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Fugitive May be Surrounded; Suicide Bomber Strikes in Afghanistan; Is bin Laden in Afghan Border Region?
Aired September 08, 2006 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
He just made the FBI's most wanted list, but the manhunt may be over. Police in two states believe they've cornered the alleged cop killer Buck Phillips.
Is Osama bin Laden in these mountains? A Nic Robertson exclusive. He's with Pakistani troops on patrol for one of America's most wanted.
And art imitating life. "World Trade Center" the movie. The 9/11 hero and the actor who plays him. Just some of what we're working on from the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's take you -- it's taken New York police five months to get Ralph "Buck" Phillips. Today the jail escapee and alleged cop killer may be cornered at last. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has the latest, as we monitor the live pictures via our affiliate WGRC -- Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, what we can tell you that state and federal law enforcement is now setting up a perimeter in the area where they believe Buck Phillips might be hiding. They're going to try to basically choke off that entire area and then send in a SWAT team to flush him out. Either flush him out or face him in a standoff.
According to authorities, state and federal agents spotted -- spotted him at about 2 a.m. this morning. He was driving a stolen car and was pulled over. Well, he abandoned the car and ran into the woods. That's when authorities lost track of him.
Sources tell me that they found a backpack in the backseat of that car. Inside of it was camouflage clothing as well as a wanted poster from the U.S. Marshals Service, from the fugitive task force. They found a hat, actually, in the backpack, and a source tells me they believe it is the same hat that he is photographed wearing in the actual wanted poster. So he is aware of what authorities are doing in that area.
Now, sources say when he ran into the woods, he was able to find another vehicle. It's not clear whether, in fact, the other car, a four-wheeler, was in fact, put there for him to use or whether he was able to jumpstart that.
He fled in that vehicle, abandoned that car and now the situation we find ourselves in now in terms of law enforcement. Right now they're setting up the perimeter. I am being told by sources that, in fact, shots have been fired, but it is unclear whether, in fact, those shots were fired by him or by law enforcement trying to choke him off -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Who are all the parties involved with this search?
FEYERICK: There are a lot of parties involved in this. Obviously, the New York state troopers were leading this investigation because one of their own is dead, two others critically injured. So they're taking this very personally.
But ultimately, they ended up calling in the fugitive task force, the U.S. Marshals Service, to help them out. The FBI then got involved, the ATF got involved. So there are a lot of teams in that area, so a lot of manpower. And I am told by two sources that, in fact, they're calling in even additional manpower, because they really do think that they've located him. And they want to make sure that he doesn't slip out of this perimeter that they're setting up.
PHILLIPS: All right. Deb Feyerick, we'll keep checking in with you as you work your sources. And we'll follow, of course, all the live pictures coming to us via our affiliate, WGRC.
If you're just tuning in, live pictures right now as authorities think they have Ralph "Buck" Phillips cornered on this golf course in Russell, Pennsylvania. The month-long manhunt after this fugitive suspected in three police shootings may come to an end this hour. We're following it live. Stay with us.
Now blame it on the Taliban. The devastating suicide car bomb attack near the U.S. embassy in Kabul today was a Taliban effort by the group's own admission. There are U.S. casualties, many more Afghan casualties and further evidence the Taliban is alive and well in Afghanistan's capital.
CNN's Anderson Cooper is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today's blast shattered the early morning calm of Kabul. A vehicle laden with explosives slammed into a U.S. military convoy, killing two U.S. soldiers, wounding one other. As many as 10 Afghans were killed. Some 27 were wounded, according to Afghan government officials.
It is just the latest example of the resurgence of the Taliban and their adoption of al Qaeda style tactics. Suicide bombings used to be very rare in Afghanistan. This year there have been some 70 attacks in this year alone.
Intelligence sources I've spoken with blame several factors on the rise of the Taliban. They say increased dissatisfaction with the government of Hamid Karzai here in Afghanistan. Also the rise of the -- this year's opium crop and the money that the Taliban makes off that crop from taxing it. Also intelligence sources also point the finger at Pakistan. They say that Pakistan has not done enough to try to curtail the Taliban operating inside Pakistan. They, in fact, say -- intelligence sources I spoke with say that the Taliban's leader Mullah Omar, the blind cleric who disappeared in December of 2001, a man who has a price on his head from the U.S., is in fact living in Pakistan.
Intelligence sources say he's living in Quetta or in the surrounding areas. Pakistan sources say they are doing everything they can to hunt down Taliban leaders.
But a cease-fire they have now signed with Taliban militants in North Waziristan has caused dismay among intelligence sources I've spoken with today. They say it will lead to more cross-border operations and an even greater rise in Taliban strength in Southern Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And you can watch Anderson Cooper live tonight from Afghanistan, 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
U.S. and NATO commanders were already well aware that Taliban violence was spiking. To the Pentagon now and our correspondent Barbara Starr.
Barbara, what do you know?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you're exactly right. That is what commanders have been saying, really, through most of this year, that Taliban activity is on the rise throughout Afghanistan.
Now, it's mostly been in the south and eastern portions of the country where the Afghan government is not strong. Today's bombing in Kabul certainly has caught their attention, because this now perhaps the most direct challenge to NATO, also to the Afghan government.
Where this bombing took place in the city is actually quite significant. It took place just off an area called Massoud Circle. It is named after the most revered Taliban -- revered Afghan -- excuse me -- Afghan resistance fighter to the Taliban, Ahmed Shah Massoud, a man that is revered by the people of Afghanistan.
How are the Taliban pulling off these attacks, however, might be one of the most significant questions. It is fueled by drug money. That is something that commanders are watching very carefully.
But clearly the Taliban five years after 9/11, Kyra, are still showing the ability to organize their attacks, mount their attacks and somehow get through the security perimeters that NATO, the U.S. military and the Afghan government are trying to set up in various places around the country -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: What do you think's going on here, Barbara? And just looking at the timing. I mean, it was almost five years ago within the next couple of weeks that U.S. forces bombed that area. They're trying to take down the Taliban. Now we're seeing this growth.
Well, that's right. And this is something that commanders seriously had been looking at, something that in their own minds they thought would be happening right around this timeframe coming up on the 9/11 anniversary.
And, of course, the beginning of the war against the Taliban on October 7, 19 -- 2001. They had expected the Taliban to mount these types of attacks. It's something that they were looking at.
The best analysis that commanders say they have is they believe the Taliban were trying -- are trying to challenge NATO, which has largely taking over from the U.S. in the military operations. Challenge NATO and challenge the fragility of the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai.
Where the Taliban had been operating most, again, has been in the south and the east, where the Afghan security structures are very fragile, where the U.S. has not had a lot of troops over the last several months, where NATO has just begun to move in and begun to take over.
But now seeing these attacks in Kabul is something that certainly is getting their attention, because Kabul is perhaps the most prosperous, economically prosperous area of the country. And it would be a matter of great concern if terrorism took over in Kabul and business and economic activity was affected there, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, how is Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld doing since his surgery?
STARR: Secretary Rumsfeld, still not back at work today, his aides tell us. The secretary a few days ago having surgery on his shoulder for a torn rotator cuff.
But the secretary had been expected back. He had told all of his aides he thought he might spend one night in the hospital and then be back at work. He's still not back at work. And at least two sources have told us that the secretary does remain on medication for the pain that he is suffering. He appears to be in some level of significant pain, but doing his work at home and hopes to be back by the first of the week, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr, thanks so much.
Well, like the Taliban, Osama bin Laden is still making his presence felt. Five years after 9/11, he's still believed to be hiding along the border between Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan.
Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is in the region known as Waziristan, and he filed this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About half a mile, about half a kilometer in that direction is a border with Afghanistan. We're at a Pakistani army frontier post. They have 28,000 soldiers in this area, north Waziristan. The Pakistani government has been very keen to show us how they can control and support this border so the Taliban can't get from Pakistan, move across the border into Afghanistan to strike the coalition troops.
They've taken us on a helicopter tour of the border. They've shown us how mountainous it is. They've shown us at many different border posts in the area.
This is typical of the border post. It's quite an old building. They have a number of troops here who go out on nighttime patrols. The patrols here also go out during the day.
On the hilltops either side, they have observation posts. They have tracks, roads. They've built hundreds of miles of roads to help secure the border here in the past few years.
The Pakistani army has taken a number of casualties, several hundreds killed in many cases by roadside bombs in the past year that have been planted by the Taliban and other insurgent elements in this particular area. But the government here says that the new deal that's worked out with the tribes can work, can hold, that puts -- takes the army off some checkpoints, puts them in their bases, but allows the army to focus its strength along the border.
And they say that's the most critical area. They now have 97 of these border posts along the border, another 50 posts just behind those. The Pakistani military now say that Taliban cannot get across the border in vehicles. They say possibly, possibly, one or two may be able to get across on foot.
But they feel that they have this border now very well secured, stopping large numbers of Taliban from leaving Pakistan, going across the border into Afghanistan and striking the U.S. troops there.
Nic Robertson, CNN, on the Pakistan/Afghan border, North Waziristan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And this week you can get a closer look at the man who brought 9/11 to America. Watch "In the Footsteps of bin Laden", "CNN PRESENTS" investigation, already seen by more than 10 million people around the world. That's Saturday and Sunday night, 7 Eastern.
The search for fugitive Ralph "Buck" Phillips. The jail escapee and alleged cop killer may be cornered. Live coverage ahead. We expect a briefing by New York state police.
Also this hour, a mini series, a major critic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think they ought to tell the truth. Particularly if they're going to claim it's based on the 9/11 Commission report, they shouldn't have scenes which are directly contradicted by the facts and the findings of the 9/11 report.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: "The Path to 9/11". Will dramatic license lead viewers down the wrong road? Details from the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Do they have the alleged cop killer or not? New York state police talking about Buck Phillips.
WAYNE BENNETT, SUPERINTENDENT, NEW YORK POLICE: ... vehicle. And approximately 25 minutes later, there was a report of a second stolen car, which entered the state of New York. That was pursued by two New York state troopers. The male operator that was operating the vehicle jumped out of the car while the car was still moving, entered a wooded area, and since that time our efforts have drifted farther south.
At approximately 9 a.m. this morning, our canine personnel got on the track of an individual and came up behind an individual who turned around with a pistol in his left hand, aimed it at the canine trooper, who then discharged several rounds at that individual. The individual then fled into another wooded area. We simply don't know at this point if he, in fact, has been shot.
But as you can see now, there is a huge effort here by the New York State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Marshals, the sheriffs and many of the local Pennsylvania authorities to locate this individual. And we will be here until we accomplish that. We have every reason to believe it is Ralph "Bucky" Phillips.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he in custody?
BENNETT: No, he is not in custody at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BENNETT: Excuse me, one at a time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BENNETT: Based on the identification of not only the troopers who chased him in the second stolen car but also the canine officer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was there anything in the car that belonged to Ralph Phillips? That's what we hear.
BENNETT: I'm not going to comment on what's been recovered in the car. That's been done by the Pennsylvania authorities. And that would also be a matter of evidence. I'm not prepared to talk about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you comment on 10...
BENNETT: I'm not going to comment on the number of shots that were fired. I can tell you it was several.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... residents in area, I'm sure there's lots of concern right now.
BENNETT: Obviously, we have a very dangerous and desperate individual on the loose here. I have spoken with the Pennsylvania State Police and asked them to make the notification of the people in the immediate area to tell them what exactly is going on here. If by some chance they don't know now, to put them at a level of caution they need to be at.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are reports of, lieutenant, a helicopter flying above saw somebody lying motionless on the ground. Any reason to believe that that is him?
BENNETT: No, no. Believe me, if that were true, I'd be having some more definitive news for you here today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BENNETT: Are there any injured troopers? No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the perimeter of the search area, the approximate area of the perimeter?
BENNETT: I don't have the exact square miles, but it's several.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reinforcements (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
BENNETT: We believe we have him contained, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk about the reinforcements?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... he is in a finite area near Warren, Pennsylvania. Is that your information?
BENNETT: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where's the containment?
BENNETT: He's in a finite area right here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right here?
BENNETT: Just over the Pennsylvania state border. But again, the border is so close to the state of New York, you have to include a portion of that, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What will it take to get this man?
BENNETT: A continued concentrated effort. We're going to push him hard, just like we have been.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did this confrontation happen at a golf course?
BENNETT: No, did it not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you talk to us about what happened at the golf course? There were reports of sightings.
BENNETT: I don't know of anything that -- excuse me. I don't know of anything that happened at the golf course, not recently.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us about the gunfire? A little bit more?
BENNETT: I don't know how I can better describe it than I just told you. The subject turned around with a pistol in his left hand. He pointed it at the trooper, and the trooper discharged his weapon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How close were they together?
BENNETT: A short distance. I don't know the exact distance. But it wasn't that far away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BENNETT: Excuse me. You're just drowning each other out. No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any blood that you know of?
BENNETT: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you be a little bit more specific as to the area where you feel that he is contained right now?
BENNETT: Approximately one half mile over the New York state, Pennsylvania border.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there a town there?
BENNETT: There is a town, obviously. I'm not sure of the name.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When -- did he drop his weapon? Did he leave any evidence?
BENNETT: No, there's no indication he dropped his firearm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any indication to believe that this pistol, this gun, is one of the guns that was stolen?
BENNETT: We have no idea until we recover it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BENNETT: I'm not going to comment on whether we found any guns in any cars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were two vehicles this morning?
BENNETT: Two stolen vehicles.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were there two people?
BENNETT: No, same person, two cars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where were they stolen from?
BENNETT: One was -- both of them were actually in Warren County, Pennsylvania, a short distance apart from each other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you disappointed he escaped?
BENNETT: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it work as you operate back and forth across the border?
BENNETT: We have -- we have a common radio frequency, particularly with aviation, so they have that ability to communicating. We have the Pennsylvania troopers with us. My people are with them. So you do have that common communication link.
We've been in touch with their headquarters to request additional personnel up here to help, hopefully, culminate this effort and put it to an end. And we're in good shape in that regard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you operating there and down here?
BENNETT: We've requested the United States marshal to deputize the New York state personnel, which would give them law enforcement authority in the state of Pennsylvania. And that has been accomplished.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The cooperation, are you impressed with it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) trooper appointed his weapon and discharged his weapon at the individual with the pistol...
BENNETT: Correct.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what happened with the individuals?
BENNETT: Well, as I already said, we don't know if he struck him. As I also already said, the subject fled on foot into a wooded area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any reason to...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) subject fire back?
BENNETT: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any reason to believe that the subject is being helped right now?
BENNETT: No. No, because what occurred here with the stolen cars was spontaneous. I don't think this was anticipated at all. And there wasn't time to really put any kind of plan into effect. Now, that's an advantage to us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did the police know it was a stolen car? What was it about the car?
BENNETT: They knew it was stolen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were saying it was an advantage to you. Why IS IT AN ADVANTAGE?
BENNETT: Because he hasn't had time to make contact with any safe house. He didn't intend to have a police chase in Pennsylvania, let alone a second one into New York. That's not part of the plan. I'm sure he had some kind of plan in mind, but this definitely interrupted that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Judging by the crash -- judging by the crash site, initially, was anyone hurt in crash?
BENNETT: I was not at the crash site. However, the information I do have is there's no indication that he was at least seriously hurt in that crash.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So he could be hiding in the woods again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... timeline of events?
BENNETT: 1:55 a.m., first stolen car. 2:25 a.m., second stolen car. Five minutes after that, the incident up by Frewsburg in the state of New York, where he bailed out of the second stolen car while it was moving.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you talk about the resources as far as search dogs, SWAT teams, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
BENNETT: There are numerous special weapons teams here. We have people from the New York State Police, the Pennsylvania State Police. Chautauqua and Cattaraugus County sheriff, Rochester Police, Buffalo Police and Albany, New York, Police and the United States Marshals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are some rumblings that you aren't letting local police help you enough.
BENNETT: Well, I don't know how that could be, because I've seen about every local police department in the last two hours that I know exist and some that I didn't in the state of Pennsylvania.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk about the terrain in the area -- the wooded are? Is it...
BENNETT: It's mixed. It's not as dense as what we had been searching north of here. A lot of cornfields. A lot of farm country, but it is not as hilly and not as densely wooded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... advantage because it is a wooded area. BENNETT: I'm sorry. I didn't hear what you...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does he have the advantage because he's familiar with the wooded area?
BENNETT: He's not familiar with this area that I know of.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's suspected of shooting two troopers and killing a third. How personal is this for the authorities that are searching for him right now?
BENNETT: It's as personal as it could possibly be. As I said yesterday, you have to understand something. These people work together. They ride in a car a foot apart from each other. They depend on each other's safety -- or candor (ph), if you will, for their own safety. This is your support system. And that makes it real personal. You get to know people real good sitting in a car with them. So it's as personal as this could possibly be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about the condition of Trooper Baker?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Superintendent, can you talk about how confident you are right now, knowing that you have him contained. How confident you are that...s?
BENNETT: I won't say I'm confident -- you know, completely convinced that this is going to come to the conclusion we want. You can never go there, because you can't predict the outcome here. Now, we've had him before where we've been close, and he's got out.
Am I fairly confident that this is the best opportunity we have? Yes. Am I totally convinced that I can come back to you in a short time and say it's over? I'm not about to go there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there an update on the condition of Trooper Baker?
BENNETT: Trooper Baker continues to do well. He's still listed in critical condition for all the reasons I have previously explained, particularly the assistance in breathing. So it's a medical terminology decision, but we're very optimistic with the progress he makes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe that you possibly interrupted some sort of plan that Mr. Phillips has today? Do you believe you intercepted communication or possibly catch him off guard or disrupt some sort of plan he had for today, possibly?
BENNETT: If he had a plan today, I would have liked to have known it. I wish we could tell you we did. I don't know what his plan is but I do know we did interrupt it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you say to somebody trying to help him at this point after everything that's happened?
BENNETT: Anybody trying to help him is facing felony accusations in court. All right? He's wanted for attempted murder and a suspect in another attempted murder and an actual murder of a police officer. That would be a very bad way for people to go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you linked him to the 41 stolen weapons...
BENNETT: Sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you linked him to the 41 stolen weapons from Chautauqua County last night?
BENNETT: Not yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think that he will be linked to that?
BENNETT: Yes, I do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How wide is that search right now, that perimeter?
BENNETT: I just explained that. I don't have the exact square mileage. How quickly are you...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think Phillips is injured?
BENNETT: I'm sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think Phillips is injured?
BENNETT: I don't know. I hope he is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How quickly are you moving? Is there a time frame at all that you can...?
BENNETT: We have no time frame. We're here, and we're going to stay here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think is your greatest resource, the canine units sniffing it out or the helicopters from above or the troopers on the ground?
BENNETT: The greatest resource that we have is the commitment of every single police agency and the people that are here to get this job done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know he has help in Pennsylvania. Does he have help close to the region that you're searching right now?
BENNETT: Not that I know of. But that's not to say he doesn't. He knows people in both jurisdictions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you talk about the safety of the officers? When we were out here this morning, it was pitch black. You know, there's word this man is in there. These troopers and officers are standing by their cars. BENNETT: It's something we're used to. It's part of being a police officer in America. And as dangerous as it is for them to be out there on the road, you know, it's probably no less dangerous or no more dangerous than pulling over a car for a traffic violation and not knowing who's in it and what else they may have in mind. It's part of life as a police officer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now that you've apparently caught him off guard and maybe he doesn't know some of these areas, do you think this is maybe your best shot so far to finally catch him?
BENNETT: Yes, I believe this is our best shot so far. The difference here is he hasn't had time to do any planning. This was all spontaneous, what occurred during the night. This was not in the plan, I'm sure, whatever the plan is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does that make him any more dangerous in a way?
BENNETT: No. He couldn't have got any more dangerous. You know, his level of desperation to get away and his proven conduct of violence, there's no way that increases that. It's at the maximum right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you calling in more reinforcements right now?
BENNETT: I'm sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you calling in more reinforcements?
BENNETT: Let's put it this way. We have adequate personnel who will stay here a very long time, 24 hours a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you made this a new command center here, or is it still the barracks?
BENNETT: Both will operate. One here, one there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happens when you get him? Describe that.
BENNETT: Well, it depends where we get him. If, in fact, he's arrested in the state of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Police will take custody of him. Normally, what would occur is subsequently there will be an extradition hearing between the two states. That's something he can waive. But that's a process that would have to happen.
If he's arrested in New York, we will take him into custody based upon the indictment warrant in Chemung County for the attempted murder of Trooper Sean Brown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bucky Phillips is now on the FBI's top 10 list. Does that change the feelings of troopers? Does it up the ante at all? BENNETT: It always ups the ante, but the nice part about the FBI 10 Most Wanted list is it is focus focused on only 10 people. He's been identified as one of the 10 worst and most dangerous people in America. It gives it nationwide coverage. It focuses everybody across the country on Ralph Phillips and the other nine.
I don't believe he is obviously out of the area. But the more exposure you get, the more support you can get, the more tips you can get. Let's say for example somebody in California heard from him on the phone and doesn't -- doesn't understand what's going on here and what he's wanted for. Now that possibility is out there, because it will get a lot of media coverage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) both states?
BENNETT: Yes, it does.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The troopers that encountered him this morning, was there more than one?
BENNETT: Yes, there were two.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He went into the woods. Did they encounter him?
BENNETT: You mean, at the last -- the last encounter?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where shots were fired.
BENNETT: It was very shortly after he entered. It was not that far off the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the area -- is it populated at all?
BENNETT: It's populated but not heavily.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you doing anything for the residents there?
BENNETT: Apparently, you missed that. Pennsylvania State Police have advised all the residents in the local area what we're doing, what has transpired and to give them the appropriate level of caution. Whether or not they leave their homes will be a decision they have to make, but we have at least told them.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were shots exchanged?
BENNETT: Not exchanged. Exchanged means both ways. There was not shots exchanged is what I said. Our trooper fired shots at this individual. There were no fired -- no shots -- I've already said I'm not going to comment on that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't fire back?
BENNETT: No, but I'm glad he didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Superintendent, at this point such a police presence, how is it that Ralph Phillips comes out of this alive? I mean, do you expect him honestly to walk out of the woods with his hands up?
BENNETT: I don't -- I don't predict what he does. He's totally unpredictable. If he wants to walk out and surrender, that's fine. Whether or not he will actually do that, I don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any schools on lockdown?
BENNETT: No, not to my knowledge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you talked to them about...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were shots fired after that initial confrontation?
BENNETT: No, not beyond that point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any schools within the perimeter?
BENNETT: Not that I'm aware of. I'm not, frankly, all that familiar with what's on the Pennsylvania side here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What time were the shots exchanged?
BENNETT: Around 9:10 this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was he followed into the woods?
BENNETT: He sure was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BENNETT: Well, you know, again, he entered some hilly and wooded terrain. What we then did was move SWAT team people in there with two additional canines to start searching that area with an appropriate level of protection for the canine people, who are focused on the tracking and can't necessarily keep their eyes on what's ahead of them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the description of Ralph...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) country. How did he elude them?
BENNETT: If he were to climb a tree, we should be able to discern that with a dog. The dog would just simply stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the latest description of him?
BENNETT: The information we have, he's in camouflage clothing, no hat. It appears to be some pair of sneakers on his feet and a purple sweatshirt around his waist. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does he still have a mustache, facial hair?
BENNETT: Well, I haven't asked the trooper about that, so I don't know the exact answer to that. But he has fairly long hair, shoulder-length hair.
QUESTION: Obviously you want to get him badly, but what would it mean to you to get him before trooper Longobardo's funeral, before he's laid to rest?
BENNETT: I think to the degree that it might be able to offer some closure to the trooper's family, that would be the result, to let them know that this didn't go unaddressed. Your son didn't get killed by an individual who was never held accountable for it, and what else can I tell them?
QUESTION: Superintendent, you mentioned he was wearing that purple sweatshirt. Are any of your men or women wearing purple?
BENNETT: Absolutely not.
QUESTION: OK.
QUESTION: Has Phillips outsmarted you once again?
BENNETT: Frankly, I'm offended by that comment, OK? You people make it sound like we're in the middle of a golf course trying to hunt a fugitive. Take a look around you. Go back up to where we have been. You know, like I said before, he can run, but he won't hide. We have never, ever not caught the people we're after. Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's hard. But we win every time. There has only been one case where a New York State Trooper was murdered in the history of our jobs since 1917 that we did not resolve it with the arrest of an individual, and that was 1926.
QUESTION: Was there a trail of blood anywhere near that shooting scene?
BENNETT: I answered that already -- no.
QUESTION: Can you tell us what it was about that parks police officer that started this whole thing?
BENNETT: I don't know what you're referring to.
QUESTION: Wasn't it the parks police officer that initially spotted him driving early this morning?
BENNETT: The information I was given by the Pennsylvania State Police is it was the Warren County Pennsylvania sheriff.
QUESTION: What is the strategy? They have the perimeter set up? Are they closing in, or will they wait until he tries to get out of the perimeter?
BENNETT: No, we will sweep the area with the special weapons teams, dogs.
QUESTION: While maintaining it?
BENNETT: Absolutely.
QUESTION: You said 2:30. Several hours later, there's this confrontation in the woods. So it was daylight at that point.
BENNETT: Right.
QUESTION: Canine officers. Two potentially saw him?
BENNETT: Correct.
QUESTION: And one fired shots.
BENNETT: That's correct.
QUESTION: You said that was 9:10.
BENNETT: Around 9:10.
QUESTION: You warned residents to stay in their homes, to leave if they want. Have any specific instructions been given to them to secure weapons, vehicles, things like that?
BENNETT: I don't know exactly what the Pennsylvania State Police instructed them to do. But obviously once they are given the information as to what's going on here, I'm quite sure they will take whatever precautions they feel are appropriate in their own individual cases.
QUESTION: Can you elaborate on how contained he is. When they say he's contained, what does that mean and the way you do things?
BENNETT: He's contained in the sense that the area that we're looking for him in does not have an extensive amount of territory between roads, which he would have to cross to get out of it. We have those roads covered, and the police officers are within eyesight of each other. So we would then be able to work with the helicopters to hopefully force him to move.
QUESTION: Are the helicopters using infrared?
BENNETT: Yes.
The point they first saw him, he had stopped.
QUESTION: With his back to them?
BENNETT: With his back to them.
QUESTION: Any sighting since that 9:10?
BENNETT: No.
QUESTION: Did they say anything to him? Did they order him to surrender?
BENNETT: No. What happens was one canine started to growl and bark, and of course that alerted him. That's what caused him to turn around, and that was what happened.
QUESTION: How far away is the distance between?
BENNETT: I don't have the exact distance, but it wasn't very far.
QUESTION: And again, how confident are you that this is Ralph "Bucky" Phillips?
BENNETT: That's about the third time I've answered that. He turned around and he pointed a pistol at him.
QUESTION: Did the troopers returned fire?
BENNETT: A trooper returned fire.
QUESTION: Do you believe this will end peacefully?
BENNETT: I don't know. How do you predict this person? If I went through the litany of things we suspect he's done and the ones we know he's done, you would be confused as well.
I can tell you this, I've said it before, he'll write the last chapter in this book. We will respond accordingly. If he chooses to shoot it out with law enforcement, we will indeed shoot back.
QUESTION: Are you going to wait for him to come out?
BENNETT: No, we don't wait for people to come to us, because that doesn't happen very often. We have to go get our people. They tend not to come up to the door. We will not let him just sit there.
QUESTION: It appears this time it truly looks as if he's slipped up this morning?
BENNETT: I think he's made a mistake. I hope it's a big enough one that we can capitalize on it.
QUESTION: Thank you.
BENNETT: We'll be back out a little bit later in the afternoon to give you some...
PHILLIPS: New York State Police Superintendent Wayne Bennett, doesn't hold back at all. One of the reporters asked him, do you think that Ralph "Bucky" Phillips is injured? And he said, "I don't know, but I sure hope so." Dangerous and desperate, not in custody, but cornered. He hopes to have this alleged cop killer in his hands within the hour, if not some time this afternoon.
Our Deb Feyerick checking in with her sources on how this has all been developing throughout the morning, started with stolen cars and went from there, right, Deb?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, exactly, Kyra. And you see that hat that he was wearing just in that picture that you just showed. Well, I'm told by sources that, in fact, that may be the hat that was found in the backpack in one of the cars that he had stolen.
We do know right now law enforcement has set up a perimeter. They believe that Buck Phillips is surrounded. Sources say they're going to send in a mobile-response team, sort of like a SWAT team, to flush him out. He has been positively identified. He is on foot. The trooper says that, in fact, what happened is that he stole two cars. One of those cars he simply jumped out of and ran into the woods. That's when he was followed by a New York State Trooper with a canine. Phillips saw the trooper, turned, aimed his pistol, but the trooper was able to fire first, getting off several shots. It is not clear whether Phillips was hit. The trooper there saying that there was no blood trail found at the scene.
You can see that perimeter that's being set up right there. Again, one of the cars that he had stolen earl this morning, at about 2:00 this morning. Sources tell me that they did find the backpack. In that backpack, camouflage clothing, along with a wanted poster with his picture on it. And that wanted poster from the U.S. Marshals Service, the fugitive task force, and the hat which he is seen wearing on one of those posters.
Now, authorities do believe that he crossed from New York into Pennsylvania. The perimeter reaches both of those states. It's in both of those states. Local police have been deputized by the U.S. marshals, so that they can go back and forth over those state lines. So if in fact they do find him, whether he's in New York, whether he's in Pennsylvania, they we will be able to get him.
There are so many people involved in this, not just state police, but a lot of local police as well, that have been brought in to help with that perimeter. You've got the fugitive task force working on this, the ATF, the FBI, all of them trying to get this guy.
The New York State Trooper who you just heard from really summed it up. Remember, one of their own was shot and killed; two others are still in critical condition. He said, "This is as personal as it gets." So they are really after this guy. They do believe that he is surrounded. He's been able to elude them before. The danger, of course, that he might be able to slip that perimeter -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And the big question, will he come out dead or alive, Deb?
FEYERICK: Absolutely, because they're either going to flush him out, or they're going to have him at standoff.
PHILLIPS: All right, Deb Feyerick, we'll follow it. Well, a bone-chilling message in Iraq. It's from the leader of Iraq's al Qaeda faction, and it targets Americans. That's ahead from the "CNN NEWSROOM." A suicide bombing in Afghanistan, bigger more powerful and deadlier than any attack in years. The Taliban says it did it. The damage and the horrible aftermath coming up.
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PHILLIPS: Mercury rising -- a panel of experts finds little to smile about in an FDA report declaring mercury in dental fillings safe. The panel says that the fillings are safe for most people, but they want more research, especially on mercury's effects on young children and pregnant women. The FDA maintains that dental mercury is well below levels seen as harmful.
The sex may be less frequent, rock 'n' roll harder to hear, but drug use among baby boomers is up for the third straight year. The government says that 4.4 percent of Americans in their 50s admit to using illicit drugs in the past month. Their drug of choice? Marijuana. But drug use among young teens went down for the third consecutive year from almost 12 percent in 2002 to just under 10 percent last year.
High gas prices have been weighing on consumers' minds, wallets -- everything -- for months. And now drivers may finally be getting a break. Susan Lisovicz joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why it's happening. We've noticed a little bit of a drop here.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Susan, thanks.
Well, not today, space fans. NASA says that it's a no-go for launch. Atlantis remains on terra firma, and we're in the newsroom with all the details coming up.
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PHILLIPS: If it's not one thing, it's another. Space Shuttle Atlantis sitting where it sat this morning on the launchpad. NASA stopped the countdown again in hopes that all systems will be a go tomorrow. Technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg is at Kennedy Space Center.
So what's the deal, Daniel?
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Yes, it has been a rough couple of weeks for NASA. They had a lightning strike on the launchpad that delayed them a couple of weeks ago, Tropical Storm Ernesto, a fuel cell problem this week as well. And now they're dealing with this issue with one of the engine cutoff sensors, or ECO sensors.
There are four of them located at the base of the massive external fuel tank, these super-cool fuels that go in -- liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen. These fuel sensors are not unlike the light on your car telling you that your fuel tank is getting empty. Same idea.
They got a bad reading on one of them this morning very early as they were tanking up. They were assessing it throughout the morning. Within the hour before the scheduled launch time at 11:40, they decided that they were going to stand down. They were going to assess some of the data further, see if they could go ahead tomorrow. The earliest scheduled launch would be at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow on Saturday.
Again, they're trying to get up to the International Space Station to restart the assembly up there. The astronauts went through all the motions today. They went into the astrovan, came out and waved to everybody, did the sort of traditional things that they do. They got strapped into the orbiter, into the shuttle, were preparing to launch.
They went through some of the systems checks that they normally do, into the last phases leading up. Then at basically -- almost at the last minute, NASA decided that they were going to wait and try again tomorrow and look over some of the data.
So it's sort of a wait and see situation, here Kyra. This is the end of their launch window tomorrow. After that, they have to pick it up possibly -- possibly -- at the end of September. But right now, officially, they would have to look towards the end of October, so certainly hoping to just get started sooner than later.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow every second. Thanks, Daniel.
Campaigns and chromosomes coming up. How much clout will women wield at the ballot box this year? Stick around. We never skirt the issues here from the NEWSROOM.
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PHILLIPS: Grab the oven mitts. The closer we get midterm elections, political hot potatoes, gay marriage, stem cell research and lots of others get even hotter.
CNN's Candy Crowley looks at the power of single issues to divide and conquer at the ballot box.
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CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jeff McCaffrey was in the Air Force Academy, planning a military career, not a political one. That was before the car accident.
JEFF MCCAFFREY, STEM CELLS RESEARCH ADVOCATE: We want something better than these wheelchairs.
CROWLEY: Now he campaigns, not for someone, but for something.
MCCAFFREY: You know, when the doctor said, you know, you will never walk again, I -- I didn't believe him then, and I don't believe him now, and nor will I ever believe him. And that's because of stem cell research.
CROWLEY: McCaffrey is lending his name and hopes to push for a pro-stem cell amendment to the Constitution in Missouri, a state with a powerful and politically active base of religious conservatives.
ARCHBISHOP RAYMOND LEO BURKE, SAINT LOUIS ARCHDIOCESE: Let it not be upon our consciences that we participated in the violation of the right to life of our brothers and sisters according to the criterion of their size.
CROWLEY: Missouri's stem cell initiative is one of dozens of issues around the country being put to a vote this year. Gay marriage is on the ballot in eight states. At least 10 will vote on banning the government's right to seize property. Six states contemplate an increase in minimum wage. And three consider abortion proposals.
Call them race drivers, controversial issues that entice voters to the polls, in hopes they will also vote for a candidate.
ELIZABETH GARRETT, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: They have spillover effects. So, people who come to vote against same-sex marriage tend also to vote for the Republican candidates. People who feel intensely about the minimum wage -- tend to be labor unions, Democrats -- will vote for the Democrats.
CROWLEY: Stem cell could make the difference in a squeaker Missouri Senate race between Republican Incumbent Senator Jim Talent and challenger Claire McCaskill. The question is, who gets the spillover?
Talent says he personally opposes the initiative, but thinks voters should decide. She is all for it. And a majority of Missourians favor stem cell research. But is the initiative enough to get them to the polls?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The stem cell initiative, it's going to be on the ballot in November.
CROWLEY: Fairs and rallies and lots of campaign chatter are designed to pump up the volume.
TERRY RILEY, KANSAS CITY COUNCILMAN: The buzz is starting now in the barbershops and the beauty salons. People were saying, hey, man, I didn't know stem cell did that. It provides an opportunity for other -- cures for other things.
CROWLEY: Despite a split in his party over stem cell research, Jim Talent may benefit from the loudest buzz and the most passion, fueled by a national organization which galvanizes voters on social and moral issues.
REVEREND RICK SCARBOROUGH, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, VISION AMERICA: I am not afraid of losing an election. I am afraid of the church not showing up!
CROWLEY: The conservative base is out in force. The initiative has been the focus of rallies and the topic of discussion in churches.
REVEREND DOUG ZIMMERMAN, HARVEST COMMUNITY CHURCH: The fire wasn't burning before. But there was just a lot of excitement generated by that. The one guy said, "I have got 10 people I can tell." So, that's -- I think that's the idea behind it.
CROWLEY: The evidence suggests ballot initiatives drive up turn- out by about 1.5 percent; one way or another, enough to make a difference in Missouri.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, the stem cell debate has only intensified since July. That's when President Bush issued his first and, so far, only veto, killing a bill that would have eased the federal funding restrictions.
Radio talk host Martha Zoller joins me here in Atlanta. Ariana Huffington, author of "On Becoming Fearless." Well, they both join me live from the "NEWSROOM," straight ahead.
The Taliban on the attack in Afghanistan in a huge way. Details, straight ahead.
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