the search.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WEATHER REPORT
LIN: Financial institutions in the northeast targeted for terrorism attacks.
Still to come, what this means to Wall Street, and how your finances are protected during an increased terror threat level.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I am Miguel Marquez live in Salt Lake City, Utah. The mystery of a missing woman here becomes somewhat less mysterious. But only somewhat. I'll tell you about it.
LIN: All right. Thanks Miguel. From horse and buggy, to the fast lane. What happens when you mix Amish kids with big city kids? One reality series shows you. And I am going to be talking to the executive producers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
More of CNN LIVE SUNDAY in just a moment. First I want to bring you a quick look at what's now in the news.
The terrorism threat level for New York, New Jersey, and Washington is now orange or high. Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says there's specific evidence that terrorists are planning possible attacks on the financial districts of the three areas.
A U.S. marine translator who was held hostage in Iraq says he is glad to be back with his family and friends. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun is in Utah at his brother's home at the start of 30 days of repatriation leave.
John Kerry continues sweeping across Ohio, stomping for votes in the battleground state. This weekend the Democratic presidential nominee made stops in Zanesville, Springfield, and Bowling Green, Ohio.
All right. Let's get back to this terror threat level. Already, tight security is getting tighter in financial centers in Washington, New York, and New Jersey now. Chilling new intelligence today prompted the government to raise the terror threat level for those locations.
Right now let's talk about it with Mike Brooks. He's often our terror expert and also our security expert. Mike, I was talking earlier with Jim Walsh from Harvard University. And he was saying, look, a lot of the plans of blocking off roads, perhaps even checkpoints may be enough to deter any terrorism attacks. What do you think?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could be. They're hardening up these targets more so than we have seen in a long time. And the information we're getting from the Department of Homeland Security, from Tom Ridge.
And also in New York City we heard Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly extremely candid. The most information I think we've ever gotten on this kind of threat.
People who have been critics of the color coated system. They say I don't care what color it is. Give us the information. Well now the first responders who are out there where the rubber meets the road, the first responders who are going to respond to something like this, they have the information. They can take the proper steps. I think they will.
LIN: What are the proper steps do you think?
BROOKS: Right now in Washington D.C. with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, it's very convenient. They are right across the street from one another on 10th Street, downtown D.C. If they were to block the street off there, it wouldn't affect the traffic that much.
In New York City, the New York Stock Exchange is already blocked off. You've got the Citicorp building on East 53rd Street. They may put up additional barriers just to have some standoff. Because their concern again is car and truck bombs, which has been the trademark of al Qaeda over the years.
Then you have the other icons. I think they were able to -- you'll get to see the New York City (UNINTELLIGIBLE) unit, the Hercules teams as part of the Operation: Atlas that has been in place since 9/11. You are going to see a very very heavy police present.
LIN: So very visible. Is this command presence by law enforcement and first-responders, do you think that's enough to deter an attack? If you were a terrorist getting ready to strike, maybe a suicide bomber, and you look at this, are you going to say, maybe another day?
BROOKS: Absolutely. It's just like a burglar alarm. If I'm a burglar, and I'm going down the street, and I see protected by an alarm company, I'm not going to go to that door. I'm going to go someplace that is a softer target.
They are hardening up the targets. New York City and Washington. New York has been on orange since 9/11. Washington D.C. has been kind of a modified orange if you will. But with all the special events, with the government there, the two cities Washington, D.C. and New York, they're probably the best prepared of any cities in the country.
LIN: Well you worked in Washington for a long time, and you have a lot of contacts within the FBI. Take me into the mindset, though, of this attacker. He sees this presence. He wants to make a political statement.
He wants to kill people clearly, but it's not a typical sort of gangland crime. He wants to make a political statement. Does it really even matter to him if he takes down the police officers and guards and the first-responders, and makes that statement regardless?
BROOKS: No, but the whole thing is prevention. If they can set a standoff from these different buildings, that is going to prevent any kind of attack. But some people may say if you're hardening up those targets, you are going to leave others vulnerable.
LIN: Yes. Why not go to the hotel down the street, or the shopping center, or the daycare center?
BROOKS: And that's why we have to remain vigilant. So this is basically -- what I heard Tom Ridge say today, and Mayor Bloomberg, and Police Commissioner Kelly, and also Mayor Williams and Chief Ramsey in Washington, D.C., yes we are taking these extreme precautions, but remain vigilant.
We have heard about the East Coast. No one said any about Los Angeles, the Midwest. People there also -- they can't say well, they are not talking about us. They also have to remain vigilant. Because again, somebody sees a hardened target, they can go somewhere else.
If you're out at a shopping mall, if you are at a ball game, if you are on vacation, at a beach, if you see something that doesn't look right, and in your gut you say, something is wrong with that. Pick up the phone and call 911. That's what the police are there for, and they don't mind responding to you. If you think something is out of place, they want you to call.
LIN: They may have terror threat levels, but we're all in a sense on alert ever since 9/11.
BROOKS: Absolutely.
LIN: Thanks Mike.
The U.S. financial markets will open hours from now. How will today's news impact the actual stocks and the trading? CNN's Ali Velshi joins us now from New York.
Ali, I don't know. When do the futures actually start up that you can get an indication of how the market will go?
ALI VELSHI, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Futures are moving, and it's -- most word that we've got from talking to people we regularly speak to is that they are expecting a lower open tomorrow morning. Maybe up to a percent lower. Some people are suggesting. That would be a triple digit drop by the beginning of the day.
Let me share some comments with you from people we've talked to, our normal market watchers. It's going to be a nerve-wracking day. They're certainly going to start lower. Nobody is clear on whether it ends lower -- I shouldn't say certainly. In all the time of covering markets, we know nothing in fact Carol is certain at all.
The question is when do we become immune to this sort of thing? Do we have a defiant tone tomorrow with traders and workers downtown? The -- this is not going to change the way things -- the way business is done here like we did after the market opened on September 17, 2001?
Do we have a fearful tone, about wow, this is all around us? Here you are looking at pictures of the New York Stock Exchange. You haven't been able to get within 50 feet of that building if you didn't have business there for last few years.
LIN: Yes. How do you get there Ali? I mean how do you...
VELSHI: You have to have business there. You stand really far, because these police officers are there, and if you have business, they check you out and you go in. I don't know what else you add to that kind of security at the Stock Exchange.
And there's a third thing, Carol. What about ambivalence? What about the "I've heard this before"? Sure it's more specific. But I live in New York. We know it's a target. We have heard -- we knew anecdotally that these pillars of capitalist society like the New York Stock Exchange and other things would be targeted.
Anybody we know who works there has always sort of felt it's a little uneasy to go there everyday. So we'll have to see what else comes out, and what that mood is by the end of the day.
LIN: Ali, other than this terror threat, is there a perfect storm gathering for this week? Are there earnings reports coming out or anything else? Any other red flags?
VELSHI: Yes, we're still in earnings. We're at the end of -- we're coming to the end of earnings season. And it's been OK. It's been tepid. The earnings haven't been bad, but there is some sense of not knowing what the future holds.
There's already uncertainty about the presidential elections. The market doesn't like uncertainty. But in fact to that note, the only thing that isn't uncertain about this according to Barry Hyman, who is one of our market watchers, it's an absolute negative. There's no way you can spin the idea of these terror threats in any way other than the negative.
LIN: I see what you mean. OK. It's so negative, that it's actually a positive, because it's a known. That's what you're saying?
VELSHI: Yes.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much Ali. We'll see what happens tomorrow at the open.
Elsewhere across America, flight schedules are getting back to normal after delaying caused by a nationwide computer glitch this morning. American Airlines said the computer system that clears aircraft for takeoff failed. That grounded American and US Airways for more than two hours at all U.S. airports.
A cruise ship is afloat again after running aground on a reef in Alaska's Aleutian Islands yesterday. With 196 people on board. The passengers and non-essential crew had to evacuate the clipper Odyssey. Fortunately no one was hurt.
The Newark Star-Ledger says five of 30 supposedly rare stringed instruments sold to the New Jersey Symphony and they are probably fakes. The symphony bought the violins and other instruments from the pet (ph) products (ph) tycoon who is now under indictment for tax fraud.
Police have a new lead in the search for a missing Utah woman. A relative of Mark Hacking, the husband, said the new information concerns the whereabouts of his wife Lori. And it's sending police back to a local landfill.
Our Miguel Marquez is working his sources in Salt Lake City. Miguel, first quickly bring us up to speed on exactly what happened. Because the families had actually called off the search earlier today for her body.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They called it off actually last night. There's a lot of moving parts here. A lot of pieces that seem to be moving together. It's not entirely clear which parts fit with which parts.
One thing seems clear, the overall thrust of the investigation seems to becoming somewhat less mysterious, based on a statement that the Soares, Lori Hackings family, and the Hacking family, Mark's family released late last night.
I'm going to read you a piece of that statement - "The families understand that Mark Hacking has provided information that makes it unnecessary for individuals or groups to continue the volunteer search".
Essentially, calling off the search based on something that Mark told his family members. Does this point to an admission? Does it point to a confession? It's not entirely clear yet. It was made to the family, though. That's one thing we knew.
That forced the Salt Lake City police then to sort of respond to that. And Salt Lake City Police Detective Dwayne Baird (ph) came out a little earlier today responding to that family statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DWAYNE BAIRD, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: Last night, information was faxed to the media concerning the end of the search efforts to find Lori Hacking. A member of the Hacking family came in and provided additional substantive information.
This information, along with other leads, will continue to be followed up on by investigators. The search of the landfill will continue this Friday, august 6th when the dogs become available to continue the search. The primary person of interest, Mark Hacking, remains in a local medical facility and has not been in the custody of the police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now 27-year-old Lori Hacking was reported missing by her husband Mark on July 19th. Several hours later he was found naked in a hotel parking lot, and that's when he was taken to that local psychiatric hospital.
Since then we have learned that Hackings had led his wife and family to believe he had been accepted into medical school in North Carolina. That was in fact not the case. And that he had finished college here at the University of Utah. That also was not the case.
Hacking had purchased a mattress the day he reported his wife missing. Investigators later took a box spring, a box spring only from his and his wife's apartment for testing. And Mark Hacking is not in custody, remains in the hospital at this point, and investigators based on this information, seem that they'll go back at the search at the landfill. Carol?
LIN: Miguel, what is your -- the story is so bizarre, because it's not -- it's just short of a conclusion. So what is your gut feeling? What are your sources telling you about what is probably likely going to happen next?
MARQUEZ: Well, it seems very clear that investigators want to find a body. They want to find some physical evidence about what happened to Lori Hacking. It appears that the statement that was released by the family last night went to the press first, and then only after the fact did police get a hold of that information from the family.
LIN: But they're not arresting him. Are they not arresting him because he's in a mental ward right now, and they can't count on what he's saying?
(CROSSTALK) I don't think they feel there's a rush to arrest him at this point because he's in a hospital at this point. That they don't have a physical evidence linking him to anything at this point as far as we know. And they want to make sure to have all their Ts crossed, their I's dotted before they make any announcement of arrest. Carol?
LIN: Good idea. Especially these high profile cases. Thanks very much. Miguel Marquez, reporting live in Salt Lake City.
Well, we have a great story coming up. A new reality series and it's focusing on the Amish community, but is it helping them? To explore the fast-paced world, or is it exploiting them?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need eggs definitely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those are chicken abortions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Chicken abortion. OK. Coming up, I'm going to talk to the executive producers of this new controversial reality series.
Plus, in with the new. How new editions in Webster's can make you stay hip.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Normally we don't like to give publicity to another network, but the WPN network has this hit with this rating bonanza with this new reality series, "Amish in the City". But you know, not everyone believes the series about Amish teens living in L.A. is must- see TV. CNN's Entertainment Correspondent Sibila Vargas reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What do you pair five sheltered Amish young adults with six city kids? Controversy, culture clash, and ratings. At least that's what the makers of UPN's new reality series "Amish in the City" are hoping.
BARRY GARRON, TV CRITIC: It was in a sense kind of like big brother meets the Walton's.
VARGAS: The 10-episode series follows it's Amish participants during Rumspringa. It is a time when Amish youths are allowed to leave the community and experience the temptations of the outside world, and then decide if they want to remain in the Amish religion.
But this fish-out-of-water concept has sparked outrage from one Pennsylvania congressman who signed a petition along with 50 other U.S. representatives to urge UPN to drop the show.
REP JOE PITTS, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: I don't think they would do this of young teens of Native Americans or a group of Hasidic Jews or Muslim teens. To target the Amish because they're a small group, I think is wrong.
JON KROLL, EXEC. PROD. "AMISH IN THE CITY": The notion of the show being objectionable didn't come up until these assumptions were made that it would be done in a disrespectful manner. It was not done in a disrespectful manner.
VARGAS (on-camera): The show's producers maintain it's Amish participants were already in Rumspringa when recruited to live here in the Hollywood Hills. And if anything, the show was a journey of growth and self-discovery.
KROLL: There's another way of looking at it. If people are truly exposed to both ways of life, and they return to the Amish, it's only going to make their faith stronger.
VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: So does "Amish In The City" cross the line of good taste? And what makes it such a big hit? Well, the show's executive producers are joining me right now. Jon Kroll and Daniel Lakind are in our L.A. Bureau. Hi to both of you. Which one of you guys actually thought of this idea? How did it come up?
KROLL: It's sort of a dual inspiration. Daniel and his partner Steven Kendall (ph) produced a film called "Devil's Playground" which I had seen. And I joined New Line television late last year. It was sort of a mandate to really explore unchartered territory and have more thought-provoking reality shows come out of the division.
And approached him about collaborating on a show that would really explore this Rumspringa idea as the basis for a reality show. That's how it all began.
LIN: All right.
Daniel, speaking of "The Devil's Playground" let's play a clip from the show. This is a scene in the swimming pool. Allegedly a swimming lesson between Kevin and Ruth. Ruth is the Amish girl. Let's watch.
Do we have audio on that? All right. No sound. But there is a swimming lesson going on. Nothing too lascivious being said to one another. Ruth being very thankful that she's getting this swimming lesson. Daniel, are there going to be sex scenes in this show do you think?
DANIEL LAKIND, EXEC PROD. "AMISH IN THE CITY": Well, we don't want to comment on exactly what happens, but no. There's no big sex scenes in the show. Certain romances may develop, but it's sort of part of what happens when you put 11 attractive young adults in a house together. But whether they are Amish or not has very little to do with that.
LIN: Are you guys in a sense anthropological about this? Do you look at this as sort of a documentary of life? Or frankly, are you looking at it as, wouldn't it be fun to see if these Amish kids get corrupted in the big city?
KROLL: No, it really is the idea that it's a very provocative idea, but we really feel that at its best, reality television can be documentary for the masses. They can explore important issues of faith and family and of life decisions. And this show really strives to do just that.
LAKIND: And in no way was the attempts to make fun of them or to exploit them. I think if you've seen the first episodes, and as you watch the run of the show, that was never the intent. It was never the goal.
And obviously from the documentary, our experience of working with the Amish, and John's prior history, there's really no evidence that we would attempt to do that. And certainly the execution is not that either.
LIN: We're looking at the ocean here, because a lot of these kids have never even seen the ocean. Would never get into a bathing suit like the one that this gal is wearing, and actually walk around in public.
I'm wondering Daniel, how did you get these kids to actually agree to do this? Isn't one of the Amish tenants is that they don't want to be photographed? They believe that cameras steal their souls?
LAKIND: First of all, there's a lot of misconceptions in what you just said. The Amish don't believe that photographs steal your soul. The reason why baptized members of the Amish church don't allow photographs is two-fold. They don't like to take time to pose. And they don't like to create graven images as stated in the 10 commandments. They're not an African tribe that believes that photographs steal your soul. That is a very common misconception.
LIN: I'm glad you were able to clear that up.
LAKIND: Well we try. One of the things that's important to know, additionally, is when people are on Rumspringa, when Amish youths are on Rumspringa; they are not officially baptized members of the church. Therefore, they are not bound by the rules that the Amish church sets forward for them.
LIN: But that's good for you, right? Doesn't that open up a lot of possibilities?
LAKIND: It opens up a lot of possibilities, but also that is sort of part of the journey that they're on. The people that participated in this show were ones who had said, spending time in a big city is going to help me make the ultimate decision of what do I want to do with the rest of my life? Do I want to be Amish? Or do I want to stay in the outside world?
LIN: John, you're being awfully quiet. So let me ask you ... go ahead. KROLL: I was just going to say, there's been so many, you know, misconceptions about it. And frankly some of the most outspoken critics of the show really don't know Rumspringa from Rumplestiltskin. They are just people who come up with this idea of what they think it is. And we've done a lot of research in trying to figure out what it's about, and it's a very personal journey.
LIN: Right. Are you going to feel bad John, are you going to feel bad if any of these kids actually choose to stay in the outside world because of their experience on this television show?
KROLL: I really feel that any decision that anyone makes that has grand life implications should be made with the most information available. I think that anybody after this experience who goes back to the Amish way of life is going to go back with a real -- a much stronger feeling that that's the right thing to do, than if they're rejecting some scary unknown they haven't had a chance to explore.
LIN: And explore on network television no less. I guess we can be assured that their families aren't watching, because the Amish don't use electricity. Right?
KROLL: Well, we don't know that. There may be some people who are visiting during this. We don't know that for sure. Amish have been known to watch television when they're in a store...
LIN: When their daughters are on bikinis on national TV, maybe. Thanks very much. John. Daniel, good to talk to you. Good luck with the show.
KROLL: Thank you.
LIN: If you're trying to understand your teenager or trying to stay on top of the newest technology lingo, head to the big book. Still to come. How Webster's is helping to keep us all on the same page.
LIN: For anyone just joining us a tropical storm is heading for the Carolinas. And Jacqui Jeras is tracking it. If it ever gets to the coast, what will the impact be?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Overall the impact of the storm is going to be pretty minimal. It will be kind of a walk in the park for people prone to hurricane areas. But the winds are already starting to increase a little bit.
We're getting some gusts right now at about 15, 20 miles per hour. Overnight we'll be watching for the winds to move up to about 20-30 miles per hour sustained, and gust up to 40.
Rainfall, a couple areas already getting around one inch. But one to three generally, with minor flash flooding possible. And the waves are going to pick up a little bit, about one to two feet above normal tide. High tide comes in tonight at 9:00. And then rip currents, we'll have the threat of that tonight and throughout much of the day for tomorrow. This is our first tropical storm of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical storm Alex. We have our "A" name now. Maximum winds, 40 miles per hour. It's been stationary all day long. So we have had very little movement with this thing.
Now what's going to be happening is we have a cold front. And that is bringing in some showers and thundershowers into the western Carolinas. And this rain that we see here into the Eastern Carolinas, that is from the tropical storm itself.
We are expecting the tropical storm to get hooked up with that cold front, and eventually push on up to the north and then to the northeast. Where it is going to be making the direct impact is still a little bit uncertain. But we will be watching North Carolina most importantly.
And that is where we have the tropical storm warnings in place. From the South Santee River up towards Cape Hatteras. And that tropical storm watch is extent both sides outside of that area. But it will be impacting mostly throughout the day tomorrow Carol, and then should be out of there we think, by late in the day on Tuesday.
LIN: All right. Good news. Thanks Jacqui.
The Miriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Always a work in progress. Editors are adding several new words and phrases to the book as part of their annual update. Among them, we've got the latest. Teensploitation, pleather, body wrap, and MP3. I don't exactly know what teensploitation is, but I do know what pleather is. You know, that cross between plastic and leather. You might have a pair of pants in your closet.
That's all we have for this hour. But coming up at 7:00 Eastern, a profile of Academy Award winning actress Halle Barry on PEOPLE IN THE NEWS. And then at 8:00, CNN PRESENTS tells the little known story of one of the great tragedies of World War II.
At 9:00 Eastern on LARRY KING WEEKEND, Hugh Downes shares the wisdom he is passing on to his family's newest member, and his book, "Letter to a Great Grandson".
And I will be back at 10:00 Eastern for more on the terror threat. And we are going to dissect the latest in the Kobe Bryant case in RAP SHEET. The hours Headlines when I come back, and then PEOPLE IN THE NEWS.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 1, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: CNN LIVE SUNDAY is just ahead. But first a look at what is happening now in the news.
The terror threat level is now at high in New York, Washington, and parts of New Jersey. There is specific evidence that al-Qaeda may be plotting to use a car or truck bomb in those areas.
A string of explosions target churches in Iraq. U.S. military authorities say the blast in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul killed 10 people, and wounded 40 others.
The first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is about to strike, and is heading for North Carolina. Right now tropical storm warnings are in effect along the coast of both Carolinas. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Good evening. I'm Carol Lin. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. The big story today -- the terror alert.
We begin with what the government calls unusually specific information about where al Qaeda wants to attack. Homeland Security is raising the terror threat level to orange. But, for the first time only in specific targeted areas.
They include the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, the Citigroup buildings, and the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. And Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
Tom Ridge had a news conference this afternoon. Cnn Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Washington with more details. Jeanne, did the Homeland Security Secretary say when al Qaeda might actually strike?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There is no timeframe mentioned in the specific intelligence. However, officials remain concerned about this timeframe running up to the U.S. presidential elections.
What is remarkable about the security they continue to say is the specificity of the information. That is why they were able to raise the threat level only in those specific locations, New York, northern New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. And mentioned those specific sites that you outlined just a few moments ago.
They said the intelligence was meticulous in it's detail. They looked at things, for instance, al Qaeda did in its intelligence about security guards and when they worked, whether they were armed or not. Here's a bit more on the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE (voice-over): A truck going through a security check in front of the World Bank as the financial sector in New York, northern New Jersey, and Washington is moved to threat level orange. Intelligence indicates al Qaeda is targeting specific buildings.
In the capital, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In northern New Jersey, Prudential Financial. In New York, Citigroup buildings and the New York Stock Exchange. And more may be named as intelligence received in the past few days is pursued and analyzed, according to officials.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The quality of this intelligence, based on multiple reporting streams in multiple locations, is rarely seen. And it is alarming in both the amount and specificity of the information.
MESERVE: Senior intelligence officials characterize al Qaeda's reconnaissance information as chilling in its scope and breadth. It includes meticulous detail about whether security guards are armed, the location of security cameras, traffic patterns, and possibly escape routes, building construction and what kind of explosives could do maximum damage.
It also details the configuration of parking garages, which kind of vehicles are allowed, and when. Even the incline of garage entrances.
RIDGE: The analytical piece that is associated with this would suggest, based on what we've gleaned so far, the preferred method of attack, or what's being suggested in the reporting, is car and truck bombs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Officials say they believe al Qaeda began its reconnaissance before 9/11, and that it probably continues to this day. And although no time-frame for attack is mentioned in the intelligence, officials remain most concerned about the run-up to the November elections.
Here in Washington, the U.S. Capitol Police are holding an emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss ramping up security around the capital, and members of congress. One spokesman said, it is a small city, so a threat to one part is a threat to a whole.
Another side of how seriously officials are taking this situation, this afternoon the Interagency Incident Management Group was activated. Its role is to manage the response should there be a terrorist attack. Carol, back to you.
LIN: Thanks very much, Jeanne Meserve, live in Washington. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a news conference a little over an hour ago, and CNN's Jason Carroll is covering that angle of the story. Jason, how are they going to they protect the city?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They do have a plan that is in place. New York City's mayor just a short while ago, basically affirming that many in the intelligence community have been saying all along. That New York City continues to be a target of choice.
The mayor saying, "We will spare no expense, and we will take no chances." Basically, he outlined how the city has upped it's security efforts because of these specific threats to places like Citicorp and also the Prudential Financial Building in Newark, New Jersey.
He talked about, one, that law enforcement officials have already been in contact with the security departments from these particular corporations, making sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of how to deal with this new security threat. Telling them that they should be paying special attention to for example, the parking structures in the area. All those coming and going from those facilities.
Also, there will be increased inspection at the city's bridges and tunnels. In fact, one of the bridges, the Williamsburg Bridge will be closed to truck traffic until further notice. In addition, we can expect increased police patrols of subways. Especially the subway beneath the Citicorp building in midtown Manhattan.
New York City as you know has been at a heightened level of alert, level orange ever since 9/11. So the question was asked, given the seriousness of these new threats, and how specific these new threats are, why then has the security level not been raised to level red.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMM. RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: The information we have now is not specifically tied to a threat. If you had something with this level of specificity tied to a specific threat, which was also specific, then I think that's when you might see the alert level raise.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Get up tomorrow morning, go to work, go about their business, and enjoy the very freedoms that the terrorists find so threatening. There is for them nothing different this Monday than it was last Friday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: But it won't be business as usual in just a few weeks when New York City hosts the Republican National Convention. There may have to be some sort of balancing act in terms of resources. The Mayor saying that the city will do its part, but also expecting the public to do its part, and try and remain as vigilant as ever -- Carol.
LIN: Yes. Vigilant, but not quite knowing exactly what to look for. Thanks very much, Jason Carroll, reporting live in New York.
Before Tom Ridge stepped in front of the cameras today, President Bush signed off on raising the terror alert level. Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has details about how the President was briefed. And Suzanne, it was over a series of days.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As a matter of fact, it was over a series of three days. But Carol, this is an administration, a President is very much aware of the political risk in raising the terror alert.
White House officials say despite that, it is well worth it. Now at the same time, there are some skeptics who are questioning the timing of this announcement, following a Senator John Kerry's bounce after the Democratic Convention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: The financial buildings, targeted for a possible attack in Washington, the IMS, and World Bank, are just a few blocks away from the White House. There, the President was briefed by his Homeland Security Team that there was very new information coming in about potential terrorist threats.
The intelligence came over a 72-hour period, a White House spokeswoman said. Mr. Bush learning of the new threats while he was campaigning on the road over the weekend. From telephone briefings with his Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
Top Homeland Security officials met at the White House twice over the weekend, before the president signed off on Ridge's recommendation Sunday morning to raise the terror alert in the financial sector.
RIDGE: This is the first time we have chosen to use the Homeland Security advisory system in such a targeted way.
MALVEAUX: Even before Ridge emerged, news of the move was immediately met with skepticism by some Bush critics.
HOWARD DEAN, (D) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card which is terrorism. His whole campaign is based on the notion that I had can keep you safe, therefore in times of difficulty for America, stick with me. And out comes Tom Ridge.
It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics. And I suspect there's some of both in it.
MALVEAUX: But not everyone believes the announcement was politically motivated.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) CONNECTICUT: I don't think anybody who has any fairness or is in their right mind would think that the President or the Secretary of Homeland Security would raise an alert level and scare people for political reasons. MARC RACICOT, CHAIRMAN, BUSH-CHEYNEY '04: No one would engage in that sort of thing. To suggest that I think corrodes the confidence of the people of this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, Democratic opponent John Kerry has been briefed by administration officials about these terrorist threats, and in a statement, a Kerry adviser used the terrorist alert to make the case that the 9/11 Commission's recommendations must be implemented aggressively.
LIN: Aggressively, but how soon Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: If it was up to Kerry, Kerry says he would want them right away. But we do have some indications Carol, that it could be as early as tomorrow that the President could announce at least some of those recommendations that he can implement by executive order.
LIN: Thanks very much, Suzanne Malveaux. Live at the White House.
Consider the specific nature of the intelligence that Homeland Security got. It's very chilling. Our Terrorism Expert is Harvard University's Jim Walsh. Jim, always good to have you on these days.
JIM WALSH, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Good to see you Carol.
LIN: Let me ask you this. The description has been the information that Homeland Security has gotten has been so specific, the number of people that actually walk on the sidewalk outside of a place like the World Bank, how they get through the security, even where they turn, how much security is actually in place.
What does it take for al Qaeda to actually accumulate that kind of information? What did they have to do?
WALSH: I think it takes quite a bit of effort on their part, particularly if you're talking not about one building, but as we had on 9/11, multiple targets, multiple sites in different cities. So they need to be able to observe those buildings and their patterns.
How do messengers get in? How do delivery trucks get? They have to watch it through the course of an entire day for days or weeks to see how it changes. Particularly if it changes when the terror warning is raised or lowered?
LIN: How do they do that without attracting attention to themselves?
WALSH: I think one way to do it, and of course, this is speculation on my part. One way to do it is to infiltrate either a messenger service, or to somehow get a job, a lower-level job at one of the buildings.
In a janitorial service, or a security guard, or perhaps maintenance people who regularly visit and work at those buildings. So that would be one way. The other, of course, is to pose as a visitor. There are millions of visitors who come to New York and D.C. every year and take pictures like any self-respecting visitor would take.
LIN: But if you're suggesting that some of the information, for example, when people go through security at the New York Stock Exchange, or the IMF, that they turn left or they turn right. You have to be inside the building.
And if what you are speculating clearly here is that al Qaeda had to be working in there. Doesn't that suggest that they have a security pass, and therefore a lot of the security precautions being put into place may not work?
WALSH: Well, it's certainly true that if they have gotten access, then they've been able to bypass at least some of the systems. There's a difference between being able to get in on a certain day, and being able to mount an attack. Particularly a truck bomb attack.
That, of course is what Governor Ridge is suggesting is the most likely form of an attack. You don't -- getting just one person in a building isn't going to bring the IMF -- The International Monetary Fund down. If they're going to really do that sort of level of damage, they have to get a very large vehicle packed with a lot of explosives close to their target, or inside of that target to detonate it.
It's one thing to get reconnaissance, and it's another thing to execute an operation, I think.
LIN: And the operation -- the security operation on the ground. I mean essentially doesn't Homeland Security have to institute something like a police state in order to prevent that kind of an attack?
WALSH: Well, you know, Carol, I've been a big critic of this terror warning system. We've had repeated press conferences where there have been vague warnings, with no information and no guide to the public. I think today's announcement is quite different. In fact, it's unprecedented.
One of the good things I like about it, one of the improvements I think they have made is by targeting specific areas, not raising the terror alert level in Idaho, or in South Dakota. But really focusing on a financial sector, and on particular buildings.
I think that limits the costs that are involved, the monetary costs, and it limits the degree to which the police will become a burden or to which people are impositioned by focusing in on selected targeted areas.
LIN: But consider the people who are going to work tomorrow, Jim. This is a frightening time.
WALSH: Sure, it's a frightening time Carol. And more importantly, not only the folks that go to work. I think what's being left out of this conversation, and what is consistently left out of these terror warnings is talking about the families. It's the spouses; it's the kids of these folks who will going to work tomorrow.
They're going to go to school tomorrow. They are going to talk to other youngsters. They are going to hear about these warnings. We need to do a better job of reaching out to them.
I encourage anyone who knows folks who work in D.C., work at these places, pick up the phone, call a loved one, call a friend, reassure them. Let them know they're there to help them and to talk through this difficult period. That's a very important thing that any average American can do.
LIN: Jim, we book you as a terrorism expert, and we are now drawing on your social science background. Thanks very much. Jim Walsh, Harvard University.
Still to come on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, different targets come under attack in Iraq.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, BAGHDAD: I'm Matthew Chance in Baghdad. A string of deadly explosions across Iraq, targeting apparently not U.S. forces, but Iraq's Christians instead. We'll have all the details coming up.
LIN: Thank you Matthew. Plus, a supermarket goes up in flames. Is it an accident or intentional? We're going to tell you what the store's owner had to say.
And no television, no phones, and no cars. That's the way of life for the Amish. But what happens when they explore the outside world? You're watching it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We've got more on a coordinated attack on churches in Iraq. The Vatican is worried, because for the first time the targets were Christians. Bombs exploded at five churches in two cities, killing at least ten people and injuring dozens more. CNN's Matthew Chance is covering the developments in Baghdad. Where at least four churches were hit. Matthew any idea of the strategy behind this?
CHANCE: It is not altogether clear, possibly an attempt to deepen the already deep divisions that exist between all the various religious groups in Iraq.
But Iraq's religious community of Christians has been discriminated against in the past, but this was altogether more brutal. Five car bombs targeting five churches in the country. Four in Baghdad, one in Mosul.
The latest casualty figures that we have coming to us from U.S. led coalition officials, at least ten people killed, another 40 injured. But we're told by Iraqi health officials that that death toll could climb much, much higher. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE):
CHANCE (voice-over): Sunday mass in Baghdad turned to carnage. The first car bomb detonated outside a crowded church in the central in the Karadi (ph) district. Stain glass windows shattered in the streets. Sunday worshippers killed and injured together with Iraqi Muslims outside.
COLMES: MIKE MURRAY, U.S. ARMY: I don't know if it's a surprise. I think it is another step down for the people that are doing this. I mean, the people that were injured and the people that were -- and I'm sure they'll be killed before this is all said and done.
But these people were doing nothing but just going about their daily lives. They were in the church for prayer when the car bomb went off.
CHANCE: Minutes later, another car bomb, another church in the same district. This time rescue workers backed by U.S. forces struggled through a nine-foot crater to reach the casualties. Two more churches were also attacked in Baghdad in what appears to be an orchestrated assault. Christian areas of the city were in flames.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The car bomb crashed into the church and exploded there with many dead and injured. They are our Christian brothers and friends. This is a dangerous, criminal act.
CHANCE: There was more to come. In the northern city of Mosul, a car bomb exploded at a church as worshippers were leaving. Christians in Iraq have long been discriminated against, even persecuted, but not like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: Iraq's Christian community is small, a little over 700,000 people. Many of them own stores selling liquor, alcohol. Others are seen as being rich by the Muslim majority in this country. For that reason, in the past they've got targeted both by Islamic radicals and by criminals.
But this coordinated campaign of attacking Christian churches seems to be a new and destabilizing tactic -- Carol.
LIN: Thank you very much. Matthew Chance, live in Baghdad.
And where are the seven truck drivers who were taken hostage in Iraq? We have got conflicting reports about what happened to them. The Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister says negotiations with the captors ended, and the hostages are supposed to be released.
But the man representing the hostage holders is denying that. A source tells CNN he later pulled out of the talks. India's Deputy Foreign Minister also says the negotiations are not over. And elsewhere around the world. No word yet on what caused a huge fire that killed more than 100 people today in a supermarket in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Paraguay. Authorities report at least two blasts and a fire ripped through the three-story building crowded with midday shoppers.
Police in Prague suspect racketeering because was behind today's bombing outside a hotel and casino. A hand grenade went off beneath an SUV wounding 18 people. The casino's original owner was murdered two years ago.
And Poland is observing the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw uprising when Polish resistance fighters held out for 63 days against Nazi occupiers. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell took part in a wreath laying ceremony. And afterward, He promised Poles (ph) would never have to stand-alone against outside domination again.
Still to come, a seasonal debut, the calm before the storm as tropical storm Alex churns off the Carolinas.
Plus, unusual twists and turns in the case of the missing Utah woman. Find out why her family wants volunteers to call off the search.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WEATHER REPORT
LIN: Financial institutions in the northeast targeted for terrorism attacks.
Still to come, what this means to Wall Street, and how your finances are protected during an increased terror threat level.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I am Miguel Marquez live in Salt Lake City, Utah. The mystery of a missing woman here becomes somewhat less mysterious. But only somewhat. I'll tell you about it.
LIN: All right. Thanks Miguel. From horse and buggy, to the fast lane. What happens when you mix Amish kids with big city kids? One reality series shows you. And I am going to be talking to the executive producers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
More of CNN LIVE SUNDAY in just a moment. First I want to bring you a quick look at what's now in the news.
The terrorism threat level for New York, New Jersey, and Washington is now orange or high. Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says there's specific evidence that terrorists are planning possible attacks on the financial districts of the three areas.
A U.S. marine translator who was held hostage in Iraq says he is glad to be back with his family and friends. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun is in Utah at his brother's home at the start of 30 days of repatriation leave.
John Kerry continues sweeping across Ohio, stomping for votes in the battleground state. This weekend the Democratic presidential nominee made stops in Zanesville, Springfield, and Bowling Green, Ohio.
All right. Let's get back to this terror threat level. Already, tight security is getting tighter in financial centers in Washington, New York, and New Jersey now. Chilling new intelligence today prompted the government to raise the terror threat level for those locations.
Right now let's talk about it with Mike Brooks. He's often our terror expert and also our security expert. Mike, I was talking earlier with Jim Walsh from Harvard University. And he was saying, look, a lot of the plans of blocking off roads, perhaps even checkpoints may be enough to deter any terrorism attacks. What do you think?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could be. They're hardening up these targets more so than we have seen in a long time. And the information we're getting from the Department of Homeland Security, from Tom Ridge.
And also in New York City we heard Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly extremely candid. The most information I think we've ever gotten on this kind of threat.
People who have been critics of the color coated system. They say I don't care what color it is. Give us the information. Well now the first responders who are out there where the rubber meets the road, the first responders who are going to respond to something like this, they have the information. They can take the proper steps. I think they will.
LIN: What are the proper steps do you think?
BROOKS: Right now in Washington D.C. with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, it's very convenient. They are right across the street from one another on 10th Street, downtown D.C. If they were to block the street off there, it wouldn't affect the traffic that much.
In New York City, the New York Stock Exchange is already blocked off. You've got the Citicorp building on East 53rd Street. They may put up additional barriers just to have some standoff. Because their concern again is car and truck bombs, which has been the trademark of al Qaeda over the years.
Then you have the other icons. I think they were able to -- you'll get to see the New York City (UNINTELLIGIBLE) unit, the Hercules teams as part of the Operation: Atlas that has been in place since 9/11. You are going to see a very very heavy police present.
LIN: So very visible. Is this command presence by law enforcement and first-responders, do you think that's enough to deter an attack? If you were a terrorist getting ready to strike, maybe a suicide bomber, and you look at this, are you going to say, maybe another day?
BROOKS: Absolutely. It's just like a burglar alarm. If I'm a burglar, and I'm going down the street, and I see protected by an alarm company, I'm not going to go to that door. I'm going to go someplace that is a softer target.
They are hardening up the targets. New York City and Washington. New York has been on orange since 9/11. Washington D.C. has been kind of a modified orange if you will. But with all the special events, with the government there, the two cities Washington, D.C. and New York, they're probably the best prepared of any cities in the country.
LIN: Well you worked in Washington for a long time, and you have a lot of contacts within the FBI. Take me into the mindset, though, of this attacker. He sees this presence. He wants to make a political statement.
He wants to kill people clearly, but it's not a typical sort of gangland crime. He wants to make a political statement. Does it really even matter to him if he takes down the police officers and guards and the first-responders, and makes that statement regardless?
BROOKS: No, but the whole thing is prevention. If they can set a standoff from these different buildings, that is going to prevent any kind of attack. But some people may say if you're hardening up those targets, you are going to leave others vulnerable.
LIN: Yes. Why not go to the hotel down the street, or the shopping center, or the daycare center?
BROOKS: And that's why we have to remain vigilant. So this is basically -- what I heard Tom Ridge say today, and Mayor Bloomberg, and Police Commissioner Kelly, and also Mayor Williams and Chief Ramsey in Washington, D.C., yes we are taking these extreme precautions, but remain vigilant.
We have heard about the East Coast. No one said any about Los Angeles, the Midwest. People there also -- they can't say well, they are not talking about us. They also have to remain vigilant. Because again, somebody sees a hardened target, they can go somewhere else.
If you're out at a shopping mall, if you are at a ball game, if you are on vacation, at a beach, if you see something that doesn't look right, and in your gut you say, something is wrong with that. Pick up the phone and call 911. That's what the police are there for, and they don't mind responding to you. If you think something is out of place, they want you to call.
LIN: They may have terror threat levels, but we're all in a sense on alert ever since 9/11.
BROOKS: Absolutely.
LIN: Thanks Mike.
The U.S. financial markets will open hours from now. How will today's news impact the actual stocks and the trading? CNN's Ali Velshi joins us now from New York.
Ali, I don't know. When do the futures actually start up that you can get an indication of how the market will go?
ALI VELSHI, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Futures are moving, and it's -- most word that we've got from talking to people we regularly speak to is that they are expecting a lower open tomorrow morning. Maybe up to a percent lower. Some people are suggesting. That would be a triple digit drop by the beginning of the day.
Let me share some comments with you from people we've talked to, our normal market watchers. It's going to be a nerve-wracking day. They're certainly going to start lower. Nobody is clear on whether it ends lower -- I shouldn't say certainly. In all the time of covering markets, we know nothing in fact Carol is certain at all.
The question is when do we become immune to this sort of thing? Do we have a defiant tone tomorrow with traders and workers downtown? The -- this is not going to change the way things -- the way business is done here like we did after the market opened on September 17, 2001?
Do we have a fearful tone, about wow, this is all around us? Here you are looking at pictures of the New York Stock Exchange. You haven't been able to get within 50 feet of that building if you didn't have business there for last few years.
LIN: Yes. How do you get there Ali? I mean how do you...
VELSHI: You have to have business there. You stand really far, because these police officers are there, and if you have business, they check you out and you go in. I don't know what else you add to that kind of security at the Stock Exchange.
And there's a third thing, Carol. What about ambivalence? What about the "I've heard this before"? Sure it's more specific. But I live in New York. We know it's a target. We have heard -- we knew anecdotally that these pillars of capitalist society like the New York Stock Exchange and other things would be targeted.
Anybody we know who works there has always sort of felt it's a little uneasy to go there everyday. So we'll have to see what else comes out, and what that mood is by the end of the day.
LIN: Ali, other than this terror threat, is there a perfect storm gathering for this week? Are there earnings reports coming out or anything else? Any other red flags?
VELSHI: Yes, we're still in earnings. We're at the end of -- we're coming to the end of earnings season. And it's been OK. It's been tepid. The earnings haven't been bad, but there is some sense of not knowing what the future holds.
There's already uncertainty about the presidential elections. The market doesn't like uncertainty. But in fact to that note, the only thing that isn't uncertain about this according to Barry Hyman, who is one of our market watchers, it's an absolute negative. There's no way you can spin the idea of these terror threats in any way other than the negative.
LIN: I see what you mean. OK. It's so negative, that it's actually a positive, because it's a known. That's what you're saying?
VELSHI: Yes.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much Ali. We'll see what happens tomorrow at the open.
Elsewhere across America, flight schedules are getting back to normal after delaying caused by a nationwide computer glitch this morning. American Airlines said the computer system that clears aircraft for takeoff failed. That grounded American and US Airways for more than two hours at all U.S. airports.
A cruise ship is afloat again after running aground on a reef in Alaska's Aleutian Islands yesterday. With 196 people on board. The passengers and non-essential crew had to evacuate the clipper Odyssey. Fortunately no one was hurt.
The Newark Star-Ledger says five of 30 supposedly rare stringed instruments sold to the New Jersey Symphony and they are probably fakes. The symphony bought the violins and other instruments from the pet (ph) products (ph) tycoon who is now under indictment for tax fraud.
Police have a new lead in the search for a missing Utah woman. A relative of Mark Hacking, the husband, said the new information concerns the whereabouts of his wife Lori. And it's sending police back to a local landfill.
Our Miguel Marquez is working his sources in Salt Lake City. Miguel, first quickly bring us up to speed on exactly what happened. Because the families had actually called off the search earlier today for her body.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They called it off actually last night. There's a lot of moving parts here. A lot of pieces that seem to be moving together. It's not entirely clear which parts fit with which parts.
One thing seems clear, the overall thrust of the investigation seems to becoming somewhat less mysterious, based on a statement that the Soares, Lori Hackings family, and the Hacking family, Mark's family released late last night.
I'm going to read you a piece of that statement - "The families understand that Mark Hacking has provided information that makes it unnecessary for individuals or groups to continue the volunteer search".
Essentially, calling off the search based on something that Mark told his family members. Does this point to an admission? Does it point to a confession? It's not entirely clear yet. It was made to the family, though. That's one thing we knew.
That forced the Salt Lake City police then to sort of respond to that. And Salt Lake City Police Detective Dwayne Baird (ph) came out a little earlier today responding to that family statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DWAYNE BAIRD, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: Last night, information was faxed to the media concerning the end of the search efforts to find Lori Hacking. A member of the Hacking family came in and provided additional substantive information.
This information, along with other leads, will continue to be followed up on by investigators. The search of the landfill will continue this Friday, august 6th when the dogs become available to continue the search. The primary person of interest, Mark Hacking, remains in a local medical facility and has not been in the custody of the police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now 27-year-old Lori Hacking was reported missing by her husband Mark on July 19th. Several hours later he was found naked in a hotel parking lot, and that's when he was taken to that local psychiatric hospital.
Since then we have learned that Hackings had led his wife and family to believe he had been accepted into medical school in North Carolina. That was in fact not the case. And that he had finished college here at the University of Utah. That also was not the case.
Hacking had purchased a mattress the day he reported his wife missing. Investigators later took a box spring, a box spring only from his and his wife's apartment for testing. And Mark Hacking is not in custody, remains in the hospital at this point, and investigators based on this information, seem that they'll go back at the search at the landfill. Carol?
LIN: Miguel, what is your -- the story is so bizarre, because it's not -- it's just short of a conclusion. So what is your gut feeling? What are your sources telling you about what is probably likely going to happen next?
MARQUEZ: Well, it seems very clear that investigators want to find a body. They want to find some physical evidence about what happened to Lori Hacking. It appears that the statement that was released by the family last night went to the press first, and then only after the fact did police get a hold of that information from the family.
LIN: But they're not arresting him. Are they not arresting him because he's in a mental ward right now, and they can't count on what he's saying?
(CROSSTALK) I don't think they feel there's a rush to arrest him at this point because he's in a hospital at this point. That they don't have a physical evidence linking him to anything at this point as far as we know. And they want to make sure to have all their Ts crossed, their I's dotted before they make any announcement of arrest. Carol?
LIN: Good idea. Especially these high profile cases. Thanks very much. Miguel Marquez, reporting live in Salt Lake City.
Well, we have a great story coming up. A new reality series and it's focusing on the Amish community, but is it helping them? To explore the fast-paced world, or is it exploiting them?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need eggs definitely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those are chicken abortions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Chicken abortion. OK. Coming up, I'm going to talk to the executive producers of this new controversial reality series.
Plus, in with the new. How new editions in Webster's can make you stay hip.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Normally we don't like to give publicity to another network, but the WPN network has this hit with this rating bonanza with this new reality series, "Amish in the City". But you know, not everyone believes the series about Amish teens living in L.A. is must- see TV. CNN's Entertainment Correspondent Sibila Vargas reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What do you pair five sheltered Amish young adults with six city kids? Controversy, culture clash, and ratings. At least that's what the makers of UPN's new reality series "Amish in the City" are hoping.
BARRY GARRON, TV CRITIC: It was in a sense kind of like big brother meets the Walton's.
VARGAS: The 10-episode series follows it's Amish participants during Rumspringa. It is a time when Amish youths are allowed to leave the community and experience the temptations of the outside world, and then decide if they want to remain in the Amish religion.
But this fish-out-of-water concept has sparked outrage from one Pennsylvania congressman who signed a petition along with 50 other U.S. representatives to urge UPN to drop the show.
REP JOE PITTS, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: I don't think they would do this of young teens of Native Americans or a group of Hasidic Jews or Muslim teens. To target the Amish because they're a small group, I think is wrong.
JON KROLL, EXEC. PROD. "AMISH IN THE CITY": The notion of the show being objectionable didn't come up until these assumptions were made that it would be done in a disrespectful manner. It was not done in a disrespectful manner.
VARGAS (on-camera): The show's producers maintain it's Amish participants were already in Rumspringa when recruited to live here in the Hollywood Hills. And if anything, the show was a journey of growth and self-discovery.
KROLL: There's another way of looking at it. If people are truly exposed to both ways of life, and they return to the Amish, it's only going to make their faith stronger.
VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: So does "Amish In The City" cross the line of good taste? And what makes it such a big hit? Well, the show's executive producers are joining me right now. Jon Kroll and Daniel Lakind are in our L.A. Bureau. Hi to both of you. Which one of you guys actually thought of this idea? How did it come up?
KROLL: It's sort of a dual inspiration. Daniel and his partner Steven Kendall (ph) produced a film called "Devil's Playground" which I had seen. And I joined New Line television late last year. It was sort of a mandate to really explore unchartered territory and have more thought-provoking reality shows come out of the division.
And approached him about collaborating on a show that would really explore this Rumspringa idea as the basis for a reality show. That's how it all began.
LIN: All right.
Daniel, speaking of "The Devil's Playground" let's play a clip from the show. This is a scene in the swimming pool. Allegedly a swimming lesson between Kevin and Ruth. Ruth is the Amish girl. Let's watch.
Do we have audio on that? All right. No sound. But there is a swimming lesson going on. Nothing too lascivious being said to one another. Ruth being very thankful that she's getting this swimming lesson. Daniel, are there going to be sex scenes in this show do you think?
DANIEL LAKIND, EXEC PROD. "AMISH IN THE CITY": Well, we don't want to comment on exactly what happens, but no. There's no big sex scenes in the show. Certain romances may develop, but it's sort of part of what happens when you put 11 attractive young adults in a house together. But whether they are Amish or not has very little to do with that.
LIN: Are you guys in a sense anthropological about this? Do you look at this as sort of a documentary of life? Or frankly, are you looking at it as, wouldn't it be fun to see if these Amish kids get corrupted in the big city?
KROLL: No, it really is the idea that it's a very provocative idea, but we really feel that at its best, reality television can be documentary for the masses. They can explore important issues of faith and family and of life decisions. And this show really strives to do just that.
LAKIND: And in no way was the attempts to make fun of them or to exploit them. I think if you've seen the first episodes, and as you watch the run of the show, that was never the intent. It was never the goal.
And obviously from the documentary, our experience of working with the Amish, and John's prior history, there's really no evidence that we would attempt to do that. And certainly the execution is not that either.
LIN: We're looking at the ocean here, because a lot of these kids have never even seen the ocean. Would never get into a bathing suit like the one that this gal is wearing, and actually walk around in public.
I'm wondering Daniel, how did you get these kids to actually agree to do this? Isn't one of the Amish tenants is that they don't want to be photographed? They believe that cameras steal their souls?
LAKIND: First of all, there's a lot of misconceptions in what you just said. The Amish don't believe that photographs steal your soul. The reason why baptized members of the Amish church don't allow photographs is two-fold. They don't like to take time to pose. And they don't like to create graven images as stated in the 10 commandments. They're not an African tribe that believes that photographs steal your soul. That is a very common misconception.
LIN: I'm glad you were able to clear that up.
LAKIND: Well we try. One of the things that's important to know, additionally, is when people are on Rumspringa, when Amish youths are on Rumspringa; they are not officially baptized members of the church. Therefore, they are not bound by the rules that the Amish church sets forward for them.
LIN: But that's good for you, right? Doesn't that open up a lot of possibilities?
LAKIND: It opens up a lot of possibilities, but also that is sort of part of the journey that they're on. The people that participated in this show were ones who had said, spending time in a big city is going to help me make the ultimate decision of what do I want to do with the rest of my life? Do I want to be Amish? Or do I want to stay in the outside world?
LIN: John, you're being awfully quiet. So let me ask you ... go ahead. KROLL: I was just going to say, there's been so many, you know, misconceptions about it. And frankly some of the most outspoken critics of the show really don't know Rumspringa from Rumplestiltskin. They are just people who come up with this idea of what they think it is. And we've done a lot of research in trying to figure out what it's about, and it's a very personal journey.
LIN: Right. Are you going to feel bad John, are you going to feel bad if any of these kids actually choose to stay in the outside world because of their experience on this television show?
KROLL: I really feel that any decision that anyone makes that has grand life implications should be made with the most information available. I think that anybody after this experience who goes back to the Amish way of life is going to go back with a real -- a much stronger feeling that that's the right thing to do, than if they're rejecting some scary unknown they haven't had a chance to explore.
LIN: And explore on network television no less. I guess we can be assured that their families aren't watching, because the Amish don't use electricity. Right?
KROLL: Well, we don't know that. There may be some people who are visiting during this. We don't know that for sure. Amish have been known to watch television when they're in a store...
LIN: When their daughters are on bikinis on national TV, maybe. Thanks very much. John. Daniel, good to talk to you. Good luck with the show.
KROLL: Thank you.
LIN: If you're trying to understand your teenager or trying to stay on top of the newest technology lingo, head to the big book. Still to come. How Webster's is helping to keep us all on the same page.
LIN: For anyone just joining us a tropical storm is heading for the Carolinas. And Jacqui Jeras is tracking it. If it ever gets to the coast, what will the impact be?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Overall the impact of the storm is going to be pretty minimal. It will be kind of a walk in the park for people prone to hurricane areas. But the winds are already starting to increase a little bit.
We're getting some gusts right now at about 15, 20 miles per hour. Overnight we'll be watching for the winds to move up to about 20-30 miles per hour sustained, and gust up to 40.
Rainfall, a couple areas already getting around one inch. But one to three generally, with minor flash flooding possible. And the waves are going to pick up a little bit, about one to two feet above normal tide. High tide comes in tonight at 9:00. And then rip currents, we'll have the threat of that tonight and throughout much of the day for tomorrow. This is our first tropical storm of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical storm Alex. We have our "A" name now. Maximum winds, 40 miles per hour. It's been stationary all day long. So we have had very little movement with this thing.
Now what's going to be happening is we have a cold front. And that is bringing in some showers and thundershowers into the western Carolinas. And this rain that we see here into the Eastern Carolinas, that is from the tropical storm itself.
We are expecting the tropical storm to get hooked up with that cold front, and eventually push on up to the north and then to the northeast. Where it is going to be making the direct impact is still a little bit uncertain. But we will be watching North Carolina most importantly.
And that is where we have the tropical storm warnings in place. From the South Santee River up towards Cape Hatteras. And that tropical storm watch is extent both sides outside of that area. But it will be impacting mostly throughout the day tomorrow Carol, and then should be out of there we think, by late in the day on Tuesday.
LIN: All right. Good news. Thanks Jacqui.
The Miriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Always a work in progress. Editors are adding several new words and phrases to the book as part of their annual update. Among them, we've got the latest. Teensploitation, pleather, body wrap, and MP3. I don't exactly know what teensploitation is, but I do know what pleather is. You know, that cross between plastic and leather. You might have a pair of pants in your closet.
That's all we have for this hour. But coming up at 7:00 Eastern, a profile of Academy Award winning actress Halle Barry on PEOPLE IN THE NEWS. And then at 8:00, CNN PRESENTS tells the little known story of one of the great tragedies of World War II.
At 9:00 Eastern on LARRY KING WEEKEND, Hugh Downes shares the wisdom he is passing on to his family's newest member, and his book, "Letter to a Great Grandson".
And I will be back at 10:00 Eastern for more on the terror threat. And we are going to dissect the latest in the Kobe Bryant case in RAP SHEET. The hours Headlines when I come back, and then PEOPLE IN THE NEWS.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
