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American Morning

United Airlines Flight Diverted; London Terror; Bringin' the Heat

Aired July 26, 2005 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New developments in the London terror investigation. More raids today as police search properties that could be connected to the bombing suspects. We're live in London with the very latest.
Meanwhile, a developing story right now, a United Airlines flight headed from Los Angeles to London is diverted. Crew members say they spotted something suspicious.

And the shuttle astronauts are getting ready now for a historic mission to space, liftoff in just about two-and-a-half hours. Miles is live at the Kennedy Space Center for the final preparations on this split edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning, and welcome, everybody. Welcome to a split edition of AMERICAN MORNING coming to you from London this morning.

Good morning -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

Miles O'Brien here at the Kennedy Space Center. Just about 2 hours, 40 minutes to launch. We'll get back to that very shortly -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, Miles, let's tell you a little bit of what's happening here in London right now. Tony Blair is holding a news conference, his first since the London bombing attacks. We should be looking at a live picture of it right now. We're going to update you on what he says and also the investigation, just ahead -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Space shuttle crew is strapping in, getting ready for its ride to space, it is hoped. The weather is good and the systems are good. In just a little bit, we'll give you more about it. But we will have live coverage all throughout this morning -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Miles.

I have news headlines for you now.

Good morning, everyone.

More details about that diverted flight we told you about in the last hour. A United Airlines flight heading from Los Angeles to London, it was diverted to Boston's Logan Airport. Three suspicious passengers were questioned. Kathleen Koch is following this story.

Kathleen, what do we know about this suspicious behavior?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know very much right now, Carol. But, obviously, this was a very frightening incident this morning for the 226 passengers who were aboard United Airlines Flight 934, as you said, bound from LAX to London. Apparently, at some point after that Boeing 777 200 (ph) took off from Los Angeles, someone reported three suspicious passengers.

Now the Transportation Security Administration says the federal government did not make the decision to divert the plane. So it's unclear then whether or not it was the airline then that made that decision. But someone made the decision, and the plane ended up landing at Boston's Logan Airport where transportation official -- federal transportation official tells me that those three passengers were questioned and released.

Now, in the meantime, though, they offloaded all 226 passengers, their bags, searched the whole plane, and it's unclear when they'll be able to take off again because of the crew rest requirements. Now that the crew has flown so many hours, they may have to wait until another crew arrives before the plane takes off for London -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So many times in these kinds of situations, Kathleen, we hear that passenger's name appear on this terror watch list. That may not have been a factor this time, though.

KOCH: Doesn't appear to have been so, because, again, this was a domestic flight within the United States. And what, again, we're hearing is simply three suspicious passengers. Don't know if that was based upon a passenger's report or a flight attendant's.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

And I know, Kathleen, you're following another story. You're actually at Fort AP Hill in Virginia, where those four Boy Scout leaders were killed setting up for the Boy Scout Jamboree on Monday. Tell us more about that.

KOCH: This has been quite a blow, Carol, to the entire Scouting family, because that is indeed what these people are is a large family. And these Scout leaders who were killed, we're told, were long-time members of the Scouting organization in Anchorage, Alaska, area.

And what happened, apparently, was between 4:30 and 5:00 yesterday, Monday evening, these four leaders were setting up a very, very large tent, something that would accommodate the roughly 80 Boy Scouts that they had brought with them.

And the sheriff here in Caroline County, Sheriff Tony Lippa, says that apparently the main pole hit an existing power line, and the four men were electrocuted. There were also two men who were contract workers for Fort AP Hill who were injured and another Scout leader. But, fortunately, those three did survive. And we don't have names of those who were killed, but we do have their ages, 42, 47, and 58 years old. One of those who was killed, we do not know how old he was.

But, again, quite a blow. And this happens on what was supposed to be the very joyous opening day of this Jamboree that draws Boy Scouts, volunteers and Scout leaders from, not only 50 states, but from countries all around the world. So a very tragic incident.

And they're having a press conference at 10:00 a.m. where we'll get more on the details of just what happened -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, we'll check back with you. Kathleen Koch reporting live from Virginia this morning.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the main U.S. base in Afghanistan. The demonstration north of Kabul apparently in response to a raid carried out Monday night by Afghan and U.S. forces. The protesters threw rocks, they burned tires, no word on any injuries.

The reward for Natalee Holloway's safe return has been raised to $1 million. The Alabama teenager disappeared from Aruba nearly two months ago now. Holloway's mother says a group of friends came forward with the additional money for the reward, which had been set at $200,000. A separate $100,000 reward is in place for any information leading to Holloway's possible remains.

And still no relief from the heat. Temperatures for much of the mid-Atlantic region expected to climb near 100 degrees today. Washington thermometers hit 105 on Monday. In Chicago, people ran through the fountains to cool off. City workers checked on the elderly, hoping to avoid a repeat of the 1995 heat wave that killed 700 people. Officials are telling people to drink a lot of water, take it easy outdoors. At least 24 deaths are being blamed on the heat.

But it's not so much the heat, Chad, it's really the heat index and the humidity, isn't it?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It really is the humidity, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: And there is that, Chad, as well. And there are added weather constraints, because they want to be able to get a good view of the shuttle going up,...

MYERS: Exactly.

M. O'BRIEN: ... based on what happened, of course, to Columbia two-and-a-half years ago.

So far, all those million-plus parts are working fine. And that, in and of itself, when you think about it, really is an amazing statement. It's amazing any of these things ever get off the launch pad when you consider how many things have to be perfect in order for a space shuttle to fly. That bulky fuel gauge problem we've been telling you so much about for the past 13 days, no problems so far. In a strange way, engineers kind of wish it would present a problem because then they've got a series of tests in mind that would help them isolate it.

Nevertheless, let's take you out to the launch pad, 39-B is the location, three-and-a-half miles over my shoulder. That's where Columbia lifted off two-and-a-half years ago. A picture perfect day for launch.

As you see lower right of your screen, about two-and-a-half hours to launch. The countdown clock has about an hour and 35 minutes in it. They have these holds built in just because that's the way they like to do things.

Let's take you on board the space shuttle. And you are on the flight deck looking down. It's as if you were one of the instruments on the instrument panel. Number one is Eileen Collins, the commander. Number two, Jim "Vegas" Kelly sitting the left. Number three, Soichi Noguchi. And in the number four seat that's empty right now, Steve Robinson will be sitting very shortly. He is the flight engineer. He actually looks over the shoulder of the pilot and commander as they do their job.

Let's go downstairs to the place they call the mid deck.

There you see, I think, Steve Robinson getting in his seat.

And as you look in the foreground of the mid deck in the first part, it's hard for me to see here, we have Charlie Camarda. Over on the back end, the far end I should say, is Andy Kelly, who is the most seasoned of -- Andy Thomas, I should say, the most seasoned of space travelers here, having spent some time onboard the Russian space station Mir. And in the middle, Wendy Lawrence, who would have flown to Mir, except she was too small to fit into the space suit required for space walks. And, as a result, she got the name "Too Small" Lawrence.

They are strapping up. And they go through a series of communications checks. All kinds of checklists to go through, as you might imagine, as they get ready towards launch.

And in the meantime, everybody in that firing room is looking very carefully at those gauges to make sure all those million-plus parts are working, including those fuel gauges, which are very important. Because it is the important gauge which decides how to shut off the engines in a way that, number one, isn't too early, and, number two, doesn't cause a catastrophic failure. Both things you don't want to happen, obviously.

Our special coverage will begin in a little less than two hours here. The launch, 10:39 a.m. Eastern Time is the plan. As we say, so far, everything is in the green. But it's rocket science. We got to watch it very closely. We invite you to stay with us every step of the way -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles, thanks.

Well the British Prime Minister Tony -- you know what, let me take a moment to explain where we are, because that might explain some of the loud noise behind us. We're at Paddington Station, and of course that is a very busy hub. And so what you're hearing is sort of the hustle and bustle of what's going on in the afternoon things coming in and out. So that's what you're hearing behind us.

What's happening here in London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, just moments ago, saying that London is being tested but standing firm. That, after the recent attacks in the city, of course. In his first monthly press conference since the attacks, the prime minister said the world should not give in to terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Whatever excuse or justification these people use, I do not believe we should give one inch to them. Not in this country and the way we live our lives here, not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan, not in our support for two states, Israel and Palestine, not in our support for the alliances we choose, including with America, not one inch should we give to these people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Earlier, the prime minister met with opposition leaders to discuss some proposed anti-terror laws. Among some of the measures is increasing detention periods for suspects and allowing authorities to shut down extremist Web sites.

Dan Smith is a senior intelligence analyst from the security group called AKE Limited (ph) joining us this afternoon here in London.

Good morning.

Back in New York.

DAN SMITH, INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Nice to see you.

SMITH: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: You know you've heard about some of these anti- terror measures that the prime minister is proposing. What do you think are the critical changes that are on the table?

SMITH: Yes. I mean the key thing to actually win this particular war in London is a three-prong strategy. So you actually need to have a highly focused police-led operation, which is what we're seeing at the moment. But also, we need to have an improved intelligence gathering service. But perhaps most critically of all, and this is probably not what these laws are designed to do, but we need to outreach to the Muslim community in this country and ensure they're cooperating with us as best as possible to make sure... S. O'BRIEN: You sort of hint at that when you look at the face of some of these anti-terror laws,...

SMITH: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: ... they might actually have the opposite effect.

SMITH: Yes. So I mean, detention for three months is actually quite draconian for this country. Normally, the terrorist does is between seven days and actually two weeks. So, in essence, it's actually quite a big step up.

So with these laws, it's going to be very, very critical for the British government, the British policy makers, to make sure that the Muslim community, or the bulk of the Muslim community, popular opinion goes with them and supports them in these measures.

S. O'BRIEN: As you well know, the manhunt is still on for the four suspects, maybe five suspects, who tried to pull off the second bombing. They named two of the names yesterday, we heard from Scotland Yard. Do you think that these guys have left the country?

SMITH: No, probably not, to be honest.

S. O'BRIEN: Really?

SMITH: You have to think of the mentality of a suicide bomber. Those four men, possibly five men, went on Thursday to carry out a suicide mission. They weren't expecting to flee. They weren't expecting to go. I doubt very much they'd even probably discussed in much detail what to do if the devices didn't go off, simply because they would have sowed doubt in their minds that their mission was valid and to carry out their mission. So it's actually very important for them to believe that they were going to succeed.

S. O'BRIEN: But then what you're suggesting is, to a large degree, much more scary, which is they're still here, and they are suicide bombers who really have as a goal to complete the mission.

SMITH: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: And the mission, I guess, with these al Qaeda-type groups is, you know, try, try again.

SMITH: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: So do you expect them to try again?

SMITH: I suspect, to a certain degree, they will seek to do that. But you have to remember, at the moment, that the difficulty they have is their names, or at least two of their names, and certainly their images, are splashed all across the media in this country. You can't move at the moment without seeing their picture on newsstands and so on. So they're going to have difficulty. And the second thing is that for them to carry out an attack, they will need to get to their material. They need to get to explosives. And the problem they have, at the moment, I suspect, is they don't know if British security services are actually staking out those materials. So if they move for a bomb-making material, they might actually get picked up by security services.

So they're going to have an awful lot of doubts in their mind. At the moment, I suspect they're just trying to hide out. And hopefully the heat they're facing, at the moment, will die down somewhat and then they'll be able to do something else.

S. O'BRIEN: Well we'll see.

Dan Smith, senior intelligence analyst with AKE Limited, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

SMITH: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: We sure appreciate it.

Coming up this morning, we had a chance last night to sit down and talk with some Brazilian nationals here in London, some of them the friend of the young man who was shot and killed by police. We're going to talk to them about the impact his death has had on them.

Stay with us. You're watching a split edition of AMERICAN MORNING. And we're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Here in London, fear and anger since police killed a 27-year-old Brazilian national by mistake. Over the weekend, demonstrators gathered in London to condemn the shooting.

And we sat down with a group of Brazilians to get a sense of what they've been feeling since their friend's death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To shoot someone from behind eight times, say that he's a bomber and is a total innocent guy, this is scary.

S. O'BRIEN (on camera): Do you feel, though, that, as Brazilians, particularly vulnerable?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me ... I'm a white guy in Brazil. Here I'm a black immigrant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have been here for 14 years and I have my son born here, have my house and everything, but I have always thought that they were looking at us as why are you here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you enter the Tube, and you look around, and everybody is a suspect.

S. O'BRIEN: It's a creepy feeling, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a horrible feeling, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Are the police in a sort of impossible predicament?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This mistake is not acceptable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, there's only proof the Metropolitan Police is not prepared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have a great police with the Scotland Yard. They have a good Metropolitan Police, as well. It's scary. How can a thing like this happen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just horrible, because I've been here for two weeks now just as a tourist, and I'm just afraid to wear my backpack and use the Tube just now...

S. O'BRIEN: Because of the terror?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... because of the shooting. And then...

S. O'BRIEN: Because of the shooting more than the terrorists?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, actually, it's related.

S. O'BRIEN: Do you think that the terror attacks in London are directly correlated to the war in Iraq?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had some blasts in Madrid last year. Had some blasts now in London. Now some people have said it's Copenhagen and Amsterdam. And before it would be Washington and Miami. I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can you blame Iraq before on New York attacks?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel afraid when I get in the Tube every day. I feel afraid when I get the bus. I look all the people around me, all the people who get inside of the bus or the Tube. I don't know. I feel afraid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imagine our family in Brazil, for example. My mother, every day when we talk and phone she asks me, when you come back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are suspects. Everybody now is a suspect. And we are,...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Including Brazil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... at this precise moment, anybody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: The British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has apologized to Menezes' family, adding a compensation claim would be handled sympathetically and quickly -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Soledad, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING, the latest on the heat wave here in the United States. Triple-digit temperatures are tough on kids, especially if they play sports. But we have some safety tips from the head trainer of baseball's Washington Nationals. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Thrill of victory and the agony of the heat. Tonight, when baseball's Atlanta Braves play host to the Washington Nationals, hotlanta will be true to its nickname.

Tim Abraham, head trainer for the visiting Nationals, joins us now from Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia, with some tips for beating the heat.

Good morning.

TIM ABRAHAM, TRAINER, WASHINGTON NATIONALS: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So it's going to be 95 degrees there, and I'm sure it will feel a lot hotter. What are you telling the players to do?

ABRAHAM: Well we start early in the day. We tell them to start taking their fluids, start drinking water as much as they can before they get to the ballpark. And then once they get to the ballpark, we try to keep them pushing fluids all day long.

COSTELLO: It's sometimes hard to convince players who make a whole lot of money to do anything. How do you accomplish that?

ABRAHAM: Well, they see their teammates. You know any time that they come out of a game or they have problems with the heat, they don't want to fall into that, you know, and not be out on the field. So they take it to heart pretty quickly, and they're pretty good about it.

COSTELLO: You know, a lot of little kids are playing outside in the heat this summer and parents are always concerned about what they should do. How do you know how much water to make your kids drink?

ABRAHAM: Well, the National Athletic Trainers Association has a guideline out there that, before you do any type of activity, you want to drink 17 to 20 ounces of fluid two to three hours before your activity. And then once you're doing your activity, you want 7 to 10 ounces about every 10 minutes or so. And then afterwards, that's important, too. People don't think to rehydrate after they're done doing their activity. It's about one to two liters of fluid for every kilogram of body weight that they lose.

COSTELLO: And it's so important to follow those guidelines, because, what, just last week one of your starting pitchers became dehydrated on the mound. Tell us about that. ABRAHAM: Yes, another thing, too, that takes into consideration is if you have any type of illness. He had a little bit of a bug that morning, and that certainly sets you up to have some problems with the heat. And, you know, it didn't -- he usually is pretty good, and that morning he had a little bit of a problem. He started feeling a little off early in the day. And once he got going during the game, it just -- there was nothing he could do. His body just got dehydrated, and we had to pull him out of the game.

COSTELLO: So you saw the signs. So you're a parent and you're in the bleachers watching your kid on the field, what should a parent look for?

ABRAHAM: Well, generally, thirst. You know the old tale of, you know, if you're thirsty, it's too late. Well that still holds true. You want to have thirst or you need to have thirst and you take care of that. Some people have just general discomfort. You'll see cramping. Sometimes if you talk to people a little bit more and they talk about having a headache, they're dizzy, they have nausea, they vomit, shortness of breath, things like that, those are all serious signs of heat illness. You want to get that taken care of right away.

COSTELLO: Exactly. And by right away, do you mean take them to the emergency room?

ABRAHAM: Well, you want to at least get them out of the environment that they're in. Get them into a cool, shady place indoors, air conditioned if possible. If they don't have any type of stomach problems, then you can get them hydrated with any type of fluid, water to start. And then if they're having any other problems like that, you do want to seek medical attention, whether it's a physician, whether you're at the event or you do take them to the emergency room.

COSTELLO: So the Nationals are kind of slumping and the Braves are kind of surging. What are your hopes for tonight?

ABRAHAM: Well, we're hoping for a Nationals win tonight. We've been playing in the heat, so we know what it's like, and our guys are going to be ready to go tonight.

COSTELLO: I'm sure they will.

Tim Abraham, head trainer for the Washington Nationals, thank you for being with us and offering us some good advice.

Let's toss it back to Miles out at the Kennedy Space Center.

M. O'BRIEN: Thanks very much, Carol.

Still to come on this special split edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

Let's take you quickly live out to the space shuttle Discovery and show you what's going on right now as the so-called caped crusaders, those are the guys in white with the cap there. Strapping in Steve Robinson there, getting him ready. He's the flight engineer. He'll be overseeing the people in the foreground there. On your right, commander Eileen Collins, screen left, "Vegas" Jim Kelly. As they begin the final moments of this countdown, inside 90 minutes.

We'll talk with a man who's been on the shuttle four times. We'll ask him what's going through their mind. And we'll also ask what's next once we retire your father's space mobile. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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