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CNN Live At Daybreak

Middle East Peace Trip for Rice; Terror in Jordan; Terror Response Drill in Atlanta

Aired November 14, 2005 - 05:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, November 14. Disturbing confessions of a would-be suicide bomber. A human bomb failed. Her face, her words on TV for the world to see.
Tornado terror. Inside the deadly twisters that strike in seconds and leave behind shattered lives.

And just when you thought you were through with the dangers of tropical weather, think again.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. We'll have more on the Jordan bombings confession in just a minute.

Also ahead, how about a swab instead of a search? That's what the New York City subway riders are in for today.

And he's had run-ins on the track and off the track. Now is Kurt Busch heading down the wrong track? We'll find out.

But first, "Now in the News."

On the road. President Bush launches a week-long trip to Asia today. He'll visit Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia. In South Korea, the president will attend the Asia-Pacific Trade Summit.

The U.S. embassy in Beijing says it has what it calls credible information of a possible terrorist threat against its facilities in the southern city of Guangzhou. Americans in southern China are being advised to remain alert.

And in Pennsylvania, police are searching for an 18-year-old man and his 14-year-old girlfriend. Police in Lititz say they believe David Ludwig killed Michael and Cathryn Borden and then abducted their daughter, 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden. Supposedly she's Ludwig's girlfriend.

To the forecast center now. Bonnie Schneider in today.

Good morning.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: Thank you, Bonnie.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to kick-start the Middle East peace process. She met earlier today with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and she's expected out of a meeting soon with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. They're expected to speak to reporters in just about 10 minutes.

Let's go live to Jerusalem now, though, for more on all of this. Guy Raz is there.

Good morning, Guy.

GUY RAZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

This is the secretary's fourth visit to the region this year, and it's a visit the Bush administration is touting as a continuation of its efforts to pressure both sides to resume peace negotiations.

Now, earlier this morning, the secretary met with senior Israeli officials, including the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. And as we speak, she's meeting with Palestinian leaders, including the president, Mahmoud Abbas.

Now, all of those talks are being held behind closed doors, but we got a pretty good sense of what might be at the top of the secretary's agenda during a speech she delivered here in Jerusalem overnight. Now, in that talk, she called on both the Palestinian and Israeli leaderships to carry out the respective agreements that they reached earlier this year.

Now, since the Israelis withdrew their settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip earlier this summer, Palestinian officials have been demanding freer border access between Gaza and Egypt and between Gaza and the West Bank via Israel. But those negotiations have been held up over several sticking points. And the man leading those negotiations, James Wolfensohn, the international envoy to both the Palestinian and the Israeli leaderships, has expressed a significant amount of frustration with both sides.

He says the Israelis aren't taking the issue seriously enough, they're not treating it with the urgency required. And he's expressed disappointment in the Palestinian leadership for allowing militant groups to attempt to smuggle weapons from Gaza to the West Bank via Israel.

Now, the Israelis are demanding the right to install closed- circuit television monitors at those border crossings. That's something that the Palestinian leadership has rejected outright.

Now, we don't expect to see these issues being resolved during the secretary's very brief visit here, but she will want to make her presence here very much felt by both sides, particularly now, because the Bush administration wants to build on the momentum that was established once the Israelis withdrew their settlers and soldiers from Gaza earlier this summer -- Carol. COSTELLO: Guy Raz reporting live. And when Condoleezza Rice begins speaking, we're going to dip in for our viewers.

So stick around. That should come your way in about 10 to 15 minutes. But of course there's no telling, because we don't schedule these things.

Moving on now. A stunning televised confession in Jordan has people across the world shaking their heads, trying to make sense of the senseless. A 35-year-old Iraqi woman admits she tried to blow herself up and kill countless innocent people in a hotel suicide mission in Jordan.

More now from CNN's Brent Sadler.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She is the human bomb that failed to explode. Sajida al Rishawi sent from Iraq to strike Jordan.

A chilling display of the explosives. Wired and taught by her husband to kill. Handling the plastic wrapped detonator she says malfunctioned. Calming confessing to the camera how they prepared their double attack.

SAJIDA AL RASHIWI (through translator): There was a wedding at the hotel with children, women, and men inside. My husband detonated. I tried to explode, but it wouldn't. People fled running and I left running with them.

SADLER: Fleeing, death and destruction here at Amman's Radisson Hotel. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton inspects the blast site with his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, sickened by the confession.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why would such a person do this at her age, come in here and ruin these people's lives? What twisted logic and thinking did that? And we should go after it.

SADLER: The televised confession came as thousands of Jordanians took to the streets, expressing sorrow and solidarity after the attacks.

(on camera): The showing of that video, an attempt to strip away the legitimacy claimed by suicide bombers that their attacks are justified in the name of Islam.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are sick people. I don't know what happened. The brainwash they got from whoever it is.

SADLER (voice-over): But here, too, controversial opinion shared by many Jordanians with Palestinian roots that will enrage Israelis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are subjected to terrorism from Israel, from these kind of people, Zarqawi, from al Qaeda. We consider all these parties as terrorist parties.

SADLER: Jordanians striving to reconcile extreme differences towards terrorism in society here, while overcoming their sorrow for the victims.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Amman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The Syrian-born Hollywood producer killed in the Amman hotel bombings has been buried in his native home city. Moustapha Akkad lived in Los Angeles and had dual Syrian-American citizenship. He and his daughter are two of the three Americans killed in the terror attack. Akkad is best known in the United States for producing the "Halloween" horror movies.

Pakistan's president says it's unlikely terror attacks like the Jordan hotel bombings will occur in his country. General Pervez Musharraf credits his country with winning the war on terror. He made those comments on CNN's "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: This is a small force which we are fighting against. And we are all united to fight against them. And I have no doubt that we are winning this battle against them, especially in our area in Pakistan and Afghanistan. We are winning the battle against extremists and terrorists, and we'll keep winning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: President Musharraf says there hasn't been a terror attack in Pakistan in a year and a half.

In news "Across America" this morning, this amateur video is taken in the shadow of a tornado. Take a look at that.

The storm swept across the state on Saturday. Woodward, where this video was from, and Stratford, were the areas that suffered the most damage. One person killed in Stratford. The tornado's damage destroyed dozens of homes. Officials say tornadoes this time of year are rare.

Firefighters in Marblehead, Massachusetts, battled a fire at a luxury condominium complex under construction. No one was hurt. Investigators are suspicious, though. The condo project had been opposed by residents in the area.

And at the Sears Tower in Chicago it is a long way up. Yesterday was the fourth annual Sears Tower stair climb to benefit cancer research. And it's no easy climb. That's more than 2,100 steps.

Coming up on DAYBREAK, a new anti-terror tool, checking bags for explosives without ever opening them. Find out how.

Plus, some scary scenes on the streets of Atlanta, but no need to panic. We'll tell you why.

And the bad boy of NASCAR gets yanked from the last two races of the season. Find out who put the breaks on Kurt Busch and why.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: International markets. Let's take a look, because they're mixed this morning.

Tokyo's Nikkei down 39 points. The London FTSE is gaining, but only by two points. The German DAX is down 2.5 points this morning.

In futures trading, let's take a look at the price of oil. It's 33 cents higher this morning, $57.86. But at least it's below $60 a barrel. You've got to look at the glass half full.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:14 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

President Bush leaves today on a week-long tour of Asia. He'll make stops in Japan, China, Mongolia, South Korea, where he'll attend the Asia-Pacific Summit. The trip will focus on issues like trade and bird flu.

Death sentences and executions declined last year. A government report says 59 people were executed nationwide last year. The decline is attributed to the threat of harsh punishment and jurors choosing life sentences over death.

In money news, the Georgia-Pacific Corporation says it has agreed to be bought by Coke Industries for more than $13 billion. Georgia- Pacific makes tissue paper, packaging and building products.

In pop culture, "Chicken Little" is still number one at the box office pecking order. The cartoon tale took in $32 million in its second week.

In sports, what a run. The Chicago Bears' Nathan Vasher returns a missed field goal for 108 yards against -- did you see this? It was the longest play in NFL history. He was tired when he got into the end zone. He could barely go on. Look at him.

We thought he was hurt at first. But no, he was just pooped. Chicago won.

And so did the Detroit Lions. And so did the Minnesota Vikings.

So this division is getting interesting -- Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: It sure is. Absolutely.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Bonnie. In our "Security Watch" this morning, New York rolls out another anti-terrorism tool to stop bombers from attacking the subway system. Beginning today, some subway riders will get their bags swabbed. Yes, I said swabbed. And then they'll be scanned by a mechanical device to detect explosives. Police say the hand swab method is fast and less intrusive than bag searches.

I want to warn you now, the scenes we're about to show you are very dramatic. They look real, but they are simulated. They are not real.

Transit authorities in Atlanta staged a terror response drill on Sunday outside of a downtown bus and train station. The explosions, gunfire and sirens were created by a production company to put first responders through a realistic drill.

Here's a look at how it went down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MITCHELL, JPMPRODUCTIONS.COM: We are known as the masters of disasters. The more realistic that you can into your training, the better the training will actually be.

The aspects as far as the disaster is just kind of what's happened in the real world and how the response may actually be. Everything becomes pretty much as we see. And I've been a paramedic for over 25 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need help over here! Somebody help us!

MITCHELL: We do a lot of analysis, and looking at how different types of trauma. We actually get the makeup looking the way we want it to look.

So we feel that we're fooling the doctors, nurses, EMTs, firefighters. And that's kind of our applause about the whole thing. Also, if they kind of get a little bit queasy, that's like a stand-up -- that's a like a stand-up ovation.

CAPT. BYRON KENNEDY, ATLANTA FIRE DEPT.: First responders can get a tremendous amount of information from this. It's actual practical hands-on experience. And it's irreplaceable, actually.

JOSELYN BUTLER BAKER, ATLANTA MARTA: It's part of our preparedness. It helps us ensure that we know we have the resources in place and the capacity we need to respond quickly and as safely as possible should an incident like this occur.

KENNEDY: It went very well. This was a full-scale event. There were no major kinks that I noticed form my area at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. Still to come on DAYBREAK, he can outrun most of the guys on the track, but NASCAR star Kurt Busch cannot outrun the law. That's what put the brakes on his racing, at least for now. We'll have all the details for you next.

And it's as close to a tornado as you're likely to ever want to get. Incredible amateur pictures as a twister devastates an Iowa neighborhood. Now it's a matter of picking up the pieces.

You're watching DAYBREAK for Monday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: You've heard a lot from him lately. He's talked nasty, he's talked nice. Well, now it looks like Terrell Owens has some fans in very high places.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson is coming to the defense of the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver who was deactivated for the season for publicly complaining about his team.

In a statement, Jesse Jackson says, "This punishment is much too severe for the charge. If he had been caught shaving points, selling drugs, carrying a gun or fighting some fans who provoked him, and he had not shown sufficient restraint, we could understand the severe suspension, because those are very serious and illegal acts. Unfortunately for T.O., who belatedly apologized three days after the infraction, the real question is do his comments warrant a penalty this severe? The answer is no."

So, where does T.O. go from here? Will he play for another team, or is he now considered NFL poison?

We're going to talk about all of that in the next hour of DAYBREAK. CNN's sports business analyst Rick Horrow will join us live. And it should be very interesting.

People have strong opinions about Terrell Owens, don't they?

T.O. is not the only sports star who seems to be on the wrong track these days. Nextel Cup champ Kurt Busch has been suspended for the final two races of the season after a run-in with Arizona police.

Steve Overmyer from CNN Sports has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's Gordon to the outside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not making it easy for him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he is not.

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Kurt Busch is well known for his run-ins on the track. But an encounter with the police on the street earned him a suspension. Police say Busch ran a stop sign and had to swerve to avoid hitting another car. The defending series champion was taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving, but he was only cited for reckless driving.

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: He was going 15 miles over the speed limit. He went through a stop sign, and he almost went on the other side of the street. This guy came to this county, insulted my deputies, called them "wimps" and everything else. And he was driving recklessly.

OVERMYER: But he wasn't aggressive last night. He was calm when responding to NBC's pre-race show.

KURT BUSCH, NASCAR DRIVER: You know, what's important here is that this is not alcohol related. You know, I made the situation worse by saying some things I regret, and that's where it's brought us to today. And I'm sorry for what happened.

OVERMYER: Hostility is a description not uncommon to Busch, who was in a fistfight with fellow driver Jimmy Spencer two years ago. In May, NASCAR officials say Busch was verbally abusive to race officials over his radio. He apologized, but was penalized for throwing a water bottle at an official.

MARTY SNYDER, NBC/TNT NASCAR PIT REPORTER: I think his persona on the track is one of the best drivers out there. I mean, certainly a terrific driver and -- and a driver who can wheel a car better than most anybody out here. You know, and I think Kurt is a volatile person and can sometimes -- that anger can come through. Sometimes on a racetrack, sometimes off a racetrack.

OVERMYER: But fans may be getting their fill of his behavior. When he won the championship last year, Busch was booed.

Steve Overmyer, CNN Sports, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, it's not the bottom of the ocean or some deserted island, and yet it's one of the best hidden places on Earth. We're talking about North Korea. Up next, a rare look inside this secretive nation. It is a CNN exclusive.

And Mother Nature has an early holiday gift for all of us, and you're not going to believe this one. The hurricane season just keeps going and going and going.

More on the latest tropical storm next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.

Coming up in the next 30 minutes, it looks like something out of the movie "Twister." But for hundreds of people in central Iowa it was all too real. We'll show you more of the stunning images.

And not again. In what's already been a record storm season, the Caribbean is seeing even more tropical rumblings. We'll find out what's ahead next.

But first, "Now in the News."

This Iraqi woman making a dramatic confession on Jordanian TV. She says she tried to blow herself up in one of three Amman hotels that were bombed, but her explosives belt failed. Authorities say the woman's husband and two other suicide bombers killed 57 people in those hotel attacks.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to revive Israeli- Palestinian peace talks. She's wrapping up meetings with Palestinian leaders now, and she met earlier with the Israelis.

Is that a live picture? She's coming to the podium. She's speaking from Ramallah. When she beings her remarks to reporters there we're going to dip into it live. But let's move along now.

The U.S. embassy in Beijing says it has what it calls credible information of a possible terrorist threat against its facilities in the southern city of Guangzhou. Americans in southern China are being advised to remain alert.

To the forecast center to talk about the tropical rumblings. Bonnie Schneider in today.

Good morning.

SCHNEIDER: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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