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American Morning

Interview With Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff; British Prime Minister Tony Blair Speaking at G-8 Summit; Path of Hurricane Dennis

Aired July 08, 2005 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
SOLDEAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We are watching the very latest developments out of London and the reaction here in the U.S. as well this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: We have an updated numbers count for you on the toll, the grim toll there in London. It came out just about an hour ago. At least 50 are known dead now. That number will rise somewhat, but it won't go into the three-figure range, according to the officials there. Seven hundred injured. The bloodiest day in London since World War II. Twenty-two of the injured remain in hospitals in critical condition this morning. Officials are unsure of that total number of dead, because of the amount of destruction at some of the crime scenes.

Police are asking for patience while they try to get to bodies, which are still entombed in the underground this morning.

They say the bombs contained less than 10 pounds of high explosives, small enough to fit into a backpack. The bombs were probably placed on the floor of trains near the doors in the standing area.

The bomb on the bus might have been on the seat or on the floor and might have been carried by somebody intended to go off somewhere else. Unclear on that right now.

This morning in train terminals all across the United States, commuters are likely seeing an increased police presence. The alert level for mass transit has been raised to orange or high.

The man responsible for doing that is Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff. He joins us now from Washington at Union Station.

Mr. Secretary, good to have you with us. What's the scene there like today?

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Good morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Is there a lot of indication of that added security that you've seen there?

CHERTOFF: I think if you look behind me at Union Station, what you'll see is people moving about their business like they would on every other day, and an increased police presence. You'll see visible police. You'll see dogs. And there will be things you don't see, but all of which are part of a seamless effort to raise our security level one notch, to take a precaution based on what we observed in London yesterday.

M. O'BRIEN: I think a lot of people might look at this and say it's like, you know, closing the gate once the horse is out of the barn here. This is something that may be, a lot of people in our audience this morning would expect, is already happening. Why hasn't security been as heightened for mass transit in general?

CHERTOFF: Well, actually, I want to remind everybody, Miles, that we have raised security as a general level in mass transit for the last year or so. We have been at yellow, and that means there are enhanced security measures. We've checked our vulnerabilities. There has been detection equipment. There have been police and dogs in the stations on a regular basis.

What you see now is a raising of that, and it's really a function of the historical way in which we view terrorist tactics. Terrorists often do try to do coordinated attacks or second-stage attacks. And although we have no specific information about a plan to attack here, I think common sense suggests that we take some visible precautions to deter and intercept any copycats.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, but let's talk numbers here for just a moment. The TSA spending $4.6 billion for aviation security, $115 million for surface transportation. Actually, next year's budget, a cut for mass transit. That seems really disproportionate, especially when you consider 16 times more people use mass transit than the airlines.

CHERTOFF: Actually, Miles, that really dramatically understates what the budget envisions to put into mass transit and similar things. We have billions of dollars in urban security grants. Obviously, our state and local partners also put a significant amount of money into security. So, you really are only looking at a small portion of the total funding and resources that we put into mass transit security when you focus on that single number.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, why would you ask for a cut, though?

CHERTOFF: Well, you see, what we do is we're trying to move the money to a more risk-based and risk-focused approach, where we don't necessarily allocate it based on rigid categories. But where we look across the entire landscape and we identify where it is it that the greatest risk is, what is the most efficient way to deploy our resources, what can we ask our state and local partners and transit agencies to put on the table? The key here is to be wise and efficient in using the resources and not merely shove clumps of money at specific problems.

M. O'BRIEN: Mr. Chertoff, I'm very sorry to interrupt you. But British Prime Minister Tony Blair is addressing reporters at Gleneagles, Scotland. We're going to have to listen in for a little bit. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And the leaders of the African countries that have come to discuss the other major issues of the summit on Africa. And I will say a few words now. I will then ask President Obasanjo, the president of the African Union and the president of Nigeria, to say a few words. And we will then in a demonstration of our commitment to what we have agreed at the G-8, the leaders of the G-8 will sign the communique. We will then continue to make our deliberations over Africa.

This is the short statement I want to make.

We speak today in the shadow of terrorism. But it will not obscure what we came here to achieve.

The purpose of terrorism is not only to kill and maim the innocent, it is to put despair and anger and hatred in people's hearts. It is by savagery designed to cover all conventional politics in darkness, to overwhelm the dignity of democracy and proper process with the impact of bloodshed and of terror.

There is no hope in terrorism, nor any future in it worth living. And it is hope that is the alternative to this hatred.

So, we offer today this contrast with the politics of terror. Yesterday evening, the G-8 agreed a substantial package of help for the Palestinian Authority, amounting to up to $3 billion in the years to come, so that two states, Israel and Palestine, two peoples and two religions, can live side by side in peace.

We came here also to acknowledge our duty to be responsible stewards of the global environment. We do not hide the disagreements of the past, but we have agreed a process with a plan of action that will initiate a new dialogue between the G-8 countries and the emerging economies of the world to slow down, and then, in time, to reverse the rise in harmful greenhouse gas emissions. And this dialogue will begin on the 1st of November with a meeting here in Britain.

And above all, today we say in the presence of African leaders, we come here in solidarity with the continent of Africa. We have come here to announce a plan of action in partnership with Africa. It isn't the end of poverty in Africa, but it is the hope that it can be ended. It isn't all everyone wanted, but it is progress, real and achievable progress. It is the definitive expression of our collective will to act in the face of death and disease and conflict that is preventable.

The $50 billion uplift in aid, the signal for a new deal on trade, the cancellation of the debts of the poorest nations, universal access to AIDS treatment, the commitment to a new peacekeeping force for Africa, the commitment in return by Africa's leaders to democracy and good governance and the rule of law, all of this does not change the world tomorrow. It is a beginning, not an end. And none of it today will match the same ghastly impact as the cruelty of terror. But it has a pride and a hope and a humanity at its heart that can lift the shadow of terrorism and light the way to a better future. And that is why, in the end, the politics that we represent, not just us as leaders here at this G-8, but the millions of people outside of this summit who believe in progress through democracy and decent collaboration between civilized human beings. That is why, in the end, we are convinced the politics that we represent will win and will triumph over terrorism. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

M. O'BRIEN: British Prime Minister Tony Blair. That's about the fourth time we've heard from him over the past 24 hours or so. The president of Nigeria, Obasanjo, now will address further comments on this joint communique. And then, of course, the world leaders will pose for their customary class photo there as the G-8 sort of begins its wrap-up portion today.

We do expect to hear from Tony Blair yet again, 9:00 a.m. Eastern hour, when he will be holding a news conference. And then we'll start seeing the departures of the world leaders there.

But interesting his points, which are amplified points he made yesterday, Soledad, talking about trying to draw that contrast between what was witnessed in London, as this G-8 summit went on, and the goal of this G-8 summit to try to fight poverty and stem greenhouse gas emissions, for example.

S. O'BRIEN: All of which, he said, would not be solutions for tomorrow or even the next day. And he ticked off some of the points, I think, that they've come to or some of the steps at least. A $50 billion uplift in aid, a trade deal with the African nations, the moves to cancel some debt. Universal access to health care is certainly a big problem and a big issue in Africa, where AIDS has become a massive problem. And also, pressure on the African leaders to really embrace democracy. All of those things he said as points of discussion at really the couple days that the G-8 summit was under way.

M. O'BRIEN: And perhaps even more of a message for Islamic extremists, $3 billion for the Palestinian Authority to allow two states to live side by side. Obviously, that is a focal point of contention among Islamists. So, we will continue to watch the G-8 summit as it winds down there at Gleneagles.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, their work is not done yet.

M. O'BRIEN: No.

S. O'BRIEN: Also our other top story this morning, Hurricane Dennis. We've been watching that for days now. A massive hurricane 4 storm now and it's packing winds of about 135 miles an hour. It could gain even more strength as it chugs towards the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Let's get right to Chad. He's been tracking the storm.

So, Chad, when do you expect it to first make landfall?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It will make landfall in Cuba here probably in the next six to eight hours. That's going to be the first time. Then it's going to pass over the island of Cuba and back into the Straights of Florida and emerge near the Dry Tortugas. They're really not that far from Key West.

Here is the storm. It hasn't really hit land. It just here just touched Kabal Cruz (ph) last night as it came on by. And now it's going to move right on through here, very close to Havana. I suspect Havana will have wind gusts well over 100 miles per hour there and then travel on up into the Gulf of Mexico.

We've been watching this thing for the past couple days; so has the Hurricane Center obviously.

Yesterday, the storm was down here. At midnight, they put out a forecast for where they thought it was going to go. And then it has still moved off that forecast line. This is why we have to always look at the cone. You can never focus on the line.

So, the cone takes it all the way almost from the island of Youth, all the way back over Havana. And then the cone gets bigger, because the farther you get away from where we are now, the error or the uncertainty also gets larger.

The center of the line is very close to Pensacola, and it will probably remain there, although we have noticed this little leftward jog, which could push it back a little bit farther into Louisiana. No one can let their guard down yet.

Back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: No, they sure can't. All right, Chad, thanks a lot.

Of course, we're going to continue to check in, though, with Chad to track this storm.

Ahead this morning, one of the very first medical professionals on the scene was an American nurse. She had to climb through a window of a train to try to save people. We've got her story right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Back now to the London terror attacks. One of the very first medical professionals on the scene was an American nurse. Lisa Levine happened to be riding the subway when the bomb exploded on a passing train. She is in London this morning.

Lisa, thanks for talking with us. You were coming into Edgware Station...

LISA LEVINE, NURSE: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: ... at just about 9:16. It was the third bomb that would explode in the underground. Can you describe what exactly happened?

LEVINE: Well, you know, the two trains were side by side, and we heard the explosion from the other train. And both trains came to a quick halt. And we immediately heard screaming from the other train, and smoke started to fill the train car on our train.

S. O'BRIEN: What did people do? Was there panic on the train that you were on even though it doesn't sound like it had been the site of the explosion?

LEVINE: No, there was not. Everybody was very calm. Everybody just worked together trying to open up the doors of the train car that we were on. And we could only get them open about six inches wide. We couldn't break any of the windows to try to get some ventilation in. Everybody was very calm and collected, and everybody just sat and waited.

S. O'BRIEN: There came a call, a request for any medical personnel to get out of that train and then get across to the other train, which really was the center of the blast. How did you get there?

LEVINE: Well, we walked up to the next train car. And, again, we tried to open the doors, but we couldn't get them open. And we discovered that there was a window that had already been broken. So, we just climbed through that broken window and jumped from our train onto the train of where the doors had been blown off.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, I am curious to know, were you thinking automatically there's been a bomb explosion? Or were you thinking, wow, I don't know what happened here?

LEVINE: Instantly I thought it was a bomb. In my heart, that's what I felt. I just had flashbacks of 9/11 all over again. But then there was some speculation on the train that I was on about that maybe the engine blew on the other train, or that the two trains had collided. But it was pretty evident that it was a bomb.

S. O'BRIEN: What were you able to do for people? What was the scene like inside that car?

LEVINE: Well, there were about 12 people or so, 6 of them were alive and 6 or 7 of them were not. We tried to get to one lady that we could see from our train, who was alive and pretty much gasping for air. But by the time we got over to the other train, there was nothing we could do for her.

The rest of the people had some compound fractures. They had some lacerations, some shrapnel wounds, some burns. And there wasn't a lot that we could do. We had limited resources. We used scarves and ties and t-shirts and sweatshirts to tie off the wounds of the people that were bleeding. But there was not a whole lot we could do except keep them awake and alert and talking to us.

S. O'BRIEN: We heard in a news conference from Scotland Yard earlier this morning that it looks as if the bombs were placed under the seats, certainly in the explosions in the underground. Is that consistent with what you saw physically happen to the train's carriage itself?

LEVINE: You know what? The train was so blown apart, it's too hard to tell where it came from. There was a gaping hole in the bottom of the floor of the train, where actually a person had fallen through. And apparently, somebody told me that the ceiling of the train car also had been blown off, but I don't think I ever looked up to tell.

S. O'BRIEN: Lisa Levine, I'm sure that you were able to help and save a lot of lives. You seem a little shaken today. So, I know that as things start settling in, it's going to be a tough road. Thanks for talking with us and sharing your story. We appreciate it.

LEVINE: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Travel across the Atlantic may take a hit in the weeks ahead. And coming up, how some businesses tried to cash in on the terror attacks. Yes, that does happen. Andy is "Minding Your Business" on that. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Travel across the pond might suffer in the weeks to come. Also, why some tried to profit from the London terror attacks. Those stories with Andy Serwer as he mind your business this morning.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

Experts are saying, Soledad, the impact on tourism over to the U.K. will probably be temporary. Some concern about businesses like British airlines and Hilton hotels.

One traveler, though, saying, if I started thinking about all of the things that could go wrong, I would never leave my house. That seems to echo the sentiment of a lot of tourists out there.

Madrid, for instance, in March of '04, Soledad, really not much of an impact there. In fact, Spain had a record tourism last year.

Some airlines are offering to waive their cancellation penalties going forward. This week if you were flying to London and are reconsidering, you can see here all of the major carriers really over the next couple days. Also, hotels such as Marriott, Starwood and Hilton are waiving cancellation fees for the next couple months, but they're not reporting extraordinary cancellations.

And finally, while most people in London were behaving with a stiff upper lip and really going through this crisis the best they could, there were some reports, the BBC is saying, of some hotel owners price gouging. People trying to leave the city and being unable to that, wanting to spend the night in the city, and these owners were charging too much.

One hotel that was usually charging 80 pounds, that's about $140, charging 250 pounds. That's over $400. And, you know, that's an exception, but it's really too bad there was any of that at all.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, I think there is a special place in hell for people who do that after any crisis. I mean, it's utterly ridiculous.

SERWER: Yes. I mean, people who raise the price of water and things like that, that's really unconscionable.

S. O'BRIEN: Andy, thank you.

SERWER: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The space shuttle Discovery is still go for launch on Wednesday. But Hurricane Dennis could delay its flight from the Kennedy Space Center, possibly. NASA is expected to make a final decision on that around the noon hour.

Paul Hill will be in mission control during Discovery's flight. He is the lead flight director for this return to flight mission. He joins us now from Houston.

Paul, first of all, just give us a weather update. What's the thinking right now about possibly rolling Discovery back to the hangar?

PAUL HILL, NASA: Well, there was a meeting late last night where it was decided that the closest approach of the hurricane to KSC was about 240 miles. The expectation is that the hurricane is turning more west. Our intent right now is to stay on the pad, stay plugged in, and press on for a launch as early as July 13. And the folks at KSC are looking at the preparations they have to finish to make sure that we're still in a good position to launch on the 13th.

M. O'BRIEN: Of course, I remember Hurricane Charlie last year. It looked like it was going up the Gulf. It took a dog leg and came across the peninsula and actually caused some damage at the Cape. I assume you've been thinking about that. Wouldn't it just be more prudent to put Discovery back in the hangar?

HILL: No. I didn't participate in the meeting last night, Miles, so I can't tell you everything they talked about and why they have the confidence that they have that the hurricane has turned more westerly. But you can rest assured that all of the weather folks, both in Houston and in Florida, have been comparing notes. And we absolutely would not want to take a chance of damaging either the orbiter or the rest of the structures at KSC.

M. O'BRIEN: It has now been more than two-and-a-half years since we lost Columbia and her crew of seven. It's hard to encapsulate here, I'm sure, what you and the team have been through to get to this point. Did you ever think you might not see this day?

HILL: Oh, you know, we all went through those thoughts. You know, certainly as we got through the accident investigation and started seriously taking on the challenges for the return to flight, I know I personally had fears frequently that we were not ever going to fly again. But you have those in the back of your head while you're still doing this daunting task of getting us back in a position to fly again. We have really good confidence that we are, in fact, ready to put the crew back on the shuttle next week in launch.

M. O'BRIEN: I think most people who have been watching this would tell you that this will probably be as safe, if not the safest, shuttle flight ever. The concern that has been raised time and again is what happens, you know, six flights down the road? Are you prepared to say right now that NASA, and the shuttle program in particular, is doing business a different way, and that that safety will stay there?

HILL: I have every confidence that the managers from the lowest management level all the way to the top definitely have a different emphasis on listening to folks in the back of the room that don't agree with some decision we're heading towards making. I definitely believe that.

I believe that the folks in our community have confidence to speak up when they don't agree in some engineering decision we're making. So, from that perspective, yes, I think that we are at a different place.

Are we still going it be thinking and operating that way six flights down the road? I do strongly believe that we will. Twenty flights down the road? I believe that we will.

You know, I think one thing that folks have gotten the wrong impression on is that somehow by HJS 107 (ph), NASA thought that this was a safe thing to do, that this wasn't a dangerous business. And that's not the case. We might have made it look easy. We might have given the impression that we thought this was operational and not dangerous. But those of us that actually do this, we have known flight after flight, including HJS 107 (ph), that this is a very complex and a very dangerous business.

I expect that, the aftermath of this accident and the effect it's had on all of us, will be enough for us to remember that we can't let down our guard, and we have to make sure that we keep listening, and we don't just accept last year's decision or the decision from five years ago. We have to keep coming back and challenging those decisions. And we have to remember that the shuttles are aging, and as they age, decisions that we made five years ago might not be good decisions anymore.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, lead flight director Paul Hill. We're out of time. Thank you very much.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

Our top story this morning, the follow-up of the London terror attacks.

M. O'BRIEN: London terror and a terror that is still settling in more than 24 hours later. More than 50 dead, 700 injured, hundreds being attended to one way or another and a very tense commute in that city, and, for that matter, all around the world today, as people think twice on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Welcome back, everybody.

We're following all the developments this morning out of London.

M. O'BRIEN: Those terrorist attacks still on our mind this morning. Certainly for Londoners returning to work today, on their mind. In many cases, they're saying they're determined to remain strong, go about their lives despite all that happened. Londoners pride themselves on having the stiff upper lip and they're showing that.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

There was an update not very long ago from the London police.

Let's bring you some of the details from that news conference.

They say now that at least 50 people are dead from Thursday's bombings, 700 people injured. They're having a hard time, though, getting to access some of the wreckage inside some of those underground tunnels. That is what's keeping them from being able to name the exact number of people killed. So while they've come to 50 confirmed dead, we are expecting, in fact, that that number is going to rise.

They've also pointed to three prongs in the investigation -- forensics, any kind of evidence gathering and also, very heavily relying on the community for any kind of information that might lead to tracking down those who perpetrated these terrible events in London yesterday.

Let's get right to Anderson Cooper.

He is in London for us this morning -- Anderson, good morning.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Good morning, Miles. I'm at the Kings Cross Station. This is the worst scene of the incident yesterday. At least 20 fatalities here. As you mentioned, Soledad, they have not even been able to get to the train car where the bomb went off because of the intensity of the wreckage. They are working on that right now somewhere actually beneath us, where we are now. The station is just across the street.

They do know and we learned just about an hour-and-a-half ago, the device in this train was no more than 10 pounds. So a very small device, but it has done an awful lot of damage. As you said, the fatalities more than 50 at this point and that number expected to rise because there are bodies still in the wreckage now that they have not even been able to get to. It is a very insecure spot right now. They're concerned, actually, about the safety of the tunnel. Also, there are vermin in the tunnel attracted to the wreckage site.

So, again, there's also bodies still apparently at the side of the double-decker bus that exploded. So these investigations still very active.

I want to show you two newspaper headlines. This was 24 hours ago. This was the "British Guardian." They were -- the front page of the "British Guardian" rejoicing over London getting the 2012 Olympics. This, the headline of the "Sunday Times" today a far different scene, of course. This, a man by the name of Paul Dodge helping a woman who has been severely burned. And, actually, Paul is here with me.

Paul, if you could come in.

Hi.

COOPER: Hey. You've obviously seen this picture. Your picture is all over the front pages.

What happened yesterday? Where were you? What did you hear?

PAUL DADGE, HELPED VICTIMS IN LONDON:

I actually got on the train at Kings Cross on my journey to Hammersmith. And the tube was stopped at Baker Street. The driver came on and said that due to an incident, the train had actually stopped running at Baker Street. We hear these kind of things all the time, so we didn't really think anything of it. I left the train at Baker Street and I started walking to get a connection at Paddington to carry on into Hammersmith.

On the way into Paddington, I had to walk across Edgware Road. And as I was walking across Edgware Road, people were starting to stream out of the Edgware Road Station. They were basically walking with people, their faces quite blackened. And we started to set up a casualty area inside Marks & Spencer's, the main super store on the corner there.

COOPER: And were people pretty calm at this point?

DADGE: People were pretty calm. A couple of people were obviously upset, a lot of shock, not really sure what was going on, so yes.

COOPER: And the story behind that photo, who is that woman?

DADGE: I believe her name is Divinia (ph). We set up the casualty zone within Marks & Spencer's, but somebody had left a laptop unattended and the police couldn't find out whose it was. So they treated it as a suspect package and started to evacuate Marks & Spencer's.

So they pushed everybody out and we were moved across from Marks & Spencer's to the Metropole Hotel on the other side of the road, which is when the picture was taken. She got flash burns, superficial burns to her face.

COOPER: And did you get her to an ambulance? What happened to her?

DADGE: There wasn't much medical assistance at all at that time. At that time we thought the only incident was at Edgware Road, where we were. We had two paramedics and an ambulance officer on scene there. So we got into the hotel and started settling everybody down. We got a kit from the ambulance and we were treating everybody. We then consulted St. John's Ambulance, the Red Cross.

COOPER: Are you a doctor? I mean...

DADGE: No, not at all. No.

COOPER: What do you do for a living?

DADGE: I work for AOL, the Internet provider. So, I just happened to be coming across at the time, really, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: Amazing.

Well, thank you very much for all your work.

Appreciate your talking to us.

I also just want to briefly introduce you to a worker at the Salvation Army.

Major Read, thank you very much for joining us.

MAJOR ANNE READ, SALVATION ARMY: You're welcome.

COOPER: You've been talking to the rescue workers, the people, this has got to be tough for them.

READ: It's extremely tough for them. And these are experienced emergency workers. They're used to dealing with hard stuff. But I think this is stretching them quite a bit, actually. COOPER: And what do you tell them? What do you advise them?

READ: I think it's more listening. It's more an opportunity for them to have a chance to chat, to have a break from, you know, the work that they're doing, to have a cup of tea and someone to listen to their stories, if they want to tell them.

COOPER: Major Read, appreciate you joining us, as well, and all your work with the Salvation Army.

READ: You're welcome.

And the work goes on. This is very much an active investigation, active crime scenes. And the Salvation Army is likely to be doing work for several days to come -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Yes, no question.

All right, Anderson Cooper, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's check some other stories making news this morning.

Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta with that -- hello, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.

Our top stories now.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he and the other world leaders at the G8 summit are committed to winning over terrorism. The prime minister speaking just moments ago as the G8 summit wraps up in Scotland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And that is why, in the end, the politics that we represent, not just us as leaders here at this G8, but the millions of people outside of this summit who believe in progress through democracy and decent collaboration between civilized human beings. That is why, in the end, we are convinced the politics that we represent will win and will triumph over terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: New pictures from the summit show the leaders in the traditional class photo. The G8 has agreed to give $3 billion in aid to the Palestinian Authority to help promote democracy in the region. World leaders are also pledging to double aid to Africa. We're also expecting to hear more from Tony Blair in the next hour.

And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to Asia on a four nation trip aimed at jumpstarting nuclear talks with North Korea. The secretary is set to leave this afternoon for China. She will also visit Japan and South Korea and stop in Thailand to survey reconstruction efforts after the tsunami disaster.

And the missing Idaho girl who was found with a convicted sex offender is now out of the hospital. Shasta Groene's father describes his 8-year-old as very upbeat and pretty healthy. Investigators have charged suspect Joseph Duncan with kidnapping and think he killed at least two of her family members.

And Vice President Dick Cheney is getting a routine physical this morning. Cheney arrived at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. a short time ago. Doctors will check on a high tech pacemaker that has placed -- that was placed in his chest, rather, in June of 2001. The vice president has had four heart attacks, none while in office. He is due back at work later on today.

Back to you -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Fredericka.

We appreciate that.

Hurricane Dennis on a collision course with the Gulf Coast just days after tropical storm Cindy. Up next, we'll get a forecast from Chad Myers, who is a very busy guy up there in the Weather Center.

S. O'BRIEN: Then back to London. Seven hundred people wounded in Thursday's terror attacks. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us just what some of the most common injuries are.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The terror in London being felt on this side of the Atlantic, with heightened security in mass transit systems across the United States.

Kelly Wallace is live for us on New York's Upper West Side -- hey, Kelly, good morning to you.

Give me a sense of the mood there on the Upper West Side.

Are people nervous as they commute in?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, a little bit of nerves, Soledad. But people going about their normal business, getting on the bus, getting on the subway, going to work. Something that they will see, though, a beefed up police presence. Also, when it comes to riding the bus, stepped up inspections of buses throughout the city.

And that brings us to a woman we met yesterday. She says she experienced something unlike anything she has seen or heard before.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WALLACE (voice-over): Susan Stein, a New York City mother of three, was taking a bus home Wednesday morning when a police officer did a random safety check and talked about something startling.

SUSAN STEIN, NEW YORK RESIDENT: What really struck me was that he began talking about what a suicide bomber would look like. And I was shocked.

WALLACE: Then, he got specific.

STEIN: He said if you notice someone who would get on a bus in the summer with a heavy coat or with something heavy around their waist, this -- you need to notify the driver immediately.

WALLACE: He then used language new to her, but common to terrorism experts.

STEIN: He used the word zombie. He said right before a suicide bomber would commit that act, they would look like a zombie. It was unbelievable.

WALLACE (on camera): When people are listening to what this person is saying, what's the mood like on the bus?

STEIN: It was serious. People were serious. They -- I have to believe that they had never heard this before. And he had everyone's attention. He actually commanded it.

WALLACE (voice-over): And so we wondered, in light of the London bomb blasts, had New York City police started something new, not just doing routine checks...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just checking to make sure everything's fine.

WALLACE: ... but also specifically warning passengers to beware of suicide bombers.

New York's police commissioner says no.

RAY KELLY, NYPD COMMISSIONER: It's not a policy where he's getting on and saying hi, my name is, and look out for this. You know, we don't have that right now.

WALLACE: Still, the commissioner did not rule out such a policy in the future.

Susan Stein thinks it would be a good idea.

STEIN: It was a reminder, but it wasn't a reminder on TV with another color coming up that people are just not even hearing anymore. It was a police officer practically talking directly to you and saying this can happen, here's what to do to avoid it.

WALLACE: And on a day when New Yorkers couldn't help but remember September 11, she hopes New Yorkers remain vigilant.

(on camera): Do you feel like it's just a matter of time before we see...

STEIN: I do.

WALLACE: ... a suicide bombing in the U.S.?

STEIN: God forgive me for even saying it out loud, but I do.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WALLACE: Certainly a sobering thought.

Something else Susan Stein said, she said that, you know, the New York Police Department might be afraid to talk about suicide bombers, thinking it would lead to panic. But she said this officer, who we have not yet been able to identify, really reassured her and her fellow passengers, Soledad, and didn't cause them any greater anxiety.

O'BRIEN: Kelly Wallace for us this morning.

Scary stuff, Kelly.

Thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The U.S. Gulf Coast bracing for the arrival of hurricane Dennis this weekend. The powerful storm is now menacing the Caribbean. Sustained winds right now at 135 miles an hour.

Police Chief Arthur Bourne joins us from Gulf Shores, Alabama to talk about the preparations there.

Chief, good to have you with us.

Tell us what things you're doing to get ready for Dennis.

CHIEF ARTHUR BOURNE, GULF SHORES POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good morning.

We are in our evacuation mode as of right now. We've requested a voluntary evacuation of all the tourists and non-residents of the island. And if the storm continues on its present course and strength, there will probably be other evacuations ordered tomorrow.

M. O'BRIEN: Tropical storm Cindy came through, caused a little bit of damage.

Does that put you kind of behind the eight ball, so to speak?

BOURNE: No. Fortunately we had very little damage with Cindy and very little rainfall. But the potential of this storm is greater, so we're taking it very seriously and we're asking our citizens to take it seriously and start preparing now.

M. O'BRIEN: We were talking last hour with the mayor of Pensacola. Of course, hurricane Ivan affected you, as well as it did his city. And he said it'll be probably fully four years before his town recovers from Ivan.

Are you similarly affected by Ivan and has that put you in a bad way for any storm that might come through this season?

BOURNE: Ivan affected us greatly. As you know, the eye came right over us. And we were in the rebuilding mode already and were doing very well with that rebuilding and coming back. And obviously if this storm gets close to us, it's going to set us back some time.

M. O'BRIEN: I mean are there people still without roofs, damaged buildings that still need to be attended to there?

BOURNE: There's a few buildings that have not been tended to. But overall I would say 90 percent of the structures, they've already started rebuilding or have finished it and are back in business. So we're watching this storm very closely.

M. O'BRIEN: I suppose the one glimmer of good news that comes out of this is that frequently the police would complain that people don't pay attention to evacuation orders. I bet people will pay attention this year.

BOURNE: I think they're going to pay attention a lot more since the ones that went through Ivan last year. They're familiar with what's -- what could happen and I know our citizens are taking precautions now to minimize their damages.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, and just looking forward, what's the current thinking, the current planning as far as evacuations? When will you make these key decisions?

BOURNE: As I said, the voluntary evacuation order has already went out and people are complying with that. And with regards to our citizens and the rest of the island, those decisions will probably be made later on this afternoon and become effective in the morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Arthur Bourne is the police chief in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

We wish you well there.

BOURNE: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Take care.

O'BRIEN: Coming up in just a little bit, we're going to talk a little bit more about London and the folks who showed pretty remarkable calm in the wake of the attacks. The calm reaction, though, might not necessarily be a good thing, medically speaking. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" to explain the risks and signs of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder.

That's right ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In addition to the more than 50 people now confirmed dead, at least 700 people injured in the those London blasts. About 100 of them spent the night hospitalized. Many of the injuries described as very serious. The emergency issues in London on Thursday can only be compared to injuries that you might see on a battlefield.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN Center this morning -- hey, Sanjay, good morning to you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Yes, you know, if you look at these types of injuries, they are very predictable. And as you mentioned, a lot of the information comes from looking at what happens on battlefields and what has happened in previous situations like this, explosions on buses, for example.

Really, several different waves to an explosion. The primary wave really affects all of the organs in the body that have air in them, so the lungs, the gut, the ear drums. The second wave is going to be all the shrapnel and debris. The third wave is the actual bodies moving around the bus. Then the fourth wave is burns, maybe things like asthma, heart attacks, things you wouldn't necessarily think of as being associated with an explosion, but can also be part of this, as well.

You know, as we know, one of these explosions on a bus, Soledad, there has been a lot of research done on this. The number 18 bus, for example, in Jerusalem, a whole study done on this, trying to figure out exactly what happens in this sort of situation. If you can look at that a little bit carefully, you'll see in the middle of the bus there, near the bottom, is an orange, what represents an explosion. The dark seats, the dark squares are people who died. The yellow ones are people who were less injured. And then the orange squares, people who were even less injured.

But you can really get a predictable pattern of the types of injuries here. Obviously, people will die in an explosion like this. The people who are in hospitals now more likely to be those who were affected by the debris, burns, for example, as well, and significant fractures, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: What kind of injuries to the people who are getting emergency surgery? We heard that there are lots of people having, you know, numbers of people who are being wheeled in for emergency surgery.

GUPTA: Yes, I mean the biggest critical thing there is to stop bleeding. So people who are having persistent bleeding, for example, from an organ in the abdomen that was ruptured, a spleen or a significant amputation where there is bleeding still happening. Those are the ones that are going to require emergency surgery.

There may still be surgeries and operations going on for days to come, for burns, for example, as well, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You know, many have made a lot of the fact that the British have a very stiff upper lip when it comes to these things. And many people highlighted that no one was hysterical. In some cases, people were calm and orderly.

Is that a good thing, medically speaking, or not such a good thing?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's an interesting question. And really there is no productive value to -- by basing on how someone acts at the time of a tragedy in terms of whether they're likely to develop Post-Traumatic Stress, for example. There really is very little correlation between those two things. There are people who are hysterical at the time who are fine a few months later and people who are very calm at the time who are post-traumatic a few months later.

The most important thing really is whether you've had a previous history of this, whether you've had post-traumatic events in your life before. That's more likely going to set you up for a Post-Traumatic Stress type disorder.

But they also say that if you're concerned about this, one of the biggest ways to try and alleviate that is to get involved with the relief efforts. So not only might you be doing some good for everybody else, but maybe for yourself, as well, psychologically, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: That's a really good point.

All right, Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Cnn.com asked visitors to their Web site to share their thoughts about how the London bombings might have affected them.

Here's a sampling.

Now please be aware that some of them have been edited for time.

This one comes from a Muslim man in Scotland: "We utterly condemn those atrocities and those responsible. Islam is a peaceful religion that teaches peace. Those who are responsible must be brought to justice."

And from Paul in the U.K.: "We must not yield to the likes who caused the events in London. The bully doesn't stop bullying because you go away. Stand firm, stand together."

And a woman in Florida: "It's sad to think that there are people out there who are bent on hurting and killing others. London is a great city and my plans to go in 2006 have not changed. I'm not going to let some cowardly jerks frighten me. May god bless all of the people of London."

And a man in the United Arab Emirates says this: "This is a terrible act against humans in general and against all Muslims around the world. We condemn this act of terrorism and we hope it will stop forever and people all over the world will live in peace."

And this rather startling message from a police officer on security detail at the G8 summit in Scotland: "Over the past two days, police and protesters were enemies. Today we stood together side by side, both sides praying for those involved. We must not yield to the cowards who carried out these appalling attacks."

It truly brought some people together there.

Still to come on the program, millions of Americans ride public transportation every day. What is being done to keep commuters safe on buses, subways and trains? We'll ask New York Governor George Pataki next on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Some new developments this morning in the London terror investigation. Police in a news conference saying that the death toll is now more than 50. They say that number is expected to go higher as more bodies are retrieved from one particular site in the underground. Seven hundred people injured, 350 treated at hospitals, 22 are remaining now in critical condition.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, we'll have a live report from Anderson Cooper, who is on the scene there, and we'll talk to New York Governor George Pataki about security in the U.S. and on the trains and how the commutes are going.

S. O'BRIEN: You talked about Anderson Cooper.

He's in London.

Let's get right to him with the very latest -- Anderson, I know you've been talking to folks this morning. Give us a sense of the tone as Londoners made their way to the commute.

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