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CNN Live Today

Iowa Twisters; Terror in Jordan; Fire at Liquid Asphalt Tank Farm in Medley, Florida

Aired November 14, 2005 - 11:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."
Just a short time ago, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving Pennsylvania inmates and free speech rights. The high court will consider whether keeping newspapers and magazines from disruptive inmates is a violation of their right to free speech.

Judge Samuel Alito filed a dissenting ruling on the case and will likely recuse himself if he is confirmed to the Supreme Court. The court today let stand a Florida law that bars most convicted felons from voting even after they complete their sentences.

President Bush leaves this hour on an eight-day trip to Asia after a stop in Alaska. Mr. Bush travels then to Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia. The packed agenda includes the bird flu outbreak, trade talks and North Korea's nuclear program.

A roadside bomb struck a contractor's convoy in central Baghdad today. The U.S. embassy says two contractors were killed, two others were severely injured. A fifth, an American, was slightly wounded. All five worked for the U.S. security company Dyncorp. Now, the bomb exploded near a checkpoint in the fortified area known as the Green Zone.

Authorities say a NATO peacekeeper was killed in an apparent suicide bomb attack today in Afghanistan. Two others were wounded in the explosion in Kabul. A suspected car bomb blew up near a vehicle used by the International Security Assistance Force. An ISAF official says civilians were also wounded.

And the French cabinet today approved a bill to extend the state of emergency three months. The measure now goes to the national assembly, where final passage is expected later today.

The violence, as you've seen here, that prompted the emergency declaration has diminished, but it did continue overnight. Police say 284 vehicles were torched and 115 people were arrested.

Well, good morning, everybody. And welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY.

It is 11:00 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 6:00 in Amman, Jordan; and just past midnight in Beijing.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Daryn Kagan. Up first today, the manhunt for an 18-year-old suspected of kidnapping his girlfriend and killing her parents. Pennsylvania authorities have issued an arrest warrant for David Ludwig -- you see them on the screen -- and an Amber Alert for 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden.

Police say Borden's parents were shot to death yesterday in their home, about an hour west of Philadelphia. Authorities were alerted after the Bordens' 9-year-old son ran to a neighbor's house.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The neighbor across the street, directly across the street, said that, you know, she understands that one of the Borden children ran over to their house and said, "Mom and dad were shot."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Borden is described as 5'1 with brown hair and blonde highlights. Ludwig has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen driving his parents' red Volkswagen Jetta.

Now, anyone with information is asked to please contact police. Here's the number on the screen: 717-626-3162.

Iowa's governor has declared disaster areas in two communities hit by tornadoes over the weekend. One person was killed in Stratford, Iowa, and in Woodward, 30 miles to the south, a family captured -- captured the twister's fury on tape.

Jeff Greenwood of our affiliate KCCI has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMIAH NANCE, VIDEOTAPED TORNADO: We dodged a pretty big bullet. So -- the whole family did.

JEFF GREENWOOD, REPORTER, KCCI (voice over): Jeremiah Nance did much more than ride out the powerful tornado. He rolled on it with his home video camera as the twister barreled right toward him.

RUSSEL NANCE, JEREMIAH NANCE'S FATHER: That's no freight train.

GREENWOOD: That's Jeremiah's father, Russell, in the foreground, with the tornado closing in behind him.

R. NANCE: It looked like it was going to go away. Then you could see stuff flying in it. It picked up speed. And then it just took off like a shot.

GREENWOOD: Russel's youngest son Doug runs inside to be with his wife and two children.

DOUG NANCE, JEREMIAH NANCE'S BROTHER: I thought they were right behind me as I was coming down the stairs, but no. They decided to stay outside. Thank god they're all right.

GREENWOOD: But they know their hometown of Woodward is not all right as the tornado steam-rolls right over the town of 1,200 people.

D. NANCE: You don't think that that quick that everything can just be gone. But it was just horrible. Just everything destroyed.

GREENWOOD: After checking on their own family to make sure they're all right, their thoughts turn toward neighbors.

(on camera): The two brothers walk through town to make sure everybody's OK, and then they hear something coming from this house.

JACKIE SEEMAN, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I was standing at the window screaming, "I need help! I need help!"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I could hear was her, you know, yelling.

Are you all right? You all right?

SEEMAN: I'm OK.

GREENWOOD (voice over): It was Jackie Seeman. She was home resting when a terrifying roar abruptly awakens her.

SEEMAN: I just feel this big whoosh, and I feel my house shake. And I thought, oh, my god, oh, my god. And then everything just came crashing down.

GREENWOOD: And minutes later two strangers, two brothers, show up to pull her to safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anybody else in there with you?

SEEMAN: Just out of nowhere they came running up. And I was so thankful to see somebody, because I didn't know what was going on.

Grandma loves you so much.

GREENWOOD: Jackie lost her home, but she did not lose her life.

SEEMAN: And I'm just so happy to be alive. And I really think -- I just know that god was with me.

GREENWOOD: And the same could be said for the man who captured this devastating tornado on tape.

Jeff Greenwood, KCCI, News Channel 8.

NGUYEN: Chad Myers joins us now to talk more about this.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Now to a would-be bomber's confession in the terror attacks in Jordan. Authorities hope it might provide a key link to wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Now, in a televised confession, an Iraqi woman describes in calm, chilling detail how she and her husband were to carry out the deadly attack at the Radisson hotel in Amman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAIJIDA MUBARAK AL-RISHAWI, CONFESSES TO SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK (through translator): We had two explosive belts. He put one on me, and he wore the other. Then he taught me how to use it, what to pull, how to use it, and how to have control over it.

We went into the hotel to carry out the operation in Jordan. We hired a car and went to the hotel on November 9.

We went into the hotel. My husband took a corner and I took another. There was a wedding in the hotel. There were women and children.

My husband executed the attack. I tried to detonate, and it failed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: So, more on the confession and the investigation now from Senior International Correspondent Brent Sadler in Amman.

Brent, I think it's really interesting that this confession was even televised.

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not the first time Jordanian authorities have put such a confession on television. It happened again previously with another attempted terrorist attack in 2004.

Nevertheless, the pictures, the images of this woman that was shown on television here and broadcast internationally showing her actually wearing, parading the explosives on one side of her body, tied up to a pack of tightly-packed steel wool bearings to maximize the casualties as she paraded the way the vest was rigged up, like she says, her husband. And the account, the cold-blooded way which she delivered the account was really shocking to those in this country who saw that confession.

Now, as far as helping investigators piece together what happened, she can well prove to be a critical witness, as well as a would-be suicide bomber, because she came from Iraq, she's being catapulted from rural obscurity now to international notoriety. We know, according to the Jordanian authorities here, that she was actually related, the sister of a right-hand man of the wanted Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi from Al Anbar province in Iraq, that hotbed of insurgent activity.

The bombs, it's understood, were constructed in Iraq and carried across the border. The woman says she was picked up at the border between Iraq and Jordan by parties unknown and then driven into the Jordanian capital, where they took an apartment for four days before the blasts, presumably to check out the target and to actually plan to attack that wedding celebration, because they were dressed up to mingle in with the guests.

So her interrogation is going to be crucial to pushing this investigation forward to see how wide the conspiracy and the execution of the orders by Zarqawi, Al Qaeda in Iraq, to attack those three hotels here in Jordan -- Betty.

NGUYEN: No doubt the information will be crucial. Brent Sadler in Amman, Jordan. Thank you, Brent.

And I do want to let you know that later this hour, a glimpse inside the minds of suicide bombers. You're going to hear from the producer of a documentary about his interviews with would-be bombers. That is at the bottom of the hour right here on CNN.

This just in. Take a look at this fire going on right now in Medley, Florida, which is in Dade County. These are live pictures coming from our affiliate there.

This is happening at a tanker facility. You can see some of the tanks right there. It's a liquid asphalt tank farm. And here's a bigger, wider picture of exactly where this is in Medley, Florida, as he mentioned, in Dade County, where a fire is under way.

We don't know about any evacuations or any risk to those around this fire zone. But several tankers, it appears, are under fire -- on fire right now at this tanker facility.

Want to take a listen right now to a helicopter pilot flying over the area with WFOR, the affiliate. Actually, we're trying to get is that in right now. As soon as we get that we'll bring it to you, because it really kind of describes what's going on. But you can see it for your own eyes what's happening.

These tankers are on fire at this facility there. Can't really tell how many. It looks like maybe four or five. There's no really telling how many are inside that building, but big black plumes of smoke coming out of this liquid asphalt tank farm which is located in Medley, Florida, which is in Dade County.

We don't know the extent of any injuries, if there are any. And we're also trying to get some information on exactly what sparked this fire. But you do see some buildings in the background there. So also wondering if this is causing some evacuations nearby.

I don't see any fire crews on the scene at this moment, but they could be out of sight. But no doubt you do see the fire. It is ablaze right now in Medley, Florida.

Now we're going to take to you that sound that I just told you about from the helicopter pilot who is flying over the scene with WFOR, the affiliate there. Let's take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we're over the scene right now in Medley. Numerous fire trucks have arrived on the scene. The danger here is there could be flammables in these tankers which are nearby.

The one inside is already on fire. Luckily, it seems to be escaping. There's no, like, pressure buildup or anything. It seems to be escaping out of the top. Whatever's inside seems to be burning.

But the concern is there seems to be two other tanks out here. As you can see on the screen, there's a few other tanks, and it's unsure what's inside. Obviously, I have no idea. But they do seem to be some sort of tankers, and they are in the vicinity. And if these things happen to catch fire, it could be very dangerous.

So they are trying to keep their distance and evaluate the fire and see what's going on.

NGUYEN: And here's another live look at what exactly is going on. A fire under way in Medley, Florida, at a tanker facility, a facility that is really a liquid asphalt tank farm. And as you heard there from the helicopter pilot, there is a lot of concern about the pressure buildup and whether an explosion could occur because of this. And there are, as he mentioned, two other tanks nearby.

So we're going to keep a watch on this and bring you the latest developments as they occur. But again, a tanker facility on fire in Medley, Florida, which is in Dade County.

In other news, the 9/11 Commission heard the good and the bad about this country's terror preparedness. Then its members laid out their suggestions in a report. So has anything changed? Well, we're going to give you a live report from Washington on whether the commission's proposals are being followed.

Plus, President Bush is traveling internationally again this week. In about 20 minutes he'll begin his journey to Asia. We'll have a preview of his trip. That's coming up.

And not even a super big loss in last week's special election could keep California's governor down. A little later in the show, we will tell you where Arnold Schwarzenegger has gone now and what he's promoting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Taking you back now live to Medley, Florida, you see some fire crews on the scene here. When you look at the top of your screen right there as it pans up, you can see a fire is under way. Lots of smokes, lots of flames.

This is a liquid asphalt tank farm which is located in Dade County. There is some concern, because as you look at the structure where those tankers are, some concern that that metal structure could collapse, which is going to cause more problems as firefighters try to tackle these flames. Want to tell you one other thing about what's going on. Evacuations at a nearby mobile home park is -- those evacuations are under way right now. And we're going to keep you on top of this story and let you know as the developments occur.

The 9/11 Commission formally is out of business, but from time to time its members review Washington's progress on intelligence reform. Today is such a report card day.

National Security Correspondent David Ensor joins me now from CNN "Security Watch."

David, what kind of grade does the commission give Washington today?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I would say the grade was poor, Betty. They said that the U.S. government is not doing enough to try to secure nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons materials in the former Soviet Union. They say it will be -- take 14 years under the current plans to make them all safe. And they say the terrorists could get their hands on some of that material before that time.

So they say a lot more attention needs to be focused on that issue.

Then they also took aim at the government's policies in terms of treatment of detainees. At issue, of course, at the moment are those really top al Qaeda personnel, people like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who are being held by the CIA at undisclosed locations around the world. The question is whether there should be an exemption for the CIA from a new rule that Senator McCain has proposed that the Congress pass that would set uniform standards for interrogation.

Now, many people argue this is a debate about torture. What U.S. officials will say to you is it's -- these are not -- this is not torture, this is aggressive interrogation techniques that do not fit the definition of torture but can still be pretty unpleasant and are used against top terrorists to try to save lives.

At issue is whether there should be an exemption for the CIA to continue doing that or not. Here's what one of the commissioners said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BEN-VENISTE, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: These acts run counter to basic American precepts and ideals. Simply stated, these excesses are un-American. They reflect a significant departure from how we define ourselves as a fair and humane nation dedicated to the rule of law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENSOR: Now, clearly, the scandals at Abu Ghraib and talk of mistreatment of some prisoners in Guantanamo have highlighted this debate within the country. And here you have the former 9/11 Commission coming down firmly on the side of Senator McCain, who wants the law changed and wants that change to cover all the prisoners, including those top al Qaeda personnel that are in CIA hands.

That group, the administration, particularly Vice President Cheney, says need to be treated differently and there should be an exemption for them. So that's the debate. And now you have the 9/11 Commission coming out on one side of it -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's David Ensor. Thank you.

And CNN "Security Watch" does keep you up to date on safety. So you'll want to stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

A lot more coming up on LIVE TODAY, including this: the fire that's under way right now at a liquid asphalt tank farm in Medley, Florida. There are evacuations in the area. Fire crews are on the scene. But there is some concern that that structure holding these tanks could collapse.

We're going to give you an update coming up. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Following a couple developments for you.

First up, let's talk about that fire in Medley, Florida. It is still under way. And you see fire crews trying to tackle those flames.

The good news here is that there have been evacuations in the area, and there are no injuries. Everyone is accounted for.

I also want to tell you that a truck carrying chemical foam is headed to this site to help put out these flames. This is all happening at a liquid asphalt tank farm in Medley, Florida, which is in Dade County.

This fire's been under way for the past few minutes. And of course we're keeping a close watch on that.

We're also watching Marine One, which you see there on the right- hand side of your screen. It has just landed at Andrews Air Force Base.

President Bush will be boarding Air Force One for his four- nation, eight-day trip to Asia. Those stops include Japan, South Korea, China, and Mongolia. But before he gets there, he's going to stop off in Alaska, where he's going to make some remarks on the war on terrorism tonight at Elmendorf Air Force Base there in Alaska.

He arrives in Japan tomorrow, we understand. Again, it's an eight-day trip. Four nations involved. And by Saturday he is going to be in China to talk about a number of things.

A lot of things on the table during this trip. He's going to be talking trade, bird flu, and terrorism.

Here's a map of all the areas where he's going to be going, stopping off in Japan first and making his way through South Korea, China, and Mongolia before he heads back to Washington, D.C.

Now, we have some sound from this fire that's happening right now in Medley, Florida. Let's take a listen to that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have got a ladder truck with what they call an aerial line shooting water on it right now. Apparently, they must have seen the -- this one tanker here begin to start catching fire. So they're trying to put some water on it and contain it.

It looks like they've got another ladder, aerial unit, that's going to start putting water on it as well. So they must have gotten those water lines up, but they were talking about trying to secure it.

As far as a foam truck, we thought we might have seen one on the way. It might be on the way over here. I don't have a visual on it right now. But as soon as the foam truck gets here, they'll drive it right up to the fire here and spray it with foam.

NGUYEN: So another live picture of the two scenes that we are watching right now. Of course, keeping a very close eye on the fire in Medley, Florida, at an asphalt tank farm there.

Also watching Marine One as it has just landed at Andrews Air Force Base. Waiting for the president to step down as he boards Air Force One on his four-nation, eight-day trip to Asia.

But as we're watching, obviously you can't help but keep your eyes in tune to those fire crews working on that fire in Florida, because there have been some evacuations in the area.

And there we go. President Bush stepping off of Marine One. And we understand that we have Andrea Koppel with us to give us some more information on exactly what's on the agenda.

Andrea, we know there are several things, including trade, bird flu and terrorism.

KOPPEL: That's absolutely right, Betty. You can also expect that President Bush is going to get a much warmer reception when he arrives in Asia than he did last week when he was in Latin America. As you alluded to, in Japan, he's going to be meeting with one of his closest allies, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Japan is the second largest donor, after the United States, to reconstruction and rebuilding in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Japan's also home to tens of thousands of American servicemen.

Now from Japan, President Bush is going to head to South Korea, which is another strategic U.S. ally in Asia, where 37,000 American troops face off against communist North Korea. They're going to have a chance to compare notes on the ongoing six-party talks with North Korea. And then from South Korea, he's going to move on to China, where the dominant issue there is really going to be the economy, how to get more American business investment in China, how to get the Chinese to open up their market to that.

Also, President Bush is going to be pressing China's president, Hu Jintao, to make good on a pledge from this past summer to devalue the Chinese currency. As a result, Chinese goods cost a lot less when they come to this country, and American businesses say that's just not fair.

One thing you won't hear a lot about, at least not publicly, Betty, Is an issue that has been, you know, front and center of the American policy toward China for so many years, and that is human rights. In fact, when National Security Adviser Steven Hadley briefed reporters last week before Mr. Bush left, he didn't even mention human rights as being one of the big issues, or religious freedom. That said, Mr. Bush did meet with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in the Oval Office. They didn't allow television cameras in, but they did release a photograph. So the president's trying to send a subtle message to the Chinese, that this is something that's important to him, but don't expect to hear him talking about it.

NGUYEN: All right. Well, we will be watching. And also, I want to point out just briefly, as we watch this picture of Air Force One, the president has already boarded, that the U.S. embassy in Beijing has announced late last night that it has credible information of a possible terrorist threat against U.S. government facilities in the southern part of the city. So all eyes on this four-nation, eight-day trip. A lot going on.

Andrea Koppel, thank you for that insight.

KOPPEL: I need to...

NGUYEN: go ahead.

KOPPEL: Oh, Betty, I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if you could still hear me.

My understanding of that threat, and this is really important that our viewers understand, is that the threat is in the southern part of China, in Guangzho. Where President Bush is going is in the north, in Beijing. It's kind of the difference, the amount of distance between the two places is about like between South Florida and Maine. So the threats that are out there are not ones that President Bush is going to be exposed to when he travels to China's capital.

NGUYEN: Yes, not related to the president, but credible information of a possible terrorist threat against U.S. government facilities in the southern part of the city, as you mentioned.

Andrea, thank you.

So let's get back to that fire, because there are some really quite remarkable pictures coming out of Medley, Florida. We're going to try to put those scenes back up for you. Here's a map of where this is. It's in Dade County, the fire still under way. We have on the phone Al Cruz to talk about exactly what sparked this. Do you have any information at this point as to what caused the fire?

CAPT. AL CRUZ, MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE: Preliminary information says that there's a couple of diesel trucks on fire under a canopy. Basically, it's pouring out a lot of dark soot and smoke, which is expected when you're dealing with a flammable liquid fire. We have our airport division en route with our foam trucks to be able to mitigate it.

Firefighters' safety and the residents' safety is the key to this whole thing. We've evacuated the immediate area. And right now we're basically doing a defensive attack, meaning we're not going right into the scene; we're letting the actual scene -- the trucks, the fire is burning out, because we don't have the foam trucks yet. But basically, there doesn't appear to be any injuries at this time.

NGUYEN: How combustible is this? This is a liquid-asphalt tank farm. And what's in those tanks, talk to us about the dangers of that and why you're taking such a precaution.

CRUZ: Absolutely. The explosion danger's always there. Like I said, I haven't physically gotten to the area, but I can see that there's a lot of soot and smoke. So you're dealing with a possible highly explosive -- diesel, once it burns, it's very difficult to extinguish, unlike gasoline, that has a lower flash point, means it's easier to burn once diesel starts burning, it's harder to put out. That's why we're waiting for the foam trucks.

NGUYEN: Are you worried, though, as you wait because there is this metal container that is over these tanks, that perhaps that container could heat up to the point that it would collapse?

CRUZ: Well, unfortunately, I don't have that information because I haven't been able to contact the incident commander, because I'm just arriving on the scene as we speak. But that is all being taken into consideration with our incident command system and structure. Safety is paramount.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. And as we look at a wider shot, and we've been showing it throughout, you can see that there are some buildings nearby. And the good news is there are no injuries. Talk to us about the evacuation. And who lives near this asphalt-tank farm? Who could possibly be in jeopardy?

NGUYEN: This is mainly in an industrial type of park. There seems to be some trailer-park areas that might be affected, so police is in the process of evacuating them. And they have set out a perimeter that -- to make sure that everybody's safe and accounted.

NGUYEN: Do you know when those foam tanks are going to be there to help put this fire out?

CRUZ: It should be any moment. I mean, they were dispatched from our airport division about 20 minutes ago or so. So they should be arriving shortly.

NGUYEN: And once that comes, is that really going to knock this thing down rather quickly?

CRUZ: Well, it's going to take some time. Like I said, diesel's pretty stubborn, but the only solution is to apply foam. And these have a very -- these are basically for airport crash fire vehicles. So they have the ability to put out a large amount of foam in a very quick amount of time. So once they get there and start doing their job, I anticipate that they should mediate the problem.

NGUYEN: Yes, it should bring about some major progress in putting this fire out.

CRUZ: Absolutely.

NGUYEN: Al Cruz with the Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Service there, we appreciate your information, as we've been following this fire that's going on at a liquid-asphalt tank farm in Medley, Florida, which is located in Dade County. So far, though, evacuations in the nearby area, but no injuries. As you see, crews are still on the scene working this active fire.

In Jordan, you've now seen a would-be suicide bomber's confession to the world. Well, after the break, is the reality of today's terror hitting too close to home in the movies? And would audiences even be interested in seeing a film about the mindset of terrorists?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Back now to live pictures out of Medley, Florida. Look at that. We are showing you this because there's a foam truck in the shot right here. And that's very important. because a fire has been under way at a liquid asphalt tank farm. As several of those tankers appear to be on fire. Big black smoke, lots of flames coming out.

And as we just spoke with a Miami-Dade fire rescue official, they're waiting on that foam truck that you saw just moments ago to put this fire out. Because it's probably the best things that they have on their hands to get this fire knocked down because the water, as you're seeing, is making a bit of a difference, but nothing compared to what foam can do to the tankers that are on fire right now.

But the good news in all of this, of course, is that the foam truck is almost there and that there are no injuries so far that have been reported. There have been evacuations, though, at a local mobile home park, which is nearby. But we understand that everyone has been accounted for. And right now it's just a matter of putting these flames out, getting them all done and gone with so that there is no more threat to the area. And that foam truck that we showed you just moments ago is going to be key in making that happen. It should be on the scene momentarily.

Well, bad guys have always been part of movies, right? Well, after 9/11, is Hollywood finally moving away from stereotypes? Do movies portray terrorists more realistically now?

Michael Medved is a conservative talk show host and movie critic, and he joins me in Seattle this morning to talk about movies that are really showcasing the mindset of terrorists.

And the first thing we want to talk about -- there's a list of movies. The first one I want to talk about is "Paradise Now." This is really a chilling movie, almost like a documentary. Does it add any more insight into what we know about suicide bombers and what causes them to strap themselves with explosives and want to kill people?

MICAHEL MEDVED, MOVIE CRITIC: I don't think it adds anything in particular. What it does do is it portrays -- the whole making of that film in the Palestinian Authority is very unusual, the fact that it was made at all. The one thing that's striking to me about the treatment of terrorism on film is how careful, up until just this moment, Hollywood has been not to show Islamic terrorists.

The whole world knows that most people who are threatening to blow up Americans and threatening to blow up innocent people are Islamic fanatics all around the world. And yet when Hollywood has created terrorists, from "The Sum of All Fears" to recently "Red Eye," to "Flight Plan," to a whole series of films about terrorism -- "Bad Company" with Anthony Hopkins -- they always have either European terrorists or American terrorists, never showing, until a few films coming out right now, the reality of Islamofascist terror.

NGUYEN: OK, but when you talk about the reality and when these movies portray the realities of Islamic terrorists, we want to get into the mindset, though. Because I think that there's a lot of notions out there as to why they do it, but a lot of people still don't know for sure. A lot of talk about wanting to become martyrs. Is that really the basis for this, or are there a whole list of other reasons why?

MEDVED: Well, of course, there's a general sense of grudge in a large part of the Islamic world. A thousand years ago, Muslims had the leading civilization in the world. And they don't today. So there's a sense of resentment. Somehow this was taken away from us, this was stolen.

But the desire for martyrdom and the viciousness of the hatred I hope will also be focused upon by Steven Spielberg's new film, which is called "Munich," which is about the real-life massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and then the attempt by Israeli intelligence to chase the people down who were responsible. Now, nobody's seen this movie yet, but given the fact that it's Steven Spielberg, it will be probably very important with a large audience.

NGUYEN: You know, and I'm not sure about that movie because no one has seen it yet, but in what we're looking right now are clips from "Paradise Now." A lot of these scenes, as you see here, are shot in Nablus and Nazareth. It really adds to the realism. Are you seeing that these movies that depict terrorists are getting more realistic? MEDVED: Well, again, I don't think anybody's going to see "Paradise Now," frankly. I mean, it's an imported film. You know that American filmgoers tend not to see movies with subtitles that are foreign imports. So is "Paradise Now" more realistic? Sure, it's more realistic. But it would be hard not to be more realistic than the way that Hollywood portrays things.

NGUYEN: But is that drawing viewers, though? The more realistic it gets?

MEDVED: No. No one's seeing "Paradise Now." I mean -- "Paradise Now" is a little Palestinian film that is playing in three or four theaters. The striking thing to me is that so far the only Hollywood movies that have shown Islamic terrorists have been comedies like "Team America: World Police," which has terrorist puppets of Osama bin Laden and others. Or you have in "Domino," which was a terrible movie released a couple weeks ago with Keira Knightley, there's an Islamic bomber from Afghanistan who's portrayed sympathetically, who's a good guy and supposed to be there for comic relief. It's not funny.

NGUYEN: All right, but there's -- there are other movies, too. There's "Suicide Killers," which is a French documentary. Tell us about that one.

MEDVED: I don't know anything about it. I haven't even heard of it.

NGUYEN: You don't watch it, either, right? All right.

MEDVED: No, I mean, again, when you say there are other movies and you're talking about a French documentary and a Palestinian movie that was made for 34 cents that tries to demonstrate the mind of suicide bombers, these are not mass market American films that are going to have any kind of profound impact on the American public. The films that will have a profound impact are films like "Syriana" with George Clooney, films that are made with mainstream stars from big studios, where finally they're looking a little more seriously at some of the terrorist violence from the Middle East.

NGUYEN: So despite the realism and all the attacks that we've seen, including the one on the U.S., Britain, Jordan, you don't think the interest is there for movies like this.

MEDVED: Oh, I think the interest is there for American movies like this. What I think is so striking is that, look, after 9/11 -- Hollywood is always looking for bad guys. And with the fall of the Cold War, there was question as -- who were going to be the bad guys? The fact that we haven't had Islamofascist bad guys is extraordinary.

Because the American people don't have a lot of sympathy for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda right now, and nor should we. And yet the fact that Hollywood hasn't shown villains or terrorists of this nature -- I mean, for goodness sake, in the recent movie "Red Eye," they had Russian terrorists. In the movie "Sum of All Fears," they had European German terrorists. And yet most Americans are not afraid of Russian or Bosnian or German terrorists. We're afraid, rightfully so, of Islamofascist terrorists. Finally they're going to appear as villains on screen.

NGUYEN: All right. Michael Medved, thank you.

MEDVED: Thank you.

NGUYEN: I want to take you back now to some of the sights of what's going on in Medley, Florida. As you can see, the crews are on the scene, and the fire is being put out. You see some flames there, but nothing compared to what it was a little bit earlier. A foam truck is headed to the scene or could even be on the scene by now, which is helping with that blaze. We'll keep you posted on any developments in the area. But so far, no injuries.

Well, in northeast Tennessee, classes there resume today for students. We'll tell you about that, coming up. Stay tuned to more LIVE TODAY.

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NGUYEN: All right. Back to northeast Tennessee now. Classes resumed today for students at Campbell County Comprehensive High School. The school closed Tuesday after the fatal shooting of an assistant principal. Two other school administrators were wounded, and a student has been charged. Reporter Erica Estep from our CNN affiliate WATE is live in Jacksonville, Tennessee with the latest.

What do you know?

ERICA ESTEP, WATE REPORTER: Well, we got here this morning before the sun came up, and police began pouring in here around 6:00 a.m. Sheriff's deputies told me that's because sheriff's deputies actually covered this entire campus and did a security sweep before students arrived here at 8:15.

Now I want to step out of the way here and show you the giant memorial that's been growing ever since this deadly shooting here on Tuesday afternoon. As you can see here, it's getting bigger and bigger. Students have put up a sign here that says "Our Heroes."

Just on the other side of that, you can see a single guard shack there with a single sheriff's deputy car. Now, that's a much different scene than we saw this morning as police covered this campus. Three deputies stood here at the entrance gate as students arrived. About a dozen officers, some in uniform, others in plainclothes roamed the halls here and perimeter of campus.

Now, the sheriff points out that there have been no other threats of violence. He says that all this security is so that students and their parents feel safe here once again. Now, those we talked with today were mostly concerned about getting back some sense of normal here, while still grieving the loss of their assistant principal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CAROLYN BOYLE, STUDENT: I knew Mr. Bruce. He -- at lunch he stood right behind our table, and we talked to him , and joked around with him every day, and I kind of dread going back to lunch because of that.

DIANE HEMBREE, STUDENT'S MOTHER: It's tough, but you know, that's just -- you just have to deal with it the best you can, and let them go back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESTEP: Now, we're told that there will be extra security here at least for the rest of the week, and there are grief counselors on hand and a couple of priests to help students get back to their transition back to school here.

Also, sheriff's deputies have been encouraged to answer questions that students may have and be an ear for them as they need it. But there's no word yet on if there will be any school-policy changes since this shooting.

Reporting live outside of Campbell County High School, I'm Erica Estep.

NGUYEN: Erica, thank you for that update.

Want to give you another update now on that fire that's under way in Medley, Florida. Actually, it's being put down. These crews have been on the scene, and they're making a lot of progress. We're going to tell you the latest about that coming up. There's more LIVE TODAY.

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NGUYEN: Back now live. Medley, Florida, where fire is under way. We have learned, though, that the foam truck, which is going to be really making some progress in putting this fire out, has arrived on site at this liquid-asphalt tank farm.

We have on the phone with us Lieutenant Eric Baum with the Miami- Dade Fire and Rescue.

Lieutenant, have you learned any more as to what caused this fire?

LT. ERIC BAUM, MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE: No. Once we have the fire out, we'll have one of our investigators determine the origin and cause of the fire. As you said earlier, we have a foam truck from the airport coming in. We have several thousand gallons of foam that we're going to use to extinguish the fire. Up until now, what we've been doing is cooling those tanks. We're trying to prevent what's known as a firefighter's nightmare, something called a BLEVE, a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. That's when tanks get to such a degree with the stuff inside that it explodes, throwing shrapnel. That was our number-one priority, to get water on those tanks to cool them off, and that's what we're doing with our elevated streams right now. We're in the process of putting the foam into our system, and we're going to go ahead and just extinguish the fire.

This is in an isolated area of Medley. It's an industrial section. And this is an asphalt company. They produce and manufacture asphalt here. In order to produce asphalt, you need a lot of diesel fuel and tar, and that's what's burning so hot with so much acrid smoke coming up.

NGUYEN: Lieutenant, but once that foam truck gets there and starts spraying, it's really going to put this down rather quickly?

BAUM: The foam should not go down right away. The fuels we're dealing with are lighter than the water, and they float on top, and it can move it around. This is what we're doing now, is just to contain it...

NGUYEN: Lieutenant, we're going to have to cut you off. We're out of time, but we appreciate your information. We're going to continue to follow this developing story.

You've been watching CNN LIVE TODAY. There's much more news to come.

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