Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Big Dig Tunnel Death; Mideast Clashes; Train Terror in Mumbai

Aired July 12, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There's a lot ahead in the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
Even as fighting rages on in Gaza, Israel rolling back into southern Lebanon again, searching for captured soldiers.

Investigators searching for the cause of a train accident in Chicago. We expect to hear from the mayor this hour.

It's an accident site and a crime scene. A section of a Boston tunnel remains closed to commuters. Inspectors are checking the integrity of the concrete ceiling panels like the ones that fell Monday night and killed a woman. One focus, a steel rod that connects the tunnel's roof to the dropped ceiling. A criminal investigation is also under way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS REILLY, MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are looking at everyone from who designed it, who put it in, who tested it, and who signed off on it. And we're just talking about the eastbound lane now. We still have to deal with the westbound, where there's other evidence that have to be looked at of panels that have been compromised, and the HOV, which is a high-speed lane, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: So expect to hear more in just a few minutes from the Massachusetts state police headquarters. We're going to hear from the turnpike chairman.

Also, we should let you know the governor of Massachusetts calling for that chairman's firing. We'll hear more about that.

Well, you have the investigation, and you have the inconvenience, but what you really have is the tragedy of one family who has lost a woman who they loved very, very much.

Jorge Quiroga of our affiliate WCVB has that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a terrible tragedy.

JORGE QUIROGA, REPORTER, WCVB (voice over): Bill Jordan (ph) manages Hi Lo Foods, the market where 48-year-old Angel Del Valle works in the meet department. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he's a great guy. A great guy. He's quiet, comes in every day. Everybody likes the guy. Very friendly. He does his job.

QUIROGA: Amazingly, Del Valle was only slightly injured when a concrete slab of I-90 tunnel ceiling crushed his car. His wife, Milena Del Valle, 38, was killed instantly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm very disgusted with what's going on with that tunnel. I just -- I just passed through it the other day, and I don't think I want to go through it again.

QUIROGA: The couple married a year and a half ago, were driving to Logan Airport to pick up Angel's brother and sister-in-law, who were returning from vacation in his native Puerto Rico.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, like I said, they're real good people. I mean, good -- I mean, bad things happen to good people.

QUIROGA: Hard-working and deeply religious, at the Hi Lo a coworker says Del Valle is convinced his wife is now with god. The pastors of their church stopped by to console him but found no one home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Everyone that had the opportunity to meet Milena can say the same. She was a very friendly person. So open to people. And happy always, you know, with a big smile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And we're looking at live pictures now from Boston. This is where we do expect to hear more from officials. They said the news conference was going to start at the top of the hour, so we will monitor that.

Also, waiting to hear from Chicago to see what they have to say about the train derailment that took place there last night.

But I do want to tell you one more thing about the victim in this Massachusetts tunnel. Milena Del Valle will be buried in her native Costa Rica. She is leaving behind three children and two stepchildren.

On to international headlines now.

New developments this morning as a new front opens up in the fighting in the Middle East. Israeli forces now targeting southern Lebanon. Here's what we know right now.

Israeli tanks and troops and warplanes entered the country today. It was a swift reaction after two Israeli soldiers went missing along the Lebanese border. The militant group Hezbollah, which operates in Lebanon, said it is holding the soldiers. We've learned that three other Israeli troops were killed.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert calls the capture an act of war. He is set to meet with his cabinet in the next hour and says the response will be, in his words, very, very painful.

Meanwhile, Israel continues its offensive in Gaza in an effort to recover another kidnapped Israeli soldier. More than a dozen are reported dead after a new wave of attacks today.

In southern Lebanon, bracing for retaliation for those captured Israeli soldiers.

Let's go to Beirut now, where we are joined by journalist Anthony Mills, who has been following the story all morning long.

Hello.

This takes it to a whole other level now that Lebanon appears to be involved here.

ANTHONY MILLS, JOURNALIST: Yes, it does. It takes it to a significantly higher level, especially inasmuch as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has blamed the Lebanese government for today's developments, and not just the militant Hezbollah group. He said that this is an act of war and he holds Lebanon as a country responsible.

Now, as we speak, the Lebanese government is meeting in a crisis session to discuss today's developments and, no doubt, to come out with a response to them from the government's perspective, a response to these accusations by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. And at the same time, a press conference, the first public response or statement on today's developments by the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.

Let's hear what he had to say about the Israeli soldiers who have been kidnapped.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER (through translator): So there's talk about the killing and the soldiers and the (INAUDIBLE) with the story. This is a brief picture of what happened. And two Israeli soldiers are now in a safe place and a far, far away place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, Anthony, let me ask you a question here, because how much control, really, does this Lebanese government have? This has been a country in its own transition as it's trying to get the Syrian influence out of the country and other influences rising up. But is it powerful enough to put pressure on Hezbollah to release these soldiers?

MILLS: Well, the Lebanese government really does not bear much influence on Hezbollah. It has -- it has very little power to get Hezbollah to do what it wants Hezbollah to do. And even to talk about the Lebanese government as a unified bloc on matters concerning Hezbollah would be misleading, because the Lebanese government is divided in the way that it sees Hezbollah. You've got ministers who want Hezbollah to disarm, who think that Hezbollah shouldn't have the exclusive right to take Lebanon into these kinds of confrontations with Israel, confrontations with possibly very far-reaching consequences. And then you have ministers in the government who are actually members of Hezbollah, two ministers to be precise. And they, of course, see things in a different way.

So, the government as a whole is not going to be able to exert much influence on Hezbollah. Let's not forget as well that Hezbollah is the only group in Lebanon to keep its weapons after the end of the civil war in 1990 and is a formidable force in south Lebanon.

It filled the vacuum there created when Israeli troops pulled out in May, 2000. And so, the Lebanese government, A, doesn't control that area, and has very little influence on Hezbollah.

And the irony, if you will, is to see the leader of Hezbollah giving a press conference while the cabinet holds a crisis meeting.

KAGAN: It just shows you how many different forces are at work as this crisis spreads across the Mideast.

Anthony Mills, live from Beirut.

Anthony, thank you.

Let's go back now to India for more on those train bombings that took place yesterday. Our Aneesh Raman joining us on the phone from Mumbai, the Indian city once known as Bombay.

Aneesh, the prime minister there just held a news conference. What's the latest on that?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn. Good morning.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing the nation just about a half hour ago. He said, "These elements" -- referring to those who perpetrated the attacks yesterday that left now close to 200 people dead -- "have not yet understood that we Indians can stand United, that we will stand United."

Now, who those elements exactly are is still yet undetermined by Indian officials. They are looking essentially as they go through on the investigation at the types of bombs that were used, the type of explosives, and using that as a way to see who is that bearing the hallmark of. They have yet to name an explicit group that is behind this attack, perhaps in part to keep sectarian tensions at bay within this city.

Now, I'm standing about an hour's drive from the main part of Mumbai at one of the many crematoriums throughout the city where the dead have been burned today. Fifteen bodies here.

The families clearly will struggle and will have to deal with the lingering impact of this blast. But the city overall is where they find comfort. Mumbai, India's financial heart, home to some 16 million, today, with resolve, stood up again. People went on the trains. The streets were essentially blocked with traffic as they would be on any other day.

And you get the sense that it is a city trying to move forward, it is a city that has seen violence like this before -- not of this magnitude -- in over a decade. But it is a city sending its own message to those who killed close to 200 people yesterday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman on the phone with us from Mumbai.

Thank you.

Now with the aftermath of that attack, New York is beefing up its rail security after those deadly bombings in India. Millions depending on mass transportation to get around the Big Apple. We're going to talk to an expert about the risk and reality of the American rail systems coming up.

But first to Iraq, where violence is surging there, and so does the death toll. The bodies of 20 people were found earlier today. They are believed to be the victims of today's kidnapping at a nearby bus station. The armed gunmen seized a mix of two dozen civilians and bus drivers.

Also today, nine more Iraqis died in the capital. Seven were killed by a suicide bomber, two others by a car bomb.

Across the country, more than 100 people have died in violence since the weekend.

Donald Rumsfeld makes a surprise visit to Baghdad, but his message surprised no one. With more than 100 Iraqi deaths just since the weekend, the defense secretary called for patience. Rumsfeld indicated that troop withdrawals will have to wait until insurgent violence is reined in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: And one day you will look back with a great deal of pride on what you've accomplished on behalf of our country and on behalf of human freedom and the history that you have written and that you are writing today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: More on the defense secretary's visit a little bit later.

But first, guarding the rails. A terror attack a world away. Well, we'll have a little bit more on that.

But first, the Boston news conference, we are standing by waiting to hear more about the fatal accident that took the life of a woman in Boston. All connected with the "Big Dig." Expecting a news conference from that. Also one from Chicago, which appears to be under way. We'll be listening in to see what they have to say what happened with the train derailment. That's just ahead.

Right now a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Chicago's mayor talking about yesterday's frightening rush hour train accident. Just minutes ago, Mayor Richard Daley commended passengers and emergency workers for their response to the accident.

It happened when a subway train derailed and sparked a fire underground. More than 150 people were injured, two of them are still in the hospital. It was quite an ordeal for passengers. Hundreds had to walk through a smoke-filled tunnel to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People didn't know what happened. Some people were screaming. Some people were yelling. Some people were telling other people to be calm. Some women were saying that they were going to pass out, that they were feeling faint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Investigators are trying to figure out why the train jumped the tracks. Police say there are no indications of terrorism or foul play.

They're just making statements now. We do expect some questions coming up, and when they do, we will pop back in and listen to that.

On to our CNN "Security Watch."

The attack on the trains in India hits home for commuters in New York. They're dealing with increased police patrol and bag searches today.

New York officials beefed up security on subways and rail lines after the deadly attacks in Mumbai. They are also keeping a closer watch on bridges and tunnels. Police say it's just a precaution and there have been no specific threats to the city.

Well, it might be that worry in the back of your mind, how safe am I, my family on mass transportation systems? And the deadly bombings in India, plus that incident in Chicago just adds to the worries. How vulnerable are subway and rail systems, especially here in the U.S.?

Bill Daly is a former FBI investigator who now works with control -- with a control risk group and is our guest now.

Hello.

BILL DALY, FMR. FBI INVESTIGATOR: Hi. Good morning. Good to see you.

KAGAN: Of course Chicago, they're saying, was not terrorism- related. But when it happened later in the day of what happened in India, that had to be one of the first thing that came to mind.

DALY: Certainly it was. And I'm glad that it's been ruled out. But it goes to show you that even on a good day, is that our transit systems are vulnerable to a number of exposures.

And given the fact that we have this history now of unfortunate incidents occurring in Madrid, in London, and now in Mumbai, our concerns here in the United States, and particularly in major cities like New York, is not just scary background music. It is a reality...

KAGAN: It's real.

DALY: ... and is something that we have to be concerned about.

KAGAN: So, like, 1 to 10, how vulnerable would you say?

DALY: Oh, I would say right now we're probably at about a 7 or 8 as far as vulnerability. We have taken some steps between the Department of Homeland Security overall, and in cities like New York, have taken some immediate steps to reduce that risk. But all in all, we have a very open system.

In fact, these systems are called mass transit for one reason, is that they deal with large numbers of people, high volumes, and quick turnaround. So putting security in place becomes very, very challenging.

KAGAN: Right. So you have that balance. People want to be safe, but they want convenience.

DALY: Exactly. And, you know, they are looking at new technologies.

In fact, the Department of Homeland Security has given major cities up to $110 million just this year to enable them to put better security in place. And there are other technologies on the drawing board with regard to better sensors which would pick people coming up into subway or train stations that may have explosives on them, to be able to pick these things up before they actually occur.

But, you know, I would say, bottom line, though, with any of this, what we want to do is stop people before they show up at the train station. And so the issue here is the intelligence gathering. And we have seen a couple of very positive results in the past few weeks as well, here in the U.S., as well as overseas.

KAGAN: What about spending, when we look at what we spend, let's say, to keep the airlines safe, versus to keep railways safe?

DALY: Yes. Of course our airlines, because they have been used in the past by -- by terrorists, both on 9/11 and even preceding that, is that it has drawn a tremendous amount of attention. And it's something we put effort into, both technology, as well as time and money.

We are now switching that to our transit systems. As we feel as though we have bolstered things up in the air system, we are looking at bolstering things up on our transit systems. And, in fact, there's some moves in Congress just this past week. There was some initiation in the House to improve funding up to maybe $400 million a year going forward to improve security in our transit systems.

But the transit systems, as well as other open public forums in this country, still are exposures to us. And some of it may just be accepting terrorist threats as part of our way of life, unfortunately.

KAGAN: OK, Bill. I'm giving you a job. I'm putting you in charge of the rail systems of America.

What's the top two things you're going to do to make it safer?

DALY: Well, the first thing I would look at is the way that we actually control passengers coming into stations, as well as all the luggage that they bring in with them. That would be my primary objective.

The second would be -- be looking at the security of tunnels and the other infrastructure and how people can -- the terrorists could get access to those locations to plant devices ahead of time.

So I think those are probably the two major ones. Of course, very, very large challenges. So I appreciate the opportunity of you giving me this job, but...

KAGAN: Absolutely.

DALY: ... it will take some time to work it out.

KAGAN: Well, hopefully there's a sense of urgency in keeping our railways safe.

Bill Daly, thanks for your expertise and your time today.

DALY: Thank you.

KAGAN: And we have some breaking news out of North Carolina.

Carol Lin has that -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Tape just in, Daryn, out of North Hampton County, North Carolina. There was a prison transfer happening in Jackson, North Carolina. You are taking a look at the courthouse there in North Hampton County.

What happened was, a prisoner was being transferred heading to Raleigh, when suddenly he took the gun off of one of the deputies that was transferring him and shot that deputy in the shoulder. There was a struggle then with a second officer on the scene, and a second fire was -- a second shot was fired. A third deputy then stepped into the melee and shot and killed that inmate. Tape just in of the scene where that happened now. A dangerous situation. According to local reports, they said something like five or six different shots were fired during this scuffle with deputies.

KAGAN: All right. Carol, thank you.

Well, this could be a big deal for seniors with expensive prescriptions to fill.

Ahead on LIVE TODAY, heading in a new direction for cheaper drugs. We have details on that.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We are listening in now to this conference -- news conference from Boston. Officials talking about what they're going to do to test the safety of the tunnel where a woman died on Monday night.

Let's listen in.

MATTHEW AMORELLO, CHAIRMAN, MASSACHUSETTS TURNPIKE AUTHORITY: And because of the requests from the U.S. attorney and Attorney General's Office, we will be taking them down in a fashion that they are satisfied with. Which means taking down pieces, marking them as evidence, sealing those pieces and those that can be placed into evidence bags, and documenting them as appropriate for an investigation of this nature. So, it is taking us more time than we would have anticipated.

And our investigations over the last 24 hours in terms of other locations within the eastbound and westbound sides of this tunnel, we have approximately 60 locations on the eastbound side, what we are going to identify as isolated locations. There's one area we have 19 of these tie-back struts in place in a row, but they're also connected on the other side by the unistrut system, which we have in the main line of 93.

So we're evaluating each of these individual sites, and we're going to deal with the U.S. attorney and Attorney General's Office in regards to if they want to continue with this documentation effort as evidenced in their investigations. And again, we will fully cooperate with them.

So, I can't give you a timeline as to when we'll have the main line of 90 open, east and westbound, but we are doing everything we can to move that along as efficiently as possible.

I've also directed Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff to give to me a complete report on what their role was in 1999 and 2000, 2001 when these ceiling panels were going up, the inspections they were conducting. I've also asked them to make a report on the impact as removal of these tiles coming down in terms of the air -- air movement through the tunnel system, one of the issues that we talked about yesterday.

I would be happy now to take any questions any of you may have in regards -- go ahead.

QUESTION: Matt, are you going to step down?

AMORELLO: No.

QUESTION: Have you found any other panels that were in danger of falling?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing has been identified.

AMORELLO: Nothing has been identified.

QUESTION: Why are you taking down panels? It's my understanding that one of the engineers (INAUDIBLE).

AMORELLO: We are taking down every panel because of the event that occurred on Monday night. My commitment -- my commitment is to ensure that this does not happen again.

QUESTION: Was there any compromising of any bolts in the ceiling?

AMORELLO: The 60 sites that we have identified indicate that there is some compromise that may be occurring. So...

QUESTION: So there was a risk of other panels falling down and that's why they're being (INAUDIBLE)?

AMORELLO: Not in the locations of those 60, but clearly in this other -- in the place where we have taken down the panels, these portals closest to us here on this side of the 90 tunnels, there were indications that some of those panels, because of the shift of what fell -- and I'm going to say that what fell on Monday night had an impact on other locations. So we're, again, addressing it and taking safety first. We're moving these panels.

QUESTION: Matt, are you going to talk about the difference between the panels in the ceiling (INAUDIBLE)?

AMORELLO: Let me have Mike Lewis (ph), project director, speak on that specifically.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the differences as it relates to (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have the actual details, but I will give you a sense of it. The Ted Williams Tunnel is a different design for the tunnel system. It's a thinner material. It's a lighter- weight material. I believe each of those panels weighs approximately 800 pounds.

QUESTION: But they're metal, right? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a metal porcelain coating with a concrete material sandwiched between the metal layers. So it is a -- it's a concrete and steel panel, I believe.

KAGAN: All right. We have been listening in to Boston. These are officials talking about this tunnel that they are so concerned about, part of the "Big Dig."

You see the pictures from Monday night when a huge concrete slab fell on a Honda Accord and killed a woman. Now they've decided to go ahead and test the integrity of the entire tunnel and look at each piece of concrete slab.

If you would like to continue to listen in to this news conference, go to cnn.com. Pipeline continues the coverage if you would like to listen in.

We move on to health news.

It could mean a cheaper prescription drug for you from north of the border. The Senate has approved a plan that would allow Americans to bring prescription drugs into the U.S. from Canada. They are often much cheaper.

Democrats support the move and say it would let agents focus on border security. A lot of Republicans, though, worry that the drugs could be unsafe. They also say it could give terrorists a loophole to sneak biohazards like anthrax into the country.

The stage is set for a medical and moral showdown over stem cell research. Majority Leader Bill Frist announcing today that the Senate will take up three stem cell bills on Monday. President Bush threatens to veto legislation that would expand federal funding.

Our Brian Todd follows the story for "THE SITUATION ROOM."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Willing to use his first veto, a move that might anger Republican royalty like Nancy Reagan, the president stands firm. Mr. Bush's top political strategist, Karl Rove, says his boss is emphatic he will veto an upcoming bill in Congress that would give more money to embryonic stem cell research.

It's a threat the president has made before.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The use of federal money, taxpayers' money to promote science which destroys life in order to save life is -- I'm against that.

TODD: President Bush supports the government paying for research on long-existing embryos but is against killing new embryos to create stem cells. Research that scientists believe might eventually cure cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's. European researchers have just discovered that sperm grown from embryonic stem cells can possibly help fertility patients.

These advantages and the question of whether embryos are alive is where some scientists split from the president.

IAN WILMUT, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH: The embryo from which we derive stem cells just doesn't have a nervous system. And so I cannot imagine how it could be aware of anything. And so, to me, it's at a very different stage of human life.

TODD: Politically, analysts say, going against Republicans like Nancy Reagan, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will cost Mr. Bush.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com