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CNN Live At Daybreak
London Terror Probe; Spin Cycle; Delayed Departure; Emmy Envy
Aired July 14, 2005 - 05:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, everyone. Thanks for waking up with us. And welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in today for Carol Costello.
Coming up in the next 30 minutes.
With Karl Rove in the middle of it all, the political spin cycle is working overtime. Our Jeff Greenfield will take a closer look.
And in the U.K., police search for the mastermind in last week's bombings. We're live from London in a moment.
But first, "Now in the News."
Children killed in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad are being buried today. The explosion happened near a U.S. Humvee as troops were handing out candy to Iraqi kids. Twenty-seven people died, 18 of them were children, 1 was a U.S. soldier.
Authorities in Pakistan are struggling to identify mangled bodies one day after some 148 people were killed in a rail accident involving three trains. The crash is blamed on human error.
A terminal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has reopened after being evacuated. Authorities say bomb-sniffing dogs detected suspicious smells in two vending machines but nothing was found. Police say the dogs may have sensed fireworks residue.
And, Chad, another look at weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Police in London confirm that four suspected suicide attackers died in last week's bombings there. And today at noon, Londoners and Europeans, as a whole, pause to remember the 52 people killed.
Our Richard Quest is in London's Trafalgar Square -- Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka. That time for the moment of silence, two minutes of silence, will be noon London time, which is 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
You join me in Trafalgar Square. And what you can see, of course, the two symbols of London, the lions, the big lions that so many tourists like to clamber upon for their photographs. And down of course Whitehall, where we can see the clock of Big Ben and Westminster, the seat of British government.
At 12:00, the city should fall silent. The mayor of London, Mayor Ken Livingstone, has asked Londoners and tourists, and basically anyone in the city, to leave what they are doing and come into the street. They are very keen that it is not just a question of silent reflection, Fredricka, but also that people are seen to be an act of solidarity. And that is why they're calling this London Unite.
And then, later tonight, there will be a vigil here in Trafalgar Square. They are hoping hundreds of thousands of people, once again, will come onto the streets, Fredricka, to show their solidarity.
To update you with what we know, more than 50 people died in the bomb blast, which happened one week ago this very day, almost this very hour. More than 50 remain in hospital, several critically ill. The police say four of the suicide bombers were involved and are still looking for a fifth man, possibly more. But, so far, no further details have been given.
A day of remembrance and investigation, Fredricka, in London.
WHITFIELD: And, Richard, how are Londoners, overall, reacting to the thought that these four suicide bombers are all homegrown, British born?
QUEST: That is the startling thing. That is the fact that people are having to come to terms with that this was not some imported -- it may have been an imported fanaticism, an imported extremism, but it hit at the very root of the people in Britain, in a large Muslim community in England where, by and large, race relations have been exemplary in recent years.
So what people are asking is how could it happen? And community leaders on both sides, Fredricka, what can be done to try and bridge that gap, because clearly a gap now does exist?
WHITFIELD: And in a city that couldn't be more international with some 300 different languages being spoken there.
QUEST: Indeed. And you know I have a personal knowledge of Leeds. I grew up there. I mean it's not like -- yes, it's not like it's some sort of obscure place on a map. I mean I know the places...
WHITFIELD: So this really hits home for you, too.
QUEST: Absolutely. I know the places they're talking of Hyde -- whether it be Burnly (ph) or Hyde Park. I know the various areas. And growing up in a multi-racial comprehensive school, it was normal where there would be Sikhs, where there would be Hindus, where there would be Muslims, where there would be Jews. Around the school where I grew up was part of all of that.
And, yet, the authorities, and Tony Blair made this point again, this was not some imported group who got through barriers, who got through the passport controls, they were here.
Now who was with them? Who was the fifth, the sixth or the seventh man who actually gave them those high explosives, put together the plan? Because, frankly, Fredricka, I don't know anybody who believes they were capable of doing this particular act on their own.
WHITFIELD: Exactly, and that's what investigators are saying, they merely executed the plan.
Richard Quest, thank you so much, from Trafalgar Square.
Well did he or didn't he? Those who know aren't talking and those who don't are spinning. We're talking, of course, about Karl Rove and the furious spin cycle that is sweeping Washington.
Last night, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean turned up the heat at a Wisconsin fund raiser asking who the president values more -- quote -- "intelligence operatives defending the United States of America ... or political operatives from Texas?" -- end quote.
And last night, Karl Rove's attorney weighed in with a statement asserting that Rove has done nothing wrong and will not become a target after the special prosecutor has reviewed all the evidence. That's just the latest salvo in the ongoing political feud.
CNN's Jeff Greenfield is on spin patrol.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN WILLIAMS, "ABC NEWS": It was the topic of the day again today at the White House.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS": Karl Rove and the probe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So is he distancing himself from Rove?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST (voice-over): If there's one point about the Rove case on which there's new universal agreement it's this: If it is seen as a partisan or ideological battle, he will almost surely survive. And if there were any doubts, just watch how hard Republicans are working to make sure that that is what it looks like. The president today stuck to the "it's under investigation" response.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in the midst of an ongoing investigation. We're in the midst of an ongoing investigation.
GREENFIELD: And presidential spokesman Scott McClellan spent another day in the barrel.
QUESTION: The reality is that you're parsing words, and you've been doing it for few days now. So, does the president think Karl Rove did something wrong or doesn't he?
GREENFIELD: But top Republicans were following the lead of National Chair Ken Mehlman, who relentlessly offered the first talking points circulated Tuesday by the Republican National Committee. The point: The Democrats are engaging in blatant, partisan political attacks.
Listen to part of Mehlman's very first answer to Wolf Blitzer Tuesday night.
KEN MEHLMAN, RNC CHAIRMAN: What we're seeing that's unprecedented is the fact that people like John Kerry, someone who ran for president; Hillary Clinton, former first lady; Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democrat party, would follow the angry left.
GREENFIELD: A few moments later.
MEHLMAN: And the political smear is people -- John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean and others.
GREENFIELD: And a few moments later.
MEHLMAN: Unlike Mrs. Clinton, unlike Chairman Dean.
GREENFIELD: And just in case the message wasn't clear.
MEHLMAN: Senator Clinton and you heard from John Kerry.
GREENFIELD: Meanwhile, over on MSNBC's "Hardball," former Bush aide, Tucker Eskew, offered this assessment.
TUCKER ESKEW, FMR. BUSH COMMUNICATIONS DEPUTY ASST.: Please don't forget Joe Wilson is a Kerry supporter, a Kerry donor. And now, he's got Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton and John Kerry all today at his side defending the Joe Wilson argument.
GREENFIELD (on camera): Now, if this tactic seems familiar, it should, it was used quite effectively by the last White House when it came under assault and for the same reasons. If you can persuade your supporters to concentrate on who is attacking you rather than on what they're saying, it's a lot less likely that your troops will defect.
(voice-over): When the allegations about President Clinton's behavior were reaching critical mass, his wife went on TV with a now famous rebuttal.
HILLARY CLINTON, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: This vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president.
BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I never should have misled the country. GREENFIELD: The allegations, it turned out, were true. Clinton's denials were somewhere between misleading and outright false. But Democrats stuck by him, unwilling to give his and their political adversaries a victory. And his presidency was saved.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: No person who has divulged the name of a CIA covert operative should be in the employ of the United States government.
GREENFIELD: And in the Rove matter, the more that prominent Democrats demand his ouster, rather than simply asking that all the facts be laid out, the more the Republicans' fondest hope that this be seen as a political struggle rather than an issue about the conduct of White House officials, is likely to be realized.
(on camera): Someday, perhaps in the middle of a future fight, like this one, all the prominent players will step forward and say we don't give a damn about motives, political loyalties or the next election, we just want to know what happened. Don't hold your breath.
Jeff Greenfield, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well still to come this morning, searchers from Texas say they won't leave Aruba until they -- quote -- " feel in their hearts they've done everything for Natalee Holloway." We'll update you on their plans.
But first, here is a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 43 minutes after the hour. And here is what's all new this morning.
Judges in Aruba will decide today whether to rearrest two brothers in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Meantime, a Texas search team just may go home as early as this weekend after looking for the missing Alabama teen for more than three weeks now. She's been missing almost a month and a half now.
In money, opening statements are expected today in the first trial against the makers of the painkiller Vioxx. The case is a wrongful death suit brought by a Texas woman whose husband used Vioxx. More than 3,800 cases are pending against Merck, the drug's manufacturer.
In culture, Crazy Cooter doesn't like cursing. Former Georgia Congressman Ben Jones, the actor who played Cooter in the "Dukes of Hazzard," the television show, remember that? Well, he's urging fans to avoid the movie. He said it's got too much profanity and sexual content.
In sports, he's still wearing the leader's yellow jersey. Lance Armstrong has a 38 second lead going into today's 12th stage of the Tour De France bike race.
And in weather, well now it's, what, just 40 second lead, whereas before it was a whole minute lead?
MYERS: I don't know. You know what, though, he's really good in the mountains. There will be no problem from here on out, I don't think. It'll be when they come back down the last couple stages, we'll have to see. His teammates are helping him out a lot this year, though, just like always. So we got a bunch of guys in the top 10.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: All right, Chad, thanks so much.
MYERS: Sure.
WHITFIELD: Well we're going to have to wait to see a bit longer when the space shuttle will fly again. Is the aging space shuttle fleet just getting too old to continue making trips into space safely? Miles O'Brien will answer that question straight-ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Discovery's return to space will have to wait a bit longer. A technical problem caused NASA to scrub yesterday's launch just a few hours away from flight. So now the mission is on hold until at least Saturday.
CNN's space correspondent Miles O'Brien has more on the shuttle's delay and its future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two-and-a- half years and $1.5 billion in improvements later, it's still your father's space mobile. A craft that was oversold and underfunded from the get-go, the shuttle remains a temperamental beast, constantly testing the mettle of its masters.
WAYNE HALE, NASA PROGRAM DEPUTY MANAGER: All I can say is shucks. We came out here all set to go today. We've been working really hard to be ready to go, and we incurred a problem. It was clearly a launch criteria violation.
O'BRIEN: On this day, Discovery offered up a problem that screamed out for attention. A crucial sensor that detects when rocket fuel is running low got stuck. Had the crew launched, the main engines might have shut down or run dry, a bad idea for the high- pressure pumps that can suck the contents of a swimming pool in 25 seconds.
HALE: And you don't want to run those pumps dry. And at that point, you can do serious damage in the engines. We've never tested it. It's just a bad practice. And you don't want to do that.
O'BRIEN: And so it took mission managers about five minutes to decide not to light the candle and send the seven astronauts packing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are long faces here in the control center and around the site. Everybody was so looking forward to it flying today.
O'BRIEN: The shuttle engineers are now doing some serious trouble-shooting on Discovery, which first flew in 1984.
MICHAEL GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: I had one mission back in the '80s for the Defense Department that scrubbed 14 times before we finally got it off the pad. This is nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.
O'BRIEN: NASA boss Mike Griffin is philosophical about the scrubs and practical about the aging, fragile shuttle fleet. He is determined to send the three remaining shuttles to the Smithsonian by 2010, to clear the way for a new generation of space vehicles that will take U.S. astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars.
RANDY AVERA, FORMER NASA ENGINEER: So we have to rethink our whole national plan, about where we invest our money, our time and our labor and our most important resource, which are the American people. And it's not only we the people looking for that answer and solution, it's our international partners wanting to know what we're going to do about that, as well.
O'BRIEN: And that is the rub: NASA is committed to building the International Space Station with 15 other partner nations. Up until now, the space shuttles have done all the heavy lifting. But administrator Griffin is looking at ways to use unmanned rockets for the station, for example, leaving the shuttles with a pared down schedule.
GRIFFIN: Well we think we can get around 20 flights out by the 2010 retirement date that President Bush has required. And we're looking right now to see what those flights should carry, what the assembly sequence for the International Space Station should be, given that flight sequence, all that sort of thing. But we think about 20.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Four flights a year is about average for the space shuttle fleet over the 24-year history of the program. But the orbiters are not getting any younger and the problems will keep cropping up.
Mike Griffin says he will trim the flight schedule, rather than delaying the retirement date. It is the beginning of an end of an era, and some would say it's long past due.
Miles O'Brien, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: New next hour, an underwater look at Hurricane Dennis' surprising salvage operation. But first, if you're desperate to find out about the Emmy front runners, stick around. We'll have the ABCs of who is leading the pack.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Nominations for the prime time Emmy awards will be announced about three hours from now. It seems a sure bet that the women of Wisteria Lane won't be left with Emmy envy.
CNN's Sibila Vargas keeps her eyes on Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're the first in the neighborhood to stop by.
TERI HATCHER, ACTRESS: Really?
ANNOUNCER: Susan knew she was lucky.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Emmy nominations are expected to be delivered to Wisteria Lane this morning. ABC's hit series "Desperate Housewives" is being considered as a comedy, which surprises some critics.
LYNETTE RICE, TV CRITIC: I mean a dude died this season. He was drugged to death. That doesn't seem very funny to me, I mean what a knee-slapper.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will do whatever you want us to do.
VARGAS: The women of Wisteria Lane are also likely to dominate the best actress category.
RICE: Wouldn't be surprised if we saw nominations for four of them and then with the lone holdout going to Patricia Heaton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the best idea I've ever heard.
VARGAS: Another ABC show, "Lost," is expected to be nominated as best drama. That could help ABC eclipse HBO's recent grip on Emmy nominations. Past Emmy favorite, "The Sopranos," did not air during the qualifying period. Neither did "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
RICE: It's time for HBO to, like, take a backseat at the Emmys. Let somebody else win something for a change.
VARGAS: But don't count HBO out completely. The drama "Deadwood" and the comedy "Entourage" are in the nomination hunt.
This year the comedy category is wide open with past favorites like "Frasier," "Friends" and "Sex and the City" off the air. New faces could include "Gilmore Girls," "Scrubs" or another series.
RICE: "Two and a Half Men" is a solid show. It's done very well. I think there's a good chance.
VARGAS: In the reality competition category, the "Amazing Race" is a favorite and ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is on the short list, which could help return the network to Emmy eminence.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well who are the front runners for prime time Emmys? We'll get some expert perspective in the next hour of DAYBREAK.
And stick with us for "AMERICAN MORNING" and the announcements live at 8:30 Eastern this morning.
The next hour of DAYBREAK begins in just a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's Thursday, July 14.
London marks a week of mourning, resilience and routine. We'll return to London a week after the terrorist bombings to tell you what's different about this Thursday.
The shuttle launch is on hold. Is the aging fleet of spacecraft fit for duty anymore?
And corporate fraud, one judge sends a stiff message when he sentenced WorldCom's former CEO Bernie Ebbers.
Good morning again, everyone.
We'll go live to London's Trafalgar Square in a moment.
Also ahead, it turns out Dennis wasn't 100 percent menace. You've seen the damage. Now check out the progress under water.
And TV stars will be waiting by their phones this morning. It's Emmy nomination day. We'll see who leads the pack.
But first, "Now in the News."
In Baghdad, two suicide bombers struck a checkpoint at the heavily-fortified Green Zone. One was driving a car, the other wearing an explosives vest. Five people have been wounded, some of them critically. Baghdad police say among the wounded is a suspected third suicide bomber.
People upset over the weekend shooting by police of a 19-month- old girl turned up to protest late last night in Los Angeles. The protest came after it was revealed that the child died from a single gunshot wound that was fired from an officer's rifle.
A terminal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has reopened after being evacuated. Authorities say bomb-sniffing dogs detected suspicious smells in two vending machines but nothing was found.
And, Chad, still all eyes on Emily.
MYERS: On Emily, exactly right.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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