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CNN Live At Daybreak
London Marks a Week of Mourning; Shuttle Launch on Hold
Aired July 14, 2005 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: 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.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK with Fredricka Whitfield.
WHITFIELD: 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 underwater.
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 protests 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.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: On Emily, exactly right. At this time yesterday, all the computer models were keeping Emily fairly tightly packed to the south, south of Jamaica. Now that's changed a little bit in the overnight hours, maybe a little turn to the north on some of these computer models. And they're only as good as the programmer.
So here's the problem. Here is the official line from the Hurricane Center. And it comes out and gets over to about Cancun. You remember the cone, though? That cone could be all the way into the Gulf or as far south as Belize and Honduras.
A hundred and five miles per hour as it makes landfall here. One fifteen in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. That's very close to the Grand Cayman Islands, like they could use another one. They had really -- they were really hard hit last year.
Winds are 90 miles per hour right now. That is a category one. In order to get to a category two, you have to get above 96 miles per hour. So, pretty good there. It's a pretty good storm.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, President Bush heads to Indiana this morning, where he'll visit the Indiana Black Expo and be at the corporate lunch there to talk economic security and home ownership, among other things. But will he be able to dodge another day of likely questions about his chief adviser Karl Rove's alleged involvement in outing a CIA operative?
National Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean is pushing for Rove's firing.
Listen to what he had to say last night in Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD DEAN, DNC CHAIRMAN: Now we're going to find out, Mr. President, if you'll keep your word. Who do you value more, Mr. President? Do you value intelligence operatives defending the United States of America or do you value political operatives from Texas? We're going to find out. Who do you value more, Mr. President, the security of the American people or your political cronies? Will you keep your word, Mr. President? We're going to find out if the president of the United States will keep his word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Late last night, Karl Rove's attorney issued a statement asserting that Rove has done nothing wrong and will not become a target after the special prosecutor has reviewed all the evidence.
But as we hear from our White House correspondent, Dana Bash, it's what the president said or didn't say that has Washington abuzz.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was Karl Rove, right behind his boss, waiting for the inevitable questions about his alleged role in outing a covert CIA agent. Two queries, no answer. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in the midst of an ongoing investigation and I will be more than happy to comment further once the investigation is completed.
BASH: Some GOP advisers were surprised the president did not offer his closest adviser and friend a vote of confidence. The White House insists that he wasn't hedging his bets, he wasn't asked.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: Every person who works here at the White House, including Karl Rove, has the confidence of the president.
BASH: But this president doesn't wait for specific questions when he has something to say. The current tight-lipped strategy is a remarkable shift. Mr. Bush showed no hesitation earlier in the investigation, including this exchange in September, 2003.
QUESTION: Yesterday we were told that Karl Rove had no role in it.
BUSH: Yes.
QUESTION: Have you talked to Karl and do you have confidence in him?
BUSH: Listen, I know nobody -- I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it and we'll take the appropriate action.
BASH: But the "Time" magazine's Matt Cooper now testifying he and Rove discussed the issue...
MATTHEW COOPER, "TIME" MAGAZINE: We worked out this waiver agreement with Karl Rove's attorney last week.
BASH: ... the White House is pulling back, letting the Republican National Committee distribute talking points to allies in Congress.
REP. DEBORAH PRYCE (R), OHIO: I think what the Democrats are doing with Karl Rove is just another politically motivated part of their agenda.
BASH: Top Bush aides insist they're not distracted by all this, but it drowned out what the president wanted to talk about.
BUSH: OMB is going to announce that the 2005 deficit is $94 billion less than previously expected.
BASH: And Rove questions are following administration figures around the world. The first lady face one in Africa, the secretary of state as she traveled home from Asia.
MIKE FELDMAN, FORMER CLINTON OFFICIAL: Most of the administration's public faces are out there trying to change the subject. But when an issue is this red hot and when it remains unresolved, it's very difficult to do so.
BASH (on camera): Even Bush loyalists admit what they do know about this investigation pales in comparison to what they do not, and that's the source of this newfound abundance of caution. As one put it, "as powerful as Karl Rove is, defending our guy means protecting the president, period."
Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: The launch of Discovery will have to wait until at least this weekend. A sensor problem in the external fuel tank forced NASA to scrub the launch with the astronauts already on board the orbiter. NASA admits the technical problem could have caused the shuttle's engines to shut down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE HALE, NASA PROGRAM DEPUTY MANAGER: Well, 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 commit criteria violation. It took us about five minutes of discussion to confirm that and decide that it was time to try another day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Discovery's current launch window is open until July 31. If it misses this window, NASA will have to wait until September to return the shuttle to space.
We'll have more on the shuttle delay coming up a little later on in this hour.
A 14-year-old girl is in fair condition this morning after she was attacked by a shark off the Texas coast. The bite tore tendons in her foot and left several of the shark's teeth embedded in her. She's scheduled to have a second surgery tomorrow. The girl was with her family in waist deep water when the five foot long shark struck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIT MARSHALL, AUNT OF ATTACK VICTIM: My sister saw the shark coming and it all just happened really pretty quick. And she knew immediately what was happening because she saw the, you know, the tail kind of start wiggling. And so she immediately instructed Lydia to get in the boat. And Lydia did do that. She maintained her composure.
And my sister, you know, started -- was beating the water and screaming to try to ward the shark off and push the boat quickly to shore, meanwhile trying to raise some level of, I'm not sure what word I'm looking for, but anyway, just trying to get help, trying to get help. And so she got them to the shore, wrapped Lydia's foot in a towel. Meanwhile, her 6-year-old ran barefoot across the hot sand, up the street there to the cottage, because she had to go get help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A Tennessee teenager is back home this morning after 16 days in a Florida hospital following his own shark attack drama. Seventeen-year-old Craig Hutto lost his leg to a shark attack last month off the Florida Panhandle. The attack was one of three along Florida's Gulf Coast during a one week span. One person was killed in a separate attack.
In about an hour, Britain will fall silent. People there have been urged to stop what they're doing to remember the 52 people killed in the terror attacks. In fact, it's been one week since those bombings. So far, the investigation has four suspects, all believed to have died in the bombings. And British Prime Minister Tony Blair has opened discussion on new anti-terror laws.
The front pages in London have been plastered with pictures of the known bombing suspects. The four were all British nationals with some involvement in the Muslim community. Last week, Prime Minister Tony Blair blamed the attacks on Islamic extremists. Now he's promising to meet with Muslim leaders and pull up this extreme interpretation of the Islam religion by its roots.
And as we told you, Britons are expected to pause for two minutes of silence later this morning to remember those killed in the attacks. A vigil is also planned in Trafalgar Square, and that's where CNN's Malika Kapur is standing by -- good morning to you, Malika.
MALIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka.
You're right, in about an hour from now, this city, the capital city of Britain, London, will come to a grinding halt. Now, remember, the city did come to a grinding halt last week, exactly one week ago, because of those attacks on the public transport system. And today at noon local time, that same public transport system will again come to a halt.
We are expecting all of London's 7,000 red buses to pull over to one side and to observe the two minute silence that the full country will observe at noon. The tubes will continue running, but they will make an announcement on the tube system that the people who are traveling on the underground system will also observe a two minute silence. Planes will not take off and land during that time and people in the airport terminals are also being asked to observe the two minute silence.
In fact, the mayor of London is urging everybody here, local residents, tourists, visitors, businesses, anybody who is here in London today, the mayor is urging everybody to observe the two minute silence and not just to do it privately. He is, in fact, urging everyone to come out in the street, to take two minutes out of work, to come out in the streets and make a very public display of their solidarity by observing the two minutes of silence over here.
And, of course, later on today, right here in Trafalgar Square, there will be a vigil to commemorate those who died last week in the bombings. And that will take place at about 6:00 this evening. We are expecting Trafalgar Square to be packed with thousands and thousands of people this evening.
WHITFIELD: Malika Kapur, thanks so much, from Trafalgar Square.
Still to come this hour, a poor choice at a 4th of July picnic has town officials making apologizes. We'll tell you why straight ahead.
It's not all bad news. We're going underwater to see what effect hurricane Dennis might have on marine life.
And would you think twice before traveling to the United Kingdom after last week's bombings? We'll see how the attacks might affect tourism, straight ahead on DAYBREAK.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It turns out something good can come from a bad hurricane. Scuba divers and marine life will end up reaping rewards from hurricane Dennis.
Judy Echavez of CNN affiliate WPLG in Miami tells us why.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JUDY ECHAVEZ, WPLJ CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The visibility poor, the water remains murky, 130 feet below on the bottom of the ocean, because of hurricane Dennis. But it's Dennis divers need to thank. The storm turned the USS Spiegel Grove on its right side up.
ROB BLESER, SPIEGEL GROVE PROJECT MANAGER: Hurricanes normally damage a lot of things and rarely do they present an improvement. But fortunately for us and for the Spiegel Grove project, Dennis came through.
ECHAVEZ: Ocean divers discovered the vessel upright on Monday. The 510-foot, 7,000 ton ship was sunk six miles off Key Largo in June, 2002, to make way for an artificial reef. When it went down, it landed on its starboard side and remained in that tilted position for three years. Despite efforts, manpower and money, $2 million, to flip the ship, it would not budge until Mother Nature stepped in.
JOE ANGELO, OCEAN DIVER: When they were trying to upright the ship originally, they had an anchor set out. Well, it looks like the current that came through helped to upright the ship.
ECHAVEZ (on camera): Members of NOAH, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, are out at the site measuring and replacing buoys like this. They're also assessing the wreckage to see what's left and what's safe.
(voice-over): Now that the vessel is in its intended position, the reef will be great for divers and great for fish and coral life.
BLESER: Now with it upright, we will probably be getting more fish life around it, having a different profile on it. It will attract a lot of the smaller fish, which are going to bring in a lot more of the larger fish, thereby giving it the whole reason it was sunk as an artificial reef.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: And that was Judy Echavez of our affiliate WPLG in Miami.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is now 14 minutes after the hour and here's what's all new this morning.
It's one week after the London terrorist bombings that killed 52 people and wounded 700. In 45 minutes, people threat Europe will pause for two minutes of silence to remember the victims.
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.
In culture, Brad Pitt is back home following a short hospital stay. He was diagnosed with viral meningitis after first complaining of flu-like symptoms.
In sports, the NHL and its players finally reach an agreement on a new deal. The deal includes a salary cap, a reduction in current salaries and a mandated break for the 2006 Olympics. Last season was canceled after the two sides could not agree.
MYERS: Yawn.
WHITFIELD: You're bored -- Chad.
MYERS: I'm bored with these guys.
WHITFIELD: You just don't want to have anything to do with hockey anymore, huh?
MYERS: They needed to fix that last year.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, still to come on DAYBREAK, he was the mastermind of the biggest corporate fraud case in the nation's history. What's in store for this former WorldCom chief. He's got a punch on him.
And the home of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Tony Blair, doesn't want to lose your tourism dollars as it rebounds from terrorism. Our travel expert shows us how you can help.
But first, we want to say good morning to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Time now for a little "Business Buzz."
When it comes to auto production in Japan, Toyota is driving behind rivals Honda and Nissan. So, Toyota's president wants more domestic production. The company plans to raise output another 4 percent this year. Toyota produced 3,680,000 vehicles in Japan last year.
Apple polishes its second quarter profits with a 75 percent sales jump. Apple credits sizzling sales of I-Pod music players. For the three months ending June 25, Apple's profit rose to $320 million, or $0.37 per share.
Another corporate criminal headed to jail.
Carrie Lee joins us with more on the sentencing of Bernie Ebbers -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka.
A big story out this week. The former CEO of WorldCom gets 25 years in prison. And this is believed to be the longest sentence ever for a CEO guilty of crimes while running a big company.
Now, this is less than the 85 years he could have faced, but still, this could amount to a life sentence for Ebbers. He's now 63 years old.
Ebbers is slated to begin his sentence in October, but says he does plan to appeal his conviction. And when the verdict was read, Ebbers reportedly hugged his wife and cried. This according to a CNN producer in the courtroom.
Back in March, Ebbers was convicted of nine felonies for his role in the $11 billion accounting scandal that led to the collapse of the telecomm giant, representing the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Now, things got interesting for Ebbers yesterday. You can see this video. Before the hearing even started, on his way into the courtroom, he shoved a photographer out of his way. Obviously a highly stressful day for him, Fredricka.
And that is the latest on Ebbers.
WHITFIELD: And likely now to be spending, really, it's a life sentence -- spending the rest of his life in jail.
LEE: Essentially. Now, depending on how this shakes out, if he ends up being, say, a model prisoner, he could serve just 21 years or so and then serve the rest maybe home confinement, something like that. But still, 25 years for a 63-year-old man with a heart condition obviously a very, a very severe penalty.
By the way, futures pointing to a higher open. A lot of important economic news coming out today, including a key read on inflation. Also, tech stocks looking very -- set to do very well today. In addition to Apple, Advanced Micro Devices also reported strong earnings yesterday after the bell.
So that's the latest from here -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Carrie.
Well, London and the U.K. are popular travel destinations for Americans during the summer. But with last week's terrorist bombings, some people might be a bit skittish about going there.
Let's look at how the bombings are affecting travel there.
First, some statistics. Ten percent of the city's economy is from tourism. Annually, 11 million visitors to London are from outside the United Kingdom. Two million visitors each year are from the United States.
Ben Mutzabaugh writes about travel for "USA Today" and he joins us from Washington to talk about all of this.
Good morning to you, Ben. BEN MUTZABAUGH, "USA TODAY": Good morning, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, is it too early to tell whether, indeed, those terrorist attacks have affected travel to the U.K.?
MUTZABAUGH: Well, we have seen a very, very small downturn in the number of travelers heading to the United Kingdom, especially from the United States. There's been a noticeable drop-off, experts say, but it's very, very small.
WHITFIELD: Some travel agents are reporting that there have been a few cancellations, though. So there are quite a few people who are a bit apprehensive about heading that way?
MUTZABAUGH: That's right. There have been some cancellations and it depends on if these people are afraid of more terrorism, even if they're possibly heading to another country, they might be connecting through London, so they're a little worried about that. And some people just like to stay close to home when -- during a situation where they're a little afraid of what might happen abroad. If something bad is going to happen, they figure it might as well be better to be here at home.
But some airlines have issued waivers that allow customers heading to Europe to change to reschedule their plans or at least get a credit for the amount of their ticket. But for any passengers who are willing to take advantage of this, they should really act soon. Some airlines changed -- the relaxation of their change policies ends tomorrow.
WHITFIELD: Wow!
OK, so they'd really better act fast and get their acts together.
MUTZABAUGH: Right.
WHITFIELD: Well, none of these airlines want to capitalize on something like this taking place, a tragedy of this magnitude. But at the same time, this being peak season, travel to Europe traditionally, are any of the airlines venturing out to perhaps offer any kind of special deals this summer given that folks might be apprehensive?
MUTZABAUGH: Well, you're right, it would be a pretty difficult job for an airline or even hotels to advertise bargains related to the bombings. It's just bad P.R.
But if there are empty seats, they're obviously going to have to move to sell them, whether they're in planes or fill empty hotel rooms. So, you know, I did some checking last night and this morning, and fares are a little bit lower than you might expect for this time of year to London. You know, it's been a busy summer. Planes are near record full levels. And prices have been $1,000 or more, even to London. But there...
WHITFIELD: Yes. Ooh-wee.
MUTZABAUGH: Yes. There are no bargains...
WHITFIELD: That's steep.
MUTZABAUGH: There hadn't been any bargains all summer. But there are now some fares showing up for travel even in August where it's low $700 range from the U.S. East Coast, maybe around $800 from the West Coast. And while those aren't great deals, it does represent a savings of about $200 or $300 from where prices seemed to be a few weeks ago.
Is it related to the bombings? It's really hard to say for sure.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MUTZABAUGH: And if it is, it's a good bet the airlines aren't going to hype a post-terrorist fare sale.
WHITFIELD: Right. It wouldn't be appropriate.
All right, Ben Mutzabaugh, thanks so much, of "USA Today."
MUTZABAUGH: Good to be here.
WHITFIELD: Take care.
In our "Security Watch" now, homeland security chief Michael Chertoff has announced some changes in the agency. Among them, the agency is getting its own chief intelligence officer. Also, a more comprehensive screening system being developed will allow the clearance of more low risk travelers. And that could mean you get to your seat quicker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: By clearing these low risk travelers, TSA can reasonably focus on a smaller and more distinct pool of passengers that might really pose a threat to aviation. The result of this will be less frustration, faster service and better security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport is back up and running again today. Police evacuated a terminal last night after bomb sniffing dogs detected something suspicious in two vending machines. Now airport officials say they're not sure what the dogs were sniffing.
Police in Vermont arrest a suspect in an alleged plot against Amtrak. Christopher Green awaits a hearing, but what charges he may face is unclear at this point. Green's mother alerted police, claiming she had found documents about some kind of action against an Amtrak station in Brattleboro.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
City officials in Deerfield Beach, Florida say they're sorry for playing a song during the 4th of July celebrations that included voice-overs of 911 calls from the September 11 terrorist attacks. People said the mood of the crowd changed from celebratory to somber as soon as the version of "God Bless the USA" was played.
Well, still to come on DAYBREAK, a community reacts to the death of a baby girl at the hands of the LAPD.
And we'll go live to the Kennedy Space Center, as NASA takes no chances and decides to wait a few more days, at least, on the launch of Discovery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK with Fredricka Whitfield.
WHITFIELD: Good morning again, everyone.
Thanks for waking up with us.
Coming up this half hour, Chief Justice William Rehnquist is back in the hospital. We'll have a live report on his latest health issue and how it may impact the future of the high court.
Also, the death of a toddler is blamed on police. The evidence is in and residents in Los Angeles are upset. But first, now in the news, in just about 30 minutes, people all across Britain, and Europe, for that matter, will observe two minutes of silence. It's meant to honor the 52 people killed in last Thursday's terror attack.
NASA will have to wait at least until Saturday before trying again to send the Shuttle Discovery into space. Yesterday's launch was scrubbed because of a faulty censor in the external fuel tank. We'll have a live report on the delay in a few minutes.
Authorities in Pakistan are struggling to identify mangled bodies one day after some 133 people were killed in a rail accident involving three trains. The crash is blamed on human error.
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